WO2021002297A1

WO2021002297A1 - Vehicular lighting system, vehicle system and vehicle

Info

Publication number: WO2021002297A1
Application number: PCT/JP2020/025326
Authority: WO
Inventors: 裕一綿野
Original assignee: 株式会社小糸製作所
Priority date: 2019-07-03
Filing date: 2020-06-26
Publication date: 2021-01-07
Also published as: JP7340607B2; JPWO2021002297A1

Abstract

When an object is present in a non-irradiated area and predetermined information related to the object has not been identified by a vehicle, a lighting control section controls an ADB lighting unit to switch the non-irradiated area formed by the presence of a vehicle ahead to an irradiated area, after an elapse of a first period since disappearance of the vehicle ahead from the front area. When an object is not present in the non-irradiated area or when the predetermined information related to the object has already been identified by the vehicle, the lighting control section controls the ADB lighting unit to switch the non-irradiated area formed by the presence of the vehicle ahead to the irradiated area, after an elapse of a second period since disappearance of the vehicle ahead from the front area.

Description

Vehicle lighting system, vehicle system and vehicle

This disclosure relates to vehicle lighting systems, vehicle systems and vehicles.

Currently, research on autonomous driving technology for automobiles is being actively conducted in each country, and legislation has been established to enable vehicles (hereinafter, "vehicles" refers to automobiles) to drive on public roads in automatic driving mode. Is being considered in each country. Here, in the automatic driving mode, the vehicle system automatically controls the traveling of the vehicle. Specifically, in the automatic driving mode, the vehicle system controls steering based on information indicating the surrounding environment of the vehicle (surrounding environment information) obtained from sensors such as a camera and radar (for example, laser radar and millimeter wave radar). At least one of (control of the traveling direction of the vehicle), brake control and accelerator control (control of vehicle braking and acceleration / deceleration) is automatically performed. On the other hand, in the manual driving mode described below, the driver controls the running of the vehicle, as is the case with many conventional vehicles. Specifically, in the manual driving mode, the running of the vehicle is controlled according to the driver's operation (steering operation, brake operation, accelerator operation), and the vehicle system does not automatically perform steering control, brake control, and accelerator control. The driving mode of a vehicle is not a concept that exists only in some vehicles, but a concept that exists in all vehicles including a conventional vehicle that does not have an automatic driving function. For example, vehicle control. It is classified according to the method.

In this way, in the future, vehicles traveling in the automatic driving mode (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as "autonomous driving vehicles") and vehicles traveling in the manual driving mode (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as "manual driving vehicles") on public roads. It is expected that) will be mixed.

As an example of the automatic driving technology, Patent Document 1 discloses an automatic following driving system in which a following vehicle automatically follows the preceding vehicle. In the automatic follow-up driving system, each of the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle is equipped with a lighting system, and text information for preventing another vehicle from interrupting between the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle is added to the lighting system of the preceding vehicle. In addition to being displayed, text information indicating that the vehicle is automatically following is displayed on the lighting system of the following vehicle.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-2778787

By the way, with the development of autonomous driving technology, it is necessary to dramatically increase the detection accuracy of the surrounding environment of the vehicle. In this respect, the vehicle currently being developed uses a plurality of sensors mounted on the vehicle to identify the surrounding environment of the vehicle. In particular, the vehicle can acquire the existence and position information of an object existing in front of the vehicle based on the point cloud data from the LiDAR unit and the radar data from the millimeter wave radar. In addition, the vehicle can acquire attribute information and behavior prediction information of the object based on the image data from the camera. Furthermore, the vehicle employs a program (learned model) constructed by machine learning or deep learning to determine the attributes of an object existing outside the vehicle based on the image data acquired by the camera. .. This trained model is constructed by learning a large amount of image data indicating an object.

Further, in the vehicle lighting system mounted on the vehicle, in order to improve the visibility of the occupants (particularly the driver) of the own vehicle to the surrounding environment, the lighting unit includes an ADB (existing area) and a non-irradiating area. The light distribution pattern for Adaptive Driving Beam) is irradiated toward the front region of the vehicle. When a vehicle in front such as a preceding vehicle or an oncoming vehicle is present in front of the vehicle, the lighting unit irradiates the ADB light distribution pattern toward the front region so that the vehicle in front is included in the non-irradiating region. In this way, it is possible to improve the visibility of the surrounding environment of the occupant of the own vehicle without giving glare light to the occupant of the vehicle in front.

On the other hand, in the conventional vehicle lighting system, a predetermined period (for example, 0.5 seconds) has elapsed from the time when the vehicle in front disappears from the area in front of the vehicle (for example, when the oncoming vehicle passes the own vehicle). Later, the non-irradiated region of the ADB light distribution pattern formed by the presence of the vehicle in front is switched to the irradiated region. In such a situation, when an object such as a pedestrian is present in the non-irradiated area, the object is not irradiated with light for at least a predetermined period of time. Therefore, the vehicle cannot accurately identify the information related to the object (for example, the attribute information of the object, the behavior prediction information, etc.) based on the image data from the camera for at least a predetermined period of time. In this way, when the vehicle in front disappears from the front region of the vehicle, there is room for studying a method for quickly acquiring information related to the object existing in the non-irradiated region of the light distribution pattern with high accuracy. ..

Further, when the angular position of the vehicle in front with respect to the own vehicle fluctuates greatly, a part of the vehicle in front overlaps the irradiation area of the light distribution pattern for ADB (that is, a part of the vehicle in front is emitted from the lighting unit. (Situation where it is irradiated with the emitted light) is assumed. In such a case, the vehicle system may not be able to determine the attribute (type of the object) of the vehicle in front, which is the object, by using the image data indicating the vehicle in front acquired by the in-vehicle camera and the trained model. There is sex. From the above viewpoint, there is room for improving the light distribution pattern for ADB that is irradiated toward the front region of the own vehicle.

Further, when the vehicle is traveling in the advanced driving support mode or the fully automatic driving mode, the traveling of the vehicle is controlled based on the sensing data from a plurality of sensors including the camera, so that a part of the vehicle in front is ADB. I want to avoid situations that overlap with the light distribution pattern. As described above, there is room for studying a vehicle lighting system capable of irradiating an optimum light distribution pattern in consideration of the driving mode of the vehicle.

The first object of the present disclosure is to enable highly accurate and rapid acquisition of information related to an object existing in a non-irradiated region of a light distribution pattern when a vehicle in front disappears from the front region of the vehicle. To provide a vehicle lighting system and a vehicle.

A second object of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle lighting system capable of optimizing the angular width of the non-irradiated region of the light distribution pattern in consideration of the fluctuation of the angular position of the object with respect to the own vehicle. is there. A second object of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle system and a vehicle capable of preventing a decrease in the accuracy of attribute determination of an object while ensuring visibility of the occupants of the own vehicle to the surrounding environment.

A third object of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle lighting system, a vehicle system, and a vehicle capable of irradiating an optimum light distribution pattern in consideration of the driving mode of the vehicle.

The vehicle lighting system according to one aspect of the present disclosure is provided in the vehicle.
A lighting unit configured to irradiate a light distribution pattern having an irradiated area and a non-irradiated area toward the outside of the vehicle.
It includes a lighting control unit configured to control the lighting unit so that the front vehicle existing in the front region of the vehicle is included in the non-irradiation region.
The lighting control unit
When an object exists in a non-irradiated region formed by the presence of the vehicle in front, and predetermined information related to the object has not yet been specified by the vehicle.
The lighting unit is controlled so that the non-irradiation region formed by the presence of the front vehicle is switched to the irradiation region after the first period has elapsed from the time when the front vehicle disappears from the front region.
The lighting control unit
When there is no object in the non-irradiated region formed by the presence of the vehicle in front, or when predetermined information related to the object has already been identified by the vehicle.
The lighting unit is controlled so that the non-irradiation region formed by the presence of the front vehicle is switched to the irradiation region after a second period has elapsed from the time when the front vehicle disappears from the front region.
The first period is shorter than the second period.

According to the above configuration, when predetermined information related to an object (for example, a pedestrian, etc.) existing in the non-irradiated region of the light distribution pattern (particularly, the light distribution pattern for ADB) has not yet been specified by the vehicle. Then, after the first period elapses from the time when the vehicle in front disappears from the front area, the non-irradiation area is switched to the irradiation area. On the other hand, if the object does not exist in the non-irradiated area or the predetermined information related to the object has already been specified by the vehicle, the non-irradiated area is after the second period from the time when the vehicle in front disappears from the area in front. The area switches to the irradiation area. Furthermore, the first period is shorter than the second period. In this way, when predetermined information related to the object existing in the non-irradiated area has not been specified yet, the period from the time when the vehicle in front disappears from the front area to the time when the non-irradiated area is switched to the irradiated area is It will be shortened. Therefore, since the object is irradiated with the light from the lighting unit earlier, it is possible to quickly identify predetermined information related to the object with high accuracy by the image data acquired from the camera.

Further, the predetermined information related to the object may be the attribute information of the object or the behavior prediction information of the object.

According to the above configuration, when the attribute information or the behavior prediction information of the object existing in the non-irradiated area has not been specified yet, from the time when the vehicle in front disappears from the front area until the non-irradiated area is switched to the irradiated area. The period of time is shortened. Therefore, since the object is irradiated with the light from the lighting unit earlier, it is possible to quickly identify the attribute information or the behavior prediction information of the object with high accuracy by the image data acquired from the camera.

The vehicle lighting system according to another aspect of the present disclosure is provided in the vehicle.
A lighting unit configured to irradiate a light distribution pattern having an irradiated area and a non-irradiated area toward the outside of the vehicle.
It includes a lighting control unit configured to control the lighting unit so that the front vehicle existing in the front region of the vehicle is included in the non-irradiation region.
The lighting control unit
When the level of the driving mode of the vehicle is equal to or higher than a predetermined level,
The lighting unit is controlled so that the non-irradiation region formed by the presence of the front vehicle is switched to the irradiation region after the first period has elapsed from the time when the front vehicle disappears from the front region.
The lighting control unit
When the level of the driving mode of the vehicle is lower than the predetermined level,
The lighting unit is controlled so that the non-irradiation region formed by the presence of the front vehicle is switched to the irradiation region after a second period has elapsed from the time when the front vehicle disappears from the front region.
The first period is shorter than the second period.

According to the above configuration, when the level of the driving mode of the vehicle is equal to or higher than a predetermined level, the non-irradiated area is switched to the irradiated area after the first period has elapsed from the time when the vehicle in front disappears from the front area. On the other hand, when the level of the driving mode of the vehicle is lower than the predetermined level, the non-irradiated region is switched to the irradiated region after the lapse of the second period from the time when the vehicle in front disappears from the front region. Furthermore, the first period is shorter than the second period. In this way, depending on the driving mode of the vehicle, the period from when the vehicle in front disappears from the front region to when the non-irradiation region is switched to the irradiation region is shortened. Therefore, an object (for example, a pedestrian) existing in the non-irradiated area is irradiated by the light from the lighting unit earlier, so that the information related to the object can be obtained with high accuracy by the image data acquired from the camera. It becomes possible to identify quickly.

