SENSOR DEVICE FOR DETERMINING AMBIENT CONDITIONS OF A VEHICLE, IN PARTICULAR OF A MOTOR VEHICLE AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE POSITION OF THE SUN

Abstract

In a sensor device for determining ambient conditions of a vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle, comprising at least one transmitter for emitting electromagnetic radiation, in particular infrared radiation, comprising at least three receivers for receiving electromagnetic radiation, in particular infrared radiation, wherein at least one transmitter is assigned to at least one receiver for determining precipitation on at least one glass surface, in particular the windscreen of the motor vehicle, and wherein at least three receivers are aligned for receiving electromagnetic radiation from different angular regions, it is provided as essential to the invention that the spatial receiving regions of at least one first and at least one second receiver are aligned substantially horizontally, that the spatial receiving region of at least one third receiver is aligned substantially upwards.

Claims

1. A sensor device for determining ambient conditions of a vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle, comprising at least one transmitter for emitting electromagnetic radiation, in particular infrared radiation, comprising at least three receivers for receiving electromagnetic radiation, in particular infrared radiation, wherein at least one transmitter is assigned to at least one receiver for determining precipitation on at least one glass surface, in particular the windscreen of the motor vehicle, and wherein at least three receivers are aligned for receiving electromagnetic radiation from different angular regions, wherein: the spatial receiving regions of at least one first and at least one second receiver are aligned substantially horizontally, the spatial receiving region of at least one third receiver is aligned substantially upwards and that two receivers are assigned to at least one transmitter.

2. The sensor device according to claim 1, wherein the maxima of the spatial receiving characteristics of at least two receivers point in opposite directions and that the maximum of the spatial receiving characteristic of a third receiver is aligned vertically to the axis of the spatial receiving characteristics of the oppositely directed receivers.

3. The sensor device according to claim 1, wherein the receivers have an at least approximately identical spectral sensitivity.

4. The sensor device according to claim 1, wherein the sensor device comprises at least one coupling-in element for coupling in the electromagnetic radiation of a transmitter into a glass surface and at least one coupling-out element for coupling out the electromagnetic radiation from a glass surface.

5. A vehicle having at least one windscreen and having at least one sensor device according to claim 1, wherein the sensor device is disposed on the windscreen, at least one receiver is aligned facing the driver's side of the vehicle, at least one receiver is aligned facing the passenger side of the vehicle and at least one receiver is aligned facing away from the base surface on which the vehicle is moving.

6. The vehicle according to claim 5, wherein the receiver aligned facing away from the base surface is disposed along the surface of the windscreen in relation to the base surface above or below the transmitters.

7. A method for determining the position of the sun using a sensor device according to the invention, wherein at least one irradiation intensity value of the ambient light is detected in each case by means of at least three receivers, the maximum value of the detected irradiation intensity values is determined, the side of the vehicle facing the sun is deduced from the maximum irradiation intensity values.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the irradiation intensity values are detected temporally consecutively by the receivers.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the irradiation intensity values determined with the two substantially horizontally aligned receivers are divided by the determined maximum irradiation intensity value for normalizing, the smaller of the two normalized irradiation intensity values is subtracted from the larger of the two normalized irradiation intensity values, the arc cosine is formed from the result of the subtraction and the arc cosine is assigned to the azimuth angle of the position of the sun.

10. The method according to claim 7, wherein a vector is determined in each case from the irradiation intensity signals measured with the two substantially horizontally aligned receivers, a sum vector is formed from the two vectors, the magnitude of the resulting sum vector is compared with the signal of the irradiation intensity measured using the substantially upwardly directed receiver, the measured irradiation intensity values are normalized, the smaller of the two normalized irradiation intensity values is subtracted from the larger of the two normalized intensity values, the arc cosine is formed from the result of the subtraction and the arc cosine is assigned to the elevation angle of the position of the sun.

11. The sensor device according to claim 2, wherein the receivers have an at least approximately identical spectral sensitivity.

12. The sensor device according to claim 2, wherein the sensor device comprises at least one coupling-in element for coupling in the electromagnetic radiation of a transmitter into a glass surface and at least one coupling-out element for coupling out the electromagnetic radiation from a glass surface.

13. The sensor device according to claim 3, wherein the sensor device comprises at least one coupling-in element for coupling in the electromagnetic radiation of a transmitter into a glass surface and at least one coupling-out element for coupling out the electromagnetic radiation from a glass surface.

14. The method according to claim 8, wherein the irradiation intensity values determined with the two substantially horizontally aligned receivers are divided by the determined maximum irradiation intensity value for normalizing, the smaller of the two normalized irradiation intensity values is subtracted from the larger of the two normalized irradiation intensity values, the arc cosine is formed from the result of the subtraction and the arc cosine is assigned to the azimuth angle of the position of the sun.

