JP2010070058A - Vehicular automatic light device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a simple and inexpensive vehicular automatic light device which enables user to save the labor of searching his/her own vehicle when approaching the parked vehicle at night. <P>SOLUTION: The vehicular automatic light device comprises an exterior light 10 for illuminating the outside of a cabin, and a car navigation device NV (a GPS receiver 44 and a control circuit 60 (a user position detection means)) for detecting the present position of a user U carrying a cellular phone CP by using the GPS function of the cellular phone CP (a portable terminal). A control circuit 30 of the light device LT determines whether or not the detected present position of the user is within a predetermined area from one's own vehicle (S22), and when it is determined that the detected present position of the user is within the predetermined area (S22: Yes), the exterior light 10 is subjected to the lighting control (S23). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle autolight device, and more particularly to a vehicle autolight device capable of automatically turning on an outdoor light provided in a vehicle.

As a vehicle autolight device, for example, as described in Patent Document 1 below, position information related to the boundary line between the traveling lane and the opposite lane of the host vehicle is acquired based on the current location of the host vehicle, and the boundary line is acquired. It is known that the direction of the optical axis is changed within a range in which the optical axis of the headlamp does not exceed the boundary line based on the position information.
JP 2007-76565 A

  By the way, the outdoor lamp (illumination) provided on the door of the vehicle or in the vicinity of the door is not limited to the above-described night driving of the vehicle, but when the parked vehicle approaches at night, for example, on the condition that the ID collation by the smart key system coincides. There is also known a vehicular autolight device that automatically lights up and lights up the vicinity of the door of the vehicle. However, in such a vehicular autolight device, since the user only illuminates the vicinity of the door of the vehicle after reaching the vicinity of the vehicle (in the radio wave area where ID verification can be performed), the user It is impossible to improve the visibility on the way from the distant position to the vicinity of the vehicle. For this reason, there existed a problem that it was difficult for a user to specify the parking position of the own vehicle.

  An object of the present invention is to simply and inexpensively configure a vehicular autolight device that can save a user from searching for a host vehicle when a parked vehicle approaches at night.

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the vehicle autolight device according to the present invention uses an outdoor light that illuminates the outside of the vehicle interior and a GPS function of the mobile terminal to detect the current position of the user carrying the mobile terminal. When it is determined whether the current position of the user detected by the position detection means and the user position detection means is within a predetermined area from the own vehicle, and when it is determined that the detected current position of the user is within the predetermined area And a light control means for controlling the lighting of the outdoor light. In this case, the user position detecting means is, for example, a navigation device having a GPS receiver mounted on the host vehicle, and the navigation device is preferably configured to calculate the current position of the user.

  In this vehicle autolight device, the current position of the user carrying the portable terminal is detected by the user position detecting means using the GPS function of the portable terminal, and the detected current position of the user is determined from the own vehicle by a predetermined area. When it is determined that the outdoor light is in the off state, lighting control is performed by the light control means. In recent years, a navigation device that can calculate an accurate current position of the host vehicle by the GPS function is often mounted on the vehicle. Therefore, if such a navigation device is used to determine the current position of the user, the outdoor light is automatically turned on when the user is on the route from the position away from the vehicle to the vicinity of the vehicle. Is possible. For this reason, the visibility of the user heading to the vehicle at night can be improved, and the user can easily find the parking position of the host vehicle. In addition, since a special device is not required to be newly provided, the vehicle autolight device can be configured simply and inexpensively.

  In carrying out the present invention, the outdoor light is a headlamp, and includes a drive mechanism capable of rotating the direction of the optical axis of the headlamp in a horizontal direction, and the light control means is configured such that the detected current position of the user is a predetermined area. When the headlamp is determined to be within, the driving mechanism is driven so that the direction of the optical axis of the headlamp approaches the user based on the detected current position of the user, and then the headlamp is controlled to be turned on. Good.

  According to this, when it is determined that the current position of the user is within the predetermined area, the drive mechanism is configured so that the direction of the optical axis of the headlamp as an outdoor light approaches the user based on the detected current position of the user. After being driven, the headlamp is controlled to be turned on. For this reason, it is possible to further improve the visibility of the user who is on the way to the vehicle.

  In implementing the present invention, the user position detection means includes an information center capable of wireless communication with the host vehicle, and the positioning server of the information center responds to a request for transmitting the user's current position information by the host vehicle. It is good to be comprised so that a user's present position may be calculated and the position calculation value may be transmitted to the own vehicle.

