JP2005306336A - Vehicle lighting control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically adjust the illuminance in a vehicle interior in order to obtain a normal captured image with the videophone device without adjusting the illuminance in the vehicle interior in a vehicle equipped with the videophone device. I will provide a.
An illuminating device 30 and an illuminance sensor 32 for detecting illuminance are provided in a vehicle interior, and the illuminance in the vehicle interior detected by the illuminance sensor 32 is set in advance by a control device 10 during a call by the videophone device 2. The luminance of the lighting device 30 is controlled so as to achieve the target illuminance. In addition, the vehicle illuminance setting switch 34 that can manually set the target illuminance is provided in the vehicle interior so that the target illuminance can be set by the vehicle illuminance setting switch 34, or transmitted from the other party via the videophone device 2. The target illuminance can be changed by the illuminance change command data that comes, and the illuminance in the passenger compartment can be adjusted so that it can be easily seen by the other party.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle lighting control device that automatically adjusts the brightness of a passenger compartment during a call operation of a videophone device in a vehicle equipped with a videophone device for calling while facing a partner on a screen.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a videophone device for making a call while facing a partner on a screen, a display device for displaying an image uses a two-screen TV screen or displays a single TV screen in two parts. A display device has been proposed in which one of the two screens displays an image of itself captured by a camera of a videophone device (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

When a videophone device having such a two-screen display device is installed in a vehicle, a call is made on the videophone device when the vehicle interior is dark, such as during nighttime travel, or a videophone device is used during daytime travel. When a vehicle enters the tunnel and the interior of the vehicle suddenly becomes dark, the illuminance in the interior of the vehicle is insufficient, making it difficult to capture the facial expression of the caller with the video phone device camera. Sometimes, using this two-screen display device, adjusting the illuminance in the vehicle interior so that the camera of the videophone device can capture the caller's facial expression in the best condition while viewing the image of the caller himself Will be able to.
JP 2003-274376 A

  However, if the illuminance in the passenger compartment is adjusted using the two-screen display device described in Patent Document 1, the illuminance can be adjusted appropriately, but when the driver is talking, The driver himself / herself must adjust the illuminance in the passenger compartment while driving. However, even if the adjustment can be performed in a so-called hands-free manner, it is difficult for the driver to make an adjustment while looking at the screen during driving, and there is a possibility of adversely affecting safe driving.

  Even if the passenger is talking, if the illuminance in the passenger compartment suddenly changes due to the vehicle running during the call entering the tunnel, etc., the passenger It was difficult to adjust the illumination in the passenger compartment.

  The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and in a vehicle equipped with a videophone device, a caller can obtain a normal captured image with the videophone device without adjusting the illuminance in the passenger compartment. An object of the present invention is to provide an illumination control device that automatically adjusts the illuminance in a room.

  The lighting control device according to claim 1, which has been made to achieve the above object, includes: a vehicle equipped with a videophone device for making a call while facing a partner on a screen; During operation, the brightness of the lighting device installed in the vehicle interior is controlled so that the illuminance in the vehicle interior detected by the detection means becomes a preset target.

  Therefore, the burden on the caller is reduced and the call can be made comfortably. In particular, when the caller is a driver, safety during driving can be improved.

  Also, when the vehicle suddenly becomes dark during a call, such as when making a videophone call when the vehicle is running at night and the cabin is dark, or when entering a tunnel while running in the daytime In addition, the illuminance in the passenger compartment is controlled to a preset target illuminance without the caller adjusting the lighting device, and an image with appropriate brightness is always displayed on the screen of the videophone.

  By the way, what is shown on the display screen of the videophone device during a call on the videophone device is a captured image of the other party. Therefore, even if the vehicle interior of the vehicle is controlled to a preset target illuminance, the captured image of the vehicle displayed on the display screen of the other party is too dark or bright depending on the other party's videophone device. It may pass too much. In such a case, it is preferable that the illuminance in the passenger compartment can be adjusted according to the request of the other party. For this purpose, as described in claim 2, it is preferable that the vehicle illuminance setting means can manually set the target illuminance when the control means controls the luminance of the lighting device.

If it does in this way, a caller will be able to adjust the illumination intensity in a vehicle interior, and it becomes easier to see the image of a videophone apparatus.
In addition, the caller itself does not adjust the illuminance in the passenger compartment according to the request of the other party, but the command data extracting means is the target data extracting means from the received data received by the videophone device as described in claim 3. When command data representing an illuminance change command is extracted, the control means may change the target illuminance based on the command data.

