JP2006021632A - Lighting system for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lighting system capable of illuminating a dangerous object from a sufficiently early stage by quickly recognizing the position of the dangerous object by a succeeding vehicle in a file traveling. <P>SOLUTION: This system provided in autonomously performing the file traveling is provided with a light emitting part forming a prescribed light distribution part and provided to change irradiating direction and light quantity, a camera for imaging the front of the vehicle, a dangerous object determining part for determining an object dangerous for traveling of a present vehicle or the succeeding vehicle in the file traveling as a dangerous object based on images acquired by the camera and notifying the succeeding vehicle of position information on the dangerous object, and a light source control part for acquiring the position information on the dangerous object from the dangerous object determining part in the front vehicle in the file traveling and irradiating the dangerous object based on the position information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle lighting system. In particular, the present invention relates to a vehicle lighting system provided in a vehicle that autonomously travels in a row.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technique for illuminating a direction in which a vehicle bends by turning a light source of a headlight of an automobile in a steering direction is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2001-325817 A

  However, the above conventional technique has a problem in that it cannot illuminate an accurate area according to the surrounding situation.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle illumination system provided in a vehicle that autonomously travels in a row can form a predetermined light distribution pattern and change the direction and amount of irradiation. Based on the light emitting unit provided in the camera, a camera that images the front of the vehicle, and an image acquired by the camera, an object that is dangerous for the traveling of the following vehicle in the host vehicle or the platooning is determined as a dangerous object, Obtain the location information of the dangerous goods from the dangerous material judgment section for notifying the succeeding vehicle of the position information of the dangerous goods and the dangerous material judgment section of the vehicle ahead in the platooning, and irradiate the dangerous goods based on the position information A light source control unit.

  In the vehicle illumination system, the light source control unit may irradiate the dangerous material based on the positional information after the positional information of the dangerous material detected by the dangerous material determination unit of the oncoming vehicle is excluded.

  In the vehicle lighting system, the dangerous substance determination unit determines whether there is an oncoming vehicle from an image acquired by the camera, and the light source control unit reduces the amount of light irradiated to the oncoming vehicle side when there is an oncoming vehicle. May be.

  The vehicle illumination system further includes a vehicle position acquisition unit that acquires a current position of the vehicle, and the light source control unit is a distance between the current position of the vehicle acquired from the vehicle position acquisition unit and the position of the dangerous object. The direction of the dangerous material may be irradiated on the condition that is below a predetermined reference value.

  In the vehicle lighting system, the dangerous material determination unit may notify the subsequent vehicle of the direction of the dangerous material with respect to the host vehicle as position information.

  In the vehicular lighting system, the dangerous material determination unit may further notify the subsequent vehicle of the distance of the dangerous material relative to the host vehicle as position information.

  In the vehicle lighting system, the dangerous substance determination unit may notify the subsequent vehicle of the absolute position of the dangerous substance as position information.

  The above summary of the invention does not enumerate all the necessary features of the present invention, and sub-combinations of these feature groups can also be the invention.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention. However, the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the scope of claims, and all combinations of features described in the embodiments are included. It is not necessarily essential for the solution of the invention.

  1 and 2 show a configuration of a vehicle lighting system 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 conceptually shows a layout of a vehicle lighting system 30 mounted on the vehicle 20, and FIG. 2 shows a functional configuration of the vehicle lighting system 30 as a block diagram. The vehicular lighting system 30 of the present embodiment aims to give the driver a sense of security and improve driving safety by controlling the lighting according to the environment of the vehicle 20, the driving state, and the driver's state. To do.

  The vehicle illumination system 30 includes a plurality of light sources 40, a front situation determination unit 60, a navigation unit 72, and a light source control unit 50. The plurality of light sources 40 illuminate different areas, and form a predetermined light distribution pattern as a whole. A part of the plurality of light sources 40 configures the left headlight 400 and the left auxiliary lamp 410 on the front left side of the vehicle 20 and configures the right headlight 420 and the right auxiliary lamp 430 on the front right side.

  The forward situation determination unit 60 determines the road situation ahead of the vehicle 20. The front situation determination unit 60 includes a camera 62, an actual light distribution acquisition unit 64, a dangerous material determination unit 66, and a radar 68. The camera 62 images the front of the vehicle 20. The camera 62 captures an infrared image in front of the vehicle 20 when the surroundings are dark, such as at night. The dangerous substance determination unit 66 determines an object that is dangerous to travel as a dangerous substance based on an image acquired by the camera 62 or information of the radar 68. The navigation unit 72 is an example of a position recognition unit and a road type recognition unit according to the present invention. That is, the navigation unit 72 recognizes the country or region in which the vehicle 20 travels based on the current position, and recognizes the type of road on which the vehicle 20 travels.