In addition, the lighting control unit
When the driving mode of the vehicle is the advanced driving support mode or the fully automatic driving mode,
The lighting unit may be controlled so that the non-irradiation region formed by the presence of the front vehicle is switched to the irradiation region after the first period has elapsed from the time when the front vehicle disappears from the front region.
The lighting control unit
When the driving mode of the vehicle is a partial driving support mode or a manual driving mode,
The lighting unit may be controlled so that the non-irradiation region formed by the presence of the front vehicle is switched to the irradiation region after a second period has elapsed from the time when the front vehicle disappears from the front region. The first period is shorter than the second period.

According to the above configuration, when the driving mode of the vehicle is the advanced driving support mode or the fully automatic driving mode, the period from when the vehicle in front disappears from the front area to when the non-irradiation area is switched to the irradiation area is shortened. To. Therefore, since the object existing in the non-irradiated area is irradiated by the light from the lighting unit earlier, it is possible to quickly identify the information related to the object with high accuracy by the image data acquired from the camera. It becomes.

The vehicle lighting system according to one aspect of the present disclosure is provided in the vehicle.
A lighting unit configured to irradiate a light distribution pattern having an irradiated area and a non-irradiated area toward the outside of the vehicle.
It includes a lighting control unit configured to control the lighting unit so that the object is included in the non-irradiated region based on information about the angular position of the object existing outside the vehicle.
The lighting control unit
It is configured to change the angular width of the non-irradiated region according to the change in the angular position of the object with respect to the vehicle.

According to the above configuration, the angle width of the non-irradiated region of the light distribution pattern (particularly, the light distribution pattern for ADB) is changed according to the change in the angular position of the object with respect to the vehicle. In this way, it is possible to optimize the angular width of the non-irradiated region of the light distribution pattern in consideration of the fluctuation of the angular position of the object.

In addition, the lighting control unit
When the fluctuation of the angular position is larger than a predetermined threshold value, the angular width of the non-irradiated region is set to the first angular width based on the angular position.
When the fluctuation of the angular position is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold value, the angular width of the non-irradiated region is set to a second angular width smaller than the first angular width based on the angular position. It may be configured.

According to the above configuration, the angle width of the non-irradiated region becomes large when the variation of the angular position of the object with respect to the vehicle is large, while the angular width of the non-irradiated region becomes large when the variation of the angular position of the object with respect to the vehicle is small. Becomes smaller. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the situation where a part of the object is illuminated by the light from the lighting unit while ensuring the visibility of the occupant (for example, the driver) of the own vehicle to the surrounding environment. .. In this respect, the existence of the light distribution pattern makes it possible to avoid a situation in which the vehicle system of the own vehicle cannot determine the attribute (that is, the type of the object) of the object.

Further, the variation in the angular position may be a difference between the current angular position of the object and the previous angular position of the object.

According to the above configuration, when the difference between the current angular position of the object and the previous angular position of the object is large, the angular width of the non-irradiated region is large, while when the difference is small, it is not. The angular width of the irradiation area becomes smaller. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation in which a part of the object is illuminated by the light from the lighting unit without deteriorating the visibility of the occupants of the own vehicle to the surrounding environment as much as possible.

The illumination control unit may be configured to calculate the average angular position of the angular position from the previous time of the object to N times before (N is an integer of 2 or more).
The variation in the angular position may be the difference between the current angular position of the object and the average angular position.

According to the above configuration, when the difference between the current angular position of the object and the average angular position of the object is large, the angular width of the non-irradiated region becomes large, while when the difference is small, the non-irradiated region is not irradiated. The angular width of the area becomes smaller. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation in which a part of the object is illuminated by the light from the lighting unit without deteriorating the visibility of the occupants of the own vehicle to the surrounding environment as much as possible.

The vehicle lighting system according to one aspect of the present disclosure is provided in the vehicle.
A lighting unit configured to irradiate a light distribution pattern having an irradiated area and a non-irradiated area toward the outside of the vehicle.
It includes a lighting control unit configured to control the lighting unit so that the object is included in the non-irradiated region based on information about the angular position of the object existing outside the vehicle.
The lighting control unit
The average angular position of the angular position from the current angular position of the object to M times before (M is an integer of 1 or more) is calculated.
The angular width of the non-irradiated region is determined based on the average angular position.
It is configured as follows.

According to the above configuration, the angle width of the non-irradiated region of the light distribution pattern (particularly, the light distribution pattern for ADB) is determined based on the average angular position of the object. In this way, it is possible to optimize the angular width of the non-irradiated region of the light distribution pattern in consideration of the fluctuation of the angular position of the object. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation in which a part of the object is illuminated by the light from the lighting unit without deteriorating the visibility of the occupant (for example, the driver) of the own vehicle to the surrounding environment as much as possible. ..

The vehicle system according to one aspect of the present disclosure is
A camera configured to acquire image data showing the surrounding environment of the vehicle,
An attribute determination unit configured to determine the attributes of an object existing outside the vehicle based on the image data.
A first angle position determining unit configured to determine a first angle position of an object with respect to the central axis of the camera based on the image data.
A second angle position determining unit configured to determine the second angle position of the object with respect to the optical axis of the lighting unit as the angle position of the object based on the first angle position.
The vehicle lighting system and
To be equipped.

According to the above configuration, the vehicle lighting system optimizes the angular width of the non-irradiated region of the light distribution pattern, so that the vehicle system determines the attribute of the object based on the presence of the light distribution pattern emitted from the lighting unit. It is possible to avoid the situation where it becomes impossible. In this way, it is possible to provide a vehicle system capable of preventing a decrease in the accuracy of attribute determination of an object while ensuring visibility of the occupants of the own vehicle to the surrounding environment.

The vehicle lighting system according to one aspect of the present disclosure is provided in the vehicle.
A lighting unit configured to irradiate an ADB light distribution pattern having an irradiated area and a non-irradiated area toward the outside of the vehicle.
It includes a lighting control unit configured to control the lighting unit so that the object is included in the non-irradiated region based on information about the angular position of the object existing outside the vehicle.
The lighting control unit is configured to change the angular width of the non-irradiated region according to the driving mode of the vehicle.

According to the above configuration, the angle width of the non-irradiated region of the light distribution pattern for ADB is changed according to the driving mode of the vehicle. In this way, it is possible to optimize the angle width of the non-irradiated region of the light distribution pattern for ADB in consideration of the driving mode of the vehicle.

In addition, the lighting control unit
When the driving mode of the vehicle is the advanced driving support mode or the fully automatic driving mode, the angular width of the non-irradiated region is set to the first angular width based on the information regarding the angular position.
When the driving mode of the vehicle is the driving support mode or the manual driving mode, the angle width of the non-irradiated region is set to a second angle width smaller than the first angle width based on the information regarding the angle position. It may be configured to do so.

According to the above configuration, when the driving mode of the vehicle is the advanced driving support mode or the fully automatic driving mode, the angle width of the non-irradiated region is set to the first angle width, while the driving mode of the vehicle is the driving support. In the mode or the manual operation mode, the angular width of the non-irradiated region is set to a second angular width smaller than the first angular width.

In this respect, when the driving mode of the vehicle is the advanced driving support mode or the fully automatic driving mode, the occupants of the own vehicle do not control the running of the vehicle, so that the visibility of the occupants of the own vehicle to the surrounding environment is taken into consideration. There is no need. On the other hand, since the angle width of the non-irradiation region is set to the first angle width larger than the second angle width, the situation where an object such as a vehicle in front is irradiated by the light distribution pattern for ADB It can be avoided as much as possible. Therefore, it is possible to avoid as much as possible a situation in which the vehicle control unit (vehicle-mounted computer) of the own vehicle cannot determine the attribute of the object based on the image data from the camera.

Further, when the driving mode of the vehicle is the driving support mode or the manual driving mode, the angle width of the non-irradiated region is set to the second angle width smaller than the first angle width, so that the occupant of the own vehicle Sufficient visibility to the surrounding environment (particularly the driver) can be ensured.

The vehicle lighting system according to one aspect of the present disclosure is provided in the vehicle.
A lighting unit configured to irradiate an ADB light distribution pattern having an irradiated area and a non-irradiated area toward the outside of the vehicle.
It includes a lighting control unit configured to control the lighting unit so that the object is included in the non-irradiated region based on information about the angular position of the object existing outside the vehicle.
The lighting control unit irradiates the ADB light distribution pattern from the lighting unit when the predetermined conditions related to the driving mode of the vehicle are satisfied, and when the predetermined conditions are not satisfied, the lighting control unit irradiates the ADB light distribution pattern. It is configured so that the ADB light distribution pattern is not irradiated from the lighting unit.

According to the above configuration, when a predetermined condition related to the driving mode of the vehicle is satisfied, the light distribution pattern for ADB is irradiated from the lighting unit, but when the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the distribution for ADB is performed. The light pattern is not emitted from the lighting unit. In this way, it is possible to provide a vehicle lighting system capable of irradiating an optimum light distribution pattern in consideration of the driving mode of the vehicle.

In addition, the lighting control unit
When the driving mode of the vehicle is the advanced driving support mode or the fully automatic driving mode, the lighting unit does not irradiate the ADB light distribution pattern.
When the driving mode of the vehicle is the driving support mode or the manual driving mode, the lighting unit may be configured to irradiate the ADB light distribution pattern.

According to the above configuration, when the driving mode of the vehicle is the advanced driving support mode or the fully automatic driving mode, the light distribution pattern for ADB is not emitted from the lighting unit, while the driving mode of the vehicle is the driving support mode or the manual driving mode. In this case, the ADB light distribution pattern is irradiated from the lighting unit.

In this respect, when the driving mode of the vehicle is the advanced driving support mode or the fully automatic driving mode, the occupants of the own vehicle do not control the running of the vehicle, so that the visibility of the occupants of the own vehicle to the surrounding environment is taken into consideration. There is no need. On the other hand, in such a case, it is possible to avoid a situation in which an object such as a vehicle in front is irradiated by the light distribution pattern for ADB as much as possible. Therefore, it is possible to avoid as much as possible a situation in which the vehicle control unit (vehicle-mounted computer) of the own vehicle cannot determine the attribute of the object based on the image data from the camera.

Further, when the driving mode of the vehicle is the driving support mode or the manual driving mode, the light distribution pattern for ADB is irradiated to the outside of the vehicle, so that the visibility of the occupants of the own vehicle to the surrounding environment is sufficient. Can be secured.

The vehicle system according to one aspect of the present disclosure is
A camera configured to acquire image data showing the surrounding environment of the vehicle,
An attribute determination unit configured to determine the attributes of an object existing outside the vehicle based on the image data.
The vehicle lighting system and
To be equipped.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to provide a vehicle system capable of irradiating an optimum light distribution pattern in consideration of the driving mode of the vehicle.

Further, a vehicle equipped with the above-mentioned vehicle lighting system may be provided. Further, a vehicle equipped with the above vehicle system may be provided.

According to the present disclosure, when a vehicle in front disappears from the region in front of the vehicle, it is possible to quickly acquire information related to an object existing in the non-irradiated region of the light distribution pattern with high accuracy. Lighting systems and vehicles can be provided.

Further, according to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a vehicle lighting system capable of optimizing the angular width of the non-irradiated region of the light distribution pattern in consideration of the fluctuation of the angular position of the object with respect to the own vehicle. .. Further, it is possible to provide a vehicle system and a vehicle capable of preventing a decrease in the accuracy of attribute determination of an object while ensuring visibility of the occupants of the own vehicle to the surrounding environment.

