Headlight lamp control device and headlight lamp control method

Abstract

To enhance visibility of an operator about movement environment while preventing attention power of the operator from being dissipated by a lighting direction of a headlight lamp changing frequently by adaptive control according to line of vision of the operator.SOLUTION: A headlight lamp control device comprises a sight line detection part which detects line of vision of an operator of a movable body and a direction control part which controls a direction of radiation of a headlight lamp of the movable body according to visual line direction of the operator detected at the sight line detection part. The direction control part controls the direction of radiation of the headlight lamp to the visual line direction of the operator on condition that the line of vision of the operator detected at the sight line direction part are excluded from either predetermined one or plurality of exclusion range and controls the direction of radiation of the headlight lamp to a direction of travel of the movable body when the line of vision of the operator detected at the sight line direction part faces to either of the exclusion range.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a headlamp control device and a headlamp control method.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, efforts have been actively made to provide access to a sustainable transportation system that takes into account people in vulnerable positions among traffic participants. Toward this realization, research and development efforts are focused on further improving traffic safety and convenience through research and development related to driving support technologies.

[0003] Conventionally, an Adaptive Front-Lighting System (AFS) that adaptively controls the irradiation direction of the headlamp of a vehicle when the vehicle is traveling on a curved road or making a right or left turn at an intersection is known. Patent Document 1 discloses a headlamp control device that changes the irradiation direction of a headlamp in accordance with the line-of-sight direction of a driver.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] By the way, in driving support technologies, it is an issue to enhance the driver's visibility of the driving environment without distracting the driver's attention. The present application aims to prevent the lighting direction of a headlamp from frequently changing due to adaptive control such as AFS and distracting the driver's attention, while enhancing the visibility of a vehicle driver with respect to the driving environment. And by extension, it contributes to the development of a sustainable transportation system.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0006] One aspect of the present invention includes a line-of-sight detection unit that detects the line of sight of an operator of a moving body, and a direction control unit that controls the irradiation direction of a headlight of the moving body according to the line-of-sight direction of the operator detected by the line-of-sight detection unit. The direction control unit controls the irradiation direction of the headlight in the line-of-sight direction of the operator on the condition that the line of sight of the operator detected by the line-of-sight detection unit is outside any of a predetermined one or more exclusion ranges. When the line of sight of the operator detected by the line-of-sight detection unit is directed toward any of the exclusion ranges, the irradiation direction of the headlight is controlled in the traveling direction of the moving body. This is a headlight control device. According to another aspect of the present invention, the exclusion range is set in a range where a mirror, an operating device, or a display screen of a display device provided on the moving body exists. According to another aspect of the present invention, it includes a passenger detection unit that detects a passenger of the moving body, and a setting unit that sets the exclusion range. The moving body includes one or more seat viewing mirrors used by the operator to view the rear seat of the moving body. When the passenger detection unit detects a passenger in the rear seat, the setting unit sets the range where the seat viewing mirror exists as the exclusion range, or expands the size of the exclusion range including the range where the seat viewing mirror exists. According to another aspect of the present invention, the direction control unit controls the irradiation direction of the headlight so as to follow the movement of the line-of-sight direction of the operator detected by the line-of-sight detection unit. When the line of sight of the operator detected by the line-of-sight detection unit is moving toward any of the exclusion ranges, the following speed of the irradiation direction of the headlight following the movement of the line-of-sight direction is slower than when the line of sight of the operator is moving in a direction outside the exclusion range. According to another aspect of the present invention, when the line-of-sight of the operator detected by the line-of-sight detection unit stops while moving in a direction outside the exclusion range, if the stop time of the line-of-sight exceeds a predetermined first time, the irradiation direction of the headlamp is controlled in the direction of the operator's line-of-sight. When the line-of-sight of the operator detected by the line-of-sight detection unit stops while moving in a direction towards any of the exclusion ranges, if the stop time of the line-of-sight exceeds a predetermined second time, which is longer than the first time, the irradiation direction of the headlamp is controlled in the direction of the operator's line-of-sight. According to another aspect of the present invention, a prediction unit for predicting a change in the traveling direction of the moving body is provided. Even when the line-of-sight of the operator detected by the line-of-sight detection unit is directed towards any of the exclusion ranges, the irradiation direction of the headlamp is controlled in the direction of the operator's line-of-sight on the condition that the change in the traveling direction of the moving body predicted by the prediction unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold angle. According to another aspect of the present invention, even when the line-of-sight of the operator detected by the line-of-sight detection unit is directed towards any of the exclusion ranges, if the change in the traveling direction of the moving body predicted by the prediction unit is equal to or greater than the threshold angle, and the exclusion range towards which the line-of-sight of the operator is directed is a predetermined exclusion range determined in accordance with the change direction of the traveling direction, the irradiation direction of the headlamp is controlled in the direction of the operator's line-of-sight. Another aspect of the present invention is a headlamp control method executed by a computer of a headlamp control device that controls the irradiation direction of a headlamp of a moving body, the method including: a detection step of detecting the line of sight of the operator of the moving body; and a control step of controlling the irradiation direction of the headlamp of the moving body according to the line of sight direction of the operator detected in the detection step. In the control step, the irradiation direction of the headlamp is controlled in the direction of the line of sight of the operator on the condition that the line of sight of the operator detected in the detection step is outside any of one or more predetermined exclusion ranges. When the line of sight of the operator detected in the detection step is directed toward any of the exclusion ranges, the irradiation direction of the headlamp is controlled in the traveling direction of the moving body.

