JP7532205B2 - Vehicle lamp and control device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle lamp that is applied to the headlamps of vehicles such as automobiles, and a control device that controls the light distribution.

Recently, automotive headlamps have adopted ADB (Adaptive Driving Beam: variable light distribution) control, which prevents dazzling preceding vehicles, oncoming vehicles, or pedestrians (hereinafter referred to as objects) while improving the lighting effect in the area ahead of the vehicle. In Patent Document 1, when an object is detected from an image captured by a camera, ADB control is performed to detect the position of the object and control the illumination area of the lamp unit's illumination light based on this detected position.

In a headlamp that performs this type of ADB control, if there is a misalignment between the optical axis direction when an object is viewed from the lamp and the optical axis direction when the object is imaged by a camera, i.e., parallax, an error will occur in the light distribution control of the lamp unit based on the image captured by the camera. For this reason, in Patent Document 1, the lamp unit and camera are built into the same lamp housing.

This type of headlamp is also provided with an aiming adjustment mechanism for adjusting the direction of the optical axis of the lamp unit. This aiming adjustment mechanism is usually configured so that the lamp unit is mounted on a tiltable bracket, and the forward tilt angle of this bracket is adjusted to adjust the direction of the optical axis of the lamp unit. In headlamps that perform ADB control, a camera is mounted on the same bracket as the lamp unit, and the optical axis of the camera is aligned with the optical axis of the lamp unit while the optical axis of the lamp unit is adjusted.

International Publication No. WO 2018/135356

In this headlamp, during ADB control, control may be performed to deflect the entire light irradiation area up and down without changing the light distribution pattern. In this case, so-called leveling control is performed to deflect the optical axis direction of the lamp unit up and down. That is, the bracket on which the lamp unit is mounted is configured so that it can be tilted by a leveling actuator, and when required by ADB control, the leveling actuator is driven to tilt the bracket, tilting the optical axis direction of the lamp unit up and down. This makes it possible to simplify the processing in ADB control.

However, when the bracket is tilted to change the optical axis direction of the lamp unit in leveling control, the optical axis direction of the camera mounted on the bracket is also changed accordingly. This causes the position in the image captured by the camera to change, and when detecting the object, it becomes necessary to correct the position change of the object. Leveling control is required to perform high-speed control that follows the position change of the object, but if the position of the object in the captured image shifts, processing is required to correct this position, and this processing takes time, making it difficult to execute high-speed leveling control or ADB control with good tracking ability.

The object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle lamp that enables high-speed leveling control or ADB control, and a control device that controls the light distribution.

The vehicle lamp of the present invention is a lamp mounted on a vehicle, and the lamp housing of the lamp is equipped with a lamp camera that captures an image of an object outside the vehicle, and a lamp unit that changes and controls the distribution of light emitted based on the position information of the object captured by the lamp camera. The lamp camera has an imaging optical axis that is directed in a predetermined direction based on the vehicle, and the lamp unit has an illumination optical axis that is changed and controlled in the vertical direction based on the position information of the object.

In this vehicle lamp, the lamp camera is fixedly supported by an aiming bracket , the lamp unit is supported by a leveling bracket that is tiltable in the vertical and horizontal directions relative to the aiming bracket , and the irradiation optical axis is changed in the vertical and horizontal directions as the leveling bracket tilts. The leveling bracket is equipped with a leveling actuator that tilts the leveling bracket based on a position change of an object.

The vehicle lamp control device of the present invention includes a vehicle lamp equipped on a vehicle having a lamp housing that includes a lamp camera that captures an image of an object present outside the vehicle and a lamp unit that changes and controls the light distribution of the light emitted based on position information of the object captured by the lamp camera, and a control means for controlling the light distribution and irradiation optical axis of the lamp unit. The lamp camera is fixedly supported by an aiming bracket that can adjust the tilt position in the vertical and horizontal directions relative to the lamp housing, and the lamp unit is supported by a leveling bracket that can be tilted up and down relative to the aiming bracket, and the control means includes an object detection unit that detects the object from the image captured by the lamp camera, and a lamp control unit that controls the light distribution of the lamp unit based on position information of the detected object and changes and controls the irradiation optical axis of the lamp unit in the vertical direction based on the change in position of the object.