15. The method according to claim 8, wherein a vector is determined in each case from the irradiation intensity signals measured with the two substantially horizontally aligned receivers, a sum vector is formed from the two vectors, the magnitude of the resulting sum vector is compared with the signal of the irradiation intensity measured using the substantially upwardly directed receiver, the measured irradiation intensity values are normalized, the smaller of the two normalized irradiation intensity values is subtracted from the larger of the two normalized intensity values, the arc cosine is formed from the result of the subtraction and the arc cosine is assigned to the elevation angle of the position of the sun.

16. The method according to claim 9, wherein a vector is determined in each case from the irradiation intensity signals measured with the two substantially horizontally aligned receivers, a sum vector is formed from the two vectors, the magnitude of the resulting sum vector is compared with the signal of the irradiation intensity measured using the substantially upwardly directed receiver, the measured irradiation intensity values are normalized, the smaller of the two normalized irradiation intensity values is subtracted from the larger of the two normalized intensity values, the arc cosine is formed from the result of the subtraction and the arc cosine is assigned to the elevation angle of the position of the sun.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0019] The invention is explained further with reference to a preferred exemplary embodiment shown in the drawings:

[0020] FIG. 1: shows an arrangement of transmitter and receiver for determining an irradiation intensity value and the degree of wetting of a windscreen; and

[0021] FIG. 2: shows an arrangement of three measuring sections for determining the degree of wetting of a windscreen and the position of the sun.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] FIG. 1 shows a measuring section for determining the precipitation on a windscreen 1 of a vehicle. The measuring section is constructed from a transmitter 2 and a receiver 3. A coupling-in element 4 is arranged between the transmitter 2 and the windscreen 1 by means of which the infrared radiation emitted by the transmitter 2 can be coupled into the windscreen 1. Accordingly a coupling-out element 5 is disposed between the receiver 5 and the windscreen 1 by means of which the coupled-in infrared radiation is coupled out to the receiver 3. In the windscreen the infrared radiation emitted by the transmitter 2 can be relayed by total reflections. In the case of a wetting of the windscreen 1, for example, with rain water, total reflections do not occur in the windscreen 1 but the infrared radiation is partially coupled out along a measuring section. The receiver 3 can detect how high is the proportion of total reflections in the windscreen 1 or the proportion of coupled-out light from which the wetting state of the windscreen 1 can be deduced. In addition to determining the wetting state, the receiver 3 can be used for determining the position of the sun, The infrared radiation 7 emitted by the sun 6 is detected by the receiver 3. The detection of the infrared radiation 7 emitted by the sun is preferably made whilst no infrared radiation is emitted by the transmitter. By using a plurality of receivers 3 aligned in different directions, it is possible to determine the position of the sun.

[0023] FIG. 2 shows the arrangement of three measuring sections to determine the position of the sun. Here three receivers 3, 8, 9 are assigned to two transmitters 2, 10. Preferably the arrangement is disposed on the windscreen 1 of a vehicle. Measuring sections in this arrangement are formed between the transmitter 2 and the receiver 3, between the transmitter 10 and the receiver 8 and between the transmitter 10 and the receiver 9. The measuring section 11 arranged between the transmitter 2 and the receiver 3 and the measuring section 12 arranged between the transmitter 10 and the receiver 8 are horizontally aligned. In particular, the measuring sections 11, 12 are aligned transversely to a vehicle longitudinal axis. The receiver 3 is aligned facing the passenger side whilst the receiver 8 is aligned facing the driver side. A measuring section 13 which runs transversely to the measuring sections 11 and 12 is formed between the transmitter 10 and the receiver 9. Along the windscreen 1 the receiver 9 is located underneath the transmitter 10. The receiver 9 is arranged so that it is aligned facing away from the base surface on which the vehicle is moving. As a result of the inclination of the windscreen 1, the upwardly directed receiving field of the receiver 9 is not disturbed by the transmitters 2, 10 or the other receivers 3, 8. As a result of the alignment of the receivers 3, 8 and 9, it is possible to detect infrared radiation from three different directions in relation to the vehicle. As a result of the arrangement of the transmitters and receivers with respect to one another, it is possible to determine a wetting state of the windscreen 1 and also to determine the position of the sun without further components.

[0024] All the features mentioned in the preceding description and in the claims can be combined in an arbitrary selection with the features of the independent claims. The disclosure of the invention is thus not restricted to the described or claimed feature combinations but rather all appropriate feature combinations within the scope of the invention should be considered to be disclosed.