LIGHT CONTROL DEVICE AND LIGHT CONTROL METHOD

Abstract

A lighting control device (10) comprises an obstacle detection unit (11) that detects obstacles in the vicinity of a self-propelled vehicle, a driver recognition status assessment unit (12) that assesses whether a driver of the self-propelled vehicle has detected an obstacle, and a lighting control unit (13) that controls the direction and mode of illumination of light generated by a lighting device of the self-propelled vehicle. When an obstacle is detected, the lighting control unit (13) shines light onto the obstacle and controls the mode of illumination of the light emitted onto the obstacle according to the result of the assessment of whether the driver has detected the obstacle.

Description

Technical area

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a light control device that controls a lighting device of a vehicle. General state of the art

[0002] A light control device is proposed that assists driving by irradiating light in a bright (conspicuous) irradiation mode onto an obstacle detected in front of the vehicle so as to emphasize its presence, thereby alerting the driver of the presence of the obstacle (for example, Patent Document 1 below). Prior art documentsPatent documents

[0003] Patent Document 1: JP 2007-38878 A Summary of the inventionObject of the present invention

[0004] The light control device continues to irradiate the obstacle in the bright irradiation mode even after the driver detects the obstacle. However, irradiating the obstacle in a bright irradiation mode may be disturbing to the driver who has already detected the obstacle.

[0005] The invention was made to solve this problem, and its object is to provide a light control device with which an obstacle can be irradiated with light in an irradiation mode appropriate to the driver's state of recognizing the obstacle. Means of solving the task

[0006] A light control device according to the present disclosure includes an obstacle detection unit that detects obstacles in the surroundings of a host vehicle, a driver recognition state judgment unit that judges whether a driver of the host vehicle has recognized an obstacle, and a light control unit that controls an irradiation direction and an irradiation mode of light generated by a light device of the host vehicle, wherein the light control unit irradiates light onto the obstacle upon detecting an obstacle and controls an irradiation mode of the light irradiated onto the obstacle according to the result of the judgment as to whether the driver has recognized the obstacle. Effect of the invention

[0007] According to the present disclosure, an obstacle may be irradiated in an irradiation mode corresponding to a driver's recognition state regarding an obstacle.

[0008] Objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying figures. Short description of the characters

[0009] They show: Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a lighting control system according to first to third embodiments; Fig. 2 shows an example of a light irradiation mode of a light device before detecting an obstacle; Fig. 3 shows an example of a first irradiation mode of an auxiliary irradiation light; Fig. 4 shows an example of a second irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light; Fig. 5 shows a modification example of the first irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light; Fig. 6 shows a modification example of the second irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light; Fig. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a light control device of the first embodiment; Fig. 8 shows an example of a third irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light; Fig. 9 shows a modification example of the third irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light; Fig. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a light control device of a second embodiment; Fig. 11 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a light control device of a third embodiment; Fig. 12 shows an example of a hardware configuration of the lighting control device; and Fig. 13 an example of a hardware configuration of the lighting control device. Embodiments of the inventionFirst embodiment

[0010] Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a configuration of a light control system according to a first embodiment. The light control system assists the driver during driving by irradiating obstacles detected in front of the vehicle with light. Hereinafter, irradiating an obstacle with light to assist driving is referred to as "auxiliary irradiation." It is also assumed that the light control system is installed in a vehicle, and the vehicle in which the light control system is installed is hereinafter referred to as the "own vehicle."

[0011] As in Fig. 1, a light control system of the first embodiment includes a light control device 10, a light device 20, an environment detection device 31, and a driver condition detection device 32.

[0012] The surroundings detection device 31 is a sensor that detects the situation around the host vehicle and provides surroundings information, which is the detection result information for the surroundings of the host vehicle, to the light control device 10. The surroundings detection device 31 is implemented, for example, by a TOF (time of flight) sensor, which is representative of a radar or ultrasonic sensor, or the like, or a camera or the like. The detection range of the surroundings detection device 31 includes at least the area in front of the host vehicle.

