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

Abstract

To provide a light distribution control device, a light distribution control program, and a vehicle headlight system capable of appropriately irradiating a distant area in front of a vehicle.SOLUTION: A light distribution control device 20 used in a vehicle headlight system 100 capable of dynamically changing an illuminance distribution 60 comprises: a position information acquisition part 23 which acquires position information 25A of an own vehicle 1; an illuminance acquisition part 24 which acquires ambient illuminance around the own vehicle; and a light distribution control part 22B which dynamically changes the illuminance distribution of the vehicle headlight system 100. The light distribution control part 22B is configured to be able to execute: a first control in which, when the ambient illuminance is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the irradiation range of the vehicle headlight system 100 is narrowed, or at least part of the light quantity in the irradiation range is reduced; and a second control in which, when the position information 25A matches a predetermined position, the irradiation range of the vehicle headlight system 100 is widened, or at least part of the light quantity in the irradiation range is increased. The second control is given priority over the first control.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 headlamp system. [Background technology]

[0002] In headlamp light distribution control technology, there are known technologies that switch from high beam control to low beam control by determining whether the vehicle is in an urban area (for example, Patent Document 1 below) or whether the area around the vehicle is bright (for example, Patent Document 2 below) from the perspective of energy conservation, etc. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-037833 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-094966 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, with the light distribution control devices disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, if it is determined that high beams are not necessary because the vehicle is traveling in an urban area or the surroundings are sufficiently bright, the device may operate on low beams even if the area far ahead of the vehicle is dark and the vehicle driver needs high beams, which could result in a problem of impaired visibility for the vehicle driver.

[0005] The present disclosure aims to provide a light distribution control device, a light distribution control program, and a vehicle headlamp system that can appropriately illuminate a distant area ahead of a vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A light distribution control device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a light distribution control device used in a vehicle headlight system capable of dynamically changing the illuminance distribution, and includes a position information acquisition unit that acquires position information of the vehicle itself, an illuminance acquisition unit that acquires environmental illuminance around the vehicle itself, and a light distribution control unit that dynamically changes the illuminance distribution of the vehicle headlight system, wherein the light distribution control unit is configured to be able to execute a first control that narrows the illumination range of the vehicle headlight system or controls to reduce the amount of light in at least a portion of the illumination range when the environmental illuminance is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and a second control that widens the illumination range of the vehicle headlight system or increases the amount of light in at least a portion of the illumination range when the position information matches a predetermined position, and gives priority to the second control over the first control.

[0007] A light distribution control program according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a light distribution control program used in a vehicle headlight system capable of dynamically changing an illuminance distribution, and includes a position information acquisition step of acquiring position information of a vehicle, an illuminance acquisition step of acquiring environmental illuminance around the vehicle, and a light distribution control step of dynamically changing the illuminance distribution of the vehicle headlight system, wherein the light distribution control step is configured to be able to execute a first control step of narrowing the illumination range of the vehicle headlight system or controlling the illumination range to reduce the amount of light in at least a part of the illumination range when the environmental illuminance is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and a second control step of widening the illumination range of the vehicle headlight system or increasing the amount of light in at least a part of the illumination range when the position information matches a predetermined position, and the second control step is prioritized over the first control step.

