Vehicle position determining device, vehicle position determining method, light distribution control device, and vehicle lighting system

Abstract

To provide a vehicle position identification device which accurately identifies a position of a preceding vehicle or the like, a vehicle position identification method, a light distribution control device, and a vehicle lamp system.SOLUTION: In a vehicle lamp system, an imaging device 10 and a controller 20 correspond to a vehicle position identification device. The controller includes: a vehicle position acquisition unit that acquires a plurality of pieces on a plurality of preceding vehicles, each including a left-side position and a right-side position of one preceding vehicle; and a vehicle position identification unit that associates, for the pieces of position data at a first time and at a second time, the left-side position with a first axis and associates the right-side position with a second axis, and determines a distance of each piece of position data on coordinates, or determines the amount of change at the first axis of the left-side position and the amount of change at the second axis of the right-side position, and identifies, based on the distance or the amounts of change, a correspondence relationship between each of the plurality of pieces of position data and each of the plurality of preceding vehicles, and generates data indicating the correspondence relationship.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle position identifying device, a vehicle position identifying method, a light distribution control device, and a vehicle lighting system. [Background technology]

[0002] There is known a light distribution control technology that sets a dimming range (or a light blocking range) within the range in which the high beam can be irradiated according to the positions of preceding vehicles and oncoming vehicles in front of the vehicle (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The position of the preceding vehicle, etc., is obtained by detecting light points (positions of headlights and taillights) by performing image recognition processing on an image of the space in front of the vehicle captured by, for example, a camera.

[0003] However, when there are multiple preceding vehicles, it may not be possible to accurately identify the positions of each vehicle. For this reason, when performing light distribution control according to the positions of preceding vehicles, it has been necessary to set a larger dimming range than necessary in order to reliably prevent glare (dazzle) to preceding vehicles. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-58802 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] An object of a specific embodiment of the present disclosure is to provide a technique that enables the position of a leading vehicle or the like to be identified with high accuracy. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] [1] A vehicle position identification device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a vehicle position identification device including a controller, the controller (a) acquiring a plurality of position data of a plurality of preceding vehicles, each of the plurality of position data including a left side position and a right side position of one of the preceding vehicles, and (b) for each of the position data at a first time and a second time, determining a distance on a coordinate system for each of the position data by corresponding the left side position to a first axis and the right side position to a second axis, or determining an amount of change in the left side position on the first axis and an amount of change in the right side position on the second axis, and specifying a correspondence between each of the plurality of position data and each of the plurality of preceding vehicles based on the distance or each amount of change, and generating data indicating the correspondence. [2] A vehicle position identification device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a vehicle position identification device including a controller, the controller including: (a) a vehicle position acquisition unit that acquires a plurality of position data of a plurality of forward vehicles, each of which includes a left side position and a right side position of one of the forward vehicles; and (b) a vehicle position identification unit that, for each of the position data at a first time and a second time, corresponds the left side position to a first axis and corresponds the right side position to a second axis to determine a distance on a coordinate system for each of the position data, or determines an amount of change in the left side position on the first axis and an amount of change in the right side position on the second axis, and identifies a correspondence between each of the plurality of position data and each of the plurality of forward vehicles based on the distance or each amount of change, and generates data indicating the correspondence. [3] A vehicle position identification method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a vehicle position identification method executed by a controller, the vehicle position identification method including: (a) acquiring a plurality of position data of a plurality of forward vehicles, each of which includes a left side position and a right side position of one of the forward vehicles; (b) for each of the position data at a first time and a second time, correlating the left side position with a first axis and the right side position with a second axis to determine a distance on a coordinate system for each of the position data, or determining an amount of change in the left side position on the first axis and an amount of change in the right side position on the second axis, and specifying a correspondence between each of the plurality of position data and each of the plurality of forward vehicles based on the distance or each amount of change, and generating data indicating the correspondence. [4] A vehicle light distribution control device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a light distribution control device that generates a control signal to a vehicle lamp to cause light to be emitted with a light distribution pattern including a dimming range according to the position of each of the multiple forward vehicles, based on data indicating a correspondence between each of the multiple position data obtained by the vehicle position identification device of [1] or [2] and each of the multiple forward vehicles. [5] One embodiment of the vehicle lighting system according to the present disclosure is a vehicle lighting system including the light distribution control device of [4] above, and a vehicle lighting device that operates in response to the control signal supplied from the light distribution control device.

