JP2023150252A - light control device - Google Patents

Abstract

To suppress turning off of a headlight due to improper operation.SOLUTION: A light control device comprises: a lever switch 3 having a lever part A provided on a vehicle 1 and an operation part 10 rotatably provided at a tip of the lever part A; and a control which controls a lighting state of a headlight and a small light according to a position of the operation part 10. An off switch 40 is provided at a tip of the operation part 10, the position of the operation part 10 includes a head lighting position, at which the headlight and the small light turn on, and an auto light position, and does not include all light out position. The control part turns on the headlight irrespective of position when an ambient illuminance is a specified value or less and a vehicle speed is a specified value or more, and performs turning-off control of the headlight when the off switch 40 is operated in the state that the ambient illuminance is a specified value or less and the vehicle speed is less than the specified value.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle light control device.

2. Description of the Related Art As a device for switching on and off the lights of a vehicle, a device generally includes a shaft-shaped lever switch provided on a steering column and equipped with a rotary operation part. By rotating the rotary control unit, the headlights and small lights (marker lights) are turned on in a full light state, the headlights are off and the marking lights are turned on in a small light state, and automatically based on the surrounding illuminance. It is possible to switch between an automatic light state where the headlights are turned on and off, and a fully off state where the headlights and side lights are turned off.

Incidentally, in recent years, light control devices have been proposed that prevent vehicles from running without lights at night. For example, the light device of Patent Document 1 includes a momentary mechanism that automatically returns to the auto light position when the rotational operating force is lost when the rotation operating section is rotated from the auto light position to the full extinguish position. There is.

When the rotational operation section is in the auto-light state and the rotational operation section is rotated toward the fully off position, if the speed of the vehicle is higher than a predetermined speed, the OFF operation is invalidated. In this case, when the driver releases his/her hand from the rotary operation section, the rotation operation section automatically returns to the auto-light position. This prevents the lights from turning off while the vehicle is running, and also prevents discrepancies between the position of the rotary operation section and the actual lighting state.

Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a technology that allows the headlights to be turned off by operating a push button provided at the tip of a lever switch while the vehicle is stopped. After turning off the headlights by pressing a push button, the headlights automatically turn on when the vehicle starts driving.

JP2020-62929A Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-2370

In the light control device disclosed in Patent Document 1, if the vehicle wants to turn off the headlights while the vehicle is stopped, it is necessary to rotate the rotary operation unit from the auto light position to the fully off position. At this time, there is a possibility of erroneously rotating the rotary operation section in the opposite direction or erroneously rotating it too far past a predetermined direction.

Similarly, in the light control device of Patent Document 2, the headlights are turned off by operating a rotary operation section in addition to button operations, so there is a possibility of erroneous operation.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to suppress headlights from turning off due to erroneous operation.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a lever switch having a lever part provided on a vehicle, an operating part rotatably provided at the tip of the lever part, and a lever switch that a control unit that controls the lighting state of the headlight and the small light; an off switch is provided at the tip of the operation unit; the position is a head lighting position in which the headlight and the small light are turned on; , an auto light position in which the headlights are automatically turned on and off according to the illuminance around the vehicle, and a total off position in which the headlights and the small lights are turned off; The control unit turns on the headlights regardless of the position when the illuminance around the vehicle is below a predetermined value and the vehicle speed is above a predetermined value, and when the illuminance around the vehicle is below a predetermined value and the vehicle speed is above a predetermined value. A light control device is employed that performs a light-off control to turn off the headlights when the off switch is operated in a state where the value is less than the value.

Here, the control unit is configured to permit the lights-off control when the operating unit is set to the auto light position, and not permit the lights-off control when the operating unit is set to the head lighting position. can be adopted.

In these aspects, the control unit sets the operation mode of the off switch to a first state in which only the headlights are turned off and a second state in which the headlights and the small lights are turned off as the lights-off control. It is possible to adopt a configuration that can be selected depending on the situation.

Further, the control unit is configured to select the second state when the off switch is operated continuously for a predetermined time or more, and select the first state when the off switch is operated for less than a predetermined time. can.

