WO2024057376A1

WO2024057376A1 - Headlight control device and headlight control method

Info

Publication number: WO2024057376A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/034130
Authority: WO
Inventors: 周作 ▲高▼本
Original assignee: 三菱電機株式会社
Priority date: 2022-09-13
Filing date: 2022-09-13
Publication date: 2024-03-21

Abstract

This headlight control device comprises: an orientation detection unit (12) that detects the orientation of a driver of a vehicle (100) on the basis of an image in which the driver is captured; a target object presence/absence judgement unit (14) that judges whether or not a target object is present in the direction in which the driver is oriented, on the basis of orientation information pertaining to the orientation of the driver and vehicle surrounding information; a target object state judgement unit (15) that, if the target object is determined to be present in the direction in which the driver is oriented, judges the state in which the target object is set, on the basis of the vehicle surrounding information; a control content determination unit (16) that determines an irradiation range of light or an irradiation light amount by a headlight (2) mounted to the vehicle (100) on the basis of target object state information and the orientation information; and a light distribution control unit (17) that causes the headlight (2) to emit light on the basis of the irradiation range or the irradiation light amount determined by the control content determination unit (16).

Description

Headlight control device and headlight control method

The present disclosure relates to a headlight control device and a headlight control method.

Conventionally, in controlling the lighting of headlights in a vehicle, in order to improve the visibility of the driver, there is a known technology that controls the lighting of the area in the direction the driver is facing (for example, Patent Document 1)

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-120148

When there is an object such as an obstacle in the direction the driver is facing, irradiation of light by headlights that is preferable to make it easier for the driver to see the object depending on the situation in which the object is placed. The range or amount of illumination varies.
The conventional technology has a problem in that the lighting control of the headlights cannot be performed in consideration of the situation in which objects are placed in the direction in which the driver is facing.

The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and in the headlight lighting control of a vehicle based on the direction the driver is facing, it is possible to control the lighting of headlights based on the direction the driver is facing. An object of the present invention is to provide a headlight control device that can perform lighting control taking into consideration the current situation.

The headlight control device according to the present disclosure includes a direction detection section that detects the direction of the driver based on a captured image of the driver of the vehicle, and direction information regarding the direction of the driver detected by the direction detection section and the direction of the vehicle. A target object presence/absence determination unit that determines whether or not there is a target object that is estimated to be visible to the driver in the direction in which the driver is facing based on surrounding information; When it is determined that there is a target object in the direction in which the person is facing, the target object situation determination unit determines the situation in which the target object is placed based on the vehicle surrounding information, and the target object determined by the target object situation determination unit a control content determination unit that determines the irradiation range or the amount of light irradiated by the headlights installed in the vehicle based on the target object situation information regarding the situation in which the vehicle is placed, and the irradiation light amount; The apparatus includes a light distribution control section that irradiates light based on the irradiation range or the amount of irradiation light determined by the control content determination section.

According to the present disclosure, when controlling the lighting of headlights in a vehicle based on the direction in which the driver is facing, the lighting control is performed in consideration of a situation in which an object is placed in the direction in which the driver is facing. Can be done.

1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a headlight control device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an example of the irradiation range and the amount of irradiation light determined by the control content determination unit in the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining another example of the irradiation range and the amount of irradiation light determined by the control content determination unit in the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining another example of the irradiation range and the amount of irradiation light determined by the control content determination unit in the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining another example of the irradiation range and the amount of irradiation light determined by the control content determination unit in the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining another example of the irradiation range and the amount of irradiation light determined by the control content determination unit in the first embodiment. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the headlight control device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining control for reducing the amount of irradiated light when the headlight control device determines that there is no target object in the direction in which the driver is facing in the first embodiment. 9A and 9B are diagrams illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of the headlight control device according to the first embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
Embodiment 1.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a headlight control device 1 according to the first embodiment.
In the first embodiment, it is assumed that the headlight control device 1 is mounted on a vehicle 100 .

The headlight control device 1 controls the headlights 2 provided in the vehicle 100 based on the orientation of the driver of the vehicle 100. In the first embodiment, the "direction of the driving vehicle" is expressed by the direction of the driver's face or the direction of the driver's line of sight.
Specifically, headlight control device 1 determines whether or not there is an object (hereinafter referred to as "target object") that is estimated to be visible to the driver in the direction in which the driver of vehicle 100 is facing. However, if it is determined that there is a target object, the headlights 2 are controlled in consideration of the situation in which the target object is placed. In the first embodiment, the light control of the headlights 2 performed by the headlight control device 1 is specifically assumed to control the irradiation range or the amount of light emitted by the headlights 2.
In the first embodiment, it is assumed that the target object exists in front of vehicle 100 while the driver is driving vehicle 100. Target objects include moving objects including people, and stationary objects such as objects installed on roads.

In the first embodiment, the headlight control device 1 controls the headlights 2 based on the direction of the driver in a dark place such as a parking lot at night, a city area at night, or an underground parking lot. , is assumed to be performed when the headlight 2 is turned on.

The headlight control device 1 is connected to the headlights 2, the in-vehicle imaging device 3, and the surrounding information acquisition device 4. Surrounding information acquisition device 4 includes a millimeter wave radar 41 and an external imaging device 42 . The headlight 2, the in-vehicle imaging device 3, and the surrounding information acquisition device 4 are provided in the vehicle 100.

The headlight 2 is a lighting device that illuminates the front of the vehicle 100. The headlight 2 is a general headlight that can emit, for example, a high beam, a low beam, and an auxiliary light, so a detailed description of the configuration example will be omitted. The headlights 2 include a left light (not shown) mounted on the left side of the vehicle 100 with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle 100, and a right light (not shown) mounted on the right side of the vehicle 100 with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle 100. (not shown). The left light is composed of a high beam unit (not shown) that illuminates a distant area, a low beam unit (not shown) that illuminates a nearby area, and an auxiliary light unit (not shown). The right light is composed of a high beam unit (not shown) that illuminates a distant area, a low beam unit (not shown) that illuminates a nearby area, and an auxiliary light unit (not shown).
The high beam unit, low beam unit, and auxiliary light unit each include, for example, a plurality of light sources (not shown) such as LED light sources arranged in an array, and each light source can be turned on individually. Note that in the first embodiment, being arranged in an array means that the light sources are arranged in a line in the width direction of the vehicle 100. By lighting up each light source, a region in front of vehicle 100 is irradiated with high beam, low beam, or auxiliary light.
Note that although the headlight 2 is assumed here to be composed of light sources such as a plurality of LED light sources arranged in an array, this is only an example, and the headlight 2 may have a different configuration. You can. For example, the headlight 2 may have a configuration that uses a laser excitation light source as a light source.

In the first embodiment, the area in front of the vehicle 100 where the high beam unit can emit high beams is referred to as a "high beam irradiable area." How far in front of the vehicle 100 and in what range the high beam irradiation possible area extends is determined in advance according to the specifications of the high beam unit and the like. In the first embodiment, the area in front of the vehicle 100 where the low beam unit can emit a low beam is referred to as a "low beam irradiation possible area." Note that in the first embodiment, the low beam is also referred to as a "passing light." How far in front of the vehicle 100 and in what range the low beam irradiation possible area extends is determined in advance according to the specifications of the low beam unit and the like. In the first embodiment, the area in front of the vehicle 100 where the auxiliary light unit can irradiate the auxiliary light is referred to as the "auxiliary light irradiation possible area." The extent to which the auxiliary light irradiation area is in front of the vehicle 100 is determined in advance according to the specifications of the auxiliary light unit and the like.

The headlight control device 1 according to the first embodiment performs control to emit or block high beam, low beam, or auxiliary light by, for example, turning each light source on or off. Thereby, the headlight control device 1 controls the range of light irradiated by the headlights 2.
The headlight control device 1 can not only turn on and turn off each light source, but also control the amount of light when turned on.

The in-vehicle imaging device 3 is a camera or the like installed in the vehicle 100 for the purpose of monitoring the inside of the vehicle 100, and is installed so as to be able to image at least the driver's face. The in-vehicle imaging device 3 is an infrared camera or a visible light camera.
The in-vehicle imaging device 3 outputs the captured image (hereinafter referred to as “in-vehicle captured image”) to the headlight control device 1.
In the first embodiment, the in-vehicle imaging device 3 is, for example, an imaging device included in a so-called "Driver Monitoring System (DMS)" installed in the vehicle 100 to monitor the condition of the driver in the vehicle 100. It is assumed that it will be shared with the device.

The surrounding information acquisition device 4 is a device that obtains information regarding objects existing around the vehicle 100 (hereinafter referred to as “vehicle surrounding information”).
The surrounding information acquisition device 4 includes a millimeter wave radar 41 and an external imaging device 42 .

The millimeter wave radar 41 acquires information regarding the distance to an object outside the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as "distance information") as vehicle surrounding information. The millimeter wave radar 41 transmits radio waves such as millimeter waves around the vehicle 100 and receives reflected waves of the radio waves reflected by objects. The millimeter wave radar 41 can detect the presence of an object associated with the reflected wave, the distance to the object, the shape of the object, etc. based on the time from the timing of transmitting the radio wave until receiving the reflected wave. . The distance information acquired by the millimeter wave radar 41 includes information regarding the presence of an object, the distance to the object, the shape of the object, and the like. Note that the radio waves are irradiated to a plurality of areas in a predetermined range around the vehicle 100, and the distance information includes the presence of objects and the distance to the object for the number of areas that are irradiated with radio waves. Information regarding distance, shape of object, etc. is included.

