JP2012011937A - Device for control of system for guiding vehicle driving, system for guiding vehicle driving, and lighting fixture system for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique for obtaining vehicle information more, using a system for guiding a vehicle driving to scan, in a vehicle travelling direction, light emitted toward a road surface to form a driving support pattern.SOLUTION: A control device 120 of the system 100 for guiding the vehicle driving is provided for scanning, in the vehicle travelling direction, the light emitted toward the road surface to form the driving support pattern. The device includes: a light receiving part 130 for receiving light reflected off the road surface; a control part 140 for measuring a relationship between time from when light is emitted from a light beam module 110 to when the receiving part 130 receives the light and a scanning angle of the light.

Description

  The present invention relates to a control device for a vehicle driving guide system, a vehicle driving guide system, and a vehicle lamp system, and more particularly to a control device for a vehicle driving guide system, a vehicle driving guide system, and a vehicle lamp system used for automobiles. It is.

  When a vehicle is laid on the side of a road or travels on a road with a narrow road width, there is an increased risk that the vehicle will come into contact with obstacles on the shoulder such as curbs, utility poles, gutters, and the like. Therefore, the driver is required to drive carefully. On the other hand, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a vehicle driving guide system that forms a driving assistance pattern by scanning a visible light beam irradiated on a road surface in the vehicle traveling direction. The vehicle driving guide system provides the driver with visual information about the distance between the vehicle and the roadside obstacle by forming a driving assistance pattern. The driver can check whether or not the vehicle contacts an obstacle on the road shoulder by using the driving support pattern as a guide.

JP 2003-231438 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-35497

  By the way, in order to assist the driver, there is a demand for acquiring various information about the vehicle surroundings and vehicle conditions as well as the visual information about the distance between the vehicle width of the host vehicle and the obstacle on the shoulder. Yes (hereinafter, this information is referred to as “vehicle information” as appropriate). The acquired vehicle information is directly provided to the driver and used for driving support, or vehicle control based on the information is performed to create a situation where the driver can easily drive. On the other hand, in order to satisfy this requirement, if there are as many devices for acquiring vehicle information as cameras and sensors as many as the number of vehicle information to be acquired, the manufacturing cost of the vehicle will increase. In addition, the number of devices that can be mounted is limited due to space constraints.

  The present inventor considered obtaining more vehicle information using an already installed device as one of solutions to these problems. And it came to the idea of acquiring further vehicle information in addition to the vehicle information obtained by the said system using a vehicle driving guide system.

  The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a further vehicle using a vehicle driving guide system for forming a driving assistance pattern by scanning light emitted toward a road surface in the vehicle traveling direction. It is to provide a technique capable of acquiring information.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a control device for a vehicle driving guide system according to an aspect of the present invention includes a vehicle driving guide system for forming a driving assistance pattern by scanning light emitted toward a road surface in a vehicle traveling direction. A light receiving unit for receiving light reflected by the road surface, and a control unit for measuring a relationship between a time from light emission to light reception by the light receiving unit and a light scanning angle. It is characterized by that.

  According to this aspect, further vehicle information can be acquired using the vehicle driving guide system for scanning the light emitted toward the road surface in the vehicle traveling direction to form the driving assistance pattern.

  In the above aspect, the control unit may detect a step on the road surface based on a refraction point appearing in a change in time from emission to reception according to the light scanning angle. In the above aspect, the control unit may detect a change in vehicle height based on a change in time from emission to light reception at the same scanning angle in each scanning period of the light. According to these aspects, vehicle driving can be supported using vehicle information obtained by the vehicle driving guide system.

  Another aspect of the present invention is a vehicle driving guide system, and the vehicle driving guide system includes a light emitting unit that scans light emitted toward a road surface in a vehicle traveling direction to form a driving assistance pattern. A light receiving unit for receiving the light emitted from the light emitting unit and reflected by the road surface, and a control unit for measuring the relationship between the time from the light emission by the light emitting unit to the light reception by the light receiving unit and the light scanning angle And.

  According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicular lamp system, wherein the vehicular lamp system is configured to scan a vehicular lamp with an adjustable optical axis and light emitted toward a road surface in a vehicle traveling direction. A light emitting part for forming a driving support pattern, a light receiving part for receiving light emitted from the light emitting part and reflected by a road surface, a time from light emission by the light emitting part to light reception by the light receiving part, And a control unit for measuring the relationship with the scanning angle and adjusting the optical axis of the vehicular lamp according to the measurement result.

