JP6700904B2 - Vehicle light distribution control device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle light distribution control device that controls light distribution of illumination light emitted from a vehicle lighting device.

  BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, in a vehicle such as an automobile, a front area of the vehicle is imaged by a camera to detect a front vehicle such as a preceding vehicle or an oncoming vehicle, and the front of the vehicle is illuminated so as not to dazzle the detected front vehicle. Techniques for controlling the distribution of illuminating light are known.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, when performing light irradiation with high-beam light distribution, a region that may dazzle a vehicle ahead is shielded by blocking the dazzle while a region as wide as possible in the front region is prevented. A technique relating to light distribution control of ADB (Adaptive Driving Beam) control for illuminating a vehicle to improve visibility is disclosed.

JP 2012-166633 A

  The conventional light distribution control as disclosed in Patent Document 1 prevents dazzling by mechanically blocking light from a light source, and emits light such as a taillight of a preceding vehicle or a headlight of an oncoming vehicle. Since an object is detected to prevent dazzling, it is difficult to control with a precise light distribution pattern.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 5, while traveling on a road P1, a pedestrian H on a sidewalk, a preceding vehicle C1, an oncoming vehicle C2, and another vehicle attempting to make a left turn or a right turn from the road P2 to the road P1 in a high beam irradiation region. When C3 exists, conventionally, the entire area Lc2 including the preceding vehicle C1 and the entire area Lc3 including the oncoming vehicle C2 are shielded from the cutoff line of the low beam irradiation area L0. In addition, pedestrians Hn and other vehicles C3 that are approaching from the side that do not emit light by themselves are not detected, and thus include the entire region Lc1 including the pedestrian Hn and the front part of the other vehicle C3. Illumination light is emitted to the entire region Lc4. In addition, in FIG. 5, for convenience, the region irradiated with the illumination light is shown thinly painted.

  Therefore, the pedestrian H and the driver of the other vehicle C3 are not only dazzled, but there is no fear of dazzling the area from the low beam cut-off line to the area including the rear bumper under the preceding vehicle C1 and the front side of the oncoming vehicle C2. Regardless, the light is shielded, and there is a risk that the night vision will be insufficiently secured.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a light distribution control device for a vehicle that can suppress dazzling to others in the surroundings while maximizing night vision and contribute to the realization of a safe traffic environment. Is intended to provide.

A vehicle light distribution control device according to an aspect of the present invention includes an illumination device that emits illumination light of a predetermined light distribution pattern formed by a plurality of light sources to the front of the vehicle, and an image obtained by processing the front of the vehicle to process the image. A recognition device that recognizes the object illuminated by the illumination light and the contour of the illumination light, and a control device that individually controls the lighting state of the plurality of light sources based on the recognition result of the recognition device, The illumination device provides a cutoff line for each irradiation region of each of the plurality of light sources and stores the position of the cutoff line, and the control device determines whether the object may be dazzled. It is determined for each irradiation area of the plurality of light sources, the lighting state of the plurality of light sources is individually controlled according to the dazzling possibility of each irradiation area, and the current position and memory of the cut-off line are stored. It is checked whether or not the deviation of the cut-off line is generated by comparing the position with a predetermined position, and when the deviation is generated, the plurality of the plurality of irradiation areas are determined based on the position of the irradiation area corrected in consideration of the deviation . Adjust the lighting state of the light source.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it is possible to suppress the dazzling of others in the surroundings while maximizing the night vision and contribute to the realization of a safe traffic environment.

Configuration diagram of light distribution control device Explanatory diagram showing light distribution pattern Flow chart of light distribution control processing Explanatory drawing showing cut-off lines of multiple light sources Explanatory drawing showing a conventional light distribution pattern

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a light distribution control device that controls the light distribution characteristic of the illumination light that is emitted to the front of a vehicle such as an automobile. The lighting device 10 that illuminates the front of the vehicle and the front of the vehicle by imaging the front of the vehicle. The object detection device 20 that detects the object of FIG. 2 and the control device 30 that controls the lighting device 10 based on the detection result of the object detection device 20 are mainly configured.

  The object detection device 20 and the control device 30 are connected to the in-vehicle network 100, and other devices such as the navigation device 60, the engine control device 70, the transmission control device 80, the brake control device 90, etc. connected to the in-vehicle network 100. It sends and receives various data to and from the device to obtain necessary information.

  The lighting device 10 drives a headlamp unit 11 that irradiates low beam and high beam illumination light toward the front of the vehicle, an actuator unit 12 that changes the irradiation direction of the headlamp unit 11, and the headlamp unit 11 and the actuator unit 12. And a drive unit 13 that operates. The actuator unit 12 is provided with a swivel actuator that deflects the optical axis of the illumination light in the left-right direction and a leveling actuator that deflects the optical axis of the illumination light in the vertical direction.

