# US 10,118,550 B2 · Light control apparatus, vehicle having the light control apparatus, and method for controlling the vehicle

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- Number: US 10,118,550 B2
- Document ID: US10118550B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/617,540
- Filed: 2017-06-08
- Published: 2018-08-16
- Granted: 2018-11-06
- Earliest claimed: 2017-02-13
- Assignees: Huyndai Motor Company; Kia Motors Corporation
- Applicants: Hyundai Motor Company; Kia Motors Corporation
- Inventors: Mingi Oh; Hyungjin Park; Nuri Jeon
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10118550B2

## CPC

- B60L 58/00: Methods or circuit arrangements for monitoring or controlling batteries or fuel cells, specially adapted for electric vehicles
- B60K 35/21: using visual output, e.g. blinking lights or matrix displays
- B60K 35/60: Instruments characterised by their location or relative disposition in or on vehicles (arrangements of lighting devices on dashboards B60Q3/10)
- B60L 58/12: responding to state of charge [SoC]
- H05B 45/10: Controlling the intensity of the light
- B60K 35/10: Input arrangements, i.e. from user to vehicle, associated with vehicle functions or specially adapted therefor
- B60K 35/28: characterised by the type of the output information, e.g. video entertainment or vehicle dynamics information; characterised by the purpose of the output information, e.g. for attracting the attention of the driver
- B60K 2360/169: Remaining operating distance or charge
- B60K 2360/349: Adjustment of brightness
- B60K 2360/48: Sensors
- B60L 2250/16: by display
- Y02B 20/40: Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection
- Y02T 10/70: Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
- Y02T 90/16: Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
- B60L: PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (arrangements or mounting of electrical propulsion units or of plural diverse prime-movers for mutual or common propulsion in vehicles B60K1/00, B60K6/20; arrangements or mounting of electrical gearing in vehicles B60K17/12, B60K17/14; preventing wheel slip by reducing power in rail vehicles B61C15/08; dynamo-electric machines H02K; control or regulation of electric motors H02P); SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (electric coupling devices combined with mechanical couplings of vehicles B60D1/64; electric heating for vehicles B60H1/00); ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL (control or regulation of electric motors H02P); MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
- B60K: ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PROPULSION UNITS OR OF TRANSMISSIONS IN VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PLURAL DIVERSE PRIME-MOVERS IN VEHICLES; AUXILIARY DRIVES FOR VEHICLES; INSTRUMENTATION OR DASHBOARDS FOR VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH COOLING, AIR INTAKE, GAS EXHAUST OR FUEL SUPPLY OF PROPULSION UNITS IN VEHICLES
- H05B: ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
- Y02B: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS
- Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION

## Abstract

A light control apparatus for controlling brightness of a lighting unit indicating a charging state of a battery of a vehicle includes: an interface configured to communicate with an external illuminance detector; 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; a controller configured to receive the illuminance information via the interface, to set the brightness information based on the first reference illuminance and the second reference illuminance, and to control the 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.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A light control apparatus for controlling brightness of a lighting unit indicating a charging state of a battery of a vehicle, the light control apparatus comprising:
an interface configured to communicate with an external illuminance detector;
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;
a controller configured to receive the illuminance information via the interface, to set the brightness information based on the first reference illuminance and the second reference illuminance, and to control the 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.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The light control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the brightness information includes: i) a first target brightness corresponding to an illuminance higher than or equal to the first reference illuminance, ii) a second target brightness corresponding to an illuminance lower than the second reference illuminance, and iii) a reference brightness corresponding to an illuminance higher than or equal to the second reference illuminance and lower than the first reference illuminance.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The light control apparatus according to claim 1, 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 after a predetermined time elapses from when a charging is started.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The light control apparatus according to claim 1, 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 when a charging state of the battery is a charging failure state.

### Claim 5

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.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The vehicle according to claim 5, further comprising:
a charge amount detector configured to detect an amount of charge of the battery, wherein
the lighting unit includes a plurality of lamps,
the memory is further configured to store information corresponding to a number of the plurality of lamps to be turned on for lighting operation based on the detected amount of charge of the battery, and
the controller is further configured to the lighting operation of at least one of the plurality of lamps based on the information stored in the memory and the detected amount of charge of the battery.

### Claim 7 (depends on 5)

The vehicle according to claim 5, wherein the brightness information stored in the memory includes: i) a first target brightness corresponding to an illuminance higher than or equal to the first reference illuminance, ii) a second target brightness corresponding to an illuminance lower than the second reference illuminance, and iii) a reference brightness corresponding to an illuminance higher than or equal to the second reference illuminance and lower than the first reference illuminance.