[0008] A vehicle headlight system according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a vehicle headlight system capable of dynamically changing an illuminance distribution, and includes one or more light sources, a position information acquisition unit that acquires position information of the vehicle, an illuminance acquisition unit that acquires environmental illuminance around the vehicle, a light distribution control unit that dynamically changes the illuminance distribution of the vehicle headlight system, and the environmental illuminance, wherein the light distribution control unit is configured to be able to perform a first control that narrows the illumination range of the vehicle headlight system or controls to reduce the amount of light in at least a portion of the illumination range when the environmental illuminance is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and a second control that widens the illumination range of the vehicle headlight system or increases the amount of light in at least a portion of the illumination range when the position information matches a predetermined position, and the second control takes priority over the first control. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a light distribution control device, a light distribution control program, and a vehicle headlamp system that can appropriately illuminate a distant area ahead of a vehicle. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle headlamp system; [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a vehicle headlamp system is mounted on a vehicle; [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a high beam unit. [Figure 4] This is an example of the arrangement of LEDs and their mounting boards. [Figure 5] 1 shows the illuminance distribution resulting from the light irradiation of a vehicle headlamp system. [Figure 6] 10A and 10B are diagrams for explaining problems with a light distribution control device according to a comparative example. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart illustrating the overall flow of light distribution control by the light distribution control device. [Figure 8] 10A and 10B are diagrams for explaining details of a process for saving environment illuminance information created by an environment illuminance map creating unit. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a database of environment illuminance information created by an environment illuminance map creating unit. [Figure 10] 4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining an example of light distribution control performed by a light distribution control unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure (hereinafter referred to as the present embodiment) will be described with reference to the drawings. For the sake of convenience, the dimensions of each component shown in the drawings may differ from the actual dimensions of each component.

[0012] It should be noted that this embodiment does not limit the invention, but is merely an example. All features and combinations thereof described in this embodiment are not necessarily essential to the invention. The scale and shape of each part shown in each drawing are set for convenience to facilitate explanation, and should not be interpreted as limiting unless otherwise specified. Terms such as "first" and "second" used in this specification or claims do not indicate any order or importance, but are intended to distinguish one configuration from another. Some components that are not important for explaining the embodiment may be omitted from each drawing.

[0013] Furthermore, in the description of this embodiment, for the sake of convenience, the terms "left-right direction," "front-rear direction," and "up-down direction" will be referred to as appropriate. These directions are relative directions set for the vehicle 1 shown in FIG. 2. Here, the "up-down direction" is a direction that includes the "upward direction" and the "downward direction." The "front-rear direction" is a direction that includes the "forward direction" and the "rearward direction." The "left-right direction" is a direction that includes the "leftward direction" and the "rightward direction."

[0014] <Configuration of Vehicle Headlamp System 100> [Overall configuration] A vehicle headlamp 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 headlamp system 100.

[0015] 1, a vehicle 1 is equipped with a vehicle headlight system 100, a position sensor 31, and an illuminance sensor 32. The vehicle headlight system 100 includes a vehicle control device 10, a light distribution control device 20, and a vehicle lamp 21 that constitutes a vehicle headlight main body capable of changing an illuminance distribution 60.

[0016] The position sensor 31 is, for example, a global positioning system (GPS) or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), and acquires position information 25A indicating the current position of the vehicle 1.

[0017] The illuminance sensor 32 is, for example, a photo diode (PD) or a photo transistor (PT). The illuminance sensor 32 can be mounted, for example, near the front window on the dashboard of the vehicle 1 or on the back of the rearview mirror, and can measure the environmental illuminance around the vehicle 1.

[0018] 2 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which vehicle headlamp system 100 is attached to vehicle 1. As an example, vehicle headlamp system 100 is composed of low beam unit 41 and high beam unit 42, but low beam unit 41 and high beam unit 42 may be composed of the same unit by sharing at least a part of the light source or optical system, for example.

[0019] Low beam unit 41 is configured to emit a low beam light distribution pattern. Low beam unit 41 includes a light source such as an LED and an optical system for emitting light from the light source ahead of vehicle 1. Low beam unit 41 may employ any known optical configuration for forming low beam unit-derived illuminance distribution 61.

[0020] 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of high beam unit 42. High beam unit 42 has a lamp housing formed of housing 51 having a front opening and translucent cover 52 attached to housing 51 so as to cover the front opening. Typically, housing 51 is formed of, for example, a resin material that does not transmit light, and translucent cover 52 is formed of, for example, a resin material that transmits light. Note that housing 51 and translucent cover 52 may be shared with low beam unit 41.

[0021] The high beam unit 42 also includes, as a light source, one or more LEDs 53 and a mounting board 54 for the LEDs, and an optical system 55 for refracting or reflecting the light emitted from the LEDs and properly irradiating the light ahead. The mounting board 54 is electrically connected to a control board corresponding to the lamp control unit 22.

