WO2017141395A1 - Light distribution control device, light distribution control method, and light distribution control program - Google Patents

Light distribution control device, light distribution control method, and light distribution control program Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2017141395A1
WO2017141395A1 PCT/JP2016/054673 JP2016054673W WO2017141395A1 WO 2017141395 A1 WO2017141395 A1 WO 2017141395A1 JP 2016054673 W JP2016054673 W JP 2016054673W WO 2017141395 A1 WO2017141395 A1 WO 2017141395A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
vehicle
light distribution
information
distribution control
time
Prior art date
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PCT/JP2016/054673
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French (fr)
Japanese (ja)
Inventor
政明 武安
竜 村松
佐藤　直人
善貴 片山
省吾 津崎
Original Assignee
三菱電機株式会社
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Application filed by 三菱電機株式会社 filed Critical 三菱電機株式会社
Priority to PCT/JP2016/054673 priority Critical patent/WO2017141395A1/en
Publication of WO2017141395A1 publication Critical patent/WO2017141395A1/en

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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q1/00—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor
    • B60Q1/02—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to illuminate the way ahead or to illuminate other areas of way or environments
    • B60Q1/04—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to illuminate the way ahead or to illuminate other areas of way or environments the devices being headlights
    • B60Q1/06—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to illuminate the way ahead or to illuminate other areas of way or environments the devices being headlights adjustable, e.g. remotely-controlled from inside vehicle
    • B60Q1/08—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to illuminate the way ahead or to illuminate other areas of way or environments the devices being headlights adjustable, e.g. remotely-controlled from inside vehicle automatically
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q1/00—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor
    • B60Q1/02—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to illuminate the way ahead or to illuminate other areas of way or environments
    • B60Q1/04—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to illuminate the way ahead or to illuminate other areas of way or environments the devices being headlights
    • B60Q1/14—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to illuminate the way ahead or to illuminate other areas of way or environments the devices being headlights having dimming means

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a technique for controlling the light distribution of a vehicle headlamp.
  • the driver may travel with a high beam in order to ensure the maximum field of view.
  • driving with a high beam may dazzle the driver of the vehicle ahead, so the driver travels with a low beam.
  • the light distribution of the low beam is downward, the driver's visibility is greatly reduced compared to the case of the high beam, leading to oversight of pedestrians near the road, road signs, and distant road shapes.
  • Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for performing light distribution control by performing wireless communication such as inter-vehicle communication. That is, in Patent Document 1, forward vehicle information including position information and speed information of the forward vehicle is periodically received by wireless communication such as inter-vehicle communication, and the position of the forward vehicle is estimated based on the forward vehicle information. The light distribution of the headlamps is controlled at the timing when the vehicle enters the high beam irradiation area of the host vehicle so that the driver of the vehicle ahead is not dazzled.
  • the position of the front vehicle is estimated at every acquisition timing of the front vehicle information, and the light distribution control of the headlamps is performed. For this reason, when the acquisition period of the front vehicle information is long, the position of the front vehicle is not estimated for a long time, and therefore the light distribution of the headlamp does not change for a long time. For this reason, there exists a subject that a front vehicle will enter into the irradiation area of the high beam of the own vehicle during the acquisition period of front vehicle information, and will dazzle the driver of a front vehicle.
  • the main object of the present invention is to solve such a problem, and it is a main object to prevent the driver of the vehicle in front of the vehicle from being dazzled by continuously performing light distribution control.
  • the light distribution control device includes: A light distribution control device that is mounted on a vehicle and controls light distribution of a headlamp of the vehicle, Obtained forward vehicle position information used for calculation of the position of the forward vehicle ahead of the vehicle, and obtained a predicted position that is a position of the forward vehicle at a future time after the acquisition time of the forward vehicle position information.
  • a vehicle position calculation unit for calculating using the front vehicle position information;
  • a light distribution control unit that controls light distribution of the headlamp based on the predicted position of the preceding vehicle.
  • the future position of the forward vehicle after obtaining the forward vehicle position information is calculated as the predicted position, and light distribution control is performed based on the predicted position. For this reason, according to this invention, continuous light distribution control can be performed and it can prevent that the driver
  • FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a light distribution control system according to Embodiment 1.
  • FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of a light distribution control device according to the first embodiment.
  • FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a ROM of the light distribution control device according to the first embodiment.
  • FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of a light distribution control device according to the first embodiment.
  • FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of optical unit control information according to the first embodiment.
  • FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the light distribution control apparatus according to the first embodiment.
  • FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of light distribution control according to the first embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the conventional light distribution control.
  • FIG. *** Explanation of configuration *** FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a light distribution control system 100 according to the present embodiment.
  • the light distribution control system 100 is mounted on the vehicle 1000.
  • the light distribution control system 100 includes a light distribution control device 1, optical units 50 and 60, a wireless communication device 400, an in-vehicle camera 410, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver 420, and a vehicle speed sensor 430.
  • a wireless communication device 400 the wireless communication device 400, the in-vehicle camera 410, the GPS receiver 420, and the vehicle speed sensor 430 may be shared with other systems in the vehicle 1000.
  • the light distribution control device 1 performs light distribution control of the headlamps 530 and 630 included in the optical units 50 and 60 based on the relative position of the preceding vehicle with respect to the vehicle 1000. More specifically, the light distribution control device 1 receives information related to the position of the preceding vehicle, information related to the vehicle speed, information related to the traveling direction, information related to the position of the vehicle 1000, and vehicle speed received from the wireless communication device 400 or the in-vehicle camera 410. The light distribution area is determined based on the information, and the light distribution control of the headlamps 530 and 630 is performed. The operation of the light distribution control device 1 corresponds to a light distribution control method.
  • the optical units 50 and 60 are installed in front of the vehicle 1000 and are used to irradiate light in front of the vehicle 1000.
  • the unit controller 510 controls lighting / extinguishing of the headlamp 530 via the lighting circuit 520.
  • the unit controller 610 controls lighting / extinguishing of the headlamp 630 via the lighting circuit 620.
  • a plurality of light sources are set for each of the headlamps 530 and 630.
  • the unit controllers 510 and 610 provide the headlamps 530 and 630 by giving control signals to the lighting circuits 520 and 620 based on the control information received from the light distribution control device 1 (information instructing to turn on and off each light source). Controls on / off and brightness of individual light sources.
  • the optical units are configured one by one on the left and right, but the number of optical units may be one, or three or more. Further, the light distribution control device 1 and the optical units 50 and 60 may be connected by a network.
  • the wireless communication device 400 performs wireless communication. Specifically, the wireless communication device 400 performs wireless communication with a wireless communication device mounted on a preceding vehicle.
  • the in-vehicle camera 410 images the space in front of the vehicle 1000.
  • the in-vehicle camera 410 detects information related to the relative position of the vehicle ahead of the vehicle 1000 by performing image processing on the captured image.
  • the vehicle-mounted camera 410 detects the information regarding the position of the headlight of the vehicle ahead based on the captured image.
  • the GPS receiver 420 acquires information related to the position of the vehicle 1000.
  • the vehicle speed sensor 430 acquires information regarding the vehicle speed of the vehicle 1000.
  • FIG. 2 shows a hardware configuration example of the light distribution control device 1 according to the present embodiment.
  • the light distribution control device 1 is a computer including a microcomputer 10, a nonvolatile memory 12, a communication unit 13, and an input / output unit 18.
  • the microcomputer 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 20, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 30.
  • a program is stored in the ROM 20. The program is loaded into the RAM 30 and executed by the CPU 11. Details of the program will be described later.
  • the communication unit 13 is an interface circuit for communication with the network 40 in the vehicle 1000.
  • the input / output unit 18 is an interface circuit for input / output with the optical units 50 and 60 to be controlled. 2 shows a configuration in which the CPU 11 is included in the microcomputer 10. However, the CPU 11 may not be included in the microcomputer 10 as long as the CPU 11 can execute the program.
  • FIG. 3 shows a configuration example of the ROM 20 of the light distribution control device 1 according to the present embodiment.
  • the ROM 20 stores an application program 210 and a platform program 220.
  • the application program 210 is a program for controlling the optical units 50 and 60 that are objects of control of the light distribution control device 1.
  • the application program 210 corresponds to a light distribution control program.
  • the platform program 220 is a program that directly controls hardware.
  • the platform program 220 includes an OS (Operating System) and a device driver.
  • the ROM 20 includes a control information storage unit 230.
  • the control information storage unit 230 stores optical unit control information 231.
  • the optical unit control information 231 is used in light distribution control processing by the application program 210. Details of the optical unit control information 231 will be described later.
  • the optical unit control information 231 is stored in the ROM 20, but the optical unit control information 231 may be stored in the nonvolatile memory 12 or stored in both the ROM 20 and the nonvolatile memory 12. May be.
  • FIG. 4 shows a functional configuration example of the light distribution control device 1 according to the present embodiment.
  • FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a state in which the CPU 11 is executing the vehicle position calculation unit 211 and the light distribution control unit 212 included in the application program 210.
  • the functions of the vehicle position calculation unit 211 and the light distribution control unit 212 will be described as operations of the vehicle position calculation unit 211 and the light distribution control unit 212.
  • the program 210 By executing the program 210, the following functions of the vehicle position calculation unit 211 and the light distribution control unit 212 are realized.
  • the vehicle position calculation unit 211 calculates a future position of the forward vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a predicted position). Specifically, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 acquires the forward vehicle information transmitted from the wireless communication device of the preceding vehicle via the wireless communication device 400 and the communication unit 13. And the vehicle position calculation part 211 calculates the position of the front vehicle in the future time after the acquisition time of front vehicle information as a predicted position of the front vehicle.
  • the forward vehicle information is information used to calculate the position of the forward vehicle.
  • the forward vehicle information includes information related to the position of the forward vehicle, information related to speed, information related to the traveling direction, and the like.
  • the vehicle position calculation unit 211 acquires the preceding vehicle information at an acquisition cycle corresponding to the transmission cycle.
  • the future time is a time after the acquisition time of the acquired forward vehicle position information and before the next acquisition time of the forward vehicle position information.
  • the vehicle position calculation unit 211 extracts the position of the forward vehicle included in the forward vehicle information as the current position of the forward vehicle.
  • the vehicle position calculation unit 211 calculates a future position of the vehicle 1000 (hereinafter referred to as a predicted position). Specifically, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 acquires vehicle information generated by the GPS receiver 420 and the vehicle speed sensor 430 via the communication unit 13.
  • the vehicle position calculation unit 211 calculates the position of the vehicle 1000 at the future time as the predicted position of the vehicle 1000.
  • the vehicle information is information used for calculating the position of the vehicle 1000.
  • the vehicle information includes information related to the position of the vehicle 1000, information related to speed, and the like.
  • the vehicle position calculation unit 211 extracts the position of the vehicle 1000 included in the vehicle information as the current position of the vehicle 1000.
  • the vehicle position calculation unit 211 can extract the current position of the vehicle 1000 corresponding to the current position of the preceding vehicle by acquiring the vehicle information in synchronization with the acquisition period of the preceding vehicle information.
  • the predicted position of the vehicle 1000 corresponding to the predicted position of the preceding vehicle can be calculated.
  • the vehicle position calculation unit 211 can calculate the predicted position of the preceding vehicle and the predicted position of the vehicle 1000 by, for example, linear extrapolation. In addition, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 calculates the current relative position of the preceding vehicle with respect to the vehicle 1000 from the current position of the preceding vehicle and the current position of the vehicle 1000. Further, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 calculates a relative position (predicted relative position) at a future time of the forward vehicle with respect to the vehicle 1000 from the predicted position of the forward vehicle and the predicted position of the vehicle 1000. The vehicle position calculation unit 211 notifies the light distribution control unit 212 of the calculated current relative position and predicted relative position. The operation of the vehicle position calculation unit 211 corresponds to a vehicle position calculation process.
  • the light distribution control unit 212 controls the light distribution of the headlamps 530 and 630.
  • the light distribution control unit 212 controls the light distribution of the headlamps 530 and 630 using the current relative position and the predicted relative position calculated by the vehicle position calculation unit 211. That is, the light distribution control unit 212 controls the light distribution of the headlamps 530 and 630 based on the current position of the preceding vehicle and the current position of the vehicle 1000, the predicted position of the preceding vehicle, and the predicted position of the vehicle 1000.
