Vehicle lamp, control device for variable light distribution lamp, and software program

Abstract

A control device 300 controls a variable light distribution lamp 110. The variable light distribution lamp 110 includes a plurality of control pixels PIX whose gradation can be controlled, and is configured to be able to emit a beam having an intensity distribution corresponding to the gradation of the plurality of control pixels PIX. An interface circuit 302 receives vehicle ROI information, which indicates a presence range of a vehicle ahead, from a vehicle. A calculation processing unit 304, using a rectangle including n presence ranges indicated by the predetermined n (n ≥ 2) pieces of the vehicle ROI information received most recently, as a reference region REF, determines a light distribution pattern PTN in which the illuminance gradually changes on the basis of the reference region REF. The control device 300 controls the gradation of the plurality of control pixels on the basis of the light distribution pattern PTN.

Description

Vehicle lighting fixture, variable light distribution lamp control device, software program

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle lamp.

[0002] Vehicle lamps are generally capable of switching between low beam and high beam. Low beam illuminates the area near the vehicle with a predetermined illuminance, and light distribution regulations are established to avoid causing glare to oncoming or preceding vehicles, and is primarily used when driving in urban areas. On the other hand, high beam illuminates the area farther away with a relatively high illuminance, and is primarily used when driving at high speeds on roads with few oncoming or preceding vehicles. Therefore, high beam provides better visibility for the driver than low beam, but has the problem of causing glare to drivers of vehicles and pedestrians in front of the vehicle.

[0003] In recent years, adaptive driving beam (ADB) technology has been proposed, which dynamically and adaptively controls the high beam light distribution pattern based on the conditions around the vehicle. ADB technology detects the presence or absence of preceding vehicles, oncoming vehicles (collectively referred to as "forward vehicles"), and pedestrians ahead of the vehicle, and reduces the glare on the vehicles or pedestrians by dimming the areas corresponding to the vehicles or pedestrians.

[0004] International Publication No. WO2021 / 182151A1 International Publication No. WO2021 / 200701A1

[0005] The use of LED arrays and spatial light modulators such as DMDs and liquid crystal displays has led to the development of high-resolution ADB control. High-resolution ADB control uses sensors such as cameras and LiDAR to detect vehicles ahead and control the shading range.

[0006] Specifically, information indicating the range in which the forward vehicle exists (referred to as vehicle ROI (Region of Interest) information) is generated based on the output of the sensor. For example, the vehicle ROI information may include, in the horizontal direction, angle information indicating the left and right ends of the forward vehicle's body, and in the vertical direction, angle information indicating the top and bottom ends of the body. The ADB headlamp forms a light distribution including a shading portion based on this vehicle ROI information.

[0007] The inventors have studied a light distribution in which the illuminance gradually changes along the outline of the light-blocking portion (hereinafter referred to as a gradation light distribution). The gradation light distribution is useful for reducing the sense of incongruity in many driving situations.

[0008] On the vehicle side, the accuracy of detecting the range of the forward vehicle may be reduced. Specifically, the range of the forward vehicle indicated by the vehicle ROI information may vibrate slightly. In this case, if the light distribution is formed based on the vehicle ROI information, the shading part with a blurred outline will vibrate slightly, which may create an unnatural feeling.

[0009] The present disclosure has been made in light of the above-mentioned circumstances, and one of its exemplary purposes is to provide a vehicle lamp that reduces the sense of discomfort that accompanies ADB control.

[0010] One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a control device for controlling a variable light distribution lamp. The variable light distribution lamp includes a plurality of control pixels whose gradations can be independently controlled, and is configured to emit a beam having an intensity distribution corresponding to the gradations of the plurality of control pixels. The control device includes an interface circuit that receives shading information indicating the presence range of a forward vehicle from a vehicle, and a calculation processing unit that determines a light distribution pattern in which illuminance gradually changes based on a reference region that is a rectangle containing n presence ranges indicated by a predetermined n (n≧2) pieces of shading information most recently received, and controls the gradations of the plurality of control pixels based on the light distribution pattern.

