阅读说明：本技术 智能玻璃的透射率控制系统和控制方法 (Transmissivity control system and control method of intelligent glass ) 是由 朴钟旼 张承赫 李骐泓 孔珞敬 于 2020-09-23 设计创作，主要内容包括：本公开涉及一种智能玻璃的透射率控制系统。该系统包括：智能玻璃,响应于引入的光量而减小智能玻璃的透射率,并且在施加电力时增大智能玻璃的透射率；电源单元,向智能玻璃施加电力；以及控制单元,控制从电源单元向智能玻璃施加的电力,以根据用户请求控制智能玻璃的透射率。具体地,控制单元基于车辆的行驶环境、来自外部光源的光量或智能玻璃的驱动环境条件来控制从电源单元向智能玻璃施加的电力。(The present disclosure relates to a transmittance control system for smart glass. The system comprises: a smart glass that reduces transmittance of the smart glass in response to an amount of light introduced and increases transmittance of the smart glass when power is applied; a power supply unit applying power to the smart glass; and a control unit controlling power applied from the power supply unit to the smart glass to control transmittance of the smart glass according to a user request. Specifically, the control unit controls the electric power applied from the power supply unit to the smart glass based on the running environment of the vehicle, the amount of light from the external light source, or the driving environmental condition of the smart glass.)

1. A transmittance control system for smart glass comprising:

a smart glass that decreases a transmittance of the smart glass in response to an amount of introduced light and increases the transmittance of the smart glass when power is applied;

a power supply unit applying the power to the smart glass; and

a control unit controlling power applied from the power supply unit to the smart glass to control the transmittance of the smart glass according to a user request,

wherein the control unit controls the power applied to the smart glass based on a driving environment of a vehicle, a light amount from an external light source, or a driving environmental condition of the smart glass.

2. The smart glass transmissivity control system of claim 1,

the control unit determines the transmittance of the smart glass based on an amount of light measured by an automatic light sensor or an ambient light sensor.

3. The smart glass transmissivity control system of claim 1,

the control unit determines the running environment of the vehicle through a navigation system.

4. The smart glass transmissivity control system of claim 3,

the control unit controls the power applied to the smart glass in response to a light-shielded area on a travel route of the vehicle through the navigation system.

5. The smart glass transmissivity control system of claim 1,

the control unit controls to increase the transmittance of the smart glass when no external light source is present.

6. A transmittance control method of a smart glass that decreases a transmittance of the smart glass in response to an amount of light introduced into a vehicle and increases the transmittance of the smart glass when power is applied, the method comprising:

judging the driving environmental condition of the intelligent glass through a controller;

determining, by the controller, whether the amount of light introduced is equal to or greater than a first reference value when the driving environmental condition is an automatic mode;

entering a daytime mode by the controller when the introduced amount of light is equal to or greater than the first reference value, and determining whether the introduced amount of light exceeds a second reference value;

reducing, by the controller, the transmittance of the smart glass when the amount of the introduced light exceeds the second reference value; and

applying, by the controller, the electric power to the smart glass when the amount of the introduced light exceeds the second reference value, and setting a hysteresis section when the transmittance of the smart glass is equal to or greater than an intermediate brightness level.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

entering a night mode by the controller when the introduced amount of light is less than the first reference value, and determining whether the introduced amount of light is equal to or less than a third reference value;

applying, by the controller, the power to the smart glass when the amount of the introduced light is equal to or less than the third reference value, and determining whether the amount of the light transmitted through the smart glass is equal to or greater than the third reference value; and

turning off, by the controller, a power supply when the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass is equal to or greater than the third reference value.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein,

applying the power to the smart glass comprises:

applying the electric power to the smart glass in a pulse form when the amount of the introduced light is equal to or less than the third reference value.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein,

judging the driving environmental conditions of the intelligent glass comprises the following steps:

judging whether an external shading area exists on a driving route of the vehicle; and

applying maximum power to the smart glass when the external light-shielding area exists on the driving route.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein,

judging the driving environmental conditions of the intelligent glass comprises the following steps:

determining whether the amount of light introduced exceeds the second reference value when the driving environment condition is an automatic driving mode or a private mode; and

when the amount of the introduced light exceeds the second reference value, it is judged whether the transmittance of the smart glass is a minimum brightness level.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein,

turning off a power supply when the transmittance of the smart glass is the minimum brightness level.

12. The method of claim 6, wherein,

judging the driving environmental conditions of the intelligent glass comprises the following steps:

judging whether or not the lightening is sensed by at least one of the smart glass or a sensor for measuring the light quantity; and

when a lightening is sensed, the power is applied to switch the transmittance of the smart glass to a highest state.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein,

determining whether the shallowing is sensed includes:

when the lightening is sensed, a lightening signal is generated.

