JP2003123186A - Light distribution control system utilizing communications between road and vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To properly and surely perform turning on, turning off or dimming of light according to the surrounding situation without depending on manual operation by a driver. SOLUTION: The light distribution control system utilizing communications between road and vehicle is provided with an on-vehicle device 2 which is mounted on a vehicle CR capable of travelling on a road RW and with which communications are possible between road and vehicle, a road side sensor 11 installed along the side of the road RW for measuring illumination surrounding the road RW or the situation of fog, a base station 10 for giving information on the measured value to the on-vehicle device 2 by communication between road and vehicle, and a control means (the information processing part of the on-vehicle device 2 and an application server 12) for lighting the head lamps and fog lamps of the vehicle CR according to the illumination or the situation of fog when receiving the information from this base station 10 via the on- vehicle device 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a light distribution control system using road-to-vehicle communication, and particularly to illuminance, fog conditions, intersections / pedestrian crossings, tunnel / premise parking lot exits / entrances, etc. Vehicle headlights, side lights,
Also, the present invention relates to a device for controlling the light distribution when the fog lamp is turned on / off (dimmed).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A driver of a car turns on a sidelight or a headlight when the surroundings become dark. The same lighting operation is performed before the entrance of a tunnel or the like. Also, when stopping a car at an intersection or in front of a pedestrian crossing, if the headlights are lit, it may be difficult for the driver of the oncoming vehicle to identify the pedestrians due to the influence of the lighting. The light is turned off or dimmed.

Generally, the turning on, turning off, or dimming operation of the vehicle according to the surrounding conditions is manually performed while the driver judges.

[0004]

However, since the driver needs to perform a manual operation while judging the surrounding situation each time, the operation timing may be delayed due to the difference in the skill of the driver, or the like. The operation itself may not be performed due to carelessness, or an incorrect operation may be performed. As a result, even in a situation where the vehicle needs to be turned on, turned off, or dimmed, such operations cannot be performed properly and quickly, and in the worst case, a traffic accident may occur. .

The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and it is possible to appropriately and surely perform lighting, extinguishing, or dimming operation according to the surrounding conditions without depending on the manual operation of the driver. With the goal.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a light distribution control system using road-to-vehicle communication according to the invention of claim 1 is a road-to-vehicle communication mounted on a vehicle that can run on a road. And a roadside sensor that is installed along the road side and that measures the illuminance around the road,
A base station that informs the vehicle-mounted device of the information about the measurement value from the roadside sensor by the road-to-vehicle communication, and of the vehicle according to the illuminance when the information from the base station is received via the vehicle-mounted device. At least a control means for turning on the headlight is provided. The "at least headlights of the vehicle" also includes fog lights and side lights as necessary.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a light distribution control system utilizing road-to-vehicle communication, which comprises a vehicle-mounted device mounted on a vehicle capable of traveling on a road and capable of road-to-vehicle communication. Installed, a roadside sensor that measures the condition of fog around the road, a base station that notifies the vehicle-mounted device of the information about the measurement value from the roadside sensor by the road-to-vehicle communication, and the information from the base station. And a control means for turning on at least a fog lamp of the vehicle according to the condition of the fog when received through the vehicle-mounted device. The “at least fog lights of the vehicle” also include headlights and side lights as necessary.