  When the user position detecting means is, for example, a navigation device, the navigation device becomes a component for calculating the current position of the user, which causes a problem of battery power consumption. Therefore, the positioning server of the information center calculates the current position of the user in response to a request for the current position information of the user by the own vehicle, and sends the calculated position value to the own vehicle. Can be reduced, and battery power consumption can be favorably avoided. In this case, when the positioning server of the information center calculates the current location of the user, if the location information in the database of the base station in the user's mobile terminal can be used, the reception situation of radio waves from the satellite is poor. In this case, the current position of the user can be transmitted to the vehicle.

  In carrying out the present invention, a remote terminal capable of remotely starting the engine unit of the host vehicle is provided, and the user position detecting means is provided on the condition that the engine unit of the host vehicle is started by the remote terminal. It may be configured to start execution of the detection process.

  By configuring the user position detection means to start executing the user position detection process on the condition that the engine unit of the host vehicle is started, the battery power consumption associated with the execution of the user position detection process is further reduced. It can be avoided even better.

a. First Embodiment Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical structure of the vehicle autolight device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The vehicle autolight device includes a light device LT and a navigation device NV. The light device LT is connected to the navigation device NV via a communication bus BUS (for example, a serial communication bus such as a CAN (Controller Area Network) or LIN (Local Interconnect Network)), and communicates from the navigation device NV. It is possible to control the lighting of the outdoor light 10 based on the data.

  The light device LT includes an outdoor light 10, an indoor light 20, and a control circuit 30 connected to the lights 10 and 20. The outdoor light 10 is composed of a head lamp 11, a tail lamp 12, a fog lamp 13, and the like, and is usually turned on or off according to an operation of an outdoor light switch 14 provided in the passenger compartment.

  The outdoor light switch 14 is, for example, a rotary switch attached to the tip of a lever switch that extends from the steering handle stem to the right side of the steering wheel, and is turned off (off), tail (tail lamp 12 lit), head (head lamp) 11 lighting) and auto (automatic lighting or automatic extinguishing of the tail lamp 12 and the head lamp 11 by detecting the brightness and darkness around the host vehicle).

  The indoor light 20 includes a dome lamp 21, a map lamp 22, a door courtesy lamp 23, and the like. The dome lamp 21 and the map lamp 22 are indoor light switches 21a and 22a provided in the vicinity of the lamps 21 and 22, respectively. Turns on or off according to the operation.

  The indoor light switches 21a and 22a can be switched between two positions: off (lights off) and auto (for example, when the ignition switch IGSW is turned off and automatically turned on, and when the vehicle door lock is detected and automatically turned off). ing.

  The control circuit 30 (write control means) is composed mainly of a microcomputer in which a CPU 31, a RAM 32, a ROM 33, and an input / output unit (I / O) 34 are connected by an internal bus. The control circuit 30 is connected to the communication bus BUS via the communication interface IF1. The ROM 33 stores a light control program for controlling the lighting operation of the outdoor light 10 as shown in FIG. 3, for example. The CPU 31 executes the write control program stored in the ROM 33 using the RAM 32 as a work area.

  The navigation device NV is connected to the position detector 40, the transceiver 51, the operation switch group 52, the voice synthesis circuit 53 and the speaker 53a, the voice recognition unit 54 and the microphone 54a, the communication interface IF2, the hard disk device (HDD) 55, and the like. Control circuit 60 and the like.

  The position detector 40 is a known geomagnetic sensor 41, a gyroscope 42 for detecting the rotational angular velocity of the host vehicle, a distance sensor 43 for detecting the travel distance of the host vehicle, and the position of the host vehicle based on radio waves from the satellite SAT. A GPS receiver 44 for detection is included. Since these sensors 41 to 44 have errors of different properties, they are configured to be used while complementing each other.

  The transceiver 51 receives various types of information from the information center C as needed via the external wireless network. The operation switch group 52 includes, for example, a touch panel and a mechanical switch integrated with the display 52a. The voice recognition unit 54 and the microphone 54a are used for inputting various instructions by voice.

  The control circuit 60 is mainly configured by a microcomputer in which a CPU 61, a ROM 62, a RAM 63, an A / D conversion unit 64, a drawing unit 65, a nonvolatile memory 66, and an input / output unit (I / O) 67 are connected by an internal bus. . The CPU 61 performs control based on data in the navigation program 55 a and the database 55 b stored in the HDD 55, and controls reading / writing of data from / to the HDD 55.

