JP7398287B2 - Vehicle lights - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle lamp.

As disclosed in Patent Document 1 below, an adaptive driving beam (ADB), which can control light distribution by a headlamp control device, is provided as a vehicle lamp mounted on a vehicle. . In a vehicle equipped with such a vehicle lamp, for example, a vehicle in front can be recognized based on an image obtained from an on-vehicle camera, and light distribution can be controlled according to the position of the vehicle. The irradiation control device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is capable of controlling the operation of a plurality of lamps forming a headlamp according to the position of a vehicle in front detected by a vehicle detection unit.

JP2019-64348A

By the way, in a vehicle lamp capable of controlling light distribution, such as the one disclosed in Patent Document 1, if the range illuminated by the headlights cannot be properly controlled, the function as a variable light distribution headlamp cannot be achieved. I can't do my best. The headlamp control device of Patent Document 1 focuses on the deviation between the actual irradiation range and the reference irradiation range of each lamp, and includes a deviation detection device for calculating the deviation between the irradiation range and the reference irradiation range, It is said that control can be performed to change the lamp to be operated according to the calculated deviation in the irradiation range.

Here, the inventors have conducted extensive studies and found that, for example, due to factors such as the road environment and its surrounding environment (reflectors, street trees, rewriting of white lines, changes in road conditions due to road construction, etc.), It has been found that if a false detection of a vehicle in front occurs based on images obtained from a camera, light distribution control cannot be performed properly, and there is a concern that problems such as poor switching of the irradiation range and hunting may occur. Unless the road environment and surrounding environment change, this type of phenomenon is likely to occur every time you drive on the road in question, causing annoyance to the driver and dazzling other drivers. There are concerns.

Therefore, the present invention aims to prevent the driver from feeling bothered by the automatic adjustment of the irradiation range and to dazzle the drivers of other vehicles, for example, when driving in places where it is difficult to appropriately automatically adjust the irradiation range. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a vehicle lamp that can prevent the vehicle from being damaged.

(1) The vehicle lamp of the present invention is capable of performing light distribution control to automatically adjust the irradiation range, and includes a lamp arranged so as to be able to irradiate a predetermined range, and a control device, the control device is a light distribution control section that performs the light distribution control, a section registration section that can set and register a light distribution control prohibited section that prohibits the light distribution control, and the light distribution control prohibited section that is registered by the section registration section. a detection unit that detects intrusion of the own vehicle into the light distribution control prohibited area, and the light distribution control is prohibited on the condition that the detection unit detects the intrusion of the own vehicle into the light distribution control prohibited area. It is characterized by this.

In the vehicular lamp of the present invention, light distribution control is prohibited on the condition that entry of the own vehicle into a light distribution control prohibited section set and registered by the section registration section is detected. Therefore, the vehicle lamp of the present invention avoids the trouble caused by automatically adjusting the irradiation range by registering, for example, a place where it is difficult to appropriately automatically adjust the irradiation range as a light distribution control prohibited section by the section registration unit. It is possible to prevent the driver from feeling a sense of darkness or from dazzling the drivers of other vehicles.

(2) The vehicle lamp described above has a learning function section that learns the frequency of automatic adjustment of the irradiation range by the light distribution control in relation to the traveling position of the own vehicle, and It is preferable that the light control prohibited section be set and registered.

According to this configuration, the light distribution control prohibited section can be appropriately set according to the frequency of automatic adjustment of the irradiation range.

(3) The vehicle lamp described above is characterized in that the prohibition of the light distribution control is canceled on the condition that the detection unit detects exit of the host vehicle from the light distribution control prohibited section. It's good if it's something.

According to this configuration, it is possible to automatically return to a state in which light distribution control is performed on the condition that the host vehicle leaves the light distribution control prohibited section.

(4) The above-mentioned vehicle lamp is preferably characterized in that the section registration section is capable of registering the light distribution control prohibited section via a car navigation system.

According to this configuration, it is possible to intuitively and easily set and register the light distribution control prohibited section via the car navigation system.