According to the invention of claim 3, claim 1 or 2
In the light distribution control system using the road-to-vehicle communication described, the control means, in addition to lighting the headlight,
It is provided with a means for controlling the brightness state at the time of lighting.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a light distribution control system utilizing road-to-vehicle communication, which is installed in a vehicle capable of traveling on a road and is provided with an on-vehicle device capable of road-to-vehicle communication and near an intersection of the road. A base station that is installed and notifies the vehicle-mounted device of information indicating the intersection by the road-to-vehicle communication, and when the vehicle is stopped at a position where the vehicle-mounted device can receive information from the base station. Based on the information, at least a headlight of the vehicle is dimmed or turned off.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a light distribution control system utilizing road-to-vehicle communication, wherein a vehicle-mounted device mounted on a vehicle capable of traveling on a road, capable of road-to-vehicle communication, or a tunnel on the road. A base station installed near the entrance of the on-site parking lot, which informs the vehicle-mounted device of the information indicating the entrance by the road-to-vehicle communication, and the front of the entrance near which the vehicle-mounted device can receive information from the base station. And a control means for turning on at least a headlight of the vehicle based on the information when the vehicle arrives at.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a light distribution control system using road-to-vehicle communication, an on-vehicle device capable of road-to-vehicle communication mounted on a vehicle capable of traveling on a road, a tunnel on the road, or A base station installed near the exit of the premises parking lot, which informs the vehicle-mounted device of the information indicating the exit by the road-to-vehicle communication, an illuminance sensor for detecting illuminance outside the tunnel or the premises parking lot, and At least the headlight of the vehicle when the vehicle arrives near the exit where the vehicle-mounted device can receive information from the base station and the illuminance from the illuminance sensor is a certain value or more based on the information. And a control means for turning off the light.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of a light distribution control system using road-to-vehicle communication according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows an outline of a light distribution control system using road-to-vehicle communication according to this embodiment. The light distribution control system shown in FIG. 1 includes a roadside system 1 and a vehicle-mounted device 2 for performing roadside-to-vehicle communication between the road RW side and the vehicle CR side using radio waves of a predetermined frequency.

The roadside system 1 includes a plurality of roadside-vehicle communication base stations 10 to 10 placed on the road RW side, a plurality of roadside sensors 11 to 11 such as an illuminance sensor and a fog sensor, and a wireless tag described later. Radio wave markers and the like. In the example in FIG. 1, base stations (1) to (4) are used as the base stations 10 to 10 for road-to-vehicle communication, and illuminance sensors (A) to (C) and a fog sensor ( A ') ~
(C ') is illustrated respectively. These base stations 1
0 and the roadside sensor 11 are connected to a center 13 having an application server (service server) 12 via a transmission line such as an optical fiber, and the server 13 of this center 13 is connected via a wide area network (dedicated line, public line) 14. And a communicatively connected monitoring device (monitoring center) 15.

Of these, as shown in FIG. 2, the base station 10 has a base station radio 20 having a communication antenna 20a.
And a communication control unit 21 for controlling road-to-vehicle communication with the vehicle-mounted device 2 by the base station radio 20, and the communication control unit 2
The information processing unit 22 for processing various information via 1 is installed, the information processing unit 22 is connected to the center 13 via the above-mentioned transmission line, and the center 1 is connected via the transmission route.
Various information can be transmitted to and from the mobile terminal 3.

In the center 13, as shown in the example in FIG. 1, in addition to the application server 12, each base station 10
HUB (hub: concentrator) for base stations to which -10 are connected
16. A roadside sensor HUB 17 to which the roadside sensors 11 to 11 are connected is placed, and both HUBs 16 and 17 are connected to the application server 12.

The application server 12 is composed of a computer such as a dedicated server machine or a PC server machine, and has a CPU 30, a memory 31, a base station I / F (interface) 32, a roadside sensor I / F 33, and a wide area network 1.
4 has a communication I / F 34 and the like to which 4 is connected. this house,
In the memory 31, a light distribution control application program 35 to be executed by the CPU 30 and this program 35
Roadside sensor-lit base station correspondence table 36 and command determination table 37 that the CPU 30 should refer to at the time of execution
And are remembered.

The roadside sensor 11 is a roadside sensor I of the center 13 from a transmission device (not shown) via the above-mentioned transmission line.
/ F33, and it is possible to supply a detection signal (notice of a decrease in illuminance by the illuminance sensor) to the application server 12 via this transmission route.

The vehicle-mounted device 2 includes a vehicle-mounted radio 40 having a communication antenna 40a for road-vehicle communication, and the vehicle-mounted radio 4
The communication control unit 41 that controls road-to-vehicle communication with the base station 10 by 0, the information processing unit 42 that processes various information via the communication control unit 41, and the processing result by the information processing unit 42. Based on the headlight 100 of the vehicle CR,
A light distribution control unit 43 that controls light distribution (lighting, extinguishing, dimming) of the side lights 101 and the fog lights 102, and the information processing unit 4.
2 is provided on the vehicle CR side with a vehicle sensor (vehicle-mounted sensor) 44 connected to 2 and information sent from a radio wave marker 45 such as a radio tag embedded in a predetermined location on the road RW through the radio antenna 45a. The marker sensor 46 which detects via the wireless antenna 46a is included. These respective elements 40 to 46 may be integrated or separated. For example, the in-vehicle wireless device 40 and the communication control unit 41 can be integrally configured as a road-vehicle communication device.