Advantages of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, while preventing the illumination direction of the headlamp of the moving body from frequently changing due to adaptive control according to the line of sight of the operator and causing the operator's attention to dissipate, the visibility of the operator with respect to the moving environment of the moving body can be enhanced.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] [1. Embodiment] [1.1 Overall Overview] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a moving body 2 equipped with a headlamp control device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the interior 3 of the moving body 2.

[0011] In this embodiment, the moving body 2 is, for example, a vehicle. However, the moving body 2 is not limited to a vehicle and can be any moving body operated by a human operator. For example, the moving body 2 can be a land moving body such as a passenger car, a bus, or a taxi, as well as a marine moving body such as a ship or a submarine, or an air moving body including an eVTOL (Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing aircraft).

[0012] The moving body 2 includes a left headlamp 4L and a left actuator 5L for changing the irradiation direction of the left headlamp 4L. The moving body 2 also includes a right headlamp 4R and a right actuator 5R for changing the irradiation direction of the right headlamp 4R. Hereinafter, the left headlamp 4L and the right headlamp 4R are also collectively referred to as the headlamp 4. The left actuator 5L and the right actuator 5R are also collectively referred to as the actuator 5.

[0013] A driver D who operates the steering wheel 6, which is an operating device, boards the moving body 2. A headlamp switch 7 for turning on and off the lighting of the headlamp 4 is provided on a lever (both not shown) provided on the steering column of the steering wheel 6.

[0014] The moving body 2 includes a left door mirror 8L and a right door mirror 8R for the driver D to visually recognize the left and right rear sides of the moving body 2. Hereinafter, the left door mirror 8L and the right door mirror 8R are also collectively referred to as the door mirror 8.

[0015] The moving body 2 also includes a front camera 9 provided at the front part of the body of the moving body 2 for photographing the front in the traveling direction of the moving body 2.

[0016] The moving body 2 is also provided with a navigation device 10 and a motion sensor 11. The motion sensor 11 is, for example, a 9-axis sensor incorporating the functions of a 3-axis acceleration sensor, a 3-axis angular velocity sensor, and a 3-axis azimuth sensor. The navigation device 10 stores map information or receives it from another server device (not shown). Further, according to the prior art, the navigation device 10 receives GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) radio waves and identifies the current position of the moving body 2 by inertial navigation based on the sensor information from the motion sensor 11, and displays and guides the moving route of the moving body 2 to the destination input by the operator D on a touch panel 13 (FIG. 2) described later.

[0017] In the interior 3 of the moving body 2, a touch panel 13, which is a display device and also an operating device, is arranged at the center in the width direction of the instrument panel 12. An in-vehicle camera 14 for photographing the interior 3 is arranged above the touch panel 13. The in-vehicle camera 14 is, for example, a DMC (Driver Monitoring Camera). Note that the in-vehicle camera 14 is not limited to one, and may be a plurality (for example, three) of cameras distributed in the interior 3.

[0018] A rearview mirror 16 is arranged at the upper part of the windshield 15 in the interior 3. An auxiliary mirror 17 is arranged at the upper right of the operator D. The rearview mirror 16 can be used by the operator D to visually recognize the rear and the rear seats of the moving body 2. The auxiliary mirror 17 is a wide-angle mirror used when the operator D visually recognizes a part of the rear seats that cannot be visually recognized only by the rearview mirror 16. Note that the auxiliary mirror 17 may be provided in the interior 3 in advance or may be attached by a passenger, and the arrangement location is not limited to the upper right of the operator D.

[0019] Here, the auxiliary mirror 17 corresponds to the seat visual recognition mirror used by the operator D to visually recognize the rear seats of the moving body 2 in the present disclosure. The rearview mirror 16 is a rear visual recognition mirror for the operator D to visually recognize the rear of the moving body 2 and also corresponds to the seat visual recognition mirror in the present disclosure.

[0020] [1.2 Configuration of Headlamp Control Device] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the headlamp control device 1. The headlamp control device 1 controls the actuator 5 to control the irradiation direction of the headlamp 4. Here, the irradiation direction of the headlamp 4 refers to the optical axis direction of the directional emitted light output by the headlamp 4. The headlamp control device 1 detects the line of sight of the operator D by means of an in-vehicle camera 14 provided in the interior 3 of the moving body 2, and adaptively controls the irradiation direction of the headlamp 4 by controlling the actuator 5 according to the line of sight direction of the operator D.

[0021] In the present embodiment, in particular, the headlamp control device 1 controls the irradiation direction of the headlamp 4 in the direction of the line of sight of the operator D on the condition that the line of sight of the operator D is not directed in the direction of a predetermined exclusion range. The exclusion range is a predetermined spatial range including a part of the moving body 2 (for example, the part where the left door mirror 8L exists as a part of the moving body 2).

[0022] The headlamp control device 1 includes a processor 20 and a memory 21. The memory 21 is constituted by, for example, a volatile and / or non-volatile semiconductor memory or the like.

[0023] The processor 20 is a computer including, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The processor 20 may have a configuration including a ROM (Read Only Memory) in which a program is written, a RAM (Random Access Memory) for temporarily storing data, and the like. The processor 20 includes, as functional elements or functional units, a lighting control unit 23, a passenger detection unit 24, a prediction unit 25, a line-of-sight detection unit 26, a setting unit 27, and a direction control unit 28.

[0024] These functional elements provided by the processor 20 are realized, for example, when the processor 20, which is a computer, executes the program 22 stored in the memory 21. Note that the program 22 can be stored in any computer-readable storage medium. Alternatively, all or part of the above functional elements provided by the processor 20 can also be configured by hardware including one or more electronic circuit components respectively.

[0025] According to the prior art, the lighting control unit 23 turns on or off the headlamp 4 according to the on / off operation of the headlamp switch 7 performed by the operator D.

