Headlight control device and headlight control method

Abstract

The invention provides a headlamp control device and a headlamp control method. The purpose of the present invention is to prevent the distraction of an operator caused by the frequent change of the illumination direction of a headlamp due to adaptive control corresponding to the line of sight of the operator, and to improve the visibility of the operator with respect to a moving environment. A headlight control device is provided with: a line-of-sight detection unit that detects the line of sight of an operator of a moving body; and a direction control unit that controls the irradiation direction of the headlight of the moving body on the basis of the line-of-sight direction of the operator detected by the line-of-sight detection unit, the direction control unit controlling the irradiation direction of the headlight of the moving body on the condition that the line-of-sight of the operator detected by the line-of-sight detection unit deviates from any of one or more predetermined exclusion ranges. The direction control unit controls the irradiation direction of the headlamp to be the direction of the line of sight of the operator when the line of sight of the operator detected by the line-of-sight detection unit faces the arbitrary exclusion range, and controls the irradiation direction of the headlamp to be the direction of travel of the moving body when the line of sight of the operator detected by the line-of-sight detection unit faces the arbitrary exclusion range.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a headlamp control device and a headlamp control method. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, efforts have been actively made to provide participation in sustainable transportation systems that take into account people who are in a vulnerable position among traffic participants. To achieve this, research and development related to driver assistance technology is being devoted to further improving traffic safety and convenience.

[0003] Conventionally, there is known an Adaptive Front-Lighting System (AFS) that adaptively controls the illumination direction of the headlights of a vehicle when the vehicle is traveling on a curved road or turning left or right at an intersection.

[0004] Patent Document 1 discloses a headlamp control device that changes the irradiation direction of a headlamp in accordance with the direction of a driver's line of sight.

[0005] Prior art literature

[0006] Patent Literature

[0007] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-159310 Summary of the invention

[0008] Problems to be solved by the invention

[0009] However, in driving assistance technology, it is a challenge to improve the driver's visual confirmation of the driving environment without distracting the driver's attention.

[0010] The present application is used to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to prevent the lighting direction of the headlights from frequently changing due to adaptive control such as AFS, thereby distracting the driver's attention, and to improve the visual confirmation of the driving environment for the vehicle driver. Moreover, it further contributes to the development of a sustainable transportation system.

[0011] Means for solving problems

[0012] One embodiment of the present invention is a headlamp control device, comprising: a line of sight detection unit, which detects the line of sight of an operator of a mobile body; and a direction control unit, which controls the illumination direction of the headlamp of the mobile body according to the line of sight direction of the operator detected by the line of sight detection unit, the direction control unit controls the illumination direction of the headlamp to the line of sight direction of the operator on the condition that the line of sight of the operator detected by the line of sight detection unit deviates from any direction of one or more pre-defined exclusion ranges, and the direction control unit controls the illumination direction of the headlamp to the traveling direction of the mobile body when the line of sight of the operator detected by the line of sight detection unit is toward any of the exclusion ranges.

[0013] According to another aspect of the present invention, the exclusion range is set to a range in which a mirror, an operating device, or a display screen of a display device provided on the moving body is located.

[0014] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the present invention comprises: a passenger detection unit which detects passengers of the moving body; and a setting unit which sets the exclusion range, the moving body comprising one or more seat visual confirmation mirrors for the operator to visually confirm the rear seats of the moving body, and when the passenger detection unit detects a passenger in the rear seats, the setting unit sets the range in which the seat visual confirmation mirrors are located as the exclusion range, or increases the size of the exclusion range to include the range in which the seat visual confirmation mirrors are located.

[0015] According to other aspects of the present invention, the direction control unit controls the illumination direction of the headlight in a manner that tracks the movement of the sight line direction of the operator detected by the sight line detection unit, and when the sight line of the operator detected by the sight line detection unit moves toward any direction of the exclusion range, the direction control unit slows down the tracking speed of the illumination direction of the headlight that tracks the movement of the sight line direction compared to when the sight line of the operator moves toward a direction outside the exclusion range.

[0016] According to another embodiment of the present invention, when the sight line of the operator detected by the sight line detection unit stops halfway while moving in a direction outside the exclusion range and the time the sight line stops exceeds a predetermined first time, the direction control unit controls the illumination direction of the headlight to the sight line direction of the operator. When the sight line of the operator detected by the sight line detection unit stops halfway while moving in a direction pointing to any direction in the exclusion range and the time the sight line stops exceeds a predetermined second time that is longer than the first time, the direction control unit controls the illumination direction of the headlight to the sight line direction of the operator.

[0017] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the headlamp control device includes a prediction unit for predicting a change in the travel direction of the mobile body. Even when the line of sight of the operator detected by the line of sight detection unit is directed toward any of the exclusion ranges, the direction control unit controls the illumination direction of the headlamp to the line of sight direction of the operator, on the condition that the change in the travel direction of the mobile body predicted by the prediction unit becomes greater than a predetermined threshold angle.

[0018] According to another embodiment of the present invention, even when the line of sight of the operator detected by the line of sight detection unit is directed toward any of the exclusion ranges, when the change in the traveling direction of the mobile body predicted by the prediction unit becomes greater than the threshold angle and the exclusion range toward which the line of sight of the operator is directed is a specified exclusion range predefined according to the direction of change in the traveling direction, the direction control unit controls the illumination direction of the headlight to be the line of sight direction of the operator.

[0019] Another embodiment of the present invention is a headlamp control method, which is executed by a computer of a headlamp control device that controls the illumination direction of the headlamp of a moving body, and comprises: a detection step of detecting the line of sight of an operator of the moving body; and a control step of controlling the illumination direction of the headlamp of the moving body according to the line of sight direction of the operator detected in the detection step, wherein in the control step, the illumination direction of the headlamp is controlled to the line of sight direction of the operator on the condition that the line of sight of the operator detected in the detection step deviates from any direction of one or more predetermined exclusion ranges, and when the line of sight of the operator detected in the detection step is toward any of the exclusion ranges, the illumination direction of the headlamp is controlled to the traveling direction of the moving body.

