JP2017001453A - Headlight control device and headlight control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a headlight control device that enables a driver to recognize a surrounding situation.SOLUTION: A headlight control device for controlling a vehicle headlight having a plurality of lamps that can independently change an illuminating direction comprises: a traveling road information acquisition unit for acquiring traveling road information of a vehicle; a control unit for controlling an illuminating direction of the headlight into a traveling direction of the vehicle indicated by the traveling road information acquired by the traveling road information acquisition unit; and a marker detection unit for detecting a marker in front of the vehicle. The control unit controls the illuminating direction of the headlight into the traveling direction of the vehicle and the direction of the marker detected by the marker detection unit regardless of a gaze direction of a vehicle driver when the marker detection unit has detected the marker.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to a headlight control device and a headlight control method, and more particularly to a headlight control device and a headlight for controlling a headlight of a vehicle having a plurality of lamps whose irradiation directions can be changed independently of each other. The present invention relates to a lamp control method.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a headlight control device that includes a car navigation system, a radar, a front camera, and an inner camera in a vehicle and controls the headlamp of the vehicle based on outputs thereof is known. For example, the headlamp control device described in Patent Document 1 detects a target such as a pedestrian in front of a vehicle using a radar and a front camera, and radiates light to the detected target. Control the illumination direction of the lamp. In addition, the headlamp control device detects the driver's line of sight using the inner camera, and if it is determined that the driver is in a gaze state, the headlamp illumination direction is set in the driver's line of sight. change.

JP 2010-000893 A

  The conventional headlamp control device controls the irradiation direction of the headlamp in preference to the driver's line-of-sight direction over the target direction. That is, even if there is a target other than the line-of-sight direction, the irradiation direction of the headlamp is controlled in the line-of-sight direction. For this reason, there is a problem that it is difficult for the driver to recognize the surrounding situation because irradiation of the headlamp does not reach the direction other than the line-of-sight direction.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a headlamp control device that allows a driver to recognize surrounding conditions.

  (1) In order to achieve the above object, a headlamp control device according to an embodiment of the present invention controls a vehicle headlamp having a plurality of lamps whose irradiation directions can be changed independently of each other. It is an illumination light control apparatus, Comprising: The vehicle which the travel path information which the travel path information acquisition part acquired the travel path information acquisition part which acquires the travel path information of the vehicle, and the travel path information acquisition part showed the irradiation direction of the headlamp A control unit that controls the vehicle in a traveling direction and a target detection unit that detects a target in front of the vehicle, and the control unit detects the target when the target detection unit detects the target. Regardless of the driver's line-of-sight direction, the irradiation direction of the headlamp is controlled to the traveling direction of the vehicle and the direction of the target detected by the target detection unit.

  (8) A headlamp control method according to another embodiment of the present invention is a headlamp control method for controlling a headlamp of a vehicle having a plurality of lamps whose irradiation directions can be changed independently of each other. A travel path information acquisition step for acquiring travel path information of the vehicle, a target detection step for detecting a target ahead of the vehicle, and the target detection in the target detection step, Irrespective of the line-of-sight direction of the driver of the vehicle, the irradiation direction of the headlamp is detected in the traveling direction of the vehicle indicated by the traveling path information acquired in the traveling path information acquiring step and in the target detecting step. And a control step for controlling the direction of the target.

  (9) A program according to another embodiment of the present invention is a program for controlling a headlamp of a vehicle having a plurality of lamps whose irradiation directions can be changed independently of each other, and the traveling path of the vehicle A path information acquisition step for acquiring information, a target detection step for detecting a target in front of the vehicle, and a line of sight of the driver of the vehicle when the target is detected in the target detection step Regardless of the direction, the direction in which the headlamp is irradiated indicates the direction of travel of the vehicle indicated by the travel path information acquired in the travel path information acquisition step and the direction of the target detected in the target detection step. This is a program for causing a computer to execute control steps to be controlled.

  The present invention can be realized not only as a headlight control device including such a characteristic processing unit, but also for causing a computer to function as a characteristic processing unit included in the headlight control device. It can also be realized as a program. Such a program can be distributed via a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory) or a communication network such as the Internet. . Further, the present invention can be realized as a semiconductor integrated circuit that realizes part or all of the headlamp control device, or can be realized as a headlamp control system including the headlamp control device.

  According to the present invention, the driver can recognize the surrounding situation.

It is a figure which shows the irradiation example of a headlamp when the irradiation direction of a headlamp is controlled to the direction of a target in the conventional headlamp control apparatus. In the conventional headlamp control apparatus, it is a figure which shows the example of irradiation of the headlamp when a driver | operator is in a gaze state. In the conventional headlamp control apparatus, it is a figure which shows the example of irradiation of a headlamp in case the some pedestrian exists ahead of a vehicle. In the conventional headlamp control device, when there are a plurality of pedestrians in front of the vehicle, it is a diagram schematically showing the appearance from the front windshield of the vehicle. It is a figure which shows the structure of the headlamp control system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of the headlamp control apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process which the headlamp control apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention performs. It is the figure which showed typically the irradiation direction of the headlamp. It is a figure which shows typically the front of the vehicle through a windshield. It is the figure which showed typically the irradiation direction of the headlamp. It is the figure which showed typically the irradiation direction of the headlamp. It is the figure which showed typically the irradiation direction of the headlamp.

