JP5780846B2 - Vehicle lamp control device and vehicle lamp system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular lamp control device and a vehicular lamp system, and more particularly to a vehicular lamp control device and a vehicular lamp system used in an automobile or the like.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known auto leveling control that automatically adjusts the optical axis position of a vehicle headlamp according to the inclination angle of the vehicle to change the irradiation direction. In general, in auto leveling control, a vehicle height sensor is used as a vehicle inclination detection device, and the optical axis position of the headlamp is adjusted based on the vehicle pitch angle detected by the vehicle height sensor. On the other hand, Patent Documents 1 to 4 disclose configurations in which auto-leveling control is performed using an acceleration sensor as a tilt detection device.

JP 2000-085459 A JP 2004-314856 A JP 2001-341578 A JP 2009-126268 A

  When an acceleration sensor is used as a vehicle tilt detection device, the auto leveling system can be made cheaper and lighter than when a vehicle height sensor is used. On the other hand, even when an acceleration sensor is used, there is a demand for performing automatic leveling control with high accuracy while suppressing a decrease in accuracy due to an attachment error of the sensor to the vehicle.

  The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for improving the accuracy of auto-leveling control in which the optical axis of a vehicular lamp is adjusted using an acceleration sensor.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an aspect of the present invention is a control device for a vehicle lamp, and the control device receives acceleration that can be derived from an inclination angle of the vehicle with respect to a horizontal plane, which is detected by an acceleration sensor. A position information holding unit for holding information indicating an ideal positional relationship between the sensor side axis and the vehicle side axis that determines the attitude of the vehicle when the acceleration sensor is mounted on the vehicle, A correction that corrects the stored information by calculating the deviation from the ideal positional relationship between the sensor-side axis and the vehicle-side axis using the reference acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor when in a predetermined reference posture. And an adjustment instructing unit for deriving a tilt angle of the vehicle from the current acceleration using the corrected information and outputting a control signal instructing the optical axis adjustment of the vehicular lamp.

  According to this aspect, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the automatic leveling control for adjusting the optical axis of the vehicular lamp using the acceleration sensor.

  Another aspect of the present invention is a vehicular lamp system, which includes a vehicular lamp that can adjust an optical axis, and an acceleration sensor that detects an acceleration that can derive an inclination angle of the vehicle with respect to a horizontal plane. And a control device for controlling the optical axis adjustment of the vehicular lamp, the control device receiving the acceleration from the acceleration sensor, and the sensor side when the acceleration sensor is mounted on the vehicle A position information holding unit that holds information indicating an ideal positional relationship between the vehicle axis and the vehicle-side axis that determines the posture of the vehicle, and a reference acceleration detected by an acceleration sensor when the vehicle is in a predetermined reference posture Calculating the deviation from the ideal positional relationship between the sensor-side axis and the vehicle-side axis and correcting the stored information, and using the corrected information, the vehicle inclination from the current acceleration Deriving the angle , And having an adjustment instruction section for outputting a control signal for instructing the optical axis adjustment of the vehicle lamp, the.

  Also according to this aspect, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the automatic leveling control that adjusts the optical axis of the vehicular lamp using the acceleration sensor.

  In the above aspect, a posture adjustment mechanism for adjusting the mounting posture of the acceleration sensor with respect to the vehicle is further provided, and the sensor side axis includes the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis orthogonal to each other, The positional relationship with the axis is corrected by calculation using the reference acceleration by the correction unit, and the positional relationship between the X axis and the front and rear axes on the vehicle side, and the positional relationship between the Y axis and the left and right axes on the vehicle side are adjusted by posture adjustment. It may be corrected by adjusting the mounting posture based on the mounting posture of the acceleration sensor designed by the mechanism. Also according to this aspect, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the automatic leveling control that adjusts the optical axis of the vehicular lamp using the acceleration sensor.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the technique which improves the precision of the automatic leveling control which implements the optical axis adjustment of the vehicle lamp using an acceleration sensor can be provided.

FIG. 3 is a schematic vertical sectional view of a headlamp unit including a lamp unit that is a control target of the leveling ECU according to the first embodiment. It is a functional block diagram explaining operation | movement cooperation of a headlamp unit, vehicle control ECU, and leveling ECU. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the acceleration vector which arises in a vehicle, and the inclination angle of the vehicle which can be detected with an acceleration sensor. 3 is an automatic leveling control flowchart executed by the leveling ECU according to the first embodiment. It is a schematic perspective view for demonstrating the attitude | position adjustment mechanism with which the vehicle lamp system which concerns on Embodiment 2 is provided.

  The present invention will be described below based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. The same or equivalent components, members, and processes shown in the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated descriptions are omitted as appropriate. The embodiments do not limit the invention but are exemplifications, and all features and combinations thereof described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the invention.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view of a headlamp unit including a lamp unit that is a control target of a leveling ECU according to the first embodiment. The headlamp unit 210 has a structure in which a pair of headlamp units formed symmetrically are arranged one by one on the left and right in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle. Since the left and right headlamp units have substantially the same configuration except that they have a symmetrical structure, the structure of the right headlamp unit 210R will be described below, and the left headlamp will be described. The description of the unit 210L will be omitted as appropriate.

