JP2019116202A - Headlamp control device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a headlamp control device which enables hunting to be prevented and deterioration of visibility to be suppressed.SOLUTION: The headlamp control device (lighting ECU2) controlling a headlamp 4 comprising a plurality of high-beam lamps 521 to 526 radiating continuous separate ranges, respectively comprises: a vehicle detection part 21 which detects a vehicle positioned forward; and a radiation control part (vehicle coordinate calculation part 22, judgement part 23, duty setting part 24 and pulse generating part 25) which controls radiation of each lamp on the basis of a detected vehicle which is detected by the vehicle detection part 21. A first area and second areas which are present on left and right sides of the first area are set in each lamp. The radiation control part causes a corresponding lamp to attenuate light at a first speed when the detected vehicle is positioned in the first area, and causes a corresponding lamp to attenuate light at a second speed slower than the first speed when the detected vehicle is positioned in the second area.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a headlamp control apparatus that controls a headlamp that emits light in front of a vehicle.

  A headlamp for emitting light from a light source to the front of a vehicle is switched between a traveling headlamp (so-called high beam) and a passing headlamp (so-called low beam). A light distribution variable headlamp (ADB: Adaptive Driving Beam) is known which recognizes a vehicle ahead when high beam irradiation and automatically controls light distribution according to the position of the vehicle.

  For example, Patent Document 1 includes a plurality of lamps that respectively irradiate different continuous ranges, detects a front oncoming vehicle by the front monitoring system, and turns off only the lamps that irradiate the range where the oncoming vehicles exist. A headlight is described which continuously turns on / off according to the position of the oncoming vehicle.

JP, 2010-95205, A

  However, if the position of the oncoming vehicle crosses the boundary line separating the turning off / lighting many times due to the oncoming vehicle or the vehicle's shaking, etc., the lighting and turning off of the lamp that illuminates the relevant range is repeated (hunting )become. Since it is troublesome if the lighting and lighting off of the lamp are repeated, there is a control method of fixing the lamp to lighting off when lighting and lighting off are repeated a predetermined number of times. In this case, hunting can be prevented, and the driver of the oncoming vehicle can not feel dazzled, but the visibility deteriorates.

  The present invention has been conceived under the circumstances described above, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a headlamp control device capable of preventing hunting and suppressing deterioration in visibility.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned subject, in the present invention, the following technical measures are taken.

  The headlamp control device provided by the present invention is a headlamp control device for controlling a headlamp provided with a plurality of lamps respectively emitting different continuous ranges, and detects a vehicle located in front of it. And an irradiation control unit that controls the irradiation of each lamp based on the position of the detected vehicle detected by the vehicle detection unit, and each of the lamps includes a first area and its left and right sides. If the detection vehicle is located in the first area, the illumination control unit reduces the light of the corresponding lamp at a first speed, and the detection vehicle detects the second area. And positioning the corresponding lamp at a second speed that is slower than the first speed when located in the area.

  According to the present invention, when the detected vehicle detected by the vehicle detection unit is located in the first area, the corresponding lamp is dimmed at the first speed, and the detected vehicle is located in the second area located to the left and right of the first area. If so, the corresponding lamp is dimmed at a second speed which is slower than the first speed. Therefore, when the detected vehicle enters the second area, the visibility is not immediately deteriorated since the lamp is dimmed slowly at the second speed. In addition, since the lamp is not turned off when the detection vehicle comes out from the second area and the first area in the middle of dimming, the deterioration of the visibility can be suppressed. In addition, even if the detection vehicle repeatedly enters and leaves the second area, if the lamp does not turn off, it is possible to prevent hunting in which the lamp is repeatedly turned on and off. Furthermore, even if the lamp is being dimmed slowly at the second speed, if the detection vehicle enters the first area, the lamp is dimmed rapidly at the first speed and turned off. Therefore, there is no fear of causing the driver of the detection vehicle to feel dazzling.

  Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description given below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It is a block diagram showing functional composition of a headlight control device concerning this embodiment. It is a schematic front view of the headlight which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the image of the front which was image | photographed. It is a figure for demonstrating the change of the brightness of LED. It is an example of the flowchart for demonstrating high beam control processing. It is a figure for demonstrating the light emission state of each lamp | ramp according to the position of the vehicle ahead, and is a figure which shows the image of the front image | photographed by the camera.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

  FIGS. 1-5 is a figure for demonstrating the headlamp control apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a car 1 to which a headlight control device according to the present embodiment is applied. FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the right headlight 41. As shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a view showing a photographed front image. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining changes in the brightness of the LED. FIG. 5 is an example of a flowchart for explaining the high beam control process. FIG. 6 is a figure for demonstrating the light emission state of each lamp | ramp according to the position of the vehicle ahead, and is a figure which shows the image of the front image | photographed by the camera.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the car 1 is provided with a lighting ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 2, a switch 31, a camera 32, a right headlight 41 and a left headlight 42. In addition, although the vehicle 1 is also equipped with the other structure, description is abbreviate | omitted in FIG. Moreover, in the following, when the right side headlamp 41 and the left side headlamp 42 are collectively referred to collectively, it is described as "headlight 4".

  The switch 31 is a changeover switch for operating the headlight 4. The switch 31 is disposed in the vehicle and operated by the driver. The switch 31 is switched by the driver when the headlight 4 is turned off, when the headlight 4 is irradiated with a low beam, and when the headlight 4 is irradiated with a high beam. The switch 31 outputs an operation signal corresponding to each case to the lighting ECU 2. The lighting ECU 2 controls the headlight 4 in accordance with the operation signal input from the switch 31.

  The camera 32 is an imaging device that captures an image in front of the vehicle 1 and includes an imaging element such as a CCD or a CMOS, for example, and captures a predetermined imaging area at a predetermined frame rate. The camera 32 is attached near the center in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle, and captures an image of an area including at least the illumination range of light by the headlight 4. The attachment position of the camera 32 is not limited. Image data of an image captured by the camera 32 is output to the lighting ECU 2.

  The right headlight 41 and the left headlight 42 emit light to the front of the car 1. In the following description, front, rear, upper, lower, left, and right indicate directions when the right headlight 41 and the left headlight 42 are mounted on the car 1. The right headlight 41 is disposed on the front right side of the car 1 and includes a low beam lamp 51 and high beam lamps 521 to 526, as shown in FIG. The low beam lamp 51 is a lamp for irradiating a low beam. The low beam lamp 51 includes an LED 53 and a reflector 54. The LED 53 is a light emitting diode that emits white light, and emits light in accordance with the pulse signal output from the illumination ECU 2. In practice, a pulse signal is input to a drive circuit (not shown), and a drive current output from the drive circuit in accordance with the pulse signal is supplied to the LED 53. The LED 53 emits light when a drive current flows. The reflector 54 reflects the light emitted by the LED 53 toward the front of the vehicle. In addition. The arrangement position and orientation of the LED 53 are not limited, and the shape of the reflector 54 is also not limited. The low beam lamp 51 irradiates light emitted by the LED 53 to a slightly lower area in front of the vehicle to form a light distribution pattern for low beam. The low beam lamp 51 is not limited to one, and a plurality of lamps may be provided.

  The high beam lamps 521 to 526 are lamps for irradiating high beams, and in the present embodiment, they are arranged in three stages, three on the left and two on the top and the bottom. In addition, arrangement | positioning of the lamps 521-526 for high beams is not limited, For example, horizontal 1 row may be sufficient. Also, the number of high beam lamps is not limited. Similarly to the low beam lamp 51, the high beam lamps 521 to 526 also include an LED 53 and a reflector 54. The high beam lamps 521 to 526 irradiate the light emitted by the LED 53 to a region slightly above the front of the vehicle to form a light distribution pattern for high beam. The high beam lamps 521 to 526 irradiate light to continuous different areas to form light distribution patterns. The light distribution patterns respectively formed by the high beam lamps 521 to 526 may overlap with each other, and the sizes may also be different.