[0011] Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a vehicle lamp. The vehicle lamp includes a variable light distribution lamp including a plurality of control pixels each having independently controllable gradations, configured to emit a beam having an intensity distribution corresponding to the gradations of the plurality of control pixels, and a control device that receives shading information indicating a range of a preceding vehicle from a vehicle and controls the variable light distribution lamp based on the shading information. The control device controls the gradations of the plurality of control pixels of the variable light distribution lamp so that the illuminance gradually changes based on a reference region that is a rectangle that includes n ranges of the preceding vehicle indicated by a predetermined n (n≧2) pieces of shading information most recently received.

[0012] Yet another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a control device for controlling a variable light distribution lamp. The variable light distribution lamp includes a plurality of control pixels whose gradations can be independently controlled, and is configured to emit a beam having an intensity distribution corresponding to the gradations of the plurality of control pixels. The control device controls the variable light distribution lamp so that, when a light spot moves horizontally, the width of a light-blocking portion expands horizontally to follow the light spot, and a light distribution pattern is formed in which the illuminance gradually changes around the light-blocking portion.

[0013] Any combination of the above elements, or mutual substitution of elements or expressions between methods, devices, systems, etc., are also valid aspects of the present invention or the present disclosure. Furthermore, the description in this section (Means for Solving the Problems) does not explain all essential features of the present invention, and therefore, subcombinations of the described features may also constitute the present invention.

[0014] According to an aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible to reduce the sense of discomfort felt during ADB control.

[0015] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a lighting system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the formation of a low beam light distribution by the lighting system of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a vehicle ROI. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a plurality of vehicle ROI information and a reference area. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the reference area and a light distribution pattern. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the operation of a vehicle lighting fixture. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a microcontroller. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the generation of a control image by a control device. FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram of the control device. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a light distribution pattern according to Modification 1.

[0016] (Summary of the Embodiments) A summary of some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be provided. This summary is intended to provide a basic understanding of one or more embodiments as a prelude to the detailed description that follows, and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention or disclosure. Furthermore, this summary is not intended to be a comprehensive overview of all possible embodiments, nor does it limit essential elements of the embodiments. For convenience, the term "one embodiment" may refer to one embodiment (example or variant) or multiple embodiments (examples or variants) disclosed herein.

[0017] A control device according to one embodiment controls a variable light distribution lamp. The variable light distribution lamp includes a plurality of control pixels whose gradations can be independently controlled, and is configured to emit a beam having an intensity distribution corresponding to the gradations of the plurality of control pixels. The control device includes an interface circuit that receives shading information indicating the range of a forward vehicle from a vehicle, and a calculation processing unit that determines a light distribution pattern in which illuminance gradually changes based on a reference region that is a rectangle containing n (n≧2) ranges of shading indicated by the most recently received predetermined number of shading information pieces, and controls the gradations of the plurality of control pixels based on the light distribution pattern.

[0018] According to this configuration, when the range in which the vehicle ahead is present vibrates slightly, the outline of the blurred shading portion can be prevented from vibrating, thereby reducing the sense of incongruity.

[0019] In one embodiment, the calculation processing unit calculates the coordinate x of the leftmost end of the n number of existence ranges. ＬＥＦＴ , the rightmost coordinate x of the n ranges ＲＩＧＨＴ , the coordinate y of the lowest end of the n ranges ＢＯＴＴＯＭ , the coordinate y of the top end of the n ranges ＴＯＰ Obtain (x ＬＥＦＴ , y ＢＯＴＴＯＭ ), (x ＬＥＦＴ , y ＴＯＰ ), (x ＲＩＧＨＴ , y ＢＯＴＴＯＭ ), (x ＲＩＧＨＴ , y ＴＯＰ ) may be used as a vertex to generate a reference region.

[0020] In one embodiment, the light distribution pattern may have an illuminance of 100% outside the reference area, an illuminance of 0% within an inner offset area offset inward from the reference area, and a gradual change in illuminance between the reference area and the inner offset area.

[0021] In one embodiment, the light distribution pattern may have an illuminance of 0% inside the reference area, an illuminance of 100% outside an outer offset area offset outward from the reference area, and a gradual change in illuminance between the reference area and the outer offset area.

[0022] According to one embodiment, a vehicle lamp includes a variable light distribution lamp including a plurality of control pixels each having independently controllable gradations, and configured to emit a beam having an intensity distribution corresponding to the gradations of the plurality of control pixels, and a control device that receives shading information indicating a range of a preceding vehicle from a vehicle and controls the variable light distribution lamp based on the shading information. The control device sets a reference region as a rectangle that includes n ranges of presence indicated by a predetermined n (n≧2) pieces of shading information most recently received, and controls the gradations of the plurality of control pixels of the variable light distribution lamp so that the illuminance gradually changes based on the reference region.

