JP7619107B2 - Lamp Control Equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a lamp control device capable of performing dimming control.

Conventionally, lamp control devices are known that execute dimming control (control to automatically reduce the intensity of light emitted by the headlamps) when the vehicle stops while the headlamps of the vehicle are on. By executing dimming control, it is possible to reduce the degree of dazzle for preceding and oncoming vehicles and to save power consumption.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a lamp control device that, when the vehicle is stopped and an oncoming vehicle is present, executes dimming control to selectively dim the area of the headlamp illumination where the oncoming vehicle is located. In Patent Document 1, the headlamp and lamp control device are respectively referred to as "headlamp" and "headlamp control device."

JP 2015-164842 A

At intersections without traffic lights, the priority relationships between vehicles are determined based on whether the road is a priority road, the relative positions of the vehicles entering the intersection, and whether the vehicles are going straight or turning right or left. However, if the vehicle stops at such an intersection and dimming control is executed, other vehicles may mistakenly think that the vehicle has given way to them. As a result, even if the vehicle intended to stop, check for safety, and then immediately start moving forward, the other vehicle may be unable to drive as intended, which may cause the driver of the vehicle to feel uncomfortable.

Note that other vehicles here typically refer to oncoming vehicles turning right at the intersection, other vehicles going straight in the intersecting lane (hereinafter also referred to as the "crossing lane"), and other vehicles turning right or left in the crossing lane and entering your lane. In addition, not only other vehicles but also pedestrians (including bicycles) trying to cross the intersecting road may mistakenly think that their vehicle has given them the right of way, causing similar problems.

The present invention has been made to address the above-mentioned problems. That is, one of the objectives of the present invention is to provide a lamp control device that can maximize the benefits of dimming control while reducing the possibility that other vehicles and pedestrians at intersections without traffic lights will mistakenly believe that their vehicle has given way to them.

The lamp control device according to the present invention (hereinafter referred to as the "present device") comprises:
It is mounted on the vehicle,
A headlamp (20) for irradiating light forward of the vehicle;
A vehicle information acquisition device (12) that acquires vehicle information including the speed of the vehicle;
a surrounding information acquisition device (13, 14) that acquires information about the surroundings of the vehicle as surrounding information;
If the headlamp (20) is turned on (step 210: YES), it is determined whether the vehicle is stopped based on the vehicle information (step 220);
When it is determined that the vehicle is in the stopped state (step 220: Yes), it is determined based on the surrounding information whether or not a specific condition that is satisfied when the vehicle is stopped at an intersection where no traffic lights are installed is satisfied (step 230).
When it is determined that the specific condition is not satisfied (step 230: No), a dimming control is executed to automatically reduce the intensity of the light emitted by the headlamp (20) (step 240).
When it is determined that the specific condition is satisfied (step 230: Yes), the dimming control is not executed.
A control unit (10) configured as described above;
Equipped with
Lamp control device.

The device of the present invention is configured to determine whether a specific condition is satisfied when the headlamp is on and the vehicle is stopped. When the specific condition is not satisfied, dimming control is executed, and when the specific condition is satisfied, dimming control is not executed. With this configuration, when the vehicle is stopped at an intersection where a traffic light is installed and when the vehicle is stopped at a point other than an intersection, dimming control is executed, so that the degree of dazzle for preceding vehicles and oncoming vehicles can be reduced and power consumption can be saved. In addition, when the vehicle is stopped at an intersection where a traffic light is not installed, dimming control is not executed, so that the possibility that other vehicles and/or pedestrians mistakenly believe that their vehicle has given way to them (due to the execution of dimming control) can be reduced. Therefore, while enjoying the advantages of dimming control as much as possible, the possibility that other vehicles and pedestrians mistakenly believe that their vehicle has given way to them at an intersection where a traffic light is not installed can be reduced.

