JP2010241328A - Vehicle height sensor, and device and method for adjusting projection direction of lighting fixture for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique for efficiently performing a vehicle height value initialization processing. <P>SOLUTION: This vehicle height sensor 30 is mounted on a vehicle to detect a vehicle height of the vehicle. The vehicle height sensor 30 includes an initialization processing part 34a for calculating a detection error value by comparing a detection value of the vehicle height when the vehicle is at a reference attitude with a vehicle height design value, a storing part 36 for storing the vehicle height design value and the detection error value, and a correction processing part 34b for correcting the detection value of the vehicle height when the vehicle is at an arbitrary attitude by using the detection error value. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle height sensor used in an automobile or the like, a vehicle lamp illumination direction adjusting device including the vehicle height sensor, and a vehicle lamp illumination direction adjusting method.

  2. Description of the Related Art A vehicular lamp having an auto leveling control function that keeps the irradiation direction of a lamp constant by changing the optical axis of the vehicular lamp in accordance with a change in the posture of a vehicle body is known. In this automatic leveling control, the vehicle height sensor detects the amount of change in the vehicle height, and the leveling ECU provided in the vehicle body calculates the adjustment amount of the optical axis using the detection result of the vehicle height sensor to drive the leveling actuator. The optical axis was adjusted.

  By the way, in general, when a vehicle height sensor is attached to the body of an automobile, an attachment error is unavoidable, and the vehicle height sensor itself may include a detection error. Therefore, it is necessary to perform auto leveling control in consideration of these errors. On the other hand, the initial value of the vehicle height value is recorded by recording the difference between the detection value of the vehicle height sensor when the vehicle body is in the predetermined reference posture and the vehicle height design value when the vehicle body is in the same reference posture as the detection error value. There is known a technique for performing the conversion (see Patent Document 1). After the vehicle height value is initialized in this manner, the detected value of the vehicle height sensor is corrected using the recorded detection error value, and the optical axis is adjusted based on the corrected detection value. Auto leveling control that eliminates sensor mounting errors and detection errors of the vehicle height sensor itself is possible.

JP 2006-56437 A

  In a vehicular lamp having a conventional auto-leveling function, a vehicle height value is initialized by a leveling ECU provided on the vehicle body. Therefore, when the leveling ECU is replaced, it is necessary to perform the above-described vehicle height value initialization in the new leveling ECU even though the mounting position of the vehicle height sensor and the detection characteristics of the vehicle height sensor do not change. The detection result of the vehicle height sensor is also used in other mechanisms such as the vehicle height adjustment mechanism, and the mounting position and detection of the vehicle height sensor are also detected when replacing the ECU provided in such another mechanism. Despite the fact that the characteristics did not change, it was necessary to initialize the vehicle height. In such a situation, the present inventor has recognized that there is room for improving the efficiency of the vehicle height initialization process in the conventional configuration in which it is necessary to perform the vehicle height initialization process for each replacement operation of each ECU. It came to do.

  The present invention has been made based on such recognition by the inventor, and an object thereof is to provide a technique for improving the efficiency of the vehicle height value initialization process.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a vehicle height sensor according to an aspect of the present invention is a vehicle height sensor that is attached to a vehicle and detects the vehicle height of the vehicle. An initialization processing unit that calculates a detection error value by comparing a detection value with a vehicle height design value, a storage unit that stores a vehicle height design value and a detection error value, and a vehicle height when the vehicle is in an arbitrary posture And a correction processing unit that corrects the detected value using the detected error value.

  According to this aspect, the efficiency of the vehicle height value initialization process can be improved.

  In the above aspect, the detection error value may be an attachment error value of the vehicle height sensor with respect to the vehicle. Also in this case, the efficiency of the vehicle height value initialization process can be improved.

  Another aspect of the present invention is an irradiation direction adjusting device for a vehicular lamp, and the irradiation direction adjusting device for a vehicular lamp changes the irradiation direction of the vehicle height sensor and the lamp unit according to any one of the above aspects. The leveling actuator to be used and the detection value corrected from the vehicle height sensor are obtained, and the amount of change in the irradiation direction necessary to match the irradiation direction of the lamp unit with the target direction is calculated from the detection value, and the calculated change And a control unit for driving the leveling actuator so as to change the irradiation direction by the amount. According to this aspect, it is possible to adjust the irradiation direction of the vehicular lamp with high accuracy.

