Vehicle headlight structure

Abstract

This invention provides a vehicle headlight structure that allows sensors such as cameras to more quickly detect pedestrians crossing the road ahead. [Solution] In a vehicle headlight structure 120 equipped with the headlights of a vehicle 100, the headlight reflects light off the road surface and illuminates a specific illumination range formed by tilting an imaginary line extending forward from the height of the headlight, which is in the center of the vehicle's width direction, to the right by 4° to 10° and up and down by -5° to 5°.

Description

Technical Field

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[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle headlight structure.

Background Art

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique of irradiating light from a vehicle headlight device with an irradiation pattern in which bright areas and dark areas such as stripes or grids are alternately repeated. According to the technique of Patent Document 1, it is said that the presence of pedestrians can be quickly detected.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, in recent years, some vehicles are equipped with AEBS (Autonomous Emergency Braking System). AEBS is a system that detects pedestrians and obstacles ahead by sensors such as cameras, warns the driver of the possibility of collision, and activates the brakes to avoid collision or reduce damage.

[0005] According to the vehicle headlight device described in Patent Document 1, it is considered that AEBS can shorten the time for recognizing pedestrians and the like to some extent, but further improvement is desired for ensuring safety.

[0006] In view of such problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle headlight structure that can more quickly detect a pedestrian crossing in front of the lane by a sensor such as a camera.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] To solve the above problems, a typical configuration of the present invention is a vehicle headlight structure equipped with a vehicle headlight, characterized in that the headlight reflects light off the road surface and irradiates a specific illumination range formed by tilting an imaginary line that is in the center of the vehicle's width direction and extends forward from the height of the headlight to the vehicle from the right by 4° to 10° and up and down by -5° to 5°. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, a vehicle headlight structure can be provided that allows sensors such as cameras to more quickly detect pedestrians crossing the road ahead. Furthermore, since the headlight light is projected toward the road surface, reflected by the road surface, and then projected onto a specific illumination range, the glare felt by pedestrians crossing the road is reduced. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a view from above of a vehicle being driven, to which a vehicle headlight structure according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. [Figure 2] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle headlight structure installed on the vehicle shown. [Figure 3] This figure shows the illumination range in the vertical direction of the vehicle shown in Figure 1. [Figure 4] This figure shows the view from the front of the vehicle in Figure 1. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] One embodiment of the present invention is a vehicle headlight structure equipped with a vehicle headlight, characterized in that the headlight reflects light off the road surface and irradiates a specific illumination range formed by tilting an imaginary line extending forward from the height of the headlight, which is in the center of the vehicle's width direction, to the right by 4° to 10° and up and down by -5° to 5°.

[0011] According to the present invention, sensors such as cameras can more quickly detect pedestrians crossing the road ahead. Furthermore, since the light from the headlights is projected toward the road surface, reflected by the road surface, and then projected onto a specific illumination range, the glare felt by pedestrians crossing the road is reduced.

[0012] The headlights should illuminate a specific area with low beam light. With this configuration, in situations where high beams cannot be used, the low beam can be used to improve the accuracy of the illumination to pedestrians crossing the road, thereby improving the quality of driving by the driver.

[0013] When a headlight is considered a first headlight, the vehicle headlight structure further includes a second headlight that directly illuminates a predetermined area with low beam light without reflecting it off the road surface, and the light from the low beam of the first headlight should have a higher illuminance than the light from the low beam of the second headlight.

[0014] With this configuration, the low beam of the first headlight differs from the low beam of the second headlight in that it reflects light off the road surface. Therefore, even if the illumination is increased, pedestrians and drivers of oncoming vehicles are less likely to feel dazzled, allowing the illumination to be set higher. As a result, drivers can more easily spot pedestrians.

[0015] The headlights should illuminate only the low beam within a specific illumination range, by tilting the imaginary line 4° to 8° to the right and -1.5° to 4.5° vertically. This configuration allows for a wider light distribution above the specified illumination range for the low beam.

[0016] The headlights should illuminate a specific area by tilting the imaginary line to the right from 4.5° to 7.5° and tilting it up and down from -5° to -2°, within the range of the road surface direction, and then reflecting the light within that range.

[0017] According to this configuration, the low beam can be irradiated to a specific irradiation range that is inclined 4° to 8° to the right in the vehicle width direction with respect to the virtual line and -1.5° to 4.5° in the vertical direction with respect to the virtual line.

[0018] The headlight has an LED and a reflector that reflects the light emitted by the LED, and it is preferable to change the illuminance of light in the specific irradiation range and other ranges by changing the angle of a part of the surface of the reflector.