In this way, the other party who is viewing the image of the videophone device can adjust the illuminance in the cabin of the caller, and the caller does not need to adjust the illuminance manually.
On the other hand, when it is desired to adjust the brightness in the passenger compartment of the other party in the videophone device, the change in the illuminance input by the caller using the change request means as described in claim 4. The request may be transmitted from the videophone device by the transmission means as change command data.

In this way, it is possible to adjust the illuminance of the other party, and the brightness of the image of the other party displayed on the screen of the videophone device can be optimized.
The detection means according to claims 1 to 4 may be provided with an illuminance sensor in the vehicle interior as described in claim 5, or if the position detection device is mounted. As described in item 6, the illuminance may be estimated based on the position of the host vehicle acquired from the position detection device and the current time.

  If it does in this way, when the illumination intensity in a vehicle interior is detected using an illumination intensity sensor, the detection accuracy of illumination intensity can be raised and illumination intensity control will become accurate. On the other hand, when the illuminance is estimated based on the position of the host vehicle acquired from the position detection device and the current time, the detection accuracy of the illuminance is inferior, but the illuminance in the passenger compartment can be estimated and the illuminance sensor should be used. The illuminance can be estimated without any problem, and the illuminance detection means can be configured at low cost. Further, when the illuminance is estimated using the position detection device, it is possible to estimate the illuminance when the illuminance sensor fails even if the illuminance sensor is provided.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a lighting control device 1 to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a mounting state of the lighting control device 1 as viewed from the side of the vehicle.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a lighting control device 1 includes a videophone device 2 for making a telephone call with an image and a sound, a lighting unit 3 for obtaining illuminance in a vehicle compartment necessary for a telephone call with the videophone device 2, And a control device 10 for controlling the videophone device 2 and the illumination unit 3.

  The videophone device 2 then inputs / outputs a camera 20 that captures the caller, a display device 22 that displays the other party, a receiver 24 that inputs and outputs audio during a call, and image data captured by the camera 20 and the receiver 24. Transmitter / receiver 27 and antenna 28 for converting voice into radio waves and transmitting / receiving to / from the base station, line connection at the start of a call with the base station, line disconnection at the end of the call, or a call to the control device 10 to be described later From a network control unit 29 (hereinafter, abbreviated as NCU 29) that outputs a transmission signal indicating the start of communication and an end signal indicating the end of a call (both may be collectively referred to as a transmission completion signal). Become.

  The camera 20 is configured by combining an image sensor, a lens, and the like. As shown in FIG. 2, the camera 20 usually has a speaker (driver or rear seat) facing toward the rear seat on the back of the front seat. The passenger's upper body, especially the face part, is attached with the attachment angle and field of view adjusted. Then, the captured image is output to the transceiver as packet data.

  The display device 22 is composed of a liquid crystal display or the like, and is attached to the back portion of the front seat so that the caller can easily see the display screen toward the rear seat. The display device 22 has a function of converting image packet data sent from the call partner via the transceiver 27 into an image and displaying the image. The caller displays the displayed image of the call partner. You can talk while checking.

  The handset 24 is a device having a function similar to that of a telephone handset of a voice telephone, and includes a microphone 25 that converts a caller's voice into an electric signal, a speaker 26 that converts the electric signal into voice, and data (not shown). And a conversion device.

And the receiver 24 is arrange | positioned in the rear part of the console box of a front seat center so that it can pick up easily from a backseat and can also be picked up from a frontseat.
The receiver 24 converts the voice of the caller into an electrical signal by the microphone 25 and outputs it to the transceiver as packet data representing the voice by the data converter or a packet representing the voice sent from the transceiver. Data is converted into an electrical signal by a data converter and output as sound by a speaker 26.

  The transmitter / receiver 27 demodulates the radio wave received from the antenna 28 and transmitted from the communication partner side during the call, converts the demodulated signal into packet data, and transmits the NCU 29 and the display device. 22, the speaker 26, the control device 10 and the like.

  Further, the transceiver 27 receives data for network control such as line connection / line disconnection of the NCU 29, image packet data captured by the camera 20, voice packet data input by the microphone 25, and change command packet data from the control device 10. Is transmitted as a radio wave via the antenna 28.

  The NCU 29 has a function of connecting / disconnecting a line according to a predetermined method with the nearest base station of the vehicle via the transmitter / receiver 27 when transmitting and ending. It also has a function of outputting a transmission end signal to the control device 10 when there is a transmission or an end of transmission.

