JPH0417386Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a control device for an automobile anti-glare mirror that detects rear light of an automobile and changes the reflectance of the anti-glare mirror.

[Prior art]

Traditionally, automobiles have been equipped with anti-glare mirrors with variable reflectance as room mirrors, and
An ambient light sensor that detects the illuminance of the surrounding light of the automobile and a rear light sensor that detects the illuminance of the rear light of the automobile are provided, and the detection signal of the rear light sensor has a predetermined relationship with the detection signal of the ambient light sensor. A structure has been proposed in which the reflectance of the anti-glare mirror is made lower than normal and the mirror is automatically switched to an anti-glare state when the mirror is in an anti-glare state.

By the way, it has been clarified from an ergonomic point of view that the glare felt by humans depends on the brightness of the viewpoint and the ambient illuminance, except for adaptability. ing. Therefore, for example, when a car enters a tunnel or under a guard guard during the daytime, humans do not feel any glare, but the surroundings of the car are dark and the rear is bright, so the anti-glare mirrors are in the anti-glare state. It may change. In addition, humans feel dazzled when the rear light is high beam light from a vehicle far behind, and do not feel dazzled when the rear light is low beam light from a vehicle near the rear. Since the rear light sensor detects the same illuminance, the anti-glare mirror may switch to the anti-glare state.

[Purpose of invention]

The present invention was developed in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a control device for an automotive anti-glare mirror that can control the reflectance of the anti-glare mirror in accordance with the brightness perceived by humans. be.

[Summary of the idea]

The present invention provides an optical device that forms an image of the rear view of a car, a rear light detection device that detects the illuminance distribution of the rear view imaged by the optical device, and a detection signal of the rear light detection device. The system is characterized in that it includes a calculation unit that calculates the degree of dazzle based on the calculation result of the calculation unit, and a drive unit that changes the reflectance of the anti-glare mirror based on the calculation result of the calculation unit. By detecting the brightness, it is possible to correspond to the brightness perceived by humans.

[Example of idea]

A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.

First, the overall configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Reference numeral 1 is an anti-glare mirror that is used as a rear-view mirror for automobiles.As is well-known, this mirror consists of a prism-shaped main part made by polishing one side of thick plate glass diagonally and fixed to a frame. By rotating the mirror, the reflectance of light reflected from the main portion of the mirror to the driver's eyes is changed, thereby switching between a non-dazzling state and an anti-glare state. 2 is a convex lens as an optical device, and 3 is a cylindrical lens, which are arranged near the anti-glare mirror 1. And convex lens 2
The rear optical sensor 4, which indicates the rear visibility of the vehicle, is configured to image the rear light sensor 4 on the cylindrical lens 3, which compresses the formed two-dimensional image in the vertical direction and forms the image on the light receiving section 5. I'm starting to let them do it. This light receiving section 5 includes a plurality of segments 5, for example, 20 segments, each consisting of a photodiode.
₁ , ₅₂ ,... ₅₂₀ arranged in parallel in the horizontal direction, each segment ₅₁ , ₅₂ ,... ₅₂₀ has a resistor ₆₁ , ₆₂ ,... _{62, respectively} .
₀ in series between the DC power supply terminal 7 to which a positive potential (+V) is applied and the ground;
A rear light detection device 8 is formed together with the cylindrical lens 3. Furthermore, each segment 5 ₁ ,
5 ₂ ,...5 ₂₀ and each resistor 6 ₁ , 6 ₂ ,... 6 ₂₀ (hereinafter referred to as the output terminal of each segment 5 ₁ , 5 ₂ ,... 5 ₂₀ ) is each input terminal of the calculation unit 9 The output terminal of the calculation section 9 is connected to the input terminal of the drive section 10. In this case, segment 5 ₁ ,
Since a photocurrent of a magnitude corresponding to the amount of light received flows through the segments 5 ₂ , ...5 ₂₀ , the output voltage, which is the detection signal of the output terminal of each segment 5 ₁ , 5 ₂ , ... 5 ₂₀ , increases depending on the amount of light received. Become. Furthermore, the calculation section 9 performs calculations as described later based on the output voltages of these segments 5 ₁ , 5 ₂ , . . . 5 ₂₀ to determine whether or not to output an anti-glare signal from the output terminal. ing. When the driving unit 10 receives the anti-glare signal from the calculation unit 9, it drives the anti-glare mirror 1 to switch from the non-dimming state to the anti-dazzling state, and when the anti-dazzling signal disappears thereafter, it switches the anti-glare mirror 1 to the anti-glare state. It is designed to switch from the dazzling state to the non-dazzling state again.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6.