  Still another aspect of the present invention is a method for adjusting the irradiation direction of a vehicular lamp. The irradiation direction adjusting method for a vehicular lamp adjusts the irradiation direction of a lamp unit according to the vehicle height detected by a vehicle height sensor. A method for adjusting the irradiation direction of a vehicular lamp, wherein a detection error value is calculated by comparing a vehicle height detection value and a vehicle height design value when the vehicle is in a reference posture in a vehicle height sensor, The detection error value is stored, the detection value of the vehicle height when the vehicle is in an arbitrary posture is corrected using the detection error value, and the irradiation direction of the lamp unit is detected using the detection value corrected by the vehicle height sensor. The amount of change in the irradiation direction necessary to match the value with the target direction is calculated, and the irradiation direction is changed by the calculated amount of change. According to this aspect, it is possible to adjust the irradiation direction of the vehicular lamp with high accuracy.

  According to the present invention, the efficiency of the vehicle height value initialization process can be improved.

It is the schematic which shows the external appearance of the vehicle provided with the vehicle height sensor which concerns on Embodiment 1, and the irradiation direction adjustment apparatus of the vehicle lamp. It is a block diagram which shows the main structures of a vehicle lamp, a vehicle height sensor, and leveling ECU. FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram for explaining a change in the vehicle height of the vehicle, and FIG. 3B shows the rotation angle of the swing arm detected by the rotation sensor and the voltage output from the calculation unit. It is a graph which shows the relationship. It is a control flowchart of a vehicle height value initialization process. It is a control flowchart of auto leveling control.

  The present invention will be described below based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. The same or equivalent components, members, and processes shown in the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated descriptions are omitted as appropriate. The embodiments do not limit the invention but are exemplifications, and all features and combinations thereof described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the invention.

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an external appearance of a vehicle including a vehicle height sensor and an illumination direction adjusting device for a vehicle lamp according to the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, an example in which the irradiation direction adjusting device according to the present embodiment is applied to a headlight device that is arranged one by one on the left and right in the vehicle width direction in front of the vehicle will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 1 includes a headlamp device 2L provided on the left side in front of the vehicle and a headlamp device 2R provided on the right side in front of the vehicle. The headlamp devices 2L and 2R are configured such that the irradiation direction can be changed by controlling the angle of the optical axis in the vertical direction, that is, the vertical direction. In addition, the vehicle 1 includes a vehicle height sensor 30 that detects the vehicle height of the vehicle 1 with respect to the road surface, and a leveling ECU 50 (control unit) that controls the irradiation direction of the headlamp devices 2L and 2R. Here, in this embodiment, the vehicle height sensor 30 is provided on the rear wheel side of the vehicle 1, and the distance from the road surface to the vehicle bottom surface at the position where the rear wheel is provided is the vehicle height of the vehicle 1.

  Next, each structure of headlamp apparatus 2L, 2R, the vehicle height sensor 30, and leveling ECU50 is demonstrated. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating main components of the vehicular lamp, the vehicle height sensor, and the leveling ECU. Hereinafter, the irradiation direction (right side in FIG. 2) of the lamp will be described as the front of the lamp, and the opposite side (left side in FIG. 2) will be described as the rear of the lamp. Further, when facing the front of the lamp, the right side is the right side of the lamp and the left side is the left side of the lamp. Since the headlight device 2L and the headlight device 2R have the same configuration except that they have a symmetrical structure, FIG. 2 illustrates the headlight device 2L as an example. Description of the device 2R is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the headlamp device 2 </ b> L includes a lamp chamber 13 formed by a lamp body 12 having an opening that opens toward the front of the vehicle, and a translucent cover 14 that covers the opening of the lamp body 12. Have. A lamp unit 16 that irradiates light forward of the vehicle is housed in the lamp chamber 13. The lamp unit 16 includes a light source bulb 18 and a reflector 20, and the reflector 20 is supported by an aiming mechanism 22 and a leveling mechanism 24 so as to be tiltable in the vertical direction.

