JP7383359B2 - vehicle - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle equipped with a headlamp that forms a high beam light distribution pattern and a low beam light distribution pattern.

The vehicle headlamp device of Patent Document 1 includes a lamp unit, a vehicle position detection section, a curved road determination section, and a curved road pattern restriction section. The lamp unit forms a low beam light distribution pattern and a high beam light distribution pattern. The vehicle position detection unit receives image data taken by a camera and searches for feature points indicating a vehicle in the image data, thereby detecting the presence or absence and position of a preceding vehicle. The pattern determining section determines an optimal light distribution pattern taking into account the preceding vehicle detected by the vehicle position detecting section. The pattern control section controls the lamp unit to form the light distribution pattern determined by the pattern determination section. The curved road determination unit determines whether the curvature of the road surface on which the vehicle travels is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value. As an example of the curve pattern restriction section, when the curve determination section determines that the road is equal to or higher than the threshold value, the lamp unit sets the low beam light distribution pattern regardless of the light distribution pattern determined by the pattern determination section. The pattern control unit is instructed to form the pattern.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-16505

On a road surface such as a sharp curve, a preceding vehicle may suddenly enter the imaging area from either the left or right edge of the camera's imaging area. In this case, if the above-mentioned vehicle position detection unit detects the presence or absence and position of a preceding vehicle by searching the image data for feature points indicating the vehicle, it takes too much time to detect it. As a result, a delay in detecting the preceding vehicle may occur. If there is a delay in detecting the vehicle in front, the vehicle in front is illuminated with high beam light. In order to suppress the delay in detecting the preceding vehicle, for example, if a camera with high detection accuracy or a control unit with high processing speed is provided, the cost will increase. In addition, in order to suppress the delay in detecting the preceding vehicle, when driving on a curved road, control is performed to form a low beam light distribution pattern regardless of the presence or absence of a preceding vehicle, as in the vehicle headlamp system described above. , Even though there is no vehicle in front, the area in front of the vehicle is dark and difficult to see.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive vehicle that can quickly change the light distribution pattern of its headlights to a low beam light distribution pattern when driving on a road surface that satisfies a predetermined curvature. be.

A vehicle according to one aspect of the present invention includes:
A vehicle comprising headlights forming a high beam light distribution pattern and a low beam light distribution pattern,
a curvature acquisition unit that acquires the curvature of the road surface;
an imaging unit that captures an image of the front of the vehicle;
a first determination unit that determines whether the curvature satisfies a predetermined curvature;
a second determination unit that determines whether a moving object or a light emitting body has entered the imaging area from one of the left and right side edges of the imaging area of the imaging unit;
When the first determination unit determines that the predetermined curvature is satisfied and the second determination unit determines that the moving object or the light emitting body has entered, the headlight is set to the low beam light distribution pattern. A light control section.

When the first determination section determines that the vehicle satisfies a predetermined curvature, and the second determination section determines that a moving object or light-emitting object has entered the vehicle, the headlight control section changes the vehicle to a low beam light distribution pattern. . That is, the vehicle adopts a low beam light distribution pattern without determining the type of moving object or light emitting object that has entered the vehicle. Therefore, the vehicle can omit the time required to determine whether an incoming moving object or light emitter is a vehicle, and can quickly change to a low beam light distribution pattern. Therefore, the above-mentioned vehicle is equipped with a moving object or a light-emitting object even on a road surface where the moving object or a light-emitting object suddenly enters the imaging area from either the left or right side edge of the imaging area. It is possible to suppress the irradiation of high beam light onto an object, such as a vehicle in front.

In this way, the above-mentioned vehicle does not need to determine whether a moving object or a light-emitting object is a vehicle in order to set the low beam light distribution pattern, so the headlight control section can have a simple configuration. can. Therefore, the cost of the above-mentioned vehicle does not easily increase, so it tends to be inexpensive.