For example, at night, when the rear light 4 is high beam light from a vehicle far behind, the cylindrical lens 3 has the following characteristics:
The rear field of view is now formed as a two-dimensional image, and in this case, the high beam light portion is shown with diagonal lines. The two-dimensional image formed on the cylindrical lens 3 is compressed in the vertical direction by the cylindrical lens 3 and is focused on the light receiving section 5 as a one-dimensional image in the horizontal direction, and each segment of the light receiving section 5 5 ₁ , 5 ₂ , . . . 5 ₂₀ output, as parallel signals, output voltages whose magnitude corresponds to the amount of received light, as shown in FIG. 4a. That is, the outputs of the segments 5 ₁ , 5 ₂ , ... 5 ₂₀ shown in FIG. 4a indicate the illuminance distribution of the rear field of view, and the output voltage Va of the segment corresponding to the high beam light shown with diagonal lines in FIG. 3a is significantly larger than the output voltage Vb of the segment corresponding to the remaining ambient light. Then, segments 5 ₁ , 5 ₂ , showing the illuminance distribution of this rear field of vision
...5 When ₂₀ output voltages are given to the calculation unit 9, the calculation unit 9 calculates the difference between the output voltages Va and Vb and the ratio of the number of segments outputting the output voltages Va and Vb, respectively, and calculates the output voltage. The difference between Va and Vb is extremely large and the output voltage Va corresponds to high beam light.
It is determined that the degree of dazzle is high because the percentage of segments showing the output voltage Vb corresponding to ambient light is significantly smaller than the percentage of segments showing the output voltage Vb corresponding to ambient light, and an anti-glare signal is output from the output terminal and given to the drive unit 10. . Thereby, the drive unit 10 switches the anti-glare mirror 1 from the non-dazzling state to the anti-glare state. Thereafter, when the light receiving section 5 no longer detects the high beam light, the output voltage Va disappears, so the calculation section 9 stops outputting the anti-glare signal, and the driving section 10 causes the anti-glare mirror 1 to become anti-glare. The state will switch from the dazzling state to the non-dazzling state again.

On the other hand, at night, when the rear light 4 is low beam light from a nearby vehicle, the rear field of view is imaged as a two-dimensional image on the cylindrical lens 3, as shown in FIG. 3b. It became like this,
In this case, the low beam light portion is indicated by diagonal lines. Then, this two-dimensional image is formed as a one-dimensional image on the light receiving section 5 in the same manner as described above, and each segment 5 ₁ , 5 ₂ , ... 5 ₂₀ has an output voltage as shown in FIG. 4b. The output voltage Vc of the segment corresponding to the low beam light indicated by diagonal lines in FIG. 3b becomes slightly higher than the output voltage Vb of the remaining segments. Then, the calculation unit 9 performs the same calculation as described above, and in this case, the proportion of the segments showing the output voltage Vc corresponding to the low beam light is relatively higher than the proportion of the segments showing the output voltage Vb corresponding to the ambient light. Although the difference between the output voltages Vb and Vc is small, it is determined that the degree of dazzle is low because the difference between the output voltages Vb and Vc is not so large, and no anti-glare signal is output from the output terminal. Thereby, the anti-glare mirror 1 remains in the non-glare state.

Now, when a car enters a tunnel (the same applies when it is under a guard) during the day, the cylindrical lens 3 has the following characteristics as shown in FIG.
The rear view is now formed as a two-dimensional image, and the shaded area is the bright area corresponding to the tunnel entrance. Then, this two-dimensional image is formed as a one-dimensional image on the light receiving section 5 in the same manner as described above, and each segment 5 ₁ , 5 ₂ , ... 5 ₂₀ outputs an output voltage as shown in FIG. As a result, the output voltage Vd of the segment corresponding to the bright portion indicated by diagonal lines in FIG. 5 becomes higher than the output voltage Ve of the segment corresponding to the remaining dark portion. Then, the calculation section 9
performs the same calculation as described above, and in this case, although the difference between the output voltages Vd and Ve is relatively large, the proportion of segments showing the output voltage Vd corresponding to the bright part is the output voltage Ve corresponding to the dark part. The degree of dazzle is determined to be low if the ratio is greater than the percentage of segments showing , and no anti-glare signal is output from the output terminal. Therefore, in this case as well, the anti-glare mirror 1 remains in the non-glare state.

