AUTOMATIC HEADLAMP CONTROL SYSTEM

• US 20100214791A1
• Filed: 08/10/2007
• Published: 08/26/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Magna Electronics Incorporated (Magna International Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Donnelly Corporation (Magna International Incorporated)
• Inventors: Schofield, Kenneth
• Granted Patent: US 7,972,045 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 362/466
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 31/00 Vehicle fittings, acting on a single sub-unit only, for automatically controlling vehicle speed, i.e. preventing speed from exceeding an arbitrarily established velocity or maintaining speed at a particular velocity, as selected by the vehicle operator fittings acting on two or more sub-units B60W30/14; speedometers G01P; systems or devices for controlling speed in general G05D13/00 ; in traffic anti-collision system for road vehicles G08G1/16
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/1423 Automatic dimming circuits, i.e. switching between high beam and low beam due to change of ambient light or light level in road traffic
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/056 Special anti-blinding beams, e.g. a standard beam is chopped or moved in order not to blind
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/112 Vehicle speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/122 Steering angle
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/126 Hysteresis behavior based on steering
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/322 Road curvature
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/41 preceding vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/42 oncoming vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/60 characterised by a variable light distribution
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/147 Details of sensors, e.g. sensor lenses fingerprint or palmprint sensors G06V40/13; vascular sensors G06V40/145; eye sensors G06V40/19
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/584 of vehicle lights or traffic lights
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/588 Recognition of the road, e.g. of lane markings; Recognition of the vehicle driving pattern in relation to the road
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/76 Addressed sensors, e.g. MOS or CMOS sensors

Abstract

A vehicle headlamp control system includes an imaging sensor and a control. The control processes data from the imaging sensor and generates at least one control output. Selection of a high beam state and a low beam state for a vehicle headlamp is responsive to the control output, and is determined responsive to a detection of an object of interest. The control is responsive to a signal indicative of a vehicle speed of the controlled vehicle, and inhibits adjustment of the vehicle headlamp from a low beam state to a high beam state when the vehicle speed is below a threshold speed level. The control is responsive to data indicative of a vehicle trajectory of the controlled vehicle, and inhibits adjustment of the vehicle headlamp from a low beam state to a high beam state when a radius of curvature of the vehicle trajectory is below a threshold value.

Claims

1. A headlamp control system for a vehicle, said headlamp control system comprising:

an imaging sensor, said imaging sensor comprising a two-dimensional array of light sensing photosensor elements, said imaging sensor monitoring a scene forward of the direction of travel of the vehicle;

a control, said control processing data from said imaging sensor and generating at least one control output;

selection of a high beam state and a low beam state for a vehicle headlamp of the controlled vehicle being responsive to said control output, selection of the high beam state and the low beam state being determined responsive to a detection of an object of interest;

said control responsive to a signal indicative of a vehicle speed of the controlled vehicle, said control inhibiting adjustment of the vehicle headlamp from a low beam state to a high beam state when the vehicle speed is below a threshold speed level; and

said control responsive to data indicative of a vehicle trajectory of the controlled vehicle, said control inhibiting adjustment of the vehicle headlamp from a low beam state to a high beam state when a radius of curvature of the vehicle trajectory is below a threshold value.

2. The headlamp control system of claim 1, wherein said control inhibits adjustment of the vehicle headlamp from a low beam state to a high beam state when the radius of curvature of the vehicle trajectory is below a threshold value and when the speed of the controlled vehicle is above the threshold speed level.

3. The headlamp control system of claim 1, wherein said data indicative of a vehicle trajectory of the controlled vehicle comprises data indicative of a steering wheel angular position.

4. The headlamp control system of claim 3, including hysteresis in angular threshold values for steering wheel angular positions.

5. The headlamp control system of claim 1, including a filter to limit adjustment between the high and low beam states of the vehicle headlamp when the signal indicative of the vehicle trajectory generally oscillates as the vehicle travels along a curve.

6. The headlamp control system of claim 1, wherein a principal beam direction of the vehicle headlamp is adjustable in response to the data indicative of the vehicle trajectory of the controlled vehicle.

7. The headlamp control system of claim 6, wherein said control inhibits adjustment of the vehicle headlamp from said low beam state to said high beam state when the principal beam direction is directed at least partially sidewardly towards a sideward area and when an object of interest is detected within the at least partially sidewardly area illuminated by the vehicle headlamp.

8. The headlamp control system of claim 1, wherein said control receives the data indicative of a vehicle trajectory of the controlled vehicle via a vehicle communication bus.

9. The headlamp control system of claim 8, wherein said vehicle communication bus comprises a CAN vehicle communication bus.

10. The headlamp control system of claim 1, including a time-based filter to limit adjustment between the high and low beam states of the vehicle headlamp when the signal indicative of the vehicle trajectory generally oscillates as the vehicle travels along a curve.

11. The headlamp control system of claim 1, including a filter to limit adjustment between the high and low beam states of the vehicle headlamp when the signal indicative of the vehicle trajectory generally oscillates as the vehicle travels along a curve, said filter being at least one of (i) adaptive and (ii) non-symmetrical.

12. The headlamp control system of claim 1, including dynamic segmentation of the monitored scene.

13. The headlamp control system of claim 12, wherein the region monitored ahead of the controlled vehicle is extended in accordance with the trajectory of the controlled vehicle.

14. The headlamp control system of claim 13, wherein the region monitored ahead of the controlled vehicle is extended in accordance with the radius of curvature of the trajectory of the controlled vehicle.

15. The headlamp control system of claim 14, wherein the region monitored ahead of the controlled vehicle is extended in accordance with the radius of curvature of the trajectory of the controlled vehicle as determined by the steering wheel angle of the controlled vehicle.