WO2024247034A1 - Light distribution control device and light distribution control method - Google Patents

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of appropriately preventing a traffic participant from experiencing glare. This light distribution control device comprises: a peripheral information acquisition unit that acquires peripheral information around a vehicle; a determination unit that determines, on the basis of the peripheral information, the probability that a traffic participant will appear in the future within an irradiation range of a traveling lamp of the vehicle, and determines, as an appearance region, a region, in the irradiation range, where the probability is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value; and a traveling lamp control unit. The traveling lamp control unit darkens the brightness of the traveling lamp with respect to the appearance region in accordance with the probability.

Description

Light distribution control device and light distribution control method

This disclosure relates to a light distribution control device and a light distribution control method.

When driving at night, drivers are encouraged to turn on their vehicle's high beams, also known as passing lights, which illuminate farther than the vehicle's low beams, in order to ensure visibility. However, while high beams can ensure the driver's visibility, they can also cause glare, dazzling people, other vehicles, and other traffic participants within the high beam's illumination range.

A system called ADB (Advanced Driving Beam) has been proposed that can reduce glare on traffic participants by, for example, acquiring information about the vehicle's surroundings using a forward-facing camera, and dimming the illumination of the driving lights on the traffic participants when they are detected.

JP 2008-037240 A

However, because the above-mentioned ADB performs control to suppress glare after detecting a traffic participant, a delay occurs between when the traffic participant appears from a side road or behind a parked vehicle and when the ADB suppresses glare. This delay is mainly caused by, for example, the time required to determine the traffic participant from an image of the area in front of the vehicle captured by a camera, and the time required to perform dimming control on the area in which the traffic participant is detected. With the above-mentioned light distribution control, there is a problem in that glare continues to be seen by the traffic participant during this delay.

The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide technology that can appropriately suppress glare from being caused to traffic participants.

The light distribution control device according to the present disclosure includes a surrounding information acquisition unit that acquires surrounding information about the vehicle, a determination unit that determines the probability that a traffic participant will appear in the future within the illumination range of the vehicle's running lights based on the surrounding information, and determines an area within the illumination range where the probability is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold as an appearance area, and a running light control unit that dims the brightness of the running lights for the appearance area based on the probability.

According to the present disclosure, an area within the illumination range where the probability is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold is determined to be an appearance area, and the brightness of the running lights for the appearance area is dimmed based on the probability. With this configuration, it is possible to appropriately prevent glare from being caused to traffic participants.

The objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a light distribution control device according to a first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining control of a running light control unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining control of a running light control unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining control of a running light control unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3A to 3C are diagrams for explaining control of the light distribution control device according to the first embodiment. 3A to 3C are diagrams for explaining control of the light distribution control device according to the first embodiment. 3A to 3C are diagrams for explaining control of the light distribution control device according to the first embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the light distribution control device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a light distribution control device according to a second embodiment. 13 is a diagram for explaining weighting by a weighting calculation unit 8 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining weighting by a weighting calculation unit 8 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining weighting by a weighting calculation unit 8 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining weighting by a weighting calculation unit 8 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of a light distribution control device according to a second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a light distribution control device according to a third embodiment. 13 is a diagram for explaining control of a light distribution control device according to embodiment 3. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of a light distribution control device according to embodiment 3. FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a light distribution control device according to a fourth embodiment. 13 is a diagram for explaining control of a light distribution control device according to embodiment 4. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of a light distribution control device according to embodiment 4. FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a light distribution control device according to another modified example. FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a light distribution control device according to another modified example. FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a server according to another modified example. FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a communication terminal according to another modified example.

<First embodiment>
Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a light distribution control device 100 according to the first embodiment. The light distribution control device 100 in Fig. 1 controls the light distribution of a running light 7 of a vehicle. The light distribution control device 100 may be mounted on a vehicle, or may be a server not mounted on a vehicle as described below. The vehicle whose running light 7 is controlled may be, for example, an automobile or a motorcycle. In the following description, vehicles other than the vehicle whose running light 7 is controlled may be referred to as other vehicles.

The running lights 7 are lighting fixtures that may cause glare to traffic participants, and include, for example, high beams with ADB function and at least one of other auxiliary lights. Traffic participants include, for example, at least one of pedestrians and other vehicles. In this specification, for example, at least one of A, B, C, ..., and Z means any one of all combinations of one or more items selected from the group A, B, C, ..., and Z.