  Also according to these aspects, further vehicle information can be acquired using a vehicle driving guide system for scanning the light emitted toward the road surface in the vehicle traveling direction to form a driving assistance pattern.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the further vehicle information can be acquired using the vehicle driving guide system for scanning the light radiate | emitted toward the road surface in the vehicle advancing direction, and forming a driving assistance pattern.

It is a functional block diagram for demonstrating operation | movement of a vehicle driving guide system. It is the schematic which shows the state in which the vehicle carrying the vehicle driving guide system which concerns on Embodiment 1 forms the driving assistance pattern. FIGS. 3A, 3I, and 3C are schematic diagrams for explaining road surface level difference detection control using information on the relationship between the light emission / light reception time and the scanning angle. 4 (A) to 4 (D) are schematic diagrams for explaining vehicle height change detection control using the relationship information between the light emission / reception time and the scanning angle.

  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 1)
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram for explaining the operation of the vehicle driving guide system. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which a vehicle equipped with the vehicle driving guide system according to the first embodiment forms a driving support pattern.

  A vehicle driving guide system 100 according to the present embodiment is a system for forming a driving assistance pattern by scanning light emitted toward a road surface in the vehicle traveling direction. As shown in FIG. (Light emitting unit) and a control device 120 including a light receiving unit 130 and a control unit 140. The control unit 140 is connected to a leveling actuator 220 for adjusting the optical axis of the vehicle headlamp 210 (vehicle lamp) so as to transmit a control signal. The vehicle headlamp 210 has a conventionally known structure, and the optical axis can be adjusted by the leveling actuator 220. A vehicle lamp system 200 is configured including a vehicle driving guide system 100, a vehicle headlamp 210, and a leveling actuator 220. The control unit 140 is connected to the alarm device 310 so that a control signal can be transmitted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the light beam module 110 and the light receiving unit 130 are provided on the left and right of the front portion of the vehicle 300 in the vehicle width direction. Similarly, the vehicle headlamps 210 are provided on the left and right of the front portion of the vehicle 300 in the vehicle width direction. The alarm device 310 is provided on an instrument panel (not shown) of the vehicle 300, for example. The alarm device 310 turns on a warning lamp or emits a warning sound according to a control signal from the control unit 140. Alternatively, the alarm device 310 may display warning information on a display of a navigation system or the like according to a control signal from the control unit 140.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of each part of the vehicle driving guide system 100 will be described in detail. The light beam module 110 can emit a visible light beam 150 toward the road surface L as shown in FIG. Then, the light beam module 110 can form the driving support pattern 152 on the road surface L by scanning the visible light beam 150 in the vehicle traveling direction. The driving support pattern 152 of the present embodiment has a shape in which two straight line patterns are arranged in parallel so as to extend in the vehicle traveling direction with an interval substantially equal to the vehicle width of the vehicle 300, but the shape is not particularly limited. . The light beam module 110 includes a conventionally known light beam generator such as a semiconductor laser.

  The light receiving unit 130 is configured to receive the light of the visible light beam 150 irradiated from the light beam module 110 and reflected by the road surface L. When receiving the light of the visible light beam 150 reflected by the road surface L, the light receiving unit 130 converts the received light into an electrical signal. The light receiving unit 130 can be configured by a conventionally known light receiving element or the like. The light beam module 110 and the light receiving unit 130 are each connected to the control unit 140.

  The control unit 140 transmits a control signal for causing the light beam module 110 to emit the visible light beam 150. In the present embodiment, the control unit 140 performs pulse control of emission of the visible light beam 150 by the light beam module 110. Further, the control unit 140 performs scanning control of the visible light beam 150 emitted from the light beam module 110 and holds scanning angle information of the visible light beam 150. The driving support pattern 152 is formed by scanning the visible light beam 150. The driver can visually recognize the driving support pattern 152 as the vehicle information and use this as a guideline to grasp the distance between the vehicle and the obstacle on the road shoulder.

