JP2020029196A - Lighting fixture system for vehicle, and lighting fixture for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

To improve visibility in the front of a vehicle.SOLUTION: A lighting fixture system 200 for vehicle includes a left lighting fixture 210L and a right lighting fixture 210R. The left lighting fixture 210L and the right lighting fixture 210R each independently generate a beam having controllable intensity distribution. The lighting fixture system 200 for vehicle can reduce a dark spot generated due to one beam of the right lighting fixture 210R and the left lighting fixture 210L using the other beam.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular lamp system.

  Vehicle lights play an important role in driving safely at night or in tunnels. If the driver's visibility is prioritized and brightly illuminating the front of the vehicle over a wide area, glare will be given to the driver or pedestrian of the preceding vehicle or oncoming vehicle (hereinafter referred to as the front vehicle) existing in front of the own vehicle. There's a problem.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an ADB (Adaptive Driving Beam) technology for dynamically and adaptively controlling a light distribution pattern based on a surrounding state of a vehicle has been proposed. ADB technology detects the presence or absence of a preceding vehicle or a pedestrian and dims or turns off an area corresponding to the preceding vehicle or a pedestrian, thereby reducing glare applied to a driver or a pedestrian of the preceding vehicle. is there.

JP 2014-216087 A

  When the headlamp is turned on during snowfall (or during rainfall), there is a problem that a beam is reflected on snow particles to give a glare to the driver, which makes it difficult to see ahead. In order to solve this problem, the present inventor has studied snow sheltering control that blocks a portion corresponding to snow particles. When snow sheltering control is performed, a light-shielded portion corresponding to snow particles is projected on a road surface or the like, and a dark spot is generated, and visibility in front of the vehicle may be reduced.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and one of exemplary purposes of one embodiment thereof is to improve visibility in front of a vehicle.

  One embodiment of the present invention relates to a vehicular lamp system. The vehicle lamp system includes a right lamp and a left lamp. The right and left lamps each produce a beam having an independently controllable intensity distribution. The vehicular lamp system is configured to be able to reduce a dark spot caused by one beam of the right lamp and the left lamp using the other beam.

  Another embodiment of the present invention relates to a vehicular lamp. The vehicular lamp includes a variable light distribution lamp capable of generating a beam having a variable intensity distribution, and a light distribution controller configured to generate a light distribution pattern including a light shielding portion corresponding to snow particles. The light distribution controller corrects the light distribution pattern so that dark spots irrelevant to the light-shielded portion of the light distribution pattern are reduced.

  Note that any combination of the above-described components and any conversion of the expression of the present invention between a method, an apparatus, a system, and the like are also effective as aspects of the present invention.

  According to the present invention, the visibility ahead of the vehicle can be improved.

It is a block diagram of the vehicular lamp system concerning an embodiment. FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating dark spots. It is a figure explaining reduction of a dark spot. FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining snow sheltering control. It is a figure explaining generation | occurrence | production of the dark spot in snow evasion control, and its reduction. It is a block diagram of a vehicular lamp concerning a 1st example. It is a block diagram of a vehicular lamp concerning a 2nd example.

(Outline of Embodiment)
One embodiment disclosed in the present specification relates to a vehicular lamp system. The vehicular lamp system includes a right lamp and a left lamp each producing a beam having an independently controllable intensity distribution. A dark spot caused by one beam of the right lamp and the left lamp can be reduced by using the other beam.

  According to the vehicular lamp system, it is possible to reduce unevenness and flicker of a light distribution pattern obtained by combining the beam of the left lamp and the beam of the right lamp, and to improve the visibility in front.

  The dark spot may be caused by a light-shielded portion of one beam. For example, during snowfall, when a beam is applied to snow particles, reflected light gives glare to the driver. In order to prevent this, it is assumed that the left and right lamps incorporate a control for shielding a portion corresponding to snow particles from light. Then, when the beam having the light-shielding portion is projected on a road surface or the like, the light-shielding portion appears as a dark spot, resulting in uneven illuminance. In addition, snow particles move every moment and can exist innumerably, so that dark spots move randomly and cause flicker. By irradiating the dark spot with a high illuminance by the beam of the other lamp, the dark spot can be reduced, and the visibility ahead can be increased.