[Knowledge that became the basis of the present invention]
The present inventor has found that the following problems occur with respect to the conventional headlamp control device described in the “Background Art” section.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of irradiation of a headlamp when the irradiation direction of the headlamp is controlled to the direction of a target. As shown in FIG. 1, the headlamp control device described in Patent Document 1 uses a radar and a front camera to detect a target such as a pedestrian 52 in front of an automobile (hereinafter referred to as “vehicle”) 40. To detect. Here, it is assumed that the vehicle 40 is traveling from the left side to the right side. Further, the headlamp control device controls the irradiation direction of the headlamp of the vehicle 40 so that the detected target is irradiated with light. Thereby, the driver can be made aware of the presence of a pedestrian.

  However, the headlamp control device described in Patent Literature 1 determines that the driver is in a gazing state when the driver is gazing at a certain direction for a predetermined time or more, and the vehicle 40 is in the gazing direction. Change the headlight control direction. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of irradiation of a headlamp when the driver is in a gaze state. As shown in FIG. 2, when the driver is gazing at the line-of-sight direction 54, the irradiation direction of the headlamp is controlled so as to irradiate light in the line-of-sight direction 54. For this reason, light is not irradiated to the pedestrian 52 diagonally ahead of the vehicle 40, and the driver may be delayed in noticing the presence of the pedestrian 52.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of headlamp irradiation when there are a plurality of pedestrians in front of the vehicle 40. When the driver is gazing at the pedestrian 53, the irradiation direction of the headlamp is controlled so that light is irradiated in the line-of-sight direction 54. FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a state where the outside is seen from the windshield of the vehicle 40 at this time. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, although light is irradiated to the pedestrian 53, light is not irradiated to the pedestrian 52 in the left front where the driver is not gazing. For this reason, the driver may be delayed in noticing the presence of the pedestrian 52.

  As described above, in the headlamp control device described in Patent Document 1, the driver's line-of-sight direction 54 is prioritized over the direction of the target such as the pedestrian 52 to control the irradiation direction of the headlamp. That is, even if there is a target other than the line-of-sight direction 54, the irradiation direction of the headlamp is controlled in the line-of-sight direction 54. For this reason, there is a problem that the headlamp is not sufficiently irradiated in a direction other than the line-of-sight direction 54 and it is difficult for the driver to recognize the surrounding situation.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems. First, embodiments of the present invention will be listed and described.

  (1) A headlamp control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is a headlamp control apparatus for controlling a headlamp of a vehicle having a plurality of lamps whose irradiation directions can be changed independently of each other, A travel path information acquisition unit that acquires travel path information of the vehicle, and a control unit that controls the irradiation direction of the headlamp to the travel direction of the vehicle indicated by the travel path information acquired by the travel path information acquisition unit And a target detection unit that detects a target in front of the vehicle, and the control unit relates to a line-of-sight direction of the driver of the vehicle when the target detection unit detects the target. First, the irradiation direction of the headlamp is controlled to the traveling direction of the vehicle and the direction of the target detected by the target detection unit.

  According to this configuration, when the target detection unit detects the target regardless of the driver's line-of-sight direction, the target is irradiated with light. Therefore, even if the driver is looking in a direction different from the direction of the target, he / she can recognize that the target is being illuminated by peripheral vision, etc. Can be moved. For this reason, the driver can recognize the surrounding situation. For example, in a situation where the driver is gazing at the vehicle ahead while driving the vehicle, if a pedestrian walking on the side road is detected as a target, the pedestrian is irradiated with light. The driver can recognize that light is irradiated on the target on the side road by peripheral vision. When light is irradiated, the driver moves the line of sight in the light irradiation direction. For this reason, the driver can recognize the pedestrian and can drive the vehicle while paying attention to the pedestrian.

  (2) For example, when the target detection unit detects a plurality of the targets, the control unit determines the irradiation direction of the headlamps regardless of the line-of-sight direction of the driver of the vehicle. And the direction of the plurality of targets detected by the target detection unit may be controlled.

  According to this configuration, even if there are a plurality of targets, all the targets are irradiated with light. For this reason, the driver can recognize the surrounding situation by peripheral vision. For example, when there are targets such as pedestrians on the left and right sides of the vehicle, both targets are irradiated with light. For this reason, the driver can recognize the target on the left and right of the vehicle by peripheral vision, and can drive while paying attention to the target.

  (3) Moreover, the above-described headlight control device further includes a risk level determination unit that determines a risk level indicating a level of risk to the vehicle of the target detected by the target detection unit, and the control When the target detection unit detects the target, the unit may further control the amount of light applied to the target based on the risk determined by the risk.