  The headlamp unit 210R includes a lamp body 212 having an opening on the front side of the vehicle, and a translucent cover 214 that covers the opening. The lamp body 212 has a removable cover 212a that can be removed on the vehicle rear side. A lamp chamber 216 is formed by the lamp body 212 and the translucent cover 214. The lamp chamber 216 houses a lamp unit 10 (vehicle lamp) that emits light toward the front of the vehicle.

  The lamp unit 10 is formed with a lamp bracket 218 having a pivot mechanism 218a serving as a swing center in the vertical and horizontal directions of the lamp unit 10. The lamp bracket 218 is screwed with an aiming adjustment screw 220 that is rotatably supported on the wall surface of the lamp body 212. Therefore, the lamp unit 10 is fixed at a predetermined position in the lamp chamber 216 determined by the adjustment state of the aiming adjustment screw 220, and the forward tilt posture or the backward tilt posture with the pivot mechanism 218a as the center with respect to the position. The posture can be changed. A rotating shaft 222 a of the swivel actuator 222 is fixed to the lower surface of the lamp unit 10. The swivel actuator 222 is fixed to the unit bracket 224.

  A leveling actuator 226 disposed outside the lamp body 212 is connected to the unit bracket 224. The leveling actuator 226 is composed of, for example, a motor that expands and contracts the rod 226a in the directions of arrows M and N. When the rod 226a extends in the direction of the arrow M, the lamp unit 10 swings so as to be in a backward tilted posture with the pivot mechanism 218a as the center. Conversely, when the rod 226a is shortened in the direction of the arrow N, the lamp unit 10 swings so as to assume a forward leaning posture with the pivot mechanism 218a as the center. When the lamp unit 10 is tilted backward, leveling adjustment can be performed so that the pitch angle of the optical axis O, that is, the vertical angle of the optical axis O is directed upward. Further, when the lamp unit 10 is tilted forward, leveling adjustment can be performed to turn the pitch angle of the optical axis O downward.

  The lamp unit 10 can include an aiming adjustment mechanism. For example, an aiming pivot mechanism (not shown) serving as a swing center at the time of aiming adjustment is disposed at a connecting portion between the rod 226a of the leveling actuator 226 and the unit bracket 224. In addition, the aiming adjusting screw 220 described above is disposed on the lamp bracket 218 at an interval in the vehicle width direction. Then, by rotating the two aiming adjusting screws 220, the lamp unit 10 can be turned up and down and left and right around the aiming pivot mechanism, and the optical axis O can be adjusted up and down and left and right.

  The lamp unit 10 includes a shade mechanism 18 including a rotary shade 12, a bulb 14 as a light source, a lamp housing 17 that supports a reflector 16 on an inner wall, and a projection lens 20. As the bulb 14, for example, an incandescent bulb, a halogen lamp, a discharge bulb, an LED, or the like can be used. In the present embodiment, an example in which the bulb 14 is constituted by a halogen lamp is shown. The reflector 16 reflects the light emitted from the bulb 14. A part of the light from the bulb 14 and the light reflected by the reflector 16 is guided to the projection lens 20 through the rotary shade 12.

  The rotary shade 12 is a cylindrical member that can rotate around the rotary shaft 12a, and includes a cutout portion that is partially cut away in the axial direction and a plurality of shade plates (not shown). Either the notch or the shade plate is moved on the optical axis O to form a predetermined light distribution pattern. At least a part of the reflector 16 has an elliptical spherical shape, and the elliptical spherical surface is set so that the cross-sectional shape including the optical axis O of the lamp unit 10 is at least a part of the elliptical shape. The elliptical spherical portion of the reflector 16 has a first focal point substantially at the center of the bulb 14 and a second focal point on the rear focal plane of the projection lens 20.

  The projection lens 20 is disposed on the optical axis O extending in the vehicle front-rear direction. The bulb 14 is arranged behind the rear focal plane, which is a focal plane including the rear focal point of the projection lens 20. The projection lens 20 is a plano-convex aspherical lens having a convex front surface and a flat rear surface, and projects a light source image formed on the rear focal plane onto a virtual vertical screen in front of the lamp as a reverse image. . The configuration of the lamp unit 10 is not particularly limited to this, and may be a reflective lamp unit without the projection lens 20.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram for explaining the cooperation of the headlamp unit, the vehicle control ECU, and the leveling ECU. As described above, the configuration of the right headlight unit 210R and the left headlight unit 210L is basically the same, and therefore the headlamp unit 210R and the headlamp unit 210L are collectively shown in FIG. The lighting unit 210 is used. Further, the leveling ECU 100 is realized by elements and circuits including a CPU and a memory of a computer as a hardware configuration, and realized by a computer program as a software configuration, but in FIG. It is drawn as a functional block. Those skilled in the art will understand that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by a combination of hardware and software.