  The headlamp unit 11, the actuator unit 12, and the drive unit 13 are arranged on the left and right sides of the vehicle, and have basically the same configuration except the configuration regarding the difference between the left and right sides. The drive unit 13 may be provided as one device that drives the left and right headlamp units 11 and the actuator unit 12 together.

  The headlamp unit 11 is configured by arranging a plurality of light sources 11a, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), in a lamp housing. The plurality of light sources 11a are arranged so as to form at least a high beam irradiation region by combining a plurality of grid-like regions among the low beam and high beam irradiation regions. For this reason, a reflector or a projection lens is arranged in each light source 11a so as to have a rectangular irradiation range, for example, and the driving unit 13 individually controls the turning on/off of each light source 11a.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the low beam irradiation region is a single irradiation region L0, and the high beam irradiation region is formed by arranging eight lattice-shaped regions L1 to L8. .. The irradiation regions L0 to L8 of the low beam and the irradiation regions L1 to L8 of each grating forming the irradiation region of the high beam correspond to one light source 11a. The respective light sources 11a are arranged such that the peripheral edges of their respective irradiation ranges are slightly overlapped with each other, and not only the cut-off lines of the irradiation regions of the low beam and the high beam but also the individual regions of the irradiation regions of the high beam. It is possible to set a clear cut-off line with a high degree of freedom by turning on/off each light source 11a.

  The driving unit 13 mainly includes a lighting control circuit 13a that individually controls the lighting state of each light source 11a of the headlamp unit 11, and an actuator driving circuit 13b that drives the swivel actuator and the leveling actuator of the actuator unit 12, respectively. ing. The lighting control circuit 13a and the actuator drive circuit 13b are controlled by the control device 30, and the lighting state of the plurality of light sources 11a is controlled via the lighting control circuit 13a to form a light distribution pattern. Through this, the optical axis of the illumination light is adjusted, and proper light distribution is maintained.

  If the grid-like irradiation region by the plurality of light sources 11a is further subdivided and the cutoff line can be freely set within a practically sufficient range, the actuator unit 12 (swivel actuator, leveling actuator) is not necessary. be able to.

  The object detection device 20 processes a camera unit 20a that images the front of the vehicle and an image that detects an object such as an oncoming vehicle, a preceding vehicle, or a pedestrian in the front area of the vehicle by processing the image captured by the camera unit 20a. And a processing unit 20b. The object detection device 20 has a function as a recognition device that recognizes a front object illuminated by sunlight in the daytime or illumination light from the illumination device 10 at night, and is a dedicated recognition for vehicle light distribution control. It may be configured as a device, or may be configured as a part of a traffic environment information acquisition device in a driving support system such as automatic brake control, cruise control, lane keeping control, or the like.

  The camera unit 20a is composed of one monocular camera or a pair of two stereo cameras capable of acquiring distance information, and images the front of the vehicle with a color or monochrome image. The image processing unit 20b processes an image captured by the camera unit 20a and travels ahead of the vehicle on the traveling lane of the host vehicle, an oncoming vehicle traveling toward the host vehicle on the oncoming lane, or a road side. Objects such as bicycles, pedestrians on sidewalks, traffic lights, and pedestrian bridges, and objects that may cause dazzling are detected.

  For example, characteristic quantities such as brightness of light, movement of light, color (for example, emission color of brake lamp, color of reflected light, etc.) in an image are extracted, and the extracted characteristic quantities satisfy predetermined conditions (brightness, color). , Size, pattern, movement, etc.), and detects a preceding vehicle, an oncoming vehicle, a pedestrian, etc., including their shapes. At this time, the object detection device 20 has traffic environment information around the own vehicle based on the position information from the navigation device 60 (distance information between the object and the own vehicle when the camera unit 20a is a stereo camera), The travel information from the engine control device 70, the transmission control device 80, and the like is acquired, and the position and speed of the object with respect to the host vehicle are also detected.

  The control device 30 controls the illumination device 10 according to the detection result of the object by the object detection device 20 to prevent the driver of a preceding vehicle or an oncoming vehicle existing in front of the own vehicle, dazzling to a pedestrian, and the like. The light distribution pattern of the illumination light from the lighting device 10 is appropriately controlled to improve the visibility of the front area. Whether or not the object may be dazzled is determined for each irradiation area of the plurality of light sources 11a, and the lighting state of the plurality of light sources 11a is individually determined according to the dazzling possibility of each irradiation area. Control.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 2, while traveling on a road P1 while illuminating low-beam and high-beam illumination light from the lighting device 10 toward the front of the vehicle, the preceding vehicle C1, the oncoming vehicle C2, and a pedestrian on the sidewalk are ahead. An example will be described in which H is detected and the side surface of the other vehicle C3 that is about to make a left turn or a right turn is detected from the road P2 intersecting on the opposite lane side. At this time, the control device 30 individually controls the lighting of each of the light sources corresponding to the irradiation regions L1 to L8 on the high beam side, and controls so as to obtain an optimum light distribution pattern. Note that, in FIG. 2, the region irradiated with the illumination light is shown thinly painted for convenience.

