JP2012171499A - Headlamp system for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid impartment of glare to a road user such as an occupant of the preceding vehicle and an oncoming vehicle and a pedestrian, and to improve recognizing accuracy in an object such as the preceding vehicle.SOLUTION: This headlamp system for a vehicle includes: a headlamp having a light output part for outputting the light including the visible light and the infrared light and a movable shade arranged in a course of at least the visible light among the light output from the light output part; an image recognizing part for detecting the object existing in front of the vehicle by performing image recognizing processing based on an image provided by capturing the image of the front of the vehicle; a shade setting part for setting arrangement of the movable shade in response to a detecting result of the object by the image recognizing part; and a headlamp driving part for operating the movable shade based on the arrangement of the movable shade set by the shade setting part and driving the light output part. The headlamp irradiates the infrared light to the front of the vehicle, and irradiates the visible light of forming a light distribution pattern via the movable shade in an irradiation area of the infrared light.

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for controlling an irradiation state of a vehicle headlamp.

  When driving the vehicle at night, the driver basically irradiates the road surface with a low beam with a headlamp, and confirms the front of the vehicle by irradiating a high beam as necessary. However, if light is irradiated above the so-called cut-off line, glare may be imparted to oncoming vehicles and preceding vehicles. For this reason, in recent years, the positions of oncoming vehicles and preceding vehicles are detected, and a part of the light from the light source is shielded by a shade (mask) so that light is not irradiated to these existing positions. Various techniques for generating a shadow (cut-off) for suppressing glare to an oncoming vehicle or a preceding vehicle by projecting light by an image forming machine have been proposed. Prior examples of headlamps using shades are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-211193 (Patent Document 1) and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-227088 (Patent Document 2). A technique for detecting the position of an oncoming vehicle or the like is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-211410 (Patent Document 3).

  By the way, the prior example of patent document 3 implement | achieves the exact light distribution pattern which considered these preceding vehicles etc. by detecting the headlight of an oncoming vehicle and the taillight of a preceding vehicle using image recognition technology. Yes. In this preceding example, when recognizing the headlights etc. of the preceding vehicle, focusing on the fact that they are usually paired, by executing the image recognition process, the light source such as the street light or the signboard is mistaken for the vehicle. Avoid being recognized. However, in a road environment such as a city, there are many light sources such as two-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles, street lights, etc., and it is difficult to accurately detect preceding vehicles and oncoming vehicles from these emitted light. is there. Furthermore, since pedestrians usually do not emit light themselves, it is difficult to accurately detect pedestrians.

JP 2009-211193 A JP 2009-227088 A JP 2008-211410 A

  The specific aspect according to the present invention avoids giving glare to road users such as occupants and pedestrians of preceding vehicles and oncoming vehicles, and improves the recognition accuracy of objects such as these preceding vehicles. One of the objectives is to provide a technology that enables this.

  The vehicle headlamp system according to an aspect of the present invention includes (a) a light output unit that outputs light including visible light and infrared light, and at least the visible light among the light output from the light output unit. A headlamp having a movable shade disposed in the path of light; and (b) an object existing in front of the vehicle by performing image recognition processing based on an image obtained by photographing the front of the vehicle. (C) a shade setting unit that sets an arrangement of the movable shade corresponding to the detection result of the object by the image recognition unit, and (d) set by the shade setting unit. A headlamp driving unit that operates the movable shade based on the arrangement of the movable shade and drives the light output unit; and (e) the headlamp irradiates the front of the vehicle with the infrared light. And the movable shade Irradiating the visible light light distribution pattern is formed on the exposure area of the infrared light through a vehicle headlamp system, characterized in that.