  The leveling ECU 100 (vehicle lamp control device) includes a reception unit 102, a control unit 104, a transmission unit 106, a memory 108 (position information holding unit), and an acceleration sensor 110. The control unit 104 includes a correction unit 1041 and an adjustment instruction unit 1042. The leveling ECU 100 is installed near the dashboard of the vehicle 300, for example. In addition, the installation position of leveling ECU100 is not specifically limited, For example, you may provide in the headlamp unit 210. FIG. Further, the acceleration sensor 110 may be provided outside the leveling ECU 100. A vehicle control ECU 302 mounted on the vehicle 300 and a light switch 304 are connected to the leveling ECU 100. Signals output from the vehicle control ECU 302 and the light switch 304 are received by the receiving unit 102. The receiving unit 102 receives an output value of the acceleration sensor 110.

  A steering sensor 310, a vehicle speed sensor 312, a navigation system 314, and the like are connected to the vehicle control ECU 302. Various information can be acquired from these sensors and transmitted to the leveling ECU 100 and the like. For example, the vehicle control ECU 302 transmits the output value of the vehicle speed sensor 312 to the leveling ECU 100. Thereby, the leveling ECU 100 can detect the traveling state of the vehicle 300.

  The light switch 304 is a signal for instructing to turn on / off the headlamp unit 210, a signal for instructing a light distribution pattern to be formed by the headlamp unit 210, and execution of auto leveling control according to the operation content of the driver. Is transmitted to the power supply 306, the vehicle control ECU 302, the leveling ECU 100, and the like. For example, the light switch 304 transmits a signal instructing execution of auto leveling control to the leveling ECU 100. Thereby, leveling ECU100 starts auto leveling control.

  The signal received by the receiving unit 102 is transmitted to the control unit 104. The control unit 104 causes the adjustment instruction unit 1042 to change the tilt angle of the vehicle 300 based on the output value of the acceleration sensor 110 sent from the receiving unit 102 and information held in the memory 108 as necessary. Derived to generate a control signal instructing adjustment of the optical axis of the lamp unit 10. The control unit 104 outputs the generated control signal from the transmission unit 106 to the leveling actuator 226. The leveling actuator 226 is driven based on the received control signal, and the optical axis O of the lamp unit 10 is adjusted in the vehicle vertical direction (pitch angle direction).

  In addition, the control unit 104 causes the correction unit 1041 to obtain the positional relationship information between the sensor axis and the vehicle axis held in the memory 108 as the position information holding unit by using the acceleration sensor 110 when the vehicle 300 is in a predetermined reference state. Correction processing is performed to correct using the detected reference angle. This correction process will be described in detail later.

  The vehicle 300 is equipped with a power supply 306 that supplies power to the leveling ECU 100, the vehicle control ECU 302, and the headlamp unit 210. When the lighting of the headlamp unit 210 is instructed by operating the light switch 304, power is supplied from the power source 306 to the bulb 14 via the power circuit 230.

  Next, the automatic leveling control by the leveling ECU 100 having the above-described configuration will be described in detail. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining an acceleration vector generated in the vehicle and an inclination angle of the vehicle that can be detected by the acceleration sensor.

  For example, when a load is placed in the luggage compartment at the rear of the vehicle or a person gets on the rear seat, the vehicle posture is tilted backward, and when the load is lowered or a passenger in the rear seat gets off, the vehicle posture is tilted backward. Tilt forward from posture. The irradiation direction of the lamp unit 10 also fluctuates up and down corresponding to the posture of the vehicle 300, and the front irradiation distance changes. Therefore, the leveling ECU 100 derives the change in the tilt angle in the pitch direction of the vehicle from the output value of the acceleration sensor 110, and controls the leveling actuator 226 to set the pitch angle of the optical axis O to an angle corresponding to the vehicle posture. As described above, by performing the automatic leveling control in which the leveling adjustment of the lamp unit 10 is performed in real time based on the vehicle posture, it is possible to optimally adjust the reach distance of the front irradiation even if the vehicle posture changes.

  The acceleration sensor 110 is, for example, a triaxial acceleration sensor having an X axis, a Y axis, and a Z axis that are orthogonal to each other. The acceleration sensor 110 is attached to the vehicle 300 in an arbitrary posture and detects an acceleration vector generated in the vehicle 300. In the traveling vehicle 300, gravity acceleration and motion acceleration caused by the movement of the vehicle 300 are generated. Therefore, the acceleration sensor 110 can detect a combined acceleration vector β obtained by combining the gravitational acceleration vector G and the motion acceleration vector α as shown in FIG. Further, while the vehicle 300 is stopped, the acceleration sensor 110 can detect the gravitational acceleration vector G.

