KR101312634B1 - Lamp control device using the information from navigation and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided are a lamp control apparatus and method using navigation information. The ramp control device using the navigation information includes a navigation for providing road curvature information within a critical distance from the vehicle; A curvature calculator configured to calculate a maximum value of a road curvature based on the road curvature information provided from the navigation; And a control unit controlling a lamp irradiation angle of the vehicle based on the calculated road curvature value.

Description

Lamp control device using the information from navigation and method

The present invention relates to a vehicle lamp, and more particularly, to a vehicle head lamp that the irradiation direction is dynamically adjusted according to the progress of the curve of the vehicle based on the road curvature information provided from the navigation.

The existing dynamic bending lamp has a structure in which the lamp rotates left or right according to the angle of the steering wheel and the speed of the vehicle when the vehicle travels on a curved road. Such tilting of the lamp enables the driver of the vehicle traveling on the curved road to secure a more effective view.

Since this conventional method depends on the angle of the steering wheel of the vehicle, the driver controls the angle of the steering wheel in accordance with the curvature of the actual curve mainly, and the ramp is rotated accordingly.

However, since this method is a manual method in which the rotation angle of the lamp is determined in correspondence with the adjustment angle of the steering wheel, when the control accuracy of the steering wheel of the driver is shifted, the rotation angle of the ramp is inevitably shifted accordingly.

For example, the driver may control the steering wheel at an angle different from the curvature of the actual curve. In particular, if the curvature of the curve changes frequently while the vehicle is running along the curve, the driver must also change the steering wheel's angle of adjustment from time to time to ensure that the angle of rotation of the ramp is rotated accordingly. will be.

However, if the driver's steering wheel is controlled by the control angle of the driver's steering wheel, it is not a manual method, but the accurate information about the existence of the curve in front of the vehicle and the curvature information of the curve is provided through the navigation, and the rotation angle of the ramp is automatically adjusted based on this. The control will provide the driver with more stable and appropriate visual information in front of the vehicle, regardless of the steering wheel's control angle.

Furthermore, in the case of the manual method of adjusting according to the control angle of the driver's steering wheel, since the irradiation angle of the ramp is rotated only after entering the curve lane, the visual information on the curve lane before the curve lane is entered. Is difficult to convey to the driver.

If navigation is provided with accurate information about the existence of the curvature in front of the vehicle and the curvature information of the curvature, and automatically controls the angle of rotation of the ramp based on this, the curvature that will already enter before entering the curvature As the angle of irradiation of the ramp changes, the driver will be able to obtain information about the situation on the curve at an earlier point in time, thus contributing to safe driving at night.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to receive a curvature information for the front of the vehicle from the navigation, and based on the information provided to the driver to rotate the headlamps of the vehicle according to the method proposed by the present invention to provide a more stable and proper view of the front of the vehicle The present invention provides a lamp control apparatus and method using navigation information for providing information.

Another problem to be solved by the present invention, before the vehicle enters the curve by receiving the accurate information about the presence of the curve in front of the vehicle and the curvature information of the curve through the navigation and automatically controls the angle of rotation of the ramp It is already possible to obtain information on the situation on the curve mainly to provide a lamp control apparatus and method using the navigation information that contributes to safe driving at night driving.

The problems to be solved by the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned problems, and other matters not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

One aspect of the lamp control apparatus using the navigation information of the present invention for solving the above problems is a navigation for providing road curvature information within a critical distance from the vehicle; A curvature calculator configured to calculate a maximum value of a road curvature based on the road curvature information provided from the navigation; And a controller configured to control a lamp irradiation angle of the vehicle based on the calculated road curvature value.

One aspect of the lamp control method using the navigation information of the present invention for solving the above problems is the step of receiving the road curvature information within a critical distance from the vehicle; Calculating a maximum value of a road curvature based on the road curvature information; The method may include controlling the lamp irradiation angle of the vehicle based on the calculated maximum value of the road curvature.

Other specific details of the invention are included in the detailed description and drawings.