(Embodiment)
The above is the outline of the vehicular lamp. Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. The embodiments are illustrative and do not limit the invention, and all features and combinations thereof described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the invention. The same or equivalent components, members, and processes shown in the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the repeated description will be omitted as appropriate. Further, the scale and shape of each part shown in each drawing are set for the sake of convenience in order to facilitate the description, and are not to be construed as limiting unless otherwise noted. In addition, when terms such as “first” and “second” are used in the present specification or claims, the terms do not indicate any order or importance, and certain configurations may be different from other configurations. It is for distinguishing.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a vehicle lighting system 200 according to the embodiment. The vehicle lamp system 200 includes a left lamp 210L and a right lamp 210R. The left lamp 210L emits a left beam BM_L, and the right lamp 210R emits a right beam BM_R. The left beam BM_L and the right beam BM_R are respectively projected on a virtual vertical screen SCN in front of the vehicle to form a patterned left light distribution pattern PTN_L and a right light distribution pattern PTN_R. The left light distribution pattern PTN_L and the right light distribution pattern PTN_R are combined to form a combined light distribution pattern (also simply referred to as a light distribution pattern) PTN. The left lamp 210L and the right lamp 210R can independently control the intensity distribution of the left beam BM_L and the right beam BM_R, and therefore can also independently control the left light distribution pattern PTN_L and the right light distribution pattern PTN_R. It is.

  The spatial intensity distribution of each of the right beam BM_R and the left beam BM_L changes from moment to moment according to the situation in front of the vehicle and the traveling situation. Then, those spatial intensity distributions may include a light-shielded portion where the luminance is zero or extremely low. When the beam including the light shielding portion is projected on a road surface or an object in front of the vehicle, the light shielding portion appears as a dark spot.

  FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating dark spots. FIG. 2A shows a state where the vehicle 300 and the road surface 302 are viewed from above. Here, attention is focused on the right lamp 210R. The right lamp 210R includes a variable light distribution lamp 212R. FIG. 2B shows an example of a cross-sectional profile (spatial intensity distribution) of light emitted from the variable light distribution lamp 212R. The right beam BM_R is formed by the output light of the variable light distribution lamp 212R passing through an optical system (not shown), and the right beam BM_R is irradiated on a road surface or the like to form a right light distribution pattern PTN_R. The light intensity portion 322 is included in the spatial intensity distribution 320 shown in FIG. The light-shielding portion 322 generates a dark spot 324 in the right light distribution pattern PTN_R in FIG.

  The vehicle lamp system 200 is configured to be able to reduce the dark spot 324 generated due to the right beam BM_R of the right lamp 210R using the left beam BM_L of the left lamp 210L. Similarly, the vehicle lamp system 200 is configured to be able to reduce dark spots caused by the left beam BM_L of the left lamp 210L using the right beam BM_R of the right lamp 210R.

  The configuration of the vehicular lamp system 200 has been described above. Next, the operation of the vehicle lamp system 200 will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating reduction of dark spots. FIG. 3 shows, from the top, the illuminance distribution of the right light distribution pattern PTN_R, the illuminance distribution of the left light distribution pattern PTN_L, and the illuminance distribution PTN of the light distribution pattern obtained by combining them. This intensity distribution corresponds to the illuminance distribution in the horizontal direction along the broken line A-A 'in FIG.

  The left light distribution pattern PTN_L has a spot-like high illuminance in a portion corresponding to the dark spot 324 of the right light distribution pattern PTN_R such that the illuminance distribution of the combined pattern PTN approaches uniform. The left lamp 210L determines the intensity distribution of the light emitted from the variable light distribution lamp 212L so that the left light distribution pattern PTN_L is obtained.