  • the light distribution control unit 212 includes a light distribution region determination unit 213, a light adjustment determination unit 214, and a device control unit 215, which will be described later.
  • the operation in the light distribution control unit 212 corresponds to a light distribution control process.
  • the vehicle position calculation unit 211 uses information on the relative position of the forward vehicle with respect to the vehicle 1000 (hereinafter referred to as relative position information) obtained by analyzing the captured image of the in-vehicle camera 410 instead of using the forward vehicle information and the vehicle information. May be used. In this case, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 calculates the relative position of the preceding vehicle with respect to the vehicle 1000 at a future time after the acquisition time of the relative position information as the predicted relative position. Further, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 extracts the relative position of the preceding vehicle with respect to the vehicle 1000 included in the relative position information as the current relative position. Both the forward vehicle information and the relative position information are information used for calculating the position of the forward vehicle, and correspond to an example of the forward vehicle position information.
  • the optical unit control information 231 shown in FIG. 3 is composed of dimming control information 2301 and light source control information 2302.
  • the light control information 2301 is information illustrated in FIG. 5A
  • the light source control information 2302 is information illustrated in FIG. Details of the dimming control information 2301 and details of the light source control information 2302 will be described later.
  • the wireless communication device 400 receives information on the front vehicle including information on the position of the preceding vehicle, information on the speed, information on the traveling direction, information on the angle in the pitch direction, information on the angle in the yaw direction, and information on the vehicle classification through wireless communication. To do.
  • the wireless communication device 400 transmits forward vehicle information to the light distribution control device 1 through the network 40 in the vehicle 1000.
  • the information related to the vehicle classification is information for determining what the front vehicle corresponds to, such as a passenger car, a light vehicle, a large vehicle such as a bus or a truck.
  • the in-vehicle camera 410 analyzes a captured image obtained by photographing the front of the vehicle 1000, and obtains information on the relative position of the vehicle ahead of the vehicle 1000 (relative position information) and information on the position of the headlight of the vehicle ahead in the network 40. To the light distribution control device 1.
  • the GPS receiver 420 transmits information regarding the position of the vehicle 1000 to the light distribution control device 1 through the network 40 as vehicle information.
  • the vehicle speed sensor 430 transmits information related to the speed of the vehicle 1000 to the light distribution control device 1 through the network 40 as vehicle information.
  • the light distribution control device 1 can acquire the above information group via the network 40, the source of the information may not be as described above. In addition, the light distribution control device 1 may acquire the above information group from a device other than the above device.
  • the light distribution control device 1 calculates the current relative position of the forward vehicle with respect to the vehicle 1000 and the predicted relative position of the forward vehicle at the future time with respect to the vehicle 1000 using the forward vehicle information and the vehicle information or the relative position information. . Further, the light distribution control device 1 determines the light distribution possible area and the light intensity in the light distribution possible area based on the current relative position and the predicted relative position, and outputs control information to the optical units 50 and 60. The operation of the light distribution control device 1 will be described in detail later.
  • the optical units 50 and 60 generate power for turning on / off the light sources in the headlamps 530 and 630 based on the control information output from the light distribution control device 1. Moreover, the optical units 50 and 60 drive each light source by supplying electric power to each light source individually or simultaneously. In addition, the optical units 50 and 60, for example, by changing the supply current value or performing PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) control in power supply for driving each light source, brightness when each light source is turned on. Make changes.
  • PWM Pulse Width Modulation
  • the vehicle position calculation unit 211 calculates a current relative position and a predicted relative position at a future time based on forward vehicle information and vehicle information or relative position information.
  • the forward vehicle information includes position information and speed information of the forward vehicle at a certain time t0.
  • the vehicle position calculation unit 211 extracts the position (current position) of the forward vehicle at time t0 from the forward vehicle information, and further, the time t1 (future time) after the lapse of a specified time from the time t0 based on the forward vehicle information.
  • the position (predicted position) of the preceding vehicle at is calculated.
  • the vehicle position calculation unit 211 may calculate the predicted position of the forward vehicle on the assumption that the speed of the forward vehicle is constant, and may use the forward vehicle information acquired in the past and the forward vehicle information acquired this time to The predicted position of the vehicle ahead may be calculated by calculating the acceleration of the vehicle. Similarly, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 extracts the current position of the vehicle 1000 and calculates the predicted position of the vehicle 1000.
  • the vehicle information includes position information and speed information of the vehicle 1000 at time t0.
  • the vehicle position calculation unit 211 extracts the position (current position) of the vehicle 1000 at time t0 from the vehicle information, and further determines the position (predicted position) of the vehicle 1000 at time t1 (future time) based on the vehicle information. calculate.
  • the vehicle position calculation unit 211 may calculate the predicted position of the vehicle 1000 using the drive angle of the steering wheel, the brake operation, and the access operation information. In this way, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 determines the relative position of the preceding vehicle and the vehicle 1000 (from the vehicle 1000) at the time t1 based on the predicted position of the preceding vehicle and the predicted position of the vehicle 1000 at the time t1 after the lapse of the specified time from the current time. The position of the front vehicle seen) can be predicted.
  • the vehicle position calculation unit 211 uses the relative position information from the in-vehicle camera 410 to predict the relative position at time t1 (future time) after the lapse of the specified time from the current time. At this time, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 uses the relative position information acquired from the previous vehicle-mounted camera 410 and the relative position information acquired from the current vehicle-mounted camera 410 to change the relative position of the preceding vehicle and the vehicle 1000. Based on the above, the relative speed between the preceding vehicle and the vehicle 1000 is obtained, and the relative position at time t1 is predicted.
  • the vehicle position calculation unit 211 may predict the relative position at time t1 using the relative speed information.
  • the specified time time from time t0 to time t1
  • the specified time can be determined from the information acquisition interval from the wireless communication device 400 or the in-vehicle camera 410.
  • the time obtained by dividing the information acquisition interval from the wireless communication device 400 or the in-vehicle camera 410 may be set as the specified time.
  • the light distribution area determination unit 213 determines the light beam distribution possible range at the time t1 from the relative position of the vehicle ahead and the vehicle 1000 at the time t1 obtained by the vehicle position calculation unit 211. For example, the light distribution region determination unit 213 divides a range that can be irradiated by the optical units 50 and 60 into arbitrary blocks. Moreover, the light distribution area
  • the dimming determination unit 214 determines the luminous intensity for each block based on the presence / absence of the preceding vehicle for each block and the relative position to the preceding vehicle at the time t1 obtained by the light distribution region determination unit 213, and the dimming control information 2301.
  • the dimming determination unit 214 determines a predetermined maximum luminous intensity for a block in which no vehicle ahead exists.
  • the dimming determination unit 214 determines the luminous intensity based on the luminous intensity that can be irradiated at the relative position between the vehicle 1000 and the preceding vehicle described in the dimming control information 2301.
  • the light distribution region determination unit 213 performs the same process on the current relative position.
  • the device control unit 215 generates control information for the optical units 50 and 60 based on the light intensity for each block at the time t1 obtained by the dimming determination unit 214 and the light source control information 2302. Specifically, the device control unit 215 first determines lighting / extinguishing for each light source in the block based on the light intensity for each block at time t1. In addition, the device control unit 215 divides the interval from the current time to time t1 in accordance with the cycle of outputting control information to the optical units 50 and 60 (hereinafter referred to as the control cycle), and sets the division interval obtained by the division. Thus, the light intensity at each division interval is determined so as to gradually change from the current light intensity to the light intensity determined by the dimming determination unit 214.
  • the device control unit 215 performs control to gradually change the luminous intensity of the headlamp so that the luminous intensity determined by the dimming determining unit 214 is obtained at time t1.
  • the device control unit 215 determines a current value or a PWM control value for outputting the calculated luminous intensity based on the light source control information 2302. That is, the device control unit 215 determines a current value or a PWM control value for outputting the luminous intensity obtained for the division interval for each division interval. Then, the device control unit 215 generates control information representing the determined current value or PWM control value for each light source, and outputs the generated control information to the optical units 50 and 60 via the platform program 220.
  • the device control unit 215 divides the interval from the current time to the time t1 in accordance with the control cycle.
  • the light intensity change timing information in which the division interval is defined may be stored in the light source control information 2302 in advance, and the device control unit 215 may refer to the light intensity change timing information.
  • the device control unit 215 also determines a current value or PWM control value for the light intensity of each block determined by the dimming determination unit 214 with respect to the current relative position, and the determined current value or PWM control value.
  • the control information indicating is output.
  • the light intensity of the high beam can be gradually changed even when the front vehicle position information (front vehicle information, relative position information) is not acquired. Further, even when the characteristics of the optical units 50 and 60 that are the control targets of the light distribution control device 1 are changed, the light source control information 2302 referred to by the device control unit 215 is simply changed, so that the optical units 50 and 60 can be controlled. It is possible to cope with characteristic changes.
  • FIG. 5 shows an example of the optical unit control information 231 stored in the light distribution control device 1.
  • FIG. 5A shows an example of the dimming control information 2301.
  • Dimming control information 2301 can irradiate the vehicle type of the preceding vehicle such as the oncoming vehicle and the preceding vehicle, the relative position between the vehicle 1000 and the preceding vehicle, including the linear distance between the preceding vehicle and the vehicle 1000 and the horizontal angle. It is a table that includes various luminosities.
  • FIG. 5B shows an example of the light source control information 2302.
  • the light source control information 2302 indicates the electrical characteristics of each light source mounted in the optical units 50 and 60. In the example of FIG. 5B, the relationship between the luminous intensity and the value of the current flowing through the light source is defined.
  • the light source control information 2302 may define a relationship between luminous intensity and PWM value.
  • the light distribution control device 1 calculates the current relative position based on the forward vehicle information and the vehicle information every time the vehicle information and the vehicle information are acquired, and performs light distribution control based on the current relative position. Since this procedure is the same as that conventionally performed, description thereof is omitted. That is, hereinafter, a procedure for calculating the predicted relative position based on the forward vehicle information and the vehicle information and performing the light distribution control based on the predicted relative position will be described.
  • step S111 the vehicle position calculation unit 211 acquires the forward vehicle information and the vehicle information from the communication unit 13.
  • step S112 the vehicle position calculation unit 211 determines whether or not a forward vehicle exists. Specifically, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 determines that the preceding vehicle exists when the preceding vehicle information can be acquired in step S111, and determines that the preceding vehicle does not exist when the preceding vehicle information cannot be acquired. .
  • the vehicle position calculation unit 211 predicts the relative position between the preceding vehicle and the vehicle 1000 at time t1 after a specified time from the current time based on the preceding vehicle information and the vehicle information in step S113. Further, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 outputs the predicted relative position to the light distribution region determination unit 213.
  • step S114 the light distribution region determination unit 213 determines the presence or absence of a forward vehicle for each block in the irradiable range of the vehicle 1000 based on the predicted relative position at time t1. Moreover, the light distribution area
  • step S115 the dimming determination unit 214 uses the presence / absence of the preceding vehicle for each block obtained in step S114, the relative position of the block with respect to the preceding vehicle, and the dimming control information 2301. Determine the intensity of each.
  • step S116 the dimming determination unit 214 sets the luminous intensity for each block to the maximum luminous intensity.
  • Step S117 and subsequent steps are the same as the processing in the case where a forward vehicle is present in step S112.
  • step S117 the device control unit 215 determines lighting / extinguishing for each light source in the block based on the light intensity for each block at time t1.
  • step S118 the device control unit 215 divides the interval from the current time to time t1 in accordance with the control cycle, and the dimming determination unit 214 determines the current light intensity at the division interval obtained by the division.
  • the light intensity at each division interval is determined so as to gradually change to the light intensity.
  • the interval from the current time to time t1 is divided with reference to the light intensity change timing.
  • the luminous intensity at each division interval may be changed linearly or may be changed gently using an exponential function.
  • step S119 the device control unit 215 refers to the light source control information 2302 for each control period for the optical units 50 and 60 from the current time to time t1, and generates control information for the optical units 50 and 60.
  • the generated control information is output to the optical units 50 and 60.
  • step S113 The example in which the vehicle position calculation unit 211 calculates the predicted relative position using the forward vehicle information and the vehicle information in step S113 has been described above. However, the predicted relative position is calculated using the relative position information from the in-vehicle camera 410 in step S113. May be calculated. Even when the relative position information is used, the operations other than step S113 in FIG. 6 are the same.
