JP5216628B2 - Headlamp auto leveling device and optical axis moving means operation confirmation method using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily recognize completion of initialization of an automatic leveling device. <P>SOLUTION: In the automatic leveling device, a pitch angle of a vehicle is determined from a vehicle height value at front and rear sides of the vehicle detected by a vehicle height detection device and an optical axis of a headlamp 30 is inclined in a vertical direction based on the pitch angle. Completion of initialization of the detection value of the vehicle height detection device is informed by vertically moving the optical axis of the headlamp 30. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an auto leveling device for a vehicle headlamp and an optical axis moving means operation confirmation method using the same, and more particularly to an initialization technique for the auto leveling device.

  An auto-leveling device has been developed so that the irradiation direction of the headlamp does not change due to the change in the pitch angle of the vehicle depending on the vehicle occupant and the loading state. The auto-leveling device calculates the pitch angle of the vehicle by detecting the vehicle height before and after the vehicle after making the optical axis of the headlamp tiltable. Then, tilting control of the optical axis of the headlamp is performed so that the headlamp always irradiates slightly downward with respect to the road surface.

  In such an automatic leveling device, it is necessary to perform parameter initialization work in order to accurately calculate the pitch angle of the vehicle from the vehicle height detection signal. Specifically, the difference between the vehicle height detection signal when the vehicle is set to the reference state and the designed vehicle height value is stored in the ECU as an initialization value. Then, by correcting the vehicle height detection signal each time using this initialization value, it is possible to calculate an accurate pitch angle that eliminates the mounting error of the vehicle height detection means (Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-56437 A

  By the way, since the initialization work for storing the initialization value in the ECU as described above is a data rewriting process in the ECU, the operator can directly confirm whether or not the initialization is completed visually. is not. For example, the internal data of the ECU must be confirmed using some equipment (terminal or the like), and there is a problem that it is inefficient because it takes time to complete initialization work.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an auto leveling device for a headlamp that can easily recognize completion of initialization.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a vehicle height detecting means for detecting a vehicle height value before and after the vehicle, and a vehicle pitch angle is calculated based on the vehicle height value detected by the vehicle height detecting means. Pitch angle calculating means, optical axis tilting means for tilting the optical axis of the headlamp of the vehicle in the vertical direction, and pitch angle calculating means so that the optical axis of the headlamp is held at a predetermined angle with respect to the road surface. The control means for controlling the optical axis tilting means based on the pitch angle of the vehicle calculated by the above and the difference between the vehicle height value when the vehicle is in the reference state and the design value of the vehicle height value is stored as an initialization value. And an initializing unit that corrects and initializes the vehicle height value detected by the detecting unit with an initializing value . The initializing unit includes a light for the headlamp when the initialization is completed. The axis is tilted to the prescribed The optical axis tilting means is controlled so as to operate, and the completion of initialization is notified, and the predetermined tilting operation is performed when the initial setting position of the optical axis at the completion of initialization is closer to the movable upper limit position than the movable lower limit position. Is an operation that first moves downward to the movable lower limit position and then tilts upward to the movable upper limit position, while the initial setting position of the optical axis at the completion of initialization is closer to the movable lower limit position than the movable upper limit position. Is characterized in that it first moves upward to the movable upper limit position and then tilts downward to the movable lower limit position .

Also, the invention of claim 2, in claim 1, wherein the predetermined tilting operation, after the optical axis of the headlamp is tilted downward from the initial setting position during initialization complete until the movable lower limit position, the movable upper limit position It is an operation that tilts upward to return to the initial setting position.

Further, the invention of claim 3 is characterized in that, in claim 1 or 2 , the time required for a predetermined tilting operation of the optical axis at the completion of initialization is measured, and the followability of the optical axis tilting means is based on the measured time. It is characterized by comprising a follow-up determination means for determining the above.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the mounted device is a lighting control unit that controls lighting of the headlamp, and the initialization unit is configured so that the headlamp blinks when the initialization is completed. The lighting control means is controlled.