The vehicle lamp control device of the present invention preferably further includes a front camera that captures images of objects present outside the vehicle at a higher resolution than the lamp camera, and the lamp control unit controls the lamp unit based on position information of the objects captured by the front camera and the lamp camera. Here, the lamp camera is capable of capturing images at a higher frame rate than the front camera, and the lamp control unit controls the illumination optical axis based on changes in the position of the object captured by the lamp camera.

According to the vehicle lamp and control device of the present invention, the imaging optical axis of the camera is fixed relative to the vehicle, so even if the illumination optical axis of the lamp unit is leveled, a lamp control signal for leveling control in the control means can be easily generated, and high-speed leveling control or ADB control can be realized.

1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an embodiment of a vehicle lamp and a control device thereof; FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the main components of a left headlamp. FIG. 13 is a pattern diagram of a Lo light distribution pattern and an AHi light distribution pattern. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an AHi lamp unit. Schematic diagram of images captured by a front camera and a lamp camera. Schematic diagram of a light distribution pattern based on leveling control. FIG. 13 is a pattern diagram of an AHi light distribution pattern of an AHi lamp unit according to a modified example.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of an embodiment of a vehicle lamp in which the present invention is applied to an automobile headlamp and its control device. In the figure, headlamps L-HL and R-HL are installed on the left and right sides of the front of the body of an automobile CAR. These left and right headlamps L-HL and R-HL are symmetrically configured. In the following description, the left and right headlamps may be collectively referred to as headlamp HL.

In FIG. 1, a front camera FCAM is installed inside the front windshield FW of the automobile CAR, and is capable of capturing images of the required area in front of the automobile CAR at the required frame rate and with the required resolution. Here, the front camera FCAM is equipped with an imaging lens with a specified focal length, and the imaging element has light receiving sensitivity ranging from the visible light region to the infrared light region, making it possible to capture images of objects with high resolution during the day and at night.

The front camera FCAM is connected to the vehicle ECU (electronic control unit) 100 of the automobile. This vehicle ECU 100 is configured as the control means in the present invention, and includes an object detection unit 101, a lamp control unit 102, and a camera control unit 103. The object detection unit 101 detects objects by performing image analysis on images captured by the front camera FCAM. It is also possible to detect objects by performing image analysis on images captured by the lamp camera LCAM, which will be described later.

The lamp control unit 102 generates a lamp control signal for controlling the illumination and light distribution of the headlamps HL based on the detected object, and outputs the signal to the headlamps HL. The vehicle ECU 100 also includes other control units for controlling the vehicle speed and steering of the automobile CAR, as well as providing driving assistance, based on the object detected by the object detection unit 101, but these control units are not relevant to the present invention and therefore will not be described here. The camera control unit 103 controls the front camera FCAM and the lamp camera LCAM, which will be described later.

As shown in Figure 1 as the left headlamp L-HL, the headlamp HL includes a low beam lamp unit (hereinafter, Lo lamp unit) LoLU, a high beam lamp unit (hereinafter, AHi lamp unit) AHiLU that can be controlled by ADB, a turn signal lamp unit (hereinafter, TS lamp unit) TSLU, and a daytime running lamp unit (hereinafter, DR lamp unit) DRLU that also functions as a clearance lamp, and is configured as a composite headlamp with these lamp units housed within a single lamp housing 1.

The lamp housing 1 also houses a lamp camera LCAM that captures images at a frame rate faster than the front camera FCAM, making it possible to capture images of the area in front of the vehicle CAM, particularly of an area that is roughly the same as the area captured by the front camera FCAM. The lamp housing 1 also houses a lamp driving module LDM that drives the emission (lighting) of each lamp unit based on the lamp control signal. The lamp camera LCAM and lamp driving module LDM are connected to the vehicle ECU 100.

Although detailed illustration is omitted, the TS lamp unit TSLU and the DR lamp unit DRLU are fixedly attached to the lamp housing 1. On the other hand, the Lo lamp unit LoLU, the AHi lamp unit AHiLU, and the lamp camera LCAM are attached within the lamp housing 1 in such a way that the directions of their respective optical axes, i.e., the illumination optical axis and the imaging optical axis, can be adjusted as appropriate.

