Vehicle lighting control

Abstract

Vehicle lighting control, comprising: a first light on / off control section (3) for controlling the on / off of a light depending on the brightness of the operating environment of a vehicle; an operating environment control section (8) for checking whether a traveling location of the vehicle is within a rain-blocking unit; a second light on / off control section (9) for controlling the on / off of a light depending on the state of precipitation and a result of the control of the control section (8) of the operating environment; and a light control section (10) for controlling the on / off of the light depending on the result of the control of the first light on / off control section (3) and the result of the control of the second light on / off control section (9), wherein, after the vehicle drives out of the rain-blocking unit, the second light on / off control section (9) maintains the turn-on control result for a predetermined time when the vehicle drives into the rain-blocking unit in a state in which the light is turned on according to a precipitation state, and wherein, when the result of the control of the second light on / off control section (9) indicates that the light is to be turned off, the light control section (10) turns the light on / off depending on the result of the control of the first light on / off control section (3), and, when the result of the control of the second light on / off control section (9) indicates that the light is to be turned on, the light is turned on depending on the result of the control of the second light on / off control section (9), regardless of the result of the control of the first light on / off control section (3).

Description

Background1.Technical area

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle light control that automatically switches on vehicle lights depending on the state of precipitation or rainfall. 2. Description of the related prior art

[0002] While driving a vehicle, if it is raining, a driver may fear that visibility may be reduced while driving, or a fear that the presence of that vehicle may be impaired by other vehicles or pedestrians. Therefore, as a countermeasure to such fears, the vehicle's lights may preferably be switched on.

[0003] On the other hand, an automatic lighting device has been disclosed which can automatically turn on and off the lights of a vehicle depending on the brightness of the operating environment of a vehicle, that is, it turns on the vehicle lights when an actual illuminance becomes lower than a reference illuminance because the vehicle enters a tunnel or the like, and turns off the lights when the illuminance becomes equal to or higher than the reference illuminance.

[0004] Thus, in order to automatically switch on the vehicle lighting in the event of precipitation or rainfall, JP 2005 - 199 974 A, for example, proposes a device which, in the event of precipitation, takes advantage of the fact that, although the illumination is not reduced to a reference illumination of a conventional automatic lighting device, the illumination is lower than the illumination in the case of no precipitation when raindrops are detected by a rain sensor, whereby the value of the reference illumination of the automatic lighting device can be switched to a higher value.

[0005] The disclosed device is directed to achieving the following objective: That is, in a state of precipitation where the operating environment becomes slightly darker, a vehicle light such as headlights, parking lights, or interior lamps are automatically turned on, thereby improving the driver's visibility or allowing other vehicles and pedestrians to detect the presence of the vehicle.

[0006] Here, according to the above-mentioned conventional device, when the vehicle enters a rain-blocking unit such as a tunnel while the vehicle is traveling in a state where the vehicle light corresponding to the rain is turned on, the rain sensor detects that the precipitation stops.

[0007] When it is detected that precipitation has stopped, the reference lighting of the automatic lighting device is reset to the normal low level. Thus, since the normal reference lighting is set so that the light can be turned on inside a tunnel, the on state is maintained while the vehicle is driving inside the tunnel, even if the rain sensor does not detect precipitation.

[0008] However, in the event that the precipitation condition persists even when exiting the tunnel, the automatic lighting device will turn off the lights immediately when the vehicle exits the tunnel because the brightness around the vehicle is higher than the normal reference lighting.

[0009] And in the above-mentioned conventional automatic lighting device, the following problem arises: that is, during the necessary period from the time when the rain sensor detects a raindrop again to the time when the device determines that the environmental condition of the vehicle is a rainfall or precipitation state and thus turns on the reference light, the driver has to drive the vehicle with the lights off in a state of difficult visibility and other difficult conditions.

[0010] Furthermore, the automatic light control system at the tunnel exit must turn off the lights that were switched on during the tunnel and then turn them back on. This repetitive switching of the lights on and off is distracting to the driver and can also increase the possibility that such on / off repetition could confuse other drivers in front of and behind the vehicle, who may wonder if such on / off repetition conceals a specific intention.

[0011] Thus, the present invention is directed to solving the problems encountered in the above-mentioned automatic lighting devices. More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide a vehicle lighting controller that prevents the lights of a vehicle, which have been turned on in response to rain, from being turned off upon the output of a rain-shielding unit, thereby maintaining driving visibility and the like at a proper level. Overview

[0012] According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a vehicle lighting control system comprising: a first light on / off control section for controlling the on / off of a light depending on the brightness of an operating environment of a vehicle; an operating environment control section for controlling whether an operating location of the vehicle is within a rain-protected unit or not; a second light on / off control section for controlling the on / off of a light depending on the state of precipitation and a result of the control of the operating environment control section; and a light control section for controlling the on / off of the light depending on the result of the control of the first light on / off control section and the result of the control of the second light on / off control section, wherein the second light on / off control section maintains the turn-on control result for a certain time when the result of its control indicates turning on according to the precipitation state after the vehicle drives out of the rain-blocking unit, and wherein the light control section, when the result of the control of the second light on / off control section indicates turning off the light, turns on and off depending on the result of the control of the first light on / off control section, and, when the result of the control of the second light on / off control section indicates turning on the light, turns on the light depending on the result of the control of the second light on / off control section in preference to the result of the control of the first light on / off control section.

[0013] According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided the vehicle light control as set forth in the first aspect, wherein the operating environment control section determines that when the result of the control of the first light on / off control section indicates the turning on of the light, the vehicle is within a rain-blocking unit.

[0014] According to a third aspect of the invention, the vehicle light control is provided as set out in the first or second aspect, wherein the operating environment control section determines, when a change ratio of the light is equal to or higher than a predetermined rate, that the vehicle has entered a rain-blocking unit.

[0015] According to a fourth aspect of the invention, the vehicle light control is provided as in any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the second light on / off control section obtains the precipitation state from the operating state of a wiper.

[0016] According to a fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided the vehicle light controller as set forth in the fourth aspect, wherein the second light on / off control section determines, when the number of times of wiping for a predetermined time is a predetermined value or more, that the control result indicates such a precipitation condition that requires turning on the light.

[0017] According to a sixth aspect of the invention, the vehicle light control is provided as set out in any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the predetermined time for maintaining the on-control in the second light on / off control section is a time necessary for a wipe stop time of a wiper to exceed a wiper off prohibition time to be set depending on an elapsed time after the vehicle moves out of the rain blocking unit.

[0018] According to a seventh aspect of the invention, the vehicle light control is provided as set out in the fourth aspect, wherein the second light on / off control section determines that when a drive operation mode of the wiper is a predetermined high-speed operation mode, the control result indicates such a precipitation state that the light needs to be turned on.

