JP4914865B2 - Headlamp optical axis control device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical axis control device of a head lamp free to properly practice when required at a minimum by reducing cost of correction of an optical axis of the head lamp. <P>SOLUTION: It is detected by a door opening and closing detection means that a door of a vehicle is in an open state (S24), and the optical axis of the head lamp is properly regulated in accordance with inclination information from an inclination detection means (S18 to S22) when it is detected by a vibration detection means that vibration width of the vehicle is less than prescribed quantity (S16). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical axis control device for a headlamp, and more particularly to a technique for automatically correcting a deviation of an optical axis of a headlamp mounted on a vehicle.

A headlamp is provided in the vehicle so as to be able to irradiate forward, and generally the irradiation direction of the headlamp, that is, the optical axis is set to an appropriate direction at the time of shipment or inspection and maintenance of the vehicle.
By the way, the optical axis of the headlamp changes slightly depending on the number of passengers, the vehicle posture, etc. even if it is set as described above. There is a problem that dazzles the driver of the car and the preceding car.

For these reasons, recently, a device capable of adjusting the irradiation direction of the headlamp, that is, the optical axis as appropriate, has been developed mainly for the purpose of preventing dazzling the driver of the oncoming vehicle and the preceding vehicle. The lamp is provided with an actuator for optical axis correction, which determines the stop and running state of the vehicle according to the vehicle speed and calculates the pitch angle and acceleration of the vehicle according to the vehicle height. An apparatus that can automatically correct the optical axis of the headlamp while the vehicle is stopped or running is known (Patent Document 1). An apparatus that can automatically correct the optical axis of the headlamp while the vehicle is traveling in accordance with a change in the vehicle posture or a bad road state of the traveling road is also known (Patent Document 2).
Japanese Patent No. 3128606 Japanese Patent No. 3721013

  In the apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, when the vehicle is stopped, the stop state of the vehicle is determined according to the vehicle speed, and the optical axis of the headlamp is automatically corrected. However, with such a configuration, for example, when the vehicle stops at an intersection or the like, when the vehicle stops on a slope or stops when a wheel rides on a protrusion, the vehicle posture with respect to the road surface and thus the vehicle pitch. Since the angle is different from that in the case of a flat road, there is a problem that the optical axis of the headlamp is unnecessarily corrected.

Moreover, in the apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2, information from the vehicle height sensor is determined by determining whether or not the traveling road is in a rough road state. However, with such a configuration, there is a problem that complicated calculation processing must always be performed while the vehicle is running, and the burden on the apparatus is heavy.
Further, in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, since the frequency of the optical axis correction of the headlamps is high, high durability performance is required for the actuator for optical axis correction, and an inexpensive actuator with low durability performance is used. On the other hand, actuators with high durability (such as stepping motors) are expensive and costly.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and the object of the present invention is to reduce the optical axis correction of the headlamp at a low cost and to properly perform the headlamp light when necessary. It is to provide an axis control device.

  In order to achieve the above object, an optical axis control device for a headlamp according to claim 1 is mounted on a vehicle so as to be able to irradiate forward, and a headlamp capable of adjusting an optical axis by an actuator, and at least a forward / backward inclination of the vehicle An inclination detection means for detecting the opening / closing of the vehicle, a door opening / closing detection means for detecting the opening / closing of the door of the vehicle, a vibration detection means for detecting the vibration of the vehicle, and the door opening / closing detection means detecting that the door of the vehicle is open. And an optical axis control means for appropriately adjusting the optical axis of the headlamp based on the inclination information from the inclination detection means when the vibration detection means detects that the vibration width of the vehicle is less than a predetermined amount. It is provided with.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the optical axis control device for a headlamp according to the first aspect, further comprising movement detection means for detecting movement of the vehicle, wherein the optical axis control means closes the vehicle door by the door opening / closing detection means. When it is detected that the vehicle is in a state, if the movement detection means detects that the vehicle is not moving and the vibration detection means detects that the vibration width of the vehicle is less than a predetermined amount, the light of the headlamp It is characterized by adjusting the axis.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical axis control device for a headlamp according to the second aspect, further comprising a constant speed traveling detecting means for detecting a constant speed traveling state of the vehicle, wherein the optical axis control means includes the door opening / closing detecting means. When it is detected that the door of the vehicle is closed and movement of the vehicle is detected by the movement detection means, the constant speed running detection means detects the constant speed running state of the vehicle and the vibration detection means detects the vehicle. When it is detected that the vibration width is less than a predetermined amount, the optical axis of the headlamp is adjusted.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the optical axis control device for a headlamp according to the third aspect, wherein the optical axis control means adjusts the optical axis of the headlamp within a specified number of times.