[0020] Effects of the Invention

[0021] According to the present invention, the illumination direction of the headlight of the moving object can be prevented from being frequently changed due to adaptive control corresponding to the sight line of the operator, thereby distracting the operator's attention, and the operator's visual confirmation of the moving environment of the moving object can be improved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 This is a diagram showing an example of the structure of a mobile object on which a headlamp control device according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted.

[0023] Figure 2 It is shown Figure 1 A diagram showing an example of an indoor structure and an exclusion range in a mobile object shown.

[0024] Figure 3It is a diagram showing the structure of a headlamp control device.

[0025] Figure 4 The following is a flowchart showing the steps of a headlamp control method executed by a computer of a headlamp control device.

[0026] Description of Reference Numerals

[0027] 1: headlamp control device, 2: moving body, 3: interior, 4: headlamp, 4L: left headlamp, 4R: right headlamp, 5: actuator, 5L: left actuator, 5R: right actuator, 6: steering wheel, 7: headlamp switch, 8: door mirror, 8L: left door mirror, 8R: right door mirror, 9: front camera, 10: navigation device, 11: motion sensor, 12: instrument panel, 13: touch panel, 14: interior camera, 15: front windshield, 16: interior mirror, 17: auxiliary mirror, 20: processor, 21: memory, 22: program, 23: lighting control unit, 24: passenger detection unit, 25: prediction unit, 26: sight line detection unit, 27: setting unit, 28: direction control unit, D: operator, R, R1, R2, R3, R4, R5: exclusion range. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0029] [1. Implementation Method]

[0030] [1.1Overview]

[0031] Figure 1 This is a diagram showing an example of the structure of a mobile object 2 on which the headlamp control device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted. Figure 2 1 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of the interior 3 of the moving body 2 .

[0032] In this embodiment, the mobile body 2 is, for example, a vehicle. However, the mobile body 2 is not limited to a vehicle, and may be any mobile body operated by a human operator. For example, the mobile body 2 may be a land mobile body such as a passenger car, a bus, a taxi, etc., a marine mobile body such as a ship, a submarine, or an aerial mobile body including an eVTOL (Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing aircraft).

[0033] The mobile body 2 includes a left headlamp 4L and a left actuator 5L that changes the irradiation direction of the left headlamp 4L. In addition, the mobile body 2 includes a right headlamp 4R and a right actuator 5R that changes the irradiation direction of the right headlamp 4R. Hereinafter, the left headlamp 4L and the right headlamp 4R are collectively referred to as the headlamp 4. In addition, the left actuator 5L and the right actuator 5R are also collectively referred to as the actuator 5.

[0034] A driver D who operates a steering wheel 6 as an operating device rides on the vehicle 2. A headlamp switch 7 for turning the headlamp 4 on and off is provided on a lever (not shown) provided on a steering column of the steering wheel 6.

[0035] The vehicle 2 includes a left door mirror 8L and a right door mirror 8R for the operator D to visually check the left and right rear of the vehicle 2. Hereinafter, the left door mirror 8L and the right door mirror 8R are collectively referred to as door mirrors 8.

[0036] Furthermore, the moving object 2 includes a front camera 9 for capturing images of the front in the traveling direction of the moving object 2 at the front portion of the main body of the moving object 2 .

[0037] The mobile body 2 also includes a navigation device 10 and a motion sensor 11. The motion sensor 11 is, for example, a nine-axis sensor having built-in functions of a three-axis acceleration sensor, a three-axis angular velocity sensor, and a three-axis orientation sensor. The navigation device 10 stores map information or receives map information from another server device (not shown). In addition, the navigation device 10 receives GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) radio waves according to the prior art, and determines the current position of the mobile body 2 by inertial navigation based on the sensor information from the motion sensor 11, and displays the moving path of the mobile body 2 to the destination input by the operator D on the touch panel 13 (described later). Figure 2 ) to guide.

[0038] In the interior 3 of the moving body 2, a touch panel 13 serving as a display device and also as an operator is arranged at the center of the instrument panel 12 in the width direction (of the moving body 2). An interior camera 14 for photographing the interior 3 is arranged above the touch panel 13. The interior camera 14 is, for example, a DMC (Driver Monitoring Camera). In addition, the interior camera 14 is not limited to one, and may be a plurality of (for example, three) cameras dispersedly arranged in the interior 3.

[0039] An indoor rearview mirror 16 is arranged on the upper part of the front windshield 15 in the interior 3. In addition, an auxiliary mirror 17 is arranged on the upper right side of the operator D. The indoor rearview mirror 16 can be used for the operator D to visually confirm the rear of the mobile body 2 and the rear seat. In addition, the auxiliary mirror 17 is a wide-angle mirror used when the operator D visually confirms the part of the rear seat that cannot be visually confirmed by the indoor rearview mirror 16 alone. In addition, the auxiliary mirror 17 can be pre-set in the interior 3 or installed by the occupant, and the configuration location is not limited to the upper right side of the operator D.

[0040] Here, the auxiliary mirror 17 is equivalent to the seat visual confirmation mirror used by the operator D in the present disclosure to visually confirm the rear seat of the mobile body 2. In addition, the indoor rearview mirror 16 is a rear visual confirmation mirror for the operator D to visually confirm the rear of the mobile body 2, and is also equivalent to the above-mentioned seat visual confirmation mirror in the present disclosure.

[0041] [1.2 Structure of the headlamp control device]

[0042] Figure 3 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the headlamp control device 1 .

