Lamp system for vehicle

Abstract

To provide a lamp system for a vehicle capable of making a turn lamp more noticeable.SOLUTION: A lamp system for a vehicle used as a turn lamp includes a lamp unit, an illuminance sensor that detects illuminance of surrounding environment of a vehicle, and a controller that is connected to the lamp unit and the illuminance sensor and controls the lamp unit so as to blink, in which the controller controls a turn-on period in one cycle when the lamp unit blinks to be shorter than a turn-off period when the illuminance is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle lighting system. [Background technology]

[0002] As one of the lighting devices installed in a vehicle, a turn lamp (directional indicator lamp) is known to inform the outside that the vehicle is planning to change lanes. In general, the turn lamp is controlled so that the lighting period and the blinking period are in the same ratio (for example, see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2008-168706 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] One of the objectives of a specific embodiment of the present disclosure is to provide a control technique that can make turn signals more noticeable. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A vehicle lighting system according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes: A vehicle lighting system used as a turn signal lamp, A lighting unit; an illuminance sensor for detecting illuminance in the surrounding environment of the vehicle; A controller connected to the lighting unit and the illuminance sensor, the controller controlling the lighting unit to blink; Including, When the illuminance is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the controller controls the lighting unit so that a lighting period within one cycle when blinking the lighting unit is shorter than a lighting-off period. A vehicle lighting system.

[0006] According to the above configuration, it is possible to provide a control technique that can make the turn signal easier to notice. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] Fig. 1A is a diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle lighting system according to an embodiment, and Fig. 1B is a diagram showing a configuration example of a computer system. [Diagram 2] Fig. 2(A) is a waveform diagram for explaining the lighting conditions when the illuminance is equal to or greater than a threshold value, Fig. 2(B) is a waveform diagram for explaining the lighting conditions when the illuminance is less than a threshold value, and Fig. 2(C) is a waveform diagram for explaining the lighting conditions of a comparative example. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the length of the on-period (on-time) and the number of times the light is turned on per unit time when the illuminance of the surrounding environment is equal to or higher than a threshold value. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between the length of the on-period (on-time) and the number of times the light is turned on per unit time when the illuminance of the surrounding environment is lower than a threshold value. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the vehicle lighting system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] 1(A) is a diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle lighting system according to an embodiment. The vehicle lighting system shown in the figure includes a controller 10, an illuminance sensor 11, and a lighting unit 12. This vehicle lighting system is installed in a vehicle and used as a turn lamp (directional indicator lamp).

[0009] The controller 10 controls the operation of emitting light by the lighting unit 12. The controller 10 can be configured using a computer system such as that shown in Fig. 1(B), that is, a computer system including a processor (CPU: Central Processing Unit) 201, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 202, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 203, a storage device 204 such as a flash memory, an input / output interface 205, etc. The controller 10 of this embodiment is capable of performing each function described below by reading and executing a program 206 stored in advance in the storage device 204 by the processor.

[0010] The illuminance sensor 11 is installed at an appropriate position of the vehicle (for example, on the dashboard, etc.) and detects the illuminance in the environment in which the vehicle is placed. Specifically, the illuminance sensor 11 outputs an electric signal (analog signal or digital signal) according to the magnitude of the detected illuminance to the controller 10. Note that a camera that captures the surroundings of the vehicle may be used as the illuminance sensor.

[0011] The controller 10 includes an illuminance acquisition unit (illuminance acquisition function) 21, a lighting condition setting unit (lighting condition setting function) 22, and a control signal generation unit (control signal generation function) 23 as functional blocks realized by executing a program.

[0012] The illuminance acquisition unit 21 acquires an electrical signal of illuminance output from the illuminance sensor 11 .

[0013] The lighting condition setting section 22 sets the conditions for lighting the lamp unit 12 according to the level of the illuminance acquired by the illuminance acquisition section 21 .

[0014] The control signal generating section 23 generates a control signal for causing the lighting unit 12 to form irradiation light according to the lighting conditions set by the lighting condition setting section 22 , and supplies the control signal to the lighting unit 12 .

[0015] The lighting unit 12 is mounted on the front or rear of the vehicle, or on a side mirror, and operates in response to a control signal provided by the controller 10 to emit light as a direction indicator.

[0016] FIG. 2(A) is a waveform diagram for explaining the lighting condition when the illuminance is equal to or higher than a threshold value. FIG. 2(B) is a waveform diagram for explaining the lighting condition when the illuminance is lower than a threshold value. FIG. 2(C) is a waveform diagram for explaining the lighting condition of a comparative example. In each figure, the lighting state of the lamp unit 12 is shown with the lighting rate on the vertical axis and the time on the horizontal axis. The comparative example shown in FIG. 2(C) shows a lighting condition when the ratio of the on period (lighting period) to the off period (light-off period) is 5:5, as previously known (an example in which both the on period and the off period are 333 ms, and one cycle is 666 ms).