14. The method of claim 6, wherein,

judging the driving environmental conditions of the intelligent glass comprises the following steps:

judging whether the driving environmental condition is a parking state in the automatic mode;

determining whether the amount of light introduced in the automatic mode is less than the first reference value and equal to or less than a third reference value;

applying the electric power to the smart glass when the amount of the introduced light is less than the first reference value and equal to or less than the third reference value;

turning off a power supply when the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass that is energized is equal to or greater than the third reference value; and

continuously applying the power to the smart glass when the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass that is energized is less than the third reference value.

15. The method of claim 6, wherein,

judging the driving environmental conditions of the intelligent glass comprises the following steps:

when the driving environmental condition is a manual mode, judging whether a user switch input is detected;

determining whether the amount of light introduced is equal to or greater than a third reference value when the user switch input is detected;

when the introduced amount of light is equal to or greater than the third reference value, determining whether the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass is less than the third reference value; and

applying the electric power to the smart glass when the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass is less than the third reference value.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

turning off a power supply when the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass is equal to or greater than the third reference value.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

turning off power when the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass is equal to the third reference value.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein,

determining whether the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass is less than the third reference value includes:

when the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass exceeds the third reference value, display cannot be performed.

19. The method of claim 6, wherein,

measuring the driving environmental condition with at least one of an automatic light sensor, a rain sensor, a navigator, and an ambient light sensor located within the smart glass.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a transmittance control system and a control method of smart glass, and more particularly, to a transmittance control system and a control method of smart glass capable of discoloring or decoloring the smart glass.

Background

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

Electrochromism (Electrochromism) is a phenomenon in which color is reversibly changed by the direction of an electric field when a voltage is applied, and an electrochromic material is a material having optical properties reversibly changed by an electrochemical reduction-oxidation reaction. The electrochromic material has the following characteristics: the electrochromic material does not display a color in the case where an electric signal is not applied from the outside, and displays a color in the case where an electric signal is applied; or the electrochromic material displays a color without applying a signal from the outside and decolors when a signal is applied.

The electrochromic device is a device for adjusting light transmittance and reflectance of window glass of a building or a vehicle mirror, which utilizes a phenomenon of changing light transmittance of an electrochromic material through an electrochemical reduction-oxidation reaction. In recent years, electrochromic devices are known to have an infrared ray blocking effect and to change color in the visible light region, and thus have attracted considerable attention as possible energy-saving products.

Further, in recent years, a vehicle glass is manufactured using an electrochromic device to provide a smart glass whose transmittance can be adjusted. The conventional smart glass is configured such that when electricity is applied to the liquid crystal and the floating material, the transmittance of the smart glass is controlled by using a polarization technique by controlling the angular arrangement of the material.

However, in the conventional glass or mirror using the electrochromic device, its function is deteriorated according to impurities contained in the electrochromic layer. In addition, power must be continuously applied, thereby reducing the driving power of the vehicle.

Further, in the case of mounting a smart glass that irreversibly discolors the smart glass in the presence of a light source and discolors the smart glass only when power is applied, a new method of controlling the transmittance of the smart glass is required.

The above information provided in this background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the disclosure and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Disclosure of Invention

The present disclosure provides a control system and method of a smart glass configured such that the transmittance of the smart glass is automatically reduced according to the amount of light supplied to the smart glass from the outside.

Further, the present disclosure provides a transmittance control system and a control method of smart glass capable of discoloring and decoloring the smart glass based on an amount of external light.

The objects of the present disclosure will be clearly understood from the following description, and can be achieved by the means defined in the claims and combinations thereof.

In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a transmittance control system for smart glass, comprising: a smart glass that reduces transmittance of the smart glass in response to an amount of light introduced and increases transmittance of the smart glass when power is applied; a power supply unit configured to apply power to the smart glass; and a control unit configured to control power applied from the power supply unit to the smart glass to control transmittance of the smart glass according to a user request; wherein the control unit is configured to control the power applied from the power supply unit to the smart glass based on a running environment of the vehicle, a light amount from an external light source, or a driving environmental condition of the smart glass.

The control unit may be configured to determine the transmittance of the smart glass based on the amount of light measured by the automatic light sensor or the ambient light sensor.

The control unit may be configured to determine a running environment of the vehicle through the navigation system.

The control unit may be configured to perform control such that power is applied to the smart glass in response to a light-shielded area on a travel route of the vehicle through the navigation system.