Even if the first determination section determines that the vehicle satisfies the predetermined curvature, the high beam light distribution pattern remains unchanged unless the second determination section determines that a moving object or light emitting object has entered the vehicle. Can be done. Therefore, the periphery of the road surface that satisfies the predetermined curvature is bright and easy to see.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a vehicle according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram schematically showing an imaging area of an imaging unit included in the vehicle according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the overlapping rate of light emitters. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of a headlamp control unit provided in a vehicle according to an embodiment.

An embodiment of a vehicle according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

《Embodiment》
〔vehicle〕
A vehicle 1 according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes a headlamp 2, a curvature acquisition section 3, and an imaging section 4. The headlights 2 form a high beam light distribution pattern and a low beam light distribution pattern. The curvature acquisition unit 3 acquires the curvature of the road surface. The imaging unit 4 images the front of the vehicle 1. One of the features of the vehicle 1 of this embodiment is a headlight control section 6 that performs specific control on the headlights 2 based on the determination results of a specific first determination section 51 and a second determination section 52. The point is to have the following. This will be explained in detail below. The vehicle 1 of this embodiment is a right-hand drive vehicle. The vehicle 1 of this embodiment drives on the left side. Unlike this embodiment, the vehicle 1 may be a left-hand drive vehicle. The vehicle 1 may drive on the right side.

[Headlight]
The headlights 2 form a high beam light distribution pattern and a low beam light distribution pattern. The headlight 2 is an adaptive driving beam system (ADB). That is, the headlight 2 is a headlight that can configure a low beam light distribution pattern by controlling the light distribution based on the high beam light distribution pattern. A known configuration can be adopted as the configuration of the variable light distribution headlamp. For example, the headlight 2 may include a plurality of light sources that can configure high beam and low beam light distribution patterns, or a variable shade that can partially block the high beam.

[Curvature acquisition part]
The curvature acquisition unit 3 acquires the curvature of the road surface. The road surface includes a road surface on which the vehicle 1 is traveling, or a road surface in front of the road surface on which the vehicle 1 is traveling. The curvature of a road surface is the curvature of a bend in a road when the road surface is viewed from above. In the case of a road surface on which the vehicle is running, the curvature acquisition unit 3 can use, for example, a yaw rate sensor or a steering angle sensor. In the case of the road surface in front, the curvature acquisition unit 3 can be, for example, a car navigation system. The information acquired by the curvature acquisition section 3 is output to an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 5.

[Imaging unit]
The imaging unit 4 images the front of the vehicle 1. A camera can be used as the imaging unit 4. Information captured by the imaging unit 4 is output to the ECU 5.

The imaging area 40 shown in FIG. 2 includes a range from the first left line L1 to the first right line R1 shown in FIG. The first left line L1 is, for example, a line that passes through the left headlight 2 and is inclined 20° outward in the vehicle width direction with respect to the left reference axis L0. The first right side line R1 is, for example, a line that passes through the right side headlight 2 and is inclined 20° outward in the vehicle width direction with respect to the right side reference axis R0. The left reference axis L0 is a line that is parallel to the left and right center line of the vehicle 1 and passes through the left headlight 2. The right reference axis R0 is a line that is parallel to the center line and passes through the right headlamp 2.

The imaging area 40 shown in FIG. 2 has a left side area 40L, a right side area 40R, and a center area 40C. The left side area 40L is, for example, an area between the first left side line L1 and the second left side line L2. The right side region 40R is, for example, a region between the first right side line R1 and the second right side line R2. The second left side line L2 is, for example, a line inclined outward in the vehicle width direction by 15 degrees with respect to the left side reference axis L0. The second right side line R2 is, for example, a line inclined outward in the vehicle width direction by 15 degrees with respect to the right side reference axis R0. The central region 40C is a region between the left region 40L and the right region 40R.

