Vehicle position determination device, vehicle position determination method, light distribution control device, vehicle lamp system

Abstract

A position of a preceding vehicle or the like is determined with high precision. A vehicle position determination device includes a controller that performs the following processes: (a) acquires a plurality of position data, the plurality of position data being position data of a plurality of preceding vehicles respectively including a left position and a right position of one of the preceding vehicles; (b) for each of the position data at a first time and a second time, determines a correspondence between each of the position data and each of the preceding vehicles based on a distance based on coordinates obtained by associating the left position with a first axis and the right position with a second axis or on a change amount of the left position on the first axis and a change amount of the right position on the second axis, and generates data indicating the correspondence.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to a vehicle location determination device, a vehicle location determination method, a light distribution control device, and a vehicle lighting system. Background Technology

[0002] A known beam control technology involves setting a light reduction range (or light blocking range) within the illuminable range of the high beam based on the positions of preceding and oncoming vehicles in front of the vehicle, and then illuminating the high beam (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The positions of preceding vehicles, etc., are obtained, for example, by detecting light spots (positions of headlights and taillights) through image recognition processing of an image of the space in front of the vehicle captured by a camera.

[0003] However, in situations where multiple vehicles are in the lead, it is sometimes impossible to determine the position of each vehicle with high precision. Therefore, when performing light distribution control corresponding to the position of the lead vehicles, it is necessary to set the light reduction range as high as necessary in order to reliably prevent glare to the lead vehicles.

[0004] Existing technical documents

[0005] Patent documents

[0006] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2015-58802 Summary of the Invention

[0007] The problem that the invention aims to solve

[0008] One of the purposes of this disclosure is to provide a technique that can determine the position of leading vehicles, etc., with high precision.

[0009] Methods for solving problems

[0010] One aspect of the vehicle position determination device disclosed herein is a vehicle position determination device with a controller, wherein the controller performs the following processing: (a) acquiring multiple position data, which are position data of multiple vehicles ahead, each including a left position and a right position of one vehicle ahead; (b) for each of the position data at a first time and a second time, calculating a coordinate-based distance of each of the position data by aligning the left position with a first axis and the right position with a second axis, or calculating the change of the left position on the first axis and the change of the right position on the second axis, determining the correspondence between each of the multiple position data and each of the multiple vehicles ahead based on the distance or the change, and generating data representing the correspondence.

[0011] One aspect of the vehicle position determination device disclosed herein is a vehicle position determination device with a controller, the controller comprising: (a) a vehicle position acquisition unit that acquires a plurality of position data, the plurality of position data being position data of a plurality of forward vehicles, each including a left position and a right position of one forward vehicle; and (b) a vehicle position determination unit that, for each of the position data at a first time and a second time, calculates a coordinate-based distance for each of the position data by aligning the left position with a first axis and the right position with a second axis, or calculates the change in the left position on the first axis and the change in the right position on the second axis, determines a correspondence between each of the plurality of position data and each of the plurality of forward vehicles based on the distance or the change, and generates data representing the correspondence.

[0012] One method for determining vehicle position according to this disclosure is a vehicle position determination method executed by a controller, comprising the following steps: (a) acquiring multiple position data, which are position data of multiple vehicles ahead, each including a left position and a right position of a vehicle ahead; and (b) for each of the position data at a first time and a second time, calculating a coordinate-based distance of each of the position data by aligning the left position with a first axis and the right position with a second axis, or calculating the change of the left position on the first axis and the change of the right position on the second axis, determining the correspondence between each of the multiple position data and each of the multiple vehicles ahead based on the distance or the changes, and generating data representing the correspondence.

[0013] In one aspect of the vehicle light distribution control device disclosed herein, a control signal for performing light illumination based on a light distribution pattern is generated and supplied to a vehicle lamp based on data obtained by the vehicle position determination device of [1] or [2] representing the correspondence between each of the plurality of position data and each of the plurality of forward vehicles. The light distribution pattern includes a light reduction range corresponding to the respective positions of the plurality of forward vehicles.

[0014] One aspect of the vehicle lighting system disclosed herein includes: the light distribution control device of [4]; and a vehicle lighting device that operates by receiving a control signal from the light distribution control device.