Among these, the vehicle sensor 44 is a vehicle state such as a traveling speed of the vehicle CR, a lighting / extinguishing (or dimming) state of the headlight 100 / vehicle width light 101 / fog lamp 102, and a turn signal on / off state. Is detected and these sensor data are supplied to the information processing section 42.

Further, the information processing section 42 is provided with a processing unit 42a which plays a central role in processing the light distribution control of the vehicle-mounted device 2. In the processing unit 42a, in addition to the CPU 46, the program 47 to be executed by the CPU 46 is executed. Also included is a memory 49 that stores a table 48 that is referenced when the program is executed.

Of the above-mentioned configuration, the application server 12 on the side of the center 13 and the information processing section 42 of the vehicle-mounted device 2 constitute the main part of the control means of the present invention.

Here, the overall operation of the light distribution control system using road-to-vehicle communication according to this embodiment will be described.

(Light Distribution Control According to Illuminance Condition) First, the case of light distribution control according to the illuminance condition will be described. As an example of the roadside sensors (A) to (C) 11 to 11 shown in FIG. 1, a case where the illuminance sensors (A) to (C) are used will be described. In this case, the application server 12 of the center (1) 13 shown in FIG.
The light distribution control application program 35 is executed. An example of this processing flow is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 3, the application server 1
2 is a HUB 17 for roadside sensors via the above-mentioned transmission line
The detection signals (notice of a decrease in illuminance) of the illuminance sensors (A) to (C) transmitted via the sensor are received (step S1).
1) and the illuminance sensors (A) to (C) that received the notification are discriminated based on the incidental information such as a predetermined ID number sent accompanying the signal (step S12), and the discrimination result Referring to the roadside sensor-lit base station correspondence table 36 in the memory 31 based on, the area of the base station (1) to (4)
It is determined whether to send a command (control signal) to 10 to 10 (step S13).

In this roadside sensor-lit base station correspondence table 36, as shown in FIG. 3, for example, in the case of the illuminance sensor (A), the base stations (1) and (2) are assigned to the illuminance sensor (B). In this case, the base stations (2) and (3) are associated with the illuminance sensor (C), and the base station (3) is associated with the illuminance sensor (C). By the processing based on the table 36 here, for example, when the illuminance sensor (A) notifies the application server 12 of a decrease in illuminance, the base stations (1) and (2) are selected.

Next, referring to the command determination table 37, the command to be instructed to the vehicle-mounted device 2 by road-to-vehicle communication is determined from the illuminance detected by the illuminance sensors (A) to (C) (step S14).

In the command determination table 37, as shown in FIG. 3, the illuminance is standardized into eight levels (1 to 8 from the brightest to the darkest) by, for example, processing using a threshold value. When the illuminance is 1 to 2, the "command a" (corresponding to "non-lighting of side lights / headlights") is
When the illuminance is 3-4, the "command b" (corresponding to "lighting the side lights") is, and when the illuminance is 5-6, the "command c".
(Corresponding to "lighting of headlight (low brightness)") and "command d" (corresponding to "lighting of headlight (high brightness)" when the illuminance is 7 to 8 are set so that they can be associated with each other. ing. By the process based on the table 37 here, for example, when the illuminance is 5 to 6, the “command c” is determined.

Then, the above-mentioned command determination table 3
Any one of the "commands a to d" determined based on No. 7 through the base station I / F 32 and the base station HUB 16 is determined by the roadside sensor-lit base station correspondence table 36 (1 )-(3) (step S15).
For example, in the above case, "command c" would be sent to base stations (1), (2).

As a result, in the base stations (1) to (3),
“Commands a to d” from the application server 12
Information is received, the information processing unit 22 and the communication control unit 2
1 and the communication antenna 20 via the base station radio 20
It is emitted from a as a radio wave of a predetermined frequency. In the above case, the base stations (1) and (2) radiate radio waves carrying the information of "command c".