Further, according to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a vehicle lighting system, a vehicle system, and a vehicle capable of irradiating an optimum light distribution pattern in consideration of the driving mode of the vehicle.

The front view of the vehicle is shown. It is a block diagram which shows a vehicle system. It is a flowchart for demonstrating an example of the process of determining the non-irradiation area of the light distribution pattern for ADB. It is a figure which shows the own vehicle and the vehicle in front. It is a figure which shows an example of the light distribution pattern for ADB formed on the virtual vertical screen. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process (1st Embodiment) of switching a non-irradiation area to an irradiation area when the vehicle in front disappears from the front area of the own vehicle. It is a schematic diagram which shows the light distribution pattern for ADB which was emitted to the front region just before the front vehicle disappears from the front region. It is a schematic diagram which shows the light distribution pattern for ADB immediately after the non-irradiation region is switched to the irradiation region. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process (second embodiment) of switching a non-irradiation area to an irradiation area when the vehicle in front disappears from the front area of the own vehicle. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process of determining the angle width of the non-irradiation region of the light distribution pattern which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the own vehicle and the vehicle in front. It is a figure which shows the light distribution pattern for ADB formed on the virtual vertical screen when the angle width of a non-irradiation region is W1. It is a figure which shows the light distribution pattern for ADB formed on the virtual vertical screen when the angle width of a non-irradiation region is W2. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process of determining the angle width of the non-irradiation region of the light distribution pattern which concerns on 4th Embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process of determining the angle width of the non-irradiation region of the light distribution pattern which concerns on 5th Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the light distribution pattern for ADB formed on the virtual vertical screen when the angle width of a non-irradiation region is W3. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process of determining the angle width of the non-irradiation area of the light distribution pattern for ADB according to the driving mode of a vehicle. It is a figure which shows the own vehicle and the vehicle in front. It is a figure which shows the light distribution pattern for ADB formed on the virtual vertical screen when the angle width of a non-irradiation region is W4. It is a figure which shows the light distribution pattern for ADB formed on the virtual vertical screen when the angle width of a non-irradiation region is W5. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process of determining whether or not the light distribution pattern for ADB should be emitted according to the driving mode of a vehicle.

Hereinafter, the embodiment of the present disclosure (hereinafter, simply referred to as “the present embodiment”) will be described with reference to the drawings. The dimensions of each member shown in this drawing may differ from the actual dimensions of each member for convenience of explanation.

In the description of the present embodiment, for convenience of explanation, "horizontal direction", "vertical direction", and "front-back direction" may be appropriately referred to. These directions are relative directions set for the vehicle 1 shown in FIG. Here, the "left-right direction" is a direction including the "left direction" and the "right direction". The "vertical direction" is a direction including "upward direction" and "downward direction". The "front-back direction" is a direction including the "forward direction" and the "rear direction". Although the "front-back direction" is not shown in FIG. 1, the "front-back direction" is a direction perpendicular to the left-right direction and the up-down direction.

Further, in the present embodiment, the "horizontal direction" of the vehicle 1 is referred to, but the "horizontal direction" is a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction (vertical direction) and includes a horizontal direction and a front-rear direction. ..

First, the vehicle 1 and the vehicle system 2 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 shows a front view of the vehicle 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the vehicle system 2 provided in the vehicle 1.

The vehicle 1 is a vehicle (automobile) capable of traveling in the automatic driving mode, and includes the vehicle system 2 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle system 2 includes a vehicle control unit 3 and a vehicle lighting system 4. Further, the vehicle system 2 includes a sensor 5, a camera 6, a radar 7, an HMI (Human Machine Interface) 8, a GPS (Global Positioning System) 9, a wireless communication unit 10, and a storage device 11. Further, the vehicle system 2 includes a steering actuator 12, a steering device 13, a brake actuator 14, a brake device 15, an accelerator actuator 16, and an accelerator device 17.

The vehicle control unit 3 is configured to control the running of the vehicle 1. The vehicle control unit 3 is composed of, for example, at least one electronic control unit (ECU: Electronic Control Unit). The electronic control unit includes a computer system including one or more processors and one or more memories (for example, SoC (System on a Chip) or the like), and an electronic circuit composed of active elements such as transistors and passive elements. The processor includes, for example, at least one of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), and a TPU (Tensor Processing Unit). The CPU may be composed of a plurality of CPU cores. The GPU may be composed of a plurality of GPU cores. The memory includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The vehicle control program may be stored in the ROM. For example, the vehicle control program may include an artificial intelligence (AI) program for autonomous driving. An AI program is a program (trained model) constructed by supervised or unsupervised machine learning (particularly deep learning) using a multi-layer neural network. The RAM may temporarily store a vehicle control program, vehicle control data, and / or surrounding environment information indicating the surrounding environment of the vehicle. The processor may be configured to develop a program designated from various vehicle control programs stored in the ROM on the RAM and execute various processes in cooperation with the RAM. Further, the computer system may be configured by a non-Von Neumann computer such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array). Further, the computer system may be composed of a combination of a von Neumann computer and a non-Von Neumann computer.

The vehicle lighting system 4 includes a left side headlamp 40L, a right side headlamp 40R, and a lighting control unit 43.

As shown in FIG. 1, the left headlamp 40L is arranged on the left front surface of the vehicle 1. The left headlamp 40L is for a lamp housing (not shown), a translucent lamp cover (not shown) for covering the opening of the lamp housing, a low beam lighting unit 45L, and an ADB (Adaptive Driving Beam). It is equipped with a lighting unit 46L. Each of the low beam lighting unit 45L and the ADB lighting unit 46L is arranged in a lamp chamber formed by a lamp housing and a lamp cover.

The right headlamp 40R is arranged on the front right side of the vehicle 1. The right headlamp 40R includes a lamp housing (not shown), a translucent lamp cover (not shown) that covers the opening of the lamp housing, a low beam lighting unit 45R, and an ADB lighting unit 46R. Be prepared. Each of the low beam lighting unit 45R and the ADB lighting unit 46R is arranged in a lamp chamber formed by a lamp housing and a lamp cover.

The low

beam lighting units

45L and 45R (hereinafter, may be simply referred to as "low beam lighting unit 45") include, for example, a light source unit that emits light, a reflector that reflects light emitted from the light source unit, and the like. It has a light-shielding plate that blocks a part of the light reflected by the reflector.

The low beam lighting unit 45 is configured to irradiate the front region of the vehicle 1 with the low beam light distribution pattern PL (see FIG. 5). The low beam light distribution pattern PL shown in FIG. 5 is a light distribution pattern formed on a virtual vertical screen virtually arranged 25 m ahead of the vehicle 1.

As shown in FIG. 5, the low beam light distribution pattern PL has an oncoming lane side cut-off line CL1, an own lane side cut-off line CL1, and an oblique cut-off line CL3 connected to these cut-off line CL1 and CL2.

The

ADB lighting units

46L and 46R (hereinafter, may be simply referred to as "ADB lighting unit 46") are configured to irradiate the front region of the vehicle 1 with the ADB light distribution pattern PH (see FIG. 5). Has been done. The light distribution pattern PH for ADB shown in FIG. 5 is a light distribution pattern formed on a virtual vertical screen.

As shown in FIG. 5, the ADB light distribution pattern PH is located above the low beam light distribution pattern PL. In other words, the angular position of the ADB light distribution pattern PH in the vertical direction (vertical direction) is larger than the angular position of the low beam light distribution pattern PL in the vertical direction.

The light distribution pattern PH for ADB has an irradiation region PH1 that is irradiated with light and a non-irradiation region PH2 that is not irradiated with light. In particular, when an object such as the front vehicle 1A exists in front of the vehicle 1, the ADB lighting unit 46 sets the ADB light distribution pattern PH to the vehicle 1 so that the object is located in the non-irradiation region PH2. Form in front of. In this way, glare light is preferably prevented from being applied to the object. On the other hand, when there is no object such as the vehicle 1A in front of the vehicle 1, the ADB lighting unit 46 uses the ADB light distribution pattern (that is, the high beam light distribution pattern) consisting only of the irradiation region. Form in front of. As described above, the ADB lighting unit 46 irradiates the ADB light distribution pattern or the high beam light distribution pattern having the non-irradiation region toward the front depending on the presence or absence of the object.

The ADB lighting unit 46 uses, for example, a light source composed of a plurality of LEDs (light emitting diodes) arranged in a matrix (n rows × m columns, n, m is an integer of 1 or more) and light emitted from the light source. It may be provided with a projection lens to be passed through. In this case, by individually controlling the turning on and off of the plurality of LEDs, the ADB lighting unit 46 can form an ADB light distribution pattern PH having an irradiation region and a non-irradiation region in front of the vehicle 1. it can.

As another configuration of the ADB lighting unit 46, the ADB lighting unit 46 may include, for example, a light source that emits light, a reflector, a MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) mirror, and a projection lens. The reflector is configured to reflect the light emitted from the light source toward the MEMS mirror. The MEMS mirror reflects the light reflected by the reflector toward the projection lens. The MEMS mirror includes a plurality of micromirror elements arranged in a matrix (n rows × m columns). Each angle of the plurality of minute mirror elements is a first angle (ON state) that reflects light toward the projection lens or a second angle (OFF state) that does not reflect light toward the projection lens, depending on the control signal. Is set to. By controlling the angle of each minute mirror element of the MEMS mirror in this way, the ADB lighting unit 46 forms an ADB light distribution pattern PH having an irradiation region and a non-irradiation region in front of the vehicle 1. be able to.

Further, as another configuration of the ADB lighting unit 46, the ADB lighting unit 46 is a blade scan type lighting provided with a light source that emits light and a rotation reflector having a plurality of blades around a rotation axis. It may be a unit. The rotary reflector can scan the reflected light by reflecting the light emitted from the light source while rotating in one direction about the rotation axis. As described above, with the rotation of the rotary reflector, the ADB lighting unit 46 can form an ADB light distribution pattern PH having an irradiation region and a non-irradiation region in front of the vehicle 1.

The lighting control unit 43 is configured to control the operation of the low beam lighting unit 45 and the ADB lighting unit 46. In particular, the lighting control unit 43 is configured to control the low beam lighting unit 45 so that the low beam light distribution pattern is emitted in front of the vehicle 1. The lighting control unit 43 is configured to control the ADB lighting unit 46 so that the ADB light distribution pattern is emitted in front of the vehicle 1.

Further, the lighting control unit 43 so that the object is included in the non-irradiation region based on the information regarding the angular position (particularly, the angular position in the horizontal direction) of the object such as another vehicle existing outside the vehicle 1. It is configured to control the ADB lighting unit 46. Further, the illumination control unit 43 is configured to change the angular width of the non-irradiated region of the ADB light distribution pattern according to the fluctuation of the angular position (particularly, the angular position in the horizontal direction) of the object.

The lighting control unit 43 is composed of at least one electronic control unit (ECU). The electronic control unit includes a computer system (for example, SoC) including one or more processors and one or more memories, and an electronic circuit composed of active elements such as transistors and passive elements. The processor includes at least one of a CPU, MPU, GPU and TPU. The memory includes a ROM and a RAM. Further, the computer system may be composed of a non-Von Neumann computer such as an ASIC or FPGA.

