JP2007030739A - On-vehicle lighting fixture control unit and on-vehicle lighting fixture control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically perform a lighting system control appropriate for surrounding conditions. <P>SOLUTION: A surrounding condition determination section 12 determines surrounding conditions using outputs of a navigation system 42, an intervehicular communication apparatus 43, a camera 45, a road-to-vehicle communication apparatus 46, a vehicle speed sensor and so on. A headlight operation control section 13 performs switching between high-beam lighting and low-beam lighting according to surrounding conditions, changes in lighting distance or range, setting lighting thresholds and switching of control modes. Furthermore, a cornering lamp control section 14 performs involvement in lighting control of a cornering lamp and changes in lighting ranges of a cornering lamp 53. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle lamp control apparatus and an in-vehicle lamp control method for controlling the operation of an in-vehicle lamp, and more particularly to an in-vehicle lamp control apparatus and an in-vehicle lamp control method for automatically executing appropriate lighting control according to surrounding conditions.

  Conventionally, various lamps for illumination and notification purposes are mounted on a vehicle. For example, main headlights (headlights) used for front lighting in the night or in tunnels, vehicle width lights (small lamps) used for notification of the existence of the vehicle and vehicle width, and the destination when lighting right and left A cornering lamp that assists the main headlight, a blinker lamp that is used for notification of a left / right turn schedule or an emergency notification, a brake lamp that notifies the vehicle of deceleration, and the like are often used.

  In recent years, various techniques for automating turning on and off of headlights have been devised. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique for detecting a tunnel from map information provided by a navigation device and automatically executing turning on and off of a headlight. Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for detecting and notifying forgetting to turn off a headlight using a navigation device. Furthermore, Patent Document 3 discloses a technique for automatically controlling the headlight by detecting the brightness in front of the vehicle using a sensor.

JP-A-11-324411 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-272983 JP 2003-118475 A

  By the way, two operation modes of high beam irradiation for recognizing an obstacle 100 m ahead and low beam irradiation for recognizing an obstacle 40 m ahead are set for the headlight. This is because if there is a preceding vehicle or an oncoming vehicle and the high beam irradiation is performed, the preceding vehicle or the oncoming vehicle may be dazzled.

  In the prior art, turning on / off the headlights can be automatically controlled, but switching between the high beam and the low beam has to be manually operated by the driver.

  In addition, when turning on the headlights based on the surrounding brightness, it is sufficient for the driver to visually observe the situation where it gradually becomes dark like at sunset, the situation where it is temporarily dark due to shielding, etc. It was not possible to perform flexible lighting control corresponding to various situations, such as a situation where there is brightness but it is desirable to turn on the headlights to notify the surroundings of the presence of the vehicle.

  Similarly, a cornering lamp has been conventionally only linked to a blinker lamp, and thus cannot be used for lighting in situations other than a right / left turn.

  That is, the conventional technique has a problem in that the automatic control of the lamp is too simple and cannot be flexibly controlled according to the situation.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems in the prior art and to solve the problems. An in-vehicle lamp control device and an in-vehicle lamp control method for automatically executing appropriate lighting control according to the surrounding situation The purpose is to provide.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the in-vehicle lamp control device according to the invention of claim 1 is an in-vehicle lamp control device that controls the operation of the in-vehicle lamp, and includes information related to the operation of the driver. Based on the information acquired by the first information acquisition means, the second information acquisition means for acquiring information related to the travel of the host vehicle, and the information acquired by the first or second information acquisition means, at least one of the present and the future And a lighting control means for controlling a lighting state of the in-vehicle lamp based on a determination result by the situation determination means.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the in-vehicle lamp control device obtains information related to the operation of the driver and information related to the traveling of the host vehicle to determine the situation, and the lamp of the in-vehicle lamp is lit based on the determination result. Control the state.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the in-vehicle lamp control device according to the first aspect, wherein the second information acquisition means is a navigation system that provides route guidance for the host vehicle and a vehicle that communicates with other vehicles. An inter-communication device, a radar device that detects an object around the host vehicle, an imaging device that captures the periphery of the host vehicle, a road-to-vehicle communication device that communicates with a road communication device installed on the road, and a traveling speed of the host vehicle is acquired. It includes at least one of speed sensors.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the in-vehicle lamp control device includes a navigation system that performs route guidance of the host vehicle, an inter-vehicle communication device that performs communication with other vehicles, a radar device that detects an object around the host vehicle, and the host vehicle. Judgment is made using outputs from a shooting device that captures the surroundings, a road-to-vehicle communication device that communicates with a road communication device installed on the road, and a speed sensor that acquires the traveling speed of the host vehicle. Control the lighting condition of the in-vehicle lamp.