According to the lamp control apparatus and method using the navigation information according to an embodiment of the present invention, the accurate rotation information about the existence of the curvature of the front of the vehicle and the curvature information of the curvature is provided through the navigation to automatically rotate the lamp based on this By controlling the angle, it is possible to provide the driver with more stable and proper visual information in front of the vehicle regardless of the control angle of the steering wheel.

In addition, the navigation system receives accurate information about the existence of the curve in front of the vehicle and the curvature information of the curve, and automatically controls the angle of rotation of the ramp based on the navigation. Information can be obtained and contribute to safe driving at night.

1 is a block diagram of a lamp control apparatus using navigation information according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is an exemplary view showing a result of the rotation of the lamp in the curve.
3 is an exemplary view showing how the lamp rotates according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is an exemplary view for explaining the operation of the lamp control apparatus using the navigation information according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 to 9 are exemplary diagrams illustrating a curvature graph of the road of FIG. 4 and a shape of a beam irradiated by a vehicle when the vehicle is located at points a, c, e, g, and i, respectively.
10 is a view illustrating a shape of a beam irradiated by a vehicle when both positive and negative curvature values having the same absolute value exist within a critical distance in a lamp control apparatus using navigation information according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is an illustration.
11 is a flowchart illustrating a lamp control method using navigation information according to an embodiment of the present invention.
12 is a flowchart for describing in more detail the operations S1100 and S1200 of FIG. 11.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The advantages and features of the present invention and the manner of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Is provided to fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art, and the invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in the present specification may be used in a sense that can be commonly understood by those skilled in the art. Also, commonly used predefined terms are not ideally or excessively interpreted unless explicitly defined otherwise.

1 is a block diagram of a lamp control apparatus using navigation information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, referring to FIG. 1, a lamp control apparatus using navigation information according to embodiments of the present invention includes a navigation unit 100, a curvature calculating unit 200, and a control unit 300.

Hereinafter, each component of FIG. 1 may refer to software or hardware such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). However, the components are not limited to software or hardware, and may be configured to be in an addressable storage medium and configured to execute one or more processors. The functions provided in the components may be implemented by a more detailed component or may be implemented by a single component that performs a specific function by combining a plurality of components.

The navigation 100 provides the curvature calculating unit 200 with road curvature information within a critical distance from the vehicle 5 equipped with the lamp control apparatus using the navigation information according to the present invention.

Here, the threshold distance may be a fixed value. For example, if the length of the beam area of the vehicle reaches 100 m, a distance of about 100 m may be preset as the threshold distance.

In another embodiment, the threshold distance may be a value that varies depending on the current position of the vehicle 5. For example, if the vehicle 5 is driving in the suburbs or highways, the threshold distance value may be set to a relatively large value. On the contrary, if the vehicle 5 is traveling in the city, the threshold distance value may be set to a relatively small value. Can be set. For this embodiment, the navigation 100 may use information about the current position of the vehicle 5 as additional information. In addition, the information on the current position or the critical distance of the vehicle 5 utilized in this way is provided to the curvature calculating unit 200 together with the road curvature information.

As another example, if only the graphic information such as map information is provided from the navigation, the real-time location extractor 210 in the curvature calculating unit 200 may extract the current location where the vehicle 5 is operating and utilize it. have.

On the other hand, the road curvature information is information on the road in the direction in which the vehicle 5 travels (forward), in particular, whether the road is a straight line or a curved line, and if it is a curved line, whether the rotation direction is a right direction or a left direction, and The curvature of the road is considered to mean information about how much. In addition, the road curvature information in the present specification may be the information on which the curvature value of the road is calculated, for example, map information, or the road curvature values already calculated.

On the other hand, the curvature of the road may have a positive value and a negative value, where the positive value indicates a case in which it should rotate in the right direction, and the negative value indicates a case in which it should rotate in the left direction.