Returning to FIG. 2, the sensor 5 includes at least one of an acceleration sensor, a speed sensor, and a gyro sensor. The sensor 5 is configured to detect the running state of the vehicle 1 and output the running state information to the vehicle control unit 3. The sensor 5 includes a seating sensor that detects whether the driver is sitting in the driver's seat, a face orientation sensor that detects the direction of the driver's face, an external weather sensor that detects the external weather condition, and whether or not there is a person in the vehicle. A motion sensor or the like for detecting may be further provided.

The camera 6 is, for example, a camera including an image sensor such as a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary MOS). The camera 6 may be arranged inside the vehicle 1 so as to face the windshield 70 of the vehicle 1, for example, as shown in FIG. Further, the camera 6 may be arranged in the left headlamp 40L and / or the right headlamp 40R. The camera 6 is configured to acquire image data indicating the surrounding environment of the vehicle 1 and then transmit the image data to the vehicle control unit 3. The vehicle control unit 3 acquires the surrounding environment information based on the transmitted image data and the trained model. In particular, the vehicle control unit 3 functions as an attribute determination unit configured to determine the attributes of an object existing outside the vehicle 1 based on the image data and the trained model.

The radar 7 includes at least one of a millimeter wave radar, a microwave radar and a laser radar (for example, a LiDAR unit). For example, the LiDAR unit is configured to detect the surrounding environment of the vehicle 1. In particular, the LiDAR unit is configured to acquire 3D mapping data (point cloud data) indicating the surrounding environment of the vehicle 1 and then transmit the 3D mapping data to the vehicle control unit 3. The vehicle control unit 3 identifies the surrounding environment information (for example, the distance and direction of the object) based on the transmitted 3D mapping data.

The HMI 8 is composed of an input unit that receives an input operation from the driver and an output unit that outputs driving information and the like to the driver. The input unit includes a steering wheel, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, an operation mode changeover switch for switching the operation mode of the vehicle 1, and the like. The output unit is a display (for example, Head Up Display (HUD) or the like) that displays various driving information. The GPS 9 is configured to acquire the current position information of the vehicle 1 and output the acquired current position information to the vehicle control unit 3.

The wireless communication unit 10 is configured to receive information about other vehicles around the vehicle 1 from the other vehicle and transmit information about the vehicle 1 to the other vehicle (vehicle-to-vehicle communication). Further, the wireless communication unit 10 is configured to receive infrastructure information from infrastructure equipment such as traffic lights and indicator lights and to transmit traveling information of vehicle 1 to the infrastructure equipment (road-to-vehicle communication). Further, the wireless communication unit 10 receives information about the pedestrian from the portable electronic device (smartphone, tablet, wearable device, etc.) carried by the pedestrian, and transmits the own vehicle traveling information of the vehicle 1 to the portable electronic device. It is configured to do (pedestrian-to-vehicle communication). The vehicle 1 may directly communicate with another vehicle, infrastructure equipment, or a portable electronic device in an ad hoc mode, or may communicate with a communication network such as the Internet.

The storage device 11 is an external storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or SSD (Solid State Drive). The storage device 11 may store two-dimensional or three-dimensional map information and / or a vehicle control program. For example, the three-dimensional map information may be composed of 3D mapping data (point cloud data). The storage device 11 is configured to output map information and a vehicle control program to the vehicle control unit 3 in response to a request from the vehicle control unit 3. The map information and the vehicle control program may be updated via the wireless communication unit 10 and the communication network.

When the vehicle 1 travels in the automatic driving mode, the vehicle control unit 3 determines at least one of the steering control signal, the accelerator control signal, and the brake control signal based on the traveling state information, the surrounding environment information, the current position information, the map information, and the like. Generate one automatically. The steering actuator 12 is configured to receive a steering control signal from the vehicle control unit 3 and control the steering device 13 based on the received steering control signal. The brake actuator 14 is configured to receive a brake control signal from the vehicle control unit 3 and control the brake device 15 based on the received brake control signal. The accelerator actuator 16 is configured to receive an accelerator control signal from the vehicle control unit 3 and control the accelerator device 17 based on the received accelerator control signal. In this way, the vehicle control unit 3 automatically controls the travel of the vehicle 1 based on the travel state information, the surrounding environment information, the current position information, the map information, and the like. That is, in the automatic driving mode, the traveling of the vehicle 1 is automatically controlled by the vehicle system 2.

On the other hand, when the vehicle 1 travels in the manual driving mode, the vehicle control unit 3 generates a steering control signal, an accelerator control signal, and a brake control signal according to the manual operation of the driver on the accelerator pedal, the brake pedal, and the steering wheel. As described above, in the manual driving mode, the steering control signal, the accelerator control signal, and the brake control signal are generated by the manual operation of the driver, so that the driving of the vehicle 1 is controlled by the driver.

Next, the driving mode of the vehicle 1 will be described. The operation mode includes an automatic operation mode and a manual operation mode. The automatic driving mode includes a fully automatic driving mode, an advanced driving support mode, and a driving support mode. In the fully automatic driving mode, the vehicle system 2 automatically performs all driving control of steering control, brake control, and accelerator control, and the driver is not in a state where the vehicle 1 can be driven. In the advanced driving support mode, the vehicle system 2 automatically performs all driving control of steering control, brake control, and accelerator control, and the driver does not drive the vehicle 1 although he / she is in a state where he / she can drive the vehicle 1. In the driving support mode, the vehicle system 2 automatically performs some driving control of steering control, brake control, and accelerator control, and the driver drives the vehicle 1 under the driving support of the vehicle system 2. On the other hand, in the manual driving mode, the vehicle system 2 does not automatically control the driving, and the driver drives the vehicle 1 without the driving support of the vehicle system 2.

(Process to determine the non-irradiated area of the light distribution pattern for ADB)
Next, the process of determining the non-irradiated region of the light distribution pattern for ADB will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a process of determining the non-irradiated region PH2 of the light distribution pattern PH for ADB. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the own vehicle 1 and the vehicle in front 1A. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the light distribution pattern PH for ADB formed on the virtual vertical screen.

In the present embodiment, for convenience, only the ADB light distribution pattern PH formed by the ADB lighting unit 46R provided on the right headlamp 40R will be described. In particular, the method for generating the ADB light distribution pattern using the ADB lighting unit 46L is not particularly different from the method for generating the ADB light distribution pattern PH using the ADB lighting unit 46R, and thus the present embodiment. Is not explained in particular. In other words, since the control method of the ADB lighting unit 46L is not different from the control method of the ADB lighting unit 46R, the ADB lighting unit 46L is not particularly described in this embodiment. Further, in this description, the "forward vehicle" is an oncoming vehicle or a preceding vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 3, in step S1, the camera 6 acquires image data showing the surrounding environment of the vehicle 1 and then transmits the image data to the vehicle control unit 3. Next, in step S2, the vehicle control unit 3 determines whether or not an object such as the vehicle in front 1A exists in front of the vehicle 1 based on the transmitted image data.

When the vehicle control unit 3 determines that an object such as the front vehicle 1A exists in front of the vehicle 1 (YES in step S2), the vehicle control unit 3 acquires the current angular position θ of the front vehicle 1A. On the other hand, when the vehicle control unit 3 determines that there is no object such as the front vehicle 1A in front of the vehicle 1 (NO in step S2), the high beam light distribution pattern (that is, only from the irradiation region PH1). ADB light distribution pattern) is emitted forward (step S4).

In step S3, the vehicle control unit 3 determines the current angular position φ _n of the vehicle in front 1A with respect to the central axis Cx of the camera 6 based on the transmitted image data (see FIG. 4). Specifically, the vehicle control unit 3 determines the current left end angle position φ _{l_n} of the front vehicle 1A with respect to the central axis Cx and the current right end angle position φ _{r_n} of the front vehicle 1A with respect to the central axis Cx. Here, the angular position of the front vehicle 1A with respect to the central axis Cx is an angular position in the horizontal direction, not an angular position in the vertical direction (vertical direction).

Next, the vehicle control unit 3 determines the current angle position θ _n of the front vehicle 1A with respect to the optical axis Ax of the ADB lighting unit 46R based on the current angle position φ _n of the front vehicle 1A with respect to the central axis Cx of the camera 6. (See FIG. 4). Specifically, the vehicle control unit 3 determines the current left end angle position θ _{l_n} of the front vehicle 1A with respect to the optical axis Ax based on the current left end angle position φ _{l_n} of the front vehicle 1A with respect to the central axis Cx. Further, the vehicle control unit 3 determines the current right end angle position θ _{r_n} of the front vehicle 1A with respect to the optical axis Ax based on the current right end angle position φ _{r_n} of the front vehicle 1A with respect to the central axis Cx. Here, the angular position of the front vehicle 1A with respect to the optical axis Ax is an angular position in the horizontal direction, not an angular position in the vertical direction. Further, it is assumed that the information regarding the relative positional relationship between the camera 6 and the ADB lighting unit 46R is stored in the memory of the vehicle control unit 3.

Next, in step S5, the lighting control unit 43 receives information about the current angle position θ _n of the vehicle ahead 1A from the vehicle control unit 3, and then ADB based on the current angle position θ _n of the vehicle 1A ahead. The non-irradiation region PH2 of the light distribution pattern PH is determined. In particular, the lighting control unit 43 sets the margin between the left end angle position θ _{l_n} of the front vehicle 1A and the left end boundary El of the non-irradiation region PH2 to α, and sets the right end angle position θ _{r_n} of the front vehicle 1A and non-irradiation. The margin between the rightmost boundary Er of the region PH2 is set to α. Here, the margin α is α ≧ 0. In this way, the illumination control unit 43 determines the non-irradiation region PH2 so that the angle range θ of the non-irradiation region PH2 is θ _{l_n} −α ≦ θ ≦ θ _{r_n} + α. Here, the angle width W of the non-irradiated region PH2 is expressed by the following equation (1).
W = 2α + (θ _{r_n} －θ _{l_n} ) ・・・ (1)

After that, the lighting control unit 43 controls the ADB lighting unit 46R so that the ADB light distribution pattern PH including the irradiation region PH1 and the non-irradiation region PH2 is emitted in front of the vehicle 1 (step S6). In this way, the processes of steps S1 to S6 are repeatedly executed.

(First Embodiment)
Next, a method of controlling the ADB light distribution pattern PH according to the first embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a process of switching the non-irradiation region PH2 of the ADB light distribution pattern PH to the irradiation region PH1 when the front vehicle 1A disappears from the front region of the own vehicle 1. FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing the light distribution pattern PH for ADB emitted to the front region immediately before the front vehicle 1A disappears from the front region of the vehicle 1. Note that in FIG. 7, the low beam light distribution pattern PL is not shown. FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing the light distribution pattern PH for ADB immediately after the non-irradiated region PH2 is switched to the irradiated region PH1.

In the present embodiment, as a precondition, it is assumed that the front vehicle 1A already exists in the front region of the vehicle 1. Further, for convenience of explanation, only the ADB light distribution pattern PH formed by the ADB lighting unit 46R provided on the right headlamp 40R will be described.

As shown in FIG. 6, in step S10, the vehicle control unit 3 receives at least one of the image data transmitted from the camera 6, the 3D mapping data transmitted from the LiDAR unit, and the radar data transmitted from the millimeter-wave radar. Based on the above, it is determined whether or not the front vehicle 1A has disappeared from the front region of the vehicle 1. Here, the state in which the front vehicle 1A disappears from the front region of the vehicle 1 corresponds to the state in which the front vehicle 1A has passed the vehicle 1 (see FIG. 8).