[0013] The driver state detection device 32 is a sensor that detects the state of the driver of the host vehicle and provides driver information, which is the driver state detection result information, to the lighting control device 10. The driver state detection device 32 is configured, for example, by a camera or the like that captures the driver. The driver state detection device 32 detects one or more of a driver's line of sight, facial orientation, facial expression, and behavior.

[0014] The light control device 10 has a function of controlling the operation of the lighting device 20 and includes an obstacle detection unit 11, a driver recognition state judgment unit 12, and a light control unit 13.

[0015] The obstacle detection unit 11 detects obstacles in the surroundings of the host vehicle based on the surroundings information of the host vehicle acquired by the surroundings detection device 31. Specifically, the obstacle detection unit 11 detects the position of an obstacle present in the surroundings of the host vehicle (the relative position to the host vehicle) and obtains, for example, the coordinates of the position of the obstacle in an XY coordinate system where the front-rear direction of the host vehicle is the X-axis and the vehicle width direction is the Y-axis.

[0016] The driver recognition state judging unit 12 judges whether the driver has recognized the obstacle based on the driver information acquired by the driver state detecting device 32, specifically, information from which it can be judged where the driver is looking, such as the driver's line of sight, facial orientation, etc., and the position of the obstacle detected by the obstacle detecting unit 11. Whether the driver has recognized the obstacle can be judged, for example, based on whether the driver looked in the direction of the obstacle.

[0017] The light control unit 13 controls the irradiation direction and irradiation mode of the light generated by the light device 20. Specifically, when the obstacle detection unit 11 detects an obstacle, the light control unit 13 controls the irradiation direction of the light generated by the light device 20 and performs auxiliary irradiation by irradiating the light onto the obstacle. At this time, the light control unit 13 controls the irradiation mode of the light irradiated onto the obstacle according to the result of the driver recognition state judgment unit 12's judgment as to whether the driver has recognized the obstacle.The irradiation mode of the light irradiated onto the obstacle is controlled by the light control unit 13 controlling at least one of the hue, illuminance, and light distribution of the light generated by the light device 20, the degree of dynamic change of the light, and the projected irradiation object. The irradiation object is a shape, a character, or the like. The shape can be a flat shape or a three-dimensional shape, and a three-dimensional shape is more effective at attracting the driver's attention than a flat shape.

[0018] A dynamic irradiation mode is an irradiation mode that changes over time or with the distance from the obstacle, etc. Examples of a dynamic irradiation mode include an irradiation mode in which the color tone gradually changes over time. A static irradiation mode, on the other hand, is an irradiation mode that does not change over time or with the distance from the obstacle, etc.

[0019] In the first embodiment, when the obstacle detection unit 11 detects an obstacle, the light control unit 13 sets the irradiation mode of the light irradiated by the light device 20 onto the obstacle to a first irradiation mode and begins auxiliary irradiation of the obstacle. If the driver recognition state judging unit 12 judges that the driver has recognized the obstacle, the light control unit 13 changes the irradiation mode of the light irradiated by the light device 20 during auxiliary irradiation of the obstacle (hereinafter referred to as "auxiliary irradiation light") to a second irradiation mode. The second irradiation mode is closer to the first irradiation mode of the light of the light device 20 before the obstacle is detected than the first irradiation mode.

[0020] The lighting device 20 includes a headlight 21 and an auxiliary irradiation headlight 22 with a supplementary headlight or the like, and can implement various irradiation modes according to commands from the lighting control device 10. For the sake of simplicity of description, in the present embodiment, the headlight 21 performs general front irradiation, irradiating the area in front of the vehicle regardless of the obstacle detection result according to the driver's operation of a light switch (not shown), while the auxiliary irradiation headlight 22 performs auxiliary irradiation of the obstacle. Therefore, the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light is determined by the light generated by the auxiliary irradiation headlight 22.