The external imaging device 42 is, for example, a front camera, and acquires a captured image of the front of the vehicle 100 (hereinafter referred to as "vehicle front image") as vehicle surrounding information. The external imaging device 42 is an infrared camera or a visible light camera.

The surrounding information acquisition device 4 outputs the acquired vehicle surrounding information to the headlight control device 1. Specifically, the millimeter wave radar 41 outputs distance information to the headlight control device 1, and the external imaging device 42 outputs an image in front of the vehicle to the headlight control device 1.

A configuration example of the headlight control device 1 will be explained.
The headlight control device 1 includes an in-vehicle image acquisition section 11, a direction detection section 12, a peripheral information acquisition section 13, a target object presence/absence determination section 14, a target object situation determination section 15, a control content determination section 16, and a light distribution control section. 17.

The in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11 acquires an in-vehicle captured image from the in-vehicle imaging device 3 .
The in-vehicle image acquisition section 11 outputs the acquired in-vehicle captured image to the orientation detection section 12 .
Note that the function of the in-vehicle image acquisition section 11 may be provided in the orientation detection section 12.

The orientation detection unit 12 detects the orientation of the driver based on the in-vehicle image captured by the in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11 from the in-vehicle imaging device 3 .
The direction detection unit 12 detects the direction of the driver, in other words, the direction of the driver's face or line of sight using a known image recognition technique. The image recognition technology that detects the direction of a person's face from a captured image of a person's face and the image recognition technology that detects the direction of a person's line of sight from a captured image of a person's face are well-known technologies. , detailed explanation will be omitted.

In the first embodiment, the driver's orientation is expressed as an angle with respect to a reference direction. In the first embodiment, the reference direction is, for example, a straight line passing through the center of the driver's head and a point in front of the center of the head. Note that since the installation position and viewing angle of the in-vehicle imaging device 3 are known in advance, the orientation detection unit 12 can calculate the position of the center of the driver's head. The position of the center of the driver's head is a point in real space, and is represented by, for example, coordinate values that can be mapped on a map. The driver's orientation is expressed, for example, by a horizontal angle and a vertical angle with respect to the reference direction.
In detail, the direction of the driver is, for example, based on the time when the driver faces the front with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle 100 (0 degrees), and the direction of the driver in the left and right direction is, for example, when the driver faces the front with respect to the direction of travel of the vehicle 100. The angle becomes larger as the driver turns to the right with respect to the direction of travel of the vehicle 100 from the state of facing forward, and decreases as the driver turns to the left with respect to the direction of travel of the vehicle 100 from the state of facing forward. It is expressed as an angle. Further, the vertical direction of the driver is expressed as an angle that increases as the driver faces upward relative to the traveling direction of the vehicle 100 from a state where the driver faces forward. It is expressed as an angle that decreases in value as it goes downward relative to the traveling direction of vehicle 100. Note that in the first embodiment, the front is not limited to strictly straight ahead, and includes substantially the front.

Further, upon detecting the driver's orientation, the orientation detection unit 12 calculates a position where the driver is estimated to be attempting to view (hereinafter referred to as "estimated viewing position") based on the detected driver's orientation. .
For example, the estimated visible position is expressed by an angle and a distance as seen from the position of the vehicle 100, in other words, in what direction and at what distance from the position of the vehicle 100. Note that the estimated visual recognition position is a point in real space. In the first embodiment, which point is the position of vehicle 100 is determined in advance. For example, the location of vehicle 100 is a point on the front end of the vehicle. For example, the position of the vehicle 100 may be the installation position of the headlight 2.
The installation position of the in-vehicle imaging device 3, the angle of view of the in-vehicle imaging device 3, the orientation of the driver, and the positional relationship between the driver's head position, which is a reference for the driver's orientation, and the installation position of the in-vehicle imaging device 3. is known in advance. Further, the positional relationship between the position of the vehicle 100 and the installation position of the in-vehicle imaging device 3 is known in advance. The orientation detection unit 12 can calculate the estimated visible position of the driver from the orientation of the driver detected based on the in-vehicle captured image. For example, regarding the driver's visual direction, the orientation detection unit 12 determines the intersection of a virtual straight line indicating the visual direction of the right eye and a virtual straight line indicating the visual direction of the left eye as an estimated visual position, and determines the estimated visual position. Calculate the coordinates of.
The orientation detection unit 12 outputs information (hereinafter referred to as “orientation information”) in which the detected orientation of the driver is associated with the calculated estimated visible position of the driver to the target object presence/absence determination unit 14.

The surrounding information acquisition unit 13 obtains vehicle surrounding information from the surrounding information acquisition device 4 . Specifically, the surrounding information acquisition unit 13 acquires distance information and an image in front of the vehicle from the millimeter wave radar 41 and the external imaging device 42, respectively.
The surrounding information acquisition unit 13 outputs the acquired vehicle surrounding information to the target object presence/absence determination unit 14.
Note that the function of the peripheral information acquisition section 13 may be provided in the target object presence/absence determination section 14.

The target object presence/absence determination unit 14 determines whether the target object is to be visually recognized by the driver in the direction in which the driver is facing, based on the orientation information output from the orientation detection unit 12 and the vehicle surrounding information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit 13. It is determined whether there is an estimated target object.
For example, the target object presence/absence determination unit 14 is configured to detect a target object in a range (hereinafter referred to as “target object If an object is detected within the "determination orientation range"), it is determined that the target object is in the direction in which the driver is facing. If no object is detected within the orientation range for target object determination, the target object presence/absence determining unit 14 determines that there is no target object in the direction in which the driver is facing.
Note that the target object presence/absence determination unit 14 may determine whether or not an object exists within the target object determination orientation range based on the distance information acquired by the millimeter wave radar 41. The size of the orientation range for target object determination can be set as appropriate.
The installation position and radio wave irradiation range of millimeter wave radar 41 and the positional relationship between the position of vehicle 100 and the installation position of millimeter wave radar 41 are known in advance. Based on this information, the target object presence/absence determining unit 14 determines, for example, in what direction and at what distance from the vehicle 100 the object detected by the millimeter wave radar 41 exists. It can be determined whether Therefore, the target object presence/absence determination unit 14 can determine whether an object is detected within the orientation range for target object determination.

Note that the above-described method of determining whether or not there is a target object in the direction that the driver is facing is only an example.
The target object presence/absence determining unit 14 may determine, for example, whether or not a target object exists in the direction in which the driver is facing, based on the image in front of the vehicle acquired by the external imaging device 42 .

The target object presence/absence determination unit 14 generates information indicating whether or not it has been determined that there is a target object in the direction in which the driver is facing (hereinafter referred to as "target object presence/absence determination information"), and determines the presence/absence of the target object. The information is output to the target object situation determining section 15. At this time, the target object presence/absence determination unit 14 associates the target object presence/absence determination information, the orientation information output from the orientation detection unit 12, and the vehicle surrounding information output from the surrounding information acquisition unit 13, and It is output to the situation determination section 15.

When the target object presence/absence determining unit 14 determines that there is a target object in the direction in which the driver is facing, the target object situation determination unit 15 determines the situation in which the target object is located based on the vehicle surrounding information. . Note that the target object situation determination unit 15 can determine that the target object presence/absence determination unit 14 has determined that the target object is estimated to be present, based on the target object presence/absence determination information.

In the first embodiment, the situation in which the target object is placed includes the type of the target object, the size of the target object, the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object, or the brightness of the surface of the target object.

In detail, the type of target object is assumed to be human or non-human. The target object situation determination unit 15 determines whether the type of the target object is human or non-human by, for example, performing image recognition processing using a known image recognition technology on the image in front of the vehicle included in the vehicle surrounding information. can be determined.

Specifically, the size of the target object is assumed to be the height as seen from the vehicle 100. The target object status determination unit 15 performs image recognition processing on the image ahead of the vehicle using a known image recognition technique, for example, and can determine the height of the target object based on the height of the target object on the image ahead of the vehicle and the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object. Note that since the relationship between the installation position and radio wave irradiation range of the millimeter wave radar 41 and the installation position and angle of view of the outside-vehicle image capture device 42 is known in advance, the target object status determination unit 15 can associate the object on the image ahead of the vehicle with the object indicated by the distance information.
For example, the target object situation determination section 15 may determine the height of the target object from information on the size of the target object included in the distance information.

Note that if the headlights 2 are not controlled to emit light above the cut-off line, for example, the target object is not irradiated with sufficient light, and the target object cannot be seen from the image in front of the vehicle. There is a possibility that the type (human or non-human) or size of the target object cannot be determined. In this case, for example, the target object situation determination unit 15 causes the light distribution control unit 17 to emit light for determining the type or size of the target object (hereinafter referred to as “target object determination illumination”). I request you to do so. The irradiation range and the amount of irradiation light to which the target object determination illumination is irradiated can be set as appropriate.
Note that in FIG. 1, an arrow from the target object situation determination section 15 to the light distribution control section 17 is not illustrated.

Furthermore, since the positional relationship between the installation position of the millimeter wave radar 41 and the position of the vehicle 100 is known in advance, the target object situation determination unit 15 can determine the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object based on the distance information.

Further, the target object situation determination unit 15 can determine the brightness of the surface of the target object, for example, from the brightness of the range where the target object is imaged on the vehicle front image. For example, the target object situation determination unit 15 determines the average value of the luminance values of pixels included in the range in which the target object is captured on the vehicle front image, as the range in which the target object is captured in the vehicle front image. In other words, it is the brightness of the surface of the target object.