### Claim 8 (depends on 5)

The vehicle according to claim 5, wherein the controller is further configured to adjust a brightness of the lighting unit such that the lighting unit emits light more brightly than the controlled brightness by a predetermined brightness when communication with the smart key is performed, to maintain the brightness of the lighting unit as the controlled brightness when the communication with the smart key is not performed, to control the driver such that the lighting unit emits light brighter than the adjusted brightness when the communication with the smart key is performed after a predetermined time elapses from when a charging is started, and to control the driver such that the lighting unit emits light brighter than the controlled brightness when the communication with the smart key is not performed after the predetermined time elapses from when the charging is started.

### Claim 9 (depends on 5)

The vehicle according to claim 5, wherein the controller is further configured to adjust a brightness of the lighting unit such that the lighting unit emits light more brightly than the controlled brightness by a predetermined brightness when communication with the smart key is performed, to maintain the brightness of the lighting unit as the controlled brightness when the communication with the smart key is not performed, to control the driver such that the lighting unit emits light brighter than the adjusted brightness when the communication with the smart key is performed and the charging state of the battery is the charging failure state, and to control the driver such that the lighting unit emits light brighter than the controlled brightness when the communication with the smart key is not performed and the charging state of the battery is the charging failure state.

### Claim 10 (depends on 5)

The vehicle according to claim 5, wherein:
when the communication with the smart key is performed, the controller is further configured to adjust a brightness of the lighting unit such that the lighting unit emits light more brightly than the controlled brightness by a predetermined brightness and to determine whether the charging mode of the battery is the reservation mode,
when the charging mode of the battery is the reservation mode, the controller is further configured to determine whether a present time is prior to a scheduled time,
when the present time is prior to the scheduled time, the controller is further configured to control the driver such that the lighting unit emits light brighter than the adjusted brightness, and
when the communication with the smart key is not performed, the charging mode of the battery is the reservation mode, and the present time is prior to the scheduled time, the controller is further configured to maintain the brightness of the lighting unit as the controlled brightness and to control the driver such that the lighting unit emits light brighter than the controlled brightness.

### Claim 11 (depends on 5)

The vehicle according to claim 5, wherein the lighting unit is provided in a dashboard.

### Claim 12 (depends on 5)

The vehicle according to claim 5, wherein the lighting unit is provided in a charging unit, and the charging unit is connected to an external plug.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The vehicle according to claim 12, further comprising:
a charging cap provided in the charging unit;
an opening/closing detector configured to detect information corresponding to an opening state and closing state of the charging cap;
wherein the controller is further configured to determine whether the charging cap is in the opening state based on the detected information by the opening/closing detector, when the charging cap is in the opening state, to activate a lighting operation of the lighting unit, and when the charging cap is in the closing state, to activate an off-operation of the lighting unit.

### Claim 14

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.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The method according to claim 14, wherein a plurality of brightness levels includes: i) a first target brightness corresponding to an illuminance higher than or equal to the first reference illuminance, ii) a second target brightness corresponding to an illuminance lower than the second reference illuminance, and iii) a reference brightness corresponding to an illuminance higher than or equal to the second reference illuminance and lower than the first reference illuminance, wherein
the first target brightness is higher than the reference brightness and the second target brightness,
the second target brightness is lower than the reference brightness, and
the setting of the brightness information includes:
determining the brightness of the lighting unit as the first target brightness when the external illuminance is higher than or equal to the first reference illuminance,
determining the brightness of the lighting unit as the second target brightness when the external illuminance is lower than the second reference illuminance, and
determining the brightness of the lighting unit as the reference target brightness when the external illuminance is higher than or equal to the second reference illuminance and is lower than the first reference illuminance.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The method according to claim 15, further comprising:
determining whether communication with a smart key is performed; and
adjusting the determined brightness based on a predetermined brightness when the communication with the smart key is performed.

### Claim 17 (depends on 15)

The method according to claim 15, further comprising:
identifying a charging mode of the battery;
determining whether a present time is prior to a scheduled time when the charging mode of the battery is a reservation mode; and
adjusting power of a driver such that the lighting unit emits light brighter than a brightness according to the set brightness information when the present time is prior to a scheduled time.

### Claim 18 (depends on 15)

The method according to claim 15, further comprising,
determining whether the battery state is a charging failure state based on the identified amount of charge; and
adjusting the brightness of the lighting unit to be brighter than the determined brightness when the battery state is a charging failure state.

### Claim 19 (depends on 14)

The method according to claim 14, wherein the activating of the on-operation or the off-operation of the lighting unit includes:
controlling an on-operation of a plurality of first lamps of the first lighting unit provided in a charging unit, and a plurality of second lamps of a second lighting unit provided in a dashboard.