Control device, vehicle lighting fixture system, and program

Abstract

To provide a new technique that allows pedestrians to more easily recognize the presence of a vehicle at intersections with poor visibility.SOLUTION: A control device 100 controls a vehicle lighting fixture capable of projecting one of road surface drawing patterns in front of a vehicle and includes a control unit that controls the projection of the road surface drawing patterns. The control unit is configured to: upon receiving information indicating a road condition ahead of the vehicle, determine whether or not visibility of the road condition is poor, decide the one of the road surface drawing pattern; and, when determining that the visibility is poor, control drive of the vehicle lighting fixture so as to project a second road surface drawing pattern to be projected farther than a first road surface drawing pattern to be projected under a normal road condition.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle lamp. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a vehicle lamp capable of notifying pedestrians and other vehicles in the blind spot of a corner of a vehicle when the vehicle enters the corner where a blind spot occurs has been devised. For example, a vehicle lamp disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a variable light distribution lamp unit, an object detection signal acquisition unit that acquires an object detection signal around the vehicle, and a variable light distribution control unit that adjusts the illumination area and illumination amount of the variable light distribution lamp unit based on the acquired object detection signal, and is configured so that the variable light distribution lamp unit illuminates the detected convex mirror based on the object detection signal of the convex mirror around the vehicle. This allows the reflected light for intrusion notification to be illuminated over a wider range of the blind spot. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2023 / 054054 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In order for the above-mentioned vehicle lamp to inform pedestrians and the like in the blind spot of a corner of a road, it is necessary for there to be a convex mirror at the corner. In other words, this technology cannot be used at corners where there are no convex mirrors or at intersections with poor visibility.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and one of its exemplary purposes is to provide a new technology that makes it easier for pedestrians to recognize the presence of a vehicle at intersections with poor visibility, etc. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, a control device according to one embodiment of the present invention is a control device for controlling a vehicle lamp capable of illuminating a road surface drawing pattern ahead of the vehicle, and includes a control unit for controlling illumination of the road surface drawing pattern. The control unit receives information indicating road conditions ahead of the vehicle, determines whether the road conditions are poorly visible, determines a road surface drawing pattern, and, if it determines that visibility is poor, controls the driving of the vehicle lamp so that a second road surface drawing pattern that is illuminated farther than a first road surface drawing pattern that is illuminated under normal road conditions is illuminated.

[0007] According to this embodiment, when it is determined that the road conditions are poorly visible, the second road surface drawing pattern is projected over a long distance, making it easier for pedestrians to notice the vehicle even at an intersection with poor visibility.

[0008] The control unit may control driving of the vehicle lamps so that the second road drawing pattern is projected up to an intersecting road ahead of the vehicle, thereby making it easier for pedestrians to notice the host vehicle.

[0009] The control unit may control the driving of the vehicle lamp so that a road surface drawing pattern selected according to poor visibility determined based on at least one of the image capture information, the vehicle position information, and the distance measurement information to the object around the vehicle as information indicating the road conditions ahead of the vehicle is irradiated, thereby improving the accuracy of determining the poor visibility of the road conditions.

[0010] When the control unit determines that visibility is poor, the control unit may control the driving of the vehicle lamp so as to project a second road marking pattern, the second road marking pattern having a modified shape from the first road marking pattern, thereby making the second road marking pattern more noticeable to pedestrians.

[0011] When the control unit determines that visibility is poor, the control unit may control the driving of the vehicle lamp so that a dynamic pattern is projected as the second road surface drawing pattern, thereby making the second road surface drawing pattern a dynamic pattern that is more easily noticeable to pedestrians.

[0012] The control unit may determine that visibility is poor when an object indicating poor visibility is detected from the camera image, thereby making it possible to determine the poor visibility through general object recognition by the camera.