  The driver authentication unit 70 authenticates the driver when the engine is started. The driver authentication unit 70 authenticates the driver by biometric authentication or ID card reading. When biometrics authentication is used, physical features such as a driver's fingerprint and iris permitting driving of the vehicle 20 are registered in advance in the driver authentication unit 70 together with license information and age information. Then, the driving control unit 78 may start the engine on the condition that the physical characteristics of the driver coincide with the physical characteristics registered in advance. The driver authentication unit 70 acquires the age of the driver, and determines that the driver is an elderly person when the acquired age exceeds a predetermined elderly person threshold. The elderly person threshold value is an age at which the gaze direction of most drivers is more likely to face in the left-right direction at a shorter distance than at a distance from the front. For example, it sets based on statistical data, such as 65 years old or 70 years old. The driver authentication unit 70 acquires the age of the driver, and determines that the driver is a young person when the acquired age is lower than a young person threshold value that is lower than the elderly person threshold value. The youth threshold is statistically the age at which the gaze direction of most drivers is more likely to face farther than the left and right directions at a short distance. For example, it sets based on statistical data, such as 50 years old or 55 years old.

  The traveling control unit 78 controls a driving system such as an engine and a steering system such as a steering according to a driver's instruction, a road surface state, and a surrounding vehicle state. For example, the traveling direction of the vehicle 20 is determined based on the image acquired from the camera 62 and the map data acquired from the navigation unit 72. Then, it communicates with surrounding vehicles via the communication unit 80 and autonomously travels with the designated vehicle. The rudder angle acquisition unit 76 acquires the rudder angle from the rotation of the handle 77 and outputs it to the travel control unit 78. The steering angle acquisition unit 76 further outputs the acquired steering angle to the light source control unit 50. The line-of-sight detection unit 74 captures the driver's face from the front and calculates the direction of the line of sight from the direction of the driver's face and eyeball. Then, the calculated light direction is notified to the light source controller 50. The communication unit 80 communicates with surrounding vehicles. The communication unit 80 acquires information on dangerous materials acquired by surrounding vehicles, in particular, vehicles ahead, and notifies the light source control unit 50 of the information. Further, the communication unit 80 notifies the rear vehicle of the information on the type and position of the dangerous material determined by the dangerous material determination unit 66.

  The light source control unit 50 acquires information indicating the driving environment and the state of the driver from the driver authentication unit 70, the navigation unit 72, the communication unit 80, the rudder angle acquisition unit 76, the line-of-sight detection unit 74, and the front situation determination unit 60. Based on the acquired information, the direction and the amount of light of each of the plurality of light sources 40 are changed. Therefore, an optimal light distribution can be realized each time the driving environment and the driver's state change.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the light source control unit 50. The light source control unit 50 includes a light distribution pattern determination unit 51, a traffic scene light distribution database 52, a driver attribute light distribution database 53, a light amount control unit 54, and an angle control unit 55. The traffic scene light distribution database 52 records an appropriate light distribution pattern in association with the traffic scene according to the traffic scene such as road type and weather. The driver attribute light distribution database 53 records an appropriate light distribution pattern according to driver attributes such as age and driving history in association with the driver attributes. The light distribution patterns recorded in the traffic scene light distribution database 52 and the driver attribute light distribution database 53 include a range in which light is illuminated and a light amount distribution within the range.

  The light distribution pattern determination unit 51 acquires information specifying a traffic scene from the navigation unit 72 and acquires a light distribution pattern corresponding to the traffic scene from the traffic scene light distribution database 52. The light distribution pattern determination unit 51 may determine a traffic scene from the forward image acquired by the forward situation determination unit 60 and acquire a light distribution pattern corresponding to the determined traffic scene from the traffic scene light distribution database 52. For example, the light distribution pattern determination unit 51 determines, based on the image acquired from the forward situation determination unit 60, whether the road being traveled is an expressway or a general road from the presence of a sidewalk, the width of a lane, and the like. To do. It also recognizes the curve or intersection ahead and calculates the distance.

  The light distribution pattern determination unit 51 further acquires driver attributes from the driver authentication unit 70, and acquires a light distribution pattern according to the driver attributes from the driver attribute light distribution database 53. The light distribution pattern determination unit 51 determines the light distribution pattern corresponding to both the traffic scene and the driver attribute by correcting the light distribution pattern corresponding to the traffic scene with the light distribution pattern corresponding to the driver attribute. Here, the driver attribute acquired by the light distribution pattern determination unit 51 is, for example, the age group of the driver. When the light distribution pattern determination unit 51 obtains from the driver authentication unit 70 that the driver is an elderly person, the light distribution pattern determination unit 51 increases the amount of light at the left and right ends of the light distribution pattern as compared with the case where the driver is a young person. The angle control unit 55 realizes the light distribution pattern determined by the light distribution pattern determination unit 51 by changing the direction of each of the plurality of light sources 40 by different rotation vectors. The light amount control unit 54 realizes an appropriate light amount distribution in the light distribution pattern determined by the light distribution pattern determination unit 51 by independently changing the light amounts of the plurality of light sources 40.

