Vehicle lighting device control system

Abstract

To reduce a battery load while suppressing influence on visibility of a user due to dimming control.SOLUTION: A vehicle lighting device control system for controlling a headlamp unit of a vehicle comprises: a power supply balance determination unit configured to determine whether or not a power supply balance of the vehicle is equal to or greater than a threshold value; and a headlamp control unit configured to execute dimming control of the headlamp unit based on target information in front of the vehicle detected by a camera of the vehicle when it is determined that the power supply balance is equal to or greater than the threshold value.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2013-224135 is a known technical document relating to a vehicle lighting control system. This publication describes a vehicle lighting device that, when a vehicle is automatically following a vehicle ahead or when the vehicle is close to the vehicle ahead, changes the high or low beam lamps to a downward illumination state of the low beam lamps to reduce glare to occupants of the vehicle ahead compared to the normal illumination state of the low beam lamps. It also describes a system that, when the daytime running lights are illuminated in the above cases, turns off the daytime running lights to reduce the load on the vehicle's battery. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-224135 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the conventional device described above is based on older headlamp units and does not take into account the headlamp units that have been installed in vehicles in recent years, so there is room for improvement. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] One aspect of the present invention is a vehicle lighting control system that controls a vehicle's headlight unit, and includes a power balance determination unit that determines whether the vehicle's power balance is above a threshold, and a headlight control unit that, when it is determined that the power balance is above the threshold, performs dimming control of the headlight unit based on target information ahead of the vehicle detected by a vehicle camera. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, when it is determined that the vehicle's power balance is above a threshold, dimming control of the headlight unit is performed based on target information ahead of the vehicle detected by the vehicle's camera, thereby reducing the battery load while minimizing the impact of dimming control on user visibility. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a vehicle lighting device control system according to an embodiment; [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of dimming control. [Figure 3] 3 is a flowchart showing an example of lighting device control by the vehicle lighting device control system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0009] Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a vehicle lighting control system 100 according to one embodiment. The vehicle lighting control system 100 shown in Fig. 1 is a system that is mounted on a vehicle such as a passenger car and controls the vehicle's lighting devices. The vehicle's lighting devices include at least headlights (headlamps).

[0010] As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle lighting control system 100 includes an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 10 that performs overall control of the device. The ECU 10 is an electronic control unit having a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a storage unit. The storage unit is composed of, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory). The ECU 10 realizes various functions by, for example, executing programs stored in the storage unit in the CPU. The ECU 10 may be composed of multiple electronic units.

[0011] The ECU 10 is connected to the camera 1, the body domain controller 2, and the headlight unit 3. The ECU 10 may be configured as a part of the body domain controller 2.

[0012] The camera 1 is an imaging device that captures an image of the area in front of the vehicle. The camera 1 is provided, for example, behind the windshield of the vehicle, and captures an image of the area in front of the vehicle. The camera 1 transmits the captured image of the area in front of the vehicle to the ECU 10.

[0013] The body main controller 2 is an electronic control unit that comprehensively manages the vehicle's body-related functions. The body main controller 2 comprehensively manages several functions, including the vehicle's windows, door locks, lights, wipers, and mirror adjustments. The body main controller 2 also comprehensively manages information such as the vehicle's battery status, power generation, and power consumption. The body main controller 2 calculates information on the vehicle's power supply balance from this information and sends it to the ECU 10.

[0014] The headlight unit 3 is an ADB (Adaptive Driving Beam) unit including the vehicle's headlights. The headlight unit 3 is configured to be able to adjust the headlight illumination pattern according to the environment around the vehicle and traffic conditions by receiving a control signal from the ECU 10. The headlight unit 3 can partially block the headlight light and change the light intensity. The headlight unit 3 can employ a well-known configuration as an ADB unit. However, the headlight unit 3 is not limited to an ADB unit, as will be described later.

[0015] Next, a description will be given of the functional configuration of the ECU 10. The ECU 10 includes a power supply balance determination unit 11 and a headlamp control unit 12.

[0016] The power balance determination unit 11 determines whether the vehicle's power balance is equal to or greater than a threshold value based on the information on the vehicle's power balance transmitted from the body main controller 2. The information on the power balance includes, for example, information on the relationship between the power generated by the vehicle's battery and generator (alternator) and the power consumption of various systems and components that consume electricity, such as the engine, lighting, air conditioning, infotainment system, electric power steering, electric seats, sensors, and control units. The threshold value is set to a value that determines whether the vehicle's power capacity is about to be exceeded.

[0017] The headlamp control unit 12 controls the headlamp unit 3. When the power supply balance determination unit 11 determines that the power supply balance is equal to or greater than a threshold, the headlamp control unit 12 acquires target information ahead of the vehicle from an image of the area ahead of the vehicle captured by the vehicle's camera 1. The target information is information about targets such as pedestrians and other vehicles (two-wheelers) that may affect the vehicle's travel. The target information includes information about the relative position of the target with respect to the vehicle. The target information may include information about the direction of movement of the target, and may also include information about the moving speed of the target.

