Vehicle headlight control using imaging sensor

• US 6,831,261 B2
• Filed: 04/30/2003
• Issued: 12/14/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Magna Electronics Incorporated (Magna International Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Donnelly Corporation (Magna International Incorporated)
• Inventors: Vadas, Keith J., Schofield, Kenneth, Larson, Mark L.
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, QUE TAN
• Application Number:
  US10/427,146
• Publication Number:
  US 20030205661A1
• Time in Patent Office: 594 Days
• Field of Search: 250/226, 250/208.1, 250/214.D, 250/214.1, 250/222, 250/205, 315/72, 315/82, 348/135, 348/297, 348/298, 362/460, 362/464, 362/465, 180/274, 180/280, 180/282
• US Class Current: 250/205
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/002 Seats provided with an occupancy detection means mounted therein or thereon detection means responsive to presence or absence of children B60N2/266
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/085 due to special conditions, e.g. adverse weather, type of road, badly illuminated road signs or potential dangers B60Q1/10, B60Q1/12, B60Q1/1423 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/14 having dimming means
• 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 1/18 being additional front lights bracket mounted headlights B60Q1/0483
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/054 Variable non-standard intensity, i.e. emission of various beam intensities different from standard intensities, e.g. continuous or stepped transitions of intensity
• 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 2300/21 Manual control
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/312 Adverse weather
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/314 Ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/332 on city roads
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/3321 Detection of streetlights
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/41 preceding vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/42 oncoming vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 9/008 for anti-collision purposes
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/088 using a cell of electrically changeable optical characteristic, e.g. liquid-crystal or electrochromic mirrors
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/12 Mirror assemblies combined with other articles, e.g. clocks
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 11/04 Mounting of cameras operative during drive; Arrangement of controls thereof relative to the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2001/1223 : with sensors or transducers
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2001/1253 : with cameras, video cameras or video screens
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01538 : for image processing, e.g. cameras or sensor arrays
• CPC Class Codes: B60S 1/0822 : characterized by the arrangement or type of detection means
• CPC Class Codes: B60S 1/0844 : including a camera
• CPC Class Codes: B60S 1/0885 : the sensor being integrated in a rear-view mirror module
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/141 : Control of illumination
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/143 : Sensing or illuminating at different wavelengths
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/584 : of vehicle lights or traffic lights
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/45 : for generating image signals from two or more image sensors being of different type or operating in different modes, e.g. with a CMOS sensor for moving images in combination with a charge-coupled device [CCD] for still images
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 : for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A headlamp control system for a vehicle includes an imaging array sensor, which has a field of view forward of the vehicle, and a control that processes images captured by the imagine array sensor. The control is operable to detect light sources in the field of view and to determine an activity level in the field of view in response to a quantity of light sources detected. The control is operable to control a headlamp of the vehicle in response to identification of at least one of a headlamp of another vehicle and a taillight of another vehicle and in response to the activity level. The control may be operable to process the captured images to detect lane markers or precipitation in the field of view and may control a steering system of the vehicle or a wiper motor of the vehicle in response to such image processing.

Claims

1. A headlamp control system for controlling at least one headlamp of a motor vehicle, said headlamp control system comprising:

an imaging array sensor having a field of view forward of the motor vehicle, said imaging array sensor comprising a plurality of pixels, said imaging array sensor capturing images within the field of view; and

a control operable to process said captured images of said imaging array sensor, said control being operable to detect light sources in the field of view and to identify at least one of a headlamp of an approaching vehicle in the field of view and a taillight of a leading vehicle in the field of view, said control being operable to determine a pixel activity level, said pixel activity level being indicative of an environment in which the vehicle is operated, said control being operable to adjust a beam illumination state of the headlamp of the motor vehicle between a high-beam state and a low-beam state in response to identification of at least one of a headlamp of an approaching vehicle in the field of view and a taillight of a leading vehicle in the field of view and in response to said pixel activity level, said control being operable to limit adjusting of the state of the headlamp to the high-beam state when said pixel activity level is greater than a threshold level.

2. The headlamp control system of claim 1, wherein said control is operable to inhibit switching the headlamp of the motor vehicle to the high-beam state when said threshold level is indicative of an urban environment.

3. The headlamp control system of claim 1, wherein said control is operable to inhibit switching the headlamp of the motor vehicle to the high-beam state until a threshold number of captured images are indicative of said pixel activity level being less than a threshold level.

4. The headlamp control system of claim 1, wherein said control is operable to adjust a high beam activation threshold in response to said pixel activity level, said high beam activation threshold being a threshold level at which said control activates a high beam of the headlamp of the motor vehicle in response to said detected light sources.

5. The headlamp control system of claim 4, wherein said control is operable to adjust said high beam activation threshold in response to said pixel activity level as determined over multiple captured images.

6. The headlamp control system of claim 1, wherein said control is operable to increment an activity counter in response to identification of a light source in the field of view, said activity counter providing a count indicative of said pixel activity level.

7. The headlamp control system of claim 6, wherein said control is operable to increment said activity counter in response to identification of a light source having at least one of a red, green and blue component above a threshold level.

8. The headlamp control system of claim 7, wherein said threshold level is greater than a noise level.

9. The headlamp control system of claim 6, wherein said control is operable to reset said activity counter for each image captured by said imaging array sensor.

10. The headlamp control system of claim 9, wherein said control is operable to count a number of consecutive images captured which are indicative of a low activity level in the field of view, said control being operable to switch the headlamp of the motor vehicle to the high-beam state in response to a threshold number of consecutive images captured being indicative of said low activity level.