  Therefore, the inclination of the vehicle 300 with respect to the gravitational acceleration vector G can be derived from the output value of the acceleration sensor 110. That is, the sum of the vehicle inclination angles with respect to the horizontal plane, including the road surface angle θr that is the inclination angle of the road surface with respect to the horizontal plane and the vehicle attitude angle θv that is the vehicle inclination angle with respect to the road surface, from the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 110. The angle θ can be derived. Note that the road surface angle θr, the vehicle attitude angle θv, and the total angle θ are angles in the vertical direction of the longitudinal axis of the vehicle 300, in other words, angles in the pitch direction of the vehicle 300.

  Moreover, the acceleration sensor 110 outputs the numerical value of each component of the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis of the detected acceleration vector. As described above, since the acceleration sensor 110 is attached to the vehicle 300 in an arbitrary posture, the three axes of the acceleration sensor 110 do not necessarily coincide with the longitudinal axis, the horizontal axis, and the vertical axis of the vehicle 300 that determines the posture of the vehicle 300. do not do. Therefore, the control unit 104 needs to convert the numerical values of the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis components output from the acceleration sensor 110 into the front-rear axis, left-right axis, and vertical axis components of the vehicle 300. In order to convert the three-axis component of the acceleration sensor 110 into the three-axis component of the vehicle 300, information indicating the positional relationship between the axis of the acceleration sensor 110 and the axis of the vehicle 300 that are attached to the vehicle 300 is required. . In the automatic leveling control of the present embodiment, this information is generated as follows, for example.

For example, when the leveling ECU 100 is manufactured and shipped, information indicating an ideal positional relationship between the sensor-side axis and the vehicle-side axis when the acceleration sensor 110 is mounted on the vehicle 300 (hereinafter, this information is referred to as an ideal axis as appropriate). (Referred to as position information) is recorded in the memory 108 in advance. Also, using this ideal axis position information, when the acceleration sensor 110 is attached to the vehicle 300 as designed (ideal), the three-axis components (X ₁ , Y ₁ ) of the vehicle 300 that should be obtained in a reference posture described later. , Z ₁ ) (hereinafter, this three-axis component will be referred to as an ideal axis component as appropriate), and this ideal axis component is also recorded in the memory 108. The ideal axis position information associates the axis position of the acceleration sensor 110 and the axis position of the vehicle 300, which are derived based on, for example, a design value for the mounting orientation of the acceleration sensor 110 on the vehicle 300 obtained from a vehicle design drawing or the like. Conversion table.

  Next, in a vehicle manufacturer's manufacturing factory, dealer maintenance factory, or the like, the vehicle 300 to which the leveling ECU 100 including the acceleration sensor 110 is attached is placed on a horizontal plane to be in a reference posture. In the reference state, the vehicle 300 is in a state where, for example, one person gets on the driver's seat. Then, an initialization signal is transmitted to the control unit 104 by a switch operation of an initialization processing device in a factory, communication of a CAN (Controller Area Network) system, or the like. When receiving the initialization signal, the control unit 104 starts an initialization process.

In the initialization process, the control unit 104 adjusts the optical axis O of the lamp unit 10 to the initial setting position by performing initial aiming adjustment. In addition, the control unit 104 determines the ideal axis recorded in the memory 108 from the current detection value of the acceleration sensor 110, that is, the acceleration when the vehicle 300 is in the reference posture (hereinafter, this acceleration is referred to as the reference acceleration as appropriate). Based on the position information, the three-axis components (X ₂ , Y ₂ , Z ₂ ) of the vehicle 300 are derived. The three-axis components (X ₂ , Y ₂ , Z ₂ ) obtained here are the three-axis components in the actual mounting state of the acceleration sensor 110 (hereinafter, these three-axis components are appropriately referred to as actual axis components).

The real axis component and the ideal axis component obtained as described above should essentially match. However, since the acceleration sensor 110 is not always accurately mounted on the vehicle 300 as designed, the two axis components may not match within the range of the mounting tolerance. If the two axis components do not match, the difference between the two results in an error in the pitch angle of the vehicle 300 calculated from the detection value of the acceleration sensor 110. Therefore, the correction unit 1041 of the control unit 104 calculates the shift amount of each component between the ideal axis component (X ₁ , Y ₁ , Z ₁ ) and the actual axis component (X ₂ , Y ₂ , Z ₂ ). This deviation amount is information indicating how much the positional relationship between the actual sensor axis and the vehicle axis is deviated from the ideal positional relationship between them. Then, the correcting unit 1041 corrects the ideal axis position information based on the calculated deviation amount, and shows the positional relationship between the sensor axis and the vehicle axis when the actual acceleration sensor 110 is attached to the vehicle 300. Generate location information. Real axis position information is recorded in the memory 108.