Figures 2 and 3 show the configuration for adjusting the optical axis directions of the Lo lamp unit LoLU, AHi lamp unit AHiLU, and lamp camera LCAM, with Figure 2 being a vertical cross-sectional view of the left headlamp L-HL, and Figure 3 being a schematic perspective view. In these figures, the lamp housing 1 is configured to include a container-shaped lamp body 11 that is open at the front, and a translucent cover 12 attached to the opening of this lamp body 11. As described above, the DR lamp unit DRLU is fixedly attached to this lamp body 11, and is configured to irradiate light through the translucent cover 12 when lit. Although not shown in Figures 2 and 3, the TS lamp unit TSLU also has a similar configuration.

In the lamp housing 1, the Lo lamp unit LoLU, the AHi lamp unit AHiLU, and the lamp camera LCAM are mounted on an aiming bracket (first member of the present invention) 2 whose tilt angle is adjustable. However, the Lo lamp unit LoLU and the A-Hi lamp unit AHiLU are mounted on a leveling bracket (second member of the present invention) 3 that is configured separately from the aiming bracket 2, and are supported by the aiming bracket 2 via this leveling bracket 3. On the other hand, the lamp camera LCAM is mounted directly on the aiming bracket 2, and the imaging optical axis Ac of this lamp camera LCAM is directed at a predetermined angle relative to the aiming bracket 2.

The aiming bracket 2 is supported on the lamp body 11 by an aiming mechanism 20 that can tilt up and down and left and right. In this aiming mechanism 20, the aiming bracket 2 is supported on the lamp body 11 at one corner by a fulcrum part 21, a vertical aiming adjustment part 22 is disposed on a part of the lower side of the fulcrum part 21, and a left and right aiming adjustment part 23 is disposed on a part of the left side of the fulcrum part 21. The fulcrum part 21 and the vertical or left and right aiming adjustment parts 22, 23 are of known configuration and will not be described in detail, but are, for example, composed of an aiming screw and an aiming nut screwed into it. By operating this aiming screw with a jig or the like, the aiming bracket 2 can adjust the forward tilt angle in the vertical direction and the swing angle in the horizontal direction with the fulcrum part 21 as the fulcrum.

The leveling bracket 3 is supported by the aiming bracket 2 by a leveling mechanism 30 that can tilt up and down. In this leveling mechanism 30, the leveling bracket 3 is supported by the aiming bracket 2 at its upper edge, here at two points on the left and right of the upper edge, by fulcrum parts 31 and 32, respectively. In addition, the leveling actuator LACT supported by the aiming bracket 2 is connected to a part of the lower edge of the leveling bracket 3. This leveling actuator LACT is composed of, for example, an electric motor 33 equipped with a leveling screw 34, and a leveling nut 35 attached to a part of the lower edge of the leveling bracket 3 is screwed into it. When the leveling actuator LACT is driven to rotate, the leveling nut 35 screwed into the leveling screw 34 is screwed forward, and the lower edge of the leveling bracket 3 is moved in the front-rear direction accordingly, and its forward tilt angle is changed and controlled.

Here, in the initial state of the leveling mechanism 30, the relative forward tilt angle of the leveling bracket 3 with respect to the aiming bracket 2 is set to a predetermined angle, for example, 0 degrees. In this initial state, the irradiation optical axes Al and Aa of the Lo lamp unit LoLu and AHi lamp unit AHiLU mounted on the leveling bracket 3 are each oriented in the same direction as the imaging optical axis Ac of the lamp camera LCAM.

Therefore, by adjusting the tilt angle of the aiming bracket 2 with the aiming mechanism 20, the directions of the optical axes Al, Aa, and Ac of the Lo lamp unit LoLU, AHi lamp unit AHiLU, and lamp camera LCAM can be adjusted all at once. In addition, by changing the forward tilt angle of the leveling bracket 3 with the leveling mechanism 30, the optical axis directions of the Lo lamp unit LoLU and the A-Hi lamp unit AHiLU can be changed and controlled simultaneously.

A brief description of each of the lamp units will be given below. The TS lamp unit TSLU uses an LED (light emitting diode) as a light source and is configured to emit amber light through a lens. This TS lamp unit TSLU is disposed in an area facing outward in the vehicle width direction within the lamp housing 1. The TS lamp unit TSLU may be configured so that the LED itself emits amber light, or it may be configured so that white light emitted by the LED is emitted through an amber inner lens.