  • required the predicted relative position of the time t1 using the front vehicle information and vehicle information, and performed the light distribution control at the time t1 above, after the time t1, Similarly, the predicted relative position may be calculated for the time (time t2, time t3, etc.), and the light distribution control may be performed at the time after time t1.
  • FIG. 8 is an example of light distribution control when movement prediction is not performed. That is, FIG. 8 shows temporal changes in the irradiation range of the headlamp when the light distribution control according to the present embodiment is not performed.
  • the vehicle A corresponds to the vehicle 1000
  • the vehicle B corresponds to the preceding vehicle.
  • time t0, time tn, and time tn + 1 are acquisition times of the preceding vehicle information in the vehicle A.
  • FIG. 8A shows the positions of vehicles A and B and the range of headlamps of vehicle A at time t0.
  • FIG. 8B shows the positions of vehicles A and B and the range of headlamps of vehicle A at time tn.
  • FIG. 8C shows the positions of vehicles A and B and the range of headlamps of vehicle A at time tn + 1.
  • the vehicle A since the vehicle A switches the light distribution at every acquisition time of the forward vehicle information, the passengers of the vehicle A and the vehicle B are given a visually uncomfortable feeling. Further, for example, since the irradiation range is not changed from time 0 to time tn, the vehicle B is irradiated with a high beam from time 0 to time tn, and the driver of the vehicle B is dazzled.
  • FIG. 7 is an example of light distribution control when movement prediction is performed. That is, FIG. 7 shows a temporal change in the irradiation range of the headlamp when the light distribution control according to the present embodiment is performed.
  • time t1, time t2, and time t3 are times within the acquisition cycle of the forward vehicle information. That is, time t1, time t2, and time t3 are times between time 0 and time n.
  • FIG. 7A shows the positions of vehicles A and B and the range of headlamps of vehicle A at time t0.
  • FIG. 7B shows the range of the headlamp of the vehicle A from time t0 to time tn. As shown in FIG.
  • the light distribution control device 1 calculates the predicted relative position at each of the time t1, the time t2, and the time t3 within the acquisition period of the forward vehicle information. By switching the light distribution continuously at each of time t1, time t2, and time t3, it is possible to reduce the visual discomfort of the passengers of vehicles A and B. Further, since the irradiation range is changed at time t1, time t2, and time t3, the vehicle B is not irradiated with a high beam, and the driver of the vehicle B is not dazzled.
  • the functions of the vehicle position calculation unit 211 and the light distribution control unit 212 are realized by the CPU 11 executing the application program 210.
  • the light distribution control device 1 may be realized by a circuit such as a logic IC (Integrated Circuit), GA (Gate Array), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array). . That is, at least some functions of the vehicle position calculation unit 211 and the light distribution control unit 212 may be realized by these electronic circuits.
  • the CPU 11 and the electronic circuit are also collectively referred to as a processing circuit.
  • 1 light distribution control device 10 microcomputer, 11 CPU, 12 nonvolatile memory, 13 communication unit, 14 input / output unit, 20 ROM, 30 RAM, 40 network, 50 optical unit, 60 optical unit, 100 light distribution control system, 210, application program, 211, vehicle position calculation unit, 212, light distribution control unit, 213, light distribution region determination unit, 214, light control determination unit, 215 device control unit, 220 platform program, 230 control information storage unit, 231 optical unit control information, 400 wireless communication device, 410 on-vehicle camera, 420 GPS receiver, 430 vehicle speed sensor, 510 unit control unit, 520 lighting circuit, 530 headlight, 610 unit control unit, 620 lighting circuit, 630 headlight, 100 Vehicle, 2301 dimming control information, 2302 a light source control information.

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Abstract

A vehicle position calculation unit (211) acquires forward vehicle position information used for calculating the position of a forward vehicle ahead of a vehicle, and calculates, using the acquired forward vehicle position information, a predicted position which is the position of the forward vehicle at a time in the future after the forward vehicle position information has been acquired. A light distribution control unit (212) controls the light distribution of headlights on the basis of the predicted position of the forward vehicle.

Description

配光制御装置、配光制御方法及び配光制御プログラムLight distribution control device, light distribution control method, and light distribution control program
　本発明は、車両の前照灯の配光を制御する技術に関する。 The present invention relates to a technique for controlling the light distribution of a vehicle headlamp.
＊＊＊背景＊＊＊
　夜間やトンネル内などの暗い周囲環境下で車両を走行させる場合、運転手は視界確保のために車両の前照灯を点灯させる。車両の前方に先行車両又は対向車両（以下、両者を合わせて前方車両という）が存在しない場合は、運転手は視界を最大限確保するためにハイビームで走行することがある。前方車両が存在する場合は、ハイビームで走行すると前方車両の運転手を幻惑させる恐れがあるため、運転手はロービームにして走行する。しかし、ロービームの配光は下向きであるため、運転手の視認性はハイビームの時と比べると大幅に低下し、道路近傍の歩行者、道路標識、遠方の道路形状の見落としに繋がる。 ***background***
When driving a vehicle in a dark ambient environment such as at night or in a tunnel, the driver turns on the headlamp of the vehicle to ensure visibility. When there is no preceding vehicle or oncoming vehicle (hereinafter referred to as the preceding vehicle together) in front of the vehicle, the driver may travel with a high beam in order to ensure the maximum field of view. When a vehicle ahead is present, driving with a high beam may dazzle the driver of the vehicle ahead, so the driver travels with a low beam. However, since the light distribution of the low beam is downward, the driver's visibility is greatly reduced compared to the case of the high beam, leading to oversight of pedestrians near the road, road signs, and distant road shapes.
＊＊＊従来技術＊＊＊
　従来から、車載カメラが撮像した車両前方の画像に基づいて前方車両を検出し、前方車両が自車両のハイビームの照射領域内に侵入する場合において、ハイビーム照射により前方車両の運転者を幻惑しないように、前方車両が存在する領域のみ配光を禁止する技術がある。この技術によって、視認性を確保したまま、前方車両の運転手を幻惑することを抑止できる。
　このような配光制御は、例えば、光源に配置されたＬＥＤ（Ｌｉｇｈｔ　Ｅｍｉｔｔｉｎｇ　Ｄｉｏｄｅ）を個別に点灯又は消灯させることにより実現される。つまり、前方車両が存在する領域を含む配光エリアに対応するＬＥＤを消灯させ、他のＬＥＤを点灯させることにより配光制御を実現することができる。また、光源からの光をシェードにより遮光することでも配光制御を実現することができる。 *** Conventional technology ***
Conventionally, when a forward vehicle is detected based on an image in front of the vehicle imaged by the in-vehicle camera, and the forward vehicle enters the high beam irradiation area of the host vehicle, the driver of the forward vehicle is not dazzled by the high beam irradiation. In addition, there is a technology for prohibiting light distribution only in an area where a vehicle ahead is present. With this technology, it is possible to prevent the driver of the vehicle ahead from being dazzled while ensuring visibility.
Such light distribution control is realized, for example, by individually turning on or off LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) arranged in the light source. That is, the light distribution control can be realized by turning off the LEDs corresponding to the light distribution area including the area where the vehicle ahead is present and turning on the other LEDs. Light distribution control can also be realized by shielding light from the light source with a shade.
　特許文献１では、車車間通信等の無線通信を行って配光制御を行う技術が開示されている。
　つまり、特許文献１では、前方車両の位置情報及び速度情報が含まれる前方車両情報を車車間通信等の無線通信により周期的に受信し、前方車両情報に基づき前方車両の位置を推測し、前方車両が自車両のハイビームの照射領域内に入るタイミング等において、前照灯の配光を制御して、前方車両の運転手を幻惑しないようにしている。 Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for performing light distribution control by performing wireless communication such as inter-vehicle communication.
That is, in Patent Document 1, forward vehicle information including position information and speed information of the forward vehicle is periodically received by wireless communication such as inter-vehicle communication, and the position of the forward vehicle is estimated based on the forward vehicle information. The light distribution of the headlamps is controlled at the timing when the vehicle enters the high beam irradiation area of the host vehicle so that the driver of the vehicle ahead is not dazzled.
特開２０１２１２６７１６号号公報JP20122616716A
　特許文献１の技術では、前方車両情報の取得タイミングごとに前方車両の位置を推測し、前照灯の配光制御を行う。このため、前方車両情報の取得周期が長い場合は、長い間にわたって前方車両の位置の推測が行われず、従って、長い間にわたって前照灯の配光が変化しない。このため、前方車両情報の取得周期の間に前方車両が自車両のハイビームの照射領域内に入ってしまい、前方車両の運転手を幻惑してしまうという課題がある。 In the technique of Patent Document 1, the position of the front vehicle is estimated at every acquisition timing of the front vehicle information, and the light distribution control of the headlamps is performed. For this reason, when the acquisition period of the front vehicle information is long, the position of the front vehicle is not estimated for a long time, and therefore the light distribution of the headlamp does not change for a long time. For this reason, there exists a subject that a front vehicle will enter into the irradiation area of the high beam of the own vehicle during the acquisition period of front vehicle information, and will dazzle the driver of a front vehicle.
　本発明は、このような課題を解決することを主な目的としており、継続的に配光制御を行うことにより前方車両の運転手の幻惑を防止することを主な目的とする。 The main object of the present invention is to solve such a problem, and it is a main object to prevent the driver of the vehicle in front of the vehicle from being dazzled by continuously performing light distribution control.
　本発明に係る配光制御装置は、
　車両に搭載され、前記車両の前照灯の配光を制御する配光制御装置であって、
　前記車両の前方にある前方車両の位置の算出に用いられる前方車両位置情報を取得し、前記前方車両位置情報の取得時刻より後の将来時刻における前記前方車両の位置である予測位置を、取得した前記前方車両位置情報を用いて、算出する車両位置算出部と、
　前記前方車両の予測位置に基づき、前記前照灯の配光を制御する配光制御部とを有する。 The light distribution control device according to the present invention includes:
A light distribution control device that is mounted on a vehicle and controls light distribution of a headlamp of the vehicle,
Obtained forward vehicle position information used for calculation of the position of the forward vehicle ahead of the vehicle, and obtained a predicted position that is a position of the forward vehicle at a future time after the acquisition time of the forward vehicle position information. A vehicle position calculation unit for calculating using the front vehicle position information;
A light distribution control unit that controls light distribution of the headlamp based on the predicted position of the preceding vehicle.
　本発明では、前方車両位置情報の取得後の前方車両の将来の位置を予測位置として算出し、予測位置に基づき配光制御を行う。このため、本発明によれば、継続的な配光制御を行うことができ、前方車両の運転手を幻惑することを防止できる。 In the present invention, the future position of the forward vehicle after obtaining the forward vehicle position information is calculated as the predicted position, and light distribution control is performed based on the predicted position. For this reason, according to this invention, continuous light distribution control can be performed and it can prevent that the driver | operator of the front vehicle is dazzled.
実施の形態１に係る配光制御システムの構成例を示す図。1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a light distribution control system according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 実施の形態１に係る配光制御装置のハードウェア構成例を示す図。FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of a light distribution control device according to the first embodiment. 実施の形態１に係る配光制御装置のＲＯＭの構成例を示す図。FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a ROM of the light distribution control device according to the first embodiment. 実施の形態１に係る配光制御装置の機能構成例を示す図。FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of a light distribution control device according to the first embodiment. 実施の形態１に係る光学ユニット制御情報の例を示す図。FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of optical unit control information according to the first embodiment. 実施の形態１に係る配光制御装置の動作例を示すフローチャート図。FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the light distribution control apparatus according to the first embodiment. 実施の形態１に係る配光制御例を示す図。FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of light distribution control according to the first embodiment. 従来の配光制御例を示す図。The figure which shows the example of the conventional light distribution control.
実施の形態１．
＊＊＊構成の説明＊＊＊
　図１は、本実施の形態に係る配光制御システム１００の構成例を示す。配光制御システム１００は、車両１０００に搭載されている。 Embodiment 1 FIG.
*** Explanation of configuration ***
FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a light distribution control system 100 according to the present embodiment. The light distribution control system 100 is mounted on the vehicle 1000.