  The left headlight 42 is disposed on the front left side of the car 1. The configuration of the left headlight 42 is the same as that of the right headlight 41, and thus the description thereof is omitted. The left headlight 42 is obtained by inverting the right headlight 41 shown in FIG.

  The low beam lamp 51 of the right headlight 41 and the low beam lamp 51 of the left headlight 42 form a light distribution pattern 62 for low beam shown in FIG. The shape of the light distribution pattern 62 is not limited. Further, the high beam lamps 521 to 526 of the right headlight 41 and the high beam lamps 521 to 526 of the left headlight 42 respectively form light distribution patterns, and the light distribution pattern 61 for high beams shown in FIG. 3 as a whole. Form The shape of the light distribution pattern 61 is not limited. In FIG. 3, for convenience of explanation, the shape of the light distribution pattern 61 is shown in a rectangular shape. Further, in FIG. 3, the shape of the light distribution pattern 611 formed by the high beam lamp 522 of the right headlight 41 is also shown in a rectangular shape.

  The lighting ECU 2 is an electronic control unit that controls each lamp including the headlight 4, and is realized by a microcomputer including a CPU and a memory. The lighting ECU 2 controls the headlight 4 based on the operation signal input from the switch 31. In addition, although lighting ECU2 controls lamps other than a headlight based on the other operation signal input, description is abbreviate | omitted. The lighting ECU 2 corresponds to the "headlight control device" of the present invention.

  The lighting ECU 2 controls the irradiation of light by the high beam lamps 521 to 526 and the low beam lamp 51 based on the operation signal input from the switch 31. The lighting ECU 2 turns off the high beam lamps 521 to 526 and the low beam lamp 51 while the operation signal for turning off the headlight 4 is input from the switch 31. Further, while the operation signal for irradiating the low beam to the headlight 4 from the switch 31 is input, the low beam lamp 51 is turned on and the high beam lamps 521 to 526 are turned off.

  Further, while the operation signal for irradiating the high beam to the headlight 4 from the switch 31 is input, the low beam lamp 51 is turned on, and the high beam lamps 521 to 526 are basically turned on. The illumination ECU 2 controls lighting / extinguishing of the high beam lamps 521 to 526 based on an image input from the camera 32 during high beam irradiation. Specifically, the lighting ECU 2 detects a vehicle 63 (an oncoming vehicle or a leading vehicle) present in the front from the image input from the camera 32. Then, based on the detected position of the vehicle 63, the high beam lamp that emits light to the vehicle 63 is turned off, and the high beam lamp that does not emit light to the vehicle 63 is turned on.

  In each of the high beam lamps 521 to 526, an area for determining on / off is set according to a light distribution pattern formed by irradiating light. In the following, the high beam lamp 522 of the right headlight 41 that forms the light distribution pattern 611 will be described on behalf of the high beam lamps 521 to 526. In the following, the high beam lamp 522 of the right headlight 41 may be abbreviated as "lamp 522". An area 7 shown in FIG. 3 is an area for determining turning on / off of the lamp 522. The area 7 is an area in which margin areas are provided on the left and right of the light distribution pattern 611 (shown by a broken line) formed by the lamp 522. The margin area is provided in consideration of manufacturing variations and mounting variations of the camera 32 and the high beam lamps 521 to 526. The lighting ECU 2 lights the lamp 522 when the vehicle 63 does not enter the area 7. On the other hand, when the vehicle 63 enters the area 7, the lamp 522 is turned off.