The correction unit 1041 corrects the ideal axis position information so that the Z-axis component (Z ₁ ) of the ideal axis component matches the Z-axis component (Z ₂ ) of the real axis component or the error is reduced. May be. By correcting only the Z-axis component that has the greatest influence on the accuracy of the auto leveling control by the correction processing described above, it is possible to reduce the control burden on the control unit 104 while improving the accuracy of the auto leveling control. The X-axis component and the Y-axis component can be corrected so as to be positioned on the XY plane by correcting the Z-axis component. The accuracy of the ideal axis position information regarding the X-axis component and the Y-axis component is ensured within the range of the mounting tolerance of the acceleration sensor 110. In the present embodiment, since the leveling ECU 100 includes the acceleration sensor 110, the mounting tolerance of the acceleration sensor 110 includes the mounting tolerance of the acceleration sensor 110 with respect to the leveling ECU 100 and the mounting tolerance of the leveling ECU 100 with respect to the vehicle 300.

  In a situation where the vehicle 300 is actually used, the adjustment instruction unit 1042 of the control unit 104 derives the inclination angle of the vehicle from the current acceleration using the real axis position information and instructs the optical axis adjustment of the lamp unit 10. Output a control signal. An example of optical axis adjustment using real axis position information is given below.

  The auto-leveling control is intended to absorb the change in the front irradiation distance of the vehicular lamp according to the change in the inclination angle of the vehicle and to keep the front reach distance of the irradiation light optimal. Therefore, the vehicle inclination angle required for the automatic leveling control is the vehicle attitude angle θv. Therefore, in the automatic leveling control using the acceleration sensor 110, when the change in the total angle θ derived from the detection value of the acceleration sensor 110 is due to the change in the vehicle attitude angle θv, the optical axis position of the lamp unit 10 is determined. It is desirable to adjust and control so that the optical axis position of the lamp unit 10 is maintained when it is due to a change in the road surface angle θr.

  Therefore, the control unit 104 adjusts the optical axis when the total angle θ changes while the vehicle is stopped, and performs control to avoid the optical axis adjustment when the total angle θ changes while the vehicle is running. While the vehicle is traveling, it is rare for the vehicle attitude angle θv to change due to an increase or decrease in the amount of load or the number of passengers. Therefore, a change in the total angle θ during traveling can be estimated as a change in the road surface angle θr. On the other hand, since it is rare that the vehicle 300 moves and the road surface angle θr changes while the vehicle is stopped, the change in the total angle θ while the vehicle is stopped can be estimated as the change in the vehicle attitude angle θv.

  For example, at the time of the initialization process described above, the control unit 104 first determines the value of the total angle θ obtained using the actual axis position information from the output value of the acceleration sensor 110 when the vehicle 300 is in the reference state as the road surface angle θr. Is stored in the memory 108 as a reference value (θr = 0 °) and a reference value (θv1 = 0 °) of the first provisional vehicle attitude angle θv1.

  In a situation where the vehicle 300 is actually used, the adjustment instruction unit 1042 of the control unit 104 avoids optical axis adjustment with respect to changes in the total angle θ while the vehicle is traveling. The avoidance of optical axis adjustment may be realized by avoiding generation or output of a control signal instructing optical axis adjustment, or may be realized by outputting a maintenance signal instructing maintenance of the optical axis position. The “running vehicle” is, for example, a period from when the detection value of the vehicle speed sensor 312 exceeds 0 until the detection value of the vehicle speed sensor 312 becomes zero.

  In addition, the adjustment instruction unit 1042 updates the reference value of the road surface angle θr with the change in the total angle θ during vehicle travel as the change in the road surface angle θr. For example, the adjustment instructing unit 1042 derives the road surface angle θr by subtracting the reference value of the vehicle attitude angle θv from the current total angle θ obtained using the real axis position information when the vehicle is stopped. The derived road surface angle θr is stored in the memory 108 as a new reference value. The “when the vehicle is stopped” is, for example, when the detection value of the acceleration sensor 110 is stabilized after the detection value of the vehicle speed sensor 312 becomes zero.

  While the vehicle is stopped, the adjustment instruction unit 1042 derives the vehicle attitude angle θv by subtracting the reference value of the road surface angle θr from the current total angle θ obtained using the real axis position information. Then, the derived vehicle attitude angle θv is held in the memory 108 as a new reference value, and optical axis adjustment is performed using the updated reference value of the vehicle attitude angle θv. The “stopping vehicle” is, for example, when the detection value of the vehicle speed sensor 312 exceeds 0 after the detection value of the acceleration sensor 110 is stabilized.

  FIG. 4 is an auto-leveling control flowchart executed by the leveling ECU according to the first embodiment. In the flowchart of FIG. 4, the processing procedure of each part is displayed by a combination of S (acronym for Step) meaning a step and a number. This flow is repeatedly executed at a predetermined timing by the control unit 104 when the ignition is turned on, for example, when the auto switch is instructed to execute the auto leveling control mode by the light switch 304, and the ignition is turned off. To finish.