  According to this structure, the light quantity irradiated to the target is adjusted according to the risk level of the target with respect to the vehicle. For example, a target that may come into contact with a vehicle such as a pedestrian walking on a roadway or a bicycle is determined to have a high risk level. Therefore, by irradiating such a target with strong light, it is possible to make the driver easily notice the presence of the target. Therefore, the driver can drive while paying high attention to a target with high risk.

  (4) Moreover, the above-described headlight control device further includes a risk level determination unit that determines a risk level indicating a level of risk to the vehicle of the target detected by the target detection unit, and the control When the target is detected by the target detection unit, the unit may further control a light irradiation mode on the target based on the risk determined by the risk.

  According to this structure, the irradiation mode of the light to the target is controlled according to the risk level of the target with respect to the vehicle. For example, a target that may come into contact with a vehicle such as a pedestrian walking on a roadway or a bicycle is determined to have a high risk level. For this reason, by irradiating such a target with, for example, flashing light or irradiating light with a color different from other light such as blue light, it is easy for the driver to notice the presence of the target. can do. Therefore, the driver can drive while paying high attention to a target with high risk.

  (5) For example, the irradiation mode of the light to the target may be a mode in which the irradiation direction of the headlamp is moved in the direction of the target.

  According to this configuration, the irradiation direction of the headlamp is controlled so that the irradiation direction of the headlamp moves in the direction of the target. When the light moves, the driver will follow the moving light with his eyes. For this reason, a driver | operator's eyes | visual_axis can be guide | induced to the direction of a target and it can make a driver | operator easily notice presence of a target. Therefore, the driver can drive while paying high attention to a target with high risk.

  (6) Further, the target detection unit further determines the type of the detected target, and the control unit, when the type of the target detected by the target detection unit is a person, The headlamp may be controlled to irradiate the person with a high beam of light.

  According to this configuration, when a person is detected, the person is irradiated with a high beam. This makes it easier for the driver to notice the presence of a person.

  (7) Moreover, the said control part does not need to control the said headlamp with respect to the said vehicle, when the kind of the said target detected by the said target detection part is a vehicle.

  According to this configuration, each time an oncoming vehicle or a vehicle traveling ahead is detected, the vehicles are not irradiated with light, and for example, it is possible to prevent the driver and passengers of the oncoming vehicle from being dazzled. .

  (8) A headlamp control method according to another embodiment of the present invention is a headlamp control method for controlling a headlamp of a vehicle having a plurality of lamps whose irradiation directions can be changed independently of each other. A travel path information acquisition step for acquiring travel path information of the vehicle, a target detection step for detecting a target ahead of the vehicle, and the target detection in the target detection step, Irrespective of the line-of-sight direction of the driver of the vehicle, the irradiation direction of the headlamp is detected in the traveling direction of the vehicle indicated by the traveling path information acquired in the traveling path information acquiring step and in the target detecting step. And a control step for controlling the direction of the target.

  According to this configuration, when a target is detected in the target detection step regardless of the driver's line-of-sight direction, the target is irradiated with light. Even if the driver is looking in a direction different from the direction of the target, he can recognize that the target is being illuminated by peripheral vision, etc., and the driver immediately moves his gaze to the target. be able to. For this reason, the driver can recognize the surrounding situation. For example, in a situation where the driver is gazing at the vehicle ahead while driving the vehicle, when a pedestrian walking on the side road is detected as a target, the pedestrian is irradiated with light. The driver can recognize that light is irradiated on the target on the side road by peripheral vision. When light is irradiated, the driver moves the line of sight in the light irradiation direction. For this reason, the driver can recognize the pedestrian and can drive the vehicle while paying attention to the pedestrian.

  (9) A program according to another embodiment of the present invention is a program for controlling a headlamp of a vehicle having a plurality of lamps whose irradiation directions can be changed independently of each other, and the traveling path of the vehicle A path information acquisition step for acquiring information, a target detection step for detecting a target in front of the vehicle, and a line of sight of the driver of the vehicle when the target is detected in the target detection step Regardless of the direction, the direction in which the headlamp is irradiated indicates the direction of travel of the vehicle indicated by the travel path information acquired in the travel path information acquisition step and the direction of the target detected in the target detection step. This is a program for causing a computer to execute control steps to be controlled.

  This configuration has the same configuration as the headlamp control method shown in (8). The operation and effect are the same as those shown in (8).

Note that these comprehensive or specific modes may be realized by a recording medium such as a system, an integrated circuit, a semiconductor device, and a computer-readable CD-ROM, and the system, method, integrated circuit, semiconductor device, and computer. You may implement | achieve with arbitrary combinations of a program or a recording medium.
[Details of the embodiment of the present invention]

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Each of the embodiments described below shows a preferred specific example of the present invention. Numerical values, shapes, components, arrangement positions and connection forms of components, steps, order of steps, and the like shown in the following embodiments are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The invention is specified by the claims. Therefore, among the constituent elements in the following embodiments, constituent elements that are not described in the independent claims indicating the highest concept of the present invention are not necessarily required to achieve the object of the present invention. It will be described as constituting a preferred form.
In addition, you may combine arbitrarily at least one part of embodiment described below.