  The lighting ECU 2 can change the brightness of the LED 53 by so-called PWM dimming. In PWM dimming, a lighting period in which a current is supplied to an LED to light up and a switching-off period in which a current is shut off and switching off are alternately switched in a fixed short cycle, and the ratio of the lighting period in one cycle (duty ratio) Is a technology that changes the brightness of the LED. By shortening the switching cycle (increasing the frequency), the human eye can not recognize flicker due to lighting and extinguishing. When the duty ratio becomes high, the lighting period becomes long, so that the light emitted from the LED becomes bright. When the duty ratio becomes low, the lighting period becomes short, so the light emitted from the LED becomes dark. The lighting ECU 2 changes the brightness of the lamp 522 by changing the brightness of the LED 53 by PWM dimming. When turning off the lamp 522, the lighting ECU 2 decreases the duty ratio to reduce the brightness of the LED 53. When the duty ratio becomes 0%, the lamp 522 goes out. Therefore, when turning off the lamp 522, the lighting ECU 2 can control the speed at which the lamp 522 is reduced by controlling the speed at which the duty ratio decreases.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the area 7 includes a first area 71 and a second area 72. The second area 72 is disposed in the margin area at both left and right ends of the area 7 and provided so as to sandwich the first area 71. The second area 72 may extend beyond the margin area to the area of the light distribution pattern 611. The width in the left-right direction of the left and right second regions is preferably 10 to 25% of the width in the left-right direction of the region 7 respectively. When the vehicle 63 is in the first area 71, the lighting ECU 2 dims the lamp 522 at a first speed (for example, the speed at which the light is extinguished for 200 ms from the maximum brightness) and extinguishes the light. On the other hand, when the vehicle 63 is in the second area 72, the lamp 522 is dimmed at the second speed (for example, the speed at which the light is extinguished at 600 ms from the maximum brightness) and is extinguished. Note that the first speed and the second speed are not limited, and are appropriately designed such that the second speed can be turned off later than the first speed. For example, the first speed may be a speed at which light is extinguished in an instant from the maximum brightness. In this case, as soon as the vehicle 63 enters the first area 71, the lamp 522 is extinguished. Further, when the vehicle 63 does not enter the area 7, the lighting ECU 2 brightens the lamp 522.

  A broken line D1 shown in FIG. 4 indicates a change in brightness when the duty ratio of the lighting period of the LED 53 is reduced at a first speed from time t0. In this case, the LED 53 is completely turned off at time t1 ((t1−t0) is, for example, 200 ms). On the other hand, a solid line D2 indicates a change in brightness when the duty ratio of the lighting period of the LED 53 is decreased at a second speed from time t0. In this case, the LED 53 is completely turned off at time t2 ((t2−t0) is, for example, 600 ms). An alternate long and short dash line D3 indicates a change in brightness when the duty ratio of the lighting period of the LED 53 is decreased at a second speed from time t0 and is increased at time t3 before the light is completely turned off. In this case, although the color gradually becomes dark until time t3, it becomes bright after time t3 and returns to the original brightness at time t4. It is not completely extinguished, so it does not make it felt dark to the human eye.

  Although the control of the high beam lamp 522 of the right headlight 41 has been described above, the high beam lamps 521, 523-526 of the right headlight 41 and the high beam lamps 521-526 of the left headlight 42 are described above. Similarly, the first area 71 and the second area 72 are set, and are controlled in the same manner as the high beam lamp 522 of the right headlight 41.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the lighting ECU 2 includes a vehicle detection unit 21, a vehicle coordinate calculation unit 22, a determination unit 23, a duty setting unit 24, and a pulse generation unit 25 as functional blocks.

  The vehicle detection unit 21 detects a vehicle 63 from image data input from the camera 32 by image recognition processing such as pattern matching. The method of detecting the vehicle 63 is not limited.

  The vehicle coordinate calculation unit 22 calculates the position of the vehicle 63 detected by the vehicle detection unit 21 as coordinates. In the present embodiment, coordinates indicating the position of the left end of the vehicle 63 and coordinates indicating the position of the right end of the vehicle 63 are calculated. Each coordinate may be only information in the left and right direction. When the vehicle detection unit 21 detects a plurality of vehicles 63, position coordinates are calculated for each of the detected vehicles 63.

  The determination unit 23 determines whether the position coordinate of the vehicle 63 calculated by the vehicle coordinate calculation unit 22 falls within the first area 71 or the second area 72. Specifically, the determination unit 23 determines whether the position coordinates of the left end of the vehicle 63 or the position coordinates of the right end of the vehicle 63 fall within the coordinate range indicating the first area 71. It is determined whether the position coordinate of the left end of or the position coordinate of the right end of the vehicle 63 falls within the coordinate range indicating the second area 72. The coordinate range indicating the first area 71 and the coordinate range indicating the second area 72 may be only information in the left-right direction. The determination unit 23 performs these determinations for the high beam lamps 521 to 526 of the right headlight 41 and the high beam lamps 521 to 526 of the left headlight 42.

