JP6561939B2 - Headlamp system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a headlamp system that illuminates the front of a vehicle.

  There is known a headlamp system that detects a person in front of a vehicle and displays an information transmission image for transmitting predetermined information to the person on a road surface using a headlamp (see Patent Document 1). .

JP2013-203251A

  By the way, people such as pedestrians are generally not aware of the road surface but are aware of the target direction. On the other hand, for example, by blinking the information transmission image, a person's consciousness can be directed to the information transmission image, and the person's eyes can be attracted to the information transmission image. However, since the information transmission image is blinking, there is a possibility that it becomes difficult for a person to recognize the content of the information transmission image.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and when a person's face is not directed to a predetermined area of the road surface, the human consciousness is made by blinking light to the predetermined area of the road surface. When the person's face is facing a predetermined area on the road surface, the information transmission image is always displayed on the predetermined area on the road surface, so that the contents of the information transmission image are clearly displayed to the person. The main object is to provide a headlamp system that can be recognized.

In order to achieve the above object, one embodiment of the present invention provides:
Image acquisition means for acquiring an image around the vehicle;
Headlamp means for displaying an information transmission image for transmitting predetermined information to a predetermined area on the road surface in front of the vehicle;
Control means for controlling display of the headlamp means;
A headlamp system comprising:
A person detecting means for detecting a person in front of the vehicle based on the image obtained by the image obtaining means;
A face direction determining means for determining whether or not the face of the person detected by the person detecting means is directed to a predetermined area of the road surface based on the image acquired by the image acquiring means,
The control means includes
When the face direction determining means determines that the person's face is not directed to the predetermined area of the road surface, the headlamp means is controlled to blink light to the predetermined area of the road surface,
When the face direction determining means determines that the human face is facing a predetermined area on the road surface, the headlamp means is controlled so that the information transmission image is always displayed on the predetermined area on the road surface. To
It is a headlamp system characterized by this.

  According to the present invention, when a person's face is not directed to a predetermined area on the road surface, the person's consciousness is directed to the information transmission image by blinking light to the predetermined area on the road surface. To provide a headlamp system that allows a person to clearly recognize the contents of an information transmission image by always displaying the information transmission image on the predetermined area of the road surface when facing the predetermined area it can.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a headlamp system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a pedestrian's visual field. It is a figure which shows an example in the case of blinking light, and the case where an information transmission image is always displayed. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the processing flow of the person detection part which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the processing flow of the face direction determination part which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example which blinks and displays only the display character of an information transmission image. It is a figure which shows an example which blinks and displays only the outer frame of the display character of an information transmission image. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the control processing flow of the headlamp system which concerns on one 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 schematic configuration of a headlamp system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The headlamp system 1 according to the present embodiment controls, for example, a vehicle headlamp (headlight). The headlamp system 1 is mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile, for example. The headlamp system 1 has a function of displaying an information transmission image for transmitting predetermined information to a predetermined area on a road surface in front of the vehicle, separately from the headlamp that irradiates the front of the vehicle. The predetermined information is, for example, alert information such as “stop” or “caution” for alerting a person such as a pedestrian.

As shown in FIG. 1, the headlamp system 1 includes an image acquisition unit 2, a transmission image generation unit 3, an irradiation control unit 4, and a light distribution output unit 5.
The image acquisition unit 2 is a specific example of an image acquisition unit. The image acquisition unit 2 acquires an image around the vehicle, for example, by imaging the periphery of the vehicle using a camera. The camera may be configured as a night vision camera (infrared camera) provided with a separate projector, or may be configured as a visible light camera that captures visible light. The image acquisition unit 2 outputs the acquired image around the vehicle to the irradiation control unit 4.

  The transmission image generation unit 3 generates an information transmission image to be displayed for a predetermined area on the road surface in front of the vehicle. The transmission image generation unit 3 generates an information transmission image for transmitting predetermined information such as “stop”, “stop”, and “caution”, for example. The transmission image generation unit 3 outputs the generated information transmission image to the irradiation control unit 4. Note that the information transmission image may be set in advance in a memory described later. In this case, the headlamp system 1 may have a configuration that does not include the transmission image generation unit 3.