The DR lamp unit DRLU is composed of a white LED as a light source and a light guide (light guide) made of translucent resin, and is configured to guide the light of the white LED in the length direction of the light guide and emit the light from the side of the light guide facing the front direction of the headlamp HL as a light emitting surface. In this DR lamp unit DRLU, the light guide (not numbered) is arranged to extend in the vehicle width direction along the upper edge inside the lamp housing 1.

As shown in Fig. 3, the Lo lamp unit LoLU reflects light from a white LED 41 as a light source using a reflector 42, blocks part of the light using a shade 43, and then irradiates the light forward using an irradiation lens 44. Because part of the irradiated light is blocked by the shade 43, the light distribution pattern of the light irradiated by this Lo lamp unit LoLU becomes a light distribution pattern having a required cutoff line COL at the upper edge, a so-called low-beam light distribution pattern (hereinafter referred to as Lo light distribution pattern) PLo, as shown in Fig. 4.

As shown in FIG. 3, the AHi lamp unit AHiLU includes a multi-segment LED array 61 and a projection lens 62 that projects the light emitted by the multi-segment LED array 61 forward. As shown in FIG. 5, the multi-segment LED array 61 is configured with a large number of micro LED light-emitting elements (hereinafter referred to as pixel elements) 61p arranged in a matrix (grid-like). In the multi-segment LED array 61, each pixel element 61p is selectively illuminated by the control of the lamp driving module LDM, and the required illumination pattern is formed by the light of the illuminated pixel elements 61p. By projecting this illumination pattern by the projection lens 62, an ADB high beam illumination pattern (hereinafter referred to as the AHi illumination pattern) PAHi is formed in which a large number of unit illumination areas u corresponding to each pixel illumination element 61p are combined in the upper area of the Lo illumination pattern PLo, as shown in FIG. 4.

The lamp camera LCAM is composed of a camera that captures at least the visible light range, and has the same focal length as the front camera FCAM, so is configured to capture approximately the same forward area as the front camera FCAM. As described above, this lamp camera LCAM can capture images at a faster frame rate than the front camera FCAM. On the other hand, in order to reduce the cost of the lamp camera LCAM, its resolution is configured to be lower than that of the front camera FCAM. As shown in FIG. 1, this lamp camera LCAM is connected to the vehicle ECU 100 via a LIN (Local Interconnect Network) line 104 installed in the automobile.

The lamp driving module LDM has a function of receiving a lamp control signal from the vehicle ECU 100 to control the lighting of each of the lamp units TSLU, DRLU, LoLU, and AHiLU, and a function of driving and controlling the multi-segment LED array 61 to control the pattern shape of the AHi light distribution pattern produced in the AHi lamp unit AHiLU.

When the lamp housing 1 is attached to the body of the automobile CAR, the headlamp HL having the above-mentioned configuration undergoes aiming adjustment. In this aiming adjustment, the vertical and horizontal angles of the aiming bracket 2 are adjusted by appropriately operating the vertical aiming adjustment unit 22 and the horizontal aiming adjustment unit 23 of the aiming mechanism 20. As a result, the directions of the irradiation optical axes Al and Aa of the Lo lamp unit LoLU and the AHi lamp unit LAHiLu mounted on the aiming bracket 2 and the direction of the imaging optical axis Ac of the lamp camera LCAM are each set to a specific direction relative to the vehicle body. It is preferable that this specific direction coincides with the imaging optical axis of the front camera FCAM. In addition, in the initial state, the relative forward tilt angle of the leveling bracket 3 with respect to the aiming bracket 2 is set to 0 degrees as described above, and the irradiation optical axes Al and Aa of the Lo lamp unit LoLu and the AHi lamp unit AHiLU and the imaging optical axis Ac of the lamp camera LCAM are directed in the same direction.

Next, the lighting control operation of the headlamp HL will be described. When various switches (not shown) arranged on the automobile CAR are turned on, a lamp control signal is output from the lamp control unit 102 of the vehicle ECU 100 to the lamp driving module LDM. Based on this lamp control signal, the lamp driving module LDM controls the lighting of the corresponding lamp unit. For example, when the daytime running switch is turned on, it controls the lighting of the DR lamp unit DRLU. When the turn signal switch is turned on, it controls the lighting of the TS lamp unit TSLU. Furthermore, when the low beam switch is turned on, it lights the Lo lamp unit LoLU, providing illumination with the Lo light distribution pattern PLo shown in FIG. 4.