[0021] However, if the headlight 21 can control at least one of the hue, illuminance, and light distribution of the light generated by the lighting device 20, the degree of dynamic change of the light, and the projected irradiation object, the auxiliary irradiation function can also be partially or entirely performed by the headlight 21. For example, if the illuminance of the auxiliary irradiation light is increased, instead of increasing the illuminance of the light irradiated by the auxiliary irradiation headlight 22 toward the obstacle, the illuminance of the light irradiated by the headlight 21 toward the obstacle can be increased. If all the auxiliary irradiation functions can be performed by the headlight 21, the auxiliary irradiation headlight 22 can be omitted.

[0022] A concrete example of the operation of the light control device 10 is described below. For example, in a state where there is no obstacle in front of the host vehicle 100, due to the control of the light control device 10, the light device 20 performs only front irradiation using the front irradiation light 101 generated at the headlight 21, while the auxiliary irradiation headlight 22 is turned off.

[0023] It is assumed that now, as in Fig. 3, an obstacle 200 appears in front of the own vehicle 100. At the time of Fig. 3, the driver has not yet recognized the obstacle 200. Therefore, when the obstacle 200 is detected by the obstacle detection unit 11, the light control unit 13 operates the auxiliary irradiation lamp 22 and begins auxiliary irradiation, irradiating the auxiliary irradiation light 102 generated by the auxiliary irradiation lamp 22 toward the obstacle 200. At this time, the driver recognition state judgment unit 12 judges that the driver has not recognized the obstacle, so the light control unit 13 sets the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light 102 to the first irradiation mode. As a result, the auxiliary irradiation, which irradiates light onto the obstacle 200, is performed in the first irradiation mode. The first irradiation mode may be a bright (conspicuous) irradiation mode, thereby strongly attracting the driver's attention to the obstacle.

[0024] Then, when the driver detects the obstacle 200, the driver detection state judging unit 12 judges that the driver has detected the obstacle 200, so that the light control unit 13, as shown in Fig. 4, the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light 102 changes from the first irradiation mode to the second irradiation mode. The second irradiation mode is closer to the first irradiation mode of the light of the light device 20 before detecting the obstacle 200 at the time of Fig. 2 as the first irradiation mode. Since the auxiliary irradiation spotlight 22 is switched on at the time of Fig. 2 was turned off, the second irradiation mode can be brought closer than the first irradiation mode to the irradiation mode before the obstacle 200 was detected by reducing the illuminance of the auxiliary irradiation light 102 in the second irradiation mode compared to the illuminance of the auxiliary irradiation light 102 in the first irradiation mode.

[0025] By making the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light after the driver detects the obstacle (second irradiation mode) closer to the irradiation mode of the light device 20 before the obstacle is detected than the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light before the driver detects the obstacle (first irradiation mode), the driver can be prevented from feeling the auxiliary irradiation light after the obstacle is detected as annoying.

[0026] In this way, according to the light control system of the first embodiment, the obstacle can be irradiated in an irradiation mode more appropriate to the driver's recognition state regarding an obstacle.

[0027] If it is judged that the driver has recognized the obstacle before the start of irradiating light onto the obstacle, the light control unit 13 may omit the execution of the auxiliary irradiation in the first irradiation mode and set the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light to the second irradiation mode from the beginning and start the auxiliary irradiation.

[0028] The irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light 102 can be changed by changing at least one of the hue, illuminance, and light distribution of the auxiliary irradiation light 102, the degree of dynamic change of the light, and the projected irradiation object. For example, if the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light 102 is changed based on the hue, and the color of the front irradiation light 101 emitted from the headlight 21 is white, the color of the auxiliary irradiation light 102 in the first irradiation mode may be red, and the color of the auxiliary irradiation light 102 in the second irradiation mode may be yellow, or the like.