[0023] A control device according to one embodiment controls a variable light distribution lamp. The variable light distribution lamp includes a plurality of control pixels with controllable gradations and is configured to emit a beam having an intensity distribution according to the states of the plurality of control pixels. The control device controls the variable light distribution lamp so that, when a light spot moves horizontally, the width of a light-blocking portion expands horizontally to follow the light spot, and a light distribution is formed in which the illuminance gradually changes around the light-blocking portion.

[0024] (Embodiments) Preferred embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. The same or equivalent components, parts, and processes shown in each drawing will be given the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted as appropriate. Furthermore, the embodiments are examples rather than limitations on the disclosure, and all features and combinations thereof described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the disclosure.

[0025] 1 is a block diagram of a lighting system 200 according to an embodiment. The lighting system 200 is mounted on an automobile and functions as a headlamp that illuminates the field of view ahead of the vehicle. In high beam mode, the lighting system 200 has an ADB function that blocks light from areas where oncoming vehicles and preceding vehicles (hereinafter collectively referred to as preceding vehicles) are present, depending on the situation ahead of the vehicle.

[0026] The lighting system 200 includes the vehicle lighting device 100, a vehicle ECU 202, and a sensor 204. The sensor 204 is a camera, LiDAR, or the like, and senses the situation in front of the vehicle. The vehicle ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 202 detects a vehicle ahead based on the output of the sensor 204, and generates vehicle ROI information that indicates the range in which the vehicle ahead is located, in other words, the range that should be shaded.

[0027] In one embodiment, the sensor 204 is a camera. The vehicle ECU 202 detects light spots corresponding to headlamps and rear lamps of the vehicle ahead from the image captured by the camera, and can detect the range in which the vehicle ahead is located based on the light spots.

[0028] In one embodiment, the vehicle ROI information is the left edge position x of the range in which the forward vehicle (shading portion) exists. ＬＥＦＴ and the right end position x ＲＩＧＨＴ , the position of the top end y ＴＯＰ and the position of the bottom end y ＢＯＴＴＯＭ Typically, the position information is expressed as an angle.

[0029] Alternatively, in one embodiment, the vehicle ROI information may be the left edge position x of the range in which the forward vehicle (shading portion) is present. ＬＥＦＴ and the rightmost position x ＲＩＧＨＴ one of the two, the width Δx of the existence range, and the position y of the upper end ＴＯＰ and the bottom position y ＢＯＴＴＯＭ and the height Δy of the existence range.

[0030] The vehicle ROI information is transmitted from the vehicle ECU 202 to the vehicle lamp 100 via a vehicle bus such as a Controller Area Network (CAN) or a Local Interconnect Network (LIN). The vehicle lamp 100 performs ADB control using the vehicle ROI information when the high beam is turned on.

[0031] The vehicle lamp 100 includes a variable light distribution lamp 110 and a fixed light distribution lamp 150, and is capable of switching between high beam and low beam by combining the two lamps.

[0032] The variable light distribution lamp 110 and the fixed light distribution lamp 150 illuminate different areas. FIG. 1 shows a virtual vertical screen 2, on which a low-beam light distribution 4 is schematically shown. Specifically, the variable light distribution lamp 110 covers a rectangular area 10 indicated by a dashed line. This rectangular area 10 is an area where a high-beam light distribution should be formed. Of the low-beam light distribution, an upper first portion 6 including a cutoff line CL is included in this rectangular area 10. The cutoff line CL includes a horizontal cutoff line CLa and an oblique cutoff line CLb, which intersect at an elbow point LB.

[0033] On the other hand, the fixed light distribution lamp 150 irradiates a second portion 8 including the lower end of the low-beam light distribution 4 with a second beam BM2. The second portion 8 is referred to as a diffuse low-beam light distribution. The first portion 6 and the second portion 8 overlap.