In this specification, "traffic lights" refers to traffic lights installed on roads to indicate signals such as permission to proceed and instructions to stop. Also, "intersections without traffic lights" refers to "intersections where no traffic lights are installed on roads that include at least the current lane and the oncoming lane." In other words, even if traffic lights are installed on the intersecting roads, if no traffic lights are installed on roads that include the current lane and the oncoming lane, the intersection falls under the category of "intersections without traffic lights."

In one aspect of the invention,
The headlamp is configured to emit a low beam.
In addition, in one aspect of the present invention,
The surrounding information acquisition device includes a camera sensor (13) that captures an image of the scenery ahead of the vehicle, and a navigation system (14) having a map database in which map information including information indicating the presence or absence of traffic lights is stored.

In the above explanation, to aid in understanding the invention, the symbols used in the embodiments are enclosed in parentheses with respect to the constituent elements of the invention corresponding to the embodiments, but each constituent element of the invention is not limited to the embodiment defined by the symbols.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a lamp control device (embodiment device) according to an embodiment of the present invention; 4 is a flowchart showing a routine executed by a CPU of a lamp control ECU of the embodiment of the present invention.

(composition)
A lamp control device according to an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter also referred to as "the embodied device") will be described below with reference to the drawings. The embodied device is mounted on a vehicle. As shown in FIG. 1, the embodied device includes a lamp control ECU 10. The lamp control ECU 10 includes a microcomputer as a main part. ECU is an abbreviation for Electronic Control Unit. The microcomputer includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an interface (I/F), etc., and the CPU is adapted to realize various functions by executing instructions (programs, routines) stored in the ROM. Hereinafter, the vehicle on which the embodied device is mounted will be referred to as the "own vehicle."

The lamp control ECU 10 is connected to a headlamp switch (headlamp SW) 11, a vehicle speed sensor 12, a camera sensor 13, a navigation system 14, and headlamps 20. The lamp control ECU 10 acquires signals generated/output by these switches, sensors, and systems 11 to 14 at each predetermined calculation period, and controls the on/off and light intensity of the headlamps 20 based on the acquired signals. Hereinafter, the lamp control ECU 10 is also referred to simply as "ECU 10."

The headlamp SW 11 is a switch that switches the headlamp 20 on and off, and is operated by the driver of the vehicle. When the headlamp SW 11 is set to the on position, it generates an on signal to turn on the headlamp 20 until the setting is released. When the headlamp SW 11 is set to the off position, it generates an off signal to turn off the headlamp 20 until the setting is released. The ECU 10 is configured to receive the signal generated by the headlamp SW 11, and when the signal is an on signal, it keeps the headlamp 20 on, and when the signal is an off signal, it keeps the headlamp 20 off.

The headlamp SW 11 may be configured to have a function of automatically switching the headlamp 20 on and off. In this case, the headlamp SW 11 may be configured to include an auto position in addition to or instead of the on and off positions. When the headlamp SW 11 is set to the auto position, it generates an auto signal for automatically switching the headlamp 20 on and off until the setting is released. When the ECU 10 receives the auto signal from the headlamp SW 11, it obtains the illuminance of the surroundings of the vehicle from an illuminance sensor (not shown) provided in the vehicle. The ECU 10 may be configured to maintain the headlamp 20 in an on state when the illuminance is equal to or lower than a predetermined illuminance threshold, and to maintain the headlamp 20 in an off state when the illuminance exceeds the illuminance threshold.

The vehicle speed sensor 12 (vehicle information acquisition device) generates a signal corresponding to the traveling speed (vehicle speed) of the vehicle. The ECU 10 acquires the signal generated by the vehicle speed sensor 12 and calculates the vehicle speed based on the signal. The ECU 10 is configured to determine that the vehicle is stopped when the vehicle speed is equal to or less than a predetermined value greater than 0 (in this embodiment, 2 [km/h]), and to determine that the vehicle is moving when the vehicle speed exceeds the above value. The signal generated by the vehicle speed sensor 12 corresponds to an example of "vehicle information".

