JPS62253540A - Automatic light control device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make the light-on or light-out timing adequate by providing a front illumination sensor and an upper illumination sensor detecting the front and upper illumination of a vehicle respectively and controlling the light-on or light-out timing based on signals from both sensors. CONSTITUTION:A control means 15 compares output signal levels of a front illumination sensor 1 and an upper illumination sensor 2 and controls the light-on or light-out of a light 7 based on the result. For example, in the daytime the same light quantity enters both sensors 1, 2, output signal levels are equal, thus the light is not turned on. In a tunnel, however, the light quantity from the above is larger due to illuminating lamps in the tunnel, thus the light is turned on based on the difference between the output signal levels. At night, the output signal levels of both sensors 1, 2 are decreased concurrently, thus the light is turned on. Accordingly, the light-on or light-out timing of the light 7 can be adequately controlled.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an automatic light control device for a vehicle that automatically controls turning on and off of lights according to the illuminance outside the vehicle. This relates to measures to ensure that the lights can be turned on without malfunctioning when entering a vehicle.

(Prior Art) This type of vehicle light control device is generally well known, and detects the illuminance outside the vehicle using an illuminance sensor.
When it falls below a predetermined level, the vehicle's lights are automatically turned on. As an example of this automatic light control device, conventionally, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 59-58643, a forward illuminance sensor comprising a light-receiving element or the like having directivity for detecting the illuminance in front of the vehicle is used. , and a similar upper illuminance sensor having directionality for detecting the illuminance above the vehicle,
A system has been proposed in which turning on and off the light is controlled by checking whether the output signal levels of both illuminance sensors are simultaneously equal to or lower than a specified level.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, the main purpose of this proposal is to avoid malfunctions (misjudgments) when the illuminance sensor is, for example, only a forward illuminance sensor. Therefore, for example, during the daytime,
When a vehicle enters a tunnel that has lighting lights installed on the ceiling, the illuminance received by the upper illuminance sensor increases, causing problems such as the lights not turning on even though the vehicle is inside the tunnel. arise.

Note that such a problem can be solved by incorporating a timer into the light control device and utilizing the delay effect of the timer, but in this case, the configuration of the device tends to become complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its purpose is to improve the directionality of the front and upper illuminance sensors in the above-mentioned conventional example.

By making effective use of directivity to control the turning on and off of lights, it is possible to appropriately control the timing of turning on and off lights when entering a tunnel or at twilight with a simple configuration. .

(Means for solving the problem) In order to achieve this object, the solving means of the present invention automatically controls turning on or off of the vehicle lights 7 according to the illuminance outside the vehicle, as shown in FIG. This automatic light control device for a vehicle is provided with a forward illuminance sensor 1 for detecting illuminance 1+ in front of the vehicle and an upper illuminance sensor INO 2 for detecting illuminance 1-12 above the vehicle. Then, the output signals of both illuminance sensors 1.2 are sent to the control means 15.
, and by nuclear control ■1 means 15, both illuminance sensors 1
, 2 to control the timing of turning on and off the vehicle light l-7.

(Function) With this configuration, in the present invention, the illuminance H1 in front of the vehicle is detected by the forward illuminance sensor 1, and the illuminance H2 above is detected by the upper illuminance sensor 2, and the control means 15 detects both illuminance sensors 1, The output signal levels of the lights 7 and 2 are compared, and the vehicle lights 7 are adjusted based on the comparison result.
The lighting and extinguishing of the lights are controlled. For example, during daytime, the same light weight is input to both the front and upper illuminance sensors 1 and 2, and the output signal levels of both the illuminance sensors 1 and 2 are the same, so the control means 15 determines that it is wall-to-wall time. Therefore, the vehicle lights 7 are not turned on.

Furthermore, when a vehicle enters a tunnel even during the same daytime, the light from above the vehicle becomes higher due to the illumination lights in the tunnel, and the output signal level of the upper illuminance sensor 2 becomes higher than that of the output signal of the forward illuminance sensor 1. The light 7 is turned on due to the difference in the signal levels of the two rivers.