  For example, when the driver is a young person, the light amount control unit 54 illuminates a part of the light source 40 that illuminates the left and right ends of the light distribution pattern among the plurality of light sources 40, for example, the left auxiliary lamp 410 and the right auxiliary lamp 430. When the driver is an elderly person, the left side auxiliary lamp 410 and the right side auxiliary lamp 430 that have been turned off are turned on to increase the amount of light at the left and right ends. Alternatively, when the driver is an elderly person, the angle control unit 55 determines a part of the plurality of light sources 40 that illuminate the central part of the light distribution pattern when the driver is a young person. You may raise the light quantity of a right-and-left end part by directing to the direction of an edge part. When the driver's age acquired by the driver authentication unit 70 is between the young person threshold and the elderly person threshold, the light distribution pattern determination unit 51 increases the light amount at the left and right ends as the driver's age increases. In addition, when the navigation unit 72 recognizes that the current road is an expressway, the angle control unit 55 determines the direction of the plurality of light sources 40 that illuminate the central portion of the light distribution pattern regardless of the driver's age. It is desirable to change only upward.

  In addition, the light distribution pattern determination unit 51 acquires information on dangerous goods from the front situation determination unit 60 and the communication unit 80 at any time during traveling, and the driver's line of sight and steering wheel from the line-of-sight detection unit 74 and the steering angle acquisition unit 76, respectively. 77 steering angles are acquired at any time. The light distribution pattern determination unit 51 changes the light distribution pattern in real time so as to irradiate the dangerous object, the direction of the driver's line of sight, and the direction in which the handle 77 is cut. Then, the angle control unit 55 and the light amount control unit 54 independently change the direction and light amount of each of the plurality of light sources 40 so as to realize the light distribution pattern determined by the light distribution pattern determination unit 51. Thereby, the vehicle lighting system 30 can realize a light distribution pattern that irradiates a dangerous object, the direction of the driver's line of sight, and the direction in which the handle 77 is cut.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of a plurality of light sources 40 arranged on the right front side of the vehicle 20. The plurality of light sources constitute a right headlight 420 and a right auxiliary lamp 430. Each of the plurality of light sources 40 is fixed so that the direction can be freely changed with respect to the upper and lower and left and right axes. A gear mechanism (not shown) using, for example, a step motor as a power source is connected to the back side of each light source 40. The angle control unit 55 of the light source control unit 50 realizes the light distribution pattern determined by the light distribution pattern determination unit 51 by individually controlling a plurality of step motors that drive the plurality of light sources 40. The light quantity control unit 54 realizes an appropriate light quantity distribution within the light distribution pattern determined by the light distribution pattern determination unit 51 by independently changing the current values of the plurality of light sources 40.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating another example of a mechanism for driving a plurality of light sources 40. In this embodiment, the principle of DMD (Digital Micro Mirror Device) is applied. The light source 40 includes an LED element 42, a substrate 44, a yoke 46, and a landing part 48. The LED element 42 is fixed to the upper surface of the substrate 44, and the substrate 44 is fixed above the yoke 46. The plurality of LED elements 42 illuminate different areas, and form a predetermined light distribution pattern as a whole. The yoke 46 is attracted to the landing portion 48 when a predetermined voltage is applied to the landing portion 48 and tilted by about 20 ° as shown in the figure. A power supply pattern for supplying the operating power of the LED element 42 is provided on the lower surface of the substrate 44. When the yoke 46 is inclined, the operating current of the LED element 42 is supplied from the landing portion 48 to the power supply pattern. That is, the LED element 42 emits light in the normal direction of the substrate 44 with the substrate 44 tilted.

  On the lower surface of the substrate 44, power supply patterns for supplying the operating power of the LED elements 42 are also provided on the diagonal side of the substrate 44. Then, when a voltage is applied to the diagonal side of the landing portion 48, the yoke 46 is tilted by about 20 ° on the opposite side, and current is supplied to the diagonal power feeding pattern. At this time, the landing unit 48 supplies different currents to the power feeding patterns arranged diagonally. Thereby, the LED element 42 can be made to emit light with different brightness depending on the direction of the LED element 42. The angle control unit 55 changes the light distribution pattern by changing the direction of each LED element 42. The light quantity controller 54 appropriately changes the light distribution pattern determined by the light distribution pattern determination unit 51 by independently changing the power supplied to each of the plurality of power supply patterns formed on the lower surface of the substrate 44. Realize a good light quantity distribution.

