JP2006282044A - Headlight device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve visibility for a vehicle travel direction and obstacles. <P>SOLUTION: A headlight device for a vehicle is equipped with the headlight part illuminating the front of the vehicle, a steering angle detection means detecting the steering angle of the vehicle, an optical axis control means controlling the optical axis of the headlight responding to the steering angle detected by the steering angle detection means, and an obstacle detection means detecting the obstacle in front of the vehicle. When the obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection means, the optical axis control means controls the headlight part so that an optical axis angle of the headlight part becomes between the optical axis angle corresponding to the steering angle and the optical axis corresponding to an obstacle position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular headlamp apparatus that improves the visibility of a vehicle traveling direction and obstacles.

Conventionally, a vehicular headlamp optical axis direction automatic adjustment device that adjusts the optical axis direction of a headlamp so that a detected obstacle is within the irradiation range of the headlamp is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). ).
JP 2003-72461 A

  However, in the above conventional vehicle headlamp optical axis direction automatic adjustment device, there is an obstacle in the direction opposite to the vehicle steering direction, and when the obstacle in the direction opposite to the steering direction is within the irradiation range, the vehicle traveling direction There is a risk that the visibility of.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and has as its main object to improve the visibility of the vehicle traveling direction and obstacles.

  In order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the present invention includes a headlamp that irradiates the front of a vehicle, steering angle detection means that detects a steering angle of the vehicle, and the steering angle detected by the steering angle detection means. Corresponding to the vehicle headlight device, comprising: an optical axis control means for controlling the optical axis of the headlamp section; and an obstacle detection means for detecting an obstacle ahead of the vehicle, wherein the obstacle When the obstacle is detected by the object detection means, the optical axis control means is configured to cause the optical axis angle of the headlamp unit to correspond to the steering angle and the light corresponding to the obstacle position. The vehicle headlamp device is characterized in that the headlamp unit is controlled to be between the shaft angles.

  In this aspect, the optical axis angle corresponding to the steering angle is the optical axis angle of the headlamp unit set corresponding to the steering angle by an AFS (adaptive lighting system) or the like. .

  According to this one aspect, when the obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection means, the optical axis control means is configured such that the optical axis angle of the headlamp unit corresponds to the steering angle, The headlamp unit is controlled to be between the optical axis angle corresponding to the obstacle position. Thereby, it is possible to improve the visibility in the direction of the obstacle while improving the visibility in the vehicle traveling direction.

  In this embodiment, when the obstacle is detected at the position opposite to the steering direction by the obstacle detection means, the optical axis control means changes the optical axis angle of the headlamp unit to the steering angle. It is preferable to control the headlamp unit so as to be between the optical axis angle corresponding to and the optical axis angle corresponding to the obstacle position. Since the driver tends to be more aware of the steering direction in which the light is radiated brightly, the obstacle at a position opposite to the steering direction tends to be particularly difficult to be visually recognized. Therefore, by setting the optical axis angle of the headlamp part between the optical axis angle corresponding to the steering angle and the optical axis angle corresponding to the obstacle position, the vehicle is set on the obstacle side. The visibility in the obstacle position direction can be improved more effectively while improving the visibility in the traveling direction.

  Furthermore, in this one aspect, when the obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection means, the optical axis control means is configured to detect the optical axis angle corresponding to the steering angle. The headlamp unit may be controlled to have an intermediate value with respect to the optical axis angle corresponding to the obstacle position. Thereby, the visibility to a vehicle running direction and an obstacle position direction can be improved simultaneously.

  In this aspect, when the obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection means, the optical axis control means sets the optical axis of the headlamp unit to the optical axis angle corresponding to a steering angle of 0 degrees. It may be set. The optical axis angle corresponding to the steering angle of 0 degree is an initial value before the optical axis of the headlamp unit is controlled. Therefore, since the optical axis control means does not perform calculation, control processing, or the like for controlling the optical axis of the headlamp unit, the visibility in the vehicle traveling direction and the obstacle position direction can be improved early. Can be improved.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the visibility with respect to a vehicle running direction and an obstruction can be improved.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The basic concept, main hardware configuration, operating principle, basic control method, etc. of the vehicle headlamp device and AFS (adaptive lighting system, adaptive front-lighting system) are known to those skilled in the art. Therefore, detailed explanation is omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system configuration of a vehicle headlamp apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, left and right swivel (swivel) headlights (low beam) 3 such as projector lamps that irradiate an area up to a relatively short distance ahead of the vehicle (for example, 60 meters from the vehicle) are provided on the front of the vehicle. It is arranged.