[0019] According to this configuration, since an LED and a reflector are used, the directivity of the beam is strong and it is easy to control the irradiation range of the beam.

Embodiment

[0020] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dimensions, materials, and other specific numerical values shown in such embodiments are merely examples for facilitating the understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In this specification and the drawings, elements having substantially the same functions and configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not shown.

[0021] FIG. 1 is a view seen from above of a state in which a vehicle 100 to which a vehicle headlight structure 120 according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied is running. In FIG. 1 and all other drawings, the vehicle front-rear direction is indicated by arrows F (Forward) and B (Backward), the left and right in the vehicle width direction are indicated by arrows L (Leftward) and R (Rightward), and the vertical direction is indicated by arrows U (upward) and D (downward), respectively.

[0022] The vehicle 100 shown in Figure 1 is equipped with vehicle headlight structures 120 and 140 at its front end. Figure 1 shows a pedestrian 200 crossing the road along a crossing line K in front of the moving vehicle 100. A vehicle 300 is shown parked in the oncoming lane between the vehicle 100 and the pedestrian 200.

[0023] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the vehicle headlight structure 120 on the right side of the vehicle, which is mounted on the vehicle 100 shown in Figure 1. Figure 2(a) is a front view of the vehicle headlight structure 120 on the right side of the vehicle. Figure 2(b) is a cross-sectional view AA of Figure 2(a). As shown in Figure 2(a), the vehicle headlight structure 120 has a high-beam emitting section 122 that emits light with high beam, a low-beam emitting section 124 as a second headlight that emits light with low beam, and a low-beam emitting section 126 as a first headlight. The vehicle headlight structure 140 is configured symmetrically with the vehicle headlight structure 120 in the vehicle width direction.

[0024] High beams illuminate a wide area and a long distance ahead with relatively high illumination, and are mainly used when driving at high speeds on roads with little oncoming traffic. Low beams illuminate the area immediately surrounding the vehicle with a predetermined illumination, and are designed not to cause glare to oncoming vehicles, and are mainly used when driving in urban areas.

[0025] As shown in Figure 2(a), in this embodiment, the high beam illumination unit 122 is located on the inside in the vehicle width direction (right side in Figure 2(a), left side in the vehicle width direction). The low beam illumination unit 124 is located on the outside in the vehicle width direction of the high beam illumination unit 122. The low beam illumination unit 126 is located on the outside in the vehicle width direction of the low beam illumination unit 124.

[0026] As shown in Figure 2(b), the low-beam illumination unit 126 includes an LED 126a as a light source and a reflector 126b as a reflector that reflects the light emitted by the LED 126a toward the front of the vehicle. The reflector 126b is mainly formed to illuminate downwards toward the front of the vehicle. In the low-beam illumination unit 126, the white light emitted by the LED 126a is reflected by the reflector 126b, and the reflected beam illuminates downwards toward the front.

[0027] The low-beam irradiation unit 126 irradiates a specific irradiation range W with light from the low beam reflected by changing the angle in the vehicle width direction with respect to a portion of the surface of the reflector 126b. For example, if the front surface of the reflector 126b is changed from facing forward to the vehicle to tilting a portion of the surface to the right in the vehicle width direction, the direction of a portion of the beam shifts to the front right of the moving vehicle 100, and the illuminance of the area irradiated by the beam increases. Note that the portion of the surface of the reflector 126b referred to here means a portion of the surface of a plurality of reflector pieces when the reflector 126b is an assembly of multiple reflector pieces.

[0028] Furthermore, the configuration and function of the low-beam illumination unit 126 are substantially the same for the high-beam illumination unit 122 and the low-beam illumination unit 124, which acts as a second headlight. However, the reflector 122b of the high-beam illumination unit 122 is primarily formed to illuminate upwards in front of the vehicle. In the high-beam illumination unit 122, the white light emitted by the LED 122a is reflected by the reflector 122b, and the reflected beam illuminates upwards in front of the vehicle to become a high beam. The low-beam illumination unit 124 illuminates a predetermined range directly with light from the low beam without reflecting it off the road surface.

[0029] The light emitted by the low beam from the low beam irradiation unit 126 is set to have a higher illuminance than the light emitted by the low beam from the low beam irradiation unit 124.