Further, the invention of claim 5 is a method for confirming the operation of the optical axis moving means for a vehicle provided with the auto leveling device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the required irradiation range of the headlight is set in front of a predetermined distance of the vehicle. By displaying the irradiated means and displaying whether or not the irradiation range of the irradiation light of the headlamp includes the necessary irradiation range by a predetermined tilting operation of the optical axis at the completion of initialization, the optical axis movable means An optical axis moving means operation confirmation method characterized by performing an operation confirmation.

According to the headlamp auto-leveling device of claim 1 of the present invention, the initialization completion is notified by the movement of the optical axis of the headlight, so that the initialization can be performed easily and quickly without newly using a device such as a terminal. You can recognize completion. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the man-hours and the burden on the operator in the initialization work. Further, when the initialization is completed, it is possible to confirm the operation such as whether or not the optical axis tilting means of the headlight operates.
Further, when the optical axis of the headlamp is tilted when the initialization is completed, it is tilted from a large direction first, so that the initialization completion can be recognized more clearly.

According to the headlamp auto-leveling device of claim 2 of the present invention, since the optical axis of the headlamp is largely tilted between the movable lower limit position and the movable upper limit position when the initialization is completed, the initialization completion is clearly recognized. Can be made .

According to the headlamp automatic leveling device of the third aspect of the present invention, the followability of the optical axis moving means can be easily determined by the time required for the predetermined tilting operation of the optical axis when the initialization is completed.
According to the headlamp auto-leveling device of claim 4 of the present invention, the completion of initialization can be clearly recognized by blinking of the headlamp.

According to the optical axis movable means operation confirmation method of claim 5 of the present invention, the optical axis movable means of the optical axis movable means depends on whether or not the irradiation range includes the maximum irradiation setting range by the tilting operation of the optical axis of the headlight when the initialization is completed. The irradiation range can be easily confirmed.

It is a lineblock diagram of an auto leveling device concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining the initialization completion alerting | reporting operation | movement. It is a block diagram of the auto leveling apparatus which concerns on other embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an auto leveling device 1 according to the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, an automatic leveling device 1 for a headlamp 30 of a vehicle according to this embodiment includes a front vehicle height detection device 2, a rear vehicle height detection device 3, a leveling ECU 4, a right lamp irradiation direction control device 5, and a left A lamp irradiation direction control device 6 is provided.

  The front vehicle height detection device 2 uses a side length sensor that detects a vertical distance between the front axle of the vehicle and the vehicle body, and detects a vehicle height value of the front of the vehicle relative to the road surface. The rear vehicle height detection device 3 uses a side length sensor that detects a vertical distance between the rear axle of the vehicle and the vehicle body, and detects a vehicle height value at the rear of the vehicle relative to the road surface. The front vehicle height detection device 2 and the rear vehicle height detection device 3 correspond to the vehicle height detection means of the present invention.

  The right lamp irradiation direction control device 5 is provided in the right headlamp 30 of the vehicle, and the left lamp irradiation direction control device 6 is provided in the left headlamp 30 of the vehicle. The left and right headlamps 30 of the vehicle are configured such that reflectors equipped with bulbs are supported so as to be tiltable in the vertical direction with respect to the housing. Further, an actuator is provided as the right lamp irradiation direction control device 5 or the left lamp irradiation direction control device 6 between the housing of the headlamp 30 and the reflector. For example, an electric motor is used as the actuator, and the reflector is tilted up and down via a ball screw. Therefore, the optical axis of the headlamp 30 can be tilted up and down by tilting the reflector by operating the actuator. The right lamp irradiation direction control device 5 and the left lamp irradiation direction control device 6 correspond to the optical axis tilting means of the present invention.