The light distribution control device 100 in FIG. 1 is connected to a surrounding information collection unit 1 and a running light 7. The light distribution control device 100 in FIG. 1 also includes a surrounding information acquisition unit 2, a probability area specification unit 3, a probability determination unit 4, an area determination unit 5, and a running light control unit 6. Among the components of the light distribution control device 100, the probability area specification unit 3, the probability determination unit 4, and the area determination unit 5 are included in the concept of a determination unit. The components in FIG. 1 will be described in detail below.

The surrounding information collection unit 1 collects surrounding information about the vehicle. For example, the surrounding information collection unit 1 may include a forward camera that captures an image in front of the vehicle or a distance measurement sensor, may include a search device that can search for surrounding information based on the vehicle's position and map information, or may include a communication device that can receive surrounding information through vehicle-to-vehicle communication.

The surrounding information acquisition unit 2 acquires the surrounding information collected by the surrounding information collection unit 1. In the example of FIG. 1, the surrounding information acquisition unit 2 is an interface to the surrounding information collection unit 1, but is not limited to this and may include, for example, the surrounding information collection unit 1.

The probability area identification unit 3 identifies an area within the illumination range of the vehicle's running lights 7 where there is a probability that a traffic participant will appear in the future, based on the surrounding information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit 2.

For example, if the surrounding information is information collected by a forward camera or a distance sensor, the probability area identification unit 3 calculates the shape of the object in front of the vehicle based on the surrounding information and determines whether the calculated shape has the shape of a specific structure such as a building or a side street. If the calculated shape is the shape of a specific structure, the probability area identification unit 3 identifies an area adjacent to the specific structure, such as an area located behind the specific structure relative to the driver, as an area where there is a probability that a traffic participant will appear in the future.

For example, if the surrounding information is information retrieved from map information or information received by vehicle-to-vehicle communication, the probability area identification unit 3 determines whether or not a specific structure, such as a building or a side road, exists ahead of the vehicle based on the surrounding information. If the probability area identification unit 3 determines that a specific structure exists ahead of the vehicle, it identifies an area adjacent to the specific structure, such as an area located behind the specific structure relative to the driver, as an area where there is a probability that a traffic participant will appear in the future.

The probability area identification unit 3 includes a probability determination unit 4. The probability determination unit 4 determines the probability that a traffic participant will appear in the area identified by the probability area identification unit 3 in the future based on the surrounding information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit 2 and the type and size of the area identified by the probability area identification unit 3. For example, if the identified area is adjacent to a building, the probability determination unit 4 determines a first value as the probability of the area, and if the identified area is adjacent to a side road, the probability determination unit 4 determines a second value as the probability of the area. For example, if the size of the identified area is large, the probability determination unit 4 determines a first value as the probability of the area, and if the size of the identified area is small, the probability determination unit 4 determines a second value as the probability of the area.

The identification of the area by the probability area identification unit 3 and the determination of the probability by the probability determination unit 4 may be performed, for example, based on a predetermined calculation process, or based on machine learning (training) such as deep learning using a neural network.

The area determination unit 5 determines whether or not there is an area, among the areas identified by the probability area identification unit 3, where the probability determined by the probability determination unit 4 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. The area determination unit 5 then determines the area where the probability is equal to or greater than the threshold as an appearance area. The threshold may be 0 or a value greater than 0.

The probability area identification unit 3, the probability determination unit 4, and the area determination unit 5 described above determine the probability that a traffic participant will appear in the future in the illumination range of the running lights 7 based on surrounding information, and determine an area in the illumination range where the probability is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold as an appearance area. Note that, if such a determination is made, the probability area identification unit 3, the probability determination unit 4, and the area determination unit 5 are not limited to those described above. For example, two or more of the probability area identification unit 3, the probability determination unit 4, and the area determination unit 5 may be realized by a single component.

The running light control unit 6 dims the brightness of the running lights 7 for the appearance area determined by the area determination unit 5 based on the probability determined by the probability determination unit 4. In this embodiment 1, the running light control unit 6 dims the brightness of the running lights 7 for the appearance area based on the probability, regardless of whether a traffic participant actually exists in the appearance area.

FIGS. 2 to 4 are diagrams showing the control by the running light control unit 6 to darken the brightness of the running lights 7 for the appearance area, that is, the dimming control of the running lights 7 for the appearance area. Specifically, FIGS. 2 to 4 are diagrams showing the relationship between the probability determined by the probability determination unit 4 and the amount of dimming of the running lights 7 for the appearance area. Note that the threshold value TH in FIGS. 2 to 4 may be any value equal to or greater than the threshold value used by the area determination unit 5 to determine the appearance area.

In the case of FIG. 2, when the probability is equal to or greater than the threshold value TH, the driving light control unit 6 sets the dimming amount of the driving lights 7 for the appearance area to a constant value greater than 0. In this case, the dimming control of the driving lights 7 can be simplified.

