Light distribution control device, light distribution control program, and vehicle lamp system

Abstract

To provide a light distribution control device for improving safety, in a place where attention is required when a vehicle travels, a light distribution control program, and a vehicle lamp system.SOLUTION: A light distribution control device 20 of a vehicle lamp 21 includes: a positional information acquisition part 25 for acquiring positional information on own vehicle; an operation information acquisition part 24 for acquiring operation information on driving of the own vehicle; and a storage part 27 for storing the positional information as attention positional information on the basis of the operation information. The light distribution control device 20 controls light distribution of the vehicle lamp 21, on the basis of current positional information on the own vehicle, the operation information on the current driving of the own vehicle, and the attention positional information stored in the storage part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a light distribution control device, a light distribution control program, and a vehicle lighting system. [Background technology]

[0002] There is known a vehicle lighting system that improves safety by controlling the light distribution of the vehicle's headlights in places where caution is required when driving. For example, the following Patent Document 1 describes a vehicle lighting system in which a passenger operates an operation unit mounted on the vehicle to change the illumination area of ​​the headlights. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-223887 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Meanwhile, there is a demand for a vehicle lighting system that further improves safety in places where caution is required while driving a vehicle.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a light distribution control device, a light distribution control program, and a vehicle lighting system for further improving safety in places where caution is required when driving a vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A light distribution control device for a vehicle lamp according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes: A position information acquisition unit that acquires position information of the vehicle itself; An operation information acquisition unit that acquires operation information of driving the vehicle; a storage unit that stores the position information as attention position information based on the operation information, The light distribution of the vehicle lamp is controlled based on the current position information of the vehicle, the current driving operation information of the vehicle, and the attention position information stored in the memory unit.

[0007] A light distribution control device for a vehicle lamp according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes: A position information acquisition unit that acquires position information of the vehicle itself; An operation information acquisition unit that acquires operation information of driving the vehicle; a transmission unit that transmits the position information as attention position information to an external server based on the operation information; A receiving unit that receives the attention position information from the external server, The light distribution of the vehicle lamp is controlled based on the current position information of the vehicle, the current driving operation information of the vehicle, and the attention position information received by the receiving unit from the external server.

[0008] A light distribution control program for a vehicle lamp according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a position information acquisition step of acquiring position information of the vehicle; An operation information acquisition step of acquiring operation information of driving the vehicle; a storage step of storing the position information as attention position information in a storage unit provided in the host vehicle based on the operation information; and a control step of controlling the light distribution of the vehicle lamp based on current position information of the vehicle, current driving operation information of the vehicle, and the attention position information stored in the memory unit.

[0009] A vehicle lighting system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: A light distribution control device; An external server; The light distribution control device includes: A position information acquisition unit that acquires position information of the vehicle itself; An operation information acquisition unit that acquires operation information of driving the vehicle; a transmission unit that transmits the position information as attention position information to an external server based on the operation information; A receiving unit that receives the attention position information from the external server, The light distribution of the vehicle lamp is controlled based on the current position information of the vehicle, the current driving operation information of the vehicle, and the attention position information received by the receiving unit from the external server. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a light distribution control device, a light distribution control program, and a vehicle lighting system for improving safety in places where caution is required when driving a vehicle. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle lighting system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a format of attention position information. [Diagram 3] 13 is a flowchart showing a process of collecting attention position information. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of collecting attention position information. [Diagram 5] 13 is a flowchart showing light distribution control using attention position information. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an illumination range of a headlight before light distribution control. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the illumination range of the headlights is shifted to the left at the attention position. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the illumination range of the headlights is expanded to the left at the attention position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter, referred to as the present embodiment) 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.

[0013] In addition, in the description of this embodiment, for convenience of description, the "left-right direction" and the "front-rear direction" may be referred to as appropriate. These directions are relative directions set for the vehicle 1 shown in FIG. 4. Here, the "left-right direction" includes the "left direction" and the "right direction". The "front-rear direction" includes the "forward direction" and the "rearward direction". <Configuration of vehicle lighting system>

[0014] First, a vehicle lighting system 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle lighting system 100.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle lighting system 100 includes a vehicle control device 10 and a light distribution control device 20.

[0016] The vehicle control device 10 is configured to control the traveling of the vehicle 1. The vehicle control device 10 is configured by, for example, at least one electronic control unit (ECU: Electronic Control Unit). The electronic control unit includes a computer system (for example, SoC (System on a Chip) or the like) including one or more processors and one or more memories, and an electronic circuit configured by active elements such as transistors and passive elements. The processor includes, for example, at least one of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), and a TPU (Tensor Processing Unit). The memory includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). A vehicle control program may be stored in the ROM. For example, the vehicle control program may include an artificial intelligence (AI) program for autonomous driving. The AI ​​program is a program (trained model) constructed by supervised or unsupervised machine learning (particularly, deep learning) using a multi-layer neural network. The RAM may temporarily store a vehicle control program, vehicle control data, and / or surrounding environment information indicating the surrounding environment of the vehicle. The processor may be configured to load a program designated from various vehicle control programs stored in the ROM onto the RAM and execute various processes in cooperation with the RAM.

