Method and device for checking lighting elements of a vehicle

Abstract

A device (2) for checking lighting elements (3) of a vehicle (1) comprises: at least one camera (4, 8) which is provided and designed for capturing images of the front side (1a) of a vehicle (1) to be checked; and at least one control and evaluation device (5, 9). The control and evaluation device (5, 9) is provided and designed for determining the position of the vehicle (1) in front of the camera (4, 8) from at least one image of the front side (1a) of the vehicle (1) captured by the camera (4, 8); identifying, in at least one image captured by the camera (4, 8), image regions (20, 22, 23, 24) with at least one respective lighting element (3) to be checked; and for each of the lighting elements (3) to be checked: outputting an instruction to activate the lighting element (3) in question; determining, by evaluating the at least one captured image, whether a region of the at least one captured image associated with the respective lighting element (3) has changed, and comparing a determined change with a change specified for the respective lighting element (3); outputting a fault message if the determined change deviates from the specified change by more than a specified tolerance; and outputting an instruction to deactivate the lighting element (3) in question.

Description

[0001] Description

[0002] title

[0003] The invention relates to a method and a device for checking lighting elements of a vehicle, in particular lighting elements of a motor vehicle.

[0004] State of the art

[0005] For commercial vehicles in particular, it is legally required to check that the vehicle lights are working properly before starting a journey.

[0006] For automated vehicles, too, daily departure checks and additional condition monitoring will remain in place or even be increased in scope, both from a legal perspective and in the operator's own interest.

[0007] Until now, the driver has checked the lighting elements of a vehicle manually or visually.

[0008] The driver switches on the various lighting elements and then checks their functionality from the driver's cab, if possible, or outside the vehicle. This process is cumbersome and time-consuming, as the driver must leave and return to the cab several times to complete a complete test.

[0009] It is therefore an object of the invention to simplify and accelerate the inspection of vehicle lighting elements and to increase the reliability of the inspection. Disclosure of the Invention

[0010] The invention comprises a method for the mechanical inspection of lighting elements of a vehicle. The method comprises: driving the vehicle in front of a camera such that the camera is capable of recording images of at least the front of the vehicle; recording at least one image of the front of the vehicle with the camera; determining the position of the vehicle in front of the camera by mechanically evaluating the at least one recorded image of the front of the vehicle; mechanically identifying areas in the at least one recorded image in each of which at least one lighting element to be checked is located; and for each of the lighting elements to be checked: issuing an instruction to activate the respective lighting element; recording at least one image of the front of the vehicle with the camera;To determine, by mechanically evaluating the at least one recorded image, whether a region of the at least one recorded image associated with the respective lighting element has changed, and to mechanically compare a detected change with a change specified for the respective lighting element; To output an error message if the detected change deviates from the specified change by more than a specified tolerance; and To output an instruction to deactivate the respective lighting element again.

[0011] The invention also encompasses a device for checking lighting elements of a vehicle, wherein the device comprises at least one camera provided and designed to record images of a front of a vehicle to be checked; and at least one control and evaluation device. The control and evaluation device is provided and designed to: determine the position of the vehicle in front of the camera from at least one image of the front of the vehicle recorded by the camera; identify areas in at least one image recorded by the camera in each of which at least one lighting element to be checked is located; and for each of the lighting elements to be checked: issue an instruction to activate the relevant lighting element;By evaluating the at least one recorded image, determine whether a region of the at least one recorded image associated with the respective lighting element has changed and compare a detected change with a change specified for the respective lighting element; issue an error message if the detected change deviates from the specified change by more than a specified tolerance; and issue an instruction to deactivate the respective lighting element.

[0012] With a method and a device according to the invention, the inspection of a vehicle's lighting elements can be carried out quickly, reliably, and conveniently. The reliability of the inspection can also be improved because human errors, such as those that can occur when the driver manually inspects the lighting elements, can be avoided.

[0013] A method according to the invention for checking the lighting elements of a vehicle can be fully automated.

[0014] If necessary, the test results can be digitally recorded, stored and / or evaluated for documentation purposes.

[0015] In one embodiment of a method according to the invention, each of the lighting elements is individually activated, checked, and deactivated. This allows the lighting elements to be checked particularly precisely and reliably.