  6 to 11 are diagrams illustrating examples of light distribution control according to a gazing point or a dangerous object. The star in the figure indicates a gazing point detected by the line-of-sight detection unit 74 or an object determined by the dangerous material determination unit 66 as a dangerous material. An ellipse surrounding the star is a main light distribution part (hot zone) having a particularly high light quantity distribution in the light distribution pattern. A region surrounding the main light distribution portion in the light distribution pattern is referred to as a peripheral light distribution portion. That is, the light distribution pattern includes a main light distribution unit and a peripheral light distribution unit. The light source control unit 50 acquires the direction of the driver's line of sight from the line-of-sight detection unit 74 and identifies the point of gaze. The dangerous material determination unit 66 extracts a bicycle or a pedestrian by shape matching from a front image captured by the camera 62 and determines it as a dangerous material. When shape matching is difficult, such as at night, an object corresponding to the human body temperature is extracted from the infrared image and determined as a dangerous object. The radar 68 is a millimeter wave radar and recognizes the position of an object ahead in bad weather such as rain. The dangerous substance determination unit 66 calculates the current position and movement vector of the dangerous substance from the data acquired from the camera 62 or the radar 68. Then, the route of the vehicle 20 is acquired from the traveling control unit 78 that controls the traveling of the vehicle 20, and it is determined whether or not a dangerous object is approaching the route of the vehicle 20. And the object which is not approaching the course of the vehicle 20 is excluded from a dangerous material.

  The dangerous object determination unit 66 excludes, from among dangerous substances existing inside the current light distribution pattern, objects existing within a predetermined angle from the direction of the line of sight detected by the line of sight detection unit 74 from the dangerous substance. May be. For example, an object that exists within 20 ° to the left and right with the line of sight as the center is excluded from the dangerous materials. As a result, an object that has a high possibility of being recognized by the driver can be excluded from the dangerous goods. The dangerous material determination unit 66 may exclude an object whose relative speed with the vehicle 20 is a certain value or less from the dangerous material. Thereby, for example, a vehicle traveling in the same lane ahead at the same speed as that of the vehicle 20 can be excluded from dangerous materials. In this way, the dangerous substance determination unit 66 can determine with high accuracy whether or not the object ahead is dangerous for the vehicle 20. The dangerous material determination unit 66 notifies the light source control unit 50 of the position and type of the object determined as a dangerous material.

  FIG. 6 shows a light distribution pattern when there is no dangerous object ahead and the driver is gazing far away from the front. 7, 8, and 9 show examples of light distribution control when the driver's gazing point or dangerous object is in the left front of the vehicle 20. When the dangerous object or the gazing point is outside the main light distribution unit in the current light distribution pattern, the light source control unit 50 includes a plurality of light sources 40 so as to illuminate the dangerous object or the gazing point with a brightness of a certain value or more. At least one of the direction and the amount of light is changed. In the example of FIG. 7, the light source control unit 50 maintains the shape of the light distribution pattern in FIG. 6, and the angles of the plurality of light sources 40 are set to the left until the main light distribution unit irradiates a gazing point or a dangerous object. Turn.

  In the example of FIG. 8, the light source control unit 50 changes the light distribution pattern by changing the direction of each of the light sources 40 irradiating the left side of the light distribution pattern among the plurality of light sources 40 by different rotation vectors. . In this case, the light source control unit 50 changes the direction of the light source 40 that mainly illuminates the left region while maintaining the position of the cut line that defines the shape of the upper end of the light distribution pattern. In the example of FIG. 9, the left auxiliary lamp 410 is additionally turned on without changing the directions of the plurality of light sources 40 forming the light distribution pattern of FIG.

  FIG. 10 shows an example of light distribution control when an oncoming vehicle is approaching. The light source control unit 50 detects the light of the headlight of the oncoming vehicle from the image of the camera 62, and lowers the brightness of the light source 40 directed toward the oncoming lane in the light distribution pattern. Thereby, the glare with respect to an oncoming vehicle can be reduced. FIG. 11 shows an example of light distribution control when a plurality of dangerous objects exist. When the light source control unit 50 acquires information on a plurality of dangerous objects from the dangerous material determination unit 66, the light source control unit 50 reduces the amount of light in an area farthest from the plurality of dangerous objects in the light distribution pattern so as to illuminate each of the plurality of dangerous objects. At least one of the orientations and the light amounts of the plurality of light sources 40 is changed. Note that one of the plurality of dangerous goods may be a gaze point. According to such light distribution control, the vehicle lighting system 30 can efficiently illuminate these directions when there are a plurality of directions of dangerous objects or gazing points.

  The light source control unit 50 illuminates the road shoulder with at least some of the plurality of light sources 40 when it is determined from the image acquired by the camera 62 that the brightness on the road in the traveling direction is a certain value or more. A plurality of light sources 40 may be controlled. Or the light source control part 50 may search the dark area | region whose brightness is below a fixed value from the image acquired with the camera 62, and may control the some light source 40 so that the said dark area may be illuminated. As a result, it is possible to efficiently realize a light distribution pattern that gives the driver a sense of security.

