JP2014177245A - Vehicle light control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle light control device which can adequately control a light by accurately detecting entering of a vehicle in a tunnel.SOLUTION: A vehicle light control device 100 includes: an infrared sensor 1 which detects an infrared ray around a vehicle; an infrared illuminance detecting part 2 which detects illuminance of an infrared ray from an output of the infrared sensor 1; a visible light sensor 3 which detects visible light around the vehicle; a visible light illuminance detecting part 4 which detects illuminance of the visible light from an output of the visible light sensor 3; a storage part 6 which stores thresholds Th1-Th3; and a control part 5 which controls lighting of the light 7. The control part 5 determines that the vehicle enters a tunnel and lights the light 7 when the illuminance of the infrared ray detected by the infrared illuminance detecting part 2 is lower than the threshold Th1, and the illuminance of the visible light detected by the visible light illuminance detecting part 4 repeatedly increases and decreases between the threshold Th2 and the threshold Th3.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle light control device that automatically turns on a light by detecting that a vehicle has entered a tunnel.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, automatic light control is known in which the illuminance around a vehicle is detected by a sensor, and the headlight of the vehicle is automatically turned on / off. Patent Documents 1 to 3 described later describe techniques related to auto light control.

  In Patent Document 1, three sensors, an ultraviolet sensor, an infrared sensor, and a visible light sensor, are provided in order to reliably identify artificial light and natural light and perform light control accurately. When the illuminance of the ultraviolet light detected by the ultraviolet sensor is small and the illuminance of the infrared light detected by the infrared sensor or the visible light detected by the visible light sensor is large, the light of the vehicle is determined to be artificial light. Light up.

  In Patent Document 2, the illuminance around the vehicle is detected by a visible light sensor and an infrared sensor, and the output value of the visible light sensor (the amount of received light of visible light) is calculated using the output value of the infrared sensor (the amount of received light of infrared light). to correct. Then, by controlling on / off of the light based on the correction value, the automatic light control can be appropriately performed even in cloudy weather or at dusk.

  In Patent Document 3, a first threshold value and a second threshold value smaller than the first threshold value are set as threshold values for turning on the light when entering the tunnel. The first threshold value is used during the daytime and the second threshold value is used during the twilight time, so that the lights are turned on reliably and promptly when entering the tunnel.

JP 2008-80932 A JP 2012-183886 A JP-A-6-135281

  When the vehicle enters the tunnel, the illuminance of the illuminating lamp is different between the two ends of the tunnel and in the middle so that the driver can quickly get used to the brightness of the illuminating lamp in the tunnel. In the case of daytime, the entrance to the tunnel will rush from a bright place to a dark place. For this reason, near the both ends of the tunnel, the illuminance of the illuminating lamp is increased to make it brighter, and at the intermediate part where the eyes are accustomed to the illumination in the tunnel, the illuminance of the illuminating lamp is decreased to make it darker. On the other hand, in the case of nighttime, the entrance to the tunnel will rush from a dark place to a bright place. For this reason, the illuminance of the illuminating lamp is lowered and darkened near both ends of the tunnel, and the illuminance of the illuminating lamp is increased and brightened in the intermediate part where eyes are used to illumination in the tunnel.

  Thus, the following problems arise when the illuminance of the illuminating lamp differs between the vicinity of both ends of the tunnel and the intermediate portion. For example, in the daytime, even if the vehicle enters the tunnel, the illumination light near the entrance is bright, so the illuminance value detected by the sensor does not fall below the lighting threshold (threshold when the light is turned on). For this reason, it is not determined that the vehicle has entered the tunnel, and the light is not turned on. Then, it reaches the middle part of the tunnel where the illuminating lamp becomes dark, and finally the light is turned on. That is, the lighting of the light in the tunnel is delayed. Also, when the vehicle approaches the vicinity of the exit of the tunnel, the illumination light becomes brighter again, so that the light is turned off before leaving the tunnel. On the other hand, at night, when a vehicle with lights turned on enters the tunnel, the lights remain dark because the lights are dark near the entrance, but the lights become brighter when the vehicles reach the middle of the tunnel. The illuminance value detected by the sensor may exceed the lighting threshold, and the light may turn off.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle light control device that can accurately detect the approach of a vehicle into a tunnel and perform accurate light control.