According to the present invention, for example, when driving in a place where it is difficult to appropriately automatically adjust the irradiation range, the automatic adjustment of the irradiation range can cause the driver to feel troublesome and may dazzle the drivers of other vehicles. It is possible to provide a vehicular lamp that can suppress the occurrence of such problems.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the basic operating state of the vehicle lamp shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the basic control operation of the vehicle lamp shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the basic operating state of the vehicle lamp shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a flow of operation control performed in the vehicle lamp shown in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle lamp according to a modification.

Hereinafter, a vehicle lamp 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, first the configuration of the vehicle lamp 10 will be described, and then the operation control performed in the vehicle lamp 10 will be described.

<<Configuration of vehicle lamp 10>>
As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle lamp 10 of this embodiment includes a lamp 20 and a control device 30 (a lamp control ECU). In the vehicle lamp 10, the operation of the lamp 20 can be controlled by a control device 30. Further, in the vehicle lamp 10, an in-vehicle camera 3, a car navigation system 5, etc. mounted on the vehicle 1 are connected to a control device 30.

The on-vehicle camera 3 is disposed, for example, on the roof of the vehicle 1 or near the windshield, and captures a moving image of the scene in front of the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle-mounted camera 3 is arranged so that the entire luminous flux BL formed by the high beam of the lamp 20 is included in the angle of view AV. Therefore, the imaging range RV by the vehicle-mounted camera 3 includes the irradiation range when the lamp 20 is operated with a high beam at least in the horizontal direction.

The lamp 20 is arranged so that it can irradiate a predetermined range. The lamp 20 is a headlamp that operates under the control of the control device 30 and the operation of the input interface 22 . It is preferable that the lamp 20 includes a light source 24 constituted by, for example, a halogen lamp, an HID lamp (metal halide lamp), an LED (light emitting diode), or the like. Further, the lamp 20 has a plurality of light sources 24 such as LEDs arranged in rows or columns. The input interface 22 is an interface for turning on the light source 24, switching between high beam and low beam, and turning on/off a light distribution control function (light distribution control function). The input interface 22 can be configured, for example, by hardware such as a dedicated switch, or by operation switches of a car audio or car navigation system.

The control device 30 controls the operation of the lamp 20. As shown in FIG. 1, the control device 30 is configured using a CPU, memory, communication bus, and the like. The control device 30 includes a light distribution control section 32, a section registration section 34, and a detection section 36.

The light distribution control section 32 controls the light distribution of the lamp 20. Specifically, the light distribution control unit 32 analyzes the image included in the high beam light flux captured by the on-vehicle camera 3, and distinguishes between the preceding vehicle, etc. and other objects based on the speed of the object included in the image. By determining whether the preceding vehicle or the like is an object, the plurality of light sources 24 constituting the lamp 20 are selectively turned on and light is distributed so that the area including the preceding vehicle or the like is an area where no luminous flux is formed (blocking area).

To explain in more detail, it is preferable that the light distribution control section 32 performs light distribution control, for example, by the following basic operation. That is, as a basic operation, the light distribution control unit 32 sets the lamp 20 to the standby state of automatic high beam control in response to an input from the driver or a third party to the input interface 22, and then uses the in-vehicle camera 3 to set the lamp 20 to the standby state of automatic high beam control. image the scene. The light distribution control unit 32 analyzes the moving image captured by the vehicle-mounted camera 3 frame by frame. Thereby, the light distribution control unit 32 specifies at which position in the horizontal direction within the frame the target vehicle, which is an oncoming vehicle or a preceding vehicle within the imaging range, is present.

The horizontal position of the target vehicle can be determined by various methods. Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, the distribution of brightness information of the image PV is calculated for each predetermined single pixel or processing pixel unit, and those whose brightness is above a predetermined threshold are set as the position coordinates of the image PV. By plotting on the X-axis in the figure, which is the horizontal direction of , it is possible to specify the horizontal position of the target vehicle. In the example of FIG. 3, by plotting the position of the rightmost taillight TLR of the preceding vehicle C1 on the right side coordinate Xr and the position of the leftmost taillight TLL on the left side coordinate Xl0, respectively, the horizontal direction related to the target vehicle is plotted. location can be determined.