The target object situation determining unit 15 outputs the determined information regarding the situation in which the target object is placed (hereinafter referred to as “target object situation information”) to the control content determining unit 16. At this time, the target object situation determination section 15 associates the target object situation information, the target object presence/absence determination information, the orientation information, and the vehicle surrounding information and outputs them to the control content determination section 16 .

Note that when the target object presence/absence determination unit 14 outputs target object presence/absence determination information indicating that it has been determined that there is no target object in the direction in which the driver is facing, the target object status determination unit 15 determines whether the target object is There is no need to judge the situation. In this case, the target object situation determination unit 15 outputs the target object presence/absence determination information, direction information, and vehicle surrounding information in association with each other to the control content determination unit 16, for example.

When the target object presence/absence determination unit 14 determines that there is a target object in the direction in which the driver is facing, the control content determination unit 16 determines the situation in which the target object is located as determined by the target object situation determination unit 15. Based on the target object situation information and the direction information regarding the direction of the driver detected by the direction detection unit 12, the irradiation range and amount of light irradiated by the headlights 2 provided in the vehicle 100 are determined.
Specifically, the control content determination unit 16 determines the range of the high beam irradiation area, the low beam irradiation area, and the auxiliary light irradiation area in the direction in which the driver is facing. The irradiation range is determined, and the amount of light to be irradiated onto the irradiation range of the headlight 2 is determined.
Specifically, the control content determination unit 16 determines the vertical range and the horizontal range of the irradiation range in the direction in which the driver is facing. The vertical range of the irradiation range and the horizontal range of the irradiation range are expressed, for example, as angles viewed from the installation position of the headlight 2 with the installation position of the headlight 2 as a reference (0 degree). Note that since the positional relationship between the driver's head position, which serves as a reference for the direction in which the driver is facing, and the installation position of the headlights 2 is known in advance, the control content determination unit 16 determines the direction of the driver and the headlights. 2 can be associated with the light irradiation range.
Note that the control content determination unit 16 can determine from the target object presence/absence determination information that the target object presence/absence determination unit 14 has determined that there is a target object in the direction in which the driver is facing.
In the following description, the range of light irradiated by the headlight 2 is also simply referred to as the "irradiation range." Further, the amount of light irradiated in the range of light irradiated by the headlight 2 is also simply referred to as the "amount of irradiated light."

An example of a method for determining the irradiation range and the amount of irradiation light by the control content determination unit 16 will be described.
The control content determining unit 16 determines whether the driver is able to control the vehicle based on, for example, target object situation information, orientation information, and control content determining conditions for determining the control content of the headlights 2 in the direction in which the driver is facing. Determine the irradiation range and irradiation light amount in the facing direction.
The control content determination conditions are generated in advance by an administrator or the like, and are stored in a location that can be referenced by the control content determination unit 16.
For example, conditions such as <Condition 1> to <Condition 5> below are set as the control content determination conditions.

<Condition 1>
If the distance from the vehicle to the target object is less than the distance determination threshold, the cutoff line is maintained in the vertical direction; in other words, it is below the cutoff line without including above the cutoff line, and The irradiation range is defined as the range widened to the left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle based on the direction. The amount of light irradiated is arbitrary.
<Condition 2>
If the brightness of the surface of the target object is greater than or equal to the brightness determination threshold, the cutoff line is maintained in the vertical direction; in other words, the cutoff line is maintained below the cutoff line without including above the cutoff line, and the horizontal direction is The irradiation range is defined as the range expanded left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle based on the direction of . The amount of light irradiated is arbitrary.
<Condition 3>
When the target object is within the irradiation range of the passing light, the cutoff line is maintained in the vertical direction, in other words, it is below the cutoff line without including above the cutoff line, and the horizontal direction is based on the direction of the driver. The range expanded left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle is defined as the irradiation range. The amount of light irradiated is arbitrary.
<Condition 4>
If the type of target object is a person and the distance from the vehicle to the person is greater than the distance determination threshold, the vertical direction is below the human head, and the horizontal direction is horizontal with the direction of the driver as the reference. The range expanded horizontally by the angle is the irradiation range. The amount of irradiation light is increased as the distance from the vehicle to the person increases.
<Condition 5>
If the type of target object is not a person and the distance from the vehicle to the target object is greater than or equal to the distance determination threshold, the vertical direction is determined to be below the height of the target object, and the horizontal direction is based on the direction of the driver. The irradiation range is the area widened left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle. The amount of irradiation light is increased as the distance from the vehicle to the target object increases.

The distance determination threshold, the brightness determination threshold, the horizontal irradiation angle, and the vertical irradiation angle in the control content determination conditions are each set to predetermined values in advance by an administrator or the like. The distance determination threshold, brightness determination threshold, horizontal irradiation angle, and vertical irradiation angle in the control content determination conditions are stored in a location where the control content determination unit 16 can refer to them, along with the control content determination conditions. .
The distance determination threshold in <Condition 1>, the distance determination threshold in <Condition 2>, and the distance determination threshold in <Condition 3> may be the same value or may be different values. . Here, as an example, it is assumed that the distance determination threshold in <Condition 1>, the distance determination threshold in <Condition 2>, and the distance determination threshold in <Condition 3> are the same value.
In the first embodiment, the "vertical direction" refers to the height direction of the vehicle 100, and the "horizontal direction" refers to the width direction of the vehicle 100.

Note that the content of the control content determination conditions as described above is only an example. An administrator or the like can appropriately set the contents of the conditions for determining the control contents.

Here, in the first embodiment, the control content determination unit 16 will explain an example of the illumination range and illumination light amount in the direction in which the driver faces, which are determined based on the target object situation information, the direction information, and the control content determination conditions, by citing a specific example with reference to the drawings. Note that the control content determination conditions are set with contents such as the above-mentioned <Condition 1> to <Condition 5>, and the control content determination conditions are set with the distance determination threshold being "30 (m)", the brightness determination threshold being "B (B is an integer)", the horizontal illumination angle being "0.5 (degrees)", and the vertical illumination angle being "0.5 (degrees)".
2 to 6 are diagrams showing an example of the illumination range and illumination light amount determined by the control content determining unit 16 when a target object is present in the first embodiment.
2 to 6 are diagrams showing a road on which the vehicle 100 is traveling, viewed from the right side in the direction of travel. For convenience, Fig. 2 to Fig. 6 are diagrams showing light actually being emitted from the headlights 2 of the vehicle 100, but the control content determination unit 16 determines the control content (irradiation range and amount of irradiated light) and does not actually cause the headlights 2 to irradiate light. The light irradiation control of the headlights 2 is performed by the light distribution control unit 17. Fig. 2 to Fig. 6 are intended to illustrate the state that would result if light were irradiated with the irradiation range and amount of irradiated light determined by the control content determination unit 16.
In this case, the illumination range of the passing lights is set to a distance of 30 m from the vehicle 100, for example.
It should be noted that the distances shown in Figs. 2, 4, 5, and 6 refer to the distances from the vehicle 100 to the target objects.

<Example 1>
For example, as shown in FIG. 2, assume that a target object exists in the direction in which the driver is facing, and that the distance between vehicle 100 and the target object is 25 (m). That is, the target object is located at a distance of 25 (m) from the vehicle 100.
In this case, the control content determination unit 16 maintains the cutoff line in the vertical direction based on the target object situation information, orientation information, and <condition 1> of the control content determination conditions. The irradiation range is below the cut-off line, excluding the upper part, and is expanded horizontally by the horizontal irradiation angle based on the direction of the driver. Note that the control content determination unit 16 can determine that the distance between the vehicle 100 and the target object is 25 (m) from the target object situation information. Further, the control content determination unit 16 can determine the direction of the driver from the direction information. The cutoff line and the vertical range to be maintained are known in advance.
Specifically, in the direction in which the driver is facing, the control content determining unit 16 sets the range in the vertical direction of the irradiation range as the range in which the cutoff line is maintained, and the range in the horizontal direction of the irradiation range as the range in the direction in which the driver is facing. The range is 0.5 (degrees).
The control content determining unit 16 sets the amount of irradiation light to an arbitrary value. Here, for example, the control content determination unit 16 sets the amount of irradiation light to a preset reference value.

As a result, the control content determining unit 16 controls the headlights 2 so that the light from the headlights 2 is irradiated with the reference value irradiation light amount onto the irradiation range indicated by "LA1" in FIG. The content of control will be determined.
Even if there is a target object in the direction the driver is facing, if the target object is located close to the vehicle 100, the driver will not be able to see the target object simply by illuminating the target object with passing lights. can.

<Example 2>
For example, as shown in FIG. 3, it is assumed that a target object exists in the direction in which the driver is facing. However, as shown in FIG. 3, it is assumed that the target object is illuminated by the light of the street lamp because the area indicated by "CA" in FIG. 3 is irradiated with the light of the street lamp. Therefore, the range in which the target object is imaged on the image in front of the vehicle has a sufficient brightness value. That is, it is assumed that the situation in which the target object is placed is such that the brightness of the surface of the target object is greater than or equal to the brightness determination threshold "B".
In this case, the control content determination unit 16 maintains the cutoff line in the vertical direction based on the target object situation information, orientation information, and <Condition 2> of the control content determination conditions. The irradiation range is defined as a range below the cut-off line, excluding the irradiation area, and widened horizontally by the horizontal irradiation angle based on the direction of the driver. Note that the control content determination unit 16 can determine the brightness of the surface of the target object from the target object situation information.
Specifically, in the direction in which the driver is facing, the control content determining unit 16 sets the range in the vertical direction of the irradiation range as the range in which the cutoff line is maintained, and the range in the horizontal direction of the irradiation range as the range in the direction in which the driver is facing. The range is 0.5 (degrees).
The control content determining unit 16 sets the amount of irradiation light to an arbitrary value. Here, for example, the control content determination unit 16 sets the amount of irradiation light to a preset reference value.