If the determination result in step S10 is NO, the determination process in step S10 is performed again. On the other hand, when the determination result in step S10 is YES, the vehicle control unit 3 transmits the disappearance information indicating that the front vehicle 1A has disappeared from the front region to the lighting control unit 43. After that, this process proceeds to step S11.

Next, the vehicle control unit 3 determines whether or not an object such as a pedestrian P exists in the non-irradiated region PH2 of the ADB light distribution pattern PH (step S11). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the vehicle control unit 3 is formed by the presence of the vehicle 1A in front of the pedestrian P based on at least one of the image data, the 3D mapping data, and the radar data. It is determined whether or not it exists in the non-irradiated region PH2. At this point, the attribute information and behavior prediction information of the pedestrian P may not be specified.

When the vehicle control unit 3 determines that there is no object such as a pedestrian P in the non-irradiated region PH2 formed by the presence of the front vehicle 1A (NO in step S11), the lighting control unit 43 determines that the front vehicle 1A The ADB lighting unit 46R is controlled so that the non-irradiated region PH2 switches to the irradiated region PH1 when or after the lapse of the second period t2 from the time when the pedestrian disappears from the front region (step S14). More specifically, first, the lighting control unit 43 receives information from the vehicle control unit 3 indicating that an object such as a pedestrian P does not exist in the non-irradiation region PH2. Next, in the lighting control unit 43, the non-irradiation region PH2 becomes the irradiation region PH1 when or after the second period t2 (for example, t2 = 0.5 seconds) elapses from the time when the disappearance information is received from the vehicle control unit 3. The ADB lighting unit 46R is controlled so as to switch. The second period t2 may be the time interval conventionally used in the switching control from the non-irradiated region PH2 to the irradiated region PH1.

On the other hand, when the vehicle control unit 3 determines that an object such as a pedestrian P exists in the non-irradiated region PH2 formed by the presence of the vehicle in front 1A (YES in step S11), the vehicle control unit 3 performs the determination process in step S12. Execute. In step S12, the vehicle control unit 3 determines whether or not the attribute information of the pedestrian P (object) has already been specified.

If the determination result in step S12 is YES, the lighting control unit 43 determines the ADB so that the non-irradiated region PH2 is switched to the irradiated region PH1 when or after the second period t2 has elapsed since the vehicle 1A disappeared from the front region. The lighting unit 46R is controlled (step S14).

On the other hand, when the determination result in step S12 is NO, the lighting control unit 43 switches the non-irradiation region PH2 to the irradiation region PH1 when or after the first period t1 elapses from the time when the front vehicle 1A disappears from the front region. Controls the ADB lighting unit 46R (step S13).

More specifically, first, the lighting control unit 43 determines that an object such as a pedestrian P exists in the non-irradiated region PH2, and the attribute information of the pedestrian P (object) has not yet been specified. The indicated information is received from the vehicle control unit 3. Next, the lighting control unit 43 controls the ADB lighting unit 46R so that the non-irradiation region PH2 switches to the irradiation region PH1 when or after the first period t1 elapses from the time when the disappearance information is received from the vehicle control unit 3. To do.

The first period t1 is a period shorter than the second period t2 (0 <t1 <t2), and its value is not particularly limited. The first period t1 may be, for example, 0.1 seconds. In the process of step S13, the ADB lighting unit 46R can switch the non-irradiation region PH2 formed by the presence of the preceding vehicle 1A to the irradiation region PH1 in a shorter period of time.

According to the present embodiment, when the attribute information (an example of predetermined information) of the pedestrian P (object) existing in the non-irradiated region PH2 of the light distribution pattern PH for ADB has not yet been specified by the vehicle 1, The non-irradiated region PH2 is switched to the irradiated region PH1 when or after the first period t1 (<t2) elapses from the time when the front vehicle 1A disappears from the front region. On the other hand, when the object does not exist in the non-irradiated region PH2 or the attribute information of the object has already been specified, the vehicle 1A in front disappears from the region in front and the second period t2 elapses or does not occur. The irradiation region PH2 is switched to the irradiation region PH1.

As described above, when the attribute information of the object such as the pedestrian P existing in the non-irradiated region PH2 has not been specified yet, the period until the non-irradiated region PH2 is switched to the irradiated region PH1 is shortened. Therefore, since the object is irradiated with the light from the ADB lighting unit 46R earlier, it is possible to quickly identify the attribute information of the object with high accuracy by the image data acquired from the camera 6.

At this point, if the object is not irradiated with light, the camera 6 cannot acquire image data that clearly indicates the object. In such a situation, it becomes difficult for the vehicle control unit 3 to identify the attribute information of the object with high accuracy based on the image data. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the light is irradiated to the object faster, the vehicle control unit 3 can quickly identify the attribute information of the object with high accuracy based on the image data.

In the process of step S12, it is determined whether or not the attribute information of the object such as the pedestrian P has already been specified, but the present embodiment is not limited to this. For example, in the process of step S12, it may be determined whether or not the behavior prediction information of the object has already been specified. Similarly, in this case as well, in a situation where the object is not clearly shown in the image data, it is difficult for the vehicle control unit 3 to identify the behavior prediction information of the object with high accuracy based on the image data. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the light is irradiated to the object faster, the vehicle control unit 3 can quickly identify the behavior prediction information of the object with high accuracy based on the image data.

(Second Embodiment)
The control method of the light distribution pattern PH for ADB according to the second embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining a process of switching the non-irradiation region PH2 to the irradiation region PH1 when the front vehicle 1A disappears from the front region of the vehicle 1. Similarly, in the present embodiment, only the ADB light distribution pattern PH formed by the ADB lighting unit 46R will be described.

As shown in FIG. 9, in step S20, the vehicle control unit 3 determines whether or not the front vehicle 1A has disappeared from the front region of the vehicle 1 based on at least one of the image data, the 3D mapping data, and the radar data. To judge. If the determination result in step S20 is NO, the determination process in step S20 is executed again. On the other hand, when the determination result in step S20 is YES, the vehicle control unit 3 transmits the disappearance information indicating that the front vehicle 1A has disappeared from the front region to the lighting control unit 43. After that, this process proceeds to step S21.

Next, in step S21, the vehicle control unit 3 determines whether or not the level of the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is equal to or higher than a predetermined level. In the following description, it is assumed that each of the driving modes of the vehicle is associated with the following levels. That is, as the level of automation of the driving mode of the vehicle becomes higher, the level of the driving mode becomes higher.

For example, in the process of step S21, the vehicle control unit 3 may determine whether or not the level of the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is level 3 or higher. In this case, the determination result in step S21 is YES when the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is the fully automatic driving mode or the advanced driving support mode. On the other hand, when the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is the driving support mode or the manual driving mode, the determination result in step S21 is NO. Further, in the process of step S21, it may be determined whether or not the level of the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is level N or higher (2 ≦ N ≦ 4).

Next, when the determination result in step S21 is NO, the lighting control unit 43 has passed or has passed the second period t2 (for example, t2 = 0.5 seconds) from the time when the vehicle 1A in front disappeared from the front region. The ADB lighting unit 46R is controlled so that the non-irradiated region PH2 is later switched to the irradiated region PH1 (step S23). More specifically, the lighting control unit 43 receives information from the vehicle control unit 3 indicating that the level of the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is not equal to or higher than a predetermined level, and then receives the disappearance information from the vehicle control unit 3. The ADB lighting unit 46R is controlled so that the non-irradiation region PH2 is switched to the irradiation region PH1 when or after the second period t2 elapses from the time.

On the other hand, when the determination result in step S21 is YES, the lighting control unit 43 shifts the non-irradiated region PH2 to the irradiated region PH1 when or after the first period t1 has elapsed since the vehicle 1A disappeared from the front region. The ADB lighting unit 46R is controlled so as to switch (step S22). More specifically, the lighting control unit 43 receives information indicating that the driving mode level of the vehicle 1 is equal to or higher than a predetermined level from the vehicle control unit 3, and then receives the disappearance information from the vehicle control unit 3. The ADB lighting unit 46R is controlled so that the non-irradiation region PH2 is switched to the irradiation region PH1 when or after the first period t1 elapses from the time.

According to the present embodiment, the period from when the front vehicle 1A disappears from the front region to when the non-irradiation region PH2 is switched to the irradiation region PH1 is shortened according to the driving mode of the vehicle 1. Therefore, since the object such as the pedestrian P existing in the non-irradiation region PH2 is irradiated with the light from the ADB lighting unit 46R earlier, the information related to the object (information related to the object) by the image data acquired from the camera 6 ( It is possible to quickly identify the attribute information and / or the behavior prediction information of the object with high accuracy.

In particular, it is assumed in step S21 that it is determined whether or not the level of the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is level 3 or higher. In this case, when the vehicle 1 is traveling in the fully automatic driving mode or the advanced driving support mode (that is, when the traveling of the vehicle 1 is controlled by the vehicle control unit 3), the vehicle 1A in front is from the front region. The non-irradiated region PH2 is switched to the irradiated region PH1 when or after the first period t1 elapses from the time of disappearance. On the other hand, when the vehicle 1 is traveling in the driving support mode or the manual driving mode (that is, when the driving of the vehicle 1 is mainly controlled by the driver), when the vehicle 1A in front disappears from the front region. The non-irradiated region PH2 is switched to the irradiated region PH1 when or after the second period t2 elapses.

In this way, when the traveling of the vehicle 1 is controlled by the vehicle control unit 3, it is necessary to quickly identify the information related to the object from the image data from the camera 6. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the period until the non-irradiated region PH2 is switched to the irradiated region PH1 is shortened, so that the image data clearly showing the object is quickly acquired and the information related to the object is quickly obtained. Can be specified in. On the other hand, when the traveling of the vehicle 1 is mainly controlled by the driver, the period until the non-irradiated region PH2 is switched to the irradiated region PH1 is not shortened in order to reduce the discomfort given to the driver of the vehicle 1. ..

(Third Embodiment)
Next, with reference to FIGS. 10 to 13, a process for determining the angle width of the non-irradiated region of the ADB light distribution pattern according to the third embodiment will be described below. FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining a process of determining the angle width W of the non-irradiated region PH2 of the ADB light distribution pattern PH according to the third embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the own vehicle 1 and the vehicle in front 1B. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an ADB light distribution pattern PH formed on a virtual vertical screen when the angle width W of the non-irradiated region PH2 is W1. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an ADB light distribution pattern PH formed on a virtual vertical screen when the angle width W of the non-irradiated region PH2 is W2 (> W1).

In this embodiment, for convenience of explanation, only the ADB light distribution pattern PH formed by the ADB lighting unit 46R provided on the right headlamp 40R will be described. In particular, the method for generating the ADB light distribution pattern using the ADB lighting unit 46L is not particularly different from the method for generating the ADB light distribution pattern PH using the ADB lighting unit 46R, and thus the present embodiment. Is not explained in particular. In other words, the control method of the ADB lighting unit 46L is not particularly described in the present embodiment because it is not different from the control method of the ADB lighting unit 46R.

