JP5416542B2 - Control system for vehicle headlamps - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a control system for a vehicle headlamp. Specifically, the detection of pedestrians and the like by the visible light camera in the dimmed lighting mode is performed after the occurrence of illusion light on the oncoming vehicle etc. by preventing pulsed light emission when shooting with the visible light camera in the dimmed lighting mode. The present invention relates to a technical field for improving safety as possible.

  Some vehicle headlamps include, for example, a lamp unit having a light source and a reflector that reflects light emitted from the light source inside a lamp outer casing constituted by a cover and a lamp housing.

  Such a vehicle headlamp includes a lamp unit used as a high beam for irradiating a long distance, and the lamp unit includes a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) provided as light sources. Among these light emitting diodes, there are those used as so-called variable variable lamp units that can individually irradiate different divided regions divided by lighting of predetermined light emitting diodes (for example, Patent Document 1). reference).

  In the vehicle headlamp described in Patent Document 1, all the divided areas in front of the vehicle are photographed at any time with a visible light camera, and the oncoming vehicle is placed in any divided area by image data generated by photographing. When the presence of a preceding vehicle is detected, the light emitting diode irradiating the divided area where the presence of an oncoming vehicle or the like is detected is turned off.

  By turning off the light emitting diodes that irradiate the divided areas in which the existence of the oncoming vehicle or the like is detected based on the image data obtained by such a visible light camera, generation of illusion light to the driver of the oncoming vehicle or the like is prevented. It is possible to prevent.

JP 2009-184642 A

  However, in the vehicle headlamp described in Patent Document 1, the light-emitting diode that irradiates the divided area where the presence of the oncoming vehicle or the like is detected is turned off. The presence of a pedestrian, an obstacle, etc. in the divided area cannot be detected by photographing with the above, and safety is lowered.

  In addition, if the light emitting diode that irradiates the divided area where the presence of the oncoming vehicle or the like is detected is turned off, the presence of the oncoming vehicle or the like cannot be tracked and detected after the light is turned off.

  Therefore, an object of the vehicle headlamp of the present invention is to overcome the above-described problems and to improve safety and the like while preventing generation of dazzling light with respect to an oncoming vehicle or the like.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a vehicle headlamp irradiates different divided areas divided by lighting of predetermined light emitting diodes among a plurality of light emitting diodes provided as light sources, and increases a long distance. A vehicle headlamp control system including a lamp unit used as an irradiating high beam, wherein the light emitting diode is continuously turned on and the light intensity is reduced from the continuous lighting mode. The lighting mode can be switched separately for each of the plurality of light emitting diodes, and when the at least one light emitting diode is turned on, all the divided areas are intermittently photographed by a visible light camera and switched to the dimming lighting mode. The light emitting diode is caused to emit pulse light, and the dimming lighting mode is set at least every intermittent shooting of the visible light camera. The pulse emission of the light emitting diode is switched to de is performed, the during non-shooting of the visible light camera performs the pulse emission, non-shooting of the pulse emission and the visible light camera that is performed at the time of photographing of the visible light camera The pulse light emission performed sometimes is alternately performed, and the pulse width of the pulse light emission performed at the time of photographing with the visible light camera and the pulse width of the pulse light emission performed at the time of non-photographing of the visible light camera are approximately It is the same thing.

  Therefore, in the vehicle headlamp, pulse light emission of the light emitting diodes switched to the dimming lighting mode according to the photographing timing of the visible light camera is performed.