[0019] According to an eighth aspect of the invention, there is provided a vehicle light control as set out in the seventh aspect, wherein the predetermined time for maintaining the on-control in the second light on / off control section is a time necessary for the drive operation mode of the wiper to become a low-speed operation mode, equal to or less than an off-prohibition operation mode to be set depending on the elapsed time after the vehicle drives out of the rain-blocking unit. Short description of the drawings

[0020] A general construction implementing the various features of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. The drawings and the accompanying descriptions are intended to illustrate embodiments of the invention and do not limit the scope of the invention. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the structure of a first embodiment according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a view to show a wiper drive operation mode; Fig. 3 is a flowchart of the control flow performed according to the first embodiment; Fig. 4 is a flowchart of the control flow performed according to the first embodiment; Fig. 5 is a view to show a light on / off control example to be executed by a light control section; Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing the structure of a second embodiment according to the invention; Fig. 7 is a flowchart of the control flow performed according to the second embodiment; Fig. 8 is a flowchart of the control flow performed according to the second embodiment; Fig. 9 is a view to show an example of setting a power-off prohibition operation mode; and Fig. 10 is a view to show the relationship between the changes of the drive operation mode before and after a tunnel exit and the power-off prohibition operation mode. Detailed description

[0021] Different embodiments of the invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0022] Now, the operation mode for carrying out the invention will be specifically described below with reference to the embodiments according to the invention. (Example 1)

[0023] Fig. 1 is a block diagram of the structure of a light controller according to a first embodiment of the invention.

[0024] The light controller 1 includes a first light on / off control section 3, to which an illumination or light sensor 2 for detecting the brightness on the outside of the vehicle is connected, and a windshield wiper drive control section 5, to which a rain sensor 4 is connected and which also drives a windshield wiper 6.

[0025] The light controller further includes an operating environment control section 8 connected to the first light on / off control section 3, a second light on / off control section 9 connected to the wiper drive control section 5 and the operating environment control section 8, and a light control section 10 connected to the first light on / off control section 3 and the second light on / off control section 9.

[0026] The illumination sensor 2 can be mounted at any position, provided that the illumination sensor 2 is allowed to direct its detection direction toward the outside of the vehicle to thereby detect the brightness on the vehicle.

[0027] The first light on / off control section 3 controls, depending on the comparison result of the brightness of the exterior of the vehicle with the reference illumination, whether a light 11 (headlight 12, parking light 13) should be turned on and off depending on the illumination, and outputs its control result to the light control section 10.

[0028] This control result is also referred to as “brightness-dependent on / off control” in the following.

[0029] The rain sensor 4 detects the state of precipitation depending on the state of adhesion of raindrops to the outer side of a front windshield (hereinafter referred to as windshield) of the vehicle and outputs the detected precipitation state to the wiper drive control section 5.

[0030] The wiper drive control section 5 decides the drive operation mode of the wiper depending on the precipitation state detected and transmitted by the rain sensor 4 and outputs a drive signal to the wiper 6 depending on the decided drive operation mode. As shown in Fig. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the wiper drive control section 5 selects, depending on the conditions of precipitation, from a light rainfall state to a heavy rainfall state, a wiper stop drive operation mode, an INT drive operation mode including multiple intermediate stages for intermittent wiping with a rest time ranging from 10.0 seconds to 0.6 seconds, a LOW-speed continuous wiping drive operation mode at a low speed, and a HIGH-speed continuous wiping drive operation mode at a high speed, and drives the wiper 6 at the operating speeds of the multiple intermediate stages. That is, as the drive operation mode sequentially moves from the INT operation mode of 10.0 seconds to the INT operation mode of 0.6 seconds and the LOW operation mode to the HIGH operation mode, the operating speed of the wiper 6 is increased accordingly.

[0031] The drive operation mode decided by the wiper drive control section 5 is input to the second on / off control section 9. An A / S signal from the wiper 6 is also input to the second light on / off control section 9, and information is obtained as to whether the wiper 6 is held at its initial position or its operating position (wiping position). The second light on / off control section 9 controls, depending on the drive operation mode, whether the wiper 6 is operating at a predetermined operating speed or not, and also determines, depending on the A / S signal, the number of times of wiping and the state of a wiping operation that reciprocates between an initial position of the wiper and its reversing position.

[0032] The operating environment control section 8 controls, depending on an output of the first light on / off control section 3, whether or not, as a rain blocking unit, the current operating environment of the vehicle is within a tunnel, and outputs the control result to the second light on / off control section 9.

[0033] The second light on / off section 9 controls whether the on / off of the light 11 is necessary or not from the perspective of the rainfall condition depending on the wiping operation state of the wiper 6, the operating environment, and the like, and outputs the control result to the light control section 10. In the following description, this control result is referred to as the "rain-dependent on / off control."

[0034] The second light on / off control section 9 includes counters such as a counter for counting the number of repetition of wiping operations, a counter for counting the wiping stop time, and a counter for counting the elapsed time after tunnel passage.

[0035] The light control section 10 outputs light control signals to the headlight 12, the parking light 13 and the like depending on the control result provided by the first light on / off control section 3 and the control result provided by the second light on / off control section 9.

[0036] Here, the structure in which the wiper drive control section 5 drives the wiper 6 depending on the output of the rain sensor 4 is the same as that of a conventionally known automatic wiper.

[0037] Also, the structure in which the first light on / off control section 3 controls whether or not the on / off of the headlight 12, the parking light 13 and the like is necessary depending on the output of the illumination sensor 2 is the same as a conventionally known automatic light.

[0038] Next, the description of the operation of the light control 1 with the above structure is given. Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 are flowcharts of the control process.

[0039] This sequence control is started when an ignition switch (not shown) provided in the vehicle is turned on and repeated at certain time intervals, for example, every 100 milliseconds.

[0040] Here, the need for the light on / off of the first light on / off control section 3 is controlled by means of another separate control, whereby the control result is read out in each necessary step.

[0041] First, in step 100, as initialization, the second light on / off control section 9 determines that the rain-dependent on / off control indicates “off”.

[0042] The values ​​of the counter reading of the wipe stop time Ts and the elapsed time Tp after a tunnel passage are each set to 0; and the tunnel bit switch FLAGtnl, the rain-dependent on / off bit switch and the previous position bit switch WIPERposi are each reset.

[0043] In step 101, the operating environment control section 8 and the light control section 10 read the result of the on / off necessity control (the brightness-dependent on / off control) of the light 11 based on the output of the illumination sensor 2 from the first light on / off control section 3.

[0044] Here, the first light on / off control section 3 determines that when the illuminance is greater than the first twilight time reference illuminance, all lamps should be turned off, when the illuminance becomes equal to or less than the first reference illuminance, the parking light 13 should be turned on, and further, when the illuminance becomes equal to or less than the second night time reference illuminance and less than the first reference illuminance, the headlight 12 should be turned on.