First, the control unit 104 determines whether an initialization signal has been received (S101). When the initialization signal is received (Y in S101), the control unit 104 derives the real axis component (X ₂ , Y ₂ , Z ₂ ) using the ideal axis position information recorded in advance in the memory 108 ( In step S102, a deviation amount between the ideal axis components (X ₁ , Y ₁ , Z ₁ ) recorded in advance in the memory 108 and the actual axis components (X ₂ , Y ₂ , Z ₂ ) is calculated (S103). Then, the control unit 104 corrects the ideal axis position information based on the calculated deviation amount to generate actual axis position information (S104), and ends this routine.

  When the initialization signal has not been received (N in S101), the control unit 104 determines whether or not the actual axis position information is present (S105). When the actual axis position information is not included (N in S105), the control unit 104 ends this routine. When it has the real axis position information (Y in S105), the control unit 104 determines whether the vehicle is traveling (S106). When the vehicle is running (Y in S106), the control unit 104 avoids the optical axis adjustment (S107) and ends this routine. When the vehicle is not traveling (N in S106), the control unit 104 determines whether the vehicle is stopped (S108). When the vehicle is stopped (Y in S108), the control unit 104 calculates the road surface angle θr by subtracting the reference value of the vehicle attitude angle θv from the current total angle θ calculated using the real axis position information. Then, the calculated road surface angle θr is updated as a new reference value (S110). Thereafter, the control unit 104 avoids the optical axis adjustment (S107) and ends this routine.

  When the vehicle is not stopped (N in S108), this means that the vehicle is stopped. Therefore, the control unit 104 determines the road surface angle θr from the current total angle θ calculated using the real axis position information. The vehicle attitude angle θv is calculated by subtracting the reference value (S111), and the calculated vehicle attitude angle θv is updated as a new reference value (S112). Then, the control unit 104 adjusts the optical axis based on the updated reference value of the vehicle attitude angle θv (S113), and ends this routine.

  As described above, in the leveling ECU 100 according to the present embodiment, the ideal axis position information indicating the ideal positional relationship between the sensor-side axis and the vehicle-side axis when the acceleration sensor 110 is mounted on the vehicle 300 is provided. It is stored in the memory 108 in advance. The correction unit 1041 calculates a deviation from the ideal positional relationship between the sensor side axis and the vehicle side axis using the reference acceleration to correct the ideal axis position information, and the adjustment instruction unit 1042 The optical axis adjustment is performed by deriving the tilt angle of the vehicle 300 using the ideal axis position information. Therefore, according to the leveling ECU 100 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the automatic leveling control.

  Further, the leveling ECU 100 according to the present embodiment is used for calculating the tilt angle of the vehicle 300 after the ideal axis position information recorded in advance is corrected by calculation. Therefore, in order to improve the accuracy of the automatic leveling control, it is not required that the mounting position accuracy of the acceleration sensor 110 be extremely high. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the process of attaching the acceleration sensor 110 to the vehicle 300 or the leveling ECU 100 from becoming complicated.

  In order to perform auto-leveling control, it is necessary to grasp the positional relationship between the Z axis of the acceleration sensor 110 and the vertical axis of the vehicle 300 and the positional relationship between the X axis of the acceleration sensor 110 and the longitudinal axis of the vehicle 300. . That is, it is desirable that the XZ plane including the X axis and the Z axis of the acceleration sensor 110 and the vertical front and back plane including the vertical axis and the front / rear axis of the vehicle 300 coincide with each other.

  On the other hand, in the conventional general initialization process that associates each component of the sensor axis output from the acceleration sensor 110 when the vehicle 300 is in the reference state with each component (0, 0, 1) of the vehicle axis, the acceleration sensor The Z axis of 110 and the vertical axis of the vehicle 300 can be matched. However, regarding the X axis of the acceleration sensor 110, the X axis is included in the front and rear left and right planes including the front and rear axes and the left and right axes of the vehicle 300 due to the coincidence of the Z axis and the vertical axis. Does not necessarily match. That is, in the conventional general initialization process, there are cases where the XZ plane and the top / bottom front / back plane cannot be matched.

  As a method for grasping the positional relationship between the Z-axis and the vertical axis and the X-axis and the front-rear axis, that is, a method for matching the XZ plane with the vertical front-rear plane, for example, when the vehicle 300 is in the reference state, the acceleration sensor 110 A method using the first vector obtained from the above and the second vector obtained when the vehicle 300 is in a state where only the pitch angle is changed from the reference state is conceivable. The second vector is a vector in a state where only the pitch angle of the vehicle 300 in the reference state is changed. Therefore, since the plane including the first vector and the second vector can be the upper and lower front and rear planes, the positional relationship between the XZ plane and the upper and lower front and rear planes can be understood and matched.

  However, in this method, the vehicle 300 needs to be in two states, that is, a reference state and a state in which only the pitch angle is changed from the reference state during the initialization process. Therefore, the initialization process becomes complicated and the number of initialization process steps increases. On the other hand, the leveling ECU 100 according to this embodiment has ideal axis position information based on design values in advance. That is, the leveling ECU 100 grasps in advance the ideal positional relationship between the Z axis and the vertical axis, and the X axis and the front and rear axes. Therefore, since it is not necessary to change the vehicle posture during the initialization process, it is possible to realize highly accurate auto leveling control without complicating the initialization process and increasing the number of processes.