In the case of FIG. 3, the running light control unit 6 increases the dimming amount of the running lights 7 in the appearance area as the probability increases. In this case, it is possible to ensure the driver's visibility while suppressing the glare caused to traffic participants. Note that the solid line in FIG. 3 shows the control of the running light control unit 6 when the threshold value used by the area determination unit 5 to determine the appearance area is 0, and the dotted line in FIG. 3 shows the control of the running light control unit 6 when the threshold value is greater than 0.

In the case of FIG. 4, when the probability is equal to or greater than the threshold value TH, the running light control unit 6 increases the dimming amount of the running lights 7 for the appearance area from a value greater than 0 as the probability increases. In this case, dimming control of the running lights 7 can be performed according to the vehicle's traveling speed or the traveling scene.

FIGS. 5 to 7 are diagrams showing an example of light distribution control by the light distribution control device 100 according to the first embodiment, specifically, diagrams showing the front of the vehicle. FIGS. 5 to 7 show the high beam illumination range 36, which is the illumination range of the running light 7, and the low beam illumination range 37 of the vehicle.

In FIG. 5, an example is shown in which there is no appearance area ahead of the vehicle, and there is another vehicle, a preceding vehicle 31. In this case, the running light control unit 6 controls the running lights 7 to darken (e.g., turn off) the portion of the high beam illumination range 36 where the preceding vehicle 31 is located.

FIG. 6 shows an example in which a vehicle is traveling in an urban area with buildings such as buildings. In addition to the preceding vehicle 31 being present ahead of the vehicle, an example is shown in which the area behind a building 32 on the roadside is present as the appearance area 33. In this case, the running light control unit 6 controls the running lights 7 to darken not only the portion of the high beam illumination range 36 in which the preceding vehicle 31 is present, but also the appearance area 33. Note that if the surrounding information acquisition unit 2 is configured to acquire information recognized by the vehicle's front camera as surrounding information, the running light control unit 6 ensures that the brightness of the appearance area 33 is such that the traffic participants appearing in the appearance area 33 can be recognized by the front camera. As a result, the running light control unit 6 darkens the appearance area 33 to the extent that the traffic participants appearing in the appearance area 33 can be recognized by the front camera.

FIG. 7 shows the state when a pedestrian 34, who is a traffic participant, appears in the appearance area 33 after the state of FIG. 6. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, by darkening the brightness of the appearance area 33 in advance, it is possible to prevent glare from occurring to the pedestrian 34 who appears in the illumination range 36 of the high beam.

Note that if the surrounding information acquisition unit 2 is configured to acquire information recognized by the vehicle's front camera as surrounding information, the appearance area 33 in FIG. 7 is illuminated with a brightness that allows the front camera to recognize the traffic participant. Therefore, the running light control unit 6 may determine whether or not a traffic participant has appeared in the appearance area 33 based on the surrounding information, and if it determines that a traffic participant has appeared in the appearance area 33, it may control the brightness of the appearance area 33 based on the type of traffic participant.

For example, if it is determined that the emerging traffic participant is another vehicle, the running light control unit 6 may turn off the appearance area 33, or may ensure that the appearance area 33 is bright enough to recognize the other vehicle with the forward camera. Also, for example, if it is determined that the emerging traffic participant is a pedestrian, the running light control unit 6 may ensure that the appearance area 33 is bright enough to recognize the pedestrian with the forward camera, but may make the brightness brighter than the appearance area 33 of the other vehicle.

Although not shown in the figure, if a traffic participant moves toward the outside of the appearance area 33, the running light control unit 6 may move the appearance area 33 to track the traffic participant while maintaining the brightness of the appearance area 33.

<Operation>
Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the light distribution control device 100 according to the embodiment 1. The operation in Fig. 8 is repeatedly performed while the driving lights 7 are turned on, for example.

In step S1, the surrounding information acquisition unit 2 acquires surrounding information.

In step S2, the probability area identification unit 3 identifies an area within the illumination range of the vehicle's running lights 7 where there is a probability that a traffic participant will appear in the future, based on the surrounding information. The probability determination unit 4 determines the probability that a traffic participant will appear in the future, based on the area identified by the probability area identification unit 3. The area determination unit 5 determines the appearance area, based on the area identified by the probability area identification unit 3 and the probability determined by the probability determination unit 4.

In step S3, the running light control unit 6 determines a light distribution pattern for the running lights 7 to dim the brightness of the running lights 7 in the appearance area based on the probability and the appearance area. The running light control unit 6 then controls the light distribution of the running lights 7 based on the determined light distribution pattern.