[0007] According to the above configuration, it is possible to accurately identify the position of a preceding vehicle, etc. Also, it is possible to perform suitable light irradiation according to the identified position. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1(A) and 1(B) are diagrams for explaining a detection state of the position of a forward vehicle assumed in this embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle lighting system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a computer that realizes the controller. [Figure 4]4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining an example of the detection result of the position of a forward vehicle by the imaging device 10. FIG. [Diagram 5] 5(A) and 5(B) are diagrams for explaining the principle of vehicle position identification by the vehicle position identification unit 22. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram of a process for identifying position data. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the controller in the vehicle lighting system. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of light distribution control. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] 1(A) and 1(B) are diagrams for explaining the detection state of the position of a forward vehicle assumed in this embodiment. Here, the state of two forward vehicles 100a, 100b existing in front of the host vehicle is shown. In this specification, the "forward vehicle" refers to a preceding vehicle or an oncoming vehicle, and here, the case where both vehicles are preceding vehicles is shown. In this embodiment, the position data of each of the forward vehicles 100a, 100b is detected by a detection means at an angle based on the traveling direction of the host vehicle.

[0010] As shown in FIG. 1A, at a certain time (t-1), an angle θ 1L , θ 1R The vehicle 100b is detected, and the communication ID "01" is associated with the vehicle 100b as identification information for distinguishing the vehicle 100b. The vehicle 100b is also detected as a vehicle 100b ahead of the vehicle 100b. The vehicle 100b ahead of the vehicle 100b is also detected as a vehicle 100b ahead of the vehicle 100b. The vehicle 100b ahead of the vehicle 100b is detected as a vehicle 100b ahead of the ... 2L , θ 2R is detected, and the communication ID "02" is linked to it as identification information that distinguishes each vehicle, and is output from the detection means.

[0011] Similarly, the position data of each of the preceding vehicles 100a, 100b is detected at predetermined time intervals. However, the detection means does not distinguish between the preceding vehicles 100a, 100b. For this reason, depending on the situation, as shown in FIG. 1B, at a certain time (t), the preceding vehicle 100b is associated with the communication ID "01" and the angle corresponding to its left and right position is θ 1L , θ 1R is detected and output from the detection means, the forward vehicle 100a is associated with the communication ID "02", and θ 2L , θ 2R In other words, the communication ID attached to the position data does not necessarily correspond uniquely to each forward vehicle.

[0012] That is, a situation may occur in which the forward vehicle corresponding to the communication ID is randomly replaced, and the continuity of the position data is not maintained. For this reason, in the light distribution control, it may be necessary to set an algorithm on the premise that the forward vehicle specified by the communication ID is randomly replaced. Therefore, in order to reliably suppress the glare to the forward vehicle, it is necessary to perform control such as setting the dimming range between the leftmost position and the rightmost position of each position of all the detected forward vehicles. Alternatively, when the preceding vehicle and the oncoming vehicle can be distinguished, it is necessary to set the dimming range in a range including all the preceding vehicles and a range including all the oncoming vehicles. In addition, it may be difficult to predict the movement of each forward vehicle in the left and right directions and perform control. For example, it is possible to perform control such as expanding the dimming range in response to the predicted moving direction of the forward vehicle.