[0016] In one embodiment of a method according to the invention, several lighting elements are activated, checked, and deactivated simultaneously. By checking several lighting elements simultaneously, the method can be carried out even faster.

[0017] In one embodiment of a method according to the invention, issuing an instruction to activate the lighting element in question or to deactivate the lighting element in question comprises issuing an optical instruction and / or an acoustic instruction.

[0018] The visual instruction and / or the acoustic instruction can be issued to the driver of the vehicle to be checked and / or to a lighting control unit of the vehicle.

[0019] In order to be able to output an optical instruction, a device according to the invention can comprise an optical output device, e.g. a monitor or a display, a projector, an LCD display or the like.

[0020] In order to be able to output an acoustic instruction, a device according to the invention can comprise an acoustic output device, e.g. a loudspeaker.

[0021] Issuing an instruction to activate the lighting element in question or to deactivate the lighting element in question may in particular comprise issuing a control command to a switching device, e.g. a lighting control unit of the vehicle, wherein the switching device is provided and designed to activate or deactivate the lighting element in question in response to the received control command.

[0022] In one embodiment, a method according to the invention comprises outputting the control command optically, electrically via a cable connection or via a radio connection, in particular via a WLAN connection or a Bluetooth connection, and transmitting it to the switching device.

[0023] A device according to the invention can be equipped with a corresponding transmitting and receiving device.

[0024] In one embodiment, a method according to the invention also includes capturing lighting elements mounted at the rear or on a side of the vehicle with a camera and selectively activating and deactivating them to check their functionality. For this purpose, a device according to the invention can, in one embodiment, have at least one further camera, which is provided and configured to capture images of the rear and / or images of at least one side of the vehicle.

[0025] In this way, the vehicle's lighting system can be checked for functionality in its entirety, including lighting elements located at the rear or on one side of the vehicle.

[0026] In one embodiment, a method according to the invention comprises identifying at least one optical marker attached to the vehicle in at least one of the captured images in order to determine the position of the vehicle in front of the camera and / or the position of at least one lighting element.

[0027] The at least one optical marker can, in particular, be a machine-readable 2D code, e.g., a barcode, a QR code, and / or a data matrix code. The optical marker can also be an official license plate number of the vehicle.

[0028] The optical marker can be used to uniquely identify the vehicle. Information about the positions of the lighting elements on the vehicle can then be retrieved from a database based on the vehicle's identification.

[0029] Alternatively or additionally, information about the positions of the lighting elements on the vehicle can be encoded in the optical marker itself.

[0030] A method according to the invention can be carried out on a stationary vehicle.

[0031] A method according to the invention can also be carried out while the vehicle is driving past a device according to the invention or while driving toward a device according to the invention. An exemplary embodiment of the invention is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0032] Short the

[0033] Figure 1 shows a schematic side view of a vehicle and a device according to the invention for checking the lighting elements of the vehicle.

[0034] Figure 2 shows a schematic view of the front of a vehicle with several lighting elements.

[0035] Figure 3 shows a flowchart of a method according to the invention for checking the lighting elements of a vehicle.

[0036] Figure 1 shows a schematic side view of a vehicle 1 and a device 2 for checking lighting elements 3 of the vehicle 1. The device 2 is designed according to an embodiment of the invention.

[0037] Vehicle 1 can be a truck with or without a trailer, as shown in Figure 1. Vehicle 1 can also be a car, a bus, or another commercial vehicle. Vehicle 1 can also be a rail-bound vehicle or an aircraft.

[0038] The device 2 comprises a camera 4 which is arranged in front of the vehicle 1 and is provided and designed to take images of the front side 1 a of the vehicle 1.

[0039] The camera 4 can be mounted on a tripod or a column 10, as shown in Figure 1. Alternatively, the camera 4 can also be mounted on a ceiling or on a wall of a measuring station or vehicle hall, which are not shown in the figures. The device 2 further comprises a control and evaluation device 5, which is designed and configured to evaluate the images provided by the camera 4 in order to check the lighting elements 3 of the vehicle.

[0040] The control and evaluation device 5 is designed in particular to determine the position of the vehicle 1 in front of the camera 4 from at least one of the images of the front side 1 a of the vehicle 1 taken by the camera 4 and to identify areas in at least one of the images taken by the camera 4 in which at least one lighting element 3 to be checked is located.

