JP2002225618A - Headlight system for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a headlight system for a vehicle for conducting beam control of headlights capable of sufficiently irradiating them in a direction necessary for a driver even when it is getting closer to a curved road as well as during traveling on a curved road, and realizing it in a simple method. SOLUTION: When the vehicle 2 is traveling on a right-curved road B, an angle θ1 for seeing a center line CL in the tangential direction from a specified point M of the vehicle is set as a target irradiation angle of beam control. When the vehicle 2 traveling on a straight road A gets closer to a specified position before a start position P1 of the right-curved road B, an angle θ2 at the start position P1 for seeing a point TP2 on the center line CL is set as the target irradiation angle. The target irradiation angle can thus be easily determined as it is close to the angle in the tangential direction (a watching direction of the driver) to the center line CL on the right-curved road B. When the vehicle 2 further gets closer to the start position P1 to make the angle θ2 greater than the angle θ1, the angle θ1 is set as the target irradiation angle till the vehicle 2 invades into the right curved road B. When the vehicle 2 most gets closer to the right curved road B, the target irradiation angle can be maintained at a close value to the angle in the tangential direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a headlamp system for a vehicle configured to perform beam control of a headlamp.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a normal vehicle headlamp, since the beam irradiation direction is fixed, it is not possible to sufficiently illuminate a road surface ahead of the vehicle when traveling on a curved road.

On the other hand, if the beam irradiation direction is shifted to the left or right in accordance with the steering angle to perform beam control for irradiating diagonally forward, it is possible to sufficiently irradiate the road surface ahead of the vehicle even when traveling on a curved road. Becomes possible.

[0004]

However, when such beam control is performed, there are the following problems.

That is, in the beam control according to the steering angle, the beam irradiation direction does not change unless a steering operation is actually performed. For example, when the own vehicle approaches a curved road from a straight road, the own vehicle is actually Until the vehicle enters a curved road, beam irradiation is still performed toward the front of the vehicle. However, when the driver's vehicle approaches a curved road, it is normal to gaze obliquely ahead where the curved road extends instead of the front direction of the vehicle, so the beam control according to the steering angle determines the direction required by the driver. There is a problem that irradiation cannot be performed sufficiently.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and in a vehicle headlamp system configured to perform beam control of a headlamp, the vehicle actually travels on a curved road. A headlight for a vehicle that can sufficiently irradiate the direction required by the driver not only when traveling but also when approaching a curved road, and can realize this in a simple manner. It is intended to provide a system.

[0007]

The present invention achieves the above object by devising a method of setting a target irradiation angle for beam control when the own vehicle is approaching a curved road. It is.

That is, the vehicle headlight system according to the present invention includes a headlight for irradiating a beam toward the front of the vehicle, road shape detection means for detecting a road shape ahead of the vehicle, and this road shape detection means. Beam control means for controlling the beam based on the detection result of the vehicle headlight system, wherein the beam control means, when the vehicle is traveling on a curved road, While the above beam control is performed with the tangential angle θ1 in which the inner peripheral edge of the road is viewed from a predetermined point of the own vehicle as a target irradiation angle, while the own vehicle is running on the near side running road following the near side of the curved road, When the vehicle approaches the predetermined position on the near side of the start position of the curved road, the beam control is performed with the angle θ2 at which the point on the inner peripheral edge of the curved road at the start position is viewed from the predetermined point of the vehicle as the target irradiation angle. When the own vehicle further approaches the start position and the angle θ2 becomes equal to or more than the angle θ1, the beam control is performed using the angle θ1 as a target irradiation angle until the own vehicle enters the curved road. It is characterized by the following.

The specific content of the beam control by the above-mentioned "beam control means" is not particularly limited.
The irradiation direction of the beam irradiated by the headlight, the irradiation range,
It is possible to adopt a control or the like that makes any one of the irradiation light amounts or a combination thereof appropriately variable.

[0010] The above "front running road" and "curved road"
May be a traveling road without a distinction of traveling lanes,
A traveling road having a plurality of traveling lanes may be used.

The "road shape detecting means" is not particularly limited as long as it can detect the road shape ahead of the vehicle. For example, the means using a navigation device or a CCD camera can be used. Etc. can be adopted.

