JP7283244B2 - Radar mounted lighting unit - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a radar mounted lighting unit.

Patent Literature 1 describes a radar-equipped lamp unit that is installed in the front part of a vehicle and includes a laser radar device and a lamp.

JP-A-6-294870

In the radar-equipped lamp unit, there have been cases where the light irradiation direction of the lamp is misaligned, or the illuminance of the lamp is lowered.
An object of the present disclosure is to detect at least one of axial misalignment and a decrease in illuminance of a lamp.

One aspect of the present disclosure includes a lamp (2), an optical scanning unit (12), a light detecting unit (13), an object detecting unit (14), a data acquiring unit (S40), and an area determining unit (S60). , S70) and an abnormality determination section (S80 to S130).

A lamp is mounted on a vehicle and emits visible light toward the outside of the vehicle to illuminate the surroundings of the vehicle. The optical scanning unit is mounted on a vehicle and configured to irradiate laser light while scanning toward the outside of the vehicle. The photodetector is configured to detect the amount of reflected laser light. The object detection unit is configured to detect a reflecting object that reflects the laser light based on the detection result of the light detection unit.

The data acquisition unit acquires each of a plurality of partial areas obtained by dividing an object detection area preset as an area in which the object detection unit detects a reflecting object outside the vehicle while the lamp is emitting visible light. is configured to acquire light amount detection data indicating the detection result by the photodetector.

The region determination unit determines whether each of the plurality of partial regions is a normal partial region where visible light is normally illuminated by the lamp, based on a light quantity parameter related to the light quantity indicated by the light quantity detection data. is an abnormal partial area that is not normally illuminated.

The abnormality determination unit determines at least whether the illuminance of the lamp has decreased and whether the axis of the lamp has shifted, based on the distribution of at least one of the normal partial area and the abnormal partial area within the object detection area. configured to determine one

The radar-equipped lamp unit of the present disclosure configured as described above detects the amount of light in each of the plurality of partial areas obtained by dividing the object detection area while the lamp is radiating visible light. A distribution of normal partial areas and abnormal partial areas within the detection area can be obtained. When the lamp is normal, there are many normal partial areas within the object detection area. On the other hand, when the illuminance of the lamp is reduced or the axis of the lamp is misaligned, the number of normal partial areas in the object detection area decreases and the number of abnormal partial areas increases. Furthermore, the distribution of abnormal partial regions is often different between the case where the illuminance of the lamp is lowered and the case where the axis of the lamp is misaligned.

As described above, the radar-equipped lamp unit of the present disclosure can detect at least one of axial misalignment and a decrease in illuminance of the lamp.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the radar-equipped lamp unit; It is a figure which shows the irradiation area of a laser radar apparatus, and the irradiation area of a headlight. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a plurality of partial areas within an object detection area; 4 is a flow chart showing lamp malfunction detection processing. It is a figure explaining the calculation method of the angular deviation amount of a yaw and a pitch. It is a figure explaining the calculation method of the angular deviation amount of a roll.

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings.
A radar-equipped lamp unit 1 of the present embodiment is mounted on a vehicle, and includes a headlight 2, a laser radar device 3, and a housing 4, as shown in FIG.

The headlight 2 is attached to the front part of the vehicle and emits visible light toward the front of the vehicle. As a result, the headlight 2 can ensure the driver's field of vision in front of the vehicle while the vehicle is running at night.

The laser radar device 3 is attached to the front part of the vehicle. The laser radar device 3 irradiates a laser beam forward of the vehicle and detects the reflected laser beam, thereby detecting at least the distance to an object existing in front of the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a forward object). .

The laser radar device 3 of this embodiment is a lidar device that irradiates a vehicle forward while two-dimensionally scanning a laser beam, and detects the position of an object in front of which the laser beam is reflected. A lidar is also written as LIDAR. LIDAR is an abbreviation for Light Detection and Ranging.