  The aiming mechanism 22 includes an aiming nut 22a and an aiming screw 22b. The aiming nut 22 a is fixed to a support portion 20 a that protrudes rearward of the lamp at the upper back of the reflector 20. The aiming screw 22b extends from the back surface of the lamp body 12 to the front of the lamp, has a front end screwed into the aiming nut 22a, and is supported by the lamp body 12 in a state where the rear portion can rotate about the axis. In such a configuration, when the aiming screw 22b is rotated manually, for example, the aiming nut 22a moves forward or backward of the lamp. Thereby, the upper part of the lamp unit 16 moves forward or backward, and as a result, the optical axis X of the lamp unit 16 tilts in the vertical direction. In the headlamp device 2L (2R), the aiming control that is the initial adjustment of the irradiation direction of the lamp unit 16 can be performed in this way.

  The leveling mechanism 24 includes a leveling actuator 24a and an adjusting rod 24b. The leveling actuator 24a is installed in the lower part of the back surface of the lamp body 12, and is configured such that the adjusting rod 24b can be moved in the front-rear direction of the lamp by a motor. The adjusting rod 24b extends in the front-rear direction of the lamp, the rear end side thereof is connected to the leveling actuator 24a, the ball portion 24c is provided at the front end, and the ball portion 24c is provided at the lower back of the lamp body 12. The ball receiving portion 20b is fitted. In such a configuration, when the adjusting rod 24b is moved in the longitudinal direction of the lamp by the leveling actuator 24a, the lower part of the lamp unit 16 is moved forward or backward, and as a result, the optical axis X of the lamp unit 16 is vertically aligned. Tilt. In the headlamp device 2L (2R), leveling control for changing the irradiation direction of the lamp unit 16 according to the posture of the vehicle 1 in this way can be performed.

  For example, the vehicle height sensor 30 is fixed to a body part of the vehicle 1 and a swing arm (not shown) whose one end is connected to a lower arm that supports a wheel and whose other end is swingably connected to a body part. And a rotation sensor 32 such as a Hall IC for detecting the rotation of the swing arm. The vehicle height sensor 30 is configured to be able to detect the rotation angle of the lower arm from the rotation angle of the swing arm. Since the vehicle height of the vehicle 1 changes with the swing of the lower arm, the vehicle height sensor 30 can detect the change in the vehicle height as the rotation angle of the swing arm, and therefore the vehicle height can be detected as the swing arm. The rotation angle can be detected.

  The vehicle height sensor 30 includes a calculation unit 34 and a storage unit 36. The calculation unit 34 includes an IC or the like that executes a predetermined calculation process, and a vehicle height detection value (hereinafter, the vehicle height detection value is appropriately referred to as a vehicle height value) and a vehicle height design when the vehicle 1 is in the reference posture. An initialization processing unit 34a that compares the values and calculates a detection error value is provided. Moreover, the calculating part 34 has the correction process part 34b which correct | amends the vehicle height value when the vehicle 1 exists in arbitrary attitude | positions using a detection error value. Here, the vehicle height design value is a vehicle height that can be taken in design when the vehicle 1 is in the reference posture, for example, a vehicle height nominal value. In the present embodiment, since the vehicle height is detected by the rotation sensor 32 as the rotation angle of the swing arm, the vehicle height design value is a design rotation angle of the swing arm when the vehicle 1 is in the reference posture. . The reference posture is a state in which the swing arm is at a predetermined angle. For example, in the assembly process of the vehicle 1, the lower arm is assembled to the body portion of the vehicle 1 so as to be at a predetermined angle with respect to the body portion. The state maintained.

  The storage unit 36 includes a ROM that stores a predetermined control program, a RAM that stores data, and the like, and stores a vehicle height design value defined in advance and a detection error value calculated by the initialization processing unit 34a. . The storage unit 36 stores a conversion table in which the rotation angle of the swing arm and the voltage value of the voltage output to the leveling ECU 50 are associated with each other. The calculation unit 34 is connected to a calculation unit described later of the leveling ECU 50, and transmits the vehicle height value obtained by the rotation sensor 32 to the calculation unit of the leveling ECU 50. Specifically, the calculation unit 34 outputs a voltage having a voltage value corresponding to the vehicle height value to the calculation unit of the leveling ECU 50.

