Interior Lighting Running Light Effect for Autonomous Vehicle Awareness
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Solution Overview
Problem
In motor vehicles, especially during autonomous control, there is a need for a more perceivable optical signal to indicate direction changes or hazards, as conventional flashing lights may not be easily visible or reassuring to occupants, potentially causing insecurity due to unforeseen vehicle reactions.
Innovation Solution
Implementing interior lighting devices that emit a running light effect, synchronized with the vehicle's turn signal or hazard warning lights, to provide a visible and attention-grabbing optical signal within the vehicle's interior, using control devices to activate these lights when the vehicle is in autonomous control mode, and strategically placing them in areas like the dashboard, doors, and roof to ensure visibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If conventional flashing lights are used to indicate direction changes or hazards, then the indication function is provided, but the visibility and attention-grabbing effect are insufficient for occupants during autonomous control
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting system is divided into multiple independent light sources arranged in sequences, where each light source can be controlled individually to create the running light effect. This segmentation allows the light to appear to move through the sequence, enhancing visibility and attention-grabbing capability compared to a single conventional flashing light.
Solution Approach 2:
The lighting system transitions from static conventional flashing lights to dynamic running lights that sequentially activate across multiple light sources. This dynamic sequential activation creates a moving visual effect that significantly enhances occupant attention and awareness during autonomous control modes.
2Reliability
If multiple interior lighting devices are added to emit running light effect, then occupant awareness is enhanced, but the device complexity and installation requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The interior lighting devices are designed to serve multiple functions: they can generate running light effects for hazard indication, provide ambient lighting, and indicate autonomous control modes. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated hazard indication lights, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity while maintaining enhanced occupant awareness.
Solution Approach 2:
The hazard indication function is merged with the existing interior lighting system rather than using separate dedicated lights. By combining multiple lighting functions into a unified system controlled by the vehicle's control unit, the patent achieves enhanced reliability for occupant awareness while avoiding the complexity of completely separate lighting systems.
3Illumination intensity
If running light effect is implemented using sequential activation of multiple light sources, then attention factor is improved, but the energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting system uses periodic sequential activation of light sources to create the running light effect, rather than continuous illumination of all lights. By activating lights in sequence across time periods, the system achieves high attention-grabbing effect while consuming less energy compared to continuous illumination of all light sources simultaneously.
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention relates to a motor vehicle (1), comprising one or more flashing light device(s) for producing a turn-signaling flashing light or a warning flashing light, one or more elongate interior lighting devices (2, 2', 2") for emitting visible light into the interior of the motor vehicle (1), and a control device associated with the interior lighting device(s) (2, 2', 2") for controlling the interior lighting device(s) (2, 2', 2"), wherein the one or more interior lighting device(s) (2, 2', 2") is/are designed to be able to emit visible light in the form of a moving light, and the control device is designed to detect the production of a turn-signaling flashing light or a warning flashing light by means of the one or more flashing light device(s) and to control the one or more interior lighting device(s) (2, 2', 2") in such a way that the one or more interior lighting device(s) (2, 2', 2") emit visible light in the form of a moving light during the production of a turn-signaling flashing light or a warning flashing light by means of the one or more flashing light devices.