  According to the vehicle headlamp system described above, infrared rays are irradiated over a wide area including an area where objects such as pedestrians and preceding vehicles exist, and are arranged by a movable shade so as to avoid these objects. A light pattern can be formed and irradiated with visible light. Thereby, it becomes possible to avoid giving glare to a road user, improving the recognition accuracy of road users, such as a preceding vehicle and an oncoming vehicle. In particular, when the object is recognized, the recognition rate is improved because it is possible to detect the shape and characteristics of the vehicle in more detail with the image rather than the rear lamp or the headlamp. For the same reason, the pedestrian recognition rate is also improved.

  In the above vehicle headlamp system, the movable shade has a light shielding portion that transmits the infrared light and blocks the visible light, and the light distribution pattern of the visible light is formed through the light shielding portion. It is preferable. Here, the said light-shielding part can be comprised, for example having a site | part which consists of a transparent member with respect to the said light, and the infrared transmission filter provided in the surface of this site | part.

  According to such a configuration, by projecting light including visible light and infrared light onto the light-shielding portion of the movable shade, only visible light is formed in a desired light distribution pattern, and the infrared light is transmitted as it is. Irradiate forward. Therefore, the structure of the headlamp can be further simplified.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle headlamp system of one Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the structural example of a headlamp. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the structure of a movable shade. It is a conceptual diagram for demonstrating control of a light distribution pattern. It is a flowchart which shows the control content of the vehicle headlamp system. It is a figure for demonstrating the light-shielding range by a movable shade. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation state of a movable shade. It is sectional drawing which shows the other structural example of a headlamp.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a vehicle headlamp system according to an embodiment. The vehicle headlamp system shown in FIG. 1 performs light irradiation by setting a light distribution pattern based on an image obtained by imaging the front of the vehicle with a camera 4 mounted on the vehicle. The lighting control device includes a unit 1 and a headlamp control unit (headlamp driving unit) 2, and a headlamp (headlamp) 3 that is controlled to be lit by this. The camera 4 of the present embodiment has sensitivity not only in the visible light (white light) but also in the infrared wavelength range. The camera 4 may also be part of the configuration of the vehicle headlamp system.

  The image processing unit 1 includes an image input unit 11, an image recognition unit 12, and a shade setting unit 13. The image processing unit 1 is realized by executing a predetermined operation program in a computer system having, for example, a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like.

  The image input unit 11 acquires an image (image data) from the camera 4 at a predetermined timing. When an image is input from the camera 4 as an analog signal, the image input unit 11 also performs processing for converting the analog signal into a digital signal.

  The image recognition unit 12 detects an object existing in front of the vehicle by performing image recognition processing based on an image obtained by photographing the front of the vehicle with the camera 4. The object is, for example, a preceding vehicle, an oncoming vehicle, a pedestrian, or the like.

  The shade setting unit 13 sets the arrangement of the movable shade provided in the headlamp 3 in order to variably set the irradiation area by the headlamp 3 in accordance with the position where the object is detected by the image recognition unit 12. .

  The headlamp control unit 2 generates a signal for realizing the arrangement of the movable shade of the headlamp 3 obtained by the shade setting unit 13 and supplies the signal to the headlamp 3. The headlamp control unit 2 generates a signal for controlling the light output from the light output unit provided in the headlamp 3 and supplies the signal to the headlamp 3.

