JP3104553B2 - Automatic irradiation direction control mechanism for automotive headlamps - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prevent bad condition from being generated due to linkage by improving an automatic control mechanism which makes headlights move in inclination right and left in linkage with the steering of the dirigible device of an automobile (for example, at the time of vehicle shed entering retreat or at the time of column parking retreat, to prevent a walker and a passing vehicle from being dazzled). CONSTITUTION: A steering angle sensor 9 detects a steering wheel operation state, and a control circuit 21, in linkage with the steering state, moves incliningly right and left lamps 6, 1 to the right and left by controlling the drive unit 4, 2 of the right and left lamps 6, 1. In precedence over the above control functions, headlights are moved in inclination toward an obstacle by means of an advance/retreat deciding means 41 and an obstacle detecting means 42 when an obstacle is detected on the opposite side of a steering direction at the time of retreat.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mechanism for detecting the running state of a vehicle and automatically controlling the irradiation direction of a headlight so as to be suitable for each state. In the present invention, the headlight is intended to include an auxiliary headlight such as a fog lamp.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a vehicle travels on a left-curve road, for example, it is desirable that the irradiation direction of a headlight is inclined leftward so that light is emitted on a road ahead in the traveling direction. Under these circumstances, when the driver steers to the left (so-called turning the steering wheel to the left), the headlight tilts to the left, and when the driver steers to the right, the headlight tilts to the right. An automatic device is known (for example, JP-A-62-231845). However, since the running conditions of a vehicle vary widely, the function of simply tilting the headlamp in the steering direction substantially in proportion to the steering angle is not sufficient. Causes a problem.

[0003] b. For example, when traveling in an area with a lot of road illumination such as an urban area, or when traveling on a fully illuminated road such as an arterial road, the irradiation direction of the headlights The effect of controlling is not sufficiently exhibited. That is, even if the irradiation direction of the headlamp is constant with respect to the vehicle body, no particular trouble is felt in turning.
Even under such driving conditions, if the irradiation direction of the headlight is automatically controlled, the operation frequency of the automatic control mechanism is unnecessarily high,
This will accelerate the wear of the lamp drive. B. When the oncoming vehicle has an oncoming vehicle and the vehicle steers to the oncoming lane (for example, turning the steering wheel clockwise in Japan, which is on the left), the headlight of the vehicle automatically turns on. It is dangerous and not preferable because it tilts toward the vehicle and dazzles the oncoming vehicle. In order to solve the problem described in the above item a and suppress unnecessary operation, means for detecting a steering angle and a steering direction of a steering device of an automobile, and a lighting state of a road on which the automobile is traveling. Means for detecting the degree of brightness and darkness of the vehicle, driving means for tilting the headlight of the vehicle to the left and right, and the detection signal of the steering direction and the lighting condition light / dark signal are inputted, and an operation signal is inputted to the driving means. And when the lighting condition of the traveling road is darker than a predetermined value, the control circuit tilts the headlight in the steering direction substantially in proportion to the steering angle. It is effective to output an operation signal and output an operation signal for turning the headlight in a reference direction ahead of the traveling direction when the lighting condition of the traveling road is brighter than a predetermined value. This technique was created by the present inventor and is separately filed (Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 6-122417), and is hereinafter referred to as the first invention of the prior application (however, in the case where it is not confusing). May be simply referred to as the first invention).

In order to prevent the danger of dazzling an oncoming vehicle as described in the above item (b), means for detecting a steering angle and a steering direction of a vehicle steering device and means for detecting the presence or absence of an oncoming vehicle are provided. A driving circuit for tilting the headlight of the vehicle in the left-right direction, and a control circuit that receives the detection signal of the steering direction and the presence / absence signal of the oncoming vehicle and supplies an operation signal to the driving unit. When the control circuit receives a signal indicating that there is no oncoming vehicle, the control circuit outputs an operation signal for tilting the headlight in the steering direction substantially in proportion to the steering angle, and there is an oncoming vehicle. When receiving the signal indicating that the steering angle is detected in the oncoming lane direction, an operation signal for inclining the headlight in the oncoming lane direction is not output even if the steering angle in the oncoming lane direction is detected. This technique was also created by the present inventor and is being filed with the same application as the first invention, and will be hereinafter referred to as the second invention according to the prior application (if not confusing, the second invention is simply referred to as the second invention). Invention).