[0029] When the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light 102 is changed based on the degree of dynamic change and the front irradiation light 101 is static without changing the irradiation mode, for example, the first irradiation mode may be dynamic by changing the irradiation range of the auxiliary irradiation light 102 as shown in Fig. 5 fluctuates, and the second irradiation mode may be static by setting the irradiation area of ​​the auxiliary irradiation light 102 as in Fig. 6 remains fixed. If both the first irradiation mode and the second irradiation mode are dynamic, the degree of dynamic change of the second irradiation mode may be less than the degree of dynamic change of the first irradiation mode. The dynamic change mode of the light may be any of fluctuation, flashing, hue change, and the like.

[0030] When the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light 102 is changed by changing the light distribution, a beam of the auxiliary irradiation light 102 may illuminate the obstacle while narrowing the irradiation range in the first irradiation mode, and the irradiation range may be expanded in the second irradiation mode. Alternatively, an outline of the auxiliary irradiation light 102 may be sharp in the first irradiation mode, and the outline of the auxiliary irradiation light 102 may be blurred in the second irradiation mode. When the irradiation range of the auxiliary irradiation light 102 is expanded or blurred, the auxiliary irradiation light 102 becomes less conspicuous (indistinct), so in this case, the second irradiation mode can also be said to be closer than the first irradiation mode to the irradiation mode before the obstacle was detected.

[0031] When the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light 102 is changed according to the irradiation object, a conspicuous irradiation object (for example, a three-dimensional shape or a three-dimensional character) can be projected with the auxiliary irradiation light 102 in the first irradiation mode, and a less conspicuous irradiation object (for example, a flat shape or a flat character) can be projected with the auxiliary irradiation light 102 in the second irradiation mode.

[0032] In this way, various methods for changing the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light 102 are conceivable, and the methods are not limited to the above. For example, multiple methods can be combined, such as changing both the color tone of the auxiliary irradiation light 102 and the light distribution.

[0033] The second irradiation mode can also be the same as the irradiation mode of the light device before the obstacle is detected. In this case, the driver's detection of the obstacle is practically equivalent to ending the auxiliary irradiation, so the driver is not disturbed by the auxiliary irradiation at all.

[0034] In the present embodiment, it has been exemplified that the headlight 21 of the lighting device 20 in the state before the obstacle is detected ( Fig. 2) is turned on, but the headlight 21 may also be turned off. The irradiation mode of the light of the lighting device 20 before detecting the obstacle thus also includes the lighting device 20 being turned off.

[0035] Fig. Fig. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the light control device 10 of the first embodiment. The following will be explained with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 7 the operation of the light control device 10 is described.

[0036] When the host vehicle starts to travel, the light control device 10 starts its operation, whereupon the obstacle detection unit 11 acquires environment information for the host vehicle from the environment detection device 31 (step S101). Furthermore, the driver recognition state judgment unit 12 acquires driver information from the driver state detection device 32 (step S102).

[0037] The obstacle detection unit 11 judges, based on the surrounding information of the own vehicle, whether an obstacle is detected in the surroundings of the own vehicle (step S103). If no obstacle is detected (NO in step S103), the light control unit 13 checks whether auxiliary irradiation is currently being performed (step S104). If auxiliary irradiation is being performed (YES in step S104), the light control unit 13 stops the auxiliary irradiation (step S105) and then checks whether the travel of the own vehicle has ended (step S106). If the own vehicle is still traveling (NO in step S106), the process returns to step S101, and if the travel of the own vehicle has ended (YES in step S106), the operation of the light control device 10 ends.

[0038] However, if an obstacle is detected in the surroundings of the host vehicle by the obstacle detection unit 11 in step S103 (YES in step S103), the light control unit 13 checks whether a predetermined auxiliary irradiation execution condition is satisfied (step S107). The auxiliary irradiation execution condition is a basis for judging whether a state exists in which auxiliary irradiation is to be performed. In the present embodiment, the auxiliary irradiation execution condition is that an obstacle is located within the irradiation range of the headlight 21. Therefore, in step S107, it is judged whether the position of the obstacle detected by the obstacle detection unit 11 is within the irradiation range of the headlight 21. However, the auxiliary irradiation execution condition is not limited to this example and may be any condition.