Furthermore, when the weight of light incident on both illuminance sensors 1 and 2 decreases, the output signal level of both illuminance sensors 1 and 2 simultaneously decreases, so that the control means 15 determines that it is twilight or nighttime, and the light 7 is lit.

Furthermore, at night, when light from the headlights of an oncoming vehicle enters from the front with the light 7 on, the output signal level of the front illuminance sensor 1 becomes higher than that of the upper illuminance sensor 2. The control means 15 determines that there is an oncoming vehicle, and the light 7 is not turned off. therefore,
With such a simple configuration, the timing of turning on and off the light 7 can be appropriately controlled.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described based on the drawings from FIG. 2 onwards.

FIG. 2 shows the overall configuration of an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an automobile, where 1 is a front illuminance sensor consisting of a light receiving element etc. that detects the illuminance H1 in front of the automobile, and 2 is a similar sensor that detects the illuminance H2 above the automobile. These two illuminance sensors 1 and 2 are upper illuminance sensors, and as shown in FIGS. The sensor 1 is directed forward to intercept light from the front passing through the front windshield 6, and the upward illuminance sensor 2 is directed toward the front to intercept light coming from above passing through the front windshield 6. They are each mounted facing upwards so that the incident light is scattered.

On the other hand, 7 is a headlight that illuminates the front of the vehicle, and the headlight 7 consists of a high beam lamp 8 for driving that illuminates the front of the vehicle far away, and a low beam lamp 9 that illuminates a nearby area for passing each other. , these beam lamps 8, 9 are connected to a battery power source via a changeover switch 10 for switching the lighting of both beam lamps 8, 9 and a relay switch 16a of a beam switching control relay 16. 11 is a keyless switch that turns on when the key of the ignition key switch (not shown) is inserted into the key cylinder; 12 is an auto light control (auto switch that is turned on when 1 is executed; 13 is an auto switch that is turned on when 1 is executed); The above headlight 7 (beam rung 8,
9) Must be a manually operated light switch to turn on and off.

Further, 14 is a vehicle speed sensor that detects the traveling speed V of the automobile, and the two illuminance sensors 1, 2, three switches 11 to 13, and the vehicle speed sensor 14 control the timing of turning on and off the headlights 7. It is connected to a microcomputer 15 as a control means for controlling the headlights 7, and when a control signal is output from the microcomputer 15, the beam switching control relay 16 is activated to turn on the headlights 7. There is.

The signal processing procedure performed by the microcomputer 15 will be explained with reference to FIG. , the upper illuminance H detected by the upper illuminance sensor 2 in the next step S2
2 is input, and after roughly inputting the vehicle speed V detected by the vehicle speed sensor 14 in step S3, it is determined in step S4 whether the above-mentioned forward illuminance H] and upward illumination WH2 are equal. When this judgment is YES with H+ = 82,
Proceeding roughly to step S5, it is determined whether the above-mentioned front illuminance H] is lower (darker) than a predetermined threshold value, and if this determination is YES for 1-11 <k, that is, for example, as shown in FIG. When both the front illuminance H] and the upward illuminance H2 decrease below the threshold value as time passes as shown in FIG. The first timer time TI=f according to the vehicle speed V
(V), and in the next step Sy, the timer time T
It is determined whether or not 1 has elapsed, and when the time T1 has elapsed, the headlights 7 are turned on in step S8.

If the determination in step S5 is No, H1≧, it is assumed that it is daytime, and the process proceeds to step S13, where the headlights 7 are turned off.

On the other hand, if the determination in step S↓ is No, H1≠H2, the process advances to step S9, and step S5
Similarly, it is determined whether the front illuminance H] is lower than a predetermined threshold value. This judgment is H! <k YES. In other words, as long as the upward illumination H2 is brighter than the forward illumination H1, it is assumed that the vehicle has entered a tunnel with illumination lights, and the second timer time T2 = f is determined in step SIG according to the vehicle speed V. -(V), and then in step Sn it is checked whether or not this timer time T2 has elapsed. After time T1 has elapsed, the process proceeds to step SI2 and headlights 1 to 7 are turned on.

