JP7045822B2 - A sensor system and a lamp unit equipped with the sensor system. - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a sensor system that detects environmental information outside the vehicle, and a lamp unit including the sensor system.

Patent Document 1 and the like are known as means for detecting an obstacle outside the vehicle by an in-vehicle sensor such as a camera mounted on the vehicle.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-87758

By the way, for example, in the case of a motorcycle, if the vehicle body tilts (banks) to travel in a corner of the road, there is a possibility that the in-vehicle sensor cannot properly detect an obstacle.

An object of the present invention is to provide a sensor system capable of appropriately detecting environmental information outside the vehicle regardless of the tilted state of the vehicle body, and a lamp unit provided with the sensor system.

In order to achieve the above object, the sensor system of the present invention is used.
It is a sensor system equipped with a sensor that is mounted on a vehicle that can travel in a corner by tilting the vehicle body in a turning direction and detects environmental information outside the vehicle.
It has a correction mechanism that corrects the detection range of the environmental information according to the tilted state of the vehicle body.

According to the sensor system of the present disclosure, it is possible to appropriately detect environmental information outside the vehicle regardless of the tilted state of the vehicle body. Therefore, for example, it can contribute to the improvement of safety at the time of driving support.

Further, in the sensor system of the present invention,
The sensor may be at least one of LiDAR, a camera and a radar.

It is preferable to use these as sensors in order to accurately detect environmental information outside the vehicle.

Further, in the sensor system of the present invention,
The correction mechanism may be composed of a uniaxial actuator or a biaxial actuator.

According to this configuration, the angle of the sensor can be easily adjusted mechanically.

Further, in the sensor system of the present invention,
The correction mechanism is composed of a control unit capable of controlling the detection range by the sensor.
The control unit may adjust the detection range so as to add an additional detection range according to the tilt state of the vehicle body to the basic detection range when the vehicle body is in the vertical state.

According to this configuration, since the mechanical configuration for adjusting the inclination of the sensor can be omitted, it becomes easy to suppress the increase in size of the structure while ensuring the degree of freedom in the layout of the sensor.

Further, the lamp unit of the present invention is
It is a lamp unit installed in a vehicle that can run in a corner by tilting the vehicle body in the direction of turning.
A headlamp that illuminates the front of the vehicle and
With the sensor system described above,
It includes a control unit configured to change the lighting state of the headlamp based on the environmental information acquired in the detection range corrected by the correction mechanism.

According to the lamp unit of the present disclosure, the detection information of the sensor corrected by the correction mechanism can be appropriately reflected in the formation of the light distribution pattern by the headlamp.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a sensor system capable of appropriately detecting environmental information outside the vehicle regardless of the tilted state of the vehicle body, and a lamp unit provided with the sensor system.

It is a perspective view which shows an example of the vehicle which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of a lamp unit mounted on a vehicle. It is a figure which shows the schematic structure of a lamp unit. It is a figure which shows the detection range of the environmental information outside the vehicle by the external sensor mounted on the lamp unit when the vehicle body is not tilted. It is a figure which shows the detection range of the environmental information by a conventional external sensor in a state where a vehicle body is tilted. It is a figure explaining the adjustment of the detection range of the environmental information by the external sensor which concerns on this Embodiment in the state which the vehicle body is tilted. It is a figure which shows the schematic structure of the lamp unit which concerns on a modification. It is a figure explaining the mode of the detection range of the environmental information by the external sensor mounted on the lamp unit which concerns on the modification of FIG. It is a figure explaining the adjustment of the detection range of the environmental information by the external sensor which concerns on the modification of FIG. 7 in the state where the vehicle body is tilted.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The "left-right direction", "front-back direction", and "vertical direction" in the present embodiment are relative directions set for the vehicle 100 shown in FIG. 1 for convenience of explanation.

FIG. 1 shows a motorcycle as an example of the vehicle 100 according to the present embodiment. The motorcycle 100 is a vehicle capable of traveling along a corner (curve) of a road by tilting the vehicle body in a turning direction. The vehicle of the present embodiment may be a vehicle such as the motorcycle 100, which can travel in a corner by tilting the vehicle body in a turning direction, and the number of wheels is not limited. Therefore, for example, even a motorcycle, a motorcycle, or the like is included in the vehicle of the present embodiment as long as it can travel in the same manner as the motorcycle 100.