  According to the optical axis control device for a headlamp of claim 1, it is detected by the door opening / closing detection means that the vehicle door is in an open state, and the vibration detection means detects that the vibration width of the vehicle is less than a predetermined amount. Then, since the optical axis of the headlamp is appropriately adjusted by the optical axis control means, the occupant is getting on and off when the vehicle door is open, the inclination of the vehicle changes, and the optical axis of the headlamp changes. However, if the vehicle does not vibrate so that the vibration width of the vehicle is less than a predetermined amount, it can be considered that the passenger's boarding / exiting is finished and the vehicle posture is stable, and at this time the optical axis of the headlamp By properly adjusting the headlamp, the optical axis of the headlamp can be properly corrected only when it is necessary at least before starting the vehicle, and the operation frequency of the headlamp actuator can be kept low. It is possible to prevent the durability deterioration of data. Further, by suppressing the operation frequency of the actuator to be low, the actuator can be configured with an inexpensive one that does not require high durability performance.

  According to the optical axis control device for a headlamp of claim 2, when the door opening / closing detecting means detects that the vehicle door is in the closed state, the movement detecting means does not detect the movement of the vehicle and the vibration detecting means. When the vehicle detects that the vibration width of the vehicle is less than a predetermined amount, the optical axis control means appropriately adjusts the optical axis of the headlamp, so that the vehicle is still in the vehicle even when the vehicle door is closed. If the vehicle is not moving, there is no occupant getting on and off, and at this time, if the vehicle is not vibrating so that the vibration width of the vehicle is less than a predetermined amount, the vehicle posture can be regarded as being stable. By appropriately adjusting the optical axis of the lamp, the optical axis correction of the headlamp can be appropriately performed only when it is necessary at the minimum before starting the vehicle.

Therefore, for example, even if the passenger turns off the ignition switch without stopping from the vehicle to stop the vehicle and then turns on the ignition switch without opening the vehicle door, the headlamp It is possible to adjust the optical axis appropriately.
According to the optical axis control device for a headlamp of claim 3, when the door opening / closing detecting means detects that the vehicle door is in the closed state and the movement detecting means detects the movement of the vehicle, the constant speed running detection is performed. When the vehicle is detected at a constant speed and the vibration detection unit detects that the vehicle vibration width is less than a predetermined amount, the optical axis control unit appropriately adjusts the optical axis of the headlamp. Even when the vehicle door is in a closed state and the vehicle is moving, if the vehicle is traveling at a constant speed and the vehicle is not vibrating so that the vibration width of the vehicle is less than a predetermined amount, the vehicle It can be assumed that the posture is stable, and the optical axis correction of the headlamp can be properly performed only when it is at a minimum necessary.

Thus, for example, even if the optical axis correction of the headlamp performed before the start of the vehicle is not appropriate due to the inclination of the road surface or riding on the curb, etc., the optical axis of the headlamp is adjusted while the vehicle is running It is possible to redo.
According to the headlamp optical axis control device of the fourth aspect, the optical axis of the headlamp is adjusted within a specified number of times by the optical axis control means while the vehicle is running. It can be implemented properly only when it is minimally necessary.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a schematic configuration diagram of an optical axis control device for a headlamp according to the present invention mounted on a vehicle.
As shown in the figure, the vehicle 1 is provided with a pair of left and right headlamps 10, 10 located at the front, and the headlamp 10 has an irradiation direction of the headlamp 10, that is, an optical axis, respectively. An actuator 12 for adjusting to an appropriate direction is provided, and the actuator 12 is connected to an electronic control unit (ECU) 20.

