JP2013154746A - Headlight control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable radiation state of headlights to be controlled according to the positional relationship between its own-vehicle and another vehicle positioned in front of the own-vehicle.SOLUTION: A headlight control device includes: headlights 2 provided at the front part of its own-vehicle 1; a front detection means 3 which detects the front of the own-vehicle 1; and a headlight control means 4 which executes control of suppressing the radiation of headlights 2 to a region where another vehicle is positioned when it is detected that the other vehicle is positioned in front of the own-vehicle 1. The headlight control means 4 determines whether a distance between the own-vehicle 1 and the other vehicle is decreasing or increasing, executes the control of expanding a radiation suppressing region of the headlights 2 when a distance decreasing state is determined and decreasing the radiation suppressing region of the headlights 2 when the distance increasing state is determined, and makes faster the execution speed of the control of expanding the radiation suppressing region of the headlights 2 when the distance decreases than the execution speed of the control of decreasing the radiation suppressing region of the headlights 2 when the distance increases.

Description

  The present invention relates to a headlamp control apparatus that controls a headlamp so as to reduce glare light with respect to another vehicle positioned in front of the host vehicle.

  Conventionally, as shown in Patent Document 1 below, a passing beam unit and a traveling beam unit are provided, and the traveling beam unit is configured by a plurality of optical modules that irradiate continuous separate parts, and is subject to the object by a front monitoring system. In a vehicle headlamp configured to sense an object distinction, position and lane, and individually turn on or off the optical module based on the result, the object detected by the front monitoring system is an oncoming vehicle. In this case, the optical module that irradiates the position of the oncoming vehicle is turned off, and when the oncoming vehicle moves from the position, the turned off optical module is turned on again.

JP 2010-95205 A

  When it is configured to turn off only the optical module that irradiates the area where the oncoming vehicle is detected, which is detected by the front monitoring system, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, glare (glare) is displayed on the oncoming vehicle. ) To ensure safety at night by appropriately setting the irradiation area of the headlamp so that the driver can easily find a pedestrian in front of the vehicle without Can do. However, since the positional relationship between the host vehicle and the oncoming vehicle in front of it changes with time, the extinguishing part of the optical module is changed when the position change of the oncoming vehicle is detected. Even if configured, it is difficult to effectively reduce the influence of glare light on the oncoming vehicle.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and the headlamp illumination state is appropriately set according to the positional relationship between the host vehicle that changes over time and the other vehicle positioned in front of the host vehicle. An object of the present invention is to provide a headlamp control device that can be controlled.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, a headlamp provided at the front portion of the vehicle body, a front detection means for detecting the front of the host vehicle, and the other vehicle is positioned in front of the host vehicle by the front detection means. A headlamp control means for controlling the headlamp to irradiate the area where the other vehicle is located, and the headlamp control means In accordance with the output signal, it is determined whether the distance between the vehicle and the other vehicle is decreasing or increasing, and if it is determined that the distance is decreasing, the irradiation of the headlamp is suppressed. When it is determined that the area is enlarged and the distance is increased, control for reducing the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp is executed, and when the distance decreases, the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp is expanded. The execution speed of the control to reduce the headlamp irradiation suppression area when the distance is increased. It is obtained by setting to faster than speed.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the vehicle headlamp control device according to claim 1, wherein the headlamp control means loses sight of the other vehicle ahead of the host vehicle according to the output signal of the front detection means. When it is confirmed that the other vehicle is an oncoming vehicle or a preceding vehicle, and when it is determined that the other vehicle is an oncoming vehicle, the control speed for stopping the irradiation suppression control is This is faster than when the other vehicle is determined to be the preceding vehicle.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the headlamp control device for a vehicle according to the second aspect, when the headlamp control means determines that the other vehicle is an oncoming vehicle, When the loss is detected, the headlamp illumination suppression control is stopped, and when it is determined that the other vehicle is a preceding vehicle, the headlight is reached when the own vehicle reaches the loss position of the preceding vehicle. The lamp irradiation suppression control is stopped.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle headlamp control device according to the third aspect, when the headlamp control means determines that the other vehicle is an oncoming vehicle, The irradiation suppression area of the headlamp is gradually reduced from when the loss is detected until the vehicle reaches the loss position of the preceding vehicle.