  The on-vehicle lamp control device according to the invention of claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the situation determination means includes a time, a position of the host vehicle, a travel speed, a planned travel route, a road shape, The situation determination is performed based on at least one of map information, positions of surrounding vehicles, and positions of pedestrians.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the in-vehicle lamp control device is based on the time, the position of the host vehicle, the traveling speed, the planned traveling route, the road shape, the map information, the positions of surrounding vehicles, the positions of pedestrians, and the like. Judgment is performed, and the lighting state of the in-vehicle lamp is controlled based on the determination result.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the in-vehicle lamp control device according to the first, second, or third aspect, the lighting control means switches between a high beam irradiation state and a low beam irradiation state of the main headlamp. It is characterized by.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the in-vehicle lamp control device obtains information related to the traveling of the host vehicle and determines the situation, and determines the high beam irradiation state and the low beam irradiation state of the main headlamp based on the determination result. Switch.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the in-vehicle lamp control device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, wherein the lighting control means is configured such that the situation determination means includes a preceding vehicle, an oncoming vehicle, an opposing pedestrian in the vicinity of the own vehicle. The main headlamp is brought into a low beam irradiation state when any of the presences is detected.

  According to the invention of claim 5, the in-vehicle lamp control device obtains information related to the traveling of the host vehicle and judges the situation, and selects one of the preceding vehicle, the oncoming vehicle, and the opposing pedestrian in the vicinity of the own vehicle. When it is detected, the main headlamp is put into a low beam irradiation state.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the in-vehicle lamp control device according to the fourth or fifth aspect, wherein the lighting control means determines that the host vehicle is traveling in front of a curve by the situation determination means. In this case, the main headlamp is brought into a high beam irradiation state.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the in-vehicle lamp control device obtains information related to the traveling of the host vehicle and determines the situation, and as a result, when the host vehicle determines that the host vehicle is traveling in front of the curve. Set the headlamp to the high beam state.

  The on-vehicle lamp control device according to the invention of claim 7 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the lighting control means changes an irradiation range of the main headlamp. And

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the in-vehicle lamp control device acquires information related to the traveling of the host vehicle to determine the situation, and changes the irradiation range of the main headlamp based on the determination result.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the in-vehicle lamp control device according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, wherein the lighting control means is configured to use the main headlight based on a distance from a surrounding vehicle determined by the situation determination means. The irradiation distance of the lamp is changed.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the in-vehicle lamp control device changes the irradiation distance of the main headlamp based on the distance to the surrounding vehicle.

  The on-vehicle lamp control device according to the invention of claim 9 is the invention according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the lighting control means is a road on which the host vehicle is traveling is a left side traveling or a right side traveling. The irradiation range of the main headlamp is changed based on the above.

  According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the in-vehicle lamp control device changes the irradiation range of the main headlamp based on whether the road on which the host vehicle is traveling is left-side traveling or right-side traveling.

  The on-vehicle lamp control device according to the invention of claim 10 is the invention according to claim 7, 8 or 9, wherein the lighting control means is based on a situation outside the road on which the host vehicle is traveling. The irradiation range of the main headlamp is changed.

  According to the invention of claim 10, the in-vehicle lamp control device changes the irradiation range of the main headlamp based on the situation outside the road where the host vehicle is traveling.

  An on-vehicle lamp control device according to an invention of claim 11 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the lighting control means determines whether the on-vehicle lamp is automatically turned on and / or automatically turned off. The illumination threshold value to be used is changed.

  According to the eleventh aspect of the invention, the on-vehicle lamp control device obtains information related to the traveling of the host vehicle to determine the situation, and is used to determine whether the on-vehicle lamp is automatically turned on and / or automatically turned off based on the determination result. Change the illuminance threshold.

  An in-vehicle lamp control device according to a twelfth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the invention of the eleventh aspect, the lighting control means increases the illuminance threshold when approaching sunset time.

  According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, the in-vehicle lamp control device increases the illuminance threshold used for lighting / extinguishing control of the in-vehicle lamp when the sunset time approaches.

  The on-vehicle lamp control device according to a thirteenth aspect of the invention is the invention according to the eleventh or twelfth aspect, wherein the lighting control means is traveling in a place where the amount of traffic of the vehicle is small and visibility is poor. The illuminance threshold value is increased.

  According to the thirteenth aspect of the invention, the in-vehicle lamp control device increases the illuminance threshold value used for lighting / extinguishing control of the in-vehicle lamp when the vehicle is traveling in a place where the traffic amount is small and the line of sight is poor.

  The on-vehicle lamp control device according to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention is the on-vehicle lamp control device according to any one of the first to thirteenth aspects, wherein the lighting control means is a lamp of the on-vehicle lamp in an area where the host vehicle is traveling. A control mode for automatically turning on and / or automatically turning off the in-vehicle lamp is switched based on a rule.

  According to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, the in-vehicle lamp control device switches the control mode of automatic lighting and / or automatic extinguishing of the in-vehicle lamp based on the lighting rule of the in-vehicle lamp in the area where the host vehicle is traveling.

  Moreover, the vehicle lamp control device according to the invention of claim 15 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the lighting control means includes the position of the host vehicle, the planned travel route, the shape of the road, The cornering lamp is automatically turned on using at least one of the map information.

