JP2015058731A - Lighting control device for headlight of vehicle, and headlight system of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve an appropriate light distribution control even when mis-detection occurs during ADB (Adaptive Driving Beam) control.SOLUTION: A lighting control device is for controlling a light irradiation state of a headlight of a vehicle. The lighting control device comprises: a vehicle detecting part which detects a front vehicle on the basis of an image captured by a camera; a headlight drive controller which sets a light irradiation range corresponding to a position of the front vehicle, generates a control signal corresponding to the light irradiation range and output it to the headlight of the vehicle; and a front vehicle-determining part which determines whether the front vehicle disappears from a predetermined determining range included in an angle of view of the camera on the basis of the detection result by the vehicle detecting part. When the front vehicle disappears, the front vehicle-determining part makes the headlight drive controller keep the light irradiation range which has been set just prior to the disappear of the front vehicle.

Description

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

  When driving a vehicle at night, the driver basically confirms the front of the vehicle by irradiating a high beam with a headlamp, and switches to a low beam as necessary. Is often used. At this time, if light is irradiated above the so-called cut-off line, glare may be imparted to oncoming vehicles and preceding vehicles (hereinafter referred to as “front vehicles”). For this reason, in recent years, the position of the front vehicle lamp (tail lamp or headlamp) is detected using an image obtained by photographing the front vehicle with a camera mounted on the host vehicle, and the position of the front vehicle falls within the light shielding range. Various light distribution control techniques (ADB control) for controlling the high beam irradiation pattern in this way have been proposed (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-233201). According to this technique, it is possible to suppress glare to the vehicle ahead and improve early detection of pedestrians and distance visibility.

  Incidentally, the camera used for ADB control outputs not only normal data but also erroneous data due to erroneous detection. The erroneous detection here is, for example, a case where the preceding vehicle temporarily disappears from the shooting range of the camera when the host vehicle travels on a rough road surface. In this case, in the conventional ADB control, since there is no vehicle ahead, it is determined that the light shielding range is unnecessary, and the high beam is fully turned on. For this reason, when the preceding vehicle appears again, there is an inconvenience that glare is given to the preceding vehicle. On the other hand, on the control device side that executes ADB control, in order to avoid erroneous control due to erroneous data, it is also possible to eliminate erroneous data that occurs suddenly, for example, by moving average processing of data. It is done. However, when time-series data processing such as the illustrated moving average procedure is adopted, the processing time required to detect erroneous data is long, and during that time, the ADB control is in an inappropriate state and continues to give glare to the preceding vehicle. There is. For this reason, it is desired to execute ADB control corresponding to erroneous detection in the shortest possible time, ideally in real time.

JP 2010-238201

  A specific aspect of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of realizing appropriate light distribution control even when erroneous detection occurs during ADB control.

  A lighting control device for a vehicle headlamp according to one aspect of the present invention is (a) a lighting control device for controlling a light irradiation state by a vehicle headlamp, and (b) is photographed by a camera. A vehicle detection unit for detecting a forward vehicle based on the image; and (c) a light irradiation range corresponding to the position of the front vehicle and generating a control signal corresponding to the light irradiation range to generate a vehicle headlamp. And (d) determining whether or not the preceding vehicle has disappeared from a predetermined determination range included in the angle of view of the camera, based on the detection result by the vehicle detecting unit. The vehicle headlamp lighting control device includes a front vehicle determination unit that causes the headlamp drive control unit to maintain the light irradiation range set immediately before the front vehicle disappears when the vehicle head disappears.

  According to the above-described configuration, for example, when the preceding vehicle temporarily disappears from the front of the host vehicle on a slope, a road with undulations, a curved road, or the like, the control state of the vehicle headlamp immediately before that is maintained. Therefore, it is possible to realize appropriate light distribution control even when an erroneous detection occurs during ADB control, as compared with a case where the high beam is immediately turned on when the preceding vehicle disappears.

  In the lighting control device described above, the determination range is preferably an angle range set narrower than the angle of view inside the angle of view of the camera, for example.

  If a vehicle ahead that disappeared from the angle of view of the camera disappears, it is likely that the vehicle ahead disappeared due to circumstances such as a lane change. It is considered that the necessity for the ADB control is low. Therefore, by setting a determination range that is an angle range set narrower than the angle of view, it is possible to more accurately determine the disappearance of the preceding vehicle that can be subject to ADB control existing in the front of the host vehicle or in a direction close thereto. be able to.

