JP2014040177A - Lighting control system for vehicular headlamps, and vehicular headlamp system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve discernment for a pedestrian without causing glare to a forward vehicle.SOLUTION: A lighting control system includes: a vehicular/pedestrian detection unit 11 that detects a forward vehicle and pedestrian; an irradiation range designation unit that designates a light irradiation range in each of an upper first light distribution area and lower second light distribution area consistent with respective positions of the forward vehicle and pedestrian; and a light distribution control unit 17 that produces control signals associated with the designated light irradiation ranges and outputs the control signals to vehicular headlamps. The irradiation range designation unit designates a partial area of the first light distribution area consistent with the positions of the forward vehicle in a light non-irradiation range. If the positions of the forward vehicle and pedestrian do not coincide with each other, partial areas of the first light distribution area and second light distribution areas respectively consistent with the positions of the pedestrian are designated in the light irradiation ranges. If the forward vehicle and pedestrian coincide with each other, the partial area of the first light distribution area consistent with the positions of the pedestrian is designated in the light non-irradiation range, and the partial area of the second light distribution area consistent with the positions of the pedestrian is designated in the light irradiation range.

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for controlling an irradiation state of a vehicle headlamp.

  When driving a vehicle at night, the driver basically confirms the front of the vehicle by irradiating a high beam with a headlamp, and switches to a low beam as necessary. Is often used. At this time, if light is irradiated above the so-called cut-off line, glare may be imparted to oncoming vehicles and preceding vehicles (hereinafter referred to as “front vehicles”). For this reason, in recent years, the position of the front vehicle lamp (tail lamp or headlamp) is detected using an image obtained by photographing the front vehicle with a camera mounted on the host vehicle, and the position of the front vehicle falls within the light shielding range. Various light distribution control techniques for controlling the irradiation pattern of the high beam in this way have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). According to this technique, it is possible to suppress glare to the vehicle ahead and improve early detection of pedestrians and distance visibility. Various techniques for assisting a driver to find a pedestrian early by detecting a pedestrian in front of the vehicle and irradiating the area with marking light have also been proposed (for example, Patent Document 2). , 3).

  By the way, consider a case where a pedestrian (for example, a pedestrian crossing a road) exists between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle, and the position of the pedestrian overlaps the position of the preceding vehicle. In this case, according to the above light distribution control technique, the light distribution control is performed so that the high beam is not irradiated to the position of the vehicle ahead. Therefore, the driver of the own vehicle relies on the low beam irradiated only to the pedestrian's feet. Therefore, the presence of the pedestrian must be confirmed, and the visibility of the pedestrian is reduced. In addition, the lower the distance between the vehicle and the pedestrian, the more difficult the low beam reaches, so the entire pedestrian becomes almost invisible. Furthermore, when the host vehicle, the pedestrian, and the preceding vehicle are arranged in a straight line, a phenomenon (so-called evaporation phenomenon) may occur in which the driver of the host vehicle becomes almost invisible. On the other hand, it is conceivable to improve the visibility of the pedestrian by applying the technology for irradiating the marking light to the pedestrian as described above. On the other hand, strong glare will be given, which is not preferable.

Japanese Patent No. 4624257 JP 2006-159928 A JP 2008-120162 A

  The specific aspect which concerns on this invention makes it one of the objectives to provide the light distribution control technique which can improve a pedestrian's visibility, without giving the glare to a front vehicle.

  A lighting control device for a vehicle headlamp according to an aspect of the present invention is a lighting control device for controlling a light irradiation state by a vehicle headlamp, and (a) a vehicle's headlight photographed by a camera. A vehicle / pedestrian detection unit that detects a forward vehicle and a pedestrian based on a front image, and (b) a relative position corresponding to each position of the forward vehicle and the pedestrian detected by the vehicle / pedestrian detection unit. And (c) an irradiation range setting unit that sets an irradiation range of light in each of the first light distribution region disposed on the upper side and the second light distribution region disposed on the lower side. A light distribution control unit that generates a control signal corresponding to the irradiation range of the light to be output to the vehicle headlamp, and (d) the irradiation range setting unit includes a first distribution corresponding to the position of the preceding vehicle. Set a part of the light area as the non-irradiation range of light, and light in other areas When the positions of the front vehicle and the pedestrian do not overlap with each other, the first light distribution area and the second light distribution area corresponding to the position of the pedestrian are set as the light irradiation range. When the vehicle ahead and the pedestrian overlap, the second light distribution corresponding to the position of the pedestrian is set by setting a partial area of the first light distribution area corresponding to the position of the pedestrian as a non-irradiation range of light. This is a lighting control device for a vehicle headlamp that sets a partial region of the region as a light irradiation range.