The control unit may be configured to perform control such that the transmittance of the smart glass is increased when the external light source is not present.

In another aspect, the present disclosure provides a transmittance control method of a smart glass configured such that a transmittance of the smart glass is decreased in response to an amount of light introduced into a vehicle, and the transmittance of the smart glass is increased when power is applied. Specifically, the method comprises the following steps: judging the driving environmental condition of the intelligent glass through a controller; determining, by the controller, whether an amount of introduced light is equal to or greater than a first reference value when the driving environmental condition is the automatic mode; entering a daytime mode through the controller when the introduced light amount is equal to or greater than a first reference value, and judging whether the introduced light amount exceeds a second reference value; reducing, by the controller, the transmittance of the smart glass when the amount of the introduced light exceeds a second reference value; and applying power to the smart glass through the controller when the amount of introduced light exceeds a second reference value, and setting a hysteresis section when the transmittance of the smart glass is equal to or greater than the intermediate brightness level.

The method may further comprise: entering a night mode by the controller when the introduced light amount is less than the first reference value, and judging whether the introduced light amount is equal to or less than a third reference value; applying power to the smart glass through the controller when the amount of introduced light is equal to or less than a third reference value, and determining whether the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass is equal to or greater than the third reference value; and turning off the power when the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass is equal to or greater than a third reference value.

The step of applying power to the smart glass and determining whether the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass is equal to or greater than the third reference value may include applying power to the smart glass in a pulse form when the amount of introduced light is equal to or less than the third reference value.

The step of judging the driving environmental condition of the smart glass may include: judging whether an external shading area exists on a driving route of the vehicle; and applying maximum power to the smart glass when there is an external shading area on the driving route.

The step of judging the driving environmental condition of the smart glass may include: judging whether the amount of introduced light exceeds a second reference value when the driving environment condition is the automatic driving mode or the private mode; and judging whether the transmittance of the smart glass is the lowest brightness level when the amount of the introduced light exceeds a second reference value.

When the transmittance of the smart glass is at the minimum brightness level, the power may be turned off.

The step of judging the driving environmental condition of the smart glass may include: judging whether or not the lightening is sensed by at least one of the smart glass or a sensor for measuring the light quantity; and when the lightening is sensed, applying power to switch the transmittance of the smart glass to the highest state.

The step of determining whether or not the lightening is sensed may include generating a lightening signal when the lightening is sensed.

The step of judging the driving environmental condition of the smart glass may include: judging whether the driving environment condition is a parking state in an automatic mode; determining whether an amount of light introduced in the automatic mode is less than a first reference value and equal to or less than a third reference value; applying power to the smart glass when the amount of introduced light is less than the first reference value and equal to or less than the third reference value; turning off the power when the amount of light transmitted through the powered smart glass is equal to or greater than a third reference value; and continuously applying power to the smart glass when the amount of light transmitted through the powered smart glass is less than the third reference value.

The step of judging the driving environmental condition of the smart glass may include: when the driving environment condition is a manual mode, judging whether a user switch is input; judging whether the amount of introduced light is equal to or greater than a third reference value when a user switch is input; when the introduced light quantity is equal to or greater than the third reference value, judging whether the light quantity transmitted through the intelligent glass is less than the third reference value; and applying power when the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass is less than a third reference value.

The transmittance control method of the smart glass may further include: and when the quantity of light transmitted through the smart glass is equal to or greater than a third reference value, turning off the power supply.

The step of judging whether the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass is less than the third reference value when the amount of light introduced is equal to or greater than the third reference value may include: when the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass is less than the third reference value, power is applied.

The step of judging whether the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass is less than the third reference value may include: and when the quantity of light transmitted through the smart glass is equal to the third reference value, turning off the power supply.

The step of judging whether the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass is less than the third reference value may include: when the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass exceeds the third reference value, the display cannot be performed.

The driving environmental condition may be measured using at least one of an automatic light sensor, a rain sensor, a navigator, and an ambient light sensor located within the smart glass.

Other aspects and exemplary forms of the disclosure are discussed below.

It will be understood that the term "vehicle" or "vehicular" or other similar terms as used herein generally include motor vehicles, such as passenger vehicles including Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs), buses, trucks, various commercial vehicles, watercraft including a variety of boats and ships, aircraft, and the like, and includes hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles, and other alternative fuel (e.g., resource-derived fuels other than petroleum) vehicles. As referred to herein, a hybrid vehicle is a vehicle having two or more power sources, such as a hybrid vehicle of gasoline and electric power.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

Drawings

In order that the disclosure may be readily understood, various forms thereof will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a transmittance control system for smart glass according to one form of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between factors for controlling the transmittance of smart glass;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a transmittance control method of a smart glass according to one form of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a transmittance control method of the smart glass in an automatic driving or private mode;

fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a transmittance control method of the smart glass in a parking state; and

fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a transmittance control method of the smart glass in the manual mode.