  The above lighting control device turns off the vehicle headlamp to the headlamp drive control unit when the vehicle angle in the front-rear direction of the host vehicle exceeds the reference value within the reference period when the preceding vehicle disappears. It is also preferable to further include a vehicle body angle determination unit for reducing or dimming.

  Thereby, when the preceding vehicle disappears due to the slope, the light distribution control immediately before the disappearance of the preceding vehicle is maintained, and when the own vehicle approaches the slope after that, the high beam can be completely turned off. Similarly, when a road with severe undulations continues, the high beam can be completely turned off when the vehicle body angle changes after the preceding vehicle disappears. Therefore, glare to the vehicle ahead can be suppressed.

  When the front vehicle disappears, the above lighting control device causes the headlamp drive control unit to turn off or dimm the vehicle headlamp when the steering angle of the steering wheel of the host vehicle exceeds a reference value. It is also preferable to further include a steering angle determination unit.

  As a result, when the front vehicle disappears by hiding behind the obstacle on a curved road with many obstacles, the light distribution control immediately before the disappearance of the front vehicle is maintained, and then the vehicle ahead passes by the obstacle. When it appears, the high beam can be turned off completely. Further, even when the relative positional relationship between the preceding vehicle and the host vehicle changes significantly on a relatively steep curve road, the high beam can be turned off completely. Therefore, glare to the vehicle ahead can be suppressed.

  A vehicle headlamp system according to one aspect of the present invention is a vehicle headlamp system including the above-described lighting control device and a vehicle headlamp controlled by the lighting control device.

  According to the above configuration, a vehicle headlamp system capable of realizing appropriate light distribution control even when erroneous detection during ADB control occurs is obtained.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a vehicle headlamp system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of each lamp unit. FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram illustrating an optical configuration of each lamp unit. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining an operation procedure of the vehicle headlamp system. FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B are side views schematically showing a situation when the host vehicle is traveling. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the lost determination range. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a vehicle headlamp system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining an operation procedure of the vehicle headlamp system. FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B are side views schematically showing a state when the host vehicle is traveling.

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

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a vehicle headlamp system according to a first 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 a space (target space) in front of the host vehicle. The vehicle detection unit 2, the control unit 3, the vehicle height sensor 4, and a pair of lamp units (vehicle headlamps) 20R and 20L are configured.

  The camera 1 is installed at a predetermined position of the host vehicle (for example, in the vicinity of an indoor rearview mirror), captures a space in front of the host vehicle, and outputs an image (image data).

  The vehicle detection unit 2 performs predetermined image processing using the image data output from the camera 1 to detect the position of the vehicle ahead and outputs the position information to the control unit 3. The “front vehicle” here is a preceding vehicle or an oncoming vehicle. The vehicle detection unit 2 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 vehicle detection unit 2 is configured integrally with the camera 1, for example. Note that the function of the vehicle detection unit 2 may be realized in the control unit 3.

  The control unit 3 is realized by executing a predetermined operation program in a computer system having, for example, a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and includes a forward vehicle determination unit 11, a vehicle body angle determination unit 12, and a light as functional blocks. An irradiation range setting unit 16 and a light distribution control unit 17 are provided. In the present embodiment, the light irradiation range setting unit 16 and the light distribution control unit 17 correspond to a “headlamp drive control unit” (the same applies to the second embodiment described later).

  The forward vehicle determination unit 11 determines whether the forward vehicle has disappeared and whether the forward vehicle has appeared, based on the positional information of the forward vehicle detected by the vehicle detection unit 2.

  The vehicle body angle determination unit 12 calculates a vehicle body angle in the front-rear direction of the host vehicle (for example, an angle with respect to the horizontal) based on the front and rear vehicle height values detected by the vehicle height sensor 4. Then, it is determined whether or not the degree of change in the vehicle body angle exceeds a certain standard.

  The light irradiation range setting unit 16 sets a light irradiation range including a non-irradiation range corresponding to the position of the preceding vehicle detected by the vehicle detection unit 2.

  The light distribution control unit 17 generates a control signal (light distribution control signal) corresponding to the light distribution pattern based on the light irradiation range set by the irradiation range setting unit 16 and the light amount set by the light amount setting unit 15. , Output to each lamp unit 20R, 20L.

