Brake control display unit with ambient light dimming

Abstract

A brake control system includes a display, a processor, and a light sensor. The processor controls brakes of a towed vehicle. The processor also controls a brightness of the display based on information received from the light sensor. The light sensor may include a light dependent resistor or a photoresistor. The processor selectively sets or adjusts the brightness of the display based on sensed ambient light.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A brake control unit comprising:
 a processor;   a light sensor coupled to the processor and configured to operatively sense ambient light; and   a display coupled to the processor and comprising at least one light source,   wherein the processor is configured to operatively adjust a brightness of the at least one light source based at least in part on an intensity of the sensed ambient light.   
     
     
         2 . The brake control unit of  claim 1 , wherein the processor determines the intensity of the sensed ambient light based on at least two readings of the light sensor. 
     
     
         3 . The brake control unit of  claim 1 , wherein the processor applies a transfer function that generates a brightness setting for the at least one light based on the intensity of the sensed ambient light. 
     
     
         4 . The brake control unit of  claim 3 , wherein the transfer function is based at least in part on a position of the light sensor. 
     
     
         5 . The brake control unit of  claim 3 , wherein the transfer function is based at least in part on an orientation of the light sensor. 
     
     
         6 . The brake control unit of  claim 3 , further comprising a lens disposed over the light sensor and wherein the transfer function is based at least in part on parameters associated with the lens. 
     
     
         7 . The brake control unit of  claim 1 , wherein the light sensor comprises at least one of a phototransistor or a photoresistor. 
     
     
         8 . The brake control unit of  claim 1 , wherein the processor modulates a duty cycle of a pulse width modulated signal sent to the display to adjust the brightness. 
     
     
         9 . The brake control unit of  claim 1 , wherein the processor adjusts a frequency of a signal sent to the display to adjust the brightness. 
     
     
         10 . The brake control unit of  claim 1 , further comprising an accelerometer coupled to the processor, wherein the processor operatively adjusts a signal to be sent to brakes of a towed vehicle based on output of the accelerometer. 
     
     
         11 . The brake control unit of  claim 10 , wherein the processor operatively controls the at least one light to display information associated with the signal to be sent to the brakes of the towed vehicle. 
     
     
         12 . A brake control system for controlling brakes of a towed vehicle, the brake control system comprising:
 a housing;   a display positioned on or within the housing;   a light sensor disposed proximal to the display; and   a processor configured to operatively determine a brightness for the display based on output of the light sensor, and wherein the processor is configured to initiate application of brakes of a towed vehicle.   
     
     
         13 . The brake control system of  claim 12 , further comprising a brake load switching circuit configured to selectively apply or adjust a signal to be sent to a brake load from the processor. 
     
     
         14 . The brake controller of  claim 12 , further comprising a display driver communicatively coupled to the processor and configured to operative control the brightness of the display based on input from the processor. 
     
     
         15 . A method comprising:
 measuring ambient light with a light sensor of a brake control unit comprising a brake control unit comprising a processor, a light source, and a display;   determining, by the processor, a brightness for the display based on the measured ambient light;   generating, by the processor, a signal to adjust the brightness; and   adjusting the brightness of the display based on the generated signal to adjust the brightness.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising determining the brightness based at least in part on at least one of an orientation or position of the light sensor. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising filtering output of the light sensor by the processor via an averaging function. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising storing a history of readings of the light sensor in memory. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising receiving user input associated with the brightness of the display, wherein determining a brightness of the display is further based on the user input. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising providing the light sensor proximal to the display.