  In the invention according to claim 1, it is determined whether or not the distance between the other vehicle in front of the host vehicle and the host vehicle is decreasing or increasing according to the output signal of the front detection means, and the distance is reduced. When it is determined that there is an increase in the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp, and when it is determined that the distance is increased, control is performed to reduce the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp. Because the execution speed of the control for expanding the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp when the distance decreases is set to be faster than the execution speed of the control for reducing the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp when the distance increases When it is confirmed that the other vehicle in front of the host vehicle is approaching the host vehicle, the glare light is irradiated to the other vehicle by immediately executing control for expanding the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp. Can be effectively prevented. On the other hand, when it is confirmed that the other vehicle in front of the own vehicle is separated from the own vehicle, the delay time set according to the distance between the other vehicle and the own vehicle has elapsed. The glare light is irradiated to the other vehicle when the distance between the other vehicle and the own vehicle shifts from the increased state to the decreased state by executing control for reducing the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp. This is advantageous in that it is possible to prevent the front view of the vehicle from lowering at night by executing control for reducing the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp at an appropriate time while effectively preventing the vehicle from being lowered.

  In the invention according to claim 2, when it is confirmed that the other vehicle in front of the host vehicle is lost in accordance with the output signal of the front detection means, it is determined whether the other vehicle is an oncoming vehicle or a preceding vehicle. Since it is configured to increase the control speed when stopping the irradiation suppression control when it is determined to be an oncoming vehicle and the other vehicle is determined to be a preceding vehicle, the oncoming vehicle is When the user loses sight of the vehicle due to passing the vehicle, the irradiation suppression control of the headlamp can be quickly stopped to ensure a sufficient front view of the vehicle at night. In addition, when the preceding vehicle ahead of the host vehicle is temporarily lost, the occurrence of a situation in which the preceding vehicle is prevented from being immediately stopped and the preceding vehicle is irradiated with glare light. There is an advantage that the front view of the vehicle at night can be secured by stopping the irradiation suppression control of the headlamp at an appropriate time while effectively suppressing the vehicle.

  In the invention according to claim 3, when it is determined that the other vehicle is an oncoming vehicle, the headlamp irradiation suppression control is stopped when the loss of the oncoming vehicle is detected, and the other vehicle is If it is determined that the vehicle is a preceding vehicle, it is configured to stop the irradiation suppression control of the headlamp when the vehicle reaches the loss position of the preceding vehicle. When the possibility that the preceding vehicle is re-detected becomes extremely low, by stopping the irradiation suppression control of the headlamp, it is possible to effectively prevent the glare light from being irradiated to the preceding vehicle. There is an advantage that the front view of the vehicle at night can be effectively secured.

  In the invention according to claim 4, the headlamp control means, when it is determined that the other vehicle is an oncoming vehicle, the own vehicle is the lost position of the preceding vehicle from the time when the loss of the preceding vehicle is detected. Since the headlamp illumination suppression area is gradually reduced until the vehicle arrives at the vehicle, the headlamp illumination suppression control is stopped when the preceding vehicle is lost or the preceding vehicle is restarted. When the irradiation suppression control is restarted when detected, it is possible to prevent the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp from changing suddenly, thereby causing a strong sense of discomfort to the passengers of the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle. There is an advantage that it can be effectively suppressed.

1 is a plan view of a vehicle provided with a headlight control device according to the present invention. It is a top view which shows the headlamp irradiation suppression state with respect to an oncoming vehicle. It is a top view which shows the headlamp irradiation suppression state with respect to a preceding vehicle. It is a flowchart which shows the basic control operation | movement of embodiment of the headlamp control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the control action at the time of the loss of another vehicle. It is a top view which shows the irradiation suppression state of the headlamp at the time of turning.

  FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a vehicle headlamp control apparatus according to the present invention. The headlamp control device includes a headlamp 2 provided on the left and right of the front of the vehicle body of the host vehicle 1, a front detection unit 3 that detects an obstacle or the like located on the front side of the host vehicle 1, and the front Headlight control means 4 is provided for outputting a control signal to the control unit of the headlamp 2 to control the irradiation mode. The headlamp 2 has a plurality of LED light sources disposed in correspondence with the irradiation area toward the front of the host vehicle, and a lens disposed in front thereof. Then, as will be described later, irradiation of the headlamp 2 to a specific area in the irradiation area in front of the host vehicle is performed by turning off a predetermined LED light source in accordance with a control signal output from the headlamp control means 4. It is comprised so that it can suppress.