  According to the fifteenth aspect of the present invention, the in-vehicle lamp control device automatically turns on the cornering lamp using at least one of the position of the host vehicle, the planned travel route, the road shape, and the map information.

  An in-vehicle lamp control device according to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention is the lighting device according to any one of the first to fifteenth aspects, wherein the lighting control means is configured to irradiate a cornering lamp with an irradiation range based on a traveling speed of the host vehicle. It is characterized by changing.

  According to the sixteenth aspect of the present invention, the in-vehicle lamp control device changes the irradiation range of the cornering lamp based on the traveling speed of the host vehicle.

  An on-vehicle lamp control device according to the invention of claim 17 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the lighting control means is predicted to travel under an elevated position by the situation determination means. Further, the present invention is characterized in that a delay time increasing process and / or a determination threshold value changing process for automatic lighting is executed when the on-vehicle lamp is automatically turned on.

  According to the seventeenth aspect of the present invention, the on-vehicle lamp control device increases the delay time when the on-vehicle lamp is automatically turned on or changes the determination threshold for automatic lighting when traveling under an elevated road is predicted.

  An on-vehicle lamp control device according to an invention of claim 18 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the lamp control means is a delay when the on-vehicle lamp is automatically turned on based on time information. A time increase process and / or an automatic lighting determination threshold value changing process is executed.

  According to the eighteenth aspect of the invention, the in-vehicle lamp control device increases the delay time when the in-vehicle lamp is automatically turned on and changes the determination threshold for automatic lighting based on the time information.

  An in-vehicle lamp control device according to an invention of claim 19 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein the situation determination means is the first information acquisition means and / or the second information. Weighting is performed on the output of the acquisition means.

  According to the nineteenth aspect of the present invention, the vehicle lamp control device weights the output of the information acquisition means.

  An in-vehicle lamp control device according to the invention of claim 20 is an in-vehicle lamp control device that controls the operation of the in-vehicle lamp, wherein the information acquisition unit acquires information related to traveling of the host vehicle, and the information acquisition unit. And a lighting control means for controlling a lighting state of the in-vehicle lamp based on a judgment result by the situation judging means.

  According to the twentieth aspect of the present invention, the in-vehicle lamp control device acquires information related to the traveling of the host vehicle, determines the situation, and controls the lighting state of the in-vehicle lamp based on the determination result.

  According to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an in-vehicle lamp control device that controls at least one of automatic lighting and automatic extinguishing of an in-vehicle lamp by comparing the illuminance around the vehicle with a predetermined threshold value. An information acquisition unit that acquires information related to travel of the host vehicle, and a vehicle status determination that determines a status of at least any future vehicle based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit And lighting control means for changing the threshold value stepwise based on the determination result by the vehicle state determination means.

  The on-vehicle lamp control device according to the invention of claim 21 obtains information related to the traveling of the own vehicle, makes a judgment on the status of at least one of the vehicles in detail, and automatically determines the on-vehicle lamp based on the judgment result. Change the illuminance threshold used for turning on / off automatically step by step.

  An in-vehicle lamp control method according to the invention of claim 22 is an in-vehicle lamp control method for controlling the operation of an in-vehicle lamp, the first information acquiring step for acquiring information related to the operation of the driver, and the own vehicle A second information acquisition step of acquiring information related to the traveling of the vehicle, and a situation determination step of determining at least one of the current and future vehicle statuses based on the information acquired by the first or second information acquisition step And a lighting control step for controlling the lighting state of the in-vehicle lamp based on the determination result of the situation determination step.

  According to the twenty-second aspect of the present invention, the on-vehicle lamp control method obtains information related to traveling of the host vehicle to determine the situation, and controls the lighting state of the on-vehicle lamp based on the determination result.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the in-vehicle lamp control device obtains information related to the driver's operation and information related to the traveling of the host vehicle to determine the situation, and based on the determination result, the lighting state of the in-vehicle lamp Therefore, there is an effect that it is possible to obtain an in-vehicle lamp control device that automatically executes appropriate lighting control according to the operation state of the driver and the surrounding situation.

  According to the invention of claim 2, the in-vehicle lamp control device includes a navigation system that performs route guidance of the host vehicle, an inter-vehicle communication device that performs communication with other vehicles, a radar device that detects an object around the host vehicle, Based on the result of the judgment, the situation is judged using the output of the photographing device for photographing the periphery of the vehicle, the road-to-vehicle communication device for communicating with the on-road communication device installed on the road, the speed sensor for acquiring the traveling speed of the host vehicle, etc. Since the lighting state of the in-vehicle lamp is controlled, there is an effect that it is possible to obtain an in-vehicle lamp control device that automatically executes appropriate lighting control according to the situation using the output of the other in-vehicle device.

  According to the invention of claim 3, the on-vehicle lamp control device is based on the time, the position of the host vehicle, the traveling speed, the planned traveling route, the shape of the road, the map information, the position of the surrounding vehicle, the position of the pedestrian, and the like. Since the situation is determined and the lighting state of the in-vehicle lamp is controlled based on the determination result, there is an effect that it is possible to obtain an in-vehicle lamp control device that automatically executes appropriate lighting control according to the surrounding situation.