Next, an embodiment of the first invention according to the prior application will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a control system diagram showing an embodiment of an irradiation direction automatic control mechanism for a vehicle headlamp according to the first invention. The steering angle sensor 9 according to the present embodiment includes a rotating disk having an angle signal slit and an optical sensor, and detects a steering angle of a steering wheel. Steering direction determining means 1
0 determines which direction the steering wheel is tilted as compared to the straight traveling state based on the detection signal of the steering angle sensor 9 and inputs an output signal to the control circuit 21. The light sensor 22 is provided with a light receiving element using cadmium sulfide near a dashboard or a hood of an automobile to detect illumination light on a traveling road.

The control circuit 21 receives a signal from the steering angle sensor 9 through the steering direction judging means 10, calculates a steering angle based on the signal, and drives a control signal corresponding to the calculated value of the steering angle. To the drive units 2 and 4 for the left and right lamps via the circuit 7 for use. The above control circuit 21
When the signal output of the optical sensor 22 becomes equal to or more than a predetermined value,
A stop signal is given to the drive units 2 and 4 for the left and right lamps,
The irradiation directions of the left and right lamps 1 and 6 are stopped in a reference state (a state defined by regulations based on the direction of the vehicle body).

This embodiment (FIG. 4) configured as described above
The operation of will be described below. The lamp switch 14 has four modes: OFF, position, low beam, and interlocking. Only in the interlocking mode, automatic control of the headlight irradiation direction described below is performed in conjunction with the steering. It has become. When the detection signal of the optical sensor 22 is equal to or less than a predetermined value (when the road lighting is dark), the signal detected by the steering angle sensor 9 is input to the control circuit 21 via the steering direction determination means 10. The control circuit 21 calculates the steering angle, outputs a drive signal corresponding to the calculated steering angle, activates the left and right lamp drive units 2 and 4 via the drive circuit 7, and outputs the left and right lamps 1. , 6 in the steering direction. The rotation angles of the left and right lamps 1 and 6 are detected by angle sensors 3 and 5 and are fed back to the control circuit 21. When the turning angles of the left and right ramps 1 and 6 become the angles adapted to the calculated steering angle, the control circuit 21 outputs a brake signal to stop the drive units 2 and 4 of the left and right ramps. The operation when the detection signal of the optical sensor 22 is equal to or more than a predetermined value will be described below. FIG. 5 shows an example of a time chart when the vehicle equipped with the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 runs on a road, where (A) shows an output signal of a lamp switch and (B) shows a steering direction judgment. (C) shows the output signal of the optical sensor, (D) shows the state of the steering wheel operation related to left and right turns, and (E) shows the lighting state of the traveling road. . t ₁ ~t ₅ are each represent a time. Lamp switch 14 at time t ₁ (see FIG. 4) is operated in interlock mode, lamp switch output signal changes from L ₀ to Hi. As the steering direction determining means output signal is indicative, turning left from time t ₂ to t _3, time t ₃
Straight from to t _4, turning to the right from the time t ₄ to t _5, which is to go straight from the time t _5. The left as described above, while being steered to the right, the road condition between times t _6, a relatively dark state as can be seen from the optical sensor is transmitting the L ₀ signal. In the dark state (t _{1 to} t ₆ ), the irradiation direction of the headlight is automatically changed in the steering direction along with the steering as described with reference to FIG. From time t ₆ to t _11, the optical sensor output signal is H
i, indicating that the lighting conditions of the road are relatively bright. During this time (t ₆ to t ₁₁ ), time t ₇ to t ₈
Left turn up, although steering in the rightward turning from time t ₉ to t ₁₀ is performed, as described for FIG. 4, the optical sensor 22 has detected that the dark (output signal is at L ₀ ), Regardless of the output signal of the steering direction judging means 10, the drive units 2 and 4 for the left and right lamps are not provided with an operation signal, and the left and right lamps 1 and 6 are directed in the reference direction. is there. Since until time t ₁₁ ~t ₁₃ is an optical sensor output signal is L ₀ (dark road lighting state.), The right turn start with t _12, the irradiation direction of the headlamp on the right according to the steering angle Pointed. However, the optical sensor output signal at time t ₁₃ is H
since the i, headlight illumination direction before have been directed to the right is returned to the reference direction, (bright during illumination of the road) headlamp irradiation direction until time t ₁₅ is held in the reference direction, bright At some places, the automatic control operation of the headlight irradiation direction, which is less necessary, is stopped to prevent wear of the headlight drive mechanism. FIG. 6 is a characteristic chart in which the steering angle is plotted on the horizontal axis and the lamp operating angle is plotted on the vertical axis. FIG. 6 (A) shows the case where the lighting condition of the road is dark in the first invention, and in the second invention. (B) is a case where the own vehicle is traveling on the left side in the second invention and the oncoming vehicle is detected on the right side, and the lamp operation is limited. This (B)
The drawings will be described later in detail together with FIGS. FIG.
3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the irradiation direction automatic control mechanism of the embodiment shown in FIG. Step 3
1 starts, and in step 32, the lamp switch 14
(Refer to FIG. 4) is in the interlock mode, and
If so, proceed to step 33 and end. If it is the interlocking mode, the process proceeds to step 35 via step 34, and it is determined whether the output signal of the optical sensor 22 (see FIG. 4) is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. If it is not equal to or greater than the predetermined value (if the lighting condition of the road is dark), the routine proceeds to step 36, in which the headlight irradiation direction is automatically controlled in accordance with the steering angle, and thereafter, circulation is performed. If the output signal of the optical sensor 22 is equal to or more than the predetermined value in step 35, the process proceeds to step 37 in which the headlight irradiation direction is set as the reference direction, and in step 38, the left and right lamp drive units 2 and 4 (see FIG. 4). And the left and right lamps 1 and 6 are fixed.