[0045] When the vehicle enters the tunnel, it is determined that the parking light 12 or the headlight 13 should be switched on.

[0046] In step 102, the operating environment control section 8 checks whether the brightness-dependent on / off control result of the first light on / off control section 3 read in step 101 indicates “turn off” or not.

[0047] If the brightness-dependent on / off control result indicates “off”, in step 103 the control section of the operating environment 8 determines that the vehicle is traveling outside the tunnel and sets a tunnel bit switch (FLAGtnl=1).

[0048] If the brightness-dependent on / off control indicates a result other than "off", that is, if it indicates the switching on of the parking light or the switching on of the headlight, in step 104 the control section of the operating environment 8 determines that the vehicle is traveling within the tunnel and sets the tunnel bit switch (FLAGtnl=0).

[0049] After execution of step 103 or 104, in step 105, the second light on / off control section 9 checks, depending on the A / S signal, whether the wiper 6 is wiping, that is, whether the wiper 6 is held in its operating position, in other words, whether it is in the reciprocating operation or not.

[0050] If it is determined that the wiper 6 is wiping, the wipe stop time Ts, which is the time for which the stop continues after the wiper 6 stops at the initial position, is set to 0 (seconds) in step 106. If it is determined that the wiper 6 is not wiping, the wipe stop time Ts is incrementally increased in step 107.

[0051] Here, in the case that the repetition interval of the control flow is 100 milliseconds, when the time Ts is incremented at each flow, 1 / 10 of the accumulated value represents the number of seconds.

[0052] Instead of the increment, a time counter can also be used in each process.

[0053] After execution of step 106 or 107, in step 108, the second light on / off control section 9 reads therein a current drive operation mode Mp from the wiper drive control section 5.

[0054] The following steps from 109 to 111 and from 113 to 116 are respectively operations for counting the number of times of continued wiping operations, in which, at a timing when the wiper 6 switches from the initial position to the operating position, the second light on / off control section 9 confirms that the wiper 6 is wiping in a mode equal to or more than the reference 1.5 seconds INT, and counts the number of times of wiping operations.

[0055] In step 109, it is first checked whether the wiper 6 is held in an initial position or not. Here, if the check result of step 105 indicates that the wiper 6 is not wiping, it is assumed that the wiper 6 is in the initial position.

[0056] When the wiper 6 is in the initial position, the processing proceeds to step 110, at which the second light on / off control section 9 checks whether the current drive operation mode Mp obtained in step 108 is an operation mode less than 1.5 seconds INT or not.

[0057] When the drive operation mode Mp has a speed lower than 1.5 seconds INT, the number of times of wiping is set to 0 (zero) in step 111, and then the processing proceeds to step 112.

[0058] If the drive operating mode Mp has a speed higher than 1.5 seconds INT, the further processing in step 111 goes directly to step 112.

[0059] In step 112, the second light on / off control section 9 resets the last wiper position bit (WIPERposi=0). This stores the fact that the current wiper position was back at the initial position.

[0060] On the other hand, when it is determined in step 109 that the wiper 6 is not in the initial position, that is, when it is in the operating position, the processing goes to step 113, where the second light on / off control section 9 controls whether the last wiper position flag WIPERposi indicating the previous position is 0 or not.

[0061] If WIPERposi=0, the current timing is a timing at which the wiper 6 is switched from an initial position to the operating position. Therefore, the second light on / off control section 9 checks in step 114 whether the current drive operation mode Mp is a high-speed operation mode of 1.5 seconds INT or higher. For 1.5 seconds INT or higher, the number of wiping operations W is incremented in step 115.

[0062] Also, in the case where the current timing is a timing in which the wiper 6 is switched from the initial position to the operating position, unless the drive operation mode Mp is 1.5 seconds INT or faster, the number of times of wiping W is set to 0 (zero) in step 116.

[0063] After execution of step 115 or 116, in step 117, the second light on / off control section 9 sets the last wiper position flag (WIPERposi=1) in preparation for the next operation because the current position is the operating position.

[0064] Furthermore, even if the last wiper position flag is determined to be "on" in the check in step 113 (WIPERposi=0), the last wiper position flag is reset in step 117 in preparation for the next process.

[0065] In the above-mentioned manner, in the case that the wiper operates in the drive operation mode of the reference speed, 1.5 seconds INT or faster, the subsequent number of times of wiping operations are counted.

[0066] After executing step 112 or 117, processing proceeds to step 118.

[0067] In step 118, the second light on / off control section 9 checks whether the number of times of wiping W is a predetermined number or more, for example, 5 or more, or not.

[0068] When the number of times of wiping W is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the rain-dependent on flag (FLAGrn=1) is set in step 119, and then the processing goes to step 120. The setting of the rain-dependent on flag serves as a basis on which the result of the rain-dependent on / off control is determined to be ON in the later stage.

[0069] If the number of times of wiping W is less than a predetermined value, the processing goes to step 120 while maintaining the rain-dependent on / off bit switch from the previous process.

[0070] In the next step 120, the second light on / off control section 9 controls the operating environment depending on the tunnel bit switch.

[0071] For FLAGtnl=0, that is, in the case where the operating environment is inside the tunnel, the second light-on / off control section 9 sets the elapsed time Tp after tunnel passage to 0 (zero) seconds in step 121. For FLAGtnl=1, that is, in the case where the operating environment is outside the tunnel, the second light-on / off control section 9 increments the elapsed time Tp after tunnel passage in step 122.

[0072] Here, similar to the wipe stop time Ts, 1 / 10 of the incremented and accumulated value is obtained as the number of seconds.

[0073] Even in a normal situation where the vehicle starts driving outside the tunnel, the counter reading of the elapsed time Tp after tunnel passage is started at the time the ignition switch is turned on. Even when the vehicle exits the tunnel, since the elapsed time Tp after tunnel passage is reset to 0 inside the tunnel, the counter reading is started at the time the vehicle exits the tunnel.

[0074] After execution of step 121 or 122, in step 123 the second light on / off control section 9 checks the value of the counter reading of the elapsed time Tp after tunnel passage.

[0075] If the elapsed time Tp after tunnel passage is less than 20 seconds (increment-dependent accumulated value 200), the processing goes to step 124, if the time Tp reaches 20 seconds, the processing goes to step 125, and if the time Tp exceeds 20 seconds, the processing goes to step 126.

[0076] The reason for using 20 seconds as a reference is to check whether the wiper is driven due to precipitation within 20 seconds after the vehicle exits the tunnel. If the headlights were turned on due to precipitation before the vehicle enters the tunnel, by checking whether the rain continues, the headlights can be kept on without interruption.

