METHOD FOR OPERATING AT LEAST ONE HEADLIGHT FOR A VEHICLE AND VEHICLE

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for operating at least one vehicle headlight (1), wherein the vehicle headlight (1) is switched between a dark basic lighting mode and a bright basic lighting mode in response to a control signal, and wherein a light field (5) emitted by the vehicle headlight (1) in the bright basic lighting mode is dimmed at least regionally in response to the control signal and / or brightened by additional activation of at least one auxiliary light per region. The method according to the invention is characterized at least by the steps of: operating the vehicle headlight (1) with switched on auxiliary lighting; and, if it is necessary to dim at least one region (5.3) of the light field (5) or to switch on the vehicle headlight (1) in a dark basic lighting mode, deactivating the auxiliary lighting; and, if it is necessary to subsequently dim the light field (5) at least regionally or to switch on the vehicle headlight (1) in a dark basic lighting mode, a calculation unit (4) checking the sensor signals to see if it is necessary to dim at least one region (5.3) of the light field (5) or to switch on the vehicle headlight (1) in a dark basic lighting mode; and, if this is the case, dimming at least one region (5.3) of the light field (5) or switching on the vehicle headlight (1) in a dark basic lighting mode; or, if this is not the case, operating the vehicle headlight (1) in a bright basic lighting mode with switched on auxiliary lighting.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The invention relates to a method for operating at least one headlight for a vehicle according to the kind defined in more detail in the preamble of claim 1, as well as to a vehicle for carrying out said method.

[0002] Typically, vehicles are equipped with lighting devices in the form of headlights to illuminate the vehicle's surroundings, which allows the vehicle to be driven safely, for example in the dark at night. Vehicle headlights usually have different operating modes, which output light from the vehicle headlights with different lighting characteristics. For this purpose, in particular the illumination angle and / or brightness of the headlights are adjusted. If other traffic participants are in the area in front of the vehicle and / or the vehicle is traveling in urban areas, the vehicle headlights usually operate with low beam in order not to dazzle the other traffic participants. When traveling on a main road or highway, if there are no other traffic participants in front of the vehicle, the vehicle headlights operate with high beam so that the driver of the vehicle can still see outside in the dark.

[0003] Furthermore, so-called high beam assistants are known which automatically control the beam angle and / or brightness of the headlights depending on the traffic participants detected by the surroundings monitoring system, for example by automatically switching from high beam to low beam or by blocking or dimming the parts of the headlight cone that are occupied by other traffic participants. This makes it possible to prevent the other traffic participants from being dazzled by the diverging high beam. In particular, so-called matrix headlights or pixel headlights come into consideration as vehicle headlights for this purpose, since with these headlights specific lighting patterns can be generated particularly easily.

[0004] Furthermore, vehicle headlights are known which, in addition to the light emitter forming the basic illumination, also include an auxiliary light emitter, by means of which a particularly long-reaching and bright light beam can be generated. Such a light beam, also called a high beam spot, is based on concentrating a relatively bright light on a particularly small surface. When controlling the vehicle headlight with the high beam spot, it can then happen that the high beam assistant too frequently and unnecessarily dazzles the high beam emitted by the vehicle headlight due to false detection reasons. In addition to the vehicle headlight and a control device for controlling the headlight, the high beam assistant also comprises an optical sensor which monitors the vehicle surroundings. If the optical sensor receives light from the vehicle surroundings and the light intensity thereof is above a predefined value, this indicates that an oncoming vehicle is approaching. In this case, the high beam emitted by the vehicle headlight must be dazzled so that potential oncoming traffic participants are not dazzled. However, it is also possible that in this case, instead of an oncoming vehicle with its headlights on, there is a static or dynamic surrounding object that reflects the light emitted from the vehicle's headlights in the direction of the vehicle. In this case, there is no need for anti-glare. When the high beam spot hits a reflective object such as a reflector on a road sign post or a barrier bar of a traffic barrier, the object reflects particularly a lot of light in the direction of the vehicle with the high beam spot activated, and therefore the reflector is particularly often mistaken for a traffic participant emitting light.