  The leveling ECU 50 includes a calculation unit 52, a storage unit 54, and a drive circuit 56. The calculation unit 52 includes a CPU that executes a predetermined calculation process, receives the vehicle height value from the vehicle height sensor 30, and the irradiation direction necessary to match the irradiation direction of the lamp unit 16 with the target direction from the vehicle height value. The change amount is calculated, and information on the change amount is transmitted to the drive circuit 56. The drive circuit 56 is connected to the leveling actuator 24a, and supplies the leveling actuator 24a with power for driving the leveling actuator 24a by the amount of change instructed by the calculation unit 52. Here, the target direction is an irradiation direction of the lamp unit 16 set in consideration of prevention of glare given to the preceding vehicle and ensuring of driver visibility, and is set based on experiments and simulations by the designer. It is possible.

  The storage unit 54 includes a ROM that stores a predetermined control program, a RAM that stores data, and the like, and associates the vehicle height value obtained from the calculation unit 34 of the vehicle height sensor 30 with the driving amount of the leveling actuator 24a. The conversion table is stored. Specifically, the conversion table indicates the driving amount of the leveling actuator 24a necessary to match the voltage value corresponding to the vehicle height value output from the calculation unit 34 and the optical axis X of the lamp unit 16 in the target direction. Corresponding voltage values are associated.

  The irradiation direction adjusting device for a vehicular lamp according to the present embodiment includes a leveling actuator 24a, a leveling ECU 50, and a vehicle height sensor 30.

  Next, operations of the vehicle height sensor 30 and the irradiation direction adjusting device having the above-described configuration will be described. First, changes in the vehicle height of the vehicle 1 and detection errors of the vehicle height sensor 30 will be described. FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram for explaining a change in the vehicle height of the vehicle, and FIG. 3B shows the rotation angle of the swing arm detected by the rotation sensor and the voltage output from the calculation unit. It is a graph which shows the relationship. In FIG. 3 (B), the solid line A shows the relationship between the rotation angle and the output voltage value of the rotation sensor having an attachment error, and the broken line B shows the relationship between the rotation angle and the output voltage value of the rotation sensor normally attached. Show.

  When the lower arm of the vehicle 1 swings due to changes in the cargo loading state, the number of passengers, or the traveling state of the vehicle 1, the height of the vehicle 1 changes and the vertical elevation angle of the vehicle 1, that is, the pitch. The angle changes. When the pitch angle of the vehicle 1 changes, the optical axis X (irradiation direction) of the lamp unit 16 installed in front of the vehicle 1 also changes in the vertical direction. In FIG. 3, as a result of the vehicle height changing downward by Δh, the pitch angle of the vehicle 1 changes and the optical axis X of the lamp unit 16 changes upward by ΔH. If the illumination direction of the lamp unit 16 changes upward, glare may be given to the preceding vehicles including the oncoming vehicle and the preceding vehicle. If the illumination direction changes downward, the illumination area of the vehicle lamp decreases and the front of the vehicle 1 is reduced. There is a risk that the irradiation of the area becomes insufficient.

  Therefore, automatic leveling control is performed to maintain the irradiation direction of the lamp unit 16 at a predetermined angle with respect to the road surface by changing the optical axis X of the lamp unit 16 in accordance with the change in the vehicle height of the vehicle 1. Specifically, the vehicle height is detected by the vehicle height sensor 30, the change amount of the optical axis X of the lamp unit 16 corresponding to the vehicle height detected by the leveling ECU 50 is calculated, and the leveling actuator 24a is driven to calculate. The vertical inclination of the lamp unit 16 is changed by the amount of change. Here, in the present embodiment, the amount of change in the pitch angle is estimated from the vehicle height value detected by the rotation sensor 32, and the automatic leveling control is performed.

