JP2009269558A - Illuminating device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an illuminating device for a vehicle can promptly restart light distribution control function when the control means returns to normal without turning on power source again. <P>SOLUTION: An illuminating device for a vehicle is provided with an angle varying means for varying a light distribution angle of a lighting fixture included in the vehicle and a light distribution control means for controlling the light distribution angle of the lighting fixture by the angle varying means on the basis of vehicle information such as travelling status of the vehicle. The light distribution control means executes the initialization process for setting the light distribution angle of the lighting fixture at a referential position at power-on by the angle varying means, and executes a fail-safe process for fixing the light distribution angle of the lighting fixture to the referential position at abnormality detection, wherein the initialization flag set after initialization process is contained. When the initialization flag is set after the check of the initialization flag at abnormality detection, the control of light distribution angle starts without performing the initialization process. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular illumination device that changes a light distribution direction (light irradiation direction) of a lamp such as a headlamp based on information such as a traveling state of a vehicle such as an automobile.

  Conventionally, an adaptive front lighting system (hereinafter referred to as AFS) that can change the light distribution of a lamp in accordance with the traveling state of the vehicle is known, and this allows the driver of the vehicle to visually Supporting or reducing glare to leading vehicles and oncoming vehicles can improve driving safety.

  For example, in an automobile having an AFS, as shown in FIG. 1, the stroke sensors 1 and 2 installed in the vicinity of the front and rear wheel suspension devices, the steering angle of the steering wheel of the automobile, the speed of the automobile, and other traveling conditions of the automobile. A detection signal from the vehicle information detection unit 3 is input to an electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as ECU) 4, and the ECUs 4 are installed on the front left and right sides of the vehicle based on the input detection signal. A swivel lamp, that is, a headlamp 5 that can control the deflection of the optical axis in the horizontal and vertical directions is controlled. Such a headlamp is an angle variable means for changing the angle of the irradiation direction of the headlamp (hereinafter referred to as the light distribution angle) by rotationally driving a reflector provided in the headlamp in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction. The swivel actuator 6 and the leveling actuator 7 are provided, thereby having a swivel function for swinging the optical axis in the horizontal direction and a leveling function for swinging in the vertical direction.

  The vehicle information detection unit 3 detects vehicle information necessary for control to change the light distribution of the lamp 1 and supplies an information signal to the ECU 4 and includes a steering angle sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, a headlamp switch, and the like. Is done.

  The ECU 4 constitutes a light distribution control means for controlling the light distribution angle of the lamp based on the vehicle information such as the running state of the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 2, the ECU 4 inputs the detection signal and processes it. A processing unit 4a, a calculation unit 4b that performs calculation processing on the signal, a storage unit 4c that stores data necessary for the calculation processing, and an output unit 4d that outputs a signal for controlling the actuator based on the calculation processing result And. The swivel actuators 6L, 6R of the left and right headlamps 5L, 5R are recognized from the vehicle information (signals) such as the steering angle, and the optical axis is irradiated toward the traveling destination accordingly. A control signal for driving the vehicle is output (driver's visual assistance). In addition, the stroke sensors 1 and 2 detect the inclination angle (pitch angle) in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body caused by the number of passengers, the loading condition of the baggage, the unevenness of the road surface, and the acceleration / deceleration traveling. A control signal for adjusting the leveling actuators 7L and 7R of the left and right headlamps 5L and 5R in the vertical direction so as to form a certain angle with the road surface is output (visual support and glare reduction).

  According to the AFS, when the vehicle travels on a curved road, it becomes possible to illuminate the road ahead of the curve in accordance with the traveling condition, and the traveling safety is improved.

  A stepping motor is used as an actuator for realizing such an AFS function, and since at least four cables are connected to one actuator, the number of connecting cables increases as the number of actuators increases. There is a problem that becomes complicated. In order to solve this problem, recently, the communication harness between the ECU and the actuator is wirelessly used to reduce the harness for connection. As the communication protocol, LIN (Local Interconnect Network) is mainly used.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the wireless communication system includes a master ECU 10 that inputs signals from sensors and other vehicle information, and a slave ECU 20 that communicates wirelessly therewith. In FIG. 3, the master ECU 10 and the slave ECU 20 correspond to the ECU 4 and the actuators 6 and 7, respectively, in FIG. Motor control information is transmitted from the master ECU 10, and the slave ECU 20 receives and processes it to control the position of the motor.

  Each of the master ECU 10 and the slave ECU 20 includes an arithmetic processing unit (CPU). The master ECU 10 includes, as peripheral circuits connected to the CPU 11, an input interface 12 that receives an input signal such as vehicle information, a communication interface 13 for communication between the CPU 11 and the slave ECU 20, and a reduction in power supply voltage. And a watchdog timer (WDT) reset circuit 14 for monitoring the program runaway of the CPU. On the other hand, the slave ECU 20 includes, as peripheral circuits connected to the CPU 21, a communication interface 22 for communicating between the CPU 21 and the master ECU 10 and a motor drive circuit 23 that outputs a signal for driving the stepping motor. It is configured.