Next, an embodiment of the second invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 8 is a system diagram showing one embodiment of a headlight automatic control mechanism according to the second invention, and is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 4 in the first embodiment. FIG. 8 (second invention) differs from FIG. 4 (first invention) in that an oncoming vehicle detection unit 23 is provided instead of the optical sensor 22. The oncoming vehicle detection means 23 is also a component device using an optical sensor, but detects light projected from the headlamps of the oncoming vehicle without being installed in a position or orientation that detects the lighting condition of the road. Is arranged on the side of the vehicle body or on the door mirror. In the first aspect described above, when the optical sensor 22 outputs a Hi-level detection signal, the irradiation direction of the headlight is directed in the reference direction (generally, the vehicle body traveling direction) regardless of the steering state. Fixed.
If the second invention is compared with this (the first invention),
In a state where the oncoming vehicle detecting means 23 (FIG. 8) detects the light of the headlight of the oncoming vehicle and outputs a Hi-level detection signal, a. When the vehicle is steered to the own lane (L), the lamp operating angle is tilted toward the own lane (L) according to the steering angle,
B. Even when the vehicle is steered to the oncoming lane (R), the lamp operating angle is not more toward the oncoming lane (R) than in the reference state (vehicle traveling direction). Thus, there is no danger of dazzling the oncoming vehicle, and night traffic is safe. FIG. 9 is an example of a time chart when an automobile equipped with one embodiment of the headlamp irradiation direction control mechanism according to the second invention travels, and corresponds to FIG. 5 in the embodiment of the first invention. (A) shows the output signal of the lamp switch, (B) shows the output signal of the steering direction determining means, (C) shows the output signal of the oncoming vehicle detecting means,
(D) is a chart showing a steering state, and (E) is a chart showing the presence or absence of an oncoming vehicle. Lamp switch is operated in conjunction mode at the time t _1. Between the time t ₆ to t _10, the output signal of the oncoming vehicle detecting means becomes Hi level, represents the presence of oncoming vehicles. As described above, since the oncoming vehicle detection means of this example has a structure for detecting light from the headlights of the oncoming vehicle, the presence of the oncoming vehicle means that the respective headlights are in view. Means. At time t _13, also it can be seen that another oncoming vehicle is in sight. When there is no oncoming vehicle, the headlight is illuminated in the steering direction and in accordance with the steering angle (substantially in proportion to a certain value), as shown in the control characteristics shown in FIG. (Lamp operating angle) is automatically controlled. When the oncoming vehicle is present (from time t ₆ to t _11, and, t ₁₃ and later), as a control characteristic shown in FIG. 6 (B), the left, when the steering respectively right, self lane The headlamp irradiation direction (lamp operating angle) is directed to its own lane side in accordance with the steering of the vehicle, and irradiates the expected traveling direction. The lamp irradiation direction is not more toward the oncoming lane side (R) than the reference direction (the front of the vehicle body). This prevents dazzling of the oncoming vehicle.