[0013] On the other hand, even if the correspondence between the position data of each forward vehicle obtained by the detection means and the communication ID is randomly changed, if the position data of each forward vehicle can be accurately identified by distinguishing each forward vehicle and the result can be used to perform light distribution control, it will be unnecessary to set an unnecessarily wide dimming range. An embodiment for achieving this will be described below. In this specification, "dimming" refers to setting the brightness (illuminance, luminance, etc.) at the time of light irradiation relatively low, and is a concept that also includes the case where the brightness is substantially 0 (non-irradiation).

[0014] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle lighting system according to an embodiment. The vehicle lighting system shown in the figure is for irradiating light to the space around (here, in front of) the vehicle, and selectively irradiates light within a so-called high beam irradiable range by setting a dimming range according to the position of the vehicle ahead and setting the remaining range as the light irradiation range. Such light distribution control is also called ADB (Adaptive Driving Beam) control, and contributes to improving the visibility around the vehicle. This vehicle lighting system is configured to include an imaging device 10, a controller (control device) 20, and a pair of headlamp units (vehicle lamps) 30L and 30R. The imaging device 10 and the controller 20 are connected by a predetermined communication means. Also, the controller 20 and each headlamp unit 30L and 30R are connected via a predetermined wiring. In this embodiment, the imaging device 10 and the controller 20 correspond to a "vehicle position identification device" and a "light distribution control device."

[0015] The imaging device 10 includes a camera 11 and an image processor 12, and detects the position of a vehicle ahead of the vehicle by performing predetermined image processing in the image processor 12 based on an image captured by the camera 11. In this embodiment, the imaging device 10 detects the left and right positions of each vehicle ahead as the position of each vehicle ahead. The left and right positions here correspond to the positions of the taillights when the vehicle ahead is a leading vehicle, and correspond to the positions of the headlights when the vehicle ahead is an oncoming vehicle. The position data of the vehicle ahead is expressed as a relative angle with respect to the vehicle ahead. In addition, when there are multiple vehicles ahead as described above, the position data (or signal) is output to the controller 20 with a communication ID attached to each vehicle ahead.

[0016] The controller 20 identifies the position of each vehicle ahead based on the position data of each vehicle ahead output from the imaging device 10, sets a light distribution pattern including a dimming range and a light irradiation range corresponding to each vehicle ahead according to the identified position, and controls the headlamp units 30L and 30R so that light is irradiated according to the light distribution pattern. The controller 20 is realized by using a computer having, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc., and executing a predetermined operation program in the computer. In order to make it easier to understand the functions realized by the controller 20, the following description will be given using functional blocks. The controller 20 has a vehicle position acquisition unit 21, a vehicle position identification unit 22, a light distribution pattern setting unit 23, and a control signal generation unit 24 as functional blocks.

[0017] The vehicle position acquisition unit 21 acquires the position data (or signals) of the preceding vehicles output from the imaging device 10. As described above, the position data of each preceding vehicle is output in time series at predetermined time intervals (e.g., every 50 milliseconds) in association with a communication ID for distinguishing each preceding vehicle.

[0018] The vehicle position identifying unit 22 identifies the actual position of each forward vehicle based on the position data of each forward vehicle acquired by the vehicle position acquiring unit 21. A specific method of identifying the actual position of each forward vehicle will be described later.

[0019] The light distribution pattern setting unit 23 sets a light distribution pattern in accordance with the position of each forward vehicle identified by the vehicle position identification unit 22, in which a predetermined range within the high beam irradiable range that includes the position of each forward vehicle is set as a dimming range and the other range is set as a light irradiation range.

[0020] The control signal generating section 24 generates a control signal according to the light distribution pattern set by the light distribution pattern control section 23, and supplies this to each of the headlamp units 30L, 30R.

[0021] Each of the headlamp units 30L, 30R operates in response to a control signal supplied from the controller 20 to irradiate light ahead of the host vehicle, and each of the headlamp units 30L, 30R includes an ADB unit 31 and a low beam unit 32.