  Further, the control unit 140 receives the electrical signal generated by the light receiving unit 130. The control unit 140 transmits the control signal for emitting the visible light beam 150 and the reception time of the electric signal from the light receiving unit 130, and then outputs the visible light beam 150 from the light beam module 110 to the light receiving unit 130. The time until light reception (hereinafter, this time is appropriately referred to as “light-out / light-receiving time”) is calculated. Then, the control unit 140 measures the relationship between the light emission / reception time and the scanning angle of the visible light beam 150 using the calculated light emission / reception time and the held scanning angle information. As a result, using the vehicle driving guide system 100, it is possible to obtain the relationship information between the light receiving / receiving time and the scanning angle as further vehicle information added to the driving support pattern 152. The relationship information between the light receiving / receiving time and the scanning angle is used for driving support by being used for road surface level difference detection control and vehicle height change detection control described below, for example.

  FIGS. 3A, 3I, and 3C are schematic diagrams for explaining road surface level difference detection control using information on the relationship between the light emission / light reception time and the scanning angle. In each of FIGS. 3A to 3C, FIG. 1I shows the shape of the road surface L, and FIG. 2I shows the light emitting / receiving time t and the scanning angle θ in the road surface shape shown in FIG. Shows the relationship. 3A shows a case where the road surface L is a flat surface, FIG. 3B shows a case where the road surface L has a protrusion L1 as a step, and FIG. 3C shows a step on the road surface L. This is a case where there is a recess L2. Moreover, in each figure (II) of FIG. 3 (A)-FIG.3 (C), the thin curve m is a measured value, and the thick solid line n is an approximate line of a measured value. In the present embodiment, the angle formed by the horizontal line H and the visible light beam 150 is the scanning angle θ.

  As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3I, when the road surface L is a flat surface, as the scanning angle θ decreases, the distance until the visible light beam 150 reaches the road surface L (hereinafter, this distance is appropriately referred to as “visible light”). This is referred to as “the reach of the beam 150”. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 3 (A) and (II), the light emission / reception time t changes according to the scanning angle θ. Specifically, the scanning angle θ and the light emission / reception time t have a relationship that the light emission / reception time t decreases as the scanning angle θ increases.

  Also, as shown in FIGS. 3B and 3I, when the road surface L has the protrusion L1, the scanning angle θ is set across the boundary a between the flat portion of the road surface L where the vehicle 300 is located and the protrusion L1. The amount of change in the reach distance of the visible light beam 150 corresponding to the change changes. That is, the amount of change in the reach distance of the visible light beam 150 per unit change amount of the scanning angle θ differs between the flat portion and the protrusion L1. For example, in a situation in which the visible light beam 150 is scanned from a side closer to the vehicle 300 (larger scanning angle θ) to a far side (smaller scanning angle θ), the reachable distance of the visible light beam 150 reaches the boundary a. Although the distance gradually increases, the distance reached from the boundary a gradually decreases. In FIGS. 3B and 3I, since the protrusion L1 has a side surface (from the boundary a to the apex b) perpendicular to the flat portion, the change in the reach distance is reversed at the boundary a. Depending on the shape of the portion L1, even if the boundary a is exceeded, the change in the reach may not be reversed. However, even in this case, the amount of change in the reach according to the change in the scanning angle θ is smaller in the protrusion L1 than in the flat portion. Therefore, it can be said that the amount of change in the reach according to the change in the scanning angle θ changes. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 3B and 3B, the amount of change according to the change in the scan angle θ differs between the light emission and reception times t across the scan angle θa corresponding to the boundary a. Therefore, a refraction point (portion θa) appears in the change in the light emission / reception time t according to the scanning angle θ. Note that the scanning angle θb in FIGS. 3B and 3I is the scanning angle θ corresponding to the apex b in FIGS.

  Also, as shown in FIGS. 3C and 3I, when the road surface L has a depression L2, the scanning angle θ is set across the boundary c between the flat portion of the road surface L where the vehicle 300 is located and the depression L2. The amount of change in the reach distance of the visible light beam 150 corresponding to the change changes. For example, in a situation where the visible light beam 150 is scanned from the side closer to the vehicle 300 toward the side farther from the vehicle 300, the visible light beam 150 that exceeds the boundary c is an intersection of the straight line connecting the module 110 and the boundary c and the depression L2. It reaches a point d in the vicinity. Therefore, the reach distance of the visible light beam 150 is abruptly increased from the boundary c to the point d. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 3 (C) and (II), the amount of change in the light emission / reception time t changes according to the change in the scanning angle θ across the scanning angle θc corresponding to the boundary c. Therefore, the refraction point (the portion of θc) appears in the change in the light emission / reception time t according to the scanning angle θ. Note that the scanning angle θd in FIGS. 3C and II is the scanning angle θ corresponding to the point d in FIGS.