According to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. That is, the rear view of the automobile is imaged as a one-dimensional image on the light receiving unit 5 by the convex lens 2 and the cylindrical lens 3, and the rear light detection device 8 detects the illuminance distribution of the rear view, and from this illuminance distribution. Since the calculation unit 9 calculates the degree of dazzle and determines whether to output an anti-dazzle signal, it can correspond to the brightness perceived by humans. Therefore, when the rear light 4 is high beam light from a vehicle far behind at night, the calculation unit 9 determines that the degree of dazzle is high, and based on this, the anti-glare mirror 1 switches to the anti-glare state. In addition, when the rear light 4 is low beam light from a nearby vehicle at night or when the car enters a tunnel during the day, the calculation unit 9 determines that the degree of dazzle is low,
Based on this, the anti-glare mirror 1 is kept in the non-dimming state, and the reflectance of the anti-glare mirror 1 is changed to match the glare felt by humans. Switching can be performed.

7 to 11 show a second embodiment of the present invention, and the same parts as in the previous embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and only the different parts will be explained below.

That is, in FIGS. 7 to 9, numeral 11 is a light shutter section consisting of a GH (guest-host) type liquid crystal cell, which is an electro-optical element, and is partitioned into 14 sections in the horizontal direction and 3 sections in the vertical direction. 42 segments 11 ₁ , 11 ₂ , ... 11 ₁₄ , 11 ₁₅ ,
_{11 16} , . . . 11 ₂₈ , 11 ₂₉ , 11 ₃₀ , . It is designed to be driven into a light state. 13 is a convex lens that focuses the light transmitted through the light shutter section 11 onto one light receiving element 14. This light-receiving element 14 is made of a photodiode, which is connected between the DC power supply terminal 7 and the ground via a resistor 15 in series. 12 and the convex lens 13, a rear light detection device 16 is formed. and,
A common connection point between the light-receiving element 14 and the resistor 15 (hereinafter referred to as the output terminal of the light-receiving element 14) is connected to an input terminal of a calculation unit 17 that performs calculations as described later.
The output terminal of the calculation section 17 is connected to the input terminal of the drive section 10.

Next, the operation of this second embodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 10 and 12.

For example, at night, if the rear light 4 is high beam light from a vehicle far behind, the rear visibility indicated by the rear light 4 may be affected by the light shutter section 11 as shown in FIG. 3a.
The image is formed in the same manner as shown in . On the other hand, the segments 11 ₁ , 11 ₂ , ... 11 ₁₄ , of the optical shutter section 11
11 ₁₅ , 11 ₁₆ , ... 11 ₂₈ , 11 ₂₉ , 11 ₃₀ , ...
11 _{and 42} are sequentially driven in this order from a non-light-transmitting state to a light-transmitting state, so that the two-dimensional image formed on the optical shutter section 11 is optically scanned and sequentially received by the light-receiving element 14. From the light receiving element 14, the 10th
As shown in the figure, the output voltage serving as the detection signal is output as a serial signal. Then, the calculation section 17 receives this serial output voltage, performs the same calculations and judgments as the calculation section 9, and outputs an anti-glare signal.

For example, when a car enters a tunnel during the daytime, the rear view indicated by the rear light 4 is imaged on the light shutter section 11 in the same manner as shown in FIG. The output voltage becomes a serial signal as shown in FIG. In this case as well, the calculation unit 17 performs calculations in the same way as the calculation unit 9.
judgment and does not output an anti-glare signal.

Therefore, this second embodiment also has the advantage that the same effects as those of the previous embodiment can be achieved, and only one light receiving element 14 is required as a light receiving element.

FIG. 12 shows a third embodiment of the present invention, in which the same parts as in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and only the different parts will be explained below.

That is, 18 and 19 are a maximum value detection section and a comparison section that constitute the calculation section 20, and each input terminal of the maximum value detection section 18 has segments 5 ₁ , 5 ₂ , . . .
₂₀ output terminals are connected, the output terminal of the maximum value detection section 18 is connected to one input terminal of the comparison section 19, and the output terminal of the comparison section 19 is connected to the input terminal of the drive section 10. In this case, the maximum value detection unit 18 detects the segments 5 ₁ , 5 ₂ , ... 5 ₂₀ of the light receiving unit 5
The maximum output voltage (the output voltage of the segment corresponding to the maximum illuminance) among the output voltages of is outputted from the output terminal. Reference numeral 21 denotes an ambient light sensor consisting of a photodiode that detects the ambient light of the automobile, and this is connected between the DC power supply terminal 7 and the ground via a resistor 22 in series. A common connection point with the ambient light sensor 22 (hereinafter referred to as the output terminal of the ambient light sensor 21) is connected to the other input terminal of the comparison section 19.