  According to the invention of claim 4, the in-vehicle lamp control device obtains information related to the traveling of the host vehicle and judges the situation, and based on the judgment result, the high beam irradiation state and the low beam irradiation state of the main headlamp Therefore, an on-vehicle lamp control device that switches between high beam irradiation and low beam irradiation according to the surrounding situation can be obtained.

  Further, according to the invention of claim 5, the in-vehicle lamp control device obtains information related to traveling of the own vehicle and judges the situation, and is one of a preceding vehicle, an oncoming vehicle, and an opposing pedestrian in the vicinity of the own vehicle. Since the main headlamp is brought into the low beam irradiation state when the light is detected, an on-vehicle lamp control device that automatically avoids the occurrence of dazzling can be obtained.

  According to the invention of claim 6, the in-vehicle lamp control device obtains information related to traveling of the host vehicle and determines the situation, and as a result, determines that the host vehicle is traveling in front of the curve. Since the main headlamp is in the high beam state, an on-vehicle lamp control device that automatically and effectively notifies the presence of the host vehicle can be obtained.

  Further, according to the invention of claim 7, the on-vehicle lamp control device obtains information related to the traveling of the host vehicle to determine the situation, and changes the irradiation range of the main headlamp based on the determination result. There exists an effect that the vehicle-mounted lamp control apparatus which illuminates a suitable range according to the condition can be obtained.

  According to the invention of claim 8, since the in-vehicle lamp control device changes the irradiation distance of the main headlamp based on the distance to the surrounding vehicle, it illuminates the driver's field of view without dazzling the surrounding vehicle. There exists an effect that a vehicle-mounted lamp control apparatus can be obtained.

  Further, according to the invention of claim 9, the in-vehicle lamp control device changes the irradiation range of the main headlamp based on whether the road on which the host vehicle is traveling is left side traveling or right side traveling, There exists an effect that the vehicle-mounted lamp control apparatus which selects automatically the effective illumination according to the defined regulation can be obtained.

  Further, according to the invention of claim 10, the in-vehicle lamp control device changes the irradiation range of the main headlamp based on the situation outside the road on which the host vehicle is traveling. It is possible to obtain an in-vehicle lamp control device that automatically executes simple illumination.

  According to the eleventh aspect of the invention, the in-vehicle lamp control device obtains information related to the traveling of the host vehicle, determines the situation, and determines whether the in-vehicle lamp is automatically turned on and / or automatically turned off based on the determination result. Since the illuminance threshold value to be used is changed, there is an effect that it is possible to obtain an in-vehicle lamp control device that controls the timing of lighting according to the surrounding situation.

  Further, according to the invention of claim 12, the in-vehicle lamp control device increases the illuminance threshold value used for lighting / extinguishing control of the in-vehicle lamp when the sunset time approaches, so that the accident occurs when the lamp is turned on early in the evening. There exists an effect that the vehicle-mounted lamp control apparatus which prevents can be obtained.

  According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, the in-vehicle lamp control device increases the illuminance threshold used for lighting / extinguishing control of the in-vehicle lamp when the amount of traffic of the vehicle is small and the vehicle is traveling in a poor view. Therefore, there is an effect that an on-vehicle lamp control device that performs lighting for notification of the presence of the host vehicle can be obtained as necessary.

  Further, according to the invention of claim 14, the in-vehicle lamp control device switches the control mode of automatic lighting and / or automatic extinguishing of the in-vehicle lamp based on the lighting rule of the in-vehicle lamp in the area where the host vehicle is traveling. There exists an effect that the vehicle-mounted lamp control apparatus which can switch lamp control according to a lighting rule can be obtained.

  According to the invention of claim 15, the on-vehicle lamp control device automatically executes lighting of the cornering lamp using at least one of the position of the host vehicle, the planned travel route, the shape of the road, and the map information. The on-vehicle lamp control device that automatically turns on the cornering lamp according to the situation can be obtained.

  According to the sixteenth aspect of the present invention, the on-vehicle lamp control device changes the illumination range of the cornering lamp based on the traveling speed of the host vehicle, so the on-vehicle lamp that changes the lighting range of the cornering lamp according to the surrounding situation. There is an effect that a control device can be obtained.

  According to the seventeenth aspect of the present invention, the on-vehicle lamp control device increases the delay time when the on-vehicle lamp automatically lights up or changes the determination threshold for automatic lighting when traveling under an elevated road is predicted. There exists an effect that the vehicle-mounted lamp control apparatus which prevents generation | occurrence | production of the unnecessary passing at the time of driving | running | working under can be obtained.

  According to the invention of claim 18, the in-vehicle lamp control device increases the delay time when the on-vehicle lamp is automatically turned on or changes the determination threshold for automatic lighting based on the time information. It is possible to obtain an in-vehicle lamp control device that prevents the occurrence of excessive passing.

