JP4360028B2 - Vehicle headlamp control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To appropriately carry out a warning indication at the time of system abnormality in an adjustment/control of an optical axis direction of a headlight of a vehicle corresponding to an emergency degree. SOLUTION: When an emergency degree of a system abnormality relating to an adjustment of an optical axis direction of the headlight is low (Lv1 fail), a warning indication is not executed until the headlight is lighted-on and when the emergency degree of the system abnormality is high (Lv2 fail), the warning indication is immediately executed regardless of lighting-on/off of the headlight. Therefore, in the case where an influence of the system abnormality is small during traveling of the vehicle, the system abnormality is understandingly transmitted by carrying out the warning indication when the headlight is lighted-on. In the case where an influence of the system abnormality is large during traveling of the vehicle, an early treatment against the system abnormality can be promoted by positively carrying out the warning indication.

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vehicle headlamp control apparatus that displays a system abnormality related to adjustment of the optical axis direction of a vehicle headlamp.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, when a system abnormality is detected in connection with adjustment control in the optical axis direction of a vehicle headlamp, as a warning display, for example, a warning lamp arranged in advance in a meter is turned on. It has been.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, when it is not necessary to turn on the headlight brightly in the daytime, the adjustment control of the optical axis direction of the headlamp is not performed, but at this time, if any system abnormality is detected A warning display will be performed. That is, in such a case, there is a problem in that a warning is given to the driver or the like even though the vehicle travel is not affected.
[0004]
Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and for a vehicle capable of appropriately performing a warning display at the time of system abnormality in the adjustment control in the optical axis direction of the headlight of the vehicle according to the degree of urgency. An object is to provide a headlamp control device.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the vehicle headlamp control device of the first aspect, the optical axis direction adjusting means adjusts the angle of the optical axis of the vehicle headlamp based on various sensor information. A system abnormality related to lamp adjustment is detected by the abnormality detection means, and a warning display is selectively performed by the abnormality display means in accordance with the urgency of the system abnormality. As described above, when a system abnormality occurs while the vehicle is running, the degree of urgency is determined, and the warning is displayed at different timings, so that the degree of urgency of the system abnormality is accurately conveyed.
[0006]
Also, when the urgency of the system abnormality is low and the impact is small, the warning is displayed when the headlamp is lit, so that the system abnormality is easily communicated, and the urgency of the system abnormality is high, When the influence is large, a warning is displayed immediately regardless of whether the headlamp is turned on or off, thereby prompting an early treatment for a system abnormality.
[0007]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on examples.
[0008]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a vehicle headlamp control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0009]
In FIG. 1, a front wheel side vehicle height sensor 11 </ b> F and a rear wheel side vehicle height sensor 11 </ b> R are respectively attached to the front and rear axles of the driver's seat or passenger's seat. From these vehicle height sensors 11F and 11R, the relative displacement between the front wheel axle and the rear wheel axle and the vehicle body, that is, the vehicle height value HF as the displacement of the front wheel vehicle height and the rear wheel vehicle height A vehicle height value HR as a displacement amount and various sensor signals from various other sensors are input to an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 20 mounted on the vehicle. The ECU 20 is shown outside the vehicle for convenience.
[0010]
The ECU 20 includes a CPU 21 as a central processing unit that executes various known arithmetic processes, a ROM 22 that stores control programs, a RAM 23 that stores various data, a B / U (backup) RAM 24, an input / output circuit 25, and a bus that connects them. It is configured as a logical operation circuit composed of lines 26 and the like. An output signal from the ECU 20 is input to the actuators 35L and 35R of the left and right headlights (headlights) 30L and 30R of the vehicle, and the optical axis directions of the left and right headlights 30L and 30R are adjusted.
[0011]
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a main configuration of the headlight 30L (30R) of FIG.
