JP3850943B2 - Irradiation direction control device for vehicular lamp - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides vehicle height detection means for detecting a change in the height of the front or rear axle of the vehicle, and controls the irradiation direction of the vehicular lamp according to the change in the posture of the vehicle. The present invention relates to an irradiation direction control device for a vehicle lamp.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In order to prevent the direction of light emitted from the lamp attached to the vehicle from becoming unstable due to a change in the vehicle's running posture, the lighting direction of the lamp is set so as to cancel the change with respect to the change in the vehicle's running posture. A device that corrects constantly (a so-called auto leveling device) is known.
[0003]
For example, a change in the pitching angle (or pitch angle) of the vehicle is obtained on the basis of detection signals obtained by vehicle height detection means (vehicle height sensor, etc.) respectively attached to the front and rear axles of the vehicle, and the lamp is There is an apparatus that controls the irradiation direction of the light.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in said apparatus, since one or more vehicle height detection means is each required with respect to the axle part before and behind the vehicle, there is a problem in terms of securing the arrangement space and cost.
[0005]
Therefore, for example, by providing vehicle height detection means at the axle portion of the rear wheel of the vehicle, and estimating the change in height of the axle portion of the front wheel without vehicle height detection means from the detection signal of the vehicle height detection means. A method for determining the attitude of the vehicle is conceivable.
[0006]
However, the vehicle posture (particularly the stopping posture) is affected by the boarding conditions (number of passengers, placement, etc.) and loading conditions (load weight, placement, etc.). Therefore, there is a certain limit to control the irradiation direction of the lamp according to this, and it is difficult to improve the control accuracy.
[0007]
Therefore, the present invention can change the posture of the vehicle by referring to the load distribution in the vehicle, even when the vehicle height detecting means is provided only for one of the front and rear wheels of the vehicle. It is an object to be able to accurately control the irradiation direction of a lamp according to the above.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides vehicle height detection means for detecting a change in the height of an axle portion of a front wheel or rear wheel of a vehicle, and drive means for directing irradiation light of a lamp in a desired direction. And load distribution detection means for detecting the load distribution of the vehicle accompanying changes in passengers or loads, and the illumination direction of the lamp is corrected to a predetermined direction according to signals from the vehicle height detection means and the load distribution detection means And an irradiation control means for sending a signal to the drive means.
[0009]
Therefore, according to the present invention, the load distribution detection means grasps the load state of an occupant or a load in the vehicle, and controls the illumination direction of the lamp according to the posture of the vehicle based on the detection signal of the vehicle height detection means. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide vehicle height detecting means on the axle portions of the front and rear wheels of the vehicle.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 shows a basic configuration of an irradiation direction control device for a vehicular lamp according to the present invention.
[0011]
The irradiation direction control device 1 includes vehicle height detection means 2, load distribution detection means 3, irradiation control means 4, and drive means 5. The lamp 6 whose irradiation direction is controlled by the irradiation control means 4 via the driving means 5 includes, for example, a headlamp, a fog lamp, a cornering lamp and the like in the case of an automotive lamp.
[0012]
The vehicle height detection means 2 is provided for detecting a change in the height of the axle portion of the front wheel or the rear wheel of the vehicle, and the detection signal is used as basic information for determining the stop posture and the running posture of the vehicle. .
[0013]
For example, as shown in FIG. 2, a method of measuring the distance L between the vehicle height detection means 2 and the road surface G using a detection wave such as an ultrasonic wave or a laser beam, or the upper and lower sides of the front or rear axle. A vehicle height sensor may be provided as the vehicle height detection means 2 for detecting fluctuations, and thereby a method of detecting the expansion / contraction amount x of the suspension S can be mentioned.
[0014]
The vehicle height detecting means 2 is preferably attached to the axle portion far from the center of gravity of the vehicle. The reason is that, for example, when the center of gravity of the vehicle is located closer to the front, the rear wheel axle portion is associated with a change in the number of passengers and the amount of load in the vehicle than the front wheel axle portion. This is because the change is easy to detect because it is easily affected by the load change.
