JP5195390B2 - Front irradiation automatic control device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a front irradiation automatic control device suitable for application to automobiles such as passenger cars, trucks, and buses.

  The vehicle is provided with a headlamp for the main purpose of ensuring visibility during night driving and making the driver or pedestrian of the oncoming vehicle recognize the presence of the vehicle. Such a headlamp usually has both a high beam and a low beam, and when a forward vehicle is located in front of the vehicle, when an oncoming vehicle exists in the opposite lane of the lane in which the vehicle is running, A priority is given to turning on the low beam and irradiating only the region as close as possible to the front of the vehicle so that the driver of the vehicle ahead and the oncoming vehicle does not feel dazzling. On the other hand, if no forward vehicle is located in front of the vehicle, or if there is no oncoming vehicle in the opposite lane of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, the high beam is turned on and the front of the vehicle is as much as possible. Priority is given to securing the field of view of the driver of the vehicle by irradiating far away.

As a system for automatically selecting such a high beam and low beam, for example, a system as described in Patent Document 1 has been proposed. In the system described in Patent Document 1, when a tail lamp of a front vehicle located within a certain distance ahead of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling is detected by image processing captured by the front camera, a low beam is selected. If the headlamp of the oncoming vehicle is detected in the opposite lane of the lane in which the vehicle is running, select the low beam to light, otherwise select the high beam to light Is done automatically.
JP 2004-500209 A

  However, in such a prior art system, when a high beam is selected, when another vehicle located behind the vehicle is performing an overtaking driving that overtakes the vehicle, the vehicle approaches from the rear of the vehicle. After the timing when the other vehicle actually overtakes the vehicle has passed, the high beam will continue until the tail lamp of the other vehicle after entering the imaging range of the front camera enters and the tail lamp of the other vehicle is actually detected by image processing. It is not executed to turn off the light and select the low beam to turn it on.

  Normally, the high beam irradiation range of the vehicle is larger than the imaging range of the front camera. Therefore, in the system as described above, the time during which the low beam is selected is the time when the other vehicle that has passed the vehicle is within the high beam irradiation range of the vehicle. It will be later than the time to enter, causing the driver of the other vehicle to feel dazzled and causing the inconvenience that the request of the driver of the other vehicle cannot be met. On the other hand, in the vehicle to be overtaken, there is a demand to increase the scene of selecting the high beam as much as possible, giving priority to securing the driver's view as much as possible. There has been a problem that finer control in consideration of the demands of both the driver and the vehicle driver has not been realized.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic front irradiation control device capable of realizing finer control in consideration of requests from both the driver of the other vehicle and the driver of the vehicle. .

In order to solve the above problem, the front irradiation automatic control device according to the present invention is:
Front irradiation means for illuminating the front of the vehicle by turning on a high beam or a low beam, overtaking detection means for detecting the start of overtaking of the other vehicle located behind the vehicle with respect to the vehicle, and the other vehicle being the vehicle A timing calculating means for calculating a timing for overtaking, and a case where the forward irradiation means lights the high beam when the overtaking travel detecting means detects the start and the timing calculating means calculates the timing. And switching means for executing switching to turn off the high beam and turn on the low beam by the front irradiation means ,
Optical parameter detection means for detecting an optical parameter of a headlamp of the other vehicle, and relative speed detection means for detecting a relative speed of the other vehicle with respect to the vehicle based on a temporal change of the optical parameter, The overtaking traveling detection means detects the start based on the relative speed .

  According to this, the timing calculation unit calculates the timing of passing the other vehicle by passing the side of the vehicle after the overtaking detection unit detects the start of the overtaking of the other vehicle with respect to the vehicle. In this case, even if the front irradiation means turns on the high beam, the front irradiation means switches off the high beam and turns on the low beam based on the control of the switching means. The high beam is not turned on after the timing when the other vehicle overtakes the vehicle, and even if the other vehicle runs overtaking and enters the irradiation range of the high beam, the driver of the other vehicle is dazzled. Of other vehicles that want to avoid feeling dazzling and avoid feeling dazzling as much as possible The request of the rolling person can be prioritized.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the timing calculation means accurately calculates the timing at which the other vehicle passes the side of the vehicle and overtakes it, the driver of the other vehicle may feel dazzled. Prior to the above timing, it is possible to give priority to a request that the front illuminating means continues to turn on the high beam to ensure the vehicle driver's field of view as wide as possible. As a result, finer control can be realized in consideration of the demands of both the driver of the other vehicle and the driver of the vehicle.

