JP4566121B2 - Vehicle lighting device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a license plate lamp for illuminating a license plate at the rear of a vehicle such as an automobile, and more particularly to a vehicular illumination including a rear illumination lamp for illuminating an imaging region of a rear view camera for visually recognizing the rear of the vehicle. It relates to the device.

An automobile equipped with a rear-view camera has been proposed in order to confirm the safe driving of the automobile, particularly the safety behind the automobile. For example, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, a rear view camera is disposed in the vicinity of a license plate (number plate) at the rear of a car, and the lane boundary drawn on the road surface is detected by imaging the rear of the vehicle. In addition, a technology has been proposed that is used for assisting when the vehicle is retreated and parked by visually recognizing a rear state with a monitor device or the like. Patent Document 3 also proposes a technique for illuminating the rear using a backup lamp (reverse lamp) of a rear combination lamp that is turned on when the automobile moves backward in order to illuminate an area captured by a rear view camera. Has been.
JP 2003-337999 A JP 2004-262449 A JP 2001-160309 A

  As in the technologies of Patent Documents 1 and 2, in a vehicle equipped with a rear view camera in the vicinity of the license plate at the rear of the vehicle, usually in the center in the vehicle width direction, When it is attempted to illuminate the imaging area of the rear viewing camera with the backup lamp of the rear combination lamp provided, there is a problem that it is difficult to properly illuminate the imaging area. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram for explaining this problem. A rear view camera (back monitor camera) BMC is disposed in the vicinity of the license plate at the rear of the car CAR, and the rear area is illuminated by the left and right rear combination lamps RCL. Indicates the state. The back monitor camera BML can image a range of a required angle from approximately the center in the vehicle width direction of the car CAR to the left and right. Further, the backup lamps BUL of the left and right rear combination lamps RCL can illuminate a range of a required angle to the left and right of the respective optical axes. However, the left and right backup lamps BUL have their optical axes directed toward the rear of the vehicle in a straight line, and the illumination angle area of each backup lamp BUL is smaller than the imaging field angle of the rear view camera due to legal restrictions. Therefore, even if the left and right lamps are turned on at the same time, non-illuminated areas are generated on both sides of the imaging angle of view of the rear view camera, and it may not be possible to clearly capture this area with the rear view camera. .

  For example, the figure shows a state when parallel parking of cars, and if the car CAR1 is already parked in front of the space to be parked, the space falls within the imaging range of the backup camera BMC. However, the left and right backup lamps BUL illumination light is shielded by the parked car CAR1 in the space, and a non-illumination area indicated by hatching in the figure is generated, and it is difficult to capture the non-illumination area with the back monitor camera BMC. become. This non-illuminated area is slightly irradiated with light from the right backup lamp BUL, but light from the left backup lamp BUL does not reach at all, so that it is possible to obtain good visibility when imaged by the back monitor camera BMC. It is difficult to obtain brightness, and in such non-illuminated areas, it is difficult to capture and confirm or detect objects and road lanes behind, which is an obstacle to ensuring safe driving. Become.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular illumination device that can prevent a non-illuminated area from occurring in an imaging area of a back monitor camera, improve the rear visibility of the vehicle, and ensure safe driving. is there.

The present invention, the back monitor lamp for illuminating a license plate lamp for illuminating the license plate of a vehicle rear part, an imaging region of the back monitor camera for imaging the posterior region of the person said vehicle The license plate lamp and the back monitor lamp are each housed in the same housing with the LED element as a light source, and light emitted from the LED element of the license plate lamp is placed below the vehicle. The lamp module is integrally configured as a lamp module that emits light emitted from the LED element of the back monitor lamp toward the rear of the vehicle .

In the present invention, for example, the lamp module and the back monitor camera are disposed in a molding provided in the vehicle body. The lamp modules are provided in a pair of left and right in the vehicle width direction, and these lamp modules are mounted on a common power supply module. Further, each of the pair of lamp modules has a license plate lamp disposed outside the width direction of the vehicle, a back monitor lamp disposed inside, and the back monitor camera has a vehicle width direction of the pair of lamp modules. Between the two. In this case, it is preferable that the back monitor camera is an infrared camera, and the back monitor lamp includes an infrared filter that transmits infrared light emitted from the LED element.