[0041] This can be done using known methods of automatic image recognition and / or artificial intelligence methods.

[0042] The control and evaluation device 5 is further configured to issue an instruction for each of the lighting elements 3 to be checked, activating the respective lighting element 3; to determine, by evaluating a recorded image taken after the respective lighting element 3 was activated, whether a region of the at least one recorded image associated with the respective lighting element 3 has changed, and to compare a detected change with a change specified for the respective lighting element 3. The control and evaluation device 5 is also configured to output an error message if the detected change deviates from the specified change by more than a specified tolerance; and to issue an instruction to deactivate the respective lighting element 3.

[0043] In order to be able to output the instructions for activating and deactivating the lighting elements 3 and, if necessary, an error message, a device 2 according to the invention is equipped with at least one interface 6.

[0044] The at least one interface 6 may comprise an optical output device 6 which is provided and designed to output an optical instruction to the driver of the vehicle 1 to switch on the relevant lighting element

[0045] 3 or to deactivate the respective lighting element 3.

[0046] The optical output device 6, for example, may comprise a monitor or display, a projector, an LCD display or the like.

[0047] The optical output device 6 can also be configured to output or display a machine-readable display in order to transmit instructions to a mechanical switching device 12 in the vehicle 1, for example, to a lighting control unit 12. The instructions can, in particular, instruct the switching device 12 to automatically switch lighting elements 3 on or off.

[0048] Such instructions can be displayed on the output device 6, for example, as a QR code, which is recorded by a camera 14 on or in the vehicle 1, e.g. a front camera installed on the vehicle 1, a stereo camera for autonomous driving or another camera, and passed on to the lighting control unit 12.

[0049] The at least one interface may also comprise an acoustic output device 6 with a loudspeaker, which is provided and designed to output an acoustic instruction to activate the respective lighting element 3 or to deactivate the respective lighting element 3.

[0050] An acoustic output device 6 makes it possible to acoustically inform the driver of the vehicle 1 which lighting elements 3 are to be activated and deactivated. It is also possible for the lighting control unit 12 to be acoustically informed of which lighting elements 3 are to be activated and deactivated.

[0051] The at least one interface can also comprise a radio signal output device 6, which is provided and configured to output radio signals to communicate with the lighting control unit 12 or with another switching device 12 in the vehicle 1 in order to activate and deactivate the respective lighting elements 3. In this case, the switching device 12 in the vehicle 1 is informed via a wireless connection which lighting elements 3 are to be activated. These instructions are either implemented directly by the switching device 12 in the vehicle, or the instructions are displayed to the driver in the vehicle 1 on a corresponding display, whereupon the driver activates or deactivates the respective lighting elements 3 in the vehicle 1.

[0052] The display on which the instructions are shown can be permanently installed in the vehicle 1.

[0053] Alternatively or additionally, the instructions for the driver can also be transmitted to a mobile device, such as a tablet, a smartphone or similar device, and displayed there.

[0054] The wireless connection can be, for example, a WLAN data connection or a BluetoothO data connection.

[0055] The instructions can also be transmitted from the interface to vehicle 1 via a cable connection.

[0056] Optionally, a device 2 according to the invention can additionally comprise at least one further camera 8, which is arranged at the rear 1b or on one side of the vehicle 1 and is provided and designed to record images of the rear 1b or at least one side 1c of the vehicle 1. Thus, a device 2 according to the invention can also be used to inspect lighting elements 3 that are attached to the rear 1b or the side 1c of the vehicle 1.

[0057] In order to evaluate the images recorded by the at least one further camera 8, an additional control and evaluation device 9 with its own interface 11 can be provided. In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the images provided by all cameras 4, 8 can be evaluated by a single control and evaluation device 5. Figure 2 shows a schematic view of a front end 1a of a vehicle 1, as seen by a camera 4 of a device 2 according to the invention. Several lighting elements 3 are formed on the front end 1a of the vehicle 1. The lighting elements 3 can in particular comprise low-beam headlights 34, fog lights 30, indicators and clearance lights 33 and optional extension or auxiliary headlights 32.