  12 to 19 are diagrams illustrating other examples of light distribution control. FIG. 12 shows an example in which the light distribution pattern is divided into a plurality of elements and each element is controlled independently. The plurality of elements are a hot zone A, a wide diffusion B, and an additional light distribution C. In this embodiment, the hot zone A is interlocked with the rotation of the handle 77. That is, the light source control unit 50 determines the direction in which the vehicle 20 travels according to the steering angle acquired from the steering angle acquisition unit 76, and changes the direction of the light source 40 so that the determined direction is illuminated in the hot zone A. The light source control unit 50 directs the wide diffusion B in the direction of the line of sight acquired from the line-of-sight detection unit 74 when the vehicle 20 is below a certain speed. The additional light distribution C is added when the position of the dangerous object or the gazing point is more than a certain angle away from the front. Since the additional light distribution C is used particularly for the purpose of illuminating a short distance, it is desirable to use an LED having a small size and low power consumption as a light source.

  FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 show an example in which the direction that the driver wants to see is preferentially illuminated by changing the distribution of the number of the plurality of light sources 40 that respectively illuminate the left front and the right front. In the example illustrated in FIG. 13, the light source control unit 50 changes the distribution of the numbers of the plurality of light sources 40 that irradiate the left front and the right front according to the driver's point of sight. For example, in FIG. 13A, when the driver's gazing point is the front, the left headlight 400 and the right headlight 420 irradiate the left front and the right front with the same number of light sources 40, respectively, so that the light quantity ratio is set. 1.0 to 1.0. In FIG. 13B, when the driver's gazing point is directed to the left front, the light source controller 50 directs some of the plurality of light sources 40 included in the right headlight 420 to the left front. Thereby, the light source control part 50 can illuminate the left front brighter than the right front. For example, the brightness of the right front is lowered to 0.5 and the brightness of the left front is raised to 1.5 by directing half of the plurality of light sources 40 that irradiate the right front to the left front. Thereby, it is possible to preferentially illuminate the left front that the driver wants to see.

  In the example illustrated in FIG. 14, the light source control unit 50 distributes or concentrates the irradiation ranges of the plurality of light sources 40 in the steering direction according to the steering angle of the handle 77. For example, when the handle 77 is turned to the left, the light source control unit 50 acquires the steering angle from the steering angle acquisition unit 76 and changes the directions of the plurality of light sources 40 independently in the steering direction. Thereby, the irradiation range by the plurality of light sources 40 is dispersed on the left side as shown in the figure. In this way, the light source control unit 50 can increase the brightness in the direction in which the driver wants to bend.

  15 and 16 are diagrams showing details of the light distribution pattern control operation described in FIG. In the example of FIG. 15, the light source control unit 50 acquires pedestrian information existing on the left side of the light distribution pattern from the front situation determination unit 60 as dangerous object information. The light source control unit 50 illuminates the region A including the pedestrian with the light source 40 illuminating the region B closest to the pedestrian in the light distribution pattern. And the area | region B is illuminated with the light source 40 which illuminated the area C farthest from the pedestrian among the light distribution patterns. At this time, the shape of the other region of the light distribution pattern is maintained. Thereby, the light source control part 50 can illuminate a pedestrian quickly, without sacrificing the brightness of the area | region near a pedestrian among light distribution patterns. At this time, the light source control unit 50 changes at least one of the direction of the light source 40 and the amount of light so as to illuminate a pedestrian as a dangerous object with an illuminance lower than the illuminance of the light distribution pattern. Or the light source control part 50 may control the several light source 40 so that the pedestrian which is a dangerous material may be illuminated intermittently. In addition, when the light source control unit 50 illuminates a pedestrian as a dangerous object, it is desirable to change at least one of the directions of the light sources 40 and at least one of the light amounts so as to illuminate the lower side of the pedestrian's face. Or you may control the several light source 40 so that the said pedestrian may be illuminated with the illumination intensity below 1000 candela.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a light distribution pattern control operation. In the example of this figure, it illuminates so that the area | region which the light source which illuminates a pedestrian may illuminate previously with the surrounding light source. For example, the light source control unit 50 illuminates the area A including the pedestrian with a part of the light sources 40 forming the light distribution pattern, and the other light sources 40 illuminate the area C previously illuminated by the light source 40 that illuminates the area A. The light distribution pattern formed by the plurality of light sources 40 before recognizing the pedestrian is maintained by changing the directions of the light sources 40 by different rotation vectors. At this time, it is desirable that the region C is a region farthest from the pedestrian among the light distribution patterns formed by the plurality of light sources 40. According to the operation as described above, it is possible to illuminate the pedestrian so as not to give glare while maintaining the light distribution pattern so far.