According to the present invention, the back monitor lamp for illuminating an imaging region license plate lamp and by integrally formed together as a lamp module, when disposed back monitor camera in the vicinity of the license plate of the vehicle, back The imaging optical axis of the monitor camera and the illumination optical axis of the back monitor lamp can be arranged close to each other, and when the back monitor lamp is illuminated, the non-illuminated area is prevented from occurring in the imaging area of the back monitor camera. Can be suppressed. Thereby, the safe driving | running | working by the rear visual recognition of the vehicle by the camera for back monitors is securable. At the same time, it becomes possible to suitably capture the rear area of the vehicle, can support parallel parking based on the captured image, and realizes automatic driving control of the vehicle by recognizing the lane drawn on the road surface. It becomes possible. Further, it is not necessary to secure a space for arranging the back monitor lamps independently, and to provide a new structure for mounting the back monitor lamps, thereby suppressing an increase in cost.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of an automobile to which the present invention is applied. Rear combination lamps RCL each integrating a tail lamp, a stop lamp, and a turn signal lamp are disposed on the left and right sides of the rear part of the car body of the car CAR. The configuration of the rear combination lamp RCL is substantially the same as that conventionally provided, and therefore description thereof is omitted here. A shallow concave portion 12 having a horizontally long rectangular shape is provided at the approximate center of the rear panel 11 of the trunk lid 1 of the automobile existing in a region sandwiched between the left and right rear combination lamps RCL. A license plate LP is attached in the installation section 12. Further, the rear panel 11 of the trunk lid 1 is provided with a strip-shaped molding 13 extending in the horizontal direction along the upper edge of the recessed portion 11, and in the region where the molding 13 is arranged. A back monitor camera (rear viewing camera) BMC and a rear auxiliary illumination device RAL, which will be described in detail later, are provided.

  FIG. 2 is a front view of the rear panel 11 of the trunk lid 1, and FIGS. 3A to 3C are enlarged sectional views taken along lines AA, BB and CC, respectively. As shown in FIG. 3, the recessed portion 12 has an upright bottom surface 12 a for fixing the license plate LP inclined slightly upward so that the upper portion of the recessed portion 12 is located on the rear panel 11 of the trunk lid 1. Is configured as a flange 12b protruding toward the rear of the automobile. As shown in FIG. 3B, the back monitor camera BMC is configured as an image pickup camera including a lens 21 and a semiconductor image pickup device 22 such as a CCD, and is provided at substantially the center in the left-right direction of the molding 13. It faces the small-diameter circular window 13a and is disposed inside the flange 12b and is fixed inside the trunk lid 1. In this back monitor camera BMC, the imaging optical axis is directed slightly downward in the rearward direction of the automobile, and the rear area of the automobile, particularly the rear lower area of the own vehicle, can be imaged through the circular window 13a. . In this embodiment, the back monitor camera BMC is configured as a camera that captures the visible light or infrared light wavelength region, and an image of the rear region captured by the back monitor camera BMC is shown in the figure. It is configured to display on a monitor device provided in the driver's seat. FIG. 2 shows a locking mechanism 14 for the trunk lid 1 provided in the flange 12b at the center position in the left-right direction of the molding 13.

  In this embodiment, the rear auxiliary illumination device RAL includes a backup lamp BUL that emits white light, a rear fog lamp RFL that emits red light, a license plate lamp LPL, and a back monitor lamp BML. The backup lamp BUL and the rear fog lamp RFL are each configured as a lamp module. As illustrated in the structure of the rear fog lamp RFL in FIG. 3A, the backup lamp BUL and the rear fog lamp RFL are arranged in a rectangular opening 13b opened on the surface of the molding 13. A lamp module LM is disposed. The lamp module LM has a configuration in which the LED element 302 is fixed to the front surface of the substrate 301 and a container-type lens 303 is attached to the front surface of the substrate 301 so as to cover the LED element 302. Here, in the rear fog lamp RFL, the LED element 302 is composed of a white or red LED element, and the lens 303 is composed of a red lens. The backup lamp BUL has substantially the same configuration, but the LED element 302 is configured by a white LED element, and the lens 303 is configured by a white lens. When the LED element 302 emits light from these lamps RFL and BUL, the light emitted from the LED element 302 passes through the lens 303 and is irradiated to the rear of the automobile through the opening 13b.