[0009]

The inventor of the present invention has applied for the invention according to the above-mentioned prior application, and has continued the research for practical use. When the first invention is applied, a signal indicating a steering state is obtained.
A signal representing the brightness of the road is input to the control device, and when the road is dark, the headlight irradiation direction automatically turns to the steering direction with steering, so that the scheduled front is illuminated at the time of turning steering, which is convenient. In addition, when the road is bright, the above automatic control is stopped, so that useless automatic control operation is suppressed, and the automatic control mechanism (particularly, the headlight is tilted to tilt the irradiation direction of the headlight) It was sufficiently confirmed that the useless useless driving means was prevented and the durability was improved, and an excellent practical effect was exhibited. Further, when the second invention according to the prior application is applied, a signal indicating a steering state and a signal indicating the presence or absence of an oncoming vehicle are input to the control device. Since the irradiation direction automatically turns to the steering direction, it is convenient that the scheduled front is illuminated during turning steering, and the above automatic control is stopped when there is an oncoming vehicle, so that useless automatic control operation is performed. It is possible to prevent unnecessary use of the automatic control mechanism (particularly, driving means for tilting the headlight to tilt the irradiation direction of the headlight), thereby improving the durability and dazzling the oncoming vehicle. It was also fully confirmed that it had the effect of contributing to night traffic safety. However, the above practical use test revealed that there was still room for further improvement. Therefore, efforts were made to eliminate the inconveniences and to work on measures to improve them. FIG. 10 is a view for explaining a problem that is not solved by the irradiation direction automatic control mechanism of the automotive headlamp according to the invention of the prior application, and shows the irradiation direction of the headlamp in a plan view of the automobile. It is explanatory drawing which added the arrow and the arrow which shows a driving route, and attached the code respectively. In this illustration, the steering wheel is turned to the left, which is schematically depicted.
Is leaning to the left. When the vehicle moves forward in this state, the vehicle turns left as indicated by arrow a, so that the headlights facing the front front (reference direction) arrows S and S 'tilt leftward as indicated by arrows l and l'. The automatic control device in which the headlight tilts in the steering direction is useful for traffic safety, except when the road lighting is bright or there are oncoming vehicles. However, at the time of reverse, the above-mentioned functions are not always suitable. That is, as the vehicle body turns left as indicated by arrow b, the front end of the vehicle body swings right as indicated by arrow c. Therefore, the irradiation direction of the headlamp is indicated by arrows l and l '.
It is not only futile to tilt to the left like
It is rather harmful. In order to solve the problem described above with reference to FIG. 10, an invention (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-74495) in which the tilting direction of the headlight is set opposite to the steering direction when the vehicle is moving backward is proposed and known. However, the above known invention has the following problems. That is, when moving backward while steering leftward as in the example shown in FIG. 10, it is necessary to irradiate diagonally right as shown by arrows r and r 'because there is some obstacle on the right side of the vehicle body. Only if. Arrows r, r 'without any other obstacle on the right side of the vehicle
Even if the headlamp is tilted to the right as described above, there is no particular advantage, and there is no adverse effect such as dazzling the passing vehicles and people. Even if the adverse effects are slight, the useless tilting of the headlight is not only consumed wasteful energy for tilting the headlight, but also supported by tilting the headlight. It is not preferable because wear of the member and the device for tilting drive is accelerated. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the headlight is tilted left and right in accordance with the left and right steering angles of the steering device during normal forward running, and when the vehicle is traveling backward. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic headlamp irradiation direction control mechanism for a vehicle headlamp in which a headlamp is tilted in a required direction as needed, and useless tilting is suppressed and durability is improved.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To achieve the above object, an automatic headlight irradiation direction control mechanism for a vehicle according to the present invention is provided which detects a running state of the vehicle and irradiates the headlight. In a device for automatically controlling the direction, an obstacle detecting means for detecting an obstacle on the side or oblique side of the vehicle, and a means for detecting whether the driving device of the vehicle is in a forward state or a backward state. Means for detecting the steering angle and the steering direction of the steering device of the vehicle, driving means for tilting the headlight of the vehicle in the left and right direction, and detection signals of the respective detection means, which are inputted and operated by the driving means A control circuit for giving a signal, and the control circuit, when the vehicle is in a forward movement state, tilts the headlight in the steering direction substantially in proportion to the steering angle of the steering device. Outputs a signal and the car moves backward When no obstacle is detected, regardless of the steering state of the steering device, a signal is output to stop the tilt of the headlight in the reference direction ahead of the vehicle body and the vehicle is in the reverse state. When an obstacle is detected on the opposite side of the steering direction of the steering device, a signal for tilting the headlight to the opposite side of the steering direction is output, and the vehicle is in the reverse state and the steering is performed. When an obstacle is not detected on the opposite side of the steering direction of the device, a signal for stopping the tilt of the headlight in a reference direction ahead of the vehicle body is output.

