Aiming system and aiming method for vehicle headlight device

Abstract

Provided is a headlight device equipped with a variable light distribution system that performs ADB control, wherein a glare suppression function provided by ADB control is enabled without adjusting the optical axis of the headlight device at times such as when the headlight device is replaced.　An aiming system for a vehicle headlight device comprises an onboard camera that captures a forward image of a host vehicle, a headlight device that sets a light irradiation range in front of the host vehicle, and a control device that performs variable light distribution control for specifying a light reduction or a light shielding region in the light irradiation range on the basis of the image captured by the onboard camera. During initial setting, the control device: sets, in the vehicle headlight device, a specific unit of irradiation at which a specific position in the image captured by the onboard camera, which has captured an image of an illuminated surface for calibration, will be an irradiation position; detects a deviation between the specific position and the irradiation position of the specific unit of irradiation in the image captured by the onboard camera that has captured the image of the illuminated surface for calibration; and corrects the output of the variable light distribution control in accordance with the deviation.

Description

Aiming system and aiming method for vehicle headlamp device

[0001] The present invention relates to an aiming system and an aiming method for a vehicle headlamp device.

[0002] When a vehicle headlamp device is installed on a vehicle body, it undergoes aiming to adjust the direction of the optical axis. Conventionally, an automatic aiming system has been proposed to eliminate variations in aiming due to manual work. With the vehicle in a fixed position, this system uses a lamp unit of the headlamp device to project a predetermined light distribution pattern onto a screen installed in front of the vehicle, acquires the deviation between a focal point of the light distribution pattern and a corresponding reference position in front of the vehicle using image information from an imaging device, and uses the acquired deviation information to drive an optical axis displacement unit so that the focal point of the light distribution pattern coincides with the reference position in front of the vehicle (see Patent Document 1 below).

[0003] Furthermore, recent vehicles are equipped with a variable light distribution system for vehicle headlights called ADB (Adaptive Driving Beam). This variable light distribution system detects the presence or absence of a preceding vehicle, an oncoming vehicle, or a pedestrian from an image captured by an onboard camera used in an ADAS (Advanced Driving Assistant System), etc., identifies their positions through image processing, and reduces glare for the driver of the preceding vehicle or the oncoming vehicle or for pedestrians by partially dimming or blocking the illumination area of ​​the headlight corresponding to the identified position (see Patent Document 2 listed below).

[0004] Japanese Patent No. 5331803 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-216087

[0005] Even in headlamp devices that perform the aforementioned ADB variable light distribution control (hereinafter referred to as ADB control), the direction of the headlamp's optical axis may become misaligned with respect to the vehicle axle or the optical axis of the onboard camera when the headlamp device is replaced, requiring aiming adjustment. However, when replacing the headlamp device, it may not be possible to adjust the direction of the optical axis as described above due to regulatory or equipment restrictions. In such cases, ADB control is performed with the optical axis of the headlamp device misaligned with the optical axis of the onboard camera, resulting in a misalignment between the specific position detected in the image captured by the onboard camera and the dimming or shading area set according to that position, resulting in a problem in which glare suppression by ADB control does not function effectively.

[0006] The present invention addresses this problem by enabling the glare suppression function of ADB control in a headlamp device equipped with a variable light distribution system that performs ADB control, without having to adjust the optical axis of the headlamp device when replacing the headlamp device, for example.

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following configuration: An aiming system for a vehicle headlight device, comprising: an on-board camera that captures an image ahead of the vehicle; a headlight device that sets a light illumination range ahead of the vehicle; and a control device that performs variable light distribution control that specifies a dimmed or blocked area in the light illumination range based on the image captured by the on-board camera, wherein the control device, at the time of initial setup, sets in the headlight device a specific illumination unit whose illumination position is a specific position in an image captured by the on-board camera that captured an image of an illuminated surface for calibration, detects a deviation between the specific position and the illumination position of the specific illumination unit in the image captured by the on-board camera that captured the illuminated surface for calibration, and corrects an output of the variable light distribution control in accordance with the deviation.

[0008] According to the present invention having such characteristics, even if there is a misalignment between the optical axis of the headlight device and the optical axis of the vehicle axle or the on-board camera when replacing the headlight device, the effectiveness of ADB control can be ensured without adjusting the optical axis of the headlight device.

[0009] An explanatory diagram showing an aiming system of a vehicle headlamp device according to an embodiment of the present invention. An explanatory diagram showing the hardware configuration of an ECU. An explanatory diagram showing the operation flow of an initial setting operation mode. An explanatory diagram of the initial setting operation mode. An explanatory diagram of the operation flow of a replacement operation mode. An explanatory diagram of the replacement operation mode. An explanatory diagram of the operation flow of an ADB control operation mode. An explanatory diagram of the ADB control operation mode.

[0010] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same reference numerals in different drawings denote parts with the same functions, and duplicated descriptions in each drawing will be omitted as appropriate.