  The license plate lamp LPL is configured as a lamp module in which a back monitor lamp BML is integrated. This lamp module is composed of two lamp modules LM1 and LM2 arranged at two positions along the upper edge of the license plate LP, and these lamp modules LM1 and LM2 are licensed in the lateral direction. It is set within the lateral width of the plate LP and is fixed inside the flange 12b of the trunk lid 1. Each of the lamp modules LM1 and LM2 is independently connected to the on-vehicle power source by a power supply connector not shown in the drawing. FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view of a part of the molding 13, and shows these two lamp modules LM1 and LM2 in a perspective view. As shown in the sectional structure of one of the lamp modules LM1 in FIG. 3 (c), the lamp module LM1 includes a housing 311 that is elongated in the horizontal direction and has an open bottom surface. The license plate lamp LPL is provided in the housing 311. And a back monitor lamp BML. In the license plate lamp LPL, a white LED element 313 as a light source is supported on a vertical support plate 312 provided in the housing 311. The white LED element 313 is oriented in the horizontal direction with the light emitting optical axis directed toward the rear of the automobile, and is sealed by a transparent and substantially hemispherical resin lens body 314. In the back monitor lamp BML, an infrared LED element 316 is supported by a tapered support plate 315 supported at a position near the center of the automobile at one end in the length direction in the housing 311. The infrared LED element 316 has an outgoing optical axis directed somewhat downward at the rear of the automobile, and is sealed with a red resin lens body 317 having a trapezoidal cross section. The lens body 317 functions as an infrared filter that transmits infrared light. The lens body 317 is provided so as to protrude downward from the opening on the lower surface of the housing 311, and further from the opening 12 c of the flange 12 b of the trunk lid 1. It protrudes downward into the recessed portion 12.

  The other lamp module LM2 has the same configuration, but the license plate lamp LPL and the back monitor lamp BML are symmetrically arranged in the left-right direction. In each of the lamp modules LM1 and LM2, each of the back monitor lamps BML is located as close as possible to the back monitor camera BMC, that is, in the right lamp module LM1 in FIG. 4, the left side of the license plate lamp LPL. The back monitor lamp BML is disposed on the right side of the license plate lamp LPL in the left lamp module LM2. In this embodiment, the horizontal distance between the left and right back monitor lamps BML is about 5 to 10 cm.

  In these left and right lamp modules LM1 and LM2, as shown in FIG. 5, when the white LED element 313 of the license plate lamp LPL emits light, the white light emitted from the white LED element 313 is internally reflected by the spherical surface of the lens body 314. As shown by the optical path L1 in FIG. 5, the vehicle is emitted in a state of being diffused vertically downward or forward of the vehicle in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and diffused at a predetermined angle in the vehicle left-right direction. Emitted. Thus, the entire area of the surface of the license plate LP attached to the recessed portion 12 can be illuminated by the left and right license plate lamps LPL.

  On the other hand, in each of the back monitor lamps BML of the left and right lamp modules LM1 and LM2, when the infrared LED element 316 emits light, as shown in FIG. As shown by the arrow line L2 in FIG. 5, the light is emitted toward the required angle region below the horizontal direction in the rear direction of the automobile. The illumination lights from the left and right back monitor lamps BML are superimposed or individually illuminated to illuminate the rear of the automobile. At this time, since the infrared light cannot be seen with the naked eye, there is no risk of dazzling other vehicles, especially the following vehicles, so the back monitor lamp BML is designed to illuminate a wide angle region without being restricted by legal regulations. be able to. Since the left and right back monitor lamps BML are arranged close to the back monitor camera BMC as described above, the optical axis position of each back monitor lamp BML and the light of the imaging optical axis of the back monitor camera BMC It can be said that the shaft interval is optically arranged at substantially the same position as compared with the width dimension of the automobile of about 1.5 to 2 m.