  The duty setting unit 24 changes the speed of change of the duty ratio of the high beam lamps 521 to 526 of the right headlight 41 and the LEDs 53 of the high beam lamps 521 to 526 of the left headlight 42 based on the determination result by the determination unit 23. Determine and change the duty ratio. Specifically, when it is determined that the vehicle 63 enters the first area 71, the duty setting unit 24 determines the change speed of the duty ratio as the first speed, and when the vehicle 63 enters the second area 72. If it is determined, the change speed of the duty ratio is determined to be the second speed, and if it is determined that neither of them is determined, the speed at which the change speed of the duty ratio is increased is determined. Then, the current duty ratio is changed at the determined change rate. The duty ratio is fixed to the maximum value or the minimum value when it reaches the maximum value or the minimum value.

  The pulse generation unit 25 generates and outputs pulse signals for controlling the respective LEDs 53 in accordance with the duty ratio set by the duty setting unit 24. The generated pulse signals are supplied as drive current to the LEDs 53 for the high beam lamps 521 to 526 of the right headlight 41 and the high beam lamps 521 to 526 for the left headlight 42 as drive current through the drive circuit. The vehicle coordinate calculation unit 22, the determination unit 23, the duty setting unit 24, and the pulse generation unit 25 correspond to the "irradiation control unit" in the present invention.

  Next, the high beam control process performed by the lighting ECU 2 will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  FIG. 5 is an example of a flowchart for explaining the high beam control process. The said process is performed at a predetermined time interval (for example, 100 ms) at the time of high beam irradiation.

  First, image data input from the camera 32 is acquired (S1). Next, the vehicle detection unit 21 determines whether the vehicle 63 is detected from the image data (S2). When the vehicle 63 is detected (S2: YES), the position of the detected vehicle 63 is calculated as coordinates (S3). Next, an initial value “1” is set to a variable n for sequentially specifying each lamp (high beam lamps 521 to 526 of right headlight 41 and high beam lamps 521 to 526 of left headlight 42) in order. (S4).

  Next, for the lamp corresponding to the variable n, it is determined whether the vehicle 63 enters the first area 71 (S5). When entering the first area 71 (S5: YES), the lamp is dimmed at the first speed (S6). Specifically, the lighting ECU 2 generates and outputs a pulse signal while decreasing the duty ratio at the first speed. If the vehicle does not enter the first region 71 (S5: NO), it is determined whether the vehicle 63 enters the second region 72 (S7). When entering the second area 72 (S7: YES), the lamp is dimmed at the second speed (S8). Specifically, the lighting ECU 2 generates and outputs a pulse signal while decreasing the duty ratio at the second speed. If the light does not enter the second area 72 (S7: NO), the lamp is brightened (S9). Specifically, the lighting ECU 2 generates and outputs a pulse signal while increasing the duty ratio. When the duty ratio is the maximum value, the duty ratio is fixed to the maximum value, and a pulse signal is generated and output.

  Next, the variable n is incremented by 1 (S10), and it is determined whether the variable n is 12 (the number of corresponding lamps) or less (S11). When the variable n is 12 or less (S11: YES), the processes of steps S5 to S10 are performed on the lamp corresponding to the variable n. If the variable n exceeds 12 (S11: NO), the high beam control process is ended. In step S2, when the vehicle 63 is not detected (S2: NO), all the lamps are caused to emit light with the maximum brightness (S6), and the high beam control process is ended. Specifically, the lighting ECU 2 fixes the duty ratio to the maximum value, and generates and outputs a pulse signal. Generation of pulse signals in steps S6, S8 and S12 is continued until generation of pulse signals in the high beam control process to be performed next. Therefore, according to the position of the vehicle 63, lighting / extinguishing of each lamp is determined every predetermined time interval (for example, 100 ms), and when it is extinguished, the light reduction speed is determined, and the light emission of each lamp is controlled. Ru.