[0039] If the position of the obstacle is within the irradiation range of the headlight 21, it is judged that the auxiliary irradiation execution condition is satisfied (YES in step S107), and the driver recognition state judging unit 12 judges whether the driver has recognized the obstacle based on the driver information (step S108). If the driver has not recognized the obstacle (NO in step S108), the light control unit 13 sets the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light generated at the auxiliary irradiation headlight 22 to the first irradiation mode and executes the auxiliary irradiation (step S109). If the driver has recognized the obstacle (YES in step S108), the light control unit 13 sets the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light generated at the auxiliary irradiation headlight 22 to the second irradiation mode and executes the auxiliary irradiation (step S110). Then, a transition is made to step S106.

[0040] If the position of the obstacle is not within the irradiation range of the headlight 21 in step S107, it is judged that the auxiliary irradiation execution condition is not satisfied (NO in step S107), and the process proceeds to step S104. If the auxiliary irradiation is being executed at this time (YES in step S104), the light control unit 13 stops the auxiliary irradiation (step S105). Even if an obstacle is detected within the irradiation range of the headlight 21 and auxiliary irradiation is started, the auxiliary irradiation is stopped when the obstacle subsequently leaves the irradiation range of the headlight 21. Therefore, the condition for stopping the auxiliary irradiation is that the auxiliary irradiation execution condition is no longer satisfied because the obstacle has left the irradiation range of the headlight 21. Second embodiment

[0041] In the light control device 10 of the first embodiment, when the driver recognizes the obstacle after the start of the auxiliary irradiation in the first irradiation mode, the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation is changed from the first irradiation mode to the less conspicuous second irradiation mode, thus preventing the driver from being disturbed.

[0042] In a second embodiment, a third irradiation mode, which is a more conspicuous irradiation mode than the first irradiation mode, and a light control device 10 are also proposed, in which, in the event that the auxiliary irradiation has been started in the first irradiation mode but the driver does not detect the obstacle within a certain period of time, the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation is changed to the third irradiation mode to draw the driver's attention to the obstacle. If the driver detects the obstacle after starting the auxiliary irradiation in the first irradiation mode or in the third irradiation mode, the light control device 10 of the second embodiment changes the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation to the second irradiation mode, just as in the first embodiment. The configuration of the light control system according to the second embodiment is identical to that of the first embodiment ( Fig. 1).

[0043] For example, assume that the light control device 10 as in Fig. 3 sets the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light 102 to the first irradiation mode and starts the auxiliary irradiation, in which the auxiliary irradiation light 102 is irradiated onto the obstacle 200. Subsequently, when the driver recognition state judging unit 12 judges that the driver has not recognized the obstacle even after a certain time has elapsed, the light control unit 13 changes as shown in Fig. 8 the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light 102 irradiated onto the obstacle 200 to the third irradiation mode.

[0044] The third irradiation mode differs more from the irradiation mode of the light of the light device 20 before detecting the obstacle at the time of Fig. 2 as the first irradiation mode. Since the auxiliary irradiation spotlight 22 is switched on at the time of Fig. 2 was turned off, the third irradiation mode can be further removed than the first irradiation mode from the irradiation mode before the obstacle 200 is detected by increasing the illuminance of the auxiliary irradiation light 102 in the third irradiation mode compared to the illuminance of the auxiliary irradiation light 102 in the first irradiation mode.

[0045] When the driver does not detect the obstacle, the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light changes to the third irradiation mode, which is more different from the irradiation mode of the light device 20 before detecting the obstacle than the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light before the driver detects the obstacle (first irradiation mode), so that the driver's attention is drawn to the obstacle and is stimulated to detect the obstacle.

[0046] In this way, according to the light control system of the second embodiment, in the case where the driver detects the obstacle with a delay, the obstacle can be irradiated in an irradiation mode appropriate to the driver's detection state of the obstacle.

