Automatic shoulder light illumination device

Abstract

We provide an automatic roadside light illumination system. [Solution] The automatic roadside light illumination device 1 includes a first acceleration sensor S1 and a reference acceleration sensor S2, which are sensors of the same type that measure acceleration, an LED indicator light 5, and a controller 4 connected to the first acceleration sensor, the reference acceleration sensor, and the LED indicator light 5, respectively. The controller receives a first acceleration measurement value sent from the first acceleration sensor and a reference acceleration measurement value sent from the reference acceleration sensor, and determines whether or not to generate and output a warning signal based on these measurement values. When the controller outputs a warning signal to the LED indicator light, the LED indicator light illuminates, which indicates that the deviation from the initial installation position of the roadside light has exceeded the allowable range. On the other hand, if the LED indicator light does not illuminate, it indicates that the deviation from the initial installation position of the roadside light is within the allowable range and the roadside light can continue to operate its auxiliary lighting function.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an auxiliary lighting device for vehicles, and particularly to a road shoulder lamp automatic irradiation device.

Background Art

[0002] When a vehicle turns, the brightness of the current vehicle lamp illumination is often insufficient, and the driver cannot clearly see some areas on the side, which may cause troubles and dangers. Especially when the turning angle is large, the driver's reaction time becomes shorter, so it becomes more difficult to see some areas on the side, which makes troubles more likely to occur and the risk level increases. Therefore, some vehicle owners strengthen the side lighting ability when the vehicle turns by additionally installing road shoulder lamps on the vehicle.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0003] However, due to the influence of various external factors, if the road shoulder lamp installed on the vehicle deviates from the initial installation position, the road shoulder lamp may not light up normally when the vehicle turns, and the lighting function may not be exerted. Thus, how to detect the displacement of the road shoulder lamp in real time and quickly notify the vehicle user has become a problem to be solved in the current technical field.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0004] In view of the aforementioned problems, the automatic roadside light illumination device of the present invention is installed on at least one of the left outer side and the right outer side of the lower part of the vehicle body and comprises a fixed structure that forms an angle with the vehicle body, a lamp socket plate installed on the fixed structure, a roadside light installed on the lamp socket plate, a first acceleration sensor installed at a first position on the lamp socket plate that detects and outputs a first acceleration measurement value, a reference acceleration sensor installed at a second position on the lamp socket plate that detects and outputs a reference acceleration measurement value, an angle correspondence table including a plurality of corresponding reference acceleration measurement values ​​during vehicle turning measured at different angles by the reference acceleration sensor, and at different angles The system includes a memory that stores a first acceleration compensation correspondence table containing corresponding acceleration compensation values, and controllers connected to the first acceleration sensor, the reference acceleration sensor, and the roadside light, respectively. The controller obtains the current angle by searching the angle correspondence table based on the currently measured reference acceleration value, and obtains the acceleration compensation value by searching the first acceleration compensation correspondence table based on the angle. The controller compensates the first acceleration value based on the current acceleration compensation value, and determines whether or not to turn on the roadside light to provide auxiliary lighting based on the compensated first acceleration value. [Effects of the Invention]

[0005] The automatic roadside lamp illumination device of this invention determines whether a vehicle is turning or not by searching a table based on acceleration measurements detected by two acceleration sensors located at different positions on a single lamp socket plate, and activates the auxiliary illumination of the roadside lamp accordingly to enhance the illumination of the vehicle's side. Furthermore, while the vehicle is turning, it detects in real time whether the positional displacement of the roadside lamp exceeds a predetermined allowable range and quickly notifies the vehicle user of the detection result, thereby reliably achieving the objective of this invention. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0006] [Figure 1]This is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment to which the automatic roadside light illumination device of the present invention is applied. [Figure 2] This is a schematic diagram of the configuration of the automatic roadside light illumination device of the present invention. [Figure 3A] This is a front view of the vehicle light of the automatic roadside light illumination device of the present invention. [Figure 3B] This is a front view of the vehicle light of the automatic roadside light illumination device of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0007] Figure 1 is a rear view showing an embodiment to which the automatic roadside light illumination device 1 of the present invention is applied. According to this configuration, the vehicle 80 is equipped with a body 90 and wheels 91 and 92, and a roadside light 40 is provided on the lower left outer side of the body 90. In addition to its normal lighting function, this roadside light 40 also has an auxiliary lighting function, that is, when the vehicle 80 turns, it can further increase the brightness of the lighting to provide auxiliary lighting. Furthermore, when the vehicle 80 turns left, the auxiliary lighting function of the roadside light 40 is activated, increasing the brightness of the lighting and illuminating the left side of the vehicle 80 in the normal direction N, thereby compensating for the lack of lighting on the left side, and allowing the driver to see the road surface conditions on the left side more clearly when the vehicle 80 turns left, thus improving the safety of the vehicle 80 when turning. On the other hand, in one embodiment, in symmetric to the configuration shown in Figure 1, a shoulder light 40 (not shown) is also provided on the right outer side of the lower part of the vehicle body 90. When the vehicle 80 turns right, the auxiliary lighting function on the right side is activated to compensate for the lack of lighting on the right side, allowing the driver to see the road surface conditions on the right side more clearly when the vehicle 80 turns right, thereby improving the safety of the vehicle 80 when turning.