The vehicle 1 is, for example, a four-door vehicle, and has a pair of front doors 2 and 2 and a pair of rear doors 4 and 4 for passengers getting on and off.
Here, referring to FIG. 2, a detailed view of the headlamp 10 is shown, and the configuration of the headlamp 10 will be briefly described.
In the headlamp 10, a reflector unit 15 to which a light bulb 16 is attached via a socket is rotatably supported by a support portion 14 a at the upper part of the outer shell 14, and the actuator 12 is disposed below the reflector unit 15. Configured.

The actuator 12 is, for example, an electric rod cylinder, and the rod 13 can be expanded and contracted according to voltage. On the other hand, a bracket 18 is provided at the lower part of the reflector unit 15 so as to extend downward, and the tip of the rod 13 of the actuator 12 is connected to the bracket 18.
Since the actuator 12 and the reflector unit 15 are configured in this manner, when the rod 13 of the actuator 12 is expanded or retracted, the reflector unit 15 swings around the support portion 14a via the bracket 18 and is shown in the drawing. As shown by arrows, the optical axis X of the headlamp 10 changes up and down. Thereby, the optical axis of the headlamp 10 can be adjusted by operating the actuator 12 according to a command from the ECU 20.

The ECU 20 is a control device for performing comprehensive control such as an engine (not shown) for driving a vehicle and an optical axis control device for a headlamp according to the present invention.
As for the optical axis control device of the headlamp, a battery (not shown) is connected to the ECU 20 as a power source, and an ignition switch for starting the electrical system of the vehicle 1 including the ECU 20 is connected to the input side. (IGN SW, not shown), vehicle height sensors 30, 32 provided near the front wheel shaft and near the rear wheel shaft, respectively, for detecting the height position from the ground, a pair of front doors 2, 2 of the vehicle 1, and A pair of door sensors (door opening / closing detection means) 34 and 34 provided on each of the pair of rear doors 4 and 4 and detecting the opening / closing of the door, a pair of door sensors (door opening / closing detection means) 36 and 36, and the movement distance of the vehicle 1 are detected. A distance sensor (movement detecting means) 38, an engine rotation speed sensor 40 for detecting the engine rotation speed Ne, and the acceleration operation of the engine 1 and the vehicle 1 are performed. Various sensors such as an accelerator sensor (APS) 42 for detecting an operation amount of the accelerator pedal is connected. Note that each of the above-described sensors is a well-known sensor, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

On the other hand, various devices are connected to the output side of the ECU 20 in addition to the actuator 12 of the headlamp 10 as described above.
Hereinafter, the operation and effect of the optical axis control device for a headlamp according to the present invention configured as described above will be described.
Referring to FIG. 3, a control routine of the optical axis control of the optical axis control device for a headlamp according to the present invention executed by the ECU 20 is shown in a flowchart (optical axis control means), and will be described along the flowchart. .

When it is confirmed in step S10 that the ignition switch (IGN SW) is on, optical axis control is started.
In step S12, the movement distance data detected by the distance sensor 38, accumulated in the memory in the ECU 20 and stored therein is once reset.
In step S14, it is determined whether or not the engine is stopped. Specifically, based on the information from the engine speed sensor 40, it is detected that the engine speed Ne is 0. If the determination result is true (Yes) and the engine is determined to be stopped, the process proceeds to step S16.

  In step S16, it is determined whether or not the vehicle body is not vibrating in the vehicle 1. Specifically, based on information from the vehicle height sensors 30, 32, the height position from the ground in the vicinity of the front wheel shaft and the rear wheel shaft, that is, the vehicle height fluctuates, and whether or not the vibration width is less than a predetermined amount. Is determined (vibration detecting means). When the determination result is false (No), for example, when it is determined that the occupant is moving in the vehicle 1 and the vehicle body is vibrating, the process directly returns to step S14. On the other hand, if the determination result is true (Yes) and it is determined that the vehicle body is not oscillating, the vehicle 1 is considered to have a stable vehicle posture, and the process proceeds to step S18. Perform optical axis correction.