  The front detection means 3 is configured to display image information of other vehicles positioned in front of the host vehicle 1, specifically, a preceding vehicle that travels in the same direction as the host vehicle 1 or an oncoming vehicle that travels in the opposite direction to the host vehicle 1. It consists of a CCD camera that picks up images and outputs the image information to the headlamp control means 4. In place of the CCD camera, the detection is performed on a transmitter that transmits a detection wave composed of a laser wave, a millimeter wave, an ultrasonic wave, or the like toward the front of the host vehicle 1 and another vehicle that is positioned in front of the host vehicle 1. A forward detection means having a receiver that receives the reflected wave reflected by the wave may be provided, and forward information of the host vehicle 1 may be detected based on the reflected wave.

  The headlamp control means 4 is configured to detect the other vehicle in the case where it is detected in accordance with the output signal from the front detection means 3 that an other vehicle consisting of a preceding vehicle or an oncoming vehicle is located in front of the own vehicle 1. The LED light source that irradiates the area where the vehicle is located is turned off, or a control signal for reducing the amount of irradiation light is output to the control unit of the headlamp 2 to irradiate the headlamp 2 to the area where the other vehicle is located. It is comprised so that it may suppress.

  The headlamp control means 4 determines whether the distance between the other vehicle and the host vehicle 1 is decreasing or increasing according to the output signal of the front detecting means 3, and decreases the distance. When it is determined that the vehicle is in a state, that is, when it is determined that the other vehicle is approaching the host vehicle 1, the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp 2 is enlarged and the distance is increased. When it is determined that the other vehicle is in a state of being separated from the own vehicle 1, control for reducing the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp 2 is executed, and the headlamp 2 is reduced when the distance is decreased. The execution speed of the control for expanding the irradiation suppression area is made faster than the execution speed of the control for reducing the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp 2 when the distance is increased.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 2, when the other vehicle located in front of the host vehicle 1 is the oncoming vehicle 5, the oncoming vehicle 5 gradually approaches the host vehicle 1 at a speed corresponding to the relative speed between the two. Yes, as the oncoming vehicle 5 approaches the own vehicle 1 as shown by a broken line in FIG. 2 from a position separated from the own vehicle 1 as shown by a solid line in FIG. If the area for suppressing the irradiation of the headlamp 2 is not expanded from A to B as the distance to the vehicle 1 decreases, the oncoming vehicle 5 is irradiated with glare light. For this reason, as the distance between the oncoming vehicle 5 located in front of the host vehicle 1 and the front of the host vehicle 1 decreases, a control signal for expanding the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp 2 is sent to the headlamp control means. By immediately outputting from 4 to the control unit of the headlamp 2, it is necessary to quickly execute control for expanding the area for suppressing the glare light irradiation on the oncoming vehicle 5.

  As shown in FIG. 3, even when the other vehicle located in front of the own vehicle 1 is the preceding vehicle 6, if the traveling speed is slower than the own vehicle 1, the preceding vehicle 6, the own vehicle 1, Since the distance of the vehicle gradually decreases and the vehicle 1 gradually approaches the vehicle 1, the region where the irradiation of the headlamp 2 is suppressed as the distance between the preceding vehicle 6 and the vehicle 1 decreases. If the vehicle does not expand rapidly, glare light is applied to the oncoming vehicle 5. Therefore, if the headlamp control means 4 determines that the preceding vehicle 6 ahead of the host vehicle is approaching the host vehicle 1 according to the output signal of the front detection unit 3, the vehicle is positioned in front of the host vehicle 1. As the distance between the preceding vehicle 6 and the front of the host vehicle 1 decreases, the execution speed of the control for expanding the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp 2 from C to D is smaller than when reducing the irradiation suppression area below. It is configured to immediately execute the control that sets the speed quickly and expands the area for suppressing the glare light irradiation to the oncoming vehicle 5.

  On the other hand, when the traveling speed of the preceding vehicle 6 is higher than that of the own vehicle 1, the distance between the preceding vehicle 6 and the own vehicle 1 gradually increases, and the preceding vehicle 6 as shown by the broken line in FIG. From the state where the vehicle approaches the host vehicle 1, the preceding vehicle 6 is gradually separated from the host vehicle 1 as shown by the solid line in FIG. In such a case, the oncoming vehicle 5 is irradiated with glare light by reducing the area for suppressing the irradiation of the headlamp 2 from D to C in order to secure the forward visibility at night. The forward visibility of the host vehicle 1 at night can be improved while preventing.