  During snowfall, when a beam is applied to snow particles, the reflected light gives glare to the driver. Therefore, the vehicle lighting system 200 performs a control for shielding a portion of the snow particle corresponding to the snow particle (hereinafter, referred to as a snow shelter control). FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining snow sheltering control. FIG. 4A shows a camera image IMG taken in front of the vehicle, and FIG. 4B shows a light distribution pattern PTN corresponding to the camera image of FIG. 4A. The camera image IMG shows a snow grain 6, a person 8, and a vehicle 10. The light distribution controller 140 detects the snow particles 6 from the camera image IMG, and shields the corresponding portion 7 of the light distribution pattern PTN from light.

  The light distribution controller 140 may perform so-called ADB control. In this case, when detecting a target that should not give glare, such as the vehicle 10, the corresponding part 11 is also shielded from light.

  The light distribution pattern PTN is updated at, for example, a rate of 30 fps or more, and the light shielding portion 7 can be moved to follow the snow particles 6. Thereby, the reflected light of the snow particles 6 can be reduced, and the visibility in the front can be improved.

  When the snow sheltering control is performed, the light-shielding portion may cause a dark spot. However, according to the vehicle lamp system 200 according to the embodiment, the dark spot can be eliminated.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining generation of a dark spot in snow protection control and its reduction. Focusing on the right lamp 210R, the right beam BM_R includes two light-shielding portions and the right light distribution pattern PTN_R includes two dark spots 324a and 324b corresponding to the snow particles 6a and 6b. In order to reduce these two dark spots 324a and 324b, the left beam BM_L generated by the left lamp 210L includes two hot spots 326a and 326b. The dark spot of the right light distribution pattern PTN_R is offset by the hot spot of the left light distribution pattern PTN_L.

  Focusing on the left lamp 210L, the left beam BM_L includes two light-shielding portions and the left light distribution pattern PTN_L includes two dark spots 324c and 324d corresponding to the snow particles 6c and 6d. In order to reduce these two dark spots 324c and 324d, the right beam BM_R generated by the right lamp 210R includes two hot spots 326c and 326d. The dark spot of the left light distribution pattern PTN_L is offset by the hot spot of the right light distribution pattern PTN_R.

  As described above, according to the vehicle lighting system 200 according to the embodiment, it is possible to eliminate a dark spot (illuminance unevenness) caused by snow control. Furthermore, when the countless snow particles 6 move simultaneously, the position of the dark spot moves randomly, which may cause flickering. However, according to the vehicular lighting system 200, the hot spot is moved following the movement of the dark spot. Thereby, flicker can be reduced, and visibility in the front can be increased.

  Next, the vehicle lamp 100 that can be used as the left lamp 210L and the right lamp 210R will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the vehicle lamp 100A according to the first embodiment. The vehicle lamp 100A includes a variable light distribution lamp 110, an infrared light 120, an infrared camera 130, a light distribution controller 140, and a visible light camera 150. These may all be incorporated in the same housing, or some members may be provided outside the housing, in other words, on the vehicle side.

  The variable light distribution lamp 110 includes a white light source, receives data instructing the light distribution pattern PTN from the light distribution controller 140, emits a white beam L3 having an intensity distribution according to the light distribution pattern PTN, and forwardly emits a white beam L3. An irradiation pattern 902 having an illuminance distribution according to the light distribution pattern PTN is formed. The configuration of the variable light distribution lamp 110 is not particularly limited, and may include, for example, a semiconductor light source such as an LD (laser diode) or an LED (light emitting diode), and a lighting circuit that drives and lights the semiconductor light source. The variable light distribution lamp 110 may be an array of a plurality of light emitting elements that can be individually turned on and off. Alternatively, the variable light distribution lamp 110 may include a matrix pattern forming device such as a DMD (Digital Mirror Device) or a liquid crystal device for forming an illuminance distribution according to the light distribution pattern PTN. The variable light distribution lamp 110 has a resolution enough to shield only snow particles.