[0011]

According to the above-mentioned means, when the vehicle is traveling in the forward direction, the headlight is tilted left and right according to the steering state of the steering device. And when you go backwards,
It is automatically detected that the drive device of the automobile is in the reverse state, and a signal indicating that the vehicle is traveling in the reverse direction is input to the control circuit. Further, in parallel with the above operation, a signal indicating whether or not there is an obstacle on the side or on the side of the vehicle is also input to the control circuit. The control circuit outputs a command signal to turn the headlight toward the front of the vehicle body (reference direction) when the vehicle is moving backward and no obstacle is detected. Only when an obstacle is detected on the opposite side of the direction, a command signal is output so that the headlight is tilted in the opposite direction to the steering direction (the direction in which the obstacle exists). Then, even if the vehicle is moving backward and an obstacle is detected, if the obstacle is not on the opposite side of the steering direction, a command signal is issued to fix the vehicle toward the front of the headlight vehicle body (reference direction). Output. As a result, the mechanism according to the present invention has an automatic control function of the headlight irradiation direction during forward running, and also performs automatic control of the headlight irradiation direction as needed during reverse running. That is, the headlight is tilted toward the direction of the obstacle only when there is a risk of contact with an obstacle on the side of the vehicle body or on an oblique side. For this reason, the driver notices the obstacle and can drive while clearly recognizing the obstacle. Moreover,
Even if there is an obstacle in a place where there is no danger of contact, the headlight is fixed toward the front front (reference direction) of the vehicle body and does not tilt, so that useless left and right tilting of the headlight is suppressed, Wear of the headlight tilt drive device is reduced, and the overall durability of the device is improved.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, referring to FIGS.
An embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a control system diagram showing one embodiment of an irradiation direction automatic control mechanism for a vehicle headlamp according to the present invention. This embodiment (FIG. 1) is compared with FIG. 4 of the first invention of the prior application and FIG. 8 of the second invention. 41 and an obstacle detection means 42 are additionally provided. However, when implementing the present invention, the optical sensor 22 of the first invention (FIG. 4) and the second invention (FIG. 8) of the earlier application
The oncoming vehicle detecting means 23 can also be provided. That is, the invention of the present application and the previously-unknown invention according to the prior application can be used in combination. The reason is that the invention of the prior application relates to automatic control of the headlight irradiation direction when the vehicle is traveling forward, and the invention of the present application relates to automatic control of the headlight irradiation direction when the vehicle is traveling backward. This is because there is no possibility that the functions of the two interfere with each other. The forward / reverse determination means 41 is configured to detect the position of the A / T select lever in the case of an A / T vehicle, and determine that the vehicle is in a reverse state if the vehicle is in the R position. In the case of a gear transmission, the position of the change lever is detected, and if the vehicle is in the reverse position, it is determined that the vehicle is in a reverse state. Further, the obstacle detecting means 42 is configured by installing ultrasonic sensors at the front left end of the vehicle body and the front right end of the vehicle body. FIG. 2 is a view for explaining the function of the obstacle detecting means in the above embodiment, and is a diagram in which a detection area is added to a plan view of the vehicle body. When there is an obstacle in the left side detection area 51 or the right side detection area 52 indicated by a spot, the presence of the obstacle is detected by the ultrasonic sensor, and the detection signal is shown in FIG. Input to the control circuit 21.