[0077] The second light on / off control section 9 sets the turn-off prohibition time Tk to an infinite value in step 124, sets the turn-off prohibition time Tk to 30 seconds in step 125, and sets the turn-off prohibition time Tk to 60 seconds in step 126.

[0078] The off-prohibition time Tk means that during the time Tk, when the rain-dependent off-control time, that is, the wipe stop time measured in step 107, exceeds the off-prohibition time, the rain has stopped.

[0079] After a power-off prohibition time Tk has been set in steps 124, 125 and 126, processing proceeds to step 127.

[0080] In step 127, the second light on / off control section 9 checks whether the wipe stop time Ts of the wiper 6 counted in the previous step 107 is greater than the off-prohibition time Tk or not.

[0081] As long as the wipe stop time Ts is equal to or less than the turn-off prohibition time Tk, processing proceeds to step 129.

[0082] If the wipe stop time TS is greater than the turn-off prohibition time Tk, the processing goes to step 128, where it goes to step 129 after the second light on / off control section 9 resets the rain-dependent turn-on flag (FLAGrn=0).

[0083] In step 129, the light control section 10 controls the rain-dependent on-switch bit switch depending on the rain-dependent on / off control result provided by the second light on / off control section 9.

[0084] If FLAGrn=1 is detected, the rain-dependent on / off control indicates that the lights should be turned on. Thus, in step 130, the light control section 10 outputs a light control signal indicating that all headlights should be turned on, regardless of the result of the brightness-dependent on / off control performed by the first light on / off control section 3. The parking light 13 may also be turned on.

[0085] As a result, the headlight 12 is automatically turned on, even if the brightness-dependent on / off control indicates that it is not necessary to turn on the light in a situation where driving visibility is restricted or the like due to a certain precipitation condition. This facilitates driving the vehicle and also allows the vehicle to be easily recognized by other vehicles and pedestrians.

[0086] After that, processing returns to step 101.

[0087] If the control in step 129 indicates that FLAGrn=0, it is determined that the rain-dependent on / off control indicates "off." Thus, in step 131, the light control section 10, depending on the result of the control of the first light on / off control section 3, outputs a light control signal indicating, as shown in Fig. 5 shows that if the brightness-dependent on / off control result of the first light on / off control section 3 indicates "off," all lamps are turned off; if the control result indicates the parking light is turned on, the parking light is turned on; and if the control result indicates the switching on of a headlight, the headlight 12 is turned on. When the headlight 12 is turned on, the parking light 13 should also be able to be turned on in conjunction with it.

[0088] After that, processing returns to step 101.

[0089] In the above-mentioned process of steps 109-118, when the wiper 6 repeats a relatively high-speed wiping operation, for example, when the wiper 6 repeats the wiping operation five or more times, it is determined that it is raining so heavily that the driver's visibility and the like are reduced, and thus the rain-dependent on-off flag FLAGrn is set. While the vehicle is not entering the tunnel but traveling in the rain, the wiper stop time Ts to be counted and cleared in step 106 is shorter than each off-prohibition time Tk, regardless of the post-tunnel passage elapsed time Tp to be counted in step 122, so the rain-dependent on / off control result indicates "on" according to FLAGrn=1. As a result, the processing proceeds from step 127 to step 129 and then to step 130, and the light control section 10 turns on the headlight 12.

[0090] In the case where the vehicle is traveling with the headlight 12 turned on, while the vehicle is traveling inside the tunnel, the elapsed time Tp after tunnel passage is maintained at 0 seconds according to steps 120 and 121, and the turn-off prohibition time Tk is set so that Tk=∞ according to step 124. Therefore, as in the above-mentioned case, the rain-dependent on / off control result is maintained as "turned on," and the turning on of the headlight 12 continues. Accordingly, there is no possibility that the headlight 12 may suddenly turn off inside the tunnel and the parking light may turn on instead, thereby confusing the driver.

[0091] When the vehicle drives out of the tunnel from the inside of the tunnel, depending on the counter reading of the elapsed time Tp after tunnel passage in step 122, the switch-off prohibition time Tk is set in steps 124-126.

[0092] And in step 127, the previously set wipe stop time Ts is compared with the off-prohibition time Tk. If the wipe stop time Ts becomes greater than the off-prohibition time Tk, the rain-dependent flag FLAGrn is reset in step 128, with the result that the rain-dependent on / off control result is determined to indicate "off." Thus, processing proceeds from step 129 to step 131, where the light control section 10 turns on and off the lights, such as the headlight 12 or the parking light 13, depending on the result of the brightness-dependent on / off control.

[0093] Here, since the turn-off prohibition time Tk is set to an infinite value when the elapsed time Tp after tunnel passage is less than 20 seconds after the vehicle drives out of the tunnel until the time reaches 20 seconds, the rain-dependent turn-on flag FLAGrn=1 is maintained, and further processing goes from step 127 directly to step 129, where the rain-dependent on / off control "turn-on" is maintained and the turning on of the headlight is continued.

[0094] The above-mentioned setting that when the elapsed time Tp after tunnel passage reaches 20 seconds, the turn-off prohibition time Tk is set to 30 seconds means that if no wiping operation has been performed within 30 seconds in the past, the exit side of the tunnel can be determined to be not in a precipitation state and thus the headlamp can be turned off.

[0095] On the other hand, when the wiping operation is performed within 30 seconds and the wiping stop time Ts is equal to or shorter than the turn-off prohibition time Tk (=30 seconds) (which may occur when the tunnel is short), the result of the rain-dependent on / off control is determined not to indicate the "turn-off" of the light, and thus the turning on of the headlamp 12 is continued.

[0096] If the elapsed time Tp after tunnel passage exceeds 20 seconds, the turn-off prohibition time Tk is set to 60 seconds. This is because, even if the tunnel exit side is in a rainy state, it is sufficient for the elapsed time Tp after tunnel passage to exceed 20 seconds, since a rain-dependent on / off control result "turn on" as described above is obtained there again to be able to confirm that the wipe stop time extends to 60 seconds.

[0097] If the wipe stop time is equal to or shorter than 60 seconds, processing proceeds from step 127 directly to step 129, where the rain-dependent turn-on flag FLAGrn=1 is maintained and the headlight turn-on continues.