　配光制御システム１００は、配光制御装置１、光学ユニット５０、６０、無線通信機４００、車載カメラ４１０、ＧＰＳ（Ｇｌｏｂａｌ　Ｐｏｓｉｔｉｏｎｉｎｇ　Ｓｙｓｔｅｍ）受信機４２０、車速センサ４３０を備える。なお、無線通信機４００、車載カメラ４１０、ＧＰＳ受信機４２０、車速センサ４３０は、車両１０００内の他のシステムと共用しても構わない。 The light distribution control system 100 includes a light distribution control device 1, optical units 50 and 60, a wireless communication device 400, an in-vehicle camera 410, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver 420, and a vehicle speed sensor 430. Note that the wireless communication device 400, the in-vehicle camera 410, the GPS receiver 420, and the vehicle speed sensor 430 may be shared with other systems in the vehicle 1000.
　配光制御装置１は、車両１０００に対する前方車両の相対位置に基づき、光学ユニット５０、６０に含まれる前照灯５３０、６３０の配光制御を行う。より具体的には、配光制御装置１は、無線通信機４００または車載カメラ４１０より受信した、前方車両の位置に関する情報、車速に関する情報、進行方向に関する情報、車両１０００の位置に関する情報、車速に関する情報をもとに配光領域を決定し、前照灯５３０、６３０の配光制御を行う。
　配光制御装置１の動作は、配光制御方法に相当する。 The light distribution control device 1 performs light distribution control of the headlamps 530 and 630 included in the optical units 50 and 60 based on the relative position of the preceding vehicle with respect to the vehicle 1000. More specifically, the light distribution control device 1 receives information related to the position of the preceding vehicle, information related to the vehicle speed, information related to the traveling direction, information related to the position of the vehicle 1000, and vehicle speed received from the wireless communication device 400 or the in-vehicle camera 410. The light distribution area is determined based on the information, and the light distribution control of the headlamps 530 and 630 is performed.
The operation of the light distribution control device 1 corresponds to a light distribution control method.
　光学ユニット５０、６０は、車両１０００の前方に設置され、車両１０００の前方に光を照射するために用いられる。
　ユニット制御部５１０は、点灯回路５２０を介して前照灯５３０の点灯／消灯を制御する。ユニット制御部６１０は、点灯回路６２０を介して前照灯６３０の点灯／消灯を制御する。前照灯５３０、６３０には、それぞれ複数の光源が設定されている。
　ユニット制御部５１０、６１０は、配光制御装置１より受信した制御情報（各光源の点消灯を指示する情報）に基づき、点灯回路５２０、６２０に制御信号を与えることで前照灯５３０、６３０の点灯／消灯および個々の光源の明るさを制御する。
　図１では光学ユニットは左右で１つずつの構成であるが、光学ユニットは１つでもよいし、３つ以上でもよい。また、配光制御装置１と光学ユニット５０、６０の間をネットワークにより接続してもよい。 The optical units 50 and 60 are installed in front of the vehicle 1000 and are used to irradiate light in front of the vehicle 1000.
The unit controller 510 controls lighting / extinguishing of the headlamp 530 via the lighting circuit 520. The unit controller 610 controls lighting / extinguishing of the headlamp 630 via the lighting circuit 620. A plurality of light sources are set for each of the headlamps 530 and 630.
The unit controllers 510 and 610 provide the headlamps 530 and 630 by giving control signals to the lighting circuits 520 and 620 based on the control information received from the light distribution control device 1 (information instructing to turn on and off each light source). Controls on / off and brightness of individual light sources.
In FIG. 1, the optical units are configured one by one on the left and right, but the number of optical units may be one, or three or more. Further, the light distribution control device 1 and the optical units 50 and 60 may be connected by a network.
　無線通信機４００は、無線通信を行う。具体的には、無線通信機４００は、前方車両に搭載されている無線通信機との間で無線通信を行う。 The wireless communication device 400 performs wireless communication. Specifically, the wireless communication device 400 performs wireless communication with a wireless communication device mounted on a preceding vehicle.
　車載カメラ４１０は、車両１０００の前方の空間を撮影する。また、車載カメラ４１０は、撮影画像に対して画像処理を行うことにより、車両１０００に対する前方車両の相対的な位置に関する情報を検出する。また、車載カメラ４１０は、撮影画像をもとに、前方車両のヘッドライトの位置に関する情報を検出する。 The in-vehicle camera 410 images the space in front of the vehicle 1000. The in-vehicle camera 410 detects information related to the relative position of the vehicle ahead of the vehicle 1000 by performing image processing on the captured image. Moreover, the vehicle-mounted camera 410 detects the information regarding the position of the headlight of the vehicle ahead based on the captured image.
　ＧＰＳ受信機４２０は、車両１０００の位置に関する情報を取得する。 The GPS receiver 420 acquires information related to the position of the vehicle 1000.
　車速センサ４３０は、車両１０００の車速に関する情報を取得する。 The vehicle speed sensor 430 acquires information regarding the vehicle speed of the vehicle 1000.
　図２は、本実施の形態に係る配光制御装置１のハードウェア構成例を示す。 FIG. 2 shows a hardware configuration example of the light distribution control device 1 according to the present embodiment.
　配光制御装置１は、マイクロコンピュータ１０と、不揮発性メモリ１２と、通信部１３と、入出力部１８を備えるコンピュータである。
　マイクロコンピュータ１０には、ＣＰＵ（Ｃｅｎｔｒａｌ　Ｐｒｏｃｅｓｓｉｎｇ　Ｕｎｉｔ）１１、ＲＯＭ（Ｒｅａｄ　Ｏｎｌｙ　Ｍｅｍｏｒｙ）２０、ＲＡＭ（Ｒａｎｄｏｍ　Ａｃｃｅｓｓ　Ｍｅｍｏｒｙ）３０が含まれる。ＲＯＭ２０にはプログラムが記憶されている。プログラムはＲＡＭ３０にロードされ、ＣＰＵ１１により実行される。プログラムの詳細は後述する。
　通信部１３は、車両１０００内のネットワーク４０との通信のためのインターフェース回路である。
　入出力部１８は、制御対象である光学ユニット５０、６０との入出力のためのインターフェース回路である。
　なお、図２では、ＣＰＵ１１がマイクロコンピュータ１０に含まれる構成が示されるが、ＣＰＵ１１がプログラムを実行できるのであればＣＰＵ１１がマイクロコンピュータ１０に含まれる構成でなくてもよい。 The light distribution control device 1 is a computer including a microcomputer 10, a nonvolatile memory 12, a communication unit 13, and an input / output unit 18.
The microcomputer 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 20, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 30. A program is stored in the ROM 20. The program is loaded into the RAM 30 and executed by the CPU 11. Details of the program will be described later.
The communication unit 13 is an interface circuit for communication with the network 40 in the vehicle 1000.
The input / output unit 18 is an interface circuit for input / output with the optical units 50 and 60 to be controlled.
2 shows a configuration in which the CPU 11 is included in the microcomputer 10. However, the CPU 11 may not be included in the microcomputer 10 as long as the CPU 11 can execute the program.
　図３は、本実施の形態に係る配光制御装置１のＲＯＭ２０の構成例を示す。 FIG. 3 shows a configuration example of the ROM 20 of the light distribution control device 1 according to the present embodiment.
　図３に示すように、ＲＯＭ２０には、アプリケーションプログラム２１０、プラットフォームプログラム２２０が記憶される。アプリケーションプログラム２１０は、配光制御装置１の制御の対象である光学ユニット５０、６０を制御するためのプログラムである。アプリケーションプログラム２１０は、配光制御プログラムに相当する。
　プラットフォームプログラム２２０は、ハードウェアを直接制御するプログラムである。プラットフォームプログラム２２０には、ＯＳ（Ｏｐｅｒａｔｉｎｇ　Ｓｙｓｔｅｍ）及びデバイスドライバが含まれる。
　また、ＲＯＭ２０には、制御情報記憶部２３０が含まれる。制御情報記憶部２３０には、光学ユニット制御情報２３１が記憶されている。
　光学ユニット制御情報２３１は、アプリケーションプログラム２１０による配光制御処理で使用される。
　光学ユニット制御情報２３１の詳細は後述する。
　なお、図３では光学ユニット制御情報２３１はＲＯＭ２０に記憶されているが、光学ユニット制御情報２３１は不揮発性メモリ１２に記憶されていてもよいし、ＲＯＭ２０と不揮発性メモリ１２の双方に記憶されていてもよい。 As shown in FIG. 3, the ROM 20 stores an application program 210 and a platform program 220. The application program 210 is a program for controlling the optical units 50 and 60 that are objects of control of the light distribution control device 1. The application program 210 corresponds to a light distribution control program.
The platform program 220 is a program that directly controls hardware. The platform program 220 includes an OS (Operating System) and a device driver.
Further, the ROM 20 includes a control information storage unit 230. The control information storage unit 230 stores optical unit control information 231.
The optical unit control information 231 is used in light distribution control processing by the application program 210.
Details of the optical unit control information 231 will be described later.
In FIG. 3, the optical unit control information 231 is stored in the ROM 20, but the optical unit control information 231 may be stored in the nonvolatile memory 12 or stored in both the ROM 20 and the nonvolatile memory 12. May be.
　図４は、本実施の形態に係る配光制御装置１の機能構成例を示す。 FIG. 4 shows a functional configuration example of the light distribution control device 1 according to the present embodiment.
　図４は、ＣＰＵ１１がアプリケーションプログラム２１０に含まれる車両位置算出部２１１、配光制御部２１２を実行している状態を模式的に示している。
　以下では、説明の簡明化のため、車両位置算出部２１１、配光制御部２１２の動作として、車両位置算出部２１１、配光制御部２１２の機能を説明するが、厳密には、ＣＰＵ１１がアプリケーションプログラム２１０を実行することにより、以下に示す車両位置算出部２１１、配光制御部２１２の機能を実現する。 FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a state in which the CPU 11 is executing the vehicle position calculation unit 211 and the light distribution control unit 212 included in the application program 210.
In the following, for the sake of simplicity, the functions of the vehicle position calculation unit 211 and the light distribution control unit 212 will be described as operations of the vehicle position calculation unit 211 and the light distribution control unit 212. By executing the program 210, the following functions of the vehicle position calculation unit 211 and the light distribution control unit 212 are realized.
　車両位置算出部２１１は、前方車両の将来の位置（以下、予測位置という）を算出する。具体的には、車両位置算出部２１１は、前方車両の無線通信機から送信された前方車両情報を、無線通信機４００及び通信部１３を介して取得する。そして、車両位置算出部２１１は、前方車両情報の取得時刻より後の将来時刻における前方車両の位置を前方車両の予測位置として算出する。車両位置算出部２１１は、前方車両情報は、前方車両の位置を算出するために用いられる情報である。前方車両情報には、前方車両の位置に関する情報、速度に関する情報、進行方向に関する情報等が含まれる。前方車両の無線通信機は、規定の送信周期で前方車両情報を送信するため、車両位置算出部２１１は、送信周期に対応する取得周期で前方車両情報を取得する。なお、将来時刻は、取得した前方車両位置情報の取得時刻より後であって前方車両位置情報の次の取得時刻よりも前の時刻である。また、車両位置算出部２１１は、前方車両情報に含まれる前方車両の位置を前方車両の現在位置として抽出する。
　また、車両位置算出部２１１は、車両１０００の将来の位置（以下、予測位置という）を算出する。具体的には、車両位置算出部２１１は、ＧＰＳ受信機４２０及び車速センサ４３０で生成された車両情報を通信部１３を介して取得する。そして、車両位置算出部２１１は、前記将来時刻における車両１０００の位置を車両１０００の予測位置として算出する。車両情報は、車両１０００の位置を算出するために用いられる情報である。車両情報には、車両１０００の位置に関する情報、速度に関する情報等が含まれる。また、車両位置算出部２１１は、車両情報に含まれる車両１０００の位置を車両１０００の現在位置として抽出する。車両位置算出部２１１は、前方車両情報の取得周期に同期させて車両情報を取得することで、前方車両の現在位置に対応する車両１０００の現在位置を抽出することができる。また、前方車両の予測位置に対応する車両１０００の予測位置を算出することができる。
　車両位置算出部２１１は、例えば線形外挿法により、前方車両の予測位置及び車両１０００の予測位置を算出することができる。
　また、車両位置算出部２１１は、前方車両の現在位置と車両１０００の現在位置から、車両１０００に対する前方車両の現在の相対位置を算出する。更に、車両位置算出部２１１は、前方車両の予測位置と車両１０００の予測位置から、車両１０００に対する前方車両の将来時刻における相対位置（予測相対位置）を算出する。そして、車両位置算出部２１１は、算出した現在の相対位置と予測相対位置を配光制御部２１２に通知する。
　なお、車両位置算出部２１１の動作は、車両位置算出処理に相当する。 The vehicle position calculation unit 211 calculates a future position of the forward vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a predicted position). Specifically, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 acquires the forward vehicle information transmitted from the wireless communication device of the preceding vehicle via the wireless communication device 400 and the communication unit 13. And the vehicle position calculation part 211 calculates the position of the front vehicle in the future time after the acquisition time of front vehicle information as a predicted position of the front vehicle. In the vehicle position calculation unit 211, the forward vehicle information is information used to calculate the position of the forward vehicle. The forward vehicle information includes information related to the position of the forward vehicle, information related to speed, information related to the traveling direction, and the like. Since the wireless communication device of the preceding vehicle transmits the preceding vehicle information at a specified transmission cycle, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 acquires the preceding vehicle information at an acquisition cycle corresponding to the transmission cycle. The future time is a time after the acquisition time of the acquired forward vehicle position information and before the next acquisition time of the forward vehicle position information. Further, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 extracts the position of the forward vehicle included in the forward vehicle information as the current position of the forward vehicle.