The leveling ECU 4 includes a pitch angle calculation unit 10 (pitch angle calculation unit), a parameter initialization processing unit 11 (initialization unit), and a correction control output unit 12 (correction control unit).
The pitch angle calculation unit 10 inputs vehicle height values of the front and rear parts of the vehicle from the front vehicle height detection device 2 and the rear vehicle height detection device 3, and calculates a pitch angle that is an inclination angle in the front-rear direction of the vehicle.
The parameter initialization processing unit 11 is for correcting a vehicle height value that is a parameter input from the front vehicle height detection device 2 and the rear vehicle height detection device 3. The parameter initialization processing unit 3 performs initialization processing in response to an initialization start command after the vehicle is set to the reference state. The reference state is a state where the vehicle is stopped on the horizontal base under the condition that the number of passengers of the vehicle is a predetermined number, the gasoline tank is full, and the tires are at a predetermined air pressure. Specifically, the parameter initialization processing unit 11 receives left and right vehicle height values input from the front vehicle height detection device 2 and the rear vehicle height detection device 3 when the vehicle is in a reference state when receiving an initialization start command. Are compared with the design values of the left and right vehicle height values stored in advance in the reference state, the difference between the two is taken, and this difference is stored as an initialization value. This initialization value is used for the calculation of the pitch angle in the pitch angle calculation unit 10 thereafter. Specifically, the front and rear initialization values are subtracted from the front and rear vehicle height values input from the front vehicle height detection device 2 and the rear vehicle height detection device 3 for correction.

  The correction control output unit 12 outputs a correction signal to the right lamp irradiation direction control device 5 and the left lamp irradiation direction control device 6 based on the variation of the vehicle pitch angle calculated by the pitch angle calculation unit 10. For example, even if the optical axis of the headlamp 30 changes with respect to the road surface due to a change in the pitch angle of the vehicle due to loading on the vehicle or the like, this is corrected to make the optical axis of the headlamp 30 parallel to the road surface. The headlamp 30 is kept constant at a slightly downward position so that the headlamp 30 is not dazzled with respect to the oncoming vehicle.

In particular, in the present embodiment, the parameter initialization processing unit 11 outputs an initialization completion signal to the correction control output unit 12 when the initialization process is completed. The correction control output unit 12 controls the left and right lamp irradiation direction control devices 5 and 6 so that the head lamp 30 performs the initialization completion notification operation (predetermined tilting operation) when the initialization completion signal is input. .
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the initialization completion notification operation.

  The initialization completion notification operation is a series of operations 1 to 3 described below. As shown in FIG. 2, the first operation 1 is an operation for moving the optical axis of the headlamp 30 downward from the initial setting position A set after the completion of initialization to the movable lower limit position B. The next operation 2 is an operation of moving from the movable lower limit position B upward to the movable upper limit position C. The last operation 3 is an operation for returning from the movable upper limit position C to the initial setting position A.

By performing the initialization completion notification operation as described above, the operator can recognize that the initialization setting is completed by moving the optical axis of the headlamp 30 up and down. Therefore, the initialization completion can be recognized easily and quickly without using other devices such as a terminal. In addition, the operation of the left and right lamp irradiation direction control devices 5 and 6 can be confirmed.
Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a necessary irradiation range (required movable lower limit position D and necessary movable upper limit position E) is applied to an irradiation plate 32 (irradiated means) installed in front of the vehicle in order to confirm the irradiation position of the headlamp 30. ) Should be provided. In this way, when the optical axis of the headlamp 30 tilts up and down at the time of initial completion, it can be confirmed whether or not the irradiation range can cover the necessary irradiation range. The irradiation setting confirmations 5 and 6 can be easily performed together.

In the above embodiment, the initialization completion notification operation is controlled to move downward first. However, in the present invention, in the leveling ECU 4, the initial setting position A is set to either the movable lower limit position B or the movable upper limit position C. What is necessary is just to determine whether it is near and to move to a distant direction first . By doing in this way, the first operation | movement of initialization completion alerting | reporting operation | movement can be enlarged comparatively, and an operator can be made to recognize initialization completion rapidly.