11. The headlamp control system of claim 10, wherein said control is operable to inhibit switching the headlamp of the motor vehicle to the high-beam state when said pixel activity level is indicative of an urban environment.

12. The headlamp control system of claim 1, wherein said control is operable to detect and identify qualified light sources and non-qualified light sources in the field of view, said qualified light sources comprising at least one of a headlamp of an approaching vehicle and a taillight of a leading vehicle, said non-qualified light sources comprising light sources in the field of view that are above a threshold but are not identified as qualified light sources.

13. The headlamp control system of claim 12, wherein said control is operable to determine said pixel activity level in response to a quantity of at least one of said qualified light sources and said non-qualified light sources.

14. The headlamp control system of claim 13, wherein said control is operable to inhibit switching the headlamp of the motor vehicle to the high-beam state when said pixel activity level is indicative of an urban environment.

15. The headlamp control system of claim 1, wherein said control is operable to determine a low beam duration which is indicative of a time period that the headlamp of the motor vehicle is in the low-beam state.

16. The headlamp control system of claim 15, wherein said control is operable to adjust the headlamp of the motor vehicle to the high-beam state in response to said low beam duration.

17. The headlamp control system of claim 1, wherein said control is operable to process said captured images to detect lane markers in the field of view.

18. The headlamp control system of claim 17, wherein said control is operable to at least one of adjust a steering system of the motor vehicle and alert the driver of the motor vehicle to a lane change in response to said image processing.

19. The headlamp control system of claim 1, wherein said control is operable to process said captured images to identify precipitation in the field of view.

20. The headlamp control system of claim 19, wherein said control is operable to control a wiper motor of the motor vehicle in response to said image processing.

21. A headlamp control system for controlling at least one headlamp of a motor vehicle, the motor vehicle having a windshield, said headlamp control system comprising:

an imaging array sensor having a field of view through the windshield of the motor vehicle and forward of the motor vehicle, said field of view through the windshield encompassing a portion of the windshield that is cleaned by a windshield wiper when said windshield wiper operates, said imaging array sensor capturing images within the field of view; and

a control operable to process said captured images of said imaging array sensor, said control being operable to identify at least one of a headlamp of an approaching vehicle in the field of view and a taillight of a leading vehicle in the field of view, said control being operable to adjust a beam illumination state of at least one headlamp of the motor vehicle between a high-beam state and a low-beam state in response to identification of at least one of a headlamp of an approaching vehicle in the field of view and a taillight of a leading vehicle in the field of view, wherein said control is further operable to process said captured images to detect lane markers in the field of view, said control being operable to at least one of adjust a steering system of the motor vehicle and alert the driver of the motor vehicle to a lane change in response to said image processing.

22. The headlamp control system of claim 21, wherein said control is operable to adjust a steering system of the motor vehicle in response to said image processing.

23. The headlamp control system of claim 21, wherein said control is operable to alert the driver of the motor vehicle to a lane change in response to said image processing.

24. The headlamp control system of claim 21, wherein said control is operable to process said captured images to identify precipitation in the field of view.

25. The headlamp control system of claim 24, wherein said control is operable to control a wiper motor of the motor vehicle in response to said image processing.

26. The headlamp control system of claim 21, wherein said control is operable to process said captured images to identify rain on the windshield of the motor vehicle.

27. The headlamp control system of claim 21, wherein said control is operable to detect light sources in the field of view and to determine an activity level in the field of view in response to a quantity of said detected light sources.

28. The headlamp control system of claim 27, wherein said control is operable to adjust the beam illumination state of the headlamp of the motor vehicle between the high-beam state and the low-beam state in response to said activity level.

29. A headlamp control system for controlling at least one headlamp of a motor vehicle, the motor vehicle having a windshield, said headlamp control system comprising:

an imaging array sensor having a field of view through the windshield of the motor vehicle and forward of the motor vehicle, said field of view through the windshield encompassing a portion of the windshield that is cleaned by a windshield wiper when said windshield wiper operates, said imaging array sensor capturing images within the field of view; and

a control operable to process said captured images of said imaging array sensor, said control being operable to identify at least one of a headlamp of an approaching vehicle in the field of view and a taillight of a leading vehicle in the field of view, said control being operable to adjust a beam illumination state of at least one headlamp of the motor vehicle between a high-beam state and a low-beam state in response to identification of at least one of a headlamp of an approaching vehicle in the field of view and a taillight of a leading vehicle in the field of view, wherein said control is further operable to process said captured images to identify precipitation in the field of view, said control being operable to control a wiper motor of the motor vehicle in response to said image processing, said wiper motor being operable to operate the windshield wiper of the vehicle to clean the portion of the windshield.

30. The headlamp control system of claim 29, wherein said control is operable to process said captured images to identify rain on the windshield of the motor vehicle.

31. The headlamp control system of claim 29, wherein said control is further operable to process said captured images to detect lane markers in the field of view.

32. The headlamp control system of claim 31, wherein said control is operable to adjust a steering system of the motor vehicle in response to said image processing.

33. The headlamp control system of claim 31, wherein said control is operable to alert the driver of the motor vehicle to a lane change in response to said image processing.

34. The headlamp control system of claim 29, wherein said control is operable to detect light sources in the field of view and to determine an activity level in the field of view in response to a quantity of said detected light sources.

35. The headlamp control system of claim 34, wherein control is operable to adjust the beam illumination state of the headlamp of the motor vehicle between the high-beam state and the low-beam state in response to said activity level.