As a result, the control content determination unit 16 controls the headlights 2 so that the light from the headlights 2 is irradiated with the reference value of the irradiation light amount onto the irradiation range indicated by "LA2" in FIG. The content of control will be determined.
Even if there is a target object in the direction that the driver is facing and the position of the target object is far enough from the vehicle 100 that it will not be illuminated by passing lights, for example, the target object will not be illuminated by the headlights 2. If the target object is irradiated with light other than the irradiated light (for example, a streetlight in Example 2), the driver can visually recognize the target object using light other than the light irradiated by the headlights 2. In other words, the driver can see the target object even if the headlights 2 do not emit light above the cut-off line, so there is no need for the headlights 2 to emit light above the cut-off line.

<Example 3>
For example, as shown in FIG. 4, assume that a target object exists in the direction in which the driver is facing, and that the distance between vehicle 100 and the target object is 15 (m). In other words, the target object is located at a distance of 15 (m) from the vehicle 100.
In this case, the control content determination unit 16 maintains the cutoff line in the vertical direction based on the target object situation information, orientation information, and <Condition 3> of the control content determination conditions. The irradiation range is defined as a range below the cut-off line, excluding the irradiation area, and widened horizontally by the horizontal irradiation angle based on the direction of the driver.
Specifically, in the direction in which the driver is facing, the control content determining unit 16 sets the range in the vertical direction of the irradiation range as the range in which the cutoff line is maintained, and the range in the horizontal direction of the irradiation range as the range in the direction in which the driver is facing. The range is 0.5 (degrees).
The control content determining unit 16 sets the amount of irradiation light to an arbitrary value. Here, for example, the control content determination unit 16 sets the amount of irradiation light to a preset reference value.

As a result, the control content determining unit 16 controls the headlights 2 so that the light from the headlights 2 is irradiated with the reference value of the irradiation light amount onto the irradiation range indicated by "LA3" in FIG. The content of control will be determined.
Even if there is a target object in the direction the driver is facing, if the target object is within the illumination range of the passing lights, the driver will be able to see the target object simply by being illuminated by the passing lights. The target object can be visually recognized.

<Example 4> and <Example 5> below will be explained using FIG. 5. For convenience, FIG. 5 also shows a case where a person is at a position of 48 (m) from the vehicle 100 and a case where a person is at a position at a position of 70 (m) from the vehicle 100 in the direction in which the driver is facing. has been done. Note that, for convenience, the scale in FIG. 5 is different from the actual scale.

<Example 4>
For example, as shown in FIG. 5, there is a person (indicated by M1 in FIG. 5, hereinafter referred to as the "first person") in the direction the driver is facing, and the first person is driving the vehicle. It is assumed that the vehicle 100 is located in front of the vehicle 100 at a position of 48 (m) from the vehicle 100. In other words, the target object is located at a distance of 48 (m) from the vehicle 100. Further, the situation in which the target object is placed is a situation in which the type is a person.
In this case, the control content determination unit 16 sets the vertical direction to a range below the head of the first person based on the target object situation information, orientation information, and <Condition 4> of the control content determination conditions, In the left-right direction, the irradiation range is an area that is widened left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle based on the direction of the driver. Note that the control content determination unit 16 can determine from the target object situation information that the type of the target object is a person and that the distance between the vehicle 100 and the first person is 48 (m).
In detail, the control content determination unit 16 determines, for example, the vertical range of the irradiation range in the direction in which the driver is facing, with the installation position of the headlight 2 as a reference, and the control content determining unit 16 setting the range in the vertical direction in the direction in which the driver is facing. The range is determined to be up to θ ₁ degree upward.

Here, the control content determination unit 16 calculates "θ ₁ degree" based on the height to the first person's head.
For example, the control content determining unit 16 can calculate the height of the first person's head on the vehicle front image by performing image recognition processing using a known image recognition technology on the vehicle front image. . If the height to the first person's head on the vehicle front image can be calculated, the control content determining unit 16 calculates the height of the first person's head relative to the first person's height on the vehicle front image. It is possible to calculate the ratio of the height to the part. The control content determination unit 16 can calculate "θ ₁ degree" based on the calculated ratio and the height of the first person based on the distance information. Note that the method described above is only an example of the method for calculating the height to the first person's head, and the control content determination unit 16 may calculate the height to the first person's head using other methods. It may be calculated. For example, the control content determination unit 16 may set the height to the first person's head to be two-thirds of the first person's height based on the distance information.
The control content determining unit 16 sets the range in the left and right direction of the irradiation range to be within ±0.5 (degrees) of the direction of the driver.

Furthermore, the control content determination unit 16 sets the amount of irradiation light to be an amount of irradiation light that corresponds to the distance 48 (m) from the vehicle 100 to the target object. For example, the control content determination unit 16 determines in advance how much smaller or larger the amount of additional light should be compared to the reference value when the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object is. shall be taken as a thing.

As a result, the control content determination unit 16 applies the headlights to the irradiation range shown by "LA4" in FIG. The content of control for the headlight 2 is determined so that the light from the headlight 2 is irradiated.

<Example 5>
For example, as shown in FIG. 5, there is a person (indicated by M2 in FIG. 5, hereinafter referred to as the "second person") in the direction the driver is facing, and the second person is driving the vehicle. Assume that the user is at a position 70 (m) from the vehicle 100 in front of the vehicle 100. In other words, the target object is located at a distance of 70 (m) from the vehicle 100. Further, the situation in which the target object is placed is a situation in which the type is a person.
In this case, the control content determining unit 16 uses the same method as in <Example 4> described above to determine whether the vertical direction is the The irradiation range is the area below the head of the person No. 2, and the irradiation area is expanded horizontally by the horizontal irradiation angle based on the direction of the driver.
In detail, the control content determination unit 16 determines, for example, the vertical range of the irradiation range in the direction in which the driver is facing, with the installation position of the headlight 2 as a reference, and the control content determining unit 16 setting the range in the vertical direction in the direction in which the driver is facing. The range is determined to be up to θ ₂ degrees upward.
The control content determining unit 16 calculates "θ ₂ degrees" based on the height to the second person's head. The control content determination unit 16 may calculate "θ ₂ degrees" using the same method as "θ ₁ degree", which has already been explained, so a redundant explanation will be omitted.
The control content determining unit 16 sets the range in the left and right direction of the irradiation range to be within ±0.5 (degrees) of the direction of the driver.

However, the control content determining unit 16 sets the amount of irradiated light to be in accordance with the distance 70 (m) from the vehicle 100 to the target object. Based on <Condition 4>, the control content determination unit 16 makes the amount of irradiation light in this case larger than the amount of irradiation light in the case of <Example 4> described above.
For example, as the irradiation light amount according to the distance 70 (m) from the vehicle 100 to the target object, a larger irradiation light amount is set in advance than the irradiation light amount according to the distance 48 (m) from the vehicle 100 to the target object, The control content determining unit 16 sets the amount of irradiation light accordingly. Further, for example, it is assumed that a condition for increasing the amount of irradiation light for each distance from the vehicle 100 is set in advance and stored in a location that can be referenced by the control content determining unit 16. may set the amount of irradiation light according to the conditions.

As a result, the control content determination unit 16 applies the headlights to the irradiation range shown by "LA5" in FIG. The content of control for the headlight 2 is determined so that the light from the headlight 2 is irradiated.
The amount of irradiation light in the irradiation range shown as "LA5" in FIG. 5 is larger than the amount of irradiation light in the irradiation range shown as "LA4" in FIG. Therefore, in FIG. 5, the irradiation range indicated by LA5 is shown darker than the irradiation range indicated by LA4.

If there is an object at a distance away from the vehicle 100 in the direction the driver is facing so that it is not illuminated by passing lights, the object will be brightly illuminated by the light emitted above the cutoff line, making it difficult to drive. It is necessary to make the target object easily visible to the person. On the other hand, when the target object is a person, if the light reaches the person's head, there is a possibility that the person will receive glare. As in <Example 4> and <Example 5> described above, the control content determining unit 16 sets the irradiation range in the vertical direction, that is, the height direction of the irradiated light, to the height of the human head. By determining the control details for the headlights 2, it is possible to prevent glare from being caused to people when the light is irradiated. Note that the actual light irradiation control for the headlights 2 is performed by the light distribution control section 17.
A driver can fully recognize the presence of a person even if the person's head is not illuminated as long as the light is shining below the person's head.
Furthermore, when the driver attempts to visually recognize a target object, the farther the target object is located from the vehicle 100, the greater the amount of irradiation light required to visually recognize the target object. The control content determining unit 16 determines the control content for the headlights 2 so that the amount of irradiated light is suppressed when the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object is small, and the amount of irradiated light is increased as the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object increases. This makes it possible to irradiate the headlights 2 with light in an amount corresponding to the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object, thereby saving power.

<Example 6> and <Example 7> below will be explained using FIG. 6. For convenience, FIG. 6 shows cases in which a target object other than a person (a stationary object) is located 48 (m) from the vehicle 100 in the direction in which the driver is facing, and a case in which a target object other than a person (a stationary object) is located at a distance of 48 (m) from the vehicle 100. The case where the vehicle is located 70 (m) from the center is also shown. Note that, for convenience, the scale in FIG. 5 is different from the actual scale.