  Conventionally, in such a communication system, when the power is turned on, the CPU of the ECU is initialized and communication between both ECUs is started. Here, the master ECU 10 transmits a motor position initialization signal, and the slave ECU 20 receives this signal, executes initialization of the motor position, and stores the reference position. In the initialization, the stepping motor is driven toward the stopper, and when it hits the stopper, the stepping motor is reversed by a predetermined number of steps and stopped at the reference position. At this time, the reference position of the swivel actuator 6 is the front center in the left-right direction of the vehicle, and the reference position of the leveling actuator 7 is the initial aiming position in the vertical direction (the angle between the road surface and the irradiation optical axis is 0.5). Degree position). Thereafter, light distribution control is executed.

  Here, since the WDT as described above is set in the master ECU 10, if an abnormality is detected by this, the CPU is reset. When the CPU is reset, communication from the master ECU 10 is interrupted, so the slave ECU 20 initializes the motor position. If this is done while the vehicle is running, the stepping motor is driven to the stopper as described above, so that the illumination optical axis of the vehicle changes and the destination is not visible or glare is given to the oncoming vehicle. May cause an accident.

  In order to prevent this, in the conventional vehicular lighting device, as shown in Patent Document 1, for example, when an abnormality or failure occurs, the master ECU resets the CPU, and the slave ECU detects the abnormality by blocking communication. Then, a fail-safe process for immediately returning the lamp optical axis to the reference position and fixing it is performed.

Further, as shown in Patent Document 2, when the vehicle headlamp device is in an abnormal state after inquiring about the abnormality history at the previous end after startup, it directly fails without performing initialization processing. It has also been proposed to perform safe processing.
Japanese Patent No. 3643315 JP 2007-45257 A

  However, in the conventional fail-safe process, the light distribution control is not performed unless the system is activated by the next power-on, and the function of the AFS is lost. That is, in the conventional vehicle lighting device, when an abnormality occurs, the optical axis is fixed by fail-safe processing, and thus there is a problem that the light distribution control does not function until the system is started by turning on the power again. .

  The present invention can quickly resume the light distribution control function when the control means returns to normal without re-turning on the power, and prevents the driver from feeling uncomfortable at the time of resumption. An object of the present invention is to provide a headlight device for a vehicle.

  The present invention relates to an angle variable means for changing the light distribution angle of a lamp mounted on a vehicle, and a light distribution control means for controlling the light distribution angle of the lamp by the angle variable means based on vehicle information such as the traveling state of the vehicle. The light distribution control means performs initialization processing for setting the light distribution angle of the lamp to a reference position by the angle varying means when the power is turned on, and sets the light distribution angle of the lamp to the reference position when an abnormality is detected. In the vehicle lighting device configured to perform the fail-safe process to be fixed, the light distribution control unit includes an initialization flag set after the initialization process, and checks and initializes the initialization flag when an abnormality is detected When the flag is set, the control of the light distribution angle is started without performing the initialization process.

  According to the present invention, the initialization flag set after the initialization process is monitored, and if initialization has already been performed, for example, even if the CPU of the master ECU serving as the light distribution control means is reset, Since the light distribution control is started without performing the conversion process, the light distribution control function can be quickly resumed when the master ECU returns to normal.

  In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the light distribution control means cancels the fail-safe process when the control position of the light distribution angle is the reference position, and starts the control of the light distribution angle. And

  According to this, when resuming the light distribution control, the control position and the reference position (position fixed by fail-safe) are resumed from the point of overlap, so that the driver does not feel uncomfortable or dazzled. Play.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described. This embodiment is configured by a hardware circuit similar to the communication system of FIG. 3 described above, and the operation is executed by a computer program set in each CPU of the master ECU 10 and the slave ECU 20. Therefore, although the description of the hardware configuration of the present embodiment is omitted, the headlamps that are light-distributed and controlled in the embodiments are lamps that are respectively provided on the left and right sides of the front portion of the vehicle, and each has a light distribution range. It has a function of ensuring a wider field of view (visibility) in the traveling direction of the vehicle by changing at least one of the light distribution shape and the light distribution brightness. Such a lamp is a swivel type in which the light distribution of the lamp is changed by swiveling with a swivel device, but a discharge lamp (a high-pressure metal vapor discharge lamp such as a metal halide lamp, a high-intensity discharge lamp (HID) or the like) is used as a light source. It may be a projector type lamp. Further, a semiconductor light source such as an LED, a halogen lamp, an incandescent lamp or the like as a light source, a reflection type lamp, a direct type lamp, or the like may be used.

