Control device, headlamp, and computer program

Abstract

To reduce glare given to an occupant of an oncoming vehicle when the vehicle stops in the front row in front of a point where stopping is required.SOLUTION: A control device 12 controls a lamp unit 11 mounted on a vehicle 20. The control device 12 controls the lamp unit 11 so as to dim the lamp unit 11, turn off the lamp unit 11, lower the light irradiation direction of the lamp unit 11, or lower the cut-off line of the low beam light distribution pattern when the vehicle 20 stops at the front of the line before a stop line 30, and a road surface 100 where the vehicle 20 stops is in an upward gradient.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a control device. The present disclosure also relates to a headlamp including the control device, and to a computer program executable by a processing unit of the control device. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a light distribution control device that controls the illumination state of a headlamp in response to the shape of the road. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2002-254980 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, when a vehicle approaches an oncoming vehicle while stopped at a railroad crossing, glare may be caused to the occupants of the oncoming vehicle even if a normal low beam light distribution pattern is irradiated.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to reduce the glare caused to occupants of oncoming vehicles when stopped in front of a requested stop. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A control device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes: A control device for controlling a lamp unit mounted on a vehicle, When the vehicle stops at the front row just before the point where it is required to stop and the road surface on which the vehicle is stopped has an upward slope, the lamp unit is controlled to be dimmed, the lamp unit is turned off, the direction of light irradiation of the lamp unit is lowered, or, if the lamp unit forms a low beam light distribution pattern, the cut-off line is lowered.

[0007] A headlamp according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes: A headlamp mounted on a vehicle, A lamp unit; The control device for controlling the lamp unit; Equipped with.

[0008] A computer program according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes: A computer program executable by a processing unit of a control device that controls a lamp unit mounted on a vehicle, When the program is executed, the control device receiving stop point information of a point ahead of the vehicle where the vehicle is required to stop, vehicle speed information indicating a speed of the vehicle, and gradient information regarding a gradient of a road on which the vehicle is traveling; determining whether the vehicle is stopped at the front of the point where the vehicle is requested to stop and whether the road surface on which the vehicle is to stop has an upward slope based on the stop point information, the vehicle speed information, and the gradient information; When the vehicle stops at the front row just before the point where the stop is required and it is determined that the road surface on which the vehicle is stopping has an upward slope, a control signal is output to dim the lamp unit, to turn off the lamp unit, to lower the direction of the light emitted by the lamp unit, or, if the lamp unit forms a low beam distribution pattern, to lower the cut-off line. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present disclosure, the glare given to occupants of oncoming vehicles is reduced when a vehicle stops at the very front of a location where the vehicle is required to stop. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 2 illustrates an example of a functional configuration of a headlamp according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 illustrates a vehicle equipped with a headlamp. [Diagram 3] 2 illustrates an example of the configuration of a lamp unit that emits light that forms a low-beam light distribution pattern. [Figure 4] 4 illustrates an example of a process flow executed by a processing unit of the control device. [Diagram 5] 1 shows a diagram for explaining control by a control device when a vehicle crosses a railroad crossing; [Figure 6] 1 is a diagram for explaining a low-beam light distribution pattern emitted from a headlamp when the road surface near a railroad crossing is flat; FIG. [Figure 7] 1 is a diagram for explaining a low-beam light distribution pattern emitted from a headlamp when the road surface near a railroad crossing has an upward slope; [Figure 8] 11 illustrates another example of the flow of processing executed by the processing unit of the control device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. For the sake of convenience of explanation, the dimensions of each component shown in the drawings may differ from the actual dimensions of each component.

[0012] In each figure, the letter U indicates the upward direction. The letter D indicates the downward direction. The letter F indicates the forward direction. The letter B indicates the backward direction. The letter L indicates the leftward direction. The letter R indicates the rightward direction. These directions are relative directions set for the vehicle 20 illustrated in FIG. 2.

[0013] Fig. 1 illustrates a functional configuration of a headlamp 10 according to this embodiment. The headlamps 10 are disposed on the front right and front left sides of a vehicle 20, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The vehicle 20 is, for example, a vehicle capable of running in a manual driving mode and / or an automatic driving mode.