When the ADB switch is turned on, the lamp driving module LDM turns on the Lo lamp unit LoLU and the AHi lamp unit AHiLU based on the lamp control signal from the vehicle ECU 100. At the same time, the lamp driving module LDM controls the light emission of the multi-division LED array 61 of the AHi lamp unit AHiLU based on the lamp control signal, forms a light emission pattern with the selectively illuminated pixel elements 61p, and projects this light emission pattern to perform light distribution control of the AHi light distribution pattern PAHi shown in Figure 4.

In the light distribution control of this AHi light distribution pattern PAHi, the vehicle ECU 100 detects an object in the object detection unit 101 based on the images captured by the front camera FCAM and the lamp camera LCAM. That is, the front camera FCAM and the lamp camera LCAM capture an image of the forward area illuminated by the light emitted by the lit Lo lamp unit LoLU and the AHi lamp unit AHiLU.

Figure 6(a) is a schematic diagram of an image captured by the front camera FCAM. Because the front camera FCAM has high resolution, there is little distortion of the shape of the captured object Ob, and therefore the object detection unit 101 can detect the shape (outer shape) and size of the object Ob from this image with high accuracy. Furthermore, when it is difficult to directly detect the object Ob from the image captured by the front camera FCAM, the high luminance part Hb in the image (black part in the figure) is detected.

The detected high-luminance portion Hb is due to light emitted by the object itself, or due to light reflected by the object. Then, the attributes of the detected high-luminance portion Hb, such as color, luminance (brightness), size, etc., are detected, and these attributes are compared using a specified table to detect whether the bright object is another vehicle (preceding vehicle, oncoming vehicle, bicycle, etc.), a pedestrian, a road sign, or something else. For example, a high-luminance portion with a luminance above a specified level is due to the object's own emission of light, and can be detected as another vehicle. In the case of another vehicle, if the high-luminance portion is white, it is detected as an oncoming vehicle, and if it is red, it is detected as a preceding vehicle. A high-luminance portion with a luminance lower than the specified level is due to reflected light, and can be detected as a pedestrian or road sign.

The object detection unit 101 also detects high-luminance areas Hb in the image captured by the lamp camera LCAM. FIG. 6B is a schematic diagram of an image captured by the lamp camera LCAM. Since the lamp camera LCAM has a lower resolution than the front camera FCAM, the image of the captured object Ob may be distorted in shape, making it difficult to accurately detect the object Ob. However, since the optical axis of the lamp camera LCAM is oriented in the same direction as the front camera FCAM, the images captured by each camera can be matched one-to-one. Therefore, by comparing the high-luminance areas Hb in the image captured by the lamp camera LCAM with the image captured by the front camera FCAM, it is possible to detect the object Ob in the high-luminance areas Hb.

Furthermore, the object detection unit 101 can also detect position information of the detected object Ob, i.e., the relative position (direction, distance) from the vehicle to the object Ob, and the position change of the object Ob. In particular, since the lamp camera LCAM has a faster frame rate than the front camera FCAM, the object detection unit 101 can quickly detect the position information of the detected object Ob by detecting the change over time in the position of the high-brightness area Hb in the captured image.

In the vehicle ECU 100, when detection is performed by the object detection unit 101, the lamp control unit 102 generates a lamp control signal related to light distribution control and outputs it to the headlamp HL. In generating this lamp control signal, a lamp control signal is generated that controls the brightness of the illumination light for the object. For example, if the detected object is a road sign, a lamp control signal is generated that does not dim the illumination light. If the object is a pedestrian, a lamp control signal is generated that dims the illumination light to a predetermined level. If the object is another vehicle (a preceding vehicle, an oncoming vehicle, a bicycle, etc.), a control signal is generated that dims the illumination light to the maximum, which is normally a light blocking state.