  However, if the control for reducing the irradiation suppression region from D to C is immediately executed when the preceding vehicle 6 is separated, the traveling speed of the preceding vehicle 6 decreases and becomes lower than that of the own vehicle 1, as shown in FIG. When the vehicle 1 approaches again as shown by the broken line in FIG. 3 from the state indicated by the solid line, the preceding vehicle 6 moves out of the irradiation suppression area C of the headlamp 1 and glare to the preceding vehicle 6 There is a possibility of being irradiated with light. For this reason, when the headlamp control means 4 determines that the preceding vehicle 6 ahead of the host vehicle is separated from the host vehicle 1 in accordance with the output signal of the front detection means 3, The reduction control is executed with a predetermined delay time without immediately executing the control for reducing the irradiation suppression region of the headlamp 2 from D to C as the distance between the vehicle 6 and the vehicle 1 increases. By doing so, the irradiation suppression region of the headlamp 2 with respect to the preceding vehicle 6 is gradually narrowed from D to C.

  The headlamp control means 4 is not in a state in which the distance between the other vehicle in front of the host vehicle and the host vehicle 1 is increasing or decreasing in accordance with the output signal of the forward detection means 3. If it is determined that the vehicle 1 and the preceding vehicle 6 are in the same traveling speed and the distance between the two is maintained constant, Control for maintaining the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp 2 constant is executed.

  Further, the headlamp control means 4 loses sight of the other vehicle ahead of the own vehicle according to the output signal of the front detection means 3, that is, the other vehicle located in front of the own vehicle When it is confirmed that the vehicle has moved out of the detection area, the vehicle has a function of determining whether the other vehicle is the oncoming vehicle 5 or the preceding vehicle 6. When it is determined that the other vehicle located in front of the host vehicle is the oncoming vehicle 5, the irradiation suppression control of the headlamp 2 is immediately performed when it is detected that the oncoming vehicle 5 has been lost. When it is determined that the other vehicle that has stopped and is located in front of the host vehicle is the preceding vehicle 6, a predetermined delay time has elapsed since it was detected that the preceding vehicle 6 was lost. At the time, the irradiation suppression control of the headlamp 2 is stopped.

  The basic control operation in the vehicle headlamp control apparatus will be described below based on the flowchart shown in FIG. When the control operation starts, it is first determined whether or not another vehicle is positioned in front of the host vehicle 1 (step S1). If YES is determined, the distance between the other vehicle and the host vehicle 1 is determined. It is determined whether or not has increased (step S2). For example, the distance between the other vehicle and the host vehicle 1 is measured according to the output signal of the front detection means 3 comprising the CCD camera or the like, and the measured distance at the time of the control is compared with the measured distance at the time of the previous control. Thus, it can be determined whether or not the distance between the other vehicle and the vehicle 1 is increasing.

  When it is determined YES in step S2 and it is confirmed that the distance between the other vehicle in front of the host vehicle and the host vehicle 1 is increased, the above-described operation is performed according to the distance between the other vehicle and the host vehicle 1. A delay time T for setting the execution time of the control for reducing the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp 2 is calculated by a moving average method or a primary filter (step S3). Then, after incrementing the count value C of the timer by 1 (step S4), by comparing the count value C with the delay time T, it is determined whether or not the timer has expired, that is, the delay time T is It is determined whether or not it has elapsed (step S5).

  If it is determined NO in step S5 and it is confirmed that the delay time T has not elapsed, it is re-determined whether or not the distance between the other vehicle and the vehicle 1 has increased (step S5). S6). If it is determined as YES in step S6 and it is confirmed that the increasing tendency of the distance is continued, the process returns to step S4 and the control operation is repeated. Then, when it is determined as YES in step S5 and it is confirmed that the delay time T has elapsed, the irradiation suppression of the headlamp 2 on the other vehicle according to the distance between the other vehicle and the own vehicle 1 is suppressed. Control to reduce the area is executed (step S7).

  In addition, before determining with YES by said step S5, it determines with NO by said step S6, and confirms having changed from the state where the distance of the other vehicle and the own vehicle 1 is increasing to the decreasing state of this distance. In the case where it is done, the control operation is terminated without executing the control for reducing the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp 2 for the other vehicle according to the distance between the other vehicle and the own vehicle 1.