[0014] 1, a headlamp 10 includes a lamp unit 11 and a control device 12. The lamp unit 11 is configured to emit light that forms a low-beam light distribution pattern. That is, the lamp unit 11 in this example is a low-beam lighting unit.

[0015] Fig. 3 shows a configuration example of a lamp unit 11 that emits light that forms a low-beam light distribution pattern. As shown in Fig. 3, the lamp unit 11 is disposed in a lamp chamber S formed by a light-transmitting cover 101 and a lamp body 102 of a headlamp 10. The lamp unit 11 includes a light source 111, a reflector 112, a projection lens 113, and a shade 114.

[0016] The light source 111 is configured to emit light toward the reflector 112. The light source 111 is disposed on an upper surface of a base surface 115 attached to a holder (not shown). The light source 111 is configured, for example, of an LED (Light Emitting Diode) element. The reflector 112 is disposed so as to cover an upper portion of the light source 111. The reflector 112 is configured to reflect the light emitted from the light source 111 toward the projection lens 113.

[0017] The projection lens 113 is configured to project the light reflected by the reflector 112 to a forward area of ​​the vehicle 20. The projection lens 113 is, for example, an aspheric lens whose front surface is a convex surface and whose rear surface is a flat surface. The projection lens 113 is disposed so that the lens optical axis substantially coincides with the lamp optical axis Ax extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. The shade 114 extends from the rear end side of the lens holder 116 to the light source 111 side, and is disposed so that its upper edge passes through the rear focal point f of the projection lens 113.

[0018] A cutoff line of a low beam light distribution pattern is formed by blocking a part of the light emitted from the light source 111 and reflected by the reflector 112 by the shade 114. Note that the configuration of the lamp unit 11 is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG.

[0019] The control device 12 is disposed, for example, in a lamp chamber S of the headlamp 10, although not shown in Fig. 3. The control device 12 is configured to control the operation of the lamp unit 11. For example, the control device 12 controls the lamp unit 11 to dim or turn off when the vehicle 20 stops at the forefront before a point where stopping is required and the road surface on which the vehicle 20 stops has an upward slope.

[0020] In addition, the expression "a point where stopping is required" used in this specification includes a railroad crossing where vehicles are required to stop to allow a train to pass, an intersection where vehicles are required to stop due to traffic lights, etc.

[0021] 1, the control device 12 includes a reception unit 121, a processing unit 122, and an output unit 123. The reception unit 121 is configured to receive image information I1, vehicle speed information I2, and acceleration information I3. When the image information I1, vehicle speed information I2, and acceleration information I3 are in the form of analog data, the reception unit 121 may include an appropriate conversion circuit including an A / D converter. The processing unit 122 processes the image information I1, vehicle speed information I2, and acceleration information I3, which are in the form of digital data.

[0022] Specifically, the reception unit 121 receives image information I1 acquired by an imaging device 21 mounted on the vehicle 20. The imaging device 21 is, for example, a camera including an imaging element such as a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS). As illustrated in Fig. 2, the imaging device 21 is disposed, for example, near the windshield, and captures an image of the area ahead of the vehicle 20. The image information I1 is an example of stop point information related to a point where a stop is required.

[0023] The receiving unit 121 also receives vehicle speed information I2 acquired by a speed sensor 22 mounted on the vehicle 20.

[0024] The receiving unit 121 also receives acceleration information I3 of the vehicle 20 acquired by an acceleration sensor 23 mounted on the vehicle 20. The acceleration information I3 is an example of gradient information related to the gradient of the road on which the vehicle 20 travels.

[0025] The processing unit 122 is configured to determine, based on the image information I1, the vehicle speed information I2, and the acceleration information I3, whether the vehicle 20 stops in front of the point where it is requested to stop, and whether the road surface on which the vehicle 20 stops has an upward slope.

[0026] The processing unit 122 is configured to output a control signal CS through the output unit 123 when it is determined that the vehicle 20 stops at the front row just before the point where the vehicle 20 is required to stop and that the road surface on which the vehicle 20 stops has an upward slope. The control signal CS may be in the form of digital data or analog data. When the control signal CS is in the form of analog data, the output unit 123 may include an appropriate conversion circuit including a D / A converter.