The "front running road" may be a straight road or a curved road having a different curvature from the curved road as long as it is a running road following the curved road.

The "predetermined position on the near side of the start position of the curved road" is a predetermined distance (for example, 10 points) from the start position of the curved road.
m, 20 m, 30 m, etc.) Needless to say, the vehicle may be at a position on the front side, but after a predetermined time (for example, after 1 second, 2 seconds, or 3 seconds) when traveling at the current vehicle speed on the front traveling road. Etc.) may be a position that will reach the start position of the curved road.

[0014]

As described above, the vehicular headlamp system according to the present invention is configured to control the beam emitted to the front of the vehicle based on the detection result of the road shape ahead of the vehicle. However, when the own vehicle is traveling on a curved road, beam control is performed using a tangential angle θ1 at which the inner peripheral edge of the curved road is viewed from a predetermined point of the own vehicle as a target irradiation angle. When the vehicle is traveling on the near side traveling road following the near side of the road and approaches a predetermined position on the near side of the start position of the curved road, the point on the inner peripheral edge of the curved road at the start position is set to the vehicle. Beam control is performed with the angle θ2 viewed from a predetermined point as the target irradiation angle. When the vehicle approaches the start position of the curved road and the angle θ2 becomes equal to or greater than the angle θ1, the angle is controlled until the vehicle enters the curved road. Let θ1 be the target irradiation angle Therefore, the following operation and effect can be obtained.

That is, when traveling on a curved road, the gazing point of the driver is substantially the same as the tangential direction in which the inner peripheral edge of the curved road is viewed from a predetermined point of the vehicle. By performing the control, it is possible to sufficiently irradiate the direction originally required by the driver.

[0016] Even when the vehicle is approaching a curved road when the vehicle is traveling on the near side traveling road, beam control is performed by using a tangential angle at which an inner peripheral edge of the curved road is viewed from a predetermined point of the vehicle as a target irradiation angle. It is originally preferable to perform
In this case, the calculation formula of the target irradiation angle becomes considerably complicated, so that the load on the beam control means becomes extremely large.

In this regard, as in the present invention, when the vehicle approaches a predetermined position on the near side of the start position of the curved road, the point on the inner peripheral edge at the start position of the curved road is shifted from the predetermined point of the vehicle. By performing beam control using the expected angle θ2 as the target irradiation angle, the target irradiation angle can be easily calculated, and the beam control can be performed using a direction close to the tangential angle as the target irradiation angle.

However, in this case, when the vehicle approaches the curved road, the value of the angle θ2 increases sharply, and the target irradiation angle largely deviates from the tangential direction. Therefore, as in the present invention, the angle θ2 is equal to the angle θ1.
When it becomes the above, by performing beam control with the angle θ1 as the target irradiation angle until the vehicle enters the curved road,
Even when the own vehicle approaches just before the curved road, the beam control can be performed with the direction close to the tangential angle as the target irradiation angle. In addition, since the target irradiation angle at this time is the same angle θ1 as the target irradiation angle when traveling on a curved road, it is possible to shift to beam control on a curved road without giving the driver any uncomfortable feeling.

As described above, according to the present invention, in a vehicle headlight system configured to perform beam control of a headlight, not only when the own vehicle is actually traveling on a curved road but also in a curved Even when approaching the road, it is possible to sufficiently irradiate the direction required by the driver, and this can be realized by a simple method.

When the "curved road" is a traveling road having a plurality of traveling lanes, the inner peripheral edge of the own vehicle traveling lane is used instead of the inner peripheral edge of the curved road as a reference for the target irradiation angle. You may do so. In this case, the possibility that glare is given to the driver or the like of the oncoming vehicle can be further reduced. When an oncoming vehicle can be detected using an oncoming vehicle detection sensor, a CCD camera, or the like, a plurality of traveling lanes are illuminated based on the inner periphery of a curved road until the oncoming vehicle is detected,
After detecting the oncoming vehicle, the inner periphery of the own vehicle traveling lane may be used as a reference.

Although the specific content of the beam control is not particularly limited as described above, the beam control performed when the vehicle travels from the front traveling road to the curved road is described. By setting the beam irradiation direction of the headlight to the direction of the target irradiation angle, the following operation and effect can be obtained.