[0013] The control unit may determine that visibility is poor when the vehicle ahead disappears within the range of the camera image before moving out of the range of the camera image, or when the vehicle ahead appears within the range of the camera image before moving from outside the range of the camera image. This allows the presence of an area within the range of the camera image where the vehicle ahead is hidden to be inferred, and therefore the area can be determined to be poor visibility.

[0014] When the control unit receives a signal indicating driving at or below a predetermined speed and a signal indicating an operation to turn on a turn signal in a state where visibility is determined to be poor, the control unit may control driving of the vehicle lamp so that the second road drawing pattern is projected. This allows the second road drawing pattern to be projected in a timely manner when a vehicle traveling straight ahead reduces its speed to make a right or left turn.

[0015] Another aspect of the present invention is a control device. This device is a control device that controls a vehicle lamp capable of emitting a road surface drawing pattern ahead of the vehicle, and has a control unit that controls the emission of the road surface drawing pattern. When the control unit receives information indicating a first road condition ahead of the vehicle, it outputs first instruction information for the vehicle lamp to emit the first road surface drawing pattern, and when the control unit receives information indicating a second road condition with worse visibility than the first road condition, it outputs second instruction information for the vehicle lamp to emit a second road surface drawing pattern that is emitted farther than the first road surface drawing pattern.

[0016] According to this aspect, when the control unit receives a second road condition with worse visibility than the first road condition, the second road surface drawing pattern that is projected over a long distance is projected, making it easier for pedestrians to notice the vehicle even at intersections with poor visibility.

[0017] Yet another aspect of the present invention is a vehicle lamp system. The vehicle lamp system includes a vehicle lamp capable of irradiating a road surface drawing pattern ahead of the vehicle, and a control unit that controls the driving of the vehicle lamp so that the road surface drawing pattern is irradiated. The control unit receives information indicating road conditions ahead of the vehicle, determines whether the road conditions are poorly visible, determines a road surface drawing pattern, and, if it determines that visibility is poor, controls the driving of the vehicle lamp so that a second road surface drawing pattern that is irradiated farther than a first road surface drawing pattern that is irradiated under normal road conditions is irradiated.

[0018] According to this embodiment, when it is determined that the road conditions are poorly visible, the second road surface drawing pattern is projected over a long distance, making it easier for pedestrians to notice the vehicle even at an intersection with poor visibility.

[0019] The vehicle lamp may have a light source in which a plurality of light-emitting regions are arranged in a matrix. The control unit may be configured to be capable of forming a plurality of light distribution patterns by changing the illumination state of some of the plurality of light-emitting regions. This allows the area along the shape of the second road surface pattern to be selectively brighter than the surroundings.

[0020] Yet another aspect of the present invention is a program. The program is a program to be executed by a control unit that controls the illumination of a road surface drawing pattern that can be illuminated by a vehicle lamp ahead of the vehicle. The program also causes the control unit to execute the steps of receiving information indicating road conditions ahead of the vehicle, determining whether the road conditions are poorly visible, and determining a road surface drawing pattern, and, if it is determined that the visibility is poor, controlling the driving of the vehicle lamp so that a second road surface drawing pattern that is illuminated farther than a first road surface drawing pattern that is illuminated under normal road conditions is illuminated.

[0021] According to this embodiment, when it is determined that road conditions are poorly visible, the control unit can be caused to control the driving of the vehicle lighting fixture so that the second road surface drawing pattern is illuminated over a long distance.

[0022] Any combination of the above components, and conversions of the expression of the present invention between methods such as manufacturing methods and control methods, devices such as lamps, lighting, and control devices, light-emitting modules, light sources, programs, computer-readable recording media, etc. are also valid aspects of the present invention. Effect of the Invention

