Vehicle and method for illuminating a passenger compartment of a vehicle with distributed ambient lights

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10259388-B2
Application number	US-201715788150-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 19, 2017
Priority date	Oct 25, 2016
Publication date	Apr 16, 2019
Grant date	Apr 16, 2019

Abstract

A method for illuminating a passenger compartment of a vehicle with lighting devices which each contain one or more diffuse and/or indirect light sources. The intensity and color of the light emitted by the light sources being set automatically as a function of specific operating parameters which are influenced by a vehicle occupant. The lighting devices which are respectively spatially assigned to an area of the passenger compartment of the vehicle in which there is a vehicle component with an operating parameter which can be set separately by the driver and which can act on a general operating mode selected by the driver, are actuated in such a way that their intensity and color indicate to the driver whether the current setting of the separately settable operating parameter has a positive or negative effect on the general operating mode selected by the driver.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for illuminating a passenger compartment of a vehicle comprising:
automatically setting intensity and color of ambient light emitted by lighting devices as a function of specific operating parameters which are influenced by a vehicle occupant, wherein the lighting devices are distributed and respectively spatially assigned to an area of the passenger compartment of the vehicle in which there is a vehicle component with an operating parameter which can be set separately by the driver and which can act on a general operating mode selected by the driver, and wherein the lighting devices are actuated such that the intensity and color indicate to the driver whether the current setting of the separately settable operating parameter has a positive or negative effect on the general operating mode selected by the driver, wherein the general operating mode is one of an energy saving mode or fuel saving mode, a sporty mode for sporty driving, an air quality mode for good air quality in the passenger compartment of the vehicle, and an air conditioning mode for the highest possible effectiveness of the air conditioning system, and wherein it is determined to what extent the current setting value of each separately settable operating parameter has a positive or negative effect on the general operating mode selected by the driver in that an associated general operating mode index is formed from current measured setting values of all the corresponding operating parameters which are influenced by a vehicle occupant, the index constituting a measure of the degree to which an optimum of the selected general operating mode is reached at a particular time, the intensity and color of each local lighting device being set as a function of the proportion of the general operating mode index formed by the associated operating parameter.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the lighting devices each contain one or more diffuse and/or indirect light sources.

3. A motor vehicle comprising:
a plurality of passenger compartment ambient lighting devices;
an operating parameter input for receiving one or more driver-selected operating parameters;
a general operating mode input for receiving a driver-selected general operating mode; and
a control unit automatically actuating the lighting devices so that intensity and color indicate whether the current setting of a separately settable operating parameter has a positive or negative effect on the general operating mode, wherein the lighting devices are respectively spatially assigned to a specific area of the passenger compartment of the vehicle in which there is a vehicle component with an operating parameter, wherein the general operating mode is one of an energy saving mode or fuel saving mode, a sporty mode for sporty driving, an air quality mode for food air quality in the passenger compartment of the vehicle, and an air conditioning mode for the highest possible effectiveness of the air conditioning system, and wherein it is determined to what extent the current setting value of each separately settable operating parameter has a positive or negative effect on the general operating mode selected by the driver in that an associated general operating mode index is formed from current measured setting values of ail the corresponding operating parameters which are influenced by a vehicle occupant, the index constituting a measure of the degree to which an optimum of the selected general operating mode is reached at a particular time, the intensity and color of each local lighting device being set as a function of the proportion of the general operating mode index formed by the associated operating parameter.

4. The vehicle of claim 3 , wherein the lighting devices each contain one or more diffuse and/or indirect light sources.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Mathissen Marcel
• Baranowski Thomas
• Engelke Maximilian Julius
• Broda Maik
• Chen Xiao

Classifications

• B60Q3/283

  Steering wheels; Gear levers · CPC title

• B60Q3/208

  Sun roofs; Windows · CPC title

• B60Q9/00

  Arrangement or adaptation of signal devices not provided for in one of main groups B60Q1/00 - B60Q7/00 {, e.g. haptic signalling} · CPC title

• B60Q3/78 Primary

  for generating luminous strips, e.g. for marking trim component edges · CPC title

• B60Q3/20

  for lighting specific fittings of passenger or driving compartments; mounted on specific fittings of passenger or driving compartments (lighting for dashboards B60Q3/10) · CPC title