Based on the horizontal position of the target vehicle identified as described above, the light distribution control unit 32 controls the lamp 20 so that the area including the target vehicle is an area where no luminous flux is formed (blocking range). Light is distributed by selectively lighting up the plurality of constituent light sources 24. For example, in the example of FIG. 3, the light distribution control unit 32 determines the range on the X-axis sandwiched between the right coordinate Xr and the left coordinate Xl0 as a shielding region, and places the area corresponding to this region on the X-axis. Control is performed to stop one light source 24 from emitting light while causing other light sources 24 to emit light. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the luminous flux BL emitted from the lamp 20 is selectively formed as a light distribution area AL1 and a light distribution area AL2 adjacent to the left and right of the shielding area AD including the preceding vehicle C1.

The section registration section 34 sets and registers a light distribution control prohibited section in which light distribution control by the light distribution control section 32 described above is prohibited. The section registration unit 34 can register a light distribution control prohibited section via the car navigation system 5. Specifically, the section registration unit 34 can set and register the light distribution control prohibited section by specifying the start point and end point of the light distribution control prohibited section on the map displayed on the touch panel of the car navigation system 5, for example. Alternatively, by dragging on the map, it is possible to set and register a section to be a light distribution control prohibited section.

The detection unit 36 detects the entry of the host vehicle into the light distribution control prohibited area registered by the area registration unit 34. The detection unit 36 acquires position information of the own vehicle from, for example, GPS, and determines whether the position information is included in a section registered as a light distribution control prohibited section, thereby prohibiting light distribution control. It is preferable to detect whether or not the host vehicle is intruding into the section.

<<Operation control performed in vehicle lamp 10>>
Next, the operation control performed in the vehicle lamp 10 will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5.

(Step 1)
In step 1, the control device 30 determines whether the light distribution control function is in the on state. Specifically, the vehicle lamp 10 has a function of controlling light distribution using the light distribution control unit 32 as described above, and it is possible to set whether or not to use this function using the input interface 22. has been done. In step 1, the control device 30 determines whether the setting is to use the light distribution control function (the light distribution control function is in an on state). Here, if the light distribution control function is in the on state, the control flow proceeds to step 2.

(Step 2)
In step 2, the control device 30 checks the setting information of the section registration unit 34 and the position information of the own vehicle obtained from GPS etc., and confirms whether the own vehicle has entered the light distribution control prohibited section. . Here, if it is confirmed that the host vehicle has not entered the light distribution control prohibited area, the control flow returns to step 1. On the other hand, if it is confirmed that the host vehicle has entered the light distribution control prohibited area, the control flow proceeds to step 3.

(Step 3)
When the control flow advances to step 3, the control device 30 prohibits the light distribution control unit 32 from controlling light distribution. As a result, the vehicle lamp 10 is brought into a state in which all the light sources 24 forming the lamp 20 are turned on. Control flow then proceeds to step 4.

(Step 4)
In step 4, the control device 30 checks the setting information of the section registration unit 34 and the position information of the own vehicle obtained from GPS or the like, and confirms whether the own vehicle has exited the light distribution control prohibited section. . Here, if it is confirmed that the host vehicle still exists within the light distribution control prohibited section, the control flow is returned to step 3, and the light distribution control is maintained in a prohibited state. On the other hand, if it is confirmed that the own vehicle has exited the light distribution control prohibited section, the control flow proceeds to step 5.

(Step 5)
When the control flow advances to step 5, the inhibition of light distribution control in the control device 30 is canceled. Thereby, the vehicle lamp 10 automatically returns to a state in which light distribution can be controlled. This completes a series of control flows.