Further, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 calculates a future position of the vehicle 1000 (hereinafter referred to as a predicted position). Specifically, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 acquires vehicle information generated by the GPS receiver 420 and the vehicle speed sensor 430 via the communication unit 13. Then, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 calculates the position of the vehicle 1000 at the future time as the predicted position of the vehicle 1000. The vehicle information is information used for calculating the position of the vehicle 1000. The vehicle information includes information related to the position of the vehicle 1000, information related to speed, and the like. Further, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 extracts the position of the vehicle 1000 included in the vehicle information as the current position of the vehicle 1000. The vehicle position calculation unit 211 can extract the current position of the vehicle 1000 corresponding to the current position of the preceding vehicle by acquiring the vehicle information in synchronization with the acquisition period of the preceding vehicle information. Moreover, the predicted position of the vehicle 1000 corresponding to the predicted position of the preceding vehicle can be calculated.
The vehicle position calculation unit 211 can calculate the predicted position of the preceding vehicle and the predicted position of the vehicle 1000 by, for example, linear extrapolation.
In addition, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 calculates the current relative position of the preceding vehicle with respect to the vehicle 1000 from the current position of the preceding vehicle and the current position of the vehicle 1000. Further, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 calculates a relative position (predicted relative position) at a future time of the forward vehicle with respect to the vehicle 1000 from the predicted position of the forward vehicle and the predicted position of the vehicle 1000. The vehicle position calculation unit 211 notifies the light distribution control unit 212 of the calculated current relative position and predicted relative position.
The operation of the vehicle position calculation unit 211 corresponds to a vehicle position calculation process.
　配光制御部２１２は、前照灯５３０、６３０の配光を制御する。
　配光制御部２１２は、車両位置算出部２１１で算出された現在の相対位置と予測相対位置を用いて前照灯５３０、６３０の配光を制御する。つまり、配光制御部２１２は、前方車両の現在位置及び車両１０００の現在位置と、前方車両の予測位置と車両１０００の予測位置とに基づき、前照灯５３０、６３０の配光を制御する。
　図４に示すように、配光制御部２１２には、配光領域決定部２１３、調光決定部２１４、機器制御部２１５が含まれるが、これらについては後述する。
　なお、配光制御部２１２での動作は配光制御処理に相当する。 The light distribution control unit 212 controls the light distribution of the headlamps 530 and 630.
The light distribution control unit 212 controls the light distribution of the headlamps 530 and 630 using the current relative position and the predicted relative position calculated by the vehicle position calculation unit 211. That is, the light distribution control unit 212 controls the light distribution of the headlamps 530 and 630 based on the current position of the preceding vehicle and the current position of the vehicle 1000, the predicted position of the preceding vehicle, and the predicted position of the vehicle 1000.
As shown in FIG. 4, the light distribution control unit 212 includes a light distribution region determination unit 213, a light adjustment determination unit 214, and a device control unit 215, which will be described later.
The operation in the light distribution control unit 212 corresponds to a light distribution control process.
　なお、車両位置算出部２１１は、前方車両情報及び車両情報を用いる代わりに、車載カメラ４１０の撮影画像の解析により得られる、車両１０００に対する前方車両の相対的な位置に関する情報（以下、相対位置情報という）を用いるようにしてもよい。この場合は、車両位置算出部２１１は、相対位置情報の取得時刻よりも後の将来時刻における、車両１０００に対する前方車両の相対位置を予測相対位置として算出する。また、車両位置算出部２１１は、相対位置情報に含まれる車両１０００に対する前方車両の相対位置を、現在の相対位置として抽出する。
　なお、前方車両情報及び相対位置情報は、ともに、前方車両の位置の算出に用いられる情報であり、前方車両位置情報の例に相当する。 Note that the vehicle position calculation unit 211 uses information on the relative position of the forward vehicle with respect to the vehicle 1000 (hereinafter referred to as relative position information) obtained by analyzing the captured image of the in-vehicle camera 410 instead of using the forward vehicle information and the vehicle information. May be used. In this case, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 calculates the relative position of the preceding vehicle with respect to the vehicle 1000 at a future time after the acquisition time of the relative position information as the predicted relative position. Further, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 extracts the relative position of the preceding vehicle with respect to the vehicle 1000 included in the relative position information as the current relative position.
Both the forward vehicle information and the relative position information are information used for calculating the position of the forward vehicle, and correspond to an example of the forward vehicle position information.
　また、図３に示した光学ユニット制御情報２３１は、調光制御情報２３０１と光源制御情報２３０２で構成される。
　調光制御情報２３０１は図５（ａ）に例示する情報であり、光源制御情報２３０２は図５（ｂ）に例示する情報である。
　調光制御情報２３０１の詳細及び光源制御情報２３０２の詳細は後述する。 Further, the optical unit control information 231 shown in FIG. 3 is composed of dimming control information 2301 and light source control information 2302.
The light control information 2301 is information illustrated in FIG. 5A, and the light source control information 2302 is information illustrated in FIG.
Details of the dimming control information 2301 and details of the light source control information 2302 will be described later.
＊＊＊動作の説明＊＊＊
　次に、図１を用いて、本実施の形態における各装置の動作を説明する。 *** Explanation of operation ***
Next, the operation of each apparatus in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
　無線通信機４００は、無線通信によって前方車両の位置に関する情報、速度に関する情報、進行方向に関する情報、ピッチ方向の角度に関する情報、ヨー方向の角度に関する情報、車両区分に関する情報を含む前方車両情報を受信する。また、無線通信機４００は、前方車両情報を車両１０００内のネットワーク４０を通じて配光制御装置１に送信する。ここでの車両区分に関する情報とは例えば、前方車両が乗用車、軽自動車、バスやトラックなどの大型車等の何に該当するかを判別するための情報である。 The wireless communication device 400 receives information on the front vehicle including information on the position of the preceding vehicle, information on the speed, information on the traveling direction, information on the angle in the pitch direction, information on the angle in the yaw direction, and information on the vehicle classification through wireless communication. To do. In addition, the wireless communication device 400 transmits forward vehicle information to the light distribution control device 1 through the network 40 in the vehicle 1000. Here, the information related to the vehicle classification is information for determining what the front vehicle corresponds to, such as a passenger car, a light vehicle, a large vehicle such as a bus or a truck.
　車載カメラ４１０は、車両１０００の前方を撮影した撮影画像を解析して、車両１０００に対する前方車両の相対的な位置に関する情報（相対位置情報）、前方車両のヘッドライトの位置に関する情報を、ネットワーク４０を通じて配光制御装置１に送信する。 The in-vehicle camera 410 analyzes a captured image obtained by photographing the front of the vehicle 1000, and obtains information on the relative position of the vehicle ahead of the vehicle 1000 (relative position information) and information on the position of the headlight of the vehicle ahead in the network 40. To the light distribution control device 1.
　ＧＰＳ受信機４２０は、車両１０００の位置に関する情報を、車両情報として、ネットワーク４０を通じて配光制御装置１に送信する。 The GPS receiver 420 transmits information regarding the position of the vehicle 1000 to the light distribution control device 1 through the network 40 as vehicle information.
　車速センサ４３０は、車両１０００の速度に関する情報を、車両情報として、ネットワーク４０を通じて配光制御装置１に送信する。 The vehicle speed sensor 430 transmits information related to the speed of the vehicle 1000 to the light distribution control device 1 through the network 40 as vehicle information.
　なお、配光制御装置１がネットワーク４０を通じて上記の情報群を取得可能であれば、その情報の発信源は上記のとおりでなくてもよい。また、配光制御装置１は、上記の機器以外の他の機器から上記の情報群を取得するようにしてもよい。 If the light distribution control device 1 can acquire the above information group via the network 40, the source of the information may not be as described above. In addition, the light distribution control device 1 may acquire the above information group from a device other than the above device.
　配光制御装置１は、前方車両情報及び車両情報、または相対位置情報を用いて、車両１０００に対する前方車両の現在の相対位置と、車両１０００に対する前方車両の将来時刻における予測相対位置とを算出する。また、配光制御装置１は、現在の相対位置と予測相対位置とに基づき、配光可能領域と配光可能領域における光度を決定し、光学ユニット５０、６０へ制御情報を出力する。配光制御装置１の動作については後で詳しく説明する。 The light distribution control device 1 calculates the current relative position of the forward vehicle with respect to the vehicle 1000 and the predicted relative position of the forward vehicle at the future time with respect to the vehicle 1000 using the forward vehicle information and the vehicle information or the relative position information. . Further, the light distribution control device 1 determines the light distribution possible area and the light intensity in the light distribution possible area based on the current relative position and the predicted relative position, and outputs control information to the optical units 50 and 60. The operation of the light distribution control device 1 will be described in detail later.
　光学ユニット５０、６０は、配光制御装置１より出力された制御情報をもとに、前照灯５３０、６３０内の光源を点灯／消灯させるための電力を生成する。また、光学ユニット５０、６０は、それぞれの光源に対して個別に、あるいは同時に電力を供給することで、各光源の駆動を行う。また光学ユニット５０、６０は、各光源の駆動における電力供給において、例えば、供給電流値を変更したり、ＰＷＭ（Ｐｕｌｓｅ　Ｗｉｄｔｈ　Ｍｏｄｕｌａｔｉｏｎ）制御を実施したりすることで、各光源の点灯時の明るさの変更を行う。 The optical units 50 and 60 generate power for turning on / off the light sources in the headlamps 530 and 630 based on the control information output from the light distribution control device 1. Moreover, the optical units 50 and 60 drive each light source by supplying electric power to each light source individually or simultaneously. In addition, the optical units 50 and 60, for example, by changing the supply current value or performing PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) control in power supply for driving each light source, brightness when each light source is turned on. Make changes.
　次に、図４を用いて、本実施の形態における配光制御装置１の制御を説明する。 Next, the control of the light distribution control device 1 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
　車両位置算出部２１１は、前方車両情報及び車両情報、または、相対位置情報をもとに、現在の相対位置と将来時刻における予測相対位置を算出する。 The vehicle position calculation unit 211 calculates a current relative position and a predicted relative position at a future time based on forward vehicle information and vehicle information or relative position information.