[0030] In this embodiment, the low-beam irradiation units 124 and 126 each had an LED 124a and 126a and reflectors 124b and 126b, but the system is not limited to this configuration. For example, there may be only one LED as the light source, and a portion of the white light emitted by this LED may be reflected by the reflector 124b and irradiated as a normal low beam, while the remaining portion of the white light emitted by the LED may be reflected by the reflector 126b and irradiated as a low beam in a specific irradiation range W. In this case, the illuminance in the specific irradiation range W may be higher than in other ranges.

[0031] Alternatively, there may be only one LED as the light source, and the reflectors 124b and 126b may be integrated into a single reflector. In this embodiment, the low beam was illuminated with high illuminance by the low beam illumination unit 126, but the low beam may also be illuminated with high illuminance by the low beam illumination unit 124.

[0032] The vehicle 100 in this embodiment has an AEBS (Automatic Emergency Braking System) (not shown). The AEBS includes a sensor 150 that detects pedestrians 200 while the vehicle 100 is in motion, and an AEBS controller (not shown). The sensor 150 may use an infrared laser, an optical camera, a millimeter-wave radar, etc. The AEBS controller then analyzes the distance to the obstacle based on the detection results of the sensor 150 and provides warnings to the driver or assists with braking.

[0033] The vehicle headlight structures 120 and 140 are equipped with reflectors that change the intensity of the illumination. By changing the angle of a portion of the surface of the reflector 126b, the low beam illuminates the road surface illumination range V and the reflected light illuminates a specific illumination range W.

[0034] Figure 3 shows the vertical illumination range of the vehicle in Figure 1. The specific illumination range W is the range created by tilting a virtual line J, which is the center of the vehicle width direction as shown in Figure 1 and extends forward from the height of the vehicle headlight structure 120, to the right from θ1 (=4°) to θ2 (=10°), and then tilting it vertically from θ3 (=-5°) to θ4 (=5°) as shown in Figure 3.

[0035] The low-beam irradiation unit 126 irradiates light with a low beam to a range within a specific irradiation range W, where the imaginary line J is tilted to the right by 4° to 8° and vertically by -1.5° to 4.5°.

[0036] Vehicle headlight structures 120 and 140 are equipped with reflectors that change the intensity of the illumination. By changing the angle of a portion of the surface of the reflector 124b, the reflected light is directed to a specific illumination range W.

[0037] The vehicle headlight structure 120 illuminates and reflects light onto the road surface illumination range V, which is created by tilting the imaginary line J to the right from 4.5° to 7.5° and tilting it vertically from -5° to -2°. In Figure 3, it is shown that when the low beam illumination unit 126 illuminates the road surface at position R from illumination position P, the reflected light reaches position S. Also in Figure 3, it is shown that when the low beam illumination unit 126 illuminates the road surface at position Q from illumination position P, the reflected light reaches position T.

[0038] Next, the view of the front of the vehicle 100 as seen by the illumination of the vehicle headlight structure 120 will be explained with reference to Figure 4. Figure 4 is a diagram showing the view of the front of the vehicle 100 in Figure 1. Figure 4 shows the high beam region h to be illuminated by the high beam illumination unit 122 and the low beam region r to be illuminated by the low beam illumination units 124 and 126.

[0039] The low-beam illumination unit 126 illuminates only the road surface illumination range V with low-beam light, and can illuminate not only the lower body of the pedestrian 200, which is at least a part of the specific illumination range W within the low-beam region r, but also the upper body of the pedestrian 200, which is at least a part of the specific illumination range W within the high-beam region h, with low-beam light at a higher intensity than other areas. Because the upper and lower body of the pedestrian 200 are illuminated, the aforementioned sensor 150 can easily detect the pedestrian 200.

[0040] According to the configuration of this embodiment described above, sensors such as cameras can more quickly detect when a pedestrian is crossing the road ahead. In addition, since the light from the low-beam illumination unit 126 is projected toward the road surface, reflected by the road surface, and then projected into the specific illumination range W, the glare felt by the pedestrian 200 while crossing is reduced.

[0041] Furthermore, in situations where high beams cannot be used, low beams can be used to improve the accuracy of the illumination point for pedestrians 200 crossing the road, thereby improving the quality of driving by the driver.

[0042] Furthermore, the low beam of the low beam illumination unit 126 differs from the low beam of the low beam illumination unit 124 in that it reflects light off the road surface. Therefore, even if the illumination is increased, pedestrians and drivers of oncoming vehicles are less likely to feel dazzled, allowing the illumination to be set higher. As a result, drivers can more easily spot pedestrians.

[0043] The specific illumination range W is the range created by tilting the imaginary line J to the right from 4° to 8° and tilting it vertically from -1.5° to 4.5°, and the vehicle headlight structure 120 illuminates only the light from the low beam into the specific illumination range W. This allows for a wider distribution of light above the illumination range specified for the low beam.