  The lamp unit 20 </ b> R is installed on the front right side of the host vehicle and is used for irradiating light that illuminates the front of the host vehicle, and includes an LED lighting circuit 21, a matrix LED 22, and a low beam LED 23. Similarly, the lamp unit 20L is installed on the front left side of the host vehicle and is used for irradiating light that illuminates the front of the host vehicle. The lamp unit 20L includes an LED lighting circuit 21, a matrix LED 22, and a low beam LED 23.

  The LED lighting circuit 21 selectively drives each LED by supplying a drive signal to a plurality of LEDs (light emitting diodes) included in the matrix LED 22 based on a control signal output from the light distribution control unit 17. Light up.

  The matrix LED 22 includes a plurality of LEDs arranged in a matrix, and the plurality of LEDs are selectively lit based on the drive signal supplied from the LED lighting circuit 21. The matrix LED 22 can turn on a plurality of LEDs independently and control the irradiation intensity (brightness).

  The low beam LED 23 includes one or more LEDs, and lights the LEDs based on a drive signal supplied from the LED lighting circuit 21.

  FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of each lamp unit. As illustrated, the lamp unit 20L (or 20R) includes a high beam unit 26 including a matrix LED 22 and a lens 24 disposed in front of the matrix LED 22, and a low beam unit 27 including a low beam LED 23 and a lens 25 disposed in front thereof. And comprising. FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram illustrating an optical configuration of each lamp unit. The light emitted by selectively turning on the plurality of LEDs of the matrix LED 22 is projected forward by the lens 24 to form a high beam. Similarly, although not shown, a low beam is formed by projecting light emitted by turning on the LED of the low beam LED 23 forward by the lens 25.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining an operation procedure of the vehicle headlamp system. FIGS. 4A and 4B are side views schematically showing the state of the host vehicle when traveling. In the following, referring to each figure, when the traveling vehicle approaches the slope (FIG. 4A) and when the traveling vehicle approaches the undulating road (FIG. 4B). The operation of the vehicle headlamp system will be described in detail.

  A vehicle ahead is detected by the vehicle detector 2 (step S11), and normal light distribution control is performed based on the position information of the vehicle ahead (step S12). Specifically, a light irradiation range corresponding to the position of the preceding vehicle detected by the vehicle detection unit 2 is set by the light irradiation range setting unit 16, and the light distribution control unit 17 corresponding to the set light irradiation range. Thus, a light distribution control signal is generated and output to the lamp units 20R and 20L.

  Next, the forward vehicle determination unit 11 determines whether or not the forward vehicle has disappeared (step S13). Here, it may be determined whether or not the preceding vehicle no longer exists from within the angle of view of the camera 1, but it is also preferable to determine using a lost determination range as described below.

  FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the lost determination range. As shown in FIG. 5, the forward vehicle determination unit 11 determines whether or not the forward vehicle no longer exists in the lost determination range set narrower than the angle of view inside the angle of view (for example, ± 20 °) of the camera 1. Is more preferable. The lost determination range here can be set to a range of ± 14 ° within the angle of view of the camera 1, for example. This is probably because when a vehicle ahead that disappeared from the angle of view disappeared, the vehicle ahead disappeared due to circumstances such as a lane change. This is because the necessity of ADB control corresponding to the above is low. That is, by setting the lost determination range, it is possible to more accurately determine the disappearance of the preceding vehicle that can be the target of ADB control existing in the front of the host vehicle or in the direction close thereto.

  If the preceding vehicle has not disappeared (step S13; NO), the process returns to step S11 and the subsequent processing is executed. On the other hand, when the preceding vehicle disappears (step S13; YES), the preceding vehicle determination unit 11 outputs a command to maintain the light distribution control at that time to the light irradiation range setting unit 16. In response to this, the light irradiation range setting unit 16 maintains the light irradiation range set immediately before the disappearance of the preceding vehicle. Thereby, the light distribution control immediately before the disappearance of the preceding vehicle is maintained (step S14). In step S14, the forward vehicle determination unit 11 outputs a predetermined command to the light distribution control unit 17, and the light distribution control unit 17 correspondingly outputs a light distribution control signal immediately before the disappearance of the front vehicle. It can be replaced by maintaining.

  Next, the forward vehicle determination unit 11 determines whether or not a forward vehicle has appeared (step S15). Here, the appearing forward vehicle may be the same vehicle as the forward vehicle determined to have disappeared in step S13, or may be a different vehicle.