  In addition, according to the nineteenth aspect of the invention, since the in-vehicle lamp control device weights the output of the information acquisition means, it is possible to obtain an in-vehicle lamp control device that makes a low-cost and highly reliable situation determination. Play.

  According to the invention of claim 20, the in-vehicle lamp control device obtains information related to the traveling of the host vehicle and determines the situation, and controls the lighting state of the in-vehicle lamp based on the determination result. Accordingly, there is an effect that an on-vehicle lamp control device that automatically executes appropriate lighting control can be obtained.

  In addition, the in-vehicle lamp control device according to the invention of claim 21 acquires information related to the traveling of the host vehicle, makes a detailed judgment on the situation of at least one of the vehicles at present, and based on the determination result, Since the illuminance threshold value used for automatic lighting / automatic extinction is changed step by step, an on-vehicle lamp control device that automatically changes the timing of lighting and extinguishing according to the surrounding situation can be obtained.

  According to the invention of claim 22, the vehicle lamp control method obtains information related to the traveling of the host vehicle to determine the situation, and controls the lighting state of the vehicle lamp based on the determination result. Accordingly, there is an effect that it is possible to obtain an in-vehicle lamp control method that automatically executes appropriate lamp control according to the above.

  Exemplary embodiments of an in-vehicle lamp control device according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of an in-vehicle lamp control device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the in-vehicle lamp control device 1 includes an illuminance sensor 41, a navigation system 42, an inter-vehicle communication device 43, a radar 44, a camera 45, a road-to-vehicle communication device 46, a vehicle speed sensor 47, a winker switch 48, and a steering angle sensor. 49, accelerator opening sensor 50, small lamp 51, headlight 52, cornering lamp 53 and turn signal lamp 54.

  The illuminance sensor 41 is a sensor that acquires illuminance outside the vehicle, and is configured by a photodiode or the like. The navigation system 42 sets and guides the travel route using the position of the host vehicle and map data specified by communicating with a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite.

  The inter-vehicle communication device 43 is a communication device that communicates with other vehicles around the host vehicle, and the radar 44 is a detection unit that detects an object around the host vehicle using millimeter waves or microwaves. The camera 34 is a photographing means for photographing the surroundings of the own vehicle.

  The road-to-vehicle communication device 46 collects information such as the shape of the road, the traveling state of other vehicles, the presence or absence of a pedestrian, and the position through communication with a roadside communication device installed on the road. The speed sensor 32 is a measuring unit that measures the traveling speed of the host vehicle, and the winker switch 48 is an operating unit that the driver uses when operating the winker lamp 54.

  The steering angle sensor 49 is a detection means for detecting the operation state of the steering wheel by the driver, and the accelerator opening sensor 50 is a detection means for detecting the operation state of the accelerator by the driver.

  The small lamps 51 are so-called vehicle width lamps that are installed at the four corners of the host vehicle and are lit when notification of the presence of the host vehicle or notification of the vehicle width is performed. The headlight 52 is a main headlamp that is installed in front of the host vehicle and is used for illumination in front of the vehicle at night or in a tunnel. Further, the cornering lamp 53 is an auxiliary headlamp that assists the main headlamp by illuminating the destination when turning right or left, and the turn signal lamp 54 is a direction instruction used for notification of a schedule of right or left turn or emergency notification. It is a light.

  The in-vehicle lamp control device 1 includes a lighting control unit 11, a surrounding state determination unit 12, a headlamp operation control unit 13, a cornering lamp control unit 14, a lighting control unit 15, and a driving operation state recognition unit 16.

  The lighting control unit 11 compares the illuminance value outside the vehicle acquired by the illuminance sensor 41 with the illuminance threshold value, and turns on the headlight 52 and the small lamp 51 when the illuminance value exceeds the illuminance threshold value.

  Similarly, the lighting control unit 15 performs lighting control of the winker lamp 54 based on the operation of the winker switch 48 by the driver. Further, the lighting control unit 15 performs lighting control of the cornering lamp 53 in accordance with the schedule of the right / left turn indicated by the turn signal switch 48.

  The driving operation state recognition unit 16 performs processing for recognizing the state of driving operation by the driver from the outputs of the steering angle sensor 49 and the accelerator opening sensor 50.

  The surrounding situation determination unit 12 receives the time, the current position and travel speed of the host vehicle, the planned travel route from the navigation system 42, the inter-vehicle communication device 43, the radar 44, the camera 45, the road-vehicle communication device 46, and the driving operation state recognition unit 16. The road shape and map information, the position and speed of surrounding vehicles, the position and orientation of pedestrians, and the driving operation state of the host vehicle are acquired, and the situation is determined based on these information.

  Specifically, the time, the current position of the host vehicle, the planned travel route, the road shape, and the map information can be acquired from the navigation system 42, and the traveling speed of the host vehicle can be acquired from the vehicle speed sensor 47. it can.

  Further, the position and speed of the surrounding vehicle are recognized by the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 21 inside the surrounding state determination unit 12, and the position and orientation of the pedestrian are also recognized by the pedestrian recognition unit 22 inside the surrounding state determination unit 12. .