That is, the navigation apparatus 100 may transfer graphic information including the information, for example, map information, to the curvature calculating unit 200 or may provide the specific road curvature values themselves to the curvature calculating unit 200. .

In addition, the navigation device 100 may be mounted on the vehicle 5 to provide the information, but the present invention is not limited thereto and may exist outside the vehicle. In this case, a navigation unit (not shown) for wirelessly receiving the information may be provided. It may further include. In addition, the road curvature information may be map information already stored in the navigation apparatus 100 mounted on the vehicle 5, or may be map information or road curvature values provided through an external network.

The curvature calculating unit 200 receives road curvature information from the navigation 100 and calculates a road curvature value including a maximum value of the road curvature. Here, the maximum value of the road curvature means a value having a numerical value whose absolute value is the maximum among the plurality of road curvature values. For example, when both a road curvature of +10 degrees and a road curvature of -30 degrees are detected within a critical distance, a road curvature of -30 degrees is regarded as the maximum value of the road curvature. However, in order to extract the value of -30 degrees, it is first to be compared based on the absolute values of +10 degrees and -30 degrees. Will be used interchangeably with the expression 'detecting.

On the other hand, if the threshold distance is used as a value that varies depending on the position of the vehicle 5, the curvature calculating unit 200 may provide information about the current position of the vehicle 5 or information about the threshold distance from the navigation 100; It is necessary to be provided with the road curvature information.

The maximum absolute value of the curvature of the road within the critical distance is calculated based on the provided road curvature information and / or the current position information of the vehicle 5. Meanwhile, the curvature calculator 200 may include a real-time position extractor 210, an inflection point extractor 220, and a maximum absolute value calculator 230, and details thereof will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 9. do.

The controller 300 controls the lamp irradiation angle of the vehicle 5 based on the road curvature calculated by the curvature calculating unit 200. The controller 300 may simultaneously control the left and right lamps installed in the vehicle, but more preferably, the left and right lamps are independently controlled.

Figure 2 is an exemplary view showing a state in which the left and right lamps rotated together in the curve mainly, Figure 3 is an exemplary view showing a state in which the lamp is rotated according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the left and right ramps rotate together because the ramps are rotated in response to the angle of the steering wheel adjusted by the driver in the related art. Irrespective of this, the left and right lamps do not necessarily rotate together because the irradiation angle of the lamps is automatically controlled.

That is, as shown in FIG. 3, only the angle of the lamp positioned in the direction in which the vehicle 5 is to be rotated is adjusted, and the other lamp is not irradiated with the original direction and thus not only road information of the direction to be rotated. It allows the driver to grasp all the road information ahead.

Specifically, when the vehicle 5 makes a right turn, only the irradiation angle of the right lamp is controlled with the left lamp irradiation direction intact, and when the vehicle 5 is turned left, the irradiation angle of the left lamp is left without the irradiation direction of the right lamp. You can only control it.

Hereinafter, a method of operating the lamp control apparatus using the navigation information according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 to 9.

4 is an exemplary view for explaining the operation of the lamp control apparatus using the navigation information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The road curvature information transmitted from the navigation 100 to the curvature calculating unit 200 may be graphic information as shown in FIG. 4. In addition to the graphic information, only the numerical information for identifying the road ahead may be provided or may be provided together with the graphic information.

4 shows a road 3 in front of which the vehicle 5 runs.

The inflection point extractor 220 extracts the inflection point through the information on the front of the vehicle as shown in FIG. 4 provided from the navigation apparatus 100. Here, the inflection point refers to the point where the direction of bending changes, and the point of curvature changes on the curve as well as the case of entering the straight line from the straight line or vice versa.

The maximum absolute value calculator 230 calculates a curvature value of a road corresponding to each of these inflection points. In FIG. 4, a point from a point to n point are displayed according to the distance, among which the positions of the inflection point may be d, e, f, g, h, i, and m points.

However, embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto. That is, if possible, the road curvature value may be calculated at every predetermined interval as shown in FIG. 4 without calculating the road curvature value only at the inflection point, or the curvature value corresponding to the continuous point may be calculated by making the interval more dense. There will be.