On the other hand, the vehicle C traveling on the road RW
At R, the radio waves radiated from the base stations (1) to (3) are
By the processing of the vehicle-mounted device 2, the base station radio device 40 receives the information via the communication antenna 40a, and sends the information to the information processing unit 42 via the communication control unit 41. In response to this, in the information processing section 42, the CPU 46 of the processing unit 42a is
The program 47 relating to the light distribution control of the memory 49
Is executed. An example of the processing flow of this program 47 is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 4, when the CPU 46 receives a command (step S21), the CPU 46 determines the type of the command (headlight / vehicle side light / fog lamp on / off) (step S22). In the case of this example (light distribution control according to the illuminance situation), "commands a to d" are headlights /
It is determined that this corresponds to the vehicle side light lighting command (see the example of the fog lamp lighting command later). In the above case, the "command c" is received, and the process proceeds to the next process.

In this process, the mode (automatic / manual) of the switch is confirmed (step S23), and only when the mode is automatic, the process proceeds to the next process (when the mode is manual, the manual process). To keep the current state in order to give priority over the automatic processing, so that the subsequent processing is not executed).

That is, the CPU 46 refers to the command table 48 of the memory 49 (step S24), determines a control signal for turning on / off the headlights / side lights, based on this, and controls the light distribution control. It is sent to the section 43 (step S25). An example of the command table 48 here is shown in FIG.

In the command table 48 shown in FIG. 5, for example, in the case of "command a", "turning off the headlight" and "turning off the side lights", and in the case of "command b", turning off the "headlight". And "lighting of side lights" is "command c", "lighting of headlights (luminance: low)" and "lighting of side lights" is "command d", "lighting of headlights" (Brightness: high) and “lighting of side lights” are set to be associated with each other. In the above example, a control signal regarding lighting “low” of the headlight 100 and lighting of the side lights 101 is sent to the light distribution control unit 43 based on the “command c”.

As a result, in the light distribution control unit 43, the headlight 100 and the side lamp 101 are turned on (on: low or high brightness) based on the control signal from the CPU 46 of the information processing unit 42.
/ Off is controlled. By the control by the light distribution control unit 43, in the above example, the headlight 100
And the side lights are automatically turned on (the headlight 100 is turned on in a state of brightness “low”).

(Light distribution control depending on fog condition) Next, FIG.
The case where the fog sensors (A ′) to (C ′) are used as an example of the roadside sensors (A) to (C) 11 to 11 shown in (is omitted for the processing similar to the above. To simplify).

First, when the detection signals from the fog sensors (A ') to (C') are sent to the application server 12,
In the server 12, the CPU 30 executes the light distribution control application program 31 to perform the same processing as that in FIG. 3 described above (the item regarding the illuminance is changed to the item regarding the fog situation). The roadside sensor-lighted base station correspondence table 36 used in this processing is shown in FIG. 6, and the command determination table 37 is shown in FIG.

In the roadside sensor-lit base station correspondence table 36 shown in FIG. 6, for example, in the case of the fog sensor (A '), the base stations (1) and (2) are in the case of the fog sensor (B'). When (2) and (3) are fog sensors (C ′), the base station (3) is set to be able to be associated with each other. By the processing based on the table 36 here, for example, when the fog sensor (A ′) notifies the application server 12, the base stations (1) and (2) are selected.

In the command determination table 37 shown in FIG. 7, the fog status is 3
Standardized to stages (small, medium, large fog), and when the fog is small, "command a" (corresponding to "non-lighting fog lamp")
When the fog is in the middle, "Command b"("Fog light on")
(Corresponding to “headlight (low brightness)”) is set to be associated with each other when the fog is large. By the processing based on the table 37 here, for example, when the fog is large, the “command c” is determined.

Therefore, in the above case, "command c"
Information is transmitted to the base stations (1) and (2) determined in the above roadside sensor-lit base station correspondence table 36 via the base station I / F 32 and the base station HUB 16, and thereby the base station From (1) and (2), radio waves carrying the information of "command c" are radiated.

On the other hand, the vehicle C traveling on the road RW
In R, when the radio waves radiated from the base stations (1) and (2) are received, the CPU 46 in the processing unit 42a of the information processing unit 42 executes, for example, the above-described program 47 regarding the light distribution control shown in FIG. To be done. In this case, the received command is determined to be a fog lamp lighting command (steps S21 to S22), and processing (steps S23a to S25a) is performed according to the determination result.