As described above, in the vehicle lamp 10 of the present embodiment, the vehicle lamp 10 is adapted to, for example, change in road conditions due to road construction, road environment such as rewriting of white lines, arrangement of reflectors and street trees, etc. The area registration unit 34 can register places where it is difficult to appropriately automatically adjust the irradiation range due to the surrounding environment or the like as a light distribution control prohibited area. Furthermore, the vehicle lamp 10 can prohibit light distribution control on the condition that the own vehicle's entry into the light distribution control prohibited section set and registered by the section registration unit 34 is detected. Therefore, according to the vehicle lamp 10 of the present embodiment, in the section registered as a light distribution control prohibited section by the section registration section 34, the irradiation range is automatically adjusted, which may cause the driver to feel troublesome. This can prevent car drivers from being dazzled.

As described above, in the vehicle lamp 10, the prohibition of light distribution control is canceled and the light distribution control is automatically performed on the condition that the detection unit 36 detects exit of the own vehicle from the light distribution control prohibited section. It is possible to return to a state in which the

Further, in the vehicle lamp 10 described above, the section registration unit 34 can register the light distribution control prohibited section via the car navigation system 5. Therefore, according to the vehicle lamp 10, the light distribution control prohibited section can be set and registered intuitively and easily via the car navigation system 5.

In addition, in this embodiment, an example was shown in which the user can register the light distribution control prohibited section via the car navigation system 5, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it is possible to register the light distribution control prohibited section via the car navigation system 5. Alternatively, the control device 30 may be accessible through a communication device such as a smartphone or an external terminal, and the light distribution control prohibited section may be set and registered. In addition, the vehicle lamp 10 displays applications such as a map application installed in a communication device such as a smartphone or a navigation application on a display included in an in-vehicle device provided instead of or in addition to the car navigation system 5. The screen may be displayed, and the light distribution control prohibited section may be set and registered via the application. Further, for example, if the vehicle 1 is capable of communicating by linking in-vehicle equipment such as the car navigation system 5 and communication equipment such as a smartphone, the light distribution control prohibited section is set as an application compatible with the communication standard. A dedicated application that can set and register the light distribution control prohibited section may be prepared, or a light distribution control prohibited section may be set and registered via a map application compatible with the communication standard or a navigation application.

Further, in the above embodiment, an example was shown in which a light distribution control prohibited section can be registered according to the user's will via the car navigation system 5, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the vehicle lamp 10 is configured to include a learning function unit 40 that learns the frequency of automatic adjustment of the irradiation range by light distribution control in relation to the traveling position of the own vehicle. It is preferable that the light distribution control prohibited section be automatically set and registered according to the adjustment frequency. With this configuration, a section suitable for prohibiting light distribution control can be automatically set and registered as a light distribution control prohibited section without the user's will, and convenience can be further improved. . In addition, when the learning function section 40 is provided, the configuration may be such that the function for registering the light distribution control prohibited section is excluded according to the user's will.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments and modifications described above, and other embodiments are possible within the scope and spirit of the invention without departing from the scope of the claims. The components of the embodiments described above may be arbitrarily selected and combined. Further, any component of the embodiment and any component described in the means for solving the invention or a component embodying any component described in the means for solving the invention may be arbitrarily combined. It may be configured as follows.

The vehicle lamp of the present invention can be suitably used in vehicles in general.

5: Car navigation system 10: Vehicle lamp 20: Lamp 30: Control device 32: Light distribution control section 34: Section registration section 36: Detection section

Claims (1)

A vehicle lamp that can perform light distribution control to automatically adjust the irradiation range,
A lamp arranged to illuminate a predetermined area,
and a control device;
The control device includes:
a light distribution control section that performs the light distribution control;
a section registration unit capable of setting and registering a light distribution control prohibited section in which the light distribution control is prohibited;
a detection unit that detects entry of the host vehicle into the light distribution control prohibited area registered by the area registration unit,
The light distribution control is prohibited on the condition that the detection unit detects entry of the own vehicle into the light distribution control prohibited area,
The light distribution control prohibited section can be registered according to the user's will, and a learning function section is provided that learns the frequency of automatic adjustment of the irradiation range by the light distribution control in relation to the traveling position of the own vehicle, and the automatic adjustment A vehicular lamp characterized in that the light distribution control prohibited section can be set and registered depending on the frequency .

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