[0015] Based on the above structure, the position of leading vehicles, etc., can be determined with high precision. Furthermore, appropriate lighting corresponding to the determined position can be applied. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1(A) and Figure 1 (B) is a diagram used to illustrate the detection state of the position of the vehicle ahead as envisioned in this embodiment.

[0017] Figure 2 This is a diagram showing the structure of a vehicle lighting system according to one embodiment.

[0018] Figure 3 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the structure of a computer that implements the controller.

[0019] Figure 4 (A) Figure 4 (B) is a diagram illustrating an example of the detection results of the camera device 10 on the position of the vehicle in front.

[0020] Figure 5 (A) Figure 5 (B) is a diagram used to explain the principle of vehicle position determination of vehicle position determination unit 22.

[0021] Figure 6 This is a conceptual diagram of the processing of location data.

[0022] Figure 7 This is a flowchart showing the sequence of actions of the controller in a vehicle lighting system.

[0023] Figure 8 This is a diagram illustrating an example of light distribution control. Detailed Implementation

[0024] Figure 1 (A) and Figure 1 (B) is a diagram illustrating the detection state of the position of the vehicle in front as envisioned in this embodiment. Here, the case of two vehicles 100a and 100b present in front of this vehicle is shown. Furthermore, in this specification, "vehicle in front" refers to a leading vehicle or an oncoming vehicle; here, the case is shown where each vehicle is a leading vehicle. In this embodiment, the position data of each leading vehicle 100a and 100b is detected by the detection unit at an angle based on the direction of travel of this vehicle.

[0025] like Figure 1 As shown in (A), at a certain time (t-1), using the position data of the vehicle 100a ahead, the angle θ corresponding to the left and right positions of the vehicle 100a ahead is detected. 1L θ 1R , angle θ 1L θ 1R The information is associated with the communication ID "01", which serves as identification information to distinguish each vehicle, and output from the detection unit. Additionally, as position data of the vehicle ahead 100b, the angle θ corresponding to the left and right positions of that vehicle ahead 100b is detected. 2Lθ 2R , angle θ 2L θ 2R It is associated with the communication ID "02", which serves as identification information to distinguish each vehicle, and output from the detection unit.

[0026] Similarly, the position data of each vehicle 100a and 100b ahead are detected at predetermined intervals. However, the detection unit does not distinguish between each vehicle 100a and 100b ahead. Therefore, depending on the situation, such as Figure 1 As shown in (B), sometimes at a certain moment (t), the vehicle 100b in front corresponds to the communication ID "01", and θ is detected as the angle corresponding to its left and right positions. 1L θ 1R The detection unit outputs that the vehicle ahead, 100a, corresponds to the communication ID "02", and uses this as the angle corresponding to its left and right positions to detect θ. 2L θ 2R And output from the detection unit. That is, the communication ID attached to the location data may not uniquely correspond to each vehicle ahead.

[0027] That is, randomly changing the vehicles ahead corresponding to the communication ID may result in a situation where the continuity of position data cannot be maintained. Therefore, in light distribution control, it may be necessary to set the algorithm based on the premise of randomly changing the vehicles ahead determined by the communication ID. Therefore, in order to reliably suppress glare to vehicles ahead, it is necessary, for example, to implement control that sets the light reduction range between the leftmost and rightmost positions of all detected vehicles ahead. Alternatively, if it is possible to distinguish between leading vehicles and oncoming vehicles, it is necessary to set the light reduction range in the range that includes all leading vehicles and the range that includes all oncoming vehicles. In addition, it may become difficult when it is necessary to predict the movement of each vehicle ahead in the left or right direction for control. For example, consider the case of expanding the light reduction range according to the predicted movement direction of the vehicle ahead.

[0028] In contrast, even if the correspondence between the position data of each vehicle ahead and the communication ID obtained by the detection unit is randomly changed, as long as each vehicle ahead can be distinguished and its position data determined with high accuracy, and the result is used for light distribution control, it is not necessary to set a wider light reduction range than necessary. The implementation method for achieving this will be described below. Furthermore, in this specification, "light reduction" refers to setting the brightness (illuminance, luminance, etc.) when illuminated to a relatively low level, and also includes the concept of setting the brightness to practically 0 (no illumination).