  When the preceding vehicle does not appear (step S15; NO), the vehicle body angle determination unit 12 determines whether or not the change degree of the vehicle body angle of the host vehicle is a change degree of 0.3 degrees or more in 100 milliseconds. Determination is made (step S16). In addition, the reference | standard regarding the change degree of a vehicle body angle here is an illustration, Comprising: It is not limited to this.

  When the degree of change of the vehicle body angle exceeds the above-mentioned fixed reference (step S16; YES), the vehicle body angle determination unit 12 outputs a command to turn off the high beam to the light irradiation range setting unit 16. In response to this, the light irradiation range setting unit 16 sets all of the light irradiation ranges as non-irradiation ranges. A light distribution control signal is generated by the light distribution control unit 17 corresponding to the set light irradiation range, and is output to the lamp units 20R and 20L, so that all the high beams are turned off (step S17). After executing step S17, the process returns to step S15 described above. In the process of step S17, the vehicle body angle determination unit 12 outputs a predetermined command to the light distribution control unit 17, and the light distribution control unit 17 generates a light distribution control signal for completely turning off the high beam correspondingly. -It can be replaced by output.

  On the other hand, when the change degree of the vehicle body angle does not exceed the above-described fixed reference (step S16; NO), the vehicle body angle determination unit 12 determines a predetermined time (for example, from the time when it is determined that the preceding vehicle does not appear) It is determined whether or not three seconds have elapsed (step S18). If the predetermined time has not elapsed (step S18; NO), the process returns to step S15 described above.

  In addition, when a predetermined time has elapsed from the time when it is determined that no preceding vehicle has appeared (step S18; YES), normal light distribution control is performed (step S19). Moreover, also when it determines with the front vehicle having appeared in the said step S15 (step S15; YES), normal light distribution control is performed (step S19). Specifically, a light irradiation range corresponding to the position of the preceding vehicle detected by the vehicle detection unit 2 is set by the light irradiation range setting unit 16, and the light distribution control unit 17 corresponding to the set light irradiation range. Thus, a light distribution control signal is generated and output to the lamp units 20R and 20L.

  According to the first embodiment as described above, when the preceding vehicle disappears due to the slope, the light distribution control immediately before the disappearance of the preceding vehicle is maintained, and when the own vehicle approaches the slope after that, the high beam is fully transmitted. Turns off. In addition, when a road with intense undulations continues, the high beam is completely turned off when the vehicle angle changes after the disappearance of the preceding vehicle. Therefore, appropriate light distribution control can be realized even when an erroneous detection occurs during ADB control, and glare to the preceding vehicle can be suppressed.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment described above, the light distribution control is performed based on the change degree of the vehicle body angle after the appearance of the preceding vehicle. By doing so, appropriate light distribution control can be realized. Hereinafter, the embodiment in that case will be described in detail. In addition, about the matter which is common in 1st Embodiment, description is abbreviate | omitted suitably.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a vehicle headlamp system according to the second embodiment. The vehicle headlamp system shown in FIG. 6 is different from the vehicle headlamp of the first embodiment described above in that the vehicle height sensor 4 and the vehicle body angle determination unit 12 are omitted, as well as the steering angle sensor 5 and the steering. The point provided with the angle determination part 13 differs, and other than that is common. The detailed configuration of the pair of lamp units (vehicle headlamps) 20R and 20L is also common (see FIG. 2).

  The steering angle sensor 5 detects a steering angle of a handle provided in the host vehicle. The steering angle determination unit 13 is one of functional blocks in the control unit 3 and determines whether the magnitude of the steering angle detected by the steering angle sensor 5 exceeds a certain reference.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining an operation procedure of the vehicle headlamp system. FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B are side views schematically showing how the host vehicle travels. In the following, referring to each figure, when the traveling vehicle is approaching a curved road with many obstacles (such as afforestation) (FIG. 8 (A)), the traveling vehicle is a relatively steep curve. The operation of the vehicle headlamp system when approaching the road (FIG. 8B) will be described in detail.

  Here, since the process of step S31-step S35 is common with step S11-step S15 in the flowchart (refer FIG. 3) of above-described 1st Embodiment, those description is abbreviate | omitted suitably and about the process regarding step S36. This will be described in detail.