[0017] The vehicle control device 10 includes a drive control unit 11, a direction indicator control unit 12, a sensor control unit 13, and a communication control unit 14. The drive control unit 11 is configured to drive and control a steering device 31, a brake device 32, and an accelerator device 33. The direction indicator control unit 12 is configured to control a direction indicator 34. The sensor control unit 13 is configured to control a position sensor 35. Here, the position sensor 35 is, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System), and is capable of acquiring position information of the vehicle 1. The communication control unit 14 is configured to control a wireless communication unit 36. The wireless communication unit 36 ​​is capable of wireless communication with an external server (not shown).

[0018] The light distribution control device 20 includes a vehicle lamp 21 , a lamp control unit 22 , an operation information acquisition unit 24 , a position information acquisition unit 25 , a data transmission / reception unit 26 , and a storage unit 27 .

[0019] The vehicle lamp 21 is composed of a right headlamp 21A and a left headlamp 21B, and irradiates the area ahead of the host vehicle 1 with visible light.

[0020] The operation information acquisition unit 24 acquires current operation information of the steering device 31, the braking device 32, and the accelerator device 33 from the drive control unit 11. Here, the operation information of the steering device 31 is, for example, steering information indicating the steering angle of the steering device 31. Furthermore, the operation information of the braking device 32 is, for example, brake operation information indicating the braking amount of the braking device 32. Furthermore, the operation information of the accelerator device 33 is, for example, accelerator operation information indicating the accelerator amount of the accelerator device 33.

[0021] The position information acquisition unit 25 acquires the current position information of the host vehicle 1 acquired by the position sensor 35 from the sensor control unit 13 .

[0022] The data transmission / reception unit 26 is composed of a data transmission unit 26A and a data reception unit 26B. The data transmission unit 26A transmits data to be transmitted to an external server to the wireless communication unit 36 ​​via the communication control unit 14. The data reception unit 26B receives data to be received from an external server via the communication control unit 14.

[0023] The storage unit 27 is, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), or a flash memory, and is configured to store programs and various data (attention position information, map information, etc.).

[0024] The lamp control unit 22 includes a light distribution control unit 23. The light distribution control unit 23 receives current position information of the vehicle 1 from the position information acquisition unit 25, receives current operation information of the vehicle 1 from the operation information acquisition unit 24, and reads attention position information 28 stored in the storage unit 27. Furthermore, the light distribution control unit 23 controls the illumination range of the vehicle lamp 21 and the like based on the current position information of the vehicle 1, the current operation information of the vehicle 1, and the attention position information. The light distribution control unit 23 can, for example, control the expansion or reduction of the illumination range of the vehicle lamp 21 and control the movement of the illumination direction in the left / right, up / down directions. <Note location information>

[0025] Next, the attention position information will be described below with reference to FIG.

[0026] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the format of attention position information. As shown in FIG. 2, the attention position information 28 is composed of latitude and longitude obtained from map information, for example. In addition, an attention position information ID is assigned to each attention position information 28, and an acquisition time indicating the time when the attention position information was acquired, a traveling direction of the vehicle 1 when the attention position information 28 was acquired, and turn indicator operation information of the vehicle 1 are linked. The traveling direction of the vehicle 1 is expressed, for example, in 16 directions. The turn indicator operation information is, for example, a left turn display, a right turn display, or no display. As an example, attention position information with an attention position information ID of 0001 is position information acquired at 7:16 on January 21, 2020, and indicates that the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 is east-northeast at a position of longitude 139.6917 and latitude 35.6894, and caution is required when making a further left turn. <Attention location information collection process flow>

[0027] Next, the flow of processing for collecting attention position information will be described below with reference to FIGS.

[0028] 3 is a flowchart showing the collection process of attention position information. First, the position information acquisition unit 25 acquires the current position information of the vehicle 1 at a predetermined interval, and the operation information acquisition unit 24 acquires the current turn indicator operation information of the vehicle 1 at a predetermined interval (S101). Next, when the acquired turn indicator operation information is a right turn indication or a left turn indication during vehicle travel (Yes in S102), the operation information acquisition unit 24 acquires brake operation information. If the brake amount of the acquired brake operation information is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value Th (Yes in S103), the light distribution control device 20 links the current position information with the acquisition time of the position information, the current traveling direction of the vehicle 1, and the current turn indicator operation information (S104), and stores the information in the storage unit 27 as attention position information 28 (S106).