[0058] Figure 3 shows a flowchart of a method 100 according to the invention for checking the lighting elements 3 of the vehicle 1.

[0059] In a first step 110, the vehicle 1 is driven in front of the camera 4 or between the cameras 4, 8 of a device 2 according to the invention.

[0060] In a second step 120, images of the vehicle 1 are taken with the camera 4 or the cameras 4, 8.

[0061] In the next step 130, the images recorded by the at least one camera 4, 8 are evaluated by the at least one control and evaluation device 5, 9 in order to mechanically recognize the vehicle 1 and the position of the vehicle 1 in the recorded images.

[0062] In particular, the outer contour 22 (see Figure 2) of the vehicle 1 is recognized in the recorded images using a corresponding algorithm.

[0063] The at least one control and evaluation device 5, 9 can have additional information about the vehicle 1.

[0064] This additional information can, for example, be obtained from a database using the registration number 25 of vehicle 1 or can be provided by a booking system when planning the inspection of vehicle 1 or its lighting system.

[0065] It is also possible that on vehicle 1 one or more

[0066] Markers / features 16 are attached which make it possible to identify the position of the vehicle 1 and its lighting elements 3 in the recorded images even faster or more reliably.

[0067] This may in particular include the positions of the lighting elements 3 being stored in coded form on the vehicle 1 so that they can be recognized by the camera(s) 4, 8 and interpreted by at least one control and evaluation device 5, 9; for example, by marking the positions with appropriate demarcations and / or by coding the relative positions in a camera-readable 2D code 16, e.g., a barcode, a QR code, or a data matrix code, etc., which is attached to a suitable position on the vehicle 1.

[0068] In Figure 2, such a marker 16 is attached to the front 1 a of the vehicle 1, which is designed as a machine-readable code 16, in particular as a QR code.

[0069] In step 140, the at least one control and evaluation device 5, 9 identifies in the recorded images those image areas 20, 22, 23, 24 (see Figure 2) in which the lighting elements 3 to be tested are located.

[0070] In step 150, the at least one control and evaluation device 5, 9 transmits an instruction or a control command for activating individual or multiple lighting elements 3 via the interface 6 to the vehicle 1 and / or the driver of the vehicle 1.

[0071] In step 160, current camera images and previously recorded camera images are evaluated mechanically, in particular compared with each other, in order to identify changes in those image areas 20, 22, 23, 24 in which the lighting elements 3 to be tested are located.

[0072] Such changes may, for example, include changes in brightness in the corresponding image area 20, 22, 23, 24.

[0073] In step 170, the changes thus identified are automatically compared with changes specified for the respective lighting element 3. In step 180, the at least one control and evaluation device 5, 9 evaluates the result and provides feedback to the driver of vehicle 1 via interface 6.

[0074] The feedback may in particular contain an error message if no change has been detected in the relevant image area 20, 22, 23, 24 or if a detected change deviates from the specified change by more than a specified tolerance.

[0075] The feedback may also contain a positive message if all detected changes are consistent with the specified changes within the specified tolerances.

[0076] In step 190, the at least one control and evaluation device 5, 9 outputs an instruction for deactivating the tested lighting element 3, or the tested lighting elements 3, via its interface 6, 11.

[0077] Optionally, the deactivation of the lighting elements 3 can also be monitored using the cameras 4, 8, as previously described for activation.

[0078] If necessary, steps 150 to 190 are repeated until all lighting elements 3 to be checked have been checked.

[0079] Optionally, the results of the inspection of the lighting elements 3 can be stored in the at least one control and evaluation device 5, 9 for documentation purposes.

[0080] If necessary, the device may also include a printer that allows printing out a report of the inspection.

[0081] The results of the check can also be transmitted from the at least one control and evaluation device 5, 9 to a central server 26 (see Figure 1), to a virtual cloud and / or to a fleet management system and evaluated and / or stored there.