[0047] When the driver detects the obstacle after starting the auxiliary irradiation, the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light changes to the second irradiation mode, which is closer to the irradiation mode of the light device 20 before detecting the obstacle than the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light before the driver detects the obstacle (first irradiation mode), just as in the first embodiment, and therefore the same effect as in the first embodiment is obtained.

[0048] Also in the second embodiment, the change of the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light 102 can be performed by changing at least one of the hue, illuminance and light distribution of the auxiliary irradiation light 102, the degree of dynamic change of the light and the projected irradiation object.

[0049] When the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light 102 is changed based on the degree of dynamic change, in the first irradiation mode, the irradiation range of the auxiliary irradiation light 102 can be set as shown in Fig. 5, while the irradiation area of ​​the auxiliary irradiation light 102 in the third irradiation mode as in Fig. 9 can fluctuate with a higher amplitude than in the first irradiation mode.

[0050] Fig. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the light control device 10 of the second embodiment. In the flowchart of Fig. 10 were added to the flow chart of Fig. 7, steps S111 and S112 are added. Since steps S101 to S110 are Fig. 7 are identical, their description is omitted.

[0051] If it is judged that the driver has not recognized the detected obstacle (if NO in step S108), step S111 is executed. In step S111, it is judged whether a certain time has elapsed since the start of the auxiliary irradiation.

[0052] Step S112 is executed when it is judged that the driver has not recognized the detected obstacle and that a certain time has elapsed since the start of the auxiliary irradiation (if YES in step S111). In step S112, the light control unit 13 sets the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light generated by the auxiliary irradiation lamp 22 to the third irradiation mode and executes the auxiliary irradiation.

[0053] If the predetermined time has not yet elapsed since the start of the auxiliary irradiation in step S111 (NO in step S111), the process proceeds to step S109, and the light control unit 13 sets the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light generated at the auxiliary irradiation lamp 22 to the first irradiation mode and executes the auxiliary irradiation. Third embodiment

[0054] In the second embodiment, when the driver detects an obstacle after starting the auxiliary irradiation, the same operation as in the first embodiment was given, namely, the example of changing the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation to the inconspicuous second irradiation mode. However, the same operation as in the first embodiment is not necessarily required. That is, the technique of the second embodiment can be implemented without combining it with the technique of the first embodiment.

[0055] In a third embodiment, an example is given in which the technique of the second embodiment is implemented independently. The configuration of the lighting control system according to the third embodiment is identical to that of the first embodiment ( Fig. 1).

[0056] In the third embodiment, for the purpose of simplified description, the “third irradiation mode” of the second embodiment, that is, the irradiation mode that deviates more from the irradiation mode of the light of the lighting device 20 before detecting the obstacle than the first irradiation mode, is referred to as “second irradiation mode”.

[0057] Fig. 11 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the light control device 10 of the third embodiment. In the flowchart of Fig. 10 were shown in the flow chart of Fig. 7, steps S108 to S110 are replaced by steps S201 to S204. Since steps S101 to S107 are Fig. 7 are identical, their description is omitted.

[0058] In the third embodiment, when an obstacle is detected and it is judged that the auxiliary irradiation execution condition is satisfied (YES in step S107), the driver recognition state judging unit 12 judges whether the driver has recognized the obstacle based on the driver information (step S201). If the driver has recognized the obstacle (YES in step S201), the light control unit 13 sets the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light generated at the auxiliary irradiation lamp 22 to the first irradiation mode and executes the auxiliary irradiation (step S202). Even if the driver has not recognized the obstacle (NO in step S201), the light control unit 13 proceeds to step S202 and executes the auxiliary irradiation in the first irradiation mode as long as the specified period of time has not yet elapsed since the start of the auxiliary irradiation (NO in step S203).

[0059] However, if the state that the driver does not recognize the obstacle (judgment "NO" in step S201) continues even after the specified period of time has elapsed since the start of the auxiliary irradiation, it is judged "YES" in step S203, and the light control unit 13 performs the auxiliary irradiation in the second irradiation mode (that is, the irradiation mode that is more different from the irradiation mode of the light of the lighting device 20 before the detection of the obstacle than the first irradiation mode) (step S204).