  That is, when the caller picks up the handset from the hook and enters the on-hook state, or when the caller enters the on-hook state by pressing the send button on the handset, the call is determined to be sent and the line connection is established with the base station. Conversely, when an incoming signal is received from the base station, it is determined that there is an incoming call, and the incoming call is made until the caller picks up the handset or presses the call button to enter the on-hook state. If this happens, connect the line to the base station. Then, when the call ends and the caller puts the handset on the hook to enter the off-hook state, or when the call-end button on the handset is pressed to enter the off-hook state, it is determined that the call is over and the line is disconnected.

  Next, the illumination unit 3 includes an illumination device 30, an illuminance sensor 32 for measuring the illuminance in the passenger compartment, an own vehicle illuminance setting switch 34 for setting the illuminance in the passenger compartment, and an illuminance for another vehicle. The other vehicle illuminance change switch 35, the existing switch 36 installed in the vehicle interior to turn on / off the lighting device 30, and the control device 10 that controls the components of the lighting unit 3 are configured.

  The illuminating device 30 is composed of an incandescent light bulb or an LED (light emitting diode), and is attached to the ceiling of the vehicle interior toward the rear seat, and the attachment angle is adjusted so that the caller receives illumination. With regard to this lighting device 30, for example, the caller is limited to the rear seat, and a room light dedicated to the rear seat is provided. Even if the existing room light is used at night, the driving of the vehicle is hindered. In the case of a vehicle having a structure not provided, an existing room light may be used.

The illuminance sensor 32 is an illuminance sensor for detecting the illuminance in the passenger compartment, particularly the illuminance of the upper body part of the caller, and is attached to the back of the front seat with the rear seat facing.
The illuminance sensor 32 is configured to have a spectral characteristic close to human eyes by attaching an optical filter or the like to a sensor element such as a CdS (cadmium sulfide) cell or a phototransistor.

  The own vehicle illuminance setting switch 34 is a switch for setting the target illuminance in the passenger compartment, and is mounted on the side surface of the display device 22 attached to the back surface of the front seat so as to be easily operated. The target illuminance set by the vehicle illuminance setting switch 34 is input to the control device 10 to be described later, and the control device 10 controls the luminance of the illumination so as to be the target illuminance.

  The other vehicle illuminance change switch 35 is a switch for making a request for changing the target illuminance in the cabin of the other vehicle, and is mounted on the side surface of the display device 22 attached to the rear surface of the front seat so as to be easily operated. Has been. The illuminance change command in the vehicle interior of the other vehicle input by the other vehicle illuminance setting switch 35 is input to the control device 10 which will be described later, and the control device 10 changes it to change the illuminance in the vehicle interior of the other vehicle. It is transmitted from the videophone device 2 as command data.

  The control device 10 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an I / O, and the like, and performs input / output with the video phone device 2 and the illumination unit 3 by a processing program stored in the ROM, and the illuminance in the vehicle interior. The control is performed.

First, control of the illumination unit 3 in the control device 10 will be described.
The control device 10 controls the luminance of the lighting device 30 with the illuminance in the passenger compartment stored in advance in the RAM as the target illuminance. That is, the illuminance detected by the illuminance sensor 32 is compared with the target illuminance stored in the RAM, and if the illuminance detected by the illuminance sensor 32 is lower than the target illuminance, the luminance of the lighting device 30 is increased and detected. If the illuminance is higher than the target illuminance, the luminance of the lighting device 30 is lowered so that the illuminance in the passenger compartment becomes the target illuminance.

  Further, when the caller sets the target illuminance by operating the own vehicle illuminance setting switch 34 in order to change the illuminance in the passenger compartment during the call, a target illuminance setting signal is output from the own vehicle illuminance setting switch 34. The The control device 10 receives the illuminance setting signal, changes the target illuminance currently stored in the storage device to the target illuminance set by the illuminance setting signal, and uses the changed target illuminance as a new control target illuminance. The brightness of the lighting device 30 is controlled.

  Further, the control device 10 is connected to the existing switch 36. For example, when a so-called room lamp switch is used as the existing switch 36, the lighting device 30 is manually turned on / off by the room lamp switch. Be able to.

  The control device 10 also has a function of controlling the luminance of the lighting device 30 based on change command data representing a change command for illuminance in the passenger compartment. That is, the target illuminance currently stored in the RAM is changed based on the command data representing the illuminance change command transmitted from the calling party via the videophone device 2, and the changed target illuminance is newly set. The brightness of the lighting device 30 is controlled as the control target illuminance.