[0022] FIG. 4 shows an example of the arrangement of the LED 53 and its mounting substrate 54. As shown in FIG. 4, the LED 53 is They can be arranged in a matrix of m rows and n columns. For convenience, Figure 4 shows m = 4 and n = 9, but the values ​​of m and n are not limited to these. The value of m can be, for example, between 1 and 20,000. The value of n can be between 1 and 1,000,000.

[0023] The light source is not limited to one or more LEDs 53 and their mounting substrate 54, and various known light sources can be mounted. For example, a DMD (Digital Micro-Mirror Device), a MEMS substrate, or a liquid crystal substrate can be mounted instead.

[0024] 5 shows an illuminance distribution 60 resulting from light irradiation by the vehicle headlamp system 100. The illuminance distribution 60 is determined by the superposition of a low beam unit-derived illuminance distribution 61 resulting from light irradiation from the low beam unit 41 and a high beam unit-derived illuminance distribution 62 resulting from light irradiation from the high beam unit 42.

[0025] When low beam illumination is performed, for example, light is emitted exclusively from the low beam unit 41, and light is not emitted from the high beam unit 42. Therefore, a cutoff line is formed on the upper surface of the illuminance distribution 61 derived from the low beam unit, providing an anti-glare effect for the vehicle 1 ahead. When high beam illumination is performed, light is emitted from both the low beam unit 41 and the high beam unit 42. This has the effect of improving visibility at a distance.

[0026] The light distribution control device 20 can dynamically change whether to perform low beam illumination or high beam illumination in response to changes in traffic conditions such as the ambient illuminance and the presence of a vehicle 1 ahead.

[0027] Furthermore, light distribution control device 20 can, for example, control the on / off of individual LED elements in LED 53 to switch between lighting and non-lighting of any area within the irradiatable area, or control the current value supplied to each LED element to change the illuminance of any area within the irradiatable area. As a result, high beam unit-derived illuminance distribution 62 can be dynamically changed.

[0028] The low beam unit-derived illuminance distribution 61 may be dynamically changed by configuring the low beam unit 41 in the same manner as the high beam unit 42. Furthermore, by standardizing and integrating the configuration of the low beam unit 41 and the high beam unit 42, it is possible to switch between low beam illumination and high beam illumination with a single unit by controlling the current value supplied to each LED element to change the illuminance of any area within the illumination-capable area.

[0029] [Vehicle control device] The vehicle control device 10 controls the driving of the vehicle 1. The vehicle control device 10 is configured, for example, by at least one electronic control unit (ECU). The electronic control unit includes a computer system (for example, an 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.

[0030] 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).

[0031] The memory includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). A vehicle control program may be stored in the ROM. The RAM may temporarily store the vehicle control program, vehicle control data, and / or vehicle 1 position information 25A and ambient illuminance information 25B. The processor may be configured to load a program specified from the various vehicle control programs stored in the ROM onto the RAM and execute various processes in cooperation with the RAM.

[0032] The vehicle control device 10 includes a sensor control unit 11. The sensor control unit 11 controls a position sensor 31 and an illuminance sensor 32.

[0033] [Light distribution control device] The light distribution control device 20 includes a lighting fixture control unit 22, a position information acquisition unit 23, an illuminance acquisition unit 24, and a storage unit 25.

[0034] The position information acquisition unit 23 acquires the position information 25A acquired by the position sensor 31 via the sensor control unit 11.

[0035] The illuminance acquisition unit 24 acquires the environmental illuminance acquired by the illuminance sensor 32 via the sensor control unit 11.

[0036] The storage unit 25 is, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), or a flash memory.

[0037] The luminaire control unit 22 includes an ambient illuminance map creation unit 22A and a light distribution control unit 22B. The luminaire control unit 22 acquires position information 25A from a position information acquisition unit 23 and ambient illuminance from an illuminance acquisition unit 24.