  When the preceding vehicle does not appear (step S35; NO), the steering angle determination unit 13 has a change degree of the steering angle of the host vehicle after the disappearance of the preceding vehicle is a change degree of 80 degrees or more in absolute value. Whether or not (step S36). In addition, the reference | standard regarding the change degree of a steering angle here is an illustration, Comprising: It is not limited to this. In addition, the degree of change of 80 degrees as an absolute value is not necessarily a value based on the steering angle of 0 degrees.

  If the degree of change in the steering angle exceeds the above-mentioned fixed reference (step S36; YES), the steering angle determination unit 13 outputs a command to turn off the high beam to the light irradiation range setting unit 16. Thereby, all the high beams are turned off (step S37). In step S37, the steering angle determination unit 13 outputs a predetermined command to the light distribution control unit 17, and the light distribution control unit 17 generates a light distribution control signal that turns off the high beam in response to the command. -It can be replaced by output.

  On the other hand, when the degree of change in the steering angle does not exceed the above-described fixed standard (step S36; NO), the steering angle determination unit 13 determines a predetermined time (for example, from the time when it is determined that the preceding vehicle does not appear) It is determined whether or not 3 seconds have elapsed (step S38). If the predetermined time has not elapsed (step S38; NO), the process returns to step S35 described above.

  In addition, when a predetermined time has elapsed from the time when it is determined that the preceding vehicle has not appeared (step S38; YES), normal light distribution control is performed (step S39). Moreover, also when it determines with the front vehicle having appeared in the said step S35 (step S35; YES), normal light distribution control is performed (step S39).

  According to the second embodiment as described above, when a preceding vehicle disappears by being hidden behind an obstacle on a curved road with many obstacles, the light distribution control immediately before the disappearance of the preceding vehicle is maintained, and thereafter When a vehicle ahead appears by passing through an obstacle, the high beam is completely turned off. Also, the high beam is completely turned off when the relative positional relationship between the preceding vehicle and the host vehicle changes significantly on a relatively steep curve road. Therefore, appropriate light distribution control can be realized even when an erroneous detection occurs during ADB control, and glare to the preceding vehicle can be suppressed.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the content of each embodiment mentioned above, In the range of the summary of this invention, it can change and implement variously. For example, in each embodiment, the high beam is completely turned off when a certain condition is satisfied. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the light amount of the high beam may be reduced when the certain condition is satisfied. Further, the determination reference value for the degree of change in the vehicle body angle and the steering angle may be variably set according to the vehicle speed of the host vehicle. Moreover, although the thing using a light emitting element was demonstrated as a lamp unit used as the object of ADB control, a lamp unit is not limited to this structure.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1: Camera 2: Vehicle detection part 3: Control part 4: Vehicle height sensor 5: Steering angle sensor 11: Front vehicle determination part 12: Vehicle body angle determination part 13: Steering angle determination part 16: Light irradiation range storage part 17: Arrangement Light control unit 20R, 20L: Lamp unit 21: LED driver 22: Matrix LED
23: Low beam LED
24, 25: Lens 26: High beam unit 27: Low beam unit

Claims (5)

A lighting control device for controlling a light irradiation state by a vehicle headlamp,
A vehicle detection unit for detecting a forward vehicle based on an image captured by the camera;
A headlamp drive control unit that sets a light irradiation range corresponding to the position of the preceding vehicle, generates a control signal corresponding to the light irradiation range, and outputs the control signal to the vehicle headlamp;
Based on the detection result by the vehicle detection unit, it is determined whether or not the preceding vehicle has disappeared from a predetermined determination range included in the angle of view of the camera. A front vehicle determination unit that causes the light drive control unit to maintain the light irradiation range set immediately before the disappearance of the front vehicle;
A lighting control device for a vehicle headlamp. The determination range is an angle range set narrower than the angle of view inside the angle of view of the camera.
The lighting control device according to claim 1. When the front vehicle disappears and the vehicle body angle in the front-rear direction of the host vehicle exceeds a reference value within a reference period, the headlamp drive control unit turns off the headlamp for the vehicle or dimmes it. A vehicle body angle determination unit for
The lighting control device according to claim 1 or 2. When the front vehicle disappears, a steering angle determination unit that causes the headlamp drive control unit to turn off or dimm the vehicle headlamp when the steering angle of the steering wheel of the host vehicle exceeds a reference value. , Further comprising
The lighting control device according to claim 1 or 2. The vehicle headlamp lighting control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A vehicle headlamp controlled by the lighting control device,
Including a vehicle headlamp system.