  Therefore, the control unit 140 detects a step on the road surface L based on the refraction point appearing in the change in the light emission / reception time t according to the scanning angle θ. Thereby, the information regarding the level | step difference of the road surface L can be obtained using the vehicle driving guide system 100. FIG. Moreover, the control part 140 will transmit the control signal for operating the alarm device 310 to the alarm device 310, if the level | step difference of the road surface L is detected. When the alarm device 310 receives a control signal from the control unit 140, the alarm device 310 performs operations such as turning on a warning lamp and generating a warning sound. Accordingly, the driver can recognize that there is a step such as a gutter or a curb on the road surface L in front of the vehicle 300 by the alarm of the alarm device 310 in addition to the visual information by the driving support pattern 152. Further, the driver can be supported more reliably even in a situation where the visibility of the driving support pattern 152 is relatively lowered, such as in the daytime. The control unit 140 determines whether or not the level difference of the road surface L is higher than a predetermined threshold value based on the relationship information between the light emitting / receiving time t and the scanning time θ, and the height of the level difference is determined. When the value is equal to or greater than the value, a control signal may be transmitted to the alarm device 310.

  4 (A) to 4 (D) are schematic diagrams for explaining vehicle height change detection control using the relationship information between the light emission / reception time and the scanning angle. 4A to 4C show a change in the reach of the visible light beam 150 and a change in the optical axis O of the vehicle headlamp 210 as the vehicle height changes. 4A shows the vehicle 300 in the reference state, FIG. 4B shows the vehicle 300 in the backward leaning posture, and FIG. 4C shows the vehicle 300 in the forward leaning posture. FIG. 4D shows the relationship between the scanning angle θ and the scanning time ts.

  As shown in FIG. 4 (A), for example, when a load is loaded on the rear luggage compartment of the vehicle 300 in the reference state, which is a no-loading or no-loading state, as shown in FIG. As the vehicle height of the part rises, the vehicle 300 assumes a backward leaning posture. Also, the vehicle 300 assumes a backward leaning posture when accelerating during driving. When the vehicle 300 is tilted backward, the reach distance of the visible light beam 150 becomes longer than that in the reference state. On the other hand, when a person gets on the front seat of the vehicle 300 in the reference state, as shown in FIG. 4C, the vehicle height at the front of the vehicle decreases and the vehicle 300 assumes a forward leaning posture. The vehicle 300 also leans forward when the vehicle decelerates during driving. When the vehicle 300 is tilted forward, the reachable distance of the visible light beam 150 is shorter than the reference state. Therefore, when the arrival time of the visible light beam 150 is compared at the same scanning angle θ in each scanning period of the visible light beam 150, the arrival time changes according to the change in the vehicle posture, that is, according to the change in the vehicle height.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4D, the control unit 140 performs a vehicle operation based on a change in the light emission / reception time t at the same scanning angle θ1 in each scanning cycle P _i (i = 1 to n) of the visible light beam 150. Detect high changes. Thereby, the information regarding vehicle height can be obtained using the vehicle driving guide system 100. For example, the control unit 140 outputs / receives light at a scanning time ts _i−1 at the same scanning angle θ1 in the scanning cycle P _i−1 and a scanning time ts at the same scanning angle θ1 in the scanning cycle P _i . _i is compared with the obtained light receiving and receiving time t. And the control part 140 detects that the vehicle height became high when the light emission / reception time t became long, and detects that the vehicle height became low when the light emission / light reception time t became short.

  This information on the vehicle height can be used for various vehicle controls. For example, when the vehicle 300 in the reference state is tilted backward, the pitch angle of the optical axis O of the vehicle headlamp 210 is displaced upward (position indicated by a broken line in FIG. 4B). Further, when the vehicle 300 is tilted forward, the pitch angle of the optical axis O of the vehicle headlamp 210 is displaced downward (position indicated by a broken line in FIG. 4C). As a result, the reach distance of the front irradiation light by the vehicle headlamp 210 changes.