[0026] The passenger detection unit 24 detects the passengers of the moving body 2. The passenger detection unit 24 detects, for example, the passengers sitting in the interior 3 by means of an interior camera 14 that photographs the interior 3 of the moving body 2. Alternatively, or in addition to this, pressure sensors (not shown) may be provided on the seat surfaces of the respective seats of the moving body 2, and the passenger detection unit 24 may detect the passengers sitting on the respective seats in the interior 3 based on the sensor output from the pressure sensors.

[0027] The prediction unit 25 predicts changes in the traveling direction of the moving body 2. The change in the traveling direction of the moving body 2 predicted by the prediction unit 25 can be, for example, a change in the traveling direction of the moving body 2 in the future after a predetermined time (for example, several seconds) from the current traveling direction. The change in the traveling direction is not limited to the left-right change that occurs when the moving body 2 turns right or left, and can be an up-down change that occurs when an uphill or downhill starts on the road on which the moving body 2 travels.

[0028] The prediction unit 25 predicts the change in the traveling direction based on, for example, the guidance route to the destination in the navigation device 10 and the current position of the moving body 2. Instead of or in addition to this, the prediction unit 25 may recognize the road structure ahead from the front image of the moving body 2 captured by the front camera 9 and predict the change in the traveling direction. Alternatively, instead of or in addition to these, the prediction unit 25 may predict the change in the traveling direction from the angular velocity and / or angular acceleration in the yaw, pitch, and roll directions of the moving body 2 detected by the motion sensor 11.

[0029] The line-of-sight detection unit 26 detects the line of sight of the operator D of the moving body 2. For example, the line-of-sight detection unit 26 analyzes the orientation of the face of the operator D, the height of the eyes, the direction of the eyes, etc. from the image of the operator D captured by the indoor camera 14 according to the prior art to detect the line of sight of the operator D.

[0030] In the present embodiment, in particular, the line-of-sight detection unit 26 further analyzes the detected line of sight of the operator D and determines whether the line of sight of the operator D is directed toward a predetermined exclusion range. In the present embodiment, the exclusion range is determined by a setting unit 27 described later. The setting unit 27 selects, for example, one or a plurality of ranges from a predetermined range candidate and determines the selected ranges as exclusion ranges, respectively.

[0031] The line-of-sight detection unit 26 determines whether the line of sight of the operator D is directed toward any of the exclusion ranges or is outside any of the exclusion ranges. Further, when the line of sight of the operator D is moving, the line-of-sight detection unit 26 determines whether the moving direction of the line of sight of the operator D is directed toward any of the exclusion ranges or is directed toward a direction other than the exclusion ranges.

[0032] In addition, when the line-of-sight detection unit 26 detects that the line of sight of the operator D stops while moving in a direction outside the exclusion range, the line-of-sight detection unit 26 starts measuring the stop time of the line of sight at the stopped position (hereinafter also referred to as the stop time). Then, the line-of-sight detection unit 26 determines whether the stop time at which the measurement is started exceeds a predetermined first time, and whether the stop time exceeds a predetermined second time that is longer than the first time.

[0033] The setting unit 27 sets the exclusion range used by the line-of-sight detection unit 26. The setting unit 27, for example, selects one or more ranges from a predetermined range candidate, and determines the selected ranges as the exclusion ranges respectively. The range candidates set as the exclusion ranges can be, for example, those that are predetermined and stored in the memory 21. The setting unit 27 can, for example, always select a predetermined range candidate as the exclusion range, and select some or all of the range candidates other than the predetermined range candidate according to the state of the moving body 2. The state of the moving body 2 can be, for example, the motion state of the moving body 2 such as the moving speed and whether it is turning, and in addition, as will be described later, the usage state of a specific device provided in the moving body 2 and / or the presence or absence of a passenger in the rear seat.

[0034] In the present embodiment, the exclusion range includes a part of the moving body 2. For example, the exclusion range is set to the range where a mirror, an operating device, or the display screen of a display device provided on the moving body 2 exists.

[0035] Specifically, the setting unit 27 sets five exclusion ranges R1, R2, R3, R4, and R5, for example, as shown by the dashed rectangle in FIG. 2. Hereinafter, the exclusion ranges including the exclusion ranges R1, R2, R3, R4, and R5 are collectively referred to as the exclusion range R. The exclusion range R is defined as a spatial range in the present embodiment. The exclusion range R is, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped spatial range, and the dashed rectangle shape of the exclusion range R shown in FIG. 2 shows the shape of one side surface of each of these exclusion ranges R as viewed from the operator D.

[0036] The exclusion ranges R1, R2, and R3 are respectively set to the ranges where the left door mirror 8L, the right door mirror 8R, and the rearview mirror 16, which are mirrors provided on the moving body 2, exist. Further, the exclusion range R4 is set to the range where the touch panel 13, which is an operating device provided on the moving body 2 and also the display screen of the display device, exists. Further, the exclusion range R5 is set to the range where the auxiliary mirror 17, which is a mirror provided on the moving body 2 and is a seat viewing mirror used by the operator D to view the rear seat, exists.

[0037] Also, the setting unit 27 does not necessarily have to always set all of the exclusion ranges R1, R2, R3, R4, and R5. For example, the setting unit 27 can set only a part of the five range candidates corresponding to the exclusion ranges R1, R2, R3, R4, and R5 as the exclusion range R.

[0038] For example, when the screen of the touch panel 13 is turned off, the setting unit 27 can be set not to set the exclusion range R4 shown in FIG. 2. Further, the setting unit 27 may set the exclusion range R5 to the range where the auxiliary mirror 17 exists only when the passenger detection unit 24 detects a passenger in the rear seat of the moving body 2.