  According to the above configuration, when the position of the pedestrian and the preceding vehicle overlap, the partial area corresponding to the position of the pedestrian in the first light distribution area is set as the non-irradiation range of the light. Never give glare. In the second light distribution region, a partial beam corresponding to the position of the pedestrian is set as the light irradiation range, so that a guide beam extending from the own vehicle to the pedestrian's feet can be formed. It becomes possible to improve the visibility of pedestrians.

  In the lighting control device, the irradiation range setting unit corresponds to (e) a storage unit having a first storage area and a second storage area, and (f) a pedestrian position detected by the vehicle / pedestrian detection unit. Each of the first light distribution region and the second light distribution region is determined as the light irradiation range, and the other region is determined as the light non-irradiation range, and a flag indicating the determination result is stored in the first memory. A first irradiation range determination unit that writes in the region; and (f) a partial region of the first light distribution region corresponding to the position of the preceding vehicle detected by the vehicle / pedestrian detection unit is determined as the light irradiation range, and the others A second irradiation range determination unit that determines that the area is a non-irradiation range of light and writes a flag indicating the determination result in the second storage area; and (g) the flag written in the second storage area is the first storage area (H) the light distribution control unit In response to the written flag in the memory area to generate a control signal output to the headlamp for a vehicle, it is preferable.

  According to the above configuration, it is possible to set the light irradiation range corresponding to each of the case where the position of the pedestrian and the vehicle ahead does not overlap by a simple process of overwriting the flag, and the light distribution control The arithmetic processing required for this can be greatly reduced.

  In the above lighting control device, the flag update unit overwrites the first storage area with the flag written in the second storage area, and then sets the area set as the light irradiation range and the second distribution in the first light distribution area. If there is a portion where the region set as the light irradiation range in the light region is aligned vertically, at least the flag of the first storage region corresponding to the portion in the first light distribution region is relatively set. It is also preferable to rewrite the flag indicating the enhanced light having a high light intensity.

  Thereby, when the position of the pedestrian and the vehicle ahead does not overlap, it becomes possible to irradiate the emphasis light to at least the upper body side of the pedestrian, and it is possible to further improve the visibility.

  In the above lighting control device, the irradiation range setting unit (i) overlaps the positions of the pedestrian and the forward vehicle based on the positions of the pedestrian and the forward vehicle detected by the vehicle / pedestrian detection unit. A pedestrian overlap detection unit for detecting the pedestrian overlap, and (j) determining that a partial region corresponding to the position of the preceding vehicle is a non-light irradiation range and a region other than the light irradiation range; In the case where an overlap between the pedestrian and the vehicle ahead is detected by the detection unit, a part of the first light distribution region corresponding to the position of the pedestrian is defined as a second region corresponding to the non-irradiation range of light and the position of the pedestrian When the partial area of the light distribution area is determined as the light irradiation range, and the overlap of the pedestrian and the preceding vehicle is not detected by the pedestrian overlap detection unit, the first light distribution area corresponding to the position of the pedestrian and Light in each partial region of the second light distribution region An irradiation range determination unit that determines an irradiation range, and (k) a light distribution control unit generates a control signal corresponding to the irradiation range and non-irradiation range of the light determined by the irradiation range determination unit, and It is also preferable to output to the headlamp.

  Also with the above configuration, it is possible to set the light irradiation range corresponding to each of the case where the position of the pedestrian and the vehicle ahead does not overlap.

  A vehicle headlamp system according to one aspect of the present invention includes the above-described vehicle headlamp lighting control device and the vehicle headlamp controlled by the lighting control device.

  This provides a vehicle headlamp system that can improve the visibility of pedestrians without giving glare to the vehicle ahead.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a vehicle headlamp system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of each lamp unit. FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram illustrating another configuration example of each lamp unit. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an optical configuration of each lamp unit. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a light distribution pattern formed using the lamp unit shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a light distribution pattern formed using the lamp unit shown in FIG. 6A to 6D are schematic diagrams illustrating specific examples of light distribution control. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining an operation procedure of the vehicle headlamp system according to the first embodiment. Each of FIGS. 8A to 8C is a diagram for explaining an example of setting a flag. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining an operation procedure of the vehicle headlamp system according to the second embodiment. Each of FIG. 10A to FIG. 10C is a diagram for explaining a flag setting example. FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a vehicle headlamp system according to a third embodiment. FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining an operation procedure of the vehicle headlamp system according to the third embodiment.