This embodiment (FIG. 1) configured as described above
The operation of will be described below. The lamp switch 14 has four modes: OFF, position, low beam, and interlocking. Only in the interlocking mode, automatic control of the headlight irradiation direction described below is performed in conjunction with the steering. It has become. Forward / reverse determination means 41
Is outputting a signal indicating that the vehicle is in the forward traveling state, the signal detected by the steering angle sensor 9 is:
The signal is input to the control circuit 21 via the steering direction judging means 10. The control circuit 21 calculates the steering angle, outputs a drive signal corresponding to the calculated steering angle, activates the left and right lamp drive units 2 and 4 via the drive circuit 7, and outputs the left and right lamps 1. , 6 in the steering direction. left,
The rotation angles of the right lamps 1 and 6 are detected by the angle sensors 3 and 5 and are fed back to the control circuit 21. left,
When the turning angles of the right ramps 1 and 6 reach an angle adapted to the steering angle calculation value, the control circuit 21 outputs a brake signal to stop the drive units 2 and 4 for the left and right ramps.
In this way, during forward running, the headlight is tilted left and right according to the steering direction and the steering angle of the steering device. In this case (when traveling forward), although not shown, the optical sensor 22 (FIG. 3) constituting the first invention according to the earlier application can be used together as described above, The oncoming vehicle detecting means 23 (FIG. 7) constituting the second invention may be used in combination. When the first invention according to the prior application is used in combination, the left and right tilting of the headlamp is suppressed in a place where road lighting conditions are good during forward running, and when the second invention is used in combination, the headlight is turned forward when there is an oncoming vehicle during forward running. The tilt of the illuminating light can be suppressed to prevent dazzling.

The characteristic function of the present embodiment is exhibited when the forward / reverse determination means 41 (FIG. 1) outputs a signal indicating "reverse". Is input to the control circuit 21. This control circuit 21 operates as described below. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the irradiation direction automatic control mechanism of the embodiment shown in FIG. It starts in step 31 and determines in step 32 whether or not the lamp switch 14 (see FIG. 1) is in the interlocking mode. If NO, the process proceeds to step 33 and ends. If it is the interlocking mode, the process proceeds to step 43 via step 34, and it is determined whether or not the vehicle is in a reverse state. If the vehicle is not in the reverse drive state, the process proceeds to step 36, in which the headlight irradiation direction is automatically controlled according to the steering angle.
Circulate. In step 43, if the output signal of the forward / reverse determination means 41 (FIG. 1) is reverse, the flow proceeds to step 44 to detect an obstacle, and if there is no obstacle in step 45, the irradiation direction of the headlight is changed to the front of the vehicle body. Facing the front (step 37),
In this state, the tilting of the headlight is stopped (step 3).
8). If there is an obstacle in step 45, the flow advances to step 46 to determine whether the direction of the obstacle and the steering direction are the same or opposite.
The operation proceeds as if there were no obstacle. If the direction of the obstacle and the steering direction are opposite to each other, the process proceeds to step 47, and the irradiation direction of the headlight is directed to the direction opposite to the steering direction (that is, the direction in which the obstacle exists).

[0015]

According to the present invention, when the vehicle is traveling in the forward direction, the headlight is tilted left and right in accordance with the steering state of the steering device. When the vehicle travels backward, it is automatically detected that the driving device of the vehicle is in the reverse state, and a signal indicating that the vehicle is traveling backward is input to the control circuit. Further, in parallel with the above operation, a signal indicating whether or not there is an obstacle on the side or on the side of the vehicle is also input to the control circuit. The control circuit outputs a command signal to turn the headlight toward the front of the vehicle body (reference direction) when the vehicle is moving backward and no obstacle is detected. Only when an obstacle is detected on the opposite side of the direction, a command signal is output so that the headlight is tilted in the opposite direction to the steering direction (the direction in which the obstacle exists). Then, even if the vehicle is moving backward and an obstacle is detected, if the obstacle is not on the opposite side of the steering direction, a command signal is issued to fix the vehicle toward the front of the headlight vehicle body (reference direction). Output. As a result, the mechanism according to the present invention has an automatic control function of the headlight irradiation direction during forward running, and also performs automatic control of the headlight irradiation direction as needed during reverse running. That is, the headlight is tilted toward the direction of the obstacle only when there is a risk of contact with an obstacle on the side of the vehicle body or on an oblique side. For this reason, the driver notices the obstacle and can drive while clearly recognizing the obstacle. In addition, even if there is an obstacle in a place where there is no risk of contact, the headlamp is fixed toward the front front (reference direction) of the vehicle body and does not tilt, so that the headlamp is uselessly tilted left and right. Suppressed, the wear of the headlight tilting drive device is reduced, and the durability of the entire device is improved, which has an excellent practical effect, greatly contributing to the development of traffic safety and the automotive equipment industry. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a control system diagram showing one embodiment of an irradiation direction automatic control mechanism for a vehicle headlamp according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining a function of an obstacle detection means in the embodiment, and is a diagram in which a detection area is added to a plan view of a vehicle body.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation in the irradiation direction automatic control mechanism of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 described above.