  Further, a timer may be provided in the leveling ECU 4 to measure the operating time of the headlamp 30 in the initialization completion notification operation. And it is good to confirm the followability of an auto leveling apparatus by determining whether this measured operation time is in predetermined time in leveling ECU4 (followability determination means). In this way, it is possible to omit the work of confirming the operation followability of the auto leveling device by applying a load such as a sand bag to the vehicle in the past, thereby reducing the labor of the worker and reducing the number of confirmation work. be able to.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of an auto leveling device 20 according to another embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, an initialization completion signal is transmitted from the parameter initialization processing unit 11 of the leveling ECU 4 to the headlamp control ECU 21 that performs lighting control of the headlamp 30 via CAN communication or the like. Then, the headlamp control ECU 21 controls the left and right headlamps 30 to perform a blinking operation in response to the initialization completion signal, and notifies the initialization completion. Thereby, the completion of initialization can be clearly notified. Alternatively, the initialization completion may be notified by using a device mounted in advance in the vehicle, for example, an indicator or a horn, instead of blinking the headlamp 30.

1, 20 Auto-leveling device 2 Front vehicle height detection device 3 Rear vehicle height detection device 4 Leveling ECU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 5 Right lamp irradiation direction control apparatus 6 Left lamp irradiation direction control apparatus 10 Pitch angle calculation part 11 Parameter initialization process part 12 Correction control output part 21 Headlamp control ECU
30 Headlamp

Claims (5)

Vehicle height detection means for detecting vehicle height values before and after the vehicle;
Pitch angle calculation means for calculating the pitch angle of the vehicle based on the vehicle height value detected by the vehicle height detection means;
Optical axis tilting means for tilting the optical axis of the headlamp of the vehicle in the vertical direction;
Control means for controlling the optical axis tilting means based on the pitch angle of the vehicle calculated by the pitch angle calculating means so that the optical axis of the headlamp is held at a predetermined angle with respect to the road surface;
The difference between the vehicle height value and the design value of the vehicle height value when the vehicle is in the reference state is stored as an initialization value, and the vehicle height value detected by the vehicle height detection means is corrected by the initialization value and initialized. Initialization means;
In an auto leveling device for a headlamp of a vehicle equipped with
The initialization means, when initialization is completed , controls the optical axis tilting means so that the optical axis of the headlamp performs a predetermined tilting operation, and notifies the initialization completion,
When the initial setting position of the optical axis at the completion of the initialization is closer to the movable upper limit position than the movable lower limit position, the predetermined tilting operation first moves downward to the movable lower limit position and then moves the movable upper limit position. When the initial setting position of the optical axis when the initialization is completed is closer to the movable lower limit position than the movable upper limit position, the movement is first moved upward to the movable upper limit position. Then, the headlamp automatic leveling device is an operation of tilting downward to the movable lower limit position . Wherein the predetermined tilting operation, after the optical axis of the headlamp is tilted downward from the initial setting position during initialization completion to said movable lower limit position, and tilted upward to the movable upper limit position, to the initial set position 2. The headlamp automatic leveling device according to claim 1 , wherein the headlamp automatic leveling device is a returning operation. The apparatus includes a followability determining unit that measures a time required for a predetermined tilting operation of the optical axis when the initialization is completed, and determines the followability of the optical axis tilting unit based on the measured time. An automatic leveling device for a headlamp according to claim 1 or 2 . The mounted device is a lighting control means for controlling lighting of the headlamp,
2. The headlamp automatic leveling device according to claim 1, wherein the initialization unit controls the lighting control unit so that the headlamp blinks when the initialization is completed. An optical axis moving means operation confirmation method for a vehicle comprising the auto leveling device according to claim 1 ,
An irradiation unit displaying a necessary irradiation range of the headlight is provided in front of a predetermined distance of the vehicle, and an irradiation range of the irradiation light of the headlamp is determined by a predetermined tilting operation of the optical axis when the initialization is completed. A method for confirming the operation of the optical axis movable means, wherein the operation confirmation of the optical axis movable means is performed by confirming whether or not the necessary irradiation range is included.

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