Claims

1. A method for the mechanical inspection of lighting elements (3) of a vehicle (1), the method comprising: driving the vehicle (1) in front of a camera (4, 8) such that the camera (4, 8) is capable of recording images of the front side (1a) of the vehicle (1); recording at least one image of the front side (1a) of the vehicle (1) with the camera (4, 8); determining the position of the vehicle (1) in front of the camera (4, 8) by mechanically evaluating the at least one recorded image of the front side (1a) of the vehicle (1); mechanically identifying image regions (20, 22, 23, 24) in the at least one recorded image, each of which contains at least one lighting element (3) to be checked; for each of the lighting elements (3) to be checked: issuing an instruction to activate the relevant lighting element (3); to take at least one image of the front side (1a) of the vehicle (1) with the camera (4, 8);to determine by mechanically evaluating the at least one recorded image whether an area of ​​the at least one recorded image which is assigned to the respective lighting element (3) has changed and to mechanically communicate a detected change; a change specified for the respective lighting element (3); to issue an error message if the detected change deviates from the specified change by more than a specified tolerance; and to issue an instruction to deactivate the lighting element (3) in question.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein each of the lighting elements (3) is activated and deactivated individually.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises activating and deactivating a plurality of lighting elements (3) simultaneously.

4. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein issuing an instruction to activate the lighting element (3) in question or to deactivate the lighting element (3) in question comprises issuing an optical instruction and / or an acoustic instruction.

5. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein issuing an instruction to activate the lighting element (3) in question or to deactivate the lighting element (3) in question comprises issuing a control command to a switching device (12) which is provided and designed to activate the lighting element (3) in question and / or to deactivate the lighting element (3) in question.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the control command is output optically, electrically via a cable connection or via a radio connection, in particular via a WLAN connection or a Bluetooth connection, and is transmitted to the switching device (12).

7. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the method also comprises detecting, activating and deactivating lighting elements (3) which are attached to the rear (1b) or to a side (1c) of the vehicle (1) with a camera (4, 8) in order to check their functionality.

8. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the method comprises identifying at least one optical marker (16, 25) attached to the vehicle (1) in the recorded images in order to determine the position of the vehicle (1) in front of the camera (4, 8) and / or the position of at least one lighting element (3) on the vehicle (1).

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the at least one optical marker (16, 25) comprises a QR code (16) and / or an official license plate number (25) of the vehicle (1).

10. Method according to one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the method comprises stopping the vehicle (1) in front of the camera (4, 8) before the instructions for activating the lighting elements (3) are issued.

11. Method according to one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the method comprises driving the vehicle (1) past the camera (4, 8) and issuing instructions as the vehicle (1) passes by in order to activate and deactivate the lighting elements (3) to be checked.

12. Device (2) for checking lighting elements (3) of a vehicle (1), the device (2) comprising: at least one camera (4, 8) which is provided and designed to record images of a front side (1 a) of a vehicle (1) to be checked; andat least one control and evaluation device (5, 9) which is provided and designed to: determine the position of the vehicle (1) in front of the camera (4, 8) from at least one image of the front side (1a) of the vehicle (1) recorded by the camera (4, 8); identify image regions (20, 22, 23, 24) in which at least one lighting element (3) to be checked is located in each case; for each of the lighting elements (3) to be checked: issue an instruction to activate the relevant lighting element (3); determine by evaluating the at least one recorded image whether a region of the at least one recorded image associated with the respective lighting element (3) has changed and compare a detected change with a change specified for the respective lighting element (3);to issue an error message if the detected change deviates from the specified change by more than a specified tolerance; and to issue an instruction to deactivate the lighting element (3) in question.

13. Device (2) according to claim 12, with an optical output device (6, 11) which is provided and designed to output an optical instruction to activate the respective lighting element (3) or to deactivate the respective lighting element (3); and / or with an acoustic output device (6, 11) which is provided and designed to output an acoustic instruction to activate the relevant lighting element (3) or to deactivate the relevant lighting element (3); and / or with an electrical output device (6, 11) which is provided and designed to output an electrical instruction to activate the relevant lighting element (3) or to deactivate the relevant lighting element (3); and / or with a radio signal output device (6, 11) which is provided and designed to output a radio signal to activate the relevant lighting element (3) or to deactivate the relevant lighting element (3).

14. Device (2) according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the device (2) has at least one further camera (4, 8) which is provided and designed to record images of a rear (1 b) or at least one side (1 c) of the vehicle (1) in order to enable the control and evaluation device (5, 9) to check lighting elements (3) which are attached to the rear (1 b) or to at least one side (1 c) of the vehicle (1).

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