The laser radar device 3 includes a light source 11 , an optical scanner 12 , a photodetector 13 and a controller 14 .
The light source 11 is composed of, for example, a semiconductor laser diode, and emits laser light. The optical scanning unit 12 scans two-dimensionally, irradiates the laser beam from the light source 11 to the outside of the laser radar device 3, and scans the laser beam reflected by the forward object and entering the laser radar device 3. It is guided to the photodetector 13 . The photodetector 13 detects the amount of laser light guided by the optical scanner 12 .

The control unit 14 detects the scanning direction of the optical scanning unit 12 and controls laser beam scanning by the optical scanning unit 12 based on the detection result. Further, the control unit 14 measures the distance to the object that reflected the laser light based on the difference between the time when the laser light was emitted from the light source 11 and the time when the reflected laser light was detected by the light detection unit 13. process.

The control unit 14 is an electronic control device mainly composed of a microcomputer having a CPU 21, a ROM 22, a RAM 23, and the like. Various functions of the microcomputer are realized by the CPU 21 executing a program stored in a non-transitional substantive recording medium. In this example, the ROM 22 corresponds to a non-transitional substantive recording medium storing programs. Also, by executing this program, a method corresponding to the program is executed. A part or all of the functions executed by the CPU 21 may be configured as hardware using one or a plurality of ICs or the like. Also, the number of microcomputers constituting the control unit 14 may be one or more.

A headlight switch 6 operated by the driver to switch the headlight 2 on and off is connected to the control unit 14 .
The housing 4 accommodates the headlight 2 and the laser radar device 3 inside.

As shown in FIG. 2, for example, a visible light irradiation region R1 where the headlight 2 irradiates visible light toward the front of the vehicle is a laser light irradiation region R1 where the laser radar device 3 irradiates the laser light toward the front of the vehicle. It is set so as to include the region R2.

As shown in FIG. 3, an object detection area R3 in which the laser radar device 3 detects an object in front of the vehicle coincides with the laser beam irradiation area R2. is divided into m rectangular partial regions in the X-axis direction and n rectangular partial regions in the Y-axis direction. Note that m and n are positive integers.

Let VAx be the viewing angle in the X-axis direction in the object detection region R3, and VAy be the viewing angle in the Y-axis direction in the object detection region R3. is represented by the following equations (1) and (2).

VAx_r = VAx/m (1)
VAy_r=VAy/n (2)
The laser radar device 3 detects the reflected laser light reflected from the object existing in each of the m×n partial areas forming the object detection area R3.

Next, the procedure of lamp abnormality detection processing executed by the control unit 14 of the laser radar device 3 will be described. The lamp abnormality detection process is a process that is executed each time a preset abnormality detection period elapses. The control unit 14 of the laser radar device 3 stops the irradiation of the laser light by the light source 11 and continues the scanning by the optical scanning unit 12 while the lamp abnormality detection process is being executed. As a result, the laser radar device 3 can detect light incident from the outside of the vehicle for each of m×n partial regions in the object detection region R3 in a state where laser light is not irradiated.

When the lamp malfunction detection process is executed, as shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 14 first determines in S10 whether or not the headlight switch 6 is in the ON state. The headlight 2 performs visible light irradiation when the headlight switch 6 is on, and stops emitting visible light when the headlight switch 6 is off.

Here, when the headlight switch 6 is in the OFF state, the control unit 14 terminates the lamp malfunction detection process. On the other hand, when the headlight switch 6 is on, the controller 14 starts the timer provided in the RAM 23 of the controller 14 in S20. This timer is, for example, a timer that increments every 1 ms, and when activated, its value is incremented from 0 (that is, 1 is added).

Then, in S30, the control unit 14 determines whether or not the preset data accumulation time has elapsed. Specifically, the control unit 14 determines whether or not the value of the timer is equal to or greater than the value corresponding to the data accumulation time.

Here, if the data accumulation time has not elapsed, the control unit 14 acquires the light amount detection data of each of the m×n partial regions from the light detection unit 13 in S40, and proceeds to S30. do. On the other hand, when the data accumulation time has elapsed, the control unit 14 calculates the average value of the plurality of light intensity detection data acquired within the data accumulation time for each of the m×n partial regions in S50. . Furthermore, in S60, the control unit 14 creates a noise map showing the correspondence between each of the m×n partial regions and the average value calculated in S50.