[First judgment section]
The first determination unit 51 shown in FIG. 1 determines whether the curvature of the road surface satisfies a predetermined curvature. Through this determination, it can be determined whether the above-mentioned road surface is a sharp curve. The predetermined curvature may be set as appropriate. For example, when the curvature acquisition unit 3 is a yaw rate sensor, the predetermined curvature refers to a yaw rate of less than −15 deg/sec and more than 15 deg/sec. The yaw rate when the vehicle 1 turns to the left is a positive value, and the yaw rate when the vehicle 1 turns to the right is a negative value. The first determination unit 51 is included in the ECU 5.

[Second judgment section]
The second determination unit 52 determines the presence or absence of a moving object or a light-emitting body within the imaging area 40 . Further, the second determination unit 52 determines whether a moving object or a light emitting body has entered the imaging area 40 from either the left or right side edge of the imaging area 40 . For example, when the vehicle 1 is traveling on a sharp left-turning curve, the second determination unit 52 determines whether a moving object or a light-emitting body has entered the left side area 40L from the left edge of the left side area 40L of the imaging area 40. Determine whether For example, when the vehicle 1 is traveling on a sharp right-hand curve, the second determination unit 52 determines whether a moving object or a light emitting body has entered the right side area 40R from the right edge of the right side area 40R of the imaging area 40. Determine whether For example, the determination that the object has entered may be made based on image processing when a region of a predetermined size and having a predetermined color temperature appears in the left region 40L or the right region 40R.

The determination that the moving object or the light-emitting body has entered is made as soon as the moving object or light-emitting body enters the inside of the left side area 40L from the left edge of the left side area 40L or the inside of the right side area 40R from the right edge of the right side area 40R. The term "immediately" refers to the period until a moving object or a light-emitting object that enters either the left side area 40L or the right side area 40R exits from the inside of one of the left side areas 40L and right side area 40R. That is, when the vehicle 1 travels on a sharp left-turning curve, the second determination unit 52 also determines whether a dynamic object or a light emitting body has appeared from the right edge of the left side area 40L to the center area 40C. The second determination unit 52 also determines whether a dynamic object or a light emitting body has appeared from the left edge of the right side area 40R to the center area 40C when the vehicle 1 is traveling on a sharp right-turning curve. The second determination unit 52 is included in the ECU 5.

A dynamic object is one that is itself in motion. That is, a dynamic object is something other than a static object that does not move. Whether the object is a dynamic object or a static object can be determined by, for example, whether the speed at which the distance between the vehicle 1 and the object in front of the object is reduced deviates from the predicted value or matches the predicted value. The predicted value is calculated based on the distance between the vehicle 1 and the object in front and the speed of the vehicle 1. The above-mentioned interval is determined by using a millimeter wave radar, an infrared laser sensor, or the like. The speed of the vehicle 1 is determined using a vehicle speed sensor. Examples of dynamic objects include preceding vehicles and animals.

A light emitter is something that itself emits light. This light may be visible light. A specific example of the light emitter is, for example, a red light emitter. Examples of the red light emitting body include a tail lamp and a brake lamp of a preceding vehicle. Whether it is a red light emitter or not can be determined from the color temperature of the image captured by the imaging unit 4.

A case in which the preceding vehicle and the vehicle 1 travel on a sharp left curve and a sharp right curve will be described below. When the preceding vehicle and the vehicle 1 drive on a sharp left-hand curve, red light emitting objects such as tail lamps and brake lights of the preceding vehicle enter the left side area 40L from the left edge of the left side area 40L of the imaging area 40. There is. On the other hand, when the preceding vehicle and the vehicle 1 drive a sharp right-turning curve, the red light emitter of the preceding vehicle enters the inside of the right-hand region 40R from the right edge of the right-hand region 40R of the imaging area 40. Sometimes it happens. That is, if a red light emitter enters the inside of the left side area 40L from the left edge of the left side area 40L or the inside of the right side area 40R from the right edge of the right side area 40R, it is often the red light emitter of the preceding vehicle. Therefore, it is not necessary to determine what the red light emitter is or what the object including the red light emitter is. That is, there is no need to determine whether the object provided with the red light emitter is a vehicle.