  It is a specific example of the light distribution output part 5 and a headlamp means. The light distribution output unit 5 displays an information transmission image on a predetermined area on the road surface in front of the vehicle. The light distribution output unit 5 displays the information transmission image generated by the transmission image generation unit in a predetermined area on the road surface in response to a control instruction from the irradiation control unit 4. The light distribution output unit 5 is constituted by, for example, a projector (a laser light, an LED (light emitting diode) or the like as a light source), or the like.

  The irradiation control unit 4 controls the light distribution output unit 5 based on the image ahead of the vehicle from the image acquisition unit 2 and the information transmission image from the transmission image generation unit 3. For example, the irradiation control unit 4 displays the information transmission image in the predetermined area while performing partial shading so that the light of the her beam is not applied to the predetermined area while the vehicle headlamp is in a high beam state. Thus, the light distribution output unit 5 is controlled.

  The irradiation control unit 4 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that performs arithmetic processing, control processing, and the like, an arithmetic program executed by the CPU, and a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory) that store various data. The hardware is composed mainly of a microcomputer comprising a memory comprising a memory, an interface unit (I / F) for inputting / outputting signals to / from the outside, and the like. The CPU, memory, and interface unit are connected to each other via a data bus or the like.

  By the way, if the vehicle itself uses a headlamp to actively display an information transmission image (stop, stop, caution, etc.) on the road surface in front of the vehicle, the safety of people nearby (such as pedestrians) Will be improved. However, pedestrians or the like are generally not aware of the road surface but are oriented toward the target direction. For example, when a pedestrian crosses a pedestrian crossing, the pedestrian's consciousness is low in the order of a car traveling on the road surface, a walking target direction, and an obstacle on the road surface, and attention to the road surface is the lowest. In particular, when the pedestrian is in a hurry, the consciousness is concentrated in the direction of the central visual field, and the consciousness on the road surface is further reduced (FIG. 2). For this reason, even if the information transmission image is displayed on the road surface in front of the vehicle, since the consciousness of a person such as a pedestrian is not on the road surface, it is difficult to notice the display.

In contrast, by blinking the information transmission image, the person's consciousness can be directed to the road surface information transmission image, and the person's eyes can be attracted to the information transmission image.
However, in this case, since the information transmission image blinks and the image disappears, there is a possibility that it becomes difficult for a person to recognize the contents of the information transmission image.

  Therefore, in the headlamp system 1 according to the present embodiment, when the irradiation control unit 4 determines that the person's face is not facing the predetermined area on the road surface, the light is blinked on the predetermined area on the road surface. The light distribution output unit 5 is controlled (FIG. 3). On the other hand, when it is determined that the person's face is facing a predetermined area on the road surface, the irradiation control unit 4 controls the light distribution output unit 5 so that an information transmission image is always displayed on the predetermined area on the road surface.

  As a result, when a person's face is not directed to a predetermined area on the road surface, that is, when the person's consciousness is not directed to a predetermined area on the road surface, the human consciousness is blinked by flashing light to the predetermined area on the road surface. Can be directed to a predetermined area of the road surface. On the other hand, when a person's face is facing a predetermined area on the road surface, the information transmission image is always displayed on the predetermined area of the road surface, so that the person can clearly recognize the contents of the information transmission image. .

  The irradiation control unit 4 includes a person detection unit 41 that detects a person in front of the vehicle, a face direction determination unit 42 that determines whether or not the face of the person detected by the person detection unit 41 faces a predetermined area on the road surface, and And a control unit 43 that controls the light distribution output unit 5 in accordance with the determination result of the face orientation determination unit 42.