[0015]
The load distribution detection means 3 is provided for detecting the load distribution of the vehicle accompanying changes in the number of passengers or the load in the vehicle. That is, since the posture of the vehicle (particularly the stopping posture) is affected by the load distribution in the vehicle, in order to calculate the posture of the vehicle based on the detection signal of the vehicle height detection means 2, the load distribution about the vehicle is grasped. There is a need.
[0016]
In detecting the load distribution, it is preferable to perform detection separately for human load change and physical load change from the viewpoint of efficiency of processing as described below.
[0017]
(A) Load change due to the number of passengers and arrangement (b) Load change due to weight and arrangement of the load.
[0018]
First, (a) is a load change due to a change in the position and weight of an occupant in the vehicle. For example, whether or not a person is seated in the seat by a seating sensor (weight detection sensor) provided in the seat. It can be obtained directly by detecting the weight of the person sitting and. In addition, it is possible to detect whether or not a person is sitting on the seat by a non-contact type sensor using light (infrared rays, etc.) or sound waves, or whether a seat belt is worn or not (including a mechanical switch). And an average value for a person's weight is assumed (for example, whether the person is sitting or not is determined to be an adult or a dwarf, and a weight value determined in advance according to the determination result). Whether the person is sitting in the passenger seat according to the door opening / closing signal and the opening / closing time interval when the boarding position is fixed as in a car. Etc. can be judged. In short, any detection method may be used as long as the position and weight of the occupant can be known automatically or manually.
[0019]
Next, as for (b), a sensor for detecting the position and weight of the loaded luggage is attached to the vehicle (for example, a sensor for detecting the weight of the luggage is attached in the trunk room of the automobile). Directly detect load changes. However, it is difficult to indirectly calculate the weight as described above for physical load changes, and the weight of the load is larger than the human body weight, so it is possible to detect the load distribution to some extent accurately. preferable.
[0020]
The irradiation control means 4 sends a signal for correcting the irradiation direction of the lamp 6 in a predetermined direction to the driving means 5 in accordance with the signals from the vehicle height detection means 2 and the load distribution detection means 3 described above. A stopping posture calculating means 7 for calculating the stopping posture of the vehicle and a driving posture calculating means 8 for calculating the driving posture of the vehicle are provided, and the irradiation direction of the lamp 6 is controlled in accordance with a vehicle posture calculation signal obtained by these means. Can do.
[0021]
The stopping position and running position of the vehicle are originally obtained by calculating the pitching angle from the height change of the axle portion before and after the vehicle. In the configuration of FIG. 1, one axle portion of the front wheel or the rear wheel of the vehicle is used. Since the vehicle height detection means 2 is provided only for the vehicle position, the vehicle posture cannot be known from the detection signal of the vehicle height detection means 2 as it is.
[0022]
However, if the correlation between the detection signal of the vehicle height detection means 2 and the posture of the vehicle can be defined in advance, the stop posture and the running posture of the vehicle can be calculated from the detection signal of the vehicle height detection means 2. .
[0023]
Hereinafter, the calculation of the vehicle posture will be described separately in the following two cases.
[0024]
(I) Calculation of stopping posture (ii) Calculation of traveling posture.
[0025]
First, since the stopping posture of (i) is affected by the load changes (a) and (b) described above, the state signal indicating the detection signal of the vehicle height detecting means 2 and the stopping posture of the vehicle under various load conditions. A static correlation with (for example, pitching angle) is determined in advance. The “static” means that the vehicle is stopped.
[0026]
FIG. 3 is a pitching chart in which the horizontal axis indicates the amount of change in the height of the axle portion (for example, the axle portion of the rear wheel) detected by the vehicle height detection means 2, and this is indicated as “Δh”. An example of the correlation between the two under a certain load condition is shown with the angle (this is indicated as “p”) on the vertical axis.