[0022] The ADB unit 31 is a lamp unit capable of selectively irradiating light in the high beam irradiation range according to the position of the vehicle ahead. As such an ADB unit 31, various known units can be used, such as one that forms irradiation light by combining a light source and a liquid crystal element, one that forms irradiation light by individually turning on and off a plurality of light emitting elements (LEDs), one that forms irradiation light by scanning light emitted from a laser element with a MEMS device or the like, and one that forms irradiation light by partially blocking the light of the light source using a shielding plate (shade).

[0023] The low beam unit 32 is a lamp unit capable of irradiating light to an area relatively closer to the vehicle than the high beam. Various known units can be used as the low beam unit 32. The low beam may be formed by a single unit having both the function of the low beam unit 32 and the function of the ADB unit 31.

[0024] 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a computer that realizes a controller. The illustrated computer includes a CPU 201, a ROM 202, a RAM 203, a storage device 204, and an external interface (I / F) 205 that are communicably connected to each other. The CPU 201 operates based on a basic control program read from the ROM 202, and realizes the above-mentioned functions of the controller 20 by reading and executing a program (application program) 206 stored in the storage device 204. The RAM 203 temporarily stores data to be used during the operation of the CPU 201. The storage device 204 is a non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk or a solid state drive, and stores various data such as the program 206. The external interface 205 is an interface that connects the CPU 201 to an external device, and is used to connect, for example, the imaging device 10 to the CPU 201.

[0025] 4(A) and 4(B) are diagrams for explaining an example of the detection result of the position of a forward vehicle by the imaging device 10. Also, FIG. 5(A) and FIG. 5(B) are diagrams for explaining the principle of vehicle position identification by the vehicle position identification unit 22. As shown in FIG. 4(A) and FIG. 4(B), at a first time (t-1), the position data of the forward vehicle 100a is associated with the communication ID "01" and is stored as "θ 1L = +5°, θ 1R =+1°" is output, and at the next second time (t), the position data of the forward vehicle 100a is output in correspondence with the communication ID "02" and "θ 2L = +6°, θ 2R Let us consider a case where "position of vehicle 100b in front is output as "position +2°". Although detailed description is omitted, it is assumed that the position of vehicle 100b in front is associated with communication ID "02" at time (t-1) and with communication ID "01" at time (t) and its position is output.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 5(A), the left side position θ L is the vertical axis (first axis), and the right side position θ Ris associated with the horizontal axis (second axis), the positions of the forward vehicle 100a at each time (t-1) and (t) are plotted, and the distance (Euclidean distance) D on the coordinates between the plotted points is calculated. If this distance D is equal to or less than a predetermined reference value, it is considered that the position data corresponding to these plots correspond to the same forward vehicle. This process is performed on the position data corresponding to each communication ID at each time (t-1) and (t) in a brute-force manner. As a result, in the illustrated example, it is possible to identify that the position data corresponding to the communication ID "01" at time (t-1) and the position data corresponding to the communication ID "02" at time (t) belong to the same forward vehicle 100a. Similarly, in the illustrated example, it is possible to identify that the position data corresponding to the communication ID "02" at time (t-1) and the position data corresponding to the communication ID "01" at time (t) belong to the same forward vehicle 100b.

[0027] The reference value for the distance D may be set appropriately based on simulation results, actual measurement results, etc. For example, when the position data is updated and output every 0.05 seconds and the angle unit is "degrees", it is desirable to set the reference value to 4 to 8. In addition, this reference value may be set to a different value when the vehicle ahead is a leading vehicle and when the vehicle ahead is an oncoming vehicle.

[0028] According to this process, even if the vehicle ahead identified by the communication ID does not pass the actual vehicle ahead, the correspondence between the position data and the vehicle ahead can be similarly identified. For example, as shown in the conceptual diagram of Fig. 6, if the controller 20 uses internal IDs to identify each vehicle ahead, even if the communication IDs pass each other, data for internal processing is generated in which the internal ID "01" is associated with the position data of the vehicle ahead 100a and the internal ID "02" is associated with the position data of the vehicle ahead 100b.