(Embodiment)
[1. Overall system configuration]
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of the headlamp control system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The headlamp control system 1 is a system provided in a vehicle 40 such as an automobile, and includes a headlamp 11, a radar 21, a front camera 22, an inner camera 23, a car navigation system 24, and a headlamp. And a control device 30.

  The headlamps 11 are provided on the left and right of the front end portion of the vehicle 40, respectively. The left and right headlamps 11 each have a plurality of lamps (bulbs) and are configured such that the irradiation direction can be changed for each bulb. That is, the headlamp 11 has a drive unit that changes the optical axis direction in the vertical direction and the vehicle width direction for each bulb. By making a signal input to the drive unit different for each bulb, each bulb can irradiate light in different irradiation directions. The headlamp 11 may include, for example, four bulbs, and the four bulbs may be configured so that the irradiation direction can be changed independently of each other.

  Further, the headlamp 11 has a variable amount of light by controlling the voltage applied to the bulb for each bulb.

  Furthermore, the headlamp 11 may be configured to change the color of light for each bulb. For example, the color of light can be changed by using a full color LED bulb composed of three colors of LEDs (Light Emitting Diode) of RGB as the bulb.

  The headlamp 11 may be configured to blink light for each bulb. For example, the headlamp 11 is configured to blink light for each bulb by including an oscillation circuit.

  The radar 21 is attached to, for example, a front end portion of a front bumper in order to detect a target ahead of the vehicle 40. The radar 21 transmits radio waves of a predetermined frequency, receives radio waves reflected by obstacles such as vehicles and pedestrians in front of the vehicle 40, and outputs a received signal. The target refers to something that can hinder driving of the vehicle 40 such as a fallen object, a pedestrian, and an animal.

  The front camera 22 is a camera that images the front of the vehicle 40, and is attached to, for example, the front end of the roof of the vehicle 40 or a rearview mirror. The front camera 22 is composed of, for example, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor, a CMOS (Complementary MOS) image sensor, or the like. The front camera 22 outputs image data obtained by imaging the front of the vehicle 40. The front camera 22 may have a function of a night vision device that receives reflected light of near-infrared light emitted from a device provided on the front or bumper of the vehicle 40. Thereby, highly sensitive imaging is possible even at night.

  The inner camera 23 is a camera for imaging the eyes of the driver of the vehicle 40, and is attached to, for example, an instrument panel in a vehicle interior or a rearview mirror. Similarly to the front camera 22, the inner camera 23 is also composed of a CCD image sensor, a CMOS image sensor, or the like. The inner camera 23 outputs image data obtained by imaging the driver's eyes.

  For example, the car navigation system 24 is mounted on a dashboard in a vehicle interior, detects a position information, a GPS section, a storage section that stores road information, and a position around the current position based on the position information detected by the GPS section. An output unit that reads road information from the storage unit and outputs travel path information on which the vehicle 40 travels.

  The headlight control device 30 is a computer system that includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The reception signal output by the radar 21 and the image output by the front camera 22 are displayed. Based on the data, the image data output from the inner camera 23, and the traveling path information output from the car navigation system 24, the irradiation direction, light quantity, irradiation mode, and the like of the headlamp 11 are controlled.

[2. Configuration of Headlamp Control Device 30]
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the headlamp control device 30. The headlamp control device 30 is a functional configuration realized by executing a program stored in a storage device such as a ROM or a RAM, and has a traveling path information acquisition unit 31, a gaze direction detection unit 32, and a gaze. A state detection unit 33, a target detection unit 34, a risk determination unit 35, and a control unit 36 are provided.

  The travel path information acquisition unit 31 acquires travel path information of the vehicle 40 from the car navigation system 24.

  The line-of-sight direction detection unit 32 detects the line-of-sight direction of the driver from image data obtained by capturing the eyes of the driver captured by the inner camera 23. Since the method for detecting the line-of-sight direction is a known technique, detailed description thereof will not be repeated here. Instead of detecting the line-of-sight direction from the image data, the line-of-sight direction may be detected from an electrooculogram or the like. In this case, instead of the inner camera 23, for example, a glasses-type electrooculogram measuring sensor may be used.

  The gaze state detection unit 33 detects a gaze state in which the driver is gazing in one direction based on the information on the gaze direction detected by the gaze direction detection unit 32. For example, the gaze state detection unit 33 may detect that the driver is in the gaze state when a change in the gaze direction of the driver is within a predetermined angle for a predetermined time A or longer.

  The target detection unit 34 analyzes a reception signal output from the radar 21 and image data output from the front camera 22 to detect a target existing in front of the vehicle 40. In addition, the target detection unit 34 analyzes the shape of the detected target and specifies the type of the target (for example, pedestrian, vehicle, etc.). In addition, the target detection unit 34 calculates the direction in which the target is seen from the vehicle 40 (the direction of the target) and the distance to the target. When a plurality of targets are detected, the target detection unit 34 calculates the type of target, the direction of the target, and the distance to the target for each target.