[0023] According to the present invention, it is possible to make pedestrians more aware of the presence of the vehicle at an intersection with poor visibility. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0024] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram of a vehicle lighting system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a first light distribution pattern formed by the vehicle lighting system. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining a T-junction with poor visibility. [Figure 4] 4(a) to 4(f) are diagrams showing examples of road signs indicating poor visibility. [Diagram 5] Figure 5(a) is a schematic diagram showing an example of projecting a road surface drawing pattern in the direction in which the vehicle is turning, Figure 5(b) is a schematic diagram showing another example of projecting a road surface drawing pattern in the direction in which the vehicle is turning, and Figure 5(c) is a schematic diagram showing an example of projecting a road surface drawing pattern in front of the vehicle. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a captured image including a road condition ahead of a vehicle. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a vehicle parked between houses facing a road. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a captured image including a road condition ahead of a vehicle. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0025] The present invention will be described below based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. The same or equivalent components, parts, and processes shown in each drawing are given the same reference numerals, and duplicated descriptions are omitted as appropriate. In addition, the embodiments are not intended to limit the invention, but are merely examples, and all features and combinations thereof described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the invention.

[0026] The vehicle lamp according to the present embodiment is a vehicle headlamp arranged in front of the vehicle, and constitutes a vehicle lamp system by appropriately combining with various control units, sensors, etc. First, a schematic configuration of the vehicle lamp system according to the present embodiment will be described. Fig. 1 is a block diagram of the vehicle lamp system according to the present embodiment.

[0027] The vehicle lighting system 10 includes a camera unit 12 compatible with ADAS (Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems), a center ECU 14, and a lamp switch 20. The camera unit 12 includes a front camera 22 that captures an image ahead of the vehicle, and a camera ECU 24 that detects objects such as signs and vehicles present ahead of the vehicle based on information about an image captured by the front camera 22. The center ECU 14 includes a processor (arithmetic unit) 14a that executes programs required for various controls, and a memory (storage medium) 14b that stores the programs. Although the camera unit 12 and the center ECU 14 according to this embodiment are provided on the vehicle body side, they may be provided anywhere in the vehicle.

[0028] Furthermore, the vehicle lighting system 10 includes a lamp ECU 26, a low beam lamp 28 and a high beam lamp 30 whose light distribution is controlled by the lamp ECU 26, a controller 32 for a high-definition ADB (Adaptive Driving Beam), and a high-definition LED unit 34 for the ADB controlled by the controller 32. The lamp ECU 26 has a processor 26a that executes programs required for various controls, and a memory 26b that stores the programs. The lamp ECU 26 and the controller 32 according to this embodiment are provided in any of the low beam lamp 28, the high beam lamp 30, or the LED unit 34, which are vehicle lighting devices.

[0029] Furthermore, the vehicle lighting system 10 includes a speed sensor 40, a turn signal switch 42, a GPS (Global Positioning System:) 44, and a LiDAR (Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) 46. The vehicle lighting system 10 may include a millimeter wave radar in addition to or instead of the LiDAR 46. The speed sensor 40 outputs information on the speed of the host vehicle to the center ECU 14. The turn signal switch 42 outputs information on the driver's right turn operation or left turn operation to the center ECU 14.

[0030] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a first light distribution pattern formed by the vehicle lighting system. The first light distribution pattern P1 shown in Fig. 2 is a pattern in which a low beam light distribution pattern PL formed by the Lo beam lamp 28, a high beam light distribution pattern PH formed by the Hi beam lamp 30, and an ADB light distribution pattern PHL formed by the LED unit 34 are overlapped. At night, the vehicle travels while illuminating the front of the vehicle with the first light distribution pattern P1 shown in Fig. 2 by each lamp provided in the vehicle lighting system 10.

[0031] The light source and optical members of the low beam lamp 28 are appropriately selected to illuminate the area near the vehicle below the HH line. The light source and optical members of the high beam lamp 30 are appropriately selected to illuminate the distant area above the HH line. The high beam lamp 30 has eight LEDs lined up in one direction, and by controlling the turning on and off of each LED, a light distribution pattern can be formed in which a part of the high beam light distribution pattern PH is blocked or dimmed.

