JPH1029461A - Automatic light turning-on or off system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic light turning-on or turning-off system in which a threshold value either at the time of turning-on light or turning-off light is automatically changed by a simple and low cost configuration in response to a preference of a user. SOLUTION: This system is provided with a memory circuit 2a (a memory means) for storing a threshold value either at the time of turning-on light or turning-off light, a manual operated SW input circuit 4 (a manual signal output means) for outputting either a manual turning-on light signal or a manual turning-off light signal when the light is turned on or turned off under a manual operation, and a comparing and judging circuit 2 (a processing means) for revising and registering a detected value sensed by a photo-sensor in the memory means as a threshold value at the time of turning-on light or turning-off light when either a manual turning-on light signal or a manual turning-off light signal is outputted from this manual signal outputting means.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic light-on / off system for automatically turning on and off lights such as headlights and tail lights of a vehicle, and more particularly, to a system suitable for a user who uses a threshold as a reference for turning on and off. The present invention relates to an automatic lighting / lighting system in which setting changes are automatically made.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an automatic lighting / lighting system for automatically turning on / off a lighting such as a headlight and a taillight of a car,
There is a system in which the illuminance of external light is detected by an optical sensor, and the lighting is automatically turned on and off based on the magnitude relationship between the detected value and a threshold value corresponding to the reference illuminance. In this system, when it is determined that the detection value is lower than the threshold value at the time of lighting and the illuminance of the external light is lower than the reference illuminance at the time of lighting, the illumination is turned on, and conversely, the detection value is set to the threshold value at the time of turning off the light. When it is determined that the illuminance of the external light exceeds the reference illuminance at the time of turning off, the illumination is turned off. However, the preferred reference illuminance at the time of turning on or off is actually determined by the user (vehicle). It is preferable that the setting of each reference illuminance can be changed according to the user's preference.
Therefore, conventionally, in this type of system, an optical device that changes the amount of light applied to an optical sensor by a lens is provided in a light receiving unit as a setting change unit of a reference illuminance suitable for a user.

[0003]

For this reason, the conventional automatic light-on / off system has a problem in that the structure of the optical system of the light receiving section becomes complicated, which leads to a decrease in productivity and an increase in cost, and a problem in that the reference illuminance by the user is reduced. An adjustment operation (operation of the optical device) is required, and there is a problem that it is troublesome and difficult to use. Also,
Since the amount of light applied to the optical sensor is uniformly adjusted and the reference illuminance is substantially changed without changing the threshold value, the reference illuminance at the time of lighting and the reference illuminance at the time of extinguishing are also changed uniformly. There is also a problem that it will.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic light-on / off system in which the threshold value for turning on or off is automatically changed according to the user's preference with a simple and low-cost configuration.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic light-on / off system for detecting an illuminance of input light by an optical sensor, and detecting the detected value and a threshold corresponding to a reference illuminance. In an automatic light-on / off system for automatically turning on and off the illumination according to the magnitude relation, a storage means for storing the threshold value and outputting a manual light-on signal or a manual light-off signal when the light is turned on or off by a manual operation. Manual signal output means, and when the manual light-on signal or manual light-off signal is output from the manual signal output means, the value detected by the optical sensor at that time is updated and registered in the storage means as a light-on or light-off threshold. And processing means for performing the processing.

[0006]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a vehicle lighting control unit (C / U), which is an example of an automatic light-on / off system of the present invention, and a circuit configuration of a vehicle connected to the control unit. The control unit (C / U) of this example includes a detection circuit 1 (photosensor circuit) including a photoconductive photosensor made of, for example, a fluidized cadmium cell;
A comparison / judgment circuit 2 (processing means) for comparing a detection value corresponding to the input light output from the optical sensor circuit 1 with a threshold value to judge the magnitude relationship, and lighting based on the judgment result of the comparison / judgment circuit 2 And a manually operated SW input circuit 4 (manual signal output) for outputting a manually turned on signal or a manually turned off signal to the comparison and judgment circuit 2 when the lighting is turned on or off by manual operation. Means).

The circuit on the vehicle side includes a relay (light RY) for opening and closing a power supply circuit for lighting, and a manual operation switch (SW) 12 provided on the ground side of the coil 11 of the relay. Switch 12
When the coil 11 is connected to the ground line by the closing operation of or by the switching operation of the output circuit 3, the exciting current flows through the coil 11, the relay operates, the power is supplied, and the lighting is turned on. ing.
When there are a plurality of lights to be turned on and off separately, such a circuit on the vehicle side is provided for each of the lights, and the comparison / judgment circuit 2 and the output circuit 3 are provided with a plurality of lights in accordance with the lights. It has a configuration having an output terminal or an output bit.