  On the other hand, if it is determined NO in step S2 and it is confirmed that the distance between the other vehicle in front of the host vehicle and the host vehicle 1 is not increased, the other vehicle in front of the host vehicle and the host vehicle are determined. It is determined whether the distance to 1 is decreasing (step S8). When it is determined YES in step S8 and it is confirmed that the distance between the other vehicle in front of the own vehicle and the own vehicle 1 is decreasing, at that time, the other vehicle and the own vehicle 1 The control for immediately expanding the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp 2 for the other vehicle according to the distance to the other vehicle is immediately executed (step S9).

  In addition, it was determined NO in step S8, and it was confirmed that the distance between the other vehicle in front of the host vehicle and the host vehicle 1 was neither increased nor decreased, and the distance was maintained at a constant value. In the case, return as it is. Thereby, the irradiation suppression area | region of the headlamp 2 with respect to the said other vehicle is shrunk | reduced according to the distance of the other vehicle and the own vehicle 1, and neither of the control which expands is performed, or with respect to the said other vehicle The irradiation suppression area of the headlamp 2 is maintained at the turning value.

  Next, a control operation executed by the vehicle headlight control device when the other vehicle in front of the host vehicle is lost will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG. When the control operation is started, it is first determined whether or not a lost vehicle has occurred in front of the vehicle according to the output signal from the forward detection means 3 (step S11). If NO is determined, The normal control, for example, the control shown in FIG. 4 is executed (step S12).

  If it is determined YES in step S11 and it is confirmed that the other vehicle has lost, it is determined whether or not the other vehicle is the oncoming vehicle 5 (step S13). For example, when it is confirmed that the other vehicle in the lost state is traveling in the oncoming lane according to the output signal of the front detecting means 3 comprising the CCD camera or the like, the other vehicle is in the oncoming vehicle 5. If it is determined that the other vehicle is traveling in the same traveling lane as the host vehicle 1 or an overtaking lane in the same direction as the traveling lane, the other vehicle is not the oncoming vehicle 5, It is determined that the vehicle is a preceding vehicle 6.

  When it is determined that the other vehicle in the lost state is determined to be YES in step S13, that is, when the oncoming vehicle 5 passes the own vehicle 1, or the oncoming vehicle 5 When it is considered that the vehicle has been lost due to a change of direction such as turning right or left, sudden stop control immediately stops the irradiation suppression control of the headlamp 2 when the lost of the oncoming vehicle 5 is detected. Is executed (step S14), and the headlamp 2 is immediately turned on.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the other vehicle that has been determined to be NO in step S13 and is in a lost state is the preceding vehicle 6, that is, if the preceding vehicle 6 changes direction or moves away from the own vehicle 1, etc. When it is detected that the preceding vehicle 6 has been lost according to the output signals from the front detection means 3 and the vehicle speed sensor, the lost position of the preceding vehicle 6 is determined from the position of the own vehicle 1 when it is detected. (Lost position), that is, the distance L to the place where the other vehicle was located immediately before becoming the lost state, and the traveling speed V of the own vehicle 1 are measured (step S15).

  Next, the host vehicle 1 arrives at the lost position of the preceding vehicle 6 from the position of the host vehicle 1 when the lost of the preceding vehicle 6 is detected based on the measured values of the distance L and the traveling speed V of the host vehicle 1. In the meantime, the gradual reduction control for gradually reducing the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp 2 is executed (step S16), and the headlamp is reached when the host vehicle 1 reaches the lost position of the preceding vehicle 6. The control to make 2 fully lit is executed step by step.

  For example, it takes 1 second for the host vehicle 1 to reach the lost position of the preceding vehicle 6 from the position of the own vehicle 1 when it is detected that the preceding vehicle 6 has been lost. 1 and the execution area of the control for suppressing the irradiation of the headlamp 2 (irradiation suppression area) is confirmed to expand at an angle of 20 degrees. Each time 0.2 seconds elapse from the point in time when it is detected that the vehicle 6 has been lost, the control for narrowing the execution area of the control for suppressing the irradiation of the headlamp 2 by 4 degrees is repeated five times. Thus, when the own vehicle 1 reaches the lost position of the preceding vehicle 6, the irradiation suppression control of the headlamp 2 can be stopped and the headlamp 2 can be fully turned on.