[0032] The LED unit 34 is a vehicle lamp capable of illuminating the area in front of the vehicle with light emitted from the LED unit 34, in which a light source and optical members are appropriately selected so as to illuminate an area centered on the intersection of the HH line and the V line. The ADB light distribution pattern PHL is a light distribution pattern that overlaps with both the low beam light distribution pattern PL and the high beam light distribution pattern PH, centered on the intersection of the HH line and the V line. In addition, by individually controlling the drive current of each LED and reducing or eliminating the drive current of some LEDs, some pixels of the matrix that constitutes the ADB light distribution pattern PHL can be shaded or dimmed. This makes it possible to minimize the shaded area when preventing glare on vehicles and people included in the range of the ADB light distribution pattern PHL, while maintaining visibility in other areas.

[0033] The LED unit 34 has a light source in which 64 LEDs 34a (light-emitting regions) are arranged in a matrix, and driving of each LED is individually controlled based on instructions from the controller 32. The LED unit 34 may have 20 or more light-emitting elements arranged in the short side direction of a rectangle, and 100 or more light-emitting elements arranged in the long side direction. Also, other than LEDs, organic EL elements, liquid crystal shutters, MEMS mirrors, and the like can be used as light sources as long as they can individually turn on and off the matrix-shaped light-emitting regions.

[0034] The controller 32 is configured to be able to form a plurality of light distribution patterns with different brightness of partial regions by changing the illumination state of some of the plurality of light-emitting regions. In other words, the controller 32 controls the vehicle lamp so as to illuminate a selected light distribution pattern by controlling the amount of light emitted from each of the plurality of light-emitting regions. This allows various light distribution patterns to be formed with one LED unit 34. Even if there are a plurality of partial regions where a reflecting object exists, a light distribution pattern in which the brightness of each partial region is adjusted can be formed.

[0035] The control device 100 according to this embodiment may include a center ECU 14, a camera ECU 24, and a lamp ECU 26, as shown in FIG. 1. If the desired function can be realized by the center ECU 14 alone, the center ECU 14 alone may become the control device 100. In that case, the processor 14a corresponds to the control unit. If the desired function can be realized by the lamp ECU 26 alone, the lamp ECU 26 alone may become the control device 100. In that case, the processor 26a corresponds to the control unit. There is no particular limitation on the combination of parts that constitute the control device and control unit according to this embodiment.

[0036] The control device 100 controls vehicle lighting devices (low beam lamps 28, high beam lamps 30, and LED unit 34) capable of projecting a light distribution pattern ahead of the vehicle. The LED unit 34 according to this embodiment can project, in addition to various light distribution patterns, road surface drawing patterns that draw information on the road surface in front of and to the sides of the vehicle to inform traffic participants such as other vehicles and pedestrians around the vehicle. In more detail, when the processor 26a receives road information X1 indicating the road conditions determined by the processor 14a, it outputs a control signal (road surface drawing pattern instruction information X2 such as supply voltage and image data) according to the road information X1 to each lamp and controller. This allows areas conforming to the shapes of various road surface drawing patterns to be selectively brighter than the surroundings.

[0037] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining a T-junction with poor visibility. When turning right, the vehicle lighting system 10 according to the present embodiment projects an arrow 48, which notifies traffic participants that they will turn right, in front of the vehicle 50 as a first road surface drawing pattern. In normal road conditions where the road conditions including the T-junction are not poorly visible, the pedestrian 52 can easily notice the arrow 48. However, in the case where the wall 54 on the right side of the vehicle 50 and the wall 56 on the left side of the pedestrian 52 are high, the arrow 48 is difficult for the pedestrian 52 to recognize. Therefore, the pedestrian 52 has difficulty noticing the vehicle 50 until both the vehicle 50 and the pedestrian 52 approach the intersection.