[0060] When the driver does not detect the obstacle, the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light changes to the second irradiation mode, which is more different from the irradiation mode of the light device 20 before detecting the obstacle than the irradiation mode of the auxiliary irradiation light before the driver detects the obstacle (first irradiation mode), so that the driver's attention is drawn to the obstacle and is stimulated to detect the obstacle.

[0061] According to the light control system of the third embodiment, in the case where the driver detects the obstacle with a delay, the obstacle can be irradiated in an irradiation mode appropriate to the driver's detection state of the obstacle. Examples of hardware configuration

[0062] Fig. 12 and Fig. 13 each show an example of the hardware configuration of the light control device 10. The functions of the configuration elements of the light control device 10 are implemented, for example, by a Fig. 12 is implemented. The light control device 10 thus includes the processing circuit 50, which detects obstacles in the surroundings of the host vehicle, judges whether the driver of the host vehicle has recognized the obstacle, and controls the irradiation direction and irradiation mode of the light of the host vehicle's lighting device. When an obstacle is detected, the processing circuit 50 irradiates light onto the obstacle and controls the irradiation mode of the light irradiated onto the obstacle according to the result of the judgment as to whether the driver has recognized the obstacle. The processing circuit 50 may be dedicated hardware or may be implemented using a processor (also referred to as a central processing unit (CPU), processing device, computing device, microprocessor, microcomputer, or DSP (digital signal processor)) that executes a program stored in a memory.

[0063] If the processing circuit 50 is dedicated hardware, the processing circuit 50 is a single circuit, a plurality of circuits, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or a combination thereof. The functions of the configuration elements of the lighting control device 10 can be implemented by separate processing circuits, or their functions can be implemented collectively by a single processing circuit.

[0064] Fig.13 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the lighting control device 10 when the processing circuit 50 is configured using a processor for executing programs. In this case, the functions of the configuration elements of the lighting control device 10 are implemented by software, etc. (software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware). The software, etc., is recorded as a program and stored in the memory 52. ​​By reading and executing the programs stored in the memory 52, the processor 51 executes the functions of the individual units.The light control device 10 thus includes the memory 52 for storing the program that ultimately performs processing for detecting obstacles in the surroundings of the host vehicle, processing for judging whether the driver of the host vehicle has recognized an obstacle, and processing for controlling the irradiation direction and irradiation mode of light generated by the light device of the host vehicle. The processor 51 executing the program irradiates light onto the obstacle upon detecting an obstacle and controls the irradiation mode of the light irradiated onto the obstacle according to the result of the judgment as to whether the driver has recognized the obstacle. In other words, the program causes the sequences of operations and methods of the configuration elements of the light control device 10 to be executed on a computer.

[0065] The memory 52 may be, for example, RAM (random access memory), ROM (read only memory), flash memory, EPROM (erasable programmable read only memory), EEPPROM (electrically erasable programmable read only memory) or other non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory or a magnetic disk, a floppy disk, an optical disk, a minidisk, a DVD (digital versatile disc) or a storage medium used in the future.

[0066] The functions of the configuration elements of the lighting control device 10 were described above as a configuration implemented by one of hardware and software, etc. However, this is not limited to this, and a configuration is also possible in which part of the configuration elements of the lighting control device 10 is implemented by dedicated hardware and another part is implemented by software, etc. For example, the functions of part of the configuration elements can be implemented with the processing circuit 50 as dedicated hardware, while the remaining part of the configuration elements can be implemented by the processing circuit 50 reading and executing a program stored in the memory 52 as the processor 51.

[0067] In this way, the lighting control device 10 can implement the above functions through hardware, software, etc., or a combination thereof.

[0068] The individual embodiments can be freely combined and individual embodiments can be modified or omitted as required.