The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

Detailed Description

The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.

Various forms of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. This disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the forms set forth herein. Rather, these forms are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.

It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of various features illustrative of the basic principles of the disclosure. The specific design features of the present disclosure, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes, are set forth in part in the disclosure herein to be determined by the particular intended application and use environment.

In addition, the term "unit", "sensor" or "glass" used in the present specification means one unit that processes at least one function or operation, and may be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

In addition, as used in this specification, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish the same-named elements, and in the following description, the order between the elements is not limited.

In addition, the term "light source" used in the present specification includes all configurations configured to apply light to a vehicle. In this specification, sunlight is described as a form of light source; however, the light source is not limited thereto.

In addition, in the present specification, the term "discoloring" means controlling so that the transmittance of the smart glass is decreased, and the term "discoloring" means controlling so that the transmittance of the smart glass is increased.

In addition, in the present specification, the transmittance of the smart glass may be defined to mean the amount of light B introduced into the smart glass.

The present disclosure relates to a smart glass configured to change color in response to an amount of light a introduced from the outside, and when the amount of light incident from the outside, for example, the sun, is equal to or greater than a second reference value a ″, the smart glass changes color such that the transmittance of the smart glass is reduced.

In addition, when power is applied to the smart glass, the discolored smart glass is decolored, thereby increasing the transmittance of the smart glass.

Briefly stated, a smart glass according to the present disclosure is configured to irreversibly change color in the presence of a light source. In one form, the smart glass changes color in response to the amount of light introduced from the light source, and a separate motive force (i.e., electrical power) is applied to color the smart glass.

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating the coupling between components of a transmittance control system for smart glass according to one form of the present disclosure.

The control unit 100 located in the vehicle is configured to measure the amount of light introduced from the outside through the automatic light sensor 200 and the rain sensor 300, and to measure whether the vehicle is automatically driven through the automatic driving sensor 500.

In addition, the control unit 100 is configured to be interlocked with the display unit 600 located inside the vehicle, and is configured to display the current state of the smart glass 700 or perform an input for controlling the smart glass 700 according to the driving of the smart glass 700.

In one form of the present disclosure, the display unit 600 may be configured to display a driving state of the smart glass 700, whether the smart glass becomes light, and whether the smart glass changes color.

In another form, the control unit 100 may be divided into a vehicle controller 120 and a controller 110 that controls the smart glass 700. The vehicle controller 120 may be configured to be interlocked with the automatic light sensor 200, the rain sensor 300, the navigator 400, and the automatic driving sensor 500.

The ambient light sensor 800 is located inside the smart glass 700, and is configured to measure the amount of light introduced into the vehicle interior according to the discoloration of the smart glass 700, and is configured to measure the amount of light introduced from the light source into the vehicle interior through the smart glass 700 to determine the transmittance of the smart glass 700.

In addition, the ambient light sensor 800 is connected to the control unit 100 of the vehicle to measure the amount of light introduced into the interior of the vehicle, and performs color change or color removal on the smart glass 700 through the control unit 100 based on the measured light amount data.

The smart glass controller 110 is connected to the vehicle controller 120 to receive information of the sensors and the navigator 400 located in the vehicle and perform control such that power is applied to the smart glass 700 through the smart glass controller 110, and is configured to control the amount of discoloration of the smart glass 700 according to a user request.

In addition, the vehicle controller 120 is configured to be linked with the transmittance variable adjustment switch 710, and is configured to receive the transmittance change value from the user and transmit a control command to the controller of the smart glass 700 in response thereto.

In addition, the transmittance variable adjustment switch 710 is configured such that a manual mode, an automatic driving mode, or a private mode can be input as the driving environment condition of the smart glass 700.

The navigator 400 is configured to determine a light-shielded area located on a traveling route of the vehicle. When the vehicle approaches the light shielding area, the maximum power is applied to the smart glass 700 so that the smart glass 700 is decolored in a state where the transmittance is highest.

Two methods may be utilized to validate the tunnel. The first method is to judge the state before entering the tunnel and the state after entering the tunnel using the GPS system or navigation system of the vehicle. The second method is to analyze the difference between the ambient light value in front of the automatic light sensor and the ambient light value above the automatic light sensor to determine if a tunnel has been sensed (prior to entry) and if a vehicle has entered the tunnel.