[0038] Therefore, the processor 26a receives road information X1 indicating the road conditions ahead of the vehicle, determines the poor visibility of the road conditions with a discrimination unit 27a, and determines the road surface drawing pattern instruction information X2 with a determination unit 27b. When the processor 26a determines that the visibility is poor, it controls the driving of the LED unit 34 so that an arrow 58 that is irradiated farther than the arrow 48 that is irradiated under normal road conditions is irradiated as the second road surface drawing pattern.

[0039] In this way, when the discrimination unit 27a of the control device 100 determines that the road conditions are poorly visible based on the road information X1, the decision unit 27b outputs the instruction information X2. The controller 32 that receives the instruction information X2 controls the driving of the LED unit 34 so that the arrow 58 is projected farther than the arrow 48. This makes it easier for the pedestrian 52 to notice the vehicle 50 even at an intersection with poor visibility as shown in FIG. 3. It is preferable that the arrow 58 is projected up to the intersecting road ahead of the stop line 60 (for example, about 2 m ahead). This makes it easier for the pedestrian 52 to notice the vehicle 50.

[0040] Examples of information indicating road conditions ahead of the vehicle include image information acquired by the camera unit 12, vehicle position information acquired by the GPS 44, and distance measurement information to objects around the vehicle acquired by the LiDAR 46. The control device 100 controls the driving of the vehicle lamps so that a road surface drawing pattern selected according to the poor visibility determined based on the information indicating the road conditions is irradiated. This improves the accuracy of determining the poor visibility of the road conditions.

[0041] Specifically, at a T-junction shown in Fig. 3, when the camera unit 12 captures an image of the area ahead of the vehicle 50, the captured image includes a convex mirror 62. The convex mirror 62 is an object that indicates poor visibility, and when the processor 26a detects the convex mirror 62 from the road information X1 including the captured image, the discrimination unit 27a determines that visibility is poor. This makes it possible to determine the poor visibility through general object recognition by the camera.

[0042] There are other objects besides the convex mirror 62 that indicate poor visibility. Figures 4(a) to 4(f) are diagrams showing examples of road signs that indicate poor visibility. The warning sign marks shown in Figures 4(a) to 4(c) indicate "road intersection of specified shape ahead", the regulatory sign mark shown in Figure 4(d) indicates "stop before", the directional sign mark shown in Figure 4(e) indicates "stop line", and the directional sign mark shown in Figure 4(f) indicates "pedestrian crossing".

[0043] When such a road sign is included in the captured image, it is assumed that the road conditions ahead of the vehicle are poorly visible, and therefore the processor 26a determines that visibility is poor using the discrimination unit 27a. Also, if there is an area where a wall or house beside the road is 2m or more high, it may be determined that the vicinity of the area is poorly visible by image analysis using the captured image.

[0044] Next, other examples of the road surface drawing pattern will be described. Fig. 5(a) is a schematic diagram showing an example in which the road surface drawing pattern is projected in the direction in which the host vehicle turns, Fig. 5(b) is a schematic diagram showing another example in which the road surface drawing pattern is projected in the direction in which the host vehicle turns, and Fig. 5(c) is a schematic diagram showing an example in which the road surface drawing pattern is projected in front of the host vehicle.

[0045] In the normal first road drawing pattern 64 shown in FIG. 5(a), identical triangles 64a are arranged at equal intervals. When the control device 100 determines that the road conditions are poorly visible, it controls the driving of the LED unit 34 so as to irradiate a second road drawing pattern 65 consisting of a triangle 65a larger than the triangle 64a to a greater distance. In this way, the second road drawing pattern 65, which has a modified shape compared to the first road drawing pattern 64, is irradiated, making it easier for pedestrians to notice. Note that a change in shape includes not only the size, length, aspect ratio, and number of constituent shapes, but also changes and deformations of patterns and characters.

