JP2018041679A - Light emission control device and light emission control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To properly determine mixture of specific light-emitting parts when the specific light-emitting parts having different characteristics are mixed in a light-emitting unit.SOLUTION: A control device 20 for controlling a light-emitting unit 10 having a plurality of light-emitting parts 11a to 11d includes; a current acquisition part 222 for acquiring a current value when turning on the light-emitting parts 11a to 11d; and a determination part 224 for determining whether or not the specific light-emitting part is included in the light-emitting parts 11a to 11d based on the difference between the current value at the time of starting light emission of the light-emitting parts 11a to 11d and the current value at the time of stationary light emission.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a light emission control device and a light emission control method.

The vehicle is provided with a light emitting unit such as a direction indicator in order to ensure safety when the vehicle is operated. As such a light emitting unit, in recent years, a unit in which a plurality of light emitting units equipped with LED bulbs are arranged is used.
In addition, when the light emitting unit breaks down, there is a risk of impairing the safety of operation, so a technology that detects the disconnection of the light emitting unit based on current consumption and warns the vehicle driver etc. is adopted. Yes.

JP 2008-145260 A

  By the way, in the light emitting unit, there may occur a case where light emitting parts having different characteristics (specifically, light emitting parts having LED bulbs or incandescent bulbs having different current characteristics during light emission) are mixed. For example, when the driver of the vehicle replaces a part of the LED bulb that was initially mounted with an incandescent bulb, light emitting parts having different characteristics are mixed. Since the current consumption differs between the LED bulb and the incandescent bulb, in the case where light emitting parts having different characteristics are mixed, it is possible that the disconnection detection of the light emitting part based on the current consumption cannot be performed appropriately.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of these points, and an object thereof is to appropriately determine the mixture of specific light emitting units when specific light emitting units having different characteristics are mixed in the light emitting unit. And

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a light emission control device that controls a light emitting unit having a plurality of light emitting units, the current obtaining unit for obtaining a current value when causing the plurality of light emitting units to emit light, and the plurality of the plurality of light emitting units. A determination unit that determines whether or not a specific light emitting unit is included in the plurality of light emitting units based on a difference between a current value at the start of light emission of the light emitting unit and a current value at the time of steady light emission. Provided is a light emission control device.
According to such a light emission control device, a specific light emitting unit (for example, a light emitting unit in which an incandescent bulb bulb is mounted) having a different current value (peak current value) at the start of light emission and a current value at the time of steady light emission among a plurality of light emitting units. ) Is included, a specific light emitting unit can be detected by performing the above-described determination. For example, when an LED bulb whose current value does not change between the start of light emission and the time of steady light emission is replaced with an incandescent current bulb, the light emitting parts with incandescent bulb bulbs are mixed in multiple light emitting parts. Can be detected.

  The determination unit may determine the number of the specific light emitting units based on a difference between a current value at the start of light emission and a current value at the time of steady light emission.

  The light emission control device may detect a disconnection of at least one light emitting unit among the plurality of light emitting units when a current value during steady light emission of the plurality of light emitting units is smaller than a detection threshold. And an adjustment unit that adjusts the magnitude of the detection threshold when the determination unit determines that the specific light emitting unit is included.

  The determination unit determines whether or not an incandescent bulb is included as the specific light emitting unit, and the adjustment unit determines that the incandescent bulb is included by the determination unit The detection threshold value may be increased.

  The light emitting unit may be a turn indicator that is mounted on a vehicle and blinks.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a light emission control method for controlling a light emitting unit having a plurality of light emitting units, the step of obtaining a current value when causing the plurality of light emitting units to emit light, and the plurality of light emitting units. Determining whether or not a specific light emitting unit is included in the plurality of light emitting units based on a difference between a current value at the start of light emission of the unit and a current value at the time of steady light emission. Provide a control method.
According to this light emission control method, a specific light emitting unit (for example, a light emitting unit in which an incandescent bulb bulb is mounted) having a different current value (peak current value) at the start of light emission and a current value at the time of steady light emission among a plurality of light emitting units. ) Is included, a specific light emitting unit can be detected by performing the above-described determination. For example, when an LED bulb whose current value does not change between the start of light emission and the time of steady light emission is replaced with an incandescent current bulb, the light emitting parts with incandescent bulb bulbs are mixed in multiple light emitting parts. Can be detected.

  Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present invention, when specific light emitting units having different characteristics are mixed in the light emitting unit, it is possible to appropriately determine whether specific light emitting units are mixed.

It is a block diagram for demonstrating the structure of the light emission control system 1 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. 3 is a block diagram for explaining an example of a configuration of a control device 20. FIG. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the detection method of the disconnection of the light emission parts 11a-11d. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the relationship between the electric current value and detection threshold value when a LED bulb and an incandescent bulb are mixed. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating transition of the electric current value at the time of one blink of an LED bulb and an incandescent bulb bulb. It is a flowchart for demonstrating an example of the adjustment process of a detection threshold value.

<Configuration of light emission control system>
A configuration of a light emission control system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration of a light emission control system 1 according to an embodiment. The light emission control system 1 is mounted on a large vehicle such as a truck. As shown in FIG. 1, the light emission control system 1 includes a light emission unit 10, a battery 14, and a control device 20.

  Here, the light emitting unit 10 is a direction indicator (blinker) mounted on a vehicle. The direction indicator repeats blinking, and notifies the surroundings of the turn of the vehicle and the change of course. The light emitting unit 10 includes a plurality of light emitting units 11a to 11d that are detachably mounted. As the light emitting units 11a to 11d, LED (Light Emitting Diode) bulbs are mounted from the viewpoint of power saving. However, there is a case where a vehicle driver or the like exchanges one of the light emitting units 11a to 11d from an LED bulb to another bulb (for example, an incandescent bulb) and includes light emitting units having different characteristics.

  The battery 14 is a chargeable / dischargeable storage battery. The battery 14 supplies power to the light emitting unit 10 in order to cause the light emitting units 11a to 11d to emit light (flash).

  The control device 20 is connected to the light emitting unit 10 and the battery 14 and is a light emission control device that controls the operation of the light emitting unit 10. For example, the control device 20 controls blinking of the light emitting units 11a to 11d or performs a process for determining disconnection detection of the light emitting units 11a to 11d described later.

A detailed configuration of the control device 20 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining an example of the configuration of the control device 20. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the control device 20 includes a storage unit 210 and a control unit 220.

  The storage unit 210 includes, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The storage unit 210 stores a program to be executed by the control unit 220 and various data. For example, the memory | storage part 210 memorize | stores the detection threshold value for detecting the presence or absence of the disconnection of the light emission parts 11a-11d (FIG. 1) mentioned later.

  The control unit 220 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 220 performs processing related to the light emitting unit 10 by executing a program stored in the storage unit 210. The control unit 220 functions as a light emission control unit 221, a current acquisition unit 222, a detection unit 223, a determination unit 224, and an adjustment unit 225.

  The light emission control unit 221 controls light emission of the light emitting units 11 a to 11 d of the light emitting unit 10. For example, when the driver operates the winker lever, the light emission control unit 221 blinks the light emission units 11a to 11d. Moreover, the light emission control part 221 makes the light emission parts 11b-11d blink at high speed, when any of the light emission parts 11a-11d fails (for example, when the inside of the light emission part 11a is disconnected).

  The current acquisition unit 222 acquires a current value when causing the light emitting units 11a to 11d to emit light. For example, the current acquisition unit 222 acquires a current value when the light emitting units 11a to 11d blink. The current value acquired by the current acquisition unit 222 is the total value of the current values of the four light emitting units 11a to 11d.