[0034] The variable light distribution lamp 110 includes a high-definition lamp unit 120 and a control device 300. The high-definition lamp unit 120 includes a light-emitting element array 122 and an irradiation optical system 124. The light-emitting element array 122 includes a plurality of control pixels PIX arranged in a matrix, and the gradation of each control pixel PIX can be controlled independently. An LED array can be used as the light-emitting element array 122, and the gradation can be associated with light emission brightness. The beam emitted by the variable light distribution lamp 110 has an intensity distribution that corresponds to the gradation of the plurality of control pixels PIX.

[0035] The control device 300 controls the gradations of the plurality of control pixels PIX of the light-emitting element array 122 so as to obtain a light distribution suitable for the driving scene. The projection optical system 124 projects the output light of the light-emitting element array 122 forward of the vehicle. The projection optical system 124 may be a lens optical system, a reflective optical system, or a combination thereof.

[0036] The correspondence between the position of a certain control pixel PIX and the irradiation area on the virtual vertical screen 2 corresponding to that control pixel is determined by the irradiation optical system 124, and may be a mirror image relationship (left-right inversion), upside-down inversion, or upside-down and left-right inversion.

[0037] In the low beam mode, the control device 300 controls the on / off of the multiple control pixels PIX of the light-emitting element array 122 so that the first portion 6 below the cutoff line CL of the first portion 6 on the virtual vertical screen 2 is illuminated. Specifically, the control device 300 turns on the control pixels PIX below (or above) the line 126 corresponding to the cutoff line, and turns off the control pixels PIX above (or below) the line 126. The on state of the control pixel PIX means that the gradation is non-zero, and the off state of the control pixel PIX means that the gradation is zero.

[0038] Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating the formation of a low-beam light distribution 4 by the lighting fixture system 200 of Fig. 1. A rectangle indicates an area 10 that can be irradiated by the variable light distribution lamp 110, and the area 10 is divided into a plurality of control areas (also called meshes) 12 that correspond to a plurality of control pixels PIX. The illuminance of each control area 12 corresponds to the grayscale of the corresponding control pixel PIX.

[0039] When all the control pixels PIX of the light-emitting element array 122 are lit, all the control regions 12 within the irradiatable range 10 are irradiated with the first beam BM1. When some of the control pixels PIX of the light-emitting element array 122 are off, the illuminance of the control region 12 corresponding to that control pixel PIX is substantially zero. Note that a control pixel PIX being off is not limited to a case where the luminance is zero, i.e., the illuminance of the corresponding control region 12 is zero, but can also include a case where the luminance is very low, i.e., the illuminance of the corresponding control region 12 is very low but not zero.

[0040] The control device 300 turns off the control pixel PIX corresponding to the control region 12 above the cutoff line CL and turns on the control pixel PIX corresponding to the control region 12 below the cutoff line CL, thereby forming a first portion 6 of the low beam light distribution 4 that includes the cutoff line CL.

[0041] The illuminance of the first portion 6 below the cutoff line CL may not be uniform, but may have a certain distribution.

[0042] Returning to FIG. 1, the light distribution control in the high beam mode will be described.

[0043] The control device 300 includes an interface circuit 302 and an arithmetic processing unit 304. The interface circuit 302 and the arithmetic processing unit 304 may be implemented as separate pieces of hardware, or may be implemented as the same piece of hardware. The interface circuit 302 receives vehicle ROI information from the vehicle ECU 202. For example, the interface circuit 302 is a CAN interface. The vehicle ROI information is transmitted from the vehicle ECU 202 to the arithmetic processing unit 304 at a predetermined cycle. For example, the cycle is 16.6 ms (i.e., 60 fps).

[0044] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the vehicle ROI. This driving scene shows a vehicle passing an oncoming vehicle. The vehicle ECU 202 detects the area where the oncoming vehicle is located as the ROI. The vehicle ROI information includes the coordinates X ＬＥＦＴ , the rightmost coordinate X ＲＩＧＨＴ , the coordinate of the top edge Y ＴＯＰ , bottom coordinate Y ＢＯＴＴＯＭmay include:

[0045] Alternatively, the vehicle ROI information may be the coordinate X of the left edge of the forward vehicle. ＬＥＦＴ and the rightmost coordinate X ＲＩＧＨＴ On the other hand, the width Δx of the vehicle ahead and the coordinate Y of the top edge of the vehicle ahead ＴＯＰ and the bottom coordinate Y ＢＯＴＴＯＭ On the other hand, the left and right heights Δy of the forward vehicle may also be included.