[Third Judgment Department]
It is preferable that the vehicle 1 of this embodiment further includes a third determining section 53 when the second determining section 52 determines the light emitting body. The third determination unit 53 determines whether the number of light emitters determined by the second determination unit 52 is two or more. That is, the third determination unit 53 determines whether the number of light emitters that have entered the imaging area 40 from either the left or right side edge of the imaging area 40 of the imaging unit 4 is two or more. For example, if the number of light emitters is two, the object equipped with those two light emitters is often the preceding vehicle. Therefore, it is not necessary to determine what the two light emitters are or what the object including the two light emitters is. The third determination unit 53 is included in the ECU 5.

[Fourth judgment section]
When the vehicle 1 of this embodiment includes the third determination section 53, it is preferable that the vehicle 1 further includes a fourth determination section 54. The fourth determination unit 54 determines whether the overlap rate of the two light emitters determined by the third determination unit 53 is greater than or equal to a predetermined value. That is, the fourth determination unit 54 determines whether the overlap rate of the two light emitters that have entered the imaging area 40 from either the left or right side edges of the imaging area 40 of the imaging unit 4 is greater than or equal to a predetermined value. Determine whether The predetermined value may be set as appropriate. The higher the predetermined value is, the more preferable it is. The higher the predetermined value is, the more likely the object with two light emitters is the preceding vehicle. Therefore, it is not necessary to determine what the two light emitters are or what the object including the two light emitters is. The predetermined value is, for example, preferably 80%, more preferably 85%, and particularly preferably 90%. The fourth determination unit 54 is included in the ECU 5.

The overlapping ratio of the two light emitters 7 will be explained with reference to FIG. 3. For convenience of explanation, the light-emitting bodies 7 on the left and right sides of the paper in FIG. 3 are referred to as the left-hand light-emitting body 7 and the right-hand light-emitting body 7, respectively. The horizontal direction is the horizontal direction of the paper, and the vertical direction is the vertical direction of the paper. The overlap rate is determined by (second length H2/first length H1)×100. The first length H1 is the length along the vertical direction between the first line h1 and the second line h2. The second length H2 is the length along the vertical direction between the third line h3 and the fourth line h4. The first line h1 is a line extending in the horizontal direction that does not pass through the light emitter 7 on the right side but touches the light emitter 7 on the left side. The second line h2 is a line extending in the horizontal direction that does not pass through the left light emitter 7 but touches the right light emitter 7. The third line h3 is a line extending in the horizontal direction that passes through the light emitter 7 on the right side and touches the light emitter 7 on the left side. The fourth line h4 is a line extending in the horizontal direction that passes through the left light emitter 7 and touches the right light emitter 7. The overlap rate is determined by processing the image captured by the imaging unit 4.

[Headlight control section]
The headlight control unit 6 performs normal ADB control except in the following specific cases. On the other hand, in the following specific cases, the headlight control unit 6 changes the light distribution pattern of the headlights 2 from the high beam light distribution pattern to the low beam light distribution pattern without performing normal ADB control. The specific case is a case where the first determination unit 51 determines that a predetermined curvature is satisfied, and the second determination unit 52 determines that a moving object or a light-emitting object has entered.

Normal ADB control is to determine the type of subject existing within the imaging area 40 of the imaging unit 4, and when it is determined that a preceding vehicle or an oncoming vehicle exists within the imaging area 40, a high beam beam is applied to the subject. This refers to controlling the light distribution pattern of the headlights 2 so that no light is emitted. For example, the light distribution pattern of the headlights 2 is changed to a low beam light distribution pattern. Alternatively, only the light source that illuminates the area corresponding to the subject may be turned off or blocked. In normal ADB control, if the above determination is not made, the light distribution pattern of the headlights 2 remains the light distribution pattern of the high beam. Not performing normal ADB control means that the moving object and light emitting body that entered the imaging area 40 from either the left or right side edges of the image capturing area 40 are the same, or the object that is equipped with the light emitting body is This refers to only determining whether or not a person has entered the imaging area 40 from either the left or right side edge of the imaging area 40, without determining whether there is an object.

