Vehicle high-mounted stop lamp and brake system

Abstract

We provide a high-mounted stop lamp and brake system for vehicles. [Solution] The high-mount stop lamp 100 comprises an LED lamp unit 12, a power input interface JP1, and a control circuit board 11. Communication protocol pins are integrated into the power input interface, and it receives a mode switching signal output by the vehicle front-end host. The control circuit board comprises a current limiting circuit 111, a flash control circuit 112, and a main control unit 113. The flash control circuit is connected to the current limiting circuit and the power input interface, respectively. The current limiting circuit is connected to the LED lamp unit. The main control unit is connected to the flash control circuit and the communication protocol pins, respectively. Based on the mode switching signal, the flash control circuit controls the LED lamp unit to output a continuous constant current or a constant current that turns on / off at a high frequency, driving the LED lamp unit to switch between a constantly lit pre-warning mode and a super flash pre-warning mode accordingly. This allows the super flash pre-warning mode to be switched in adverse weather conditions with poor visibility such as rain, fog, and haze, improving the warning effect.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of vehicle electronics, and more specifically to a high-mounted stop lamp and a braking system for vehicles.

Background Art

[0002] With the continuous increase in the number of automobiles in use, the importance of road safety, particularly the prevention of rear-end collisions of following vehicles, has been increasing. A high-mounted stop lamp (High-Mount, Stop, Lamp, HMSL) is an important passive safety signal device in a vehicle, which provides a warning light signal at a high position with high visibility to following vehicles when the vehicle brakes, and plays a role in reducing the risk of collision. However, the conventional high-mounted stop lamp has a single function, and many products only have the basic lighting and extinguishing functions. In bad weather with poor visibility such as rain, fog, and smoke, its transmission power and warning effect are significantly reduced, making it difficult to arouse sufficient attention of the driver of the following vehicle.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0003] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a high-mounted stop lamp with a constant-on standby warning mode and a super-flash standby warning mode to address the drawbacks of the conventional high-mounted stop lamp having a single function and limited warning effect, so that in bad weather with poor visibility such as rain, fog, and smoke, the super-flash standby warning mode can be switched to improve the warning effect.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0004] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a high-mounted stop lamp for a vehicle, an LED lamp unit, A power input interface used to connect to the vehicle's power supply, which integrates communication protocol pins and receives mode switching signals output by the vehicle's front-end host, It comprises a control circuit board including a current limiting circuit, a flash control circuit, and a main control unit, Each flash control circuit is connected to a current limiting circuit and a power input interface, the current limiting circuit is connected to an LED lamp unit, and the main control unit is connected to each flash control circuit and a communication protocol pin, and controls the flash control circuit to output a continuous constant current or a constant current that turns on / off at a high frequency to the LED lamp unit based on the mode switching signal, thereby driving the LED lamp unit to switch between a constantly lit pre-warning mode and a super flash pre-warning mode accordingly.

[0005] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a vehicle brake system comprising a vehicle front-end host and a vehicle high-mounted stop lamp as described in any one of the above paragraphs. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] Beneficial Effects: The vehicle high-mounted stop lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises an LED lamp unit, a power input interface, and a control circuit board. Communication protocol pins are integrated into the power input interface, which receives a mode switching signal output by the vehicle's front-end host. The control circuit board comprises a current limiting circuit, a flash control circuit, and a main control unit. The flash control circuit is connected to the current limiting circuit and the power input interface, respectively. The current limiting circuit is connected to the LED lamp unit. The main control unit is connected to the flash control circuit and the communication protocol pins, respectively. Based on the mode switching signal, the flash control circuit controls the LED lamp unit to output a continuous constant current or a constant current that turns on / off at a high frequency. The LED lamp unit is driven to switch to either a constantly lit pre-warning mode or a super flash pre-warning mode accordingly. This allows for switching to the super flash pre-warning mode in adverse weather conditions with poor visibility, such as rain, fog, or haze, thereby improving the warning effect. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] The specific embodiments of this application and their beneficial effects will be clarified below by referring to the drawings and describing them in detail. [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a vehicle high-mounted stop lamp according to the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a circuit diagram illustrating the connection between a portion of the circuitry on the control circuit board of this invention and the LED lamp unit. [Figure 3] This is a schematic diagram showing the connection between the lens module of the present invention and a vehicle rearview mirror. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] To further clarify the purpose, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention, the invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are used solely for the purpose of interpreting the invention and are not intended to limit it.