  A vehicle light control device according to the present invention is a device that is mounted on a vehicle and controls lighting of the vehicle light based on illuminance around the vehicle, and an infrared sensor that detects infrared rays around the vehicle; Infrared illuminance detection unit that detects infrared illuminance from the output of the infrared sensor, a visible light sensor that detects visible light around the vehicle, and a visible light illuminance detection that detects the illuminance of visible light from the output of the visible light sensor A storage unit storing a first threshold value set for the illuminance of infrared light, a second threshold value set for the illuminance of visible light, and a third threshold value smaller than this, and an infrared illuminance detection unit And a control unit that controls lighting of the light based on the detected infrared illuminance, the visible light illuminance detected by the visible light illuminance detection unit, and each threshold value stored in the storage unit. The control unit is configured such that the infrared illuminance detected by the infrared illuminance detection unit is lower than the first threshold value, and the illuminance of visible light detected by the visible light illuminance detection unit is the second threshold value and the third threshold value. The light is turned on when the increase / decrease is repeated between.

  According to such a configuration, even in the daytime, even if the illuminating lamp near the entrance of the tunnel is bright, by detecting the decrease in the infrared illuminance and the number of increase / decrease in the visible light illuminance, it is possible to accurately detect the entrance of the tunnel and It can be turned on quickly. In addition, even when the daytime illumination lamp is bright near the exit of the tunnel, the light is kept on by repeating the increase and decrease in the illuminance of visible light. Therefore, the problem that the light turns off before leaving the tunnel does not occur. On the other hand, at night, even if the illuminating lamp in the middle part of the tunnel is bright, the light maintains the lighting state by repeatedly increasing and decreasing the illuminance of visible light. Therefore, there is no problem that the light is turned off at the middle part of the tunnel.

  In the present invention, the control unit may include a travel distance detection unit that detects a travel distance of the vehicle. In this case, every time the travel distance detection unit detects that the vehicle has traveled a certain distance, the infrared illuminance detected by the infrared illuminance detection unit is compared with the first threshold, and the visible light illuminance detection unit detects The illuminance of the visible light is compared with the second threshold value and the third threshold value, and based on the comparison result, the illuminance of the visible light is lower than the first threshold value and the illuminance of the visible light is lower than the first threshold value. The number of times of increase / decrease between the three thresholds may be counted, and the light may be turned on when the counted number reaches a predetermined number.

  In the present invention, the travel distance detected by the travel distance detection unit reaches a predetermined distance from the time when the illuminance of infrared light is lower than the first threshold value and the illuminance of visible light is lower than the second threshold value. Until, the infrared illuminance detected by the infrared illuminance detection unit is compared with the first threshold value, and the illuminance of visible light detected by the visible light illuminance detection unit is compared with the second threshold value and the third threshold value. Based on this comparison result, the number of times the illuminance of visible light is increased or decreased between the second threshold and the third threshold in the state where the illuminance of infrared rays is lower than the first threshold is detected and detected by the travel distance detection unit When the travel distance reached reaches a predetermined distance, the light may be turned on if the counted number is equal to or greater than the predetermined number.

  In the present invention, the control unit may include a timing unit that starts timing from the time when the illuminance of the infrared light is lower than the first threshold and the illuminance of the visible light is lower than the second threshold. . In this case, the comparison between the infrared illuminance detected by the infrared illuminance detection unit and the first threshold and the visible light detected by the visible illuminance detection unit until the time measured by the time measurement unit reaches a predetermined time. And the second threshold value and the third threshold value are compared, and based on the comparison result, in the state where the illuminance of infrared rays is lower than the first threshold value, the illuminance of visible light is the second threshold value and the third threshold value. When the time counted by the timer reaches a predetermined time, the light may be turned on if the counted number is equal to or greater than the predetermined number.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the vehicle light control apparatus which can detect the approach of the vehicle to a tunnel accurately and can perform exact light control can be provided.