  The risk determining unit 35 determines a risk indicating the degree of danger of the target detected by the target detecting unit 34 to the vehicle 40. For example, the risk determination unit 35 calculates the risk based on the type of target calculated by the target detection unit 34, the direction of the target, and the distance to the target. When the target type is a pedestrian, the risk level determination unit 35 may calculate the risk level so that the risk level is higher than that when the target type is a vehicle or other types. Further, the risk determination unit 35 may calculate the risk so that the risk increases as the direction of the target is closer to the traveling direction of the vehicle 40. Further, the risk determination unit 35 may calculate the risk so that the risk increases as the distance to the target is shorter. The risk level calculation method is not limited to this, and the risk level may be calculated in consideration of the moving speed of the target.

  The control unit 36 includes the travel path information acquired by the travel path information acquisition unit 31, the gaze direction detected by the gaze direction detection unit 32, the gaze state information detected by the gaze state detection unit 33, and the object detected by the target detection unit 34. Based on the information regarding the mark and the risk determined by the risk determination unit 35, the irradiation direction, light quantity, irradiation mode, and the like of each bulb of the headlamp 11 are controlled.

[3. Processing flow of headlamp control device 30]
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing executed by the headlamp control device 30.
If the headlamp 11 is in a lighting state such as at night (YES in S2), the control unit 36 uses the traveling path information acquired by the traveling path information acquisition unit 31 from the car navigation system 24 as the traveling path information. Obtained from the information obtaining unit 31 (S4).

  The control unit 36 acquires information on the type of target and the direction of the target detected by the target detection unit 34 from the target detection unit 34 (S6).

  The control unit 36 acquires the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle 40 detected by the gaze direction detection unit 32 from the gaze direction detection unit 32 (S8).

  The control unit 36 controls the irradiation direction of the headlamp 11 so as to irradiate light in the traveling direction of the vehicle 40 (S10). That is, the control unit 36 adjusts the direction of the optical axis of the bulb so that the irradiation direction of the headlamp 11 coincides with the traveling direction of the vehicle 40 or the traveling direction of the vehicle 40 within a predetermined angle range.

  The control unit 36 determines whether or not the target detection unit 34 has detected the target (S12). If the target detection unit 34 has detected the target (YES in S12), the target detection is performed. Based on the information acquired from the part 34, it is judged whether the kind of target is a vehicle (S14).

  When the type of the target is a car (YES in S14), the control unit 36 ends the process. As a result, each time an oncoming vehicle or a vehicle traveling ahead is detected as a target, the vehicle is not irradiated with light, and for example, it is possible to prevent the driver and passengers of the oncoming vehicle from being dazzled. Can do.

  When the type of the target is other than the vehicle (NO in S14), the control unit 36 determines whether or not the number of targets is 1 based on the information acquired from the target detection unit 34 (S16).

  When the number of targets is one (YES in S16), the control unit 36 irradiates the headlamp 11 so that light is irradiated not only in the traveling direction of the vehicle 40 but also in the direction of the target. The direction is controlled (S18). That is, the control unit 36 includes a plurality of bulbs of the headlamp 11 such that the first bulb emits light in the traveling direction of the vehicle 40 and the second bulb emits light in the direction of the target. Change the optical axis of the bulb.

  When the number of targets is two or more (YES in S16), the control unit 36 determines the amount of light for each target according to the risk level calculated by the risk level determination unit 35 (S20). For example, the control unit 36 determines the amount of light so that the greater the degree of danger of the target, the greater the amount of light applied to the target.

  The control unit 36 controls the irradiation direction and the light amount of the headlamp 11 so as to irradiate each target with the determined amount of light (S22). That is, the control unit 36 irradiates light in the traveling direction of the vehicle 40 among the plurality of bulbs of the headlamp 11, and emits light in the direction of the plurality of targets from the other bulbs. Change the optical axis of each bulb. Moreover, the control part 36 adjusts the light quantity of a valve for every valve to the light quantity determined by step S20.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically showing the irradiation direction of the headlamp 11. The control unit 36 irradiates light in the traveling direction 55 of the vehicle 40 and changes the optical axis of each bulb of the headlamp 11 so as to irradiate light also in the direction of the pedestrian 52 and the direction of the pedestrian 53. To do. Here, since the direction of the pedestrian 52 is closer to the traveling direction 55 than the direction of the pedestrian 53, it is assumed that the risk level of the pedestrian 52 is determined to be higher than the risk level of the pedestrian 53. At this time, the control unit 36 adjusts the light amount of the bulb of the headlamp 11 so that the pedestrian 52 is irradiated with light stronger than the pedestrian 53.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically showing the front of the vehicle 40 through the windshield. As shown in FIG. 9, light is irradiated to both the pedestrian 52 and the pedestrian 53. For this reason, the driver can confirm the pedestrian 52 and the pedestrian 53 by peripheral vision even when looking at another direction. Thus, the driver can drive the vehicle 40 while paying attention to the pedestrian 52 and the pedestrian 53. In FIG. 9, the illustration of the light in the traveling direction 55 is omitted.