As shown in FIG. 10, in step S31, the camera 6 acquires image data showing the surrounding environment of the vehicle 1 and then transmits the image data to the vehicle control unit 3. Here, the image data shows the vehicle in front 1B. The "forward vehicle" is an oncoming vehicle or a preceding vehicle. Next, in step S32, the vehicle control unit 3 (first angle position determination unit) determines the current angle position φ _n of the vehicle in front 1B with respect to the central axis Cx of the camera 6 based on the transmitted image data. (See FIG. 11). Specifically, the vehicle control unit 3 determines the current left end angle position φ _{l_n} of the front vehicle 1B with respect to the central axis Cx and the current right end angle position φ _{r_n} of the front vehicle 1B with respect to the central axis Cx. Here, the angular position of the front vehicle 1B with respect to the central axis Cx is an angular position in the horizontal direction, not an angular position in the vertical direction (vertical direction).

Next, the vehicle control unit 3 (second angle position determination unit) is a vehicle ahead of the optical axis Ax of the ADB lighting unit 46R based on the current angle position φ _n of the vehicle 1B ahead with respect to the central axis Cx of the camera 6. The current angular position θ _n of 1B is determined (see FIG. 11). Specifically, the vehicle control unit 3 determines the current left end angle position θ _{l_n} of the front vehicle 1B with respect to the optical axis Ax based on the current left end angle position φ _{l_n} of the front vehicle 1B with respect to the central axis Cx. Further, the vehicle control unit 3 determines the current right end angle position θ _{r_n} of the front vehicle 1B with respect to the optical axis Ax based on the current right end angle position φ _{r_n} of the front vehicle 1B with respect to the central axis Cx. Here, the angular position of the front vehicle 1B with respect to the optical axis Ax is an angular position in the horizontal direction, not an angular position in the vertical direction. Further, it is assumed that the information regarding the relative positional relationship between the camera 6 and the ADB lighting unit 46R is stored in the memory of the vehicle control unit 3.

Next, in step S33, the vehicle control unit 3 or the lighting control unit 43 calculates the difference D between the current angle position θ _n of the front vehicle 1B and the previous angle position θ _n-1 of the front vehicle 1B. .. Specifically, the vehicle control unit 3 or the lighting control unit 43 has a difference D = | θ between the current left end angle position θ _{l_n} of the front vehicle 1B and the previous left end angle position θ _{l_n-1} of the front vehicle 1B. _{l_n} −θ _{l_n-1} | may be calculated. Further, the vehicle control unit 3 or the lighting control unit 43 has a difference D = | θ _{r_n} −θ between the current right end angle position θ _{r_n} of the front vehicle 1B and the previous right end angle position θ _{r_n-1} of the front vehicle 1B. You may calculate _{r_n-1} |.

Next, in step S34, the lighting control unit 43 determines whether or not the calculated difference D is larger than the predetermined threshold value Dth. Here, the information regarding the predetermined threshold value Dth is stored in the memory of the lighting control unit 43. The predetermined threshold value Dth may be a fixed value, or may be changed according to the running state of the vehicle 1, the surrounding environment, and the like.

When the illumination control unit 43 determines that the calculated difference D is larger than the predetermined threshold value Dth (YES in step S34), the illumination control unit 43 sets the angle width W of the non-irradiation region PH2 to the first angle width W1 (YES in step S34). Step S35). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 12, the lighting control unit 43 sets the margin between the left end angular position θ _{l_n} of the front vehicle 1B and the left end boundary El of the non-irradiated region PH2 to α _1, and sets the margin to α ₁ and _moves forward. The margin between the right end angular position θ _{r_n} of the vehicle 1B and the right end boundary Er of the non-irradiated region PH2 is set to α ₁ . Here, the margin α ₁ is α ₁ > 0. In this way, the illumination control unit 43 sets the angle width W of the non-irradiation region PH2 to the first angle width W1 represented by the following equation (2). Here, the angle range of the non-irradiated region PH2 is θ _{l_n} −α ₁ ≦ θ ≦ θ _{r_n} + α ₁ .
W1 = 2α ₁ + (θ _{r_n} －θ _{l_n} ) ・・・ (2)

On the other hand, when the illumination control unit 43 determines that the calculated difference D is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold value Dth (NO in step S34), the angle width W of the non-irradiation region PH is set to be larger than the first angle width W1. It is set to a small second angle width W2 (step S36). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 13, the lighting control unit 43 sets the margin between the left end angular position θ _{l_n} of the front vehicle 1B and the left end boundary El of the non-irradiated region PH2 to α _2, and sets the margin to α ₂ and _moves forward. The margin between the rightmost angular position θ _{r_n} of the vehicle 1B and the rightmost boundary Er of the non-irradiated region PH2 is set to α ₂ . Here, the margin α ₂ is smaller than the margin α ₁ (0 ≦ α ₂ <α ₁ ). In this way, the illumination control unit 43 sets the angle width W of the non-irradiation region PH2 to the second angle width W2 (<W1) represented by the following equation (3). Here, the angle range of the non-irradiated region PH2 is θ _{l_n} −α ₂ ≦ θ ≦ θ _{r_n} + α ₂ .
W2 = 2α ₂ + (θ _{r_n} －θ _{l_n} ) ・・・ (3)

In this way, after the angle width W of the non-irradiated region PH2 is set in the process of step S35 or step S36, the illumination control unit 43 sets the ADB light distribution pattern PH having the irradiated region PH1 and the non-irradiated region PH2. decide. After that, the lighting control unit 43 controls the ADB lighting unit 46R so that the ADB light distribution pattern PH is emitted in front of the vehicle 1 (step S37). In this way, the processes of steps S31 to S37 are repeatedly executed.

According to the present embodiment, according to the difference D between the current angle position θ _n of the front vehicle 1B and the previous angle position θ _n-1 , which corresponds to the fluctuation of the angle position θ of the front vehicle 1B with respect to the vehicle 1. , The angle width W of the non-irradiated region PH2 of the light distribution pattern PH for ADB is changed. In particular, when the difference D is larger than the predetermined threshold value Dth, the angle width W of the non-irradiated region PH2 is set to the first angle width W1. On the other hand, when the difference D is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value Dth, the angle width W of the non-irradiated region PH2 is set to the second angle width W2 which is smaller than the first angle width W1. In this way, it is possible to ensure visibility of the surrounding environment of the occupant (for example, the driver) of the own vehicle 1 and to irradiate a part of the front vehicle 1B with the light from the ADB lighting unit 46R. It can be avoided as long as possible.

In this respect, when the front vehicle 1B overlaps a part of the irradiation region PH1 of the ADB light distribution pattern PH, the vehicle control unit 3 is ahead from the image data showing the front vehicle 1B overlapping a part of the irradiation region PH1. There is a risk that the attributes of vehicle 1B (that is, the type of object) cannot be accurately determined. The reason for this is that the trained model for discriminating the attributes of the object may not be able to accurately discriminate the attributes of the object that overlaps a part of the irradiation region PH1.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, a part of the front vehicle 1B is illuminated by the light from the ADB lighting unit 46R so that the vehicle control unit 3 can accurately determine the attributes of the object such as the front vehicle 1B. The situation to be done can be avoided as much as possible. Further, in order to avoid the situation where a part of the front vehicle 1B is irradiated by the light from the ADB lighting unit 46R, the angle width W of the non-irradiation region PH2 responds to the change in the angular position of the front vehicle 1B with respect to the vehicle 1. Optimized.

(Fourth Embodiment)
Next, the process of determining the angle width W of the non-irradiated region PH2 of the light distribution pattern for ADB according to the fourth embodiment will be described below mainly by referring to FIG. FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining a process of determining the angle width W of the non-irradiated region PH2 of the ADB light distribution pattern PH according to the fourth embodiment. In the following description, the light distribution pattern PH for ADB shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 will be appropriately referred to.

As shown in FIG. 14, in step S40, the camera 6 acquires image data showing the surrounding environment of the vehicle 1 and then transmits the image data to the vehicle control unit 3. Next, in step S41, the vehicle control unit 3 determines the current angle position θ _n of the vehicle in front 1B with respect to the optical axis Ax of the ADB lighting unit 46R (particularly, the current left end angle position θ _{l_n} and the current right end angle position θ). _{r_n} ) is determined.

Next, in step S42, the vehicle control unit 3 or the lighting control unit 43 calculates the average angle position θ _AVR of the vehicle in front 1B with respect to the optical axis Ax. In this regard, the vehicle control unit 3 or the illumination control unit 43, from the previous angular position theta _n-1 of the preceding vehicle 1B with respect to the optical axis Ax N times before (N is an integer of 2 or more) angular position theta _n-N of Calculate the average angle position θ _AVR between. More specifically, the vehicle control unit 3 or the illumination control unit 43, the left end mean angular position from the previous leftmost angular position theta _{L_n-1} of the preceding vehicle 1B to N times before the left end angular position _{_θ l_n-N} θ l_AVR Is calculated. The vehicle control unit 3 or the illumination control unit 43 calculates the right edge average angular position theta _{R_AVR} from the previous rightmost angular position theta _{r_n-1} of the preceding vehicle 1B to N times before the right end angular position theta _{r_n-N.}

Next, in step S43, the vehicle control unit 3 or the lighting control unit 43 calculates the difference D between the current angle position θ _n of the vehicle in front 1B and the calculated average angle position θ _AVR . Specifically, the vehicle control unit 3 or the lighting control unit 43 has a difference D = | θ _{l_n} −θ between the current left end angle position θ _{l_n} of the front vehicle 1B and the left end average angle position θ _{l_AVR} of the front vehicle 1B. _You may calculate _{l_AVR} |. Further, the vehicle control unit 3 or the lighting control unit 43 sets a difference D = | θ _{r_n} −θ _{r_AVR} | between the current right end angle position θ _{r_n} of the front vehicle 1B and the right end average angle position θ _{r_AVR} of the front vehicle 1B. You may calculate.

Next, in step S44, the lighting control unit 43 determines whether or not the calculated difference D is larger than the predetermined threshold value Dth. When the illumination control unit 43 determines that the calculated difference D is larger than the predetermined threshold value Dth (YES in step S44), the illumination control unit 43 sets the angle width W of the non-irradiation region PH2 to the first as shown in FIG. The angle width is set to W1 (step S45). On the other hand, when the illumination control unit 43 determines that the calculated difference D is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold value Dth (NO in step S44), the illumination control unit 43 sets the angle width W of the non-irradiation region PH as shown in FIG. The second angle width W2, which is smaller than the angle width W1 of 1, is set (step S46). Next, the illumination control unit 43 determines the ADB light distribution pattern PH having the irradiation region PH1 and the non-irradiation region PH2, and then the ADB light distribution pattern PH is emitted to the front of the vehicle 1 for ADB. The lighting unit 46R is controlled (step S47).

According to the present embodiment, for ADB according to the difference D between the current angle position θ _n of the front vehicle 1B and the average angle position θ _AVR corresponding to the fluctuation of the angle position θ of the front vehicle 1B with respect to the vehicle 1. The angle width W of the non-irradiated region PH2 of the light distribution pattern PH is changed. In particular, when the difference D is larger than the predetermined threshold value Dth, the angle width W of the non-irradiated region PH2 is set to the first angle width W1. On the other hand, when the difference D is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value Dth, the angle width W of the non-irradiated region PH2 is set to the second angle width W2 which is smaller than the first angle width W1. In this way, it is possible to ensure visibility of the surrounding environment of the occupant (for example, the driver) of the own vehicle 1 and to irradiate a part of the front vehicle 1B with the light from the ADB lighting unit 46R. It can be avoided as long as possible.