  The ROM 62 stores, for example, a user position detection program as shown in FIG. The CPU 61 executes the user position detection program stored in the ROM 62 using the RAM 63 as a work area. The A / D conversion unit 64 includes a well-known A / D (analog / digital) conversion circuit, and converts analog data input from the position detector 40 or the like to the control circuit 60 into digital data that can be calculated by the CPU 61, for example. . The drawing unit 65 generates display screen data to be displayed on the display 52a from display data and display color data stored in the HDD 55 or the like.

  In addition to the navigation program 55a, the HDD 55 stores so-called map matching data for improving the accuracy of position detection, and road map data 55c including road data representing road connections. The road map data 55c stores predetermined map image information for display, and road network information including link information (predetermined section information constituting each road) and node information (information defining a road branch point). Remember.

  The display 52a is formed of a known color liquid crystal display, and includes a dot matrix LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and a driver circuit (not shown) for performing LCD display control. The driver circuit performs map display based on the display command and display screen data sent from the control circuit 60. At this time, the voice synthesis circuit 53 converts the digital voice data stored in the nonvolatile memory 66 or the HDD 55 into an analog voice according to a command from the navigation program 55a, and outputs the analog voice through the speaker 53a.

  When the navigation program 55a is activated by the CPU 61 of the control circuit 60, the navigation device NV can be selected from a menu displayed on the display 52a by the user U operating the operation switch group 52 or by voice input from the microphone 54a. When the route guidance process for displaying the destination route on the display 52a is selected, the following process is performed.

  That is, when the user U selects an arbitrary point on the map or a facility search, an address search, or a registered place set by the user U and sets it as a destination, the position detector 40 determines the current position of the host vehicle. Then, a process for obtaining an optimum guide route from the current position to the destination is performed. In addition, the guide route is displayed on the road map on the display 52a so as to guide the user U to the appropriate route. When the host vehicle arrives at the set destination, a message to that effect is notified by at least one of the display 52a and the speaker 53a.

  Further, the navigation device NV is a mobile phone CP (mobile terminal) having a GPS function carried by the user U from a menu displayed on the display 52a when the user U operates the operation switch group 52 or inputs a voice from the microphone 54a. ) Is registered (for example, a telephone number), the following processing is performed.

  That is, when the user U registers data for searching the position of his / her mobile phone CP in the navigation device NV, the CPU 61 of the control circuit 60 periodically executes the user position detection program shown in FIG. By executing this user position detection program, the GPS receiver 44 receives current position information related to the current position of the user U carrying the mobile phone CP based on radio waves from the satellite SAT, and based on the current position information, the user U A process of calculating the current position of is performed.

  Next, the operation of the first embodiment configured as described above will be described. When the user U has previously registered data for specifying his / her mobile phone CP in the navigation device NV, the CPU 61 of the control circuit 60 repeatedly executes the user position detection program of FIG. The CPU 31 of the circuit 30 repeatedly executes the write control program of FIG. 3 every predetermined time.

  First, as shown in FIG. 4A, the GPS receiver 44 uses the GPS function of the mobile phone CP to acquire current position information indicating the current location of the user U carrying the mobile phone CP. Based on the current position information, the current position of the user U is calculated (S11, S12). The CPU 61 of the control circuit 60 transmits the position calculation value relating to the current position of the user U calculated in step S12 to the light device LT via the communication interface IF2 and the communication bus BUS (S13).

  The control circuit 30 of the light device LT receives the position calculation value related to the current position of the user U via the communication interface IF1 (S21). Next, based on the position calculation value received in S21, it is determined whether or not the user U is within a predetermined area from the own vehicle (for example, within a radius of 50 m centered on the own vehicle) (S22). When the user U is not within the predetermined area from the own vehicle (S22: No), the execution of this light control program is temporarily terminated.

  On the other hand, when the user U is facing the own vehicle and is within a predetermined area from the own vehicle (S22: Yes), the lighting control of the headlamp 11 is performed as shown in FIG. S23).