[0029] In addition, the Euclidean distance is not used, and the θ L , θ RFor each of the above, the amount of change ΔL, ΔR in the direction along each axis between times (t-1) and (t) is calculated, and if both of these amounts of change are equal to or less than a predetermined reference value, it may be determined that the position data are for the same vehicle ahead.

[0030] 7 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of the controller in the vehicle lighting system. Note that the order of the illustrated processing blocks may be changed and other processing blocks not shown may be added as long as no contradiction or inconsistency occurs in the results of information processing, and such embodiments are not excluded.

[0031] The vehicle position acquisition unit 21 acquires position data (angle) of each preceding vehicle from the imaging device 10 (step S11). It is assumed that the imaging device 10 outputs the position data of each preceding vehicle at a predetermined interval (for example, every 0.05 seconds).

[0032] The vehicle position identification unit 22 plots the acquired position data in two-dimensional coordinates (step S12), and identifies a set of coordinate values ​​in which the distance D is equal to or less than a reference value and the distance D is the shortest and closest on the coordinates, based on the distance D between the plot positions acquired previously (at the first time) and currently (at the second time) (step S13). Note that, if the previously acquired position data does not exist during initial processing, such as immediately after starting operation, it is advisable to carry out processing using a predetermined fixed value, or to refrain from processing until the next position data is obtained, or to take appropriate measures based on technical common sense.

[0033] Next, the vehicle position identification unit 22 generates data indicating the correspondence between the vehicle positions corresponding to the pair of coordinate values ​​identified in step S13 and the same vehicle ahead (see FIG. 6), and stores this in a memory not shown (step S14).

[0034] Next, the light distribution pattern setting unit 23 sets a light distribution pattern including a dimming range and a light irradiation range according to the position of each forward vehicle identified by the vehicle position identification unit 22 (step S15). A control signal based on this set light distribution pattern is generated by the control signal generating unit 24 and output to each headlamp unit 30L, 30R, thereby performing light irradiation according to the position of the forward vehicle. Then, the process returns to step S11.

[0035] Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of light distribution control. In the diagram, the patterned parts are the parts where light is being irradiated. Note that the depiction of low beams is omitted. As shown in the diagram, it is possible to realize light irradiation with a dimming range set according to the positions of the respective forward vehicles 100a, 100b.

[0036] According to the embodiment described above, it is possible to accurately identify the position of a preceding vehicle, etc. Also, it is possible to perform suitable light irradiation according to the identified position.

[0037] The present disclosure is not limited to the contents of the above-mentioned embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present disclosure. For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, it is assumed that the position data of the vehicle ahead is obtained as an angle, but the position of the vehicle ahead may be obtained as a coordinate value assuming an axis corresponding to the left-right direction of the vehicle. In this case, it is conceivable that the left-right position of the vehicle ahead may be expressed as a coordinate value on a coordinate system in which the origin of the axis is set at an appropriate position (for example, the vehicle position).

[0038] In addition, in the above embodiment, an example was given of detecting the position of a vehicle ahead based on an image in front of the vehicle, but the position of the vehicle ahead may also be detected by a sensor using laser light such as LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) or a sensor using ultrasound, or the position of the vehicle ahead may be detected by vehicle-to-vehicle communication or road-to-vehicle communication (so-called V2X).