The maximum absolute value calculator 230 determines whether the road curvature values extracted for each of the inflection points are positive or negative. In addition, the maximum absolute value calculator 230 calculates the maximum absolute value of the road curvature at the inflection point, that is, the maximum absolute value among the extracted road curvature values. The maximum absolute value of the road curvature calculated here is not only used as a factor for adjusting the lamp control angle thereafter, but also used to determine whether the controller 300 controls the irradiation angle of the lamp.

Subsequently, the controller 300 determines whether to change the irradiation angle of the lamp by using the information calculated or extracted by the curvature calculating unit 200 and, if so, the change angle.

In detail, the controller 300 compares the maximum absolute value among road curvature values within the threshold distance provided from the curvature calculator 200 with a preset threshold value. The irradiation angle of the lamp 400 of the vehicle 5 is controlled only when the comparison result is greater than or equal to a preset threshold. This is to reduce unnecessary computation and operation for negligible rotation.

If the maximum absolute value is greater than or equal to the preset threshold, the lamp 400 irradiation angle is determined. As an example, assuming that the maximum road curvature within the critical distance is A, it may be determined by Equation 1 below.

[Formula 1]

Lamp irradiation control angle = (lamp rotation maximum) * A / max (│A│, B)

In the above formula, the maximum value of the lamp rotation means the maximum angle that the lamp 400 installed in the vehicle 5 can be swiveled. For example, typically the maximum angle of rotation can be 15 degrees, in which case the maximum value of ramp rotation is 15.

In addition, B in the above formula means a critical fixed angle selected within the range of 40 to 60 degrees. This critical fixation angle is considered to be adjustable within the range of 40 to 60 degrees as needed.

However, if the B value is selected to 50 degrees, B is a critical fixed angle having a value of 50. Hereinafter, for better understanding, the description will be made under the assumption that the B value is selected to 50 degrees.

max (| A |, B) means the greater of the maximum absolute value of the curvature of the road within the detected critical distance and the selected critical fixed angle of 50 degrees. On the other hand, the use of 40 to 60 as the range of the critical fixation angle in the above formula is regarded as a sudden rotation for any rotation above a certain critical fixation angle selected from 40 to 60 degrees in the rotation of the vehicle, and gentle to the rotation less than that. It means to consider it as one rotation and divide it based on whether you want to use the maximum ramp rotation or adjust the ramp rotation range linearly.

As an example, when the ramp rotation maximum value is 15 degrees, and the road curvature maximum value A within the critical distance is calculated as 55 degrees, the lamp irradiation control angle, that is, the swiveling angle, is the ramp rotation maximum value according to Equation 1 above. The value is 15 degrees. This means that the lamp is rotated 15 degrees in the right direction.

If the maximum road curvature A within the critical distance is detected at -40 degrees, the lamp irradiation control angle becomes -12 degrees according to Equation 1 above. That is, it means that the lamp rotates 12 degrees in the left direction.

The control unit 300 controls the lamp 400 by determining the lamp irradiation control angle through Equation 1 as described above. At this time, as mentioned above, only one of the left and right lamps may be independently controlled according to the direction to be rotated.

5 to 9 are exemplary diagrams illustrating a curvature graph of the road of FIG. 4 and a shape of a beam irradiated by a vehicle when the vehicle is located at points a, c, e, g, and i, respectively.

Even in the case where the road curvature value at the current position of the vehicle is 0, the shape of the area irradiated by the vehicle lamp is as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 (6). In other words, even if the current curvature of the vehicle is 0 as shown in FIG. 5 or 6, even if the road curvature value is 0, the navigation device 100 may enter the curve mainly toward the right direction. By grasping and applying the information through the provided information, the lamp of the vehicle 5 is already rotated by the angle calculated by Equation 1 in the right direction to provide the driver with more information on the situation mainly on the curve.