In the forward illuminating automatic control device,
An optical parameter detection means for detecting an optical parameter of a headlamp of the other vehicle;
A relative speed detecting means for detecting a relative speed of the other vehicle with respect to the vehicle based on a time change of the optical parameter;
Including
Since the overtaking traveling detection means detects the start based on the relative speed, the following effects can be further obtained.

That is, when the other vehicle starts the overtaking, the optical parameters including, for example, light intensity, illuminance, etc. of the headlamp of the other vehicle are determined so that the other vehicle is behind the vehicle. Since it approaches at a certain relative speed, the optical parameter increases linearly or curvilinearly as time elapses until the timing, and gradually increases in the final stage of the overtaking when a certain amount of time has elapsed from the timing. Since the optical parameter has a property of decreasing linearly or curvedly with time, the temporal change of the optical parameter and the relative speed have a predetermined relationship. The predetermined relationship can be determined by a map or the like as appropriate by, for example, a simulation or an actual vehicle test. Using the predetermined relationship, the relative speed detecting means changes the relative speed and changes the time of the optical parameter. Can be detected.

  Thus, based on the relative speed of the other vehicle with respect to the vehicle detected by the relative speed detecting means, the overtaking detection means detects that the other vehicle has started overtaking to pass the vehicle. Can do.

  Of course, to detect that the other vehicle has started overtaking to pass the vehicle, a rear camera that captures the rear of the vehicle is separately installed, and the rear image of the captured image is processed. Alternatively, it is possible to realize the above-mentioned optical system as described above, although the vehicle and the other vehicle both have equipment necessary for vehicle-to-vehicle communication and perform vehicle-to-vehicle communication. By using the parameter, the start detection by the overtaking traveling detection means can be simplified by a simpler device.

Furthermore, in the front irradiation automatic control device,
The timing calculation unit may calculate a timing at which the other vehicle overtakes the vehicle when the time change of the optical parameter corresponds to a predetermined time change accompanying overtaking driving.

  According to this, when the other vehicle starts the overtaking traveling at the timing and the other vehicle passes the side of the vehicle and overtakes, the optical parameter of the headlamp of the other vehicle is Since the other vehicle travels toward the front of the vehicle at a certain relative speed after passing through the side of the vehicle and moves away from the vehicle, the optical parameter changes with time until the timing. It increases linearly or curvilinearly, has a property of having a predetermined time change with overtaking, including a convex inflection point in addition to a sudden increase to a rapid decrease near the timing. Can be used.

  The predetermined time change can be determined as appropriate by, for example, simulation or an actual vehicle test. Whether the optical parameter time change actually detected by the optical parameter detecting means matches the predetermined time change. Is determined by the timing calculation means, and the timing can be calculated.

  Also here, calculating the timing when the other vehicle starts to pass the vehicle overtaking the vehicle, and the other vehicle passes by the side of the vehicle, the rear camera is installed separately, Of course, it can be realized by performing image processing on the captured image of the rear of the vehicle, or by performing vehicle-to-vehicle communication in which both the vehicle and the other vehicle have the necessary equipment for vehicle-to-vehicle communication. Is possible.

  However, the normal rear camera is equipped with some equipment for high-end vehicles such as IPA (Intelligent Parking Assist), for example, and considering that the equipment necessary for inter-vehicle communication is not necessarily widespread in many vehicles, By utilizing the property that the optical parameter has the predetermined time change in overtaking, the timing calculation process by the timing calculation unit can be executed by a simple process by a simpler apparatus, and the present invention It is possible to prevent the applicable vehicle or a combination of the vehicle and the other vehicle from being limited.