  More specifically, when it is detected that the preceding vehicle 6 traveling on the side (passing lane) of the host vehicle 1 is lost in the right turn state of the host vehicle 1 as shown in FIG. When the irradiation control region α is tilted to the right with respect to the traveling direction 1a of the host vehicle 1, the tilt angle β of the left end α1 is 10 degrees, and the tilt angle γ of the right end α2 is 30 degrees. In addition, the development angle θ of the irradiation suppression region α is 20 degrees. Therefore, every time 0.2 seconds have elapsed since it was detected that the preceding vehicle 6 was lost, the right end α2 of the control region for suppressing the irradiation of the headlamp 2 is tilted to the left by 4 degrees. If the control to shift to α21 to α25 is repeated five times, 1 second has elapsed from the time when it was detected that the preceding vehicle 6 was lost, and the own vehicle 1 reached the lost position of the preceding vehicle 6 At this point, the left end α1 and the right end α2 of the irradiation suppression region α are at the same angle. That is, when the left and right end portions α1 and α2 of the irradiation suppression region α overlap each other at a position inclined 10 degrees to the right from the traveling direction 1a of the own vehicle 1, the deployment angle θ becomes 0 degrees and the irradiation suppression is performed. The region α disappears and the headlamp 2 is fully lit.

  As described above, the headlamp 2 provided at the front portion of the host vehicle 1, the front detection unit 3 that detects the front of the host vehicle 1, and the other vehicle is positioned in front of the host vehicle 1 by the front detection unit 3. And a headlamp control means 4 for controlling the headlamp 2 to irradiate the area where the other vehicle is located, and the output signal of the front detection means 3 is detected. And determining whether the distance between the host vehicle 1 and the other vehicle is decreasing or increasing, and if it is determined that the distance is decreasing, the irradiation of the headlamp 2 is suppressed. When it is determined that the area is enlarged and the distance is increased, the headlamp control means 4 executes control for reducing the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp 2, and when the distance is decreased. The execution speed of the control that expands the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp is reduced when the distance increases. Since it is configured to be faster than the execution speed of the control for reducing the area, the irradiation of the headlamp 2 is performed according to the positional relationship between the own vehicle 1 that changes momentarily and the other vehicle positioned in front of it. Advantages of being able to properly control the state and effectively preventing the glare light from being irradiated to the other vehicle while preventing the unnecessary irradiation suppression control of the headlamp 2 from being executed. There is.

  That is, when it is confirmed that the distance between the other vehicle in front of the own vehicle and the own vehicle 1 is decreasing, the execution of the control for expanding the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp 1 is delayed. Since it is inevitable that glare light is irradiated on the headlamp 1 when it is determined that the distance between the other vehicle in front of the host vehicle and the host vehicle 1 is decreasing as shown in the above embodiment. By immediately executing the control for expanding the irradiation suppression area, it is possible to effectively prevent the glare light from being irradiated to the other vehicle.

  In contrast, when the distance between the other vehicle in front of the host vehicle and the host vehicle 1 is increasing, the control for reducing the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp 1 at the time of determination of the state is immediately executed. When the travel speed of the other vehicle changes and the distance to the host vehicle 1 decreases, the other vehicle moves outside the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp 1 and glare to the other vehicle. There is a possibility of being irradiated with light. Therefore, in the above-described embodiment, when it is confirmed that the distance between the other vehicle in front of the own vehicle and the own vehicle 1 is increased, the headlamp according to the distance between the other vehicle and the own vehicle 1 is determined. The delay time T for setting the execution time of the control for reducing the irradiation suppression area 2 is calculated by a moving average method or a primary filter or the like, and when the delay time T has elapsed, the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp 1 is determined. The control to enlarge is executed. Thereby, even when the distance between the other vehicle and the host vehicle 1 shifts from the increasing state to the decreasing state, the glare light is effectively prevented from irradiating the other vehicle, and the headlamp 2 There is an advantage that it is possible to prevent the front view of the host vehicle 1 from being lowered at night by executing the control for reducing the irradiation suppression area at an appropriate time.