  The optical axis L of the left and right swivel headlights 3 can be deflected left and right by the actuator 5. For example, the optical axis L of the swivel headlight 3 can be deflected up to 5 degrees in the left direction when turning left and up to 15 degrees in the right direction when turning right (FIG. 2).

  Obstacle detection means 7 such as an infrared camera, a laser radar, and a millimeter wave radar for detecting vehicle front information in the daytime and nighttime is disposed on the front bumper portion of the vehicle. Further, the ECU 9 is connected to the obstacle detection means 7 such as an infrared camera, and the ECU 9 positions the obstacles such as pedestrians and animals existing in front of the vehicle based on, for example, an image signal in front of the vehicle from the infrared camera 7. Is detected.

  The ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 9 is composed of a microcomputer, a ROM for storing control and calculation programs, a readable / writable RAM for storing calculation results, a timer, a counter, and an input interface. And an output interface.

  The ECU 9 is connected to a left wheel speed sensor 11 that detects a wheel speed on the left side of the vehicle and a right wheel speed sensor 11 that detects a wheel speed on the right side of the vehicle. The ECU 9 calculates the vehicle speed based on the left wheel speed from the left wheel speed sensor 11 and the right wheel speed from the right wheel speed sensor 11.

  The ECU 9 is connected to a steering angle sensor 13 that is disposed on the steering shaft of the steering wheel and detects the steering angle of the steering wheel. The ECU 9 controls the actuators 5 of the left and right swivel headlights 3 based on the left and right wheel speeds from the left wheel speed sensor 11 and the right wheel speed sensor 11 and the steering angle from the steering angle sensor 13, for example, AFS control. Etc.

  The AFS is a system that automatically deflects the swivel headlight 3 in the left-right direction in accordance with the steering angle from the steering angle sensor 13, the vehicle speed from the vehicle speed sensor, and the like. This system realizes the light distribution of the headlight. Specifically, the optical axis of the swivel headlight 3 is deflected in the steering direction of the vehicle (vehicle traveling direction) to improve the visibility in the steering direction (FIG. 3).

  For example, when the steering wheel is steered from the neutral position to the left and the vehicle turns to the left, the optical axis (irradiation range) of the left swivel headlight 3 is deflected to the left ((1) shown in FIG. 3). Status). Therefore, for the driver, the left side in front of the vehicle becomes relatively bright, and the left side visibility in front of the vehicle is improved. On the other hand, when the steering wheel is steered to the right from the neutral position and the vehicle turns to the right, the optical axis (irradiation range) of the right swivel headlight 3 is deflected to the right ((2) shown in FIG. 3). Status). Therefore, for the driver, the right side in front of the vehicle becomes relatively bright, and the visibility on the right side in front of the vehicle is improved.

  By the way, according to the above-described normal AFS control, the optical axis of the swivel headlight 3 is deflected in the steering direction of the vehicle and the visibility in the steering direction is improved. On the other hand, the swivel headlight 3 is deflected. In addition, the driver's consciousness may be tilted toward a bright steering direction, and the consciousness of obstacles in the direction opposite to the steering direction and the visibility may be relatively lowered (FIG. 4). In addition, being in the direction opposite to the steering direction means, for example, being located on the vehicle outer side from the optical axis of the swivel headlight 3 on the opposite side to the steering direction (right side in FIG. 4).

  Therefore, in the vehicle headlamp device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, when an obstacle is detected in front of the vehicle and in the direction opposite to the steering direction by the infrared sensor 7, the optical axis L of the swivel headlight 3 is The optical axis X1 corresponding to the steering angle and the optical axis X2 corresponding to the obstacle are controlled (FIG. 5).

  Thereby, while the visibility with respect to a steering direction is improved, the driver | operator's consciousness and visibility with respect to the obstruction in the direction opposite to a steering direction can be improved simultaneously.