[0038] The environmental illuminance map creating section 22A in the lamp control section 22 generates an illuminance distribution of the vehicle 1 based on the position information 25A and the environmental illuminance acquired when the vehicle 1 was traveling in the past.

[0039] The light distribution control unit 22B in the lamp control unit 22 controls the illuminance distribution 60 of the vehicle lamp 21 based on the illuminance distribution 60 of the vehicle 1. For example, the light distribution control unit 22B can switch between illumination and non-illumination, or change the illuminance, for any region within the illuminable region.

[0040] <Description of the assignment> Fig. 6 is a diagram for explaining a problem with a light distribution control device according to a comparative example. As shown in Fig. 6(a), when the area around vehicle 1 is an urban area or a high-illuminance area and the area far ahead of vehicle 1 is a non-urban area or a low-illuminance area, it is ideal to perform an operation to improve the visibility of the vehicle driver by performing light distribution control such as widening the illumination range (the range of illuminance distribution 60) or increasing the amount of light in at least a part of the illumination range, for example, by using high beam illumination.

[0041] However, as shown in FIG. 6(b), when the technology of the comparative example is applied, which determines that the vehicle is in an urban area or that the surroundings of the vehicle are bright based on a camera image and then performs light distribution control to widen the illumination range or increase the amount of light in at least a part of the illumination range, like low beam illumination, the distant area ahead of the vehicle 1 is also subjected to light distribution control to widen the illumination range or increase the amount of light in at least a part of the illumination range, like low beam illumination.

[0042] When such light distribution control is performed, as shown in Fig. 6(b), the visibility of the distant area ahead of the vehicle 1 for the vehicle driver may be impaired. Note that in Fig. 6, the area illuminated by light from the vehicle lamp 21 is hatched.

[0043] In contrast, in the light distribution control device 20 according to the present disclosure, as described above, the light distribution control unit 22B uses a combination of the position information 25A and the information on the environmental illuminance created by the environmental illuminance map creation unit 22A, thereby more appropriately controlling the illuminance distribution 60 of the vehicle headlamp system 100. Below, the overall flow and details of the determination of the illuminance distribution 60 by the environmental illuminance map creation unit 22A based on the position information 25A and the environmental illuminance, and the light distribution control by the light distribution control unit 22B will be described.

[0044] <Overall flow of light distribution control> 7 is a flowchart for explaining the overall flow of light distribution control by light distribution control device 20. First, ambient illuminance map creation unit 22A acquires current position information 25A from position information acquisition unit 23 and current ambient illuminance from illuminance acquisition unit 24 (step S101), and then calculates the traveling direction of vehicle 1 from the travel trajectory (step S102). Next, current position information 25A and the current ambient illuminance from illuminance acquisition unit 24 are stored in storage unit 25 (step S103).

[0045] Next, based on the current position information 25A and the direction of travel, past position information 25A corresponding to a position a predetermined distance ahead of the current position is searched for, and the past ambient illuminance linked to the past position information 25A is obtained from the memory unit 25 and compared (step S104).

[0046] If the past environmental illuminance linked to the past position information 25A is less than a predetermined value, light distribution control unit 22B controls illuminance distribution 60 of the headlights to widen the illumination range or increase the amount of light in at least a part of the illumination range (step S106).On the other hand, if the past environmental illuminance linked to the past position information 25A is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, light distribution control unit 22B controls illuminance distribution 60 of the headlights to narrow the illumination range or decrease the amount of light in at least a part of the illumination range (step S107).

[0047] Such control (second control) is executed in preference to the first control, i.e., control that narrows the illumination range of the vehicle headlight system 100 or reduces the amount of light in at least a part of the illumination range when the current ambient illuminance is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. <Saving ambient illuminance information> Fig. 8 is a diagram for explaining details of the process for saving environment illuminance information 25B created by environment illuminance map creation unit 22A. As shown in Fig. 8, environment illuminance map creation unit 22A divides the area indicated by the map information into a plurality of areas and saves environment illuminance information 25B for each area. Specifically, environment illuminance map creation unit 22A performs primary mesh processing to divide the area indicated by the map information into a plurality of areas, for example, by dividing the area east-west every 2 / 3 degrees of latitude and by dividing the area north-south every 1 degree of longitude.