[0043] The headlamp control device 1 controls the actuator 5 to control the illumination direction of the headlamp 4. Here, the illumination direction of the headlamp 4 refers to the optical axis direction of the directional radiation light output by the headlamp 4. The headlamp control device 1 detects the sight line of the operator D through the indoor camera 14 installed in the indoor room 3 of the mobile body 2, and controls the actuator 5 according to the sight line direction of the operator D to adaptively control the illumination direction of the headlamp 4.

[0044] In the present embodiment, in particular, the headlamp control device 1 controls the irradiation direction of the headlamp 4 to the direction of the sight line of the operator D, on the condition that the sight line of the operator D is not directed in the direction of a predetermined exclusion range. The exclusion range is a predetermined spatial range including a portion of the moving body 2 (for example, a portion where the left door rearview mirror 8L as a portion of the moving body 2 is located).

[0045] The headlamp control device 1 includes a processor 20 and a memory 21 .

[0046] The memory 21 is constituted by, for example, a volatile and / or nonvolatile semiconductor memory or the like.

[0047] The processor 20 is, for example, a computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or the like. The processor 20 may also have a configuration having a ROM (Read Only Memory) in which a program is written, a RAM (Random Access Memory) for temporarily storing data, or the like. The processor 20 has a lighting control unit 23, a passenger detection unit 24, a prediction unit 25, a line of sight detection unit 26, a setting unit 27, and a direction control unit 28 as functional elements or functional units.

[0048] These functional elements of the processor 20 are realized, for example, by the processor 20 as a computer executing a program 22 stored in the memory 21. In addition, the program 22 can be pre-stored in any computer-readable storage medium. Alternatively, all or part of the above-mentioned functional elements of the processor 20 may be constituted by hardware each including one or more electronic circuit components.

[0049] The lighting control unit 23 lights or turns off the headlight 4 according to the on / off operation of the headlight switch 7 performed by the operator D according to the conventional technology.

[0050] The passenger detection unit 24 detects passengers of the moving body 2. The passenger detection unit 24 detects passengers seated in the interior 3 of the moving body 2, for example, by using the interior camera 14 that captures the interior 3 of the moving body 2. Alternatively or in addition, a pressure-sensitive sensor (not shown) may be provided on the seat surface of each seat of the moving body 2, and the passenger detection unit 24 may detect passengers seated in each seat of the interior 3 based on the sensor output from the pressure-sensitive sensor.

[0051] The prediction unit 25 predicts the change in the traveling direction of the mobile body 2. The change in the traveling direction of the mobile body 2 predicted by the prediction unit 25 may be, for example, a change in the traveling direction of the mobile body 2 relative to the current traveling direction after a predetermined time (for example, several seconds) from the current time. The change in the traveling direction is not limited to a change in the left-right direction when the mobile body 2 turns left or right, but may also be a change in the up-down direction when the mobile body 2 starts to go uphill or downhill on the road on which it is traveling.

[0052] The prediction unit 25 predicts the change in the above-mentioned traveling direction, for example, based on the guidance route to the destination of the navigation device 10 and the current position of the mobile body 2. Alternatively or in addition thereto, the prediction unit 25 may recognize the road structure ahead based on the front image of the mobile body 2 captured by the front camera 9, and predict the change in the above-mentioned traveling direction. Alternatively or in addition thereto, the prediction unit 25 may predict the change in the above-mentioned traveling direction based on the angular velocity and / or angular acceleration in the yaw direction, pitch direction, and roll direction of the mobile body 2 detected by the motion sensor 11.

[0053] The sight line detection unit 26 detects the sight line of the operator D of the mobile body 2. For example, the sight line detection unit 26 analyzes the orientation of the operator D's face, the height of the eyes, the orientation of the eyes, etc. according to the conventional technology based on the image of the operator D captured by the indoor camera 14, thereby detecting the sight line of the operator D.

[0054] In the present embodiment, in particular, the sight line detection unit 26 further analyzes the detected sight line of the operator D to determine whether the sight line of the operator D is directed toward a predetermined exclusion range. In the present embodiment, the exclusion range is determined by the setting unit 27 described later. The setting unit 27 selects one or more ranges from predetermined range candidates, for example, and determines the selected ranges as exclusion ranges.

[0055] The sight line detection unit 26 determines whether the sight line of the operator D is toward any exclusion range or deviates from any exclusion range. In addition, when the sight line of the operator D is moving, the sight line detection unit 26 determines whether the movement direction of the sight line of the operator D is toward any direction in the exclusion range or toward a direction outside the exclusion range.

[0056] In addition, when the sight line of the operator D stops moving in the direction outside the exclusion range, the sight line detection unit 26 starts measuring the time (hereinafter also referred to as the stop time) of the sight line at the stopped position. Then, the sight line detection unit 26 determines whether the stop time obtained by starting the above measurement exceeds a predetermined first time, and whether the above stop time exceeds a predetermined second time longer than the first time.

[0057] The setting unit 27 sets the above-mentioned exclusion range used by the sight line detection unit 26 .

[0058] The setting unit 27 selects one or more ranges from predetermined range candidates, and determines the selected ranges as exclusion ranges. The range candidates set as exclusion ranges can be predetermined and stored in the memory 21, for example. The setting unit 27 can always select the predetermined range candidates as the exclusion range, and select a part or all of the range candidates other than the predetermined range candidates as the exclusion range according to the state of the moving body 2. The state of the moving body 2 can be, for example, the use state of a specific device of the moving body 2 and / or the presence or absence of passengers in the rear seat, in addition to the moving speed and whether the moving body 2 is in a turn, as described later.

[0059] In the present embodiment, the exclusion range includes a portion of the moving body 2. For example, the exclusion range is set to a range where a mirror, an operating device, or a display screen of a display device provided on the moving body 2 is located.

[0060] Specifically, the setting unit 27 is as follows, for example Figure 2 As shown in the dashed rectangle in the figure, five exclusion ranges R1, R2, R3, R4, and R5 are set. Hereinafter, the exclusion ranges including the exclusion ranges R1, R2, R3, R4, and R5 are collectively referred to as the exclusion range R.