  FIG. 17 is an example of an operation for reducing uneven light distribution of the plurality of light sources 40. The light source control unit 50 according to the present embodiment illuminates the boundary between adjacent irradiation regions by swinging the irradiation directions of the plurality of light sources 40. According to such an operation, it is possible to reduce uneven light distribution that is likely to occur when a plurality of light sources 40 illuminate different areas to form a predetermined light distribution pattern. The width of the swing is preferably smaller than the pitch of the area illuminated by each light source 40, and the swing direction is preferably different for each light source 40. For example, it is desirable to have a region P that swings left and right and a region Q that swings up and down. Thereby, light distribution unevenness can be reduced in both the left and right directions and the top and bottom directions.

  FIG. 18 is a conceptual diagram of light distribution correction. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the forward situation determination unit 60 further includes an actual light distribution acquisition unit 64 that acquires an actual light distribution pattern based on an image captured by the camera 62. The light source control unit 50 includes a plurality of light distribution patterns such that the current light distribution pattern acquired by the actual light distribution acquisition unit 64 matches the target light distribution pattern, that is, the light distribution pattern determined by the light distribution pattern determination unit 51. At least one of the direction of the light source 40 and the amount of light is changed. The light distribution pattern B in this figure is an actual light distribution pattern acquired by the actual light distribution acquisition unit 64, and the light distribution pattern A is a light distribution pattern determined by the light distribution pattern determination unit 51. The light source control unit 50 calculates the difference between the light distribution pattern A and the light distribution pattern B. Then, at least one of the directions and the light amounts of the plurality of light sources 40 is independently changed so that the actual light distribution pattern B matches the target light distribution pattern A.

  FIG. 19 shows an operation example of the vehicle lighting system 30 when the vehicle 20 autonomously travels in a row. In the present embodiment, the vehicles 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d communicate with each other via the communication unit 80 and autonomously travel in a row. Each vehicle 20 is given a unique IP address according to, for example, IPv6, and each vehicle acquires the IP address of another vehicle included in the platooning. Based on the image acquired by the camera 62, the dangerous material determination unit 66 included in the leading vehicle 20a determines an object that is dangerous for the traveling of the host vehicle or the following vehicle in the platooning as a dangerous material. Then, the position information of the dangerous article is notified to the following vehicle. For example, the dangerous material determination unit 66 of the leading vehicle 20a recognizes the person 550 as a dangerous object based on data from the camera 62 and the radar 68, and calculates position information of the person 550. The light source control unit 50 irradiates the person 550 with a part of the light source 40 and notifies the subsequent vehicle of the position information of the person 550. The light source control unit 50 of the following vehicles 20b, 20c, and 20d in the platooning travel acquires position information of the person 550 from the front vehicle 20a in the platooning travel, and irradiates the person 550 based on the position information. In this way, the light source control unit 50 of the following vehicle can quickly grasp the position of the dangerous object and illuminate the dangerous object from a sufficiently early stage. This improves the safety of the platooning.

  The dangerous goods determination unit 66 of the leading vehicle 20a notifies the subsequent vehicle of the absolute position of the dangerous goods. For example, the relative position of the person 550 is calculated based on the data of the camera 62 and the radar 68, and the absolute position of the person 550 is calculated using the absolute position of the vehicle and the relative position of the person 550 acquired from the navigation unit 72. To do. Then, the absolute position of the calculated person 550 is notified to the following vehicles 20b, 20c, and 20d. Thereby, the light source control part 50 of the following vehicles 20b, 20c, and 20d can grasp | ascertain the position of the dangerous goods ahead, and can illuminate the said dangerous goods correctly.

  Alternatively, the dangerous material determination unit 66 of the leading vehicle 20a may notify the subsequent vehicle of the direction of the person 550 relative to the own vehicle as position information instead of the absolute position of the person 550. Since the following vehicles 20b, 20c, and 20d in the platooning run in the same direction on the same track as the leading vehicle 20a, the following vehicles 20b, 20c, and 20d obtain and acquire the direction of the person 550 with respect to the leading vehicle 20a. By irradiating the direction, the person 550 can be irradiated sequentially. In this case, since the leading vehicle 20a does not need to calculate the absolute position of the person 550, the position information of the person 550 can be quickly transmitted. Further, since the following vehicles 20b, 20c, and 20d process less information than when the absolute position of the person 550 is acquired, the direction of the light source 40 can be quickly controlled.

  In addition to the direction of the person 550, the dangerous material determination unit 66 of the lead vehicle 20a may further notify the distance between the own vehicle and the person 550 to the subsequent vehicle as position information. In this case, each of the following vehicles 20b, 20c, and 20d calculates the relative position of the person 550 with respect to the own vehicle from the information on the direction and distance of the person 550 with respect to the leading vehicle 20a and the relative position of the leading vehicle 20a and the own vehicle. can do. Thereby, each of the following vehicles 20b, 20c, and 20d can accurately illuminate the person 550.