  Specifically, when the pedestrian H illuminated by the illumination light is recognized, the light source of the region L1 corresponding to the upper half of the pedestrian H is turned off (turned off), and the light source of the region L5 corresponding to the lower half of the pedestrian H is turned on. Keeps ON (lit). In the conventional light distribution control using the variable shade, the illumination light is applied to the non-lighting place, so that the illumination light may be applied to the whole body of the pedestrian H to cause dazzling. However, in the present embodiment. When the pedestrian H is recognized, immediately stops the irradiation of the upper half of the body and irradiates only the lower half of the body. As a result, the foot of the pedestrian H can be brightly illuminated without dazzling the pedestrian H, and it is possible to assist safe walking.

  For the preceding vehicle C1, the light source of the area L2 corresponding to the upper part of the passenger compartment of the preceding vehicle C1 is turned off, and the light source of the area L6 corresponding to the rear bumper of the preceding vehicle C1 is turned on. That is, in the conventional light distribution control using a variable shade or the like, the emission or reflected light of the taillight of the preceding vehicle C1 is detected so that the entire preceding vehicle C1 is not illuminated with illumination light, and the driver of the preceding vehicle C1 is prevented from being dazzled. In contrast to this, in the present embodiment, the illumination light is not emitted to the upper part of the vehicle interior of the preceding vehicle C1 to prevent the driver of the preceding vehicle C1 from being dazzled and the vehicle ahead of the own vehicle C1 is advanced. It illuminates up to the vicinity of the rear bumper of the vehicle C1. As a result, the night vision can be expanded to facilitate the visual recognition of the driver of the vehicle with respect to a sudden jump and the like, and ensure safety.

  The same applies to the oncoming vehicle C2. Instead of preventing the illumination light from being irradiated to the entire area including the oncoming vehicle C2 on the high beam side as in the conventional case, the oncoming vehicle C2 is in front of the oncoming vehicle C2 in the irradiation area of the high beam. While turning on the light source of the side area L7, the light source of the area L3 corresponding to the oncoming vehicle C2 is turned off. As a result, the driver of the oncoming vehicle C2 can be prevented from being dazzled, and the driver of the own vehicle can easily recognize the driver from the front of the own vehicle to the front of the oncoming vehicle C2 when the vehicle suddenly jumps out and ensure safety. it can.

  Further, with respect to the other vehicle C3 in which the light emission from the road P2 is not directly detected, conventionally, there is a risk that the front side surface of the other vehicle C3 may be illuminated with illumination light to dazzle the driver of the other vehicle C3. In the present embodiment, the light source of the region L4 corresponding to the upper part of the passenger compartment of the other vehicle C3 is turned off so that the illumination light is not emitted, and the driver of the other vehicle C3 is prevented from being dazzled. The light source of the area L8 corresponding to the fender portion of the other vehicle C3 is kept ON so that the movement of the other vehicle C can be easily grasped.

  In this case, the lighting states of the regions L1 to L8 need to be adjusted according to the change in the position of the object with respect to the host vehicle. In addition, the optical axis of the illumination light may deviate from the specified position due to factors such as an increase in loading weight and changes in tire air pressure, which may not always be the optimum light distribution for each object to prevent dazzling. is there.

  Therefore, the control device 30 determines whether or not the light distribution pattern of the regions L1 to L8 is appropriate from the relationship between the position of each object and the position of the cutoff line for each grid of each of the regions L1 to L8, and the determination is made. The lighting states of the plurality of light sources 11a are adjusted based on the result. Further, the swivel actuator or the leveling actuator is driven as necessary to adjust the optical axis of the illumination light. As a result, the optimum light distribution characteristic can always be maintained.

  Next, the program processing of the light distribution control executed by the control device 30 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  This light distribution control process is, for example, a process that is executed when the light switch is turned on and the illumination light is emitted forward from the illumination device 10. First, in the first step S1, the own vehicle is transmitted via the in-vehicle network 100. The driving environment information such as the current position of the vehicle and the current vehicle speed is read.

  Next, in step S2, the detection result of the object illuminated by the illumination light is read from the object detection device 20. Then, in step S3, it is determined for each irradiation region whether or not it is a region (glare region) that dazzles the object. This glare area is determined by, for example, identifying the position on the image that causes dazzling according to the type of the object such as the recognized preceding vehicle, oncoming vehicle, or pedestrian, and identifying the specified position on the previously stored image. It is performed by comparing with the position of each area. When it is assumed that the image area corresponding to the irradiation area includes a person's face portion directly or indirectly via a rearview mirror or the like, the irradiation area is determined to be a glare area.

