Automatic headlamp control
First Claim
1. An automatic headlamp control system for a vehicle, said automatic headlamp control system comprising:
- an image sensor having a forward field of view and capturing image data of a scene forward of the vehicle;
an image processor processing said image data and detecting objects of interest;
a control responsive to said image processing to control a beam illumination state of the headlamps of the equipped vehicle;
wherein said control is operable to detect at least a partial blocking condition at said image sensor, and wherein operation of said control to detect an at least partial blocking condition is at least in part responsive to a signal indicative of an outside temperature at the equipped vehicle being below a threshold temperature level; and
wherein said control is operable to limit switching to a different beam illumination state in response to a signal indicative of an outside temperature at the equipped vehicle being below a threshold temperature level.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An automatic headlamp control system for a vehicle which has an image sensor having a forward field of view that captures image data of a scene forward of the vehicle. The image processor processes the image data and detects objects of interest. A controller is responsive to the image processing to control a beam illumination state of the headlamps of the equipped vehicle. The controller is operable to detect at least a partial blocking condition at the image sensor and is operable to limit switching to a different beam illumination state in response to a signal indicative of an outside temperature at the equipped vehicle being below a threshold temperature level.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An automatic headlamp control system for a vehicle, said automatic headlamp control system comprising:
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an image sensor having a forward field of view and capturing image data of a scene forward of the vehicle; an image processor processing said image data and detecting objects of interest; a control responsive to said image processing to control a beam illumination state of the headlamps of the equipped vehicle; wherein said control is operable to detect at least a partial blocking condition at said image sensor, and wherein operation of said control to detect an at least partial blocking condition is at least in part responsive to a signal indicative of an outside temperature at the equipped vehicle being below a threshold temperature level; and wherein said control is operable to limit switching to a different beam illumination state in response to a signal indicative of an outside temperature at the equipped vehicle being below a threshold temperature level. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An automatic headlamp control system for a vehicle, said automatic headlamp control system comprising:
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an image sensor having a forward field of view and capturing image data of a scene forward of the vehicle; an image processor processing said image data to detect an object of interest present in the forward field of view of said image sensor; a control responsive to said image processing to control a beam illumination state of the headlamps of the equipped vehicle; wherein said control is operable to detect at least a partial blocking condition at said image sensor; and wherein, responsive to a signal indicative of an outside temperature at the equipped vehicle being below a threshold temperature level, said control switches to a cold weather processing algorithm to detect at least a partial blocking condition at said image sensor. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An automatic headlamp control system for a vehicle, said automatic headlamp control system comprising:
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an image sensor having a forward field of view and capturing image data of a scene forward of the vehicle; an image processor processing said image data to detect an object of interest present in the forward field of view of said image sensor; a control responsive to said image processing to control a beam illumination state of the headlamps of the equipped vehicle, wherein said control switches said beam illumination state of the headlamps between a first beam illumination state and a second beam illumination state in response to said image processing; wherein said control is operable to detect at least a partial blocking condition at said image sensor; and wherein, responsive to a signal indicative of an outside temperature at the equipped vehicle being below a threshold temperature level that is at or near a freezing temperature, said control switches to a cold weather processing algorithm to enhance detection of snow or ice at said image sensor. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification