Vehicular illumination control device, vehicular illumination control system, and vehicular illumination control method

Abstract

To reduce an adverse effect that a driver of a front vehicle such as an oncoming vehicle and a preceding vehicle is dazzled while securing visibility of the driver in front of a vehicle even under a situation where visibility in front of the vehicle is poor due to reflection of water or the like at the time of rainfall, for example.SOLUTION: The lighting control device for a vehicle includes headlights 15 for irradiating a front area of the vehicle, lighting control devices for a vehicle 13 and 14 for controlling the headlights 15, and a camera 10 for imaging the front of the vehicle, and the lighting control devices for a vehicle 13 and 14 include visibility determination units 131a and 141c for determining whether or not the front of the vehicle is in a poor visibility state based on a signal from the camera 10, and stop light distribution control for controlling the light distribution of the headlights 15 when the visibility determination units 131a and 141c determine the poor visibility state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle lighting control device, a vehicle lighting control system, and a vehicle lighting control method for controlling headlights that illuminate the area ahead of a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, as exemplified by Patent Document 1, light distribution control has been performed in which light distribution such as the illumination range of headlights is controlled using an image of the area in front of the vehicle captured by a forward camera such as a forward sensing camera (FSC) mounted on the vehicle.

[0003] Patent Document 1 relates to the light distribution control of headlights when visibility ahead of a vehicle is poor due to bad weather, and discloses that when the amount of rainfall is above a certain level, light distribution control is performed so that the lighting on the road side is dimmer than the lighting on the pedestrian side based on the detection results of a front camera of pedestrians located ahead of the vehicle.

[0004] However, the accuracy of the captured image of the front of the vehicle may be affected by changes in the environment around the vehicle, such as bad weather (rain, fog, snow), etc. For this reason, for example, in situations where visibility ahead of the vehicle is poor due to reflections from water, such as during rain, it may be difficult to appropriately control the light distribution of the headlights using the captured image of the front of the vehicle captured by the front camera.

[0005] In other words, if the light distribution of the headlights is controlled using captured images of the area in front of the vehicle when visibility is poor, this may have a negative impact on the driver's visibility in front of the vehicle and oncoming vehicles and other vehicles in front. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-109440 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of such problems, and aims to provide a vehicle lighting control device, a vehicle lighting control system, and a vehicle lighting control method that can ensure the driver's visibility ahead of the vehicle even in situations where visibility ahead of the vehicle is poor due to water reflection during rain, for example, while reducing the adverse effects of dazzling on drivers of oncoming vehicles, preceding vehicles, and other vehicles ahead. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The vehicle lighting control device of this invention is a vehicle lighting control device that controls headlights that illuminate the area in front of the vehicle, and is characterized in that it is equipped with a visibility condition determination unit that determines whether or not visibility is poor in front of the vehicle based on a signal from a camera that images the area in front of the vehicle, and if the visibility condition determination unit determines that visibility is poor, it stops light distribution control that controls the light distribution of the headlights.

[0009] The vehicle lighting control system of the present invention is characterized by including the vehicle lighting control device, a headlamp that illuminates an area ahead of the vehicle, and a camera disposed in front of the vehicle.

[0010] Furthermore, the vehicle lighting control method of the present invention is a vehicle lighting control method for controlling headlights that illuminate the area in front of the vehicle, and is characterized by executing the steps of determining whether or not visibility is poor in front of the vehicle based on a signal from a camera that captures an image of the area in front of the vehicle, and, if it is determined that visibility is poor, stopping light distribution control that controls the light distribution of the headlights.

[0011] According to the above configuration, when visibility ahead of the vehicle is poor due to water reflection during rain, for example, the light distribution control of the headlights is stopped, thereby preventing light distribution control that is not suited to the actual weather or environment ahead of the vehicle due to the influence of poor visibility.

[0012] Therefore, even in situations where visibility ahead of the vehicle is poor due to water reflection during rain, for example, the driver's visibility ahead of the vehicle can be ensured, while adverse effects on vehicles ahead, such as dazzling drivers of oncoming vehicles and preceding vehicles, can be reduced.

[0013] In one aspect of the present invention, the visibility condition determining unit determines that visibility is poor when the signal from the camera is a poor visibility signal and the poor visibility signal has been received for a predetermined period of time or longer.

[0014] According to the above configuration, even in a configuration in which the visibility condition determination unit determines whether or not visibility is poor using a camera that is easily affected by changes in the surrounding environment, if the poor visibility signal is received for a predetermined period of time or longer, it determines that visibility is poor, thereby reducing erroneous determinations by the visibility condition determination unit.

[0015] Therefore, it is possible to appropriately determine that visibility is poor depending on the actual environment around the vehicle and stop the headlight light distribution control, thereby further ensuring the driver's visibility ahead of the vehicle while further reducing the adverse effects on vehicles ahead.

[0016] The predetermined time is the same level of time as the determination time required to detect whether or not there is a malfunction in various sensors used in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), for example, a few minutes, about 4 to 10 minutes.

[0017] In another aspect of the present invention, the visibility condition determination unit determines that visibility is poor when the signal from the camera is a poor visibility signal and the signal from the weather condition detection unit that detects the weather conditions around the vehicle is a bad weather signal, and the poor visibility signal and the bad weather signal are received for a first shortened time period that is shorter than the predetermined time period.

[0018] According to the above configuration, since the signal from the camera as well as the signal from the weather condition detection unit is used to determine whether visibility is poor ahead of the vehicle, it is possible to reduce erroneous determinations even in situations where visibility is poor ahead of the vehicle due to water reflection, such as during rain. Furthermore, it is possible to reduce the time required to determine whether visibility is poor to approximately a first reduction time that is shorter than the predetermined time. Therefore, it is possible to further ensure the driver's visibility ahead of the vehicle while further reducing adverse effects on vehicles ahead.

[0019] In another aspect of the present invention, the measurement of the time period equal to or longer than the first shortened time period is started after the visibility condition determination unit receives both the poor visibility signal and the bad weather signal.

[0020] According to the above configuration, the visibility condition determination unit receives the poor visibility signal and the bad weather signal at the same time for at least the first shortened time, and therefore can make a poor visibility determination based on an image captured by a camera capturing the current area in front of the vehicle while appropriately reflecting the current weather conditions around the vehicle for at least the first shortened time.

[0021] Therefore, it is possible to further ensure the driver's visibility ahead of the vehicle while further reducing adverse effects on vehicles ahead.

[0022] In another aspect of the present invention, the weather information detection unit may be a heavy rain detection unit that detects that the weather conditions around the vehicle are heavy rain, and the heavy rain detection unit may be a wiper operation status receiving unit that receives a wiper Hi state signal indicating that the wiper operation status is Hi state, a rainfall detection sensor that detects the amount of rainfall around the vehicle, or a weather information acquisition means for the vicinity of the vehicle.

[0023] The means for acquiring weather information around the vehicle is a GPS (Global Positioning System) and an in-vehicle communication device, and can acquire weather information around the vehicle based on the position information of the vehicle from the GPS and the weather information from the in-vehicle communication device. As a rough guide, heavy rain refers to heavy rain of about 20 to 30 mm / h (so-called downpour). However, the weather information detection unit may be, in addition to the heavy rain detection unit, a fog sensor that detects fog around the vehicle, or a snow sensor that detects snow around the vehicle.

[0024] According to the above configuration, the weather information detection unit is configured as a heavy rain detection unit, so that even in situations where visibility ahead of the vehicle is poor due to water reflection, such as during rainfall, erroneous judgments by the visibility condition judgment unit can be reduced and judgments can be made early. Therefore, it is possible to further ensure the driver's visibility ahead of the vehicle while further reducing adverse effects on vehicles ahead.

[0025] In another aspect of the present invention, when the light distribution control of the headlight is stopped and the reception of either the poor visibility signal or the bad weather signal is less than a second shortened time that is shorter than the predetermined time, the visibility condition determination unit determines that visibility is not poor and returns the light distribution control of the headlight from the stopped state to an operating state.

[0026] According to the above configuration, if the reception of either the poor visibility signal or the bad weather signal is less than the second shortened time, there is a high probability that visibility ahead of the vehicle is not poor, so the light distribution control can be restored to an active state and appropriate light distribution control can be performed. Therefore, it is possible to further ensure the driver's visibility ahead of the vehicle while further reducing adverse effects on vehicles ahead.

[0027] Furthermore, it is not excluded that the first shortened time and the second shortened time are the same time as long as they are shorter than the specified time, but as an aspect of this invention, it is preferable that the first shortened time is set longer than the second shortened time. According to the above configuration, it is possible to reduce the sense of glare felt by the driver of the vehicle ahead, and also to reduce the annoyance and discomfort felt by the driver of the own vehicle. [Effects of the Invention]

[0028] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle lighting control device, a vehicle lighting control system, and a vehicle lighting control method that can ensure the driver's visibility ahead of the vehicle even in situations where visibility ahead of the vehicle is poor due to water reflection during rain, for example, while reducing the adverse effects of dazzling on drivers of oncoming vehicles, preceding vehicles, and other vehicles ahead. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0029] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a conceptual structure of a vehicle lighting control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a flowchart showing the calculation process of the BCMECU in this embodiment. [Figure 3] 1 is a flowchart showing the calculation process of ADASECU in this embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0030] An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a conceptual structure of a vehicle lighting control system 1 according to this embodiment. The vehicle lighting control system 1 shown in Figure 1 is mounted on an automobile V as a vehicle, and mainly comprises a forward sensing camera 10 (FSC), a wiper control lever 11 (hereinafter abbreviated as "wiper lever 11"), an ALH switch 12, an ADASECU 13, a BCMECU 14, and a headlamp 15.

[0031] The forward sensing camera 10 is a forward-facing camera installed, for example, near the rearview mirror (not shown) on the passenger compartment side of the windshield 2 of the vehicle (V), and is equipped with an imaging unit 10a that images the area in front of the vehicle, and an image processing unit 10b that analyzes the image captured by the imaging unit 10a.

[0032] The captured image processing unit 10b detects detection targets such as white lines (division lines) on the road surface based on the captured image captured by the imaging unit 10a, and calculates the position, direction, and distance of vehicles ahead of the vehicle (V).These analysis results are mainly used for advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), including autonomous driving and driving assistance.

[0033] More specifically, the captured image processing unit 10b employs a known method of digitizing the image of the area ahead of the vehicle captured by the imaging unit 10a using a degree of poor visibility that indicates the degree of poor visibility based on brightness (illuminance), shade, etc., and outputting a poor visibility signal if the digitized degree of poor visibility is equal to or greater than a threshold. The threshold value for the degree of poor visibility is stored in a memory (not shown) provided in the forward sensing camera 10 and is set in advance. The captured image processing unit 10b outputs a poor visibility signal as one of the analysis results of the captured image to the ADASECU 13 and also to the BCMECU 14 via the bus.

[0034] The wiper lever 11 is attached near the steering wheel so that it can be operated by the driver. The operation state (OFF, Hi, Low, Auto) of the wiper lever 11 indicates the operation state (operation speed) of the wipers and is used to estimate the weather conditions around the vehicle. The wiper lever 11 is connected via a bus to a wiper state receiving unit 144 (described later) provided in the BCMECU 14, and when the operation state of the wiper lever 11 is Hi, it outputs a wiper Hi state signal to the wiper state receiving unit 144.

[0035] The ALH switch 12 is an operating unit for switching the ALH mode ON / OFF. When it is turned ON, the ALH mode is activated and light distribution control is performed in which the illumination area of ​​the headlight 15 is automatically changed by the headlight control unit 141b (described later) based on the analysis results of the forward sensing camera 10.

[0036] The ADASECU 13 performs integrated control of the entire advanced driver assistance system, and includes a CPU 131, a memory 132 as a storage device, and an image analysis result receiving unit 134 and a timer 135 as peripheral circuits.

[0037] The CPU 131 is configured on a microcomputer together with a poor visibility determination unit as a program and is mounted on the vehicle. As a result, the CPU 131 has a poor visibility determination processing function that determines whether or not the area ahead of the vehicle has poor visibility based on the poor visibility signal received by the image analysis result receiving unit 134.

[0038] The memory 132 stores information about a predetermined time T used in the poor visibility determination process described below with reference to Fig. 3. The information about the predetermined time T is time information that is set in advance on the level of several minutes, for example, about 4 to 10 minutes. The image analysis result receiving unit 134 receives, via the bus, a poor visibility signal as one of the analysis results of the captured image by the captured image processing unit 10b of the forward sensing camera 10. The timer 135 has a transmitter that operates at a fixed frequency and a counter that counts clocks from the transmitter, and is used to measure elapsed time such as the poor visibility determination time described below and used in FIG.

[0039] The BCMECU 14 is connected to the ADASECU 13 via a bus so that data can be sent and received, and they cooperate with each other to execute control for stopping and restarting the light distribution control of the headlights 15 during heavy rain.

[0040] As a result, the ADASECU 13 is configured to be able to indirectly control the headlights 15 via the BCMECU 14 including the headlight control unit 141b, for example.

[0041] Specifically, the BCMECU 14 is a controller provided in a BCM (Body Control Module) that controls the headlights 15, power windows (not shown), etc., and is provided with a CPU 141, a memory 142 as a storage device, and an image analysis result receiving unit 143, a wiper status receiving unit 144, and a timer 145 as peripheral circuits.

[0042] The image analysis result receiving unit 143, like the image analysis result receiving unit 134 provided in the ADASECU 13, receives a poor visibility signal via the bus as one of the analysis results of the captured image by the captured image processing unit 10b of the forward sensing camera 10.

[0043] When the operation state of the wiper lever 11 is the Hi state, the wiper state receiving unit 144 receives a wiper Hi state signal from the wiper lever 11. The timer 145 is used to measure elapsed time such as a low visibility determination time and a low visibility resolution determination time, which will be described later and are used in FIG.

[0044] The CPU 141 is configured on a microcomputer together with a wiper control unit 141a, a headlamp control unit 141b, a poor visibility determination unit 141c, and a poor visibility resolution determination unit 141d as programs, and is mounted on the vehicle. The wiper control unit 141a is configured to receive the actual operation state (Hi, Low, Off, or Auto) of the wiper lever 11 via the wiper state receiving unit 144. The wiper control unit 141a controls a wiper device (not shown) based on a signal indicating the operation state of the wiper lever 11, such as a wiper Hi state signal, acquired by the wiper state receiving unit 144.

[0045] The headlamp control unit 141b outputs a command to the headlamp 15 regarding light distribution control for changing the illumination area and the like. The poor visibility determination unit 141c performs poor visibility determination based on the poor visibility signal received by the image analysis result receiving unit 143 to determine whether or not the area ahead of the vehicle has poor visibility.

[0046] The memory 142 stores information on a first reduction time Ts1 and a second reduction time Ts2 used in the determination process described later with reference to FIG. 2. Each piece of information on the first reduction time Ts1 and the second reduction time Ts2 is information on a time that is set in advance on the order of several minutes or several seconds shorter than the predetermined time T, approximately three minutes or less. The second reduction time Ts2 is set to be shorter than the first reduction time Ts1. That is, the relationship between the predetermined time T, the first reduction time Ts1, and the second reduction time Ts2 is second reduction time Ts2<first reduction time Ts1<predetermined time T. In this example, the first reduction time Ts1 is set to 180 seconds, and the second reduction time Ts2 is set to 120 seconds.

[0047] A pair of headlights 15 are disposed on the left and right sides of a front bumper fixed along the vehicle width direction at the front end of the front body of the automobile V. The headlights 15 are subjected to light distribution control, such as changing the illumination range of light, based on a control signal from the BCMECU 14 via the in-vehicle LAN bus.

[0048] Fig. 2 shows a flowchart illustrating the arithmetic processing related to the control of the headlights 15 among the arithmetic processing in the BCMECU 14. Fig. 3 shows a flowchart illustrating the arithmetic processing related to the control of the headlights 15 among the arithmetic processing in the ADASECU 13 in this embodiment.

[0049] The calculation process performed by the BCMECU 14 will be described using the flowchart of FIG. 2, but prior to this, the calculation process performed by the ADASECU 13 will be described using the flowchart of FIG.

[0050] The control of the flowchart in FIG. 3 starts when the ignition (not shown) of the vehicle is turned on, and in step 31, the ADASCU 13 executes ADAS-related control.

[0051] In the following step 32, if the image analysis result receiving unit 134 does not receive a poor visibility signal from the captured image processing unit 10b of the forward sensing camera 10 (step S32: NO), the ADASECU13 returns to step S31 and maintains the operation of ADAS-related control, but if a poor visibility signal is received (step S32: YES), the ADASECU13 proceeds to step 33.

[0052] In the following step S33, the ADASECU13 activates the timer 135 as a trigger when it receives the poor visibility signal in the above-mentioned step S32, and starts measuring the poor visibility determination time required to make the poor visibility determination described below.

[0053] Then, in step S34, the ADASECU13 reads information about the predetermined time T from the memory 132 and performs a poor visibility determination using the poor visibility determination unit 131a. Specifically, if the poor visibility determination time is less than the predetermined time T (step S34: NO), the process returns to step S31 and maintains the operation of the ADAS-related control, while if the poor visibility determination time has elapsed for the predetermined time T (step S34: YES), the process proceeds to step S35.

[0054] In the following step S35, the ADASECU 13 stops the ADAS-related control and outputs a light distribution control stop command signal to the BCMECU 14, and then the process proceeds to step S36.

[0055] In step S36, if the poor visibility is not resolved (step S36: NO), ADASECU13 returns to step S35, and while maintaining the suspension of ADAS-related control, if the poor visibility is resolved (step S36: YES), ADASECU13 returns to step S31 and restores operation of ADAS-related control.

[0056] In step S36, the ADASECU13 executes processing for returning the ADAS-related control from a stopped state to an active state under predetermined conditions, but the specific control flow at that time will be omitted. The calculation process of the flowchart in FIG. 3 continues until the driver turns off the ignition.

[0057] Next, the calculation process performed by the BCMECU 14 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the driver presses the ALH switch 12, the ALH mode is activated, the process proceeds to step S11, and the BCMECU 14 causes the headlamp control unit 141b to execute light distribution control of the headlamp 15. While the headlamp control unit 141b is performing light distribution control of the headlamp 15, control such as automatically changing the illumination area of ​​the headlamp 15 is performed based on the detection result of the forward sensing camera 10.

[0058] In the following step S12, while the headlamp control unit 141b is performing light distribution control of the headlamp 15, the BCMECU 14 receives a light distribution control stop request from the ADASECU 13. The light distribution control stop request is a light distribution control stop command signal output by the ADASECU 13 in step S35 of the flowchart in FIG.

[0059] If a light distribution control stop command signal is obtained from ADASECU13, i.e., if there is a request to stop light distribution control from ADASECU13 (step S12: YES), proceed to step S17, and BCMECU14 stops the light distribution control of the headlamp 15 by the headlamp control unit 141b.

[0060] On the other hand, in step S12, if there is no request to stop the light distribution control from the ADASECU 13 (step S12: NO), the BCMECU 14 proceeds to step S13 while continuing the operation of the light distribution control of the headlamp 15 by the headlamp control unit 141b.

[0061] In the following step S13, if the wiper state receiving unit 144 does not receive a wiper Hi state signal (step S13: NO), the BCMECU 14 returns to step S11 and maintains the operation of the light distribution control of the headlights 15, whereas if the state is Hi (step S13: YES), the weather conditions around the vehicle are estimated to be heavy rain, and the BCMECU 14 proceeds to step S14.

[0062] Next, in step S14, if the image analysis result receiving unit 143 does not receive a poor visibility signal from the captured image processing unit 10b of the forward sensing camera 10 (step S14: NO), the BCMECU14 returns to step S11 and maintains the operation of the light distribution control of the headlight 15 by the headlight control unit 141b, but if a poor visibility signal is received (step S14: YES), the BCMECU14 proceeds to step S15.

[0063] In the next step S15, as described above, if the wiper lever 11 is in the Hi position (step S13: YES) and a poor visibility signal is acquired from the forward sensing camera 10 (step S14: YES), the BCMECU14 triggers the timer 145 to operate when these two conditions are met, and begins measuring the poor visibility determination time required for the poor visibility determination described below.

[0064] Then, in step S16, the BCMECU 14 performs a poor visibility determination to determine whether the weather conditions around the vehicle are heavy rain and therefore the visibility in the area ahead of the vehicle is poor. Specifically, if the poor visibility determination time is less than the first reduction time Ts1 (step S16: NO), the BCMECU 14 returns to step S11 and maintains the operation of the light distribution control of the headlights 15, whereas if the poor visibility determination time continues for the first reduction time Ts1 or more (step S16: YES), that is, if the above two conditions are satisfied for the first reduction time Ts1 or more, the BCMECU 14 determines that the weather conditions around the vehicle are heavy rain and therefore the visibility in the area ahead of the vehicle is poor, and proceeds to step S17.

[0065] In step S17, the BCMECU 14 stops the headlamp control unit 141b from issuing a command regarding light distribution control to the headlamp 15, even though the ALH switch 12 is in the ON state.

[0066] In the following step S18, the BCMECU14 determines whether the wiper state receiving unit 144 has received a wiper Hi state signal when the light distribution control was stopped in step S17, and whether the image analysis result receiving unit 143 has received a poor visibility signal from the forward sensing camera 10.

[0067] Specifically, in step S18, if the BCMECU14 has acquired the wiper Hi state signal and the poor visibility signal (step S18: NO), it returns to step S17 and maintains the suspension of the light distribution control of the headlights 15, whereas if it has not acquired at least one of the wiper Hi state signal and the poor visibility signal (step S18: YES), it proceeds to step S18 as it is possible that the poor visibility has been resolved.

[0068] In the following step S19, the BCMECU14 activates the timer 145 as a trigger when the condition that at least one of the wiper Hi state signal and the low visibility signal has not been acquired is met in step S18, as described above, and starts measuring the low visibility resolution determination time required to determine whether the low visibility has been resolved.

[0069] In step S20, if the poor visibility resolution determination time is less than the second reduction time Ts2 (step S20: NO), the BCMECU14 returns to step S17 and maintains the suspension of the light distribution control of the headlights 15, whereas if the poor visibility resolution determination time continues for the second reduction time Ts2 or more (step S20: YES), the BCMECU14 determines that the poor visibility has been resolved and proceeds to step S21.

[0070] In the next step S21, the BCMECU 14 checks again whether or not to resume the light distribution control of the headlamp 15 by checking whether or not there is a request to stop the light distribution control from the ADASECU 13, similarly to step S12.

[0071] Specifically, in step S21, if the BCMECU14 receives a request to stop light distribution control from the ADASECU13 (step S21: YES), it returns to step S17 and maintains the suspension of light distribution control of the headlights 15, whereas if it does not receive a request to stop light distribution control (step S21: NO), it returns to step S11 and resumes (restores) the operation of light distribution control of the headlights 15.

[0072] The calculation process of the flowchart in FIG. 2 is executed until the driver presses the ALH switch 12 again and the headlights 15 are set to an illumination mode other than the ALH mode, such as the low beam mode.

[0073] As shown in FIG. 1, the lighting control system 1 for the automobile V of the present embodiment described above comprises headlights 15 that illuminate the area ahead of the vehicle, ADASECU13 and BCMECU14 as vehicle lighting control devices that control the headlights 15, and a forward sensing camera 10 that captures images ahead of the vehicle. ADASECU13 and BCMECU14 comprise poor visibility determination units 131a and 141c as visibility condition determination units that determine whether or not there is poor visibility ahead of the vehicle based on a signal from the forward sensing camera 10, and are characterized in that when the poor visibility determination units 131a and 141c determine that there is poor visibility, the light distribution control that controls the light distribution of the headlights 15 is stopped.

[0074] According to the above configuration, when visibility ahead of the vehicle is poor due to water reflection during rain, for example, the light distribution control of the headlights 15 is stopped, so it is possible to avoid light distribution control that is affected by poor visibility and does not match the actual weather or environment around the vehicle.

[0075] Therefore, even in situations where visibility ahead of the vehicle is poor due to water reflection during rain, for example, the driver's visibility ahead of the vehicle can be ensured, while adverse effects on vehicles ahead, such as dazzling drivers of oncoming vehicles and preceding vehicles, can be reduced.

[0076] As an aspect of this invention, as shown in Figures 1 and 3, the poor visibility determination unit 131a provided in ADASECU13 is characterized in that it determines that visibility is poor when the signal from the forward sensing camera 10 is a poor visibility signal (step S32 in Figure 3: YES) and the poor visibility signal has been received for a predetermined time T or longer (step S34 in Figure 3: YES).

[0077] According to the above configuration, even in a configuration in which poor visibility determination unit 131a determines whether or not visibility is poor using forward sensing camera 10, which is generally susceptible to changes in the environment around the vehicle, if the poor visibility signal from forward sensing camera 10 has been received for a predetermined time T or longer, that is, after ensuring a sufficient time of, for example, about five minutes, the determination as to whether or not visibility is poor can be made, thereby reducing erroneous determinations by poor visibility determination unit 131a.

[0078] Therefore, it is possible to more appropriately determine that visibility is poor than when a poor visibility signal is received from the forward sensing camera 10 for less than the predetermined time T, and the effects of changes in the surrounding environment can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to further ensure the driver's visibility ahead of the vehicle while further reducing adverse effects on the vehicle ahead.

[0079] In one aspect of the present invention, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the poor visibility determination unit 141c provided in the BCMECU 14 determines that visibility is poor when the signal from the wiper lever 11 is a wiper Hi state signal (step S13 in Figure 2: YES), and when the signal from the forward sensing camera 10 is a poor visibility signal (step S14 in Figure 2: YES), and when more than the first shortened time Ts1 has elapsed since receiving the poor visibility signal and the wiper Hi state signal (step S16 in Figure 2: YES).

[0080] According to the above configuration, the BCMECU 14 determines whether or not visibility is poor ahead of the vehicle by using not only the signal from the forward sensing camera 10 but also the signal from the wiper lever 11, thereby increasing the reliability of the poor visibility determination while shortening the estimation of heavy rain to approximately the first shortened time Ts1, which is shorter than the predetermined time T.

[0081] Furthermore, in determining whether visibility is poor in step S16 in FIG. 2, the BCMECU14 also requires that the wiper Hi state signal from the wiper lever 11 has been received for at least the first reduction time Ts1. This increases the reliability of the determination of whether visibility is poor, even if, for example, the driver erroneously operates the wiper lever 11 while driving so that the wiper lever 11 is temporarily set to Hi state for less than the first reduction time Ts1.

[0082] That is, unlike the ADASECU13 which determines poor visibility only after continuously receiving a poor visibility signal from the forward sensing camera 10 for a predetermined time period T or more, the BCMECU14 can determine poor visibility by taking into account the weather conditions around the vehicle as described above. Therefore, the BCMECU14 can stop or resume light distribution control in a manner that complements the poor visibility determination by the ADASECU13, responding more flexibly and accurately to changes in the actual environment around the vehicle.

[0083] In addition, if the BCMECU14 determines that visibility is poor (step S34 in Figure 3) as a result of the poor visibility determination process performed by ADASECU13, it can share the result of the determination that visibility is poor (step S34 in Figure 3: YES), by receiving the light distribution control stop command signal from ADASECU13 (step S12, step 21 in Figure 2).

[0084] Based on this result, the BCMECU14 can make a decision to stop or resume light distribution control in combination with the results of the poor visibility determination process (step S16 in Figure 2) and the poor visibility resolution determination process (step S20 in Figure 2) that it performed itself, thereby increasing reliability and enabling efficient poor visibility determination.

[0085] As an aspect of this invention, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the poor visibility resolution determination unit 141d as a visibility condition determination unit determines that the poor visibility has been resolved when the reception of either the poor visibility signal or the wiper Hi state signal becomes shorter than a second shortened time Ts2 that is shorter than the predetermined time T (step S20 in Figure 2: YES) while the light distribution control of the headlights 15 is in a stopped state, and returns the light distribution control of the headlights 15 from the stopped state to an operating state unless a light distribution control stop command signal is received from ADASECU13.

[0086] According to the above configuration, if the reception of either the poor visibility signal or the wiper Hi state signal is less than the second shortened time Ts2, there is a high probability that the visibility ahead of the vehicle is not poor, and therefore by returning the light distribution control of the headlights 15 to an active state, the light distribution control can be performed appropriately in a situation where it is least affected by changes in the weather and environment around the vehicle. Therefore, it is possible to further ensure the driver's visibility ahead of the vehicle while further reducing adverse effects on vehicles ahead.

[0087] In one aspect of the present invention, the first reduction time Ts1 is set to be longer than the second reduction time Ts2. According to the above configuration, it is possible to reduce the sense of glare felt by the driver of the vehicle ahead, and also to reduce the annoyance and discomfort felt by the driver of the own vehicle.

[0088] In detail, the first shortened time Ts1 and the second shortened time Ts2 are set mainly from the viewpoint of reducing the glare felt by the driver of the vehicle ahead and from the viewpoint of reducing the annoyance and discomfort felt by the driver of the vehicle itself due to hunting, in which the light distribution control of the headlights 15 is repeatedly stopped and restarted.

[0089] For example, as shown in Fig. 2, in order for the poor visibility determination process in step S16 to determine that visibility is poor, the wiper operation state must be maintained in the Hi state for a first shortened time Ts1. This condition makes it possible to estimate heavy rain with high accuracy, making it possible to determine that visibility is poor based on the first shortened time Ts1, which is significantly shorter than the predetermined time T, and thus satisfies the former of the two above-mentioned points.

[0090] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, if the poor visibility is determined in the poor visibility determination process of step S16, the light distribution control of the headlights 15 that was operating will be forcibly stopped. Therefore, by setting the first reduction time Ts1 used in this determination to be longer than the second reduction time Ts2, the reliability of the poor visibility determination can be increased and the latter of the two above-mentioned viewpoints can be satisfied.

[0091] In the correspondence between the configuration of this invention and the above-mentioned embodiment, the vehicle corresponds to the automobile V, and similarly, The vehicle lighting control device corresponds to a BCMECU 14 having a headlamp control unit 141b or an ADASECU 13 that controls a headlamp 15 via the BCMECU 14, The camera is compatible with the Forward Sensing Camera 10. The visibility state determination unit corresponds to the poor visibility determination unit 131a, the poor visibility determination unit 141c, or the poor visibility resolution determination unit 141d. The heavy rain detection unit corresponds to the wiper control lever 11. The step of determining whether visibility is poor ahead of the vehicle based on a signal from a camera capturing an image ahead of the vehicle corresponds to step S16 in FIG. 2 or step S34 in FIG. 3; When the visibility condition determination unit determines that visibility is poor, the step of stopping the light distribution control that controls the light distribution of the headlights 15 corresponds to step S17 in FIG. 2 or step S35 in FIG. 3, but the present invention is not limited to the configurations of the above-described embodiments, and many embodiments can be obtained.

[0092] For example, in this embodiment, whether or not it is heavy rain is estimated from the operating state of the wiper lever 11, but this is not limited to this. For example, a raindrop sensor may be provided and whether or not it is heavy rain may be estimated from the detection result of the raindrop sensor, or other methods may be applied.

[0093] In this embodiment, the captured image processing unit 10b that analyzes the captured image captured by the imaging unit 10a is provided in the forward sensing camera 10, but this is not limiting, and it may be provided in at least one of the ADASECU 13 and the BCMECU 14. In this way, when it is provided in one of the two, the ECU of the ADASECU 13 or the BCMECU 14 that has the captured image processing unit 10b may receive the captured image from the imaging unit 10a of the forward sensing camera 10, and output the analysis results analyzed by the captured image processing unit 10b to the ECU that does not have the captured image processing unit 10b via the bus, thereby sharing the analysis results.

[0094] Furthermore, although the vehicle of this embodiment is equipped with two ECUs, ADASECU13 and BCMECU14, as long as it is possible to execute calculation processing equivalent to that described in each block of the flowcharts of Figures 2 and 3, this configuration is not limited to this, and other systems having the above-mentioned calculation processing functions may be adopted, such as an ECU that integrates ADASECU13 and BCMECU14. [Explanation of symbols]

[0095] 1...Vehicle lighting control system 10...Forward sensing camera 11...Wiper control lever 13…ADASECU 14…BCMECU 15...Headlight 131a, 141c…Determination of poor visibility T…Predetermined time Ts1: First shortened time Ts2: Second shortened time

Claims

1. A vehicle lighting control device that controls headlights that illuminate the front of a vehicle, a visibility condition determination unit that determines whether visibility is poor in front of the vehicle based on a signal from a camera that captures an image of the area in front of the vehicle; When the visibility state determination unit determines that the visibility is poor, the light distribution control that controls the light distribution of the headlight is stopped. Vehicle lighting control device.

2. The visibility condition determination unit determines that the visibility is poor when the signal from the camera is a poor visibility signal and the poor visibility signal has been received for a predetermined period of time or longer. The vehicle lighting control device according to claim 1 .

3. The visibility condition determination unit determines that visibility is poor when the signal from the camera is a poor visibility signal, and the signal from a weather condition detection unit that detects weather conditions around the vehicle is a bad weather signal, and the poor visibility signal and the bad weather signal are received for a first shortened time period or longer that is shorter than the predetermined time period. The vehicle lighting control device according to claim 2 .

4. The measurement of the first shortened time or more is started after the visibility condition determination unit receives both the poor visibility signal and the bad weather signal. The vehicle lighting control device according to claim 3 .

5. the weather information detection unit is a heavy rain detection unit that detects whether the weather condition around the vehicle is heavy rain, The heavy rain detection unit is at least one of a wiper operation status receiving unit that receives a wiper Hi status signal indicating that the wiper operation status is Hi, a rainfall detection sensor that detects the amount of rainfall around the vehicle, and a weather information acquisition unit around the vehicle. The vehicle lighting control device according to claim 4.

6. The visibility state determination unit, in a state in which the light distribution control of the headlight is stopped, When reception of either the poor visibility signal or the bad weather signal is shorter than a second shortened time that is shorter than the predetermined time, it is determined that visibility is not poor, and the light distribution control of the headlight is restored from the stopped state to an active state. The vehicle lighting control device according to claim 3 .

7. The first reduction time is set to be longer than the second reduction time. The vehicle lighting control device according to claim 6.

8. A vehicle lighting control device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, a headlamp for illuminating an area ahead of the vehicle; a camera disposed in front of the vehicle; Vehicle lighting control system.

9. A vehicle lighting control method for controlling headlights that illuminate a front of a vehicle, comprising: determining whether visibility is poor ahead of the vehicle based on a signal from a camera capturing an image of the area ahead of the vehicle; When it is determined that the visibility is poor, a step of stopping light distribution control that controls the light distribution of the headlight is executed. A method for controlling vehicle lighting.

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