[0012]
In FIG. 2, a headlight 30L (30R) mainly includes a lamp 31, a reflector 32 that fixes the lamp 31, a rod-like support portion 33 that supports the reflector 32 so as to be swingable in the direction of the arc, and the reflector 32. The other rod-shaped movable portion 34 that supports and is movable, and an actuator 35L (35R) including a step motor or a DC motor that drives the movable portion 34 in the front-rear arrow direction. For this reason, when the movable part 34 is driven in the front-rear direction by the actuator 35L (35R), the reflector 32 moves in the vertical direction with the tip of the support part 33 as a fulcrum, which will be described later (target optical axis direction adjustment angle). The optical axis direction of the headlight 30L (30R) is adjusted by tilting by θa. The optical axis direction of the headlight 30L (30R) is initially set on the assumption that one driver has boarded.
[0013]
Next, a description will be given based on a flowchart of FIG. 3 showing a processing procedure of warning display determination in the CPU 21 in the ECU 20 used in the vehicle headlamp control apparatus according to an example of the embodiment of the present invention. This determination routine is repeatedly executed by the CPU 21 every predetermined time.
[0014]
In FIG. 3, in step S101, vehicle height values HF and HR from vehicle height sensors 11F and 11R and various sensor signals from various other sensors are first read as vehicle information. Next, the process proceeds to step S102, and processing for calculating the optical axis target angle θa for the headlights 30L and 30R is executed. At this time, Lv1 (level 1) fail and Lv2 (level 2) fail determination processing described later are also executed simultaneously.
[0015]
In this optical axis target angle calculation process, first, a pitch angle θp [°] as an inclination angle with respect to a preset reference plane in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle based on the vehicle height values HF and HR from the vehicle height sensors 11F and 11R is obtained. Is calculated by the following equation (1). Here, Lw is the wheel base (distance between the shafts) of the front and rear wheels.
[0016]
[Expression 1]
θp = tan ⁻¹ {(HF−HR) / Lw} (1)
[0017]
An optical axis target angle θa that does not give glare to the oncoming vehicle is calculated with respect to the pitch angle θp, θa≈−θp. Note that the optical axis target angle θa in the normal control of the headlights 30L and 30R is 1 [%] downward (≈−0) that does not give glare to the preceding vehicle and the like and can ensure the driver's forward visibility. .57 [°]).
[0018]
In step S103, the actuators 35L and 35R are driven based on the optical axis target angle θa calculated in step S102 as an optical axis control process, and the optical axis directions of the headlights 30L and 30R are adjusted. Next, the process proceeds to step S104, where it is determined whether the warning extinction condition is satisfied. The warning extinction condition is when a failure not directly related to the adjustment control in the optical axis direction of the headlights 30L and 30R or a failure having a low influence occurs. As such a failure, the case where the signal from the wheel speed sensor relevant to well-known ABS (Antilock Brake System) is not input etc. is assumed.
[0019]
When the determination condition of step S104 is not satisfied, that is, when it is a warning lighting condition, the process proceeds to step S105, and it is determined whether there is an Lv2 fail. This Lv2 fail requires a warning display regardless of whether the headlights 30L and 30R are turned on / off, is urgent, and the vehicle travels when the adjustment control in the optical axis direction of the headlights 30L and 30R is abnormal. For example, it is assumed that the actuators 35L and 35R are abnormal and the optical axis direction of the headlights 30L and 30R is too low (for example, less than -1 [°]). The That is, in this state, for example, it is difficult to obtain appropriate forward visibility even when the headlights 30L and 30R are turned on at night or in a tunnel.
[0020]
When the determination condition of step S105 is not satisfied, that is, when there is no Lv2 failure, the process proceeds to step S106 to determine whether the headlights 30L and 30R are turned on. When the determination condition of step S106 is not satisfied, that is, when the headlights 30L and 30R are turned off, this routine is finished without doing anything.