In each of these aspects, the position includes an auto high beam position that automatically switches the headlights between low beam and high beam depending on the presence or absence of an oncoming vehicle, and the auto high beam position is adjacent to the auto light position. The lever switch is provided with a momentary mechanism that automatically returns to the auto light position when the operating portion is rotated from the auto light position to the auto high beam position and the rotational operating force is lost. The control unit may be configured to continue the auto high beam state even if the position automatically returns from the auto high beam position to the auto light position.

At this time, if the operating section is operated to a position other than the auto light position after the position has automatically returned from the auto high beam position to the auto light position, the control section changes the auto high beam state to a position other than the auto light position. It is possible to adopt a configuration that releases the information.

According to this invention, it is possible to suppress headlights from turning off due to erroneous operation.

Schematic diagram showing the first embodiment of this invention Schematic diagram showing a second embodiment of this invention Schematic diagram showing the third embodiment of this invention FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a vehicle equipped with a light control device according to the present invention.

Embodiments of this invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 4. The vehicle 1 controls turning on and off of a pair of left and right headlights (headlamps) 5 provided at the front of the vehicle body, and small lights (small lamps/vehicle width lights) 4 and 7 provided at the front, rear, left, and right sides of the vehicle body. There is something to do. The headlight 5 can be switched between a low beam L state and a high beam H state (see FIG. 4).

The vehicle 1 is equipped with a steering wheel, a brake pedal, an accelerator pedal, a parking brake operating section, etc., which are operated by a driver. The brake pedal is provided with a brake sensor 61 that detects the force with which the driver presses the brake pedal. Further, the accelerator pedal is provided with an accelerator position sensor 62 that detects the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal by the driver. The parking brake operating section is provided with a parking brake sensor 63 that determines the operating state (operating or non-operating) of the parking brake.

Information on the operating status of the brake detected by the brake sensor 61, information on the accelerator opening detected by the accelerator position sensor 62, and information on the operating status of the parking brake detected by the parking brake sensor 63 are stored in this vehicle 1. is sent to an electronic control unit 60 included in the computer. The vehicle 1 also includes a vehicle speed sensor 64 that detects the traveling speed of the vehicle 1, an illuminance sensor 65 that detects the illuminance around the vehicle 1, and the like. Information detected by these sensors and the like is also sent to the electronic control unit 60. Further, the electronic control unit 60 includes a distance detecting means 66 that detects the distance traveled by the vehicle 1 from a certain point of time based on the rotational speed of the axle, GPS (Global Positioning System) information, and the like. The electronic control unit 60 is a collection of electronic control devices (computers) that control various devices included in the vehicle 1. Built-in is an interface, processor, memory, etc. that are connected to each other via a bus.

As the vehicle speed sensor 64, for example, a rotation sensor that detects the rotation speed of an output shaft, an axle, or the like of a transmission can be used. For example, a photodiode, a phototransistor, or the like is used as the illuminance sensor 65. The illuminance sensor 65 is provided at a predetermined position where it can receive light from the outside through the window glass, such as the upper part of the instrument panel of the vehicle 1 or the upper part of the dashboard at the rear of the vehicle body.

The electronic control unit 60 includes a controller 67 as a control section that controls lights such as the headlight 5 and the small lights 4 and 7. These lights are connected to a power source such as a battery, and are controlled to turn on and off by a controller 67. Switching on and off of the lights can be performed mainly by a shaft-shaped lever switch 3 provided on the steering column 8 in front of the driver's seat.

1 to 3 show three embodiments having different aspects, each showing an enlarged view of the tip of a lever switch 3 operated by a driver. The lever switch 3 is provided so as to protrude laterally from a steering column 8 located on the back side (in front) of the steering wheel 2 of the vehicle.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment. The lever switch 3 includes a lever part A extending laterally from the steering column 8, and an operating part 10 provided at the tip of the lever part A. The operating section 10 is rotatable about an axis extending in the direction in which the lever section A extends, and a button-type off switch 40 is provided at the tip of the operating section 10.

The lever portion A is swingable with respect to the steering column 8 in the longitudinal direction and the vertical direction of the vehicle 1, respectively. By swinging (tilting) the lever portion A toward the front of the vehicle body, the optical axis of the headlight 5 can be manually switched to the high beam H. Further, by swinging the lever switch 3 in the vertical direction, a direction indicator (blinker) in the left-right direction can be operated.