Summary of the First Embodiment
According to the light distribution control device 100 of the first embodiment, the probability that a traffic participant will appear in the future in the illumination range of the running lights 7 is determined based on ambient information, an area in the illumination range where the probability is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold is determined as an appearance area 33, and the brightness of the running lights 7 for the appearance area 33 is dimmed based on the probability. According to this configuration, the brightness of the appearance area 33 where a traffic participant is highly likely to appear in the illumination range of the running lights 7 can be dimmed in advance, thereby making it possible to suppress glare to traffic participants caused by delays in light distribution control.

In addition, in this embodiment 1, when the surrounding information acquisition unit 2 acquires information recognized by the vehicle's front camera as surrounding information, the running light control unit 6 ensures that the brightness of the appearance area 33 is such that traffic participants appearing in the appearance area 33 can be recognized by the front camera. With this configuration, the brightness of the running lights 7 for the appearance area 33 can be dimmed while the traffic participants appearing in the appearance area 33 can be recognized by the front camera.

In addition, in the first embodiment, when a traffic participant appears in the appearance area 33, the brightness of the appearance area 33 is controlled based on the type of traffic participant. With this configuration, the running lights 7 can illuminate the traffic participant with a brightness appropriate for the traffic participant, so that the driver's visibility can be ensured while suppressing glare to the traffic participants.

<Embodiment 2>
9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a light distribution control device 100 according to the present embodiment 2. In the following, among the components according to the present embodiment 2, components that are the same as or similar to the components described above are given the same or similar reference numerals, and different components will be mainly described.

The probability area identification unit 3 further includes a weighting calculation unit 8, which is included in the concept of a determination unit, just like the probability area identification unit 3. The weighting calculation unit 8 applies weighting to the probability determined by the probability determination unit 4. By applying weighting to the probability, for example, it is possible to increase the accuracy of the probability, and as a result, it is possible to appropriately suppress the occurrence of glare to traffic participants.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the weighting of the probability by the weighting calculation unit 8. Specifically, the lower diagram in FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the front of the vehicle, and the upper diagram in FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the relationship between the weighting and the horizontal position (i.e., angle) in front of the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 10, the weighting calculation unit 8 weights the probability so that the weighting of the probability at the ends of the illumination range of the running light 7 is greater than the weighting of the probability at the center of the illumination range of the running light 7.

In the example of FIG. 10, the weighting of the probability is a weighting that changes the probability itself. In other words, if the weighting amount of the probability in the center of the illumination range of the running lights 7 is a and the weighting amount of the probability in the edge of the illumination range of the running lights 7 is b, the weighting calculation unit 8 weights the probability so that the relationship a<b holds. Note that the center of the illumination range of the running lights 7 usually corresponds to the center of the front of the vehicle.

　As long as it is possible to ensure the driver's visibility while suppressing glare to traffic participants, the weighting of the probability is not limited to the example in FIG. 10. For example, the graph showing the relationship between angle and probability is symmetrical in the example of FIG. 10, but it may be asymmetrical. Also, for example, the graph showing the relationship between angle and probability is represented by a straight line in the example of FIG. 10, but it may be represented by a curve, etc.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of application of the weights in FIG. 10, specifically showing the relationship between the probability and the amount of dimming of the running lights 7 for the appearance area. When the probability determination unit 4 determines the probability c, the probability c is smaller than the threshold value TH, so the amount of dimming of the running lights 7 for the appearance area is 0. When the probability c is changed to probability c' by applying the weights in FIG. 10, the running light control unit 6 controls the running lights 7 with the amount of dimming d' of the running lights 7 for the appearance area.

In the above explanation, the weighting that adds the probability has been described, but the weighting may be a weighting that subtracts the probability, for example, the probability c' may be changed to the probability c. Also, in the example of FIG. 10, the weighting related to the probability is a weighting that changes the probability itself, but this is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the weighting related to the probability may be a weighting that changes the probability threshold value TH that determines whether or not to dim the light. Also, as shown in FIG. 13, the weighting related to the probability may be a weighting that changes the rate of change in the amount of dimming relative to the probability.

<Operation>
Fig. 14 is a flowchart showing the operation of the light distribution control device 100 according to the embodiment 2. The operation in Fig. 14 is similar to the operation in Fig. 8 in which the processing of step S4 is added between steps S2 and S3, and therefore step S4 will be mainly described here.

In step S4, the running light control unit 6 weights the probability based on the horizontal position of the appearance area 33 in front of the vehicle, according to the relationship shown in the graph in FIG. 10.