[0061] In this embodiment, the exclusion range R is defined as a spatial range. For example, the exclusion range R is a rectangular spatial range. Figure 2 The single-dot chain rectangular shapes of the exclusion ranges R shown represent one side shape of each of the exclusion ranges R as viewed by the operator D.

[0062] The exclusion ranges R1, R2, and R3 are respectively set as the ranges where the rearview mirrors provided on the mobile body 2, namely, the left door rearview mirror 8L, the right door rearview mirror 8R, and the interior rearview mirror 16 are located. In addition, the exclusion range R4 is set as the range where the touch panel 13, which is an operator provided on the mobile body 2 and also a display screen of the display device, is located. In addition, the exclusion range R5 is set as the range where the auxiliary mirror 17, which is a seat visual confirmation mirror provided on the mobile body 2 and used by the operator D to visually confirm the rear seat, is located.

[0063] The setting unit 27 does not need to always set all of the exclusion ranges R1, R2, R3, R4, and R5 as exclusion ranges. For example, the setting unit 27 may set only a part of the five range candidates corresponding to the exclusion ranges R1, R2, R3, R4, and R5 as exclusion ranges.

[0064] For example, when the screen of the touch panel 13 is turned off, the setting unit 27 may not set Figure 2The exclusion range R4 shown is set as the exclusion range. Alternatively, the setting unit 27 may set the exclusion range R5 in the range where the auxiliary mirror 17 is located only when the passenger detection unit 24 detects a passenger in the rear seat of the vehicle 2 .

[0065] In addition, when the passenger detection unit 24 detects a passenger in the rear seat of the moving body 2, the setting unit 27 may enlarge the size of the exclusion range R3 including the range where the interior rearview mirror 16 is located by a predetermined ratio. The interior rearview mirror 16 can also function as a seat visual confirmation mirror for visually confirming the rear seat. For example, the setting unit 27 may enlarge the exclusion range R3 to Figure 2 The size is shown in the double-dotted rectangle.

[0066] The direction control unit 28 adaptively controls the illumination direction of the headlight 4 of the moving body 2 according to the sight line direction of the operator D detected by the sight line detection unit 26 . The illumination direction of the headlight 4 is controlled by controlling the actuator 5 .

[0067] Specifically, the direction control unit 28 controls the illumination direction of the headlight 4 to the sight direction of the operator D based on the sight direction of the operator D detected by the sight detection unit 26. Here, "controlling the illumination direction of the headlight 4 to the sight direction of the operator D" specifically means, for example, controlling the illumination direction of the headlight 4 in a manner such that the illumination direction of the headlight 4 becomes the same direction as the sight direction of the operator D or becomes a direction for illuminating an object in front of the sight direction of the operator D. Hereinafter, the control operation of the direction control unit 28 to control the illumination direction of the headlight 4 to the sight direction of the operator D is referred to as illumination direction control.

[0068] In the present embodiment, in particular, the direction control unit 28 performs illumination direction control on the condition that the line of sight of the operator D detected by the line of sight detection unit 26 deviates from any one of the pre-defined one or more exclusion ranges R, and controls the illumination direction of the headlight 4 to the line of sight direction of the operator D.

[0069] On the other hand, when the sight line of the operator D detected by the sight line detection unit 26 is directed toward the arbitrary exclusion range R, the direction control unit 28 controls the illumination direction of the headlight 4 to a predetermined predetermined direction. Hereinafter, the control operation of the direction control unit 28 to control the illumination direction of the headlight 4 to a predetermined predetermined direction is referred to as fixed direction control. The predetermined direction is, for example, the current traveling direction of the moving body 2.

[0070] Therefore, according to the headlamp control device 1, when the line of sight of the operator D is directed toward the exclusion range R, adaptive control corresponding to the line of sight of the operator D is not performed on the lighting direction of the headlamp 4, and the above-mentioned adaptive control is performed when the line of sight of the operator D is not directed toward the exclusion range R. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the lighting direction of the headlamp 4 from changing unnecessarily frequently and causing the operator D's attention to be distracted, while effectively improving the operator D's visual confirmation of the moving environment of the moving body 2.

[0071] As described above, the exclusion range R is set by the setting unit 27 to the range where the display screen of the mirror, operator or display device provided on the mobile body 2 is located. The mirror, operator or display screen of the mobile body equipment may be equipment that the operator D often views when operating the mobile body 2. Therefore, by setting the range where these mobile body equipment are located as the exclusion range R, even if there is a line of sight movement toward these equipment, the adaptive control of the lighting direction of the headlight is not performed in the direction control unit 28, thereby suppressing unnecessary changes in the lighting direction of the headlight 4 and preventing the operator D from being distracted.

[0072] In addition, as described above, when the passenger detection unit 24 detects a passenger in the rear seat of the mobile body 2, the setting unit 27 sets the range of the auxiliary mirror 17 serving as a seat visual confirmation mirror to the exclusion range R5, and / or expands the size of the exclusion range R3 set in the range of the indoor rearview mirror 16, which also functions as a seat visual confirmation mirror.

[0073] Thus, when the operator D glances at the auxiliary mirror 17 or the interior rearview mirror 16 as a seat visual confirmation mirror for the purpose of checking the state of a person riding in the rear seat or having a conversation with the person, the direction control unit 28 can be prevented from changing the lighting direction of the headlight 4 in accordance with the sight line of the operator D. As a result, it is possible to further suppress unnecessary changes in the lighting direction of the headlight 4, and prevent the operator D from being distracted.

[0074] The direction control unit 28 can operate in two operation modes, the line of sight tracking mode and the viewpoint tracking mode, in the illumination direction control. The direction control unit 28 operates in either the line of sight tracking mode or the viewpoint tracking mode, for example, according to the operation mode designation information predetermined and stored in the memory 21 .