That is, when the vehicle travels from the front traveling road to the curved road, it is not necessary to greatly change the direction of the target irradiation angle from the front direction of the vehicle, as in the case of turning at an intersection. Therefore, the beam control can be easily performed by setting the beam irradiation direction of the headlight to the direction of the target irradiation angle, and the beam control can be facilitated by adopting such a configuration. .

In the above configuration, if the road shape detecting means is constituted by a navigation device and the target irradiation angle is calculated based on map data obtained from the navigation device, the calculation of the target irradiation angle is easy and easy. Can be done accurately.

The position of the "predetermined point of the vehicle" is not particularly limited as long as it is a point on the vehicle. If provided, setting the predetermined point of the vehicle at the center of the front end of the vehicle makes it easier to grasp the relationship between the target irradiation angle and the combined light distribution pattern formed by the beams emitted from both headlights. Therefore, beam control can be further facilitated.

[0025]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a vehicle headlamp system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown, the vehicle headlight system includes a headlight device 10, a column device 12, a VSC (vehicle stability control) device 14, and a navigation device 16 (road shape detecting means). These devices are connected via an in-vehicle LAN 18.

The headlight device 10 includes a pair of left and right headlights 20.
L, 20R, and a beam control ECU 22 (beam control means) for performing beam control of these headlights 20L, 20R.

Each of the headlights 20L and 20R has a headlamp 24 provided at the front end of the vehicle 2 (own vehicle) and a cornering lamp 2 provided adjacent to the outside in the vehicle width direction.
It consists of six.

Each headlamp 24 has its reflector 2
Due to the reflected light from 8, a beam is emitted in front of the vehicle in a light distribution pattern P (light distribution pattern for low beam) as shown in FIG. The beam irradiation direction is a predetermined angle α (for example, α = 20) in the left-right direction up to the angular position indicated by the two-dot chain line with the vehicle front direction indicated by the solid line as the center.
°) It can be changed. In order to realize this, the reflector 28 is configured to be tiltable in the left-right direction, and the tilting is performed by driving an actuator (ACT) 30. The actuator 30 is controlled by a beam control ECU 22 by a driver 32.
The drive is controlled via the.

On the other hand, each of the cornering lamps 26
The beam irradiation direction is fixed at a fixed angle (for example, 45 ° outside in the vehicle width direction) with respect to the front direction of the vehicle, and FIG.
The light distribution pattern Pc shown in FIG. However, the cornering lamp 26 is connected to the beam control ECU 22 via a dimming circuit (PWM) 34 and a driver 32, and the beam intensity is variable. That is, the light distribution pattern Pc has a size indicated by a solid line when the beam intensity is maximum, but gradually decreases as indicated by a two-dot chain line when the beam intensity is reduced by dimming.

The column device 12 is provided on a steering column, and includes a headlamp switch 40, a direction indicator switch 42, a steering angle sensor 44, a column ECU
46. The headlamp switch 40 is
It is a switch for performing on / off operation of the headlamp 24 and switching of beams (switching between high beam and low beam), and the turn signal switch 42 is a switch for turning on and off the left and right turn signals. Also, the steering angle sensor 4
Numeral 4 detects the steering angle (turning angle) of the vehicle 2 from the rotation angle of the steering wheel. And
The column ECU 46 collects signals from the headlamp switch 40, the turn signal switch 42, and the steering angle sensor 44 and outputs the signals to the in-vehicle LAN 18.

The VSC device 14 avoids spins when traveling on a curved road and supports safe traveling when traveling on a curved road based on a vehicle speed sensor 50, a yaw rate sensor (not shown), and detection signals from these sensors. And a VSC ECU 52. Note that a detection signal from the steering angle sensor 44 can be used instead of the yaw rate sensor.

The navigation device 16 includes a navigation ECU 60 and a road map data DVD-ROM 62.
, A GPS receiver 64, a gyro sensor (direction sensor) 66, and a display device 68. And
In this navigation device 16, data from each sensor incorporated in the navigation device 16 and V
The vehicle speed data obtained from the vehicle speed sensor 50 of the SC device 14 is taken into the navigation ECU 60, and the information of the direction indicator switch 42 and the steering angle sensor 44 is taken into the navigation ECU 60 from the column ECU 46 of the column device 12 via the in-car LAN 18. , The current position and turning radius of the own vehicle, the arrival position after a predetermined time, and the like are obtained, and output to the in-vehicle LAN 18 again.