　前方車両情報と車両情報を用いる場合の車両位置算出部２１１の動作例を説明する。
　前方車両情報には、ある時刻ｔ０における前方車両の位置情報と速度情報が含まれている。車両位置算出部２１１は、前方車両情報から時刻ｔ０での前方車両の位置（現在位置）を抽出し、更に、前方車両情報をもとに時刻ｔ０から規定時間経過後の時刻ｔ１（将来時刻）における前方車両の位置（予測位置）を算出する。車両位置算出部２１１は、前方車両の速度を一定であると仮定して、前方車両の予測位置を求めてよいし、過去に取得した前方車両情報と今回取得した前方車両情報を用いて、前方車両の加速度を算出して、前方車両の予測位置を算出してもよい。
　同様に、車両位置算出部２１１は、車両１０００の現在位置を抽出し、車両１０００の予測位置を算出する。車両情報には、時刻ｔ０における車両１０００の位置情報と速度情報が含まれている。車両位置算出部２１１は、車両情報から時刻ｔ０での車両１０００の位置（現在位置）を抽出し、更に、車両情報をもとに時刻ｔ１（将来時刻）における車両１０００の位置（予測位置）を算出する。また、車両位置算出部２１１は、ハンドルの駆動角やブレーキ操作、アクセス操作情報を用いて車両１０００の予測位置を算出してもよい。
　このようにして、車両位置算出部２１１は、現時点から規定時間経過後の時刻ｔ１における前方車両の予測位置と車両１０００の予測位置より、時刻ｔ１における前方車両と車両１０００の相対位置（車両１０００から見た前方車両の位置）を予測することができる。 An example of the operation of the vehicle position calculation unit 211 when using forward vehicle information and vehicle information will be described.
The forward vehicle information includes position information and speed information of the forward vehicle at a certain time t0. The vehicle position calculation unit 211 extracts the position (current position) of the forward vehicle at time t0 from the forward vehicle information, and further, the time t1 (future time) after the lapse of a specified time from the time t0 based on the forward vehicle information. The position (predicted position) of the preceding vehicle at is calculated. The vehicle position calculation unit 211 may calculate the predicted position of the forward vehicle on the assumption that the speed of the forward vehicle is constant, and may use the forward vehicle information acquired in the past and the forward vehicle information acquired this time to The predicted position of the vehicle ahead may be calculated by calculating the acceleration of the vehicle.
Similarly, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 extracts the current position of the vehicle 1000 and calculates the predicted position of the vehicle 1000. The vehicle information includes position information and speed information of the vehicle 1000 at time t0. The vehicle position calculation unit 211 extracts the position (current position) of the vehicle 1000 at time t0 from the vehicle information, and further determines the position (predicted position) of the vehicle 1000 at time t1 (future time) based on the vehicle information. calculate. Further, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 may calculate the predicted position of the vehicle 1000 using the drive angle of the steering wheel, the brake operation, and the access operation information.
In this way, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 determines the relative position of the preceding vehicle and the vehicle 1000 (from the vehicle 1000) at the time t1 based on the predicted position of the preceding vehicle and the predicted position of the vehicle 1000 at the time t1 after the lapse of the specified time from the current time. The position of the front vehicle seen) can be predicted.
　次に、車載カメラ４１０からの相対位置情報を用いる場合の車両位置算出部２１１の動作例を説明する。
　車両位置算出部２１１は、車載カメラ４１０からの相対位置情報を用いて、現時点から規定時間経過後の時刻ｔ１（将来時刻）における相対位置を予測する。この際に、車両位置算出部２１１は、前回車載カメラ４１０から取得した相対位置情報と、今回車載カメラ４１０から取得した相対位置情報を用いて、前方車両と車両１０００の相対的な位置の変化量をもとに、前方車両と車両１０００の相対速度を求めて、時刻ｔ１における相対位置の予測を行う。また、車載カメラ４１０より、相対速度情報を取得可能な場合は、車両位置算出部２１１は、この相対速度情報を用いて時刻ｔ１の相対位置を予測してもよい。ここでは、相対的な位置の変化量を求めるために前回の相対位置を情報と今回の相対位置情報を用いる例を示したが、予測精度を向上させるために車両位置算出部２１１は過去３回以上の相対位置情報を用いてもよい。
　なお、規定時間（時刻ｔ０から時刻ｔ１までの時間）は、無線通信機４００や車載カメラ４１０からの情報取得間隔より定めることができる。例えば、無線通信機４００や車載カメラ４１０からの情報取得間隔を分割した時間を規定時間としてもよい。 Next, an operation example of the vehicle position calculation unit 211 when using relative position information from the in-vehicle camera 410 will be described.
The vehicle position calculation unit 211 uses the relative position information from the in-vehicle camera 410 to predict the relative position at time t1 (future time) after the lapse of the specified time from the current time. At this time, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 uses the relative position information acquired from the previous vehicle-mounted camera 410 and the relative position information acquired from the current vehicle-mounted camera 410 to change the relative position of the preceding vehicle and the vehicle 1000. Based on the above, the relative speed between the preceding vehicle and the vehicle 1000 is obtained, and the relative position at time t1 is predicted. Further, when the relative speed information can be acquired from the in-vehicle camera 410, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 may predict the relative position at time t1 using the relative speed information. Here, an example is shown in which the previous relative position information and the current relative position information are used in order to obtain the relative position change amount, but the vehicle position calculation unit 211 performs the past three times in order to improve the prediction accuracy. The above relative position information may be used.
The specified time (time from time t0 to time t1) can be determined from the information acquisition interval from the wireless communication device 400 or the in-vehicle camera 410. For example, the time obtained by dividing the information acquisition interval from the wireless communication device 400 or the in-vehicle camera 410 may be set as the specified time.
　配光領域決定部２１３は、車両位置算出部２１１で求めた時刻ｔ１での前方車両と車両１０００の相対位置より、時刻ｔ１におけるハイビームの配光可能範囲を決定する。配光領域決定部２１３は、例えば、光学ユニット５０、６０により照射可能な範囲を任意のブロックに分割する。また、配光領域決定部２１３は、前方車両と車両１０００の相対位置に基づいて、ブロックごとに、ブロックの前方に他の車両が存在するか否かを判定する。また、配光領域決定部２１３は、前方に他の車両が存在するブロックに対して、ブロックと前方車両との相対位置を判定する。また、配光領域決定部２１３は、現在の相対位置に対しても同様の処理を行う。 The light distribution area determination unit 213 determines the light beam distribution possible range at the time t1 from the relative position of the vehicle ahead and the vehicle 1000 at the time t1 obtained by the vehicle position calculation unit 211. For example, the light distribution region determination unit 213 divides a range that can be irradiated by the optical units 50 and 60 into arbitrary blocks. Moreover, the light distribution area | region determination part 213 determines whether another vehicle exists ahead of a block for every block based on the relative position of a front vehicle and the vehicle 1000. FIG. Moreover, the light distribution area | region determination part 213 determines the relative position of a block and a preceding vehicle with respect to the block in which another vehicle exists ahead. In addition, the light distribution region determination unit 213 performs the same process on the current relative position.
　調光決定部２１４は、配光領域決定部２１３で求めた時刻ｔ１におけるブロックごとの前方車両の有無と前方車両までの相対位置と、調光制御情報２３０１により、ブロックごとの光度を決定する。調光決定部２１４は、前方車両が存在しないブロックについては、予め定めた最大光度を決定する。一方、前方車両が存在するブロックについては、調光決定部２１４は、調光制御情報２３０１に記述される車両１０００と前方車両の相対位置における照射可能な光度に基づいて、光度を決定する。また、配光領域決定部２１３は、現在の相対位置に対しても同様の処理を行う。 The dimming determination unit 214 determines the luminous intensity for each block based on the presence / absence of the preceding vehicle for each block and the relative position to the preceding vehicle at the time t1 obtained by the light distribution region determination unit 213, and the dimming control information 2301. The dimming determination unit 214 determines a predetermined maximum luminous intensity for a block in which no vehicle ahead exists. On the other hand, for the block in which the preceding vehicle exists, the dimming determination unit 214 determines the luminous intensity based on the luminous intensity that can be irradiated at the relative position between the vehicle 1000 and the preceding vehicle described in the dimming control information 2301. In addition, the light distribution region determination unit 213 performs the same process on the current relative position.
　機器制御部２１５は、調光決定部２１４で求めた時刻ｔ１でのブロックごとの光度と、光源制御情報２３０２により、光学ユニット５０、６０に対する制御情報を生成する。
　具体的には、まず、機器制御部２１５は、時刻ｔ１におけるブロックごとの光度に基づき、ブロック内の光源ごとに点灯／消灯を決定する。また、機器制御部２１５は、光学ユニット５０、６０へ制御情報を出力する周期（以下、制御周期という）に合わせて、現時点から時刻ｔ１までの間隔を分割し、分割により得られた分割間隔にて、現時点の光度から、調光決定部２１４で決定した光度まで、徐々に変化するように、各分割間隔の光度を決定する。つまり、機器制御部２１５は、調光決定部２１４で決定した光度が時刻ｔ１で得られるように前照灯の光度を徐々に変化させる制御を行う。
　機器制御部２１５は、光源制御情報２３０２をもとに、求めた光度を出力するための電流値またはＰＷＭ制御値を決定する。つまり、機器制御部２１５は、分割間隔ごとに、分割間隔に対して求めた光度を出力するための電流値またはＰＷＭ制御値を決定する。そして、機器制御部２１５は、決定した各光源に対する電流値またはＰＷＭ制御値を表す制御情報を生成し、生成した制御情報を、プラットフォームプログラム２２０を介して、光学ユニット５０、６０に出力する。
　以上の説明では、機器制御部２１５が制御周期に合わせて現時点から時刻ｔ１までの間隔を分割する例を説明した。これに代えて、分割間隔が定義された光度変更タイミング情報を予め光源制御情報２３０２に記憶しておき、機器制御部２１５が光度変更タイミング情報を参照するようにしてもよい。
　また、機器制御部２１５は、調光決定部２１４で現在の相対位置に対して決定されたブロックごとの光度に対しても電流値又はＰＷＭ制御値を決定し、決定した電流値又はＰＷＭ制御値を表す制御情報を出力する。 The device control unit 215 generates control information for the optical units 50 and 60 based on the light intensity for each block at the time t1 obtained by the dimming determination unit 214 and the light source control information 2302.
Specifically, the device control unit 215 first determines lighting / extinguishing for each light source in the block based on the light intensity for each block at time t1. In addition, the device control unit 215 divides the interval from the current time to time t1 in accordance with the cycle of outputting control information to the optical units 50 and 60 (hereinafter referred to as the control cycle), and sets the division interval obtained by the division. Thus, the light intensity at each division interval is determined so as to gradually change from the current light intensity to the light intensity determined by the dimming determination unit 214. That is, the device control unit 215 performs control to gradually change the luminous intensity of the headlamp so that the luminous intensity determined by the dimming determining unit 214 is obtained at time t1.
The device control unit 215 determines a current value or a PWM control value for outputting the calculated luminous intensity based on the light source control information 2302. That is, the device control unit 215 determines a current value or a PWM control value for outputting the luminous intensity obtained for the division interval for each division interval. Then, the device control unit 215 generates control information representing the determined current value or PWM control value for each light source, and outputs the generated control information to the optical units 50 and 60 via the platform program 220.
In the above description, the example in which the device control unit 215 divides the interval from the current time to the time t1 in accordance with the control cycle has been described. Instead, the light intensity change timing information in which the division interval is defined may be stored in the light source control information 2302 in advance, and the device control unit 215 may refer to the light intensity change timing information.
The device control unit 215 also determines a current value or PWM control value for the light intensity of each block determined by the dimming determination unit 214 with respect to the current relative position, and the determined current value or PWM control value. The control information indicating is output.
　以上より、前方車両位置情報（前方車両情報、相対位置情報）の取得していない状態でも、ハイビームの光度を緩やかに変化させることができる。また、配光制御装置１の制御対象である光学ユニット５０、６０の特性が変更になった場合においても、機器制御部２１５が参照する光源制御情報２３０２を変更するだけで光学ユニット５０、６０の特性変更に対応することが可能である。 As described above, the light intensity of the high beam can be gradually changed even when the front vehicle position information (front vehicle information, relative position information) is not acquired. Further, even when the characteristics of the optical units 50 and 60 that are the control targets of the light distribution control device 1 are changed, the light source control information 2302 referred to by the device control unit 215 is simply changed, so that the optical units 50 and 60 can be controlled. It is possible to cope with characteristic changes.
　図５は、配光制御装置１で記憶される光学ユニット制御情報２３１の例を示す。 FIG. 5 shows an example of the optical unit control information 231 stored in the light distribution control device 1.