[0098] The first embodiment of the invention is structured as mentioned above. The first embodiment includes the first light on / off control section 3 for executing light on / off control depending on the current operating environment, an operating environment control section 8 for controlling whether the operating environment is inside the tunnel, the second light on / off control section 9 for executing light on / off control depending on a precipitation state and the control result of the operating environment control section 8, and the light control section 10 for controlling the on / off of the light 11 (headlight 12, parking light 13) depending on the control result of the first light on / off control section 3 and the control result of the second light on / off control section 9.The second light on / off control section 9 maintains the "on" state of the on / off control for a certain period of time after the vehicle exits the tunnel if it determines that the on / off control result indicates "on" depending on precipitation. The light control section 10 turns the light 11 on and off when the on / off control result of the second light on / off control section 9 indicates "off" depending on the control result of the first light on / off control section 3. The light control section 10 also turns the headlight 12 on when the on / off control result of the second light on / off control section 9 indicates "on" depending on the control result of the second light on / off control section 9, with preference over the control result of the first light on / off control section 3.

[0099] Accordingly, when the vehicle enters the tunnel while the headlight 12 is turned on, the occurrence of the difficult visibility and the like can be avoided because the turning on of the headlight 12 is continued for a certain time after the vehicle comes out of the tunnel until the raindrops are detected again after the vehicle comes out of the tunnel and thus the headlight 12 is turned on again.

[0100] The operating environment control section 8 determines, specifically, using the control result of the first light on / off control section 3 when the parking light or headlight is on, that a vehicle is traveling within the tunnel. Thanks to this, the structure of the present embodiment can be simplified and realized at a low cost compared to the case where an exclusive control device is provided separately.

[0101] The second light on / off control section 9 also obtains the precipitation condition from the operating condition of the wiper 6, which allows the rain sensor 4 to also be used as an automatic wiper, thereby reducing the cost of the present structure. Furthermore, since the number of wiping operations of the wiper 6 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the ambient condition is determined to be a precipitation condition, and the precipitation condition requires that the light turn-on can be properly detected.

[0102] Also, a predetermined time for maintaining the on-control in the second light on / off control section 9 is set to the time required for the time when the wipe stop time TS of the wiper 6 exceeds the off-prohibition time Tk, which is set depending on the elapsed time after the vehicle exits the tunnel. Therefore, for example, by accurately setting the off-prohibition time, it is possible to prevent the rain-dependent on / off control from selecting "off" immediately after the vehicle passes through a short tunnel, despite the fact that the drive operation mode is operating in the INT state.

[0103] Here, according to the present embodiment, in order to preserve the result of the rain-dependent on / off control after the vehicle passes through and out of the tunnel to continue indicating "off," the elapsed time Tp after tunnel passage is set to 20 seconds, and the off-prohibition time Tk is set to an infinite value. However, this value can also be changed depending on the vehicle speed.

[0104] That is, the rain sensor 4 detects the state of precipitation depending on the state of adhesion of raindrops to the windshield. Therefore, the rain sensor 4 detects that the higher the vehicle speed, the more the amount of raindrop adhesion increases, and thus the amount of precipitation is large, so the rain sensor 4 changes the driving speed of the wiper 6 to the high speed. Accordingly, the higher the vehicle speed when it rains at the exit side of the tunnel, the sooner the second light on / off control section 9 detects the result of the rain-dependent on / off control to indicate "on." Thus, the elapsed time Tp after passing through the tunnel can be shortened, with the off-prohibition time Tk set to an infinite value.That is, if the tunnel exit side is not in a precipitation state, the light can be turned off after the vehicle exits the tunnel. (Example 2)

[0105] Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing the structure of a light controller according to a second embodiment of the invention.

[0106] The second embodiment is particularly aimed at switching on a headlight only in heavy rain.

[0107] A light controller 1A according to the second embodiment differs from the light controller 1 according to the first embodiment in that the function of a second light on / off control section 9A is different from that of the second light on / off control section 9.

[0108] The remaining portions of the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment. Specifically, the light controller 1A includes an illumination sensor 2, a first light on / off control section 3, an operating environment control section 8, a rain sensor 4, a wiper drive control section 5, a light control section 10, and so on.

[0109] The second light on / off control section 9A performs the rain-dependent on / off control depending on the drive operation mode of the wiper 6 and the operating environment of the vehicle, and outputs the result of this control to the light control section 10.

[0110] The second light on / off control section 9 includes a counter for counting the number of times of wiping, a counter for counting the elapsed time after tunnel passage, and the like.

[0111] Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 are flowcharts of the control procedure executed in the second embodiment.

[0112] This control sequence is started when the vehicle's ignition switch is turned on and is repeated at predetermined time intervals, for example every 100 milliseconds.

[0113] Here, the control of the need to turn on the light is carried out by the first light on / off control section 3 by further separate controls, and in a necessary predetermined step, the result of this control can be read out.

[0114] First, as initialization in step 200, the second light on / off control section 9A determines that the rain-dependent on / off control indicates “turn off”.

[0115] Together with this, the value of the counter reading of the elapsed time Tp after tunnel passage is set to 0, a tunnel bit switch FLAGtnl, a rain-dependent switch-on bit switch FLAGrn, and a last wiper position bit switch WIPERposi are each reset.

[0116] In step 201, the operating environment control section 8 and the light control section 10 each read from the first light on / off control section 3 the result of the control for the necessity of turning on the light 11 based on the output of the illumination sensor 2 (the result of the brightness-dependent on / off control).

[0117] Here, the first light on / off control section 3 determines that all lamps should be turned off when the illuminance is higher than a first reference illuminance corresponding to twilight time, determines that the parking lamp 13 should be turned on when the illuminance is equal to or lower than the first reference illuminance, and determines that the headlight 12 should be turned on when the illuminance is equal to or lower than a second reference illuminance which is lower than the first reference illuminance and corresponds to night.

[0118] When the vehicle enters a tunnel, it is determined that the parking light 13 or the headlight 12 should be switched on.

[0119] In step 202, the operating environment control section 8 checks whether the brightness-dependent on / off control of the first light on / off control section 3 read in step 201 indicates “switch off” or not.

[0120] If the brightness-dependent on / off control indicates "off", in step 203 the control section of the current location 8 determines that the vehicle is traveling outside a tunnel and sets the tunnel bit switch (FLAGtnl=1).

[0121] If the brightness-dependent on / off control indicates a result other than "turning off", that is, turning on the parking light or the headlight, the control section of the operating environment 8 determines in step 204 that the vehicle is traveling within the tunnel and resets the tunnel bit switch (FLAGtnl=0).

[0122] The foregoing processings are the same as those in steps 100-104 according to the first embodiment.

[0123] After executing step 203 or 204, the second light on / off control section 9A reads the current drive operation mode Mp from the wiper drive control section 5 in step 205.

[0124] The following steps 206 to 208 and 210 to 213 are further processings for counting the subsequent number of times of wiping operations in which, at a timing in which the wiper 6 moves from the initial position to the operating position, the wiping operation of the wiper 6 in a drive operation mode HIGH is confirmed and counted.

[0125] First, in step 206, it is checked according to an A / S signal whether the windshield wiper 6 is in the home position or not.