[0029] Figure 2This diagram illustrates the structure of a vehicle lighting system according to one embodiment. The illustrated vehicle lighting system illuminates the space surrounding (in this case, in front of) the vehicle. Within the so-called high beam illumination range, it selectively illuminates the area by setting a light reduction range corresponding to the position of the vehicle in front, and using the remaining area as the illumination range. This light distribution control is also known as ADB (Adaptive Driving Beam) control, which helps improve the visibility of the vehicle's surroundings. The vehicle lighting system is configured to include a camera device 10, a controller (control device) 20, and a pair of headlight units (vehicle lighting fixtures) 30L and 30R. The camera device 10 and the controller 20 are connected via a predetermined communication unit. Furthermore, the controller 20 is connected to each headlight unit 30L and 30R via predetermined wiring. In this embodiment, the camera device 10 and the controller 20 correspond to a "vehicle position determination device" and a "light distribution control device."

[0030] The camera device 10 includes a camera 11 and an image processor 12. The image processor 12 performs prescribed image processing on images captured by the camera 11 to detect the position of vehicles in front of the vehicle. In this embodiment, the camera device 10 detects the left and right positions of each vehicle in front as their respective positions. The left and right positions, for example, correspond to the position of the taillights when the vehicle in front is a leading vehicle, and to the position of the headlights when the vehicle in front is an oncoming vehicle. The position data of the vehicles in front is represented by a relative angle to the position of the vehicle in front. Furthermore, in the case of multiple vehicles in front, as described above, a communication ID is assigned to each vehicle in front, and its position data (or signal) is output to the controller 20.

[0031] The controller 20 determines the position of each vehicle ahead based on the position data of each vehicle ahead output from the camera device 10. Based on the determined position, it sets a light distribution pattern that includes a light reduction range and a light illumination range corresponding to each vehicle ahead, and controls the headlight units 30L and 30R to provide light illumination based on this light distribution pattern. This controller 20 is implemented, for example, using a computer equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), etc., by executing a predetermined action program on the computer. To facilitate understanding of the functions implemented by the controller 20, function blocks are used for explanation. The controller 20 includes a vehicle position acquisition unit 21, a vehicle position determination unit 22, a light distribution pattern setting unit 23, and a control signal generation unit 24, which are function blocks.

[0032] The vehicle position acquisition unit 21 acquires the position data (or signal) of the vehicle ahead output from the camera device 10. As described above, the position data of each vehicle ahead, corresponding to the communication ID used to distinguish each vehicle ahead, is output in a time sequence at predetermined intervals (e.g., every 50 milliseconds).

[0033] The vehicle position determination unit 22 determines the actual position of each vehicle ahead based on the position data of each vehicle ahead obtained by the vehicle position acquisition unit 21. The specific determination method will be described later.

[0034] The beam pattern setting unit 23 sets a beam pattern corresponding to the positions of each vehicle in front determined by the vehicle position determination unit 22. The pattern includes a predetermined range within the irradiable range of the high beam that includes the positions of each vehicle in front as the light reduction range and the range other than that as the light irradiation range.

[0035] The control signal generation unit 24 generates a control signal corresponding to the light distribution pattern set by the light distribution pattern control unit 23, and supplies the control signal to each headlight unit 30L, 30R.

[0036] Each headlight unit 30L and 30R operates according to the control signal supplied from the controller 20 to illuminate the front of the vehicle. Each headlight unit 30L and 30R is equipped with an ADB unit 31 and a low beam unit 32.

[0037] ADB unit 31 is a lamp unit capable of selectively illuminating light according to the position of the vehicle ahead within the illumination range of the high beam. Such ADB unit 31 can be, for example, a unit that combines a light source and a liquid crystal element to form illumination light, a unit that forms illumination light by individually lighting and extinguishing multiple light-emitting elements (LEDs), a unit that forms illumination light by scanning light emitted from a laser element using a MEMS device or the like, and a unit that forms illumination light by partially blocking the light source using a shield (sunshade).

