KR20190063673A - Method for lighting turn signal lamps dynamically depending on traffic situations - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a method for variably lighting a turn signal lamp depending on traffic situations. Through the method for variably lighting a turn signal lamp, in a state in which an emergency flasher switch is turned on, when there is a request to turn on a left or right turn signal lamp by a turn signal lamp lever, wherein the request is a second condition, a required turn signal lamp is maintained in a sequential lighting method, and another turn signal lamp is controlled to flicker with a temporary lighting method.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of lighting a turn signal lamp,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a variable lighting method of a turn signal lamp, and more particularly, to a variable lighting method of a turn signal lamp in which a sequential lighting method and a temporary lighting method are variably applied according to a situation.

A turn signal lamp of a vehicle is a lamp that informs a surrounding vehicle of the running direction of the vehicle, and is usually mounted on the left and right sides of the front and rear sides of the vehicle, respectively. The driver operates the turn signal lever at the driver's seat to display the turn signal lamp in the left or right direction so that the driver can safely operate the vehicle from the rear to the backward vehicle or the vehicle in the opposite lane.

The turn signal lamps used in the past have adopted a simple flicker (or flashing) method which turns on and off one lamp, and is perceived as visually flickering. Recently, however, the function of information transmission has been further strengthened by the development of turn signal lights that can be sequentially turned on. That is, by configuring the lamps constituting the turn signal lamp to sequentially turn on in one direction, the vehicles and pedestrians in the front and rear directions can intuitively recognize from the turn signal lamp in the traveling direction of the vehicle.

In this way, the sequential lighting method is introduced to the direction indicator so as to help the visibility to some extent. However, in situations in which an urgent situation or considerable attention is demanded, the sequential lighting method often fails to take appropriate action.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of lighting a turn signal light according to a traffic situation.

The problems to be solved by the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned problems, and other matters not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a variable lighting method of a turn signal lamp, including: a left and a right turn indicator that divides an LED array in which a plurality of LED elements are arranged in a row into a plurality of LED groups, (Each LED group has one or more LED elements): An electronic control device for controlling the blinking of the left and right turn signal lamps, when the emergency blinker switch is turned on (referred to as a 'first condition' And the right direction indicator are turned on in a sequential lighting manner; When the direction indicator lamp is requested to turn on the left or right turn signal lamp in the state that the emergency blinker switch is turned on (this is referred to as 'second condition'), the requested turn signal light maintains the sequential turn on mode, Control is performed so as to blink in a lighting manner.

Wherein, in the second condition, the plurality of LED groups constituting the requested direction indicator light are sequentially turned on, then kept lit for a predetermined time, and are simultaneously turned off, and a plurality of LED groups constituting the other direction indicator lamp are simultaneously The maximum turn-on time of the requested turn signal lamp may be the same as the turn-on time of the other turn signal lamps.

The electronic control unit automatically controls the left and right direction indicators to blink in a flashing manner at the same time when the vehicle speed during driving is rapidly reduced to a predetermined value or more in a state where the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than a predetermined reference speed can do.

If the turn-on of the left or right turn signal lamp is requested by the direction indicator lever in the state that the emergency blinker switch is turned off (hereinafter referred to as a "fourth condition"), If the direction indicator is low, the turn indicator is turned on in a sequential lighting manner, and if it is higher, the corresponding turn indicator can be controlled to be turned on in a flashing manner.

The details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and drawings.

As described above, according to the variable lighting method of the turn signal lamp according to the present invention, more intuitive and accurate information can be provided to the rear vehicle or the vehicle of the opposite lane according to traffic conditions.

For example, when the driver turns on the emergency blinking switch, both the left direction indicator light and the right direction indicator light are turned on in a sequential lighting manner. If the driver wishes to make a right turn while the emergency blinking lamp is turned on, the left turn signal lamp is switched to the temporary lighting mode and blinks, and the right turn signal lamp flashes in a sequential lighting manner. In other words, although the direction indicators are flashed at the same time, applying the lighting method differently can deliver the information that the vehicle is currently in dangerous driving condition and will move to the right side simultaneously. Conventionally, even if the direction indicator lever is operated in a state in which the emergency blinking lamp is turned on, no change from the outside can be recognized. However, in the present invention, by applying the lighting method of each direction indicator light differently, Can be grasped.

In addition, when an emergency braking signal is generated due to rapid deceleration of the vehicle, it is possible to display the emergency situation more intuitively by blinking both direction indicator lights in the temporary lighting mode rather than the sequential lighting mode.

Furthermore, when the direction indicator lever is operated to turn on the left or right direction indicator while the emergency blinking switch is turned off, even if the sequential lighting method is applied during low-speed operation, The more intuitive information can be provided to the surrounding vehicles.