[0009] Referring to Figures 1 and 2, an embodiment of the present invention provides a vehicle high-mounted stop lamp 100, comprising a case, a power input interface JP1, a control circuit board 11, and an LED lamp unit 12.

[0010] The control circuit board 11 is housed inside the case, and both the power input interface JP1 and the LED lamp unit 12 are located on the control circuit board 11. The case is made of high-strength engineering plastic or metal material, and the joints are completely sealed using silicone gaskets and sealants, ensuring an IP68 protection rating and effectively preventing the intrusion of rainwater, dust, and high-pressure water jets during car washing.

[0011] The power input interface JP1 is used to connect to the vehicle's power supply, which is typically a 12V DC power supply. Communication protocol pins are integrated into the power input interface JP1 and are used to receive mode switching signals output by the vehicle's front-end host. This can be implemented using an automotive standard 4-pin connector.

[0012] The control circuit board 11 comprises a current limiting circuit 111, a flash control circuit 112, and a main control unit 113. The flash control circuit 112 is connected to the current limiting circuit 111 and the power input interface JP1, respectively. The LED lamp unit 12 is connected to the current limiting circuit 111, and the main control unit 113 is connected to the flash control circuit 112 and the communication protocol pins, respectively. Based on the mode switching signal, the flash control circuit 112 controls the LED lamp unit 12 to output a continuous constant current or a constant current that turns it on / off at a high frequency, causing the LED lamp unit 12 to be driven to switch between a constantly lit pre-warning mode and a super flash pre-warning mode accordingly.

[0013] The constant illumination pre-warning mode corresponds to the basic brake lighting function, while the super flash pre-warning mode causes the LED lamp unit to flash at a high frequency when the brakes are triggered. This allows the user to switch to the super flash pre-warning mode in adverse weather conditions with poor visibility, such as rain, fog, or haze, to improve the warning effect.

[0014] In some embodiments of the present invention, the vehicle front-end host may be a vehicle central control unit and may be equipped with a mode switching button or a user interactive interface, the user interactive interface providing a switching button, and the user can trigger the vehicle front-end host to output a mode switching signal by pressing the switching key or switching button, for example, in rainy or foggy weather, the user can switch the key to trigger the high-mounted stop lamp to switch to super flash pre-warning mode.

[0015] Referring to Figure 2, the flash control circuit 112 comprises a control chip U1, a transistor Q1, a storage inductor L1, an isolation diode D13, a freewheeling diode D14, resistors R7, R8, R9, R10, capacitors C1, C2, C15, and C16. Pin 7 of the control chip U1 is the enable terminal and is connected to the main control unit 113. Pin 1 of the power input interface JP1 is used to input the voltage of the vehicle power supply and is connected to the positive terminal of the isolation diode D13. Pins 2 and 3 of the power input interface JP1 are connected to the ground terminal, and pin 4 of the power input interface JP1 is a communication protocol pin. The LED lamp unit 12 includes at least three series-connected LED substrings, each LED substring consisting of multiple lamps connected in parallel. More specifically, the LED lamp unit 12 adopts a topology structure of "parallel connection within rows, series connection between rows," and includes three series-connected LED substrings. Each LED substring in each row consists of four lamp beads connected in parallel, namely lamps D1-D4 in the left row, lamps D5-D8 in the middle row, and lamps D9-D12 in the right row. The parallel connection of lamp beads within rows ensures that if a single lamp bead fails, it does not affect the operation of the entire substring in the row, improving the redundancy and reliability of the lamp unit. The series connection between rows enables voltage division between rows, allowing the total rated voltage of the LED lamp unit 12 to match the vehicle's power supply voltage, eliminating the need for an additional step-down circuit. The current limiting circuit 111 includes a voltage divider / current limiting resistor network consisting of resistors R1-R6 and capacitors connected in parallel across each lamp.