  In addition, when it is confirmed that the distance between the other vehicle in front of the host vehicle and the host vehicle 1 is increased as described above, when the delay time T set according to the distance has elapsed, the heading is performed. Instead of the above-described embodiment configured to execute the control for reducing the irradiation suppression area of the lamp 1 at once, the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp 2 is gradually reduced when the increase in the distance is detected, Alternatively, by gradually increasing the irradiation amount of the headlamp 2, the control for reducing the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp is executed in stages, and the execution speed is made slower than when the distance is reduced. May be.

  Further, in the above embodiment, when it is confirmed that the other vehicle in front of the host vehicle has been lost according to the output signal of the forward detection means 3, whether the other vehicle is the oncoming vehicle 5 or the preceding vehicle 6. When the other vehicle is determined to be the oncoming vehicle 5, the control speed for stopping the irradiation suppression control is faster than that when the other vehicle is determined to be the preceding vehicle 6. Therefore, when the oncoming vehicle 5 passes by the own vehicle 1 and loses sight of it, the headlamp irradiation suppression control is immediately stopped to ensure a sufficient front view of the own vehicle 1 at night. can do. Moreover, when the preceding vehicle 6 in front of the host vehicle is temporarily lost, the preceding vehicle 6 is prevented from being immediately subjected to the irradiation suppression control and the preceding vehicle 6 is irradiated with glare light. There is an advantage that the front visibility of the vehicle 1 at night can be sufficiently secured by stopping the irradiation suppression control of the headlamp 2 at an appropriate time while effectively suppressing the above.

  That is, when the lost other vehicle whose lost is detected in accordance with the output signal of the front detection means 3 is the oncoming vehicle 5, the oncoming vehicle 5 passes the own vehicle 1 or the oncoming vehicle 5 It is presumed that the lost vehicle has occurred by changing the direction such as turning right or left, and it is considered that the oncoming vehicle 5 does not appear in front of the host vehicle 1 again. For this reason, as shown in the above embodiment, the irradiation suppression control is continued unnecessarily by configuring the irradiation suppression control of the headlamp 2 to be stopped when the oncoming vehicle 5 is lost. Thus, it is possible to effectively prevent the forward visibility of the vehicle 1 from deteriorating.

  On the other hand, when the other vehicle determined to be in the lost state according to the output signal of the front detection means 3 is the preceding vehicle 5, the distance between the preceding vehicle 5 and the own vehicle 1 is temporarily increased. Therefore, there is a possibility that the preceding vehicle 5 will appear in front of the host vehicle 1 again. For this reason, in the said embodiment, without stopping the irradiation suppression control of the headlamp 2 at the time of detecting the loss of the preceding vehicle 6, the irradiation suppression control of the headlamp is performed when a certain time has elapsed. It is configured to stop. Thereby, the irradiation suppression control of the headlamp 2 is stopped when it is determined that the preceding vehicle 6 has lost, and the irradiation suppression control is resumed when the preceding vehicle 6 is rediscovered. The above-described situation is prevented from being repeated frequently, and the occupant of the vehicle 1 or the preceding vehicle 6 is prevented from being confused, while the irradiation suppression control of the headlamp 2 is stopped at an appropriate time. There is an advantage that the front view of the vehicle 1 can be secured.

  At the time when the preceding vehicle 6 is lost, a delay time is set according to the distance between the preceding vehicle 6 and the host vehicle 1, and when the delay time is detected, It is also possible to configure so that the irradiation suppression control of the headlamp 2 is stopped. However, when it is determined that the other vehicle in the lost state is the preceding vehicle 6 as shown in the above embodiment, the headlight 2 is reached when the host vehicle 1 reaches the lost position of the preceding vehicle 6. When the preceding vehicle 6 is lost, the possibility that the preceding vehicle 6 will be detected again becomes extremely low. By stopping the control, there is an advantage that the front view of the vehicle at night can be effectively secured.

  Further, when it is determined that the other vehicle in which the lost is detected is the oncoming vehicle 6, the time from when the lost of the preceding vehicle 6 is detected until the host vehicle reaches the lost position of the preceding vehicle 6. Instead of the above-described embodiment in which the headlamp control means 4 executes control for gradually reducing the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp 2 in the meantime, the host vehicle 1 reaches the lost position of the preceding vehicle 6. Until then, it is possible to continue the irradiation suppression control of the headlamp 2 and stop the irradiation suppression control of the headlamp 2 when the host vehicle 1 reaches the lost position. .