(Embodiment 2)
The leveling ECU 100 according to the first embodiment, the lamp unit 10, and the acceleration sensor 110 (in the first embodiment, the acceleration sensor 110 is included in the leveling ECU 100) constitutes the vehicle lamp system according to the present embodiment. . In addition, the vehicular lamp system according to the present embodiment includes a posture adjustment mechanism for adjusting the mounting posture of the acceleration sensor 110 with respect to the vehicle 300. Hereinafter, the vehicle lamp system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view for explaining an attitude adjustment mechanism provided in the vehicular lamp system according to the second embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the posture adjustment mechanism 400 includes a first member 402, a second member 404, and connecting tools 406a to 406c. The first member 402 is a substantially L-shaped member and has connecting holes 402a and 402b. The second member 404 is a substantially L-shaped member and has connecting holes 404a and 404b. The couplers 406a to 406c are members such as screws, for example.

  The leveling ECU 100 is arranged so that the connection hole 100a provided in the casing of the leveling ECU 100 and the connection hole 402a of the first member 402 overlap, and the connection tool 406a is inserted through the connection hole 402a and the connection hole 100a. Thus, the first member 402 is rotatably connected. In addition, the second member 404 is disposed so that the connection hole 404a of the second member 404 and the connection hole 300a of the vehicle 300 overlap, and the connection tool 406c is inserted through the connection hole 404a and the connection hole 300a. The vehicle 300 is rotatably connected. The first member 402 and the second member 404 are arranged so that the coupling hole 402b and the coupling hole 404b overlap with each other, and the coupling tool 406b is inserted into the coupling hole 402b and the coupling hole 404b, so that the first member 402 and the second member 404 can rotate with each other. Connected to

  In a state where the leveling ECU 100 is attached to the vehicle 300 via the attitude adjustment mechanism 400, the coupling hole 402a and the coupling hole 100a are arranged such that the common central axis P is parallel to the X axis of the acceleration sensor 110. ing. Further, the connecting hole 404 a and the connecting hole 300 a are arranged so that the common central axis Q is parallel to the Y axis of the acceleration sensor 110. Further, the connecting hole 402b and the connecting hole 404b are arranged so that the common central axis R is parallel to the Z axis of the acceleration sensor 110.

  Therefore, the Y-axis and Z-axis of the acceleration sensor 110 can be displaced by rotating the leveling ECU 100 about the central axis P. Further, by rotating the leveling ECU 100 around the central axis Q, the X axis and the Z axis of the acceleration sensor 110 can be displaced. Further, by rotating the leveling ECU 100 around the central axis R, the X axis and the Y axis of the acceleration sensor 110 can be displaced.

In the vehicular lamp system having such a configuration, the ideal axis position information is corrected by, for example, the following method. That is, the ideal axis position information is corrected by the correction unit 1041 so that the Z-axis component (Z ₁ ) of the ideal axis component matches the Z-axis component (Z ₂ ) of the real axis component, or the error is reduced. Is done. The ideal axis position information is obtained by turning the leveling ECU 100 around the central axis R by the attitude adjustment mechanism 400 so that the X axis component (X ₁ ) and the Y axis component (Y ₁ ) of the ideal axis component are the real axes. Correction is performed so that the X-axis component (X ₂ ) and Y-axis component (Y ₂ ) of the component coincide with each other, or the error is reduced.

  The posture adjustment of the acceleration sensor 110 by the posture adjustment mechanism 400 is performed by, for example, providing positioning marks (not shown) based on the design mounting posture of the acceleration sensor 110 in each of the leveling ECU 100 and the vehicle 300. This is implemented by rotating the leveling ECU 100 so that the positioning marks are in a predetermined positional relationship.

  In this embodiment, since the acceleration sensor 110 is mounted in the leveling ECU 100, FIG. 5 shows a state in which the leveling ECU 100 and the attitude adjustment mechanism 400 are connected. In the configuration in which the acceleration sensor 110 is provided outside the leveling ECU 100, the leveling ECU 100 can be replaced with the acceleration sensor 110 in FIG.

  As described above, in the vehicle lamp system according to this embodiment, the positional relationship between the Z axis of the acceleration sensor 110 and the vertical axis of the vehicle 300 is corrected by calculation by the correction unit 1041. Further, the positional relationship between the X axis and the front and rear axes and the positional relationship between the Y axis and the left and right axes are determined by mechanical adjustment of the mounting posture based on the design mounting posture of the acceleration sensor 110 by the posture adjustment mechanism 400. It is corrected. Even with such a configuration, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the automatic leveling control for adjusting the optical axis of the vehicular lamp using the acceleration sensor.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications such as design changes can be added based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, and the embodiments to which such modifications are added are also possible. It is included in the scope of the present invention.