[0027]
In this example, when the relationship between Δh and p is a straight line L having a negative slope, that is, the slope and the intercept of the P axis are “a” and “b”, respectively, the linear expression “p” = A · Δh + b ”. Therefore, for example, if the value of Δh when the vehicle is stopped is “Δho”, the corresponding p value (denoted as “po”) is obtained as “po = a · Δho + b”.
[0028]
Since the correlation formula as described above varies depending on the load condition, the load distribution detection means 3 determines which relation formula is selected. For example, when the load distribution detecting means 3 detects that one driver is seated in the front seat of the vehicle, the correlation formula indicated by the straight line L is selected, and the front seat of the vehicle is selected. When the load distribution detecting means 3 detects that two occupants including the driver are seated, a correlation equation (this is expressed as “p = a ′ · Δh + b ′” indicated by a straight line L ′ in FIG. (In this case, the pitching angle po ′ (= a ′ · Δho + b ′) corresponding to Δh = Δho is different from the above-mentioned po).
[0029]
Further, the coefficient value of the correlation expression (for example, the value of the slope or intercept when the correlation expression is a linear expression) may be changed according to the detection result from the load distribution detection means 3.
[0030]
The correlation shown in FIG. 3 is represented by a straight line according to a linear expression. However, since this is generally represented by a curve, in this case, a linear approximation is performed for each predetermined range, or From the viewpoint of simplifying the posture calculation process, it is preferable to perform a predetermined function transformation (for example, logarithmic transformation or the like) on the vertical axis or the horizontal axis so that the correlation is expressed by a linear expression.
[0031]
The stop posture calculation means 7 defines a static correlation equation between the stop posture of the vehicle and the detection signal of the vehicle height detection means 2 based on the signal from the load distribution detection means 3, and detects the vehicle height. After calculating the stopping posture of the vehicle based on the correlation expression from the detection signal of the means 2, a signal indicating the stopping posture of the vehicle is sent to the irradiation control means 4.
[0032]
Note that whether or not the vehicle is stopped can be determined based on the detection signal of the vehicle speed detection means. However, a driver's operation signal (for example, parking of a change lever in an automobile) is performed only when the vehicle is stopped. An operation signal to the position) can also be used.
[0033]
Next, the traveling posture of (ii) changes mainly based on the acceleration of the vehicle, and a negative correlation is recognized between changes in the vehicle height before and after the vehicle during acceleration / deceleration. Therefore, if a dynamic correlation between the detection signal of the vehicle height detection means 2 and a state quantity (for example, pitching angle) indicating the running posture of the vehicle is obtained in the running condition of the vehicle, the vehicle changes every moment. Can be captured. The “dynamic” means that the vehicle is running.
[0034]
In FIG. 4, the change in height Δh of the axle portion detected by the vehicle height detection means 2 is taken on the horizontal axis, and the pitching angle (denoted “P”) indicating the running posture of the vehicle is taken on the vertical axis. An example of the correlation is shown.
[0035]
In this example, when the relationship between Δh and P is a straight line G having a negative slope, that is, when the slope and the intercept of the P axis are “A” and “B”, respectively, the linear expression “P = A • Δh + B ”. For example, if the height change amount Δh of the axle portion during traveling of the vehicle is “Δh1”, the pitching angle at that time is P = P1 = A · Δh1 + B.
[0036]
This linear expression represents a reference point (referred to as “Qo”) specified by a combination of the above-described pitching angle po indicating the stopping posture and the detected value Δho of the vehicle height detecting means 2 at that time. And a straight line having a predetermined inclination “A”. Therefore, by comparing “P−po = A · (Δh−Δho)” obtained by passing the straight line G through the reference point Qo with the above expression “P = A · Δh + B”, the intercept B becomes “B = It can be seen that “po−A · Δho”.
[0037]
In other words, the dynamic correlation between the pitching angle P and the height change amount Δh of the axle portion is substantially constant when the inclination A does not depend on the load condition of the vehicle, and the P-axis The intercept B is defined by a linear expression defined by the position of the reference point Qo indicating the stop posture before the vehicle travels. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, when the reference point indicating the stop posture immediately before traveling is a point Qo ′ (Δho, po ′) on the straight line L ′, the point Qo ′ passes through the point Qo ′. A straight line G ′ parallel to the straight line G defines a correlation between P and Δh, that is, a dynamic correlation.