Then, in S70, the control unit 14 compares the noise map created in S60 with the threshold map stored in the ROM 22 in advance. The threshold map indicates the correspondence relationship between each of the m×n partial areas and the area threshold set in advance for each partial area. Specifically, in S70, the control unit 14 first determines that the average value stored in the noise map for each of the m×n partial regions is equal to or greater than the region threshold value stored in the threshold map. or not. Then, in S70, the control unit 14 treats the partial areas whose average value is equal to or greater than the area threshold value as normal partial areas, and the partial areas whose average value is less than the area threshold value as abnormal partial areas. Further, in S70, the control unit 14 calculates the number of normal partial regions (hereinafter referred to as the number of normal regions).

Furthermore, in S80, the control unit 14 determines whether or not the number of normal regions calculated in S70 is equal to or greater than a preset abnormality determination value. Here, if the number of normal regions is less than the abnormality determination value, the control unit 14, in S90, based on the distribution of the partial regions whose average value is less than the region threshold (hereinafter referred to as the abnormal partial region), The angular deviation amount of the axial deviation of the light 2 is calculated.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5, among the m×n partial areas forming the rectangular object detection area R3, all of the partial areas in the (m−2), (m−1), and m columns is the abnormal partial area, the yaw angular deviation amount is calculated by VAx_r×3 using the viewing angle VAx_r in the X-axis direction in one partial area. For example, when VAx_r=0.1[°], the yaw angle deviation amount is 0.3[°].

That is, when the entire row at the right end or the left end of the object detection region R3, or the entirety of a plurality of continuous rows at the right end or the left end of the object detection region R3 is an abnormal partial region, the control unit 14 determines that the entire row is an abnormal partial region. The yaw angle deviation amount is calculated by multiplying the number of columns in the X-axis direction by the viewing angle VAx_r.

Further, when all of the partial regions in the (n−1) row and the n row among the m×n partial regions forming the rectangular object detection region R3 are abnormal partial regions, the pitch angle deviation The amount is calculated as VAy_r×2 using the viewing angle VAy_r in the Y-axis direction in one partial area. For example, when VAy_r=0.1[°], the pitch angle deviation amount is 0.2[°].

That is, when the entire line at the upper end or the lower end of the object detection region R3 or the entire continuous plural lines at the upper end or the lower end of the object detection region R3 is an abnormal partial region, the control unit 14 determines that it is an abnormal partial region. The amount of pitch angle deviation is calculated by multiplying the viewing angle VAy_r in the Y-axis direction by the number of rows in which the pitch is displayed.

Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, when the number of abnormal partial regions at the lower end gradually increases from the left end to the right end of the object detection region R3, based on the rate of increase in the number of abnormal partial regions at the lower end , the angular deviation amount of the roll is calculated. In FIG. 6, the rate of increase is (4/16) as indicated by the straight line SL. Therefore, the angular deviation amount of the roll is calculated by arctan (4/16). Note that arctan (4/16) corresponds to approximately 14[°].

That is, when the abnormal partial regions at the upper end or the lower end gradually increase or decrease from the left end to the right end of the object detection region R3, the control unit 14 adjusts the rate of increase or decrease in the number of abnormal partial regions at the upper end or the lower end. Based on this, the angular deviation amount of the roll is calculated.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 14 determines in S100 whether or not the angular deviation amount could be calculated in S90. Here, if the angular deviation amount can be calculated, the controller 14 sets the shaft deviation flag F1 provided in the RAM 23 in S110, and ends the lamp abnormality detection process. In the following description, setting a flag means setting the value of the flag to 1, and clearing the flag means setting the value of the flag to 0.

On the other hand, if the angle deviation amount could not be calculated, the controller 14 sets the illuminance drop flag F2 provided in the RAM 23 in S120, and terminates the lamp abnormality detection process. It should be noted that the angle deviation amount cannot be calculated when the abnormal partial regions exist sparsely in the object detection region R3.