The vehicle headlamp of the present invention was used as a high beam for irradiating a long distance and irradiating different divided areas divided by lighting of predetermined light emitting diodes among a plurality of light emitting diodes provided as light sources. A vehicle headlamp control system including a lamp unit, wherein the light emitting diodes are continuously lit and a dimming lighting mode in which the amount of light is reduced from the continuous lighting mode. Each light emitting diode can be switched individually, and when the at least one light emitting diode is turned on, all the divided areas are intermittently photographed by a visible light camera, and the light emitting diodes switched to the dimming lighting mode are pulsed. And the dimming lighting mode is switched to at least every intermittent shooting at the visible light camera. Wherein the pulse emission of the light diode is performed, performs the pulse emission during non-shooting of the visible light camera, the pulse emission is performed when non-shooting of the pulse emission and the visible light camera that is performed at the time of photographing of the visible light camera And the pulse width of the pulse emission performed at the time of photographing with the visible light camera and the pulse width of the pulse emission performed at the time of non-shooting of the visible light camera are made substantially the same. And

Therefore, the presence of the oncoming vehicle and the preceding vehicle can be detected even in the dimming lighting mode, and it is possible to improve safety while preventing the generation of dazzling light on the oncoming vehicle and the preceding vehicle. Furthermore, it is possible to prevent the driver from flickering.

  Further, since a pedestrian, an obstacle, and the like existing in the divided area where the presence of the oncoming vehicle or the preceding vehicle is detected are photographed by the visible light camera, the safety can be further improved.

  In the invention described in claim 2, the emission time of the pulse emission performed every intermittent shooting at the visible light camera is set to be shorter than the exposure time when the shutter of the visible light camera is operated.

  Accordingly, it is possible to reliably prevent generation of illusion light on the oncoming vehicle and the preceding vehicle due to pulse emission.

  The best mode for carrying out the vehicle headlamp of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings (see FIGS. 1 to 6).

  The vehicle headlamp 1 is mounted and arranged at both left and right ends of the front end of the vehicle body.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicular lamp 1 includes, for example, an interior of a lamp outer casing 4 that includes a lamp body 2 that opens forward and a cover 3 that is attached to the front end of the lamp body 2. The first lamp unit 6 and the second lamp unit 7 are arranged in the lamp chamber 5.

  The first lamp unit 6 is provided as a low beam that irradiates a short distance, and includes a reflector 8, a light source 9 attached to the reflector 8, and a shade 10 that blocks a part of the light emitted from the light source 9. have.

  The second lamp unit 7 is provided as a high beam that irradiates a long distance. The second lamp unit 7 includes a reflector 11, a projection lens 12 attached to the front end portion of the reflector 11, a substrate 13 attached to the rear end portion of the reflector 11, and a light emitting diode 14 mounted on the front surface of the substrate 13. , And a heat sink 15 attached to the rear surface of the substrate 13.

  The light emitting diodes 14, 14,... Are used as light sources. For example, five light emitting diodes are arranged adjacent to the left and right. The light emitting diodes 14, 14,... Can irradiate different divided areas in the high beam area H (see FIG. 2) with emitted light.

  The high beam region H is formed by a plurality of divided regions HA1 to HAn (n is an integer of 2 or more), for example, as shown in FIG. 2, five divided regions HA1 to HA5 divided into left and right. The divided areas HA1 to HA5 are individually irradiated with light emitted from the light emitting diodes 14, 14,.

  The vehicle is provided with a visible light camera using a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or the like, and the high beam region H is intermittently photographed by the visible light camera. When the high beam area H is photographed by the visible light camera, image data is generated and the presence of an oncoming vehicle or a preceding vehicle for each of the divided areas HA1 to HA5 is detected.

  Further, each of the light emitting diodes 14, 14,... Can be switched between a continuous lighting mode in which the LEDs are continuously lit and a dimming lighting mode in which the amount of light is reduced from the continuous lighting mode. The dimming lighting mode is set for the light emitting diode 14 that irradiates the divided area HA in which the presence of the oncoming vehicle or the preceding vehicle is detected when the presence of the oncoming vehicle or the preceding vehicle is detected in each of the divided areas HA1 to HA5. Is done. Therefore, with respect to the light emitting diodes 14, 14,... That irradiate the divided areas HA, HA,... Where the presence of the oncoming vehicle or the preceding vehicle is not detected, the continuous lighting mode is the normal lighting mode when the vehicle is running. The lighting mode is set.

  A low beam region L irradiated with light emitted from the light source 9 of the first lamp unit 6 is formed below the high beam region H (see FIG. 2).