  Further, it is desirable that the light source control unit 50 irradiates the direction of the dangerous object on the condition that the distance between the current position of the own vehicle and the position of the dangerous object is not more than a predetermined reference value. For example, the light source control unit 50 of the following vehicles 20b, 20c, and 20d irradiates the direction of the person 550 on condition that the distance between the current position of the own vehicle acquired from the navigation unit 72 and the position of the person 550 is 50 m or less. To do. In the case of this figure, since the vehicle 20b and the vehicle 20c are the distance of 50 m or less with respect to the person 550, the left front which is the direction of the person 550 with respect to a course is irradiated. On the other hand, since the vehicle 20d is located at a distance exceeding 50 m with respect to the person 550, the left front is not irradiated. The vehicle 20d travels as it is and irradiates the left front when it comes to a position below 50m from the person 550. According to such illumination control, dangerous objects are not unnecessarily illuminated from the front.

  Further, the light source control unit 50 irradiates the dangerous material based on the position information after the position information of the dangerous material detected by the dangerous material determination unit 66 of the oncoming vehicle is excluded. The light source control unit 50 identifies the vehicle included in the platooning by the IP address as described above. Therefore, when data on dangerous goods is received, it is possible to check the IP address of the transmission source and exclude data received from vehicles not included in the platooning. As a result, the vehicles 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d traveling in the row exclude the position information of the dangerous object, that is, the person 552 received from the oncoming vehicle 20e, for example. And vehicles 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d irradiate a dangerous substance ahead based on position information after excluding position information on person 552. In this way, the light source control unit 50 can prevent the object with low risk for the host vehicle from being illuminated, and can focus on the object with high risk.

  The dangerous substance determination unit 66 determines the presence or absence of an oncoming vehicle from the image acquired by the camera 62, and the light source control unit 50 reduces the amount of light emitted to the oncoming vehicle side when there is an oncoming vehicle. For example, the vehicles a, 20b, 20c, and 20d detect the approach of the oncoming vehicle 20e based on the image of the camera 62, and reduce the irradiation amount to the oncoming lane side. According to such illumination control, glare given to the oncoming vehicle can be reduced.

  It is desirable that the dangerous material determination unit 66 excludes an object whose relative speed with the vehicle 20 is smaller than a predetermined threshold from the dangerous material. For example, the dangerous material determination unit 66 of the vehicle 20d detects the motorcycle 508 traveling left front by the camera 62 and the radar 68, calculates the relative speed of the motorcycle 508 with respect to the vehicle 20d, and the relative speed is calculated. If it is determined that it is slower than a predetermined threshold, for example, 5 (km / h), the motorcycle 508 is excluded from the dangerous goods. Thereby, the light source control unit 50 can preferentially irradiate an object whose front is highly dangerous for traveling of the vehicle 20.

  FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing a procedure for controlling the light distribution by the vehicle lighting system 30. First, the driver authentication unit 70 authenticates the driver and acquires driver attributes such as license information and age information (S10). Next, the navigation unit 72, the forward situation determination unit 60, the communication unit 80, the line-of-sight detection unit 74, and the rudder angle acquisition unit 76 acquire the traveling status of the vehicle 20 (S20). For example, the navigation unit 72 collects traffic scene information, and the forward situation determination unit 60 and the communication unit 80 collect dangerous material information. Further, the line-of-sight detection unit 74 detects the line of sight of the driver, and the steering angle acquisition unit 76 acquires the steering angle of the handle 77. Further, the light source control unit 50 acquires the vehicle identification information included in the platooning through the communication unit 80 during the platooning. The travel control unit 78 autonomously travels in a row while exchanging travel control information with other vehicles 20. The dangerous substance determination unit 66 transmits the position of the dangerous substance detected during traveling to the subsequent vehicle 20. The light source control unit 50 of the succeeding vehicle irradiates the dangerous material based on the position of the dangerous material acquired from the vehicle 20 ahead.

  The light distribution pattern determination unit 51 refers to the traffic scene light distribution database 52 and the driver attribute light distribution database 53 based on the driver attributes acquired in step 10 and the driving situation acquired in step 20, and the target light distribution pattern Is determined (S30). Then, the light amount control unit 54 and the angle control unit 55 individually change at least one of the directions and the light amounts of the plurality of light sources 40 so as to realize the light distribution pattern determined by the light distribution pattern determination unit 51. (S40). For example, when the driver is an elderly person, the light distribution pattern determination unit 51 determines the light distribution pattern so as to increase the amount of light at the left and right ends of the light distribution pattern as compared with the case of a young person. Next, the light distribution pattern determination unit 51 acquires an actual light distribution pattern from the front situation determination unit 60 (S50). Then, the difference between the target light distribution pattern determined in step 30 and the actual light distribution pattern is calculated, and the light distribution is corrected so that the actual light distribution pattern matches the target light distribution pattern (S60). . At this time, the light amount control unit 54 and the angle control unit 55 individually change at least one of the directions and the light amounts of the plurality of light sources 40 individually.