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

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a vehicle headlamp system according to a first embodiment. The vehicle headlamp system shown in FIG. 1 performs light irradiation by setting a light distribution pattern based on an image obtained by imaging a space (target space) in front of the host vehicle. The vehicle / pedestrian detection unit 11, the control unit 12, and a pair of lamp units 20R and 20L are configured. The camera 10, the vehicle / pedestrian detection unit 11, and the control unit 12 correspond to a lighting control device, and each of the lamp units 20R and 20L corresponds to a vehicle headlamp.

  The camera 10 is installed at a predetermined position (for example, in the vicinity of an indoor rearview mirror) of the host vehicle, captures a space in front of the host vehicle, and outputs an image (image data).

  The vehicle / pedestrian detection unit 11 detects the position of the vehicle ahead and the position of the pedestrian by performing predetermined image processing using the image data output from the camera 10, and controls each position information. 12 is output. The “front vehicle” here is a preceding vehicle or an oncoming vehicle. The vehicle / pedestrian detection unit 11 is realized by executing a predetermined operation program in a computer system having, for example, a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like. The vehicle / pedestrian detection unit 11 is configured integrally with the camera 10, for example. Note that the function of the vehicle / pedestrian detection unit 11 may be realized by the control unit 12.

  The control unit 12 is realized by executing a predetermined operation program in a computer system having, for example, a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and includes a pedestrian irradiation range determination unit (first irradiation range determination unit) as a functional block. ) 13, a high beam irradiation range determination unit (second irradiation range determination unit) 14, a flag update unit 15, an irradiation range storage unit 16, and a light distribution control unit 17. Note that the pedestrian irradiation range determination unit (first irradiation range determination unit) 13, the high beam irradiation range determination unit (second irradiation range determination unit) 14, the flag update unit 15, and the irradiation range storage unit 16 are “irradiation range setting unit”. It corresponds to.

  The pedestrian irradiation range determination unit 13 determines a region to be set as the light irradiation range / non-irradiation range corresponding to the position of the pedestrian. The flag indicating the determination result is stored in the first storage area of the irradiation range storage unit (storage unit) 16 by the pedestrian irradiation range determination unit 13.

  The high beam irradiation range determination unit 14 determines a region that should be the light irradiation range / non-irradiation range corresponding to the position of the vehicle ahead. The flag indicating the determination result is stored in the second storage area of the irradiation range storage unit 16 by the high beam irradiation range determination unit 14.

  The flag update unit 15 reads a flag stored in the second storage area of the irradiation range storage unit 16 and performs a process of overwriting the flag in the first storage area, that is, a process of updating the flag.

  The irradiation range storage unit 16 is an information storage unit such as a RAM that can temporarily store data, and includes the first storage area and the second storage area described above in the storage area.

  The light distribution control unit 17 generates a control signal (light distribution control signal) corresponding to the light distribution pattern based on the flag (flag indicating the light irradiation range) stored in the first storage area of the irradiation range storage unit 16. Generated and output to each lamp unit 20R, 20L.

  The lamp unit 20 </ b> R is installed on the right front side of the host vehicle and is used for irradiating light that illuminates the front of the host vehicle, and includes an LED driver 21 and a matrix LED 22. Similarly, the lamp unit 20 </ b> L is installed on the left side in front of the host vehicle and is used for irradiating light that illuminates the front of the host vehicle, and includes an LED driver 21 and a matrix LED 22.

  The LED driver 21 selectively turns on each LED by supplying a drive signal to a plurality of LEDs (light emitting diodes) included in the matrix LED 22 based on a control signal output from the light distribution control unit 17. Let

  The matrix LED 22 includes a plurality of LEDs arranged in a matrix, and the plurality of LEDs are selectively lit based on a drive signal supplied from the LED driver 21. The matrix LED 22 can turn on a plurality of LEDs independently and control the irradiation intensity (brightness).

  Although not shown in FIG. 1, a near-infrared lamp may be further used to improve accuracy when the vehicle speed is fast, improve distant visibility, and improve detection accuracy by the camera. In that case, it is necessary to use a near-infrared camera as the camera 10 as well. Further, a far-infrared camera may be used for pedestrian detection. In that case, a far-infrared camera may be installed outside the vehicle, such as in a bumper of the vehicle.

  FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of each lamp unit. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an optical configuration of each lamp unit. The lamp unit 20R (or 20L) shown in FIG. 2A includes a high beam portion 25 and a low beam portion 26. The high beam section 25 includes the matrix LED 22 and a lens 23 disposed in front of the matrix LED 22, and light emitted from the matrix LED 22 is projected forward by the lens 23 to form a high beam or the like. Here, a matrix LED 22 including a matrix LED of 2 rows and 11 columns is assumed. The low beam unit 26 includes a lamp (not shown) and a lens 24 disposed on the front surface thereof, and light emitted from the lamp is projected forward by the lens 24 to form a low beam.

  FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram illustrating another configuration example of each lamp unit. The lamp unit 20R (or 20L) shown in FIG. 2B includes a high / low beam portion 27 in which a high beam portion and a low beam portion are integrated. The high / low beam unit 27 includes the matrix LED 22 and a lens 28 disposed in front of the matrix LED 22, and light emitted from the matrix LED 22 is projected forward by the lens 28 to form a high beam, a low beam, or the like. . Here, a matrix LED 22 including a matrix LED of 10 rows and 30 columns is assumed.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a light distribution pattern formed using the lamp unit shown in FIG. The light distribution pattern shown in FIG. 4 is divided into a region of 2 rows and 11 columns as a whole, and is relatively relative to the high beam region (first light distribution region) 101 corresponding to the column disposed on the relatively upper side. A guide beam region (second light distribution region) 102 corresponding to the row arranged on the lower side is included. Light irradiation is selectively performed on the region of these 2 rows and 11 columns. A low beam region 103 is set so as to overlap the entire guide beam region 102 and a part of the high beam region 101. In the illustrated example, the boundary between the high beam region 101 and the guide beam region 102 is associated with the right line of the cut line (substantially central step portion) of the low beam region 103, but may be associated with the left line. However, it may be associated with the left and right separately. Alternatively, instead of associating with the low beam region 103, the high beam region 101 may be disposed on the upper side and the guide beam region 102 may be disposed on the lower side in accordance with the horizontal line. Even in this case, the left and right boundaries can be made separate, and either one may correspond to either the left or right line of the low beam region 103. Further, the lower end of the guide beam region 102 may be aligned with the lower end of the low beam region 103.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a light distribution pattern formed using the lamp unit shown in FIG. The light distribution pattern shown in FIG. 5 is divided into 10 rows and 30 columns as a whole, and includes a high beam region 101 disposed on the relatively upper side and a guide beam region 102 disposed on the relatively lower side. Contains. These 10 rows and 30 columns are selectively irradiated with light. In this example, the guide beam region 102 and the low beam region 103 substantially coincide.

  Hereinafter, for the sake of convenience, the operation of the vehicle headlamp system will be described on the premise of the light distribution pattern shown in FIG. 4, but the same operation can be realized also on the premise of the light distribution pattern shown in FIG. 5. .

  6A to 6D are schematic diagrams illustrating specific examples of light distribution control. In each figure, illustration of low beam irradiation / non-irradiation is omitted. FIG. 6A shows an example of light distribution control when only the low beam is irradiated in a situation where the vehicle 111 and the pedestrian 112 do not overlap. In this case, in the high beam region 101, only one region corresponding to the pedestrian 112 is selected as the light irradiation range, and in the guide beam region 102, only one region corresponding to the pedestrian 112 is selected as the light irradiation range. Has been. Thereby, since the high beam as a marking beam is irradiated to the upper body side of the pedestrian 112 and the guide beam is irradiated to the lower body side of the pedestrian 112, the visibility of the pedestrian 112 is improved. Also here, the light intensity of the guide beam may be set to be relatively high.

  FIG. 6B shows an example of light distribution control in the case where both the low beam and the selective high beam are irradiated in a situation where the vehicle 111 and the pedestrian 112 do not overlap. In this case, in the high beam region 101, one region corresponding to the pedestrian 112 is selected as the light irradiation range, and all the regions other than the four regions corresponding to the preceding vehicle 111 are also irradiated with light in other regions. Selected as a range. In the guide beam region 102, only one region corresponding to the pedestrian 112 is selected as the light irradiation range. Thereby, since the high beam as a marking beam is irradiated to the upper body side of the pedestrian 112 and the guide beam is irradiated to the lower body side of the pedestrian 112, the visibility of the pedestrian 112 is improved. In this example, the region corresponding to the pedestrian 112 is set to have a relatively high light intensity compared to the other light irradiation ranges. Thereby, the position of the pedestrian 112 is further emphasized.