  Here, the optical axis X1 corresponding to the steering angle is the optical axis of the swivel headlight 3 when controlled according to the steering angle by the normal AFS control. The optical axis X2 corresponding to the obstacle is an axis passing through the swivel headlight 3 as a light source and the obstacle.

  Although FIG. 5 illustrates the case where the left swivel headlight 3 is deflected, the case where the right swivel headlight 3 is deflected is also substantially the same as the left side, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  The AFS switch 15 provided at a position where a user operation can be performed in the vehicle interior is connected to the ECU 9. The AFS switch 15 normally transmits an ON signal to the ECU 9, and the ECU 9 executes AFS control based on the ON signal. On the other hand, when the AFS switch 15 is turned off, the AFS switch 15 stops transmission of the ON signal to the ECU 9. When the ECU 9 has not received the ON signal from the AFS switch 15, the ECU 9 stops the AFS control.

  The relationship between the steering angle and the vehicle speed and the optical axis angle of the swivel headlight 3 is held in the ECU 9 in advance.

  Next, a control method of the swivel headlight 3 of the vehicle headlamp device 1 according to the above-described embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a control processing routine of the vehicle headlamp apparatus 1 according to this embodiment. The control routine shown in FIG. 6 is repeatedly executed every predetermined minute time, for example, every 64 ms.

  First, the ECU 9 determines whether or not the AFS switch 15 is on (S100).

  When the ECU 9 determines that the AFS switch 15 is on, the ECU 9 reads the steering angle from the steering angle sensor 13 (S110), and proceeds to the next (S120) process. On the other hand, when the ECU 9 determines that the AFS switch 15 is not in the on state (off state), the process by this control routine is terminated.

  In (S120), the ECU 9 calculates the vehicle speed based on the wheel speeds from the left and right wheel speed sensors 11, and determines whether the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than a predetermined speed (for example, 30 km / h or higher).

  When it is determined that the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than the predetermined speed, the ECU 9 determines whether or not the steering angle from the steering angle sensor 13 is equal to or larger than a predetermined angle (for example, 12 degrees or larger) (S130). On the other hand, when the ECU determines that the vehicle speed is less than the predetermined speed, the process by this control routine is terminated.

  When the ECU 9 determines that the steering angle is equal to or greater than the predetermined angle, the ECU 9 starts normal AFS control based on the steering angle from the steering angle sensor 13 and the wheel speed from the left and right wheel speed sensor 11 (S140). (S150) The process proceeds to the process. On the other hand, when the ECU 9 determines that the steering angle is less than the predetermined angle, the process by this control routine is terminated.

  In (S150), the ECU 9 determines whether there is an obstacle in front of the vehicle and in the direction opposite to the steering direction based on the image signal from the infrared camera.

  When the ECU 9 determines that there is an obstacle (FIG. 4) in front of the vehicle and in the direction opposite to the steering direction, the ECU 9 calculates the optical axis angle θ2 corresponding to the obstacle based on the obstacle image from the infrared camera 7. (FIG. 5).

  Further, the ECU 9 calculates an intermediate value θ3 between the optical axis angle θ2 corresponding to the obstacle and the optical axis angle θ1 corresponding to the steering angle by the following equation (1) (S160).

θ3 = (θ1 + θ2) / 2 (1)
The optical axis angles θ1, θ2, and θ3 are angles formed by the vehicle longitudinal axis and the optical axis L of the swivel headlight 3. For example, when the optical axis L coincides with the vehicle longitudinal axis, the optical axis angle Becomes 0 degrees.

  Next, the ECU 9 controls the actuator 5 of the swivel headlight 3 so that the optical axis angle of the swivel headlight 3 becomes the calculated intermediate value θ3 (S170).

  As described above, when the ECU 9 determines that there is an obstacle in front of the vehicle and in the direction opposite to the steering direction, the optical axis L2 of the swivel headlight 3 corresponds to the optical axis X2 corresponding to the obstacle, and the optical axis corresponding to the steering angle. The actuator 5 of the swivel headlight 3 is controlled so as to be between X1. Thereby, while the visibility with respect to a steering direction is improved, the driver | operator's consciousness and visibility with respect to the obstruction in the direction opposite to a steering direction can be improved simultaneously.