In step S3, the running light control unit 6 determines a light distribution pattern for the running lights 7 to dim the brightness of the running lights 7 in the appearance area based on the probability after the weighting has been applied and the appearance area. The running light control unit 6 then controls the light distribution of the running lights 7 based on the determined light distribution pattern.

Summary of the second embodiment
Generally, the direction of the center of the illumination range of the running lights 7 as seen by the driver is often the direction of travel of the vehicle, so the brightness has a large impact on the driver's driving safety. On the other hand, the direction of the edge of the illumination range of the running lights 7 as seen by the driver is often shifted from the direction of travel of the vehicle, so the brightness has a small impact on the driver's driving safety. For this reason, the driver usually pays less attention to the edge of the illumination range of the running lights 7 than to the center.

In contrast, with the light distribution control device 100 according to the second embodiment, the weighting of the probability at the ends of the illumination range of the running lights 7 is greater than the weighting of the probability at the center of the illumination range of the running lights 7. With this configuration, the appearance area 33 is more likely to be generated at the ends of the illumination range of the running lights 7 than at the center, so that glare suppression for traffic participants can be improved while maintaining the driving safety of the driver.

<Third embodiment>
15 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a light distribution control device 100 according to the third embodiment. In the following, among the components according to the third embodiment, the same or similar reference symbols are used for the components that are the same as or similar to the components described above, and different components are mainly described. In the third embodiment, the surrounding information acquisition unit 2 acquires at least an image in front of the vehicle as surrounding information.

The configuration in FIG. 15 is an example of a case where the area related to the line of sight of the vehicle driver is actually measured, and is similar to the configuration in FIG. 9 with the addition of a line of sight information collection unit 11, line of sight information acquisition unit 12, and gaze area identification unit 9. The gaze area identification unit 9 is included in the concept of a determination unit, like the probability area identification unit 3 and the like.

The gaze information collection unit 11 collects gaze information of the driver. For example, the gaze information collection unit 11 collects gaze information of the driver using a camera that captures images inside the vehicle.

The gaze information acquisition unit 12 acquires gaze information collected by the gaze information collection unit 11. In the example of FIG. 15, the gaze information acquisition unit 12 is an interface to the gaze information collection unit 11, but is not limited to this, and may include, for example, a DMS (driver monitoring system) as the gaze information collection unit 11.

The gaze area identification unit 9 identifies the area related to the line of sight of the vehicle driver as the area on which the vehicle driver is gazing (hereinafter referred to as the "gaze area") by actual measurement or estimation.

In measuring the gaze area, for example, the gaze area identification unit 9 identifies the gaze area based on gaze information acquired by the gaze information acquisition unit 12. In this case, the surrounding information may be expanded to include information obtained by actually measuring the area related to the gaze of the driver of the vehicle.

To estimate the gaze area, the gaze information collection unit 11 and the gaze information acquisition unit 12 are not required, and the gaze area identification unit 9 uses a saliency map, for example. The saliency map is a map that calculates for each pixel how easily a person will gaze when looking at an image showing the area in front of the vehicle, and includes areas that are easy for the driver of the vehicle to gaze at, i.e., areas that correspond to the gaze area. Areas that are easy for the driver of the vehicle to gaze at include, for example, the area in the direction of travel (vanishing point), the area of vehicles parked on the shoulder of the road, and the area of pedestrians.

To generate the saliency map, for example, the gaze area identification unit 9 acquires an image of the area in front of the vehicle included in the surrounding information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit 2, and generates the saliency map based on the image. One example of the saliency map generated by the gaze area identification unit 9 is a saliency map for detecting the gaze area in the image signal (see, for example, L. Itti, and C. Koch, “A saliency-based search mechanism for overt and covert shift of visual attention”, Vision Research, Vol. 40, pp. 1489-1506, 2000). The method of calculating the saliency of the saliency map may be, for example, a method of calculating the saliency based on the luminance, color, or direction in the image, or a method that applies machine learning (training) such as deep learning using a neural network. The deep learning may be, for example, learning that uses an image of the area in front of the vehicle and actual gaze information as learning data.

The gaze area identifying unit 9 infers the gaze area based on a saliency map generated from the image. For example, the gaze area identifying unit 9 selects from among a plurality of saliency maps the saliency map that is closest to the image in front of the vehicle contained in the surrounding information, and identifies the gaze area by comparing the image in front of the vehicle with the searched saliency map.