[0126] When the wiper is in the home position, the processing proceeds to step 207, where the second light on / off control section 9A controls whether or not the current drive operation mode Mp obtained in step 205 is a lower speed than HIGH, that is, an operation mode equal to or lower speed than LOW.

[0127] When the drive operation mode Mp is lower speed than HIGH, the number of times of wiping W is set to 0 (zero) in step 208, and the processing proceeds to step 209.

[0128] In step 209, the second light on / off control section 9A resets a last wiper position flag (WIPERposi=0). This flag stores the fact that the current wiper position is at the initial position in preparation for the next process.

[0129] On the other hand, when the control in step 206 indicates that the wiper 6 is not in the initial position, that is, when the wiper 6 is in an operating position, the processing proceeds to step 210, where the second light on / off control section 9A checks whether the last wiper position flag WIPERposi indicates that the last wiper position is 0 or not.

[0130] If WIPERposi=0, since this time is a timing at which the wiper 6 moves from the home position to the operating position, the second light on / off control section 9A checks whether the current drive operation mode Mp is HIGH or not in step 211. If it is HIGH, the number of wiping operations W is incremented in step 212.

[0131] Even if this time is a timing at which the wiper 6 moves from the initial position to the operating position, unless the drive operation mode Mp is HIGH, the number of times of wiping W is set to 0 (zero) in step 213.

[0132] After execution of step 212 or 213, in step 214, the second light on / off control section 9A sets the last wiper position bit switch (WIPERposi=1) because the wiper 6 is in the operating position this time.

[0133] Furthermore, if the check in step 210 also indicates that the last wiper position bit switch is set to (WIPERposi=1), the last wiper position bit switch is set again in step 210 for the next operation.

[0134] As described above, when the wiper operates in the reference drive operation mode HIGH, the number of times of wiping operations is continuously counted.

[0135] After execution of step 209 or 214, the second light on / off control section 9A checks in step 215 whether or not the number of times of wiping W is a predetermined value, for example, three or more.

[0136] If the number of times of wiping W is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, processing proceeds to step 216, where the rain-dependent turn-on flag (FLAGrn=1) is set, and then processing proceeds to step 217.

[0137] If the number of times of wiping W is less than a predetermined value while the rain-dependent on / off flag from the previous process is maintained, processing proceeds to step 217.

[0138] In step 217, the second light on / off control section 9A controls the operating environment depending on the tunnel bit switch.

[0139] The second light on / off control section 9A sets the elapsed time Tp after tunnel passage to 0 (zero) in step 218 when FLAGtnl=0, that is, when the vehicle is inside the tunnel, and increments the elapsed time Tp after tunnel passage in step 219 when FLAGtnl=1, that is, when the vehicle is outside the tunnel.

[0140] Here, in the case that the repetition interval of the control procedure is 100 milliseconds, the elapsed time Tp after tunnel passage can be incremented in each procedure, where 1 / 10 of the accumulated value provides the number of seconds.

[0141] Here, in a normal situation, when the vehicle starts moving outside the tunnel, the counting of the elapsed time Tp after tunnel passage starts at the time the ignition key is turned on. Even when the vehicle is moving out of the tunnel, the counting of Tp naturally starts at the time the vehicle is moving out of the tunnel, because the elapsed time Tp after tunnel passage inside the tunnel is set to 0.

[0142] And in step 220, the second light on / off control section 9A sets the turn-off prohibition operation mode Mk depending on the value of the elapsed time Tp after tunnel passage.

[0143] The turn-off prohibition operation mode Mk is a comparison control reference for the current drive operation mode to allow the rain-dependent on / off control to indicate "turn off".

[0144] Fig. 9 shows the above-mentioned switch-off prohibition operating mode, which is set depending on the elapsed time since exiting the tunnel.

[0145] Here, the output value outside the tunnel is LOW just after passing out of the tunnel until the elapsed time Tp after tunnel passing reaches 4 seconds, at which time the off-prohibition operation mode Mk is set to wipe stop of the wiper operation mode; from then on, off-prohibition operation modes Mk are provided, which are set every 4 seconds sequentially from the slowest operation speed up to the 0.6 second interval, which is the fastest speed of INT; and finally, the off-prohibition operation mode Mk is reset to the output value LOW.

[0146] The reason why the off-limit operation mode is varied depending on the elapsed time is as follows. That is, in the transition period just after the vehicle exits the tunnel where there are no raindrops, the raindrops adhering to the raindrop detection section of the rain sensor 4 increase over time, and accordingly, the driving operation mode gradually changes from the low-speed operation mode to a high-speed operation mode reflecting the actual rainfall. Therefore, there is a concern that the rain-dependent on / off control may erroneously indicate "off" if the driving operation mode is directly compared with LOW, which is a steady-state off-limit threshold.In other words, the reason for changing the drive operating mode depending on the elapsed time is to prevent false indication such as “power off”.

[0147] As in Fig. 9 together with the above-mentioned drive operating mode, HIGH is a switch-on threshold depending on which the rain-dependent on / off control is made to indicate “switch-on”.

[0148] Fig. Figure 9 indicates that at and after 24 seconds, the shutdown prohibition operating mode Mk is set to LOW. Thus, the "0.6 second interval" just below LOW, after the transition period, provides a shutdown threshold just after exiting the tunnel, depending on which the rain-dependent on / off control is performed to indicate "shutdown."

[0149] After the power-off prohibition operation mode Mk is set to one of the operation modes differing from each other in the intervals, the further processing goes to step 221.

[0150] In step 221, the second light on / off control section 9A checks whether or not the current drive operation mode Mp is an operation mode of lower speed than the turn-off prohibition operation mode Mk.

[0151] While the current drive operation mode Mp is a higher speed operation mode than the power-off prohibition operation mode Mk, the processing proceeds to step 223.

[0152] If the current drive operation mode Mp is a lower-speed operation mode than the turn-off prohibition operation mode Mk, processing proceeds to step 222, where the second light on / off control section 9A resets the rain-dependent turn-on flag (FLAGrn=0). Then, processing proceeds to step 223.

[0153] For the current drive operation mode Mp, the wiper drive control section 5 sets an INT operation mode or continuous LOW and HIGH operation modes in any given range of the level of precipitation.

[0154] Fig. 10 shows an example of the current drive operation mode Mp corresponding to the precipitation state that can be detected by the rain sensor 4, in comparison with the power-off prohibition operation mode Mk.

[0155] In Fig. 10, reference character A shows the changes of the drive operation mode Mp at the time of heavy rain, which requires a HIGH operation mode before the tunnel and also a HIGH operation mode at the tunnel exit side.