As described above, the front irradiation automatic control device is
Realized more effectively with the following components.

That is, in the front irradiation automatic control device,
A light source detection means for detecting a tail lamp of a preceding vehicle located in front of the vehicle or a head lamp of an oncoming vehicle facing the vehicle;
Selection means for selecting the high beam or the low beam based on the detection result of the light source detection means;
It is preferable to provide.

  The light source detection means performs image processing on an image in front of the vehicle captured by a front camera that images the front of the vehicle. Further, the selection means includes a headlamp of an oncoming vehicle in the opposite lane of the lane in which the vehicle travels when the light source detection means detects a tail lamp of a preceding vehicle including the other vehicle in front of the vehicle. If detected, the low beam is selected and lit, and the light source detection means does not detect a taillight of a preceding vehicle including the other vehicle in front of the vehicle, and the opposite of the lane in which the vehicle travels When the headlamp of the oncoming vehicle in the lane is not detected, the high beam is selected and turned on.

  Accordingly, the selection of the high beam and the low beam in consideration of the driver of the preceding vehicle and the oncoming vehicle is automatically executed, and the overtaking driving is performed even when this selection is automatically performed. The detection means detects that the overtaking driving of the other vehicle overtaking the vehicle has started, and the timing calculation means calculates the timing at which the other vehicle actually passes the side of the vehicle. In this case, even if the high beam is selected, the switching means can perform switching to extinguish the high beam and turn on the low beam.

  As a result, it is possible to increase the number of scenes in which the high beam of the vehicle is selected and lit as much as possible without making the driver of each of the other vehicle, the preceding vehicle, and the oncoming vehicle feel as dazzling as possible. Therefore, it is possible to secure the demand of the driver of the vehicle that it is desired to ensure the front view as wide as possible.

In the front irradiation automatic control device,
The optical parameter detection means may be an anti-glare mirror.

  Here, the anti-glare mirror is, for example, an EC mirror (Electronic Chromic Mirror) or the like, and the optical parameter detection device is constituted by a rear light detection device included in the EC mirror. The EC mirror includes the rear light detection device, a mirror whose reflectance can be changed, and an anti-glare ECU that controls the reflectance of the mirror based on the optical parameter detected by the rear light detection device. It is composed.

  According to this, since the optical parameter detection means can be configured by the relatively inexpensive anti-glare mirror, which is becoming a general configuration in commercial vehicles, the front irradiation automatic control device of the present invention is A general configuration can be used as much as possible to achieve a cheaper configuration.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the finer control which considered the request | requirement of both the driver | operator of other vehicles and the driver | operator of a vehicle is realizable.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of an automatic front irradiation control apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of an automatic front irradiation control apparatus according to the present invention.

  This front irradiation automatic control device 1 includes a headlamp 2, a headlamp control system ECU3 (Electronic Control Unit), an EC mirror 4, and a front camera 5.

  Two headlamps 2 are provided at the front end portion of the vehicle shown in FIG. 2 to ensure visibility of the driver when driving at night and to make the driver and pedestrian of the oncoming vehicle recognize the presence of the vehicle. The main purpose is to irradiate the front of the vehicle, and includes both a high beam that irradiates farther in front of the vehicle and a low beam that mainly irradiates the front side of the high beam. Based on this, the front irradiation means for selecting one and irradiating the front is configured.

  The headlamp control system ECU3 is composed of, for example, a CPU, ROM, RAM, a data bus connecting them, and an input / output interface, and the CPU performs predetermined processing described below in accordance with a program stored in the ROM. The overtaking travel detection means 3a, the relative speed detection means 3b, the timing calculation means 3c, the switching means 3d, the light source detection means 3e, and the selection means 3f are configured.