The comparison unit 19 compares the maximum output voltage from the maximum value detection unit 18 and the ambient light output voltage, which is the ambient light signal from the ambient light sensor 21, and when the two have a predetermined relationship, for example, the maximum output voltage is determined. When the output voltage becomes higher than the ambient light output voltage, an anti-glare signal is output from the output terminal, and it is determined whether it is daytime or nighttime based on the ambient light output voltage. Sometimes the comparison operation described above is not performed.

Therefore, the same effects as in the previous embodiment can also be obtained with this third embodiment.

In addition, in the first and third embodiments described above, the light receiving section 5
Although 20 segments 5 ₁ , 5 ₂ , . . . 5 ₂₀ are provided, at least four segments may be provided in order to detect the illuminance distribution in the rear field of view.

Furthermore, in the second embodiment, the optical shutter section 11 is
Although 42 segments 11 ₁ , 11 ₂ , . . . 11 ₄₂ are provided, for example, 14 segments 11 ₁ ,
_{11 2} , _. , 11 ₂ , . . . 11 _14. In this case, at least four segments may be provided to detect the illuminance distribution in the rear field of view.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, the anti-glare mirror 1 which switches between non-dimming and anti-glare states by mechanical rotation is used, but instead, a liquid crystal cell whose light transmittance changes depending on the applied voltage is used. An anti-glare mirror using an electro-optical element such as the above may also be used, and in this case, the anti-glare mirror may be configured with the light shutter portion 11 as in the second embodiment.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, but can of course be implemented with appropriate modifications within the scope of the gist.

[Effect of idea]

As explained above, the control device for the anti-glare mirror for automobiles of the present invention detects the illuminance distribution in the rear field of view and calculates the degree of dazzle based on the detection signal, so it can respond to the brightness perceived by humans. This provides an excellent effect in that the reflectance of the anti-glare mirror can be controlled.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 6 show a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the relationship between a convex lens, a cylindrical lens, and a light receiving section, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the electrical configuration, and FIG. 3 Figures a and b are front views of the cylindrical lens, Figures 4 a and b are output voltage waveform diagrams for explaining the operation, Figure 5 is a front view of the cylindrical lens in a different operating state than Figure 3, and Figure 6 is a front view of the cylindrical lens. 5 is an output voltage waveform diagram corresponding to FIG. 5, and FIGS. 7 to 11 show a second embodiment of the present invention;
The figure is a diagram equivalent to Figure 1, Figure 8 is a front view of the optical shutter section, Figure 9 is a diagram equivalent to Figure 2, and Figure 10 is a diagram equivalent to Figure 4a.
FIG. 11 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 6, and FIG. 12 is a second diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention.
It is a figure equivalent figure. In the drawing, 1 is an anti-glare mirror, 2 is a convex lens (optical device), 3 is a cylindrical lens, 5 is a light receiving part,
5 ₁ to 5 ₂₀ are segments, 8 is a rear light detection device,
9 is a calculation unit, 10 is a drive unit, 11 is a light shutter unit, 11 ₁ to 11 ₄₂ are segments, 14 is a light receiving element, 16 is a rear light detection device, 17 is a calculation unit, 1
8 is a maximum value detection section, 19 is a comparison section, 20 is a calculation section, and 21 is an ambient light sensor.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] 1. An anti-glare mirror that is installed in a car and whose reflectance can be changed, an optical device that forms an image of the rear view of the car, and an image of the rear view that is formed by this optical device. a rear light detection device that detects illuminance distribution;
An automobile protection device comprising: a calculation unit that calculates the degree of dazzle based on the detection signal of the rear light detection device; and a drive unit that changes the reflectance of the anti-glare mirror based on the calculation result of the calculation unit. Control device for glare mirror. 2. Practical use characterized in that the rear light detection device is configured to vertically compress the two-dimensional illuminance distribution of the rear field of vision formed by the optical device and detect it as a horizontal one-dimensional illuminance distribution. A control device for an automobile anti-glare mirror as set forth in claim 1. 3. The rear light detection device optically scans the image formed by the optical device by sequentially electrically driving a large number of segments made of electro-optical elements from a non-transparent state to a transparent state. A control device for an automobile anti-glare mirror as set forth in claim 1 of the patented utility model. 4. Utility model registration claim No. 4, characterized in that the calculation unit is configured to perform a calculation by comparing a detection signal corresponding to the maximum illuminance in the illuminance distribution and an ambient light signal indicating the illuminance of ambient light of the automobile. The control device for an automotive anti-glare mirror according to item 1.