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EP-4557892-B1 - LIGHT UNIT OF AN AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE

EP4557892B1EP 4557892 B1EP4557892 B1EP 4557892B1EP-4557892-B1

Inventors

  • CANTUDO, Miguel-Angel
  • JURADO, Jesus

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20231115

Claims (13)

  1. A light unit (100) of an automotive vehicle (1) comprising: - at least one LED board (110, 120) comprising LEDs (111) and at least one LED driver (112), the LED board being connected to a first communication bus (150) for receiving driver commands, - a control board (130) including a microcontroller (131) connected to a second communication bus (140) for receiving a control signal from the automotive vehicle (1), the control board (130) further being connected to the first communication bus (150) for sending driver commands to the LED drivers, the control signal comprising at least one light command related to control of the LEDs, and the microcontroller (131) translating received light command into a driver command, - wherein the LED board (110, 120) comprises at least one memory comprising an identification information, characterized in that the microcontroller (131) is configured for reading the identification information at power on and for selecting a translation program in response to the identification information, the selected translation program performing the translation of the received light commands into the driver commands.
  2. The light unit of claim 1, wherein the light unit (100) further comprises a housing including optics and fixing means for affixing the at least one LED board (110, 120) in front of the optics, and for affixing the control board (130).
  3. The light unit of one of the claims 1 or 2, wherein the LED board (110, 120) comprises a programmable driver and wherein the memory is located inside the programmable driver.
  4. The light unit of one of the claims 1 to 3, wherein the identification information comprises a type of LED board (110, 113, 114, 120).
  5. The light unit of one of the claims 1 to 3, wherein the identification information comprises a type of light.
  6. The light unit of one of the claims 1 to 5, wherein the identification information comprises a bit indicating whether the light unit is to be placed on the right or on the left of the automotive vehicle (1).
  7. Method for controlling lights of a light unit (100) of an automotive vehicle (1), the light unit having: - at least one LED board (110, 120) comprising LEDs (111) and at least one LED driver (112) connected to a first communication bus (150) for receiving driver commands, the LED board comprising at least one memory comprising an identification information, and - a control board (130) including a microcontroller (131) connected to a second communication bus (140) for receiving light commands of the automotive vehicle (1), and to the first communication bus (150) for sending driver commands, the microcontroller (131) comprising several translation programs for translating received light commands into driver commands, characterized in that the microcontroller (131) performs the following steps at power on: - reading (520) the identification information, - selecting (530) a translation program amongst the translation programs in response to the identification information, - running (540) the selected program for receiving one light command and translating said received light command into one or more driver commands according to the selected translation program.
  8. The method of claim 7, wherein the identification information comprises a type of LED board.
  9. The method of one of the claims 7 or 8, wherein the identification information comprises type of light.
  10. The method of the claims 7 to 9, wherein the identification information comprises a bit indicating whether the light unit is intended to be placed on the right or on the left of the automotive vehicle (1).
  11. A manufacturing method for manufacturing a light unit (100) of an automotive vehicle (1), the method comprising the steps of: - providing (650) a housing including optics and fixing means for affixing at least one LED board (110, 120) in front of the optics, and for affixing a control board (130), - providing (610, 620) the at least one LED board (110, 120) comprising LEDs and one or more LED drivers (112) and a connector for connecting a first communication bus (150), - affixing (660) the LED board (110, 120) into the housing, - providing (630, 640) the control board (130) including a microcontroller (131), a connector to a second communication bus (140) for receiving control signals of the automotive vehicle, and a connector to the first communication bus (150), - affixing (680) the control board to the housing, and connecting the first communication bus (150) between the LED board (110, 120) and the control board (130), wherein the method further comprises: - a step (620, 670) for writing an identification information in at least one memory of the at least one LED board (110, 120), and - a step (640) for loading a program in the microcontroller (131) comprising several translation programs for translating received light commands into driver commands correspond to a plurality of LED boards (110, 113, 114, 120), wherein said program comprises an initialization program for reading the identification information at power on and for selecting a translation program in response to the identification information, the selected translation program performing the translation of the received light commands into the driver commands.
  12. The manufacturing method of claim 11, wherein the step (670) for writing an identification information is made at least in part after the fixing (660) of the LED board (110, 120) in the housing.
  13. The manufacturing method of claim 12, wherein the identification information written after the fixing of the LED board comprises a bit indicating if the light unit is to be placed on the right or on the left of the automotive vehicle.