[0016] The specific circuit connection relationships of each element can be found in the circuit principle diagram shown in Figure 2, and will not be explained repeatedly here.

[0017] Here, the flash control circuit 112 primarily boosts the 12V power supply voltage for the vehicle to a stable voltage suitable for the LED lamp unit 12, and outputs a continuous constant current or a constant current that switches on / off at a high frequency. Its operating principle includes a voltage boosting stage and a constant current control stage. During the boost phase, pin 5 of the control chip U1 outputs a high-level PWM drive signal to control the ON state of Q1. At this time, the 12V input voltage forms a circuit through the energy storage inductor L1 and transistor Q1. The current flowing through the energy storage inductor L1 gradually increases, accumulating magnetic energy. Pin 5 of the control chip U1 outputs a low-level PWM drive signal to control the OFF state of transistor Q1. The energy storage inductor L1 generates a reverse induced electromotive force (positive at the top, negative at the bottom). This induced electromotive force is superimposed on the vehicle's 12V input voltage, forming an output voltage higher than the 12V input voltage. The superimposed output voltage is output to the current limiting circuit 111 via the isolation diode D13, supplying power to the LED lamp unit 12. The freewheeling diode D14 is turned on at this stage, providing a freewheeling circuit for the reverse current of the energy storage inductor L1, preventing transistor Q1 from being destroyed by excessive reverse voltage.

[0018] The current sampling resistor R7 collects the operating current and generates a voltage drop Vcs, which is transmitted to pin 4 of the control chip U1. The comparator inside the control chip U1 compares the voltage drop Vcs with a preset reference voltage. If Vcs > reference voltage (current is too high), the duty cycle of the output PWM drive signal is reduced, shortening the on-time of transistor Q1 and reducing the current of the energy storage inductor L1. If Vcs < reference voltage (current is too low), the duty cycle of the PWM drive signal is increased, raising the current and achieving constant current control.

[0019] Resistors R8 and R9 form a voltage divider circuit, collecting the output voltage (Vout) of the flash control circuit 112. The divided voltage signal Vfb is transmitted to pin 6 of the control chip U1, which compares the voltage signal Vfb with an internal reference voltage. If Vfb > reference voltage (voltage overload), it immediately turns off the output of transistor Q1 to provide overvoltage protection.

[0020] In some embodiments of the present invention, the high-mounted stop lamp 100 further includes a lens module 13. The lens module 13 is connected to the control circuit board 11 and is used to capture images of the scene behind the vehicle. Thereby, the scene behind the vehicle before and after an accident can be automatically recorded. And the lens module 13 is built into the high-mounted stop lamp 100, making the lens module 13 less likely to be affected by contact or collision. Thereby, it protects the lens module 13, ensures the shooting angle of the lens module 13, and moreover, reduces the space occupied by the lens module 13 behind the vehicle. Further, the control circuit board 11 further includes a memory circuit 115. The memory circuit 115 is, for example, a TF card memory module. The memory circuit 115 is connected to the lens module 13 and is used to store the images of the scene behind the vehicle collected by the lens module 13.

[0021] The lens module 13 can be connected to the control circuit board 11 via an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) or a connector, can be attached to the case, and is located above or on the side of the LED lamp unit 12. The lens window and the light-transmitting cover of the lens module 13 adopt an integral injection molding or a bonding method without gaps to ensure the integral appearance and sealing performance. In some other embodiments, the lens module 13 can also be directly integrated onto the control circuit board 11 by a surface mounting method.