  In the optical axis correction of the headlamp 10, based on information from the vehicle height sensors 30 and 32, the distance between the vehicle heights Hf and Hr detected by the vehicle height sensors 30 and 32 and the vehicle height sensors 30 and 32 (for example, The wheel base) L (see FIG. 1) is used to calculate an inclination angle (pitch angle) in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 1 (inclination detecting means), and an angle between the calculated inclination angle and a preset reference inclination angle. When there is a difference, the optical axis is corrected by an amount corresponding to the angle difference.

In carrying out the optical axis correction, first, in step S18, the vehicle heights Hf and Hr detected by the vehicle height sensors 30 and 32 are filtered (for example, weighted average) to equalize the vehicle heights Hf and Hr. Like that.
In step S20, an inclination angle in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 1 is calculated based on the filtered vehicle heights Hf and Hr, and an optical axis is calculated based on an angle difference between the calculated inclination angle and a preset reference inclination angle. A target value for correcting is calculated.

  Specifically, the optical axis correction angle of the optical axis X is obtained from the distance D between the fulcrums and the expansion / contraction amount S (see FIG. 2) of the rod 13 of the actuator 12 based on the following formula (1). Since the angle difference of the tilt angle corresponds to the optical axis correction angle, the formula (1) is calculated by substituting the angle difference of the tilt angle in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 1 into the optical axis correction angle in the formula (1). Thus, the expansion / contraction amount S of the rod 13 is calculated as a target value.

Optical axis correction angle = tan ⁻¹ (expansion / contraction amount S / fulcrum distance D) (1)
In step S22, the actuator 12 is driven so that the expansion / contraction amount S of the rod 13 becomes the target value.
That is, when the engine is stopped and the vehicle body is not vibrating, the vehicle 1 is stopped and the vehicle posture is stable, and the time suitable for performing the optical axis correction of the headlamp 10 is set. Thus, the optical axis of the headlamp 10 is corrected.

On the other hand, if the determination result in step S14 is false (No) and it is determined that the engine is not operating and is not stopped, the process proceeds to step S24.
In step S24, it is determined whether or not all front doors 2 and rear doors 4 of the vehicle 1 are closed. If the determination result is false (No) and it is determined that any one of the front door 2 and the rear door 4 is in the open state, the process proceeds to step S26, and after resetting the moving distance data, after step S16 Then, the optical axis of the headlamp 10 is corrected as described above.

  That is, when any one of the front door 2 and the rear door 4 is in the open state, the vehicle 1 is in the boarding / exiting state, the front-rear direction inclination angle of the vehicle 1 changes, and the optical axis of the headlamp 10 changes. When the vehicle body no longer vibrates, the vehicle 1 can be regarded as a time when the vehicle posture is stable and the optical axis of the headlamp 10 is corrected. Axis correction is performed.

On the other hand, if the determination result in step S24 is true (Yes) and it is determined that all the front doors 2 and the rear doors 4 are in the closed state, the process proceeds to step S28.
In step S28, it is determined based on information from the distance sensor 38 whether or not the vehicle 1 is moving. If the determination result is true (Yes) and it is determined that the vehicle 1 is not moving, the process proceeds to step S30.

In step S30, based on the information from the accelerator sensor 42, it is determined whether the accelerator pedal is not operated and the accelerator is closed. If the determination result is true (Yes) and it is determined that the accelerator is closed, the process proceeds to step S16 and subsequent steps, and the optical axis of the headlamp 10 is corrected.
That is, when all of the front door 2 and the rear door 4 are in a closed state and the vehicle 1 is not moving, for example, after the occupant stops the vehicle 1 and stops the engine without getting on and off, the door of the vehicle 1 is stopped. In the case immediately after starting the engine without opening the vehicle, if the vehicle body does not vibrate, the vehicle 1 has a stable vehicle posture and is also suitable for correcting the optical axis of the headlamp 10. It can be regarded as a time, and the optical axis of the headlamp 10 is corrected.

