Vehicle Headlight Control via Field Bus Characteristic Values

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing lighting arrangements for motor vehicles with adaptive front lighting systems face challenges in avoiding sudden changes in headlight power, which can be annoying to drivers, while also requiring a large amount of information to be transmitted continuously for smooth adjustments.

Innovation Solution

The control and/or regulating device determines characteristic values for a time profile of desired headlight power settings and transmits these via a field bus interface, allowing the headlight to adjust power accordingly, minimizing information transmission and avoiding sudden changes by using interpolation points or functional parameters.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If discrete target values are transmitted to control headlight power, then information transmission amount is kept small, but sudden changes in headlight power occur causing driver annoyance

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinformation transmission amountVSAvoiddriver comfort
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The control device pre-calculates and transmits characteristic values for the entire time profile of desired headlight power settings, rather than transmitting individual discrete target values at each moment. This preliminary action allows the headlight control unit to reconstruct a smooth continuous curve locally, avoiding sudden jumps while minimizing overall data transmission.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the parameter representation from discrete target power values to characteristic values defining a time profile curve. By transmitting parameters that describe the curve's shape and key points rather than every individual power setting, the system reduces data transmission while enabling smooth continuous power adjustment.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Ease of operation

If continuous target values are transmitted to avoid sudden changes, then driver comfort is improved, but information transmission amount increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedriver comfortVSAvoidinformation transmission amount
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts only the essential characteristic values needed to define the time profile curve, rather than transmitting the complete continuous target value sequence. By taking out only the critical parameters (such as key points, curve shape descriptors, or functional coefficients), the system maintains smooth power transitions while significantly reducing data transmission requirements.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The control device performs preliminary computation to determine the optimal set of characteristic values that will generate the desired smooth power profile when reconstructed by the headlight control unit. This pre-processing extracts the minimal necessary information upfront, avoiding the need to transmit continuous data streams.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Loss of information

If characteristic values for time profile are used, then information transmission is minimized and smooth power changes are achieved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinformation transmission amountVSAvoidcontrol device complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system introduces characteristic values as an intermediary representation between the control device and headlight control unit. These characteristic values serve as a compact mediator that encapsulates the essential information needed for smooth power transitions without requiring complex continuous data streams, simplifying the communication interface while maintaining control sophistication.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentEP2022680B1Illumination assembly for a motor vehicle with one actuating and/or regulating device with at least one headlamp and a field bus
Publication Date: 2010.03.03 HELLA GMBH & CO KGAA
  • EP2022680B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2022680B1 patent drawingFigure 2

AI summary

The arrangement has a control unit (1) connected with a headlight (2a,2b) over a field bus (3) for information exchange. The control unit is equipped for determining characteristic values for a process of reference value and transferring the characteristic values to the bus over an interface. The headlight is equipped to take the characteristic values over an interface of the bus for determining reference value and positioning the power output according to the reference value. The field bus is a Local interconnect network busand Controller area network bus.