[0021]
On the other hand, when the determination condition in step S106 is satisfied, that is, when the headlights 30L and 30R are lit, the process proceeds to step S107, and it is determined whether there is an Lv1 failure. As this Lv1 failure, it is more appropriate and less urgent to not display the warning until the headlights 30L and 30R are turned on, and even if the adjustment control in the optical axis direction of the headlights 30L and 30R is abnormal, it is acceptable. For example, the vehicle height values HF and HR from the vehicle height sensors 11F and 11R, and other input signal system abnormalities such as wheel speed signals as various other sensor signals, or It is assumed that the actuators 35L and 35R are abnormal but the optical axis directions of the headlights 30L and 30R are not lowered too much (for example, −1 [°] or more).
[0022]
If the determination condition in step S107 is not satisfied, that is, if there is no Lv1 failure, this routine is terminated without doing anything. On the other hand, when the determination condition of step S105 is satisfied, that is, when there is an Lv2 fail, or when the determination condition of step S107 is satisfied, that is, when there is an Lv1 fail, the process proceeds to step S108, and a warning lamp Etc. are lit and warned, and this routine is terminated. On the other hand, if the warning extinction condition is satisfied in step S104, the process proceeds to step S109, the warning lamp is extinguished as the warning extinction, and this routine is terminated.
[0023]
As described above, the vehicle headlamp control device according to the present embodiment controls the actuators 35L and 35R based on various sensor information based on the inclination angle of the vehicle headlights (headlamps) 30L and 30R with respect to the road surface in the optical axis direction. An optical axis direction adjusting means achieved by the ECU 20 for driving and adjusting; an abnormality detecting means achieved by the ECU 20 for detecting a system abnormality related to the adjustment of the headlights 30L, 30R in the optical axis direction adjusting means; And an abnormality display means that is achieved by the ECU 20 that selectively performs a warning display according to the urgency of the system abnormality detected by the abnormality detection means. Further, the abnormality display means achieved by the ECU 20 of the vehicle headlamp control device of the present embodiment does not display a warning until the headlights 30L and 30R are turned on when the urgency of the system abnormality is low, and the system When the urgency level of the abnormality is high, a warning display is performed regardless of whether the headlights 30L and 30R are turned on / off.
[0024]
That is, the warning display is selectively performed according to the urgency of the system abnormality related to the adjustment of the headlights 30L and 30R in the optical axis direction. That is, when the urgency of the system abnormality is low (Lv1 fail), the warning display is not performed until the headlights 30L and 30R are turned on. When the urgency of the system abnormality is high (Lv2 fail), the headlights 30L and 30R are displayed. Regardless of whether the LED is turned on or off, the warning display is immediately implemented. Thereby, when the influence of the system abnormality during traveling of the vehicle is small, the warning is displayed when the headlights 30L and 30R are turned on, so that the system abnormality can be easily communicated to the driver or the like. . In addition, when the influence of the system abnormality during the traveling of the vehicle is great, the warning display is positively performed to prompt the driver or the like to take early measures against the system abnormality.
[0025]
By the way, in the said Example, although adjustment of the inclination of the up-down direction with respect to a road surface was described as adjustment of the optical axis direction of headlight 30L, 30R, when implementing this invention, it is not limited to this, This also includes tilt adjustment in the horizontal direction with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration of a vehicle headlamp control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a main configuration of the headlight of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a warning display determination processing procedure in the CPU in the ECU used in the vehicle headlamp control apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
20 ECU (electronic control unit)
30L, 30R headlight (headlight)
35L, 35R Actuator

Claims (1)

An optical axis direction adjusting means for driving and adjusting the angle of the optical axis of the headlight of the vehicle based on various sensor information;
An abnormality detecting means for detecting a system abnormality related to the adjustment of the headlamp in the optical axis direction adjusting means;
Depending on the urgency of the system abnormality related to the adjustment of the optical axis direction of the headlamp detected by the abnormality detection means, when the urgency of the system abnormality is low, a warning (Warning: (Warning) Abnormal display means for displaying the warning when the headlamp is lit without displaying, and for displaying the warning regardless of whether the headlamp is lit or extinguished when the emergency level of the system abnormality is high A vehicle headlamp control device.

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