As described above, the smart glass of the present disclosure is configured to control the discoloration of the smart glass based on the traveling environment of the vehicle, such as the state of the road on which the vehicle is traveling.

In one form, a vehicle including smart glass 700 may determine daytime mode and nighttime mode. When the amount of light introduced from the outside is equal to or greater than the first reference value DN, it is determined as the daytime mode. When the amount of light introduced from the outside is less than the first reference value DN, it is determined as the night mode.

In the daytime mode, the light source is located outside, and thus the smart glass 700 is basically configured to change color. In the night mode, there is no separate light source, and thus the transmittance of the smart glass 700 is controlled in a state where additional discoloration is not possible.

In the daytime mode, when the amount of light introduced from the outside is greater than the second reference value a ″, the smart glass may be additionally discolored.

Further, in the night mode, when the amount of light introduced from the outside is equal to or less than the third reference value a', power is applied to the smart glass 700, so that the smart glass 700 is decolored.

When the amount of light transmitted through the decolored smart glass 700 is equal to or greater than the third reference value a', the power is switched to the off state. Therefore, in the night mode, the decoloring is performed when the amount of introduced light is equal to or less than the third reference value a ', and the decoloring is stopped when the amount of transmitted light through the smart glass is greater than the third reference value a'.

The third reference value is set as a reference value for decoloring the smart glass 700 based on the amount of light measured by the automatic light sensor 200. Further, the third reference value is set as a reference value of the transmittance of light introduced into the smart glass 700 and measured by the ambient light sensor 800.

In short, in the daytime mode in which the light source is present, the smart glass 700 is discolored when the amount of introduced light is greater than the second reference value a ″ as a discoloration standard, and in the nighttime mode, the smart glass 700 is decolored when the amount of introduced light is equal to or less than the third reference value a' as a decoloring standard.

As another form of the present disclosure, fig. 2 illustrates the discoloration and decoloration criteria of the smart glass 700, and shows a graph of switching between a day mode and a night mode over time.

As shown in the drawing, when the amount of introduced light is equal to or greater than the first reference value DN, the daytime mode is set, and when the amount of introduced light is less than the first reference value DN, the nighttime mode is set. The daytime mode is displayed at the front and rear ends of the graph, and the nighttime mode is displayed in the middle of the graph.

Further, a third reference value is set for the color-change section to have a larger light amount than the first reference value, a second reference value is set for the color-erasing section to have a smaller light amount than the first reference value, and a hysteresis section (limiting periodic repetition of color change and color erasing) is set between the second reference value and the third reference value.

In the hysteresis zone, the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass is maintained at an intermediate brightness level MTP between the color change transmittance and the achromatic transmittance, thereby ensuring safety. The intermediate brightness level MTP is adjustable over the range of transmission.

Further, the hysteresis zone may include a predetermined zone in which the smart glass 700 is not decolored or discolored by an external light source and the amount of light introduced into the smart glass 700, and refers to a zone between a high luminance level UTP in which the amount of light introduced into the smart glass 700 is large and a low luminance level LTP in which the amount of light introduced into the smart glass 700 is small.

In another form of the present disclosure, in the daytime mode in the automatic mode state, when the amount of introduced light exceeds the second reference value a ″ as a discoloration standard, the smart glass 700 is discolored.

In addition, when the mode is determined as the night mode in the automatic mode control state, when the amount of introduced light is equal to or less than the third reference value a' as the decoloring criterion, the smart glass 700 is decolored to increase the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass 700.

In one form of the present disclosure, the control unit 100 may be configured to compare the introduced amount of light with a color change standard and a color erasing standard, and perform color change and color erasing according to a driving environment condition.

Further, the configuration in which the unit pulse type power is applied in the night mode is shown in the middle area of fig. 2.

In the night mode, in a state where the amount of introduced light is equal to or less than the third reference value a '(decoloring standard), when the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass 700 is greater than the third reference value a', power is applied to the smart glass 700 to decolor the smart glass.

Further, in the night mode where the external light source is not present, it is impossible to selectively discolor the smart glass 700 which is irreversibly discolored compared to the external light source, and thus the pulse power is applied such that the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass is the same as the decoloring standard value.

The amount of light transmitted through the smart glass 700 is compared with the third reference value a' to apply the pulse power. That is, in order to perform the rapid decoloring, a single relatively long pulse width is increased as the third reference value a 'approaches the maximum brightness level of the decoloring transmittance, thereby rapidly decoloring the discolored smart glass 700, and an operation is performed with a short pulse width as the third reference value a' approaches the low brightness level of the decoloring transmittance, thereby reducing vehicle power consumption for the same operation time.