  The detection unit 223 detects the presence or absence of disconnection of the light emitting units 11a to 11d based on the current value during steady light emission of the light emitting units 11a to 11d. When any of the light emitting units 11a to 11d is disconnected, the current value is smaller than when the light emitting units 11a to 11d are not disconnected. Therefore, the detection unit 223 compares the current values of the light emitting units 11a to 11d with the detection threshold value stored in the storage unit 210, and detects whether or not the light emitting units 11a to 11d are disconnected. Specifically, the detection unit 223 determines that the light emitting unit is disconnected when the current values of the light emitting units 11a to 11d are smaller than the detection threshold.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method for detecting disconnection of the light emitting units 11a to 11d. Here, it is assumed that LED bulbs are attached to the light emitting units 11a to 11d. The detection threshold T1 is smaller than the current value I1 when all of the light emitting units 11a to 11d emit light, and is larger than the current value I2 when three of the light emitting units 11a to 11d emit light. Is set. When any one of the light emitting units 11a to 11d is disconnected, the actual current value is I2. For this reason, the detection unit 223 determines that one of the light emitting units is disconnected when the actual current values of the four light emitting units 11a to 11d are smaller than the detection threshold T1.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the determination unit 224 determines whether or not bulbs having different current characteristics are mixed in the light emitting units 11a to 11d. Specifically, the determination unit 224 determines whether or not a specific bulb other than the LED bulb (specifically, an incandescent bulb) is attached to the light emitting units 11a to 11d.

  As described above, there is a case in which any one of the light emitting units 11a to 11d is exchanged from the LED bulb to the incandescent bulb. Below, it demonstrates as what replaced the LED bulb of the light emission part 11a with the incandescent bulb. Since the current value of the incandescent bulb is larger than the current value of the LED bulb, when the LED bulb is replaced with an incandescent bulb, the current values of the light emitting units 11a to 11d are increased.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining the relationship between the current value and the detection threshold when LED bulbs and incandescent bulbs are mixed. Here, the current value I3 when the incandescent bulbs are mixed is larger than the current value I1 when the incandescent bulbs are not mixed. And in this embodiment, in order to detect appropriately the disconnection of the light emission parts 11a-11d in which different bulbs coexist, it changes from detection threshold T1 before mixing to detection threshold T2. The detection threshold T2 is set to be smaller than the current value I3 at the time of light emission of the three LED bulbs and one incandescent light bulb bulb, and larger than the current value I4 at the time of light emission of the two LED bulbs and one incandescent light bulb bulb. Has been.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the transition of the current value when the LED bulb and the incandescent bulb are blinking once. FIG. 5A shows the transition of the current value of the LED bulb, and FIG. 5B shows the transition of the current value of the incandescent bulb. The current value I11 at the time of steady light emission of the LED bulb is, for example, about 1/5 of the current value I21 at the time of steady light emission of the incandescent bulb bulb.

  As can be seen by comparing FIG. 5 (a) and FIG. 5 (b), the incandescent bulb has a characteristic that the peak current value I22 at the start of light emission is larger than the current value I21 at the time of steady light emission, unlike the LED bulb. Show. For example, the peak current value I22 at the start of light emission of the incandescent bulb is approximately twice as large as the current value I21 at steady light emission.

  In view of the characteristics of the incandescent bulb, the determination unit 224 determines whether or not the incandescent bulb is included in the light emitting units 11a to 11d as follows. That is, the determination unit 224 determines whether or not an incandescent bulb is included based on the difference between the current value at the start of light emission of the light emitting units 11a to 11d and the current value at the time of steady light emission of the light emitting units 11a to 11d. Determine. For example, the determination unit 224 determines whether or not the incandescent bulb is included based on the difference between the two current values when the light emitting units 11a to 11d repeat blinking, for example, at the second or third blinking. Determine.

  When the difference between the current value at the start of light emission and the current value at the time of steady light emission is greater than a predetermined threshold, the determination unit 224 determines that an incandescent bulb is included. On the other hand, when the difference between the current value at the start of light emission and the current value at the time of steady light emission is smaller than a predetermined threshold, the determination unit 224 determines that the incandescent bulb is not included.

  Further, the determination unit 224 determines the number of incandescent bulbs that are mixed based on the difference between the current value at the start of light emission of the light emitting units 11a to 11d and the current value at the time of steady light emission of the light emitting units 11a to 11d. Ask. For example, the determination unit 224 obtains the number of incandescent bulbs using an expression described below.