When the vehicle 1 is traveling on a sharp left-turning curve, the headlight control unit 6 detects a moving object or a light emitting body from the left edge of the left side area 40L of the imaging area 40 to the inside of the left side area 40L by the second determination unit 52. After it is determined that a moving object or a light-emitting object has entered the center region 40C from the right edge of the left region 40L, the light distribution pattern is changed to a low beam. On the other hand, when the vehicle 1 is traveling on a sharp right-turning curve, the headlight control unit 6 determines whether a dynamic object or After it is determined that a light emitter has entered, but before it is determined that a dynamic object or a light emitter has exited from the left edge of the right side area 40R to the center area 40C, the light distribution pattern is changed to a low beam.

[Control procedure]
An example of a procedure for controlling the headlights 2 by the headlight control section 6 will be described with reference to FIG. 4. The vehicle 1 is traveling with the light distribution pattern of the headlights 2 set to the high beam light distribution pattern.

As step S01, the first determination unit 51 determines whether the curvature of the road surface acquired by the curvature acquisition unit 3 satisfies a predetermined curvature. When the curvature acquisition unit 3 is a yaw rate sensor, the first determination unit 51 determines, for example, whether the yaw rate YR satisfies less than −15 deg/sec or more than 15 deg/sec.

If the condition of step S01 is satisfied, for example, if the yaw rate YR is a sharp left turn where the yaw rate YR exceeds 15 deg/sec, then in step S02, the second determination unit 52 determines that the preceding vehicle is located within the imaging area 40 of the imaging unit 4. It is determined whether or not the image is not captured.

When the condition of step S02 is satisfied, in step S03, the second determination unit 52 determines whether a red light emitting body has entered the left side area 40L from the left edge of the left side area 40L.

If the condition in step S03 is satisfied, in step S06, the headlight control unit 6 changes the light distribution pattern of the headlight 2 from the high beam light distribution pattern to the low beam light distribution pattern.

When the condition of step S03 is satisfied, it is preferable to go through step S04 before executing step S06. As step S04, the third determination unit 53 determines whether the number of red light emitters determined by the second determination unit 52 is two or more.

If the condition of step S04 is satisfied, step S06 may be executed, but it is preferable to go through step S05 before step S06. For example, when the number of red light emitters determined by the third determination unit 53 is two, in step S05, the fourth determination unit 54 determines that the overlap rate OR of the two red light emitters satisfies a predetermined value or more. Determine whether or not.

If the condition of step S05 is satisfied, step S06 described above is executed.

If any one of the conditions from step S01 to step S05 is not satisfied, in step S07, the headlamp control unit 6 performs the above-mentioned normal ADB control. The case where the condition of step S01 is not satisfied is the case where the yaw rate YR satisfies -15 deg/sec or more and 15 deg/sec or less. The case where the condition of step S02 is not satisfied is the case where it is determined that the preceding vehicle has already been photographed within the imaging area 40. The case where the condition of step S03 is not satisfied is a case where the light emitting body does not enter the left side area 40L from the left edge of the left side area 40L of the imaging area 40. Note that it may be determined that the red light emitting body is captured in the central region 40C without passing through the left region 40L and right region 40R of the imaging area 40. Even in this case, since the red light emitter in the central region 40C is not the red light emitter provided in the preceding vehicle, the headlamp control unit 6 performs normal ADB control. The case where the condition of step S04 is not satisfied is the case where the number of red light emitters is one. The case where the condition of step S05 is not satisfied is the case where the overlap rate OR of the two red light emitters is less than a predetermined value.

After executing step S06 or step S07, the process returns to step S01 again.