1 is a block diagram of a vehicle light control device according to a first embodiment. FIG. It is the figure which showed an example of the spectral energy distribution of a sodium lamp. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the principle which detects a tunnel approach. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a write control procedure according to the first embodiment. It is the flowchart which showed the procedure of the write control by 2nd Embodiment. It is a block diagram of the vehicle light control apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is the flowchart which showed the procedure of the write control by 3rd Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  First, the configuration of the vehicle light control device (hereinafter simply referred to as “light control device”) according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, the light control device 100 includes an infrared sensor 1, an infrared illuminance detection unit 2, a visible light sensor 3, a visible light illuminance detection unit 4, a control unit 5, and a storage unit 6.

  The infrared sensor 1 is provided, for example, on a dashboard in the vehicle and detects infrared rays around the vehicle. The infrared illuminance detection unit 2 detects infrared illuminance from the output of the infrared sensor 1. The visible light sensor 3 is provided, for example, on a dashboard inside the vehicle, and detects visible light around the vehicle. The visible light illuminance detection unit 4 detects the illuminance of visible light from the output of the visible light sensor 3.

  The storage unit 6 stores three threshold values Th1, Th2, and Th3. The control unit 5 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a drive circuit for the light 7, and the like. In addition, the control unit 5 includes a travel distance detection unit 5a. The control unit 5 includes the infrared illuminance detected by the infrared illuminance detection unit 2, the visible light illuminance detected by the visible light illuminance detection unit 4, and the threshold values Th1, Th2, and Th3 stored in the storage unit 6. Based on this, the lighting of the light 7 is controlled. The travel distance detection unit 5a detects the travel distance of the vehicle based on the vehicle speed information input from the external vehicle speed sensor 8. A control program necessary for the operation of the control unit 5 is stored in the storage unit 6 (not shown). The light 7 includes an exterior light such as a headlight or an auxiliary light.

  Next, the principle of detecting tunnel entry in the light control apparatus 100 described above will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of a spectral energy distribution of a sodium lamp that is generally used as an illumination lamp in a tunnel. As can be seen, the sodium lamp has an overwhelmingly large amount of visible light and a small amount of infrared light. For this reason, when entering the tunnel from the outside of the tunnel during the daytime when there is a lot of infrared rays from sunlight, the amount of infrared detection is drastically reduced. On the other hand, when entering the tunnel, visible light also decreases, but since the amount of visible light is much larger than the amount of infrared light, the detected amount of visible light does not decrease as much as infrared light. In the present invention, the entrance of the tunnel is detected using the difference in the amount of infrared light and visible light as described above. Details will be described below.

  FIG. 3A is a diagram schematically showing a cross section of the tunnel. In the upper part of the tunnel 11, illumination lamps 12 made of sodium lamps are installed at regular intervals. FIG. 3B schematically shows changes in the infrared illuminance Qx detected by the infrared illuminance detection unit 2 (FIG. 1) of the vehicle 10. FIG. 3C schematically shows a change in the visible light illuminance Qy detected by the visible light illuminance detection unit 4 (FIG. 1) of the vehicle 10. t <b> 1 to t <b> 8 represent timings when the vehicle 10 passes through each position in the tunnel 11. t1 corresponds to the entrance 13, t2, t4, t6, and t8 correspond to the position of the illuminating lamp 12, and t3, t5, and t7 correspond to the intermediate positions of the adjacent illuminating lamps 12 and 12.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, until the vehicle 10 enters the tunnel 11, since the infrared sensor 1 detects infrared rays contained in sunlight, the infrared illuminance Qx has a high value. When the vehicle 10 enters the tunnel 11 (t1), sunlight is blocked and the infrared illuminance Qx is greatly reduced. After that, even if the vehicle 10 travels through the tunnel 11, the amount of infrared light in the tunnel 11 is small, so even if the vehicle 10 comes under the illumination lamp 12, the infrared illuminance Qx hardly increases.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3C, until the vehicle 10 enters the tunnel 11, visible light included in sunlight is detected by the visible light sensor 3, and thus the visible light illuminance Qy has a high value. ing. And if the vehicle 10 approachs the tunnel 11, sunlight will be interrupted | blocked and visible light illumination intensity Qy will also reduce. However, since the amount of visible light is large in the tunnel 11, the visible light illuminance Qy does not decrease as much as the infrared illuminance Qx. For this reason, a difference appears in the visible light illuminance Qy between when the vehicle 10 is located under the illumination lamp 12 and when it is not located. Specifically, when the vehicle 10 comes under the lamp 12 (t2, t4, t6, t8), the visible light illuminance Qy increases, and when the vehicle 10 moves away from the lamp 12 (t3, t5, t7), the visible light illuminance. Qy decreases. That is, as the vehicle 10 travels through the tunnel 11, the visible light illuminance Qy repeatedly increases and decreases.