[0039] When the passenger detection unit 24 detects a passenger in the rear seat of the moving body 2, the setting unit 27 may also enlarge the size of the exclusion range R3 including the range where the rearview mirror 16, which can also function as a seat viewing mirror for viewing the rear seat, exists at a predetermined ratio. For example, the setting unit 27 can enlarge the exclusion range R3 to the size shown by the dashed-dotted rectangle in FIG. 2.

[0040] The direction control unit 28 adaptively controls the irradiation direction of the headlamp 4 of the moving body 2 according to the line-of-sight direction of the operator D detected by the line-of-sight detection unit 26. The control of the irradiation direction of the headlamp 4 is performed by controlling the actuator 5.

[0041] Specifically, the direction control unit 28 controls the irradiation direction of the headlamp 4 in accordance with the line-of-sight direction of the operator D detected by the line-of-sight detection unit 26. Here, "controlling the irradiation direction of the headlamp 4 in accordance with the line-of-sight direction of the operator D" specifically means, for example, controlling the irradiation direction of the headlamp 4 so that the irradiation direction of the headlamp 4 is the same as the line-of-sight direction of the operator D, or so that the irradiation direction is directed to illuminate an object in front of the line-of-sight direction of the operator D. Hereinafter, the control operation of the direction control unit 28 for controlling the irradiation direction of the headlamp 4 in accordance with the line-of-sight direction of the operator D is referred to as irradiation direction control.

[0042] In the present embodiment, in particular, the direction control unit 28 performs irradiation direction control on the condition that the line of sight of the operator D detected by the line-of-sight detection unit 26 is outside any of the one or more predetermined exclusion ranges R, and controls the irradiation direction of the headlamp 4 in the line-of-sight direction of the operator D.

[0043] On the other hand, when the line of sight of the operator D detected by the line-of-sight detection unit 26 is directed toward any of the exclusion ranges R, the direction control unit 28 controls the irradiation direction of the headlamp 4 in a predetermined direction. Hereinafter, the control operation of the direction control unit 28 for controlling the irradiation direction of the headlamp 4 in a predetermined direction is referred to as fixed direction control. The predetermined direction is, for example, the current traveling direction of the moving body 2.

[0044] Thereby, according to the headlamp control device 1, when the line of sight of the operator D is directed toward the exclusion range R, the adaptive control according to the line of sight of the operator D for the illumination direction of the headlamp 4 is not performed, and when the line of sight of the operator D is not directed toward the exclusion range R, the above-described adaptive control is performed. Therefore, it is possible to effectively improve the visibility of the moving environment of the moving body 2 for the operator D while preventing the illumination direction of the headlamp 4 from changing frequently and unnecessarily and causing the attention of the operator D to be dissipated.

[0045] As described above, the exclusion range R is set by the setting unit 27 to the range where a mirror, an operating device, or the display screen of a display device provided in the moving body 2 exists. The mirror, the operating device, or the display screen of the display device as the moving body equipment may be equipment that the operator D often looks at during the operation of the moving body 2. Therefore, by setting the range where these moving body equipments exist as the exclusion range R and not performing adaptive control of the headlight illumination direction in the direction control unit 28 even when there is a line-of-sight movement to these equipments, it is possible to suppress the unnecessary change of the illumination direction of the headlight 4 and prevent the operator D's attention from being dissipated.

[0046] Also, as described above, when the passenger detection unit 24 detects a passenger in the rear seat of the moving body 2, the setting unit 27 sets the range where the auxiliary mirror 17 as the seat viewing mirror exists as the exclusion range R5, and / or enlarges the size of the exclusion range R3 set to the range where the room mirror 16 that also functions as the seat viewing mirror exists. Thereby, when the operator D takes a quick glance at the auxiliary mirror 17 or the room mirror 16 which is the seat viewing mirror for the purpose of checking the state of the person sitting in the rear seat or for the purpose of talking with the person, etc., it can be made that the direction control unit 28 does not change the headlight illumination direction according to the line of sight of the operator D. As a result, it is possible to further suppress the unnecessary change of the illumination direction of the headlight 4 and prevent the operator D's attention from being dissipated.

[0047] The direction control unit 28 can operate in two operation modes, i.e., a line-of-sight following mode and a viewpoint tracking mode, in the irradiation direction control. The direction control unit 28 operates in one of the line-of-sight following mode and the viewpoint tracking mode, for example, according to the operation mode designation information predetermined and stored in the memory 21.

[0048] In the line-of-sight following mode, the direction control unit 28 controls the irradiation direction of the headlamp 4 so as to follow the movement of the line-of-sight direction of the operator D detected by the line-of-sight detection unit 26. In the present embodiment, in particular, in the line-of-sight following mode, when the line of sight of the operator D detected by the line-of-sight detection unit 26 is moving toward any of the exclusion ranges R, the direction control unit 28 follows the movement of the line-of-sight direction compared to when the line of sight of the operator D is moving in a direction other than the exclusion range R. The irradiation direction of the headlamp 4 is controlled so that the following speed becomes slower.

[0049] Thereby, when the operator D quickly returns the line of sight to the moving environment immediately after taking a glance at the exclusion direction, it is possible to prevent the illumination direction of the headlamp 4 from following the line-of-sight direction and changing unnecessarily greatly, and to improve the visibility of the moving environment for the operator D.