Here, the comparison / judgment circuit 2 includes, for example, a microcomputer and operates according to a set program to perform a comparison / judgment process between a detected value and a threshold value, and also has a function of performing a threshold value setting change process described later. so,
In this case, a nonvolatile memory circuit 2a (storage means) is provided separately from the RAM constituting the microcomputer. The memory circuit 2a stores a threshold value at the time of turning on or off, and a threshold value corresponding to, for example, a standard reference illuminance at the time of turning on or off is set as an initial value. The registration of the standard threshold value is performed in advance before the vehicle is assembled into a vehicle or the like. It is preferable that the data of the threshold value of the memory circuit 2a be restored to the standard threshold value at any time by operating a reset switch (not shown). When the manual ON signal or the manual OFF signal is output from the manual operation SW input circuit 4, the comparison determination circuit 2 determines whether the detected value based on the input signal from the optical sensor circuit 1 at that time is ON or OFF. Is programmed to perform a process of updating and registering the threshold value in the memory circuit 2a (threshold setting change process).

The manual operation SW input circuit 4 comprises, for example, a logic sequence circuit, and determines whether the manual operation switch 12 has been operated based on the level of the potential of the ground terminal of the coil 11 (on / off). When the manual operation switch 12 is operated from the open state to the closed state (accurately, when the potential changes from high to low), a manual lighting signal is output to the comparison determination circuit 2, and When the operation switch 12 is operated from the closed state to the open state (accurately, when the potential changes from low to high), a manual light-off signal is output to the comparison determination circuit 2.

Next, the operation of the system configured as described above will be described. In the above system, when the manual operation switch 12 is in the open state without being operated, an automatic lighting process is performed. That is, on / off of the relay coil 11 through the output circuit 3 by the control processing of the comparison and judgment circuit 2 based on the magnitude relationship between the detection value based on the output signal from the optical sensor circuit 1 and the threshold value registered in the memory circuit 2a. Then, the automatic turning on and off is performed as before. In the initial state (shipment state), the threshold value registered in the memory circuit 2a corresponds to a standard reference illuminance.
When the input light to the optical sensor exceeds or falls below the standard reference illuminance, automatic turning on and off is performed.

When the manual operation switch 12 is operated from the open state to the closed state, the coil 11 is connected to the ground side irrespective of the comparison judgment result (output state of the output circuit 3) in the comparison judgment circuit 2. This operation takes precedence, the exciting current flows through the coil 11, the relay is activated, and the lighting is always turned on. Conversely, when the manual operation switch 12 is operated from the closed state to the open state, in this case, the automatic control by the comparison determination circuit 2 has a higher priority. That is, even when the manual operation switch 12 is operated to the open state, in the state where the comparison determination circuit 2 determines that the detection value is lower than the threshold value at the time of turning off,
The output circuit 3 connects the coil 11 to the earth line (low potential side), and the state where the exciting current flows through the coil 11 is maintained, and the lighting is kept on. On the other hand, when the manual operation switch 12 is operated in the open state and the comparison determination circuit 2 determines that the detection value is higher than the threshold value at the time of turning off, the output circuit 3 disconnects the coil 11 from the ground line. Since it is disconnected, the exciting current of the coil 11 is cut off and the illumination is turned off.

That is, in the circuit configuration of the present embodiment, the operation of the manual operation switch 12 has a higher priority in the lighting operation, and the automatic control of the system based on the registered threshold has a higher priority in the light turning-off operation. The lighting can be turned on at any time according to the user's judgment when necessary, while the lighting state can be maintained by the automatic control of the system even when the manual operation switch 12 is inadvertently operated to the open state. Is ensured. In the present system, the operation in which such safety is ensured is performed, and the manual operation SW input circuit 4 and the comparison determination circuit 2
, The threshold value of the comparison determination circuit 2 (that is, the registered value of the memory circuit 2a) is automatically changed to a value that matches the user's preference.

That is, the above-mentioned standard threshold value (initial value) at the time of turning on or off is, for example, 20 (l)
x) or a value corresponding to the illuminance 30 (lx), unless the manual operation switch 12 is operated, if the illuminance of the input light falls below 20 (lx), automatic lighting control by the system is performed, Illumination of input light is 30
If (lx) is exceeded, automatic light-off control by the system is performed. In this case, for example, when the illuminance of the input light falls below 25 (lx), the user operates the manual operation switch 12 as desired by the user to forcibly turn on the light that has been turned off. Is a manual operation SW input circuit 4
, The manual lighting signal is input to the comparison and judgment circuit 2, whereby the comparison and judgment circuit 2 detects the value detected by the input signal from the optical sensor circuit 1 at that time (that is, the illuminance is 25 (lx)).
Is set as the threshold value at the time of lighting.
Register for update. Therefore, from the next time, automatic lighting control by the system is performed based on this new threshold value (corresponding to the illuminance of 25 (lx)), and the illuminance of the input light becomes 25
The illumination is automatically turned on at the time when the value falls below (lx).