  In FIG. 3B, a threshold value Th1 (first threshold value) is set for the infrared illuminance Qx. This threshold value Th1 is a threshold value (infrared tunnel detection threshold value) for detecting tunnel entry based on the infrared illuminance Qx. In FIG. 3C, a threshold Th2 (second threshold) and a threshold Th3 (third threshold) are set for the visible light illuminance Qy. The threshold value Th2 is a threshold value (visible light tunnel detection threshold value) for detecting tunnel entry based on the visible light illuminance Qy. The threshold value Th3 is a threshold value (lighting threshold value for visible light) for turning on the light 7 when the visible light illuminance around the vehicle decreases at dusk. The threshold value Th3 is set to a value smaller than the threshold value Th2.

  The outline of the auto light control in the present invention is as follows. In FIG. 3, when the vehicle 10 enters the tunnel 11, the infrared illuminance Qx becomes Qx <Th1, and the visible light illuminance Qy becomes Th2 <Qy <Th3. As described above, while the vehicle 10 travels through the tunnel 11, the infrared illuminance Qx hardly changes, but the visible light illuminance Qy varies depending on the positional relationship between the vehicle 10 and the illumination lamp 12. Repeat increasing and decreasing between. Therefore, the number of times the visible light illuminance Qy increases or decreases in a state where the infrared illuminance Qx is Qx <Th1 is counted. When the number of times reaches a predetermined number, it is determined that the vehicle 10 has entered the tunnel 11, and the light 7 is turned on as shown in FIG.

  Next, details of the control when the light 7 is turned on in the automatic light control of the first embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Each step in FIG. 4 is executed by a CPU provided in the control unit 5.

  In step S <b> 0, the infrared illuminance detection unit 2 detects the infrared illuminance from the output of the infrared sensor 1, and the visible light illuminance detection unit 4 detects the visible light illuminance from the output of the visible light sensor 3.

  In step S1, the visible light illuminance Qy detected in step S0 is compared with the threshold Th3, and it is determined whether the visible light illuminance Qy is lower than the threshold Th3 (Qy <Th3). If Qy <Th3 as a result of the determination (step S1; YES), the process proceeds to step S12 and the light 7 is turned on. If Qy <Th3 is not satisfied (step S1; NO), the process proceeds to step S2.

  In step S2, the infrared illuminance Qx detected in step S0 is compared with the threshold Th1, and it is determined whether the infrared illuminance Qx is lower than the threshold Th1 (Qx <Th1). As a result of the determination, if Qx <Th1 (step S2; YES), the process proceeds to step S3. If Qx <Th1 is not satisfied (step S2; NO), the process ends.

  In step S3, the visible light illuminance Qy detected in step S0 is compared with the threshold values Th2 and Th3, and it is determined whether or not the visible light illuminance Qy is between the threshold values Th2 and Th3 (Th3 <Qy <Th2). If it is determined that Th3 <Qy <Th2 (step S3; YES), the process proceeds to step S4. If Th3 <Qy <Th2 is not satisfied (step S3; NO), the process is terminated.

  In step S4, it is determined whether or not the visible light illuminance Qy has increased compared to the value detected in step S0 within a certain time. In the case of FIG. 3, the vehicle 10 comes under the illuminating lamp 12 closest to the entrance 13 at t2, and at this time, the visible light illuminance Qy increases from the time t1. That is, step S <b> 4 is a step for detecting the first illumination lamp 12 as viewed from the vehicle 10.