  The headlamp 3 includes a movable shade and a light output unit, and irradiates light based on a signal supplied from the headlamp control unit 2.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration example of the headlamp 3. The headlamp 3 in the configuration example shown in FIG. 2 includes a light output unit 31, a reflector 32, a movable shade 33, and a lens 34. The light output unit 31 is driven by the headlamp control unit 2 to output light, and is, for example, a mercury lamp, a metal halide lamp, a high-pressure sodium lamp, a halogen lamp, or the like. The light output unit 31 of the present embodiment outputs infrared light as well as visible light. The reflector 32 is disposed so as to surround the light output unit 31, and reflects light emitted from the light output unit 31. The movable shade 33 is disposed in front of the light output unit 31 and blocks a part of the light emitted from the light output unit 31. Depending on the shape of the movable shade 33, the light distribution pattern of the light emitted from the headlamp 3 is variably formed. There are other fixed shades (not shown), which also contribute to the formation of a light distribution pattern. The lens 34 collects the light emitted from the light output unit 31 and incident through the movable shade 33 and projects the light to the front of the vehicle.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of the structure of the movable shade. The movable shade 33 is provided with a light blocking portion 33a whose shape is designed to realize a desired light distribution pattern by partially blocking light. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the movable shade 33 of the present embodiment is configured to be rotatable around a predetermined rotation axis. As the movable shade 33 rotates, the shape of the portion of the light-shielding portion 33a that faces the light output portion 31 (the apparent shape in plan view) changes. Thereby, several light distribution patterns can be selectively formed. Moreover, the movable shade 33 of this embodiment has a function of transmitting infrared light and blocking visible light. For this reason, the light distribution pattern obtained via the movable shade 33 is based on visible light, and infrared light is not basically blocked by the movable shade 33. Such a movable shade 33 is obtained by providing an infrared transmission filter (visible light cut filter) on the surface of a main body made of a transparent member such as a glass material. In the illustrated example, the entire movable shade 33 is made of a glass material or the like, but only the light shielding portion 33a may be made so.

  The configuration of the vehicle headlamp system according to the present embodiment is as described above. Next, the operation thereof will be described in detail.

  FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram for explaining control of a light distribution pattern by the vehicle headlamp system. FIGS. 4A to 4D schematically show a bird's-eye view of the light distribution pattern of light output from the headlamp 3 of the host vehicle. FIG. 4A shows an example of a light distribution pattern in the case where an object (such as a preceding vehicle or a pedestrian) does not exist on the road. As shown in the figure, when there is no object, the headlamp control unit 2 moves the movable shade 33 of the headlamp 3 so that visible light and infrared light are irradiated to the entire area that can be irradiated by the headlamp 3. To drive.

  FIG. 4B is an example of a light distribution pattern when an oncoming vehicle and a preceding vehicle exist on the road. As shown in the figure, the headlamp control unit 2 drives the headlamp 3 so that visible light is not irradiated to the area where the oncoming vehicle and the preceding vehicle are present, and visible light is irradiated to the other areas. At this time, the infrared light is irradiated to the entire irradiable region by the headlamp 3 as in the case of FIG. Accordingly, the preceding vehicle or the like can be clearly photographed by the camera 4 with infrared light while avoiding the glare caused by visible light to the driver of the preceding vehicle or the like.

  FIG. 4C is an example of a light distribution pattern when an oncoming vehicle exists on the road. FIG. 4D is an example of a light distribution pattern when a preceding vehicle is present on the road. As shown in the figure, the headlamp control unit 2 drives the headlamp 3 so that visible light is not irradiated to the region where the oncoming vehicle or the preceding vehicle is present, and visible light is irradiated to other regions. Note that, similarly to the above, infrared light is irradiated to the entire irradiable area of the headlamp 3.

  Next, the control content for realizing such light distribution control will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  When the headlamp switch of the vehicle is turned on (step S11), the headlamp control unit 2 turns on the headlamp 3. Specifically, a drive signal is supplied to the light output unit 31 of the headlamp 3, and light is emitted from the light output unit 31.

  Next, the image recognition unit 12 determines the presence or absence of a preceding vehicle by executing an image recognition process based on the image captured by the camera 4 and acquired by the image input unit 11 (step S12). If the preceding vehicle exists (step S12; YES), the image recognition unit 12 turns on the shade flag 1 indicating that the preceding vehicle exists (step S13). If there is no preceding vehicle (step S13; NO), the process of step S13 is not executed.

  Similarly, the image recognition unit 12 determines the presence or absence of an oncoming vehicle by executing image recognition processing based on the image captured by the camera 4 and acquired by the image input unit 11 (step S14). When an oncoming vehicle exists (step S14; YES), the image recognition unit 12 turns on the shade flag 2 indicating that an oncoming vehicle exists (step S15). If there is no oncoming vehicle (step S14; NO), the process of step S15 is not executed.