[0048] Furthermore, the environmental illumination map creating unit 22A performs a secondary mesh process to divide each area that has been subjected to the primary mesh process into smaller areas, for example, by dividing the area into eight equal parts in each of the east-west direction and the north-south direction.

[0049] Furthermore, the environment illumination map creation unit 22A performs a third-order mesh process to divide each area that has undergone the second-order mesh process into smaller areas, for example, by dividing it into ten equal parts in each of the east-west and north-south directions.The environment illumination map creation unit 22A then saves environment illumination information 25B created from the captured image of each area that has undergone the third-order mesh process.

[0050] Specifically, the environment illuminance map creating unit 22A creates a folder for storing the environment illuminance information 25B for each area for which the tertiary mesh processing has been performed. Then, every time the environment illuminance map creating unit 22A creates the environment illuminance information 25B, it identifies the area and stores the environment illuminance information 25B in the folder for the identified area.

[0051] When the environment illumination map creating unit 22A acquires the position information 25A, the traveling direction information, and the environment illumination, the environment illumination map creating unit 22A repeatedly creates and stores the environment illumination information 25B. As a result, the storage unit 25 accumulates a plurality of environment illumination information 25B.

[0052] Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a database of environment illuminance information 25B created by the environment illuminance map creation unit 22A. The database of environment illuminance information 25B shown in Fig. 9 includes latitude and longitude indicating the position of vehicle 1, and an angle indicating the traveling direction of vehicle 1 when north is set to 0 degrees.

[0053] For example, the environmental illuminance information 25B shown in Figure 9 indicates that the environmental illuminance obtained at a past travel point of vehicle 1 was 378.3 lux when the latitude was 139.6867 degrees and the longitude of vehicle 1 was 35.3894 degrees, and this was recorded as illuminance information ID "0001." <Details of light distribution control by the light distribution control unit>

[0054] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of light distribution control performed by light distribution control unit 22B. Here, it is assumed that environmental illuminance information 25B shown in FIG. 1 has already been accumulated in storage unit 25 due to past travels by vehicle 1, and that the current travel is taking the same route as the previous travels.

[0055] In such a case, the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 during the current travel is calculated based on the time lapse of the position information 25A. For example, when the vehicle 1 moves from a point at latitude 139.6867 degrees and longitude 35.3894 degrees (corresponding to the point with illuminance information ID "0001") to a point at latitude 139.6859 degrees and longitude 35.3888 degrees (corresponding to the point with illuminance information ID "0002"), the traveling direction is calculated to be approximately southwest and the travel distance is calculated to be 100 m.

[0056] Next, light distribution control unit 22B identifies one or more pieces of environment illuminance information 25B stored in the folder corresponding to the identified area, which include past position information 25A and traveling direction information that respectively match the position and traveling direction of the current vehicle 1. For example, light distribution control unit 22B identifies environment illuminance information 25B in which the past position of vehicle 1 is included within a range of a predetermined radius R from the current position of vehicle 1 and the past traveling direction of vehicle 1 is included within a range of a predetermined angle S from the traveling direction of the current vehicle 1.

[0057] Specifically, light distribution control unit 22B acquires a first representative value from a plurality of acquired illuminance values ​​in the specified area among a plurality of pieces of environmental illuminance information 25B acquired during the first travel of vehicle 1. The first representative value is, for example, the average value or median value of the illuminance values ​​acquired in the specified area.

[0058] Furthermore, light distribution control unit 22B acquires a first representative value of the illuminance values ​​acquired in the specified area indicated by each of the plurality of pieces of environmental illuminance information 25B among the plurality of pieces of environmental illuminance information 25B acquired when vehicle 1 travels through the same area for the second time. In this way, light distribution control unit 22B integrates the plurality of pieces of environmental illuminance information 25B to acquire the first representative value each time vehicle 1 travels.