  By the way, since the illuminating lamps in the tunnel are usually installed at intervals of 30 m, the installation interval D of the illuminating lamps 12 is set to 30 m in FIG. After the first illuminating lamp 12 is detected in step S4, each time the vehicle 10 travels a distance of D / 2 (= 15 m), infrared rays and visible light are detected, and each illuminance and each threshold value are detected. Make a comparison.

  Specifically, in step S5 of FIG. 4, it is determined whether or not the vehicle 10 has traveled a distance D / 2. When the vehicle 10 travels a distance D / 2 at time t3 in FIG. 3 (step S5; YES), the process proceeds to step S6, and infrared illuminance and visible light illuminance are detected as in step S0.

  Next, in step S7, it is determined whether or not the infrared illuminance Qx detected in step S6 is lower than the threshold Th1 (Qx <Th1). If Qx <Th1 as a result of the determination (step S7; YES), the process proceeds to step S8. If Qx <Th1 is not satisfied (step S7; NO), the process is terminated. In this case, it is because it has only passed the dark place temporarily and it is not necessary to light the light 7.

  Subsequently, in step S8, it is determined whether or not the visible light illuminance Qy detected in step S6 is between the threshold values Th2 and Th3 (Th3 <Qy <Th2). As a result of the determination, if Th3 <Qy <Th2 (step S8; YES), the process proceeds to step S9. If Th3 <Qy <Th2 is not satisfied (step S8; NO), the process ends.

  In step S9, it is determined whether or not the visible light illuminance Qy detected this time has increased or decreased compared to the visible light illuminance Qy detected at the previous timing. As a result of the determination, if the visible light illuminance Qy has increased or decreased (step S9; YES), the process proceeds to step S10. If the visible light illuminance Qy has not increased or decreased (step S9; NO), the process ends. At t3 in FIG. 3, since the visible light illuminance Qy is reduced as compared with the time t2, the process proceeds to step S10.

  In step S10, 1 is added to the counter value n, so that n = n + 1. This counter value n represents the number of times the visible light illuminance Qy has increased or decreased from the previous value. Since the initial value of n is 0, n = 1 at t3 in FIG. The counter value n is stored in a predetermined area of the storage unit 6.

  Next, it progresses to step S11 and it is determined whether the counter value n has reached the predetermined value N (n = N). If n = N is not determined as a result of the determination (step S11; NO), the process returns to step S5, and steps S6 to S11 are repeatedly executed every time the vehicle 10 travels a distance of D / 2. In the example of FIG. 3, the visible light illuminance Qy increases at t4 to n = 2, Qy decreases to n = 3 at t5, and Qy increases to n = 4 at t6.

  On the other hand, if n = N as a result of the determination in step S11 (step S11; YES), it is determined that the vehicle 10 has entered the tunnel 11 because the number of increases / decreases in the visible light illuminance Qy has reached a predetermined number. And it progresses to step S12 and the light 7 is lighted. In the example of FIG. 3, since N = 4 is set and n = 4 at t6, the light 7 is turned on at this time (see FIG. 3D). In this case, only the headlight may be turned on, or both the headlight and the auxiliary light may be turned on.

  After execution of step S12, the process proceeds to step S13, where the counter value n is reset to n = 0 (initial value). Thus, the series of operations in FIG. 4 is completed.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, in the tunnel 11, the visible light illuminance Qy repeatedly increases and decreases between the threshold values Th2 and Th3 while the infrared illuminance Qx is lower than the threshold value Th1, and enters the tunnel. Can be detected and the light 7 can be turned on.

  Conventionally, the visible light illuminance Qy is only compared with the threshold Th3, and when the visible light illuminance Qy is lower than the threshold Th3, it is determined that the vehicle 10 has entered the tunnel 11 and the light 7 is turned on. However, in this case, when the illuminating lamp 12 near the entrance 13 of the tunnel 11 is bright during the daytime, the visible light illuminance Qy does not fall below the threshold Th3, so that the tunnel entry is not detected and the light 7 is not turned on. On the other hand, in the first embodiment, even if the visible light illuminance Qy does not fall below the threshold value Th3, by detecting the decrease in the infrared illuminance Qx and the increase / decrease number of the visible light illuminance Qy, the tunnel entry can be detected accurately. The light 7 can be quickly turned on.