  FIG. 6C shows an example of light distribution control when only the low beam is irradiated in a situation where the vehicle 111 and the pedestrian 112 overlap. In this case, in the high beam region 101, the region corresponding to the pedestrian 112 is not selected as the light irradiation range. This prevents glare from being given to the vehicle ahead. On the other hand, for the guide beam region 102, one region corresponding to the pedestrian 112 is selected as the light irradiation range. As a result, a linear guide beam is formed from the own vehicle to the feet of the pedestrian 112, so that the direction of the pedestrian 112 can be easily grasped and visibility can be improved. Also here, the light intensity of the guide beam may be set to be relatively high.

  FIG. 6D illustrates an example of light distribution control in the case where both the low beam and the selective high beam are irradiated in a situation where the vehicle 111 and the pedestrian 112 overlap each other. In this case, in the high beam region 101, one region corresponding to the pedestrian 112 is not selected as the light irradiation range, and all the regions other than the four regions corresponding to the forward vehicle 111 are light in other regions. It is selected as the irradiation range. This prevents glare from being given to the vehicle ahead. In the guide beam region 102, one region corresponding to the pedestrian 112 is selected as the light irradiation range. As a result, a linear guide beam is formed from the own vehicle to the feet of the pedestrian 112, so that the direction of the pedestrian 112 can be easily grasped and visibility can be improved. In particular, even when a so-called evaporation phenomenon occurs, it is possible to reliably grasp the presence of the pedestrian 112 using the guide beam as a clue. Also here, the light intensity of the guide beam may be set to be relatively high.

Hereinafter, the operation of the vehicle headlamp system of the present embodiment will be described in detail.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining an operation procedure of the vehicle headlamp system according to the first embodiment. Each of FIGS. 8A to 8C is a diagram for explaining an example of setting a flag.

  Based on the front image of the host vehicle photographed by the camera 10, the vehicle / pedestrian detection unit 11 detects the positions of the front vehicle and the pedestrian. This position detection is executed at regular intervals.

  The pedestrian irradiation range determination unit 13 determines a region that should be the light irradiation range corresponding to the position of the pedestrian based on the position information of the pedestrian detected by the vehicle / pedestrian detection unit 11 (step) S11). Specifically, one or more areas in the high beam area 101 and the guide beam area 102 corresponding to the position of the pedestrian are areas that should be light irradiation ranges. A flag indicating a determination result (here, “ON = 1, OFF = 0”) is written into the first storage area of the irradiation range storage unit 16 by the pedestrian irradiation range determination unit 13 (step S12).

  In the case illustrated in FIG. 8A, the third region from the right (indicated by hatching) in each of the high beam region 101 and the guide beam region 102 corresponds to the position of the pedestrian 112 as the light irradiation range. Is done. The first storage area of the irradiation range storage unit 16 has, for example, a flag storage area in a one-to-one correspondence with a plurality of areas included in the high beam area 101 and the guide beam area 102. The high beam area 101 and the guide beam The flag “1” is written in the flag storage area corresponding to the third area from the right in each of the areas 102, and the flag “0” is written in the flag storage areas corresponding to the other areas.

  Next, the high beam irradiation range determination unit 14 determines an area that should be the light irradiation range corresponding to the position of the preceding vehicle, based on the position information of the preceding vehicle detected by the vehicle / pedestrian detection unit 11. (Step S13). Specifically, one or more areas in the high beam area 101 corresponding to the position of the preceding vehicle are areas that should be light irradiation ranges. A flag indicating the determination result (here, “ON = 1, OFF = 0”) is written into the second storage area of the irradiation range storage unit 16 by the high beam irradiation range determination unit 14 (step S13).

  In the case illustrated in FIG. 8B, corresponding to the position of the forward vehicle 111, the first region from the right and the six regions from the left (respectively indicated by diagonal lines) in the high beam region 101 are light irradiation ranges. Is done. The second storage area of the irradiation range storage unit 16 has a flag storage area in a one-to-one correspondence with a plurality of areas included in the high beam area 101 and the guide beam area 102, for example. Flag “1” is written in the flag storage area corresponding to the first area and the six areas from the left, and flag “0” is written in the flag storage areas corresponding to the other areas. Further, all flag storage areas corresponding to the guide beam area 102 are set to “blank (BR)”. When an instruction to irradiate only the low beam is given, the flag “0” is written in all the flag storage areas corresponding to the high beam area 101.