[0046] In the normal first road drawing pattern 66 shown in FIG. 5(b), rectangular shapes 66a, 66b, and 66c, which are longer in length as they are farther away, are arranged in a straight line. When the control device 100 determines that the road conditions are poorly visible, it controls the driving of the LED unit 34 so that the second road drawing pattern 67, which is made up of rectangular shapes 67a, 67b, and 67c, is irradiated further away, similar to the rectangular shapes 66a, 66b, and 66c. In addition, the rectangular shapes 67a, 67b, and 67c of the second road drawing pattern 67 are irradiated sequentially from the vehicle side (sequential lighting). In this way, the dynamic second road drawing pattern 67 is irradiated in addition to the static first road drawing pattern 66, making it easier for pedestrians to notice it.

[0047] Other examples of dynamic expression of the second road surface drawing pattern include cases where the interval between lights turning on and off, the color, or the shape changes periodically.

[0048] In the normal first road drawing pattern 68 shown in FIG. 5(c), identical arc shapes 68a are arranged at equal intervals in front of the vehicle 50. When the control device 100 determines that the road conditions are poorly visible, it controls the driving of the LED unit 34 so as to irradiate a second road drawing pattern 69 consisting of an arc shape 69a similar to the arc shape 68a to a greater distance. In this way, the second road drawing pattern 69 is irradiated farther than the first road drawing pattern 68, so that pedestrians can more easily notice the second road drawing pattern 69. In addition, the second road drawing pattern 69 can make pedestrians at the intersection with poor visibility more easily notice the presence of the vehicle 50, for example, when the vehicle 50 travels straight through an intersection with poor visibility.

[0049] In this embodiment, the first road drawing pattern is projected 2 to 4 m ahead of the vehicle, and the second road drawing pattern is projected 3 to 5 m ahead of the vehicle, but the distances are not limited to these.

[0050] When the control device 100 receives a signal from the speed sensor 40 indicating that the vehicle is traveling at a speed below a predetermined speed (a speed at which it is safe to turn right or left) and a signal from the blinker switch 42 indicating an operation to turn on a turn signal, in a state in which it has been determined that visibility is poor, the control device 100 may control the driving of the vehicle lamps so that the above-mentioned second road drawing pattern 65 or second road drawing pattern 67 is irradiated. This allows the second road drawing pattern to be irradiated at a good timing when a vehicle traveling straight reduces its speed to make a right or left turn.

[0051] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a captured image including road conditions ahead of the vehicle. The captured image shown in FIG. 6 includes several features for determining poor visibility. For example, in addition to the above-mentioned convex mirror 62 and stop line 60, there are the signs "STOP" and crosswalk 61 painted on the road surface, and the crossroad 72 between the walls 54 and houses 70 on both sides of the road. The signs "STOP" and crosswalk 61 can be identified from the image information acquired from the camera unit 12. In addition, the crossroad 72 can be detected as a gap in the wall 54 by the LiDAR 46. Alternatively, the position of the crossroad 72 can be detected by the GPS 44. In this way, the control device 100 improves the accuracy of determining the poor visibility of the road conditions by determining the poor visibility from multiple pieces of information.

[0052] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a vehicle parked between houses facing a road. A vehicle 74 shown in FIG. 7 is parked in a parking lot between houses 78 and 80 facing a road 76. Therefore, when the vehicle 74 is about to enter the road 76, it is difficult to notice a vehicle traveling on the road 76. Therefore, the vehicle traveling on the road 76 identifies the disconnected space between the house 78 and the house 80 by the LiDAR 46, and projects a road surface drawing pattern in front of the parking lot. An example of the road surface drawing pattern is the second road surface drawing pattern 69 shown in FIG. 5(c) that is projected when traveling straight.

[0053] Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a captured image including road conditions ahead of the vehicle. As described above, information indicating road conditions includes objects that indicate poor visibility, such as curve mirrors and signs, that are included in the captured image. In addition, the presence of an intersection with poor visibility can be inferred from the movement of other vehicles ahead of the vehicle.