[0017] As shown in FIG. 2(A), when the illuminance is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the lighting condition setting unit 22 sets the lighting conditions so that the on-period in one cycle of blinking of the turn lamp is relatively short and the off-period is relatively long. In the illustrated example, the ratio of the on-period to the off-period is 3:7. The illuminance threshold can be appropriately set based on experiments, simulations, etc., and can be set to 1000 lux as an example. In this embodiment, when the illuminance is equal to or greater than 1000 lux, that is, when the situation is bright, the on-period in one cycle of blinking is set to be relatively short and the off-period to be relatively long. Here, a case where one cycle is 666 ms is illustrated, with the on-period being 200 ms and the off-period being 466 ms.

[0018] According to the above ratio of the on period to the off period, the timing from the on period to the off period in one cycle arrives earlier, so that the effect of making the turn lamp more easily noticeable to others based on the stimulus (off stimulus) caused by switching from on to off is obtained. Note that the fact that the off stimulus is effective in attracting human visual attention in a bright environment is described, for example, in the following literature. K.Racheva(2008) Sensitivility to stimulus onset and offset in the S-cone pathway. Vision Research, 48 1125-1136.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 2B, when the illuminance is lower than a predetermined threshold, the lighting condition setting unit 22 sets the lighting conditions so that the on period in one cycle of blinking of the turn lamp is relatively long and the off period is relatively short. In the illustrated example, the ratio of the on period to the off period is 7:3. As described above, the illuminance threshold is 1000 lux as an example. In this embodiment, when the illuminance is lower than 1000 lux, that is, when it is a dark situation, the on period in one cycle of blinking is set relatively long and the off period is set relatively short. Here, a case where one cycle is 500 ms is illustrated, with the on period being 350 ms and the off period being 150 ms.

[0020] According to the above ratio of the on-period and off-period, the on-period in one cycle becomes longer, so that the turn lamp is more easily noticed by others. It is noted in the following literature, for example, that the on-stimulus is effective in attracting human visual attention in a bright environment. NRBarlett(1968) Effects of Wavelength and Retinal Locus on The Reaction Time to Onset and Offset Stimulation. Journal of Experimental Psychology, Vol.78, No.4, 699-701.

[0021] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the length of the on-period (ON time) and the number of times of lighting per unit time when the illuminance of the surrounding environment is equal to or higher than a threshold value. In the diagram, the comparative example described above, that is, the case where the ratio of the on-period and the off-period is 5:5, is shown by a relatively large open circle and a straight line. When the illuminance is equal to or higher than a threshold value and the surrounding environment is bright, the length of the on-period and the number of times of lighting per minute (Cycles Per Minutes) can be set so as to fit into the area below the straight line of the comparative example in the diagram. It is known that the detection luminance of the lit part (light spot) is constant for up to 100 ms according to Block's law, so it is preferable to set the lower limit of the length of the on-period to 100 ms. The upper limit of the length of the on-period is a value smaller than the value of the comparative example.

[0022] In addition, it is preferable to increase the number of times the light is turned on (flashes on and off) per minute compared to the typical number of 90 times shown as a comparative example. Current regulations stipulate that the number of times the light is turned on per minute is 60 to 120 times, so within that range, it is more preferable to set the number of times the light is turned on per minute to a range of more than 90 times and less than or equal to 120 times. This range is shown in the figure as a rectangular range surrounded by straight lines. This increases the number of on periods per unit time, making the turn lamp more noticeable.

[0023] 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between the length of the on-period (ON time) and the number of times the light is turned on per unit time when the illuminance of the surrounding environment is lower than the threshold value. In the diagram, the comparative example described above, that is, the case where the ratio of the on-period to the off-period is 5:5, is shown by a relatively large open circle and a straight line. When the illuminance is lower than the threshold value and the surrounding environment is dark, it is more preferable to set the length of the on-period and the number of times the light is turned on per minute (Cycles Per Minutes) so that they fall in the upper area of ​​the diagram than the straight line of the comparative example.

[0024] In addition, the number of times the lamp is turned on (flashes) per minute is preferably set to a number greater than 90, which is a general number shown as a comparative example. Since the current regulations stipulate that the number of times the lamp is turned on per minute is 60 to 120, it is more preferable to set the number of times the lamp is turned on per minute to a number greater than 90 and less than 120, within that range. This increases the number of times the off period occurs per unit time, which makes the turn lamp easier to notice. Even if the number of times the lamp is turned on increases, the annoyance caused by the increase in the number of flashes is reduced if the on period is set longer. In addition, the number of times the lamp is turned on is preferably set to a number relatively greater than the number of times the lamp is turned on when the illuminance of the surrounding environment is equal to or greater than a threshold value.