[0050] In the viewpoint tracking mode, when the line of sight of the operator D detected by the line-of-sight detection unit 26 stops, the direction control unit 28 controls the irradiation direction of the headlamp 4 to the line-of-sight direction when the above line of sight stops. In the present embodiment, in particular, in the viewpoint tracking mode, when the line of sight of the operator D stops while moving in a direction other than the exclusion range R, when the stop time of the line of sight exceeds a first time determined in advance, the irradiation direction of the headlamp 4 is controlled to the line-of-sight direction of the operator D. Further, in the line-of-sight following mode, when the line of sight of the operator D stops while moving in a direction toward any of the exclusion ranges R, when the stop time of the line of sight exceeds a second time determined in advance, which is longer than the first time, the irradiation direction of the headlamp 4 is controlled to the line-of-sight direction of the operator D.

[0051] Thereby, when the operator D quickly returns the line of sight to the moving body environment immediately after catching the exclusion direction at the edge of the field of view, it is possible to prevent the illumination direction of the headlamp 4 from changing unnecessarily greatly following the line-of-sight stop position, and to improve the visibility of the moving environment for the operator D.

[0052] In the present embodiment, also, even when the line of sight of the operator D detected by the line-of-sight detection unit 26 is directed toward any of the exclusion ranges R, the irradiation direction control is performed on the condition that the change θ in the traveling direction of the moving body 2 predicted by the prediction unit 25 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold angle θth, and the irradiation direction of the headlamp 4 is controlled in the direction of the line of sight of the operator D.

[0053] When it is predicted that the traveling direction of the moving body 2 will change significantly by more than the threshold angle, there is a high probability that the operator D will try to visually recognize the future path of the moving body 2. Therefore, as described above, when the traveling direction of the moving body 2 changes significantly by more than the threshold angle θth, by performing the irradiation direction control regardless of whether the line of sight of the operator D is directed toward the exclusion range R, the illumination along the line of sight of the operator D for the future path of the moving body 2 is ensured, and the visibility of the operator D regarding the moving environment can be more appropriately improved.

[0054] The direction control unit 28 may also control the irradiation direction of the headlamp 4 in the direction of the line of sight of the operator D when the line of sight of the operator D detected by the line-of-sight detection unit 26 is directed toward any of the exclusion ranges R, the change θ in the traveling direction of the moving body 2 predicted by the prediction unit 25 is equal to or greater than the threshold angle θth, and the exclusion range R toward which the line of sight of the operator D is directed is a predetermined exclusion range R determined in accordance with the change direction of the traveling direction of the moving body 2.

[0055] Here, the predetermined exclusion range R determined in accordance with the change direction of the traveling direction of the moving body 2 may be, for example, an exclusion range R in the same direction as the change direction of the traveling direction of the moving body 2 as viewed from the operator D. Specifically, the predetermined exclusion range R can be determined, for example, as follows. · When the change direction of the traveling direction is leftward, an exclusion range R1 including the range where the left door mirror 8L exists is set as the predetermined exclusion range R. · When the change direction of the traveling direction is rightward, an exclusion range R2 including the range where the right door mirror 8R exists is set as the predetermined exclusion range R. · When the direction of change in the traveling direction is upward, an exclusion range R3 that includes the range where the rearview mirror 16 is located is set as a predetermined exclusion range R. · When the direction of change in the traveling direction is downward, an exclusion range R4 that includes the range where the touch panel 13 is located is set as a predetermined exclusion range R.

[0056] As described above, by setting the exclusion range R in the same direction as the direction of change in the traveling direction of the moving body 2 as viewed from the operator D as a predetermined exclusion range R corresponding to the direction of change, even when the operator D tries to visually recognize the future route of the moving body 2 and the line of sight is directed to the predetermined exclusion range R, the irradiation direction of the headlamp 4 can be controlled in the direction of the operator D's line of sight as an exception. Conversely, when the operator D does not direct the line of sight in the direction of the future route of the moving body 2 and directs the line of sight to an exclusion range R different from the predetermined exclusion range R, the irradiation direction of the headlamp 4 is not controlled in the direction of the operator D's line of sight. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the illumination direction of the headlamp from changing to an unnecessary direction and appropriately ensure the illumination of the moving route of the moving body 2.

[0057] [1.3 Operation of Headlamp Control Device] Next, the operation of the headlamp control device 1 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a headlamp control method executed by a processor 20 which is a computer of the headlamp control device 1. The process shown in FIG. 4 starts when the power of the moving body 2 is turned on and the power of each device including the headlamp control device 1 mounted on the moving body 2 is turned on, and thereafter is repeatedly executed until the power of the moving body 2 is turned off.

[0058] Referring to FIG. 4, when the process starts, the lighting control unit 23 of the headlamp control device 1 determines whether or not the headlamp 4 has been turned on (lit) by the headlamp switch 7 (S100). When the headlamp 4 is not turned on (S100, NO), the lighting control unit 23 returns to step S100 and repeats the process, waiting for the headlamp 4 to be turned on.

[0059] On the one hand, when the headlamp 4 is turned on (S100, YES), the passenger detection unit 24 detects the presence or absence of a passenger in the rear seat of the moving body 2 (S102). Further, the setting unit 27 sets an exclusion range R including a part of the moving body 2 for use in controlling the irradiation direction of the headlamp 4 (S104). As described above, the setting unit 27 selects one or a plurality of ranges from a predetermined range candidate, for example, and determines the selected ranges as the exclusion ranges R, respectively. Also, as described above, when the passenger detection unit 24 detects a passenger in the rear seat, the setting unit 27 sets an exclusion range R5 at the position of the auxiliary mirror 17 which is a seat visibility mirror, and / or enlarges the size of the exclusion range R3 set at the position of the room mirror 16 which also serves as a seat visibility mirror.

[0060] Next, the line-of-sight detection unit 26 starts a line-of-sight detection operation for detecting the line of sight of the operator D of the moving body 2 (S106). After the start of the line-of-sight detection operation, the line-of-sight detection unit 26 repeatedly detects the line of sight of the operator D at a predetermined time interval (for example, at an interval of 0.2 seconds).