That is, after confirming the mode (automatic / manual) of the switch (step S23a), when the automatic mode is confirmed,
Referring to the command table 48 (step S24a),
Based on this, a control signal regarding lighting (luminance: low or high) / extinguishing of the fog lamp is determined, and the control signal is sent to the light distribution control unit 43 (step S25a). An example of the command table 48 here is shown in FIG.

In the command table 48 shown in FIG. 8, for example, in the case of "command a", "the negative fog lamp is turned off".
Is set so that "fog lamp lighting (luminance: low)" can be associated with "command b", and "fog lamp lighting (luminance: high)" can be associated with "command c".

In the above example, a control signal regarding lighting "high" of the fog lamp is sent to the light distribution control unit 43 based on the "command c", whereby the fog lamp 102 is controlled under the control of the light distribution control unit 43. Lights up automatically.

Therefore, in the past, when the surroundings became dark or the fog became deep, the side lights, headlights, or fog lights were manually turned on at the discretion of the driver, but according to the present embodiment, the roadside sensor is used. By measuring the surrounding illuminance or fog conditions and automatically controlling the on / off state of the side lights, headlights, or fog lights according to the measured values, the driver has to manually determine it as before. There is no need to operate with, and the convenience will be greatly improved.

In this embodiment, the information on the illuminance or fog is detected by the roadside sensor. However, as an application example thereof, when the vehicle sensor of the own vehicle includes the illuminance sensor and the fog sensor, It may be detected by the vehicle sensor. In this case, the information about the illuminance and fog from the base station is
Not necessarily required.

Next, an application example (modification example) of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

(Example Applied to Light Distribution Control Before Crossing / Pedestrian Crossing) First, an example in which the above-mentioned light distribution control system is applied to light distribution control before an intersection (or pedestrian crossing) will be described. The description of similar configurations will be omitted or simplified).

In the light distribution control system according to this application example, it is shown that the base station 10 is placed at an intersection (or a pedestrian crossing) as shown in FIG. 9 and the radio wave from the base station 10 causes the intersection. Intersection information (command) is transmitted synchronously by broadcast. At this time, the intersection information is generated by the information processing unit 22 of the base station 10 and is radiated as a radio wave from the communication antenna 20a via the communication control unit 21 and the base station radio 20.

As a result, the traveling vehicle CR receives the radio wave by the vehicle-mounted device 2 when it enters the range in which the radio wave from the base station 10 can be received before the intersection, and the radio wave received here is received. Is transmitted from the above-mentioned communication antenna 40a to the information processing unit 42 as the intersection information via the in-vehicle wireless device 40 and the communication control unit 41, whereby the processing shown in FIG. 10, for example, is performed.

That is, when the information processing unit 42 receives the intersection information (step S31), the sensor data detected by the vehicle sensor 44 (for example, the state of the headlight 100 (whether the headlight 100 is on or off), the vehicle speed ( While the vehicle is running or stopped), the blinker state (on / off) is acquired (step S32), and based on these sensor data, the head is referred to, for example, by referring to the tables shown in FIGS. It is determined whether the light 100 and the side lights 101 are on / off (or dimmed), and the headlight 1 is determined according to the determination result.
00 and control signals for controlling the side lights 101 are generated and sent to the light distribution control unit 43 (steps S33, S).
34).

As a result, the light distribution control unit 43 controls the turning on / off (or dimming) of the headlight 100 or the like. For example, if the vehicle CR is stopped and the turn signal is not turned on, the headlight 100 is turned on. Will be turned off (or dimmed) (see the headlight state of the vehicle CR in FIG. 9).

For example, as shown in FIG. 11 (a), when the headlight 100 or the like is lit, the current state of the headlight 100 or the like (while lit) regardless of whether the turn signal is on or off while the vehicle is running. Is maintained and while the vehicle is stopped,
When the turn signal is on, the headlight 100 and the like are turned on, and when the turn signal is off, the headlight 100 and the like are turned off (or dimmed).

Further, as shown in FIG. 11B, when the headlight 100 or the like is off (or dimmed), the headlight 100 or the like is turned on during traveling regardless of whether the turn signal is on or off. The blinker is o
In the n state, the headlight 100 and the like are turned on, and when the turn signal is in the off state, the current state (light off (or dimming)) of the headlight 100 and the like is maintained.