On the other hand, the lamp control unit 102 corresponds the position of the object to the unit illumination area u of the AHi light distribution pattern PAHi and determines the unit illumination area u containing the object Ob. In this determination, depending on the type of object, the area surrounding the high-luminance part with a predetermined margin is determined as the area containing the object Ob. When the shape and size of the object are detected from the image of the high-resolution front camera, the unit illumination area can be determined based on this detection. For example, as shown in FIG. 7(a), in the case of an oncoming vehicle in which two white high-luminance parts Hb are detected at a required interval, the number nx including two high-luminance parts in the horizontal direction is detected, and the number my (m = k n) obtained by multiplying the number nx including two high-luminance parts in the vertical direction by a preset coefficient k is detected, and the unit illumination area of this nx x my is determined as the area in which the oncoming vehicle exists. The coefficient k is the ratio of the average vehicle width dimension to the vehicle height dimension of the vehicle. The same is true for the preceding vehicle in which two red high-luminance parts are detected at a required interval.

The lamp control signal generated by the lamp control unit 102 is then output to the lamp driving module LDM and leveling actuator LACT of the headlamp HL. The lamp driving module LDM individually controls the emission of each pixel element 61p of the multi-segment LED array 61 of the AHi lamp unit AHiLu based on this lamp control signal. That is, it determines which pixel element 61p of the multi-segment LED array 61 corresponds to the unit illumination area u where it has been determined that an object is present, and controls the determined pixel element 61p to be turned off or dimmed, while controlling the other pixel elements 61p to emit light.

As shown in FIG. 7(a), this light distribution control forms a shaded area As in which the corresponding pixel element 61p is turned off and no illumination is performed in the unit illumination area u where other vehicles such as a preceding vehicle, an oncoming vehicle, or a bicycle are present, as shown by a thick frame. As a result, illumination with the PAHi light distribution pattern PAHi is not performed in the shaded shaded area As, and dazzling of other vehicles is prevented. In this shaded area As, the pixel element 61p may emit light at a low intensity for pedestrians, etc., preventing dazzling of pedestrians while allowing them to be identified by illumination from the vehicle's own illumination light. In areas of other objects, the pixel element 61p emits light at a predetermined intensity. As a result, for example, road signs can be brightly illuminated by the vehicle's own illumination light.

However, as the automobile CAR travels, the relative position of the detected object changes over time. Therefore, if the object Ob is moved to an area close to the lower edge of the AHi light distribution pattern PAHi, the lighting effect of the AHi light distribution pattern PAHi may be reduced. For example, in the situation shown in FIG. 7(a), the oncoming vehicle Ob1 is moved to the lower edge of the light-blocking area As, blocking the lower part of the oncoming vehicle Ob1 and the road surface immediately in front of it, reducing the brightness of the lighting in these areas and causing problems with safe driving.

When such a decrease in the lighting effect occurs, the target detection unit 101 of the vehicle ECU 100 detects the change in position of the oncoming vehicle Ob1 and the situation in which the lighting for the oncoming vehicle Ob has decreased from the high-brightness areas of the images of the cameras FCAM and LCAM. In addition, the lamp control unit 102 changes the lamp control signal related to the light distribution control in response to the change in the vertical position of the oncoming vehicle Ob1 in the image and the situation of the decreased lighting, and outputs it to the headlamp HL.

In the headlamp HL, the leveling actuator LACT is driven by this lamp control signal to perform leveling control, changing and controlling the forward tilt angle of the leveling bracket 3, and further changing and controlling the respective irradiation optical axes of the Lo lamp unit LoLU and AHi lamp unit AHiLU mounted thereon in the vertical direction. In this example, as shown in FIG. 7(b), the forward tilt angle of the leveling bracket 3 is increased, and the respective irradiation optical axes of the Lo lamp unit LoLU and AHi lamp unit AHiLU are changed and controlled downward. As a result, the Lo light distribution pattern PLo and the AHI light distribution pattern PAHi are also changed downward.

At the same time, the lamp driving module LDM controls the light-blocking area As of the AHi light distribution pattern PAHi of the AHi lamp unit AHiLU based on the lamp control signal. This illuminates the lower part of the oncoming vehicle Ob1 and the road surface immediately in front of it, as shown in FIG. 7(b), ensuring optimal illumination by the Lo light distribution pattern PLo and the AHi light distribution pattern PAHi.

During this leveling control, the lamp control unit 102 generates a lamp control signal related to the leveling control based on the object detected from the image captured by the lamp camera LCAM, enabling leveling control with high responsiveness to changes in the object's position. That is, since the lamp camera LCAM can capture images at a faster frame rate than the front camera FCAM, the object detection unit 101 can quickly detect changes in the object's position, and the lamp control unit 102 can generate a lamp control signal with high responsiveness to changes in position, and perform leveling control. Note that although the lamp camera LCAM has a lower resolution than the front camera FCAM, changes in the object's position can be determined from the amount of movement of high-luminance areas in the captured image, so even with the low resolution there is no problem in detecting changes in position.