[0038] The low beam unit 32 is a lamp unit that illuminates an area relatively close to the vehicle, compared to the high beam. Various known units can be used as such a low beam unit 32. Furthermore, a single unit combining the functions of the low beam unit 32 and the ADB unit 31 can also be used to form the low beam.

[0039] Figure 3This diagram illustrates an example of the structure of a computer that implements a controller. The computer shown includes a CPU 201, ROM 202, RAM 203, storage device 204, and external interface (I / F) 205, all connected in a communicative manner. The CPU 201 operates based on a basic control program read from the ROM 202, reads the program (application program) 206 stored in the storage device 204, and executes the program, thereby implementing the functions of the controller 20 described above. The RAM 203 temporarily stores data used during the operation of the CPU 201. The storage device 204 is, for example, a non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk or solid-state drive, storing various data such as the program 206. The external interface 205 is an interface connecting the CPU 201 and external devices, such as for connecting the camera device 10 and the CPU 201.

[0040] Figure 4 (A) Figure 4 Figure (B) is an example illustrating the detection results of the camera device 10 on the position of the vehicle in front. Additionally, Figure 5 (A) Figure 5 (B) is a diagram illustrating the principle of vehicle position determination in the vehicle position determination unit 22. For example... Figure 4 (A) and Figure 4 As shown in (B), consider the following situation: at the first time (t-1), the position data of the vehicle ahead 100a is output as "θ" corresponding to the communication ID "01". 1L =+5°, θ 1R =+1°”, at the next second time (t), the position data of the vehicle ahead 100a is output as “θ” corresponding to the communication ID “02”. 2L =+6°, θ 2R =+2°". In addition, regarding the vehicle ahead 100b, its position is output at time (t-1) corresponding to communication ID "02" and at time (t) corresponding to communication ID "01", details of which are omitted.

[0041] like Figure 5 As shown in (A), the left side position θ of the vehicle in front is... L Corresponding to the vertical axis (first axis), the right-hand position θ RCorresponding to the horizontal axis (second axis), the positions of the vehicle 100a at each time (t-1) and (t) are plotted, and the coordinate-based distance (Euclidean distance) D between the plotted points is calculated. If this distance D is below a specified reference value, the position data corresponding to these plotted points is considered to correspond to the same vehicle. This process is repeated iteratively for the position data corresponding to each communication ID at each time (t-1) and (t). Thus, in the illustrated example, it can be determined that the position data corresponding to communication ID "01" at time (t-1) and the position data corresponding to communication ID "02" at time (t) are the position data of the same vehicle 100a. Similarly, in the illustrated example, it can be determined that the position data corresponding to communication ID "02" at time (t-1) and the position data corresponding to communication ID "01" at time (t) are the position data of the same vehicle 100b.

[0042] The reference value related to distance D can be set appropriately based on simulation results, measured results, etc. For example, if the position data is updated and output every 0.05 seconds and the angle unit is "degree", it is preferable to set the reference value to 4 to 8. In addition, this reference value can also be set to different values ​​when the vehicle in front is the leading vehicle and when the vehicle is coming from the opposite direction.

[0043] According to this process, even if there is no misplacement between the vehicle ahead as determined by the communication ID and the actual vehicle ahead, the correspondence between the location data and the vehicle ahead can still be determined. For example, as Figure 6 As shown in the conceptual diagram, when the controller 20 uses the internal IDs used to identify each vehicle ahead, even if the communication IDs are misplaced, it generates internal processing data where internal ID "01" corresponds to the position data of the vehicle ahead 100a and internal ID "02" corresponds to the position data of the vehicle ahead 100b.

[0044] Alternatively, Euclidean distance can be omitted, and... Figure 5 As shown in (B), for θ L θ R Calculate the changes ΔL and ΔR along each axis between time (t-1) and (t). If these changes are all below the specified reference values, these position data are determined to be the position data of the same vehicle ahead.

[0045] Figure 7 This is a flowchart illustrating the sequence of actions of the controller in a vehicle lighting system. Furthermore, as long as there are no contradictions or mismatches in the information processing results, the order of the processing blocks shown in the diagram can be rearranged, and other processing blocks not shown can be added; such implementations are not excluded.