  After step S18 or step S22, the control unit 36 determines whether or not the gaze state detection unit 33 has detected the driver's gaze state (S24).

  If the driver's gaze state is detected (YES in S24), the control unit 36 performs the headlight so that light is irradiated not only in the traveling direction of the vehicle 40 and the direction of the target but also in the line-of-sight direction. The irradiation direction of the lamp 11 is controlled (S26). That is, among the plurality of valves, the control unit 36 irradiates light in the traveling direction of the vehicle 40, the second valve irradiates light in the direction of the target, and the third valve is the driver's line of sight. The optical axis of each bulb is changed so that light is emitted in the direction.

  If the target detection unit 34 has not detected the target (NO in S12), the control unit 36 determines whether or not the gaze state detection unit 33 has detected the driver's gaze state (S28).

  If the driver's gaze state is detected (YES in S28), the control unit 36 determines whether or not the gaze state continues for a predetermined time T or longer (S30). If the gaze state continues for a predetermined time T or more, it is considered that the driver is watching the gaze direction with particular attention.

  For this reason, when the gaze state continues for the predetermined time T or longer (YES in S30), the control unit 36 irradiates the light in the line-of-sight direction after increasing the amount of light compared to the normal gaze state. Thus, the irradiation direction and light quantity of the headlamp 11 are controlled (S32). That is, the control unit 36 includes a plurality of bulbs of the headlamp 11 such that the first bulb emits light in the traveling direction of the vehicle 40 and the second bulb emits light in the line-of-sight direction. Change the optical axis. In addition, the light amount of the second valve is made larger than the light amount in the normal gaze state.

  If the gaze state continues for less than the predetermined time T (YES in S30), the control unit 36 controls the irradiation direction of the headlamp 11 so as to irradiate light in the line-of-sight direction (S34). That is, the control unit 36 includes a plurality of bulbs of the headlamp 11 such that the first bulb emits light in the traveling direction of the vehicle 40 and the second bulb emits light in the line-of-sight direction. Change the optical axis. Note that the light amount of the second valve is a predetermined normal light amount of the gaze state, and is smaller than the light amount of the second valve in step S32.

  The headlamp control device 30 repeatedly executes the processes of steps S2 to S34 described above.

[4. Effects of Embodiment 1]
As described above, according to the first embodiment, when the target detection unit 34 detects a target such as a pedestrian regardless of the driver's line-of-sight direction, the target is irradiated with light. Therefore, even if the driver is looking in a direction different from the direction of the target, he / she can recognize that the target is being illuminated by peripheral vision, etc. Can be moved. For this reason, the driver can recognize the surrounding situation. For example, in a situation where the driver is gazing at the vehicle ahead while driving the vehicle 40, when a pedestrian walking on the side road is detected as a target, the pedestrian is irradiated with light. The driver can recognize that light is irradiated on the target on the side road by peripheral vision. When light is irradiated, the driver moves the line of sight in the light irradiation direction. For this reason, the driver can recognize the pedestrian and can drive the vehicle 40 while paying attention to the pedestrian.

  Moreover, even if there are a plurality of targets, all the targets are irradiated with light. For this reason, the driver can recognize the surrounding situation by peripheral vision. For example, when there are targets such as pedestrians on the left and right sides of the vehicle 40, both targets are irradiated with light. For this reason, the driver can recognize the target on the left and right of the vehicle 40 by peripheral vision, and can drive while paying attention to the target.

  Further, the amount of light applied to the target is adjusted according to the risk level of the target with respect to the vehicle 40. For example, a target that may come into contact with the vehicle 40 such as a pedestrian walking on a roadway or a bicycle is determined to have a high risk level. Therefore, by irradiating such a target with strong light, it is possible to make the driver easily notice the presence of the target. Therefore, the driver can drive while paying high attention to a target with high risk.

  Further, the irradiation mode of light on the target is controlled according to the risk level of the target with respect to the vehicle 40. For example, a target that may come into contact with the vehicle 40 such as a pedestrian walking on a roadway or a bicycle is determined to have a high risk level. For this reason, light having a larger light quantity is applied to such a target. Thereby, it is possible to make the driver easily notice the presence of a target with high risk. Therefore, the driver can drive while paying high attention to a target with high risk.

  In addition, when the type of the target detected by the target detection unit 34 is a vehicle, the control unit 36 does not control the headlamp for the vehicle. For this reason, each time the target detection unit 34 detects an oncoming vehicle or a vehicle traveling ahead, the vehicle is not irradiated with light, and for example, it prevents the driver and passengers of the oncoming vehicle from being dazzled. can do.

[5. Addendum]
The headlamp control device 30 according to the embodiment of the present invention and the headlamp control system 1 including the headlamp control device 30 have been described above, but the present invention is limited to this embodiment. is not.