As shown in FIG. 1, the motorcycle 100 is equipped with a lamp unit 1 in front of the motorcycle 100. The lamp unit 1 includes a headlamp 2 capable of illuminating the front of the vehicle and an external sensor 3 (an example of the sensor) for detecting external information. In this embodiment, the motorcycle 100 including one lamp unit 1 is illustrated, but for example, a motorcycle may be provided with one lamp unit on each side. Further, the headlamp and the external sensor are separately arranged in different places, for example, the headlamp is located in the center of the front part of the vehicle, and the external sensor is located below the headlamp and is difficult to see from the front of the vehicle. May be good.

As shown in FIG. 2, the lamp unit 1 includes a control unit 5 that controls the operation of the headlamp 2 and the external sensor 3. A headlamp 2 and an external sensor 3 are connected to the control unit 5, a bank angle sensor 6 for detecting the tilted state of the motorcycle 100, a speed sensor 7 for detecting the speed of the motorcycle 100, and the like. It is connected.

The external sensor 3 acquires external environmental information of the own vehicle including the surrounding environment of the motorcycle 100 (for example, obstacles, other vehicles (preceding vehicle, oncoming vehicle), pedestrians, road shape, traffic sign, etc.). Is a possible sensor. The external sensor 3 is composed of, for example, at least one such as LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranger or Laser Imaging Detection and Ranking), a camera, a radar, and the like. In this embodiment, for example, the external sensor 3 will be described as being a LiDAR sensor.

The bank angle sensor 6 is a sensor capable of detecting the tilt angle when the vehicle body of the motorcycle 100 is tilted to the left or right with respect to the vertical line. The bank angle sensor 6 is composed of, for example, a gyro sensor. The inclination angle of the vehicle body may be calculated based on an image taken by a camera mounted on the vehicle body of the motorcycle 100.

Each information detected by the LiDAR sensor 3, the bank angle sensor 6 and the speed sensor 7 is transmitted to the control unit 5. The control unit 5 controls the operation of the headlamp 2 based on the information transmitted from each of the LiDAR sensor 3, the bank angle sensor 6, and the speed sensor 7. For example, the control unit 5 can control the headlamp 2 based on the detection information of each sensor and adjust the light distribution pattern formed in front of the vehicle.

The control unit 5 can control the LiDAR sensor 3 based on the detection information of the bank angle sensor 6 (and the speed sensor 7), and can adjust the detection range of the environmental information outside the vehicle by the LiDAR sensor 3. The method of adjusting the detection range of the LiDAR sensor 3 will be described in detail later.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the lamp unit 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the lamp unit 1 includes a lamp body 11 having an opening on the front side of the vehicle, and a transparent front cover 12 attached so as to cover the opening of the lamp body 11. The headlamp 2 and the LiDAR sensor 3 are housed inside the lamp chamber 13 formed by the lamp body 11 and the front cover 12. As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 5, the bank angle sensor 6, and the speed sensor 7 are mounted at predetermined positions on the vehicle body of the motorcycle 100 outside the lamp unit 1, but are limited to this example. do not have. The control unit 5, the bank angle sensor 6, and the speed sensor 7 may be provided in the lamp chamber 13 of the lamp unit 1. The control unit 5 may be realized as one function of the integrated control unit (ECU) mounted on the motorcycle 100, or may be realized as one function of the control device arranged in the light chamber 13.

The headlamp 2 includes a light source 21. The light source 21 includes an optical system including at least one of a lens and a reflector, and emits light that illuminates a predetermined area. In the light source 21, a lamp light source or a light emitting element can be used. Examples of lamp light sources include incandescent lamps, halogen lamps, discharge lamps, neon lamps, and the like. Examples of the light emitting element include a light emitting diode, a laser diode, an organic EL element, and the like.

The headlamp 2 is supported at a predetermined position in the light chamber 13 by the support plate 41. The support plate 41 is attached to the lamp body 11 via the aiming screw 42. The headlamp 2 is configured so that the optical axis of the light source 21 can be adjusted in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction by rotating the aiming screw 42 to adjust the posture of the support plate 41.

The LiDAR sensor 3 has a configuration for emitting invisible light and a configuration for detecting return light as a result of the invisible light reflected on an object existing outside the motorcycle 100. That is, the LiDAR sensor 3 is a sensor that detects external environmental information of the motorcycle 100. The LiDAR sensor 3 may include a scanning mechanism that sweeps out the invisible light by changing the emission direction (that is, the detection direction) as needed. In this embodiment, infrared light having a wavelength of 905 nm is used as invisible light.