  The EC mirror 4 is a so-called anti-glare mirror, and includes an anti-glare ECU 4a, a mirror 4b whose reflectivity can be changed, and a rear light detection device 4c. The rear light detection device 4c This constitutes an optical parameter detection means. The anti-glare ECU 4a includes, for example, a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a data bus connecting them, and an input / output interface, and the CPU performs predetermined processing described below according to a program stored in the ROM. Anti-glare that controls the reflectance of the mirror 4b based on optical parameters such as illuminance detected by the rear light detection device 4c, and lowers the reflectance as the optical parameter increases to prevent driver glare or glare. Control is executed.

  The anti-glare ECU 4a of the EC mirror 4 and the headlamp control system ECU 3 are connected by an in-vehicle communication standard such as CAN (Controller Area Network). The anti-glare ECU 4a A data frame including the optical parameters is transmitted to the headlamp control system ECU3.

  The front camera 5 is provided, for example, in the vicinity of the windshield of the vehicle, and images the road surface in front of the vehicle including white lines on both sides, and outputs the captured image data to the headlamp control system ECU3. It is.

  The light source detection means 3e of the headlamp control system ECU 3 performs image processing based on the image data acquired from the front camera 5, and detects the tail lamp of the front vehicle located in front of the vehicle or the head lamp of the oncoming vehicle facing the vehicle. To do. The selection unit 3f of the headlamp control system ECU 3 selects the low beam based on the detection result of the light source detection unit 3e, that is, when the tail lamp of the front vehicle or the head lamp of the oncoming vehicle is detected in the image, If the tail lamp of the preceding vehicle or the head lamp of the oncoming vehicle is not detected, a selection command is output to the head lamp 2 so as to select the high beam. The headlamp 2 selects and turns on the high beam or the low beam based on this selection command.

  The relative speed detection means 3b of the headlamp control system ECU3 detects a data frame including an optical parameter such as illuminance of a headlamp of another vehicle located behind the vehicle detected by the rear light detection device 4c of the EC mirror 4. A relative speed Vr of the other vehicle with respect to the vehicle is detected using a map received from the anti-glare ECU 4a and obtained in advance by an actual vehicle test or simulation based on the temporal change of the optical parameter such as illuminance.

  The overtaking traveling detection means 3a of the headlamp control system ECU 3 determines whether or not Vr detected by the relative speed detection means 3b is greater than the threshold value Vth during a period equal to or longer than the predetermined time Tth, and when this determination is affirmative. Detects that overtaking has started, in which another vehicle overtakes the vehicle.

  The timing calculation means 3c of the headlamp control system ECU3 indicates that the time course of optical parameters such as the illuminance of the headlamp of the other vehicle included in the data frame received from the anti-glare ECU 4a It is determined whether or not it coincides with a predetermined time lapse pattern that occurs when the vehicle actually passes and overtakes, and when this determination is affirmative, the time when this determination is affirmative Is calculated as a timing TC when another vehicle overtakes the vehicle.

  The switching means 3d of the headlamp control system ECU3 outputs a switching command for switching from the high beam to the low beam to the headlamp 2 after or simultaneously with the timing calculation means 3c calculating the timing when the other vehicle passes the vehicle. Based on this switching command, 2 turns off the high beam and turns on the low beam.

  Hereinafter, the control content of the front irradiation automatic control apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described using a flowchart, a schematic diagram, and a map. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the control contents of the automatic front irradiation control apparatus 1 according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a situation where the front irradiation automatic control device 1 according to the present invention is applied. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the control contents of the automatic front irradiation control apparatus 1 according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a situation where the front irradiation automatic control device 1 according to the present invention is applied, and FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a map used for control of the front irradiation automatic control device 1 according to the present invention. .

  In step S1 shown in FIG. 2, the light source detection means 3e of the headlamp control system ECU 3 based on the image in front of the vehicle imaged by the front camera 5 causes the tail lamp of the front vehicle located in the image or the head lamp of the oncoming vehicle. Is detected. Subsequently, in step S2, the selection unit 3f of the headlamp control system ECU 3 determines whether or not the tail lamp of the preceding vehicle or the head lamp of the oncoming vehicle is detected in the image, and if negative, the process proceeds to step S3. Proceeding, a selection command for selecting the low beam is output to the headlamp 2, and if affirmative, the process proceeds to step S4 and a selection command for selecting the low beam is output to the headlamp 2. In step S3 and step S4, the headlamp 2 selects a high beam or a low beam based on a selection command.