(Modification 1)
In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which when a plurality of targets are detected, the amount of light applied to the target is changed according to the degree of risk. In the first modification, an example in which the blinking of light is changed according to the degree of danger will be described.

  That is, instead of step S20 in FIG. 7, the control unit 36 determines the target with the highest degree of danger. Further, instead of step S22 in FIG. 7, the control unit 36 controls the irradiation direction of the headlamp 11 so as to irradiate each target with light. At this time, the control unit 36 controls the valve so that the target with the highest degree of danger is irradiated with the flashing light. In addition, the target which irradiates blinking light is not limited to the target with the highest risk.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing the irradiation direction of the headlamp 11. The control unit 36 irradiates light in the traveling direction 55 of the vehicle 40 and changes the optical axis of each bulb of the headlamp 11 so as to irradiate light also in the direction of the pedestrian 52 and the direction of the pedestrian 53. To do. Here, since the direction of the pedestrian 52 is closer to the traveling direction 55 than the direction of the pedestrian 53, it is assumed that the risk level of the pedestrian 52 is determined to be higher than the risk level of the pedestrian 53. At this time, the control unit 36 adjusts the light amount of the bulb of the headlamp 11 so that the pedestrian 52 is irradiated with blinking light.

  According to the first modification, the light irradiation mode on the target is controlled according to the risk level of the target with respect to the vehicle 40. For example, a target that may come into contact with the vehicle 40 such as a pedestrian walking on a roadway or a bicycle is determined to have a high risk level. For this reason, by irradiating such a target with flashing light, it is possible to make the driver easily notice the presence of the target. Therefore, the driver can drive while paying high attention to a target with high risk.

(Modification 2)
In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which when a target is detected, the target is suddenly irradiated with light. In Modification 2, an example in which light is gradually irradiated onto a target will be described.

  That is, instead of step S20 in FIG. 7, the control unit 36 determines the target with the highest degree of danger. Further, instead of step S22 in FIG. 7, the control unit 36 controls the valve so that the irradiation direction of the headlamp 11 moves in the direction of the target with the highest degree of danger. The movement in the irradiation direction is not limited to only the target with the highest degree of danger.

  11 and 12 are diagrams schematically showing the irradiation direction of the headlamp 11. As shown in FIG. 11, it is assumed that the target detection unit 34 detects a pedestrian 52 and a pedestrian 53. Here, since the direction of the pedestrian 52 is closer to the traveling direction 55 than the direction of the pedestrian 53, it is assumed that the risk level of the pedestrian 52 is determined to be higher than the risk level of the pedestrian 53. At this time, the control unit 36 controls the valve so that the pedestrian 53 is irradiated with normal light, the light irradiated in the traveling direction 55 is separated, and a part of the light continuously moves toward the pedestrian 52. To control. FIG. 12 shows a state after the movement of the light is completed, and the light hits each of the traveling direction 55 of the vehicle 40, the pedestrian 52, and the pedestrian 53. Instead of moving the light irradiated in the traveling direction 55, other light, for example, the light irradiated in the line-of-sight direction 54 may be moved.

  According to the modification 2, the irradiation direction of the headlamp 11 is controlled so that the irradiation direction of the headlamp 11 moves in the direction of the target. When the light moves, the driver will follow the moving light with his eyes. For this reason, a driver | operator's eyes | visual_axis can be guide | induced to the direction of a target and it can make a driver | operator easily notice presence of a target. Therefore, the driver can drive while paying high attention to a target with high risk.

  In addition to irradiating blinking light or moving the irradiation direction of light, the driver may be notified of the target by changing the color of the irradiating light. For example, by irradiating the target with light of a color different from other light such as blue light, the driver can be made aware of the presence of the target.

  In addition, the type of light may be varied according to the type of target. For example, in step S18 or step S22 of FIG. 7, when the type of the target is a person, the control unit 36 may control the headlamp 11 to irradiate the person with high beam light. . This makes it easier for the driver to notice the presence of a person. However, in order to avoid illusion of the person, the time for irradiating the high beam light is set to a fixed time, and the control unit 36 controls the headlamp 11 to automatically change to the low beam after the fixed time has elapsed. Also good.

  The headlamp control device 30 may be specifically configured as a computer system including a microprocessor, a ROM, a RAM, a hard disk drive, a display unit, a keyboard, a mouse, and the like. A computer program is stored in the RAM or hard disk drive. The headlamp control device 30 achieves its functions by the microprocessor operating according to the computer program. Here, the computer program is configured by combining a plurality of instruction codes indicating instructions for the computer in order to achieve a predetermined function.

  Further, some or all of the components constituting the headlamp control device 30 may be configured by a single system LSI (Large Scale Integration). The system LSI is an ultra-multifunctional LSI manufactured by integrating a plurality of components on a single chip, and specifically, a computer system including a microprocessor, ROM, RAM, and the like. . A computer program is stored in the RAM. The system LSI achieves its functions by the microprocessor operating according to the computer program.