[0059] By performing such processing, if the vehicle is driving with low beams before reaching a point corresponding to the location information 25A in the illuminance information ID "0001" in the ambient illuminance information 25B, as shown in FIG. 10(a), when the vehicle reaches the point, it is possible to refer to the ambient illuminance information 25B of the point with the illuminance information ID "0002" as a point a predetermined distance ahead of the point (here, 100 m ahead), as shown in FIG. 10(b).

[0060] If the environmental illuminance information 25B at the point with illuminance information ID "0002" is less than a predetermined value (100 lux in this example), the light distribution control unit 22B controls the illuminance distribution 60 of the headlights to widen the illumination range or increase the amount of light in at least a portion of the illumination range (for example, by switching to high beam).On the other hand, if the environmental illuminance information 25B at the point with illuminance information ID "0002" is 100 lux or greater, the light distribution control unit 22B controls the illuminance distribution 60 of the headlights to narrow the illumination range or reduce the amount of light in at least a portion of the illumination range (for example, by maintaining low beam control).

[0061] The "predetermined distance" from the point necessary to control the illuminance distribution 60 in this way can be set to any distance between 40 m and 600 m, for example. This means a value between the low beam illumination distance (40 m) defined in the road vehicle safety standards and an example of the maximum high beam illumination distance (600 m) as understood by those skilled in the art, but this is merely one example and is not limited to this range.

[0062] Furthermore, the "predetermined distance" from the point may be determined to vary depending on the setting of the headlight illumination angle, which is adjustable in the pitch angle direction of the vehicle 1. For example, it is widely understood by those skilled in the art that the illumination angle is generally set so that the low beam cutoff line is about 1% (1 / 100 radian in the pitch angle direction) below the ground height of the vehicle headlight.

[0063] If the irradiation angle thus adjusted is turned upward by a certain amount, the irradiation distance can be increased. Therefore, in this case, the "predetermined distance" can be set to be large. Conversely, if the irradiation angle thus adjusted is turned downward by a certain amount, the irradiation distance can be decreased. Therefore, in this case, the "predetermined distance" can be set to be small.

[0064] Furthermore, the "predetermined value," which is the threshold illuminance for determining whether to widen the illumination range or increase the light intensity in at least a part of the illumination range, or to narrow the illumination range or decrease the light intensity in at least a part of the illumination range, based on environmental illuminance information 25B at a point a predetermined distance ahead of the point in question, necessary for controlling illuminance distribution 60 in this way, can be set to any value between 10 lux and 200 lux. This means a value between the maximum illuminance in a residential area (10 lux) and the minimum illuminance in a busy arcade or shopping street (200 lux) in the JIS illuminance standard, but this is merely an example and is not limited to this range.

[0065] When vehicle 1 is traveling in an area where it is traveling for the first time, there is no past position information 25A and no environmental illuminance information 25B including traveling direction information that respectively match the current position and traveling direction of vehicle 1. For this reason, only the first control, i.e., control to narrow the illumination range of vehicle headlamp system 100 or to reduce the light intensity of at least a part of the illumination range when the current environmental illuminance is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, may be executed.

[0066] Also, as an example, when turning right or left or when stopping, it may be deemed unnecessary to refer to past position information 25A and environmental illuminance information 25B including traveling direction information that respectively match the current position and traveling direction of vehicle 1. For this reason, only the first control, i.e., control to narrow the illumination range of vehicle headlamp system 100 or to reduce the light intensity of at least a part of the illumination range when the current environmental illuminance is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, may be executed.

[0067] Furthermore, as an example, when a vehicle ahead of the host vehicle is detected, it may be determined that the illumination range of vehicle headlight system 100 should not be widened or the amount of light in at least a portion of the illumination range should not be increased in order to prioritize anti-glare for the vehicle ahead. For this reason, only the first control, i.e., control to narrow the illumination range of vehicle headlight system 100 or to reduce the amount of light in at least a portion of the illumination range when the current ambient illuminance is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, may be executed.