[0046] The vehicle position acquisition unit 21 acquires the position data (angle) of each vehicle ahead from the camera device 10 (step S11). In addition, the position data of each vehicle ahead is output from the camera device 10 at a predetermined interval (e.g., every 0.05 seconds).

[0047] The vehicle position determination unit 22 plots the acquired position data onto a two-dimensional coordinate system (step S12). Based on the distance D between the plotted positions at the previous (first moment) acquisition time and the current (second moment) acquisition time, it determines the group of coordinate values ​​that are the smallest and closest to the reference value in the coordinate system with a distance D below the reference value (step S13). In addition, if the position data from the previous acquisition time is not available during the initial processing after the start of the operation, a predetermined fixed value can be used for processing, or no processing can be performed until the next position data is obtained, etc., and appropriate responses based on common technical knowledge can be made.

[0048] Next, the vehicle position determination unit 22 generates data representing the correspondence by using the vehicle positions corresponding to the sets of coordinate values ​​determined in step S13 as the vehicle positions corresponding to the same vehicle ahead (see reference). Figure 6 ), and store it in a memory not shown (step S14).

[0049] Next, the light distribution pattern setting unit 23 sets a light distribution pattern, which includes a light reduction range and a light illumination range corresponding to the positions of each vehicle ahead as determined by the vehicle position determination unit 22 (step S15). A control signal based on this set light distribution pattern is generated by the control signal generation unit 24 and output to each headlight unit 30L, 30R, thereby performing light illumination corresponding to the position of the vehicle ahead. Then, the process returns to step S11.

[0050] Figure 8 This diagram illustrates an example of beam distribution control. The patterned areas represent the beams being illuminated. The low beam is omitted from the diagram. As shown, the beam distribution can be adjusted based on the positions of the vehicles ahead (100a, 100b), with different reduction ranges for each vehicle.

[0051] According to the above-described implementation method, the position of the preceding vehicle, etc., can be determined with high precision. Furthermore, appropriate light illumination corresponding to the determined position can be performed.

[0052] Furthermore, this disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the spirit of this disclosure. For example, in the embodiments described above, it is envisioned that the position data of the vehicle in front is obtained by angle, but the position of the vehicle in front can also be obtained by the coordinate values ​​of the axis corresponding to the left and right directions of the vehicle. In this case, it is considered that the left and right positions of the vehicle in front are represented as coordinate values ​​on a coordinate system, which is a coordinate system in which the origin of the axis is set at an appropriate position (e.g., the position of the vehicle).

[0053] Furthermore, in the above embodiments, the case of detecting the position of the vehicle in front based on the image in front of the vehicle is illustrated. However, the position of the vehicle in front can also be detected by sensors that use lasers, such as LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), or sensors that use ultrasound, or by vehicle-to-vehicle communication or road-to-road communication (so-called V2X).

[0054] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the vehicle is determined based on the left-right position of the vehicle in front. However, the type of vehicle in front and the distance between the vehicle in front and the vehicle itself can also be considered. For example, when the camera device 10 outputs data indicating the category of the vehicle in front (leading vehicle / oncoming vehicle), the vehicle can be determined according to each category in the same way as in the above-described embodiment. Additionally, when the camera device 10 outputs data indicating the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle in front, vehicles with smaller variations in their distance can be identified as the same vehicle. Thus, even when multiple vehicles in front have the same Euclidean distance, the vehicle can be identified. Furthermore, the distance between vehicles can be detected by other radar or by the controller 20 based on the size of the vehicle in front in the image.