[0075] In the sight tracking mode, the direction control unit 28 controls the illumination direction of the headlight 4 in a manner that tracks the movement of the sight line direction of the operator D detected by the sight line detection unit 26. In the present embodiment, in particular, in the sight tracking mode, when the sight line of the operator D detected by the sight line detection unit 26 moves toward any direction in the exclusion range R, the direction control unit 28 controls the illumination direction of the headlight 4 in a manner that slows down the tracking speed of the illumination direction of the headlight 4 that tracks the movement of the sight line direction compared to when the sight line of the operator D moves toward a direction outside the exclusion range R.

[0076] Thus, when the operator D glances at the elimination direction and then immediately returns his sight to the moving environment, the lighting direction of the headlight 4 can be prevented from changing significantly and unnecessarily to track the sight direction, thereby improving the operator D's visual confirmation of the moving environment.

[0077] In the viewpoint tracking mode, when the sight line of the operator D detected by the sight line detection unit 26 stops, the direction control unit 28 controls the illumination direction of the headlight 4 to the sight line direction when the sight line stops. In the present embodiment, in particular, in the viewpoint tracking mode, when the sight line of the operator D stops while moving in a direction other than the exclusion range R and the sight line stops for a time longer than a predetermined first time, the direction control unit 28 controls the illumination direction of the headlight 4 to the sight line direction of the operator D. In addition, in the viewpoint tracking mode, when the sight line of the operator D stops while moving in a direction pointing to any direction of the exclusion range R and the sight line stops for a time longer than a predetermined second time longer than the first time, the direction control unit 28 controls the illumination direction of the headlight 4 to the sight line direction of the operator D.

[0078] Therefore, when the operator D makes the exclusion direction appear at the edge of the field of vision and immediately returns his sight to the mobile environment, it is possible to prevent the lighting direction of the headlight 4 from changing significantly and unnecessarily to track the line of sight stopping position, thereby improving the operator D's visual confirmation of the mobile environment.

[0079] In addition, in the present embodiment, even when the line of sight of the operator D detected by the line of sight detection unit 26 is directed toward an arbitrary exclusion range R, the direction control unit 28 performs illumination direction control on the condition that the change θ in the travel direction of the mobile body 2 predicted by the prediction unit 25 is above a predetermined threshold angle θth, and controls the illumination direction of the headlight 4 to the line of sight direction of the operator D.

[0080] When it is predicted that the traveling direction of the mobile body 2 will significantly change by more than the threshold angle, it is highly likely that the operator D wants to visually confirm the future traveling path of the mobile body 2. Therefore, as described above, when the traveling direction of the mobile body 2 significantly changes by more than the threshold angle θth, the illumination direction is controlled regardless of whether the line of sight of the operator D is toward the exclusion range R, thereby ensuring that the future traveling path of the mobile body 2 is illuminated along the line of sight of the operator D, and the visual confirmation of the operator D of the moving environment can be more appropriately improved.

[0081] In addition, even when the line of sight of the operator D detected by the line of sight detection unit 26 is directed toward an arbitrary exclusion range R, when the change θ in the travel direction of the mobile body 2 predicted by the prediction unit 25 is greater than the above-mentioned threshold angle θth, and the above-mentioned exclusion range R toward which the line of sight of the operator D is directed is a specified exclusion range R pre-determined according to the direction of change in the travel direction of the mobile body 2, the direction control unit 28 can also control the illumination direction of the headlight 4 to be the line of sight direction of the operator D.

[0082] Here, the predetermined exclusion range R predetermined according to the change direction of the moving direction of the moving body 2 may be, for example, an exclusion range R in the same direction as the change direction of the moving direction of the moving body 2 when viewed from the operator D. Specifically, the predetermined exclusion range R may be defined as follows, for example.

[0083] When the direction of change in the traveling direction is the left, the exclusion range R1 including the range where the left door mirror 8L is located is set as the predetermined exclusion range R.

[0084] When the direction of change in the traveling direction is rightward, the exclusion range R2 including the range where the right door mirror 8R is located is set as the predetermined exclusion range R.

[0085] When the direction of change in the traveling direction is upward, the exclusion range R3 including the range where the indoor rearview mirror 16 is located is set as the predetermined exclusion range R.

[0086] When the direction of change in the traveling direction is downward, an exclusion range R4 including the range where the touch panel 13 is located is set as the predetermined exclusion range R.

[0087] As described above, by specifying the exclusion range R in the same direction as the direction of change of the traveling direction of the mobile body 2 when viewed from the operator D as the specified exclusion range R corresponding to the change direction, even when the operator D directs his sight toward the above-mentioned specified exclusion range R in order to visually confirm the future traveling path of the mobile body 2, the illumination direction of the headlight 4 can be exceptionally controlled to the direction of the sight line of the operator D. In addition, on the contrary, when the operator D directs his sight toward the exclusion range R different from the above-mentioned specified exclusion range R instead of the direction of the future traveling path of the mobile body 2, the illumination direction of the headlight 4 is not controlled to the direction of the sight line of the operator D, so that the illumination direction of the headlight can be prevented from changing in an unnecessary direction, and the illumination of the traveling path of the mobile body 2 can be appropriately ensured.

[0088] [1.3 Operation of the headlamp control device]

[0089] Next, the operation of the headlamp control device 1 will be described. Figure 4 1 is a flowchart showing the steps of a headlamp control method executed by the processor 20 , which is a computer of the headlamp control device 1 . Figure 4 The processing shown is started when the power of the mobile body 2 is turned on and the power of each device including the headlamp control device 1 mounted on the mobile body 2 is turned on, and the processing is repeatedly executed until the power of the mobile body 2 is turned off.