[0044] The headlights illuminate and reflect light within a range created by tilting the virtual line J to the right by 4.5° to 7.5° and vertically by -5° to -2° within the range in the direction of the road surface. As a result, the low beam can illuminate a specific illumination range W that is tilted to the right in the vehicle width direction by 4° to 8° relative to the virtual line J and tilted vertically by -1.5° to 4.5° relative to the virtual line J.

[0045] Because LEDs 124a and 126a and reflectors 124b and 126b are used, the beam has strong directivity and the beam's illumination range is easy to control.

[0046] In this embodiment, the low-beam irradiation unit 126 irradiates only light from the low beam within the road surface irradiation range V, and irradiates light within a specific irradiation range W. However, the embodiment is not limited to the above.

[0047] In this embodiment, the vehicle 100 was not equipped with a controller to adjust the illuminance, but the configuration is not limited to this, and the vehicle 100 may be equipped with a controller to adjust the illuminance emitted by the vehicle headlight structures 120 and 140. The controller may be structured to increase the illuminance of a specific illumination range W by driving a reflector driving mechanism (not shown) that changes the angle of the surface of a portion of any of the reflectors 122b, 124b, and 126b.

[0048] In this embodiment, the vehicle headlight is described assuming a configuration that illuminates the right side when the vehicle 100 is driven with right-hand drive. However, it is not limited to this configuration, and a configuration that illuminates the left side when the vehicle 100 is driven with left-hand drive is also possible. Furthermore, in this embodiment, a specific illumination range on the right side is exemplified for a vehicle 100 driven with right-hand drive. However, it is not limited to this, and a similar specific illumination range on the left side may be set for a vehicle 100 driven with left-hand drive. When the vehicle 100 is viewed from above, the illumination range on the right side and the illumination range on the left side may be set symmetrically with respect to a line in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle passing through the center of the vehicle.

[0049] Preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the attached drawings, but it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to these examples. It is clear to those skilled in the art that various modifications or alterations can be conceived within the scope of the claims, and these will naturally also fall within the technical scope of the present invention.

[0050] Furthermore, the present invention can be implemented by freely combining the inventions described in the claims and examples, regardless of the dependency relationships of the claims. [Industrial applicability]

[0051] This invention can be used in vehicle headlight structures. [Explanation of symbols]

[0052] 100...Vehicle, 120...Vehicle headlight structure, 122...High beam illumination section, 122a...LED, 122b...Reflector, 124...Low beam illumination section (second headlight), 124a...LED, 124b...Reflector, 126...Low beam illumination section (first headlight), 126a...LED, 126b...Reflector, 140...Vehicle headlight structure, 150...Sensor, 200...Pedestrian, 300...Vehicle, h...High beam area, J...Visible line, K...Reference crossing position, r...Low beam area, V...Road surface illumination range, W...Specific illumination range, W1...Range, W2...Range

Claims

1. In a vehicle headlight structure equipped with vehicle headlights, The headlight structure for a vehicle is characterized by reflecting light onto the road surface and irradiating the reflected light into a specific illumination range formed by tilting an imaginary line extending forward from the height of the headlight, which is in the center of the vehicle's width direction, to the right by 4° to 10° and vertically by -5° to 5°.

2. The headlight structure for a vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the headlight illuminates the specified illumination range with light from a low beam.

3. When the aforementioned headlight is designated as the first headlight, the vehicle headlight structure further comprises a second headlight that directly illuminates a predetermined area with low beam light without reflecting it off the road surface. The vehicle headlight structure according to claim 2, characterized in that the light emitted by the low beam of the first headlight has a higher illuminance than the light emitted by the low beam of the second headlight.

4. The headlight structure for a vehicle according to claim 2, characterized in that the headlight illuminates only the light from the low beam in the range that can be created by tilting the imaginary line to the right by 4° to 8° and tilting it up and down by -1.5° to 4.5°, within the specified illumination range.

5. The headlight structure for a vehicle according to claim 4, characterized in that the headlight illuminates the specific illumination range by illuminating and reflecting light within a range that can be created by tilting the imaginary line to the right from 4.5° to 7.5° and tilting it up and down from -5° to -2° within a range in the direction of the road surface.

6. The headlight structure for a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising an LED and a reflector that reflects the light emitted by the LED, wherein the illuminance of the light is changed between the specific illumination range and the other range by changing the angle of a part of the surface of the reflector.

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