Patent ID: 8811668

Claim:
A method for controlling a headlamp system for a vehicle, the headlamp system having two headlamps set apart from each other, comprising: detecting road users in front of the vehicle in a driving direction; producing a first total light pattern having an illumination range on a first side of a center axis is greater than on a second side of this center axis, and a second total light pattern having an illumination range in a direction of at least one detected road user that is less than a distance to the detected road user and an illumination range in another direction that is greater than the distance to the detected road user; and during a switch from the first total light pattern to the second total light pattern, reducing the illumination range of at least one headlamp on the first side of the center axis to at least such an extent that it is less than the distance to the detected road user, the second total light pattern being produced subsequently; wherein the road user is detected in front of the vehicle by: recording an image of a traffic environment in a visible spectral range; extracting cohesive areas having a brightness that exceeds a threshold value from the image; classifying the areas at least as a function of size; forming a confidence value that represents a measure of a similarity between the area of the image and a vehicle light, from the classification of the area and a physical quantity assigned to the area; and determining whether an area will be assigned to a vehicle light as a function of the confidence value.