  The human detection unit 41 is a specific example of human detection means. Based on the image around the vehicle acquired by the image acquisition unit 2, the person detection unit 41 detects a person who may collide with the vehicle and needs attention in front of the vehicle (vehicle traveling direction). The person detection unit 41 outputs the detected information of the person in front of the vehicle to the face direction determination unit 42.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing flow of the human detection unit according to the present embodiment. Note that the processing flows shown in FIG. 4 and later-described FIGS. 5 and 8 are repeatedly executed at predetermined time intervals, for example.
The person detection unit 41 detects a person in front of the vehicle from the image based on the image around the vehicle output from the image acquisition unit 2 (step S101).

The person detection unit 41 detects the movement direction and movement speed of the person in front of the detected vehicle based on the image around the vehicle output from the image acquisition unit 2 (step S102).
Based on the detected movement direction and movement speed of the person and the movement direction and movement speed of the vehicle, the person detection unit 41 estimates a collision time TTC in which the vehicle and the person collide (step S103).

The person detection unit 41 determines whether or not the estimated collision time TTC is less than the threshold (step S104).
When the estimated collision time TTC is less than the threshold (YES in step S104), the person detection unit 41 estimates that the person may collide with the vehicle and needs caution, and detects the person. (Step S105). On the other hand, if the estimated collision time TTC is greater than or equal to the threshold (NO in step S104), the person detection unit 41 estimates that the person is a safe pedestrian that does not collide with the vehicle, and does not detect the person (step S106). For example, a time of about 3 seconds is preset in the memory as the threshold value.

  In addition, the method for the person detection unit 41 to detect a person in front of the vehicle is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the person detection unit 41 may detect the person based on the distance between the person and the vehicle. Further, the threshold value may be changed according to the type of person (child, elderly, male, female, etc.). As a result, it is possible to detect a pedestrian requiring attention more accurately.

  The face orientation determination unit 42 is a specific example of a face orientation determination unit. Based on the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 2, the face direction determination unit 42 determines whether or not the human face detected by the human detection unit 41 faces a predetermined area on the road surface. The face orientation determination unit 42 outputs a determination result of whether or not a person's face is facing a predetermined area on the road surface to the control unit 43.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing flow of the face orientation determination unit according to the present embodiment.
The face orientation determination unit 42 detects the silhouette of the person detected by the person detection unit 41 based on the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 2 (step S111).

The face orientation determination unit 42 detects the bending angle of the person's neck based on the detected silhouette (step S112).
The face orientation determination unit 42 determines whether or not the state in which the detected person's neck flexion angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle continues for a certain period of time (step S113). The predetermined angle is set in advance in the memory or the like, for example, about 40 °.

  When the face orientation determination unit 42 determines that the state in which the detected person's neck flexion angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle has continued for a certain period of time (YES in step S113), the detected person's face is the road surface. (Step S114). On the other hand, when the face orientation determination unit 42 determines that the state in which the detected person's neck flexion angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle has not continued for a certain period of time (NO in step S113), the detected person's face Is determined not to face the predetermined area of the road surface (step S115).

  Note that the method of determining whether or not the human face detected by the human detection unit 41 is directed to a predetermined area on the road surface is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the face orientation determination unit 42 detects the bending angle of the person's neck, the horizontal rotation angle, and the human torso direction based on the detected person's silhouette, and detects the detected bending angle and horizontal rotation. Based on the angle and the trunk direction, it may be determined whether or not the detected human face is facing a predetermined area of the road surface. Thereby, it can be determined with higher accuracy whether or not the person's face is facing a predetermined area of the road surface.

  The control unit 43 is a specific example of the control means. The control unit 43 controls the light distribution output unit 5 based on the determination result output from the face orientation determination unit 42 and the information transmission image output from the transmission image generation unit 3. When the face orientation determination unit 42 determines that the face of the person detected by the person detection unit 41 does not face the predetermined area of the road surface, the control unit 43 determines whether the face direction determination unit 42 determines the road surface. The light distribution output unit 5 is controlled so as to blink the light in the predetermined area. On the other hand, when the face direction determination unit 42 determines that the human face is facing a predetermined area on the road surface by the human detection unit 41, the control unit 43 determines whether the face direction determination unit 42 The light distribution output unit 5 is controlled so that the information transmission image is always displayed for the predetermined area.