  If it is determined in step S3 that the predetermined irradiation area is not the glare area, the light source of the corresponding irradiation area is turned on in step S4 and the process proceeds to step S6. If it is determined that the glare area is detected, the glare area is determined in step S5. The light source of the irradiation area thus set is turned off, and the process proceeds to step S6. Then, in step S6, it is checked whether or not the processing of all irradiation areas is completed. When the processing of all irradiation areas is not completed, the process returns to step S3 and the above-mentioned processing is repeated, and when the processing of all irradiation areas is completed. , And proceeds to step S7.

  In step S7, it is checked whether or not the position of the cutoff line of each irradiation region is deviated from the specified position. The predetermined position of the cut-off line is that when the headlamp unit 11 of the lighting device 10 and the camera unit 20a of the object detection device 20 are held in a prescribed state at a prescribed vehicle height in advance, a plurality of light sources 11a of the headlamp unit 11 are detected. It is the position in the image of the cut-off line formed according to the lighting state, and stores the positions of the cut-off lines in a plurality of lighting state patterns, including the boundary between the low-beam irradiation area and the high-beam irradiation area. ..

  Then, the current position of the cut-off line is compared with the stored position to check whether or not the deviation has occurred. If the deviation has occurred, the process proceeds from step S7 to step S8 to shift the cut-off line. The glare region is re-determined based on the position of the irradiation region corrected in consideration. Then, as a result of the re-determination, if there is an irradiation area that becomes a glare area, the light source is turned off, and if there is an irradiation area that is re-determined as not a glare area, the light source is turned on to cut off the line. Adjust (move) to obtain an appropriate light distribution pattern.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when illuminating the front of the vehicle with the light distribution pattern formed by the plurality of light sources, the object can be dazzled based on the recognition result of the object illuminated by the illumination light. Whether or not there is a property is determined for each irradiation area of the plurality of light sources. And, since the lighting states of multiple light sources are individually controlled according to the dazzling possibility of each irradiation area, the dazzling to other people in the surroundings is suppressed while maximizing the night vision, and a safe traffic environment is maintained. Can contribute to realization.

  Here, the contour of the cutoff line of the light distribution may not always appear clearly due to the weather or the surrounding environment, which may lead to a decrease in the accuracy of the relative relationship between the cutoff line and the object recognized by the recognition device. In particular, when it is difficult to recognize the irradiation range of the object for which turning on/off is to be performed alone, there is a concern that the accuracy may deteriorate. In this case, by recognizing the relative position of each cut-off line of multiple light distributions and correcting the terminal recognition position of the irradiation range, it is possible to further optimize the irradiation range of the light source that is going to determine whether to turn on or off. (The irradiation range to be determined is an effective accuracy improving means in an environment in which the contour is relatively difficult to recognize with respect to other irradiation ranges).

  For example, as shown in FIG. 4, when the cutoff line A of the irradiation region L5 for the pedestrian H is not clear, the terminal recognition position of the line A is specified from the relative positions of the cutoff lines of the regions L1 and L5, and the region By correcting the control of turning on/off each light source corresponding to L1 and L5, it is possible to improve the accuracy as compared with the case of judging from the cutoff line of one irradiation range.

1 Light distribution control device 10 Illumination device 11 Headlamp part 11a Light source 20 Object detection device (recognition device)
20a Camera unit 20b Image processing unit 30 Control device

Claims (4)

An illumination device that illuminates the front of the vehicle with illumination light having a predetermined light distribution pattern formed by a plurality of light sources,
A recognition device for recognizing an object illuminated by the illumination light and a contour of the illumination light by processing an image of the front of the vehicle,
A control device for individually controlling the lighting states of the plurality of light sources based on the recognition result of the recognition device,
The illumination device is provided with a cutoff line for each irradiation area of the plurality of light sources to store the position of the cutoff line ,
The control device determines whether or not there is a possibility of dazzling the object for each irradiation region of the plurality of light sources, and the plurality of light sources of the plurality of light sources according to the dazzling possibility of each irradiation region. While individually controlling the lighting state, the current position of the cut-off line is compared with the stored position to check whether a deviation of the cut-off line has occurred, and if a deviation has occurred, A light distribution control device for a vehicle, wherein the lighting states of the plurality of light sources are adjusted based on a position of an irradiation region corrected in consideration of the deviation .   The light distribution control device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the lighting device forms the light distribution pattern by arranging the plurality of light sources in a grid pattern.   The vehicle controller according to claim 1, wherein the control device adjusts a lighting state of the plurality of light sources based on a relationship between the object and a relative position of a cutoff line of each of the plurality of light sources. Light control device.   The light distribution control device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein at least high-beam-side light sources of the plurality of light sources are arranged in a grid pattern.