[0090] Reference Figure 4 When the process starts, the lighting control unit 23 of the headlamp control device 1 determines whether the headlamp 4 is turned on (lit) by the headlamp switch 7 (S100). Then, when the headlamp 4 is not turned on (S100, No), the lighting control unit 23 returns to step S100 and repeats the process, waiting for the headlamp 4 to be turned on.

[0091] On the other hand, when the headlight 4 is turned on (S100, yes), the passenger detection unit 24 detects whether there is a passenger in the rear seat of the moving body 2 (S102). In addition, the setting unit 27 sets an exclusion range R of a portion including the moving body 2 for controlling the irradiation direction of the headlight 4 (S104). As described above, the setting unit 27 selects one or more ranges from predetermined range candidates, for example, and determines the selected ranges as the exclusion ranges R. In addition, as described above, the setting unit 27 may set the exclusion range R5 at the position of the auxiliary mirror 17, which is a seat visual confirmation mirror, when the passenger detection unit 24 detects a passenger in the rear seat, and / or increase the size of the exclusion range R3 set at the position of the interior rearview mirror 16, which is also used as a seat visual confirmation mirror.

[0092] Next, the sight line detection unit 26 starts a sight line detection operation to detect the sight line of the operator D of the mobile body 2 (S106). After the sight line detection operation starts, the sight line detection unit 26 repeatedly detects the sight line of the operator D at a predetermined time interval (for example, 0.2 second intervals).

[0093] The prediction unit 25 starts a travel prediction operation (S108) for predicting a change in the travel direction of the moving object 2. After the travel prediction operation starts, the prediction unit 25 repeatedly predicts the change in the travel direction at predetermined time intervals (for example, 2-second intervals).

[0094] Next, the sight line detection unit 26 determines whether the sight line of the operator D is directed toward any exclusion range R (S110). Then, when the sight line of the operator D deviates from any exclusion range R (S110, No), the direction control unit 28 performs the illumination direction control to control the illumination direction of the headlight 4 to the sight line direction of the operator D (S112). As described above, for example, the illumination direction control can be performed in any operation mode of the sight line tracking mode or the viewpoint tracking mode according to the operation mode designation pre-stored in the memory 21.

[0095] Next, the lighting control unit 23 determines whether the headlamp switch 7 is turned off (S120). If the headlamp switch 7 is turned off (S120, Yes), the lighting control unit 23 ends the present process. On the other hand, if the headlamp switch 7 is not turned off (S120, No), the lighting control unit 23 returns the process to step S110.

[0096] On the other hand, when the sight line of the operator D is directed to any exclusion range R in step S110 (S110, Yes), the direction control unit 28 determines whether the change θ of the traveling direction of the mobile body 2 predicted by the prediction unit 25 is greater than the predetermined threshold angle θth (S114). Then, when the change θ in the traveling direction is greater than the threshold angle θth (S114, Yes), the direction control unit 28 determines whether the exclusion range R to which the sight line of the operator D is directed is the predetermined exclusion range R corresponding to the change direction of the traveling direction predicted for the mobile body 2 (S116).

[0097] Then, when the exclusion range R to which the sight line of the operator D is directed is the predetermined exclusion range R corresponding to the change direction of the travel direction predicted for the mobile body 2 ( S116 , Yes), the direction control unit 28 shifts the processing to step S112 to perform irradiation direction control.

[0098] On the other hand, when the exclusion range R to which the sight line of the operator D is directed is not the prescribed exclusion range R corresponding to the change direction of the traveling direction predicted for the mobile body 2 (S116, No), the direction control unit 28 performs fixed direction control to control the illumination direction of the headlight 4 to the current traveling direction of the mobile body 2 (S118). Thereafter, the direction control unit 28 transfers the processing to step S120.

[0099] On the other hand, when the change θ in the traveling direction of the moving object 2 is smaller than the threshold angle θth in step S114 ( S114 , No), the direction control unit 28 moves the process to step S118 to perform fixed direction control.

[0100] Here, the sight line detection operation started in step S106 corresponds to the detection step in the present disclosure. In addition, the processing of steps S110 to S118 corresponds to the control step in the present disclosure.

[0101] [2. Other embodiments]

[0102] In the above embodiment, the exclusion range R is a rectangular parallelepiped, but the shape of the exclusion range R is not limited to a rectangular parallelepiped and may be any shape. For example, the exclusion range R may be a sphere, an ellipsoid, or a shape similar to the portion of the mobile body 2 included in the exclusion range R.

[0103] In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the exclusion range R is a range of a space including the left door mirror 8L and other parts as a part of the moving body 2, but the exclusion range R may also be a two-dimensional range set virtually in space. For example, the exclusion range R is a range virtually set on a two-dimensional plane between the operator D and the front windshield 15, and the exclusion range R may be set to a range obtained by projecting the parts of the moving body 2 such as the left door mirror 8L observed by the operator D onto the two-dimensional plane.

[0104] Figure 2 The exclusion ranges R1, R2, R3, R4, and R5 shown are examples, and more or fewer exclusion ranges R may be set. For example, the exclusion range R may be set in the range where an operator such as a hazard switch (not shown) provided on the mobile body 2 is located, and / or the range where a display device such as a speedometer is located.

[0105] In addition, the present invention is not limited to the configurations of the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented in various forms within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0106] [3. Structure supported by the above-mentioned embodiment]

[0107] The above-mentioned embodiment supports the following structure.

[0108] (Structure 1) A headlamp control device, comprising: a line of sight detection unit, which detects the line of sight of an operator of a mobile body; and a direction control unit, which controls the illumination direction of the headlamp of the mobile body according to the line of sight direction of the operator detected by the line of sight detection unit, the direction control unit controls the illumination direction of the headlamp to the line of sight direction of the operator on the condition that the line of sight of the operator detected by the line of sight detection unit deviates from any direction of one or more pre-defined exclusion ranges, and the direction control unit controls the illumination direction of the headlamp to the traveling direction of the mobile body when the line of sight of the operator detected by the line of sight detection unit is toward any of the exclusion ranges.