In addition, in this leveling control, only the Lo lamp unit LoLU and the AHi lamp unit AHiLU mounted on the leveling bracket 3 are tilted, and the lamp camera LCAM mounted on the aiming bracket 2 is not tilted. That is, the imaging optical axis of the lamp camera LCAM, together with the front camera FCAM, is fixed in a specific direction relative to the automobile CAR. And, as described above, this imaging optical axis is the reference position in the image captured by the lamp camera LCAM, so it is not affected by the tilting of the leveling bracket 3, i.e., the tilting of the Lo lamp unit LoLU and the AHi lamp unit AHiLu. Therefore, the processing for detecting the object is simplified compared to when the imaging optical axis of the lamp camera LCAM is tilted together with the lamp unit, and faster leveling control can be realized.

Incidentally, when the imaging optical axis of the lamp camera LCAM is tilted together with the lamp units LoLu and AHiLU, when detecting the position of the object from the captured image, the angle of the imaging optical axis of the lamp camera LCAM is detected from the drive position of the leveling actuator LACT. Then, it is necessary to perform a correction process such as calculating the difference between the position of the object obtained from the image and this detected angle of the imaging optical axis of the lamp camera LCAM. In this embodiment, this correction process is not necessary.

Furthermore, since the lamp camera LCAM is disposed at approximately the same height as the Lo lamp unit LoLU and the AHi lamp unit AHiLU, the angle change of the imaging optical axis when the object is viewed from the lamp camera LCAM in accordance with a change in the position of the object is approximately the same as the angle change when the object is irradiated with light from the Lo lamp unit LoLU and the AHi lamp unit AHiLU. Therefore, the processing for detecting the amount of position change (amount of movement) of the high-brightness area detected by the lamp camera LCAM is further simplified, and faster leveling control can be realized.

It is also possible to perform light distribution control by changing only the AHi light distribution pattern PAHi emitted from the AHi lamp unit AHiLU in the vertical direction without performing leveling control in response to changes in the position of the object. However, since the position of an object such as an oncoming vehicle changes quickly, it is easier to perform leveling control by moving the entire light distribution pattern in the vertical direction in addition to or without changing the AHi light distribution pattern PAHi, as in the embodiment, rather than controlling the light distribution of the AHi lamp unit AHiLU, and highly responsive control can be obtained.

The above-described embodiment is configured with a Lo lamp unit LoLU and an AHi lamp unit AHiLU, but it may be configured with only an AHi lamp unit. For example, the AHi lamp unit AHiLU shown in FIG. 5 may be configured with multiple, for example, two multi-segment LED arrays 61 arranged vertically, as shown by the dashed line. In this case, it is preferable that the projection lens is configured as a compound lens with two focal points, one above the other, so that the AHi light distribution patterns PAHi formed by each multi-segment LED array 61 are projected in contact with each other at the top and bottom.

By providing these two multi-segment LED arrays 61, a composite AHi light distribution pattern PAHic is formed by combining two AHi light distribution patterns PAHi arranged above and below, as shown in Figure 8. In this case, only the AHi lamp unit AHiLU is mounted on the leveling bracket 3, and leveling control is performed by the leveling actuator LACT.

Furthermore, although not shown in the figures, instead of the Lo lamp unit and the AHi lamp unit, it may be configured with a lamp unit that selectively reflects the light from the light source with a DMD (Digital Micromirror Device) to control the light distribution. It may also be configured with a scanning type lamp unit that scans light. Even if configured with these, it is sufficient to mount only these units on the leveling bracket to perform leveling control.

In the embodiment, two cameras are provided: a front camera with a high frame rate and low resolution that can be configured at low cost, and a lamp camera with a low frame rate and high resolution that can be configured at low cost. This is because a high-frame rate and high-resolution camera is extremely expensive. If a high-frame rate and high-resolution camera can be obtained at low cost, it may be configured with only one lamp camera. Alternatively, in the present invention, the lamp camera may be directly connected to the lamp driving module, in which case the lamp camera may be configured with a camera with a frame rate similar to that of the front camera. Even if the frame rate is low, high-speed control is substantially possible by processing the image signal obtained by imaging with the lamp camera in the lamp driving module to perform lamp light distribution control.