[0038]
In the example of FIG. 4, the dynamic correlation is represented by a straight line by a linear expression. However, since this is generally represented by a curve, in this case, is a primary approximation performed for each predetermined range? Alternatively, by performing predetermined function transformation (for example, logarithmic transformation, etc.) on the vertical axis and the horizontal axis, it is possible to reduce the correlation so that it is expressed by a linear expression. To preferred.
[0039]
The control methods shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 can be summarized in itemized items as follows.
[0040]
(1) Detection of load distribution (2) Determination of static correlation equation (p = a · Δh + b) (3) Vehicle height detection at stop (Δho)
(4) Calculation of stopping posture (po) and reference point (Qo) (5) Determination of dynamic correlation equation (P = A · Δh + B) (6) Vehicle height detection during driving (Δh1)
(7) Determination of the running posture (P1).
[0041]
The travel posture calculation means 8 (see FIG. 1) is a dynamic switch between a vehicle travel posture and a detection signal from the vehicle height detection means 2 based on a signal from the load distribution detection means 3 or the stop posture calculation means 7. A vehicle travel attitude is calculated from the detection signal of the vehicle height detection means 2 based on the correlation expression, and a signal indicating the vehicle travel attitude is sent to the irradiation control means 4. .
[0042]
In the above description, an example in which the slope A of the dynamic primary correlation equation does not depend on the load condition is shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the coefficient value (for example, correlation) Of course, the slope or intercept value when the relational expression is a linear expression) may be changed according to the detection result from the load distribution detecting means 3.
[0043]
The irradiation control means 4 sends a signal for correcting the irradiation direction of the lamp 6 to the driving means 5 in accordance with a change in the posture of the vehicle. For example, when the vehicle is stopped, the irradiation control means 4 Control for directing the irradiation light of the lamp 6 in a desired direction according to the signal, or directing the irradiation light of the lamp 6 in a desired direction according to the signal from the traveling posture calculation means 8 while the vehicle is traveling. I do.
[0044]
Regarding the control of the irradiation direction, the following two methods can be mentioned.
[0045]
(A) Method of directing irradiation light in a predetermined direction as a whole (B) Method of directing a part of irradiation light in a predetermined direction.
[0046]
In the above (A), the simplest method is a method in which the entire lamp is rotated around its rotation axis so that the irradiation axis of the lamp is directed in a predetermined direction. A method of directing the optical axis of the optical system in a predetermined direction as a whole by controlling the posture of a member (for example, a reflecting mirror, a lens, a light source, a light shielding member, etc.) can be mentioned.
[0047]
As for the method (B), in order to partially change the direction of the irradiation light, a method of changing only the irradiation axis of a specific lamp in an apparatus composed of a plurality of lamps (for example, a headlamp, a fog lamp in an automobile) In the case where a cornering lamp is provided, only the irradiation axis of one or two of the three lamps is changed.), Or the posture of one or more members among the constituent members of the lamp A control method (for example, a reflecting mirror is composed of a fixed reflecting mirror and a movable reflecting mirror and the optical axis of the movable reflecting mirror is directed in a desired direction) can be mentioned.
[0048]
Although the above-described control of the irradiation direction is controlled based only on the attitude of the vehicle, the present invention is not limited to this, and as shown in FIG. 1, a traveling that detects a traveling state including the traveling speed or acceleration of the vehicle. It is also possible to provide state detection means 9 and change the way in which the irradiation control means 4 controls the irradiation direction of the lamp 6 according to the running state of the vehicle.