[0027] The control signal CS is, for example, a control signal for dimming or turning off the lamp unit 11. Upon receiving the control signal CS, the lamp unit 11 dims or turns off the lamp based on the control signal CS.

[0028] Next, the process executed by the processor 122 of the control device 12 will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 illustrates the flow of the process. Note that, here, a railroad crossing will be taken as an example of a point where stopping is required.

[0029] First, the processing unit 122 determines whether the vehicle 20 has stopped at the front of the line in front of the railroad crossing (STEP 1). If the processing unit 122 determines that the vehicle 20 has not stopped at the front of the line in front of the railroad crossing (NO in STEP 1), the processing ends.

[0030] Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining the control by the control device 12 when the vehicle 20 crosses the railroad crossing 30. Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between the vehicle 20 and the railroad crossing 30 as viewed from above. In Fig. 5, A indicates the imaging range of the imaging device 21. An alarm device 31 having a main body 311 and a barrier 312 is installed at the railroad crossing 30.

[0031] When the vehicle 20 traveling toward the railroad crossing 30 reaches position P1, the alarm 31 comes to be included in the imaging range A of the imaging device 21. As a result, the alarm 31 appears in the image captured by the imaging device 21 mounted on the vehicle 20 located at position P1. The alarm 31 continues to appear in the image captured by the imaging device 21 until the vehicle 20 decelerates from position P1 and stops at position P2. At this time, if there is a vehicle ahead between the vehicle 20 and the railroad crossing 30, the vehicle ahead will be captured in front of the alarm 31 in the image.

[0032] Then, when the vehicle 20 stops at the front row position P2 just before the railroad crossing 30, there is no vehicle ahead in front of the crossing gate 312 of the railroad crossing 30, and therefore there is no vehicle ahead in front of the crossing gate 312 of the warning device 31 captured in the image acquired by the imaging device 21.

[0033] Therefore, based on the image information I1 and vehicle speed information I2 received by the receiving unit 121, the processing unit 122 determines that the vehicle 20 has stopped in the front row just before the railroad crossing 30 if the alarm 31 is captured in the images acquired consecutively from when the vehicle 20 decelerates until when it stops, and there is no preceding vehicle in front of the alarm 31 captured in the image acquired when the vehicle 20 stops.

[0034] Next, when the processing unit 122 determines that the vehicle 20 has stopped at the front of the railroad crossing (YES in STEP 1), it determines whether the road surface on which the vehicle 20 will stop has an upward slope (STEP 2). When the processing unit 122 determines that the road surface on which the vehicle 20 will stop does not have an upward slope (NO in STEP 2), it ends this process.

[0035] For example, the processing unit 122 receives acceleration information I3 of the vehicle 20 from the receiving unit 121, and determines whether the road surface on which the vehicle 20 is stopped has an upward slope based on the acceleration information I3. For example, based on the acceleration information I3, the processing unit 122 determines that the road surface on which the vehicle 20 is stopped has an upward slope when the slope of the road surface relative to the horizontal direction is 0.5% or more.

[0036] Next, when the processing unit 122 determines that the road surface on which the vehicle 20 is stopped has an upward gradient (YES in STEP 2), it causes the output unit 123 to output a control signal CS for turning off the lamp unit 11 (STEP 3). The lamp unit 11 turns off based on the control signal CS.

[0037] Next, the processing unit 122 determines whether the vehicle 20 will start (STEP 4). The processing unit 122 repeats the processing of STEP 4 until it determines that the vehicle 20 will start. For example, when the processing unit 122 determines that the barrier 312 of the alarm 31 has been raised based on the image information I1, it determines that the vehicle 20 will start. Alternatively, the processing unit 122 may determine that the vehicle 20 will start when it receives a signal indicating that the operation of the brake pedal by the occupant of the vehicle 20 has been released from a vehicle control device (not shown) that controls each device mounted on the vehicle 20.

[0038] Next, when the processing unit 122 determines that the vehicle 20 will start moving (YES in STEP 4), it causes the output unit 123 to output a control signal CS for turning on the lamp unit 11 (STEP 5). The lamp unit 11 turns on based on the control signal CS.