Description

Technical Field The invention relates to light unit of an automotive vehicle. More particularly, the invention relates to LED unit enabling to have lighting effect capabilities. Background Art An automotive vehicle comprises at least four light units, two headlight units at the front and two rear light units at the back of the vehicle, the lights unit being located on each side, two on left and two on right. The light unit is a single block element grouping together different lights of an automotive vehicle. For headlight, the light unit may include daytime running lights, low beam headlights, high beam headlights, turn indicator lights, welcome scenario lights, animation lights, fog lights or the like. For the rear, the light unit may include signaling lights, brake lights, rear fog lights, reversing lights, turn lights or the like. With light emitting diode (LED) technology, each light can have a dynamic lighting. Dynamic lighting consists in the division of each light in a plurality of sub-lights for providing different light patterns either for sending different light signals or for selecting the lighting area. The light unit comprises a housing in which one or several LED boards are located and a control board. The housing is specific to the shape of one or several vehicles and to its position on the vehicle. A LED board comprises LEDs and LED drivers to be inserted at a specific position inside the housing for performing one or more light functions according to specific light options of the vehicle. For mass production reasons, it is preferred to reduce the number of LED board types. Different LEDs boards can be mounted in a same housing and a same LED board can also be used for several housing. For same reasons, a control board is manufactured for controlling one or more LED boards of different types. During the assembling of the light unit, an operator must select the housing and insert the LED boards and configure them depending on the housing (left or right) then the control board is inserted and should be configured as a function of the LED boards. Conventionally, the configuration of the control board is made by soldering or cutting resistors or jumpers before inserting the control boards in the housing. The resistors or jumpers acting as programmable switches for indicating to a microcontroller of the control board what kind of LED boards are connected. Such manual methods are relatively long and are a source of errors. US 2021/274615 Al discloses techniques to control vehicle lighting systems using LEDs. Summary of the Invention The invention relates to a light unit of an automotive vehicle, according to the appended claim 1, to a method for controlling lights of a light unit of an automotive vehicle, according to the appended claim 7, and to a manufacturing method for manufacturing a light unit, according to the appended claim 11. The aim of the invention is to provide a light unit configured by software for avoiding any problem during the assembling. The invention is a light unit of an automotive vehicle comprising at least one LED board and a control board. The at least one LED board comprises LEDs and at least one LED driver, the LED board being connected to a first communication bus for receiving driver commands. The control board includes a microcontroller connected to a second communication bus for receiving a control signal from the automotive vehicle, and to the first communication bus for sending driver commands to the LED drivers, the control signal comprising at least one light command related to control of the LEDs, and the microcontroller translating the received light command into a driver command. According to the invention, the LED board comprises at least one memory comprising an identification information. The microcontroller is configured for reading the identification information at power on and for selecting a translation program in response to the identification information, the selected translation program performing the translation of the received light commands into the driver commands. Preferentially, the light unit can further comprise a housing including optics and fixing means for affixing the at least one LED board in front of the optics, and for affixing the control board. According to a preferred embodiment, the LED board can comprise a programmable driver and wherein the memory is located inside the programmable driver. According to different embodiments, the identification information can comprise a type of LED board, a type of light, or a bit indicating whether the light unit is to be placed on the right or on the left of the automotive vehicle. The invention also relates to a method for controlling lights of a light unit of an automotive vehicle. Said light unit comprises at least one LED board comprising LEDs and at least one LED driver connected to a first communication bus for receiving driver commands, the LED board comprising at least one memory compri