MOTOR VEHICLE AND METHOD FOR OPERATING A MOTOR VEHICLE

• US 20160068097A1
• Filed: 09/02/2015
• Published: 03/10/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: ROECKL, Philipp, LANGKABEL, Frank, SCHNEIDER, Ingolf
• Granted Patent: US 9,707,885 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 1/1423 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 1/16 illuminating the way asymmetrically
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/23 Driver's line of sight
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/115 by determining the presence or movement of objects or living beings
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/125 by using cameras
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection

Abstract

A motor vehicle is disclosed which includes a headlamp directed in travelling direction towards the front having an adaptable light beam. A controller is provided to adaptively control the light beam. A camera is arranged in the motor vehicle and oriented so that it captures a head of a driver. The camera is in data communication with the controller, which is configured to determine at least one region of attention of the driver from data transmitted by the camera. The controller is further configured to adapt the light beam of the headlamp, as a function of the region of attention by emphasizing the region of attention.

Claims

1-15. -15. (canceled)

16. A motor vehicle comprising:

at least one headlamp directed in a forward travelling direction and configured to generate an adaptable light beam;

at least one camera oriented in the motor vehicle and operable to capture positional data relating to a head of a driver of the motor vehicle; and

a controller in data communication with the at least one camera and configured to determine a region of attention for the driver from the positional data transmitted by the camera, and to control the adaptable light beam of the at least one headlamp for emphasizing the region of attention to the driver.

17. The motor vehicle according to claim 16, wherein the adaptable light beam of the at least one headlamp is adaptable to adjust a brightness, a light color, a color temperature or a combination thereof in a locally limited manner for emphasizing the region of attention.

18. The motor vehicle according to claim 16, wherein the controller is configured to determine the region of attention by dividing a field of vision of the driver into a plurality of segments, and to control the adaptable light beam so that at least one of the plurality of segments in which the region of attention is located is emphasized.

19. The motor vehicle according to claim 16, wherein the at least one headlamp comprise a plurality of illumination elements, each illumination element having a preset beam focus.

20. The motor vehicle according to claim 19, wherein the plurality of illumination elements are arranged in a matrix.

21. The motor vehicle according to claim 19, wherein the plurality of illumination elements are configured to emit at least one of a different light color and a different light output.

22. The motor vehicle according to claim 16, wherein the at least one headlamp comprises a laser headlamp.

23. The motor vehicle according to claim 16, wherein the at least one camera comprises first and second cameras in data communication with the controller, oriented in the motor vehicle at different locations and operable to capture the positional data, wherein the controller is configured to determine the region of attention of the driver based on the positional data from the first and second cameras.

24. The motor vehicle according to claim 23, wherein the controller is configured to compare the data of the first camera and the second camera.

25. The motor vehicle according to claim 16, wherein the adaptable light beam is adjusted to change at least one of a light color and a brightness of the light beam in the region of attention.

26. The motor vehicle according to claim 25, wherein a field of vision of the driver is divided into a plurality of segments, and wherein the adaptable light beam is adjusted so at least one of the plurality of segments, in which the region of attention of the driver is located are emphasized.

27. The motor vehicle according to claim 25, wherein the at least one headlamp comprises at least one of a laser headlamp and a pixel headlamp.

28. The motor vehicle according to claim 25, wherein the at least one camera comprises first and second cameras in data communication with the controller, oriented in the motor vehicle at different locations and operable to capture the positional data, wherein the controller is configured to compare positional data from the first and second camera and weight the positional data based on the comparison.

29. A method for operating a motor vehicle having at least one headlamp generating an adaptable light beam in a forward travelling direction, the method comprising:

capturing positional data for a head of a driver of the vehicle with at least one camera;

determining at least one region of attention for the driver based on the positional data; and

adjusting the adaptable light beam as a function of the region of attention for the driver such that the region of attention is emphasized for the driver.

30. A computer program product with a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, on which a set of commands are embedded which when executed by a controller carry out the method according to claim 29.