  The process illustrated in the flowchart of FIG. 5 is an example, and the high beam control process is not limited to the above.

  FIG. 6 is a view for explaining the light emission state of each lamp according to the position of the vehicle 63, and is a view showing a front image taken by the camera 32. As shown in FIG.

  In the image shown in FIG. 6A, the vehicle 63 does not enter the first area 71 for the light distribution pattern 611 (formed by the high beam lamp 522 of the right headlight 41), but the second area 72 In the Accordingly, the lamp 522 (the high beam lamp 522 of the right headlight 41) is gradually dimmed at the second speed, and the light distribution pattern 611 is slightly darkened. In the light distribution pattern 612, since the vehicle 63 is in the first area (not shown), corresponding lamps (for example, the high beam lamp 521 of the right headlight 41 and the high beam lamp of the left headlight 42) As a result of the fact that the light source 521 is rapidly dimmed at the first speed, it is turned off and darkened. The other high beam light distribution patterns (light distribution patterns other than the light distribution pattern 611 and the light distribution pattern 612 in the light distribution pattern 61) are bright because the corresponding lamps are lit at the maximum brightness. .

  The image shown in FIG. 6 (b) shows a state in which the vehicle 63 has moved to the left after the state shown in FIG. 6 (a). In the image shown in FIG. 6 (b), the vehicle 63 is out of the second area 72. Therefore, the high beam lamp 522 of the right headlight 41 is brightened and turned on at the maximum brightness, and the light distribution pattern 611 is bright. The light distribution pattern 612 remains dark because the corresponding lamp remains off. Also, the other high beam light distribution patterns remain bright because the corresponding lamps remain illuminated at maximum brightness.

  In the state shown in FIG. 6 (a), the lamp 522 is dimmed slowly, but before the lamp 522 is extinguished, the lamp 522 is brightened in the state shown in FIG. 6 (b). Since the lamp 522 is not completely turned off, it does not make the human eyes feel that it has become too dark. Therefore, even if the vehicle 63 moves to the left and right and the state shown in FIG. 6 (a) and the state shown in FIG. 6 (b) are alternately repeated, the lamp 522 remains lit. Neither the driver nor the driver of the vehicle 63 feels bothersome by hunting.

  The image shown in FIG. 6 (c) shows a state in which the vehicle 63 has moved to the right after the state shown in FIG. 6 (a). In the image shown in FIG. 6C, the vehicle 63 is in the first area 71. Therefore, as a result of the lamp 522 being rapidly dimmed at the first speed, it is extinguished, and the light distribution pattern 611 is darkened. The light distribution pattern 612 remains dark because the corresponding lamp remains off. Also, the other high beam light distribution patterns remain bright because the corresponding lamps remain illuminated at maximum brightness.

  In the state shown in FIG. 6 (a), the lamp 522 is dimmed slowly but in the state shown in FIG. 6 (c), the lamp 522 is sharply dimmed and turned off. Therefore, there is no fear that the driver of the vehicle 63 feels glare.

  Next, the operation and effects of the lighting ECU 2 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  According to the present embodiment, the illumination ECU 2 controls lighting / extinguishing of the high beam lamps 521 to 526 based on an image input from the camera 32 at the time of high beam irradiation. The area 7 for determining lighting / extinguishing is divided into a first area 71 and a second area 72. When the detected vehicle 63 is in the first area 71, the lighting ECU 2 dims the corresponding lamp at the first speed and extinguishes the light, and the vehicle 63 is disposed on the left and right of the first area 71. If it is in the second area 72, the corresponding lamp is dimmed and turned off at the second speed which is slower than the first speed, and if the vehicle 63 is not in the area 7, the corresponding lamp is brightened.