[0156] When the vehicle enters the tunnel, if no raindrops are detected, the precipitation state detected by the rain sensor 4 suddenly weakens. As a result, the drive operation mode Mp inside the tunnel becomes the wipe-stop operation mode. Then, when the vehicle exits the tunnel, if it is raining heavily outside the tunnel, the precipitation state detected by the rain sensor 4 changes from a zero state to a heavy state.

[0157] Therefore, for example, at a time of 4 seconds after exiting the tunnel, the shutdown prohibition operation mode Mk provides an INT operation mode with a 10-second interval, whereas the current propulsion operation mode Mp provides an INT operation mode with a 5-second interval and is at a fast speed. Also at a time of 8 seconds, the shutdown prohibition operation mode Mk provides an INT operation mode with a 5-second interval, whereas the current propulsion operation mode Mp provides an INT operation mode with a 1.5-second interval and is at a faster speed than the shutdown prohibition operation mode Mk. Therefore, in these cases, further processing proceeds from step 221 to step 223.

[0158] In Fig. In Figure 10, reference symbol B shows the change in the current propulsion operation mode Mp when the tunnel exit side is not in a heavy rainfall state. At a time of 4 seconds, the turn-off prohibition operation mode Mk provides an INT operation mode with a 10-second interval, whereas the current propulsion operation mode Mp provides the wipe-stop operation mode and is lower than the turn-off prohibition operation mode Mk. Therefore, processing proceeds to step 222, where the rain-dependent turn-on flag FLAGrn is reset to 0, and then processing proceeds to step 223.

[0159] In step 223, the rain-dependent on / off bit switch controls the light control section 10 depending on the result of the rain-dependent on / off control of the second light on / off control section 9A.

[0160] For FLAGrn=1, the light control section 10 determines that the rain-dependent on / off control indicates "turn on." Therefore, in step 224, the light control section 10 outputs a light control signal indicating that all headlights should be turned on, regardless of the result of the brightness-dependent on / off control of the first light on / off control section 3.

[0161] As a result, the headlight 12 is automatically turned on even if the brightness-dependent on / off control indicates no need to turn on the lights in a situation where the precipitation condition is so heavy that the wiper 6 is driven in the HIGH mode, thus limiting driving visibility and the like. This can simplify driving the vehicle and allow other vehicles and pedestrians to easily recognize the vehicle.

[0162] After that, processing returns to step 201.

[0163] In the event that the control in step 223 indicates FLAGrn=0, the light control section 10 determines that the rain-dependent on / off control indicates "off." Thus, in step 131, the light control section 10 outputs a control signal indicating, as shown in Fig.5, when the brightness-dependent on / off control of the first light on / off control section 3 indicates "off," all lamps should be turned off; when the "parking light on" control indicates that the parking light 13 should be turned on; and when the "headlight on" control indicates that the headlight 12 should be turned on. When the headlight 12 is turned on, the parking light should also be turned on in conjunction with it.

[0164] After that, processing returns to step 201.

[0165] According to the above procedure, according to steps 206-208 and 210-213, in the case where the wiper 6 continuously repeats its wiping operation three times or more in the HIGH driving operation mode, the light control section 10 determines that the environment is in a heavy rainfall state and thus sets the rain-dependent turn-on flag FLAGrn. While the vehicle is not entering the tunnel but is traveling in a rainstorm, the turn-off prohibition operation mode Mk to be set in step 220 is LOW. While the driving operation mode Mp is HIGH or LOW, processing proceeds directly from step 221 to step 223, at which the light control section 10 turns on the headlight 12 depending on FLAGrn=1.

[0166] The HIGH drive mode for turning on the headlight 12 has a hysteresis such that it continues turning on the headlight 12 until the drive mode becomes the LOW mode, thereby preventing the headlight 12 from repeating its turning on and off due to small changes in the precipitation condition for a short time.

[0167] In the case that the vehicle enters a tunnel while traveling with the headlight 12 turned on according to steps 217 and 218, the elapsed time Tp after tunnel passage is maintained at 0 seconds, and in step 220, the turn-off prohibition operation mode Mk is set such that Mk=wipe stop.

[0168] In the event that the vehicle enters a tunnel and the rain sensor 4 detects no raindrops, the drive mode Mp of the wiper 6 becomes the wipe-stop mode so that Tp and Mk are equal to each other. Therefore, processing proceeds from step 221 to step 224 while FLAGrn=1 remains unchanged, continuing to turn on the headlight 12. This can prevent the headlight 12 from suddenly turning off within the tunnel. Thus, the driver can be prevented from being confused by the headlight 12 suddenly turning off.

[0169] When the vehicle travels out of the tunnel from the inside of the tunnel, in step 220, depending on the accumulated elapsed time Tp after tunnel passage in step 219, the power-off prohibition operation mode Mk is set, which changes with the lapse of time.

[0170] And in step 221, the current propulsion operation mode Mp is compared with the shutdown prohibition operation mode Mk. In the case where the tunnel exit side condition has changed to a light rainfall condition and the lower-speed propulsion operation mode Mp is the shutdown prohibition operation mode Mk, the rain-dependent shutdown flag FLAGrn is reset to 0 in step 222, and further processing proceeds from step 223 to step 224.

[0171] On the other hand, in the case where the condition on the tunnel exit side is also a heavy rainfall condition, the increasing speed of the raindrops adhering to the raindrop detection section of the rain sensor 4 is rapid, and the increase of the driving operation mode Mp in response to such increasing speed is also rapid. Therefore, the driving operation mode Mp always exceeds the turn-off prohibition operation mode Mk during the elapsed time Tp after tunnel passage, and further processing proceeds from step 223 to step 225.

[0172] In this way, the rain-dependent on / off control can be maintained "on" inside the tunnel even after the vehicle exits the tunnel, allowing the headlight to continue to be switched on.

[0173] According to the present embodiment, the drive operation mode HIGH corresponds to a predetermined high-speed operation mode.

[0174] The second embodiment is constructed in the above-mentioned manner. Similar to the first embodiment, the second embodiment includes the first light on / off control section 3 for controlling the light on / off depending on the brightness of the vehicle's operating environment, the operating environment control section 8 for controlling whether the vehicle's traveling location is within a tunnel, the second light on / off control section 9A for controlling the light on / off depending on the state of precipitation and the control result of the operating environment control section 8, and the light control section 10 for controlling the light on / off 11 depending on the control result of the first light on / off control section 3 and the control result of the second light on / off control section 9A.The second light on / off control section 9A maintains the on / off control for a predetermined period of time after the vehicle exits the tunnel when the on / off control indicates "on" in accordance with the rainfall. When the on / off control of the second light on / off control section 9A indicates "off," the light control section 10 turns the light 11 (headlight 12, parking light 13) on and off depending on the control result of the first light on / off control section 3. When the on / off control of the second light on / off control section 9A indicates "on," the light control section 10 turns the headlight 12 on and off depending on the control result of the second light on / off control section 9A, with preference over the control result of the first light on / off control section 3.