Therefore, conventionally, when the vehicle is stopped before the intersection / crosswalk, if the headlights are turned on, it will be difficult for the pedestrian to see in the oncoming vehicle. Therefore, the headlights are manually turned off or reduced. Although it was lit, according to this application example, the headlights and the side lights can be turned off or dimmed automatically and reliably according to the situation without any manual operation, so that the convenience is greatly improved. It will improve.

In this application example, the turning off (dimming) of the headlights and the side lights in front of the intersection / pedestrian crossing has been described, but similar light distribution control may be performed for the fog lights.

Regarding intersection / pedestrian crossing information,
It is also possible to embed a radio wave marker at a predetermined location in front of an intersection / pedestrian crossing and transmit the radio wave marker to the vehicle-mounted device.

(Example applied to light distribution control in tunnel) Next, an example in which the above-mentioned light distribution control system is applied to light distribution control in a tunnel will be described (the description of the same configuration as the above is omitted or To simplify).

In the light distribution control system according to this application example, the base station 10 is arranged at a predetermined position on the entrance side of the tunnel (and the exit side of the tunnel not shown) as shown in FIG.
Tunnel information (command) indicating the entrance / exit of the tunnel is synchronously transmitted by the broadcast by radio waves from the base station 10. At this time, the tunnel information is generated by the information processing unit 22 of the base station 10 described above, and is radiated as a radio wave from the communication antenna 20a via the communication control unit 21 and the base station radio 20.

As a result, the traveling vehicle CR receives the radio wave by the vehicle-mounted device 2 when it enters the range in which the radio wave from the base station 10 can be received immediately before the tunnel, and the radio wave received here is received. Is transmitted from the above-mentioned communication antenna 40a to the information processing unit 42 as the intersection information via the in-vehicle wireless device 40 and the communication control unit 41, whereby the processing shown in FIG. 10, for example, is performed.

That is, when the information processing section 42 receives the tunnel information (step S41), it judges whether or not the tunnel is the entrance (step S42), and if it is judged that the entrance is the entrance (step S42). In the case of a tunnel entrance), the processes of steps S43 to S45 are performed, and in the case of not being an entrance (in the case of a tunnel exit), steps S46 to S45.
The processing of S48 is performed.

First, in the case of a tunnel entrance, the vehicle sensor 4
The sensor data (the state of the headlight etc.) detected in 4 is acquired (step S43), and it is determined whether the headlight 100 and the side light 101 are turned on or off from the sensor data (step S44). If the headlight 100 and the like are turned off, the headlight 100 is turned on, and if the headlight 100 is turned off, a signal for controlling the current state (lighting) to be maintained as it is is generated (step S45). It is sent to the light control unit 43 (step S45).

In the case of a tunnel exit, the vehicle sensor 4
4 or the sensor data regarding the illuminance outside the tunnel detected by the roadside sensor similar to the above is acquired (step S
46). At this time, when using the data from the illuminance sensor placed on the tunnel exit side, the information is received as a radio wave from the tunnel exit side base station 10.

Then, the illuminance is determined from the sensor data obtained here (step S47). If the illuminance is equal to or more than a certain value from the result of the determination, the headlight 100 and the like are turned off, and the illuminance is less than the certain value. In some cases, a signal for controlling the headlight 100 and the like to maintain the current state (lighting) is generated and sent to the light distribution control unit 43 (step S48).

For example, as shown in FIG. 14, according to the lighting control judgment of the headlight 100 / width lamp 101 in this application example, at the tunnel entrance, the lights are turned on regardless of the illuminance outside the tunnel, and at the tunnel exit. If the illuminance outside the tunnel is less than 3, the current state (while lighting) is maintained, and if the illuminance outside the tunnel is 3 or more, the current state is turned off.

As a result, the light distribution control unit 43 always turns on the headlight 100 and the like at the entrance of the tunnel (see the state of the headlight of the vehicle CR in FIG. 12).
At the tunnel exit, it is turned off only when the illuminance outside the tunnel is bright.

Therefore, in the prior art, the headlights were manually turned on / off at the entrance / exit of the tunnel, but according to this application example, it is possible to automatically and reliably operate according to the situation without any manual operation. Moreover, since the headlights and the side lights can be turned off or dimmed, the convenience is greatly improved.