  The surrounding vehicle recognition unit 21 communicates with other vehicles by the inter-vehicle communication device 43, detection by the radar 44, image recognition for the image taken by the camera 45, and further, the road-to-vehicle communication device 46 of the other vehicle received from the road-side communication device. Recognize the position and speed of surrounding vehicles according to the driving conditions.

  In addition, the pedestrian recognition unit 22 recognizes the position and speed of the pedestrian based on detection by the radar 44, image recognition on the image captured by the camera 45, and pedestrian information received by the road-to-vehicle communication device 46 from the roadside communication device. To do.

  In the situation determination by the surrounding situation determination unit 12, various outputs (outputs of the navigation system 42, the inter-vehicle communication device 43, the radar 44, the camera 45, the road-to-vehicle communication device 46, and the driving operation state recognition unit 16) are weighted. It is desirable to perform.

  A relatively complicated device such as a navigation system requires a high cost for ensuring reliability with respect to an environment such as temperature, humidity, and vibration, and may have low reliability with respect to a relatively simple sensor output such as illuminance.

  Therefore, by providing weighting to various outputs used for situation determination and carrying out control, for example, when navigation information becomes unstable, a control function for an in-vehicle lamp is provided without impairing the original purpose. Can do.

  The headlamp operation control unit 13 is a control unit that performs operation control on the lighting control unit 11 and operation control on the headlight 52 based on the surrounding state determined by the surrounding state determination unit 12. A mode switching unit 31, an irradiation range control unit 32, a lighting threshold setting unit 33, and a control mode switching unit 34 are provided.

  The operation mode switching unit 31 performs control to switch between two operation modes of the headlight 52, that is, a high beam irradiation state and a low beam irradiation state.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, when the situation determination unit 12 detects the presence of any of the preceding vehicle C2, the oncoming vehicle C3, and the opposite pedestrian H1 in the vicinity of the own vehicle C1 (for example, within 100 m), The operation mode switching unit 31 puts the headlight 52 into a low beam irradiation state. When the situation determination unit 12 determines that the host vehicle is traveling in front of the curve, the operation mode switching unit 31 puts the headlight 52 into a high beam irradiation state.

  The irradiation range control unit 32 performs control to change the irradiation range of the headlight 52. First, high beam irradiation can illuminate obstacles 100 m ahead, but if there is a preceding vehicle or an oncoming vehicle, high beam irradiation may dazzle the preceding vehicle or the oncoming vehicle. In order to avoid the occurrence of this dazzling, low beam irradiation is performed when there is a preceding vehicle or an oncoming vehicle. The range of this low beam irradiation is usually such that an obstacle 40 meters ahead is illuminated as shown in FIG. The distance is fixed.

  The irradiation range control unit 32 changes the irradiation distance of the low beam irradiation based on the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle or the oncoming vehicle determined by the surrounding state determination unit 12, so that the surrounding vehicle is not dazzled. The driver's field of view can be sufficiently illuminated.

  Furthermore, since the distance to be illuminated by the headlight 52 varies depending on the speed of the host vehicle, the irradiation range control unit 32 further changes the irradiation distance of the headlight 52 based on the traveling speed of the host vehicle.

  By the way, the irradiation range of the headlight 52 is not uniform and is generally biased as shown in FIG. This is because the oncoming vehicle is located on the right side of the own vehicle C1 and the pedestrian is on the left side of the road on the left side as in Japan, for example. Assisting early detection of pedestrians by increasing the irradiation range.

  And when exporting vehicles, the irradiation range was adjusted according to the regulations of the road of the export destination, but the case of traveling across different countries was not considered. Therefore, the irradiation range control unit 32 realizes irradiation suitable for the traveling road by performing control for changing (turning) the irradiation range based on the position information.

  Also, for example, even if it is a road on the left side like Japan, there is a possibility that there is a pedestrian instead of an oncoming vehicle on the right side of a one-way road. It is unlikely that a person will exist. Therefore, the irradiation range control unit 32 performs control to change (turn) the irradiation range of the headlight 52 based on the situation outside the road on which the host vehicle is traveling. Furthermore, you may perform control which changes an irradiation range by changing the angle of the horizontal direction of the headlight 52 according to the traveling speed of the own vehicle.

  The lighting threshold setting unit 33 performs control to change the illuminance threshold used by the lighting control unit 11. Specifically, the lighting threshold value setting unit 33 increases the illuminance threshold value from the threshold value Th1 to the threshold value Th2 as shown in FIG. Therefore, the headlight 52 can be turned on early (that is, at time t2 before time t1) before sunset where accidents are likely to occur.

  The lighting threshold value setting unit 33 increases the illuminance threshold value when the vehicle is traveling on a place where the amount of traffic of the vehicle is small and the line of sight is poor, for example, a mountain road. Therefore, even if the driver's visual observation has sufficient brightness, the headlight 52 can be automatically turned on to notify the surroundings of the presence of the host vehicle.