The operation unit 10 has, in order from the top along the circumferential direction, a head lighting position 21 indicating a position where the headlight 5 and the small light 4 are turned on, and a small lighting position 22 where the headlight 5 is turned off and the small light 4 is turned on. , and an auto light position 23 in which the headlight 5 is automatically turned on and off according to the surrounding illuminance, and each position is marked with a symbol at the tip of the lever part A. Note that in the head lighting position 21, the headlight 5 is lit in a low beam state.

The light control mode can be switched by rotating the operating unit 10 around the axis and adjusting it to each position. Note that the operating unit 10 has a mechanism that is held (locked) at each of a head lighting position 21, a small lighting position 22, and an auto light position 23.

Below, the state in which the headlight 5 and the small lights 4 and 7 are on is referred to as the full lighting state, the state in which the headlight 5 is off and the small lights 4 and 7 are on is referred to as the small lighting state, and the ambient illuminance. A state in which the headlights 5 are automatically turned on and off based on the above is referred to as an autolight state, and a state in which the headlights 5 and small lights 4 and 7 are turned off is referred to as a fully off state. Note that the operation unit 10 is not provided with a position corresponding to a fully turned off state in which the headlight 5 and the small lights 4 and 7 are all turned off.

The off switch 40 is provided at the tip of the lever switch 3 (the tip of the operating part 10), and can switch the headlights 5 off and on by pressing toward the base of the lever switch 3. There is.

A controller 67 included in the electronic control unit 60 operates based on input signals from the lever switch 3, information from the vehicle speed sensor 64, illumination sensor 65, other sensors, etc., and information indicating the driving state of the vehicle. Controls turning on and off of various lights.

The controller 67 performs a lights-off control in which the headlights 5 are turned off when the off switch 40 is pressed under a light-off possible operating condition in which turning off the headlights 5 is permitted. On the other hand, under the lighting operation condition, even if the off switch 40 is pressed, the lights-off control is not performed, and the headlight 5 remains lit. Note that the driving conditions that allow lights to be turned off and the lighting driving conditions are determined when the illuminance around the vehicle is below a predetermined value (for example, the illuminance from dusk to early morning).

The driving condition that allows lights to be turned off is a condition that the vehicle speed is less than a predetermined value, for example, that the vehicle 1 continues to stop. The vehicle 1 continues to stop if the speed of the vehicle 1 obtained by the vehicle speed sensor 64 is zero, or if the brake pedal depression force detected by the brake sensor 61 is greater than or equal to a predetermined first depression force. The determination may be made based on, for example, the parking brake sensor 63 determining that the parking brake is in operation.

The lighting operation condition is a condition that the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, for example, that the vehicle is running. The vehicle is running when the speed of the vehicle 1 obtained by the vehicle speed sensor 64 exceeds a predetermined value, when the brake pedal depression force detected by the brake sensor 61 is less than a predetermined second depression force, and when the parking brake is pressed. The determination may be made based on, for example, that the parking brake is determined to be inactive by the sensor 63. The second pedal force is set to a predetermined pedal force that is less than or equal to the first pedal force. Here, the second pedal force and the first pedal force may be set to the same value.

The controller 67 automatically turns on the headlights 5 when the turn-on operation condition is established after the off switch 40 is pressed and the lights are turned off under the turn-off operation condition. In this embodiment, the lighting operation conditions include that the speed of the vehicle 1 obtained by the vehicle speed sensor 64 is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, and that the distance traveled from the start of the vehicle travel detected by the travel distance detection means 66 is equal to or higher than a predetermined distance. We are adopting what has become. That is, even if the speed of the vehicle 1 is less than a predetermined value, the headlights 5 are automatically turned on when the travel distance from the start of the vehicle travel exceeds a predetermined distance.

In addition, the controller 67 also turns on the headlights 5 by operating the operation unit 10 to the head lighting position 21 or the small lighting position 22 during the lights-off control, or by pressing the off switch 40 again.

Note that the small lighting state is also not permitted while lighting operation conditions are satisfied, similar to the lights-off control. In this case, the headlights 5 are turned on even if the operation unit 10 is located at the small lighting position 22.

Here, in this embodiment, the lights-off control is permitted only when the operation unit 10 is set to the auto light position 23.