[0008] As described above, the fixed structure 20 is pivotally attached to the lower left outer side of the vehicle body 90 via the hinge portion 30, the lamp socket plate 10 is installed on the fixed structure 20, and the roadside light 40 is installed on the lamp socket plate 10. Here, when the fixed structure 20 and the vehicle body 90 are at a predetermined angle, and the roadside light 40 is in its initial installation position, the angle between the fixed structure 20 and the vehicle body 90 is set to the initial angle θ0.

[0009] As described above, due to the effects of vibrations, shocks, gravity, and centrifugal force that occur while the vehicle 80 is in motion, the angle between the fixed structure 20 and the vehicle body 90 may gradually deviate from the initial angle θ0. Therefore, the automatic roadside light illumination device 1 of the present invention needs to detect in real time how much the angle has deviated from the initial angle θ0, determine whether the deviation exceeds the allowable range, and decide whether or not to output a warning signal. If it is determined that a warning signal should be output, the operation of the auxiliary lighting function of the roadside light 40 can be stopped. In one embodiment, however, if it is determined that a warning signal should be output, the automatic roadside light illumination device 1 of the present invention does not stop the operation of the auxiliary lighting function of the roadside light 40, but instead directly adjusts the allowable range to allow the angle to deviate even more from the initial angle θ0, and the auxiliary lighting function of the roadside light 40 can continue to operate.

[0010] As shown in Figure 2, Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the configuration of the automatic roadside light illumination device 1 of the present invention. The automatic roadside light illumination device 1 of the present invention includes a first acceleration sensor S1 and a reference acceleration sensor S2, which are sensors of the same type that measure acceleration, an LED indicator light 5, and a controller 4 connected to the first acceleration sensor S1, the reference acceleration sensor S2, and the LED indicator light 5, respectively. The controller 4 receives the first acceleration measurement value sent from the first acceleration sensor S1 and the reference acceleration measurement value sent from the reference acceleration sensor S2, and determines whether or not to generate and output a warning signal based on these measurement values. When the controller 4 outputs a warning signal to the LED indicator light 5, the LED indicator light 5 lights up, which indicates that the deviation of the roadside light 40 from its initial installation position has exceeded the allowable range. On the other hand, when the controller 4 does not output a warning signal to the LED indicator light 5, i.e., when the LED indicator light 5 does not light up, it indicates that the deviation of the roadside light 40 from its initial installation position is within the allowable range, and the roadside light 40 can continue to operate its auxiliary lighting function. In one embodiment, the LED indicator light 5 may be installed on the instrument panel of the driver's seat of the vehicle 80, on the lamp socket plate 10, or on the fixing structure 20. In another embodiment, the controller 4 may be a microcontroller, CPU, industrial computer, tablet terminal, or laptop computer. The first acceleration sensor S1 and the reference acceleration sensor S2 may be an in-vehicle acceleration sensor (G sensor) or an acceleration sensor using a general microelectromechanical structure (MEMS). The roadside light 40 may be an LED light or other type of light.

[0011] In one embodiment, the controller 4 generates a warning signal and controls an audible device such as a buzzer or a portable terminal (not shown) to emit a sound based on that signal, to notify the user that the deviation of the roadside light 40 from its initial position exceeds an acceptable range.

[0012] In one embodiment, the automatic roadside light illumination device 1 of the present invention further includes a memory (not shown) which stores an angle correspondence table T1 and a first acceleration compensation correspondence table T2 in advance. The angle correspondence table T1 contains a plurality of corresponding reference acceleration measurements taken at different angles by a reference acceleration sensor S2 during vehicle turning. The first acceleration compensation correspondence table T2 contains acceleration compensation values ​​corresponding to different angles. The controller 4 obtains the current angle by searching the angle correspondence table T1 based on the currently measured reference acceleration measurement, and then obtains the first acceleration compensation value by searching the first acceleration compensation correspondence table T2 based on the current angle. The controller 4 then compensates the first acceleration measurement based on the acquired acceleration compensation value, and based on the compensated first acceleration measurement, determines whether or not to turn on the roadside light to provide auxiliary illumination. As can be seen from the above, in this embodiment, an angle correspondence table T1 and a first acceleration compensation correspondence table T2 are generated and stored based on a first acceleration measurement value, a reference acceleration measurement value, and a corresponding angle value measured in advance. The current angle is obtained by searching the above tables based on the currently measured reference acceleration measurement value, and the first acceleration measurement value after compensation is calculated to determine whether or not to activate the auxiliary lighting of the roadside light 40. Therefore, this embodiment makes it possible to determine with high accuracy whether or not to activate the auxiliary lighting of the roadside light 40.