At this time, when there is an attachment error of the vehicle height sensor 30 or an error of the vehicle height sensor 30 itself, for example, an error caused by variations in the sensor output origin (hereinafter referred to as a detection error of the vehicle height sensor as appropriate) Therefore, the vehicle height value includes an error. As a result, the calculated change amount of the optical axis X includes an error, and the irradiation direction of the lamp unit 16 is not properly adjusted. For example, assume that the actual rotation angle θ of the swing arm is θ ₁ as shown in FIG. At this time, when the vehicle height sensor 30 is normally attached to the vehicle 1 (broken line B), the voltage value output from the calculation unit 34 is V _1B , whereas the vehicle height sensor 30 is a predetermined value. When attached to the vehicle 1 with an attachment error (solid line A), the voltage value output from the computing unit 34 is V _1A . Therefore, the difference between the voltage value V _1B and the voltage value V _1A becomes a detection error of the vehicle height sensor 30, and the irradiation direction of the lamp unit 16 deviates from the target direction.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the vehicle height sensor 30 performs the vehicle height value initialization process. Specifically, when the vehicle 1 is in the reference state, the rotation sensor 32 detects the rotation angle θ of the swing arm as the vehicle height value. Then, the initialization processing unit 34a reads the vehicle height design value (design rotation angle) stored in advance in the storage unit 36, and calculates the difference between the vehicle height value and the vehicle height design value when the vehicle 1 is in the reference posture. Calculated as a detection error value. The calculated detection error value is stored in the storage unit 36. In this way, the vehicle height value initialization process is performed.

And after an initialization process is performed, the automatic leveling control of a vehicle lamp is implemented as follows. That is, the rotation angle θ of the swing arm when the vehicle 1 is in an arbitrary state is detected by the rotation sensor 32 as the vehicle height value, and the detected rotation angle θ is transmitted to the correction processing unit 34b. The correction processing unit 34b reads the detection error value from the storage unit 36, adds the detection error value to the rotation angle θ detected by the rotation sensor 32, and calculates a corrected rotation angle as a corrected vehicle height value. Then, the correction processing unit 34b uses the conversion table stored in the storage unit 36 converts the corrected rotational angle to the output voltage value V _1, the output voltage value V ₁ corresponding to the correction rotation angle calculation unit 34 to the calculation unit 52 of the leveling ECU 50.

The calculation unit 52 acquires the output voltage value V ₁ corresponding to the corrected rotation angle from the calculation unit 34 of the vehicle height sensor 30, and uses the conversion table stored in the storage unit 54 to calculate the output voltage value V ₁ . into an output voltage value V ₂ corresponding to the driving amount of the leveling actuator 24a. The arithmetic unit 52 outputs the voltage of the output voltage value V ₂ corresponding to the driving amount of the leveling actuator 24a to the drive circuit 56. Drive circuit 56 supplies the power corresponding to the output voltage value V ₂ outputted from the arithmetic unit 52 in the leveling actuator 24a. Then, the leveling actuator 24a moves the adjusting rod 24b by a predetermined amount in the lamp front-rear direction, so that the irradiation direction of the lamp unit 16 matches the target direction. In this way, irradiation direction adjustment control is performed.

  Subsequently, the control flow of the vehicle height value initialization process and the auto leveling control will be described. First, the control flow of the vehicle height value initialization process by the vehicle height sensor according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is a control flowchart of the vehicle height value initialization process. This flow is executed, for example, when a vehicle height value initialization process mode switch (not shown) is turned on.

  First, the initialization processing unit 34a of the vehicle height sensor 30 determines whether or not the vehicle height value initialization condition is satisfied (step 1: hereinafter abbreviated as S1. The same applies to other steps). The vehicle height value initialization condition is, for example, that a lower arm is attached to the body portion of the vehicle 1 and the vehicle height sensor 30 is attached to the body portion, or that the vehicle 1 is in a reference posture. Alternatively, the vehicle height value initialization condition may be that a predetermined process is performed in the manufacturing process of the vehicle 1.