  For example, when the headlight 52 is turned on to notify the presence of the host vehicle on a mountain road, the headlight 52 is continuously turned on until the vehicle passes through the mountain road. This is because if the headlight 52 is repeatedly turned on and off under the influence of minute fluctuations in illuminance during traveling, it may be erroneously recognized as “passing” by surrounding vehicles. .

  Similarly, when passing under an overpass or underpass or when the ambient brightness changes, such as sunset or sunrise, the headlight 52 blinks according to the change in brightness, and unnecessary passing occurs. There is a case.

  Conventionally, in order to solve this problem, there has been a delay at the time of automatic lighting / automatic light-off. However, if a delay is simply applied, the response of light-on / light-off is lowered.

  Therefore, the headlamp control operation control unit 13 corrects the delay time and the determination threshold only when passing under an overpass or underpass or when ambient brightness changes such as sunset or sunrise. Thus, the occurrence of unnecessary passing is prevented while preventing a decrease in response during normal times.

  The control mode switching unit 34 performs processing for switching the automatic lighting and automatic extinguishing control modes by the lighting control unit 11. For in-vehicle lamps, especially headlights, lighting rules are set for each region (mostly for each country). For example, in Japan, the headlight 52 and the small lamp 51 may be turned off during the day, but depending on the location, the headlight 52 (or the small lamp 51, etc.) Lighting is recommended or required.

  Therefore, the control mode switching unit 34 realizes control conforming to the lighting rules of the area where the host vehicle is traveling by switching the control mode between automatic lighting and automatic extinguishing based on the position information.

  The cornering lamp control unit 14 is a control unit that performs operation control on the lighting control unit 15 and operation control on the cornering lamp 53 based on the surrounding state determined by the surrounding state determination unit 12.

  Specifically, the cornering lamp control unit 14 turns on the cornering lamp 53 via the lighting control unit 15 when the road on which the host vehicle is traveling is a place with many pedestrians such as an intersection. Improve the visibility of pedestrians.

  Similarly, even when the road on which the host vehicle is traveling is thin, the cornering lamp is turned on via the lighting control unit 15 to improve the visibility of the road. Furthermore, you may perform control which changes the irradiation range of the cornering lamp 53 according to the driving speed of the own vehicle.

  Further, the cornering lamp control unit 14 turns on the cornering lamp 53 via the lighting control unit 15 when detecting the approach of the planned travel route of the host vehicle and the place where the vehicle should make a right or left turn. Illumination can be started without depending on the lighting state of the blinker lamp 54.

  That is, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6, the cornering lamp control unit 14 is when the host vehicle is in the vicinity of the intersection (step S101, Yes), or when traveling on a narrow road (step S102, Yes), Alternatively, when there is a plan to turn left or right (step S103, Yes), the cornering lamp 53 is turned on (step S104).

  As described above, in the in-vehicle lamp control device 1 according to the present embodiment, the surrounding state determination unit 12 has the navigation system 42, the inter-vehicle communication device 43, the radar 44, the camera 45, the road-to-vehicle communication device 46, the vehicle speed sensor 47, and the like. The headlamp operation control unit 13 switches between high beam irradiation and low beam irradiation, changes the irradiation distance and irradiation range, sets the lighting threshold value, and switches the control mode according to the situation. At the same time, the cornering lamp control unit 14 intervenes in the lighting control of the cornering lamp and changes the irradiation range of the cornering lamp 53, so that appropriate lighting control can be automatically executed according to the surrounding situation.

  As described above, the in-vehicle lamp control device according to the present invention is useful for automatic control of in-vehicle lamps, and is particularly suitable for lighting control according to the surrounding situation.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows the schematic structure of the vehicle-mounted lamp control apparatus concerning the Example of this invention. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an operation of an operation mode switching unit 31. It is explanatory drawing explaining control of irradiation distance. It is explanatory drawing explaining control of an irradiation range. It is explanatory drawing explaining the change of an illumination intensity threshold value. It is explanatory drawing explaining operation | movement of the cornering lamp control part shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle lamp control apparatus 11,15 Lighting control part 12 Peripheral condition judgment part 13 Operation mode switching part 14 Cornering lamp control part 16 Driving operation condition recognition part 21 Surrounding vehicle recognition part 22 Pedestrian recognition part 31 Operation mode switching part 32 Irradiation range Control unit 33 Lighting threshold setting unit 34 Control mode switching unit 41 Illuminance sensor 42 Navigation system 43 Inter-vehicle communication device 44 Radar 45 Camera 46 Road-to-vehicle communication device 47 Vehicle speed sensor 48 Blinker switch 49 Steering angle sensor 50 Accelerator opening sensor 51 Small lamp 52 Headlight 53 Cornering lamp 54 Turn signal lamp

Claims (22)