<Example 6>
For example, as shown in FIG. 6, there is a stationary object (indicated by M3 in FIG. 6, hereinafter referred to as the "first stationary object") in the direction the driver is facing, and the first stationary object is It is assumed that the object is located in front of the vehicle 100 at a distance of 48 (m) from the vehicle 100. That is, the target object is located at a distance of 48 (m) from the vehicle 100. Further, the situation in which the target object is placed is a situation in which the type of object is other than human.
In this case, the control content determination unit 16 sets the vertical direction to a range below the height of the first stationary object, and the left and right The irradiation range is defined as the area widened left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle based on the direction of the driver. Note that the control content determination unit 16 can determine from the target object situation information that the type of the target object is other than a human, and that the distance between the vehicle 100 and the first stationary object is 48 (m). .
In detail, the control content determination unit 16 determines, for example, the vertical range of the irradiation range in the direction in which the driver is facing, based on the installation position of the headlight 2, which is lower than the cut-off line when viewed from the installation position. The range is determined to be up to θ ₃ degrees upward.
Here, the control content determination unit 16 calculates "θ ₃ degrees" based on the height of the first stationary object. For example, the control content determining unit 16 can calculate "θ ₃ degrees" based on the height of the first stationary object based on the distance information.
The control content determining unit 16 sets the range in the left and right direction of the irradiation range to be within ±0.5 (degrees) of the direction of the driver.

Furthermore, the control content determining unit 16 sets the amount of irradiation light to be an amount of irradiation light that corresponds to the distance 48 (m) from the vehicle 100 to the target object.

As a result, the control content determination unit 16 applies the irradiation light amount to the head in the irradiation range shown by "LA6" in FIG. The control details for the headlights 2 are determined so that the light from the lights 2 is irradiated.

<Example 7>
For example, as shown in FIG. 6, there is a stationary object (indicated by M4 in FIG. 6, hereinafter referred to as "second stationary object") in the direction the driver is facing, and the second stationary object It is assumed that the object is located in front of the vehicle 100 at a distance of 70 (m) from the vehicle 100. In other words, the target object is located at a distance of 70 (m) from the vehicle 100. Furthermore, the situation in which the target object is placed is a situation in which the type of object is other than human.
In this case, the control content determining unit 16 determines that the vertical direction is the second The irradiation range is the area below the height of the stationary object, and the irradiation range is the area expanded left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle based on the direction of the driver.
In detail, the control content determination unit 16 determines, for example, the vertical range of the irradiation range in the direction in which the driver is facing, with the installation position of the headlight 2 as a reference, and the control content determining unit 16 setting the range in the vertical direction in the direction in which the driver is facing. The range is determined to be up to θ ₄ degrees upward.
The control content determination unit 16 calculates "θ ₄ degrees" based on the height of the second stationary object. The control content determination unit 16 may calculate "θ ₄ degrees" using the same method as "θ ₃ degrees", which has already been explained, so a duplicate explanation will be omitted.
The control content determining unit 16 sets the range in the left and right direction of the irradiation range to be within ±0.5 (degrees) of the direction of the driver.

However, the control content determining unit 16 sets the amount of irradiated light to be an amount of irradiated light according to the distance 70 (m) from the vehicle 100 to the target object. Based on <Condition 5>, the control content determining unit 16 makes the amount of irradiation light in this case larger than the amount of irradiation light in the case of <Example 6> described above.

As a result, the control content determination unit 16 applies the irradiation light amount to the head in the irradiation range shown by "LA7" in FIG. The control details for the headlights 2 are determined so that the light from the lights 2 is irradiated.
The amount of irradiation light in the irradiation range shown as "LA7" in FIG. 6 is larger than the amount of irradiation light in the irradiation range shown as "LA6" in FIG. Therefore, in FIG. 6, the irradiation range indicated by LA7 is shown darker than the irradiation range indicated by LA6.

If there is an object at a distance away from the vehicle 100 in the direction the driver is facing so that it is not illuminated by passing lights, the object will be brightly illuminated by the light emitted above the cutoff line, making it difficult to drive. It is necessary to make the target object easily visible to the person. The control content determination unit 16 determines the control content for the headlight 2 so that the vertical direction of the irradiation range, that is, the height direction of the irradiated light is up to the height of the target object, thereby providing information to the driver. This makes it easier to visually recognize the target object. When the target object is an object other than a person, even if the entire target object is irradiated with light, there is no concern that the target object will be glared.
Furthermore, when the driver attempts to visually recognize a target object, the farther the target object is located from the vehicle 100, the greater the amount of irradiation light required to visually recognize the target object. The control content determining unit 16 determines the control content for the headlights 2 so that the amount of irradiated light is suppressed when the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object is small, and the amount of irradiated light is increased as the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object increases. This makes it possible to irradiate the headlights 2 with light in an amount corresponding to the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object, thereby saving power.

When the target object presence/absence determination unit 14 determines that there is no target object in the direction in which the driver is facing, the control content determining unit 16 determines, based on the orientation information regarding the driver's orientation detected by the orientation detection unit 12, The irradiation range and irradiation light amount set in advance as the irradiation range and irradiation light amount when there is no target object in the direction that the driver is facing are set as the irradiation range and irradiation light amount by the headlights 2 provided in the vehicle 100. I decide.
For example, information defining the irradiation range and irradiation light amount when there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing (hereinafter referred to as "control content information without target object") is generated in advance, and the control content determination unit 16 is stored in a location where it can be referenced. For example, the following content is defined in the control content information without a target object.
``If there is no target object, the irradiation area is the area that extends upward and downward by the vertical irradiation angle from the cutoff line in the vertical direction, and the irradiation area that is expanded horizontally to the left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle based on the driver's orientation. .The amount of light irradiated is arbitrary.
Note that the control content determination unit 16 determines that, for example, based on the target object presence/absence determination information output from the target object situation determination unit 15, the target object presence/absence determination unit 14 determines that there is no target object in the direction in which the driver is facing. It can be determined that it has been determined that
Note that the vertical irradiation angle and the horizontal irradiation angle in the control content information without a target object may be the same values as the vertical irradiation angle and the horizontal irradiation angle in the control content determination conditions, or may be different values. Here, as an example, the vertical irradiation angle and the horizontal irradiation angle in the control content information without a target object are set to the same values as the vertical irradiation angle and the horizontal irradiation angle in the control content determination conditions.

<Example 8>
For example, when there is no target object in the direction in which the driver is facing, the control content determination unit 16 expands the vertical illumination angle upward from the cutoff line in the vertical direction based on the orientation information and the no target object control content information. In the left and right direction, the irradiation range is an area expanded left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle based on the direction of the driver.
For example, if the horizontal irradiation angle is set to "0.5 (degrees)" and the vertical irradiation angle is set to "0.5 (degrees)," in detail, the control content determination unit 16 In the direction in which the driver is facing, the vertical range of the irradiation range is the cutoff line + 0.5 (degrees), and the horizontal range of the irradiation range is the range of ±0.5 (degrees) from the direction of the driver. .
The control content determining unit 16 sets the amount of irradiation light to an arbitrary value. Here, for example, the control content determination unit 16 sets the amount of irradiation light to a preset reference value.
Even if there is no target object in the direction in which the driver is facing, the driver can recognize, for example, an object running out of the vehicle by irradiating light in the direction in which the driver is facing.

When the control content determination unit 16 determines the light irradiation range and irradiation light amount by the headlight 2 as in the above-mentioned examples (<Example 1> to <Example 8>), the control content determination unit 16 determines the determined control content for the headlight 2, Here, information indicating the irradiation range and the amount of irradiation light (hereinafter referred to as "determined control content information") is output to the light distribution control unit 17.

Returning to the description of the configuration example of the headlight control device 1 shown in FIG. 1.
The light distribution control unit 17 causes the headlights 2 to irradiate light based on the irradiation range or the irradiation light amount determined by the control content determination unit 16.
Specifically, the light distribution control unit 17 controls the headlights 2 to set the illumination range indicated by the determined control content information output from the control content determining unit 16 to the illumination range indicated by the determined control content information. Light is irradiated with the irradiation amount.
For example, the irradiation range indicated in the decision control content information is up to θ ₁ degree above the cutoff line when viewed from the installation position of the headlight 2 in the vertical direction, and ±0.5 (degrees) in the direction of the driver in the left and right directions. If the irradiation light amount is in accordance with the distance 48 (m) from the vehicle 100 to the target object (see <Example 4> above), the light distribution control unit 17 controls the headlights in the vertical direction. A light source that irradiates light within a range of up to θ ₁ degree above the cutoff line when viewed from the installation position of 2, and irradiates ±0.5 (degrees) in the direction of the driver in the left and right directions, from the vehicle 100 to the target object. The light is turned on with an amount of light corresponding to the distance 48 (m).
In addition, for example, the cutoff line is maintained in the vertical direction of the irradiation range indicated in the decision control content information, and the lateral direction is the range within ±0.5 (degrees) of the driver's direction. When the light amount is the reference value (see <Example 1> above), the light distribution control unit 17 irradiates the area below the cutoff line in the vertical direction, and irradiates the direction of the driver ±0.5 (degree) in the horizontal direction. Turn on the light source with the light intensity that is the reference value. Regarding the control by the light distribution control unit 17 to set the range in the vertical direction of the irradiation range to the range in which the cutoff line is maintained, for example, in the headlight 2, the low beam, high beam, and auxiliary light are each provided with separate light sources. If so, the light distribution control unit 17 may turn on the light source of the low beam that irradiates the range where the cutoff line is maintained, and turn off the other light sources. For example, in the headlight 2, if the light sources of low beam, high beam, and auxiliary light are integrated, the light distribution control unit 17 causes the integrated light source to illuminate below the cutoff line. All you have to do is turn on the light sources necessary for this purpose and turn off the other light sources.