In addition, in the embodiment, aiming adjustment is performed using an aiming bracket, but it may also be applied to a headlamp configured to adjust the aiming of the entire lamp housing containing the lamp unit and lamp camera relative to the vehicle body. In this case, the aiming bracket can be omitted, the lamp camera can be supported on the lamp housing, and the lamp unit can be mounted on a leveling bracket that tilts relative to the lamp housing.

In addition, in the embodiment, the vehicle ECU is provided with an object detection unit, a lamp control unit, and a camera control unit, but a lamp ECU may be provided in the headlamp, and the object detection unit, lamp control unit, and camera control unit may be provided in this lamp ECU. Alternatively, some of these may be provided. In this case, it is preferable that the lamp ECU is connected to the vehicle ECU and configured so that signals are sent and received between the two ECUs.

HL (L-HL, R-HL) Headlamp LoLU Lo Lamp Unit (Low Beam Lamp Unit)
AHiLU AHi lamp unit (ADB high beam lamp unit)
TSLU TS Lamp Unit (Turn Signal Lamp Unit)
DRLU DR Lamp Unit (Daytime Running Lamp Unit)
FCAM Front camera LCAM Lamp camera LACT Leveling actuator LDM Lamp drive module Ob Object (oncoming vehicle)
PLo Lo light distribution pattern PAHi AHi light distribution pattern Aa, Al Irradiation optical axis Ac Imaging optical axis 1 Lamp housing 2 Aiming bracket (first member)
3 Leveling bracket (second member)
11 Lamp body 12 Light-transmitting cover 20 Aiming mechanism 30 Leveling mechanism 100 Vehicle ECU (control means)
101 Object detection unit 102 Lamp control unit 103 Camera control unit

Claims (6)

A lamp mounted on a vehicle, the lamp housing of which is provided with a lamp camera for capturing an image of an object present outside the vehicle, and a lamp unit in which the light distribution of the emitted light is variable and controlled based on position information of the object captured by the lamp camera;
The lamp camera is supported by an aiming bracket that can adjust the tilt position in the vertical and horizontal directions relative to the lamp housing,
The lamp unit is supported by a leveling bracket whose tilt angle in the vertical direction with respect to the aiming bracket is controlled,
The vehicle lamp according to claim 1, wherein the leveling bracket includes a leveling actuator that tilts the leveling bracket based on a position change of the object to vertically change and control the irradiation optical axis of the lamp unit . 2. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1 , wherein the lamp unit is capable of controlling light distribution so as to stop emitting light to an area where a detected object is present and emit light to other areas. 3. The vehicle lamp according to claim 2 , wherein the lamp unit comprises a multi-segment LED array as a light source, and the light distribution is controlled by changing the light emission pattern of the multi-segment LED array. The vehicle lamp is equipped with a lamp camera that captures an image of an object present outside the vehicle and a lamp unit that is mounted on the vehicle and that has a lamp housing and is adapted to change and control the distribution of light emitted based on position information of the object captured by the lamp camera, and a control means that controls the light distribution and irradiation optical axis of the lamp unit.
the lamp camera is fixedly supported by an aiming bracket whose tilt position can be adjusted in the vertical and horizontal directions with respect to the lamp housing, and the lamp unit is supported by a leveling bracket that can be tilted in the vertical direction with respect to the aiming bracket,
The control means includes an object detection unit that detects an object from an image captured by the lamp camera, and a lamp control unit that controls the light distribution of the lamp unit based on position information of the detected object, and tilts the leveling bracket using a leveling actuator based on a change in the position of the object, thereby changing and controlling the illumination light axis of the lamp unit in the vertical direction. The vehicle lamp control device according to claim 4, further comprising a front camera that captures images of objects outside the vehicle with a higher resolution than the lamp camera, and the lamp control unit of the control means controls the lamp unit based on position information of objects captured by each of the front camera and the lamp camera. 6. The vehicle lamp control device according to claim 5, wherein the lamp camera is capable of capturing images at a frame rate higher than that of the front camera, and the lamp control unit controls the illumination light axis based on a change in position of an object captured by the lamp camera.

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