  The infrared illumination 120 is a probe light source that emits infrared probe light L1 forward of the vehicle. The probe light L1 may be near-infrared light or light having a longer wavelength. The infrared camera 130 captures the reflected light L2 of the probe light L1 from the object 2 in front of the vehicle. The infrared camera 130 only needs to have sensitivity in at least the wavelength range of the probe light L1, and is preferably insensitive to visible light.

  The light distribution controller 140 dynamically and adaptively controls a light distribution pattern PTN to be supplied to the variable light distribution lamp 110 based on an image captured by the infrared camera 130 (hereinafter, referred to as a camera image IMG). The light distribution pattern PTN is grasped as a two-dimensional illuminance distribution of a white light irradiation pattern 902 formed on the virtual vertical screen 900 in front of the own vehicle by the variable light distribution lamp 110. The light distribution controller 140 can be constituted by a digital processor, and may be constituted by, for example, a combination of a microcomputer including a CPU and a software program, or constituted by an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application Specified IC). You may.

  The light distribution controller 140 detects snow particles by image processing based on the camera image IMG1 obtained by the infrared camera 130. The algorithm for detecting snow particles is not particularly limited. The light distribution controller 140 may detect snow particles based on a plurality of continuous frames of the camera image IMG.

  The light distribution controller 140 generates a light distribution pattern PTN in which a portion corresponding to snow particles is shielded. "Shading a certain portion" includes not only the case where the luminance (illuminance) of the portion is completely zero, but also the case where the luminance (illuminance) of the portion is reduced.

  The visible light camera 150 photographs the front of the vehicle. The camera image IMG2 generated by the visible light camera 150 includes, in addition to the irradiation pattern 902 generated by the vehicle lamp 100A itself, an irradiation pattern generated by another vehicle lamp different from the vehicle lamp 100A. Note that The light distribution controller 140 detects a dark spot based on the camera image IMG2. Then, hot spots are arranged so that the dark spots can be offset, and the light distribution pattern PTN is corrected. If the position of the detected dark spot matches the position of the hot spot, the hot spot is not added because the dark spot is caused by the snow of the vehicle lamp 100A itself.

  The above is the configuration example of the vehicle lamp 100A. According to the vehicle lamp 100A, it is possible to shield the snow particles 6 from light, detect a dark spot generated by the vehicle lamp on the opposite side, and illuminate the portion brightly. Thereby, glare due to reflection of snow particles can be reduced, and uneven illuminance due to light shielding can be suppressed.

  In the first embodiment, the left and right vehicle lamps operate independently, and each vehicle lamp detects a hot spot by itself. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, the left and right vehicle lamps cooperate to exchange information.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a vehicle lamp 100B according to the second embodiment. The vehicle lamp 100B includes an interface circuit 160 instead of or in addition to the visible light camera 150 of FIG. The interface circuit 160 can exchange information with the outside via the bus 220. The interface circuit 160 may be directly connected to the opposite vehicle lamp 100B via the bus 220, and may be able to transmit and receive information. Alternatively, the interface circuit 160 may be connected to the opposite vehicle lamp 100B via a vehicle-side ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 222.

  The vehicle lamp 100B can notify the opposite vehicle lamp 100B of the position information of the light-shielded portion of the beam L3 generated by the vehicle lamp 100B via the interface circuit 160. The position information of the light shielding portion may include coordinate data of the light shielding portion, or may be the light distribution pattern PTN itself given to the variable light distribution lamp 110. When turned over, the vehicular lamp 100B is capable of receiving the positional information of the light-shielded portion of the beam L3 generated by the vehicular lamp B on the opposite side.

  The light distribution controller 140 estimates the position of the dark spot based on the position information of the light-shielded portion received by the interface circuit 160, and arranges the hot spot so that the dark spot can be canceled. Naturally, there is a parallax between the right lamp and the left lamp, so the hot spot positioning processing by the light distribution controller 140 may include parallax correction.