[0022] In some embodiments of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, the vehicle front-end host may be the vehicle rearview mirror 200, and a mode switching button is provided on the vehicle rearview mirror 200, or a switching button is provided on the display interface of the vehicle rearview mirror 200. The mode switching of the high-mounted stop lamp 100 can be realized by a switching key or a switching button. In addition, the lens module 13 can further transmit the collected video of the scene behind the vehicle to the vehicle rearview mirror 200 for real-time display, assisting the driver to monitor the road conditions behind and eliminating the blind spots of the field of vision. Or, in some other embodiments, the vehicle front-end host is the vehicle central control device, and the lens module 13 establishes a communication connection with the front-end host and can also transmit the collected video of the scene behind the vehicle to the screen of the vehicle front-end host for display.

[0023] Furthermore, the control circuit board 11 further includes a sequential lamp driving unit 114. The sequential lamp driving unit 114 is connected to the main control unit 113 and the LED lamp unit 12. It receives the time-series control signal output by the main control unit 113 and drives at least some of the lamp beads in the LED lamp unit 12 to light up sequentially based on the time-series control signal to realize the effect of the sequential lamp. The time-series control signal is generated when the vehicle front-end host responds to the vehicle brake signal or the steering signal and is transmitted to the main control unit 113 via the communication protocol pin. The sequential lamp driving unit 114 includes a multi-switch or a shift register, and under the action of the time-series control signal, the multi-switch or the shift register can stepwise light up a plurality of lamp beads in the LED lamp unit 12.

[0024] Hereinafter, the operating principle of the high-mounted stop lamp according to the embodiments of the present invention will be further described.

[0025] After the vehicle is ignited or powered up, the vehicle power supply provides power to the brake lights, and the brake lights 100 enter normal warning mode by default. When the driver presses the brake pedal, the LED lamp unit 12 enters a constantly illuminated preliminary warning mode.

[0026] The driver selects the operating mode of the high-mounted stop lamp using a toggle key on the vehicle's central control unit or a menu item on the user interactive interface. After receiving the user's selection, the front-end host generates a mode switching signal and transmits it to the power input interface JP1 via the wire harness. The main control unit 113 receives the mode switching signal via the communication protocol pin and outputs an adjustment signal to the control chip U1 of the flash control circuit 112 based on the mode switching signal. This adjusts the PWM drive signal output by the control chip U1, causing the LED lamp unit 12 to switch between the always-on pre-warning mode and the super-flash pre-warning mode.

[0027] Specifically, in normal warning mode, the main control unit 113 outputs a stable high-level adjustment signal or a fixed duty cycle PWM adjustment signal to the enable terminal (i.e., pin 7) of the control chip U1, causing the control chip U1 to output a stable frequency (e.g., 100 kHz) PWM drive signal, and further, to regularly switch transistor Q1 on and off at the fixed frequency. As a result, the flash control circuit 112 outputs a continuous constant current to the LED lamp unit 12, enabling the LED lamp unit 12 to remain constantly lit. Under the super flash preliminary warning mode, the main control unit 113 outputs a high-frequency (e.g., 10Hz-20Hz) PWM adjustment signal to the enable terminal of the control chip U1. The control chip U1 maintains a basic switching frequency of 100kHz and is enabled by the output of the high-frequency PWM adjustment signal from the main control unit 113. That is, while the control chip U1 maintains a 100kHz PWM drive signal, the main control unit 113 modulates the output of the PWM drive signal with an "enable output / output disable" at a low-frequency period of 10-20Hz. This enables the on / off switching of transistor Q1 at a high frequency of 10-20Hz, and as a result, the flash control circuit 112 outputs a constant current that switches on / off at a high frequency to the LED lamp unit 12, realizing the flash warning effect of the LED lamp unit 12.