If the number of normal areas is equal to or greater than the abnormality determination value in S80, the control unit 14 clears the axis deviation flag F1 and the illuminance decrease flag F2 in S130, and terminates the lamp abnormality detection process.

The radar-equipped lamp unit 1 configured as described above includes a headlight 2 , an optical scanning section 12 , a light detecting section 13 , and a control section 14 .
The headlight 2 is mounted on the vehicle and emits visible light toward the outside of the vehicle to illuminate the front of the vehicle. The optical scanning unit 12 is mounted on a vehicle, and scans and irradiates a laser beam toward the outside of the vehicle. The photodetector 13 detects the amount of reflected laser light. The control unit 14 detects a reflecting object that reflects the laser light based on the detection result of the light detection unit 13 .

When the headlights 2 are emitting visible light, the control unit 14 divides an object detection region R3, which is set in advance as a region in which the control unit 14 detects a reflecting object outside the vehicle, into a plurality of divided portions. Light amount detection data indicating the detection result by the photodetector 13 is acquired for each region.

The control unit 14 determines whether each of the plurality of partial regions is a normal partial region normally illuminated with visible light by the headlights 2 or not illuminated with visible light by the headlights 2 based on the light quantity indicated by the light quantity detection data. It is determined whether it is an abnormal partial area that is not normally illuminated. A normal partial area is a partial area in which the light amount indicated by the light amount detection data is equal to or greater than a preset area threshold value. The abnormal partial area is a partial area in which the light amount indicated by the light amount detection data is less than the area threshold.

The control unit 14 determines whether the illuminance of the headlight 2 has decreased and whether the axis of the headlight 2 has shifted based on the distribution of the normal partial regions and the abnormal partial regions in the object detection region R3. to judge.

As described above, the radar-equipped lamp unit 1 detects the amount of light in each of the plurality of partial regions into which the object detection region R3 is divided, while the headlight 2 is emitting visible light. The distribution of normal and abnormal sub-regions within R3 can be obtained. When the headlight 2 is normal, there are many normal partial regions within the object detection region R3. On the other hand, when the illuminance of the headlight 2 decreases or an abnormality occurs in which the axis of the headlight 2 shifts, the number of normal partial areas in the object detection area R3 decreases and the number of abnormal partial areas increases. Furthermore, the distribution of abnormal partial regions often differs between when the illuminance of the headlight 2 decreases and when the axis of the headlight 2 shifts.

As described above, the radar-equipped lamp unit 1 can detect at least one of the axial displacement of the headlight 2 and the decrease in illuminance.
In addition, the control unit 14 calculates the axial displacement of the headlight 2 based on the distribution of the abnormal partial regions within the object detection region R3 and the viewing angle VAx_r and the viewing angle VAy_r occupied by one abnormal partial region within the object detection region R3. Calculates the amount of angular deviation that indicates the magnitude of .

Further, the control unit 14 determines that the axis of the headlight 2 is misaligned when the amount of angular deviation can be calculated, and determines that the axis of the headlight 2 is misaligned when the amount of angular deviation cannot be calculated. Determine that the illuminance is low.

In the embodiment described above, the headlight 2 corresponds to the lamp, the control section 14 corresponds to the object detection section, S40 corresponds to the processing of the data acquisition section, and S60 and S70 correspond to the processing of the area determination section. Equivalent to. Further, S80 to S130 correspond to the processing of the abnormality determination unit, S90 corresponds to the processing of the displacement amount calculation unit, the light amount of the partial area corresponds to the light amount parameter, and the viewing angles VAx_r and VAy_r correspond to the abnormal partial area. It corresponds to the angular range occupied.

An embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above, but the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be implemented in various modifications.
[Modification 1]
For example, in the above-described embodiment, a mode is shown in which abnormality of the headlight 2 is detected using all partial regions within the object detection region R3. However, an abnormality of the headlight 2 may be detected by thinning out some partial regions in the object detection region R3. Also, in the object detection area R3, only a partial area including a specific area (for example, a road surface on which the vehicle travels) may be used to detect an abnormality in the headlights 2. FIG.