  In addition, even if the daytime illumination lamp 12 is bright near the exit (not shown) of the tunnel 11, the visible light illuminance Qy repeatedly increases and decreases, so that the vehicle 10 is determined to be inside the tunnel 11, so the light 7 Maintain lighting status. Therefore, the problem that the light 7 is turned off before exiting the tunnel 11 does not occur.

  On the other hand, at night, even if the illuminating lamp 12 in the middle part of the tunnel 11 is bright, the visible light illuminance Qy repeatedly increases and decreases, so that it is determined that the vehicle 10 is inside the tunnel 11, so the light 7 remains on. To do. Therefore, the problem that the light 7 is turned off in the middle part of the tunnel 11 does not occur.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The configuration of the second embodiment is the same as that of FIG.

  In the case of the first embodiment described above, the infrared illuminance Qx and the visible light illuminance Qy each time the vehicle 10 travels a certain distance (D / 2) after the first illumination lamp 12 is detected at t2 in FIG. Comparison with each of the threshold values Th1 to Th3 was performed, and the number of increases / decreases in the visible light illuminance Qy was counted (steps S4 to S10 in FIG. 4).

  On the other hand, in the case of the second embodiment, the vehicle 10 moves from the time when the infrared illuminance Qx is lower than the threshold Th1 and the visible light illuminance Qy is lower than the threshold Th2 (t1 in FIG. 3) to the predetermined distance L. Until the vehicle travels, the illuminances Qx and Qy are compared with the threshold values Th1 to Th3, and the number of times the visible light illuminance Qy increases or decreases is counted. Then, when the travel distance of the vehicle 10 reaches the predetermined distance L, it is determined whether or not the number of increases / decreases in the visible light illuminance Qy is equal to or greater than a predetermined number. Determination is made and the light 7 is turned on.

  Next, details of the control when the light 7 is turned on in the automatic light control of the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Each step in FIG. 5 is executed by a CPU provided in the control unit 5.

  The processes in steps S20 to S23 are the same as the processes in steps S0 to S3 in FIG. In step S20, the infrared illuminance detection unit 2 and the visible light illuminance detection unit 4 detect infrared illuminance and visible light illuminance, respectively. In step S21, it is determined whether or not the detected visible light illuminance Qy is lower than a threshold value Th3. In step S22, it is determined whether or not the detected infrared illuminance Qx is lower than a threshold value Th1. In step S23, it is determined whether or not the detected visible light illuminance Qy is between the threshold values Th2 and Th3. If it is detected in steps S22 and S23 that the infrared illuminance Qx is lower than the threshold value Th1 and the visible light illuminance Qy is between the threshold values Th2 and Th3, the process proceeds to step S24.

  In step S24, it is determined whether or not the travel distance of the vehicle 10 has reached a predetermined distance L based on the detection result of the travel distance detector 5a. As a result of the determination, if the travel distance has not reached the predetermined distance L (step S24; NO), the processes of steps S25 to S28 are repeatedly executed until the travel distance reaches the predetermined distance L.

  The processes in steps S25 to S28 are the same as the processes in steps S7 to S10 in FIG. In step S25, as in step S22, it is determined whether the infrared illuminance Qx is lower than the threshold value Th1. In step S26, as in step S23, it is determined whether or not the visible light illuminance Qy is between the threshold values Th2 and Th3. In step S27, it is determined whether or not the visible light illuminance Qy has increased or decreased. In step S28, 1 is added to the counter value n (the number of times Qy has been increased or decreased), so that n = n + 1.

  When the travel distance reaches the predetermined distance L in step S24 (step S24; YES), the process proceeds to step S29, and it is determined whether or not the counter value n is equal to or greater than the predetermined value N (n ≧ N). If n ≧ N as a result of the determination (step S29; YES), the process proceeds to step S30, and the light 7 is turned on. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S31, the counter value n is reset, and n = 0 (initial value) is set. On the other hand, if n <N in step S29 (step S29; NO), the process ends without executing steps S30 and S31.

  Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 shows the configuration of the light control apparatus 200 of the third embodiment. In FIG. 6, in the control part 5, the time measuring part 5b is provided instead of the travel distance detection part 5a of FIG. The timer 5b is provided with a timer including a clock generation circuit and a counter (not shown). Further, the vehicle speed sensor 8 is omitted. The other configuration is the same as the configuration of the light control apparatus 100 in FIG.

  In the case of the second embodiment described above, the vehicle 10 travels a predetermined distance L from the time when the infrared illuminance Qx becomes lower than the threshold Th1 and the visible light illuminance Qy becomes lower than the threshold Th2 (t1 in FIG. 3). Until then, each illuminance Qx, Qy was compared with each threshold Th1-Th3, and the number of increase / decrease of visible light illuminance Qy was counted (steps S24-S28 in FIG. 5).

  On the other hand, in the case of the third embodiment, from the time when the infrared illuminance Qx is lower than the threshold value Th1 and the visible light illuminance Qy is lower than the threshold value Th2 (t1 in FIG. 3), the time measuring unit 5b measures the time. Start. Then, until the time counted by the time measuring unit 5b reaches a predetermined time, the illuminances Qx and Qy are compared with the threshold values Th1 to Th3, and the number of times the visible light illuminance Qy is increased or decreased is counted. When the measured time reaches the predetermined time, it is determined whether or not the increase / decrease number of the visible light illuminance Qy is equal to or greater than the predetermined number. If the time is greater than the predetermined number, it is determined that the vehicle 10 has entered the tunnel 11 and the light 7 Lights up.

  Next, details of the control when the light 7 is turned on in the automatic light control of the third embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Each step in FIG. 7 is executed by a CPU provided in the control unit 5.

  In FIG. 7, steps S24a and S24b are provided instead of step S24 of FIG. Further, step S32 is added after step S31 in FIG. Other steps are the same as those in FIG.

  If it is detected in steps S22 and S23 that the infrared illuminance Qx is lower than the threshold Th1 and the visible light illuminance Qy is between the thresholds Th2 and Th3, the timer of the timer 5b is started in step S24a. Then, the processes in steps S25 to S28 are repeatedly executed until the timer expires in step S24b (that is, until the time counted by the time measuring unit 5b reaches a predetermined time). Since the processes in steps S25 to S28 are the same as those in FIG. 5, the description thereof is omitted here.

  When the timer expires in step S24b (step S24b; YES), the processes in steps S29 to S31 are executed. Since these processes are also the same as those in FIG. 5, the description thereof is omitted here. After execution of step S31, the process proceeds to step S32, the timer of the time measuring unit 5b is reset, and a series of operations is terminated.

  In the present invention, various embodiments other than those described above can be adopted. For example, in FIG. 1, the travel distance detection unit 5 a is provided in the control unit 5, but the travel distance detection unit 5 a may be provided independently of the control unit 5. Similarly, in FIG. 6, the timing unit 5 b is provided in the control unit 5, but the timing unit 5 b may be provided independently of the control unit 5.

  In FIG. 1, the travel distance detector 5a detects the travel distance of the vehicle 10 based on the vehicle speed information input from the vehicle speed sensor 8, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in the case of an electric vehicle, the travel distance detector 5a may detect the travel distance of the vehicle 10 based on the rotational speed of the travel motor.

  In the case of FIG. 3, when the number of increases / decreases in the visible light illuminance Qy reaches four times, it is determined that the tunnel has entered and the light 7 is turned on. The light 7 may be turned on when it is determined that the vehicle has entered.

  In the above embodiment, the infrared sensor 1 and the visible light sensor 3 are provided on the dashboard in the vehicle. However, these sensors can be used in the vehicle 10 as long as the illuminance around the vehicle can be detected. It can be installed anywhere. Therefore, for example, each sensor may be provided on the roof of the vehicle 10.