[0025] In addition, when the illuminance is lower than the threshold (when the surrounding environment is dark), even if the length of the on-time is shorter than that of the comparative example, a certain effect can be obtained by increasing the number of times of lighting per minute compared to the comparative example, that is, by setting the number of times of lighting per minute to a range of more than 90 times and less than or equal to 120 times. This is an effect due to the increase in the number of times of off coming by increasing the number of times of lighting per minute. In addition, since it is known that the detected brightness of the lit part (light spot) is constant up to 100 ms according to Block's law, it is preferable to set the lower limit of the length of the on-time to 100 ms.

[0026] 5 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of the vehicle lighting system. Note that the order of the processes shown here can be changed as long as no contradiction or inconsistency occurs in the results of the information processing, and other processes not explicitly shown here can be added.

[0027] When a turn switch (not shown) installed in the vehicle is turned on (step S11; YES), the illuminance acquisition unit 21 of the controller 10 acquires an electric signal (illuminance information) indicating illuminance from the illuminance sensor 11 (step S12). Note that while the turn switch is not turned on (step S11; NO), the process of step S11 is repeated.

[0028] The lighting condition setting unit 22 sets the number of lighting times per minute (CPM) and the ratio of the on period to the off period (ON-OFF ratio) based on the illuminance acquired by the illuminance acquisition unit 21 (step S13).

[0029] The specific setting method is as described above, where if the illuminance is equal to or greater than a threshold (e.g., 1000 lux), the on-period is set relatively shorter than the off-period, and if the illuminance is less than the threshold, the on-period is set relatively longer than the off-period. Also, the number of times the light is turned on per minute is set to, for example, a predetermined value for both the cases where the illuminance is equal to or greater than the threshold and where it is less than the threshold.

[0030] When the lighting conditions are set, the control signal generating unit 23 generates a control signal to turn on the lamp unit 12 according to the lighting conditions, and supplies this control signal to the lamp unit 12. As a result, the lamp unit 12 performs a blinking operation (turn lighting) based on the control signal (step S14).

[0031] As long as the turn switch is not turned off (step S15; NO), the blinking operation of the lighting unit 12 continues. When the turn switch is turned off (step S15; YES), the controller 10 ends the series of processes.

[0032] According to the embodiment described above, a control technique can be provided that can make turn signals more noticeable.

[0033] The present disclosure is not limited to the contents of the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present disclosure. For example, the scope of application of the embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited to four-wheel vehicles, and can be similarly applied to various vehicles that require turn signal lights.

[0034] In the above embodiment, the luminous intensity of the light emitted from the lamp unit 12 during the lighting period is constant, but the luminous intensity may be set to be variable depending on the length of the lighting period. In detail, since the human eye has a tendency to perceive light as brighter as the lighting period becomes shorter, it is preferable to lower the luminous intensity as the lighting period becomes longer.

[0035] The present disclosure has the following features. (Appendix 1) A vehicle lighting system used as a turn signal lamp, A lighting unit; an illuminance sensor for detecting illuminance in the surrounding environment of the vehicle; A controller connected to the lighting unit and the illuminance sensor, the controller controlling the lighting unit to blink; Including, When the illuminance is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the controller controls the lighting unit so that a lighting period within one cycle when blinking the lighting unit is shorter than a lighting-off period. Vehicle lighting system. (Appendix 2) When the illuminance is lower than the threshold value, the controller controls the lighting unit so that a lighting period within one cycle when blinking the lighting unit is longer than a lighting-off period. 2. A vehicle lighting system as described in claim 1. (Appendix 3) The controller controls the number of times the lighting unit blinks per unit time when the illuminance is lower than the threshold value so as to be greater than the number of times the lighting unit blinks per unit time when the illuminance is equal to or higher than the threshold value. 3. A vehicle lighting system according to claim 1 or 2. (Appendix 4) The controller controls the luminous intensity of the light emitted from the lighting unit to be lower as the lighting period becomes shorter. 4. A vehicle lighting system according to claim 1. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 10: controller, 11: illuminance sensor, 12: lighting unit, 21: illuminance acquisition unit, 22: lighting condition setting unit, 23: control signal generation unit

Claims

1. A vehicle lighting system used as a turn signal lamp, A lighting unit; an illuminance sensor for detecting illuminance in the surrounding environment of the vehicle; A controller connected to the lighting unit and the illuminance sensor, the controller controlling the lighting unit to blink; Including, When the illuminance is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the controller controls the lighting unit so that a lighting period within one cycle when blinking the lighting unit is shorter than a lighting-off period. Vehicle lighting system.

2. When the illuminance is lower than the threshold value, the controller controls the lighting unit so that a lighting period within one cycle when blinking the lighting unit is longer than a lighting-off period.

2. The vehicle lighting system according to claim 1.

3. The controller controls the number of times the lighting unit blinks per unit time when the illuminance is lower than the threshold value so as to be greater than the number of times the lighting unit blinks per unit time when the illuminance is equal to or higher than the threshold value.

3. A vehicle lighting system according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The controller controls the luminous intensity of the light emitted from the lighting unit to be lower as the lighting period becomes shorter.

2. The vehicle lighting system according to claim 1.

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