(Fifth Embodiment)
Next, the process of determining the angle width W of the non-irradiated region PH2 of the light distribution pattern for ADB according to the fifth embodiment will be described below mainly by referring to FIGS. 15 and 16. FIG. 15 is a flowchart for explaining a process of determining the angle width W of the non-irradiated region PH2 of the ADB light distribution pattern PH according to the fifth embodiment. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a light distribution pattern PH for ADB formed on a virtual vertical screen when the angle width W of the non-irradiated region PH2 is W3.

As shown in FIG. 15, in step S50, the camera 6 acquires image data indicating the surrounding environment of the vehicle 1 and then transmits the image data to the vehicle control unit 3. Next, in step S51, the vehicle control unit 3 determines the current angle position θ _n of the vehicle in front 1B with respect to the optical axis Ax of the ADB lighting unit 46R (particularly, the current left end angle position θ _{l_n} and the current right end angle position θ). _{r_n} ) is determined.

Next, in step S52, the vehicle control unit 3 or the lighting control unit 43 calculates the average angle position θ _AVR of the vehicle in front 1B with respect to the optical axis Ax. In this regard, the vehicle control unit 3 or the illumination control unit 43, the current front wheel 1B with respect to the optical axis Ax angular position M times ago theta _n (M is an integer of 1 or more) to the angular position theta _n-M in Calculate the average angle position θ _AVR between. More specifically, the vehicle control unit 3 or the lighting control unit 43 calculates the left end average angle position θ _{l_AVR} from the current left end angle position θ _{l_n} of the vehicle 1B ahead to the left end angle position θ _{l_n−M} M times before. To do. Further, the vehicle control unit 3 or the lighting control unit 43 calculates the right end average angle position θ _{r_AVR} from the current right end angle position θ _{r_n} of the front vehicle 1B to the right end angle position θ _{r_n−M} M times before.

Next, in step S53, the lighting control unit 43 determines the angle width W of the non-irradiation region PH2 based on the average angle position θ _AVR of the vehicle in front 1B. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 16, the illumination control unit 43 sets the angle width W of the non-irradiated region to the third angle width W3 represented by the following equation (4). Here, the distance between the left end boundary El of the non-irradiated region PH2 and the left end average angle position θ _{l_AVR} is set as the margin α ₃ , and the right end boundary Er and the right end average angle position θ _{r_AVR} of the non-irradiated region PH2 The distance between them is set as the margin α ₃ . The margin α ₃ is 0 or more. Further, the angular range of the non-irradiated region PH2 is θ _{l_AVR} −α ₃ ≦ θ ≦ θ _{r_AVR} + α ₃ .
W3 = 2α ₃ + (θ _{r_AVR} −θ _{l_AVR} ) ・・・ (4)

Next, after the lighting control unit 43 determines the ADB light distribution pattern PH having the irradiation region PH1 and the non-irradiation region PH2, the lighting control unit 43 emits the ADB light distribution pattern PH to the front of the vehicle 1. The ADB lighting unit 46R is controlled so as to be performed (step S54).

According to the present embodiment, the angle width W3 of the non-irradiated region PH2 of the light distribution pattern for ADB is determined based on the average angle position θ _AVR of the _preceding vehicle 1B. In this way, the angle width W of the non-irradiated region PH2 of the ADB light distribution pattern PH can be optimized in consideration of the fluctuation of the angular position of the vehicle 1B in front. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation in which a part of the front vehicle 1B is irradiated by the light from the ADB lighting unit 46R without deteriorating the visibility of the occupant of the own vehicle 1 to the surrounding environment as much as possible.

(Sixth Embodiment)
Next, with reference to FIGS. 17 to 20, a process of determining the angle width of the non-irradiated region of the ADB light distribution pattern according to the driving mode of the vehicle 1 will be described below. FIG. 17 is a flowchart for explaining a process of determining the angle width W of the non-irradiated region PH2 of the ADB light distribution pattern PH according to the driving mode of the vehicle 1. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing the own vehicle 1 and the vehicle in front 1C. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a light distribution pattern PH for ADB formed on a virtual vertical screen when the angle width W of the non-irradiated region PH2 is the first angle width W4. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an ADB light distribution pattern PH formed on a virtual vertical screen when the angle width W of the non-irradiated region PH2 is the second angle width W5 (<W4).

As shown in FIG. 17, in step S61, the camera 6 acquires image data showing the surrounding environment of the vehicle 1 and then transmits the image data to the vehicle control unit 3. Here, the image data shows the vehicle in front 1C. The "forward vehicle" is an oncoming vehicle or a preceding vehicle.

Next, when the vehicle control unit 3 determines that an object such as the front vehicle 1C exists in front of the vehicle 1 (YES in step S62), the vehicle control unit 3 acquires the current angular position θ of the front vehicle 1C. On the other hand, when the vehicle control unit 3 determines that there is no object such as the front vehicle 1C in front of the vehicle 1 (NO in step S62), the high beam light distribution pattern (that is, only from the irradiation region PH1). The ADB light distribution pattern PH) is emitted forward (step S63).

Next, in step S64, first, the vehicle control unit 3 determines the current angular position φ _n of the vehicle in front 1C with respect to the central axis Cx of the camera 6 based on the transmitted image data (see FIG. 18). .. Specifically, the vehicle control unit 3 determines the current left end angle position φ _{l_n} of the front vehicle 1C with respect to the central axis Cx and the current right end angle position φ _{r_n} of the front vehicle 1C with respect to the central axis Cx. Here, the angular position of the front vehicle 1C with respect to the central axis Cx is an angular position in the horizontal direction, not an angular position in the vertical direction (vertical direction).

Next, the vehicle control unit 3 determines the current angle position θ _n of the front vehicle 1C with respect to the optical axis Ax of the ADB lighting unit 46R based on the current angle position φ _n of the front vehicle 1C with respect to the central axis Cx of the camera 6. (See FIG. 18). Specifically, the vehicle control unit 3 determines the current left end angle position θ _{l_n} of the front vehicle 1C with respect to the optical axis Ax based on the current left end angle position φ _{l_n} of the front vehicle 1C with respect to the central axis Cx. Further, the vehicle control unit 3 determines the current right end angle position θ _{r_n} of the front vehicle 1C with respect to the optical axis Ax based on the current right end angle position φ _{r_n} of the front vehicle 1C with respect to the central axis Cx. Here, the angular position of the front vehicle 1C with respect to the optical axis Ax is an angular position in the horizontal direction, not an angular position in the vertical direction. Further, it is assumed that the information regarding the relative positional relationship between the camera 6 and the ADB lighting unit 46R is stored in the memory of the vehicle control unit 3.

Next, in step S65, the lighting control unit 43 determines whether the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is the fully automatic driving mode or the advanced driving support mode based on the information indicating the driving mode of the vehicle 1 received from the vehicle control unit 3. Judge whether or not. When the lighting control unit 43 determines that the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is the fully automatic driving mode or the advanced driving support mode (YES in step S65), the lighting control unit 43 determines the angle width W of the non-irradiated region PH2 of the light distribution pattern PH for ADB. The first angle width W4 is set (step S66).

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 19, the illumination control unit 43 sets a margin between the left border El leftmost angular position theta _{L_n} and non-irradiated regions PH2 of the forward vehicle 1C to alpha _4, front The margin between the right end angular position θ _{r_n} of the vehicle 1C and the right end boundary Er of the non-irradiated region PH2 is set to α ₄ . Here, the margin α ₄ is α ₄ > 0. In this way, the illumination control unit 43 sets the angle width W of the non-irradiation region PH2 to the first angle width W4 represented by the following equation (5). Here, the angle range of the non-irradiated region PH2 is θ _{l_n} −α ₄ ≦ θ ≦ θ _{r_n} + α ₄ .
W4 = 2α ₄ + (θ _{r_n} －θ _{l_n} ) ・・・ (5)

On the other hand, when the lighting control unit 43 determines that the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is not the fully automatic driving mode or the advanced driving support mode (NO in step S65), the angle width W of the non-irradiation region PH2 is set to the second angle width. Set to W5 (step S67). In other words, the lighting control unit 43 sets the angle width W of the non-irradiation region PH2 to the second angle width W5 when the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is the driving support mode or the manual driving mode. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 20, the lighting control unit 43 sets the margin between the left end angular position θ _{l_n} of the front vehicle 1C and the left end boundary El of the non-irradiated region PH2 to α _5, and sets the margin to α ₅ and _moves forward. the margin between the right end angular position theta _{r_n} and right boundaries Er unirradiated regions PH2 car 1C is set to alpha _5. Here, the margin α ₅ is smaller than the margin α ₄ (0 ≦ α ₅ <α ₄ ). In this way, the illumination control unit 43 sets the angle width W of the non-irradiation region PH2 to the second angle width W5 (<W4) represented by the following equation (6). Here, the angle range of the non-irradiated region PH2 is θ _{l_n} −α ₅ ≦ θ ≦ θ _{r_n} + α ₅ .
W5 = 2α ₅ + (θ _{r_n} －θ _{l_n} ) ・・・ (6)

In this way, after the angle width W of the non-irradiated region PH2 is set in the process of step S66 or step S67, the illumination control unit 43 sets the ADB light distribution pattern PH having the irradiated region PH1 and the non-irradiated region PH2. decide. After that, the lighting control unit 43 controls the ADB lighting unit 46R so that the ADB light distribution pattern PH is emitted toward the front of the vehicle 1 (step S68). In this way, the processes of steps S61 to S68 are repeatedly executed.

According to the present embodiment, when the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is the advanced driving support mode or the fully automatic driving mode, the angle width W of the non-irradiation region PH2 is set to the first angle width W4. On the other hand, when the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is the driving support mode or the manual driving mode, the angle width W of the non-irradiation region PH2 is set to the second angle width W5.

When the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is the advanced driving support mode or the fully automatic driving mode, the occupants of the own vehicle 1 do not control the running of the vehicle 1, so that the visibility of the occupants of the own vehicle 1 to the surrounding environment is taken into consideration. There is no need. On the other hand, since the angle width W of the non-irradiation region PH2 is set to the first angle width W4 which is larger than the second angle width W5, the object such as the front vehicle 1C is determined by the ADB light distribution pattern PH. The situation of being irradiated can be avoided as much as possible. Therefore, it is possible to avoid as much as possible a situation in which the vehicle control unit 3 (vehicle-mounted computer) of the own vehicle 1 cannot determine the attribute of the object based on the image data from the camera 6 and the learned model.

In this respect, when the front vehicle 1C overlaps a part of the irradiation region PH1 of the ADB light distribution pattern PH, the vehicle control unit 3 is ahead from the image data showing the front vehicle 1C overlapping a part of the irradiation region PH1. There is a risk that the attributes of vehicle 1C (that is, the type of object) cannot be accurately determined. The reason for this is that the trained model for discriminating the attributes of the object may not be able to accurately discriminate the attributes of the object that overlaps a part of the irradiation region PH1. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a part of the front vehicle 1C is irradiated with light from the ADB lighting unit 46R so that the vehicle control unit 3 can accurately determine the attributes of the object such as the front vehicle 1C. The situation to be done can be avoided as much as possible.