  Therefore, the control unit 140 executes leveling control for adjusting the optical axis O of the vehicle headlamp 210 using vehicle height change information obtained from the relationship between the light emission / light reception time t and the scanning angle θ. For example, the control unit 140 measures and holds in advance the relationship between the light emission / reception time t in the reference state and the change in the light emission / reception time t and the pitch angle of the optical axis O. Then, when the light emitting / receiving time t at the same scanning angle θ1 in each scanning period Pi changes, the control unit 140 determines the relationship between the change in the light emitting / receiving time t held in advance and the pitch angle of the optical axis O. Referring to, the position of the optical axis O corresponding to the changed vehicle height is determined. The control unit 140 transmits a control signal to the leveling actuator 220, and the leveling actuator 220 adjusts the optical axis O to the determined position (a position indicated by a solid line in FIGS. 4B and 4C). Thereby, the arrival distance of the front irradiation light by the vehicle headlamp 210 can be maintained at an optimum distance. As a result, the driver's visibility can be ensured even when the vehicle height changes. Further, by detecting the vehicle height using the vehicle driving guide system 100, it is not necessary to provide a vehicle height sensor that has been conventionally mounted, so that the manufacturing cost of the vehicle 300 can be reduced.

  Note that only one of the road surface level difference detection control and the vehicle height change detection control described above may be executed, or both controls may be executed. Moreover, when both controls are executed, both controls may be executed in parallel.

  As described above, in the vehicle driving guide system 100 according to the present embodiment, the control unit 140 uses the vehicle driving guide system 100 for forming the driving support pattern 152 to output / receive light time t and the operation angle θ. Measure the relationship. The relationship between the light receiving / receiving time t and the operation angle θ can be used to assist the driver. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, vehicle information for assisting the driver is acquired without causing an increase in manufacturing cost due to newly providing a vehicle information acquisition device and without being restricted in space. be able to.

  The vehicle driving guide system 100 according to the present embodiment is an aspect of the present invention. The vehicle driving guide system 100 includes a light beam module 110, a light receiving unit 130, and a control unit 140. The control unit 140 measures a relationship between the light receiving / receiving time t and the scanning angle θ, and the road surface step described above. Detection control and vehicle height change detection control are executed.

  As another aspect of the present invention, a control device 120 of the vehicle driving guide system 100 can be cited. The control device 120 includes a light receiving unit 130 and a control unit 140. Furthermore, the vehicle lamp system 200 can be mentioned as another aspect of the present invention. The vehicular lamp system 200 includes a vehicular headlamp 210, a light beam module 110, a light receiving unit 130, and a control unit 140.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications such as design changes can be added to the embodiments based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. Forms are also included within the scope of the present invention. A new embodiment generated by the combination of the above-described embodiment and the following modified example has the effects of the combined embodiment and modified example.

  In the above-described embodiment, the driving support pattern 152 is formed on the front side of the vehicle, but may be formed on the rear side of the vehicle. Even in this case, the same control as in the above-described embodiment can be executed, and the same effect can be obtained.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Vehicle driving guide system, 110 Light beam module, 120 Control apparatus, 130 Light-receiving part, 140 Control part, 150 Visible light beam, 152 Driving support pattern, 200 Vehicle lamp system, 210 Vehicle headlamp, 300 Vehicle, L Road surface, O optical axis.

Claims (5)

A control device of a vehicle driving guide system for forming a driving support pattern by scanning light emitted toward a road surface in a vehicle traveling direction,
A light receiving portion for receiving the light reflected on the road surface;
A control unit for measuring a relationship between a time from the light emission to light reception by the light receiving unit and a scanning angle of the light;
A control device comprising:   The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit detects a step on the road surface based on a refraction point that appears in a change in time from emission to reception according to a scanning angle of the light.   The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit detects a change in vehicle height based on a change in time from emission to light reception at the same scanning angle in each scanning period of the light. A light emitting portion for scanning the light emitted toward the road surface in the vehicle traveling direction to form a driving assistance pattern;
A light receiving portion for receiving light emitted from the light emitting portion and reflected by a road surface;
A control unit for measuring a relationship between a time from light emission by the light emitting unit to light reception by the light receiving unit and a scanning angle of the light;
A vehicle driving guide system comprising: A vehicular lamp with an adjustable optical axis;
A light emitting portion for scanning the light emitted toward the road surface in the vehicle traveling direction to form a driving assistance pattern;
A light receiving portion for receiving light emitted from the light emitting portion and reflected by a road surface;
A control unit for measuring a relationship between a time from light emission by the light emitting unit to light reception by the light receiving unit and a scanning angle of the light, and adjusting an optical axis of the vehicle lamp according to the result; ,
A vehicular lamp system comprising:

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