In order to avoid radio wave interference, the tunnel entrance / exit is identified as shown in FIG.
The frequencies of radio waves used by the base station 10 may be set to be different at the tunnel entrance / exit (use frequency of entrance base station = f1, use frequency of exit base station =
f2). In this case, the above-mentioned radio wave marker 45 is placed on the road RW in front of the base station 10 placed at the tunnel entrance / exit.
By embedding and designating the frequencies f1 and f2 of the radio wave of the base station 10 by the information from the radio wave marker 45,
The tunnel entrance / exit can be identified more reliably.

In this application example, the light distribution control at the entrance / exit of the tunnel has been described.
For example, it can be applied at the entrance / exit of a parking lot (underground parking lot, etc.).

The present invention is not limited to the above-described representative embodiments and application examples, and those skilled in the art will not deviate from the gist of the invention based on the contents of the claims. Various modifications and changes can be made within the scope, and these also belong to the scope of rights of the present invention.

[0072]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to provide a light distribution control system using road-to-vehicle communication that can appropriately and surely perform lighting, extinguishing, or dimming operation depending on the surroundings without manual operation of a driver.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing an overall configuration of a light distribution control system using road-to-vehicle communication according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing the configurations of a base station and an on-vehicle device.

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart showing a process (in the case of illuminance or fog) related to light distribution control on the road system side.

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart showing a process (in the case of illuminance or fog) related to light distribution control on the vehicle-mounted device side.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a command table used in the processing on the vehicle-mounted device side (in the case of illuminance).

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a roadside sensor-lighted base station correspondence table used in roadside system processing (in the case of fog).

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a command determination table used in roadside system processing (in the case of fog).

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a command table used in processing on the vehicle-mounted device side (in the case of fog).

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a light distribution control system (in the case of an intersection) according to an application example.

FIG. 10 is a schematic flowchart showing a process (in the vicinity of an intersection) related to the light distribution control on the vehicle-mounted device side.

11A and 11B are views for explaining a headlight / widthlight lighting control determination in the vicinity of an intersection.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a light distribution control system (for a tunnel) according to an application example.

FIG. 13 is a schematic flowchart showing a process (in the case of a tunnel) related to the light distribution control on the vehicle-mounted device side.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining a lighting control determination of a headlight / widthlight in the case of a tunnel.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an installation example of a radio wave marker in the case of a tunnel.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Roadside system 2 Onboard equipment 10 base stations 11 Roadside sensor 12 Application server 13 centers 14 Wide area network 15 Monitoring device 16 HUB for base station 17 HUB for roadside sensor 20 base station radio 20a communication antenna 21 Communication control unit 22 Information Processing Department 30 CPU 31 memory 32 I / F for base station 33 Roadside sensor I / F 34 Communication I / F 35 Light distribution control application server 36 Roadside sensor-lit base station correspondence table 37 Command decision table 40 Onboard radio 41 Communication control unit (vehicle-mounted device) 42 Information processing unit (vehicle-mounted device) 42a processing unit 43 Light distribution control unit 44 Vehicle sensor 45 radio wave marker 46 Marker sensor

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ───

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] November 15, 2002 (2002.11.
15)

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be amended] Claims

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Claims]

7. A vehicle mounted on a vehicle capable of traveling on a road
In-vehicle radio having an antenna for road-to-vehicle communication
And machine, communication control unit for controlling the road-vehicle communication according to the vehicle radio
And an information processing unit that processes sensor data from the vehicle sensor
And the light distribution of the vehicle based on the processing result from this information processing unit.
A light distribution control unit for controlling the light distribution.
In-vehicle device used for your system.

Wherein said vehicle-mounted device in advance buried collector on the road
Equipped with a marker sensor that detects marker information from wave markers
The sensor data from this marker sensor is the information processing unit.
8. The light distribution control system according to claim 7, wherein the light distribution control system is supplied to and processed.
In-vehicle device used for mobile phones.

9. A light distribution control of the vehicle-mounted device to the information processing unit
Related processing unit is provided, and in the processing unit
CPU and programs executed by CPU and professional
Contract that includes the memory that describes the reference table when executing
An in-vehicle device used in the light distribution control system according to claim 7.