On the other hand, when the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is the driving support mode or the manual driving mode, the angle width W of the non-irradiation region PH2 is set to the second angle width W5 which is smaller than the first angle width W4. Therefore, it is possible to sufficiently secure the visibility of the occupants (particularly the driver) of the own vehicle 1 with respect to the surrounding environment.

In the present embodiment, in the determination process of step S65, it is determined whether the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is the fully automatic driving mode or the advanced driving support mode, but the present embodiment is limited to this. is not. For example, in the determination process of step S65, it may be determined whether or not the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is the fully automatic driving mode. Further, it may be determined whether the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is the fully automatic driving mode, the advanced driving support mode, or the driving support mode (in other words, whether the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is the automatic driving mode). ..

(7th Embodiment)
Next, with reference mainly to FIG. 21, a process of determining whether or not to emit the ADB light distribution pattern PH according to the driving mode of the vehicle 1 will be described below. FIG. 21 is a flowchart for explaining a process of determining whether or not to emit the ADB light distribution pattern PH2 according to the driving mode of the vehicle 1. In the following description, the ADB light distribution pattern PH and the low beam light distribution pattern PL shown in FIG. 19 will be appropriately referred to.

As shown in FIG. 21, in step S70, based on the information indicating the driving mode of the vehicle 1 received from the vehicle control unit 3, whether the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is the fully automatic driving mode or the advanced driving support mode is determined. judge.

When the lighting control unit 43 determines that the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is the fully automatic driving mode or the advanced driving support mode (YES in step S70), the lighting control unit 43 determines not to irradiate the ADB light distribution pattern PH forward. (Step S71). After that, the illumination control unit 43 controls the low beam illumination unit 45R so that the low beam light distribution pattern PL is emitted toward the front.

On the other hand, when the lighting control unit 43 determines that the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is not the fully automatic driving mode or the advanced driving support mode (NO in step S70), the lighting control unit 43 irradiates the ADB light distribution pattern PH toward the front. Is determined (step S72). After that, the illumination control unit 43 controls the ADB lighting unit 46R so that the ADB light distribution pattern PH is emitted forward, and the low beam light distribution pattern PL is emitted forward. Controls the low beam lighting unit 45R. In this case, when an object such as the front vehicle 1C exists in the front region of the vehicle 1, the ADB lighting unit 46R is controlled so that the object is included in the non-irradiation region PH2. On the other hand, when the object does not exist in the front region of the vehicle 1, the ADB light distribution pattern PH (that is, the high beam light distribution pattern) including only the irradiation region PH 1 is emitted toward the front.

According to the present embodiment, when the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is the advanced driving mode or the fully automatic driving mode, the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is set while the ADB light distribution pattern PH is not irradiated from the ADB lighting unit 46R. In the driving support mode or the manual driving mode, the ADB light distribution pattern PH is irradiated from the ADB lighting unit 46R.

In particular, when the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is the advanced driving support mode or the fully automatic driving mode, the occupant of the vehicle 1 does not control the running of the vehicle 1, so the visibility of the occupant with respect to the surrounding environment of the vehicle 1 is taken into consideration. There is no need. On the other hand, in such a case, it is possible to avoid the situation where the object such as the vehicle 1C in front is irradiated by the light distribution pattern PH for ADB as much as possible. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the vehicle control unit 3 cannot determine the attribute of the object based on the image data from the camera 6 and the trained model.

On the other hand, when the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is the driving support mode or the manual driving mode, the light distribution pattern PH for ADB is irradiated to the outside of the vehicle 1, so that the occupants (particularly,) with respect to the surrounding environment of the vehicle 1 , The driver)'s visibility can be sufficiently ensured.

In the present embodiment, in the determination process of step S70, it is determined whether the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is the fully automatic driving mode or the advanced driving support mode, but the present embodiment is limited to this. is not. For example, in the determination process of step S70, it may be determined whether or not the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is the fully automatic driving mode. Further, it may be determined whether the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is the fully automatic driving mode, the advanced driving support mode, or the driving support mode (in other words, whether the driving mode of the vehicle 1 is the automatic driving mode). ..

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it goes without saying that the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed in a limited manner by the description of the present embodiments. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that this embodiment is merely an example and that various embodiments can be modified within the scope of the invention described in the claims. The technical scope of the present invention should be determined based on the scope of the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

This application includes the contents disclosed in the Japanese patent application filed on July 3, 2019 (Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-124310) and the Japanese patent application filed on July 3, 2019 (Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-124310). The contents disclosed in (2019-124311) and the contents disclosed in the Japanese patent application (Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-124312) filed on July 3, 2019 will be appropriately incorporated.

Claims

A vehicle lighting system installed in a vehicle
A lighting unit configured to irradiate a light distribution pattern having an irradiated area and a non-irradiated area toward the outside of the vehicle.
A lighting control unit configured to control the lighting unit so that the front vehicle existing in the front region of the vehicle is included in the non-irradiation region.
The lighting control unit
When an object exists in a non-irradiated region formed by the presence of the vehicle in front, and predetermined information related to the object has not yet been specified by the vehicle.
The lighting unit is controlled so that the non-irradiation region formed by the presence of the front vehicle is switched to the irradiation region after the first period has elapsed from the time when the front vehicle disappears from the front region.
When there is no object in the non-irradiated region formed by the presence of the vehicle in front, or when predetermined information related to the object has already been identified by the vehicle.
After a second period has elapsed from the time when the preceding vehicle disappears from the front region, the lighting unit is controlled so that the non-irradiated region formed by the presence of the front vehicle is switched to the irradiation region.
The first period is shorter than the second period,
Vehicle lighting system.
The vehicle lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined information related to the object is the attribute information of the object or the behavior prediction information of the object.
A vehicle lighting system installed in a vehicle
A lighting unit configured to irradiate a light distribution pattern having an irradiated area and a non-irradiated area toward the outside of the vehicle.
A lighting control unit configured to control the lighting unit so that the front vehicle existing in the front region of the vehicle is included in the non-irradiation region.
The lighting control unit
When the level of the driving mode of the vehicle is equal to or higher than a predetermined level,
The lighting unit is controlled so that the non-irradiation region formed by the presence of the front vehicle is switched to the irradiation region after the first period has elapsed from the time when the front vehicle disappears from the front region.
When the level of the driving mode of the vehicle is lower than the predetermined level,
After a second period has elapsed from the time when the preceding vehicle disappears from the front region, the lighting unit is controlled so that the non-irradiated region formed by the presence of the front vehicle is switched to the irradiation region.
The first period is shorter than the second period,
Vehicle lighting system.
The lighting control unit
When the driving mode of the vehicle is the advanced driving support mode or the fully automatic driving mode,
The lighting unit is controlled so that the non-irradiation region formed by the presence of the front vehicle is switched to the irradiation region after the first period has elapsed from the time when the front vehicle disappears from the front region.
When the driving mode of the vehicle is a partial driving support mode or a manual driving mode,
After a second period has elapsed from the time when the preceding vehicle disappears from the front region, the lighting unit is controlled so that the non-irradiated region formed by the presence of the front vehicle is switched to the irradiation region.
The first period is shorter than the second period,
The vehicle lighting system according to claim 3.
A vehicle lighting system installed in a vehicle
A lighting unit configured to irradiate a light distribution pattern having an irradiated area and a non-irradiated area toward the outside of the vehicle.
A lighting control unit configured to control the lighting unit so that the object is included in the non-irradiated region based on information on the angular position of the object existing outside the vehicle.
The lighting control unit
A vehicle lighting system configured to change the angular width of the non-irradiated region according to changes in the angular position of the object with respect to the vehicle.
The lighting control unit
When the fluctuation of the angular position is larger than a predetermined threshold value, the angular width of the non-irradiated region is set to the first angular width based on the angular position.
When the fluctuation of the angular position is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold value, the angular width of the non-irradiated region is set to a second angular width smaller than the first angular width based on the angular position. The vehicle lighting system according to claim 5, which is configured.
The vehicle lighting system according to claim 6, wherein the variation in the angular position is a difference between the current angular position of the object and the previous angular position of the object.
The lighting control unit
It is configured to calculate the average angular position of the angular position from the previous time of the object to N times before (N is an integer of 2 or more).
The vehicle lighting system according to claim 6, wherein the variation in the angular position is a difference between the current angular position of the object and the average angular position.
A vehicle lighting system installed in a vehicle
A lighting unit configured to irradiate a light distribution pattern having an irradiated area and a non-irradiated area toward the outside of the vehicle.
A lighting control unit configured to control the lighting unit so that the object is included in the non-irradiated region based on information on the angular position of the object existing outside the vehicle.
The lighting control unit
The average angular position of the angular position from the current angular position of the object to M times before (M is an integer of 1 or more) is calculated.
The angular width of the non-irradiated region is determined based on the average angular position.
A vehicle lighting system that is configured to.
A camera configured to acquire image data showing the surrounding environment of the vehicle,
An attribute determination unit configured to determine the attributes of an object existing outside the vehicle based on the image data.
A first angle position determining unit configured to determine a first angle position of an object with respect to the central axis of the camera based on the image data.
A second angle position determining unit configured to determine the second angle position of the object with respect to the optical axis of the lighting unit as the angle position of the object based on the first angle position.
The vehicle lighting system according to any one of claims 5 to 9.
With a vehicle system.
A vehicle lighting system installed in a vehicle
A lighting unit configured to irradiate an ADB light distribution pattern having an irradiated area and a non-irradiated area toward the outside of the vehicle.
A lighting control unit configured to control the lighting unit so that the object is included in the non-irradiated region based on information on the angular position of the object existing outside the vehicle.
The lighting control unit
A vehicle lighting system configured to change the angular width of the non-irradiated region according to the driving mode of the vehicle.
The lighting control unit
When the driving mode of the vehicle is the advanced driving support mode or the fully automatic driving mode, the angular width of the non-irradiated region is set to the first angular width based on the information regarding the angular position.
When the driving mode of the vehicle is the driving support mode or the manual driving mode, the angle width of the non-irradiated region is set to a second angle width smaller than the first angle width based on the information regarding the angle position. The vehicle lighting system according to claim 11, which is configured to do so.
A vehicle lighting system installed in a vehicle
A lighting unit configured to irradiate an ADB light distribution pattern having an irradiated area and a non-irradiated area toward the outside of the vehicle.
A lighting control unit configured to control the lighting unit so that the object is included in the non-irradiated region based on information on the angular position of the object existing outside the vehicle.
The lighting control unit
When a predetermined condition related to the driving mode of the vehicle is satisfied, the ADB light distribution pattern is irradiated from the lighting unit.
When the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the ADB light distribution pattern is not irradiated from the lighting unit.
A vehicle lighting system that is configured to.
The lighting control unit
When the driving mode of the vehicle is the advanced driving support mode or the fully automatic driving mode, the lighting unit does not irradiate the ADB light distribution pattern.
The vehicle lighting system according to claim 13, wherein when the driving mode of the vehicle is a driving support mode or a manual driving mode, the lighting unit is configured to irradiate the ADB light distribution pattern. ..
A camera configured to acquire image data showing the surrounding environment of the vehicle,
An attribute determination unit configured to determine the attributes of an object existing outside the vehicle based on the image data.
The vehicle lighting system according to any one of claims 11 to 14.
With a vehicle system.
A vehicle equipped with the vehicle lighting system according to any one of claims 1 to 9 and 12 to 14.
A vehicle equipped with the vehicle system according to claim 10 or 15.