The beam control ECU 22 of the headlight device 10
Collects necessary information from the column device 12, the VSC device 14 and the navigation device 16 via the in-vehicle LAN 18, and controls the headlight 2 in a control mode suitable for the vehicle driving situation.
The beam control of 0L and 20R is performed.

The control modes include a road shape corresponding mode in which beam control is performed based on road shape data ahead of the vehicle obtained by the navigation device 16 and steering angle data (turning angle data) from the steering angle sensor 44. And a turning angle corresponding mode for performing beam control.

The road shape corresponding mode includes a road control mode for performing beam irradiation suitable for traveling along a road,
An intersection control mode for performing beam irradiation suitable for turning at an intersection.

The road control mode is a control mode for improving the visibility in the traveling direction of the vehicle when the vehicle 2 runs on the road along the road (this will be described later). The beam control in the road control mode is performed by tilting the reflector 28 of the headlamp 24 from the front of the vehicle to the left and right, and appropriately changing the beam irradiation direction.

The intersection control mode is used when it is clear that the vehicle 2 turns around the intersection ahead of the travel road.
This is a control mode for enhancing the visibility in the vehicle traveling direction by irradiating the beam in the turning direction in advance before reaching the intersection. In this intersection control mode, when the vehicle 2 approaches the intersection ahead of the traveling road to some extent and it is determined that the vehicle 2 is to turn around the intersection, the position at which the vehicle 2 arrives after a predetermined time (for example, after 2.5 seconds). Is used as a target position to perform beam control.
This beam control is basically performed by tilting the reflector 28 of the headlamp 24 from the front direction of the vehicle to the left and right so as to direct the beam irradiation direction to the turning direction. If the target position cannot be sufficiently irradiated with the beam only by tilting, the cornering lamp 2 positioned in the turning direction may be used.
6 is turned on. At this time, as the angle difference between the maximum tilt angle α of the reflector 28 and the direction of the target position increases, the beam intensity of the cornering lamp 26 is gradually increased.

On the other hand, the turning angle mode is a control mode that is performed on the premise that the vehicle 2 is actually turning, but is also used to supplement the road control mode and the intersection control mode. Has become. In the turning angle corresponding mode, when a steering operation is performed, the reflector 28 of the head lamp 24 is turned in the turning direction of the vehicle according to the steering angle, and the cornering lamp 26 located in the turning direction of the vehicle 2 is turned on. It has become. At that time, as the steering angle increases,
The tilt angle of the reflector 28 of the headlamp 24 and the beam intensity of the cornering lamp 26 are gradually increased.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are a plan view of a road and a detailed view of the main part showing a specific example of beam control performed in the road control mode.

In this specific example, the vehicle 2 curves to the right from the straight road A (the front running road) on a running road having two running lanes (ie, a running road with two lanes on both sides (one lane on one side)). It is assumed that the vehicle travels on a right curved road B (curved road).

As shown in FIG. 3, when the vehicle 2 is traveling on a straight road A, the beam irradiation direction is set to the front direction of the vehicle. On the other hand, when the vehicle 2 is traveling on a right curved road B, the beam irradiation direction is set. The direction is set diagonally forward right of the vehicle. The light distribution pattern P shown in the figure is a combined light distribution pattern of a pair of left and right headlamps 24 (the same applies to the following).

When the vehicle 2 is traveling on the right curve road B, the tangential angle at which the center line CL (the inner peripheral edge of the vehicle traveling lane) is viewed from a predetermined point (the position of the center of the front end of the vehicle) M of the vehicle. Beam control is performed with θ1 as the target irradiation angle (at this time, the contact point TP1 on the center line CL).
Is the target irradiation position in the horizontal direction).

As shown in FIG. 5, the angle θ1 serving as the target irradiation angle is determined from the geometrical relationship between the position of the vehicle 2, the width w of the vehicle traveling lane, and the radius of curvature r of the right curved road B, as shown in FIG. Can be easily calculated by the following calculation formula (F1).