[0109] According to the headlamp control device of structure 1, when the operator's line of sight is directed toward a predetermined exclusion range, adaptive control of the headlamp lighting direction corresponding to the operator's line of sight is not performed, thereby preventing the headlamp lighting direction from changing unnecessarily frequently and causing the operator's attention to be distracted, and effectively improving the operator's visual confirmation of the moving environment of the moving body.

[0110] (Configuration 2) In the headlamp control device according to Configuration 1, the exclusion range is set to a range where a display screen of a mirror, an operator, or a display device provided on the moving body is located.

[0111] In the headlamp control device of structure 2, the range where the display screen of the mirror, the operator or the display device as the mobile device that the operator often looks at during the operation of the mobile device is located is set as the exclusion range, and even if there is a line of sight moving toward these mobile devices, the adaptive control of the lighting direction of the headlamp corresponding to the line of sight is not performed. As a result, in the headlamp control device of structure 2, it is possible to suppress unnecessary changes in the lighting direction of the headlamp and prevent the operator's attention from being distracted.

[0112] (Structure 3) A headlamp control device according to Structure 1 or 2, comprising: a passenger detection unit, which detects a passenger of the moving body; and a setting unit, which sets the exclusion range, wherein the moving body comprises one or more seat visual confirmation mirrors for the operator to visually confirm a rear seat of the moving body, and when the passenger detection unit detects a passenger in the rear seat, the setting unit sets the range in which the seat visual confirmation mirrors are located as the exclusion range, or increases the size of the exclusion range to include the range in which the seat visual confirmation mirrors are located.

[0113] According to the headlamp control device of structure 3, when the operator glances at the seat visual confirmation mirror for the purpose of confirming the state of a person riding in the rear seat or having a conversation with the person, the headlamp lighting direction can be prevented from being changed in accordance with the operator's line of sight. Therefore, according to the headlamp control device of structure 3, it is possible to further suppress unnecessary changes in the lighting direction of the headlamp and prevent the operator's attention from being distracted.

[0114] (Structure 4) A headlamp control device according to any one of Structures 1 to 3, wherein the direction control unit controls the illumination direction of the headlamp in a manner that tracks the movement of the sight line direction of the operator detected by the sight line detection unit, and when the sight line of the operator detected by the sight line detection unit moves toward any direction of the exclusion range, the direction control unit slows down the tracking speed of the illumination direction of the headlamp that tracks the movement of the sight line direction compared to when the sight line of the operator moves toward a direction outside the exclusion range.

[0115] In the headlamp control device of structure 4, when the illumination direction of the headlamp is controlled in a manner tracking the movement of the sight line direction of the operator, when the sight line of the operator moves to the exclusion direction, the tracking speed of the illumination direction of the headlamp tracking the movement of the sight line direction is slowed down compared with other cases. Therefore, in the headlamp control device of structure 4, when the operator immediately returns the sight line to the moving environment after looking at the exclusion direction, it is possible to prevent the illumination direction of the headlamp from changing significantly, thereby improving the visual confirmation of the moving environment by the operator.

[0116] (Structure 5) A headlamp control device according to any one of Structures 1 to 3, wherein the direction control unit controls the illumination direction of the headlamp to the direction of the operator's line of sight when the line of sight of the operator detected by the line of sight detection unit stops halfway while moving in a direction outside the exclusion range and the time the line of sight stops exceeds a predetermined first time, and the direction control unit controls the illumination direction of the headlamp to the direction of the operator's line of sight when the line of sight of the operator detected by the line of sight detection unit stops halfway while moving in a direction pointing to any direction in the exclusion range and the time the line of sight stops exceeds a predetermined second time that is longer than the first time.

[0117] In the headlamp control device of structure 5, when the illumination direction of the headlamp is controlled to the direction where the sight line of the operator stops, when the sight line of the operator stops in the middle of moving to the exclusion direction, the threshold value of the stop time used in judging that the sight line stops is extended compared with other cases. Thus, in the headlamp control device of structure 5, when the operator returns the sight line to the moving body environment immediately after making the exclusion direction appear at the edge of the visual field, it is possible to prevent the illumination direction of the headlamp from changing unnecessarily greatly following the sight line stop position, and it is possible to improve the visual confirmation of the moving environment by the operator.

[0118] (Structure 6) A headlamp control device according to any one of Structures 1 to 5, wherein the headlamp control device includes a prediction unit for predicting a change in the travel direction of the mobile body, and even when the line of sight of the operator detected by the line of sight detection unit is directed toward any of the exclusion ranges, the direction control unit controls the illumination direction of the headlamp to be the line of sight direction of the operator, on the condition that the change in the travel direction of the mobile body predicted by the prediction unit becomes greater than a predetermined threshold angle.

[0119] In the headlamp control device of structure 6, when there is a high possibility that the operator wants to visually recognize the future path of the moving body, such as when it is predicted that the moving direction of the moving body will change significantly by more than a threshold angle, the illumination direction of the headlamp is controlled to the direction of the operator's line of sight even when the operator's line of sight is directed toward any exclusion range. Thus, in the headlamp control device of structure 6, when the moving direction of the moving body changes significantly, regardless of whether the operator's line of sight is directed toward the exclusion range, it is possible to ensure that the future path of the moving body is illuminated along the operator's line of sight, thereby more appropriately improving the operator's visual confirmation of the moving environment.

[0120] (Structure 7) A headlamp control device according to Structure 6, wherein, even when the line of sight of the operator detected by the line of sight detection unit is directed toward any of the exclusion ranges, when the change in the traveling direction of the mobile body predicted by the prediction unit becomes greater than the threshold angle and the exclusion range toward which the line of sight of the operator is directed is a specified exclusion range predefined according to the direction of change in the traveling direction, the direction control unit controls the illumination direction of the headlamp to be the line of sight direction of the operator.