The LiDAR sensor 3 can acquire the distance to the object associated with the return light, for example, based on the time from the timing when the invisible light is emitted in a certain direction to the detection of the return light. Further, by accumulating such distance data in association with the detection position, the LiDAR sensor 3 can acquire information relating to the shape of the object associated with the return light. In addition to or instead, the LiDAR sensor 3 can acquire information relating to attributes such as the material of the object associated with the return light, based on the difference in wavelength between the emitted light and the return light. In addition to or instead of this, the LiDAR sensor 3 can acquire information on the color of the object (such as a white line on the road surface) based on, for example, the difference in the reflectance of the return light from the road surface.

The LiDAR sensor 3 outputs a signal corresponding to the detected attribute of the return light (intensity, wavelength, etc.). The above information is acquired by appropriately processing the signal output from the LiDAR sensor 3 by the control unit 5.

The lamp unit 1 includes a sensor actuator 31 (an example of a correction mechanism). The sensor actuator 31 is a device for adjusting the posture of the LiDAR sensor 3. At least a part of the sensor actuator 31 is arranged in the light chamber 13 and coupled with the LiDAR sensor 3. In this embodiment, the sensor system 30 is composed of the LiDAR sensor 3 and the sensor actuator 31.

The sensor actuator 31 is a so-called biaxial actuator that drives the LiDAR sensor 3, which is a rotating body, around two orthogonal axes. The sensor actuator 31 changes the posture of the LiDAR sensor 3 in the horizontal plane (in the plane including the front-back direction and the left-right direction in FIG. 3) and in the vertical plane (in the plane including the left-right direction and the up-down direction in FIG. 3). It is configured. Since the configuration of the biaxial actuator itself is well known, detailed description thereof will be omitted. Since the angle of the LiDAR sensor 3 according to the present embodiment may be corrected according to the bank of the motorcycle 100, the sensor actuator 31 moves the LiDAR sensor 3 around one axis along the front-rear direction. It may be configured as a driven uniaxial actuator.

The control unit 5 acquires information on the inclination angle of the vehicle body of the motorcycle 100 detected by the bank angle sensor 6 (hereinafter referred to as bank angle information) from the bank angle sensor 6. Specifically, the control unit 5 generates a bank angle signal S1 based on a signal associated with the bank angle information during traveling of the motorcycle 100 output from the bank angle sensor 6, and inputs the bank angle signal S1 to the sensor actuator 31. The bank angle signal S1 has attributes (voltage value, current value, frequency, etc.) corresponding to the amount of posture adjustment in the vertical plane of the motorcycle 100 detected by the bank angle sensor 6.

The sensor actuator 31 adjusts the posture of the LiDAR sensor 3 in the vertical plane based on the bank angle signal S1. That is, in the lamp unit 1 according to the present embodiment, the posture (inclination in the vertical plane) of the LiDAR sensor 3 is adjusted by the sensor actuator 31 based on the detection of the bank angle information by the bank angle sensor 6.

After the posture of the LiDAR sensor 3 is adjusted, the control unit 5 acquires a signal S2 (hereinafter, referred to as an environmental information signal S2) relating to environmental information outside the vehicle from the LiDAR sensor 3. The control unit 5 is configured to change the lighting state of the headlamp 2 based on the environmental information signal S2 acquired from the LiDAR sensor 3.

Next, a method of adjusting the detection range of the environmental information outside the vehicle by the LiDAR sensor 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. 4 to 6 show a situation in which the motorcycle 100 is traveling in the own lane C on the road including the own lane C and the oncoming lane D. The HH line shown in FIG. 4 and the like indicates the horizontal direction.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a detection range of environmental information by the LiDAR sensor 3 in a state where the vehicle body of the motorcycle 100 is not tilted (that is, the vehicle body is along a vertical line). FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a detection range of environmental information by a conventional external sensor in a state where the vehicle body is tilted to the left with respect to the vertical line. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating adjustment of the detection range of environmental information by the LiDAR sensor 3 according to the present embodiment in a state where the vehicle body is tilted to the left with respect to the vertical line.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the motorcycle 100 is traveling in a state where the vehicle body is vertical, for example, when traveling on a straight road, the detection range R1 (detection range R1) of environmental information by the LiDAR sensor 3 Is, for example, a horizontally long rectangular shape), the upper side and the lower side thereof are along the horizontal direction H. As a result, the detection range R1 appropriately includes a predetermined range in front of the motorcycle 100.