[0018] Based on the target information, the headlamp control unit 12 determines whether or not there is a target object to be dimmed in the direction of illumination of the headlamp unit 3. The target object is an object that is located in the direction of illumination of the lighting equipment of the headlamp unit 3 and is to be dimmed by the headlamp unit 3. If the headlamp control unit 12 determines that there is a target object, it performs dimming control on areas other than the periphery of the target object. Note that the headlamp control unit 12 may determine whether dimming control is necessary using day / night determination, headlamp light distribution boundary information, etc. In dimming control, the dimming range is continuously changed according to the movement of the target object, such as a pedestrian.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of dimming control. FIG. 2 shows a vehicle M, a pedestrian (target object) P, and an illumination range W of the headlights of the vehicle M where the luminance is equal to or greater than a certain level. As shown in FIG. 2, when the headlight control unit 12 determines that the pedestrian P, who is the target object, is present, it performs dimming control on areas other than the periphery of the pedestrian P. In FIG. 2, the headlight control unit 12 does not perform dimming on the left front side of the vehicle M where the pedestrian P is present, but performs dimming control on the right front side of the vehicle M where the pedestrian P is not present. Such dimming control can be performed using a known dimming control technique using an ADB unit. Dimming control can reduce power consumption of the headlights.

[0020] Next, a control method of the vehicle lighting control system 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of lighting control by the vehicle lighting control system 100. The lighting control is executed when the user permits control of the vehicle lighting devices and the vehicle engine is running.

[0021] As shown in Fig. 3, the ECU 10 of the vehicle lighting control system 100 determines in S10 whether the vehicle's power balance is equal to or greater than a threshold value using the power balance determination unit 11. The power balance determination unit 11 makes this determination based on information about the vehicle's power balance transmitted from the body main controller 2. If the ECU 10 has not determined that the vehicle's power balance is equal to or greater than the threshold value (S10: NO), the ECU 10 proceeds to S11. If the ECU 10 has determined that the vehicle's power balance is equal to or greater than the threshold value (S10: YES), the ECU 10 proceeds to S12.

[0022] In S11, the ECU 10 performs normal control of the headlights using the headlamp control unit 12. In the normal control, the headlights are controlled as usual without dimming. Note that, even in the normal control, dimming control that has been permitted in advance may be executed regardless of the power supply balance.

[0023] In S12, the ECU 10 determines whether or not there is an object to be dimmed by the headlamp control unit 12. The headlamp control unit 12 acquires information about an object ahead of the vehicle from an image of the area ahead of the vehicle captured by the vehicle's camera 1, and makes the above determination based on this object information. If the ECU 10 determines that there is an object ahead (S12: YES), the process proceeds to S13. If the ECU 10 does not determine that there is an object ahead (S12: NO), the process proceeds to S14.

[0024] In S13, the ECU 10 controls the headlamp control unit 12 to dim the area other than the periphery of the target object. The headlamp control unit 12 controls the headlights to dim the area other than the periphery of the target object, as shown in Fig. 2. After that, the ECU 10 ends the current process.

[0025] In S14, the ECU 10 performs dimming control over the entire range using the headlamp control unit 12. After that, the ECU 10 ends this processing.

[0026] According to the vehicle lighting control system 100 of this embodiment described above, when it is determined that the power balance of the vehicle M is equal to or greater than a threshold, dimming control of the headlamp unit 3 is performed based on target information ahead of the vehicle M detected by the camera 1 of the vehicle M, thereby reducing the load on the battery while minimizing the impact of dimming control on user visibility. This reduces the need to install a large-capacity battery that takes into account cases where the power consumption of the entire vehicle is at its maximum, and prevents increases in the cost of the vehicle M.

[0027] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. The present invention can be embodied in various forms, including the above-described embodiments, with various modifications and improvements made based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[0028] The headlamp unit 3 is not limited to an ADB unit. The headlamp unit 3 may be configured to be able to adjust the illumination patterns of other lamps, such as low beams, DRLs (Daytime Running Lights), sidelights, and road marking units. In this case, the vehicle lighting control system 100 may be configured to perform dimming control of the other lamps described above in accordance with the power supply balance and target object information.

[0029] The vehicle lighting control system 100 may perform stepwise processing according to the power balance. The vehicle lighting control system 100 may be configured to start dimming control when the power balance is equal to or greater than a first threshold, and to execute dimming control with a further reduction in luminance when the power balance is equal to or greater than a second threshold. The second threshold is a threshold greater than the first threshold. The vehicle lighting control system 100 may temporarily stop the dimming control of the present invention when the power balance is equal to or greater than a third threshold greater than the second threshold. Hysteresis may be provided between the power balance threshold at which the dimming control of the present invention is started and the power balance threshold at which the dimming control is cancelled. [Explanation of symbols]

[0030] 1...camera, 2...body main controller, 3...headlamp unit, 10...ECU, 11...power balance determination unit, 12...headlamp control unit, 100...vehicle lighting device control system, M...vehicle, P...pedestrian (target object), W...illumination range.

Claims

[Claim 1] A vehicle lighting control system that controls a headlamp unit of a vehicle, a power supply balance determination unit that determines whether the power supply balance of the vehicle is equal to or greater than a threshold; a headlight control unit that, when it is determined that the power supply balance is equal to or greater than the threshold, executes dimming control of the headlight unit based on target information ahead of the vehicle detected by a camera of the vehicle.

Images