As shown in FIG. 3, the vehicle 2 moves a predetermined distance (for example, 30 m) from the start position P1 with respect to the right curved road B.
When approaching to the position P2 on the near side, beam control is performed with the angle θ2 at which the point TP2 on the center line CL of the start position P1 of the right curved road B is viewed from the predetermined point M of the vehicle as the target irradiation angle.

The angle θ2 rapidly increases when the vehicle 2 further approaches the right curved road B. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, when the vehicle 2 approaches the position P3 immediately before the start position P1 of the right curved road B and the angle θ2 becomes equal to or more than the angle θ1, the vehicle 2 then enters the right curved road B. Until the beam irradiation is performed, the beam control is performed with the angle θ1 as the target irradiation angle.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing how the target irradiation angle changes in each of the above steps.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are a plan view of a road showing another specific example of the beam control performed in the road control mode, and a detailed view of the main part thereof.

In this embodiment, the right curved road B of the above embodiment is used.
It is assumed that the vehicle travels from a right curved road B (a front traveling road) to a left curved road C (curved road) via a straight road A on a traveling road in which a left curved road C curved leftward in front of the vehicle. .

As shown in FIG. 7, when the vehicle 2 is traveling on the right curved road B, the center line C
Beam control is performed using a target angle of incidence θ1 in the tangential direction where L is viewed from a predetermined point M of the own vehicle. Thereafter, when traveling on the left curved road C, the left lane mark LM (self Beam control is performed using a tangential angle θ1 ′ in which the vehicle's running lane (inner peripheral edge) is viewed from a predetermined point M of the vehicle as a target irradiation angle (at this time, a contact point TP1 ′ on the left lane mark LM is a horizontal target irradiation position). Becomes).

As shown in FIG. 9, the angle θ1 ′ serving as the target irradiation angle is obtained from the geometric relationship between the position of the vehicle 2, the width w of the own vehicle traveling lane, and the radius of curvature r ′ of the left curved road C. It can be easily calculated by the calculation formula (F1 ′) shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 7, the vehicle 2 moves a predetermined distance (for example, 15
m) When approaching to the position P2 'on the near side, beam control is performed using the angle θ2' at which the point TP2 'on the left lane mark LM at the start position P1' of the left curved road C is viewed from the predetermined point M of the vehicle as the target irradiation angle. Is performed.

The angle θ2 ′ indicates that the vehicle 2 is moving further on the left curved road C
The value rapidly increases when approaching. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, when the vehicle 2 approaches just before the start position P1 ′ of the left curved road C and the angle θ2 ′ becomes equal to or larger than the angle θ1 ′, the vehicle 2 thereafter enters the left curved road C. Angle θ
Beam control is performed using 1 'as a target irradiation angle.

FIG. 10 is a graph showing how the target irradiation angle changes at this time through the entire course of traveling from the straight road A and the right curved road B to the left curved road C.

The data of the radius of curvature r of the right curved road B, the radius of curvature r 'of the left curved road C, and the width w of the vehicle running lane required for calculating the target irradiation angle are obtained from the road map data of the navigation device 16. It can be obtained from road shape data ahead of the vehicle stored in the DVD-ROM 62. The position data of the start point TP2 of the right curved road B and the start point TP2 'of the left curved road C can also be obtained from the road shape data. At this time, the start point TP2 can be obtained as node data of a connection point between the straight road A and the right curved road B, and the start point TP2 'is a node data of a connection point between the right curved road B and the left curved road C. It can be obtained based on

Note that the beam control ECU 22 calculates the equations (F1) and (F1 ') to obtain the angle θ.
1, θ1 ′ may be sequentially calculated, but the angles θ1, θ1 are set using the radius of curvature r of the right curved road B, the radius of curvature r ′ of the left curved road C, and the width w of the vehicle running lane as parameters.
May be stored in a table in advance, so that the target irradiation angle can be more easily calculated.

As described above in detail, in the present embodiment, when the vehicle 2 is traveling on the right curved road B / left curved road C, the center line CL of the right curved road B / the left curved road C
The beam control is performed using the tangential angle θ1 / θ1 ′ as the target irradiation angle when the left lane mark LM of the vehicle is viewed from the predetermined point M of the own vehicle. When traveling on the center line CL and the left curved road C, the left lane mark LM is in a direction substantially the same as the tangential direction as viewed from the own vehicle predetermined point M.
By performing beam control using the angles θ1 / θ1 ′ of these tangential directions as target irradiation angles, it is possible to sufficiently irradiate the direction originally required by the driver.