[0049]
For example, as described above, the dynamic correlation between the amount of change in the height of the axle and the pitching angle is mainly related to the acceleration of the vehicle, so that the absolute value of the acceleration of the vehicle exceeds a predetermined range. In this case, the lighting direction control of the lamp is performed according to the change in the running posture, and when the absolute value of the acceleration of the vehicle is within the predetermined range, it is determined that the vehicle is running at a substantially constant speed, and the running posture is determined. It is possible to perform control such as not performing the irradiation direction control of the lamp in accordance with the change of the above, or narrowing the control range, or slowing the response speed of the control. Further, when the dynamic correlation equation is expressed by a linear equation, the coefficient value (inclination or intercept value) of the linear equation may be changed according to the traveling speed or acceleration of the vehicle.
[0050]
In addition, it is determined based on the detection signal of the vehicle height detection means that the vehicle is traveling on a rough road with many irregularities, and the illumination direction control of the lamp is not performed according to the change in the running posture when traveling on a rough road. Alternatively, various embodiments are possible such that the control range is narrowed or the response speed of the control is slowed so that excessive correction is not applied to the control of the irradiation direction.
[0051]
【Example】
5 to 9 show an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an irradiation control device (auto-leveling device) for an automotive lamp.
[0052]
FIG. 5 shows the configuration of the irradiation control device 10. An ECU (electronic control unit) 11 incorporating a microcomputer has an instruction signal from the headlamp switch 12, an ignition signal as an engine start signal, The detection signal of the vehicle height sensor 13 attached to the axle portion of the rear wheel, the detection signal of the seating sensor 14 for detecting whether or not a person is seated on the passenger seat, and the detection signal of the vehicle speed sensor 15 Entered.
[0053]
As shown in FIG. 6, the vehicle height sensor 13 corresponding to the vehicle height detection means 2 uses a sensor provided for an electronically controlled air suspension for the rear wheels, and also includes a vehicle speed sensor 15 (described above). A sensor provided on the rear wheel for ABS (Anti-Skid Brake System) is used for the driving state detection means 9. The seating sensor 14 is a sensor provided on the seat st as existing equipment in the vehicle (in order to detect the weight of the passenger so that the airbag does not operate when a dwarf is seated in the airbag system). Can be diverted, or newly attached to the seat. When a weight detection sensor 14 ′ for detecting the weight of the luggage in the trunk room is provided, a detection signal from the sensor is also sent to the ECU 11.
[0054]
The actuator section 16 (16 ') corresponding to the driving means 5 has a motor drive circuit 18 (18') for controlling the rotation of the stepping motor 17 (17 ') in accordance with a control signal output from the ECU 11. ing. In addition, “′” added to the reference sign has a component for controlling the irradiation direction of the headlamps for each lamp, considering that a pair of headlamps 19, 19 ′ is provided at the front of the automobile. Is meant to do.
[0055]
For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the actuator 20 using the stepping motor 17 as a drive source is attached to the rear surface of the lamp body 21 of the headlamp 19 (the irradiation direction of the lamp is the front). The reflector 23 in the lamp space defined between the front lens 22 and the front lens 22 is tilted by the actuator 20 on a vertical plane including the optical axis thereof, so that the irradiation direction of the headlamp 19 is controlled in a desired direction. Is done. The reflecting mirror 23 is supported by the lamp body 21 through a ball bearing 24 at a portion near its upper end, and a portion near the lower end of the reflecting mirror 23 is attached to the sliding shaft 20a of the actuator 20 through a ball bearing 25. Since the rotation of the motor shaft of the stepping motor 17 is converted into the movement of the sliding shaft 20a in the substantially front-rear direction (indicated by the arrow F), the reflecting mirror 23 and the discharge lamp attached thereto ( The metal halide lamp 26) is tilted as indicated by an arrow C.
[0056]
Further, if the control unit 27 including the ECU 11 is attached to the lamp body 21 as shown in the drawing, the maintenance and inspection work of the headlamp 19 and the irradiation direction control device 10 can be easily performed.
[0057]
The configuration of the headlamp 19 'is substantially the same as the configuration of the headlamp 19, and therefore, the description thereof can be made by adding "'" to each symbol in FIG. Illustration is omitted.