[0061] The prediction unit 25 starts a travel prediction operation for predicting a change in the travel direction of the moving body 2 (S108). After the start of the travel prediction operation, the prediction unit 25 repeatedly predicts the change in the travel direction at a predetermined time interval (for example, at an interval of 2 seconds).

[0062] Next, the line-of-sight detection unit 26 determines whether the line of sight of the operator D is directed toward any of the exclusion ranges R (S110). And when the line of sight of the operator D is out of any of the exclusion ranges R (S110, NO), the direction control unit 28 performs irradiation direction control to control the irradiation direction of the headlamp 4 in the direction of the line of sight of the operator D (S112). As described above, the irradiation direction control can be executed in either a line-of-sight following mode or a viewpoint tracking mode according to the operation mode designation stored in advance in the memory 21, for example.

[0063] Subsequently, the lighting control unit 23 determines whether or not the headlight switch 7 has been turned off (S120). When the headlight switch 7 has been turned off (S120, YES), the lighting control unit 23 ends this process. On the other hand, when the headlight switch 7 has not been turned off (S120, NO), the lighting control unit 23 returns the process to step S110.

[0064] Also, on the other hand, when the line of sight of the operator D is directed toward any of the exclusion ranges R in step S110 (S110, YES), the direction control unit 28 determines whether or not the change θ in the traveling direction of the moving body 2 predicted by the prediction unit 25 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold angle θth (S114). When the change θ in the traveling direction is equal to or greater than the threshold angle θth (S114, YES), the direction control unit 28 determines whether or not the exclusion range R toward which the line of sight of the operator D is directed is a predetermined exclusion range R corresponding to the change direction of the traveling direction predicted for the moving body 2 (S116).

[0065] When the exclusion range R toward which the line of sight of the operator D is directed is the predetermined exclusion range R corresponding to the change direction of the traveling direction predicted for the moving body 2 (S116, YES), the direction control unit 28 moves the process to step S112 and performs irradiation direction control.

[0066] On the other hand, when the exclusion range R toward which the line of sight of the operator D is directed is not the predetermined exclusion range R corresponding to the change direction of the traveling direction predicted for the moving body 2 (S116, NO), the direction control unit 28 performs fixed direction control and controls the irradiation direction of the headlight 4 in the current traveling direction of the moving body 2 (S118). Thereafter, the direction control unit 28 moves the process to step S120.

[0067] Also, on the other hand, when the change θ in the traveling direction of the moving body 2 is less than the threshold angle θth in step S114 (S114, NO), the direction control unit 28 moves the process to step S118 and performs fixed direction control.

[0068] Here, the line-of-sight detection operation starting in step S106 corresponds to the detection step in the present disclosure. Also, the processes from step S110 to S118 correspond to the control step in the present disclosure.

[0069] [2. Other Embodiments] In the above-described embodiment, the exclusion range R is assumed to be in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, but the shape of the exclusion range R is not limited to a rectangular parallelepiped and can be any shape. For example, the exclusion range R can be a sphere, an ellipsoid, or a shape similar to a part of the moving body 2 included in the exclusion range R.

[0070] Also, in the above-described embodiment, the exclusion range R is assumed to be the range of a space including a part such as the left door mirror 8L which is a part of the moving body 2, but the exclusion range R may be a two-dimensional range virtually provided in the space. For example, the exclusion range R can be a range on a two-dimensional plane virtually provided between the operator D and the windshield 15, and a part of the moving body 2 such as the left door mirror 8L viewed from the operator D can be provided in the range projected onto the two-dimensional plane.

[0071] The exclusion ranges R1, R2, R3, R4, R5 shown in FIG. 2 are an example, and it is possible to set more or fewer exclusion ranges R than this. For example, the exclusion range R may be set in the range where an operating device such as a hazard switch (not shown) provided in the moving body 2 exists, and / or in the range where a display device such as a speedometer exists.

[0072] Note that the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in various aspects without departing from the gist thereof.

[0073] [3. Configurations Supported by the Above Embodiment] The above-described embodiment supports the following configurations.

[0074] (Configuration 1) A headlamp control device comprising: a line-of-sight detection unit that detects the line of sight of an operator of a moving body; and a direction control unit that controls the irradiation direction of a headlamp of the moving body according to the line-of-sight direction of the operator detected by the line-of-sight detection unit. The direction control unit controls the irradiation direction of the headlamp in the direction of the operator's line of sight on the condition that the line of sight of the operator detected by the line-of-sight detection unit is outside any of a predetermined one or more exclusion ranges. When the line of sight of the operator detected by the line-of-sight detection unit is directed toward any of the exclusion ranges, the direction control unit controls the irradiation direction of the headlamp in the traveling direction of the moving body. According to the headlamp control device of Configuration 1, when the operator's line of sight is directed toward a predetermined exclusion range, adaptive control of the headlamp illumination direction according to the operator's line of sight is not performed. Thus, while preventing the illumination direction of the headlamp from changing frequently and unnecessarily and causing the operator's attention to dissipate, the visibility of the moving body's moving environment for the operator can be effectively enhanced.

[0075] (Configuration 2) The headlamp control device according to Configuration 1, wherein the exclusion range is set to a range where a mirror, an operating device, or a display screen of a display device provided on the moving body exists. In the headlamp control device of Configuration 2, the range where a mirror, an operating device, or a display screen of a display device, which are moving body equipment that the operator often looks at during operation of the moving body, exists is set as the exclusion range. Even if there is a line-of-sight movement to these moving body equipment, adaptive control of the headlamp illumination direction according to the line-of-sight direction is not performed. Thereby, in the headlamp control device of Configuration 2, it is possible to suppress the unnecessary change of the illumination direction of the headlamp and prevent the operator's attention from dissipating.

