Method and device for automatically switching to main beam
First Claim
1. A method for switching to main beam in a road vehicle, comprising:
- switching the main beam either automatically in accordance with a sensor device via an automatic function with an activated and a deactivated state or manually by operator control actions, and, with manual switching of the main beam, at least temporarily overriding the automatic function, whereinin each case at least one change of state of the automatic function is brought about by a first operator control action for switching on continuous operation of the main beam not present before the time of the first operator control action, and by a second operator control action for switching off continuous operation of the main beam present before the time of the second operator control action, andthe activation state of the automatic function is displayed by a display that is in a signal-transmitting operative connection to a control element.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A main beam switching arrangement for a road vehicle has a lighting device switchable over main beam and dipped headlamps. A sensor device determines at least one ambient parameter, and a control unit with an activatable and deactivatable automatic function automatically switches over the lighting device as a function of the ambient parameter. An operator control unit generates switchover signals by an operator to manually bring about switching over the lighting device with priority. In each case, at least one change of state of the automatic function can be brought about by a first switchover signal for switching on continuous operation of the main beam that is not occurring at the time of signal generation. By way of a second switchover signal, continuous operation of the main beam, which is occurring at the time of signal generation, is switched off.
10 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method for switching to main beam in a road vehicle, comprising:
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switching the main beam either automatically in accordance with a sensor device via an automatic function with an activated and a deactivated state or manually by operator control actions, and, with manual switching of the main beam, at least temporarily overriding the automatic function, wherein in each case at least one change of state of the automatic function is brought about by a first operator control action for switching on continuous operation of the main beam not present before the time of the first operator control action, and by a second operator control action for switching off continuous operation of the main beam present before the time of the second operator control action, and the activation state of the automatic function is displayed by a display that is in a signal-transmitting operative connection to a control element.
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2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein in each case the main beam is also switched on or off in accordance with the operator control actions when the automatic function is activated at the time of the operator control actions.
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3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein when the main beam is switched off by the second operator control action the switching on of the main beam is restricted to the duration of the operator control action independently of the instantaneous state of the automatic function.
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4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and second operator control actions are performed on a single operator control element.
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5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the automatic function is switchable off to a standby state or entirely by an operator control element.
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6. A main beam switching arrangement for a road vehicle, comprising:
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a lighting device switchable between main beam and dipped headlamps, a sensor device configured to determine at least one ambient parameter, a control unit with an activatable and deactivatable automatic function for automatically switching over the lighting device as a function of the at least one ambient parameter, an operator control unit configured to generate switchover signals by an operator for manually bringing about switching over the lighting device with priority, and a display device to display the activation state of the automatic function, the display device being in a signal-transmitting operative connection to the operator control unit, wherein in each case at least one change of state of the automatic function is brought about by a first switchover signal for switching on continuous operation of the main beam not present before the time of the first switchover signal, and by a second switchover signal for switching off continuous operation of the main beam present before the time of the second switchover signal.
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7. The main beam switching arrangement as claimed in claim 6, wherein when the automatic function is already activated at the time of generation of the switchover signal, the switchover signal can also be respectively used to switch over the lighting device.
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8. The main beam switching arrangement as claimed in claim 6, wherein, when the main beam is switched off at the time of generation of the second switchover signal, the second switchover signal can be used, irrespective of an instantaneous state of the automatic function, to switch on the main beam with restriction to the duration of said switchover signal.
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9. The main beam switching arrangement as claimed in claim 6, wherein the automatic function is activated when an exterior lighting of the road vehicle is activated.
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10. The main beam switching arrangement as claimed in claim 6, wherein the operator control unit has a single operator control element configured to generate the first and second switchover signals.
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11. The main beam switching arrangement as claimed in claim 6, wherein the operator control unit has a switching lever as an operator control.
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12. The main beam switching arrangement as claimed in claim 11, wherein the switching lever is comprised of a steering arm.
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13. The main beam switching arrangement as claimed in claim 11, wherein the switching lever has a monostable neutral position, a first switched position and a second switched position.
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14. The main beam switching arrangement as claimed in claim 13, wherein the switching lever generates the first switchover signal in the first switched position and generates the second switchover signal in the second switched position.
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15. The main beam switching arrangement as claimed in claim 6, wherein the automatic function is switchable by an operator control element that is separate from the switching lever.
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16. The main beam switching arrangement as claimed in claim 15, wherein the separate operator control element that is separate from the switching lever is an existing light spindle switch or a menu-controlled user interface.
Specification