[0055] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0056] 10: Camera device; 11: Camera; 12: Image processor; 20: Controller; 21: Vehicle position acquisition unit; 22: Vehicle position determination unit; 23: Light distribution pattern setting unit; 24: Control signal generation unit; 24, 30L, 30R: Headlight unit; 31: ADB unit; 32: Low beam unit

Claims

1. A vehicle lighting system that illuminates the space in front of the vehicle, wherein, The vehicle's lighting system is equipped with: A vehicle position determination device that determines the positions of multiple vehicles located in front of the vehicle. A light distribution control device performs light distribution control so that the light irradiation directed in front of the vehicle becomes light irradiation corresponding to the positions of the plurality of vehicles in front. as well as The headlight unit illuminates the space in front of the vehicle, including the plurality of vehicles ahead as determined by the vehicle position determination device, based on a control signal supplied from the light distribution control device. The vehicle location determination device has a controller, which executes a prescribed action program in a computer with a CPU and memory. The controller, as a functional block implemented through the execution of the action program, includes: a vehicle position acquisition unit that acquires the position data of each of the plurality of vehicles in front; And a vehicle position determination unit, which determines the actual position of each of the plurality of vehicles ahead based on the acquired position data. The vehicle position acquisition unit acquires each of the position data, performs a mapping on each of the position data to distinguish each of the vehicles ahead, and outputs the position data to the vehicle position determination unit in a time sequence at predetermined time intervals including a first time moment and a second time moment. This position data consists of the position data of each of the plurality of vehicles ahead, and includes the left and right positions of each vehicle ahead. The vehicle position determination unit, for each position data at the first time and the second time, calculates a coordinate-based distance for each position data by aligning the left position with the first axis and the right position with the second axis, or calculates the change in the left position along the first axis and the change in the right position along the second axis. If the distance or change is below a reference value, the position data corresponding to the coordinate depiction is considered to correspond to the same forward vehicle. The unit determines the correspondence between each position data and each forward vehicle, generates data representing this correspondence, and stores the data representing this correspondence in the memory. The light distribution control device sets a light distribution pattern for illumination, generates a control signal based on the light distribution pattern, and outputs it to the headlight unit. The light distribution pattern includes a light reduction range corresponding to the positions of each of the vehicles ahead as determined by the vehicle position determination unit.

2. The vehicle lighting system according to claim 1, wherein, Identification information is attached to each of the multiple location data points. Each of the identification information is not uniquely associated with any of the plurality of vehicles ahead.

3. The vehicle lighting system according to claim 1, wherein, When the distance is below and at its minimum value, or when the change is below and at its minimum value, the location data corresponding to the distance or change is assigned to the same vehicle ahead.

4. The vehicle lighting system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The left and right positions in each of the position data are represented by angles.

5. The vehicle lighting system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The vehicle position determination device includes a camera device, a sensor, a vehicle-to-vehicle communication device, or a road-to-vehicle communication device for detecting the position of the vehicle ahead.

6. A light distribution control method for a vehicle lighting system, which is executed within the vehicle lighting system, wherein, The vehicle lighting system includes: A vehicle position determination device having a controller that determines the position of multiple vehicles in front of the vehicle, the controller being implemented by executing a prescribed action program in a computer having a CPU and memory; A light distribution control device performs light distribution control so that the light irradiation directed in front of the vehicle becomes light irradiation corresponding to the positions of the plurality of vehicles in front. as well as The headlight unit illuminates the space in front of the vehicle, including the vehicle in front as determined by the vehicle position determination device, according to a control signal supplied from the light distribution control device. The light distribution control method includes the following steps: The controller performs multiple location data to distinguish the corresponding vehicles ahead, and acquires the multiple location data in a time sequence at predetermined time intervals including a first time and a second time. The multiple location data are the location data of each of the multiple vehicles ahead, and respectively include the left position and right position of each vehicle ahead. For each location data at the first time and the second time, the controller calculates the coordinate-based distance of each location data by aligning the left position with a first axis and the right position with a second axis, or calculates the change of the left position on the first axis and the change of the right position on the second axis. When the distance or each change is below the reference value, the controller regards the position data corresponding to the depiction on the coordinate as the position data corresponding to the same vehicle in front, determines the correspondence between each position data in the plurality of position data and each vehicle in the plurality of vehicles in front, generates data representing the correspondence, and stores the data representing the correspondence in the memory. as well as The light distribution control device sets a light distribution pattern for illumination, generates a control signal based on the light distribution pattern, and outputs it to the headlight unit. The light distribution pattern includes a light reduction range corresponding to the position of each of the vehicles ahead, determined based on data representing the correspondence.

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