As can be seen from FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the irradiation angle of the right ramp of the vehicle 5 is adjusted in proportion to the degree of the maximum absolute value of road curvature A within the critical distance. That is, in Figs. 7 and 8, when the road curvature maximum values A within the critical distance are β and α, respectively, the shapes 6 and 8 of the area irradiated by the lamps are also changed corresponding to the respective angles.

For reference, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the maximum road curvature A within the critical distance is β, which is slightly less than 45 degrees, and α is smaller than that, and in each case, the ramp rotates. As the angle remains, it can be seen that the shape 6 of the area irradiated by the lamp in FIG. 7 differs from the shape 8 of the area irradiated by the lamp in FIG. 8.

If the vehicle is at the position i of FIG. 4, i.e., the position passing all the curves, the shape (1) of the area irradiated by the ramp in FIG. 9 according to the ramp irradiation angle control scheme corresponding to the conventional steering wheel It will be as follows, but in the case of the present invention, it will become like the shape 9 of the area | region irradiated by a lamp by grasping that there will be a sudden right turn again at the position of m, and then rotating a lamp.

As a result, the driver may utilize the information on the road ahead of the vehicle transmitted from the navigation apparatus 100 and the curvature calculating unit 200 and the control unit 300 regardless of the rotation angle of the steering wheel of the vehicle 5. Through this, more visual information about the front of the vehicle is obtained through the illumination of the lamp irradiated toward the curve before the curve is reached, thereby contributing to the safety at night.

For reference, if the ramp rotation maximum value in Equation 1 is 15, the absolute value of the road curvature A in the critical distance in the case of Fig. 9 is 90 degrees and exceeds 50, so the ramp rotation angle is the maximum value. It will be 15 degrees.

Meanwhile, the lamp irradiation control angle has been described as being determined by the controller 300 using Equation 1 based on the information provided from the curvature calculating unit 200, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The curvature calculating unit 200 controls the lamp irradiation control angle. After calculating all the angles, the value may be transferred to the controller 300, and the controller may control only the angle of the lamp 400 according to the calculated value.

On the other hand, when both positive and negative road curvature values having the same absolute value exist within a critical distance, the controller 300 controls the lamp irradiation angle of the vehicle according to the detected road curvature value.

10 is a view illustrating a shape of a beam irradiated by a vehicle when both positive and negative curvature values having the same absolute value exist within a critical distance in a lamp control apparatus using navigation information according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is an illustration. That is, in a curve mainly requiring a left turn immediately after a right turn, the absolute values of the road curvature value at the right turn and the road curvature value at the left turn are the same.

The present invention controls the rotation angle of the ramp by using the maximum absolute value of the curvature of the road existing within the critical distance in front of the vehicle, if the maximum absolute value of the curvature of the road existing within the critical distance within the critical distance as shown in FIG. If it is calculated equally to + β) and negative (-β), first respond to values closer to the vehicle.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a lamp control method using navigation information according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating steps S1100 and S1200 of FIG. 11 in more detail.

Referring to FIG. 11, in the ramp control method using the navigation information according to an embodiment of the present invention, receiving road curvature information within a critical distance from a vehicle (S1000), and determining road curvature based on the provided road curvature information. Computing the road curvature value including the maximum absolute value (S1100), and controlling the lamp irradiation angle of the vehicle based on the calculated road curvature value (S1200).

Herein, calculating the road curvature value (S1100) may specifically include extracting an inflection point within a critical distance (S1110), and calculating a maximum absolute value A of the road curvature within the critical distance (S1120). Can be.

In addition, the step (S1200) of controlling the lamp irradiation angle may determine the lamp control angle through an equation such as S1210 of FIG. 12.

Lamp control method using the navigation information according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in Figures 11 to 12 can be understood with reference to the contents described with reference to Figures 1 and 3 to 10, here iterative description We will omit it to avoid it.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, You will understand. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive.