  By providing such lamp modules LM1 and LM2, the back monitor lamp BML is turned on at night or the like, so that the area behind the vehicle illuminated by the back monitor lamp BML can be displayed by the back monitor camera BMC. A clear image can be taken. At this time, since the back monitor lamp BML is located in the vicinity of the back monitor camera BMC, the horizontal irradiation angle area of these lamps and the horizontal imaging angle area of the camera can be made substantially equal. Thereby, almost the entire area imaged by the back monitor camera BMC can be illuminated by the back monitor lamp BML, and there is no non-illuminated area in the imaging area. For example, in the case of parallel parking as shown in FIG. 6, even if there is a car CAR1 that is already parked in front of the space where the car CAR is to be parked, the space area to be imaged by the back monitor camera BMC The parked automobile CAR1 hardly causes a non-illuminated area due to the illumination light of the back monitor lamp BML. Further, even if it occurs, it can be remarkably reduced as compared with the non-illuminated area generated in the prior art shown in FIG. 9, and there is almost no influence on the captured image. Further, the lamp modules LM1 and LM2 integrate the license plate lamp LPL and the back monitor lamp BML to secure a space for arranging the back monitor lamp BML independently, and to attach the same. It is not necessary to provide a new structure, and an increase in cost can be suppressed.

  In the embodiment, the image captured by the back monitor camera BMC is displayed on the monitor device provided in the driver's seat of the own vehicle, and the driver visually assists the driver to assist the steering operation when the vehicle moves backward. In particular, the parking space can be seen with certainty, and appropriate parallel parking becomes possible. In addition, even in the case of constructing a system that supports automatic parallel parking by performing image analysis on an image captured by the back monitor camera BMC and automatically controlling steering, a non-illumination area is added to the image captured by the back monitor camera BMC. Therefore, high-precision automatic control becomes possible.

  FIG. 7 is a front view similar to FIG. 4 showing the vicinity of a lamp module in which the license plate lamp and the back monitor lamp of Example 2 are integrated. In the second embodiment, in the pair of left and right lamp modules LM1 and LM2, the configuration of each license plate lamp LPL is the same as that of the first embodiment, but the configuration of the back monitor lamp BML is slightly different. Here, as shown in the sectional view taken along the line D-D in FIG. 4, the lamp modules LM <b> 1 and LM <b> 2 are integrally mounted on one common power supply module ESM and housed in the housing 311. The power supply module ESM is provided with a power supply connector SCT, protrudes outside from the rear wall of the housing 311 and is connected to an in-vehicle power supply, and power supply to both the lamp modules LM1 and LM2 is possible. In the lamp module LM1, a circular opening 13c is provided in the molding 13, and an infrared LED element 316 is mounted on the power supply module ESM via a vertical support plate 312 in a housing 311 at a position facing the opening 13c. A red lens body 318 attached to the front opening of the housing 311 is provided in the opening 13c. In this back monitor lamp, the infrared light emitted from the infrared LED element 316 is transmitted through the red lens body 318 functioning as an infrared filter and is emitted from the opening 13c to the rear of the vehicle. Although not shown in FIG. 8, the white LED element 313 of the license plate lamp LPL that emits white light is also mounted on the power supply module ESM via the vertical support plate 312. The lamp module LM2 has the same configuration except that the left and right are symmetrical.

  As for the lamp modules LM1 and LM2 of the second embodiment, the license plate LP is suitably illuminated as in the first embodiment, and at the same time, the non-illuminated area in the imaging range of the back monitor camera BMC is prevented or suppressed, and the captured monitor Suitable imaging can be performed without causing a shadow in the image. In the second embodiment, infrared light emitted from the back monitor lamp BML can be emitted from the front of the molding 13, that is, from the front of the rear panel 11 of the automobile. The collar portion 12b is more advantageous than the first embodiment in illuminating a wide area behind the automobile without obstructing the illumination. Further, since the red lens body 318 of the back monitor lamp BML is configured as a part of the surface of the molding 13, as compared with the configuration in which the red lens body 317 protrudes below the flange 12b as in the first embodiment. This is advantageous in terms of design. In addition, you may comprise the housing 311 whole with the red lens body which functions as an infrared filter, In that case, while being able to reduce a number of parts, the freedom degree in arrangement | positioning of an infrared LED element can be improved. Further, in the second embodiment, it is only necessary to provide one power supply connector for the two lamp modules LM1 and LM2, the number of parts can be reduced, and the power supply cord for connecting to the in-vehicle power source can be easily routed. .