[0054] For example, in the case of an intersection with good visibility, in captured images in which images of the area ahead of the vehicle are successively taken, a preceding vehicle appears from the outer edge of the captured image P toward the inside, and disappears from the other outer edges toward the outside. On the other hand, in an intersection 81 with poor visibility as shown in FIG. 8, a preceding vehicle 82 suddenly appears on the inside of the captured image P. Also, a preceding vehicle 84 suddenly disappears from the inside of the captured image P.

[0055] Therefore, the control device 100 determines that visibility is poor when the preceding vehicle 84 disappears within the range of the camera image before moving out of the range of the camera image, or when the preceding vehicle 82 appears within the range of the camera image before moving from outside the range of the camera image. This allows the presence of an area within the range of the camera image where the preceding vehicle is hidden to be inferred, and makes it possible to determine that the area has poor visibility. Furthermore, the vehicle lighting system 10 can determine areas with poor visibility even without the LiDAR 46.

[0056] As described above, the vehicle lighting system 10 according to the present embodiment can make it easier for pedestrians to recognize the presence of the vehicle at an intersection with poor visibility.

[0057] The invention of the control device according to the present embodiment can be regarded as an invention of an entire vehicle lighting system having the control device and the vehicle lamp. It can also be regarded as an invention of a program to be executed by a control unit that controls the vehicle lamp. This program is a program to be executed by a control unit that controls the irradiation of a road drawing pattern that the vehicle lamp can irradiate ahead of the vehicle. This program also causes the lamp ECU 26 and the center ECU 14 to execute a step of receiving information indicating the road conditions ahead of the vehicle, determining the poor visibility of the road conditions, and determining a road drawing pattern, and a step of controlling the driving of the vehicle lamp so that a second road drawing pattern that is irradiated farther than a first road drawing pattern that is irradiated under normal road conditions is irradiated when the visibility is determined to be poor.

[0058] The control device according to this embodiment can also be understood as follows. The control device 100 is a control device that controls a vehicle lamp capable of emitting a road surface drawing pattern ahead of the vehicle, and has a processor 26a that controls the emission of the road surface drawing pattern. When the processor 26a receives information indicating a first road condition ahead of the vehicle, it outputs first instruction information for the LED unit 34 to emit the first road surface drawing pattern. When the processor 26a receives information indicating a second road condition with worse visibility than the first road condition, it outputs second instruction information for the LED unit 34 to emit a second road surface drawing pattern that is emitted farther than the first road surface drawing pattern.

[0059] That is, the control device 100 that receives information from the camera unit 12 and the LiDAR 46 can change the road drawing pattern to be projected onto the road surface when the road conditions differ. Also, when the processor 26a receives a second road condition with worse visibility than the first road condition, the second road drawing pattern that is projected far away is projected, so that pedestrians can easily notice the vehicle even at an intersection with poor visibility.

[0060] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the above-mentioned embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and suitable combinations or substitutions of the configurations of the embodiment are also included in the present invention. In addition, it is possible to suitably rearrange the combinations and processing order in the embodiment based on the knowledge of a person skilled in the art, and to make modifications such as various design changes to the embodiment, and the embodiment to which such modifications have been made is also included in the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] 10 Vehicle lighting system, 12 Camera unit, 14 Center ECU, 14a Processor, 20 Lamp switch, 22 Front camera, 24 Camera ECU, 26 Lamp ECU, 26a Processor, 26b Memory, 27a Discrimination unit, 27b Decision unit, 32 Controller, 34 LED unit, 40 Speed ​​sensor, 42 Turn signal switch, 44 GPS, 46 LiDAR, 50 Vehicle, 52 Pedestrian, 54 Wall, 56 Wall, 58 Arrow, 60 Stop line, 61 Crosswalk, 62 Convex mirror, 64 First road surface drawing pattern, 65 Second road surface drawing pattern, 70 House, 72 Crossroad, 74 Vehicle, 76 Road, 78 House, 80 House, 81 intersection, 82 vehicle ahead, 84 vehicle ahead, 100 control device, X1 road information, X2 instruction information.

