Device and method for adjusting the headlight range of a motor vehicle

• US 9,045,081 B2
• Filed: 08/04/2006
• Issued: 06/02/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Original Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Inventors: Kuhl, Patrick, Bilz, Frank, Hewerer, Jens, Naab, Karl
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehmood, Jennifer
• Assistant Examiner(s): MORTELL, JOHN F
• Application Number:
  US11/498,758
• Publication Number:
  US 20070025112A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,224 Days
• Field of Search: 340/469
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/10 due to vehicle inclination, e.g. due to load distribution
• 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 2300/114 Vehicle acceleration or deceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/132 Pitch
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/146 Abnormalities, e.g. fail-safe
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/324 Road inclination, e.g. uphill or downhill
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/41 preceding vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/42 oncoming vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for automatically adjusting the headlight range of a motor vehicle, comprising at least vertically adjustment headlights comprising a control unit provided with a sensor device which is used to detect vehicle and/or ambient data and an evaluation and control device which is used to determine control data for controlling the at least vertically adjustable headlights. The sensor device is embodied as a non-predictable working sensor which is used to detect the vertical roadway curving.

Claims

1. An apparatus for automatically adjusting a headlight range of a motor vehicle having at least one vertically adjustable headlight, the apparatus comprising:

a sensor device which records at least one of vehicle and environment data, wherein the sensor device comprises a vehicle speed sensor configured to record a vehicle speed;

an analyzing and control device which analyzes said at least one of the vehicle and environment data and determines, as a function thereof, including as a function of and for any value of said vehicle speed, a vertical road curvature that is independent of vehicle pitch caused by lifting or pitching movements of the vehicle with respect to the road, and outputting control data for controlling the at least one vertically adjustable headlight based on said vertical road curvature, the sensor system not operating in a foresighted manner.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sensor device further comprises at least one of:

rate of rotation recording devices for recording a vehicle rate of rotation about a transverse axis of the vehicle and geographic height recording devices or geographic height change recording devices, of the vehicle.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second sensor device constructed as a second sensor system which operates in a foresighted manner, the second sensor system recording the vertical road curvature.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the second sensor device is formed by at least one of:

a camera system, a system emitting and processing optical rays, a photosensor device for recording a light density on the road, and a navigation system provided with geographic height information.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an arithmetic logic unit adapted to check for plausibility of the at least one of the vehicle and environment data supplied by the sensor device.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an arithmetic logic unit adapted to check for plausibility of the at least one of the vehicle and environment data supplied by the sensor device.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising alignment devices for the sensor device.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the alignment devices operate as a function of a control behavior of an existing cornering light of the vehicle.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising devices for recording at least one of oncoming vehicles and a vehicle driving ahead of the vehicle.

10. A method for adjusting a headlight range in a motor vehicle having at least one vertically adjustable headlight, the method comprising the acts of:

sensing information concerning at least one of a current operating condition and environment data of the vehicle, including sensing a vehicle speed;

analyzing the sensed information, including analyzing the sensed vehicle speed regardless of a magnitude of the vehicle speed, for determining a vertical curvature of a currently traveled road section, wherein the vertical road curvature is independent of vehicle pitch caused by lifting or pitching movements of the vehicle with respect to the road, and outputting control data that is based on said vertical road curvature;

adjusting the headlight range via an adjusting mechanism to at least one of a defined headlight range and lateral alignment as a function of the control data.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the sensing act comprises at least one of the following acts:

recording a vehicle speed of the vehicle;

recording a rate of rotation of a vehicle about a transverse axis of the vehicle; and

recording one of a geographic height and geographic height change of the vehicle.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising the act of checking a plausibility of the sensed data via an arithmetic logic unit.

13. An apparatus for automatically adjusting a headlight range of a motor vehicle having at least one vertically adjustable headlight, the apparatus comprising:

one or more sensors which record at least one of vehicle and environment data, the one or more sensors not operating in a foresighted manner, and wherein the one or more sensors comprise a vehicle speed sensor configured to record a vehicle speed; and

an analyzing and control device which analyzes said recorded at least one of the vehicle and environment data and calculates, as a function thereof, including as a function of and for any value of said vehicle speed, a vertical road curvature that is independent of vehicle pitch caused by lifting or pitching movements of the vehicle with respect to the road, and to provide control data for controlling the at least one vertically adjustable headlight as a function of the vertical curvature of the road.