  Next, the light source control unit 50 determines whether or not the driver stops the engine (S70). When the engine is not stopped (S70: N), the light source control unit 50 returns to Step 20 and repeats the light distribution control. On the other hand, when the engine is stopped (S70: Y), this flow ends. According to the above operation procedure, the vehicle lighting system 30 determines a basic light distribution pattern according to the driver's attributes and the traffic scene, and further determines in real time according to the forward situation and the driver's will that change during driving. Change the light distribution. Thereby, a safe and comfortable light distribution can be realized for the driver and the pedestrian.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated using embodiment, the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the range as described in the said embodiment. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be added to the above-described embodiment. It is apparent from the scope of the claims that the embodiments added with such changes or improvements can be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

1 is a conceptual diagram of a configuration of a vehicle lighting system 30 mounted on a vehicle 20. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a vehicle lighting system 30. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a light source control unit 50. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the example of arrangement | positioning of the several light source 40. FIG. It is a figure which shows the other example of the mechanism which drives the several light source 40. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the light distribution control according to a gaze point or a dangerous material. It is a figure which shows the example of the light distribution control according to a gaze point or a dangerous material. It is a figure which shows the example of the light distribution control according to a gaze point or a dangerous material. It is a figure which shows the example of the light distribution control according to a gaze point or a dangerous material. It is a figure which shows the example of the light distribution control according to a gaze point or a dangerous material. It is a figure which shows the example of the light distribution control according to a gaze point or a dangerous material. It is a figure which shows the other example of light distribution control. It is a figure which shows the other example of light distribution control. It is a figure which shows the other example of light distribution control. It is a figure which shows the other example of light distribution control. It is a figure which shows the other example of light distribution control. It is an example of the operation | movement which reduces the light distribution nonuniformity of the some light source 40. FIG. It is a conceptual diagram of light distribution correction. An example of light distribution control when the vehicle 20 autonomously travels in a row will be described. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure in which the vehicle illumination system 30 controls light distribution.

Explanation of symbols

20 Vehicle 30 Vehicle Lighting System 40 Light Source 42 LED Element 44 Board 46 Yoke 48 Landing Unit 50 Light Source Control Unit 51 Light Distribution Pattern Determination Unit 52 Traffic Scene Light Distribution Database 53 Driver Attribute Light Distribution Database 54 Light Control Unit 55 Angle Control Unit 60 Forward situation determination unit 62 Camera 64 Actual light distribution acquisition unit 66 Hazardous material determination unit 68 Radar 70 Driver authentication unit 72 Navigation unit 74 Line of sight detection unit 76 Steering angle acquisition unit 78 Travel control unit 80 Communication unit 400 Left headlight 410 Left side auxiliary light 420 Right side headlight 430 Right side auxiliary light 508 Bike 550, 552 Person

Claims (7)

A vehicle lighting system provided in a vehicle that autonomously travels in a row,
A light-emitting unit that forms a predetermined light distribution pattern and is capable of changing the direction and amount of irradiation, and
A camera that images the front of the vehicle;
Based on an image acquired by the camera, a dangerous object is determined as a dangerous object for the own vehicle or a subsequent vehicle in the platooning as a dangerous object, and a dangerous object determination for notifying the subsequent vehicle of positional information of the dangerous object And
A vehicle illumination system comprising: a light source control unit that acquires position information of the dangerous object from the dangerous object determination unit of the vehicle ahead of the platooning and irradiates the dangerous object based on the position information.   2. The vehicle illumination system according to claim 1, wherein the light source control unit irradiates the dangerous material based on position information after the position information of the dangerous material detected by the dangerous material determination unit of the oncoming vehicle is excluded. The dangerous goods determination unit determines the presence or absence of an oncoming vehicle from an image acquired by the camera;
The said light source control part is a vehicle illumination system of Claim 1 which reduces the light quantity irradiated to the said oncoming vehicle side when there exists an oncoming vehicle. It further includes a vehicle position acquisition unit that acquires the current position of the vehicle,
The light source control unit irradiates the direction of the dangerous object on the condition that the distance between the current position of the own vehicle acquired from the own vehicle position acquisition unit and the position of the dangerous object is a predetermined reference value or less. The vehicle illumination system according to claim 1.   The vehicle lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the dangerous material determination unit notifies the following vehicle of the direction of the dangerous material with respect to the host vehicle as the position information.   The vehicle lighting system according to claim 5, wherein the dangerous material determination unit further notifies the succeeding vehicle of the distance of the dangerous material with respect to the host vehicle as the position information.   The vehicle lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the dangerous substance determination unit notifies the subsequent vehicle of the absolute position of the dangerous substance as the position information.

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