  Next, the flag update unit 15 overwrites the first storage area with the flag written in the second storage area of the irradiation range storage unit 16 (step S15). It should be noted that the first storage area is not overwritten in the portion where the flag storage area of the second storage area is “blank”. In the case illustrated in FIG. 8C, the flag storage area corresponding to the high beam area 101 among the areas corresponding to the pedestrian 112 is overwritten by overwriting the flag of the second storage area on the first storage area. The flag storage area corresponding to the guide beam area 102 is overwritten from “BR” to “1”. As a result, the upper body side of the pedestrian 112 is excluded from the light irradiation range, and the lower body side is in the light irradiation range (see FIG. 8C). In addition, although the operation | movement corresponding to the light distribution pattern shown to above-mentioned FIG.6 (D) was illustrated here, it is the same also about another light distribution pattern.

  Next, the light distribution control unit 17 sets a light distribution pattern based on the flag stored in the first storage area of the irradiation range storage unit 16, and generates and outputs a control signal corresponding to the light distribution pattern. (Step S16). A desired light distribution pattern is realized by operating each of the optical units 20R and 20L based on this control signal.

  According to the first embodiment, the pedestrian does not give glare to the preceding vehicle even when the position of the pedestrian and the preceding vehicle overlaps, and by the guide beam extending from the own vehicle to the pedestrian's feet. It becomes possible to improve the visibility. In particular, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to set the light irradiation range corresponding to the case where the positions of the pedestrian and the vehicle ahead do not overlap by the simple process of overwriting the flag. Arithmetic processing required for light control can be greatly reduced.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment described above, when the pedestrian and the vehicle ahead do not overlap, the light irradiation control is not performed with particular emphasis on the position of the pedestrian 112 in the high beam region 101, but this is realized. Is described below. Since the configuration of the vehicle headlamp system is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted here. The main difference between the two is processing performed by the flag update unit 15.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining an operation procedure of the vehicle headlamp system according to the second embodiment. Each of FIGS. 10A to 10C is a diagram for explaining an example of setting a flag.

  When the processing from step S11 to step S15 is executed in the same manner as in the first embodiment described above, the flag update unit 15 next turns on and off the flag in the first storage area of the irradiation range storage unit 16 above and below. That is, it is determined whether or not there is a place with the flag “1” (step S21). If there is a place with the flag “1” on both the upper and lower sides (step S21; YES), the flag corresponding to the high beam region at the corresponding place. Is rewritten to “2” (step S22). If there is no portion with the flag “1” on both the upper and lower sides (step S21; NO), the process of step S22 is not performed.

  Next, the light distribution control unit 17 sets a light distribution pattern based on the flag stored in the first storage area of the irradiation range storage unit 16, and generates and outputs a control signal corresponding to the light distribution pattern. (Step S16). A desired light distribution pattern is realized by operating each of the optical units 20R and 20L based on this control signal.

  In step S12, for example, as shown in FIG. 10A, the third region from the left (indicated by diagonal lines) of the high beam region 101 and the guide beam region 102 corresponds to the position of the pedestrian 112. The irradiation range. In the first storage area of the irradiation range storage unit 16, the flag “1” is written in the flag storage area corresponding to the third area from the left in each of the high beam area 101 and the guide beam area 102, and in the other areas. A flag “0” is written in the corresponding flag storage area.

  In step S14, for example, as shown in FIG. 10B, in the high beam region 101, the first region from the right and the six regions from the left (each indicated by diagonal lines) correspond to the position of the front vehicle 111. The irradiation range. In the second storage area of the irradiation range storage unit 16, the flag “1” is written in the flag storage areas corresponding to the first area from the right and the six areas from the left in the high beam area 101, and it corresponds to the other areas. A flag “0” is written in the flag storage area, and all the flag storage areas corresponding to the guide beam area 102 are “blank (BR)”.

  In step S15, the flag of the second storage area is overwritten on the first storage area. As a result, the flag storage area corresponding to the pedestrian 112 is “1” both at the top and bottom. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 10C, the flag storage area corresponding to the high beam area among the flag storage areas corresponding to the pedestrian 112 is rewritten to “2”. As a result, it is possible to obtain a state in which the upper body side of the pedestrian 112 is set as an irradiation range of light having higher light intensity (that is, enhanced light) and the lower body side is set as an irradiation range of light. In addition, although the operation | movement corresponding to the light distribution pattern shown to above-mentioned FIG.6 (B) was illustrated here, it is the same also about another light distribution pattern.

  According to the second embodiment, in addition to the same effects as those of the first embodiment, it is possible to irradiate the emphasis light on at least the upper body side of the pedestrian when the position of the pedestrian and the front vehicle do not overlap. It is possible to further improve the visibility.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a vehicle headlamp system according to a third embodiment. The configuration of the vehicle headlamp system shown here is basically the same as that of the first embodiment described above, and the configuration of functional blocks realized in the control unit 12 is different. Hereinafter, differences will be mainly described.