[0005] In order to avoid such false detections, the document JP 2003-233663 A discloses a method for determining the object class of an object emitting and / or reflecting light towards a vehicle. In this case, the high beam assistant of the vehicle is equipped with at least two cameras as optical sensors, which are offset from each other. In this case, the cameras only need to have a relatively small offset from each other, and may be, for example, a stereo camera. By using two cameras to capture the divergent or reflected light from the surrounding objects from different viewing angles, it is possible to distinguish between objects that emit light themselves, such as oncoming traffic participants, and objects that reflect light, such as reflectors. This makes it possible to reduce the false detection rate, in which the high beam assistant mistakenly detects an oncoming traffic participant and thus prevents glare. In this case, the document mentions that, if a traffic participant is actually detected, in addition to preventing glare of the high beam, the auxiliary light emitters of the vehicle headlights can also be deactivated. However, in order to carry out the method disclosed in this document, at least two cameras for perimeter monitoring are required. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] DE 102011081428 A1 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The object of the invention is to provide an improved method for operating at least one vehicle headlight with auxiliary lighting for generating a long-reaching and bright high beam, which makes it possible to reliably avoid or at least reduce unnecessary glare of the vehicle headlight even with a high beam assistant using only one optical sensor. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] A method for operating at least one vehicle headlight of the type mentioned in the introduction, in which the vehicle headlight is provided for emitting a light field which can be increased by additional activation of at least one auxiliary light, is provided according to the invention by at least - operating a vehicle headlamp in a bright basic lighting mode with auxiliary lighting turned on; deactivating the supplementary lighting if the evaluation of the sensor signals determines that at least one area of ​​the light field needs to be dimmed or that the vehicle headlights need to be switched to a dark basic lighting mode; - the calculation unit then checks the sensor signals to see whether it is necessary to dim the light field at least regionally or to switch on the vehicle headlights in a dim basic lighting mode; - if this applies, dimming at least an area of ​​the light field or switching the vehicle headlights to a dark basic lighting mode, or If this is not the case, then a step of operating the vehicle headlight in a bright basic lighting mode with the auxiliary lighting turned on is carried out.

[0009] If the light from the vehicle headlights with switched-on auxiliary lighting falls on a particularly reflective surrounding object, the surrounding object also reflects light with an equally high light intensity in the direction of the vehicle. This increases the probability of mistaking the surrounding object for another traffic participant, since due to its high light intensity the surrounding object appears to the optical sensor as a self-emitting traffic participant. In this case, the light field emitted by the vehicle headlight must be dimmed at least regionally or the vehicle headlight must be switched to a dark basic lighting mode. However, if the operation of the auxiliary lighting is omitted, the surrounding object also reflects less light and does not appear to be a self-emitting traffic participant, so the possibility of mistaking the surrounding object for another traffic participant is also reduced. If the calculation unit checks the sensor signals again after the switching-off of the auxiliary lighting, the traffic participant can be distinguished more reliably from the surrounding object. If it is actually another traffic participant, the light field emitted by the vehicle headlight must be dimmed at least regionally or the vehicle headlight must be switched to a dark basic lighting mode. However, if the calculation unit determines that it is a surrounding object, the auxiliary lighting can be safely turned on again. Since no structural changes are required to the high beam assistant in order to carry out the method according to the invention, the method according to the invention can be particularly easily applied to existing vehicles.

[0010] The dark basic lighting mode may for example be low beam and the bright basic lighting mode may be high beam.

[0011] As optical sensor, various sensors can be used. For example, it can be an illuminance sensor. However, an advantageous development of the invention provides that the optical sensor is at least one camera. Here, the camera generates a camera image that is evaluated by the computing unit. This allows particularly extensive information to be obtained. Modern vehicles are often equipped with cameras, so that no additional hardware has to be provided in the vehicle. The camera can be any camera, such as a multipurpose camera. This camera can be embodied as a monocular or stereo camera and can detect light in the visible and / or infrared spectrum. In particular, a camera that is installed to detect infrared light can detect surrounding objects particularly reliably even in the dark.

[0012] According to another advantageous embodiment of the invention, the need to dim at least one region of the light field or to switch the vehicle headlights to a dark basic illumination mode is determined by detecting at least one object to be removed in at least one camera image generated by the camera. For example, the object to be removed is another traffic participant, such as a bicycle, a car, a truck or any road vehicle approaching the vehicle. The other traffic participant may also be traveling in the same direction as the vehicle. In that case, the other traffic participant traveling in the same direction may be dazzled from behind, since a typical vehicle is equipped with side mirrors and a rear-view mirror, which may direct the light emitted from the vehicle towards the driver of the vehicle in front, causing the driver to be dazzled. The object to be removed may also be a building. In this case, for example, the light emitted from the vehicle may enter the building through a window, thereby causing discomfort to people inside the building.

