JP7400601B2 - Vehicle communication lamp unit - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a communication lamp unit used in a vehicle.

In recent years, as the development of self-driving cars and driving support systems has progressed, there has been an increasing need for communication lamp units for vehicles that can communicate with people in the vicinity of the car or the external environment. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a communication lamp unit for a vehicle that allows others (pedestrians, drivers of other vehicles, etc.) to easily recognize transmitted information and has a high ability to communicate with others.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-197010

An object of the present invention is to provide a communication lamp unit for a vehicle that can display a required communication message outside the vehicle without requiring complicated configuration or control.

The present invention is a communication lamp unit for a vehicle that displays a desired message to the outside of the vehicle by appropriately selecting a desired light source from light sources arranged in a plane in the row and column directions and causing the light to emit light. A controller including a single communication control unit that selects the desired light source based on a control signal from the vehicle, M row direction lamp units, and a controller provided corresponding to the M row direction lamp units. each of the row lamp units includes a plurality of light source drive units arranged in the row direction, and each of the light source drive units includes a light source block including a plurality of light source elements; , comprising: a light source driver for driving the light source block to emit light; and a local communication transceiver for receiving a display control signal sent from the controller and transmitting the display control signal to the light source driver; The light source driving unit is commonly connected to a communication bus connected to the center communication transceiver, and the M center communication transceivers are commonly connected to a control bus connected to the communication control unit, and the M center communication transceivers are commonly connected to a control bus connected to the communication control unit. The above problem is solved by providing a vehicle communication lamp unit in which each of the center communication transceivers is individually connected to the communication control section by M enable control lines different from the control bus.

According to the present invention, it is possible to control the light source drive of the light source unit using a more simplified controller configuration, that is, a single control unit, and to send required communication messages without requiring complicated circuit configurations or controls. It can be displayed outside the vehicle.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a communication lamp unit for a vehicle according to the present invention, which is installed in a vehicle. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the vehicle communication lamp unit of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a more detailed block diagram of the vehicle communication lamp unit of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the LED lighting block drive unit. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining enable timing for the center communication transceivers 31, 32, and 33 within the ECU 2. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the LED lighting block drive unit.

(Embodiment 1)
EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, one embodiment of the communication lamp unit for vehicles of this invention will be described in detail with reference to drawings.

A communication lamp unit for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided, for example, in a portion called a front cowl at the front of a vehicle, as shown in FIG.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a vehicle communication lamp unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, a communication lamp unit for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a light source unit 1 and an ECU (Electronic Control Unit)2. The ECU 2 includes a controller 21 that controls the display in the light source unit 1, and a memory 22 that stores a display pattern to be displayed by the light source unit 1.

A controller 21 in the ECU 2 stores display data corresponding to a message pattern to be displayed on the light source unit 1 based on CAN signals from the vehicle (for example, vehicle speed, gear position, turn signal, brake signal information). 22, generates a display control signal corresponding to this display data, and sends it to the light source unit 1.

FIG. 3 is an internal block diagram of the controller 21 of the ECU 2 and the light source unit 1. The controller 21 includes a communication control section 211. This communication control section 211 controls the exchange of signals with the light source unit 1 via the center communication transceivers 31 to 38. Inside the light source unit 1, there are LED lighting block drive units (31-1 to 31-16, 32-1 to 32-16...38-1 to 38-16) (light source drive unit) arranged in a matrix. include.

For example, the center communication transceiver 31 generates a display control signal for the LED lighting block drive units 31-1 to 31-16 commonly connected in the row direction, and sends it to the communication bus 31a. This display control signal includes an address signal specifying one LED lighting block drive unit and information on whether to light up that LED in the LED lighting block drive unit. For example, if 12 LED elements are provided in one LED lighting block, the lighting drive signal will be 12 bits. These address signals and lighting drive signals are generated continuously, and predetermined start signals and end signals may be attached before and after them.

FIG. 4 shows an internal block diagram of the LED lighting block drive unit 31-1. The LED lighting block driving unit 31-1 includes a local communication transceiver 3111, a light source driving section 3112, and LED lighting blocks 3113-1 to 3113-12. The local communication transceiver 3111 determines whether the display control signal sent from the center communication transceiver 31 is addressed to its own unit based on the address signal included in the signal, and if it is addressed to its own unit, The subsequent lighting drive signal is captured and sent to the light source drive unit 3112. The light source drive unit 3112 lights up a designated LED of the LED lighting blocks 3113-1 to 3113-12 based on the sent lighting drive signal.

In this way, for example, if 16 LED lighting block drive units 31-1 to 31-16 are provided in one row direction and each includes 12 LED elements, then 16×12=192 This display control signal makes it possible to drive individual LED elements.