In the case of the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 1, for example, the illuminance of input light is lower than a standard value, for example, 15
Even if the user operates the manual operation switch 12 to the closed state at his / her own preference at the point of time lower than (lx), the relay coil 11 is already connected to the ground line by the automatic control of the system (the lighting is turned on. Therefore, in this case, the manual operation SW input circuit 4 does not output a manual lighting signal, and the threshold value of the comparison determination circuit 2 is not updated and registered to a value lower than the standard value. That is, regardless of the operation of the manual operation switch 12, the threshold value is not updated in the direction of lowering the illuminance to be automatically turned on, so that safety is secured in this respect as well.

In setting the standard values as described above, for example, when the illuminance of the input light exceeds 35 (lx), the user operates the manual operation switch 12 from the closed state to the open state according to his / her preference. When the light that has been turned on is turned off, a manual turn-off signal is input from the manual operation SW input circuit 4 to the comparison and judgment circuit 2, whereby the comparison and judgment circuit 2
The detection value based on the input signal from the optical sensor circuit 1 at that time (that is, the one corresponding to the illuminance of 35 (lx)) is updated and registered in the memory circuit 2a as the light-off threshold value. Therefore, from the next time, the automatic light-off control by the system is performed based on the new threshold value (corresponding to the illuminance 35 (lx)), and the illumination is automatically performed when the illuminance of the input light exceeds 35 (lx). Turns off.

In the case of the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 1, for example, the illuminance of the input light is lower than a standard value, for example, 25.
Even if the user operates the manual operation switch 12 to the open state at his / her own preference at the time exceeding (lx), the relay coil 11 remains connected to the ground line by the automatic control of the system (the illumination remains lit). Therefore, in this case, no manual light-off signal is output from the manual operation SW input circuit 4, and the threshold value of the comparison determination circuit 2 is not updated and registered to a value lower than the standard value. That is, regardless of the operation of the manual operation switch 12, the threshold value is not updated in the direction of lowering the illuminance for automatically turning off the light.

As described above, according to the automatic light-on / off system of this embodiment, the manual operation by the manual operation switch 12 and the automatic light-on / off control by the system can be realized while ensuring high safety. Without providing an expensive and complicated optical device for adjusting the input light, the threshold adjustment according to the user's preference is performed separately and automatically at the time of lighting and at the time of lighting off. Also, in the case of this example, the threshold is not updated in the direction of lowering the reference illuminance as described above, so that careless operation of the manual operation switch lowers the reference illuminance and automatically turns on the illumination even in a dark environment. Unsafe operations such as not being performed are reliably avoided. Therefore,
According to the automatic light-on / off system of this example, it is possible to greatly contribute to the improvement of the cost and productivity of the system itself and the vehicle to which the system is assembled, and the effect that the commercial value of the system is significantly improved as compared with the conventional system.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but may have various aspects. For example, the optical sensor is not limited to the photoconductive type, and may be a semiconductor element using a photovoltaic effect, or a photoelectric tube using a photoelectron emission phenomenon. Further, the manual signal output means is provided by the manual operation switch.
The configuration is not limited to the input circuit 4, but may be a configuration in which a voltage change caused by the operation of the manual operation switch 12 is directly input. However, in this case, when the manual operation switch 12 is operated, a manual light-on signal or a manual light-off signal is output unconditionally, so that the threshold value is not updated in the direction of decreasing the reference illuminance. 2 (processing means). In addition, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the control of turning on and off the lighting in the vehicle, but can be applied to, for example, the control of turning on and off the indoor lighting and the outside light.

[0019]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the lighting is turned on or off by a manual operation, the manual signal output means outputs a manual lighting signal or a manual turning off signal and receives these signals. The processing unit updates and registers the value detected by the optical sensor at that point in the storage unit as a threshold value for turning on or off. Therefore, from the next time, automatic lighting on / off control will be performed based on the updated threshold value, and the user will not need to provide an expensive and complicated optical device for adjusting input light as in the related art. The threshold adjustment according to the preference is separately and automatically performed at the time of lighting and the time of turning off the light. Therefore, according to the automatic lighting / lighting-off system of the present invention, it is possible to contribute to the improvement of the cost and productivity of the system itself and the vehicle to which the system is assembled, and the commercial value of the system is improved more than before.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an automatic light-on / off system of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical sensor circuit 2 Comparison judgment circuit (processing means) 2a Memory circuit (storage means) 4 Manual operation SW input circuit (manual signal output means)

Claims (1)

[Claims] An automatic light-on / off system for detecting the illuminance of input light with an optical sensor and automatically turning on and off the illumination based on a magnitude relationship between the detected value and a threshold value corresponding to a reference illuminance, Memory means for storing; manual signal output means for outputting a manual light-on signal or manual light-off signal when the light is turned on or off by manual operation; and the manual light-on signal or manual light-off signal is output from the manual signal output means. Processing means for updating and registering the detected value of the optical sensor at that time as a threshold value for turning on or off in the storage means.