[0076] (Configuration 3) A passenger detection unit that detects a passenger of the moving body, and a setting unit that sets the exclusion range, wherein the moving body includes one or more seat viewing mirrors used by the operator to view the rear seat of the moving body, and when the passenger detection unit detects a passenger in the rear seat, the setting unit sets the range where the seat viewing mirrors are located as the exclusion range, or expands the size of the exclusion range to include the range where the seat viewing mirrors are located. The headlight control device according to Configuration 1 or 2. According to the headlight control device of Configuration 3, when the operator takes a quick glance at the seat viewing mirror for the purpose of checking the condition of a person sitting in the rear seat or for the purpose of having a conversation with the person, etc., it can be assumed that the change in the headlight illumination direction according to the operator's line of sight is not performed. Thereby, according to the headlight control device of Configuration 3, it is possible to further suppress the unnecessary change in the illumination direction of the headlight and prevent the operator's attention from being dissipated.

[0077] (Configuration 4) The direction control unit controls the irradiation direction of the headlight so as to follow the movement of the line of sight direction of the operator detected by the line of sight detection unit, and when the line of sight of the operator detected by the line of sight detection unit is moving toward any of the exclusion ranges, the direction control unit slows down the follow-up speed of the irradiation direction of the headlight following the movement of the line of sight direction compared to when the line of sight of the operator is moving in a direction other than the exclusion range. The headlight control device according to any one of Configurations 1 to 3. In the headlight control device of Configuration 4, when controlling the irradiation direction of the headlight so as to follow the movement of the operator's line of sight direction, when the operator's line of sight is moving in the exclusion direction, the follow-up speed of the headlight irradiation direction with respect to the movement of the line of sight direction is slower than when it is not. Thereby, in the headlight control device of Configuration 4, when the operator quickly returns the line of sight to the moving environment immediately after taking a quick glance at the exclusion direction, it is possible to prevent a large change in the illumination direction of the headlight and improve the visibility of the moving environment for the operator.

[0078] (Configuration 5) When the line of sight of the operator detected by the line-of-sight detection unit stops while moving in a direction other than the exclusion range, the direction control unit controls the irradiation direction of the headlight in the direction of the operator's line of sight when the stop time of the line of sight exceeds a first predetermined time. When the line of sight of the operator detected by the line-of-sight detection unit stops while moving in a direction toward any of the exclusion ranges, the direction control unit controls the irradiation direction of the headlight in the direction of the operator's line of sight when the stop time of the line of sight exceeds a second predetermined time, which is longer than the first time. The headlight control device according to any one of Configurations 1 to 3. In the headlight control device of Configuration 5, when controlling the irradiation direction of the headlight in the direction where the operator's line of sight has stopped, when the operator's line of sight stops while moving toward the exclusion direction, the threshold value of the stop time used for determining the line-of-sight stop is made longer than when it is not. Thereby, in the headlight control device of Configuration 5, when the operator quickly returns the line of sight to the moving body environment immediately after catching the exclusion direction at the edge of the field of view, it is possible to prevent the illumination direction of the headlight from changing unnecessarily greatly following the line-of-sight stop position, and improve the visibility of the operator with respect to the moving environment.

[0079] (Configuration 6) A prediction unit for predicting a change in the traveling direction of the moving body is provided, and the direction control unit controls the irradiation direction of the headlight in the direction of the operator's line of sight on the condition that the change in the traveling direction of the moving body predicted by the prediction unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold angle even when the line of sight of the operator detected by the line-of-sight detection unit is directed toward any of the exclusion ranges. The headlight control device according to any one of Configurations 1 to 5. In the headlight control device of Configuration 6, when the probability that the operator tries to visually recognize the future route of the moving body is high, such as when it is predicted that the traveling direction of the moving body will change significantly by more than a threshold angle, even if the line of sight of the operator is directed towards any of the exclusion ranges, the irradiation direction of the headlight is controlled in the direction of the operator's line of sight. Thereby, in the headlight control device of Configuration 6, when the traveling direction of the moving body changes significantly, regardless of whether the operator's line of sight is directed towards the exclusion range or not, the illumination of the future route of the moving body is ensured along the operator's line of sight, and the visibility of the moving environment for the operator can be improved more appropriately.

[0080] (Configuration 7) The direction control unit controls the irradiation direction of the headlight in the direction of the operator's line of sight when the line of sight of the operator detected by the line of sight detection unit is directed towards any of the exclusion ranges, the change in the traveling direction of the moving body predicted by the prediction unit is equal to or greater than the threshold angle, and the exclusion range towards which the operator's line of sight is directed is a predetermined exclusion range determined in advance according to the change direction of the traveling direction. The headlight control device according to Configuration 6. According to the headlight control device of Configuration 7, for example, by defining an exclusion range in the same direction as the change direction of the traveling direction of the moving body as viewed from the operator as a predetermined exclusion range according to the change direction, even when the operator tries to visually recognize the future route of the moving body and the line of sight is directed towards the above-mentioned predetermined exclusion range, the irradiation direction of the headlight can be controlled in the direction of the operator's line of sight as an exception. Also, according to the headlight control device of Configuration 7, conversely, when the operator does not direct the line of sight in the direction of the future route of the moving body and directs the line of sight towards an exclusion range different from the above-mentioned predetermined exclusion range, the irradiation direction of the headlight is not controlled in the direction of the operator's line of sight. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the illumination direction of the headlight from changing to an unnecessary direction and appropriately ensure the illumination of the headlight for the moving route of the moving body.