  Similarly, the image recognition unit 12 determines the presence or absence of a pedestrian by executing image recognition processing based on the image captured by the camera 4 and acquired by the image input unit 11 (step S16). When a pedestrian exists (step S16; YES), the image recognition unit 12 turns on the shade flag 3 indicating that a pedestrian exists (step S17). In addition, when a pedestrian does not exist (step S16; NO), the process of step S17 is not performed.

  When the image recognition processing by the image recognition unit 12 is executed and an object such as a preceding vehicle is detected, the shade setting unit 13 sets the operation position of the movable shade 33 based on the shade flags 1 to 3 and operates. A signal indicating the position is output to the headlamp controller 2. Based on this signal, the headlamp controller 2 controls the operating position of the movable shade 33 of the headlamp 3 (step S18). Thereafter, the processing after step S11 is repeated.

  FIG. 6 is a front projection view schematically showing light distribution control for each traveling scene using the movable shade. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an operation state of the light shielding portion of the movable shade. FIG. 7 shows the operating state of the movable shade 33 and the like viewed from the position of the light output portion 31 of each headlamp 3 on the right side (R side) and the left side (L side).

  When neither the preceding vehicle nor the oncoming vehicle exists, the visible light is shielded by the movable shade 33 as shown in FIG. Note that visible light is not necessarily shielded. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6E, infrared light is not shielded by the movable shade 33. The operation state of the movable shade 33 at this time is shown in FIG. By such an operation of the movable shade 33, a light distribution pattern (irradiation area) of visible light and infrared light as shown in FIG. 4A is realized.

  When both the preceding vehicle and the oncoming vehicle exist, the visible light is shielded in a relatively wide range by the movable shade 33 in the vicinity of the center of the visible light as shown in FIG. The light shielding range by the movable shade 33 has a shape that realizes a predetermined cut line. At this time, infrared light is not shielded (see FIG. 6E). The operation state of the movable shade 33 at this time is shown in FIG. By such an operation of the movable shade 33, a light distribution pattern (irradiation area) of visible light and infrared light as shown in FIG. 4B described above is realized.

  When there is no preceding vehicle and there is an oncoming vehicle, the visible light is blocked by the movable shade 33 on the right side in the vicinity of the center as shown in FIG. The light shielding range by the movable shade 33 has a shape that realizes a predetermined cut line. At this time, infrared light is not shielded (see FIG. 6E). The operation state of the movable shade 33 at this time is shown in FIG. By such an operation of the movable shade 33, a light distribution pattern (irradiation area) of visible light and infrared light as shown in FIG. 4C is realized. The same light distribution pattern is used when a pedestrian is present on the right side as viewed from the host vehicle.

  When there is a preceding vehicle and there is no oncoming vehicle, visible light is blocked by the movable shade 33 on the left side in the drawing near the center as shown in FIG. 6 (D). The light shielding range by the movable shade 33 has a shape that realizes a predetermined cut line. At this time, infrared light is not shielded (see FIG. 6E). The operation state of the movable shade 33 at this time is shown in FIG. By such an operation of the movable shade 33, a light distribution pattern (irradiation area) of visible light and infrared light as shown in FIG. 4D described above is realized. The same light distribution pattern is used when a pedestrian is present on the left side relative to the host vehicle.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the light is distributed by the movable shade so as to avoid the objects while irradiating the infrared light over a wide range including the area where the objects such as the pedestrian and the preceding vehicle exist. A pattern can be formed and irradiated with visible light. Thereby, it becomes possible to avoid giving glare to a road user, improving the recognition accuracy of road users, such as a preceding vehicle and an oncoming vehicle. In particular, when the object is recognized, the recognition rate is improved because it is possible to detect the shape and characteristics of the vehicle in more detail with the image rather than the rear lamp or the headlamp. For the same reason, the pedestrian recognition rate is also improved.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the content of embodiment mentioned above, In the range of the summary of this invention, it can change and implement variously. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the preceding vehicle, the oncoming vehicle, and the pedestrian are exemplified as the objects to be detected by the image recognition process, but other objects can be included in the objects. In the above-described embodiment, four patterns are shown as examples of the light distribution pattern, but the light distribution pattern is not limited to these. Various light distribution patterns can be realized by appropriately changing the shape of the light shielding portion of the movable shade.