  In each of the above embodiments, a pair of license plate lamps are provided on the left and right, but when the left and right license lamps are configured as one lamp, or when the license plate lamp is configured with only one lamp, At the same time that the back monitor lamp is integrally formed with the license plate lamp, the back monitor camera can be integrally formed with the license plate lamp. In this way, the number of parts can be reduced and the work of mounting the lamp and camera on the automobile can be simplified.

  Further, when the light source of the back monitor lamp is constituted by the LED element as in the embodiment, it may be difficult to take a large angle area that can be illuminated. In such a case, the back-up lamp is normally turned on when the car moves backward, and the area immediately behind the car is illuminated by this back-up lamp, so that the back monitor lamp exclusively illuminates the rear left and right areas of the car. The direction of the optical axis of the back monitor lamp may be set, and it is possible to more effectively prevent the occurrence of shadows in the left and right rear regions of the automobile that are required to be visually recognized during parking.

  In the first and second embodiments, the back monitor lamp is illuminated with infrared light, and the back monitor camera is imaged with infrared light. However, the back monitor lamp can be configured to be illuminated with visible light and imaged with visible light. Needless to say. When configured with visible light in this way, the lighting angle and direction of the back monitor lamp are somewhat limited so as not to dazzle the following vehicles, but a non-illuminated area as in the past still occurs. It is effective in reducing the non-illuminated area.

  The present invention is not limited to a technique for displaying a captured image on a monitor device as long as it is configured to capture the back of a vehicle with a back monitor camera, and a system that performs various controls by analyzing the captured image, for example, In addition to being applied to the system for supporting automatic parallel parking as described above, the road surface of the road on which the vehicle is traveling is imaged, and the lane drawn on the road surface is recognized from the captured image to perform automatic steering control. It can also be applied to a system for performing.

It is a perspective view of the rear part of the automobile to which the present invention is applied. It is a front view of the trunk lid of the motor vehicle of FIG. It is each expanded sectional view of the AA line of FIG. 2, BB line, and CC line. It is an enlarged front view of the principal part of a trunk lid. It is sectional drawing for demonstrating the illumination effect | action of a lamp module. It is a schematic diagram explaining the non-illumination area | region at the time of parallel parking. FIG. 6 is an enlarged front view of a main part of a trunk lid of Example 2. It is the DD sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a schematic diagram explaining the non-illumination area | region at the time of parallel parking.

Explanation of symbols

1 Trunk lid 11 Rear panel 12 Recessed portion 13 Mall 14 Lock mechanism LP License plate LPL License plate lamp BMC Back monitor camera BML Back monitor lamp LM, LM1, LM2 Lamp module RCL Rear combination lamp RFL Rear fog lamp BUL Backup lamp RAL Rear auxiliary lighting device ESM Power supply module SCT Power supply connector

Claims (5)

Vehicle equipped with the license plate lamp for illuminating the license plate of a vehicle rear part, a back monitor lamp for illuminating an imaging region of the back monitor camera for imaging the posterior region of the person said vehicle The license plate lamp and the back monitor lamp are each housed in the same housing with the LED element as a light source, and emit light emitted from the LED element of the license plate lamp toward the lower side of the vehicle. The vehicle lighting device is integrally configured as a lamp module that emits light emitted from the LED element of the back monitor lamp toward the rear of the vehicle. 2. The vehicle illumination device according to claim 1, wherein the lamp module and the back monitor camera are disposed in a molding provided in a vehicle body of the vehicle. The vehicular lighting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the lamp modules are provided in a pair of left and right in the width direction of the vehicle, and the lamp modules are mounted on a common power supply module. Each of the pair of lamp modules has the license plate lamp disposed on the outside in the width direction of the vehicle, the back monitor lamp disposed on the inside, and the back monitor camera is mounted on the vehicle of the pair of lamp modules. The vehicular lighting device according to claim 3, wherein the vehicular lighting device is disposed between the width directions. The said back monitor camera is an infrared camera, The said back monitor lamp is provided with the infrared filter which permeate | transmits the infrared light radiate | emitted from the LED element, The Claim 1 thru | or 4 characterized by the above-mentioned. Vehicle lighting device.

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