[0068] As described above, the light distribution control device 20 according to the present disclosure is configured to be able to execute a first control that narrows the illumination range of the vehicle headlight system 100 or controls the illumination range to be smaller, or reduces the amount of light in at least a portion of the illumination range, when the ambient illuminance is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and a second control that widens the illumination range of the vehicle headlight system 100 or increases the amount of light in at least a portion of the illumination range, when the position information 25A matches a predetermined position, and controls the illuminance distribution 60 of the vehicle headlight system 100 so as to prioritize the second control over the first control.

[0069] By such control, when the ambient illuminance is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the illumination range of the vehicle headlight system 100 is no longer narrowed or the amount of light in at least a portion of the illumination range is no longer constantly controlled to be reduced. When the position of the vehicle 1 matches a predetermined position, the illumination range of the vehicle headlight system 100 can be widened or the amount of light in at least a portion of the illumination range can be increased, thereby more appropriately controlling the illuminance distribution 60 of the vehicle headlight system 100 and improving visibility ahead of the vehicle.

[0070] In addition, in the light distribution control device 20, the first control controls the vehicle headlight system 100 in a low beam operation, and the second control controls the vehicle headlight system 100 in a high beam operation.

[0071] With this type of control, when the ambient illuminance is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the system will no longer be constantly controlled in low beam operation, and when the vehicle position matches a predetermined position, the system can be controlled in high beam operation, thereby more appropriately controlling the illuminance distribution 60 of the vehicle headlight system 100 and improving visibility ahead of the vehicle.

[0072] Furthermore, the light distribution control device 20 controls to change the predetermined position in accordance with the current illumination angle of the headlight, which is adjustable in the pitching angle direction of the vehicle.

[0073] By such control, the illuminance distribution 60 of the vehicle headlight system 100 can be more appropriately controlled regardless of the setting of the headlight irradiation angle, which is adjustable in the pitch angle direction, and visibility ahead of the vehicle can be improved.

[0074] Furthermore, in the light distribution control device 20, the second control is to widen the illumination range of the vehicle headlight system 100 or to increase the amount of light in at least a part of the illumination range when the illuminance value in the past illuminance information corresponding to the position information of a predetermined distance ahead of the current position of the vehicle during current driving is less than a predetermined value.

[0075] With this type of control, when the ambient illuminance is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the illumination range of vehicle headlight system 100 is no longer narrowed or the amount of light in at least a portion of the illumination range is no longer constantly controlled to be reduced. Instead, when past ambient illuminance information for a predetermined distance ahead from the current vehicle position is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the illumination range of vehicle headlight system 100 can be widened or the amount of light in at least a portion of the illumination range can be increased. This makes it possible to more appropriately control illuminance distribution 60 of vehicle headlight system 100 and improve visibility ahead of the vehicle.

[0076] Furthermore, in the light distribution control device 20, when the position corresponding to the position information 25A falls within a predetermined range, a representative value of the position indicated by each of the plurality of environmental illuminance information 25B created by the environmental illuminance map creation unit 22A is obtained, and the illuminance distribution 60 is controlled using the representative value.

[0077] By such control, the amount of data used to control the illuminance distribution 60 can be reduced.

[0078] Furthermore, the light distribution control device 20 controls so as not to perform the second control when turning right or left or when stopping.

[0079] By such control, the illuminance distribution 60 can be controlled only in necessary traffic situations.

[0080] Furthermore, in the light distribution control device 20, when a vehicle ahead of the host vehicle is detected, the second control is not performed.

[0081] By such control, it is possible to control the illuminance distribution 60 while preventing glare to the vehicle ahead.

[0082] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have 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 embodiments. The present embodiments are merely examples, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications of the embodiments 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.