The operation of the headlight control device 1 according to the first embodiment will be explained.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the headlight control device 1 according to the first embodiment.
For example, when the headlights 2 are turned on, the headlight control device 1 determines that the lighting control of the headlights 2 is to be performed based on the direction of the driver, and starts an operation as shown in the flowchart of FIG. do. The headlight control device 1 repeats the operation shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7, for example, until the headlights 2 are turned off or the power of the vehicle 100 is turned off.
For example, the control unit (not shown) of the headlight control device 1 acquires information indicating the state of the headlights 2 from a headlight switch mounted on the vehicle 100, and determines whether the headlights 2 are on or not. Determine whether or not. When the control unit determines that the headlights 2 are in the on state, the control unit determines to start lighting control of the headlights 2 based on the direction of the driver, and controls the in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11, orientation detection unit 12, and surrounding information acquisition unit. 13. Information instructing the start of lighting control of the headlights 2 is output to the target object presence/absence determining section 14, the target object situation determining section 15, the control content determining section 16, and the light distribution control section 17.
Further, if the control unit determines that the headlights 2 are off or that the vehicle 100 is turned off, the control unit determines to end the lighting control of the headlights 2 based on the driver's orientation, and the in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11 , direction detection section 12, peripheral information acquisition section 13, target object presence/absence determination section 14, target object situation determination section 15, control content determination section 16, and light distribution control section 17 to end the lighting control of the headlights 2. Outputs the information.

The in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11 acquires an in-vehicle captured image from the in-vehicle imaging device 3, and the orientation detection unit 12 detects the orientation of the driver based on the in-vehicle captured image that the in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11 acquires from the in-vehicle imaging device 3. (Step ST1).
Further, upon detecting the driver's orientation in step ST1, the orientation detection unit 12 calculates the estimated visible position of the driver based on the detected driver's orientation.
The orientation detection section 12 outputs orientation information to the target object presence/absence determination section 14 .

The target object presence/absence determination unit 14 determines the direction in which the driver is facing based on the orientation information output from the orientation detection unit 12 in step ST1 and the vehicle surrounding information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit 13. It is determined whether there is a target object that is estimated to be a visible target (step ST2). Note that the surrounding information acquisition unit 13 acquires vehicle surrounding information before the process of step ST2 is performed.
The target object presence/absence determination section 14 generates target object presence/absence determination information, and outputs the target object presence/absence determination information to the target object situation determination section 15 . At this time, the target object presence/absence determination unit 14 associates the target object presence/absence determination information, the orientation information output from the orientation detection unit 12, and the vehicle surrounding information output from the surrounding information acquisition unit 13, and It is output to the situation determination section 15.

If the target object presence/absence determining unit 14 determines in step ST2 that there is a target object in the direction in which the driver is facing, the target object situation determination unit 15 determines whether the target object is located based on the vehicle surrounding information. The current situation is determined (step ST3).
At this time, the target object situation determination unit 15, for example, requests the light distribution control unit 17 to irradiate the target object determination illumination, and the vehicle surrounding information acquired after the target object determination illumination is irradiated. More specifically, the situation in which the target object is placed may be determined based on the image in front of the vehicle.
The target object situation determining section 15 outputs the target object situation information to the control content determining section 16. At this time, the target object situation determination section 15 associates the target object situation information, the target object presence/absence determination information, the orientation information, and the vehicle surrounding information and outputs them to the control content determination section 16 .
Note that, if the target object presence/absence determination unit 14 determines in step ST2 that there is no target object in the direction in which the driver is facing, the target object situation determination unit 15, for example, determines the target object presence/absence determination information; The direction information and the vehicle surrounding information are associated with each other and output to the control content determination unit 16.

If the target object presence/absence determining unit 14 determines in step ST2 that there is a target object in the direction in which the driver is facing, the control content determining unit 16 determines whether the target object situation determining unit 15 determines in step ST3 that there is a target object in the direction in which the driver is facing. Based on the target object situation information regarding the situation where the target object is placed and the direction information regarding the driver's direction detected by the direction detection unit 12 in step ST1, the light emitted by the headlights 2 provided in the vehicle 100 is determined. The irradiation range and the amount of irradiation light are determined (step ST4). For example, the control content determination unit 16 determines the irradiation range and the irradiation light amount in the direction in which the driver is facing, based on the target object situation information, orientation information, and control content determination conditions.
If the target object presence/absence determination unit 14 determines in step ST2 that there is no target object in the direction in which the driver is facing, the control content determining unit 16 determines whether the target object is present or not based on the orientation information and the no target object control content information. , the irradiation range and irradiation light amount set in advance as the irradiation range and irradiation light amount when there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing, are set as the irradiation range and irradiation light amount by the headlight 2 provided in the vehicle 100. Determine the amount of light.
The control content determining unit 16 outputs determined control content information to the light distribution control unit 17.

The light distribution control unit 17 controls the headlight 2. In detail, the light distribution control unit 17 causes the headlight 2 to irradiate light with the amount of irradiation light determined by the control content determination unit 16 to the irradiation range determined by the control content determination unit 16 in step ST4 (step ST5).

In this way, the headlight control device 1 determines which direction the driver is facing based on the direction information regarding the driver's direction detected based on the captured image (in-vehicle captured image) of the driver of the vehicle 100 and the vehicle surrounding information. If it is determined that there is an object that is estimated to be visible to the driver in the direction in which the driver is facing, it is determined whether or not there is an object that is estimated to be visible to the driver. Determine the situation in which the object is placed. Then, the headlight control device 1 determines the irradiation range and the amount of light irradiated by the headlights 2 based on the target object situation information and orientation information regarding the situation in which the target object is placed, and , irradiate light based on the determined irradiation range and amount of irradiation light.
Therefore, in controlling the lighting of the headlights 2 of the vehicle 100 based on the direction in which the driver is facing, the headlight control device 1 controls the lighting of the headlights 2 based on the direction in which the driver is facing. Lighting control can be performed in consideration of the situation. As a result, the headlight control device 1 adjusts the headlights 2 to make it easier for the driver to see the object, depending on the situation where the object is placed in the direction the driver is facing. can be controlled.
In addition, the headlight control device 1 can emit light in the direction the driver is facing only when additional light, such as light above the cut-off line, is required. The scenes in which you are aware of the movement of light caused by light 2 are limited. As a result, the headlight control device 1 can reduce the annoyance that may be caused to the driver due to the movement of light from the headlights 2.

In the first embodiment described above, for example, when there is no target object in the direction in which the driver is facing, the control content determination unit 16 in the headlight control device 1 is configured to move the headlight control device 1 upward by the vertical illumination angle above the cutoff line in the vertical direction. The irradiation range was set to be a range expanded to the left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle with the direction of the driver as a reference, and the amount of irradiation light was set to be a reference value. Then, the light distribution control unit 17 controls the headlights 2 in accordance with the control content determined by the control content determination unit 16, in the vertical direction, including above the cutoff line, by the vertical irradiation angle above the cutoff line. The light was irradiated with a control light amount of the reference value in the irradiation range, which was expanded horizontally by the horizontal irradiation angle with the driver's orientation as a reference (as described above). (See Example 8).
For example, the headlight control device 1 may further follow the direction in which the driver is facing, in a predetermined period, when there is no target object in the direction in which the driver is facing, so that the light irradiation range reaches a predetermined value. If the vehicle has moved a certain distance and the light is expected to bother the driver, control may be performed to reduce the amount of irradiated light. This will be explained in detail below.

For example, when the target object presence/absence determination unit 14 determines that there is no target object in the direction in which the driver is facing, first, the light distribution control unit 17 controls the headlights 2 in a range including above the cut-off line. (See <Example 8> above). Thereafter, the control content determination unit 16 determines, based on the vehicle front image, that the brightness value of the range in which light is captured on the vehicle front image is equal to or higher than a preset threshold (hereinafter referred to as "brightness determination threshold"). , the range in which the light is imaged moves by more than a preset threshold (hereinafter referred to as "movement determination threshold") during a preset period (hereinafter referred to as "luminance determination period"), If it is determined that the brightness in the range where the light is imaged has not changed during the brightness determination period, it is determined that the light from the headlights 2 is to be dimmed. For example, in the no-target-object control content information, "The brightness value of the range where light is captured on the image in front of the vehicle is greater than or equal to the brightness determination threshold, and the range where light is captured is within the brightness determination period. If the headlight has moved by more than the movement determination threshold and it is determined that the brightness in the range where the light is imaged has not changed in the brightness determination period, the light is dimmed for the headlight 2.About the irradiation range In the vertical direction, the range extends above the cut-off line by the vertical illumination angle, and in the left-right direction, the range extends horizontally by the horizontal illumination angle with the driver's orientation as the reference.'' Therefore, the control content determining unit 16 may determine that the light from the headlights 2 is to be dimmed in accordance with the target object absent control content information.

Then, the control content determining unit 16 causes the light distribution control unit 17 to reduce the irradiated light. The amount by which the control content determination unit 16 reduces the light intensity of the light distribution control unit 17 can be set as appropriate. Note that the vehicle front image is included in the vehicle surrounding information.
For example, the control content determination unit 16 stores vehicle surrounding information in a storage unit (not shown) in association with the acquisition date and time of the vehicle surrounding information. The control content determining unit 16 acquires the vehicle surrounding information for the brightness determination period back from the storage unit, and determines whether the brightness value of the range where light is captured on the vehicle front image is equal to or higher than the brightness determination threshold. whether or not the range in which light is captured on the vehicle front image has moved by more than the movement determination threshold during the brightness determination period, and whether the luminance in the range in which light is captured in the vehicle front image is It can be determined whether or not the brightness has changed during the brightness determination period.
Note that the brightness determination threshold is set to, for example, a brightness value that indicates a level of brightness that is bothersome to the driver. Also, if the range in which light is captured on the vehicle front image moves by more than the movement determination threshold during the brightness determination period, and the brightness in the range in which light is captured does not change during the brightness determination period. , it is estimated that there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing.