  As mentioned above, although the best mode for carrying out the present invention has been described using one embodiment, the present invention is not limited to such one embodiment, and within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention, Various modifications and substitutions can be made to the above-described embodiment.

  For example, in (S160) to (S170) of the above embodiment, the ECU 9 controls the actuator 5 of the swivel headlight 3 so that the optical axis angle of the swivel headlight 3 becomes the intermediate value θ3. The ECU 9 may control the actuator 5 of the swivel headlight 3 so that the optical axis angle of the swivel headlight 3 becomes 0 degree (an optical axis angle corresponding to a steering angle of 0 degree) (FIG. 7, S260). ). Since the control processes other than (S260) shown in FIG. 7 are substantially the same as the control processes shown in FIG. 6, the same reference numerals are given and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In this case, the optical axis L of the swivel headlight 3 coincides with the longitudinal axis of the vehicle without being deflected. In addition, the optical axis angle of the swivel headlight 3 being 0 degrees is an initial position before the optical axis of the swivel headlight 3 is controlled. Thereby, calculation, control processing, etc. are not performed in ECU9, and optical axis L of swivel headlight 3 is set up. Therefore, the visibility in the vehicle traveling direction and the obstacle position direction can be improved at an early stage.

  In the above-described embodiment, a pair of left and right headlights having a fixed light distribution area in front of the vehicle may be provided in parallel with the left and right swivel headlights 3.

  The present invention can be used for a vehicle headlamp device. The appearance, weight, size, running performance, etc. of the vehicle to be mounted are not limited.

It is the schematic of the system configuration | structure of the vehicle headlamp apparatus which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the state which the optical axis of the headlight for swivels deflects in the left-right direction by AFS. It is a figure which shows the irradiation range deflected in the left-right direction by AFS. It is a figure which shows the case where there exists an obstruction etc. in the opposite direction to a steering direction, when the optical axis of the swivel headlight is deflected to the steering direction by AFS. It is a figure which shows the state controlled so that the optical axis of the headlight for swivels may be between the optical axis corresponding to a steering angle, and the optical axis corresponding to an obstruction. It is a flowchart which shows the routine of the control processing of the vehicle headlamp apparatus which concerns on a present Example. It is a flowchart which shows the routine of the control processing of the vehicle headlamp apparatus when it controls so that the optical axis angle of the headlight for swivels may be 0 degree | times.

Explanation of symbols

1 Vehicle headlamp device 3 Swivel headlight (headlamp)
5 Actuator (headlight part)
7 Infrared camera (obstacle detection means)
9 ECU (optical axis control means)
11 Left wheel speed sensor, Right wheel speed sensor 13 Steering angle sensor (steering angle detection means)
15 AFS switch

Claims (4)

A headlamp that illuminates the front of the vehicle;
Steering angle detection means for detecting the steering angle of the vehicle;
An optical axis control means for controlling the optical axis of the headlamp unit corresponding to the steering angle detected by the steering angle detection means;
An obstacle detection means for detecting an obstacle in front of the vehicle, and a vehicle headlamp device comprising:
When the obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection means, the optical axis control means is configured such that the optical axis angle of the lighting unit corresponds to the steering angle and the optical axis angle corresponding to the obstacle position. The vehicle headlamp device, wherein the headlamp unit is controlled to be between the optical axis angles. The vehicle headlamp device according to claim 1,
When the obstacle is detected at a position opposite to the steering direction by the obstacle detection means, the optical axis control means is configured to make the optical axis angle corresponding to the steering angle. And the headlamp unit so as to be between the optical axis angle corresponding to the obstacle position. The vehicle headlamp device according to claim 1 or 2,
When the obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection means, the optical axis control means corresponds to the optical axis angle at which the optical axis angle of the headlamp unit corresponds to the steering angle, and the obstacle position. The vehicle headlamp device, wherein the headlamp unit is controlled so as to have an intermediate value with respect to the optical axis angle. The vehicle headlamp device according to claim 1 or 2,
When the obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection unit, the optical axis control unit sets the optical axis of the headlamp unit to the optical axis angle corresponding to a steering angle of 0 degrees. Vehicle headlamp device.

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