Next, control of the videophone device 2 in the control device 10 will be described.
The control device 10 receives the transmission end signal output from the NCU 29 of the videophone device 2, detects the start and end of the call operation of the videophone device 2, and starts and ends the lighting control process.

  Further, the control device 10 receives the received packet data received by the videophone device 2 while the videophone device 2 is in a call operation with another communication terminal, and receives the header portion of the received packet data from the received packet data. Is the command data representing the change command of the illuminance in the vehicle interior, and when the header portion is the command data representing the change command of the illuminance in the vehicle interior, The portion is extracted as command data representing a command to change the illuminance in the passenger compartment. In addition, during the call operation with the other communication terminal, the videophone device 2 indicates that the illuminance change request data for the other communication terminal input by the other vehicle illuminance change switch 35 is the change command data. A function of adding a header to be output and outputting the transmission packet to the videophone device 2 is provided.

  Next, a series of processes for controlling the illuminance in the vehicle interior in the control device 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a main process executed by the control device 10, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a subroutine called from the flowchart of the main process.

The control device 10 starts processing in a state where the ACC key of the vehicle is turned on.
First, in S110, a transmission signal from the NCU 29 of the videophone device 2 is received to determine whether there is an incoming / outgoing call. If there is an outgoing / incoming call (Yes in S110), the process proceeds to S115. If there is no outgoing / incoming call (No in S110), S110 is repeated, and a standby state is entered until there is an incoming / outgoing call.

  In S115, the target illuminance is acquired. That is, the process proceeds to S210 of the subroutine shown in FIG. 4, the illuminance target in the vehicle interior stored in the RAM of the control device 10 is acquired, and the process proceeds to S215.

  In S215, the target illuminance in the vehicle interior of the own vehicle set by the own vehicle illuminance setting switch 34 is read and the process proceeds to S220. In S220, the target illuminance read in S215 is stored in the RAM of the control device 10 and the process proceeds to S225. Transition.

  In S225, the vehicle interior illuminance change command data sent from the other vehicle is read, and the process proceeds to S230. In S230, the illuminance addition / subtraction for the change command data from the other vehicle is added to the target illuminance stored in the RAM. Then go to S235.

In S235, the target illuminance changed in S215 to S230 is written in the RAM as a new target illuminance, the subroutine is terminated, and the process proceeds to S120.
In S120, the illuminance in the passenger compartment is input from the illuminance sensor 32, and the process proceeds to S125.

  In S125, the illuminance in the vehicle interior input in S120 is compared with the target illuminance acquired in S115. If the illuminance in the vehicle interior is lower than the target illuminance, it is determined that the vehicle interior illumination is necessary (in the case of Yes in S130) and S130. If the illuminance in the vehicle interior is higher than the set illuminance, it is determined that the vehicle interior illumination is unnecessary (No in S130), and the process proceeds to S155.

Next, in S130, the lighting device 30 is turned on and the process proceeds to S132, the illuminance in the passenger compartment is input from the illuminance sensor 32, and the process proceeds to S135.
In S135, the illuminance in the passenger compartment input in S132 is compared with the target illuminance acquired in S115. If the illuminance in the passenger compartment is low, it is determined that the illuminance in the passenger compartment is insufficient (Yes in S135), and the process proceeds to S140. If the illuminance in the vehicle interior is high, it is determined that the illuminance in the vehicle interior is excessive (in the case of No in S135), and the process proceeds to S150.

In S140, the luminance of the lighting device 30 is increased and the process proceeds to S155. In S150, the luminance of the lighting device 30 is lowered, and the process proceeds to S155.
In S155, an end call signal from the NCU 29 of the videophone device 2 is input, and it is determined whether or not the call operation of the videophone device 2 has ended. If it is determined that the call is over (Yes in S155), the process proceeds to S160. If it is determined that the call is in operation (No in S155), the process returns to S110 to repeat a series of processes.

In S160, the lighting device 30 is turned off, and the series of processing ends.
Thus, when the illumination control device 1 of the present embodiment is used, the illuminance in the passenger compartment is automatically maintained at the preset target illuminance during a call on the videophone device 2, so that the burden on the caller is reduced. Will be reduced, making it possible to make comfortable calls. In particular, when the caller is a driver, safety during driving can be improved.

  Also, when the vehicle suddenly becomes dark during a call, such as when making a videophone call when the vehicle is running at night and the cabin is dark, or when entering a tunnel while running in the daytime In addition, the brightness of the passenger compartment is controlled to a preset brightness without the caller adjusting the lighting device, and an image with appropriate brightness is always displayed on the screen of the videophone.