なお、式（１）の第一項、第二項は、それぞれ、白熱電球バルブの発光開始時の電流値、ＬＥＤバルブの電流値である。そこで、式（１）を数式整理すると、下記の式（２）となる。

なお、βの大きさは約０．２であり、εの大きさは約２であることが分かっている。 The total number of bulbs mounted on the light emitting units 11a to 11d is N, the number of incandescent bulbs is α, the current value during steady light emission of one incandescent bulb bulb is i, and the current during steady light emission of one LED bulb. Assuming that the value is i × β and the ratio of the peak current at the start of light emission to the current of steady light emission is ε, the current value at the start of light emission of the light emitting units 11a to 11d is expressed by the following equation (1).

In addition, the 1st term of Formula (1) and the 2nd term are the electric current value at the time of the light emission start of an incandescent bulb, and the electric current value of an LED bulb, respectively. Therefore, when formula (1) is rearranged, the following formula (2) is obtained.

Note that the magnitude of β is about 0.2, and the magnitude of ε is about 2.

Moreover, the electric current value at the time of steady light emission of the light emission parts 11a-11d is shown like the following formula | equation (3).

Then, the difference between the current values is an expression (4) obtained by subtracting the expression (3) from the expression (2).

  Then, by previously obtaining the above i (current value at the time of steady light emission of one incandescent bulb), the determination unit 224 uses the difference between the obtained current values and Expression (4), The number of incandescent bulbs can be determined. In addition, the current value at the time of steady light emission of one incandescent bulb bulb is determined by, for example, JIS standard (JIS C 7506-1: 2008).

  The adjustment unit 225 adjusts the magnitude of the detection threshold when the determination unit 224 determines that the incandescent bulb is included in the light emitting units 11a to 11d. Specifically, the adjustment unit 225 increases the detection threshold when it is determined that the incandescent bulb is included. Moreover, the adjustment part 225 adjusts the magnitude | size of a detection threshold according to the number of the incandescent lamp bulbs which are mixed.

  The storage unit 210 may store the number of incandescent bulbs and the size of the detection threshold in association with each other. In such a case, the adjustment unit 225 selects and changes the detection threshold value stored in the storage unit 210 and corresponding to the number of incandescent bulbs obtained by the determination unit 224.

  When the adjustment unit 225 changes the detection threshold, the detection unit 223 detects the presence or absence of disconnection of the light emitting units 11a to 11d using the detection threshold after the change. Thereby, even if the LED bulb and the incandescent bulb are mixed, it is possible to appropriately detect the disconnection of the light emitting units 11a to 11d.

<Detection threshold adjustment processing>
With reference to FIG. 6, the detection threshold value adjustment process in the case where LED bulbs and incandescent bulbs are mixed in the light emitting units 11a to 11d will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an example of detection threshold adjustment processing. Here, it is assumed that the light emitting unit 11a among the light emitting units 11a to 11d is replaced with an incandescent bulb from the LED bulb. Moreover, the detection threshold before adjustment shall be a threshold corresponding to the case where an LED bulb is mounted on the light emitting units 11a to 11d.

  The flowchart of FIG. 6 starts when the ignition key of the vehicle is turned on. First, the light emission control unit 221 of the control unit 220 causes the light emitting units 11a to 11d to emit light when the driver operates the winker lever (step S102). That is, the light emitting units 11a to 11d blink.

  Next, the current acquisition unit 222 acquires a current value (peak current value) at the start of light emission of the light emitting units 11a to 11d and a current value at the time of steady light emission (step S104). Then, the determination unit 224 determines whether or not there is a difference between the current value at the start of light emission acquired in step S104 and the current value at the time of steady light emission (step S106).

  If it is determined in step S106 that there is a difference between the two current values (Yes), the determination unit 224 determines that incandescent bulbs are mixed (step S108). And the determination part 224 calculates | requires the number of the incandescent lamp bulbs which are mixed (step S110). For example, the determination unit 224 obtains the number of incandescent bulbs using the above-described equation (4).