  In the vehicle headlamp 1 configured as described above, when the light emitting diodes 14, 14,... Are set to the continuous lighting mode and light is emitted from the light emitting diodes 14, 14,. Imaging of the high beam region H by the visible light camera is started (see FIG. 3).

  Imaging of the high beam region H by the visible light camera is intermittently performed at a predetermined frame rate, and the shutter is operated at a predetermined shutter speed (exposure time) S1.

  At this time, when the presence of an oncoming vehicle or a preceding vehicle is detected in any divided area HA, as described above, the light is reduced with respect to the light emitting diode 14 that irradiates the divided area HA where the presence of the oncoming vehicle or the preceding vehicle is detected. The lighting mode is set. Pulse light emission is performed in the light emitting diode 14 in which the dimming lighting mode is set.

  As shown in FIG. 3, this pulsed light emission is performed every intermittent shooting of the visible light camera, that is, every time the shutter is operated. Therefore, since pulse light emission is performed every time the shutter is operated, it is possible to detect the presence of oncoming vehicles and preceding vehicles in all the divided areas HA1 to HA5 even in the dimming lighting mode.

  As described above, in the dimming lighting mode, the corresponding light emitting diode 14 emits a pulse light, and only light is emitted instantaneously at the time of light emission. Further, it is possible to prevent the generation of illusion light for the driver of the preceding vehicle.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, when there is a pedestrian 200 or an obstacle other than the oncoming vehicle 100 or the like in the divided area HA irradiated by the light emitting diode 14 set with the dimming lighting mode. These pedestrians 200 and obstacles are photographed by a visible light camera. FIG. 4 shows an example in which the light-emitting diodes 14 and 14 irradiating the second divided area HA2 from the left and the third divided area HA3 from the left are set in the dimming lighting mode.

  Since the pedestrian 200 and obstacles existing in the divided area HA irradiated by the light emitting diode 14 set to the dimming lighting mode in this way are photographed by the visible light camera, they are generated by photographing with the visible light camera. Based on the image data, the driver can be made aware of the presence of the pedestrian 200, obstacles, and the like.

  Note that the pulse emission in FIG. 3 shows an example in which the duty ratio is 10%. Further, the light emission time T of the pulse light emission is set to be equal to or shorter than the exposure time S1 when the shutter of the visible light camera is operated. Furthermore, in pulsed light emission, in order to prevent flickering in the driver, for example, the frequency is preferably set to 70 Hz or higher, and more preferably set to 100 Hz or higher.

  As described above, in the vehicle headlamp 1, the light-emitting diode 14 that irradiates the divided area HA in which the presence of the oncoming vehicle or the preceding vehicle is detected is pulsed at the time of photographing with the visible light camera. Even in the dimming lighting mode, it is possible to detect the presence of an oncoming vehicle or a preceding vehicle, and it is possible to improve safety while preventing generation of illusion light on the oncoming vehicle or the preceding vehicle.

  Further, since a pedestrian, an obstacle, and the like existing in the divided area HA where the presence of the oncoming vehicle or the preceding vehicle is detected are photographed by the visible light camera, the safety can be further improved.

  Further, since the light emitting diode 14 that irradiates the divided area HA where the presence of the oncoming vehicle or the preceding vehicle is detected is pulse-emitted at the time of photographing with the visible light camera, the presence of the oncoming vehicle or the preceding vehicle is detected in any lighting mode. Therefore, a so-called night vision system using infrared light or the like for detecting the presence of an oncoming vehicle or a preceding vehicle is not required, and the cost can be reduced.

  In addition, since the light emission time T of the pulse emission is set to be equal to or less than the exposure time S1 when the shutter of the visible light camera is operated, it is possible to reliably prevent the generation of the illusion light on the oncoming vehicle and the preceding vehicle due to the pulse emission. .

In the vehicular lamp 1, pulse light emission is also performed when the visible light camera is not photographed (see FIGS. 5 and 6).