[0039] In the above embodiment, the vehicle is identified based on the left and right positions of the vehicle ahead, but the type of the vehicle ahead and the distance between the vehicle ahead and the vehicle itself may be considered. For example, if the imaging device 10 outputs data indicating the type of vehicle ahead (preceding vehicle / oncoming vehicle), the vehicles ahead may be classified by type and then identified in the same manner as in the above embodiment for each type. In addition, if the imaging device 10 outputs data indicating the distance between the vehicle ahead and the vehicle ahead, the vehicle with the smaller change in the distance between the vehicles ahead may be identified as the same vehicle. This allows the vehicle to be identified even if the Euclidean distances between multiple vehicles ahead are the same. The distance between the vehicles ahead may be detected by another radar or the like, or may be detected by the controller 20 based on the size of the vehicle ahead in the image. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 10: imaging device, 11: camera, 12: image processing processor, 20: controller, 21: vehicle position acquisition unit, 22: vehicle position identification unit, 23: light distribution pattern setting unit, 24: control signal generation unit 24, 30L, 30R: headlamp unit, 31: ADB unit, 32: low beam unit

Claims

1. 1. A vehicle location device comprising a controller, The controller: acquiring a plurality of position data for each of a plurality of forward vehicles, each of the position data including a left position and a right position of one of the forward vehicles; For each of the position data at a first time and a second time, the left side position is associated with a first axis and the right side position is associated with a second axis to determine a distance on a coordinate system for each of the position data, or a change amount of the left side position on the first axis and a change amount of the right side position on the second axis are determined, and a correspondence relationship between each of the plurality of position data and each of the plurality of forward vehicles is specified based on the distance or each change amount to generate data indicating the correspondence relationship. Vehicle location device.

2. 1. A vehicle location device comprising a controller, The controller: a vehicle position acquisition unit that acquires a plurality of position data of each of a plurality of forward vehicles, each of the position data including a left position and a right position of one of the forward vehicles; a vehicle position identification unit that, for each of the position data at a first time and a second time, corresponds the left side position to a first axis and corresponds the right side position to a second axis to determine a distance on a coordinate system for each of the position data, or determines an amount of change in the left side position on the first axis and an amount of change in the right side position on the second axis, and identifies a correspondence relationship between each of the plurality of position data and each of the plurality of forward vehicles based on the distance or each amount of change, and generates data indicating the correspondence relationship; A vehicle location determination device comprising:

3. Identification information is attached to each of the plurality of position data, Each of the identification information does not uniquely correspond to each of the plurality of forward vehicles.

3. A vehicle position determining device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. When the distance is equal to or smaller than a predetermined reference value or when the amount of change is equal to or smaller than a predetermined reference value, the position data corresponding to the distance or the amount of change is associated with the same forward vehicle. The vehicle position specifying device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. When the distance is equal to or smaller than a predetermined reference value or when the amount of change is equal to or smaller than a predetermined reference value, the position data corresponding to the distance or the amount of change is associated with the same forward vehicle.

5. The vehicle position determining device according to claim 4.

6. The left side position and the right side position in each of the position data are expressed as angles. The vehicle position specifying device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. 1. A vehicle location method executed by a controller, comprising: acquiring a plurality of position data for each of a plurality of forward vehicles, each of the position data including a left side position and a right side position of one of the forward vehicles; For each of the position data at a first time and a second time, the left side position is associated with a first axis and the right side position is associated with a second axis to determine a distance on a coordinate system of each of the position data, or a change amount of the left side position on the first axis and a change amount of the right side position on the second axis, and based on the distance or each change amount, a correspondence relationship between each of the plurality of position data and each of the plurality of forward vehicles is identified, and data indicating the correspondence relationship is generated. A vehicle location determination method comprising:

8. Based on data indicating a correspondence between each of the plurality of position data obtained by the vehicle position identification device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 and each of the plurality of forward vehicles, a control signal is generated to execute light irradiation with a light distribution pattern including a dimming range according to the position of each of the plurality of forward vehicles, and the control signal is supplied to a vehicle lamp. Light distribution control device.

9. A light distribution control device according to claim 8 , and a vehicle lamp that operates by receiving the control signal from the light distribution control device; A vehicle lighting system comprising:

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