When the ignition is turned off after turning off the headlights 5 and small lights 4 and 7 by operating the off switch 40 in the head lighting position 21 or the small lighting position 22, the turn-off instruction by operating the off switch 40 is reset immediately after the ignition is turned off. , a situation may occur in which the headlight 5 and the small lights 4 and 7 are once turned on in accordance with the current position of the operation unit 10, and then turned off.

However, in this embodiment, the lights-off control is permitted only when the operation unit 10 is set to the auto light position 23, so the ignition cannot be turned off with the lights turned off after the lights-off control. However, the headlights 5 and small lights 4 and 7 will not turn on. Note that in the auto light position 23, the headlight 5 and the small lights 4 and 7 are turned on once the ignition is turned off, since the auto light position 23 continues to turn off the light unless the lighting operation condition is satisfied or the operation unit 10 or the off switch 40 is operated. That's not the case.

Further, the controller 67 performs light-off control by specially operating the off switch 40. The special operation includes continuously pressing the off switch 40 for a predetermined period of time or more, continuously pressing the off switch 40 multiple times within a short period of time, and the like. In this embodiment, when the off switch 40 is pressed continuously for 2 seconds or more, the lights-off control is performed, and when the off switch 40 is pressed for less than 2 seconds, the lights-off control is not performed. This prevents the headlights 5 from turning off due to erroneous operation of the off switch 40.

According to the first embodiment, the operation unit 10 is not provided with a position corresponding to the fully off state in which the headlights 5 and the small lights 4 and 7 are all turned off. A light-off control is implemented to turn off the light. Therefore, when changing the position of the operation unit 10, the headlight 5 and the small lights 4, 7 will not be turned off by mistake.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the invention.

In the second embodiment, an auto high beam position 24 is newly installed in the operation unit 10 to automatically switch the headlights 5 between low beam L and high beam H depending on the presence or absence of an oncoming vehicle. In addition to the operating section 10, the lever section A is provided with a second operating section 50 for controlling the lighting state of the fog lamp 6. The other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment, so the description will be omitted.

The auto high beam position 24 is provided below and adjacent to the auto light position 23. The lever switch 3 includes a momentary mechanism that automatically returns the operating section 10 to the auto-light position 23 when the rotational operating force is lost when the operating section 10 is rotated from the auto-light position 23 to the auto-high beam position 24. is provided. When a rotational operation is performed from the auto light position 23 to the auto high beam position 24, control corresponding to the auto high beam position 24 is performed, but the position of the operation unit 10 returns to the auto light position 23. ing. While the control corresponding to the auto high beam position 24 is being performed, a display to that effect may be displayed on a display section provided on the instrument panel.

Note that if the headlight 5 is switched to high beam H by swinging the lever part A while the auto high beam position 24 is set, the control of the auto high beam position 24 is canceled and the normal auto high beam position 23 is returned. Transition. At this time, the position of the operation unit 10 remains at the auto write position 23. Furthermore, when the position of the operation unit 10 is rotated to the head lighting position 21 or the small lighting position 22, the control of the auto high beam position 24 is also canceled.

The second operating section 50 is located closer to the base than the tip of the lever A, that is, closer to the base than the operating section 10 in the lever switch 3, and is centered on an axis extending in the extending direction of the lever A. It is rotatably installed. The second operating section 50 has, in order from the top along the circumferential direction of the lever section A, a fog lighting position 51 indicating a position where the fog lamp 6 is turned on by manual operation, and a fog turning off position 53 where the fog lamp 6 is turned off by manual operation. Each item is marked with a symbol. By rotating the second operating section 50 around the axis, the control mode of the fog lamp 6 is switched. Note that the fog lighting position 51 and the fog lighting off position 53 are each configured to be held (locked) at that position.

In the second embodiment as well, when the off switch 40 is pressed under the extinguishable driving condition in which extinguishing of the headlights 5 is permitted, extinguishing control is performed in which the headlights 5 are extinguished. Under the lighting operation condition, even if the off switch 40 is pressed, the lights-off control is not performed, and the headlight 5 remains lit.

According to the second embodiment, the auto high beam position 24 is adjacent to the auto light position 23, and a momentary mechanism is provided that automatically returns the operating section 10 to the auto light position 23 when the rotational operation force is lost. Therefore, even if the control of the auto high beam position 24 is canceled for some reason and the control shifts to the normal auto light position 23, the position of the operation unit 10 will always be set to the auto light position 23 before and after the cancellation. be. Since the auto high beam is executed only in the auto light state, it is possible to more reliably prevent a mismatch between the position of the operating unit 10 and the actual lighting state.