  The control unit 12 is realized, for example, by executing a predetermined operation program in a computer system having a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and includes a pedestrian / high beam irradiation range determination unit 31 as a functional block, a pedestrian overlap. A detection unit 32 and a light distribution control unit 17 are provided.

  The pedestrian / high beam irradiation range determination unit 31 determines a region that should be the light irradiation range / non-irradiation range corresponding to the positions of the pedestrian and the preceding vehicle detected by the vehicle / pedestrian detection unit 11. . The light irradiation range is basically the non-irradiation range at the position where the vehicle ahead is present and the irradiation range is the position where the pedestrian is present. The area corresponding to the person is the non-irradiation range.

  The pedestrian overlap detection unit 32 detects when the position of the pedestrian and the position of the preceding vehicle overlap each other corresponding to the position of the pedestrian and the preceding vehicle detected by the vehicle / pedestrian detection unit 11. To do. Using this detection result, the light irradiation range is determined as described above.

  The light distribution control unit 17 generates a control signal (light distribution control signal) according to the light distribution pattern based on the light irradiation range set by the pedestrian / high beam irradiation range determination unit 31, and each lamp unit 20R. , Output to 20L.

Hereinafter, the operation of the vehicle headlamp system of the present embodiment will be described in detail.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining an operation procedure of the vehicle headlamp system according to the third embodiment.

  Based on the front image of the host vehicle photographed by the camera 10, the vehicle / pedestrian detection unit 11 detects the positions of the front vehicle and the pedestrian. This position detection is executed at regular intervals.

  The pedestrian / high beam irradiation range determination unit 31 determines whether or not a forward vehicle exists based on the position information of the forward vehicle detected by the vehicle / pedestrian detection unit 11. (Step S31) When a vehicle ahead is present (step S31; YES), the pedestrian / high beam irradiation range determination unit 31 sets a region other than the position of the front vehicle in the high beam region as the light irradiation range ( Step S32).

  Next, the pedestrian / high beam irradiation range determination unit 31 determines whether there is a pedestrian based on the position information of the pedestrian detected by the vehicle / pedestrian detection unit 11 (step S33). When there is a pedestrian (step S33; YES), the pedestrian / high beam irradiation range determination unit 31 determines whether or not the pedestrian overlap detection unit 32 detects that the pedestrian and the preceding vehicle overlap. Determination is made (step S34).

  When the pedestrian and the preceding vehicle overlap (step S34; YES), the pedestrian / high beam irradiation range determination unit 31 sets the region corresponding to the position of the pedestrian as the non-irradiation range for the high beam region, and guides it. For the beam region, the region corresponding to the position of the pedestrian is set as the light irradiation range (step S35).

  On the other hand, when the preceding vehicle does not exist in step S31 described above (step S31; NO), the pedestrian / high beam irradiation range determination unit 31 uses the pedestrian position information detected by the vehicle / pedestrian detection unit 11 as information. Based on this, it is determined whether or not there is a pedestrian (step S36).

  Pedestrian / high beam irradiation range when there is no vehicle ahead but there are pedestrians (step S36; YES), or when there is a vehicle ahead but the pedestrians and the vehicle ahead do not overlap (step S34; NO) The determination unit 31 sets the region corresponding to the position of the pedestrian for the high beam region as the irradiation range (or the emphasized irradiation range), and also sets the region corresponding to the position of the pedestrian for the guide beam region as the irradiation range ( Step S37).

  When no pedestrian exists in step S36 described above (step S36; NO), the pedestrian / high beam irradiation range determination unit 31 sets all of the high beam area as the irradiation range (step S38).

  Next, the light distribution control unit 17 sets a light distribution pattern based on the irradiation range / non-irradiation range of light set through any of Step S32, Step S35, Step S37, or Step S38. A control signal corresponding to the pattern is generated and output (step S39). Through the processing as described above, light distribution control similar to that shown in FIGS. 6A to 6D is realized.

  Even in the third embodiment, even when the position of the pedestrian and the front vehicle overlaps, the guide beam extending from the own vehicle to the pedestrian's feet without giving glare to the front vehicle, Visibility can be improved.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the content of each embodiment mentioned above, In the range of the summary of this invention, it can change and implement variously. For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, a case where one camera and one vehicle / pedestrian detection unit are provided has been illustrated, but separate cameras and detection units may be used for pedestrian detection and vehicle detection. Good.