  The infrared sensor 1 may be a dedicated sensor provided for auto light control, or may share an infrared sensor used for auto air conditioner control. The infrared sensor for controlling the air conditioner is installed to detect the amount of infrared light incident on the vehicle and determine the heat felt by the user in the vehicle. By sharing the infrared sensor for controlling the automatic air conditioner with the infrared sensor for controlling the automatic light, it is not necessary to provide a new sensor for controlling the automatic light.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Infrared sensor 2 Infrared illuminance detection part 3 Visible light sensor 4 Visible light illuminance detection part 5 Control part 5a Travel distance detection part 5b Timekeeping part 6 Memory | storage part 7 Light 8 Vehicle speed sensor 100, 200 Vehicle light control apparatus Th1 threshold value (1st threshold value) )
Th2 threshold (second threshold)
Th3 threshold (third threshold)

Claims (4)

In a vehicle light control device that is mounted on a vehicle and controls lighting of the light of the vehicle based on illuminance around the vehicle,
An infrared sensor for detecting infrared rays around the vehicle;
An infrared illuminance detection unit that detects infrared illuminance from the output of the infrared sensor;
A visible light sensor for detecting visible light around the vehicle;
A visible light illuminance detector that detects the illuminance of visible light from the output of the visible light sensor;
A storage unit that stores a first threshold value set for infrared illuminance, a second threshold value set for visible light illuminance, and a third threshold value smaller than the second threshold value;
The lighting of the light is controlled based on the illuminance of infrared rays detected by the infrared illuminance detection unit, the illuminance of visible light detected by the visible light illuminance detection unit, and the threshold values stored in the storage unit. A control unit,
The control unit is configured such that the infrared illuminance detected by the infrared illuminance detection unit is lower than the first threshold value, and the illuminance of visible light detected by the visible light illuminance detection unit is the second threshold value. And the third threshold value, the light is turned on when the increase / decrease is repeated. The vehicle light control device according to claim 1,
The controller is
A mileage detection unit for detecting the mileage of the vehicle;
Each time the travel distance detection unit detects that the vehicle has traveled a certain distance, the infrared illuminance detected by the infrared illuminance detection unit is compared with the first threshold value, and the visible light illuminance detection unit The detected illuminance of visible light is compared with the second threshold and the third threshold,
Based on the comparison result, the number of times the illuminance of visible light is increased or decreased between the second threshold and the third threshold in a state where the illuminance of infrared rays is lower than the first threshold,
The vehicle light control device, wherein the light is turned on when the counted number reaches a predetermined number. The vehicle light control device according to claim 1,
The controller is
A mileage detection unit for detecting the mileage of the vehicle;
From the time when the illuminance of the infrared light is lower than the first threshold and the illuminance of the visible light is lower than the second threshold, the travel distance detected by the travel distance detector reaches a predetermined distance. The infrared illuminance detected by the infrared illuminance detection unit is compared with the first threshold value, and the illuminance of visible light detected by the visible light illuminance detection unit is compared with the second threshold value and the third threshold value. ,
Based on the comparison result, the number of times the illuminance of visible light is increased or decreased between the second threshold and the third threshold in a state where the illuminance of infrared rays is lower than the first threshold,
When the travel distance detected by the travel distance detection unit reaches the predetermined distance, the vehicle light control device turns on the light if the counted number is equal to or greater than the predetermined number. The vehicle light control device according to claim 1,
The controller is
A timing unit that starts timing from the time when the illuminance of infrared rays is lower than the first threshold and the illuminance of visible light is lower than the second threshold;
Comparison between the infrared illuminance detected by the infrared illuminance detection unit and the first threshold and the visible light detected by the visible light illuminance detection unit until the time measured by the time measurement unit reaches a predetermined time. A comparison of the illuminance of light with the second threshold and the third threshold;
Based on the comparison result, the number of times the illuminance of visible light is increased or decreased between the second threshold and the third threshold in a state where the illuminance of infrared rays is lower than the first threshold,
The vehicle light control device according to claim 1, wherein when the time counted by the time measuring unit reaches the predetermined time, the light is turned on if the counted number is equal to or greater than the predetermined number.

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