In this embodiment, for example, eight such rows are provided in the vertical direction, and eight center communication transceivers 31 to 38 are connected to each other through communication buses 31a to 38a, respectively. Display control signals are similarly sent to block drive units 31-1 to 31-16, 32-1 to 32-16, . . . 38-1 to 38-16.

Since the communication control unit 211 in the controller 21 and the center communication transceivers 31 to 38 are commonly connected by a common communication bus 2110, the communication control unit 211 determines which display control signal to send is for which row. It is necessary to specify whether it is a control signal. Therefore, according to the vehicle communication lamp unit of the present invention, enable control lines 2111 to 2118 are connected between the communication control unit 211 and each of the center communication transceivers 31 to 38, respectively, in addition to the common control bus 2110. Connected.

Therefore, for example, when driving the LED lighting block in the first row, the communication control unit 211 turns on the enable control line 2111 and turns off the other enable control lines 2112 to 2118, as shown in FIG. . Similarly, when driving the second row of LED lighting blocks, the enable control line 2112 is turned on, and the other enable control lines 2111, 2113 to 2118 are turned off. In this way, the communication control unit 211 selects the line to be displayed by turning on or off the enable control lines 2111-2118 and selecting the desired center communication transceiver 31-38.

FIG. 6 is an operational flowchart for explaining the receiving operation of the local communication transceiver 3111. By checking the address signal in the display control signal sent from the center communication transceiver 31 via the communication bus 31a, the local communication transceiver 3111 determines whether the display control signal is addressed to the LED lighting block drive unit 31-1. It is checked whether or not (step S61). If it is determined that the signal is addressed to the LED lighting block drive unit 31-1, the local communication transceiver 3111 takes in the subsequent 12-bit lighting drive signal (step S62), and uses this 12-bit lighting drive signal to drive the light source. 3112. The light source drive unit 3112 controls the lighting of the 12 connected LED lighting blocks 3113-1 to 3113-12 based on this 12-bit lighting drive signal (step S63).

According to this embodiment, eight row direction lamp units are provided in the vertical direction, each row direction lamp unit has 16 LED lighting blocks connected in the horizontal direction, and each LED lighting block has 12 light emitting blocks. Since the device is equipped with 8×16×12 pixels, it is possible to display a message using 8×16×12 pixels.

According to this embodiment, all display control by the light source unit 1 is performed by a single communication control unit 211 provided in the controller 21, so that the circuit hardware configuration and control flow are simplified. be able to.

In this embodiment, M row direction lamp units are provided in the vertical direction, and each row direction lamp unit is a so-called M×N matrix display in which N LED lighting blocks are arranged in a row in the horizontal direction. However, each of the row direction lamp units may have a different number of LED lighting blocks arranged in a row in the horizontal direction. That is, the first row lamp unit includes 16 light source drive units, the second row lamp unit includes 15 light source drive units, and the third row lamp unit includes 14 light source drive units. It includes a light source driving unit.

In this embodiment, the vehicular communication lamp unit of the present invention is provided at the so-called front cowl at the front of the vehicle, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. It can be installed in the rear part or any part of the vehicle body.

1 Light source unit 2 ECU
21 Controller 22 Memory 211 Communication control unit 31~38 Center communication transceiver 2110 Common communication bus 2111~2118 Enable control line 31-1~31-16, 32-1~32-16,...38-1~38-16 LED Lighting block drive unit 31a to 33a Communication bus 3111 Local communication transceiver 3112 Light source drive unit 3113-1 to 3113-12 Light source element

Claims (2)

A communication lamp unit for a vehicle that displays a desired message to the outside of the vehicle by appropriately selecting a desired light source from among the light sources arranged in a plane in the row and column directions and causing the light to emit light.
a controller including a single communication control unit that selects the desired light source based on a control signal from a vehicle;
M row direction lamp units;
and M center communication transceivers provided corresponding to the M row direction lamp units,
Each of the row direction lamp units is
Equipped with multiple light source drive units arranged in the row direction,
Each of these light source drive units is
a light source block including a plurality of light source elements;
a light source drive unit that drives the light source block to emit light;
a local communication transceiver that receives a display control signal sent from the controller and sends the display control signal to the light source driver,
The plurality of light source driving units are commonly connected to a communication bus connected to the center communication transceiver,
The M center communication transceivers are commonly connected to a control bus connected to the communication control unit, and each of the M center communication transceivers is connected to the M center communication transceivers by M enable control lines different from the control bus. A communication lamp unit for a vehicle, characterized in that the unit is individually connected to the communication control section. The communication control unit selects one center communication transceiver among the M center communication transceivers by sending an ON signal to one control line of the M enable control lines; 2. The communication lamp unit for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the M center communication transceivers are sequentially selected to perform display using light sources arranged in a plane.

Images