However, as shown in FIG. 5, when the motorcycle 100 tilts the vehicle body to the left with respect to the vertical line, for example, when the vehicle body is tilted to the left to travel in the left corner, the sensor actuator 31 In the conventional external sensor that does not have the above, the detection range R2 by the external sensor is also tilted with respect to the horizontal direction H according to the tilt of the vehicle body. As a result, in the detection range R2 by the conventional external sensor, the upper left portion R11 and the lower right portion R12 in the detection range R1 when the motorcycle 100 shown by the broken line in FIG. 5 is vertical are not included in the detection range. .. In particular, if the upper left portion R11 of the detection range R1 is not included in the detection range when traveling in the left corner, the detection performance of the environmental information on the bending direction side may deteriorate.

On the other hand, in the lamp unit 1 of the present embodiment, the control unit 5 has the upper side and the lower side of the detection range R3 of the LiDAR sensor 3 in the horizontal direction H based on the inclination signal S1 output from the bank angle sensor 6. The inclination of the LiDAR sensor 3 in the vertical plane is adjusted by the sensor actuator 31 so as to always follow. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, even when the motorcycle 100 travels with the vehicle body tilted to the left, for example, the detection range R3 of the LiDAR sensor 3 is adjusted to be the same range as when the vehicle body is vertical. Will be done.

According to the lamp unit 1 mounted on the motorcycle 100 having the above configuration, the sensor system 30 sets the LiDAR sensor 3 for detecting the external environmental information of the motorcycle 100 and the body tilted state of the motorcycle 100. Accordingly, it has a sensor actuator 31 for correcting the detection range R3 of the LiDAR sensor 3. Therefore, even if the vehicle body is tilted during traveling, the detection range of the LiDAR sensor 3 can be adjusted so as to always be within a constant range, so that environmental information can be appropriately acquired regardless of the tilted state of the vehicle body. Can be done. Therefore, for example, it is possible to contribute to the improvement of safety at the time of driving support of the motorcycle 100.

Further, the lamp unit 1 houses the headlamp 2 and the LiDAR sensor 3 in the lamp chamber 13. By making the mounting locations of the headlamp 2 and the LiDAR sensor 3 as close as possible in this way, the environmental information detected by the LiDAR sensor 3 whose detection range has been adjusted can be accurately formed into the light distribution pattern by the headlamp 2. It can be reflected.

In addition, from the viewpoint of efficiently acquiring information around the vehicle and from the viewpoint of design, a LiDAR sensor 3 for acquiring information outside the vehicle is included in the lamp unit 1 arranged in front of and behind the vehicle. It is hoped that it will be made. According to the configuration of the present embodiment, since the headlamp 2 and the LiDAR sensor 3 are housed in the lamp unit 1, it is possible to meet the above-mentioned demands.

(Modification example)
A modified example of the method of adjusting the detection range by the LiDAR sensor 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9. The method of adjusting the detection range of the LiDAR sensor 3 according to the modified example is that the detection range is adjusted by software control, and the detection range is mechanically controlled by the sensor actuator 31 in the vertical plane of the LiDAR sensor 3. It is different from the above-described embodiment in which the above-mentioned embodiment is adjusted. The same components as those in the above embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

FIG. 7 schematically shows the configuration of the lamp unit 1A according to the modified example. The control unit 5 is configured to acquire the environmental information signal S3 acquired by the LiDAR sensor 3.

In this modification, a mechanism for adjusting the posture of the LiDAR sensor 3 (for example, the sensor actuator 31 of the above embodiment) is not provided. Therefore, when the motorcycle 100 is tilted, the tilt of the LiDAR sensor 3 is not changed so as to correspond to the tilt of the vehicle body, but the side of the detection information acquired from the LiDAR sensor 3 is corrected. Specifically, the control unit 5 corrects the detection information acquired from the LiDAR sensor 3 to the information that would have been obtained if the vehicle body was traveling in a vertical state. As a result, substantially the same information as when the tilt of the LiDAR sensor 3 is adjusted so as to correspond to the tilt of the vehicle body can be obtained. In this modification, the sensor system 30A is configured by the LiDAR sensor 3 and the control unit 5.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining the area setting of the detection range of the environmental information by the LiDAR sensor 3. The area Rmax shown by the broken line in FIG. 8 is the maximum detection range that can be acquired by the LiDAR sensor 3 (hereinafter, referred to as the maximum area Rmax). The LiDAR sensor 3 outputs the information (maximum area information) detected in the maximum area Rmax to the control unit 5 as the environment information signal S3.

