Light control apparatus, vehicle having the light control apparatus, and method for controlling the vehicle

A vehicle comprising:

• a rechargeable battery;
• a motor configured to generate a torque using power of the battery and to transmit the generated torque to a wheel of the vehicle;
• a lighting unit configured to indicate a charging state of the battery;
• a memory configured to store illuminance information corresponding to a first reference illuminance and a second reference illuminance lower than the first reference illuminance and to store brightness information set based on the first reference illuminance and the second reference illuminance;
• an illuminance detector configured to detect an illuminance;
• a controller configured to set the brightness information based on the first reference illuminance and the second reference illuminance, and to control brightness of the lighting unit based on the set brightness information;
• and
• a driver configured to regulate power of the lighting unit in response to a command of the controller,
• wherein the controller is further configured to control the driver so that the lighting unit emits light brighter than a brightness according to the set brightness information at a predetermined time prior to a scheduled time when a charging mode of the battery is a reservation mode.

A method for controlling a vehicle including a battery and a motor, the method comprising:

• identifying a state of the battery;
• activating an on-operation or an off-operation of a lighting unit based on the identified state of the battery;
• detecting an external illuminance;
• determining a first reference illuminance and a second reference illuminance lower than the first reference illuminance, the first reference illuminance and the second reference illuminance stored in a memory;
• setting brightness information based on the first reference illuminance and the second reference illuminance;
• controlling brightness of the lighting unit based on the detected illuminance, the first reference illuminance, the second illuminance and the determined brightness information of the light unit;
• adjusting the brightness of the lighting unit to be brighter than the adjusted brightness after a predetermined time elapses from when a charging is started;
• maintaining the brightness of lighting unit as the adjusted brightness during a preset time;
• and
• adjusting the brightness of the lighting unit according to the adjusted brightness when the preset time elapses.