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0011

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a light distribution control system using road-to-vehicle communication, an on-vehicle device capable of road-to-vehicle communication mounted on a vehicle capable of traveling on a road, a tunnel on the road, or A base station installed near the exit of the premises parking lot, which informs the vehicle-mounted device of the information indicating the exit by the road-to-vehicle communication, an illuminance sensor for detecting illuminance outside the tunnel or the premises parking lot, and At least the headlight of the vehicle when the vehicle arrives near the exit where the vehicle-mounted device can receive information from the base station and the illuminance from the illuminance sensor is a certain value or more based on the information. And a control means for turning off the light. Well
In addition, it is used for the light distribution control system according to the invention of claim 7.
On-board equipment is installed in vehicles that can run on the road
In-vehicle device, which has an antenna for road-to-vehicle communication
Line and the communication that controls the road-to-vehicle communication by this on-board wireless device.
Signal control unit and processes sensor data from vehicle sensors
Based on the information processing unit and the processing result from this information processing unit
And a light distribution control unit for controlling the light distribution of the vehicle. It
In addition, the light distribution control system according to the invention of claim 8 is advantageously used.
The vehicle-mounted device used is the vehicle-mounted device previously buried in the road.
Marker sensor for detecting marker information from a radio wave marker
The sensor data from this marker sensor is
It is supplied to the management department and processed, and claims
9. Vehicle-mounted device used in the light distribution control system according to the invention described in 9.
The information processing unit includes a process related to the light distribution control of the vehicle-mounted device.
A processing unit is provided, and a CPU and
And programs executed by CPU and program execution
It includes a memory in which a time reference table is described .

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An on-vehicle device capable of road-to-vehicle communication mounted on a vehicle capable of traveling on a road, a roadside sensor which is installed along the roadside and measures illuminance around the road, and the roadside sensor. At least a headlight of the vehicle according to the illuminance when the information from the base station is notified to the vehicle-mounted device by the road-to-vehicle communication, and the information from the base station is received via the vehicle-mounted device. A light distribution control system using road-to-vehicle communication, comprising: 2. An on-vehicle device capable of road-to-vehicle communication, which is mounted on a vehicle capable of traveling on a road, a roadside sensor installed along the road side, for measuring a condition of fog around the road, A base station that informs the vehicle-mounted device of the information about the measurement value from the roadside sensor by the road-vehicle communication, and the vehicle according to the situation of the fog when the information from the base station is received via the vehicle-mounted device. 2. A light distribution control system using road-to-vehicle communication, comprising: a control means for lighting at least a fog lamp. 3. The light distribution control system using road-to-vehicle communication according to claim 1, wherein the control means includes means for controlling the brightness state of the headlight in addition to lighting of the headlight. 4. An on-vehicle device capable of road-to-vehicle communication mounted on a vehicle capable of traveling on a road, and information indicating the intersection, which is installed near the intersection of the road, is provided to the on-vehicle device by the road-to-vehicle communication. A base station for notifying, and a control for dimming or extinguishing at least the headlight of the vehicle based on the information when the vehicle is stopped at a position where the vehicle-mounted device can receive information from the base station And a light distribution control system using road-to-vehicle communication. 5. An on-vehicle device capable of road-to-vehicle communication, which is mounted on a vehicle capable of traveling on a road, and is installed near the entrance of a tunnel or on-site parking lot on the road, and information indicating the entrance is provided to the vehicle. A base station that notifies the vehicle-mounted device by road-to-vehicle communication, and when the vehicle arrives near the entrance where the vehicle-mounted device can receive information from the base station, at least the vehicle based on the information. A light distribution control system utilizing road-to-vehicle communication, comprising: a control means for turning on a headlight. 6. An on-vehicle device capable of road-to-vehicle communication, which is mounted on a vehicle capable of traveling on a road, and is installed in front of an exit of a tunnel or a parking lot on the road, the information indicating the exit being set forth above. A base station that notifies the vehicle-mounted device by road-to-vehicle communication, an illuminance sensor that detects the illuminance outside the tunnel or a parking lot, and in front of the exit near which the vehicle-mounted device can receive information from the base station. When the vehicle arrives, based on the information, when the illuminance from the illuminance sensor is a predetermined value or more, a control means for turning off at least the headlight of the vehicle Light distribution control system used.