JP5040906B2 - Vehicle lighting device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular illumination device, and more particularly to a vehicular illumination device that controls light distribution such as switching between a high beam and a low beam of a headlamp.

  Conventionally, there has been proposed a vehicle lighting device that switches from a low beam to a high beam when a wheel speed or a vehicle speed exceeds a predetermined vehicle speed. As techniques for automatically switching between the low beam and the high beam as described above, for example, techniques described in Patent Documents 1 to 4 have been proposed.

  In the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 to 3, when a preceding vehicle or an oncoming vehicle is detected, the high beam is automatically switched to the low beam, and when a preceding vehicle or an oncoming vehicle is not detected, the low beam is automatically switched to the high beam. A vehicle lighting device to be switched has been proposed. Specifically, in Patent Document 1, it is proposed to prevent the passing by maintaining the current beam state of the light during the operation of the direction indicator. In the technique described in Patent Document 2, the high beam within a predetermined time is proposed. It is proposed to forcibly terminate the system when the number of times of switching between the low beam and the predetermined number of times is exceeded, and in the technique described in Patent Document 3, when the continuous lighting time is within a predetermined time, It has been proposed to cancel the switch.

On the other hand, in the technique described in Patent Document 4, in the vehicular illumination device that changes the optical axis of the headlamp in the steering direction in conjunction with steering of the steering wheel, when the idling of the rear wheel is detected by the wheel speed sensor, It has been proposed to return the optical axis to the vehicle center regardless of steering.
JP 2007-290612 A JP 2007-91023 A Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 2-10141 JP-A-5-305845

  However, in a vehicular lighting device that switches between a low beam and a high beam according to the vehicle speed, when a situation such as a bad road or a snow road causes the wheel to run idle, the driver has to make multiple attempts to escape the slipping situation. By repeatedly turning the accelerator on and off, the wheel speed changes, so that switching between the low beam and the high beam occurs frequently, and high / low switching corresponding to passing occurs continuously.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described facts, and an object of the present invention is to automatically switch between a low beam and a high beam by preventing a passing operation when the wheels are idling.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 is directed to a vehicle illumination means capable of switching between a low beam and a high beam, a detection means for detecting a wheel speed of each wheel provided in the vehicle, and the detection means. When the wheel speed detected by the detection means is less than a predetermined value, switching to a low beam, satisfying a predetermined condition to switch to a high beam, and when the wheel speed detected by the detection means is higher than a predetermined value, to switch to a high beam, Control means for controlling the vehicle illumination means, determination means for determining idling of the wheel based on each wheel speed detected by the detection means, and when the determination means determines that the wheel is idling And prohibiting means for prohibiting control by the control means.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the vehicle illumination means can be switched between a low beam and a high beam. That is, a commonly used headlamp or the like can be applied. For example, a headlamp using various light sources such as a halogen lamp, an LED, and a discharge lamp (discharge lamp) can be applied.

  The detecting means detects the wheel speed of each wheel provided in the vehicle. The control means switches to the low beam when the wheel speed detected by the detection means is less than a predetermined value, satisfies a predetermined condition for switching to the high beam, and the wheel speed detected by the detection means exceeds a predetermined value. The vehicle illumination means is controlled to switch to the high beam in some cases. As a result, the visible range when traveling on a highway or the like can be expanded. In addition, as a predetermined condition which switches to a high beam, the case where a front vehicle is detected and a front vehicle does not exist is mentioned, for example.

  Further, the determination means determines the idling of the wheel based on each wheel speed detected by the detection means. For example, the determining means can compare the wheel speeds of the wheels and determine that the idling is detected when a difference greater than a predetermined speed occurs.

  The prohibiting means prohibits the control by the control means when the determining means determines that the wheel is idling. As a result, switching between low beam and high beam of the vehicle illumination means according to the wheel speed is prohibited, so that the situation where the wheel slips when a situation such as a bad road or a snow road causes the wheel to slip is avoided. Therefore, the passing operation that occurs when the driver repeatedly turns the accelerator on and off a plurality of times can be prevented.

  Therefore, it is possible to automatically switch between the low beam and the high beam by preventing the passing operation when the wheel is idling.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the idling of the wheel is determined based on the detected wheel speed, and when the idling of the wheel is judged, the switching control between the low beam and the high beam is prohibited. There is an effect that switching between the low beam and the high beam can be automatically performed by preventing the passing operation at the time.

  Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicular illumination apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the vehicular illumination device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, a headlamp 12 provided in a vehicle is connected to a light distribution control ECU 14. The light distribution of the lamp is controlled.

  In the present embodiment, a general headlamp that can switch between a low beam and a high beam is applied as the headlamp 12. As an example of the headlamp 12, for example, a lamp using various light sources such as a halogen lamp, an LED, a discharge lamp (discharge lamp) can be applied.

  The light distribution control ECU 14 is constituted by a microcomputer including a CPU 14A, a RAM 14B, a ROM 14C, and an I / O 14D, and controls switching between the low beam and the high beam of the headlamp 12.