[0175] According to this configuration, when the vehicle enters a tunnel in a state where the headlight is turned on depending on the state of precipitation, the headlight 12 continues to be turned on for a certain period of time after the vehicle exits the tunnel. This can prevent visibility obscuration and the like, which may otherwise occur, until raindrops are detected again after the vehicle exits the tunnel in which no raindrops are detected.

[0176] Similarly, the operating environment control section 8 determines that the vehicle is within the tunnel, specifically using the control result of the first light on / off control section 3, when the control result indicates the turning on of the parking light or the turning on of the headlight. Therefore, the present structure can be simplified and manufactured at a reduced cost compared with a structure in which an exclusive control device is separately provided.

[0177] The second light on / off control section 9 also obtains the precipitation condition from the operating state of the wiper 6. That is, when the drive operating mode is in the HIGH operating mode (highest speed), it determines that the precipitation condition requires the light to be turned on. Therefore, the rain sensor 4 can be generally used with an automatic wiper, thereby reducing the assembly cost. Even in the HIGH operating mode, the headlight 12 is always on, providing high reliability in operation.

[0178] And a predetermined time for which the ON control is maintained in the second light on / off control section 9A is set to the time necessary for the drive operation mode Mp of the wiper 6 to become a low-speed operation mode having a lower speed than the OFF prohibition operation mode Mk which is set depending on the elapsed time after the vehicle comes out of the tunnel.

[0179] Therefore, by precisely setting the turn-off prohibition mode Mk, even when the tunnel exit side is in a state of heavy rainfall, the rain-dependent on / off control can be prevented from indicating "turn off." However, in light rain, the lights can be quickly turned off.

[0180] Here, according to the present embodiment, the wiper drive control section 5 decides the drive operation mode of the wiper depending on the result of the rain sensor check. However, the drive operation mode can also be decided depending on the wiper 6 and the wiper blade size.

[0181] Also, according to the first and second embodiments, the operating environment control section 8 controls whether the vehicle is traveling inside or outside the tunnel depending on whether the brightness-dependent on / off control of the first light on / off control section 3 is turning on the headlight or the parking light. However, the first light on / off control section 3 may also be configured to handle not only the brightness but also the change ratio of the illumination. When the change ratio of the illumination is a predetermined ratio or greater, the operating environment control section 8 can immediately determine that the vehicle has entered the tunnel.

[0182] In this case, the entry of the vehicle into the tunnel can be detected quickly, even if it is relatively bright inside the tunnel, and it therefore takes time for the first light on / off control section 3 to come to the conclusion that switching on the parking light or the headlight is necessary.

[0183] In the embodiments in question, the windshield wiper 12 and the parking light 13 are shown as the light to be switched on.

[0184] However, if necessary, an interior lamp or other additional lamps can also be used as the light to be switched on at the time of precipitation.

[0185] Although the case where the tunnel is used as a rain-blocking unit has been described so far, the effect of the invention can also be provided when the vehicle passes through a stop having a roof and a ceiling.

[0186] The first and second embodiments have been described separately so far. However, these two embodiments differ only in the processing contents of the second light on / off control sections 9 and 9A. Therefore, a structure including a second light on / off control section with a function capable of performing both of the above two processings and a switch may also be adopted, whereby the control illustrated in the first embodiment and the control illustrated in the second embodiment can be switched between each other by selecting an operation.

[0187] According to the embodiments, in a predetermined precipitation state, the light is turned on to ensure driving visibility and the like when a vehicle enters a tunnel in a state where the light is turned on depending on the precipitation, and the light continues to be turned on for a predetermined time after the vehicle exits the tunnel. This can avoid difficulties such as difficult visibility during the elapsed time from the re-detection of precipitation until the light is turned on, which would otherwise be likely to occur after the vehicle exits the tunnel without precipitation.

[0188] The invention is not limited to the foregoing embodiments, but various modifications and alterations of its components can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Also, the components disclosed in the embodiments can be combined in any combination to embody the present invention. For example, some of the components may be omitted from all the components disclosed in the embodiments. Furthermore, components in different embodiments can be appropriately combined.

Claims

[1] Vehicle lighting control, comprising: a first light on / off control section (3) for controlling the on / off of a light depending on the brightness of the operating environment of a vehicle; an operating environment control section (8) for checking whether a traveling location of the vehicle is within a rain-blocking unit; a second light on / off control section (9) for controlling the on / off of a light depending on the state of precipitation and a result of the control of the control section (8) of the operating environment; and a light control section (10) for controlling the on / off of the light depending on the result of the control of the first light on / off control section (3) and the result of the control of the second light on / off control section (9), wherein, after the vehicle drives out of the rain-blocking unit, the second light on / off control section (9) maintains the turn-on control result for a predetermined time when the vehicle drives into the rain-blocking unit in a state in which the light is turned on according to a precipitation state, and wherein, when the result of the control of the second light on / off control section (9) indicates that the light is to be turned off, the light control section (10) turns the light on / off depending on the result of the control of the first light on / off control section (3), and, when the result of the control of the second light on / off control section (9) indicates that the light is to be turned on, the light is turned on depending on the result of the control of the second light on / off control section (9), regardless of the result of the control of the first light on / off control section (3). [2] A vehicle light controller according to claim 1, wherein when the result of control of the first light on / off control section (3) indicates turning on the light, the operating environment control section (8) determines that the vehicle is within a rain-blocking unit. [3] A vehicle light controller according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when a change ratio of the light is equal to or higher than a predetermined rate, the operating environment control section (8) determines that the vehicle has entered a rain-blocking unit. [4] A vehicle light controller according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second light on / off control section (9) obtains the precipitation state from the operating state of a wiper. [5] A vehicle light controller according to claim 4, wherein the second light on / off control section (9) determines, when the number of times of wiping operation for a predetermined time is a predetermined value or more, that the control result indicates such a precipitation condition that requires turning on the light. [6] A vehicle light controller according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined time for maintaining the turn-on control by the second light on / off control section (9) is a time necessary for a wiping stop time of a wiper to exceed a turn-off prohibition time of the wiper to be set depending on an elapsed time after the vehicle runs out of the rain-blocking unit. [7] A vehicle light controller according to claim 4, wherein the second light on / off control section (9) determines that when a drive operation mode of the wiper is a predetermined high-speed operation mode, the control result indicates such a precipitation state that the light needs to be turned on. [8] A vehicle light controller according to claim 7, wherein the predetermined time for maintaining the ON control by the second light ON / OFF control section (9) is a time necessary for the drive operation mode of the wiper to become a low-speed operation mode, equal to or less than an OFF prohibition operation mode to be set depending on the elapsed time after the vehicle leaves the rain-blocking unit.

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