In this embodiment, when the vehicle 2 is traveling on a straight road A / right curved road B following the right curved road B / left curved road C, the right curved road B / left curved road B is used. Predetermined position P2 / P on the near side of start position P1 / P1 'of road C
2 ′, the angle θ2 at which the point TP1 / TP1 ′ on the center line CL / left lane mark LM at the start position P1 / P1 ′ is viewed from the predetermined point M of the vehicle.
Since the beam control is performed with / θ2 ′ as the target irradiation angle, the target irradiation angle can be easily calculated, and the center line CL of the right curved road B / the left curved road C
The beam control can be performed by setting a direction close to a tangential angle when the left lane mark LM of the vehicle is viewed from the predetermined point M of the vehicle as a target irradiation angle.

Further, in this embodiment, when the vehicle 2 further approaches the start position P1 / P1 'of the right curved road B / left curved road C and the angle θ2 / θ2' becomes larger than the angle θ1 / θ1 '. Since the beam control is performed using the angle θ1 / θ1 ′ as the target irradiation angle until the vehicle 2 enters the right curved road B / left curved road C, the vehicle 2 performs the right curved road B /
Even when approaching immediately before the left curved road C, beam control can be performed with a direction close to the tangential angle as the target irradiation angle. In addition, since the target irradiation angle at this time is the same angle θ1 / θ1 ′ as the target irradiation angle when traveling on the right curved road B / left curved road C, the right curved road B without giving the driver any discomfort. It is possible to shift to beam control when traveling on the left curved road C.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the vehicle headlamp system configured to perform beam control of the headlamp, not only when the own vehicle is actually traveling on a curved road, Even when approaching a curved road, it is possible to sufficiently irradiate the direction required by the driver, and this can be realized by a simple method.

Particularly, in the present embodiment, when the vehicle 2 approaches the right curved road B having two lanes on both sides (one lane on one side),
Beam control is performed with the angle θ2 at which the point TP1 on the center line CL, which is the inner peripheral edge of the vehicle running lane at the start position P1 of the right curved road B, from the vehicle predetermined point M is set as the target irradiation angle. Therefore, the above-described operational effect can be obtained while suppressing the possibility that glare is given to the driver or the like of the oncoming vehicle. It should be noted that instead of the center line CL as a reference for the target irradiation angle,
It is also possible to use the right lane mark LM ′ (see FIG. 3). In this case, it is possible to see the traveling direction of the vehicle further forward on the right curved road B.

In the present embodiment, the beam control performed in the road control mode is performed by tilting the reflector 28 of the headlamp 24 from the front of the vehicle to the left and right, and appropriately changing the beam irradiation direction. Therefore, beam control can be easily performed.

Further, in the present embodiment, since the target irradiation angle is calculated based on the map data obtained from the navigation device 16, the calculation of the target irradiation angle can be performed easily and accurately.

In the present embodiment, the predetermined point M
Are set on both sides of the front end of the vehicle, so that the target illumination angle and the headlights 2 of the pair of left and right headlights 20L and 20R are provided.
The relationship with the combined light distribution pattern P formed by the beam radiated from No. 4 can be easily grasped, thereby facilitating the beam control.

In the above embodiment, the light distribution pattern P formed by beam irradiation from the head lamps 24 of the headlights 20L, 20R is a low-beam light distribution pattern. Even when beam irradiation is performed in the high-beam light distribution pattern, the same operation and effect as in the above embodiment can be obtained by performing the same beam control as in the above embodiment.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where each of the headlights 20L and 20R is composed of the head lamp 24 in which the reflector 28 can be tilted to the left and right and the cornering lamp 26 in which the light can be adjusted is described. Of course, it is also possible to adopt a lamp configuration.