In the above-mentioned control procedure, the case where the condition of step S01 is satisfied is a sharp left-turning curve where the yaw rate YR exceeds 15 deg/sec. If the condition of step S01 is satisfied, when the yaw rate YR is a sharp right turn satisfying less than -15 deg/sec, in step S03, the second determination unit 52 detects the inside of the right side area 40R from the right edge of the right side area 40R. The control procedure is similar to the above-described control procedure, except that it is determined whether or not a red light emitter has entered.

[Effect]
In the vehicle 1 of this embodiment, when the first determination section 51 determines that the road surface is a sharp curve and the second determination section 52 determines that a red light emitting body has entered, the headlight control section 6 controls the headlight control section 6 to turn on the headlights. The second light distribution pattern is changed from a high beam light distribution pattern to a low beam light distribution pattern. That is, the vehicle 1 uses a low beam light distribution pattern without determining what kind of red light emitter is incoming and whether the object equipped with the red light emitter is a preceding vehicle. Therefore, the vehicle 1 can omit the time required to identify the incoming red light emitter, and can quickly change to the low beam light distribution pattern. Therefore, even if the vehicle 1 is on a road surface where a red light emitter suddenly enters the imaging area 40 from either the left or right side edge of the imaging area 40, the vehicle 1 can detect an object equipped with a red light emitter, that is, a preceding vehicle. It is possible to suppress the irradiation of high beam light onto cars. As described above, when step S06 or step S07 is executed, the process returns to step S01 again. It is also possible to prevent high beams from shining on the vehicle in front.

In this manner, the vehicle 1 does not need to identify red light emitters in order to use the low beam light distribution pattern, so the headlight control unit 6 can have a simple configuration. Therefore, the cost of the vehicle 1 is less likely to increase, so it is likely to be less expensive.

Even if the first determination unit 51 determines that the road surface is a sharp curve, the vehicle 1 changes the light distribution pattern of the headlights 2 to high beam unless the second determination unit 52 determines that a red light emitter has entered the vehicle. The light distribution pattern can be maintained as is. Therefore, the area around the road surface, which is a sharp curve, is bright and easy to see.

The present invention is not limited to these examples, but is indicated by the scope of the claims, and is intended to include all changes within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of the claims. For example, the first determination section and the second determination section may be grouped together. Further, the third determining section and the fourth determining section may not be provided.

1 vehicle 2 headlight, 3 curvature acquisition unit, 4 imaging unit 40 imaging area, 40L left area, 40R right area, 40C central area 5 ECU
51 first determination section, 52 second determination section, 53 third determination section, 54 fourth determination section 6 headlight control section, 7 light emitting body L0 left reference axis line, L1 first left line, L2 second left line R0 Right side reference axis, R1 First right line, R2 Second right line H1 First length, H2 Second length h1 First line, h2 Second line, h3 Third line, h4 Fourth line line

Claims (1)

A vehicle comprising headlights forming a high beam light distribution pattern and a low beam light distribution pattern,
a curvature acquisition unit that acquires the curvature of the road surface;
an imaging unit that captures an image of the front of the vehicle;
a first determination unit that determines whether the curvature satisfies a predetermined curvature;
a second determination unit that determines whether a light emitting body has entered the imaging area from one of the left and right side edges of the imaging area of the imaging unit;
a third determination unit that determines whether the number of the light emitters determined by the second determination unit is two or more;
a fourth determination unit that determines whether the overlap rate of the two light emitters determined by the third determination unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined value;
The first determining unit determines that the predetermined curvature is satisfied, the second determining unit determines that the light emitting body has entered, and the third determining unit determines that the number of the light emitters is two or more. and a headlight control unit that sets the light distribution pattern of the low beam when the fourth determination unit determines that the overlap rate is equal to or higher than a predetermined value ,
The imaging area is composed of a left side area at the left end, a right side area at the right end, and a central area between the left side area and the right side area,
The left side area and the right side area are areas spanning the entire length of the imaging area in the vertical direction,
vehicle.

Images