If there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing, and a light that is bright enough to be bothersome to the driver moves frequently following the direction the driver is facing, the driver will feel annoyed. I can feel it.
For example, when the vehicle 100 is traveling in an underground parking lot, the light from the headlights 2 may hit the wall of the underground parking lot. When the light from the headlights 2 hits a wall, the light appears bright to the driver. That is, the brightness of the range where the light is captured on the image in front of the vehicle becomes high.
On the other hand, in underground parking lots, for example, drivers frequently turn around to find a possible parking spot or to check if someone is coming out from behind other parked vehicles. It can be changed.
In this case, if the light from the headlights 2 is directed in the direction the driver is facing, the position of the light that hits the wall of the underground parking lot and looks bright to the driver will follow the driver's direction and frequently be moved.
If there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing, and the position of the light that hits the wall of the underground parking lot is moved frequently, the movement of the light will take away the driver's line of sight, causing the driver to It may cause trouble to you.

Therefore, as described above, the control content determining unit 16 determines that the brightness value of the range where light is imaged on the image in front of the vehicle is greater than or equal to the brightness determination threshold, and the range where light is imaged is within the brightness determination period. If the movement exceeds the movement determination threshold and it is determined that the brightness in the range where the light is imaged has not changed during the brightness determination period, it is determined that the light is to be dimmed, and the light distribution control unit 17 The light irradiated to the target may be attenuated.
Thereby, the headlight control device 1 can reduce the annoyance that may be caused to the driver due to frequent movement of the irradiation range of the light irradiated onto the headlights 2. By reducing the light emitted from the headlights 2, the headlight control device 1 can make light that may cause annoyance to the driver less noticeable.

FIG. 8 explains the control performed by the headlight control device 1 in the first embodiment to reduce the amount of irradiation light when it is determined that there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing, as described above. This is a diagram for
Note that FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the range of light irradiated by the headlights 2 and the amount of light irradiated, assuming a situation in which the light emitted by the headlights 2 hits a wall in an underground parking lot, for example. . In FIG. 8, the irradiation range in which the light distribution control unit 17 of the headlight control device 1 irradiates light onto the headlights 2 is indicated by "LA8". Also, in FIG. 8, the walls are indicated by dotted lines.
In FIG. 8, the left diagram shows that when the target object presence/absence determination unit 14 determines that there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing, the light distribution control unit 17 sets the cutoff line for the headlights 2. An example of a state in which light is irradiated to a range including above is shown.
For example, if the driver changes direction to the left or right, the irradiation range will be moved left or right to follow this change.

Here, the control content determination unit 16 determines, based on the vehicle front image, that the brightness value of the range where light is imaged (in the example of FIG. 8, the range of LA8 in the left diagram) is determined based on the vehicle front image. is equal to or greater than the determination threshold, the range where the light is imaged moves by more than the movement determination threshold during the brightness determination period, and the brightness in the range where the light is imaged does not change during the brightness determination period. If so, it is determined that the light should be dimmed. Then, the control content determining unit 16 causes the light distribution control unit 17 to reduce the irradiated light.
As a result, as shown in the right diagram in FIG. 8, the amount of irradiation light in the irradiation range becomes smaller. Note that in FIG. 8, the magnitude of the amount of irradiated light is shown by the depth of color. The amount of irradiation light in the irradiation range shown in the left diagram in FIG. 8 is larger than the irradiation light amount in the irradiation range shown in the right diagram in FIG. 8, so the irradiation range shown in the left diagram in FIG. 8 is darker. .

When the headlight control device 1 performs the control to reduce the amount of irradiation light when it is determined that there is no target object in the direction in which the driver is facing, as described above, the headlight control device 1 performs the headlight control device 1 described using the flowchart of FIG. In step ST4 of the operation of the light control device 1, the control content determining unit 16 first determines the irradiation range and the amount of irradiation light.
Now, for example, if there is no target object in the direction in which the driver is facing, the control content determination unit 16 will set the range to be wider than the cutoff line by the vertical irradiation angle in the vertical direction, and in the horizontal direction. The irradiation range is defined as the range expanded left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle based on the direction of the driver, and the amount of irradiation light is set as the reference value. Then, in step ST5, the light distribution control unit 17 causes the headlight 2 to irradiate the irradiation range determined by the control content determination unit 16 with light at the irradiation light amount determined by the control content determination unit 16.

After that, the operation of the headlight control device 1 returns to the process of step ST1, and in step ST4, the control content determining unit 16 determines that the brightness value of the range where the light is captured on the vehicle front image is the brightness determination threshold. With the above, it is determined whether the range in which light is imaged has moved by more than the movement determination threshold during the brightness determination period, and the brightness in the range in which light is imaged has not changed in the brightness determination period. . The brightness value of the range where the light is imaged on the image in front of the vehicle is greater than or equal to the brightness determination threshold, the range where the light is imaged moves by more than the movement determination threshold during the brightness determination period, and the light is imaged If it is determined that the brightness in the range where the brightness is determined has not changed during the brightness determination period, the control content determination unit 16 sends determination control content information to the light distribution control unit 17 to reduce the irradiated light. Output. Regarding the irradiation range, for example, the control content determining unit 16 sets the irradiation range to be an area that is expanded upward by the vertical irradiation angle from the cut-off line in the vertical direction, and to the left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle based on the direction of the driver in the left-right direction. Decided to expand the range. The light distribution control unit 17 causes the headlight 2 to reduce the amount of light irradiated.

Thereafter, the operation of the headlight control device 1 returns to the process of step ST1. If the target object presence/absence determining unit 14 determines in step ST2 that the target object exists in the direction in which the driver is facing, the control content determining unit 16 determines whether the target object is present or not depending on the situation in which the target object is placed. Then, the irradiation range and the amount of irradiation light are determined so that the target object is irradiated with light, and the light distribution control unit 17 controls the headlights 2 according to the control content determined by the control content determination unit 16.

As described above, in the first embodiment described above, in the headlight control device 1, when the target object presence/absence determination unit 14 determines that there is no target object in the direction in which the driver is facing, the light distribution control unit 17 , the headlights 2 are caused to emit light in a range including above the cut-off line, and the control content determining unit 16 determines the brightness value of the range where the light is imaged on the vehicle front image based on the vehicle front image. is greater than or equal to the brightness determination threshold, the range in which the light is imaged has moved by more than the movement determination threshold during the brightness determination period, and the brightness in the range in which the light is imaged has changed in the brightness determination period. If it is determined that there is no light, it may be determined that the light is to be reduced, and the light distribution control unit 17 may be made to reduce the irradiated light.
Thereby, the headlight control device 1 can reduce the annoyance that may be caused to the driver due to frequent movement of the irradiation range of the light irradiated onto the headlights 2.

Further, in the first embodiment described above, the headlight control device 1 determines the irradiation range and irradiation light amount of the headlight 2, and controls the irradiation range and irradiation light amount for the headlight 2. This is just one example. For example, the headlight control device 1 may determine the irradiation range or irradiation amount of light of the headlight 2, and may control the irradiation range or irradiation amount of the headlight 2.

In the first embodiment described above, the headlight control device 1 is an in-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle 100, and includes an in-vehicle image acquisition section 11, a direction detection section 12, a peripheral information acquisition section 13, and the presence or absence of a target object. The determination unit 14, the target object situation determination unit 15, the control content determination unit 16, the light distribution control unit 17, and a control unit (not shown) are included in the vehicle-mounted device. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the in-vehicle image acquisition section 11, the orientation detection section 12, the surrounding information acquisition section 13, the target object presence/absence determination section 14, the target object situation determination section 15, the control content determination section 16, and the light distribution Among the control unit 17 and a control unit (not shown), a part may be provided in an in-vehicle device of the vehicle 100, and the other part may be provided in a server connected to the in-vehicle device via a network. Further, the vehicle interior image acquisition section 11 , the direction detection section 12 , the surrounding information acquisition section 13 , the target object presence/absence determination section 14 , the target object situation determination section 15 , the control content determination section 16 , and the light distribution control section 17 The entire control unit (not shown) may be included in the server.

9A and 9B are diagrams showing an example of the hardware configuration of the headlight control device 1 according to the first embodiment.
In the first embodiment, the in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11, the orientation detection unit 12, the surrounding information acquisition unit 13, the target object presence/absence determination unit 14, the target object situation determination unit 15, the control content determination unit 16, and the arrangement The functions of the light control section 17 and a control section (not shown) are realized by a processing circuit 1001. That is, the headlight control device 1 detects the orientation of the driver based on the driver's orientation detected based on the in-vehicle captured image acquired from the in-vehicle imaging device 3 and the vehicle surrounding information acquired from the surrounding information acquisition device 4. A processing circuit 1001 is configured to determine the situation in which an object is placed in the direction in which the driver is facing, and to control the lighting of the headlights 2 in consideration of the situation in which an object is placed in the direction in which the driver is facing. Be prepared.
Processing circuit 1001 may be dedicated hardware as shown in FIG. 9A, or may be processor 1004 that executes a program stored in memory 1005 as shown in FIG. 9B.