The camera sensor 13 (surrounding information acquisition device) is installed on the back of the room mirror (inner mirror/rearview mirror) of the vehicle. The camera sensor 13 captures the scenery in front of the vehicle, recognizes (detects) three-dimensional objects existing around the vehicle based on the captured image data, and calculates the relative relationship between the vehicle and the three-dimensional object. Here, the "relative relationship between the vehicle and the three-dimensional object" includes the distance from the vehicle to the three-dimensional object, the orientation and relative speed of the three-dimensional object with respect to the vehicle, etc. The three-dimensional object includes stationary objects (e.g., traffic lights, road signs, buildings, guardrails, and roadside trees) and moving objects (e.g., other vehicles and pedestrians). Note that the moving object means a movable three-dimensional object, and does not mean only a moving three-dimensional object.
In addition, the camera sensor 13 recognizes (detects) road markings ahead of the vehicle based on the image data. The road markings include road markings and lane markings. The camera sensor 13 calculates the shape of the lane (the area between two adjacent lane markings) based on the recognized lane markings.
The camera sensor 13 outputs the information thus obtained to the ECU 10 .

The navigation system 14 (surrounding information acquisition device) includes a navigation ECU, and a GPS receiver and a map database connected thereto. The GPS receiver receives a GPS signal for detecting the current position (latitude and longitude) of the vehicle. The navigation ECU identifies the current position of the vehicle based on the GPS signal transmitted from the GPS receiver every time a predetermined time elapses.
The map database stores map information. The map information includes parameters that indicate the location and shape of the road (e.g., the radius of curvature of the road, the lane width, the number of lanes, the location of the center line of each lane, etc.), as well as information indicating the presence or absence of traffic lights. The navigation ECU obtains map information of the surroundings of the current location of the vehicle from the map database, and outputs the map information to the ECU 10.

The information obtained by calculation using the camera sensor 13 and the map information of the surroundings of the vehicle's current position obtained by the navigation system 14 correspond to examples of "surrounding information." The ECU 10 is configured to determine whether the vehicle is stopped at an intersection without traffic lights (hereinafter simply referred to as an "intersection without traffic lights") based on the surrounding information. Hereinafter, the "condition that is met when the vehicle is stopped at an intersection without traffic lights" is referred to as the "specific condition."

The headlamps 20 include a left headlamp provided at the left front end of the vehicle and a right headlamp provided at the right front end of the vehicle. The headlamps 20 are passing headlamps that function as low beams and are configured to be able to irradiate light ahead of the vehicle. In this embodiment, halogen lamps are used for the headlamps 20. However, the type of headlamp 20 is not limited to this, and for example, HID (High Intensity Discharge) lamps or LED lamps may be used. Note that in this embodiment, illustration of a driving headlamp that functions as a high beam is omitted.

(Details of operation)
Next, a detailed description will be given of the operation of the ECU 10. The CPU of the ECU 10 is configured to repeatedly execute the routine shown in the flowchart of FIG.

At a predetermined timing, the CPU starts processing from step 200 in FIG. 2 and proceeds to step 210, where it determines whether the headlamps 20 are on or not based on the signal generated by the headlamp SW 11. If it determines that the headlamps 20 are off (step 210: No), the CPU proceeds to step 295 and ends this routine. On the other hand, if it determines that the headlamps 20 are on (step 210: Yes), the CPU proceeds to step 220. Note that when the headlamp SW 11 is set to the auto position, the CPU determines whether the headlamp 20 is on or not based on the signal generated by the headlamp SW 11 as well as the surrounding illuminance obtained from the illuminance sensor.

In step 220, the CPU determines whether the host vehicle is stopped (i.e., the vehicle speed is 2 km/h or less) based on the vehicle speed obtained from the vehicle speed sensor 12. If the CPU determines that the host vehicle is moving (step 220: No), the CPU proceeds to step 295 and temporarily ends this routine. On the other hand, if the CPU determines that the host vehicle is stopped (step 220: Yes), the CPU proceeds to step 230.