[Modification 2]
In the above-described embodiment, it is determined whether each of the m×n partial areas is a normal partial area. However, a plurality of partial areas may be combined into one integrated partial area, and whether or not each integrated partial area is a normal partial area may be determined.

[Modification 3]
In the above-described embodiment, an abnormality of the headlight 2 is detected using the light intensity of the partial area. However, a change in the light intensity of the partial area per unit time or an increase/decrease in variation may be used as an index for abnormality determination.

The controller 14 and techniques described in this disclosure can be performed by a dedicated computer provided by configuring a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions embodied by a computer program. may be implemented. Alternatively, the controller 14 and techniques described in this disclosure may be implemented by a dedicated computer provided by configuring the processor with one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits. Alternatively, the controller 14 and techniques described in this disclosure are a combination of a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions and a processor configured by one or more hardware logic circuits. may be implemented by one or more dedicated computers configured by Computer programs may also be stored as computer-executable instructions on a computer-readable non-transitional tangible storage medium. The method of realizing the function of each unit included in the control unit 14 does not necessarily include software, and all the functions may be realized using one or more pieces of hardware.

A plurality of functions possessed by one component in the above embodiment may be implemented by a plurality of components, or a function possessed by one component may be implemented by a plurality of components. Also, a plurality of functions possessed by a plurality of components may be realized by a single component, or a function realized by a plurality of components may be realized by a single component. Also, part of the configuration of the above embodiment may be omitted. Moreover, at least part of the configuration of the above embodiment may be added or replaced with respect to the configuration of the other above embodiment.

In addition to the above-described radar-equipped lamp unit 1, a system having the radar-equipped lamp unit 1 as a component, a program for causing a computer to function as the radar-equipped lamp unit 1, a non-transitional semiconductor memory in which the program is recorded, etc. The present disclosure can also be implemented in various forms such as a physical recording medium and a method for detecting an abnormality in a lamp.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Radar-equipped lamp unit, 2... Headlight, 3... Laser radar apparatus, 12... Light scanning part, 13... Light detection part, 14... Control part

Claims (3)

a lamp (2) mounted on a vehicle for emitting visible light toward the outside of the vehicle in order to illuminate the surroundings of the vehicle;
a light scanning unit (12) mounted on the vehicle and configured to scan and irradiate laser light toward the outside of the vehicle;
a photodetector (13) configured to detect the amount of reflected laser light;
an object detection unit (14) configured to detect a reflecting object reflecting the laser light based on a detection result by the light detection unit;
Each of a plurality of partial areas obtained by dividing an object detection area preset as an area in which the object detection unit detects the reflecting object outside the vehicle when the lamp is emitting the visible light. a data acquisition unit (S40) configured to acquire light amount detection data indicating the detection result of the light detection unit;
For each of the plurality of partial areas, based on the light amount parameter related to the light amount indicated by the light amount detection data, the normal partial area is normally illuminated with the visible light by the lamp, or the an area determination unit (S60, S70) configured to determine whether the abnormal partial area is not normally illuminated with visible light;
By comparing the number of normal partial regions in the object detection region with a preset abnormality judgment value, it is possible to determine whether the illuminance of the lamp has decreased and whether the axis of the lamp has shifted. a radar-equipped lamp unit (1) comprising: an abnormality determination section (S80 to S130) that is configured to determine at least one of whether or not there is; The radar-equipped lamp unit according to claim 1,
An angular deviation amount indicating the magnitude of the axial deviation of the lamp is calculated based on the distribution of the abnormal partial areas within the object detection area and the angular range occupied by one abnormal partial area within the object detection area. A radar-equipped lamp unit comprising a deviation amount calculator (S90) configured to The radar-equipped lamp unit according to claim 2,
The abnormality determination section determines that the axis of the lamp is misaligned when the deviation amount calculation section is able to calculate the angular deviation amount, and the deviation amount calculation section calculates the angular deviation amount. A radar-equipped lamp unit that judges that the illuminance of the lamp is low when it is not possible to do so.

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