[0013] In one embodiment, when searching the angle correspondence table T1 using the currently measured reference acceleration value A2, if the currently measured reference acceleration value A2 is interposed between one reference acceleration value A1 and another reference acceleration value A3 listed in the angle correspondence table T1, and if the corresponding angle value of reference acceleration value A1 in the angle correspondence table T1 is θ1 and the corresponding other angle value of the other reference acceleration value A3 is θ3, then the corresponding current angle value θ2 = θ1 × (A3 - A2) / (A3 - A1) + θ3 × (A2 - A1) / (A3 - A1) of the currently measured reference acceleration value A2 can be calculated by interpolation. Similarly, when searching the first acceleration compensation correspondence table T2 using the current angle value θy, if the current angle value θy is interposed between one angle value θx and another angle value θz listed in the first acceleration compensation correspondence table T2, then the corresponding current first acceleration compensation value Cy of the current angle value θy can be calculated by interpolation. In the first acceleration compensation table T2, if the angle value θx corresponds to the first acceleration compensation value Cx, and other angle values ​​θz correspond to other first acceleration compensation values ​​Cz, then the current first acceleration compensation value Cy = Cx × (θz - θy) / (θz - θx) + Cz × (θy - θx) / (θz - θx) corresponding to the current angle value θy can be calculated by interpolation.

[0014] As shown in Figures 3A and 3B, Figures 3A and 3B show a front view of the lamp socket plate 10 and the positions of the first position P1 and the second position P2 on the lamp socket plate 10, respectively. Here, the distance from the upper edge of the lamp socket plate 10 to the first position P1 is the first margin (upper edge distance) L1, and the distance from the lower edge of the lamp socket plate 10 to the second margin (lower edge distance) L2. Therefore, the acceleration measurements taken by the first acceleration sensor S1 and the reference acceleration sensor S2 installed at the first position P1 and the second position P2 shown in Figure 3A are the same as the acceleration measurements taken by the first acceleration sensor S1 and the reference acceleration sensor S2 installed at the first position P1 and the second position P2 shown in Figure 3B. In other words, the acceleration measurements taken by the first acceleration sensor S1 and the reference acceleration sensor S2 are related only to the distance of the first position P1 from the upper edge of the lamp socket plate 10 (i.e., the first margin L1) and the distance of the second position P2 from the lower edge of the lamp socket plate 10 (i.e., the second margin L2), and are unrelated to the horizontal positions of the first position P1 and the second position P2. Therefore, the first position P1 and the second position P2 must not be the same, nor should they be placed on the same horizontal line. Furthermore, a larger vertical distance between the first position P1 and the second position P2 is desirable. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0015] 1 Automatic roadside light illumination device 4 controllers 5 LED indicator light 10 Lamp socket plate 20 Fixed structure 30 Hinge section 40 Roadside lights 90 car bodies 91 Wheels 92 wheels L1 Upper margin distance (first margin) L2 Lower edge distance (second margin) N normal direction P1 1st position P2 2nd position S1 First Accelerometer S2 Reference Accelerometer θ0 initial angle

Claims

1. Automatic roadside light illumination device, A fixed structure is installed on at least one of the lower left outer side and the lower right outer side of the vehicle body, and is angled with the vehicle body, A lamp socket plate installed in the aforementioned fixed structure, The roadside light installed on the aforementioned lamp socket plate, A first acceleration sensor is installed at a first position on the lamp socket plate and detects and outputs a first acceleration measurement value, A reference acceleration sensor is installed at a second position on the lamp socket plate and detects and outputs reference acceleration measurement values, A memory device that pre-stores an angle correspondence table containing a plurality of corresponding reference acceleration measurements taken at different angles by the reference acceleration sensor during vehicle turning, and a first acceleration compensation correspondence table containing acceleration compensation values ​​corresponding to each of the different angles. The system comprises the first acceleration sensor, the reference acceleration sensor, and controllers connected to the roadside light, The controller obtains the current angle by searching the angle correspondence table based on the currently measured reference acceleration measurement value, and further obtains the acceleration compensation value by searching the first acceleration compensation correspondence table based on the angle. The controller compensates the first acceleration measurement value based on the current acceleration compensation value, and determines whether or not to turn on the roadside light to provide auxiliary lighting based on the compensated first acceleration measurement value. An automatic roadside light illumination device characterized by the following features.

2. The aforementioned fixing structure is pivotally connected via a hinge to at least one of the left outer side and the right outer side of the lower part of the vehicle body. The automatic roadside light illumination device according to feature 1.

3. The controller is connected to the LED indicator light, When the vehicle body turns and the controller determines that the auxiliary lighting function of the roadside light is not to be activated, the controller outputs a warning signal and illuminates the LED indicator light. The automatic roadside light illumination device according to feature 1.

4. When searching for the current angle from the angle correspondence table based on the current reference acceleration measurement, if the current reference acceleration measurement is located between one reference acceleration measurement and another listed in the angle correspondence table, the corresponding current angle value for the current reference acceleration measurement is calculated by interpolation. The automatic roadside light illumination device according to feature 1.

5. When searching for the current acceleration compensation value from the first acceleration compensation correspondence table based on the current angle value, if the current angle value is between one angle value and another listed in the first acceleration compensation correspondence table, the corresponding current first acceleration compensation value for the current angle value is calculated by interpolation. The automatic roadside light illumination device according to feature 4.

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