  The present invention has been described based on the embodiments. This embodiment is an exemplification, and it is understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to the combination of each component and each processing process, and that such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. is there. Hereinafter, such modifications will be described.

(Modification 1)
In the embodiment, the light-shielding control for snow particles has been described, but rain-drops may also be subjected to light-shielding control.

(Modification 2)
In the embodiment, the infrared light is used as the probe light, but is not limited thereto. Using the beam L3 emitted from the variable light distribution lamp 110 as probe light, it is also possible to detect snow particles. In this case, if the irradiation time of the probe light is long, the driver will be glare. Therefore, the emission time of the probe light may be shortened to such an extent that the driver cannot detect the reflected light L2. Even when the beam L3 is used as the probe light, the control of dividing the beam into the effective area and the invalid area is effective, and the effect corresponding to the control can be obtained.

(Modification 3)
In the embodiment, a case has been described in which a dark spot caused by a light-shielding portion corresponding to a snow grain is corrected, but the application of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, if control to shield the pedestrian's head is performed to prevent glare from being applied to a pedestrian, a dark spot may be generated corresponding to the light-shielded portion. Such dark spots can be handled.

(Modification 4)
The dark spot detected by the vehicle lamp 100A according to the first embodiment (FIG. 6) is not necessarily caused by the light-shielding portion of the vehicle lamp on the opposite side. For example, even if the right-hand lamp emits a beam having a uniform intensity distribution, if an object (for example, a pedestrian) serving as a shielding object exists immediately before the right-side lamp, the shadow of the pedestrian is projected, and It can be observed as a dark spot from the lamp. In such a case, the left lighting device may form a uniform combined light distribution pattern by strongly irradiating a dark spot caused by a shield. Thereby, regardless of the cause, the dark spot can be eliminated and the visibility ahead can be improved.

  Alternatively, a dark spot caused by a shield may be allowed to exist. A dark spot caused by a light shielding control such as a snow shield control and a dark spot caused by a shielding object can be distinguished from each other in size and shape. Therefore, only the dark spot caused by the light-shielding control may be strongly irradiated.

  Although the present invention has been described using specific words and phrases based on the embodiments, the embodiments are merely illustrative of one aspect of the principles and applications of the present invention. Many modifications and changes in arrangement are permitted without departing from the spirit of the present invention defined in the scope.

Reference Signs List 200 vehicle lamp system 210L left lamp 210R right lamp 212 variable light distribution lamp 220 bus BM_L left beam BM_R right beam PTN_L left light distribution pattern PTN_R right light distribution pattern 6 snow particle 7 light shielding portion 100 vehicle lamp 110 variable light distribution lamp 120 Infrared illumination 130 Infrared camera 140 Light distribution controller 150 Visible light camera 160 Interface circuit L1 Probe light L2 Reflected light L3 Beam 900 Virtual vertical screen 902 Irradiation pattern

Claims (7)

A right-hand lamp and a left-hand lamp, each producing a beam having an independently controllable intensity distribution,
A vehicle lighting system, wherein a dark spot caused by one beam of the right lamp and the left lamp can be reduced by using the other beam.   The vehicular lamp system according to claim 1, wherein the dark spot is generated due to a light blocking portion of the one beam.   The vehicular lamp system according to claim 2, wherein the other beam has an increased intensity at a portion of the dark spot.   The vehicular lamp system according to claim 2, wherein the light-shielding portion is disposed at a portion corresponding to snow particles. A variable light distribution lamp capable of generating a beam having a variable intensity distribution,
A light distribution controller that generates a light distribution pattern including a light-shielding portion corresponding to snow particles,
With
The lighting device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the light distribution controller corrects the light distribution pattern so that dark spots irrelevant to the light-shielding portion of the light distribution pattern are reduced.   The vehicular lamp according to claim 5, wherein the light distribution controller detects the dark spot based on a camera image.   The vehicular lamp according to claim 5, wherein the light distribution controller detects the dark spot based on information from another vehicular lamp.

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