In step 230, the CPU determines whether a specific condition (a condition that is met when the vehicle is stopped at an intersection without traffic lights) is met based on the surrounding information output from the camera sensor 13 and the navigation system 14. If it is determined that the specific condition is not met (step 230: No), the CPU proceeds to step 240 and executes dimming control. That is, when the headlamps 20 are on and the vehicle is stopped at an intersection with traffic lights or at a point other than an intersection (for example, when the vehicle is caught in a traffic jam), the CPU executes dimming control. After that, the CPU proceeds to step 295 and ends this routine.

In contrast, if it is determined that the specific condition is met (step 230: Yes), the CPU proceeds to step 295 and temporarily ends this routine. In other words, when the headlamps 20 are on and the vehicle is stopped at an intersection without traffic lights, the CPU does not execute dimming control.

As described above, the present embodiment is configured to determine whether a specific condition is satisfied when the headlamp 20 is on and the vehicle is stopped. When the specific condition is not satisfied, dimming control is executed, and when the specific condition is satisfied, dimming control is not executed. With this configuration, when the vehicle is stopped at an intersection with traffic lights and when the vehicle is stopped at a point other than an intersection, dimming control is executed, so that the degree of dazzle for preceding vehicles and oncoming vehicles can be reduced and power consumption can be saved. In addition, when the vehicle is stopped at an intersection without traffic lights, dimming control is not executed, so that the possibility that other vehicles and/or pedestrians mistakenly believe that their vehicle has given way to them (due to the execution of dimming control) can be reduced. Therefore, the advantages of dimming control can be enjoyed as much as possible, while the possibility that other vehicles and pedestrians mistakenly believe that their vehicle has given way to them at an intersection without traffic lights can be reduced.

The above describes the driving assistance device according to this embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the purpose of the present invention.

For example, the headlamp 20 may be a driving headlamp that functions as a high beam.

The surrounding information may also be acquired through vehicle-to-roadside infrastructure (V2I) communication. In this case, the present embodiment includes a wireless communication device capable of wireless communication (road-to-vehicle communication) with roadside devices installed at key locations on the road (e.g., intersections). The wireless communication device may be configured to acquire, when it enters the communication range of the roadside device, information indicating the presence or absence of traffic lights from the roadside device as surrounding information, and output the information to the ECU 10.

Alternatively, as another aspect of road-to-vehicle communication, the wireless communication device may be configured to be able to communicate with a cloud to which a map database has been uploaded. The wireless communication device may be configured to obtain map information of the surroundings of the vehicle's current position (a position that can be identified based on a GPS signal) as surrounding information from the map database in the cloud, and output the information to the ECU 10.

In other words, the surrounding information can be configured to be acquired by the camera sensor 13, the navigation system 14, and/or a wireless communication device capable of road-to-vehicle communication.

10: Lamp control ECU, 11: Headlamp switch, 12: Vehicle speed sensor, 13: Camera sensor, 14: Navigation system, 20: Headlamp

Claims (3)

Mounted on the vehicle,
a headlamp that irradiates light forward of the vehicle;
A vehicle information acquisition device that acquires vehicle information including a speed of the vehicle;
a surrounding information acquisition device that acquires information about the surroundings of the vehicle as surrounding information;
If the headlamp is turned on, determining whether the vehicle is stopped based on the vehicle information;
When it is determined that the vehicle is in the stopped state, it is determined based on the surrounding information whether or not a specific condition that is established when the vehicle is stopped at an intersection where no traffic lights are installed is established;
When it is determined that the specific condition is not satisfied, a dimming control is executed to automatically reduce the intensity of the light emitted by the headlamp.
When it is determined that the specific condition is satisfied, the dimming control is not executed.
A control unit configured as described above.
Equipped with
Lamp control device. 2. The lamp control device according to claim 1,
The headlamp is configured to emit a low beam.
Lamp control device. 3. The lamp control device according to claim 1,
The surrounding information acquisition device includes a camera sensor that captures an image of a scene ahead of the vehicle, and a navigation system having a map database in which map information including information indicating the presence or absence of a traffic light is stored.
Lamp control device.

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