The control unit 43 controls the light distribution output unit 5 so that, for example, the entire information transmission image is blinked and displayed as the light on the predetermined area of the road surface according to the determination result of the face direction determination unit 42. May be.
The control unit 43 may control the light distribution output unit 5 so that a part of the information transmission image blinks and displays a predetermined area on the road surface according to the determination result of the face direction determination unit 42. Good. More specifically, the control unit 43 applies only display characters (for example, “stop” in FIG. 6) in the information transmission image to a predetermined area on the road surface according to the determination result of the face direction determination unit 42. You may control the light distribution output part 5 so that it may blink and display. Alternatively, the control unit 43 blinks only the outer frame (for example, the Δ frame in FIG. 7) of the display character in the information transmission image for a predetermined area on the road surface according to the determination result of the face direction determination unit 42. The light distribution output unit 5 may be controlled so as to display. Thereby, the person can be made to recognize more clearly the content of the display character to transmit. Further, the control unit 43 may perform blinking and displaying the light by performing negative / positive inversion on a predetermined area of the road surface. The control unit 43 may change the color (red, blue, yellow, etc.) of the information transmission image and blink the predetermined area on the road surface.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a control processing flow of the headlamp system according to the present embodiment.
The person detection unit 41 detects a person in front of the vehicle based on the image around the vehicle output from the image acquisition unit 2 (step S131).

Based on the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 2, the face orientation determination unit 42 determines whether or not the human face detected by the human detection unit 41 faces a predetermined area on the road surface (step S132).
When it is determined that the human face detected by the face orientation determination unit 42 does not face the predetermined area on the road surface (NO in step S132), the control unit 43 causes the predetermined area on the road surface to blink. The light distribution output unit 5 is controlled (step S133).

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the human face detected by the face direction determination unit 42 is facing the predetermined area on the road surface (YES in step S132), the control unit 43 outputs an information transmission image to the predetermined area on the road surface. The light distribution output unit 5 is controlled so as to be always displayed (step S134).

  As described above, in the headlamp system 1 according to the present embodiment, when the irradiation control unit 4 determines that the human face is not facing the predetermined area on the road surface, the light is blinked on the predetermined area on the road surface. The light distribution output unit 5 is controlled. On the other hand, when it is determined that the person's face is facing a predetermined area on the road surface, the irradiation control unit 4 controls the light distribution output unit 5 so that an information transmission image is always displayed on the predetermined area on the road surface.

  As a result, when the human face is not directed to the predetermined area on the road surface, the person's consciousness is directed to the information transmission image by blinking light to the predetermined area on the road surface, so that the human face is the predetermined area on the road surface. When the vehicle is facing, the information transmission image is always displayed on a predetermined area of the road surface, so that the person can clearly recognize the contents of the information transmission image.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Headlamp system, 2 Image acquisition part, 3 Transmission image generation part, 4 Irradiation control part, 5 Light distribution output part, 41 Person detection part, 42 Face direction determination part, 43 Control part

Claims (1)

Image acquisition means for acquiring an image around the vehicle;
Headlamp means for displaying an information transmission image for transmitting predetermined information to a predetermined area on the road surface in front of the vehicle;
Control means for controlling display of the headlamp means;
A headlamp system comprising:
A person detecting means for detecting a person in front of the vehicle based on the image obtained by the image obtaining means;
A face direction determining means for determining whether or not the face of the person detected by the person detecting means is directed to a predetermined area of the road surface based on the image acquired by the image acquiring means,
The control means includes
When the face direction determining means determines that the person's face is not directed to the predetermined area of the road surface, the headlamp means is controlled to blink light to the predetermined area of the road surface,
When the face direction determining means determines that the human face is facing a predetermined area on the road surface, the headlamp means is controlled so that the information transmission image is always displayed on the predetermined area on the road surface. To
A headlamp system characterized by that.

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