  In step S5, the overtaking detection unit 3a of the headlamp control system ECU 3 determines whether or not the high beam is selected. If the result is affirmative, the process proceeds from step S6 to step S12. Is returned to the position before step S1.

  In step S6, the rear light detection device 4c of the EC mirror 4 detects optical parameters such as the illuminance of the headlamps of other vehicles behind the vehicle, and the anti-glare ECU 4a calculates CAN for the data frame including the optical parameters. To the relative speed detecting means 3b of the headlamp control system ECU3. In step S7, the relative speed detection means 3b of the headlamp control system ECU3 is a map showing the relationship between the relative speed and the form of time lapse of optical parameters such as illuminance, which are obtained in advance by simulation or actual vehicle test, not shown here. Alternatively, the relative velocity Vr is detected from the time course of the optical parameter using a relational expression.

  Subsequently, in step S8, the overtaking detection means 3a of the headlamp control system ECU 3 causes the driver of the other vehicle CC to pass the vehicle C in the mutual positional relationship between the vehicle C and the other vehicle CC as shown in FIG. When acceleration is performed by depressing the accelerator with intention, using the relative speed Vr detected in step S7, that is, when the relative speed Vr changes so as to increase with time as shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, it is determined whether or not Vr detected by the relative speed detecting means 3b is larger than the threshold value Vth during a period equal to or longer than the predetermined time Tth, and the relative speed Vr is as shown in FIG. If there is, the process proceeds to step S9. If it is determined negative in step S8, the process returns to the position before step S6.

  In step S9, the overtaking running detection means 3a of the headlamp control system ECU 3 detects the start of overtaking running of another vehicle relative to the vehicle. Furthermore, in step S10, the relative positional relationship between the other vehicle and the vehicle becomes as shown in FIG. 5, and at the moment when the other vehicle CC passes the side of the vehicle C and actually passes, As shown in Fig. 4, the optical parameter is detected by using the fact that it has a predetermined time-varying form accompanying overtaking, in which the optical parameter rapidly increases and decreases rapidly with a convex peak. It is determined whether or not the time lapse form of the optical parameter thus obtained matches a predetermined time change form represented by a map stored in advance, and if it is determined affirmative, the process proceeds to step S11. When it is determined negative, the process returns to the step S10.

  In step S11, the timing calculation means 3c of the headlamp control system ECU 3 determines the time lapse of the optical parameter actually detected as the timing TC at which the other vehicle CC passes the side of the vehicle C and actually passes. The form is calculated as the time determined to be affirmative in step S10 in accordance with the passage of a predetermined time change of the map stored in advance.

  Further, in step S12, the switching means 3d of the headlamp control system ECU 3 outputs a switching command to turn off the high beam and turn on the low beam to the headlamp 2, and the headlamp 2 turns off the high beam based on this switching command. Turn on the low beam.

  According to the automatic front irradiation control apparatus 1 of the present embodiment described above, the following advantageous effects can be obtained. That is, in the situation as shown in FIG. 3, after the overrunning detection means 3a of the headlamp control system ECU 3 detects that the other vehicle CC starts overtaking the vehicle C, the other vehicle CC is the vehicle C. In the case where the timing calculation means 3c of the headlamp control system ECU3 calculates the timing TC that actually passes through and passes the side, the system for automatically selecting the high beam and the low beam of the headlamp 2 according to the prior art is automatically selected. Even if the headlamp 2 is turned on by the driver's manual operation or at the timing TC when the other vehicle CC overtakes the vehicle C, the high beam is turned off on the headlamp 2 based on the control of the switching means 3d. The low beam can be turned on by lighting.

  In this way, at the timing TC when the other vehicle CC overtakes the vehicle C, switching is performed so that the high beam is turned off and the low beam is turned on by the headlamp 2. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, it is possible to avoid the high beam from being turned on in a situation where the other vehicle CC is located in front of the vehicle C.