The area Rr is a range adopted as a detection range of environmental information when the vehicle body of the motorcycle 100 is traveling in a vertical state (not tilted) (hereinafter, referred to as a basic area Rr). Areas R1a and R1b are ranges that are added to the basic area Rr and adopted as the detection range of environmental information when the vehicle body is traveling in a state of being tilted to the left with respect to the vertical line (hereinafter, left bank). Time addition areas R1a, R1b). The left bank additional area R1a is an area provided in the upper left portion of the basic area Rr, and the left bank additional area R1b is an area provided in the lower right portion of the basic area Rr. Areas R2a and R2b are ranges that are added to the basic area Rr and adopted as the detection range of environmental information when the vehicle body is traveling in a state of being tilted to the right with respect to the vertical line (hereinafter, right bank). Time addition areas R2a, R2b). The right bank additional area R2a is an area provided in the upper right part of the basic area Rr, and the right bank additional area R2b is an area provided in the lower left part of the basic area Rr.

The control unit 5 extracts a detection range to be adopted as actual environmental information based on the detection information of the maximum area Rmax acquired as the environmental information signal S3 from the LiDAR sensor 3 and the inclination information acquired from the bank angle sensor 6. do. Specifically, when it is determined that the vehicle body of the motorcycle 100 is in a vertical state based on the inclination information acquired from the bank angle sensor 6, the control unit 5 receives the maximum area information of the LiDAR sensor 3. The detection information in the basic area Rr is adopted as the environmental information. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, when it is determined that the vehicle body is tilted to the left side, the control unit 5 adds the detection information in the basic area Rr among the maximum area information of the LiDAR sensor 3 to the detection information. , The detection information in the additional areas R1a and R1b at the time of the left bank is adopted as the environmental information. As a result, even when the vehicle body is tilted to the left side, it is possible to maintain the detection performance of the environmental information on the bending direction side in particular.
When it is determined that the vehicle body is tilted to the right, the control unit 5 adds the detection information in the basic area Rr of the maximum area information of the LiDAR sensor 3 to the additional area R2a at the time of right bank. , The detection information in R2b is adopted as environmental information.

According to the configuration of the sensor system 30A according to this modification, the acquisition range of environmental information by the LiDAR sensor 3 can be appropriately adjusted. Further, since the mechanical configuration for adjusting the inclination of the LiDAR sensor 3 (for example, the sensor actuator 31) can be omitted, it is easy to suppress the increase in size of the structure while ensuring the layout freedom of the LiDAR sensor 3, and the lamp. The integration of the head lamp 2 and the LiDAR sensor 3 into the unit 1 becomes easy.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it goes without saying that the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited by the description of the present embodiments. It is understood by those skilled in the art that the present embodiment is merely an example, and various embodiments can be modified within the scope of the invention described in the claims. The technical scope of the present invention should be determined based on the scope of the invention described in the claims and the scope thereof.

1: Lamp unit 2: Head lamp 3: External sensor (an example of sensor) 5: Control unit, 6: Bank angle sensor, 7: Speed sensor, 31: Sensor actuator, 41: Support plate, 42: Aiming screw , 30, 30A: Sensor system, 100: Motorcycle (example of vehicle), R1 to R3: Detection range, Rmax: Maximum area, Rr: Basic area, R1a, R1b: Left bank additional area, R2a, R2b: Right Additional area when banking

Claims (5)

It is a sensor system equipped with a sensor that is mounted on a vehicle that can travel in a corner by tilting the vehicle body in a turning direction and detects environmental information on the front and outside of the vehicle.
It has a correction mechanism that corrects the detection range of the environmental information according to the tilted state of the vehicle body.
The correction mechanism is composed of a control unit that executes software control for correcting the detection information acquired from the detection range by the sensor.
The control unit adds an additional detection range to the basic detection range according to the tilted state of the vehicle body while maintaining the basic detection range with respect to the basic detection range when the vehicle body is in the vertical state. A sensor system that adjusts the detection information . The basic detection range is formed in a horizontally long rectangular shape.
The control unit adds the additional detection range to the upper left portion and the lower right portion of the basic detection range when the vehicle body is banked on the left side, while the control unit adds the additional detection range to the upper left portion and the lower right portion of the basic detection range, while the basic detection range is when the vehicle body is banked on the right side. The sensor system according to claim 1, wherein the additional detection range is added to the upper right portion and the lower left portion of the above. The sensor system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sensor is at least one of LiDAR, a camera and a radar. It is a lamp unit installed in a vehicle that can run in a corner by tilting the vehicle body in the direction of turning.
A headlamp that illuminates the front of the vehicle and
The sensor system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
A control unit configured to change the lighting state of the headlamp based on the environmental information acquired in the detection range corrected by the correction mechanism.
The lamp unit is equipped with. The lamp unit according to claim 4, wherein the headlamp and the sensor are housed in the lamp chamber of the lamp unit.

Images