[0039] In addition, in STEP 3, the processing unit 122 turns off the lamp unit 11, but may be configured to dim the lamp unit 11. In this case, in STEP 5, the processing unit 122 controls the amount of light with which the lamp unit 11 is turned on to be the amount of light during normal lighting.

[0040] Here, Figures 6 and 7 are diagrams for explaining the relationship between the road surface 100 near the railroad crossing 30 and the illumination range L1 of light that forms a low beam distribution pattern emitted from the headlamp 10 of the vehicle 20, when viewed from the side of the vehicle 20.

[0041] For example, when the road surface 100 near the railroad crossing 30 is substantially flat as shown in FIG. 6, the headlamp 10 of the vehicle 20 is configured so that the light forming the irradiated low beam light distribution pattern does not cause glare to the occupants of the oncoming vehicle 40.

[0042] However, when the road surface 100 near the crossing 30 slopes upward toward the crossing 30 as shown in Fig. 7, the vehicle 20 also faces upward relative to the horizontal direction. As a result, the irradiation direction of the low beam light distribution pattern is tilted upward from the irradiation direction of the low beam light distribution pattern shown in Fig. 6, and the light forming the low beam light distribution pattern may cause glare to the occupants of the oncoming vehicle 40.

[0043] According to the headlamp 10 of the present disclosure, the lamp unit 11 is turned off or dimmed if the road surface 100 has an upward slope when the vehicle 20 stops at the front of the railroad crossing 30. As a result, even if an oncoming vehicle 40 is present on the other side of the railroad crossing 30 as shown in FIG. 5, for example, the glare caused to the occupants of the oncoming vehicle 40 by the light of the lamp unit 11 can be reduced.

[0044] In this embodiment, in determining whether the vehicle 20 has stopped in STEP 1 of Fig. 4, the processing unit 122 of the control device 12 may be configured to determine that the vehicle 20 has stopped when the vehicle 20 has been stopped for a predetermined time or more. The predetermined time is set, for example, to be longer than the time required for the vehicle 20 to stop temporarily to cross the railroad crossing 30. This prevents the occupants of the vehicle 20 from feeling annoyed by the lamp unit 11 turning off and on in a short time when the vehicle 20 stops temporarily to cross the railroad crossing 30, not to wait for a train to pass.

[0045] (Variation 1) In the above embodiment, in STEP 2 of FIG. 4, the processing unit 122 of the control device 12 turns off or dims the lamp unit 11 when the road surface 100 on which the vehicle 20 stops has an upward gradient. However, the processing unit 122 may be configured to turn off or dim the lamp unit 11 when the road surface 100 on which the vehicle 20 stops has an upward gradient that indicates a value within a predetermined range. The predetermined range may be appropriately set to a range in which the illumination range L1 of the light that forms the low beam light distribution pattern illuminated by the lamp unit 11 is likely to cause glare to the occupants of the oncoming vehicle 40. For example, the processing unit 122 may turn off or dim the lamp unit 11 when the gradient of the road surface 100 with respect to the horizontal direction is 0.5% or more and 2.5% or less. This makes it possible to reduce glare caused by the light of the lamp unit 11 to the occupants of the oncoming vehicle 40 while ensuring the visibility of the occupants of the vehicle 20.

[0046] (Variation 2) In the above embodiment, the processing unit 122 of the control device 12 turns off or dims the lamp unit 11 when it is determined in STEP 2 of Fig. 4 that the road surface of the front row before the crossing 30 where the vehicle 20 is to stop has an upward slope. However, the processing unit 122 of the control device 12 may be configured to turn off or dim the lamp unit 11 when it is determined that an oncoming vehicle 40 is present, in addition to when the road surface of the front row before the crossing 30 where the vehicle 20 is to stop has an upward slope.

[0047] For example, when the processing unit 122 of the control device 12 determines based on the image information I1 that the vehicle 20 stops at the front of the railroad crossing 30, that the road surface on which the vehicle 20 stops has an upward slope, and that an oncoming vehicle 40 is present ahead of the vehicle 20, the processing unit 122 can be configured to output a control signal CS for turning off or dimming the lamp unit 11 via the output unit 123. The image information I1 is an example of oncoming vehicle information regarding the oncoming vehicle 40.