An in-vehicle lamp control device that controls the operation of an in-vehicle lamp,
First information acquisition means for acquiring information related to the operation of the driver;
Second information acquisition means for acquiring information related to traveling of the host vehicle;
Based on the information acquired by the first or second information acquisition means, a situation determination means for making a determination of at least one of the future vehicle conditions;
A lighting control means for controlling a lighting state of the in-vehicle lamp based on a judgment result by the situation judging means;
An in-vehicle lamp control device comprising:   The second information acquisition means includes a navigation system that performs route guidance of the host vehicle, an inter-vehicle communication device that performs communication with other vehicles, a radar device that detects an object around the host vehicle, a photographing device that captures the periphery of the host vehicle, The on-vehicle lamp control device according to claim 1, comprising at least one of a road-to-vehicle communication device that communicates with a road communication device installed on a road, and a speed sensor that acquires a traveling speed of the host vehicle. .   The situation determination means performs a situation determination based on at least one of time, position of own vehicle, travel speed, planned travel route, road shape, map information, position of surrounding vehicles, and position of pedestrians. The in-vehicle lamp control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein   The on-vehicle lamp control device according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the lighting control means switches between a high beam irradiation state and a low beam irradiation state of the main headlamp.   The lighting control means sets the main headlight to a low beam irradiation state when the situation judging means detects the presence of any preceding vehicle, oncoming vehicle or opposing pedestrian in the vicinity of the host vehicle. The on-vehicle lamp control device according to claim 4.   6. The light control unit according to claim 4, wherein the main headlamp is placed in a high beam irradiation state when the situation determination unit determines that the host vehicle is traveling in front of a curve. The vehicle-mounted lamp control apparatus of description.   The on-vehicle lamp control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the lighting control means changes an irradiation range of the main headlamp.   The in-vehicle lamp control device according to claim 7, wherein the lighting control means changes an irradiation distance of the main headlamp based on a distance from a surrounding vehicle determined by the situation determination means.   9. The lighting control means according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the lighting control means changes an irradiation range of the main headlamp based on whether the road on which the host vehicle is traveling is left-side traveling or right-side traveling. The vehicle-mounted lamp control apparatus of description.   The on-vehicle lamp control according to claim 7, 8 or 9, wherein the lighting control means changes an irradiation range of the main headlamp based on a situation outside a road on which the host vehicle is traveling. apparatus.   The on-vehicle lamp control device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the lighting control means changes an illuminance threshold value used for determining whether the on-vehicle lamp is automatically turned on and / or automatically turned off.   The on-vehicle lamp control device according to claim 11, wherein the lighting control means increases the illuminance threshold when approaching sunset time.   The on-vehicle lamp control device according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the lighting control means increases the illuminance threshold when the vehicle is traveling in a place where the amount of traffic of the vehicle is small and visibility is poor.   The lighting control means switches between a control mode for automatically turning on and / or turning off an in-vehicle lamp based on a lighting rule for the in-vehicle lamp in an area where the host vehicle is traveling. The on-vehicle lamp control device according to claim 1.   The lighting control means automatically executes lighting of a cornering lamp using at least one of a position of the host vehicle, a planned travel route, a road shape, and map information. The in-vehicle lamp control device according to one.   The on-vehicle lamp control device according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the lighting control means changes an irradiation range of a cornering lamp based on a traveling speed of the host vehicle.   The lighting control means is configured to execute a delay time increasing process and / or an automatic lighting determination threshold changing process when an on-vehicle lamp is automatically turned on when a situation determination means predicts traveling under an elevated road. The in-vehicle lamp control device according to any one of claims 1 to 16.   The lighting control means executes delay time increase processing and / or automatic lighting determination threshold changing processing when an on-vehicle lamp is automatically turned on based on time information. The vehicle-mounted lamp control device described in 1.   The on-vehicle lamp control device according to any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein the situation determination unit weights the output of the first information acquisition unit and / or the second information acquisition unit. An in-vehicle lamp control device that controls the operation of an in-vehicle lamp,
Information acquisition means for acquiring information related to traveling of the host vehicle;
Situation determination means for making a situation determination based on the information acquired by the information acquisition means;
A lighting control means for controlling a lighting state of the in-vehicle lamp based on a judgment result by the situation judging means;
An in-vehicle lamp control device comprising: An on-vehicle lamp control device that controls at least one of automatic lighting and automatic lighting of a vehicle lamp by comparing the illuminance around the vehicle with a predetermined threshold,
Information acquisition means for acquiring information related to traveling of the host vehicle;
Vehicle status determination means for determining the status of at least any future vehicle based on the information acquired by the information acquisition means;
A lamp control means for changing the threshold stepwise based on a determination result by the vehicle state determination means;
An in-vehicle lamp control device comprising: An in-vehicle lamp control method for controlling the operation of an in-vehicle lamp,
A first information acquisition step for acquiring information related to the operation of the driver;
A second information acquisition step of acquiring information related to traveling of the host vehicle;
Based on the information acquired by the first or second information acquisition step, a situation determination step for determining the current vehicle situation at least in the future,
A lamp control step for controlling the lighting state of the in-vehicle lamp based on the determination result by the situation determination step;
The vehicle-mounted lamp control method characterized by including.

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