[0011] An aiming system (hereinafter referred to as the system) 1 for a vehicle headlight device according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted on a vehicle body B, and includes an on-board camera 2, a headlight device 3, and a control device 10. The system 1 also includes, as equipment for operation, a screen S that faces a calibration target surface Sa toward the on-board camera 2.

[0012] The vehicle-mounted camera 2 is capable of capturing at least a forward image of the vehicle B, which is the vehicle itself, and is, for example, a camera for acquiring detection images used in an ADAS (Advanced Driving Assistant System). When performing ADB control, the vehicle-mounted camera 2 acquires a forward image of the vehicle B in order to identify a target for glare suppression. Furthermore, the vehicle-mounted camera 2 captures an image of the calibration illuminated surface Sa of the screen S during initial setup or calibration.

[0013] The headlamp device 3 includes at least a light source unit 3A capable of ADB control. This light source unit 3A can individually turn on and off a plurality of subdivided irradiation units (lighting segments), and can be configured with a light emitting diode (LED) array, a micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) device such as a digital micromirror device (DMD), or the like.

[0014] The control unit 10 is composed of multiple on-board ECUs (Electronic Control Units). One of the on-board ECUs constituting the control unit 10 is an ECU 11 for controlling an on-board camera. Image data captured by the on-board camera 2 is transmitted to the ECU 11, and the on-board camera 2 is controlled by output from the ECU 11. The other ECU constituting the control unit 10 is an ECU 12 for controlling a headlamp device. The ECU 12 controls the lighting of the light source unit 3A of the headlamp device 3 for each illumination unit, and also controls the actuator of the headlamp device 3, etc.

[0015] The ECUs 11 and 12 in the control device 10 are connected to each other via an in-vehicle network 13 such as a Controller Area Network (CAN) or a Local Interconnect Network (LIN) so that they can communicate with each other, and are also connected to a central gateway (CGWECU) 14 as a relay device, and are also connected to other in-vehicle ECUs (not shown) so that they can communicate with each other.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 2 , the ECUs 11 and 12 each include a central processing unit (CPU) 100, a read-only memory (ROM) 101, a random access memory (RAM) 102, and an interface (I / F) 103, which are interconnected via a bus 104. The CPU 100 controls the operation of the ECUs 11 and 12 by executing various programs stored in the ROM 101. The ROM 101 is a non-volatile memory. For example, the ROM 101 stores programs executed by the CPU 100 and information required for the CPU 100 to execute the programs. The RAM 102 is a main storage device such as a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or a static random access memory (SRAM). For example, the RAM 102 functions as a work area used by the CPU 100 when executing the programs. The I / F 103 controls the transmission and reception of information to and from external devices (e.g., the in-vehicle camera 2 and the headlight device 3).

[0017] The control (aiming method) of the system 1 performed by the control device 10 includes at least an initial setting operation mode, a replacement operation mode, and an ADB control operation mode.

[0018] 1, in the initial setting operation mode, initial setting is performed by placing the vehicle B on the screen S in accordance with the initial setting conditions, irradiating the calibration irradiation surface Sa of the screen S with light from a specific segment of the light source unit 3A, and capturing an image of the irradiation position with the vehicle-mounted camera 2. The initial setting conditions here include the distance La from the screen S to the tip of the vehicle B, the irradiation width W1 of the headlight device 3 onto the calibration irradiation surface Sa, and the imaging range W2 of the vehicle-mounted camera 2 on the calibration irradiation surface Sa.

[0019] At the time of initialization when the initial setting operation mode is performed, the optical axes of the headlamp device 3 properly mounted on the vehicle B and the on-board camera 2 have been adjusted in advance. Therefore, as long as this initial setting state is maintained, the glare suppression function of the ADB control will function normally.

[0020] An example of operation in the initial setting operation mode will be described. As shown in Fig. 3, when the initial setting operation is started, the above-mentioned initial setting conditions are prepared (step S01), a specific segment (specific irradiation unit) of the light source unit 3A is set on the calibration irradiation surface Sa of the screen S (step S02), light is irradiated from the specific segment, and an image of the calibration irradiation surface Sa of the screen S is acquired by the vehicle-mounted camera 2 (step S03). Then, the acquired image is processed to confirm the irradiation position (coordinates) of the specific segment in the acquired image (step S04), and the confirmed irradiation position is stored as information of a specific position (step S05).

[0021] At the time of initial installation, the optical axis of the in-vehicle camera 2 and the optical axis of the headlight device 3 are adjusted in advance, and under the initial setting conditions for the screen S, as shown in Fig. 4, the irradiation position of the specific segment P1 on the calibration irradiated surface Sa is stored as information as a specific position (X1, Y1) in the acquired image G. In this way, the state at the time of initial setting, in which the irradiation position of the specific segment P1 on the calibration irradiated surface Sa matches the specific position (X1, Y1) in the acquired image G, is the state at the time of initial setting, and in this state, the glare suppression function of the ADB control functions properly.