That is, the period and intensity of the pulse applied to perform decoloring may be varied according to the difference between the third reference value a' and the range value of the light introduced into the smart glass 700.

In one form of the present disclosure, when the amount of light transmitted through the decolored smart glass 700 in the night mode is equal to or greater than the third reference value a', the application of power is ended. That is, the smart glass 700 is decolored in a state where there is no external light source (night mode) to easily recognize the outside of the vehicle, and when the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass 700 after the decoloring is equal to or greater than the third reference value a', the power applied to the smart glass 700 is turned off.

In some forms of the present disclosure, the first reference value DN is a reference point that distinguishes between daytime and nighttime and is defined as a value of an amount of light incident on the automatic photosensor 200 of the vehicle, and the third reference value a' is a reference point that is achromatic and is configured to be lower than the value of the first reference point that is the amount of light incident on the automatic photosensor 200 of the vehicle.

In addition, the second reference value a ″ is a reference point of discoloration, and is set to a value higher than the first reference point, which is the amount of light incident on the automatic light sensor 200 of the vehicle. The amount of light B measured by the ambient light sensor 800 inside the smart glass 700 is measured within a predetermined transmittance range of the smart glass. The value of B is set to a high luminance level UTP, a low luminance level LTP and an intermediate luminance level MTP. The high luminance level UTP and the low luminance level LTP are fixed variables in the system, and the intermediate luminance level MTP may be set within the range of the fixed variables.

The operation of the smart glass set to the automatic mode first determines whether the vehicle has entered the tunnel to ensure the safety of the vehicle. When it is sensed that the tunnel or the vehicle has entered the tunnel, the maximum power is applied to the smart glass 700 by continuously applying power so that the glass maintains the maximum brightness.

After the vehicle leaves the tunnel, the day and night are judged by the first reference value. In the daytime mode, when the amount of light incident through the automatic light sensor 200 of the vehicle is greater than the second reference value a ″, the smart glass 700 is automatically discolored, and the operation is completed.

However, when the amount of light incident through the automatic light sensor 200 of the vehicle after the vehicle leaves the tunnel is less than the second reference value a ″, the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass 700 is maintained at the intermediate brightness level MTP.

In the night mode, when the amount of light introduced into the smart glass 700 having the middle brightness level is less than the third reference value a', power is applied to the smart glass 700 to decolor the smart glass.

In the daytime mode, when the amount of light a from the outside measured by the automatic light sensor 200 is equal to or less than the second reference value a ″, power is applied and it is determined whether the amount of light introduced into the smart glass 700 is equal to or greater than the intermediate brightness level, and when it is determined that the amount of light introduced into the smart glass 700 is equal to or greater than the intermediate brightness level, a hysteresis section is set such that the amount of light introduced through the smart glass 700 is maintained at the intermediate brightness level.

Under the same conditions as described above, when there is a light-shielding area on the route input to the navigator 400, power is applied to decolor the smart glass 700. Maximum power is applied to the smart glass 700.

That is, in an area where the light source is blocked, for example, in a tunnel, in the case where the vehicle instantaneously travels to a dark area, it is necessary to perform the rapid decoloring, and thus the maximum power from the power supply unit 900 is applied to the smart glass 700 to rapidly decolor the smart glass 700.

Fig. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a transmittance control method of a smart glass 700 according to one form of the present disclosure.

As shown in the drawing, the control unit 100 judges a driving environment condition of the smart glass 700 (S100), and when the driving environment condition is set to the auto mode (S200), judges whether there is a light-shielding region (S210).

When there is no light-shielding region, the control unit 100 determines whether the amount of light introduced from the outside is equal to or greater than a first reference value (S220). The first reference value is a reference value for distinguishing the daytime mode and the nighttime mode of the smart glass 700 based on the amount of external light.

When there is no light-shielding region and the amount of light introduced from the outside is equal to or greater than the first reference value, the smart glass 700 enters the daytime mode (S230). For the smart glass 700 that has entered the daytime mode, it is determined whether the amount of external light exceeds the second reference value a "(S240), and when the amount of external light exceeds the second reference value a", the smart glass 700 is discolored (S250).

When the amount of external light is equal to or less than the second reference value a "(S240), power is applied to the smart glass 700 (S241), it is determined whether the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass 700 is equal to or greater than the intermediate brightness level (S242), and when the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass 700 is equal to or greater than the intermediate brightness level, the section is determined as a hysteresis section (S243).

In contrast, when there is no light-shielding region and the amount of light introduced from the outside is less than the first reference value, the smart glass 700 enters the night mode (S310).