[0121] According to the headlamp control device of the structure 7, for example, by pre-specifying an exclusion range that is in the same direction as the direction of change of the moving direction of the moving body when viewed from the operator as a specified exclusion range corresponding to the change direction, even when the operator directs his sight toward the specified exclusion range in order to visually confirm the future path of the moving body, the illumination direction of the headlamp can be exceptionally controlled to the direction of the operator's sight line. In addition, according to the headlamp control device of the structure 7, in contrast to the above, when the operator directs his sight line toward an exclusion range different from the specified exclusion range instead of the direction of the future path of the moving body, the illumination direction of the headlamp is not controlled to the direction of the operator's sight line, thereby preventing the illumination direction of the headlamp from changing in an unnecessary direction, and appropriately ensuring the illumination of the moving path of the moving body by the headlamp.

[0122] (Structure 8) A headlamp control method is executed by a computer of a headlamp control device that controls the illumination direction of the headlamp of a moving body, comprising: a detection step of detecting the line of sight of an operator of the moving body; and a control step of controlling the illumination direction of the headlamp of the moving body according to the line of sight direction of the operator detected in the detection step, wherein in the control step, the illumination direction of the headlamp is controlled to the line of sight direction of the operator on the condition that the line of sight of the operator detected in the detection step deviates from any direction of one or more predetermined exclusion ranges, and when the line of sight of the operator detected in the detection step is toward any of the exclusion ranges, the illumination direction of the headlamp is controlled to the traveling direction of the moving body.

[0123] According to the headlamp control method of Structure 8, when the operator's line of sight is directed toward a predetermined exclusion range, adaptive control of the headlamp lighting direction corresponding to the operator's line of sight is not performed, thereby preventing the headlamp lighting direction from changing unnecessarily frequently and causing the operator's attention to be distracted, and at the same time effectively improving the operator's visual confirmation of the moving environment of the moving body.

Claims

1. A headlamp control device comprising: a sight line detection unit that detects a sight line of an operator of the mobile object; and a direction control unit for controlling the illumination direction of the headlight of the moving body according to the sight line direction of the operator detected by the sight line detection unit, The direction control unit controls the illumination direction of the headlight to the sight direction of the operator on the condition that the sight line of the operator detected by the sight line detection unit deviates from any of one or more predetermined exclusion ranges, The direction control unit controls the illumination direction of the headlight to be the traveling direction of the moving body when the line of sight of the operator detected by the line of sight detection unit is directed toward any of the exclusion ranges.

2. The headlamp control device according to claim 1, wherein: The exclusion range is set to a range where a mirror, an operating device, or a display screen of a display device provided on the moving body is located.

3. The headlamp control device according to claim 1, comprising: a passenger detection unit that detects a passenger of the moving object; and a setting unit, which sets the exclusion range, The mobile body includes one or more seat visual confirmation mirrors for the operator to visually confirm the rear seats of the mobile body. When the passenger detection unit detects a passenger in the rear seat, the setting unit sets a range in which the seat visual confirmation mirror is located as the exclusion range, or increases a size of the exclusion range including the range in which the seat visual confirmation mirror is located.

4. The headlamp control device according to claim 1, wherein: The direction control unit controls the irradiation direction of the headlight in a manner tracking the movement of the sight line direction of the operator detected by the sight line detection unit, and When the operator's line of sight detected by the line of sight detection unit moves toward any direction of the exclusion range, the direction control unit slows down the tracking speed of the illumination direction of the headlight that tracks the movement of the line of sight direction compared to when the operator's line of sight moves toward a direction outside the exclusion range.

5. The headlamp control device according to claim 1, wherein: When the sight line of the operator detected by the sight line detection unit stops in the middle of moving in a direction outside the exclusion range and the stopping time of the sight line exceeds a predetermined first time, the direction control unit controls the illumination direction of the headlight to be the sight line direction of the operator, When the line of sight of the operator detected by the line of sight detection unit stops halfway while moving in a direction pointing to any direction in the exclusion range and the time the line of sight stops exceeds a predetermined second time that is longer than the first time, the direction control unit controls the illumination direction of the headlight to the line of sight direction of the operator.

6. The headlamp control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: The headlamp control device includes a prediction unit that predicts a change in the traveling direction of the moving body. Even when the line of sight of the operator detected by the line of sight detection unit is directed toward any of the exclusion ranges, the direction control unit controls the illumination direction of the headlight to the line of sight direction of the operator, on the condition that the change in the travel direction of the moving body predicted by the prediction unit becomes greater than a predetermined threshold angle.

7. The headlamp control device according to claim 6, wherein: Even in a case where the line of sight of the operator detected by the line of sight detection unit is directed toward any of the exclusion ranges, when the change in the traveling direction of the mobile body predicted by the prediction unit becomes greater than the threshold angle and the exclusion range toward which the line of sight of the operator is directed is a specified exclusion range pre-determined according to the direction of change in the traveling direction, the direction control unit controls the illumination direction of the headlight to be the line of sight direction of the operator.

8. A headlamp control method, the headlamp control method being executed by a computer of a headlamp control device for controlling the illumination direction of a headlamp of a moving object, comprising: a detecting step of detecting a line of sight of an operator of the moving object; and a control step of controlling the illumination direction of the headlight of the moving body according to the sight direction of the operator detected in the detection step, In the control step, the illumination direction of the headlight is controlled to be the direction of the operator's line of sight, on the condition that the operator's line of sight detected in the detection step deviates from any of one or more predetermined exclusion ranges, When the line of sight of the operator detected in the detecting step is directed toward any of the exclusion ranges, the irradiation direction of the headlight is controlled to be the traveling direction of the moving body.

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