FIG. 3 shows a third embodiment of the invention.

In the third embodiment, the small lighting position 22 is eliminated from the second embodiment. Instead, by operating the off switch 40, the small lighting state can be achieved. The other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment, so the description will be omitted.

The controller 67 can switch between a first state in which only the headlight 5 is turned off and a second state in which both the headlight 5 and the small lights 4 and 7 are turned off as lights-off control. The first state and the second state are switched depending on the manner in which the off switch 40 is pressed (push button operation).

For example, if the pressing time of the off switch 40 is longer than a predetermined time (the predetermined time is, for example, 2 seconds), a second state (all-off state) in which both the headlight 5 and the small lights 4 and 7 are turned off as a lights-off control is selected, and if the pressing time of the off switch 40 is less than a predetermined time (the predetermined time is, for example, 2 seconds), only the headlight 5 is turned off as a light-off control, and the small lights 4 and 7 are turned on. Select the state (small lighting state). That is, the longer the off switch 40 is pressed, the darker the overall brightness of the controlled light becomes. In addition to this, for example, if the off switch 40 is pressed only once (single click), it will change to the first state (small lighting state) twice in a row within a limited short time. Switching between the first state and the second state may be distinguished by different types of pressing, such as switching to the second state (completely blanked state) when the button is pressed (double click). . At this time, it is preferable to set the state that is more difficult to operate (the off switch 40 is pressed for a long time, the off switch 40 is pressed many times, etc.) as the second state.

According to the third embodiment, since the small lighting position 22 is abolished, the headlight 5 does not turn on while the operation unit 10 is located at the small lighting position 22 while the lighting driving condition is satisfied. . Moreover, the small lighting state can be performed using the off switch 40 for turning off the headlight 5 and the small lights 4 and 7.

1 Vehicle 3 Lever switch 5 Headlight 6 Fog lamp 4, 7 Small light 10 Operating unit 21 Head lighting position 22 Small lighting position 23 Auto light position 24 Auto high beam position 40 Off switch 50 Second operating unit

Claims (6)

A lever switch having a lever part provided on a vehicle, and an operating part rotatably provided at a tip of the lever part;
A control unit that controls the lighting state of the headlight and the small light according to the position of the operation unit, and an off switch is provided at the tip of the operation unit,
The position includes a head lighting position where the headlight and the small light are turned on, and an auto light position where the headlight is automatically turned on and off according to the illuminance around the vehicle, and the headlight is turned on and off in accordance with the illumination around the vehicle. The controller does not have an all-off position where the headlights and the small lights are turned off, and if the illuminance around the vehicle is below a predetermined value and the vehicle speed is above a predetermined value, the control unit turns off the headlights regardless of the position. light it up,
A light control device that performs light-off control to turn off the headlights when the off switch is operated when the illuminance around the vehicle is below a predetermined value and the vehicle speed is less than a predetermined value. 2. The control section according to claim 1, wherein the control section permits the lights-out control when the operation section is set to the auto light position, and does not permit the lights-off control when the operation section is set to the head lighting position. Light control device as described. The control unit may select, as the lights-off control, a first state in which only the headlights are turned off, and a second state in which the headlights and the small lights are turned off, according to an operation form of the off switch. A light control device according to claim 1 or 2. 4. The control unit selects the second state when the off switch is operated continuously for a predetermined time or more, and selects the first state when the off switch is operated for less than a predetermined time. light control device. The position includes an auto high beam position that automatically switches the headlights between low beam and high beam depending on the presence or absence of an oncoming vehicle,
The auto high beam position is adjacent to the auto light position,
The lever switch is provided with a momentary mechanism that automatically returns to the auto light position when the operating portion is rotated from the auto light position to the auto high beam position and the rotational operating force is lost;
The light control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the control unit continues the auto high beam state even when the position automatically returns to the auto light position from the auto high beam position. The control unit is configured to cancel the auto high beam state when the operating unit is operated to a position other than the auto light position after the position automatically returns from the auto high beam position to the auto light position. Item 5. The light control device according to item 5.

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