[0022] The replacement operation mode is an operation mode performed when replacing the headlight device 3, and detects the deviation between the specific position (X1, Y1) stored in the initial setting operation mode and the irradiation position of a specific segment in the light source unit 3A, and calculates the correction amount for ADB control.

[0023] An example of the operation of the replacement operation mode will be described. As shown in FIG. 5 , when the replacement operation is started, the above-described initial setting conditions are reproduced (step S11), light is irradiated from a specific segment (specific irradiation unit) of the light source unit 3A onto the calibration irradiation surface Sa of the screen S (step S12), and an image of the calibration irradiation surface Sa of the screen S is acquired by the vehicle-mounted camera 2 (step S13). The acquired image is then processed to confirm the irradiation position (coordinates) of the specific segment in the acquired image (step S14). A deviation between the confirmed irradiation position and the specific position stored in the initial setting operation mode is detected (step S15), and a correction amount for ADB control is calculated based on the detected deviation, and the correction amount is stored as information (step S16).

[0024] When replacing a headlamp device, there is a possibility that the optical axis of the headlamp device 2 may be misaligned from the initial installation. In this case, even if the initial setting conditions are reproduced, the irradiation position (X2, Y2) of the specific segment P1 on the calibration irradiation surface Sa will be misaligned from the specific position (X1, Y1) in the acquired image G stored as information at the time of initial setting, as shown in Figure 6, and the correction amount for ADB control is calculated based on this deviation (ΔX, ΔY).

[0025] The ADB control operation mode is variable light distribution control performed by the headlamp device 3 while the vehicle is traveling. As shown in Fig. 7 , when ADB control is started, a forward image is acquired by the on-board camera 2 (step S21), and the acquired forward image is subjected to image processing to identify a shaded object in the acquired image (step S22), and a shaded area on the acquired image is determined (step S23).

[0026] Once the light-blocking area on the image is determined, the light distribution pattern is determined by determining the light-blocking segments of the light source unit 3A corresponding to the light-blocking area, taking into account the correction amount stored in the replacement operation mode (step S24), and the lighting of the light source unit 3A is controlled based on the determined light distribution pattern. This allows for appropriate ADB control that suppresses glare on the light-blocking target (step S25). If such ADB control is to be continued (step S26: NO), the above-described steps S21 to S25 are repeated. If ADB control is to be ended (step S26: YES), the control operation is ended.

[0027] 8, when ADB control is performed, the light distribution pattern of the light source unit 3A is determined so as to block (or reduce light) the light-blocking areas G1, G2 determined from the image G acquired by the on-board camera 2. Even if a misalignment occurs between the optical axis of the headlight device 3 and the optical axis of the vehicle body or the on-board camera 2 due to replacement of the headlight device 3 or the like, by performing ADB control that takes into account the above-mentioned correction amount, it is possible to perform appropriate ADB control that suppresses glare on the object to be blocked without adjusting the optical axis of the headlight device 3.

[0028] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configurations are not limited to these embodiments, and the present invention also includes design changes within the scope of the present invention. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments can be combined by utilizing each other's technologies as long as there are no particular contradictions or problems in their purposes, configurations, etc.

[0029] 1: Aiming system (system), 2: In-vehicle camera, 3: Headlight device, 3A: Light source unit, 10: Control device, 11, 12: ECU, 13: In-vehicle network, 14: Central gateway (CGWECU), 100: CPU, 101: ROM, 102: RAM, 103: I / F, S: Screen, Sa: Illuminated surface for calibration, G: Obtained image, G1, G2: Light-shielded area, P1: Specific segment

Claims

1. An aiming system for a vehicle headlight device comprising: an on-board camera that captures an image ahead of the vehicle; a headlight device that sets a light irradiation range ahead of the vehicle; and a control device that performs variable light distribution control that specifies a dimming or light blocking area in the light irradiation range based on the image captured by the on-board camera, wherein the control device, at the time of initial setup, sets in the headlight device a specific irradiation unit whose irradiation position is a specific position within the image captured by the on-board camera that captured an image of an illuminated surface for calibration, detects a deviation between the specific position and the irradiation position of the specific irradiation unit within the image captured by the on-board camera that captured the image of the illuminated surface for calibration, and corrects the output of the variable light distribution control in accordance with the deviation.

2. The aiming system of a vehicle headlamp device as described in claim 1, characterized in that the headlamp device has a plurality of irradiation units arranged in a dot matrix pattern, and the specific irradiation unit is specified by one or more of the plurality of irradiation units.

3. An aiming method for a vehicle headlight device that performs variable light distribution control to identify a light-dimming or light-blocking area based on an image captured by an on-board camera, the aiming method for a vehicle headlight device comprising the steps of: at an initial setting, in the headlight device, determining a specific illumination unit whose illumination position is a specific position within an image captured by the on-board camera that captured an image of an illuminated surface for calibration; at a calibration time, detecting a deviation between the specific position and the illumination position of the specific illumination unit within the image captured by the on-board camera that captured an image of the illuminated surface for calibration; and correcting the output of the variable light distribution control in accordance with the deviation.

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