[0013] In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, an object to be removed from the camera image is detected by covering at least one partial region of the camera image with light having a light intensity above a predefined threshold. In particular at night in the dark, other traffic participants themselves usually emit light in order to locate themselves in the dark, so that if an object emitting light is detected, the light can be identified as another traffic participant. In this case, the object emitting light is classified as an object to be removed, and the vehicle headlights are dimmed accordingly. For this purpose, a threshold value for the light intensity of the light emitted from the surrounding object is defined, above which the surrounding object is detected as another traffic participant or an object to be removed. This makes it possible to distinguish surrounding objects that emit light, such as construction site signs or street lights, from oncoming vehicles.

[0014] Preferably, artificial intelligence is used for the camera image evaluation, in particular an artificial neural network is applied. The camera image can be evaluated by artificial intelligence, in particular an artificial neural network such as a convolutional neural network, so that it is possible to reduce the false positive rate, in which features in the camera image that are to be detected are erroneously detected.

[0015] In a vehicle comprising at least one vehicle headlight, a computing unit and an optical sensor, the computing unit is provided for carrying out the above-mentioned method according to the invention. The vehicle may be any vehicle, such as a passenger car, a truck, a transporter, a bus, etc. A separate computing unit may be provided for carrying out the method. However, it may also be a central on-board computer or a control device of a vehicle subsystem. It may also be any vehicle headlight. The vehicle headlight may have a plurality of lights for emitting basic illumination. The vehicle headlight may have any light source, for example an incandescent, halogen or xenon light bulb, a fluorescent lamp, a laser or an LED, as a light emitter. In particular, the vehicle headlight may be a so-called matrix headlight or pixel headlight. The vehicle headlight may comprise one or more reflectors, mirrors, lenses and / or prisms. These may be controlled by actuators, for example, so as to be moved. This makes it possible, for example, to control the light direction of the light field emitted by the vehicle headlight. By switching on or off individual lighting means as required, the brightness of the light field can be varied and / or individual areas of the light field can be dimmed. By means of supplementary lighting, the vehicle headlights can illuminate surrounding areas that are quite far away from the vehicle with a particularly high light output by emitting a so-called high beam spot.

[0016] Further advantageous embodiments of the method and vehicle according to the invention are evident from the exemplary embodiments which are explained in greater detail below with reference to the drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a known operating method of the high beam assistant. [Diagram 2] 2 is a schematic diagram of the operation mode of the high beam assistant according to the method of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] In FIG. 1a) a vehicle 2 is shown with an optical sensor 3, a calculation unit 4 and two vehicle headlights 1. The vehicle headlights 1 project a light field 5 onto the surrounding area in front of the vehicle 2 in the driving direction F. Due to space limitations, the light field 5 is shown in the figure from the vehicle center and does not correspond to the vehicle headlights 1. The light field 5 consists of two areas 5.1 and 5.2. The area 5.2 here overlaps the area 5.1. In the area 5.1, the vehicle headlights 1 project light in a bright basic lighting mode, for example high beam, onto the surroundings. One or both vehicle headlights 1 are equipped with auxiliary lighting, which projects a particularly bright and long-reaching light according to the area 5.2 onto the surroundings. This light is also called a high beam spot. This allows the surrounding area further ahead of the vehicle 2 to be particularly brightly illuminated, so that the driver of the vehicle can drive the vehicle 2 comfortably and safely, even at night. The optical sensor 3, here in the form of a camera, is used for monitoring the surroundings. A sensor signal generated by the optical sensor 3 is then evaluated by the calculation unit 4 in order to detect potential objects 6 or other traffic participants. Depending on the detected object 6 or traffic participant, the calculation unit 4 outputs a control signal for controlling the vehicle headlight 1 and changes the lighting properties of the light field 5. Thereby, in case of detecting other traffic participants, in particular a traffic participant approaching the vehicle 2, the area 5.3 of the light field 5 is shaded or the bright basic lighting mode is switched to a dark basic lighting mode, so that the approaching traffic participant is not dazzled.