FIG. 4 is a control system diagram showing an embodiment of an irradiation direction automatic control mechanism of a vehicle headlamp according to the first invention.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a time chart when a vehicle equipped with the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 runs on a road;
(A) shows the output signal of the lamp switch, (B) shows the output signal of the steering direction judging means, (C) shows the output signal of the optical sensor, and (D) shows the state of the steering operation related to left and right turns. , (E) are charts respectively showing the lighting conditions of the traveling road.

FIG. 6 is a characteristic chart in which a horizontal axis represents a steering angle and a vertical axis represents a lamp operating angle, and FIG.
(B) the case where the lighting condition of the road is dark in the invention of the second aspect and the case where there is no oncoming vehicle in the second aspect of the invention;
In the second invention, the self-vehicle is traveling on the left side, and an oncoming vehicle is detected on the right side, and the lamp operation is restricted.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the irradiation direction automatic control mechanism of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 described above.

FIG. 8 is a system diagram showing one embodiment of a headlight automatic control mechanism in a second invention according to the prior application, and is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 4 in the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 shows a headlight irradiation direction control mechanism according to a second invention.
FIG. 3 is an example of a time chart when the automobile equipped with the embodiment travels and corresponds to FIG. 2 in the embodiment of the first invention, and FIG. 3A shows an output signal of a lamp switch and FIG. ) Is the output signal of the steering direction determination means, (C) is the output signal of the oncoming vehicle detection means, (D) is the steering state,
(E) is a chart showing the presence or absence of an oncoming vehicle, respectively.

FIG. 10 is a view for explaining a problem which is not solved by the irradiation direction automatic control mechanism for a vehicle headlamp according to the invention of the prior application, and shows the irradiation direction of the headlamp in a plan view of the vehicle. It is explanatory drawing which added the arrow which expresses and the arrow which expresses a driving route, and attached the code respectively.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... left headlight, 2 ... left headlight drive unit, 3 ...
Left headlight angle sensor, 4 right headlight drive unit, 5 right headlight angle sensor, 6 right headlight, 7
... Headlight drive circuit, 9 ... Steering steering angle sensor, 1
0: steering direction determination means, 14: lamp switch, 21 ...
Control circuit, 22: optical sensor, 23: oncoming vehicle detecting means, 4
1: forward / backward determination means, 42: obstacle detection means, 51, 5
2: Detection area.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An apparatus for detecting a running state of an automobile and automatically controlling an irradiation direction of a headlight, comprising: an obstacle detecting means for detecting an obstacle on a side or an oblique side of the automobile; Means for detecting whether the drive device is in the forward state or the reverse state, means for detecting the steering angle and the steering direction of the steering device of the vehicle, drive means for tilting the headlight of the vehicle in the left and right direction, A control circuit that receives a detection signal from each of the detection means and provides an operation signal to the drive means, and the control circuit includes a steering device when the vehicle is in a forward state. A signal that tilts the headlamp in the steering direction in substantially proportion to the steering angle of the vehicle.If the vehicle is in reverse and no obstacle is detected, regardless of the steering state of the steering device, Headlight in the reference direction in front of the vehicle When the vehicle is in reverse and an obstacle is detected on the opposite side of the steering direction of the steering device, the headlight is moved to the opposite side of the steering direction. Outputs a signal to tilt the vehicle, when the vehicle is in reverse and no obstacle is detected on the opposite side of the steering direction of the steering device, stops the tilt by moving the headlight toward the reference direction ahead of the vehicle body An irradiation direction automatic control mechanism for an automotive headlamp, which outputs a signal.