1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9: Areas illuminated by the lamp
3: the road on which the vehicle travels
5: vehicle
10: lamp control device using the navigation information
100: navigation
200: curvature calculator
210: real-time location extraction unit
220: inflection point extraction unit
230: maximum absolute value calculator
300:
400: lamp

Claims (22)

Navigation for providing road curvature information within a critical distance from the vehicle;
A curvature calculator configured to calculate a maximum value of a road curvature based on the road curvature information provided from the navigation; And
And a control unit for controlling a lamp irradiation angle of the vehicle based on the calculated maximum value of the road curvature. The method of claim 1,
The curvature calculating unit,
And at least one inflection point within the critical distance from the road curvature information, and calculates a road curvature value corresponding to each of the extracted inflection points. 3. The method of claim 2,
The curvature calculating unit,
Lamp control device using the navigation information to determine whether the extracted road curvature values are positive or negative values. 3. The method of claim 2,
The curvature calculating unit,
The ramp control device using the navigation information for calculating the maximum absolute value of the road curvature values extracted within the threshold distance. The method of claim 1,
And the control unit uses navigation information to control the lamp irradiation angle of the vehicle only when the maximum absolute value of the road curvature is greater than or equal to a preset threshold. The method of claim 1,
The lamp of the vehicle comprises at least a left and a right lamp,
The control unit is a lamp control device using the navigation information for independently controlling the irradiation angle of the left and right lamps, respectively. The method of claim 1,
And the lamp irradiation angle controlled by the control unit uses navigation information proportional to a maximum value of a road curvature value extracted within the threshold distance and a maximum value movable to the left and right of the lamp. The method of claim 1,
The lamp irradiation angle controlled by the control unit,
And a navigation information that is inversely proportional to a larger value between a maximum absolute value of a road curvature value within the threshold distance and a threshold fixed angle selected within a range of 40 to 60 degrees. 9. The method of claim 8,
The threshold fixing angle is a lamp control device using a variable navigation information. The method of claim 1,
When both the positive and negative road curvature values having the same maximum absolute value exist within the threshold distance, the controller first controls the lamp using the navigation information for controlling the lamp irradiation angle of the vehicle according to the detected road curvature value. Device. The method of claim 1,
The threshold distance is a lamp control device using the navigation information that changes in response to the position of the vehicle provided by the navigation. Receiving road curvature information within a critical distance from the vehicle;
Calculating a maximum value of a road curvature based on the road curvature information; And
And controlling the lamp irradiation angle of the vehicle based on the calculated maximum value of the curvature of the road. The method of claim 12,
The calculating may include extracting one or more inflection points within the critical distance from the road curvature information and calculating road curvature values corresponding to each of the extracted inflection points. The method of claim 13,
The calculating may include a ramp control method using navigation information to determine whether the extracted road curvature values are positive or negative. The method of claim 13,
The calculating may include a ramp control method using navigation information for calculating a maximum absolute value among road curvature values extracted within the threshold distance. The method of claim 12,
The controlling may include controlling the lamp irradiation angle of the vehicle only when the maximum absolute value of the road curvature is greater than or equal to a preset threshold. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the controlling comprises:
Lamp control method using the navigation information for independently controlling the irradiation angle of the left and right lamps included in the vehicle. The method of claim 12,
The ramp irradiation angle is controlled using the navigation information is proportional to the maximum value of the road curvature value extracted within the threshold distance and the maximum value that can be moved left and right of the lamp, respectively. The method of claim 12,
And the ramp irradiation angle is inversely proportional to a larger value between a maximum absolute value of a road curvature value within the threshold distance and a threshold fixed angle selected within a range of 40 to 60 degrees. 20. The method of claim 19,
The threshold lock angle is a ramp control method using the navigation information is variable. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the controlling comprises:
The ramp control method using the navigation information for controlling the lamp irradiation angle of the vehicle according to the road curvature value detected first, when both the positive and negative road curvature value having the same maximum absolute value within the threshold distance. The method of claim 12,
The threshold distance ramp control method using the navigation information that changes in response to the position of the vehicle provided by the navigation.

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