[0083] In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which light distribution control device 20 acquires environmental illuminance information 25B and controls light distribution of vehicle lamp 21 based on the acquired environmental illuminance information 25B, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, vehicle 1 may be provided with a device that acquires environmental illuminance information 25B and a device that controls light distribution based on environmental illuminance information 25B, separately. [Explanation of symbols]

[0084] 1: Vehicle 10: Vehicle control device 11: Sensor control unit 20: Light distribution control device 21: Vehicle lighting fixtures 22: Lighting control unit 22A: Environmental illumination map creation section 22B: Light distribution control section 23: Location information acquisition section 24: Illuminance acquisition part 25: Storage section 25A: Location information 25B:Environmental illuminance information 31: Position sensor 32: Illuminance sensor 60: Illuminance distribution 100: Vehicle headlight system

Claims

1. A light distribution control device used in a vehicle headlamp system that can dynamically change an illuminance distribution, a location information acquisition unit that acquires location information of the vehicle; an illuminance acquisition unit that acquires environmental illuminance around the vehicle; a light distribution control unit that dynamically changes the illuminance distribution of the vehicle headlamp system; Equipped with The light distribution control unit performs a first control to narrow an illumination range of the vehicle headlamp system or to reduce a light amount of at least a part of the illumination range when the ambient illuminance is equal to or greater than a predetermined value; and a second control that, when the position information matches a predetermined position, widens the illumination range of the vehicle headlight system or increases the amount of light in at least a portion of the illumination range, and is configured to prioritize the second control over the first control.

2. 2. The light distribution control device according to claim 1, wherein the first control controls the vehicle headlight system in a low beam operation, and the second control controls the vehicle headlight system in a high beam operation.

3. The light distribution control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the light distribution control unit changes the predetermined position in accordance with a current illumination angle of a headlamp that is adjustable in the direction of a pitching angle of the host vehicle.

4. The light distribution control device further includes: a storage unit that stores past position information acquired during past travel and past illuminance information acquired during the past travel, 2. The light distribution control device according to claim 1, wherein the second control is performed to widen the illumination range of the vehicle headlamp system or to increase the amount of light in at least a part of the illumination range when an illuminance value in the past illuminance information corresponding to the position information a predetermined distance ahead of the current position of the vehicle during current traveling is less than a predetermined value.

5. the past illuminance information is divided into any one of a plurality of sets and recorded according to the past position information; 5. The light distribution control device according to claim 4, wherein the light distribution control unit identifies one of the plurality of groups based on the newly acquired position information, and performs the second control based on one or more pieces of past illuminance information included in the identified group.

6. The light distribution control device according to claim 1 , wherein the light distribution control unit does not perform the second control when the vehicle is turning right or left or when the vehicle is stopped.

7. The light distribution control device further includes:

2. The light distribution control device according to claim 1, further comprising a vehicle detection unit that detects a vehicle ahead of the host vehicle, and when a vehicle ahead of the host vehicle is detected, the second control is not performed.

8. A light distribution control program used in a vehicle headlamp system capable of dynamically changing an illuminance distribution, a position information acquisition step of acquiring position information of the vehicle; an illuminance acquisition step of acquiring an environmental illuminance around the host vehicle; a light distribution control step of dynamically changing an illuminance distribution of the vehicle headlamp system; Including, the light distribution control step includes a first control step of narrowing an illumination range of the vehicle headlamp system or controlling the illumination range to reduce a light amount in at least a part of the illumination range when the ambient illuminance is equal to or greater than a predetermined value; a second control step of widening the illumination range of the vehicle headlamp system or increasing the amount of light in at least a portion of the illumination range when the position information matches a predetermined position, and wherein the second control step is prioritized over the first control step.

9. A vehicle headlamp system capable of dynamically changing an illuminance distribution, one or more light sources; a location information acquisition unit that acquires location information of the vehicle; an illuminance acquisition unit that acquires environmental illuminance around the vehicle; a light distribution control unit that dynamically changes the illuminance distribution of the vehicle headlamp system; Equipped with The light distribution control unit performs a first control to narrow an illumination range of the vehicle headlamp system or to reduce a light amount of at least a part of the illumination range when the ambient illuminance is equal to or greater than a predetermined value; and a second control that, when the position information matches a predetermined position, widens the illumination range of the vehicle headlight system or increases the amount of light in at least a portion of the illumination range, and the vehicle headlight system is configured to prioritize the second control over the first control.

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