[0058]
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the main processing flow in the ECU 11. First, in step S1, it is determined whether or not an instruction to turn on the headlamps 19 and 19 'is issued. That is, based on the on / off signal from the headlamp switch 12, it is determined whether to turn on the discharge lamp 25 and control the irradiation direction of the headlamps 19 and 19 '. The process proceeds to S2, but if there is no such instruction, the process ends.
[0059]
When the headlamps 19 and 19 'are turned on, an ignition signal is referred to in the ECU 11, and power supply to the discharge lamp 25 is temporarily stopped when the automobile engine is started. In addition, when an automatic headlamp lighting device (a device that automatically controls the lighting timing of the lamp according to the driving environment of the vehicle) is installed, the headlamp switch 12 instruction signal is automatically turned on. It can be replaced with a control signal sent from the apparatus to the ECU 11 or a logical sum signal of the control signal and the instruction signal of the headlamp switch 12.
[0060]
In step S2, the load distribution in the passenger compartment is detected. That is, after detecting whether or not a person is seated in the passenger seat and measuring the weight of the person when seated, by the seating sensor 14, or after measuring the weight when there is luggage in the trunk room Based on these detection results, a static correlation equation is determined in the next step S3.
[0061]
FIG. 9 shows straight lines SL and SL ′ indicating a static correlation between the height change amount ΔH detected by the vehicle height sensor 13 and the pitching angle P, and a straight line DL indicating a dynamic correlation. It is the graph shown collectively.
[0062]
When no person is seated in the passenger seat, the static correlation equation shown in the straight line SL is selected, and when there is a person seated in the passenger seat, the static correlation shown in the straight line SL ′ is selected. The formula is chosen.
[0063]
In the next step S4, it is determined based on the detection signal of the vehicle speed sensor 15 whether or not the vehicle is stopped. If the vehicle is stopped, the process proceeds to step S5. If the vehicle is traveling, the process proceeds to step S8.
[0064]
In step S5, the vehicle height sensor 13 detects a change in the height of the axle portion of the rear wheel, and in the next step S6, the stopping posture of the automobile is calculated. In other words, when the detected value of the vehicle height sensor 13 in step S5 is “ΔHa”, the pitching corresponding to ΔHa is based on the straight line already determined in step S3 (the straight line SL in the case of FIG. 9). The angle Pa is obtained. The stopping posture of the automobile at this time is represented by a point Qa having a set of coordinate values of ΔHa and Pa in FIG. 9, and ΔHa and Pa are stored in a predetermined memory in the ECU 11 as reference data.
[0065]
In the next step S7, the ECU 11 sends a correction signal corresponding to the calculated pitching angle Pa related to the stop posture to the motor drive circuits 18, 18 'to control the irradiation direction of the headlamps 19, 19'. In other words, when the vehicle is in the front-down (or front-up) state, the irradiation direction of the headlamps 19 and 19 'is adjusted upward (or downward) to keep the irradiation direction substantially horizontal and arranged. After defining the height of the cut line (or cut-off) defining the light / dark boundary in the light to be the reference height, the process returns to the first step S1.
[0066]
The processes in steps S2 to S7 are always performed when the headlamps 19 and 19 'are lit and the automobile is stopped, and the values of ΔHa and Pa at that time are updated.
[0067]
In step S8, after detecting the height change amount of the axle portion of the rear wheel while the vehicle is traveling, in the next step S9, a dynamic correlation equation is determined and the traveling posture of the vehicle is calculated.
[0068]
As described above, the dynamic correlation is represented by the straight line DL in FIG. 9, and the straight line DL passes through the point Qa and has a predetermined inclination “A”. When the detected value of 13 is “ΔHb”, the pitching angle Pb corresponding to ΔHb is obtained from the straight line DL. In other words, when “DHba = ΔHb−ΔHa” and “ΔPba = Pb−Pa” are written, “A = ΔPba / DHba”. Therefore, by defining the value of the slope A in advance, “ΔPba = A · The pitching angle Pb at the time of traveling can be calculated by an arithmetic expression “DHba”, that is, “Pb = Pa + A · (ΔHb−ΔHa)”. In addition, the driving | running | working attitude | position of the motor vehicle at this time is represented by the point Tb which makes (DELTA) Hb and Pb a set of coordinate values in FIG. In general, the inclination and intercept values relating to the straight lines SL, SL ′, and DL differ depending on the vehicle type depending on the physical characteristics (elastic coefficient, damping coefficient, etc.) of the suspension.