Claims

1. A control device for controlling a vehicle lamp capable of illuminating a road surface drawing pattern ahead of a vehicle, A control unit is provided for controlling the projection of the road surface drawing pattern, The control unit is Receives information indicating road conditions ahead of the vehicle, determines the poor visibility of the road conditions, and determines a road surface drawing pattern; A control device characterized by controlling the driving of the vehicle lamp so that, when it is determined that visibility is poor, a second road surface drawing pattern that is illuminated farther than a first road surface drawing pattern that is illuminated under normal road conditions is illuminated.

2. 2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls driving of the vehicle lamp so that the second road drawing pattern is projected up to an intersecting road ahead of the vehicle.

3. 3. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the driving of the vehicle lamp so that a road surface drawing pattern selected according to poor visibility determined based on at least one of information indicating road conditions ahead of the vehicle, the information being imaging information, vehicle position information, and distance measurement information to objects around the vehicle, is irradiated.

4. The control device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, when the control unit determines that visibility is poor, it controls the driving of the vehicle lamp so that the second road surface drawing pattern, the shape of which is changed relative to the first road surface drawing pattern, is irradiated.

5. The control device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, when the control unit determines that visibility is poor, it controls the driving of the vehicle lamp so that a dynamic pattern is irradiated as the second road surface drawing pattern.

6. The control device according to claim 3 , wherein the control unit determines that visibility is poor when an object indicating poor visibility is detected from the camera image.

7. The control device according to claim 3, characterized in that the control unit determines that visibility is poor when a vehicle ahead disappears from within the camera image before moving out of the range of the camera image, or when a vehicle ahead appears within the camera image before moving from outside the range of the camera image.

8. 2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein when it is determined that visibility is poor and a signal is received indicating that the vehicle is traveling at a speed below a predetermined speed and a signal indicating an operation to turn on a turn signal, the control unit controls the driving of the vehicle lamp so that the second road surface drawing pattern is irradiated.

9. A control device for controlling a vehicle lamp capable of illuminating a road surface drawing pattern ahead of a vehicle, A control unit is provided for controlling the projection of the road surface drawing pattern, The control unit is outputting first instruction information for causing the vehicle lamp to emit a first road surface drawing pattern when receiving information indicating a first road condition ahead of the vehicle; A control device characterized in that, when a second road condition with worse visibility than the first road condition is received, the control device outputs second instruction information to cause a vehicle lamp to illuminate a second road surface drawing pattern that is irradiated to a greater distance than the first road surface drawing pattern.

10. A vehicle lamp capable of illuminating a road surface drawing pattern ahead of the vehicle; a control unit that controls the driving of the vehicle lamp so that a road surface drawing pattern is irradiated; The control unit is Receives information indicating road conditions ahead of the vehicle, determines the poor visibility of the road conditions, and determines a road surface drawing pattern; A vehicle lighting system characterized in that, when it is determined that visibility is poor, the driving of the vehicle lighting is controlled so that a second road surface drawing pattern that is illuminated farther than a first road surface drawing pattern that is illuminated under normal road conditions is illuminated.

11. The vehicle lamp has a light source in which a plurality of light-emitting regions are arranged in a matrix, The vehicle lighting system according to claim 10, wherein the control unit is configured to be capable of forming a plurality of light distribution patterns by changing an illumination state of some of the plurality of light-emitting regions.

12. A program to be executed by a control unit that controls the illumination of a road surface drawing pattern that can be illuminated by a vehicle lamp ahead of the vehicle, The program includes a step of causing the control unit to receive information indicating road conditions ahead of the vehicle, determine whether the road conditions are poorly visible, and determine a road surface drawing pattern; and when it is determined that visibility is poor, controlling the driving of the vehicle lamp so that a second road surface drawing pattern that is illuminated farther than a first road surface drawing pattern that is illuminated under normal road conditions is illuminated.

Images