  In the prior art, as shown in FIG. 7, the vehicle C lights up the high beam until the other vehicle CC enters the imaging range of the front camera 5. The high beam is irradiated through the room mirror and the door mirror, which makes the user feel dazzling.

  However, according to the present embodiment, the irradiation of the high beam is stopped at the timing TC when the other vehicle CC overtakes the vehicle C. Therefore, the other vehicle CC continues to pass in front of the vehicle C and travels ahead of the vehicle C. Even when the high beam irradiation range of the lamp 2 is entered, it is prevented that the driver of the other vehicle CC is irradiated with the high beam through, for example, a room mirror or a door mirror of the other vehicle and feels dazzling or glare. be able to. Thereby, the request | requirement of avoiding feeling dazzled as much as possible by the high beam of the vehicle C of the object which the driver | operator of the other vehicle CC overtakes can be satisfied.

  In addition, according to the front irradiation automatic control device 1 of the present embodiment, in the situation shown in FIG. 5, the timing TC at which the other vehicle CC passes the side of the vehicle C and passes is determined by the headlamp control system ECU 3. Since the timing calculation means 3c accurately calculates, the headlamp 2 uses the high beam at the stage before the timing calculated in step S11 where it can be considered that the driver of the other vehicle CC does not feel dazzling. Can be lit continuously to give priority to a request to ensure as wide a field of view of the driver of the vehicle C as possible. According to the automatic front irradiation control apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the high beam is switched to the low beam at the timing TC calculated in step S11, so that the requests of both the driver of the other vehicle CC and the driver of the vehicle C are taken into consideration. Fine control can be realized.

  Furthermore, in the front irradiation automatic control device 1 of the present embodiment, the optical parameter detection means realized by the rear light detection device 4c of the EC mirror 4 for detecting the optical parameter of the headlamp of the other vehicle CC, and the optical And a relative speed detecting means 3b of the headlamp control system ECU3 for detecting the relative speed Vr of the other vehicle CC with respect to the vehicle C based on a time change of the parameter, and the overtaking detection means 3a of the headlamp control system ECU3 is a relative speed. Based on Vr, the start of overtaking traveling with respect to the vehicle C by the other vehicle CC is detected.

  This is based on the following findings. That is, when the other vehicle CC starts overtaking in the situation shown in FIG. 3, the optical parameters including the light intensity, illuminance, etc. of the headlamp of the other vehicle CC are different from those of the other vehicle CC with respect to the vehicle C. Based on the approach at the relative speed Vr from the rear, it increases with the passage of time until the timing TC calculated in step S11, and until the stage in which a certain amount of time has elapsed from the timing TC and the overtaking traveling is finished. The optical parameter has a property of gradually decreasing with time.

  For this reason, the temporal change of the optical parameter and the relative speed Vr have a predetermined relationship, and this predetermined relationship can be appropriately determined by a map, a relational expression, or the like by, for example, simulation or actual vehicle test. The relative velocity Vr can be expressed by a linear expression obtained by adding an intercept obtained by multiplying the time change rate of the target parameter by a predetermined constant. Using this predetermined relationship, the relative speed detecting means 3b of the headlamp control system ECU 3 can detect the relative speed Vr based on the temporal change of the optical parameter.

  Thus, based on the relative speed Vr of the other vehicle CC with respect to the vehicle C detected by the relative speed detection means 3b of the headlamp control system ECU3, the overtaking running detection means 3a starts overtaking running in which the other vehicle CC overtakes the vehicle C. Can be detected. That is, the relative speed Vr is obtained by appropriately using optical parameters detected by the rear light detection device 4c included in the EC mirror 4 which is an existing system, and the relative speed Vr is compared with the threshold value Vth for a certain time Tth or more. When the relative speed Vr exceeds the threshold value Vth, it can be detected that the overtaking has started.

  As a result, when the driver of the other vehicle CC does not have the intention of passing the vehicle and temporarily depresses the accelerator, the start of the passing vehicle can be prevented from being detected. In place of the threshold determination using the threshold value Vth and the constant time Tth, an increase in the relative speed Vr due to temporary depression of the accelerator may be excluded using a moving average value of the relative speed Vr during the constant time Tth. it can.