[0028] Furthermore, a sequential lamp effect may be superimposed in the constant illumination pre-warning mode and the super flash pre-warning mode. When the brake is triggered, the front-end host sends a time-series control signal to the main control unit 113 via the communication protocol pins, and the control chip U1 controls the constant illumination or flashing of the LED lamp unit 12. Based on the time-series control signal, the sequential lamp drive unit 114 controls the sequential illumination of some or all of the LED lamp units in the LED lamp unit 12, for example, starting with the lamps in the middle row and sequentially illuminating the lamps in the two outermost rows, creating an effect where the light wave diffuses to both sides, greatly enhancing the dynamic warning effect.

[0029] Furthermore, the high-mounted stop lamp 100 according to this embodiment of the present invention can also be used as a steering indicator. To make it easier to understand, in actual use, two high-mounted stop lamps 100 are mounted on the rear of the vehicle, located on the left and right sides of the rear of the vehicle. When the driver turns on a turn signal, for example the left turn signal, the left steering signal is received by the front-end host via the vehicle bus. The front-end host generates a time-series control signal and transmits the left steering signal and the time-series control signal to the main control unit 113. The main control unit 113 in the high-mounted stop lamp 100 on the left side of the vehicle analyzes the left steering signal and first drives the LED lamp unit 12 to light up using the control chip U1, for example, by keeping it constantly lit. Next, based on the time-series control signal, the sequential lamp drive unit drives the lamp beads to light up sequentially, for example, by controlling three rows of LED substrings in the order L1→L2→D3, lighting each circuit sequentially to maximum brightness at 80-millisecond intervals, and then sequentially turning them off. By repeating this process, a band of light flowing to the left is formed. At this time, the main control unit 113 in the high-mounted stop lamp 100 on the right side of the vehicle analyzes the left steering signal and does not trigger the illumination of the LED lamp unit in the high-mounted stop lamp 100 on the right side.

[0030] When the brake signal and steering signal are triggered simultaneously, the light mode corresponding to the brake is prioritized, meaning that the high-mounted stop lamps 100 on both the left and right sides will either remain constantly lit or flash simultaneously, creating a superimposed sequential lamp effect.

[0031] In some embodiments of this invention, a visual algorithm is integrated into the front-end host, which can estimate the distance to a following vehicle based on the video data collected by the lens module 13. If the front-end host determines that a following vehicle is rapidly approaching and there is a risk of collision, it sends a top-priority "emergency flash" command to the main control unit 113 via the power input interface JP1. At this time, regardless of the operating mode of the LED lamp unit 12, the control chip U1 forces the LED lamp unit 12 to flash at the highest frequency and highest brightness, further improving safety as an additional active collision warning.

[0032] Embodiments of the present invention further provide a vehicle braking system comprising a vehicle front-end host and a high-mounted stop lamp 100 as described in the above embodiment. The vehicle front-end host may be a vehicle's central control unit or a vehicle rearview mirror.

[0033] In this specification, the principles and embodiments of the present application will be explained using specific examples, and the above description of the embodiments is used solely for the purpose of understanding the method and core idea of ​​the present application. At the same time, those skilled in the art may modify the specific embodiments and scope of application based on the idea of ​​the present application, and for this reason, the contents of this specification should not be construed as limiting the present application. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] 100. High-mounted stop lamp for vehicles 11. Control circuit board 12. LED lamp unit 13. Lens Module 200, Vehicle rearview mirror 111, current limiting circuit 112. Flash control circuit 113. Main control unit 114. Sequential lamp drive unit 115, memory circuit JP1, Power Input Interface