  Even if the captured image of the vehicle displayed on the display screen of the other party during a call with the videophone device is too dark or too bright depending on the videophone device of the other party, The illuminance setting switch 34 can adjust the illuminance in the passenger compartment in accordance with the request of the other party.

Furthermore, since it is also possible to change the illuminance in the passenger compartment by the illuminance change command data from the other party, it is possible to automatically set the illuminance in the passenger compartment to be easily seen by the other party.
Since the illuminance in the passenger compartment of the other party can be adjusted by the other vehicle illuminance change switch 35, it is not necessary for the other party to manually adjust the illuminance.

As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to a present Example, It can take a various aspect.
For example, in the present embodiment, the illuminance sensor 32 is used to detect the illuminance in the passenger compartment, but when a car navigation device equipped with a GPS or the like that detects the vehicle position is mounted on the vehicle, Instead of using the illuminance sensor 32, the illuminance may be estimated from the vehicle position obtained from the car navigation device and the current time, and the illuminance in the vehicle interior may be controlled based on the estimated illuminance.

  That is, in S120 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, when the vehicle position obtained from the car navigation device comes to the position in the tunnel of the map data stored in advance, the detected illuminance is set as the illuminance in the tunnel in advance. The illuminance is changed to a certain value, or the illuminance is estimated (eg whether it is nighttime) from the vehicle position (latitude and longitude) and the current time.

  Thereby, although the illuminance detection accuracy is inferior compared with the case where the illuminance sensor 32 is used to detect the illuminance, the illuminance in the vehicle compartment can be estimated without using the illuminance sensor, and the illuminance detection can be performed at a low cost. Even when the illuminance sensor 32 is used, it is possible to estimate the illuminance when the illuminance sensor fails.

  In addition, the videophone device 2 has a camera 20 and a display device 22 attached to the rear portion of the front seat toward the rear seat, and the receiver 24, the transceiver 27, the antenna 28, and the NCU 29 are configured separately. However, even if they are integrated to form a so-called mobile phone, the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

  In addition, the videophone device 2 in the present embodiment is a method of making a call by connecting a line, but the communication method does not need to be a line connection as long as it can transmit and receive voice and image data. It may be a so-called IP phone using the Internet.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a lighting control device 1. FIG. It is the schematic which shows the attachment state of the illumination control apparatus seen from the side surface of the vehicle. It is a flowchart of the main process which the control apparatus 10 performs. It is a flowchart of the subroutine called from the flowchart of a main process.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Lighting control apparatus, 2 ... Videophone apparatus, 3 ... Illumination part, 10 ... Control apparatus, 20 ... Camera, 22 ... Display apparatus, 24 ... Receiver, 25 ... Microphone, 26 ... Speaker, 27 ... Transceiver, 28 ... Antenna, 29 ... NCU, 30 ... lighting device, 32 ... illuminance sensor, 34 ... own vehicle illuminance setting switch, 35 ... other vehicle illuminance change switch, 36 ... existing switch,

Claims (6)

In a vehicle equipped with a videophone device for calling while facing the other party on the screen, the videophone device is a vehicle lighting control device that automatically adjusts the brightness of the vehicle interior during a call operation,
A lighting device installed in the vehicle interior;
Detecting means for detecting illuminance in the passenger compartment;
Control means for controlling the luminance of the lighting device so that the illuminance in the passenger compartment detected by the detection means becomes a preset target illuminance during a call operation of the videophone device;
A lighting control device for a vehicle, comprising: A vehicle illuminance setting means for manually setting a target illuminance when the control means controls the luminance of the lighting device;
The vehicle lighting control device according to claim 1. Command data extracting means for extracting command data representing a command to change the target illuminance from received data received by the videophone device during a call operation with another communication terminal;
When the command data is extracted by the command data extraction means, the control means changes the target illuminance based on the command data;
The lighting control device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein A change request input means for manually inputting an illuminance change request for the other communication terminal during a call operation with the other communication terminal;
Transmitting means for transmitting the change request of illuminance input by the change request input means from the videophone device as change command data;
Providing
The lighting control device for a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   The vehicle illumination control device according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit is an illuminance sensor installed in a vehicle interior. The detection means includes
Acquiring the position of the host vehicle from a position detection device mounted on the vehicle, and estimating the illuminance in the passenger compartment based on the acquired position of the host vehicle and the current date and time;
The lighting control apparatus for a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

Images