The running light control unit 6 increases the brightness of the running lights 7 in the gaze area. The running light control unit 6 also increases the brightness of the running lights 7 in the overlap area where the appearance area and gaze area overlap, to be brighter than the appearance area and darker than the gaze area.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of light distribution control of the light distribution control device 100 according to the third embodiment, specifically showing the front of the vehicle. FIG. 16 shows an example in which the vehicle is traveling in an urban area with buildings such as skyscrapers. FIG. 16 shows an example in which a building 32 and a parked vehicle 41 are present in front of the vehicle. Two appearance regions 33a, 33b are determined for the parked vehicle 41, and one appearance region 33c is determined for the building 32, and a gaze region 43 is identified. Furthermore, the appearance regions 33a, 33b and the gaze region 43 form overlapping regions 44a, 44b, and a part of the appearance region 33c and the gaze region 43 form an overlapping region 44c.

In this case, the running light control unit 6 makes the brightness of the gaze area 43 other than the overlap area brighter than the brightness of the normal illumination range 36 of the high beam. The running light control unit 6 also makes the brightness of the overlap areas 44a, 44b, 44c brighter than the brightness of the appearance area 33c and darker than the brightness of the gaze area 43. For example, if the brightness of the normal illumination range of the high beam is 100%, the running light control unit 6 controls the brightness of each area so that the brightness of the gaze area is 120%, the brightness of the appearance area is 20%, and the brightness of the overlap area is 70%, which is the average of the brightness of the appearance area and the brightness of the gaze area. Note that these numerical values are merely examples and are not limited to these.

<Operation>
Fig. 17 is a flowchart showing the operation of the light distribution control device 100 according to the embodiment 3. The operation in Fig. 17 is similar to the operation in Fig. 14 in which the processing of step S5 is added between step S4 and step S3, and therefore step S5 will be mainly described here.

In step S5, the gaze area identification unit 9 identifies the gaze area by actual measurement or estimation.

In step S3, the running light control unit 6 determines a light distribution pattern of the running lights 7 to control the brightness of each area based on the probability after the weighting has been applied, the appearance area, and the gaze area. The running light control unit 6 then controls the light distribution of the running lights 7 based on the determined light distribution pattern.

<Summary of the Third Embodiment>
According to the light distribution control device 100 of the third embodiment, the brightness of the running lights 7 in the gaze area is increased, and the brightness of the running lights 7 in the overlap area where the appearance area and the gaze area overlap is increased compared to the appearance area and decreased compared to the gaze area. This configuration makes it possible to achieve two contradictory controls: a control to darken the appearance area in order to prevent glare from being caused to traffic participants, and a control to brighten the gaze area.

<Fourth embodiment>
Fig. 18 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a light distribution control device 100 according to embodiment 4. Below, among the components according to embodiment 4, components that are the same as or similar to the components described above are given the same or similar reference symbols, and different components will be mainly described.

The configuration of FIG. 18 is the same as the configuration of FIG. 15 with the addition of a danger area identification unit 10, and the danger area identification unit 10 is included in the concept of a determination unit, like the probability area identification unit 3. The danger area identification unit 10 determines whether or not there is a possibility of contact between the vehicle and the appearance area based on the surrounding information. For example, the danger area identification unit 10 calculates the relative movement of the appearance area with respect to the vehicle based on the surrounding information, predicts the future positional relationship between the vehicle and the appearance area based on the movement, and determines whether or not there is a possibility of contact between the vehicle and the appearance area based on the positional relationship. Note that the danger area identification unit 10 may first determine whether or not there is an object in the appearance area based on the surrounding information, and then calculate the movement, predict the movement relationship, and determine the possibility of contact.

The running light control unit 6 prohibits the brightness of the running lights 7 from being dimmed in areas where the danger area identification unit 10 has determined that there is a possibility of contact with a vehicle.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of light distribution control by the light distribution control device 100 according to the fourth embodiment, specifically showing the front of the vehicle. FIG. 19 shows an example in which the vehicle is traveling in an urban area with buildings such as skyscrapers. FIG. 19 also shows an example in which a building 32 and a parked vehicle 41 are present in front of the vehicle. Two appearance areas 33a, 33b are determined for the parked vehicle 41, and one appearance area 33c is determined for the building 32, and the gaze area 43 is identified.

Here, assume that the driver drives the vehicle to overtake the parked vehicle 41 from the right side of the parked vehicle 41. In this case, since the appearance area 33a exists in the traveling direction of the vehicle, the danger area identification unit 10 determines that the appearance area 33a may come into contact with a vehicle. Therefore, the running light control unit 6 prohibits the brightness of the running lights 7 for the appearance area 33a to be dimmed. As a result, the brightness of the area where the appearance area 33a and the gaze area 43 overlap becomes substantially the same as the brightness of the gaze area 43. On the other hand, since the appearance area 33b does not exist in the traveling direction of the vehicle, the danger area identification unit 10 does not determine that the appearance area 33a may come into contact with a vehicle. Therefore, the running light control unit 6 dims the brightness of the running lights 7 for the appearance area 33b.