  As is apparent from the above description, in the first embodiment, the mobile phone CP is carried by the navigation device NV (the GPS receiver 44 and the control circuit 60) using the GPS function of the mobile phone CP. When the current position of the user U is detected (S11, S12 in FIG. 2) and it is determined that the detected current position of the user U is within a predetermined area from the host vehicle (S22 in FIG. 3), the control circuit 30 Then, the headlamp 11 in the off state is controlled to be turned on (S23 in FIG. 3). That is, by obtaining the current position of the user U using the navigation device NV, the headlamp 11 can be automatically turned on when the user U is on the route from a position away from the vehicle to the vicinity of the vehicle. it can. Thereby, the visibility of the user U heading for the vehicle at night can be improved, and the user U can easily specify the parking position of the host vehicle. In addition, since a special device is not required to be newly provided, the vehicle autolight device can be configured simply and inexpensively.

b. Second Embodiment In the second embodiment, the headlamp 11 is connected to the control circuit 30 via the drive mechanism 71 as indicated by a broken line in FIG. Further, the CPU 31 of the control circuit 30 is configured to repeatedly execute, for example, the write control program of FIG. 6 every predetermined time instead of the write control program of FIG. Since other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, the same components and step processes that perform the same functions as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  The drive mechanism 71 rotates the direction of the optical axis in the horizontal direction (left-right direction), for example, as shown representatively of the headlamp 11 on the right side of the vehicle in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b). There are, for example, a drive motor and a gear train that transmits the rotation of the drive motor to the headlamp 11. Then, based on the control signal from the control circuit 30, the drive mechanism 71 changes the direction of the optical axis of the headlamp 11 with respect to the vehicle front-rear direction (L1 direction in FIG. 5A) and the vehicle front-rear direction. It is configured to change in any direction between the direction (L2 direction in FIG. 5B) facing the outside of the vehicle by the maximum angle θ (swivel angle, for example, 15 degrees).

  The write control program of FIG. 6 is different from the write control program of FIG. 3 in that the process of step S23A is executed between step S22 and step S23. That is, when the CPU 31 of the control circuit 30 determines that the user U is within a predetermined area from the own vehicle based on the position calculation value received in step S21 (S22: Yes), the optical axis of the headlamp 11 is adjusted. The drive mechanism 71 is driven so that the direction approaches the user U, and the headlamp 11 is rotated in the horizontal direction (S23A). Then, after the headlamp 11 is rotated in the horizontal direction, the headlamp 11 is controlled to be turned on (S23).

  According to the second embodiment, when it is determined that the current position of the user U is within the predetermined area (S22: Yes), the direction of the optical axis of the headlamp 11 based on the detected current position of the user U Is driven so that the headlamp 11 is turned on. For this reason, it is possible to further improve the visibility of the user U who is on the way to the vehicle.

c. Third Embodiment In the third embodiment, the CPU 61 of the control circuit 60 is configured to execute, for example, the user position detection program of FIG. 7 instead of the user position detection program of FIG. Since other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to step processes that perform the same functions, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

  In the user position detection program of FIG. 7, as shown in FIG. 8A, the CPU 61 of the control circuit 60 requests the information center C for the current position information of the user U (S31). The positioning server 81 of the information center C uses the GPS function of the mobile phone CP to acquire current location information indicating the current location of the user U carrying the mobile phone CP, and based on the current location information, the user U Calculate the current position of.

  After calculating the current position of the user U, the positioning server 81 of the information center C transmits the current position information (position calculation value) of the user U. The control circuit 60 receives the current location information of the user U from the positioning server 81 of the information center C via the transceiver 51 (S32), and receives the received current location information of the user U via the communication interface IF2 and the communication bus BUS. To the writing device LT (S33).

  If the CPU 31 of the control circuit 30 is a type of the headlamp 11 that does not include the drive mechanism 71, the CPU 31 of the control circuit 30 executes a light control program (see FIG. 3) similar to that of the first embodiment and includes the drive mechanism 71. For the headlamp 11, a light control program (see FIG. 6) similar to that in the second embodiment is executed. Regardless of which light control program is executed, on condition that the user U is within a predetermined area from the host vehicle (S22: Yes), as shown in FIG. To do.

  According to the third embodiment, the positioning server 81 of the information center C calculates the current position of the user U in response to the request of the current position information of the user U by the own vehicle (S31), and the calculated position value is automatically calculated. Send to the vehicle. Thereby, the burden of the navigation device NV can be reduced, and consumption of battery power can be favorably avoided.

(Modification)
In the third embodiment, the positioning server 81 of the information center C is configured to calculate the current position of the user U in response to a request for the current position information of the user U by the own vehicle. For example, as illustrated in FIG. Furthermore, when the positioning server 81 of the information center C calculates the current location of the user U, the location information of the database 91 of the base station B in the mobile phone CP of the user U (for example, longitude and latitude information where the mobile phone CP is located). May be configured to be usable. According to this modification, it is possible to transmit the current position of the user U to the vehicle even in a situation where reception of radio waves from the satellite SAT is bad.

d. 4th Embodiment In this 4th Embodiment, as shown with the broken line in FIG. 1, the remote terminal 101 which can start the engine starter ST (engine part) of the own vehicle by remote control is provided. The on / off signal of the engine starter ST is input to the control circuit 60 via the communication bus BUS and the communication interface IF2. Then, the position detection program of FIG. 2 or FIG. 7 is configured to start execution on condition that the ON signal of the engine starter ST is detected.