  The ROM 14C of the light distribution control ECU 14 stores a table, a program, and the like for controlling switching between the low beam and the high beam of the headlamp 12, and the RAM 14B functions as a working memory that performs various calculations performed by the CPU 14A. .

  The switch 16, the camera 18, the headlight driver 20, and each wheel speed sensor 22 are connected to the I / O 14 </ b> D, and the operation state of the switch 16 and the photographing result by the camera 18 are input to the light distribution control ECU 14. The

  The switch 16 is instructed to turn on the headlamp 12 by the operation of the driver. For example, the switch 16 is capable of instructing on / off of the headlamp 12, a low beam / high beam switching instruction of the headlamp 12, an automatic switching instruction of the low beam / high beam, and the like, when the switch 16 is operated by a driver. The operation result is output to the light distribution control ECU 14.

  Moreover, the camera 18 images the front of the vehicle and outputs a captured image obtained by the imaging to the light distribution control ECU 14.

  Each wheel speed sensor 22 detects the speed of each wheel provided in the vehicle, and outputs the detection result to the light distribution control ECU 14. In FIG. 1, one wheel speed sensor 22 is shown, but in the present embodiment, it is provided corresponding to the number of wheels of the vehicle, but it may be provided only on the drive wheels. Good.

  Then, the light distribution control ECU 14 controls the lighting of the headlamp 12 by controlling the headlamp driver 20 according to the state of the switch 16, and when the switch 16 is instructed to automatically switch between the low beam and the high beam. In this case, switching between the low beam and the high beam is controlled based on the photographing result of the camera 18 and the detection result of each wheel speed sensor 22.

  Here, the automatic switching control between the low beam and the high beam performed by the light distribution control ECU 14 of the vehicle lighting device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  In the present embodiment, when an instruction to automatically switch between a low beam and a high beam is given by operating the switch 16 by the driver, the light distribution control ECU 14 controls the headlamp driver 20 to turn on the headlamp 12. (Low beam) is started, and a forward vehicle such as a preceding vehicle or an oncoming vehicle is detected based on the photographing result of the camera 18. For example, a forward vehicle can be detected by detecting a bright spot by performing image processing on a photographed image and detecting a tail lamp of a preceding vehicle or a headlamp of an oncoming vehicle. If no preceding vehicle is detected, the light distribution control ECU 14 controls the headlamp driver 20 to distribute the low beam to the high beam when the wheel speed detected by each wheel speed sensor 22 is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. When the light is switched and a front vehicle is detected, the lighting of the headlamp 12 is controlled so that the light distribution is switched to the low beam. That is, when there is no forward vehicle, as shown in FIG. 2, when the vehicle speed is less than the predetermined value Va, the low beam is switched, and when the vehicle speed is the predetermined value Va or higher, the high beam is switched. It is possible to widen the visible range when traveling on an expressway or the like. The low beam and the high beam are switched according to the wheel speed detected by each wheel speed sensor 22, but the low beam and the high beam may be switched according to the vehicle speed for which the wheel speed is required. In this case, when the vehicle speed is detected from the wheel speed, the vehicle speed can be obtained by, for example, obtaining an average value of the wheel speeds obtained from the wheel speed sensors 22.

  By the way, in the vehicle lighting device 10 that controls switching between the low beam and the high beam of the headlamp 12 according to the vehicle speed as described above, when a wheel such as a bad road or a snow road is idle, When the driver repeatedly turns the accelerator on and off in order to escape from the slipping situation, the wheel idles and the wheel speed Va at the threshold value for switching between the low beam and the high beam is changed back and forth. Light is in a passing state.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, when the light distribution control ECU 14 detects the idling of the wheel from the detection result of each wheel speed sensor 22 and detects the idling of the wheel, the switching control between the low beam and the high beam is prohibited. I am doing so. As a result, it is possible to prevent the passing caused by the idling of the wheels as described above.

  Next, an example of detailed processing performed by the light distribution control ECU 14 of the vehicle lighting device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention configured as described above will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of processing performed by the light distribution control ECU 14 of the vehicle lighting device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Note that the processing in FIG. 3 will be described as being started when an automatic switching instruction between the low beam and the high beam is given by the switch 16 and finished when the switch 16 is turned off.

  When an instruction to automatically switch between a low beam and a high beam is issued by the switch 16, in step 100, the headlamp driver 20 is controlled by the light distribution control ECU 14, whereby the headlamp 12 is turned on by low beam and the process proceeds to step 102. . Although lighting is started with a low beam, lighting may be started with a high beam.

  In step 102, automatic switching control for automatically switching between the low beam and high beam of the headlamp 12 is performed, and the routine proceeds to step 104.

  Here, the automatic switching control will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of automatic switching control between the low beam and the high beam of the vehicle lighting device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  When the automatic switching control is started, in step 200, the photographing result of the camera 18 is acquired by the light distribution control ECU 14, and the process proceeds to step 202.