<Operation>
Fig. 20 is a flowchart showing the operation of the light distribution control device 100 according to the embodiment 4. The operation in Fig. 20 is similar to the operation in Fig. 17 in which the processing of step S6 is added between steps S5 and S3, and therefore step S6 will be mainly described here.

In step S6, the danger area identification unit 10 determines whether or not there is a possibility of contact between the vehicle and the appearance area based on the surrounding information.

In step S3, the running light control unit 6 determines a light distribution pattern of the running lights 7 to control the brightness of each area based on the probability after the weighting has been applied, the appearance area, the gaze area, and the determination result of the danger area identification unit 10. Then, the running light control unit 6 controls the light distribution of the running lights 7 based on the determined light distribution pattern.

<Summary of the Fourth Embodiment>
According to the light distribution control device 100 of the fourth embodiment described above, it is determined whether or not there is a possibility of contact between a vehicle and an appearance area based on surrounding information, and for an appearance area determined to have such a possibility, dimming of the brightness of the running lights 7 is prohibited. With this configuration, the brightness of the appearance area where there is a possibility of contact with a vehicle is maintained, and the driver's visibility can be secured, so that driving safety can be prioritized over dimming.

<Other Modifications>
The surrounding information acquisition unit 2, the determination unit (i.e., the probability area specification unit 3, the probability determination unit 4, the area determination unit 5), and the running light control unit 6 in FIG. 1 described above are hereinafter referred to as the "surrounding information acquisition unit 2, etc." The surrounding information acquisition unit 2, etc. are realized by a processing circuit 81 shown in FIG. 21. That is, the processing circuit 81 includes the surrounding information acquisition unit 2 that acquires surrounding information of the vehicle, a determination unit that determines the probability that a traffic participant will appear in the future in the illumination range of the vehicle's running lights based on the surrounding information, and determines an area in the illumination range where the probability is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold as an appearance area, and a running light control unit 6 that darkens the brightness of the running lights for the appearance area based on the probability. The processing circuit 81 may be implemented with dedicated hardware, or may be implemented with a processor that executes a program stored in a memory. The processor may be, for example, a central processing unit, a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), a processing unit, an arithmetic unit, a microprocessor, a microcomputer, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), or the like.

When the processing circuit 81 is dedicated hardware, the processing circuit 81 may be, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), a SoC (System-on-a-Chip), a system LSI (Large-Scale Integration), or a combination of these. Each function of the surrounding information acquisition unit 2, etc. may be realized by a circuit with distributed processing circuits, or the functions of each unit may be combined and realized by a single processing circuit.

When the processing circuit 81 is a processor, the functions of the surrounding information acquisition unit 2 and the like are realized by a combination with software and the like. The software and the like includes, for example, software, firmware, or software and firmware. The software and the like are written as a program and stored in a memory. As shown in FIG. 22, the processor 82 applied to the processing circuit 81 realizes the functions of each unit by reading and executing a program stored in the memory 83. That is, the light distribution control device 100 includes a memory 83 for storing a program that, when executed by the processing circuit 81, results in the execution of the steps of acquiring surrounding information about the vehicle, judging the probability that a traffic participant will appear in the future in the illumination range of the vehicle's running lights based on the surrounding information, and judging an area in the illumination range where the probability is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold as an appearance area, and dimming the brightness of the running lights for the appearance area based on the probability. In other words, this program can be said to cause a computer to execute the procedures and methods of the surrounding information acquisition unit 2 and the like. Here, memory 83 may be, for example, non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), flash memory, EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), SSD (Solid State Drive), HDD (Hard Disk Drive), magnetic disk, flexible disk, optical disk, compact disk, mini disk, DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), drive devices for these, or any storage medium to be used in the future.

The above describes a configuration in which the functions of the surrounding information acquisition unit 2, etc. are realized either by hardware or software, etc. However, this is not limited to the above, and a configuration in which part of the surrounding information acquisition unit 2, etc. is realized by dedicated hardware and another part is realized by software, etc. For example, the surrounding information acquisition unit 2's functions can be realized by a processing circuit 81 as dedicated hardware, and the other functions can be realized by the processing circuit 81 as a processor 82 reading and executing a program stored in a memory 83.

As described above, the processing circuit 81 can realize each of the above-mentioned functions through hardware, software, etc., or a combination of these.