[0048] Fig. 8 illustrates a process flow executed by the processing unit 122 of the control device 12 configured in this manner. Note that the same reference numerals are given to the process elements common to the process flow illustrated in Fig. 4, and repeated explanations will be omitted.

[0049] In STEP 2, when the processing unit 122 determines that the road surface on which the vehicle 20 is to stop has an upward gradient (YES in STEP 2), it determines whether or not an oncoming vehicle 40 is present ahead of the vehicle 20 (STEP 11).

[0050] 5, for example, an oncoming vehicle 40 is included in the imaging range A of the imaging device 21 mounted on the vehicle 20 stopped at position P2, and the oncoming vehicle 40 appears in the image acquired by the imaging device 21. Therefore, the processing unit 122 determines that the oncoming vehicle 40 is present on the other side of the railroad crossing based on the image information I1.

[0051] Next, when the processing unit 122 determines that an oncoming vehicle 40 is present ahead of the vehicle 20 (YES in STEP 11), it causes the output unit 123 to output a control signal CS for turning off the lamp unit 11 (STEP 3). The lamp unit 11 turns off based on the control signal CS.

[0052] According to this configuration, when the vehicle 20 stops at the front of the railroad crossing 30, the road surface 100 has an upward slope, and there is an oncoming vehicle 40, the lamp unit 11 is turned off or dimmed. This ensures the visibility of the occupants of the vehicle 20 while reducing the glare caused by the light of the lamp unit 11 to the occupants of the oncoming vehicle 40.

[0053] (Other variations) In the above embodiment, the image information I1 acquired by the imaging device 21 is used as the stopping point information. The acceleration information I3 acquired by the acceleration sensor 23 is used as the gradient information. The image information I1 acquired by the imaging device 21 is used as the oncoming vehicle information. However, information different from these may be used as the stopping point information, gradient information, or oncoming vehicle information.

[0054] 1, the reception unit 121 may be configured to receive oncoming vehicle information I4 received from an oncoming vehicle 40 via the wireless communication unit 24. The processing unit 122 may be configured to determine whether an oncoming vehicle 40 is present on the other side of the railroad crossing 30, based on the oncoming vehicle information I4 received by the reception unit 121.

[0055] The reception unit 121 may also be configured to receive the railroad crossing information I5 received from the main body unit 311 of the alarm device 31 by the wireless communication unit 24. The processing unit 122 may be configured to determine whether the vehicle 20 is stopped at the front of the railroad crossing 30, based on the railroad crossing information I5 and vehicle speed information I2 received by the reception unit 121.

[0056] The wireless communication unit 24 may be configured to communicate with infrastructure facilities such as the oncoming vehicle 40 and the warning device 31 via a communication network such as the Internet. The railroad crossing information I5 is an example of stopping point information.

[0057] 1, the reception unit 121 may be configured to receive 2D or 3D map information I6 stored in a storage device 25 mounted on the vehicle 20. The storage device 25 is an external storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD). The storage device 25 is configured to output the map information I6 to the control device 12 in response to a request from the control device 12. The map information I6 may be updated via the wireless communication unit 24 and a communication network such as the Internet.

[0058] The receiving unit 121 may be configured to receive position information I7 of the vehicle 20 acquired by a global positioning system (GPS) 26 mounted on the vehicle 20.

[0059] The processing unit 122 can be configured to determine whether a railroad crossing 30 exists ahead of the vehicle 20 and whether the road surface 100 at the railroad crossing 30 has an upward slope, based on the map information I6 and the position information I7 received by the receiving unit 121. The map information I6 is an example of stopping point information and slope information.

[0060] 1, the reception unit 121 may be configured to receive surrounding environment information I8 indicating the surrounding environment of the vehicle 20 acquired by a radar 27 mounted on the vehicle 20. The radar 27 is a millimeter wave radar, a microwave radar, a laser radar (e.g., a LiDAR unit), or the like. The processing unit 122 may be configured to determine whether an oncoming vehicle 40 is present ahead of the vehicle 20 based on the surrounding environment information I8 received by the reception unit 121.