1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a turn signal lamp control system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a schematic view showing the turn signal lamp of Fig. 1. Fig.
3A shows a method of blinking the turn signal lamp when the emergency blinker switch is turned on.
FIG. 3B shows a blinking method of the turn signal lamp when the right turn signal lamp is requested to be turned on by the turn signal lever in a state where the emergency blinker switch is turned on.
Fig. 4 shows a flickering method of a turn signal lamp when an emergency braking signal is generated.
5 shows a method of blinking the turn signal lamp when the right turn signal lamp is requested to be turned on by the turn signal lever in a state that the emergency blinker switch is turned off.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The advantages and features of the present invention and the manner of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Is provided to fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art, and the invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification.

1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a turn signal lamp control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The turn signal lamp control system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes the turn signal lever 20, the speed sensor 30, the steering angle sensor 40, the emergency blinker switch 45, the turn signal lamp 50, And an electronic control unit (10).

The direction indicator lever 20 is disposed in the vicinity of the in-vehicle steering wheel. When the driver moves up or down to request the blinking of the left or right turn signal lamp 50, the electronic control device 10 And the left or right direction switching signal is displayed through the turn signal lamp 50. [ In this case, when the electronic control unit 10 is lower than the predetermined vehicle speed value, for example, 50 km / h, the electronic control unit 10 blinks the direction indicator 50 in a sequential lighting manner, Flashes in the lighting mode.

The speed sensor 30 measures the speed change of the vehicle, and particularly monitors the sudden drop of the vehicle speed due to a collision or a sudden stop of the vehicle, and informs the electronic control unit 10 of such a speed change. The electronic control unit 10 generates the emergency braking signal even when there is no operation of the direction indicator lever 20 and the vehicle is in the leftward direction (i.e., when the vehicle speed is below the predetermined reference speed, e.g., 50 km / h) The indicator lamp 52 and the right turn signal lamp 54 are controlled to blink simultaneously in the temporary lighting manner.

The steering angle sensor 40 senses the steered angle of the steering wheel at the straight running position of the vehicle and transmits the steering angle to the electronic control unit 10. For example, let's look at the case where the driver moves the vehicle to the right. The driver operates the turn signal lever 20 to turn the steering wheel of the vehicle to the right to move the vehicle to the right with the right turn indicator 54 blinking. When the vehicle is moving, the steering wheel returns to the straight running position. The electronic control unit 10 calculates the steering angle returned from the steering angle sensor 40, The indicator lamp 50 can be turned off.

The emergency blinking switch (45) is placed on the front of the vehicle and is turned on by the driver when the vehicle is not parked in an emergency or stops in a place prohibited from stopping, or in dangerous driving conditions or traffic conditions, . When the emergency blinker switch 45 is turned on in the state where the turn signal lever 20 is not operated, the electronic control device 10 blinks the left and right turn signal lamps 50 in a sequential lighting manner.

The turn signal lamp 50 includes a left turn signal lamp 52 informing the left movement of the vehicle and a right turn signal lamp 54 informing the right movement of the vehicle. Hereinafter, the structure of the turn signal lamp will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view showing the turn signal lamp of Fig. 1. Fig. The left direction indicator light 52 and the right direction indicator light 54 have substantially the same configuration, and have an LED array in which a plurality of LED elements are arranged in a line. The LED array is divided into a plurality of LED groups 60-1 to 60-N, and each LED group has one or more LED elements. Preferably, each LED group may have the same number of LED elements. It is preferable that the LED elements belonging to one LED group are simultaneously turned on and off. The electronic control unit 10 controls the turn signal lamp 50 to blink in a sequential lighting manner and / or a temporary lighting manner according to traffic conditions. In the case of the sequential lighting mode, it is preferable for the left direction indicator light 52 to light sequentially in the left direction from the center of the vehicle and the right direction indicator light 54 to turn on in the right direction from the center of the vehicle in order to secure visibility.

Hereinafter, the operation of the turn signal lamp will be described in detail with reference to Figs. 3A to 5.

3A shows a method of blinking the turn signal lamp when the emergency blinker switch is turned on.

The LED arrays of the left direction indicator light 52 and the right direction indicator light 54 are divided into N LED groups and are sequentially grouped into a first LED group 60-1, a second LED group 60-2, And an Nth LED group 60-N (N is an integer of 2 or more). If the emergency blinker switch 45 is turned on (this "first condition" referred to), and the time the first LED group 60-1 is lit at t _1, claim 2 LED group 60-2 at time t ₂ Is turned on. In this manner, the LEDs sequentially light up from the center of the vehicle to the outside and are lit up to the last Nth LED group 60-N. First, the lit LED group remains lit until the last LED group is lit. It is preferable to sequentially light each LED group at a constant speed to realize a visually stable sequential lighting. That is, it is preferable to keep the difference in lighting time between adjacent LED groups constant.

The lighting time difference (t _N - t ₁ ) between the first LED group 60-1 and the Nth LED group 60-N can be determined by law based on visibility or the like. For example, in Europe, . Such a lighting time difference (t _N - t ₁ ) can be understood as a period required for sequential lighting.

After the last _N- th LED group 60-N is turned on at the time t _N , all the LED groups 60-1 to 60-N maintain the entire lighting state for a predetermined period. It can be understood as the "lighting time t _ON " of the turn signal lamp by adding the above-mentioned lighting time difference (t _N - t ₁ ) and the time for maintaining the entire lighting state.