  In addition, the relative speed Vr is detected based on detecting the time lapse of the optical parameter as described above, and the vehicle C by the other vehicle CC is based on the threshold comparison between the relative speed Vr and the threshold Vth. By detecting the start of overtaking driving, an optical parameter which is data originally acquired for anti-glare control by the rear light detection device 4c including the EC mirror 4 which is an existing system is used. Thus, it is possible to detect the start of overtaking by the overtaking running detection means 3a of the headlamp control system ECU3 without adding special equipment.

  Further, if only the vehicle C to be overtaken has the configuration as shown in the present embodiment, a control with consideration that does not cause glare or glare to the driver of the other vehicle CC on the overtaking side is realized. Therefore, it is possible to prevent glare from being imparted to the driver of the other vehicle CC without being influenced by the equipment of the other vehicle CC.

  Further, in the front irradiation automatic control device 1 of the present embodiment, the timing calculation means 3c of the headlamp control system ECU 3 causes the time change of the optical parameter to occur with the s passing driving as shown in FIG. When it is determined that a characteristic item having an inherent and predetermined time change, that is, a rapid increase, an inflection point that is convex upward, and a rapid decrease after the inflection point, corresponds to the predetermined time change, The timing TC at which the other vehicle CC passes the vehicle C is calculated.

  This is based on the following findings. That is, at the timing TC when the other vehicle CC actually overtakes the vehicle C, the other vehicle CC starts to pass and the other vehicle CC approaches from the rear of the vehicle C, and the vehicle C starts from the position indicated by the broken line in FIG. The relative positional relationship between the vehicle C and the vehicle CC changes such that the vehicle passes the side of the vehicle, and the optical parameter of the light emitted from the headlamp of the other vehicle CC detected by the rear light detection device 4c of the vehicle C is changed. After the headlamp of the other vehicle CC abruptly approaches the EC mirror 4 of the vehicle C, the headlamp of the other vehicle CC moves forward of the EC mirror 4, and after the transition, Depending on the rear light detection device 4c, the light emitted from the headlamp of the other vehicle CC is not detected.

  For this reason, the optical parameter until the overtaking timing TC as the other vehicle CC advances toward the front of the vehicle C at a certain relative speed Vr after passing the side of the vehicle C and moves away from the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 6, for example, an upward convex curve increases as time elapses, and in the vicinity of the timing, a sudden increase to a rapid decrease is included, and a convex inflection point is included. It will have the property of having a time change. The front irradiation automatic control device 1 of the present embodiment uses this knowledge.

  Furthermore, the automatic front irradiation control device 1 of the present embodiment is realized in combination with the selection of the high beam and the low beam based on the front image data captured by the front camera 5. Therefore, the selection of the high beam and the low beam in consideration of the driver of the preceding vehicle and the oncoming vehicle is automatically executed by the selection means 3f, and even when this selection is automatically performed and the high beam is selected. Considerable control can be performed on the other vehicle CC performing overtaking.

  In other words, it is detected by the overtaking traveling detection means 3a of the headlamp control system ECU3 that the overtaking traveling overtaking the vehicle C of the other vehicle CC is started, and the other vehicle CC actually moves to the side of the vehicle C by the timing calculating means 3c. When the passing timing TC is calculated, the switching means 3d executes switching at which the high beam is turned off and the low beam is turned on at the overtaking timing TC even if the high beam is selected in the headlamp 2. be able to.

  As a result, the driver of the vehicle C selects the high beam and lights up as much as possible without making the driver of the other vehicle CC, the preceding vehicle, and the oncoming vehicle feel as dazzling as possible. The forward field of view can be secured as wide as possible, and the demands of each driver can be made compatible as much as possible.

  Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and substitutions are made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. be able to.