[0061] Each function of the processing unit 122 described above can be realized by a general-purpose microprocessor that operates in cooperation with a general-purpose memory. Examples of the general-purpose microprocessor include a CPU, an MPU, and a GPU. Examples of the general-purpose memory include a ROM and a RAM. In this case, the ROM can store a computer program that executes the above-mentioned processing. The ROM is an example of a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The general-purpose microprocessor specifies at least a part of the computer program stored on the ROM, deploys it on the RAM, and executes the above-mentioned processing in cooperation with the RAM. The above-mentioned computer program may be pre-installed in the general-purpose memory, or may be downloaded from an external server device via a communication network and installed in the general-purpose memory. In this case, the external server device is an example of a non-transitory computer-readable medium.

[0062] The functions of the processing unit 122 described above may be realized by a dedicated integrated circuit capable of executing the above computer program, such as a microcontroller, an ASIC, or an FPGA. In this case, the computer program is pre-installed in a storage element included in the dedicated integrated circuit. The storage element is an example of a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The functions of the processing unit 122 may also be realized by a combination of a general-purpose microprocessor and a dedicated integrated circuit.

[0063] The above-described embodiment is merely an example for facilitating understanding of the present invention. The configurations according to the above-described embodiment may be appropriately modified or improved without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0064] In the above embodiment, the control device 12 dims or turns off the lamp unit 11 as a control method for the lamp unit 11 when the road surface 100 on which the vehicle 20 stops at the front row just before the railroad crossing 30 has an upward gradient. However, the control device 12 may also control the lamp unit 11 so as to lower the irradiation direction of the light from the lamp unit 11. For example, the irradiation direction of the light from the lamp unit 11 can be lowered by operating a leveling mechanism.

[0065] Alternatively, the control device 12 may control the lamp unit 11 to lower the cutoff line of the low-beam light distribution pattern. For example, when the light source of the lamp unit 11 is composed of an LED array in which a plurality of micro LED light-emitting elements are arranged in an array, the control device 12 can be configured to lower the cutoff line of the low-beam light distribution pattern by performing ON / OFF control and brightness adjustment for each of the plurality of micro LED light-emitting elements.

[0066] In the above embodiment, the railroad crossing 30 has been taken as an example of a point where stopping is required. However, the process executed by the processing unit 122 of the control device 12 can also be applied to stopping before a point where stopping is required other than the railroad crossing 30. For example, the control device 12 may be configured to control the lamp unit 11 when the vehicle 20 stops at the very front of an intersection or a pedestrian crossing and the road surface where the vehicle 20 stops has an upward slope.

[0067] In the above embodiment, the control device 12 may be configured to receive the image information I1, the vehicle speed information I2, the acceleration information I3, the oncoming vehicle information I4, the railroad crossing information I5, the map information I6, and the position information I7 via a vehicle control device (not shown). Alternatively, the control device 12 may be configured integrally with the vehicle control device.

[0068] In the above embodiment, the lamp unit 11 has been described as a low-beam lighting unit that emits light that forms a low-beam light distribution pattern, but the present invention is not limited to this. [Explanation of symbols]

[0069] 10. Headlamp 101 Translucent cover 102 Lamp body 11 Lamp unit 111 Light source 112 Reflector 113 Projection Lens 114 Shades 115 Base surface 116 Lens holder 12 Control device 121 Reception 122 Processing section 123 Output section 20 Vehicles 21 Imaging device 22 Speed ​​Sensor 23 Acceleration Sensor 24 Wireless Communication Section 25 Storage device 26 GPS 27 Radar 30 Railroad Crossing 31 Main body 32 Crossing gate 40 Oncoming vehicle 100 road surface A. Image Range Ax Light axis CS Control Signal I1 Image Information I2 Vehicle speed information I3 Acceleration information I4 Oncoming vehicle information I5 Railroad Crossing Information I6 Map Information I7 Location information I8 Surrounding Area Information L1 Irradiation range S light room

Claims

1. A control device for controlling a lamp unit mounted on a vehicle, A control device that, when the vehicle stops in the front row just before a point where it is required to stop and the road surface on which the vehicle is stopping has an upward slope, controls the lamp unit to dim, turn off, lower the direction of light irradiation of the lamp unit, or, if the lamp unit forms a low beam distribution pattern, lower the cut-off line.