  Thus, according to the optical axis control device for a headlamp according to the present invention, not only when the engine is stopped, but also when any one of the front door 2 and the rear door 4 is in an open state, Even when the front door 2 and the rear door 4 are in a closed state, when the vehicle 1 is not moving and the vehicle body is not vibrating, the vehicle 1 is in a stable posture and the optical axis of the headlamp 10 is corrected. The optical axis correction of the headlamp 10 is performed on the assumption that the time is suitable for performing the above.

Therefore, the optical axis correction of the headlamp 10 can be appropriately performed when it is necessary at the minimum before the vehicle 1 starts, and the operating frequency of the actuator 12 of the headlamp 10 is kept low, and the durability of the actuator 12 is deteriorated. Can be prevented.
Further, since the operation frequency of the actuator 12 can be kept low, the actuator 12 can be configured with an inexpensive one such as an electric rod cylinder that does not require high durability.

On the other hand, as described above, the optical axis correction of the headlamp 10 is properly performed when the minimum necessary before the start of the vehicle 1. For example, the road surface is inclined during the optical axis correction, If the wheel is on a curb or the like, the optical axis correction of the headlamp 10 that has already been performed may not be appropriate.
Therefore, even if the determination result in step S28 is false (No) and it is determined that the vehicle 1 is moving, the optical axis correction of the headlamp 10 is again performed supplementarily in step S32 and subsequent steps. This will be described below.

  In step S32, it is determined whether or not the number of optical axis corrections of the headlamp 10 during the movement of the vehicle 1, that is, the number of times the actuator 12 is driven is within a specified number of times (for example, 1 to 3). In this way, the number of executions of the optical axis correction of the headlamp 10 is limited to the implementation of the optical axis correction of the headlamp 10 during the movement of the vehicle 1 as described above. This is to suppress. If the determination result is true (Yes) and it is determined that the number of driving times of the actuator 12 is within the specified number of driving times, the process proceeds to step S34.

  In step S34, based on the information from the accelerator sensor 42, it is determined whether or not the engine speed Ne is within a range of less than a predetermined low speed N1 while the accelerator pedal is operated and the accelerator is open. . That is, it is determined here whether or not the vehicle 1 is traveling at a constant speed at a low speed without sudden acceleration or the like (constant speed traveling detection means). If the determination result is true (Yes) and it is determined that the vehicle 1 is traveling stably at a constant speed, the process proceeds to step S36. In step S36, it is determined whether or not the vehicle body of the vehicle 1 is not vibrating as in step S16. If the determination result is true (Yes), the process proceeds to step S38 and thereafter, and the optical axis correction of the headlamp 10 is performed. To implement.

In step S38, the vehicle heights Hf and Hr detected by the vehicle height sensors 30 and 32 are filtered (for example, weighted average) as in step S18. In this case, since the vehicle 1 is traveling, the degree of filtering (for example, the filtering coefficient) is usually different from that in step S18 when the vehicle 1 is stopped.
In step S40, a target value for correcting the optical axis is calculated in the same manner as in step S20. In step S42, the actuator 12 is driven so as to achieve the target value as in step S22.

That is, even when the front door 2 and the rear door 4 are all closed and the vehicle 1 is moving, when the vehicle 1 is traveling stably, the vehicle 1 is in a stable posture and the headlamp The optical axis of the headlamp 10 is corrected within the prescribed number of times of driving of the actuator 12, assuming that the time is suitable for performing the optical axis correction of 10.
Therefore, even if the optical axis correction of the headlamp 10 performed while the vehicle 1 is stopped is not appropriate, the optical axis correction of the headlamp 10 is performed again and corrected while being limited to the minimum necessary. Can do.