  Furthermore, some or all of the constituent elements of the headlight control device 30 may be configured as an IC (Integrated Circuit) card that can be attached to and removed from the headlight control device 30 or a single module. Good. The IC card or module is a computer system that includes a microprocessor, ROM, RAM, and the like. The IC card or the module may include the super multifunctional LSI described above. The IC card or the module achieves its function by the microprocessor operating according to the computer program. This IC card or module may be tamper resistant.

  Further, the present invention may be the method described above. Further, the present invention may be a computer program that realizes these methods by a computer, or may be a digital signal composed of the computer program.

  Furthermore, the present invention provides a non-transitory recording medium that can read the computer program or the digital signal, such as a flexible disk, a hard disk drive, a CD-ROM, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), a DVD-ROM, a DVD- It may be recorded in RAM, BD (Blu-ray (registered trademark) Disc), semiconductor memory, or the like. Further, the digital signal may be recorded on these non-temporary recording media.

  In the present invention, the computer program or the digital signal may be transmitted via an electric communication line, a wireless or wired communication line, a network represented by the Internet, a data broadcast, or the like.

  The present invention may be a computer system including a microprocessor and a memory, wherein the memory stores the computer program, and the microprocessor operates according to the computer program.

Further, by recording the program or the digital signal on the non-temporary recording medium and transferring it, or transferring the program or the digital signal via the network or the like, another independent computer It may be implemented by the system.
Furthermore, the above embodiment and the above modification examples may be combined.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the meanings described above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Headlamp control system 11 Headlamp 21 Radar 22 Front camera 23 Inner camera 24 Car navigation system 30 Headlamp control device 31 Traveling path information acquisition part 32 Gaze direction detection part 33 Gaze state detection part 34 Target detection part 35 Risk determination unit 36 Control unit 40 Vehicle 52 Pedestrian 53 Pedestrian 54 Gaze direction 55 Traveling direction

Claims (9)

A headlamp control device for controlling a headlamp of a vehicle having a plurality of lamps capable of changing the irradiation direction independently of each other,
A travel path information acquisition unit that acquires travel path information of the vehicle;
A control unit for controlling the irradiation direction of the headlamp to the traveling direction of the vehicle indicated by the traveling path information acquired by the traveling path information acquiring unit;
A target detection unit for detecting a target in front of the vehicle,
When the target detection unit detects the target, the control unit determines the irradiation direction of the headlamp as the traveling direction of the vehicle and the target regardless of the line-of-sight direction of the driver of the vehicle. A headlamp control device that controls the direction of the target detected by the detection unit. The control unit, when the target detection unit detects a plurality of the targets, regardless of the line-of-sight direction of the driver of the vehicle, the irradiation direction of the headlamp, the traveling direction of the vehicle and the vehicle The headlamp control device according to claim 1, wherein control is performed in a direction of the plurality of targets detected by the target detection unit. further,
A risk determination unit that determines a risk level indicating a level of danger to the vehicle of the target detected by the target detection unit;
The control unit, when the target detection unit detects the target, further controls the amount of light applied to the target based on the risk determined by the risk. The headlamp control device according to claim 2. further,
A risk determination unit that determines a risk level indicating a level of danger to the vehicle of the target detected by the target detection unit;
The control unit, when the target detection unit detects the target, further controls the irradiation mode of light to the target based on the risk determined by the risk. The headlamp control device according to claim 2. The headlamp control device according to claim 4, wherein an irradiation mode of light to the target is a mode in which an irradiation direction of the headlamp is moved in a direction of the target. The target detection unit further determines the type of the detected target,
The said control part controls the said headlamp so that the said person may be irradiated with the light of a high beam, when the kind of the target detected by the said target detection part is a person. Item 6. The headlamp control device according to any one of items 5 to 6. The headlamp control device according to claim 6, wherein the control unit does not control the headlamp for the vehicle when the type of the target detected by the target detection unit is a vehicle. A headlamp control method for controlling a headlamp of a vehicle having a plurality of lamps whose irradiation directions can be changed independently of each other,
A travel path information acquisition step for acquiring travel path information of the vehicle;
A target detection step for detecting a target in front of the vehicle;
When the target is detected in the target detection step, regardless of the line of sight of the driver of the vehicle, the traveling direction acquired in the traveling path information acquisition step is the irradiation direction of the headlamp. A headlamp control method comprising: a control step of controlling the traveling direction of the vehicle indicated by the information and the direction of the target detected in the target detection step. A program for controlling a headlamp of a vehicle having a plurality of lamps whose irradiation directions can be changed independently of each other,
A travel path information acquisition step for acquiring travel path information of the vehicle;
A target detection step for detecting a target in front of the vehicle;
When the target is detected in the target detection step, regardless of the line of sight of the driver of the vehicle, the traveling direction acquired in the traveling path information acquisition step is the irradiation direction of the headlamp. A program for causing a computer to execute a control step of controlling the traveling direction of the vehicle indicated by information and the direction of the target detected in the target detection step.