[0069] The above description is exemplary in all aspects, and it is understood that countless variations not shown by way of example are conceivable. Explanation of reference symbols 10 Lighting control device 11 Obstacle detection unit 12 Driver recognition state assessment unit 13 Light control unit 20 lighting device 21 headlights 22 auxiliary irradiation spotlights 31 Environmental detection device 32 Driver condition detection device 50 processing circuit 51 processor 52 storage 100 Own vehicle 101 Front irradiation light 102 Auxiliary irradiation light 200 obstacle QUOTES CONTAINED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents submitted by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the convenience of the reader. This list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] JP 2007-38878 A

[0003]

Claims

[1] A light control device comprising: an obstacle detection unit that detects obstacles in the vicinity of a vehicle, a driver detection state judging unit that judges whether a driver of the host vehicle has detected an obstacle, and a light control unit that controls an irradiation direction and an irradiation mode of light generated by a light device of the vehicle, wherein the light control unit irradiates light onto the obstacle upon detecting an obstacle and controls an irradiation mode of the light irradiated onto the obstacle according to the result of the judgment as to whether the driver has detected the obstacle. [2] The light control device according to claim 1, wherein the light control unit, when detecting the obstacle, sets the irradiation mode of the light irradiated to the obstacle to a first irradiation mode and starts irradiating light to the obstacle, and when judging that the driver has recognized the obstacle, changes the irradiation mode of the light irradiated to the obstacle to a second irradiation mode, the second irradiation mode being closer to an irradiation mode of the light of the lighting device before detecting the obstacle than the first irradiation mode. [3] The light control device according to claim 2, wherein the light control unit, in the case where it is judged that the driver has recognized the obstacle before starting to irradiate light onto the obstacle, sets the irradiation mode of the light irradiated onto the obstacle to the second irradiation mode and starts to irradiate light onto the obstacle. [4] The light control device according to claim 2, wherein, in a case where a predetermined time has elapsed since light was irradiated onto the obstacle in the first irradiation mode, but it is judged that the driver has not recognized the obstacle, the light control unit changes the irradiation mode of the light irradiated onto the obstacle to a third irradiation mode, the third irradiation mode being more different from an irradiation mode of the light of the light device before detecting the obstacle than the first irradiation mode. [5] The light control device according to claim 1, wherein the light control unit, upon detection of the obstacle, sets the irradiation mode of the light irradiated onto the obstacle to a first irradiation mode and starts irradiating light onto the obstacle, and when a predetermined time has elapsed since irradiating light onto the obstacle in the first irradiation mode but it is judged that the driver has not recognized the obstacle, changes the irradiation mode of the light irradiated onto the obstacle to a second irradiation mode, the second irradiation mode being more different from an irradiation mode of the light of the lighting device before detection of the obstacle than the first irradiation mode. [6] The light control device according to claim 1, wherein the light control unit stops irradiating light onto the obstacle when the obstacle moves away from an irradiation range of a headlight of the own vehicle. [7] The light control device according to claim 1, wherein the light control unit controls the irradiation mode of the light irradiated onto the obstacle by controlling at least one of hue, illuminance and light distribution of the light, a degree of dynamic change of the light, and a projected irradiation object. [8] The light control device according to claim 7, wherein the irradiation object is a shape or a character. [9] The light control device according to claim 2, wherein the first irradiation mode is a dynamic change irradiation mode and the second irradiation mode is a static irradiation mode. [10] The light control device according to claim 2, wherein the second irradiation mode is the same as an irradiation mode of the light of the light device before detecting the obstacle. [11] A light control method, wherein an obstacle detection unit of a light control device detects obstacles in the surroundings of a vehicle, wherein a driver detection state judging unit of the light control device judges whether a driver of the own vehicle has detected an obstacle, wherein a light control unit of the light control device controls an irradiation direction and an irradiation mode of light generated by a light device of the own vehicle, wherein the light control unit irradiates light onto the obstacle upon detecting an obstacle and controls an irradiation mode of the light irradiated onto the obstacle according to the result of the judgment as to whether the driver has detected the obstacle.

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