[0019] In the example of FIG. 1a), if the high beam spot, i.e. the area 5.2 of the light field 5, hits an object 6.1, for example a reflector of a signpost, which reflects the high beam spot in the direction of the vehicle 2, the calculation unit 4 in response determines a particularly high light intensity in the camera image generated by the camera and therefore detects the approach of an oncoming traffic participant. In response, the calculation unit 4 outputs a control signal for dimming the area 5.3 of the light field 5. As a result, the object 6.1 is either blocked from the illumination of the vehicle 2 or the vehicle headlight 1 is switched to a dark basic illumination mode, whereby the vehicle headlight 1 illuminates an area 5.4, which is smaller than the area 5.1, with a particularly low light output.

[0020] However, since the object 6.1 is not an approaching traffic participant but a signpost, it is considered that there is no need to shade the area 5.3 or to operate the vehicle headlight 1 in a dark basic lighting mode. According to the method according to the invention, in FIG. 2, a procedure for dimming or dimming the vehicle headlight 1 is shown. Here, FIG. 2a) corresponds to the traffic situation of FIG. 1a). If an object to be dimmed, i.e. an approaching traffic participant, is detected in the camera image, first the high beam spot, i.e. the auxiliary lighting, is switched off. This is shown in FIG. 2b). The vehicle headlight 1 now emits light according to the bright basic lighting mode only in the area 5.1. Since the object 6.1 does not reflect the light emitted by the vehicle headlight 1 in the direction of the vehicle 2 very strongly, in a new evaluation of the camera image by the calculation unit 4 it can be reliably concluded whether it is another traffic participant or the object 6. Correspondingly, after evaluation of the new camera image according to FIGS. 2c1) and 2c2), the region 5.3 of the light field is dimmed and the vehicle headlight 1 operates in a dark basic lighting mode or the high beam spot is switched on again. Unnecessary dimming or extinguishing of the vehicle headlight 1 can thus be avoided. This can improve the driving comfort when using the vehicle 2 in the dark.

Claims

1. A method for operating at least one vehicle headlight (1) having at least one auxiliary light for realizing a high beam spot and switchable between a bright basic lighting mode and a dim basic lighting mode, the method comprising: a vehicle (2) monitoring its surroundings by means of at least one optical sensor (3), a sensor signal generated by said optical sensor (3) being evaluated by a calculation unit (4) for generating a control signal for controlling the vehicle headlight (1), the method comprising at least - operating the vehicle headlight (1) in the bright basic lighting mode with the high beam spot illuminated; - by evaluation of the sensor signals, determining whether at least one region (5.3) of the light field (5) emitted by the vehicle headlight (1) needs to be dimmed or whether the vehicle headlight (1) needs to be switched on in the dark basic lighting mode; - deactivating the high beam spot and maintaining the bright basic lighting mode when at least one area (5.3) of the light field (5) needs to be dimmed or when the vehicle headlight (1) needs to be switched on in the dark basic lighting mode; - the calculation unit (4) subsequently checks the sensor signals in order to determine whether the light field (5) needs to be dimmed at least regionally or whether the vehicle headlight (1) needs to be switched on in the dark basic lighting mode; subsequently, if it is necessary to dim the light field (5) at least in a region or to switch the vehicle headlight (1) into the dark basic lighting mode, dimming said region (5.3) of the light field (5) or switching the vehicle headlight (1) into the dark basic lighting mode; subsequently, if it is no longer necessary to dim the light field (5) at least regionally or to switch on the vehicle headlight (1) in the dark basic lighting mode, operating the vehicle headlight (1) in the bright basic lighting mode and activating the high beam spot again; The method comprising:

2. 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one camera is used as the optical sensor (3).

3. 3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that by detecting at least one object to be dazzled (6) in at least one camera image produced by the camera, it is determined that it is necessary to dim at least one region (5.3) of the light field (5) or to switch the vehicle headlight (1) to the dark basic lighting mode.

4. 4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that an object (6) to be removed in the camera image is detected by at least one partial area of ​​the camera image being covered by light having a light intensity above a predetermined threshold.

5. 5. The method according to claim 2, wherein artificial intelligence, in particular an artificial neural network, is used for the camera image evaluation.

6. A vehicle (2) comprising at least one vehicle headlight (1), a calculation unit (4) and an optical sensor (3), Vehicle (2), characterized in that the calculation unit (4) is arranged to carry out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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