Claims

1. A high-mounted stop lamp for vehicles, LED lamp unit and A power input interface used to connect to the vehicle's power supply, which integrates communication protocol pins and receives mode switching signals output by the vehicle's front-end host, It comprises a control circuit board including a current limiting circuit, a flash control circuit, and a main control unit, The flash control circuit is connected to a current limiting circuit and a power input interface, the current limiting circuit is connected to an LED lamp unit, and the main control unit is connected to the flash control circuit and a communication protocol pin, and the flash control circuit is controlled to output a continuous constant current or a constant current that turns on / off at a high frequency to the LED lamp unit based on the mode switching signal, and the LED lamp unit is driven to switch between a constantly lit pre-warning mode and a super flash pre-warning mode accordingly, characterized in that the flash control circuit is connected to a current limiting circuit and a power input interface, the current limiting circuit is connected to an LED lamp unit, and the main control unit is connected to the flash control circuit and a communication protocol pin, and the flash control unit is connected to a current limiting circuit and a communication protocol pin, and the flash control unit is controlled to output a continuous constant current or a constant current that turns on / off at a high frequency to the LED lamp unit based on the mode switching signal, and the LED lamp unit is driven to switch between a constantly lit pre-warning mode and a super flash pre-warning mode accordingly

2. The vehicle high-mounted stop lamp according to claim 1, further comprising a lens module, wherein the lens module is connected to the control circuit board and used to capture images of the scene behind the vehicle.

3. The vehicle high-mounted stop lamp according to claim 2, characterized in that the control circuit board further comprises a memory circuit, the memory circuit being connected to a lens module and used to store images of the scene behind the vehicle captured by the lens module.

4. The control circuit board further comprises a sequential lamp drive unit, the sequential lamp drive unit is connected to a main control unit and an LED lamp unit, receives a time-series control signal output by the main control unit, and drives at least some of the lamp beads of the LED lamp unit to light up sequentially based on the time-series control signal, the time-series control signal is generated by the vehicle front-end host in response to a vehicle brake signal or steering signal, and is transmitted to the main control unit via a communication protocol pin, as described in claim 1 for a vehicle high-mounted stop lamp.

5. The flash control circuit comprises a control chip U1, a transistor Q1, an inductor L1 for energy storage, an isolation diode D13, a freewheeling diode D14, resistors R7, R8, R9, R10, capacitors C1, C2, C15, and C16. Pin 1 of the control chip U1 is grounded via capacitor C15, pin 2 of the control chip U1 is grounded via capacitor C16, pin 3 of the control chip U1 is connected to the ground terminal, pin 4 of the control chip U1 is connected to the source of transistor Q1, pin 5 of the control chip U1 is connected to the gate of transistor Q1, pin 6 of the control chip U1 is connected to the positive terminal of isolation diode D13 via voltage divider resistor R9, pin 7 of the control chip U1 is connected to the main control unit, and the source of transistor Q1 is connected to the ground terminal via current sampling resistor R7. The vehicle high-mounted stop lamp according to claim 1, characterized in that the drain of transistor Q1 is connected to the positive terminal of freewheeling diode D14 and one end of energy storage inductor L1, the negative terminal of freewheeling diode D14 and the negative terminal of insulating diode D13 are connected to a current limiting circuit, resistor R8 is connected between the negative terminal of insulating diode D13 and pin 1 of control chip U1, resistor R10, capacitor C1 and capacitor C2 are connected in parallel between the negative terminal of insulating diode D13 and the ground terminal, and the other end of energy storage inductor L1 is connected to a communication protocol pin.

6. The vehicle high-mounted stop lamp according to claim 5, characterized in that pin 1 of the power input interface is connected to the vehicle power supply and is connected to the positive terminal of the isolation diode D13, pins 2 and 3 of the power input interface are connected to the ground terminal, and pin 4 of the power input interface is the communication protocol pin.

7. The LED lamp unit includes at least three series-connected LED substrings, and each series of LED substrings is configured by connecting multiple lamps in parallel. The vehicle high-mounted stop lamp according to claim 5, characterized in that the current-limiting circuit comprises a voltage divider current-limiting resistor network consisting of resistor R1 and resistor R6 and capacitors connected in parallel to both ends of each lamp.

8. The vehicle high-mounted stop lamp according to claim 1, further comprising a case, wherein the control circuit board is provided inside the case, and the power input interface, LED lamp unit, and main control unit are all integrated on the control circuit board.

9. A vehicle brake system characterized by comprising a vehicle front-end host and a vehicle high-mounted stop lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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