10: camera 11: vehicle / pedestrian detection unit 12: control unit 13: pedestrian irradiation range determination unit 14: high beam irradiation range determination unit 15: flag update unit 16: irradiation range storage unit 17: light distribution control unit 20R, 20L : Lamp unit 21: LED driver 22: Matrix LED
23, 24, 28: Lens 25: High beam part 26: Low beam part 27: High / low beam part 31: Pedestrian / high beam irradiation range determination part 32: Pedestrian overlap detection part 101: High beam area 102: Guide beam area 103: Low beam Area 111: Vehicle ahead 112: Pedestrian

Claims (5)

A lighting control device for controlling a light irradiation state by a vehicle headlamp,
A vehicle / pedestrian detection unit for detecting a forward vehicle and a pedestrian based on an image in front of the host vehicle photographed by the camera;
A first light distribution region disposed on the upper side and a second distribution disposed on the lower side corresponding to the positions of the front vehicle and the pedestrian detected by the vehicle / pedestrian detection unit. An irradiation range setting unit for setting an irradiation range of light in each of the light regions;
A light distribution control unit that generates a control signal corresponding to the light irradiation range set by the irradiation range setting unit and outputs the control signal to the vehicle headlamp;
Including
The irradiation range setting unit sets a partial region of the first light distribution region corresponding to the position of the front vehicle as a non-irradiation range of the light and sets the other region as the irradiation range of the light, and the front If each position of the vehicle and the pedestrian does not overlap, a partial area of each of the first light distribution area and the second light distribution area corresponding to the position of the pedestrian is set as the light irradiation range. When the vehicle ahead and the pedestrian overlap, the partial area of the first light distribution area corresponding to the position of the pedestrian is set as the non-irradiation range of the light and the position corresponding to the position of the pedestrian Setting a partial region of the second light distribution region as the light irradiation range;
Lighting control device for vehicle headlamps. The irradiation range setting unit
A storage unit having a first storage area and a second storage area;
Each of the first light distribution region and the second light distribution region corresponding to the position of the pedestrian detected by the vehicle / pedestrian detection unit is determined as the light irradiation range, and the others A first irradiation range determination unit that determines a region as the non-irradiation range of light and writes a flag indicating the determination result in the first storage region;
A part of the first light distribution region corresponding to the position of the preceding vehicle detected by the vehicle / pedestrian detection unit is determined as the light irradiation range, and the other region is defined as the light non-irradiation range. A second irradiation range determination unit that determines and writes a flag indicating the determination result in the second storage area;
A flag updating unit for overwriting the flag written in the second storage area on the first storage area;
Have
The light distribution control unit generates the control signal corresponding to the flag written in the first storage area and outputs the control signal to the vehicle headlamp.
The lighting control device for a vehicle headlamp according to claim 1. The flag updating unit overwrites the first storage area with the flag written in the second storage area, and then sets an area set as the light irradiation range in the first light distribution area and the second distribution. When there is a portion where the region set in the light irradiation range is aligned vertically in the light region, at least the flag of the first storage region corresponding to the portion in the first light distribution region is set. , Rewrite the flag to indicate the light with relatively high light intensity,
The lighting control device for a vehicle headlamp according to claim 2. The irradiation range setting unit
A pedestrian overlap detection unit that detects, when each position of the pedestrian and the preceding vehicle overlaps, based on the respective positions of the pedestrian and the preceding vehicle detected by the vehicle / pedestrian detection unit. When,
The partial area corresponding to the position of the preceding vehicle is determined as the non-irradiation range of the light, and the other area is determined as the irradiation range of the light. When an overlap is detected, a partial area of the first light distribution area corresponding to the position of the pedestrian is defined as a non-irradiation range of the light, and the second light distribution area corresponding to the position of the pedestrian. The first light distribution corresponding to the position of the pedestrian is determined when a partial area is determined as the light irradiation range and the pedestrian overlap detection unit does not detect an overlap between the pedestrian and the vehicle ahead. An irradiation range determination unit that determines a partial region of each of the region and the second light distribution region as the light irradiation range;
Have
The light distribution control unit generates the control signal corresponding to the light irradiation range and the non-irradiation range determined by the irradiation range determination unit, and outputs the control signal to the vehicle headlamp.
The lighting control device for a vehicle headlamp according to claim 1. A lighting control device for a vehicle headlamp according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A vehicle headlamp controlled by the lighting control device,
Including a vehicle headlamp system.