  The operation of the vehicular lighting device of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, when the power is turned on, that is, when the ignition switch of the vehicle is turned on and the engine is started, the system is started. At this time, the CPUs of the master ECU 10 and the slave ECU 20 are initialized (ST1), and the slave ECU 20 resets (sets to 0) the motor position initialization flag (ST2). Then, communication between both ECUs is started (ST3), and a motor position initialization command is transmitted from the master ECU 10 to the slave ECU 20 (ST4). In response to this command, the slave ECU 20 checks whether the motor position initialization flag is set (1) (ST5). If the result is “YES”, then ST8 described later (whether the slave ECU 20 is fail-safe compatible) is determined. On the other hand, if “NO”, the motor position is initialized (ST6). As described above, the initialization is a process of driving the stepping motor toward the stopper, reversing the stepping motor by a predetermined number of steps when the stopper hits the stopper, and stopping at the reference position. Thereafter, the slave ECU 20 stores the initial position (ST7), and sets the motor position initialization flag to 1 (ST8). This motor initialization position is set as a reference position for fail-safe handling.

  Next, it is determined whether the slave ECU 20 is fail-safe compatible (fixed at the reference position) (ST9). If “YES”, it is checked whether the motor control position is the reference position (ST10). ). If the result is “YES” or “NO” in ST9, the master ECU 10 determines whether or not a CPU reset has occurred (ST11). If “NO”, light distribution control is performed ( ST12), the CPU ECU 10 returns to the determination of the occurrence of CPU reset (ST11). That is, the light distribution control in ST12 is performed until the CPU reset is generated in the master ECU 10.

  On the other hand, if “YES” in the determination of ST11, the slave ECU 20 detects a communication abnormality (ST13), and fixes it to the reference position as a fail-safe correspondence (ST14). Then, the normal recovery of the master ECU 10 is checked (ST15), and if “NO”, the process returns to the fail-safe handling (fixed at the reference position) of ST14. That is, the fail-safe handling of the slave ECU 20 is performed until the master ECU 10 returns to normal. If “YES” in the determination in ST15, the process returns to the start of communication in ST3, and communication between both ECUs is started. However, the fail-safe support is not released until the light distribution control of ST12 is performed.

  If “NO” in the determination of ST10, that is, if the motor control position is not the reference position, the fail-safe response of ST14 is performed and the reference position is maintained.

  As described above, this embodiment is characterized in that the initialization flag is set in the slave ECU 20 after completion of initialization of the motor (ST8). After the master ECU 10 returns to normal ("YES" in ST15), the slave ECU side If the flag is set ("YES" in ST5), the light distribution control is resumed without performing the above-described initialization process (ST12). Until this time, the motor position is stored on the slave ECU side.

  In addition, when fail-safe support (fixed at the reference position) is being performed (“YES” in ST9), when the motor control position is the reference position (“YES” in ST10), “NO” in the determination of ST11, that is, As long as there is no CPU reset in the master ECU 10, the fail-safe correspondence is canceled (ST12), so the light distribution control is resumed from the time when the control position and the reference position overlap. Therefore, when the light distribution control is resumed, the driver does not feel uncomfortable or dazzled.

  As described above, in the embodiment, the ECU mounted on the vehicle is used as the light distribution control means, but a CPU of a car navigation (navigation system) or other computer may be used.

  The fail-safe process performed by the light distribution control means not only returns the swiveled headlamp to the reference position, but also turns the headlamp optical axis downward or turns it off (instantaneous extinction, dimming off). It may be a process.

  Furthermore, the headlamp uses a swivel type lamp that is swiveled by a swivel device to change the light distribution, but may be a fixed additional type lamp that is additionally provided at the front of the vehicle. . In this case, the fail-safe process performed by the light distribution control means is to turn off the lamp that has been changed to the set light distribution or turn off the light and return it to the reference state, or by using a separate drive device, the optical axis of the lamp This is a process of pointing down.

The figure which shows schematic structure of the illuminating device of the vehicle equipped with the function of AFS. The block diagram which shows ECU mounted in the vehicle, and the structure of the input-output side. The block diagram of the system which communicates between ECU and an actuator. The flowchart which shows the action | operation of embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 2 ... Stroke sensor, 3 ... Vehicle information detection part, 4 ... ECU (light distribution control means), 5 ... Headlamp (lamp), 6 ... Swivel actuator, 7 ... Leveling actuator, 10 ... Master ECU, 11 ... CPU, 12 ... input interface, 13 ... communication interface, 14 ... watchdog timer / reset circuit, 20 ... slave ECU, 21 ... CPU, 22 ... communication interface, 23 ... motor drive circuit.

Claims (2)

An angle variable means for changing the light distribution angle of the lamp mounted on the vehicle, and a light distribution control means for controlling the light distribution angle of the lamp by the angle variable means based on vehicle information such as the running state of the vehicle, The light distribution control means performs initialization processing for setting the light distribution angle of the lamp to a reference position by the angle varying means when the power is turned on, and fixes the light distribution angle of the lamp to the reference position when an abnormality is detected. In the vehicle lighting device configured to perform fail-safe processing,
The light distribution control means includes an initialization flag that is set after the initialization process, and checks the initialization flag when the abnormality is detected, and if the initialization flag is set, the initialization process is performed. A vehicle headlamp device that starts control of the light distribution angle without performing the control.   2. The light distribution control means according to claim 1, wherein when the control position of the light distribution angle is the reference position, the fail safe process is canceled and the control of the light distribution angle is started. Vehicle headlamp device.

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