On the other hand, if the determination result in step S32 is false (No) and it is determined that the number of times the actuator 12 has been driven exceeds the specified number of times, the determination result in step S34 is false (No) and the vehicle 1 is traveling stably. If it is determined that there is not, the determination result in step S36 is false (No), and if it is determined that the vehicle body is not vibrating, the process directly returns to step S14.
As described above, according to the optical axis control device for a headlamp according to the present invention, the optical axis correction of the headlamp 10 can be appropriately performed only when it is at least necessary while using an inexpensive actuator 12. It becomes possible.

Although the description of the embodiment of the optical axis control device for a headlamp according to the present invention has been completed above, the embodiment is not limited to the above.
For example, in the above embodiment, when it is determined that the engine is not in a stopped state and is operating, it is determined whether or not all the front doors 2 and rear doors 4 of the vehicle 1 are in a closed state ( Step S24) Whether or not the optical axis correction can be performed is determined by determining whether or not all front doors 2 and rear doors 4 of the vehicle 1 are closed regardless of whether or not the engine is stopped. Good.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, when it determines with all the front doors 2 and the rear doors 4 being a closed state, it determines with the vehicle 1 not moving (step S28), and when an accelerator is a closed state. Although the optical axis correction of the headlamp 10 is performed in (Step S30), the determination of whether or not the accelerator is closed may be omitted if not necessary.

In the above embodiment, when optical axis correction is performed while the vehicle 1 is moving, it is determined whether or not the number of times of driving of the actuator 12 is within the specified number of times of driving. When it can be predicted that the actuator is low, the number of times of driving the actuator 12 is not necessarily limited.
Moreover, although the case where optical axis correction was implemented up and down in the front-back direction of the vehicle 1 was demonstrated in the said embodiment, it is not restricted to this, You may make it implement optical axis correction up and down and right and left if possible. .

  In the above embodiment, the vehicle 1 is a four-door vehicle, for example, and has the door sensors 34 and 36 on the front door 2 and the rear door 4, respectively. The door sensor may be increased or decreased according to the number of doors.

It is a schematic block diagram of the optical-axis control apparatus of the headlamp based on this invention mounted in the vehicle. It is detail drawing of a headlamp. It is a flowchart which shows the control routine of the optical axis control of the optical axis control apparatus of the headlamp which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle 2 Front door 4 Rear door 10 Headlamp 12 Actuator 20 Electronic control unit (ECU)
30, 32 Vehicle height sensor 34, 36 Door sensor 38 Distance sensor 40 Engine rotation speed sensor 42 Accelerator sensor (APS)

Claims (4)

A headlamp that is mounted on the vehicle so that it can be illuminated from the front, and the optical axis can be adjusted by an actuator,
An inclination detection means for detecting an inclination of at least the longitudinal direction of the vehicle;
Door opening / closing detection means for detecting opening / closing of a vehicle door;
Vibration detecting means for detecting the vibration of the vehicle;
When the door opening / closing detection means detects that the vehicle door is in the open state and the vibration detection means detects that the vibration width of the vehicle is less than a predetermined amount, the inclination information from the inclination detection means is displayed. An optical axis control means for appropriately adjusting the optical axis of the headlamp based on:
An optical axis control device for a headlamp, comprising: Furthermore, a movement detection means for detecting movement of the vehicle is provided,
When the door opening / closing detection means detects that the vehicle door is in the closed state, the optical axis control means does not detect the movement of the vehicle by the movement detection means, and the vibration detection means detects the vibration width of the vehicle. 2. The headlamp optical axis control device according to claim 1, wherein the optical axis of the headlamp is adjusted when it is detected that is less than a predetermined amount. 3. Furthermore, a constant speed running detection means for detecting a constant speed running state of the vehicle is provided,
When the door opening / closing detection means detects that the vehicle door is in the closed state and the movement detection means detects movement of the vehicle, the optical axis control means detects the vehicle speed by the constant speed traveling detection means. 3. The head according to claim 2, wherein an optical axis of the headlamp is adjusted when a high-speed traveling state is detected and the vibration detection unit detects that the vibration width of the vehicle is less than a predetermined amount. Lamp optical axis control device.   4. The optical axis control device for a headlamp according to claim 3, wherein the optical axis control means adjusts the optical axis of the headlamp within a specified number of times.

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