[0081] A headlight control method executed by a computer of a headlight control device that controls the irradiation direction of a headlight of a moving body, the method comprising: a step of detecting the line of sight of an operator of the moving body; and a step of controlling the irradiation direction of the headlight of the moving body according to the line of sight direction of the operator detected in the detection step, wherein in the control step, the irradiation direction of the headlight is controlled in the direction of the line of sight of the operator on the condition that the line of sight of the operator detected in the detection step is outside any of one or more predetermined exclusion ranges, and when the line of sight of the operator detected in the detection step is directed toward any of the exclusion ranges, the irradiation direction of the headlight is controlled in the traveling direction of the moving body. According to the headlight control method of Configuration 8, when the line of sight of the operator is directed toward a predetermined exclusion range, adaptive control of the headlight illumination direction according to the line of sight of the operator is not performed, so that while preventing the illumination direction of the headlight from changing frequently and unnecessarily and causing the operator's attention to dissipate, the visibility of the moving environment of the moving body for the operator can be effectively improved.

Explanation of Signs

[0082] 1... Headlight control device, 2... Moving body, 3... Interior, 4... Headlight, 4L... Left headlight, 4R... Right headlight, 5... Actuator, 5L... Left actuator, 5R... Right actuator, 6... Steering wheel, 7... Headlight switch, 8... Door mirror, 8L... Left door mirror, 8R... Right door mirror, 9... Front camera, 10... Navigation device, 11... Motion sensor, 12... Instrument panel, 13... Touch panel, 14... Interior camera, 15... Windshield, 16... Rearview mirror, 17... Auxiliary mirror, 20... Processor, 21... Memory, 22... Program, 23... Lighting control unit, 24... Occupant detection unit, 25... Prediction unit, 26... Line-of-sight detection unit, 27... Setting unit, 28... Direction control unit, D... Operator, R, R1, R2, R3, R4, R5... Exclusion range.

Claims

1. A line-of-sight detection unit that detects the line of sight of the operator of the moving body, A direction control unit that controls the irradiation direction of the headlight of the moving body according to the line-of-sight direction of the operator detected by the line-of-sight detection unit, comprising, The direction control unit, on the condition that the line of sight of the operator detected by the line-of-sight detection unit is outside any of one or more predetermined exclusion ranges, controls the irradiation direction of the headlight in the direction of the line of sight of the operator, when the line of sight of the operator detected by the line-of-sight detection unit is directed towards any of the exclusion ranges, controls the irradiation direction of the headlight in the traveling direction of the moving body, A headlight control device.

2. The exclusion range is set to a range where a mirror, an operating device, or a display screen of a display device provided on the moving body exists, The headlight control device according to claim 1.

3. A passenger detection unit that detects a passenger of the moving body, A setting unit that sets the exclusion range, comprising, The moving body is provided with one or more seat viewing mirrors used by the operator to view the rear seat of the moving body, When the passenger detection unit detects a passenger in the rear seat, the setting unit sets the range where the seat viewing mirror exists as the exclusion range, or expands the size of the exclusion range including the range where the seat viewing mirror exists, The headlight control device according to claim 1.

4. The direction control unit controls the irradiation direction of the headlight so as to follow the movement of the line-of-sight direction of the operator detected by the line-of-sight detection unit, and The direction control unit, When the line of sight of the operator detected by the line-of-sight detection unit is moving toward any of the exclusion ranges, the following speed of the irradiation direction of the headlamp following the movement in the line-of-sight direction is reduced compared to when the line of sight of the operator is moving in a direction other than the exclusion ranges. The headlamp control device according to claim 1.

5. The direction control unit When the line of sight of the operator detected by the line-of-sight detection unit stops while moving in a direction other than the exclusion ranges, when the stop time of the line of sight exceeds a predetermined first time, the irradiation direction of the headlamp is controlled in the direction of the line of sight of the operator. When the line of sight of the operator detected by the line-of-sight detection unit stops while moving in a direction toward any of the exclusion ranges, when the stop time of the line of sight exceeds a predetermined second time, which is longer than the first time, the irradiation direction of the headlamp is controlled in the direction of the line of sight of the operator. The headlamp control device according to claim 1.

6. Comprising a prediction unit that predicts a change in the traveling direction of the moving body The direction control unit Even when the line of sight of the operator detected by the line-of-sight detection unit is facing any of the exclusion ranges, on the condition that the change in the traveling direction of the moving body predicted by the prediction unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold angle, the irradiation direction of the headlamp is controlled in the direction of the line of sight of the operator. The headlamp control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The direction control unit Even when the line of sight of the operator detected by the line-of-sight detection unit is facing any of the exclusion ranges, when the change in the traveling direction of the moving body predicted by the prediction unit is equal to or greater than the threshold angle, and when the exclusion range that the line of sight of the operator is facing is a predetermined exclusion range determined according to the change direction of the traveling direction, the irradiation direction of the headlamp is controlled in the direction of the line of sight of the operator. The headlight control device according to claim 6.

8. A headlight control method executed by a computer of a headlight control device that controls the irradiation direction of a headlight of a moving body, a detection step of detecting the line of sight of the operator of the moving body; a control step of controlling the irradiation direction of the headlight of the moving body according to the line of sight direction of the operator detected in the detection step; comprising: in the control step, on the condition that the line of sight of the operator detected in the detection step is outside any of one or more predetermined exclusion ranges, controlling the irradiation direction of the headlight in the line of sight direction of the operator; when the line of sight of the operator detected in the detection step is directed toward any of the exclusion ranges, controlling the irradiation direction of the headlight in the traveling direction of the moving body. Headlight control method.

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