  When the vehicle height initialization condition is not satisfied (S1_No), the determination as to whether the vehicle height initialization condition is satisfied is repeated. When the vehicle height value initialization condition is satisfied (S1_Yes), the initialization processing unit 34a detects the vehicle height value of the vehicle 1 in the reference posture by the rotation sensor 32 (S2). Then, the initialization processing unit 34a compares the detected vehicle height value with a vehicle height design value in a preset reference posture, and calculates the difference between the two as a detection error value (S3). Thereafter, the initialization processing unit 34a stores the detection error value in the storage unit 36 (S4). The vehicle height value initialization process is executed through the above steps.

  Next, automatic leveling control by the irradiation direction adjusting device for a vehicular lamp according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is a control flowchart of auto leveling control. This flow is repeatedly executed at a predetermined timing when the driver instructs the auto leveling control after the vehicle height value initialization process is executed.

  First, the vehicle height value when the vehicle 1 is in an arbitrary state is sequentially detected by the rotation sensor 32 (S21). Next, the correction processing unit 34b calculates the corrected vehicle height value by adding the detection error value obtained in the vehicle height value initialization process to the detected vehicle height value (S22). Then, the correction processing unit 34b transmits the corrected vehicle height value to the calculation unit 52 of the leveling ECU 50 (S23). The calculation unit 52 of the leveling ECU 50 calculates the driving amount of the leveling actuator 24a necessary for matching the irradiation direction of the lamp unit 16 with the target direction from the vehicle height correction value (S24). Then, electric power corresponding to the drive amount of the leveling actuator 24a is output from the drive circuit 56, and the leveling actuator 24a is driven by a predetermined amount (S25), thereby adjusting the irradiation direction of the lamp unit 16 to the target direction. The auto leveling control is executed through the above steps.

  Summarizing the operations according to the configuration described above, the vehicle height sensor 30 according to the present embodiment includes an initialization processing unit 34a, a correction processing unit 34b, and a storage unit 36. The initialization processing unit 34 a compares the vehicle height value when the vehicle 1 is in the reference posture with the vehicle height design value, calculates a detection error value, and stores the detection error value in the storage unit 36. That is, in the vehicle height sensor 30 according to the present embodiment, the vehicle height value can be initialized in the vehicle height sensor 30. Therefore, when the leveling ECU 50 or the ECU of another mechanism that uses the vehicle height value detected by the vehicle height sensor 30 is replaced, it is not necessary to execute the vehicle height value initialization process. Can be achieved.

  In general, since the leveling ECU 50 is replaced more frequently than the vehicle height sensor 30, it is not necessary to perform the vehicle height value initialization process every time the leveling ECU 50 is replaced, thereby increasing the efficiency of the vehicle height value initialization process. Is possible. In addition, since the vehicle height value initialization process is executed by the vehicle height sensor 30, the number of man-hours for exchanging the leveling ECU 50 and the ECUs of other mechanisms can be reduced, and each ECU has a calculation unit for the vehicle height value initialization process. It is no longer necessary to provide a storage unit or the like, and the cost of the vehicle 1 can be reduced.

  Further, in the conventional configuration in which the vehicle height value initialization process is executed in the leveling ECU, the reference posture is set when the amount of gasoline in the gasoline tank, the tire air pressure, and the like are in a predetermined state in the completed vehicle. On the other hand, according to the vehicle height sensor 30 of the present embodiment, a state where the lower arm is attached to the body portion and maintained at a predetermined angle can be set as the reference posture. Therefore, the vehicle 1 can be more easily set to the correct reference posture, and therefore the vehicle height value initialization process can be more easily performed. And thereby, possibility that an incorrect vehicle high price initialization process will be implemented can be reduced. Conventionally, when an abnormality in the auto leveling control has occurred due to an erroneous vehicle height value initialization process, there is a case where the cause of the abnormality is mistaken for a defect in the leveling ECU 50. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the vehicle height sensor 30 executes the vehicle height value initialization process, and the possibility that an erroneous vehicle height value initialization process is performed as described above is reduced. Misidentification can also be reduced.