The light distribution control device described above can also be applied to a light distribution control system constructed as a system by appropriately combining a vehicle device, a communication terminal, the functions of an application installed in at least one of the vehicle device and the communication terminal, and a server. Communication terminals include, for example, mobile phones, smartphones, and tablets. Each function or component of the light distribution control device described above may be distributed and disposed in each device that constructs the system, or may be concentrated and disposed in one of the devices.

FIG. 23 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a server 91 according to this modified example. The server 91 in FIG. 23 includes a communication unit 91a and a control unit 91b, and is capable of wireless communication with a vehicle device 93 of a vehicle 92.

The communication unit 91a, which is the surrounding information acquisition unit, receives surrounding information about the vehicle acquired by the vehicle device 93 by performing wireless communication with the vehicle device 93.

The control unit 91b has functions similar to those of the determination unit (i.e., the probability area identification unit 3, the probability determination unit 4, the area determination unit 5) and the running light control unit 6 in FIG. 1, by a processor (not shown) of the server 91 executing a program stored in a memory (not shown) of the server 91. In other words, the control unit 91b determines the probability and the appearance area based on the surrounding information, and generates a control signal for controlling the brightness of the running lights for the appearance area to be darker based on the probability. The communication unit 91a then transmits the control signal of the control unit 91b to the vehicle device 93. With the server 91 configured in this manner, it is possible to obtain the same effect as the light distribution control device 100 described in embodiment 1.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a communication terminal 96 according to this modified example. The communication terminal 96 in FIG. 24 includes a communication unit 96a similar to the communication unit 91a and a control unit 96b similar to the control unit 91b, and is capable of wireless communication with a vehicle device 98 of a vehicle 97. Note that the communication terminal 96 may be, for example, a mobile phone, smartphone, tablet, or other mobile terminal carried by the driver of the vehicle 97. With the communication terminal 96 configured in this manner, it is possible to obtain the same effects as the light distribution control device 100 described in embodiment 1.

In addition, it is possible to freely combine the various embodiments and modifications, and to modify or omit the various embodiments and modifications as appropriate.

The above description is illustrative in all respects and is not limiting. It is understood that countless variations not illustrated can be envisioned.

2 Surrounding information acquisition unit, 3 Probability area identification unit, 4 Probability judgment unit, 5 Area judgment unit, 6 Running light control unit, 7 Running light, 8 Weighting calculation unit, 9 Gazing area identification unit, 10 Danger area identification unit, 33, 33a, 33b, 33c Appearance area, 43 Gazing area, 44a, 44b, 44c Overlapping area, 100 Light distribution control device.

Claims (8)

A surrounding information acquisition unit that acquires surrounding information of the vehicle;
a determination unit that determines a probability that a traffic participant will appear in the future within an illumination range of the running lights of the vehicle based on the surrounding information, and determines an area of the illumination range where the probability is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold as an appearance area;
A light distribution control device comprising: a driving light control unit that dims the brightness of the driving lights for the appearance area based on the probability. The light distribution control device according to claim 1,
The surrounding information acquisition unit acquires information recognized by a front camera of the vehicle as the surrounding information,
The running light control unit is a light distribution control device that ensures the brightness of the appearance area to be sufficient to enable the forward camera to recognize the traffic participants appearing in the appearance area. The light distribution control device according to claim 2,
The running light control unit is a light distribution control device that controls the brightness of the appearance area based on a type of the traffic participant when the traffic participant appears in the appearance area. The light distribution control device according to claim 1,
A light distribution control device, wherein a weighting for the probability at an end portion of the illumination range of the running light is greater than a weighting for the probability at a center portion of the illumination range of the running light. The light distribution control device according to claim 1,
The running light control unit increases the brightness of the running lights in a gaze area, which is an area related to the line of sight of the driver of the vehicle, and increases the brightness of the running lights in an overlap area where the appearance area and the gaze area overlap, so that the brightness is brighter than that of the appearance area and darker than that of the gaze area. The light distribution control device according to claim 5,
The surrounding information acquisition unit acquires an image of a front area of the vehicle,
The light distribution control device, wherein the determination unit estimates the gaze area based on a saliency map generated from the image. The light distribution control device according to claim 1,
The determination unit determines whether or not there is a possibility of contact between the vehicle and the appearance area based on the surrounding information;
The running light control unit prohibits the brightness of the running lights from being darkened in the appearance area determined to have the possibility. Acquires information about the vehicle's surroundings,
Based on the surrounding information, a probability that a traffic participant will appear in the future is determined within an illumination range of the running lights of the vehicle, and an area of the illumination range where the probability is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold is determined as an appearance area;
The light distribution control method includes dimming the brightness of the driving lights for the appearance area based on the probability.

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