In a state where the smart glass 700 has entered the night mode, it is determined whether the amount of external light is equal to or less than the third reference value a '(S320), and when the amount of external light is equal to or less than the third reference value a', power from the power supply unit 900 is applied to the smart glass 700 (S330).

When the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass 700 decolored by the application of the power is equal to or greater than the third reference value a '(S340), the power is turned off (S350), and when the amount of light transmitted through the decolored smart glass 700 is less than the third reference value a' (S340), the power is continuously applied to the smart glass (S330).

The third reference value a' is a reference value for decoloring the smart glass 700. When the amount of light applied from the outside is small, it is difficult for the user to secure the external visual field through the decolored smart glass. Therefore, the third reference value a' is a value set to decolor the smart glass 700.

In addition, in another form of the present disclosure, it is determined whether there is a light-shielding area (S210), and when there is a light-shielding area, the maximum power from the power supply unit 900 is applied to the smart glass 700 (S211) to decolor the smart glass 700.

Subsequently, it is determined whether the vehicle has left the light-shielding region (S212), and when the vehicle has left the light-shielding region (S212), the power supply is turned off (S213).

Fig. 4 is a flow chart illustrating another form of the present disclosure when the driving environmental condition is an autonomous driving or a private mode.

It is determined whether the mode input to the transmittance variable adjustment switch 710 or the separate input device according to the user request is the auto mode (S400), and it is further determined whether the driving environment condition is the private mode or the auto driving mode (S100).

When the driving environment condition is the automatic driving mode or the private mode in the automatic mode of the smart glass 700 (S100), it is judged whether the driving state of the smart glass 700 is normal (S410), and when the driving state of the smart glass 700 is normal, it is judged whether the amount of external light exceeds the second reference value a ″ (S420).

When the amount of external light exceeds the second reference value a ″, the irreversible color of the smart glass 700 is performed (S430), and it is determined whether the transmittance of the smart glass 700 is the lowest brightness level (S440).

In addition, when the transmittance of the discolored smart glass 700 is equal to the minimum brightness level, the power supply unit 900 is turned off (S450).

As described above, in the automatic driving mode or the private mode, the transmittance is kept to be minimum, thereby setting the smart glass 700 to be difficult to recognize the interior of the vehicle from the outside.

However, in the step of determining the driving state of the smart glass 700, when the driving state of the smart glass 700 is not normal (S500), it is determined whether the smart glass 700 is shallow (S510).

When the smart glass 700 becomes shallow, the emergency signal is applied (S520), and power is continuously applied to the smart glass 700 (S530) such that the transmittance of the smart glass 700 is highest (S540).

That is, when it is detected that the smart glass 700 is shallow, which is a case in which it is difficult to reflect the user request value, the smart glass 700 is controlled to maximize the transmittance thereof, thereby performing stable driving of the vehicle.

As described above, when the driving environmental condition of the smart glass 700 is the private mode or the automatic driving mode, the smart glass 700 can be prevented from being decolored even without a light source, thereby keeping the transmittance of the smart glass 700 low.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a transmittance control method of the smart glass 700 in a parking state of the vehicle.

When the vehicle is turned off as a parking state condition of the vehicle equipped with the smart glass 700 (S600), the count value is set to 0, and the driving environment condition (mode) of the smart glass 700 is confirmed (S610).

When the private mode is set to the driving environment condition while parking (S620), the power is turned off in a state where the vehicle is turned off, thereby completing parking without decoloring the smart glass 700 (S621).

However, when the driving environment condition at the time of parking is the auto mode (S630), it is determined whether the external light amount is less than the first reference value (S631), and when the external light amount is equal to or greater than the first reference value, the operation is completed in a state where the power is turned off.

In contrast, when the amount of external light is less than the first reference value (S631), it is determined whether the amount of external light is less than the third reference value a '(S632), and when the amount of external light is less than the third reference value a', unit power is applied to the smart glass 700 through the power supply unit 900 (S633).

Further, when the unit power is applied (S633), the set count value is increased, and when the increased count value is less than the predetermined set value (S634), it is determined whether the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass 700 is equal to or greater than the third reference value a' (S635).

In one form of the present disclosure, it is determined whether the count value is less than 20000, which is a predetermined set value (S634), and when the count value is less than 20000 and the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass 700 is equal to or greater than a third reference value a' (S635), the power is turned off (S621). When the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass 700 is not equal to or greater than the third reference value a' (S635), unit power is additionally applied to the smart glass 700 (S633).

It is determined whether the count value is less than 20000, which is a predetermined set value (S634), and when the count value is equal to or greater than 20000, no additional control is performed, and the system is turned off to prevent power consumption.