Also, if the judgment in step $9 above is necessarily No for l-h≧, the forward illuminance H1 is brighter than the upward illuminance H2, so for example, when a car is passing under an elevated bridge. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S13 and the headlights 7 are turned off. Note that the above two types of timer time T1. T
2 becomes shorter as the vehicle speed increases, as shown in FIG. T2=f-(V
) is set to be longer than

Therefore, in the above embodiment, when the keyless switch 11, the light switch 13, and the auto switch 12 are all turned ON, the forward illuminance I0 detected by the forward illuminance sensor 1 and the upper illuminance detected by the upper illuminance sensor 2 The microcomputer 15 compares the illuminance with the illuminance H2, and when the forward illuminance H1 and the upward illuminance H2 are equal and both exceed the threshold value, it is determined that it is daytime and the headlights 7 (beam lamps 8, 9) are turned on. Not done.

Also, even during the daytime, when a car enters a tunnel with floodlights, the upper illuminance is H2 or the forward illuminance H1.
Since the headlights 7 are automatically turned on, the vehicle can safely drive through the tunnel.

Further, during the same daytime, when a car passes under a viaduct or the like that can be passed in a short time, only the upper illuminance H2 is temporarily lowered, so it is determined that the vehicle is passing the viaduct, and the headlights 7 are not turned on.

When the screen is thin or at night, if both the front and upper illuminance t1] and t(2 are lower than the threshold value,
The headlight 7 is turned on.

In this case, the lighting timing of the headlights 7 is determined by comparing the front and upper illuminances H+, 82 detected by the two illuminance sensors 1 and 2, and by looking at their threshold values. The lighting timing of the headlights 7 can be appropriately controlled with a simple configuration.

Furthermore, the second timer time T2 = f - (V), which is searched when it is determined that it is time to enter the tunnel, is better than the first timer time T+, which is searched when it is determined that it is dusk.
= f (V), so even if the vehicle speed is the same V, the headlights 7 can be turned on earlier when passing through a tunnel than at dusk, and the discomfort felt by the occupants can be eliminated.

In addition, in the above embodiment, a case was shown in which the turning on and off of the headlights 7 of the automobile were automatically controlled, but by changing the illuminance threshold k, which is the criterion for turning on and off, to a larger value, the small light It is also possible to apply it to the control of turning on and off lights.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the illuminance H
, H2 difference and both daytime and nighttime illuminance Hh
, and (2) to control the turning on and off of headlight 7 depending on the
When the headlights 7 are turned on, it is also possible to detect that the forward illuminance H1 is greater than the upward illuminance H2, so that the headlights 7 can be kept turned on regardless of the lights of an oncoming vehicle.

Furthermore, although the above embodiments show the case where the present invention is applied to an automobile, it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to other vehicles.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, the vehicle light is With a simple configuration, the timing of turning on and off the lights can be controlled appropriately, such as when entering a tunnel, when separating from an oncoming vehicle, and at dusk. This is something that can further improve the practicality of the light control device.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the structure of the present invention. Figures 2 to 7 show embodiments of the present invention, Figure 2 is an overall configuration diagram of an automatic light control device, and Figure 3 is an explanation showing where two illuminance sensors are installed on the vehicle. Figure 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the same main part, Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure of signal processing performed by the microcomputer, and Figure 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure of signal processing performed by the microcomputer.
The figure is an explanatory diagram illustrating changes in illuminance over time at dusk,
FIG. 7 is a characteristic diagram showing two types of timer characteristics set depending on vehicle speed. 1...Front illuminance sensor, 2...-Upward illuminance sensor,
7...Headlight, 15...Microcomputer, ■...Front illumination, (2...Upward illumination.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) An automatic light control device for a vehicle that automatically controls turning on and off of vehicle lights according to the illuminance outside the vehicle, which includes a front illuminance sensor that detects the illuminance in front of the vehicle and an illuminance above the vehicle. An automatic vehicle light comprising: an upper illuminance sensor that detects the illuminance sensor; and a control means that controls the timing of turning on and off the vehicle light based on a comparison of the output signal levels of these two illuminance sensors. control device.