  For example, detecting that the overtaking running detection means 3a of the headlamp control system ECU3 has started overtaking running when the other vehicle CC overtakes the vehicle C means that the rear camera that captures the rear of the vehicle C is placed behind the roof in the vehicle interior. It can also be realized by installing separately and image-processing the rear image of the imaged vehicle by the headlamp control system ECU3. Alternatively, this can also be realized by both the vehicle C and the other vehicle CC having a vehicle-to-vehicle communication device necessary for vehicle-to-vehicle communication and performing vehicle-to-vehicle communication.

  In addition, calculating the timing TC when the other vehicle CC passes by the side of the vehicle C by the timing calculation means 3c of the headlamp control system ECU3 is behind the imaged vehicle by separately installing a rear camera. It can be realized by image processing of the image of the vehicle, and it can also be realized when the vehicle C and the other vehicle CC both have a vehicle-to-vehicle communication device necessary for vehicle-to-vehicle communication and perform vehicle-to-vehicle communication. Is possible.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, when the start of overtaking is detected, switching from the high beam to the low beam is performed at the timing TC when the other vehicle CC actually overtakes the vehicle C. When the range and the irradiation range of the high beam of the headlamp 2 can be strictly acquired in advance, and the irradiation range is wider in the vehicle width direction than the imaging range, the relative speed Vr detected based on the time lapse of the optical parameters described above. The time TCR when the other vehicle CC enters the irradiation range of the high beam can be predicted using the timing TC when the other vehicle CC passes the vehicle C, and the switching from the high beam to the low beam can be performed immediately before this time.

  The present invention relates to a front irradiation automatic control device for a vehicle, and is a front irradiation automatic control device capable of realizing finer control considering the demands of both the driver of the other vehicle and the driver of the vehicle. Therefore, the present invention can be applied to various vehicles such as passenger cars, trucks, and buses.

It is a mimetic diagram showing one embodiment of a front irradiation automatic control device concerning the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the control content of one Embodiment of the front irradiation automatic control apparatus concerning this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the condition where the front irradiation automatic control apparatus by this invention is applied. It is a schematic diagram which shows the control content of the front irradiation automatic control apparatus by this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the condition where the front irradiation automatic control apparatus by this invention is applied. It is a schematic diagram which shows the map used for control of the front irradiation automatic control apparatus by this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the conventional condition where the front irradiation automatic control apparatus by this invention is not applied.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Front irradiation automatic control apparatus 2 Headlamp (front irradiation means)
3 Headlamp control system ECU
3a Overtaking travel detection means 3b Relative speed detection means 3c Timing calculation means 3d Switching means 3e Light source detection means 3f Selection means 4 EC mirror 4a Anti-glare ECU (optical parameter detection means)
4b Mirror 4c Rear light detection device 5 Front camera

Claims (4)

Front irradiation means for illuminating the front of the vehicle by turning on a high beam or a low beam, overtaking detection means for detecting the start of overtaking of the other vehicle located behind the vehicle with respect to the vehicle, and the other vehicle being the vehicle A timing calculating means for calculating a timing for overtaking, and a case where the forward irradiation means lights the high beam when the overtaking travel detecting means detects the start and the timing calculating means calculates the timing. And switching means for executing switching to turn off the high beam and turn on the low beam by the front irradiation means ,
Optical parameter detection means for detecting an optical parameter of a headlamp of the other vehicle, and relative speed detection means for detecting a relative speed of the other vehicle with respect to the vehicle based on a temporal change of the optical parameter, The forward irradiation automatic control device, wherein the overtaking detection means detects the start based on the relative speed . The timing calculation unit, time change of the optical parameter, where applicable at a given time changes due to overtaking traveling in claim 1, wherein the other vehicle and calculates a timing to overtake the vehicle The front irradiation automatic control apparatus as described. Light source detection means for detecting a tail lamp of a preceding vehicle located in front of the vehicle or a head lamp of an oncoming vehicle facing the vehicle; and selection means for selecting the high beam or the low beam based on a detection result of the light source detection means; The front irradiation automatic control device according to claim 2 , further comprising: 4. The front irradiation automatic control device according to claim 2 , wherein the optical parameter detection means is an anti-glare mirror.

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