[0029] The current traveling direction of the vehicle 1 is calculated from the transition of the position information of the vehicle 1 up to the present. In addition, in the flowchart shown in Fig. 3, the processing flow for generating the attention position information 28 from the position information of the vehicle 1 and storing it in the storage unit 27 has been described, but when another vehicle transmits attention position information to an external server and the wireless communication unit 36 ​​of the vehicle 1 receives the attention position information, the light distribution control device 20 may store the attention position information from the external server in the storage unit 27.

[0030] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of collecting attention position information. FIG. 4 shows a case where the vehicle 1 applies sudden braking when turning left with the direction indicator 34 indicating a left turn. At this time, the current direction indicator operation information acquired by the operation information acquisition unit 24 indicates a left turn, and the brake amount of the brake operation information acquired by the operation information acquisition unit 24 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value Th. Therefore, the current position information of the vehicle 1 is linked to the acquisition time of the position information, the current traveling direction of the vehicle 1, and the current direction indicator operation information, and is stored in the storage unit 27 as attention position information 28. In this way, when the vehicle 1 applies sudden braking when turning right or left, the position information at the time of sudden braking and the like are collected as attention position information. <Light distribution control processing flow using attention position information>

[0031] Next, a light distribution control process flow using attention position information will be described below with reference to FIGS.

[0032] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing light distribution control using attention position information. First, the position information acquisition unit 25 acquires the current position information of the vehicle 1 at a predetermined interval, and the operation information acquisition unit 24 acquires the current turn signal operation information of the vehicle 1 at a predetermined interval (S201). Next, when the vehicle is traveling, if the current position of the vehicle 1 is within a predetermined range from the position of the attention position information 28 (Yes in S202), the light distribution control unit 23 compares the current turn signal operation information with the past turn signal operation information linked to the attention position information 28 (S203). If the two match (Yes in S203), the light distribution control unit 23 moves or expands the illumination range of the vehicle lamp 21 in the direction indicated by the turn signal (S204). If the two do not match (No in S203), the light distribution control unit 23 does not move or expand the illumination range of the vehicle lamp 21.

[0033] Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of the illumination range of the headlight before light distribution control. Fig. 7 is a diagram for explaining an example in which the illumination range of the headlight is moved to the left at the attention position. Fig. 8 is a diagram for explaining an example in which the illumination range of the headlight is expanded to the left at the attention position. In Figs. 6 to 8, the illumination range of the right headlight 21A and the illumination range of the left headlight 21B are displayed as one illumination range S for the sake of explanation.

[0034] As shown in Figure 6, the headlight illumination range S before light distribution control is the normal illumination range, so if the vehicle turns left without light distribution control and there is a pedestrian in the vehicle's direction of travel, the driver will be slow to see the pedestrian and will be forced to apply the brakes suddenly.

[0035] 7 and 8, when the vehicle 1 enters the predetermined range A from the attention position, the illumination range S of the vehicular lamp 21 is moved or expanded in the left direction indicated by the turn signal so that it can be confirmed early whether or not there is an object requiring attention, such as a pedestrian, in the traveling direction when turning left. Specifically, the light distribution control unit 23 moves the illumination range S of the vehicular lamp 21 in the left direction indicated by the turn signal as shown in Fig. 7, or expands the illumination range S of the vehicular lamp 21 in the left direction indicated by the turn signal as shown in Fig. 8.

[0036] In this way, by moving or expanding the illumination range of the vehicular lamp 21 based on the attention position information 28, it becomes easier to notice the presence of pedestrians, etc., and the safety of the vehicle itself or other vehicles can be improved.

[0037] As described above, the light distribution control device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is configured to control the light distribution of the vehicle lamp based on the current position information of the vehicle, the current driving operation information of the vehicle, and the attention position information stored in the storage unit. This makes it easier for the driver of the vehicle or the other vehicle to notice the presence of pedestrians, etc., and improves the safety of the vehicle or the other vehicle.

[0038] Although the embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above, it goes without saying that the technical scope of the present disclosure should not be interpreted as being limited by the description of the present embodiment. The present embodiment is merely an example, and it is understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications of the embodiment are possible within the scope of the invention described in the claims. The technical scope of the present disclosure should be determined based on the scope of the invention described in the claims and its equivalents.

[0039] In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the light distribution control device 20 acquires the attention position information 28 and controls the light distribution of the vehicle lamp 21 based on the acquired attention position information 28, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, the vehicle 1 may be provided with a device for acquiring the attention position information 28 and a device for controlling light distribution based on the attention position information 28, separately. Alternatively, the vehicle 1 may be equipped with only a device for acquiring the attention position information 28, and may not be equipped with a device for controlling light distribution based on the attention position information 28. Alternatively, the vehicle 1 may be equipped with only a device for controlling light distribution based on the attention position information 28, and may not be equipped with a device for acquiring the attention position information 28.