　図５の（ａ）は、調光制御情報２３０１の例を示す。調光制御情報２３０１は、対向車両、先行車両等の前方車両の車両類型と、前方車両と車両１０００との直線距離及び水平方向の角度を含む車両１０００と前方車両との相対位置と、照射可能な光度とを含んだテーブルである。
　図５の（ｂ）は、光源制御情報２３０２の例を示す。光源制御情報２３０２は、光学ユニット５０、６０内に搭載される各光源の電気的特性を示す。図５（ｂ）の例では、光度と光源に流す電流値の関係が定義されている。光源制御情報２３０２に光度とＰＷＭ値の関係が定義されていてもよい。また、光源制御情報２３０２内で定義されていない光度を出力する必要がある場合は、近傍の二点の値を元に線形補完で求める。また、他の近似式を用いて求めてもよい。 FIG. 5A shows an example of the dimming control information 2301. Dimming control information 2301 can irradiate the vehicle type of the preceding vehicle such as the oncoming vehicle and the preceding vehicle, the relative position between the vehicle 1000 and the preceding vehicle, including the linear distance between the preceding vehicle and the vehicle 1000 and the horizontal angle. It is a table that includes various luminosities.
FIG. 5B shows an example of the light source control information 2302. The light source control information 2302 indicates the electrical characteristics of each light source mounted in the optical units 50 and 60. In the example of FIG. 5B, the relationship between the luminous intensity and the value of the current flowing through the light source is defined. The light source control information 2302 may define a relationship between luminous intensity and PWM value. In addition, when it is necessary to output a light intensity not defined in the light source control information 2302, it is obtained by linear interpolation based on the values of two neighboring points. Moreover, you may obtain | require using another approximate expression.
　次に、図６を用いて、実施の形態に係る配光制御装置１の動作例を説明する。
　なお、以下では、前方車両情報と車両情報を用いる例を説明する。
　また、配光制御装置１は、前方車両情報と車両情報を取得する度に、前方車両情報と車両情報とに基づき現在の相対位置を算出し、現在の相対位置に基づく配光制御も行うが、この手順は従来から行われているものと同様なので、説明を省略する。つまり、以下では、前方車両情報と車両情報とに基づき予測相対位置を算出し、予測相対位置に基づいて配光制御を行う手順を説明する。 Next, an operation example of the light distribution control device 1 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
In the following, an example using front vehicle information and vehicle information will be described.
The light distribution control device 1 calculates the current relative position based on the forward vehicle information and the vehicle information every time the vehicle information and the vehicle information are acquired, and performs light distribution control based on the current relative position. Since this procedure is the same as that conventionally performed, description thereof is omitted. That is, hereinafter, a procedure for calculating the predicted relative position based on the forward vehicle information and the vehicle information and performing the light distribution control based on the predicted relative position will be described.
　ステップＳ１１１にて、車両位置算出部２１１は、通信部１３から前方車両情報及び車両情報を取得する。 In step S111, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 acquires the forward vehicle information and the vehicle information from the communication unit 13.
　次に、ステップＳ１１２にて、車両位置算出部２１１は、前方車両が存在するか否かを判定する。具体的には、車両位置算出部２１１は、ステップＳ１１１で前方車両情報を取得できた場合は前方車両が存在すると判定し、前方車両情報を取得できなかった場合は前方車両が存在しないと判定する。 Next, in step S112, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 determines whether or not a forward vehicle exists. Specifically, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 determines that the preceding vehicle exists when the preceding vehicle information can be acquired in step S111, and determines that the preceding vehicle does not exist when the preceding vehicle information cannot be acquired. .
　前方車両が存在した場合は、車両位置算出部２１１は、ステップＳ１１３にて、前方車両情報と車両情報とに基づき、現時点から規定時間後の時刻ｔ１の前方車両と車両１０００の相対位置を予測する。また、車両位置算出部２１１は、予測相対位置を配光領域決定部２１３に出力する。 When the preceding vehicle exists, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 predicts the relative position between the preceding vehicle and the vehicle 1000 at time t1 after a specified time from the current time based on the preceding vehicle information and the vehicle information in step S113. . Further, the vehicle position calculation unit 211 outputs the predicted relative position to the light distribution region determination unit 213.
　次に、ステップＳ１１４にて、配光領域決定部２１３は、時刻ｔ１の予測相対位置に基づき、車両１０００の照射可能範囲のブロックごとに前方車両の有無を判定する。また、配光領域決定部２１３は、前方車両が存在するブロックに対して、ブロックと前方車両との相対位置を判定する。配光領域決定部２１３は、判定結果を調光決定部２１４に出力する。 Next, in step S114, the light distribution region determination unit 213 determines the presence or absence of a forward vehicle for each block in the irradiable range of the vehicle 1000 based on the predicted relative position at time t1. Moreover, the light distribution area | region determination part 213 determines the relative position of a block and a front vehicle with respect to the block in which a front vehicle exists. The light distribution area determination unit 213 outputs the determination result to the light adjustment determination unit 214.
　次に、ステップＳ１１５にて、調光決定部２１４が、ステップＳ１１４で求めたブロックごとの前方車両の存在の有無と、ブロックの前方車両に対する相対位置と、調光制御情報２３０１を用いて、ブロックごとの光度を決定する。 Next, in step S115, the dimming determination unit 214 uses the presence / absence of the preceding vehicle for each block obtained in step S114, the relative position of the block with respect to the preceding vehicle, and the dimming control information 2301. Determine the intensity of each.
　ここで、ステップＳ１１２において前方車両が存在しなかった場合の動作を説明する。
　ステップＳ１１６にて、調光決定部２１４は、ブロックごとの光度を最大光度に設定する。
　ステップＳ１１７以降は、ステップＳ１１２において前方車両が存在した場合の処理と同じである。 Here, the operation in the case where there is no preceding vehicle in step S112 will be described.
In step S116, the dimming determination unit 214 sets the luminous intensity for each block to the maximum luminous intensity.
Step S117 and subsequent steps are the same as the processing in the case where a forward vehicle is present in step S112.
　ステップＳ１１７にて、機器制御部２１５は、時刻ｔ１におけるブロックごとの光度に基づき、ブロック内の光源ごとに点灯／消灯を決定する。 In step S117, the device control unit 215 determines lighting / extinguishing for each light source in the block based on the light intensity for each block at time t1.
　ステップＳ１１８にて、機器制御部２１５は制御周期に合わせて、現時点から時刻ｔ１までの間隔を分割し、分割により得られた分割間隔にて、現時点の光度から、調光決定部２１４で決定した光度まで、徐々に変化するように、各分割間隔の光度を決定する。前述したように、光度変更タイミングが光源制御情報２３０２に記憶されている場合は、光度変更タイミングを参照して現時点から時刻ｔ１までの間隔を分割する。分割間隔ごとの光度は線形に変化させてもよいし、指数関数を用いて緩やかに変化させてもよい。 In step S118, the device control unit 215 divides the interval from the current time to time t1 in accordance with the control cycle, and the dimming determination unit 214 determines the current light intensity at the division interval obtained by the division. The light intensity at each division interval is determined so as to gradually change to the light intensity. As described above, when the light intensity change timing is stored in the light source control information 2302, the interval from the current time to time t1 is divided with reference to the light intensity change timing. The luminous intensity at each division interval may be changed linearly or may be changed gently using an exponential function.
　ステップＳ１１９にて、機器制御部２１５は、現時点から時刻ｔ１までの間、光学ユニット５０、６０に対する制御周期ごとに、光源制御情報２３０２を参照し、光学ユニット５０、６０への制御情報を生成し、生成した制御情報を光学ユニット５０、６０に出力する。 In step S119, the device control unit 215 refers to the light source control information 2302 for each control period for the optical units 50 and 60 from the current time to time t1, and generates control information for the optical units 50 and 60. The generated control information is output to the optical units 50 and 60.
　以上では、車両位置算出部２１１がステップＳ１１３において前方車両情報と車両情報を用いて予測相対位置を算出する例を説明したが、ステップＳ１１３において車載カメラ４１０からの相対位置情報を用いて予測相対位置を算出してもよい。相対位置情報を用いる場合も図６のステップＳ１１３以外の動作は同じである。 The example in which the vehicle position calculation unit 211 calculates the predicted relative position using the forward vehicle information and the vehicle information in step S113 has been described above. However, the predicted relative position is calculated using the relative position information from the in-vehicle camera 410 in step S113. May be calculated. Even when the relative position information is used, the operations other than step S113 in FIG. 6 are the same.
　また、以上では、車両位置算出部２１１が前方車両情報と車両情報を用いて時刻ｔ１の予測相対位置を算出し、時刻ｔ１での配光制御を行う例を説明したが、時刻ｔ１の後の時刻（時刻ｔ２、時刻ｔ３等）についても同様に予測相対位置を算出し、時刻ｔ１の後の時刻でも配光制御を行うようにしてもよい。 Moreover, although the vehicle position calculation part 211 calculated | required the predicted relative position of the time t1 using the front vehicle information and vehicle information, and performed the light distribution control at the time t1 above, after the time t1, Similarly, the predicted relative position may be calculated for the time (time t2, time t3, etc.), and the light distribution control may be performed at the time after time t1.
＊＊＊実施の形態の効果の説明＊＊＊
　以上、本実施の形態によれば、前方車両と車両１０００の相対位置の予測結果に基づき、短周期で配光可能領域と配光可能領域における光度を制御することができる。このため、ハイビームからロービームへの切り替え、ならびに、ハイビームの照射範囲の制限を、緩やかに変更することができ、車両１０００や他の車両の搭乗者の視覚的な違和感を低減することができる。
　特許文献１の技術では、前方車両情報の取得タイミングで、ハイビームからロービームまたはロービームからハイビームへの切り替え、または、ハイビームの照射範囲の制限が急に行われるため、車両１０００や他の車両の搭乗者に視覚的な違和感を与えてしまう。
　本実施の形態では、前述のように、視覚的な違和感を与えることない配光制御を行うことができる。 *** Explanation of the effect of the embodiment ***
As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to control the luminous intensity in the light distribution possible region and the light distribution possible region in a short cycle based on the prediction result of the relative position between the preceding vehicle and the vehicle 1000. For this reason, switching from the high beam to the low beam and the limitation of the irradiation range of the high beam can be gradually changed, and the visual discomfort of the passengers of the vehicle 1000 and other vehicles can be reduced.
In the technique of Patent Document 1, since the switching from the high beam to the low beam or the low beam to the high beam or the limitation of the irradiation range of the high beam is suddenly performed at the acquisition timing of the forward vehicle information, the passenger of the vehicle 1000 or another vehicle Gives a visual discomfort.
In the present embodiment, as described above, it is possible to perform light distribution control without giving a visually uncomfortable feeling.
　図８は、移動予測を行わない場合の配光制御の例である。つまり、図８は、本実施の形態に係る配光制御を行わない場合の前照灯の照射範囲の時間的変化を示す。
　図８では、車両Ａは車両１０００に相当し、車両Ｂは前方車両に相当する。また、時刻ｔ０、時刻ｔｎ及び時刻ｔｎ＋１は、車両Ａでの前方車両情報の取得時刻である。
　図８の（ａ）は時刻ｔ０における車両Ａと車両Ｂの位置と車両Ａの前照灯の範囲を示す。
　図８の（ｂ）は時刻ｔｎにおける車両Ａと車両Ｂの位置と車両Ａの前照灯の範囲を示す。
　図８の（ｃ）は時刻ｔｎ＋１における車両Ａと車両Ｂの位置と車両Ａの前照灯の範囲を示す。
　図８の例では、車両Ａは前方車両情報の取得時刻ごとに配光を切り替えるため、車両Ａや車両Ｂの搭乗者に視覚的な違和感を与えてしまう。
　また、例えば時刻０から時刻ｔｎの間は照射範囲が変更されないので、時刻０から時刻ｔｎの間は車両Ｂにハイビームが照射され、車両Ｂの運転手を幻惑してしまう。 FIG. 8 is an example of light distribution control when movement prediction is not performed. That is, FIG. 8 shows temporal changes in the irradiation range of the headlamp when the light distribution control according to the present embodiment is not performed.
In FIG. 8, the vehicle A corresponds to the vehicle 1000, and the vehicle B corresponds to the preceding vehicle. In addition, time t0, time tn, and time tn + 1 are acquisition times of the preceding vehicle information in the vehicle A.
FIG. 8A shows the positions of vehicles A and B and the range of headlamps of vehicle A at time t0.