  Next, the adjustment unit 225 adjusts the magnitude of the detection threshold according to the number of incandescent bulbs (step S112). For example, the adjustment unit 225 adjusts the detection threshold value larger as the number of mixed incandescent bulbs increases.

  When it is determined in step S106 that there is no difference between the two current values (No), the determination unit 224 determines that the incandescent bulbs are not mixed (step S114). In such a case, the adjustment unit 225 does not adjust the detection threshold.

<Effect in this embodiment>
According to the above-described embodiment, the control device 20 includes a specific light emitting unit among the light emitting units 11a to 11d based on the difference between the current value at the start of light emission of the light emitting units 11a to 11d and the current value at the time of steady light emission. It is determined whether or not (for example, an incandescent bulb) is included.
Thus, the light emitting units 11a to 11d include a specific light emitting unit (for example, a light emitting unit equipped with an incandescent bulb bulb) having a different current value (peak current value) at the start of light emission and a current value at the time of steady light emission. In this case, it is possible to detect a mixture of specific light emitting units by performing the above-described determination. For example, when an LED bulb whose current value does not change between the start of light emission and the time of steady light emission is replaced with an incandescent current bulb, the light-emitting portions equipped with incandescent bulbs are mixed in the light-emitting portions 11a to 11d. Can be detected.
And when an incandescent bulb is mixed, the presence or absence of disconnection of the light emitting units 11a to 11d in which a plurality of bulbs are mixed can be appropriately detected by adjusting the detection threshold.

  In the above description, when it is determined that the incandescent bulb is included in the light emitting units 11a to 11d, the detection threshold is adjusted. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when it is determined that an incandescent bulb is included, a warning may be given.

In the above description, the light emitting unit 10 is a vehicle direction indicator, but is not limited thereto. For example, the light emitting unit 10 may be a head lamp, a tail lamp, or the like.
In the above description, the light emitting unit 10 is mounted on a large vehicle such as a truck. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and may be mounted on a small vehicle such as a passenger car.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated using embodiment, the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the range as described in the said embodiment. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be added to the above embodiment. It is apparent from the scope of the claims that the embodiments added with such changes or improvements can be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Light emission control system 10 Light emission unit 11a-11d Light emission part 20 Control apparatus 222 Current acquisition part 223 Detection part 224 Determination part 225 Adjustment part

Claims (6)

A light emission control device for controlling a light emitting unit having a plurality of light emitting units,
A current acquisition unit for acquiring a current value when causing the plurality of light emitting units to emit light; and
A determination unit that determines whether or not a specific light emitting unit is included in the plurality of light emitting units, based on a difference between a current value at the start of light emission of the plurality of light emitting units and a current value at the time of steady light emission; ,
A light emission control device. The determination unit obtains the number of the specific light emitting units based on the difference between the current value at the start of light emission and the current value at the time of steady light emission.
The light emission control device according to claim 1. When the current value during steady light emission of the plurality of light emitting units is smaller than a detection threshold, a detection unit that detects disconnection of at least one light emitting unit among the plurality of light emitting units;
An adjustment unit that adjusts the magnitude of the detection threshold when the determination unit determines that the specific light emitting unit is included;
The light emission control device according to claim 1. The determination unit determines whether or not an incandescent bulb is included as the specific light emitting unit,
The adjustment unit increases the detection threshold when the determination unit determines that the incandescent bulb is included.
The light emission control device according to claim 3. The light emitting unit is a turn indicator that is mounted on a vehicle and blinks.
The light emission control apparatus of any one of Claim 1 to 4. A light emission control method for controlling a light emitting unit having a plurality of light emitting units,
Obtaining a current value when causing the plurality of light emitting units to emit light; and
Determining whether or not a specific light emitting unit is included in the plurality of light emitting units based on a difference between a current value at the start of light emission of the plurality of light emitting units and a current value at the time of steady light emission;
A method for controlling light emission.

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