  Even if the corresponding lamp is dimmed slowly at the second speed due to the vehicle 63 entering the second area 72, when the vehicle 63 immediately leaves the area 7, the corresponding lamp is brightened before it is completely turned off. Be done. Therefore, even if the vehicle 63 repeatedly moves in and out of the area 7 (the second area 72), the corresponding lamp is kept on, and therefore the troublesomeness due to hunting is not felt. On the other hand, when the vehicle 63 enters the second area 72 and the corresponding lamp is dimmed slowly at the second speed, and further when the vehicle 63 enters the first area 71, the corresponding lamp is rapidly reduced at the first speed. It is dimmed and turned off. Therefore, there is no fear that the driver of the vehicle 63 feels glare. Since the speed of light reduction while the vehicle 63 is in the second area 72 is slow, the visibility does not deteriorate immediately. In addition, since the corresponding lamp is not turned off when the vehicle 63 comes out of the area 7 in the middle of light reduction, the deterioration of the visibility can be suppressed.

  In the present embodiment, although the case where the vehicle coordinate calculation unit 22 calculates the coordinates indicating the position of the left end of the vehicle 63 and the coordinates indicating the position of the right end of the vehicle 63 has been described, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, only coordinates indicating the center position of the vehicle 63 may be calculated. In this case, the determination unit 23 may determine whether the coordinate indicating the center position falls within the first area 71 or the second area 72, but the margin area corresponds to about half of the vehicle width. Need to be wider.

  In the present embodiment, when the high beam is irradiated, the case where the low beam is also irradiated is described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. When the high beam is irradiated, the low beam may not be irradiated. Specifically, the illumination ECU 2 may turn off the low beam lamp 51 while the operation signal for emitting the high beam is input from the switch 31.

  Although this embodiment demonstrated the case where illumination ECU2 switched the brightness of the light which LED53 emits by PWM light control, it is not restricted to this. The lighting ECU 2 may switch the brightness of the light emitted by the LED 53 by changing the magnitude of the current supplied to the LED 53 to the drive circuit. In this case, the lighting ECU 2 changes the light reduction speed of the LED 53 by changing the reduction speed of the magnitude of the current supplied to the LED 53 instead of changing the reduction speed of the duty ratio.

  In the present embodiment, an LED is used as a light source, but the present invention is not limited to this. The light source may be, for example, a halogen bulb. However, since at least the light source for high beam must be switchable in brightness, it is necessary to be able to control the brightness when using another light source. Therefore, as a light source for high beam, it is desirable to use an LED whose brightness can be easily controlled. On the other hand, since the light source for low beam does not need to switch the brightness, a light source other than the LED may be used.

  In this embodiment, although the case where lighting and extinguishing of headlight 4 were switched by switch 31 was explained, it is not restricted to this. The lighting and extinguishing of the headlight 4 may be switched automatically according to the outside brightness.

  The headlamp control apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The specific configuration of each part of the headlamp control device according to the present invention can be varied in design in many ways.

1: Car 2: Lighting ECU (headlight control device)
21: Vehicle detection unit 22: Vehicle coordinate calculation unit 23: Determination unit 24: Duty setting unit 25: Pulse generation unit 31: Switch 32: Camera 4: Headlight 41: Right headlight 42: Left headlight 51: Low beam lamps 521-526: High beam lamps 53: LED
54: reflector 61: light distribution pattern 611: light distribution pattern 612: light distribution pattern 62: light distribution pattern 63: vehicle 7: area 71: first area 72: second area

Claims (1)

What is claimed is: 1. A headlamp control apparatus for controlling a headlamp comprising a plurality of lamps each emitting a series of discrete ranges, the headlamp control apparatus comprising:
A vehicle detection unit that detects a vehicle located in front of the vehicle;
An irradiation control unit that controls the irradiation of each lamp based on the position of the detected vehicle detected by the vehicle detection unit;
Equipped with
In each of the lamps, a first area and a second area to the left and right of the first area are set.
The irradiation control unit reduces the corresponding lamp at a first speed when the detection vehicle is located in the first area, and the corresponding lamp when the detection vehicle is located in the second area. Dims at a second speed slower than the first speed,
Headlight control device characterized by the above.

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