[0040] Moreover, in the case where an external server is used, the present disclosure can also be expressed as follows. A vehicle lighting system, comprising: A light distribution control device; An external server; The light distribution control device includes: A position information acquisition unit that acquires position information of the vehicle itself; An operation information acquisition unit that acquires operation information of driving the vehicle; a transmission unit that transmits the position information as attention position information to an external server based on the operation information; A receiving unit that receives the attention position information from the external server, A vehicle lighting system that controls light distribution of a vehicle lighting device based on current position information of the vehicle, current driving operation information of the vehicle, and the attention position information received from the external server by the receiving unit. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 1: Vehicle 10: Vehicle control device 11: Drive control unit 12: Turn signal control unit 13: Sensor control unit 14: Communication control unit 20: Light distribution control device 21: Vehicle lighting fixtures 21A: Right headlight 21B:Left headlight 22: Lighting control unit 23: Light distribution control section 24: Operation information acquisition section 25: Location information acquisition section 26: Data transmission and reception unit 26A: Data transmission section 26B: Data receiving section 27: Storage part 28: Attention location information 29: Map information 31: Steering device 32: Brake device 33: Accelerator 34: Turn signal 35: Position sensor 36: Wireless communication section 100: Vehicle lighting system S: Irradiation range

Claims

1. A light distribution control device for a vehicle lamp, A position information acquisition unit that acquires position information of the vehicle itself; An operation information acquisition unit that acquires operation information of driving the vehicle; a storage unit that stores the position information as attention position information based on the operation information, A light distribution control device that controls the light distribution of the vehicle lamp based on current position information of the vehicle, current driving operation information of the vehicle, and the attention position information stored in the memory unit.

2. The operation information includes brake operation information, The light distribution control device according to claim 1 , wherein, when an amount of brake operation included in the brake operation information is equal to or greater than a threshold, the position information is stored in the storage unit as the attention position information.

3. The operation information includes turn signal operation information, The light distribution control device according to claim 1 , wherein the position information linked to the direction indicator operation information is stored in the storage unit as the attention position information.

4. The light distribution control device according to claim 1 , wherein the current driving operation information of the host vehicle includes current turn signal operation information of the host vehicle.

5. The light distribution control device according to claim 4 , further comprising: a light distribution control unit configured to move or expand an illumination range of the vehicle lamp in a direction indicated by a turn signal based on the current turn signal operation information.

6. A light distribution control device for a vehicle lamp, A position information acquisition unit that acquires position information of the vehicle itself; An operation information acquisition unit that acquires operation information of driving the vehicle; a transmission unit that transmits the position information as attention position information to an external server based on the operation information; A receiving unit that receives the attention position information from the external server, A light distribution control device that controls the light distribution of the vehicle lamp based on current position information of the vehicle, current driving operation information of the vehicle, and the attention position information received by the receiving unit from the external server.

7. The operation information includes brake operation information, The light distribution control device according to claim 6 , wherein, when an amount of brake operation included in the brake operation information is equal to or greater than a threshold, the transmitter transmits the position information to the external server as the attention position information.

8. The operation information includes turn signal operation information, The light distribution control device according to claim 6 , wherein the transmission unit transmits the position information linked to the direction indicator operation information to the external server as the attention position information.

9. The light distribution control device according to claim 8 , wherein the current driving operation information of the host vehicle includes current turn signal operation information of the host vehicle, and controls light distribution of the vehicle lamp.

10. The light distribution control device according to claim 9 , wherein an illumination range of the vehicle lamp is moved or expanded in a direction indicated by a turn signal, based on the current turn signal operation information.

11. A light distribution control program for a vehicle lamp, comprising: a position information acquisition step of acquiring position information of the vehicle; An operation information acquisition step of acquiring operation information of driving the vehicle; a storage step of storing the position information as attention position information in a storage unit provided in the host vehicle based on the operation information; and a control step of controlling the light distribution of the vehicle lamp based on current position information of the vehicle, current driving operation information of the vehicle, and the attention position information stored in the memory unit.

12. A vehicle lighting system, comprising: A light distribution control device; An external server; The light distribution control device includes: A position information acquisition unit that acquires position information of the vehicle itself; An operation information acquisition unit that acquires operation information of driving the vehicle; a transmission unit that transmits the position information as attention position information to an external server based on the operation information; A receiving unit that receives the attention position information from the external server, A vehicle lighting system that controls light distribution of a vehicle lighting device based on current position information of the vehicle, current driving operation information of the vehicle, and the attention position information received from the external server by the receiving unit.

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