  In addition, although the vehicle weight greatly affects the change in the vehicle height, in the conventional configuration in which the completed vehicle is set as the reference posture, the lower arm is attached to the body portion and the state maintained at a predetermined angle is set as the reference posture. Compared with the embodiment, the weight of the vehicle 1 in the reference posture is large. Therefore, the allowable error range of the vehicle weight in the reference posture is set to be relatively large. On the other hand, in the vehicle height sensor 30 according to the present embodiment, the lower arm is attached to the body portion and the state maintained at a predetermined angle is set as the reference posture. Even so, since the allowable range of the vehicle weight can be set smaller, it is possible to perform a highly accurate vehicle height value initialization process. Moreover, in the vehicle height sensor 30 of this embodiment, if the vehicle height sensor 30 is attached, a vehicle height value initialization process can be implemented. Therefore, the vehicle height value initialization process can be performed at a relatively early stage of the manufacturing process of the vehicle 1, and the degree of freedom of the manufacturing process of the vehicle 1 can be increased.

  In the irradiation direction adjusting device and the irradiation direction adjusting method according to the present embodiment, the vehicle height sensor 30 performs the vehicle height value initialization process with high accuracy as described above, and the detection obtained by the vehicle height value initialization process. Auto leveling control is performed based on the vehicle height value corrected using the error value. Therefore, highly accurate automatic leveling control is possible.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it is possible to combine the embodiments or to add various modifications such as design changes based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. Embodiments to which modifications are made are also included in the scope of the present invention. Each of the above-described embodiments and a new embodiment resulting from the combination of each of the above-described embodiments and the following modified examples have the effects of the combined embodiments and modified examples.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the vehicle height sensor 30 includes the rotation sensor 32 and detects the rotation angle of the swing arm as the vehicle height value. However, the vehicle height sensor 30 detects the vehicle height from the rotation angle. It may be a length measurement sensor that measures the vertical distance between the axle of the vehicle 1 and the vehicle body. In the above-described embodiment, the vehicle height sensor 30 is provided only on the rear wheel side. However, the vehicle height sensor 30 is provided on both the front wheel side and the rear wheel side, and the pitch angle of the vehicle 1 is calculated from the detected values of both. It may be. According to this, the pitch angle can be calculated more accurately from the vehicle height value. In addition, the definition of the vehicle height of the vehicle 1 is not limited to the above-described aspect, and other conventionally known definitions may be adopted. In addition to this, another conventionally known method is used as the vehicle height detection method. Can do.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle, 16 lamp unit, 24a leveling actuator, 30 vehicle height sensor, 34 calculating part, 34a initialization process part, 34b correction processing part, 36 memory | storage part, 50 leveling ECU, 52 calculating part, 54 memory | storage part, 56 drive circuit , X Optical axis.

Claims (4)

A vehicle height sensor that is attached to a vehicle and detects the vehicle height of the vehicle,
An initialization processing unit that calculates a detection error value by comparing a vehicle height detection value and a vehicle height design value when the vehicle is in a reference posture;
A storage unit for storing the vehicle height design value and the detection error value;
A correction processing unit that corrects a detection value of the vehicle height when the vehicle is in an arbitrary posture using the detection error value;
A vehicle height sensor comprising:   The vehicle height sensor according to claim 1, wherein the detection error value is an attachment error value of the vehicle height sensor with respect to the vehicle. The vehicle height sensor according to claim 1 or 2,
A leveling actuator that changes the irradiation direction of the lamp unit;
A corrected detection value is acquired from the vehicle height sensor, and a change amount of the irradiation direction necessary to make the irradiation direction of the lamp unit coincide with the target direction is calculated from the detection value, and the irradiation direction is calculated by the calculated change amount. A control unit for driving the leveling actuator to change
An apparatus for adjusting the irradiation direction of a vehicular lamp, comprising: An irradiation direction adjustment method for a vehicular lamp that adjusts an irradiation direction of a lamp unit according to a vehicle height detected by a vehicle height sensor,
Within the vehicle height sensor, a detection error value is calculated by comparing the vehicle height detection value and the vehicle height design value when the vehicle is in the reference posture, the detection error value is stored, and the vehicle is in any posture. The vehicle height detection value is corrected using the detection error value when
Using the detection value corrected by the vehicle height sensor, calculate the amount of change in the irradiation direction necessary to match the irradiation direction of the lamp unit with the target direction, and change the irradiation direction by the calculated amount of change. A method for adjusting the irradiation direction of a vehicular lamp characterized by the above.

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