  However, as shown in the above-described embodiment, when it is determined that the other vehicle in which the lost is detected is the oncoming vehicle 6, the own vehicle has changed the preceding vehicle 6 from the time when the lost of the preceding vehicle 6 was detected. When the headlamp control means 4 is configured to execute the control for gradually reducing the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp 2 until reaching the lost position, the irradiation suppression control is stopped. Or, when the irradiation suppression control is restarted, it is possible to prevent a sudden change in the irradiation area of the headlamp 2 in front of the host vehicle, so that a strong sense of incongruity is felt in the occupant of the host vehicle 1 or the preceding vehicle 6. There is an advantage that it can be effectively prevented.

  In the above embodiment, the other vehicle is traveling in the oncoming lane according to the output signal of the front detection means 3 such as a CCD camera, or the same lane as the own vehicle 1 or the overtaking lane in the same direction as the traveling lane. It is configured to determine whether the other vehicle located in front of the host vehicle 1 is the oncoming vehicle 5 or the preceding vehicle 6 by determining whether or not the vehicle 1 is traveling, It is also possible to determine whether or not the other vehicle is the oncoming vehicle 5 by another method.

  For example, based on the image information of the other vehicle detected by the front detection means 3 such as a CCD camera, the front surface of the other vehicle (the surface having the headlamp) is positioned on the own vehicle 1 side, or the rear surface of the other vehicle. It may be determined whether the other vehicle located in front of the host vehicle 1 is the oncoming vehicle 5 by determining whether the (surface having the tail lamp) is positioned on the host vehicle 1 side. Further, by measuring the relative speed between the host vehicle 1 and another vehicle positioned in front of the host vehicle 1 and comparing the measured value of the relative speed with the traveling speed of the host vehicle 1, the measured value of the relative speed can be calculated. When the traveling speed of the vehicle 1 is higher, the other vehicle located in front of the host vehicle 1 may be determined to be the oncoming vehicle 5.

  In the above-described embodiment, a part of the LED light source constituting the headlamp 2 is turned off, or the amount of light is reduced, so that the irradiation of the headlamp 2 to a specific area in the irradiation area in front of the host vehicle is performed. In the headlamp having a halogen lamp and a rotary shutter disposed in front of the halogen lamp, the irradiation area in front of the vehicle is controlled by controlling the area that is shielded by the rotary shutter. Among them, it may be configured to suppress the irradiation of the headlamp to a specific region.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Own vehicle 2 Headlamp 3 Front side detection means 4 Headlamp control means 5 Oncoming vehicle (other vehicle)
6 preceding car (other car)

Claims (4)

  A headlamp provided at the front of the vehicle body, a front detection means for detecting the front of the host vehicle, and when the front detection means detects that another vehicle is located in front of the host vehicle, Headlamp control means for controlling so as to suppress irradiation of the headlamp to the area where the other vehicle is located, and the headlamp control means is connected to the own vehicle according to the output signal of the front detection means. It is determined whether the distance to the other vehicle is decreasing or increasing, and when it is determined that the distance is decreasing, the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp is expanded, and the distance When it is determined that the headlight is in an increased state, control for reducing the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp is executed, and the execution speed of the control for expanding the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp when the distance is reduced is When compared with the execution speed of the control that reduces the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp when the distance increases Headlamp control apparatus for a vehicle, characterized in that the sea urchin set.   The headlight control means determines whether the other vehicle is an oncoming vehicle or a preceding vehicle when it is confirmed that the other vehicle ahead has been lost in accordance with the output signal of the forward detection means. And, when it is determined that the vehicle is an oncoming vehicle, the control speed when stopping the irradiation suppression control is faster than when the other vehicle is determined to be a preceding vehicle. The vehicle headlight control device according to claim 1.   When it is determined that the other vehicle is an oncoming vehicle, the headlamp control means stops the headlamp irradiation suppression control when it is detected that the other vehicle has been lost. 3. The front of the vehicle according to claim 2, wherein when it is determined that the vehicle is a preceding vehicle, the headlamp irradiation suppression control is stopped when the host vehicle reaches the loss position of the preceding vehicle. Lighting control device.   When it is determined that the other vehicle is an oncoming vehicle, the headlight control means is from when it is detected that the preceding vehicle has been lost until the host vehicle reaches the loss position of the preceding vehicle. The vehicle headlamp control device according to claim 3, wherein the irradiation suppression area of the headlamp is gradually reduced.

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