  According to the fourth embodiment, on the condition that the engine starter ST of the host vehicle is started, the navigation device NV starts executing the position detection program of FIG. 2 or FIG. As a result, battery power consumption associated with the execution of the position detection program of FIG. 2 or FIG. 7 can be avoided even better. As a result, even if the navigation device NV is started, it is possible to better avoid battery power consumption.

  In the first to fourth embodiments, the headlight 11 of the outdoor light 10 is controlled to be turned on, but the taillight 12 is controlled to be turned on in addition to the headlamp 11, for example. May be. Further, in addition to or instead of the outdoor light 10, for example, the indoor light 20 such as the dome lamp 21 may be controlled to be turned on. This also allows the user U to easily find the parking position of the host vehicle.

The block diagram which shows the electrical structure of the autolight apparatus for vehicles which concerns on the 1st-4th embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the user position detection program which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention and is performed by the navigation apparatus shown in FIG. The flowchart which shows the write-control program which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention and is performed by the control circuit of the write device shown in FIG. Explanatory drawing which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention, and (a) shows the condition where a navigation apparatus detects a user's position. (B) is explanatory drawing which shows the condition where a headlamp is automatically lighted, when a user exists in the predetermined area from the own vehicle. FIG. 7A is an explanatory diagram illustrating a normal lighting state in which the direction of the optical axis of a headlamp extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle according to the second embodiment of the present invention. (B) is an explanatory view showing an illumination state when the direction of the optical axis of the headlamp is changed by the drive mechanism to a direction facing the outside of the vehicle by a maximum angle θ with respect to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The flowchart which shows the write control program which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention and is performed by the control circuit of the write device shown in FIG. The flowchart which shows the user position detection program which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention and is performed by the navigation apparatus shown in FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the condition which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention, and (a) requests | requires a user's present location information from an information center. (B) is explanatory drawing which shows the condition where a navigation apparatus receives a user's present position information from an information center. According to a modification of the third embodiment, the positioning server of the information center calculates the current location information of the user using the database of the mobile phone base station, and the navigation device receives the current location information from the information center. Explanatory drawing which shows a condition.

Explanation of symbols

LT light device NV navigation device (user position detection means)
10 outdoor light 11 head lamp 30 control circuit (light control means)
44 GPS receiver (user position detection means)
51 transceiver 52 operation switch group 60 control circuit (user position detection means)
Mobile phone 71 having CP GPS function Drive mechanism C Information center 81 Positioning server (user position detecting means)
B Mobile phone base station 91 database (user location detection means)
ST Engine starter (engine part)
101 Remote terminal

Claims (5)

An outdoor light that illuminates the outside of the passenger compartment,
User position detecting means for detecting the current position of the user carrying the portable terminal using the GPS function of the portable terminal;
When determining whether the current position of the user detected by the user position detection means is within a predetermined area from the host vehicle, and when determining that the detected current position of the user is within the predetermined area, A light control means for controlling the lighting of the outdoor light;
An autolight device for a vehicle, comprising: The outdoor light is a headlamp, and includes a drive mechanism capable of rotating the direction of the optical axis of the headlamp in a horizontal direction,
When the light control unit determines that the detected current position of the user is within the predetermined area, the direction of the optical axis of the headlamp approaches the user based on the detected current position of the user. The vehicular autolight device according to claim 1, wherein the lighting of the headlamp is controlled after the driving mechanism is driven.   The vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the user position detecting means is a navigation device having a GPS receiver mounted on the host vehicle, and the navigation device is configured to calculate the current position of the user. Auto light device.   The user position detecting means includes an information center capable of wireless communication with the own vehicle, and a positioning server of the information center determines the current position of the user in response to a transmission request of the user's current position information by the own vehicle. The vehicle automatic light device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle automatic light device is configured to calculate and transmit the calculated position value to the host vehicle. Equipped with a remote terminal that can remotely start the engine of the vehicle
5. The vehicle autolight device according to claim 3, wherein the user position detection unit starts executing the user position detection process on condition that an engine unit of the host vehicle is started by the remote terminal.

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