For example, a lamp configuration including a head lamp capable of changing the beam irradiation range and a cornering lamp capable of changing the beam irradiation direction, a lamp configuration including other lamps in addition to the head lamp and the cornering lamp, a head lamp and a fog lamp, and the like. In the case of employing a lamp configuration including a light distribution variable dedicated lamp that changes light distribution according to a traveling situation to a normal headlamp, a beam configuration is appropriately performed in each lamp configuration. It is possible to obtain the same operation and effect as the above embodiment.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a vehicle headlight system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a light distribution pattern of a beam emitted by the headlight of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a road plan view showing a specific example of beam control performed in the road control mode in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a detailed view of a main part showing the above specific example.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a method of calculating a target irradiation angle in the above specific example.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing how the target irradiation angle changes in the above specific example.

FIG. 7 is a road plan view showing another specific example of the beam control performed in the above-mentioned road control mode.

FIG. 8 is a detailed view of a main part showing another specific example of the above.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a method of calculating a target irradiation angle in the other specific example.

FIG. 10 is a graph showing a state of a change in a target irradiation angle in the other specific example.

[Description of Signs] 2 Vehicle (own vehicle) 10 Headlight device 12 Column device 14 VSC device 16 Navigation device (road shape detection means) 18 In-vehicle LAN 20L, 20R Headlight 22 Beam control ECU (beam control means) 24 Head Lamp 26 Cornering Lamp 28 Reflector 30 Actuator (ACT) 32 Driver 34 Dimming Circuit (PWM) 40 Head Lamp Switch 42 Turn Signal Switch 44 Steering Angle Sensor 46 Column ECU 50 Vehicle Speed Sensor 52 ECU for VSC 60 Navigation ECU 62 Road Map data DVD-ROM 64 GPS receiver 66 Gyro sensor (azimuth sensor) 68 Display device A Straight road (front running road) B Right curved road (curved road) (front running road) C Left curved road (curved road) CL Center Line (own vehicle LM Left lane mark (Inner peripheral edge of own vehicle running lane) LM 'Right lane mark M Predetermined point of own vehicle P, Pc Light distribution pattern P1 Right curved road start position P1' Left curved road start position P2 A position that is a predetermined distance before the start position of the right curved road P2 ′ A position that is a predetermined distance before the start position of the left curved road P3 A position immediately before the start position of the right curved road P3 ′ A position that is immediately before the start position of the left curved road TP1 Contact point on the center line TP1 'Contact point on the left lane mark TP2 Point on the center line at the start position of the right curve road TP2' Point on the left lane mark at the start position of the left curve road r Radius of curvature of the right curve road r ′ Curvature radius of left curved road w Width of lane of own vehicle θ1, θ1 ′, θ2, θ2 ′ Angle (target irradiation angle)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A headlight for irradiating a beam forward of a vehicle, a road shape detecting means for detecting a road shape ahead of the vehicle, and a beam for controlling the beam based on a detection result of the road shape detecting means. A vehicle headlamp system comprising: a tangent line which looks at an inner peripheral edge of the curved road from a predetermined point of the vehicle when the vehicle is traveling on a curved road. While the above-described beam control is performed using the angle θ1 of the direction as the target irradiation angle, when the own vehicle is traveling on the near side traveling road following the near side of the curved road, a predetermined position on the near side of the start position of the curved road is determined. When the vehicle approaches the position, the beam control is performed using the angle θ2 at which the point on the inner peripheral edge of the curved road at the start position is viewed from the predetermined point of the vehicle as the target irradiation angle, and the vehicle further approaches the start position. Above When the angle θ2 is equal to or greater than the angle θ1, the beam control is performed with the angle θ1 as a target irradiation angle until the vehicle enters the curved road. Illumination system. 2. When the curved road has a plurality of traveling lanes, an inner peripheral edge of the vehicle traveling lane is used instead of an inner peripheral edge of the curved road as a reference of the target irradiation angle. The vehicle headlight system according to claim 1, wherein 3. The beam control performed when traveling from the near side traveling road to the curved road is performed by setting a beam irradiation direction of the headlight to the direction of the target irradiation angle. The vehicular headlamp system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the road shape detecting means is constituted by a navigation device, and the beam control means is configured to calculate the target irradiation angle based on map data obtained from the navigation device. Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned.
The vehicle headlight system according to any one of the above. 5. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a pair of the headlights is provided on both sides of a front end of the vehicle, and the predetermined point of the vehicle is set at a center of the front end of the vehicle. Vehicle headlight system according to any of the preceding claims.