  In the above-described embodiment, the ideal axis position information is corrected using a switch operation of a factory initialization processing device, CAN system communication, or the like as a trigger. However, after the acceleration sensor 110 is assembled to the vehicle 300, An operation pattern of an arbitrary switch including a first ignition ON, an operation of the light switch 304, and the like may be used as a trigger.

Claims (3)

A receiving unit for receiving an acceleration capable of deriving an inclination angle of the vehicle with respect to a horizontal plane detected by an acceleration sensor having an X axis, a Y axis, and a Z axis orthogonal to each other ;
Position relationship between the upper and lower shaft of the vehicle for determining the attitude of the vehicle and the Z axis of the sensor side in the state to be taken by the acceleration sensor when that will be mounted as designed in the acceleration sensor is a vehicle, and the acceleration sensor Position information holding information indicating the positional relationship between the X axis on the sensor side and the longitudinal axis on the vehicle side that determines the attitude of the vehicle when the acceleration sensor is mounted as designed on the vehicle And
Using the reference acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor when the vehicle is in a predetermined reference posture, the positional relationship between the Z axis and the vertical axis in the actual attachment state of the acceleration sensor, and the information indicated by the information Deviation between the positional relationship between the Z-axis and the vertical axis, the positional relationship between the X-axis and the front-rear axis in the actual mounting posture of the acceleration sensor, and the X-axis and the front-rear axis indicated by the information A correction unit that calculates a deviation from the positional relationship of and corrects the information;
An adjustment instruction unit for deriving a vehicle inclination angle from the current acceleration using the corrected information and outputting a control signal for instructing an optical axis adjustment of the vehicular lamp;
A control device for a vehicular lamp, comprising: A vehicular lamp with an adjustable optical axis;
An acceleration sensor having an X axis, a Y axis, and a Z axis orthogonal to each other, and detecting an acceleration capable of deriving a tilt angle of the vehicle with respect to a horizontal plane;
A control device for controlling the optical axis adjustment of the vehicular lamp,
The controller is
A receiving unit for receiving the acceleration from the acceleration sensor;
Position relationship between the upper and lower shaft of the vehicle for determining the attitude of the vehicle and the Z axis of the sensor side in the state to be taken by the acceleration sensor when that will be mounted as designed in the acceleration sensor is a vehicle, and the acceleration sensor Position information holding information indicating the positional relationship between the X axis on the sensor side and the longitudinal axis on the vehicle side that determines the attitude of the vehicle when the acceleration sensor is mounted as designed on the vehicle And
Using the reference acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor when the vehicle is in a predetermined reference posture, the positional relationship between the Z axis and the vertical axis in the actual attachment state of the acceleration sensor, and the information indicated by the information Deviation between the positional relationship between the Z-axis and the vertical axis, the positional relationship between the X-axis and the front-rear axis in the actual mounting posture of the acceleration sensor, and the X-axis and the front-rear axis indicated by the information A correction unit that calculates a deviation from the positional relationship of and corrects the information;
An adjustment instruction unit for deriving a vehicle inclination angle from the current acceleration using the corrected information and outputting a control signal for instructing an optical axis adjustment of the vehicular lamp;
A vehicular lamp system comprising: A vehicular lamp with an adjustable optical axis;
An acceleration sensor having an X axis, a Y axis, and a Z axis orthogonal to each other, and detecting an acceleration capable of deriving a tilt angle of the vehicle with respect to a horizontal plane;
A control device for controlling optical axis adjustment of the vehicular lamp;
A posture adjustment mechanism for adjusting a mounting posture of the acceleration sensor with respect to the vehicle ,
The control device includes:
A receiving unit for receiving the acceleration from the acceleration sensor;
When the acceleration sensor is mounted on a vehicle as designed, it holds information indicating the positional relationship between the Z axis on the sensor side and the vertical axis on the vehicle side that determines the attitude of the vehicle in a state that the acceleration sensor should take. A position information holding unit;
Using the reference acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor when the vehicle is in a predetermined reference posture, the positional relationship between the Z axis and the vertical axis in the actual attachment state of the acceleration sensor, and the information indicated by the information A correction unit that calculates a deviation between the positional relationship between the Z axis and the vertical axis, and corrects the information;
An adjustment instructing unit for deriving a tilt angle of the vehicle from the current acceleration using the corrected information and outputting a control signal instructing optical axis adjustment of the vehicular lamp;
The positional relationship between the Z axis and the pre-SL on the lower shaft is corrected by calculation using the reference acceleration by the correcting unit,
The positional relationship between the X axis and the longitudinal axis on the vehicle side, and the positional relationship between the Y axis and the lateral axis on the vehicle side are based on the design mounting posture of the acceleration sensor by the posture adjusting mechanism. vehicle lamp system, characterized in that it is corrected by adjusting the mounting position of the.

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