When the driving environmental condition is the manual mode (S640), it is determined whether the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass 700 is less than the third reference value a '(S641), and when the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass 700 is less than the third reference value a', the unit power is additionally applied to the smart glass 700 while increasing the count value (S643).

In contrast, when the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass 700 is equal to or greater than the third reference value a' (S642), the power is turned off (S644).

In addition, after the unit power is applied to the smart glass 700 while increasing the count value (S643), when the count value is less than the predetermined set value (S645), it is determined again whether the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass 700 is less than the third reference value a' (S641), and when the count value is equal to or greater than the predetermined set value (S645), the system is turned off (S650).

In summary, when the vehicle is parked in a state where the smart glass 700 is in the automatic mode, the discoloration of the smart glass is maintained in the daytime to block heat from the external light source, and the set transmittance of the smart glass is maintained at night.

In addition, when the vehicle is parked in a state where the smart glass 700 is in the manual mode, the smart glass 700 is set to maintain the transmittance requested by the user.

Further, in each step, unit power is applied to the smart glass 700 while preventing the battery from discharging, so that the smart glass 700 is decolored.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of performing color changing or color erasing of the smart glass 700 in a state in which the user request color changing or color erasing is applied when the driving environment condition is the manual mode.

When the driving environment condition of the smart glass 700 is set to the manual mode (S100) and the switch input is applied according to the user input and the color change request or the decoloring request (input of the change value) is applied to the control unit 100(S700), the amount of light a introduced from the outside measured by the automatic light sensor 200, the transmittance of the smart glass 700 based on the amount of light introduced into the vehicle interior measured by the ambient light sensor 800, and the third reference value a' (S710) which is a fixed transmittance value are set.

Subsequently, it is determined whether the amount of light measured by the automatic light sensor 200 is equal to or greater than the third reference value a ' (S720), and when the amount of light is equal to or greater than the third reference value a ', it is determined whether the amount of light B transmitted through the smart glass 700 is less than the third reference value a ' (S721).

When the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass 700 is less than the third reference value a', an indicator disposed at a vehicle combination meter or a user-recognizable position emits blue light, and power is applied to the smart glass 700 (S722). As described above, the indicator as the indicating means for notifying that the transmittance is changed to the user request value emits blue light.

In contrast, when the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass 700 is not less than the third reference value a' (S723), the indicator emits green light, and the power is turned off (S724). When the indicator emits green light, this means that the smart glass 700 has been discolored or bleached to the desired transmittance.

In the step of determining whether the introduced light amount is equal to or greater than the third reference value a ' (S720), when the introduced light amount is less than the third reference value a ' (S730), it is determined whether the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass 700 is less than the third reference value a ' (S731).

When the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass 700 is less than the third reference value a' (S731), the indicator emits blue light to notify that the transmittance is changed to the user request value, and power is applied to the smart glass 700 (S732).

In contrast, when the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass 700 is equal to the third reference value a' (S733), the indicator emits green light to inform that the smart glass 700 is discolored or decolored to the desired transmittance has been completed (S734).

In addition, when the amount of light transmitted through the smart glass 700 exceeds the third reference value a' (S735), the indicator emits red light to inform that the desired transmittance cannot be achieved (S736).

That is, when the indicator emits red light, a case where the color change of the smart glass 700 is requested to be performed in a state where the external light source is not present is included. That is, when there is no light source, this means a case where the smart glass 700 cannot be further discolored due to the characteristics of the smart glass 700 in which the discoloration is performed only in the presence of an external light source.

As described above, in the manual mode, the decoloring and the decoloring of the smart glass 700 are performed according to the user input value. In the absence of an external light source, the smart glass 700 may not be discolored due to the characteristics of the smart glass 700.

As apparent from the foregoing, the present disclosure may have the following effects.

The present disclosure provides a method of controlling discoloration and color erasing of a smart glass that irreversibly discolors by an external light source, so that stable electric driving of a vehicle can be achieved.

In addition, according to the present disclosure, the discoloration or decoloring of the smart glass is performed in response to various driving environmental conditions, so that the user's field of view can be easily secured.

The effects of the present disclosure are not limited to those described above. It should be understood that the effects of the present disclosure include all effects that can be inferred from the foregoing description of the present disclosure.

The foregoing describes exemplary forms of the present disclosure. The present disclosure may be used in various different combinations, permutations and environments. That is, changes or modifications may be made within the concept and scope of the present disclosure, within the scope and range of equivalents of the disclosure, and/or within the skill and knowledge of those in the art to which the disclosure pertains. Accordingly, the above detailed description does not limit the disclosure so disclosed.