Then, all of the LED groups 60-1 to 60-N are simultaneously extinguished and remain in the unlit state for a predetermined period (this is referred to as "OFF time t _OFF "). Subsequently, the first LED group 60-1 is sequentially turned on again. The flashing method of the turn signal lamp is defined as a 'sequential lighting method'.

FIG. 3B shows a blinking method of the turn signal lamp when the right turn signal lamp is requested to be turned on by the turn signal lever in a state where the emergency blinker switch is turned on. In this embodiment, the case where the right direction indicator is requested to turn on is described as an example, but the same concept can be applied to the left direction indicator as well.

When the emergency blinker switch 45 is turned on and the direction indicator lever 20 requests the right direction indicator to turn on (this is referred to as a 'second condition'), the left turn indicator light 52 is turned on, 60-N) are turned on and off at the same time. On the other hand, the right turn signal lamp 54, which is requested by the turn signal lever 20, blinks in a sequential turn-on fashion. By applying the lighting method of both direction indicator lights differently in this manner, the vehicle can simultaneously convey information that it is in dangerous driving condition and will be moving to the right side at the same time. Here, by controlling the lighting time t _ON of the left direction indicator light 52 (that is, the lighting time by the temporary lighting method) to be the same as the lighting time t _ON of the right direction indicator 54, It is possible to give the impression that it is flickering at the same time as the whole.

Fig. 4 shows a flickering method of a turn signal lamp when an emergency braking signal is generated. The electronic control unit 10 generates an emergency braking signal and automatically generates the emergency braking signal when the vehicle speed is rapidly reduced by a predetermined value or more in a state where the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than a predetermined reference speed such as 50 km / The direction indicator light 52 and the right direction indicator light 54 are controlled to blink simultaneously in the temporary lighting manner. Accordingly, when an emergency braking signal is generated, it is possible to transmit accurate information to the surrounding driver by blinking both direction indicator lights in a temporary lighting manner in which the emergency situation is more intuitively displayed.

5 shows a method of blinking the turn signal lamp when the right turn signal lamp is requested to be turned on by the turn signal lever in a state that the emergency blinker switch is turned off. In this embodiment, the case where the right direction indicator is requested to turn on is described as an example, but the same concept can be applied to the left direction indicator as well.

When the emergency blinker switch 45 is turned off and the direction indicator lever 20 requests the right direction indicator to turn on (this is referred to as a 'fourth condition'), the left direction indicator light 52 is turned off, (54) is turned on. At this time, the lighting method is changed according to the vehicle speed sensed by the speed sensor 30. When the vehicle speed is lower than a predetermined reference speed (P km / h, for example, 50 km / h), the right direction indicator lamp 54 is flickered in a sequential lighting manner, and when the vehicle speed is higher than that, the right direction indicator 54 is blinked in a flashing manner . Since the risk of accidents is high during normal high speed operation, it is possible to give more attention to surrounding drivers by converting to a temporary lighting mode at a constant speed or higher. When the vehicle is accelerated beyond the upper reference speed in the state where the turn signal lamp is turned on, the turn signal lamp 54 is naturally switched from the sequential turn on mode to the temporary turn on mode.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, You will understand. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive.

1: Direction indicator control system
10: Electronic control device
20: Direction indicator lever
30: Speed sensor
40: steering angle sensor
45: Emergency blinking switch
50: Direction indicator
52: Left turn indicator
54: Right turn indicator

Claims (4)

There is provided a method of variably lighting left and right turn signal lamps in which a plurality of LED elements are arranged in a row and divided into a plurality of LED groups (each LED group having one or more LED elements)
The electronic control device for controlling the blinking of the left and right turn signal lamps is configured such that when the emergency blinker switch is turned on (referred to as a 'first condition'), both the left and right turn signal lights are turned on in a sequential lighting manner; When the direction indicator lamp is requested to turn on the left or right turn signal lamp in the state that the emergency blinker switch is turned on (this is referred to as 'second condition'), the requested turn signal light maintains the sequential turn on mode, And the control unit controls so as to blink in a lighting manner. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein, in the second condition,
Wherein the plurality of LED groups constituting the requested turn signal lamps sequentially light up and remain on for a predetermined period of time and are simultaneously turned off, and the plurality of LED groups constituting the other turn signal lamps are simultaneously turned on or off, Wherein the requested turn-on time of the turn signal lamp is equal to the turn-on time of the other turn signal lamps. The method according to claim 1,
The electronic control unit automatically controls the left and right direction indicators to blink in a flashing manner at the same time when the vehicle speed during driving is rapidly reduced to a predetermined value or more in a state where the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than a predetermined reference speed Wherein the directional indicator is illuminated by the illuminating light. The method according to claim 1,
If the turn-on of the left or right turn signal lamp is requested by the direction indicator lever in the state that the emergency blinker switch is turned off (hereinafter referred to as a "fourth condition"), When the direction indicator is low, the direction indicator light is blinked in a sequential lighting manner, and when the direction indicator is higher, the direction indicator light is blinked in a flashing manner.

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