Method and a device for testing a lighting driving assistance system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9146015-B2
Application number	US-201113880102-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 18, 2011
Priority date	Oct 18, 2010
Publication date	Sep 29, 2015
Grant date	Sep 29, 2015

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for checking a lighting driving assistance system of vehicles. In this case, a vehicle is positioned in front of a body and a light of the vehicle is aimed at this body. Brightness distributions are obtained by adjusting the light in the horizontal and vertical directions in a plurality of angular positions and are recorded by an image capture unit. The recorded brightness distributions are used to calculate the distance and angular offset as well as the position of the body and actual values of the angular positions. These actual values are compared with preset desired values, and recommended settings for minimizing a difference between desired and actual values are output.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for testing a lighting driving assistance system of a vehicle with at least one lamp and at least one picture acquisition unit, comprising the following steps:
positioning the vehicle in front of a body in a manner such that at least one beaming direction of the lamp is aimed onto the body;
setting the at least one lamp in several angular positions by way of pivoting the lamp about at least one defined angle in the horizontal and/or vertical direction and acquiring the brightness distribution obtained on the body, for each of the angular positions of the lamp, by way of the picture acquisition unit;
determining a distance and an angular offset between the vehicle and the body from the obtained brightness distributions as well as computing a position of the body in a coordinate system of the vehicle;
computing at least one actual value of a pivot angle of the lamp for at least one of the angular positions, from the obtained brightness distributions; and
issuing at least one corrective value for minimizing a difference between a preset desired value and the computed actual value of the pivot angle of the lamp.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein for computing the actual value of the pivot angle, a location of a characteristic point of the brightness distribution is determined for the corresponding angular position, and the actual value is computed from the thus determined location, from the determined distance and from the determined angular offset.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the vehicle with its longitudinal axis is positioned orthogonally to the body, so that the beaming direction of the lamp is orthogonal on a plane surface of the body.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the horizontal and vertical setting of the pivot angle of the lamp, departing from a first extreme value of a pivoting about a respective axis is effected in one direction up to a second extreme value, and subsequently departing from the second extreme value, the setting of the positions is effected in the opposite direction up to the first extreme value, in order to determine a tolerance play.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein a correction is carried out only when the difference between the desired value and actual value, with regard to magnitude, exceeds a system tolerance.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein further functions, including high beam and low beam, are tested in a fixed angular position, after the minimization of the difference between the desired values and actual values.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the difference between the desired value and actual value of the pivot angle of the lamp is automatically corrected.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the correct functioning manner of the method is tested by way of testing a further lamp and the comparison of the computed position of the body on the basis of brightness distributions determined hereby.

9. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the vehicle with its longitudinal axis is positioned orthogonally to the body, so that the beaming direction of the lamp is orthogonal on a plane surface of the body with a distance of between 6 m and 12 m between the lamp and the plane surface.

10. A device for testing a lighting driving assistance system of a vehicle with at least one lamp, the device comprising at least one picture acquisition unit, an evaluation unit and an issuing unit, wherein the at least one picture acquisition unit is configured to acquire brightness distributions produced on a surface of a body by the at least one lamp in different angular positions, wherein actual values of the pivot angle of the lamp are computed via the evaluation unit, and wherein the issuing unit is configured to set setting recommendations for minimizing a difference between preset desired values and computed actual value of the pivot angle of the lamp.

11. The device according to claim 10 , wherein the body includes a plane surface of the body that is formed by a wall and has a high albedo.

12. The device according to claim 10 , wherein the pivot angles of the lamp include vertical pivot angles of the lamp capable of being set via a headlight levelling.

13. A method for testing a lighting driving assistance system of a vehicle with at least one lamp and at least one picture acquisition unit, comprising the following steps:
positioning the vehicle in front of a body in a manner such that at least one beaming direction of the lamp is aimed onto the body, wherein the vehicle is positioned with its longitudinal axis orthogonal to the body, so that the beaming direction of the lamp is orthogonal on a plane surface of the body with a distance of between 6 m and 12 m between the lamp and the plane surface;
setting the at least one lamp in several angular positions by way of pivoting the lamp about at least one defined angle in the horizontal and/or vertical direction and acquiring the brightness distribution obtained on the body, for each of the angular positions of the lamp, using picture acquisition unit, wherein the horizontal and vertical setting of the pivot angle of the lamp, departing from a first extreme value of a pivoting about a respective axis is effected in one direction up to a second extreme value, and subsequently departing from the second extreme value, the setting of the positions is effected in the opposite direction up to the first extreme value, in order to determine a tolerance play;
determining a distance and an angular offset between the vehicle and the body from the obtained brightness distributions as well as computing a position of the body in a coordinate system of the vehicle;
computing at least one actual value of a pivot angle of the lamp for at least one of the angular positions, from the obtained brightness distributions, the computing including determining a location of a characteristic point of the brightness distribution for the corresponding angular position, and computing the actual value from the thus determined location, for the determined distance and from the determined angular offset; and
automatically issuing, only when the difference between a magnitude of the desired value and a magnitude of the actual value exceeds a system tolerance, at least one corrective value for minimizing a difference between a preset desired value and the computed actual value of the pivot angle of the lamp.

Assignees

• Schmidt Christian
• Hoffmann Ingo
• Hella Kgaa Hueck & Co

Inventors

• Schmidt Christian
• Hoffmann Ingo

Classifications

• G01M11/065

  details about the image analysis · CPC title

• F21S41/657 Primary

  by moving light sources · CPC title

• G01S17/931

  of land vehicles · CPC title

• B60Q2200/38

  Automatic calibration of motor-driven means for adjusting headlamps, i.e. when switching on the headlamps, not during mounting at factories · CPC title

• G01S7/4972

  Alignment of sensor · CPC title