  In step 202, the forward vehicle is detected and the routine proceeds to step 204. The detection of the preceding vehicle is performed by, for example, determining whether there is a bright spot having a brightness higher than a predetermined brightness by image processing from the photographed image of the camera 18, or performing pattern matching or the like by image processing. Detects forward vehicles such as cars.

  In step 204, it is determined by the light distribution control ECU 14 whether there is a vehicle ahead. That is, it is determined whether or not a forward vehicle has been detected in step 202. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 206. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 210.

  In step 206, it is determined by the light distribution control ECU 14 whether or not the wheel speed detected by each wheel speed sensor 22 is equal to or higher than the predetermined wheel speed Va. If the determination is affirmative, the routine proceeds to step 208, where the determination is negative. If so, go to Step 210. In addition, this determination may be made to determine whether the vehicle speed detected based on the detection result of each wheel speed sensor 22 is more than a predetermined vehicle speed.

  In step 208, the headlamp 12 is switched to the high beam, the automatic switching control is returned, and the process proceeds to step 104 in FIG. That is, the light distribution control ECU 14 controls the headlamp driver 20 to switch the headlamp 12 to a high beam. At this time, when the headlamp 12 is already a high beam, the high beam is maintained.

  On the other hand, in step 210, the headlamp 12 is switched to the low beam, the automatic switching control is returned, and the process proceeds to step 104 in FIG. That is, the light distribution control ECU 14 controls the headlamp driver 20 to switch the headlamp 12 to the low beam. At this time, if the headlamp 12 is already a low beam, the low beam is maintained.

  Subsequently, when the process proceeds to step 104 in FIG. 3, the detection result of each wheel speed of the wheel provided on the vehicle detected by each wheel speed sensor 22 is acquired by the light distribution control ECU 14, and the process proceeds to step 106.

  In step 106, it is determined by the light distribution control ECU 14 whether or not idling has been detected. In this determination, for example, the wheel speeds of the respective wheels are compared, and it is determined that idling is detected when a difference greater than a predetermined speed occurs. That is, when the detection results of the wheel speed sensors 22 are not substantially the same, idling detection is performed, and when the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 108, and when the determination is negative, the process returns to step 104 and returns to the above-described case. The process is repeated.

  In step 108, the automatic switching control performed in step 102 described above is canceled by the light distribution control ECU 14, and the process proceeds to step 110. That is, since switching between the low beam and the high beam performed according to the wheel speed is canceled, passing that occurs when the wheel idles and the accelerator is turned on and off repeatedly can be prevented. When the automatic switching control is canceled, the state before the cancellation (low beam or high beam) may be maintained, or the low beam may be set.

  In step 110, it is determined again by the light distribution control ECU 14 whether or not idling has been detected. This determination is performed in the same manner as in Step 106. If the determination is affirmative, the automatic switching control is canceled, so that the determination is denied, that is, wait until the idling is stopped, that is, wait until the idling is stopped. When the result is negative, the process returns to step 100 and the above-described processing is repeated.

  In this way, when the process of automatically switching between the low beam and the high beam according to the wheel speed is performed, the idling is detected and the automatic switching between the low beam and the high beam according to the wheel speed is canceled, Switching between low beam and high beam can be performed automatically by preventing passing operation during idling.

  In the above embodiment, the light distribution control for switching between the low beam and the high beam according to the wheel speed is given as an example, but other light distribution control performed according to the wheel speed or the vehicle speed (for example, moving the optical axis). Or, a light distribution control for dimming light to an illumination target such as an oncoming vehicle or a pedestrian may be applied.

  In the above-described embodiment, the low beam and the high beam are switched using the predetermined wheel speed Va as a threshold, but a hysteris is provided to prevent control chattering when traveling near the predetermined wheel speed Va. You may do it. For example, the hysteresis may be provided with different thresholds for switching from the low beam to the high beam and the threshold for switching from the high beam to the low beam.

  In the above embodiment, the forward vehicle is detected based on the image captured by the camera 18, but the forward vehicle may be detected using a radar or the like. You may make it detect a vehicle.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle illuminating device concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the automatic switching control of the low beam of a vehicle illuminating device concerning embodiment of this invention, and a high beam. It is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the process performed by light distribution control ECU of the illuminating device for vehicles concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the automatic switching control of the low beam of a vehicle illuminating device concerning embodiment of this invention, and a high beam.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vehicle lighting device 12 Headlamp 14 Light distribution control ECU
18 Camera 20 Headlight driver 22 Wheel speed sensor

Claims (1)

Vehicle lighting means capable of switching between low beam and high beam;
Detecting means for detecting the wheel speed of each wheel provided in the vehicle;
When the wheel speed detected by the detection means is less than a predetermined value, the beam is switched to the low beam, the predetermined condition for switching to the high beam is satisfied, and the wheel speed detected by the detection means is switched to the high beam when the wheel speed is higher than the predetermined value. Control means for controlling the vehicle lighting means,
Determining means for determining idling of the wheel based on each wheel speed detected by the detecting means;
Prohibiting means for prohibiting the control by the control means when it is determined by the determining means that the wheel is idling;
A vehicle lighting device comprising:

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