  Further, the structure of the headlamp is not limited to that illustrated in FIG. 2, and for example, a headlamp having a structure as shown in FIG. 8 may be used. Specifically, FIG. 8A is an external perspective view of a headlamp, and FIG. 8B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the headlamp. The headlamp of the configuration example shown in each figure includes a light output unit 41, an infrared transmission filter 42, a movable shade 43, a lens 44, and reflectors 45, 46, 47, and 48.

  The light output unit 41 is driven by the headlamp control unit 2 to output light as in the above embodiment, and also outputs infrared light in addition to visible light. The movable shade 43 is disposed in front of the light output unit 41 as in the above embodiment, and blocks a part of the light emitted from the light output unit 41. The movable shade 43 may have a function of blocking visible light as in the above embodiment, or may not have the function.

  The lens 44 is disposed in front of the movable shade 43 and condenses the visible light 49 that has traveled through the movable shade 43. Each of the reflectors 45 to 48 is disposed so as to surround the light output unit 41, and reflects light emitted from the light output unit 41. The infrared transmission filter 42 cuts visible light out of the light traveling from the reflector 47 and transmits infrared light. The reflector 48 reflects the infrared light transmitted through the infrared transmission filter 42 and irradiates it outside.

  In the headlamp shown in FIG. 8, light that does not contribute to road surface illumination passes through the infrared transmission filter 42 and becomes infrared light 50 and is guided to the reflector 48, so that light distribution is blocked by the movable shade 43. Infrared light 50 can also be irradiated to the region. Thereby, a light distribution pattern similar to that in the above embodiment can be realized.

  As for the structure of the headlamp, in addition to the structure shown in FIG. Specifically, for example, the light output unit 41 in the headlamp as shown in FIG. 8 is replaced with a white LED projector, and infrared light emitted from the reflector 48 is replaced with infrared light from the infrared LED projector. be able to. In this case, the white LED projector and the infrared LED projector correspond to the “light output unit”.

1: Image processing unit 2: Head lamp control unit 3: Head lamp 4: Camera 11: Image input unit 12: Image recognition unit 13: Shade setting unit 31, 41: Light output unit 32, 45, 46, 47, 48: Reflectors 33 and 43: movable shade 33a: light-shielding portion 34 and 44: lens 42: infrared transmission filter 49: visible light 50: infrared light

Claims (3)

A light output unit that outputs light including visible light and infrared light, and a headlamp having a movable shade arranged in a path of at least the visible light among the light output from the light output unit;
An image recognition unit for detecting an object existing in front of the vehicle by performing image recognition processing based on an image obtained by photographing the front of the vehicle;
A shade setting unit that sets an arrangement of the movable shade in response to a detection result of the object by the image recognition unit;
A headlamp driving unit that operates the movable shade based on the arrangement of the movable shade set by the shade setting unit and drives the light output unit;
Including
The headlamp irradiates the infrared light in front of the vehicle, and irradiates the visible light in which the light distribution pattern is formed through the movable shade in the irradiation region of the infrared light.
Vehicle headlamp system. The movable shade has a light shielding portion that transmits the infrared light and blocks the visible light,
The vehicle headlamp system according to claim 1, wherein the light distribution pattern of the visible light is formed through the light shielding portion.   The vehicle headlamp system according to claim 2, wherein the light shielding portion includes a portion made of a member transparent to the light and an infrared transmission filter provided on a surface of the portion.