FIG. 8B shows the positions of vehicles A and B and the range of headlamps of vehicle A at time tn.
FIG. 8C shows the positions of vehicles A and B and the range of headlamps of vehicle A at time tn + 1.
In the example of FIG. 8, since the vehicle A switches the light distribution at every acquisition time of the forward vehicle information, the passengers of the vehicle A and the vehicle B are given a visually uncomfortable feeling.
Further, for example, since the irradiation range is not changed from time 0 to time tn, the vehicle B is irradiated with a high beam from time 0 to time tn, and the driver of the vehicle B is dazzled.
　図７は、移動予測を行う場合の配光制御の例である。つまり、図７は、本実施の形態に係る配光制御を行う場合の前照灯の照射範囲の時間的変化を示す。
　図７において、時刻ｔ１、時刻ｔ２、時刻ｔ３は、前方車両情報の取得周期内の時刻である。つまり、時刻ｔ１、時刻ｔ２、時刻ｔ３は、時刻０と時刻ｎの間の時刻である。
　図７の（ａ）は時刻ｔ０における車両Ａと車両Ｂの位置と車両Ａの前照灯の範囲を示す。
　図７の（ｂ）は時刻ｔ０から時刻ｔｎまでの間の車両Ａの前照灯の範囲を示す。
　図７の（ｂ）に示すように、本実施の形態に係る配光制御装置１は、前方車両情報の取得周期内の時刻ｔ１、時刻ｔ２、時刻ｔ３の各々での予測相対位置を算出し、時刻ｔ１、時刻ｔ２、時刻ｔ３の各々で連続的に配光を切り替えることで、車両Ａ及び車両Ｂの搭乗者の視覚的な違和感を低減することができる。
　また、時刻ｔ１、時刻ｔ２、時刻ｔ３で照射範囲を変更するため、車両Ｂにハイビームが照射されず、車両Ｂの運転手を幻惑してしまうことがない。 FIG. 7 is an example of light distribution control when movement prediction is performed. That is, FIG. 7 shows a temporal change in the irradiation range of the headlamp when the light distribution control according to the present embodiment is performed.
In FIG. 7, time t1, time t2, and time t3 are times within the acquisition cycle of the forward vehicle information. That is, time t1, time t2, and time t3 are times between time 0 and time n.
FIG. 7A shows the positions of vehicles A and B and the range of headlamps of vehicle A at time t0.
FIG. 7B shows the range of the headlamp of the vehicle A from time t0 to time tn.
As shown in FIG. 7B, the light distribution control device 1 according to the present embodiment calculates the predicted relative position at each of the time t1, the time t2, and the time t3 within the acquisition period of the forward vehicle information. By switching the light distribution continuously at each of time t1, time t2, and time t3, it is possible to reduce the visual discomfort of the passengers of vehicles A and B.
Further, since the irradiation range is changed at time t1, time t2, and time t3, the vehicle B is not irradiated with a high beam, and the driver of the vehicle B is not dazzled.
＊＊＊付記＊＊＊
　なお、本実施の形態では、無線通信機４００、車載カメラ４１０からの情報が各周期で取得できることを前提にしているが、通信環境や周辺状況により情報を取得できない場合も有り得る。例えば、時刻０では前方車両情報を取得できたが、時刻ｎでは前方車両情報を取得できなかった場合は、移車両位置算出部２１１は、次の取得時刻である時刻ｔ＋１までの車両１０００と前方車両の相対位置を時刻０での前方車両情報を用いて予測してもよい。 *** Additional notes ***
In this embodiment, it is assumed that information from the wireless communication device 400 and the in-vehicle camera 410 can be acquired in each cycle. However, information may not be acquired depending on the communication environment and the surrounding situation. For example, when the forward vehicle information can be acquired at time 0 but the forward vehicle information cannot be acquired at time n, the moving vehicle position calculation unit 211 moves forward with the vehicle 1000 up to time t + 1 which is the next acquisition time. The relative position of the vehicle may be predicted using forward vehicle information at time 0.
　また、本実施の形態では、ＣＰＵ１１がアプリケーションプログラム２１０を実行することで、車両位置算出部２１１及び配光制御部２１２の機能を実現することとした。これに代えて、配光制御装置１を、ロジックＩＣ（Ｉｎｔｅｇｒａｔｅｄ　Ｃｉｒｃｕｉｔ）、ＧＡ（Ｇａｔｅ　Ａｒｒａｙ）、ＡＳＩＣ（Ａｐｐｌｉｃａｔｉｏｎ　Ｓｐｅｃｉｆｉｃ　Ｉｎｔｅｇｒａｔｅｄ　Ｃｉｒｃｕｉｔ）、ＦＰＧＡ（Ｆｉｅｌｄ－Ｐｒｏｇｒａｍｍａｂｌｅ　Ｇａｔｅ　Ａｒｒａｙ）といった電子回路により実現してもよい。つまり、車両位置算出部２１１及び配光制御部２１２の少なくとも一部の機能を、これら電子回路で実現してもよい。
　なお、ＣＰＵ１１及び上記の電子回路を総称してプロセッシングサーキットリーともいう。 In the present embodiment, the functions of the vehicle position calculation unit 211 and the light distribution control unit 212 are realized by the CPU 11 executing the application program 210. Instead of this, the light distribution control device 1 may be realized by a circuit such as a logic IC (Integrated Circuit), GA (Gate Array), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array). . That is, at least some functions of the vehicle position calculation unit 211 and the light distribution control unit 212 may be realized by these electronic circuits.
The CPU 11 and the electronic circuit are also collectively referred to as a processing circuit.
　１　配光制御装置、１０　マイクロコンピュータ、１１　ＣＰＵ、１２　不揮発性メモリ、１３　通信部、１４　入出力部、２０　ＲＯＭ、３０　ＲＡＭ、４０　ネットワーク、５０　光学ユニット、６０　光学ユニット、１００　配光制御システム、２１０　アプリケーションプログラム、２１１　車両位置算出部、２１２　配光制御部、２１３　配光領域決定部、２１４　調光決定部、２１５　機器制御部、２２０　プラットフォームプログラム、２３０　制御情報記憶部、２３１　光学ユニット制御情報、４００　無線通信機、４１０　車載カメラ、４２０　ＧＰＳ受信機、４３０　車速センサ、５１０　ユニット制御部、５２０　点灯回路、５３０　前照灯、６１０　ユニット制御部、６２０　点灯回路、６３０　前照灯、１０００　車両、２３０１　調光制御情報、２３０２　光源制御情報。 1 light distribution control device, 10 microcomputer, 11 CPU, 12 nonvolatile memory, 13 communication unit, 14 input / output unit, 20 ROM, 30 RAM, 40 network, 50 optical unit, 60 optical unit, 100 light distribution control system, 210, application program, 211, vehicle position calculation unit, 212, light distribution control unit, 213, light distribution region determination unit, 214, light control determination unit, 215 device control unit, 220 platform program, 230 control information storage unit, 231 optical unit control information, 400 wireless communication device, 410 on-vehicle camera, 420 GPS receiver, 430 vehicle speed sensor, 510 unit control unit, 520 lighting circuit, 530 headlight, 610 unit control unit, 620 lighting circuit, 630 headlight, 100 Vehicle, 2301 dimming control information, 2302 a light source control information.

Claims (7)

  1. 　車両に搭載され、前記車両の前照灯の配光を制御する配光制御装置であって、
    　前記車両の前方にある前方車両の位置の算出に用いられる前方車両位置情報を取得し、前記前方車両位置情報の取得時刻より後の将来時刻における前記前方車両の位置である予測位置を、取得した前記前方車両位置情報を用いて、算出する車両位置算出部と、
    　前記前方車両の予測位置に基づき、前記前照灯の配光を制御する配光制御部とを有する配光制御装置。     A light distribution control device that is mounted on a vehicle and controls light distribution of a headlamp of the vehicle,
    Obtained forward vehicle position information used for calculation of the position of the forward vehicle ahead of the vehicle, and obtained a predicted position that is a position of the forward vehicle at a future time after the acquisition time of the forward vehicle position information. A vehicle position calculation unit for calculating using the front vehicle position information;
    A light distribution control device comprising: a light distribution control unit that controls light distribution of the headlamp based on the predicted position of the preceding vehicle.
  2. 　前記車両位置算出部は、
    　前記前方車両位置情報を規定の周期で取得し、
    　前記前方車両位置情報を取得した際に、前記前方車両位置情報の取得時刻より後であって前記前方車両位置情報の次の取得時刻よりも前の将来時刻における前記前方車両の予測位置を算出する請求項１に記載の配光制御装置。     The vehicle position calculation unit
    Obtaining the forward vehicle position information at a prescribed cycle;
    When the forward vehicle position information is acquired, the predicted position of the forward vehicle is calculated at a future time that is after the acquisition time of the forward vehicle position information and before the next acquisition time of the forward vehicle position information. The light distribution control device according to claim 1.
  3. 　前記車両位置算出部は、
    　前記車両に対する前記前方車両の相対位置の算出に用いられる前方車両位置情報を取得し、前記将来時刻における前記車両に対する前記前方車両の相対位置を、前記前方車両の予測位置として算出する請求項１に記載の配光制御装置。     The vehicle position calculation unit
    The forward vehicle position information used for calculating the relative position of the forward vehicle with respect to the vehicle is acquired, and the relative position of the forward vehicle with respect to the vehicle at the future time is calculated as a predicted position of the forward vehicle. The light distribution control device described.
  4. 　前記車両位置算出部は、
    　複数の将来時刻における前記前方車両の予測位置を算出する請求項１に記載の配光制御装置。     The vehicle position calculation unit
    The light distribution control device according to claim 1, wherein a predicted position of the preceding vehicle at a plurality of future times is calculated.
  5. 　前記配光制御部は、
    　前記前方車両の予測位置に基づき、前記将来時刻での前記前照灯の光度を決定し、決定した光度が前記将来時刻において得られるように前記前照灯の光度を徐々に変化させる制御を行う請求項１に記載の配光制御装置。     The light distribution control unit
    Based on the predicted position of the preceding vehicle, the brightness of the headlamp at the future time is determined, and control is performed to gradually change the brightness of the headlamp so that the determined brightness is obtained at the future time. The light distribution control device according to claim 1.
  6. 　車両に搭載されたコンピュータが、前記車両の前照灯の配光を制御する配光制御方法であって、
    　前記コンピュータが、前記車両の前方にある前方車両の位置の算出に用いられる前方車両位置情報を取得し、前記前方車両位置情報の取得時刻より後の将来時刻における前記前方車両の位置である予測位置を、取得した前記前方車両位置情報を用いて、算出し、
    　前記コンピュータが、前記前方車両の予測位置に基づき、前記前照灯の配光を制御する配光制御方法。     A computer mounted on a vehicle is a light distribution control method for controlling light distribution of a headlamp of the vehicle,
    The computer acquires forward vehicle position information used for calculating the position of a forward vehicle ahead of the vehicle, and is a predicted position that is a position of the forward vehicle at a future time after the acquisition time of the forward vehicle position information. Is calculated using the acquired front vehicle position information,
    A light distribution control method in which the computer controls light distribution of the headlamp based on a predicted position of the preceding vehicle.
  7. 　車両に搭載され、前記車両の前照灯の配光を制御するコンピュータに、
    　前記車両の前方にある前方車両の位置の算出に用いられる前方車両位置情報を取得し、前記前方車両位置情報の取得時刻より後の将来時刻における前記前方車両の位置である予測位置を、取得した前記前方車両位置情報を用いて、算出する車両位置算出処理と、
    　前記前方車両の予測位置に基づき、前記前照灯の配光を制御する配光制御処理とを実行させる配光制御プログラム。     A computer mounted on a vehicle that controls the light distribution of the headlamps of the vehicle,
    Obtained forward vehicle position information used for calculation of the position of the forward vehicle ahead of the vehicle, and obtained a predicted position that is a position of the forward vehicle at a future time after the acquisition time of the forward vehicle position information. Vehicle position calculation processing to calculate using the front vehicle position information;
    The light distribution control program which performs the light distribution control process which controls the light distribution of the said headlamp based on the predicted position of the said front vehicle.
PCT/JP2016/054673 2016-02-18 2016-02-18 Light distribution control device, light distribution control method, and light distribution control program WO2017141395A1 (en)

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