For example, as shown in FIG. 5, pulse light emission is repeatedly and alternately performed at the time of photographing with the visible light camera and when it is not photographed, and the pulse width P1 of the pulse light emission performed at the time of photographing with the visible light camera is determined. The pulse width P2 of pulse emission performed at the time of photographing is made substantially the same.

  By performing pulsed light emission in such a cycle, it is possible to prevent the driver from flickering, and in particular, to effectively prevent flickering when the frame rate of the visible light camera is low.

  However, since pulse light emission is performed even when the visible light camera is not photographed, it is necessary to set the light intensity to a level that does not generate dazzling light with respect to the oncoming vehicle and the preceding vehicle when the light amount at the time of light emission is integrated.

For reference, as shown in FIG. 6, pulse light emission is repeatedly performed at equal intervals when the visible light camera is not photographed, and the pulse width P3 of the pulse light emission performed when the visible light camera is not photographed is set to be the same as that of the visible light camera. The pulse width may be set to be equal to or less than the pulse width P1 of pulse emission performed at the time of photographing.

  The flickering of the driver can also be prevented by performing pulsed light emission in such a cycle.

  However, since pulse light emission is performed even when the visible light camera is not photographed, it is necessary to set the light intensity to a level that does not generate dazzling light with respect to the oncoming vehicle and the preceding vehicle when the light amount at the time of light emission is integrated.

  In the above, the example in which the divided areas HA1 to HA5 are individually irradiated with the light emitted from the light emitting diodes 14, 14,..., For example, two or more light emitting diodes 14, 14,... May be combined to irradiate any one of the divided areas HA. Further, the number of the light-emitting diodes 14, 14,... And the divided regions HA is not limited to five, and can be set to an arbitrary number according to a required light distribution pattern and light amount. .

  The shapes and structures of the respective parts shown in the best mode for carrying out the invention described above are merely examples of the embodiments performed in practicing the present invention. The range should not be interpreted in a limited way.

2 to 6 show an embodiment of a vehicle headlamp control system according to the present invention, and this figure is a schematic sectional view of the vehicle headlamp. It is a schematic diagram which shows the light distribution pattern in the vehicle headlamp. It is a figure which shows an example of the imaging timing of a visible light camera, and the light emission timing of the light emitting diode by which the dimming lighting mode was set. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example in the state in which the dimming lighting mode was set. It is a figure which shows another example of the imaging timing of a visible light camera, and the light emission timing of the light emitting diode by which the dimming lighting mode was set. It is a figure which shows another example of the imaging | photography timing of a visible light camera, and the light emission timing of the light emitting diode by which the dimming lighting mode was set.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle headlamp, 7 ... 2nd lamp unit, 14 ... Light emitting diode

Claims (2)

A vehicle headlight provided with a lamp unit used as a high beam for irradiating a long distance and irradiating different divided areas divided by lighting of a predetermined light emitting diode among a plurality of light emitting diodes provided as a light source. A light control system,
The continuous lighting mode in which the light emitting diodes are continuously lit and the dimming lighting mode in which the amount of light is reduced from the continuous lighting mode can be switched separately for each of the plurality of light emitting diodes,
When the at least one light emitting diode is turned on, all the divided areas are intermittently photographed by a visible light camera,
Light-emitting the light-emitting diode switched to the dimming lighting mode,
The pulse light emission of the light emitting diode switched to the dimming lighting mode is performed at least every intermittent shooting at the visible light camera,
Performing the pulse emission when the visible light camera is not photographed;
The pulse light emission performed at the time of photographing with the visible light camera and the pulse light emission performed at the time of non-photographing of the visible light camera are alternately performed,
The vehicle headlamp control characterized in that the pulse width of the pulse light emission performed at the time of photographing with the visible light camera and the pulse width of the pulse light emission performed at the time of non-photographing of the visible light camera are substantially the same. system. 2. The vehicle-use front according to claim 1, wherein a light emission time of the pulse light emission performed at each intermittent shooting of the visible light camera is equal to or shorter than an exposure time when the shutter of the visible light camera is operated. Lighting control system.

Images