When the processing circuit 1001 is dedicated hardware, the processing circuit 1001 is, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or an FPGA (Field-Programmable Circuit). Gate Array), or a combination of these.

When the processing circuit is the processor 1004, the in-vehicle image acquisition section 11, the direction detection section 12, the surrounding information acquisition section 13, the target object presence/absence determination section 14, the target object situation determination section 15, and the control content determination section 16. The functions of the light distribution control section 17 and the control section (not shown) are realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. Software or firmware is written as a program and stored in memory 1005. The processor 1004 reads out and executes the program stored in the memory 1005, thereby determining the in-vehicle image acquisition section 11, the direction detection section 12, the surrounding information acquisition section 13, the target object presence/absence determination section 14, and the target object situation. It executes the functions of the determination section 15, the control content determination section 16, the light distribution control section 17, and a control section (not shown). That is, the headlight control device 1 includes a memory 1005 for storing a program that, when executed by the processor 1004, results in the execution of steps ST1 to ST5 in FIG. 7 described above. Further, the program stored in the memory 1005 includes the in-vehicle image acquisition section 11, the orientation detection section 12, the surrounding information acquisition section 13, the target object presence/absence determination section 14, the target object situation determination section 15, and the control content determination section 14. It can also be said that the computer is caused to execute the processing procedure or method of the section 16, the light distribution control section 17, and a control section (not shown). Here, the memory 1005 is, for example, RAM, ROM (Read Only Memory), flash memory, EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically non-volatile or volatile semiconductors such as asable, programmable, read-only memory) This includes memory, magnetic disks, flexible disks, optical disks, compact disks, mini disks, DVDs (Digital Versatile Discs), and the like.

Note that the in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11, the direction detection unit 12, the surrounding information acquisition unit 13, the target object presence/absence determination unit 14, the target object situation determination unit 15, the control content determination unit 16, and the light distribution control unit 17 Regarding the functions of the control unit (not shown), some of them may be realized by dedicated hardware, and some of them may be realized by software or firmware. For example, the functions of the in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11, orientation detection unit 12, and surrounding information acquisition unit 13 are realized by a processing circuit 1001 as dedicated hardware, and the functions of the target object presence/absence determination unit 14 and target object situation determination are The functions of the unit 15, the control content determination unit 16, and the light distribution control unit 17 can be realized by the processor 1004 reading and executing programs stored in the memory 1005.
The headlight control device 1 also includes an input interface device 1002 and an output interface device 1003 that perform wired or wireless communication with devices such as the headlight 2, the in-vehicle imaging device 3, or the peripheral information acquisition device 4.

As described above, the headlight control device 1 according to the first embodiment includes the orientation detection unit 12 that detects the orientation of the driver based on the captured image (in-vehicle captured image) of the driver of the vehicle 100; Based on the direction information regarding the driver's direction detected by the direction detection unit 12 and the vehicle surrounding information, it is determined whether there is a target object that is estimated to be visible to the driver in the direction in which the driver is facing. When the target object presence/absence determination unit 14 determines that there is a target object in the direction in which the driver is facing, the target object presence/absence determination unit 14 determines the situation in which the target object is located based on vehicle surrounding information. The headlights 2 installed in the vehicle 100 are used based on the target object situation determination unit 15 that determines whether the target object is located, the target object situation information regarding the situation in which the target object is located, and the direction information determined by the target object situation determination unit 15. A control content determining unit 16 that determines the irradiation range or amount of light to be irradiated; and a light distribution control unit 17 that irradiates the headlight 2 with light based on the irradiation range or amount of light determined by the control content determining unit 16. It was configured to have the following.
Therefore, in controlling the lighting of the headlights 2 in the vehicle 100 based on the direction in which the driver is facing, the headlight control device 1 takes into account the situation in which an object is placed in the direction in which the driver is facing. Lighting control can be performed. As a result, the headlight control device 1 adjusts the headlights 2 to make it easier for the driver to see the object, depending on the situation where the object is placed in the direction the driver is facing. can be controlled.
In addition, the headlight control device 1 can emit light in the direction the driver is facing only when additional light, such as light above the cut-off line, is required. The scenes in which you are aware of the movement of light caused by light 2 are limited. As a result, the headlight control device 1 can reduce the annoyance that may be caused to the driver due to the movement of light from the headlights 2.

Note that in the present disclosure, any component of the embodiments can be modified or any component of the embodiments can be omitted.

The headlight control device according to the present disclosure can perform lighting control that takes into consideration the situation in which an object is placed in the direction in which the driver is facing.

1 Headlight control device, 11 In-vehicle image acquisition unit, 12 Orientation detection unit, 13 Surrounding information acquisition unit, 14 Target object presence/absence determination unit, 15 Target object situation determination unit, 16 Control content determination unit, 17 Light distribution control unit, 2 Headlight, 3 In-vehicle imaging device, 4 Peripheral information acquisition device, 41 Millimeter wave radar, 42 Ex-vehicle imaging device, 1001 Processing circuit, 1002 Input interface device, 1003 Output interface device, 1004 Processor, 1005 Memory.

Claims

an orientation detection unit that detects the orientation of the driver based on a captured image of the driver of the vehicle;
Based on direction information regarding the direction of the driver detected by the direction detection unit and vehicle surrounding information, whether there is a target object that is estimated to be a target for visual recognition by the driver in the direction in which the driver is facing. a target object presence/absence determination unit that determines whether the
When the target object presence/absence determination unit determines that the target object is in the direction in which the driver is facing, target object situation determination for determining a situation in which the target object is placed based on the vehicle surrounding information. Department and
Based on the target object situation information regarding the situation in which the target object is placed, which has been determined by the target object situation determining unit, and the direction information, the irradiation range or the amount of light irradiated by the headlights provided in the vehicle is determined. a control content determination unit that determines;
A headlight control device comprising: a light distribution control unit that irradiates the headlight with the light based on the irradiation range or the irradiation light amount determined by the control content determination unit.
The situation in which the target object is placed is at least one of the type of the target object, the size of the target object, the distance from the vehicle to the target object, or the brightness of the surface of the target object. The headlight control device according to claim 1, characterized in that it includes:
The situation in which the target object is placed includes the type of the target object, the size of the target object, and the distance from the vehicle to the target object,
When the type of the target object is a person, the control content determining unit determines, based on the distance from the vehicle to the person and the size of the person, that the distance from the vehicle to the person is greater than or equal to a distance determination threshold. 1 or 2, wherein the irradiation range is determined to be an area below the head of the person, and the amount of irradiation light is increased as the distance from the vehicle to the person increases. The headlight control device according to claim 2.
The situation in which the target object is placed includes the type of the target object, the size of the target object, and the distance from the vehicle to the target object,
When the type of the target object is not a person, the control content determination unit determines the distance from the vehicle to the target object based on the distance from the vehicle to the target object and the size of the target object. If it is equal to or greater than a threshold value, it is determined that the irradiation range is a range below the height of the target object, and the amount of irradiation light is increased as the distance from the vehicle to the target object increases. A headlight control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The situation in which the target object is placed includes a distance from the vehicle to the target object,
When the distance from the vehicle to the target object is less than a distance determination threshold, the control content determination unit determines that the direction in which the driver is facing does not include above the cutoff line and is below the cutoff line. The headlight control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a range is determined to be the irradiation range.
The situation in which the target object is placed includes the brightness of the surface of the target object,
When the control content determination unit determines that the brightness of the surface of the target object is equal to or higher than the brightness determination threshold, the control content determination unit determines that the brightness of the surface of the target object is greater than or equal to the cutoff line in the direction in which the driver is facing, but not above the cutoff line. The headlight control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the irradiation range is determined to be a range in which the irradiation range is also below.
The situation in which the target object is placed includes a distance from the vehicle to the target object,
When the control content determination unit determines that the target object is within the irradiation range of passing lights based on the distance from the vehicle to the target object, the control content determining unit is configured to move the target object upward from the cut-off line in the direction in which the driver is facing. The headlight control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the irradiation range is determined to be a range that does not include the cutoff line and is below the cutoff line.
The vehicle surrounding information includes a vehicle front image captured in front of the vehicle,
When the target object presence/absence determination unit determines that there is no target object in the direction in which the driver is facing, the light distribution control unit determines that the target object is present in a range including above the cut-off line with respect to the headlights. irradiate the light,
The control content determination unit is configured to determine, based on the vehicle front image, that a brightness value of a range in which the light is imaged on the vehicle front image is equal to or greater than a brightness determination threshold, and that If the light has moved by more than a movement determination threshold during the brightness determination period, and it is determined that the brightness in the range where the light is imaged has not changed in the brightness determination period, it is determined that the light is to be dimmed. The headlight control device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the light distribution control unit is configured to reduce the irradiation of the light.
a step in which the orientation detection unit detects the orientation of the driver of the vehicle based on the captured image of the driver;
A target object presence/absence determination unit estimates that the target object will be a target for visual recognition by the driver in the direction in which the driver is facing, based on orientation information regarding the orientation of the driver detected by the orientation detection unit and vehicle surrounding information. a step of determining whether or not there is a target object;
When the target object situation determination unit determines that the target object is in the direction in which the driver is facing, the target object situation determining unit determines the situation in which the target object is located based on the vehicle surrounding information. a step of determining
A control content determination unit determines the amount of light emitted by headlights installed in the vehicle based on the target object situation information regarding the situation in which the target object is placed, which has been determined by the target object situation determination unit, and the direction information. determining the irradiation range or the irradiation amount;
A headlight control method comprising: a light distribution control section causing the headlight to irradiate the light based on the irradiation range or the irradiation light amount determined by the control content determination section.