[0069]
In the next step S10, the ECU 11 sends a correction signal corresponding to the pitching angle Pb related to the running posture calculated in the previous step to the motor drive circuits 18 and 18 'to control the irradiation direction of the headlamps 19 and 19'. After the control is performed so that the height of the cut line in the light pattern is always the reference height regardless of the running posture of the vehicle, the process returns to the first step S1.
[0070]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the above description, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the load distribution detecting means can grasp the load state of the occupant or the load in the vehicle , and the stop posture calculating means further determines the load. Based on the signal from the signal from the distribution detection means, a static correlation equation between the vehicle stopping posture and the detection signal from the vehicle height detection means is defined, and the relational expression is determined from the detection signal of the vehicle height detection means. Therefore , the lighting direction of the lamp is controlled in accordance with the calculated stopping posture , so that the irradiation direction of the vehicle lamp can be accurately controlled.For this purpose, the front and rear wheels of the vehicle are controlled . There is no need to provide vehicle height detection means for each axle. Therefore, the cost can be reduced and the working time can be shortened by reducing the number of parts. Further, even if vehicle height detection means are attached to the axle portions of the front and rear wheels of the vehicle, the remaining vehicle height is detected when one of the vehicle height detection means stops functioning due to a failure or the like. Since the vehicle attitude can be calculated based on the detection signal of the detection means and the illumination direction of the lamp can be controlled accordingly, the reliability of the apparatus can be improved.
[0071]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the static correlation between the detection signal of the vehicle height detection means and the vehicle attitude is defined as a linear expression, thereby simplifying the processing related to the calculation of the vehicle attitude. can do.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of an irradiation direction control device for a vehicular lamp according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of vehicle height detection means.
FIG. 3 is a graph for explaining a static correlation between a change in height of an axle portion and a pitching angle.
FIG. 4 is a graph for explaining a dynamic correlation between the amount of change in the height of the axle and the pitching angle.
FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the present invention together with FIGS. 6 to 9, and is a block diagram showing the configuration of the apparatus.
FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing the arrangement of various sensors in a vehicle.
FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a lamp.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure.
FIG. 9 is a graph showing a static and dynamic correlation formula between a height change amount and a pitching angle by a vehicle height sensor.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Irradiation direction control apparatus, 2 ... Vehicle height detection means, 3 ... Load distribution detection means, 4 ... Irradiation control means, 5 ... Driving means, 6 ... Lamp, 7 ... Stop posture calculation means, 8 ... Running posture calculation means, 9: Running state detection means

Claims (2)

In an illumination direction control device for a vehicle lamp that changes the illumination direction of the lamp according to the attitude of the vehicle in the traveling direction of the vehicle,
Vehicle height detection means for detecting a change in the height of the axle of the front or rear wheel of the vehicle;
Driving means for directing the illumination light of the lamp in a desired direction;
Load distribution detection means for detecting the load distribution of the vehicle accompanying changes in passengers or loads; and
Irradiation control means for sending a signal for correcting the irradiation direction of the lamp to a predetermined direction in accordance with signals from the vehicle height detection means and the load distribution detection means;
Based on the signal from the load distribution detection means, a static correlation equation between the vehicle stopping posture and the detection signal from the vehicle height detection means is defined, and the detection signal from the vehicle height detection means A stopping posture calculating means for calculating a stopping posture of the vehicle based on the correlation formula;
An irradiation direction control device for a vehicular lamp characterized in that a signal indicating the vehicle stop posture calculated by the stop posture calculation means is sent to the irradiation control means. The irradiation direction control device for a vehicular lamp according to claim 1,
An irradiation direction control device for a vehicular lamp characterized in that the static correlation expression defined by the stop posture calculation means is a linear expression.

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