2. 2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein when an oncoming vehicle is present in the vehicle stopped in the front row just before the point where the vehicle is requested to stop, the control device controls the lamp unit to dim, turn off, lower the direction of light irradiation of the lamp unit, or, if the lamp unit forms a low beam distribution pattern, lower the cut-off line.

3. 3. The control device according to claim 1 or 2, which controls the lamp unit to dim, turn off, lower the light irradiation direction of the lamp unit, or, if the lamp unit forms a low beam distribution pattern, lower the cut-off line when the vehicle stops in the front row before the railroad crossing.

4. the lamp unit is a low beam lighting unit that emits light that forms the low beam light distribution pattern, The control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control device controls the low beam lamp unit to dim, turn off the low beam lamp unit, lower the light irradiation direction of the low beam lamp unit, or lower the cut-off line of the low beam light distribution pattern.

5. 4. The control device according to claim 3, wherein when the vehicle is stopped in the front row in front of the railroad crossing for a predetermined period of time or more, the control device controls the lamp unit to dim, turn off, lower the direction of light irradiation of the lamp unit, or, if the lamp unit forms a low beam distribution pattern, lower the cut-off line.

6. a reception unit that receives stopping point information of a point ahead of the vehicle where the vehicle is required to stop, vehicle speed information indicating a speed of the vehicle, and gradient information regarding a gradient of a road on which the vehicle is traveling; a processing unit that determines whether the vehicle will stop at the front of the point where the vehicle is requested to stop and whether the road surface on which the vehicle will stop has an upward slope, based on the stop point information, the vehicle speed information, and the gradient information; an output unit that outputs a control signal to dim the lamp unit, turn off the lamp unit, lower the light irradiation direction of the lamp unit, or lower the cut-off line if the lamp unit forms a low-beam light distribution pattern, when the vehicle stops at the front row just before the point where the stop is required and the road surface on which the vehicle is stopped is determined to have an upward slope; The control device of claim 1 , comprising:

7. The reception unit receives oncoming vehicle information regarding an oncoming vehicle of the vehicle, The processing unit determines whether the oncoming vehicle is present based on the oncoming vehicle information, The control device according to claim 6 , wherein the output unit outputs the control signal when it is determined that the oncoming vehicle is present in the vehicle stopped in the forefront just before the point where the vehicle is requested to stop.

8. 8. The control device according to claim 6, wherein the output unit outputs the control signal when it is determined that the vehicle is stopped in the front row in front of a railroad crossing.

9. The stop point information and the oncoming vehicle information include image information that includes an image ahead of the vehicle, the image information being acquired by an imaging device mounted on the vehicle, The control device according to claim 7 , wherein the processing unit determines, based on the image information, whether or not there is a point ahead of the vehicle where the vehicle is requested to stop, and whether or not there is an oncoming vehicle.

10. The stop point information and the gradient information include map information, The reception unit receives position information of the vehicle, 9. The control device according to claim 8, wherein the processing unit determines, based on the map information and the position information, whether a point where the vehicle is requested to stop is present ahead of the vehicle and whether a road surface just before the point where the vehicle is requested to stop has an upward slope.

11. A headlamp mounted on a vehicle, A lamp unit; The control device according to claim 1 , which controls the lamp unit; Equipped with a headlamp.

12. A computer program executable by a processing unit of a control device that controls a lamp unit mounted on a vehicle, When the program is executed, the control device receiving stopping point information of a point ahead of the vehicle where the vehicle is required to stop, vehicle speed information indicating a speed of the vehicle, and gradient information regarding a gradient of a road on which the vehicle is traveling; determining whether the vehicle is stopped at the front of the point where the vehicle is requested to stop and whether the road surface on which the vehicle is to stop has an upward slope based on the stop point information, the vehicle speed information, and the gradient information; When the vehicle stops at the front row just before the point where the stop is required and it is determined that the road surface on which the vehicle is to stop has an upward slope, a control signal is output to dim the lamp unit, to turn off the lamp unit, to lower the irradiation direction of the light of the lamp unit, or, if the lamp unit forms a low beam light distribution pattern, to lower the cut-off line. Computer program.

Images