[0046] Returning to FIG. 1 , the calculation processing unit 304 determines the light distribution based not only on the most recent vehicle ROI information but also on a predetermined number n (n≧2) of recent vehicle ROI information. Specifically, the calculation processing unit 304 generates a rectangular reference region REF that exactly encompasses the n presence ranges indicated by the most recent n pieces of vehicle ROI information. For example, n can be set to 5 to 25, and more preferably to approximately 10 to 20.

[0047] The arithmetic processing unit 304 then determines a light distribution pattern in which the illuminance gradually changes, in other words, a light distribution pattern in which the contours are blurred, based on the reference region REF. The luminance of the plurality of control pixels PIX of the variable light distribution lamp 110 is controlled by this light distribution pattern.

[0048] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a plurality of vehicle ROI information and a reference region REF. Here, n=5. ｉ is the ROI ｉ indicates the latest existence range, and ROI ｉ－ｊ indicates the existence range j times before (j<n). The reference region REF is a rectangle that exactly contains n existence ranges ROI.

[0049] The calculation processing unit 304 calculates the coordinate x of the leftmost end of the n number of existence ranges. ＬＥＦＴ＿ＭＯＳＴ The coordinate x of the rightmost end of the n ranges of existence is RIGHT_MOST, The coordinate y of the bottommost end of the n ranges of existence is BOTTOM_MOST, The coordinate y of the topmost end of the n ranges of existence is BOTTOM_MOST, ＴＯＰ＿ＭＯＳＴ Then, the four coordinates (x ＬＥＦＴ＿ＭＯＳＴ ,yBOTTOM_MOST) (x ＬＥＦＴ＿ＭＯＳＴ , y ＴＯＰ＿ＭＯＳＴ) (xRIGHT_MOST, yBOTTOM_MOST) (xRIGHT_MOST, y ＴＯＰ＿ＭＯＳＴ ) can be used as the reference region REF.

[0050] For example, the right direction is the positive direction of the x coordinate, and the upward direction is the positive direction of the y coordinate. In this case, the calculation processing unit 304 calculates the left end position x of each of the n existence ranges. ＬＥＦＴ The minimum value of x ＬＥＦＴ＿ＭＯＳＴ In addition, the right end position x of each of the n ranges can be expressed as ＲＩＧＨＴ The maximum value of xRIGHT_MOST can be set as xRIGHT_MOST. ＴＯＰ The maximum value of y ＴＯＰ＿ＭＯＳＴ In addition, the position y of the bottom end of each of the n ranges can be expressed as ＢＯＴＴＯＭ The minimum value of may be taken as yBOTTOM_MOST.

[0051] 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the reference area REF and the light distribution pattern PTN. In the diagram, brightness is schematically shown by hatching, with white indicating higher illuminance and black indicating lower illuminance.

[0052] In this example, the illuminance outside the reference area REF is 100%. An inner offset area OFS is defined as a rectangle that is slightly smaller and offset inside the reference area REF. The illuminance within this inner offset area OFS is set to 0%. The illuminance between the reference area REF and the inner offset area OFS gradually changes from 100% to 0%. The range where the illuminance between the reference area REF and the inner offset area OFS gradually changes is called the blur area. The width of the blur area may be, for example, approximately 1.0° to 3.0° in terms of angle.

[0053] The above is the configuration of the vehicle lamp 100. Next, the operation of the vehicle lamp 100 will be described.

[0054] 6 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the vehicle lamp 100. The vehicle ECU generates vehicle ROI information indicating a range 902 of an oncoming vehicle 900 based on the output of the sensor. When the vehicle is following the oncoming vehicle 900 at the same speed on a straight road, ideally, the range 902 of the vehicle indicated by the vehicle ROI information will be stationary. However, due to problems with the detection accuracy of the vehicle ECU, the range 902 of the vehicle may vibrate slightly up and down and left and right, as indicated by the arrows in the figure.

[0055] The advantages of the vehicular lamp 100 according to the embodiment become clear when compared with a comparative technique. In the comparative technique, a shading portion is formed based on the existence range 902 indicated by the latest vehicle ROI information. Therefore, when the existence range 902 vibrates, the blurred shading portion vibrates accordingly. The vibration of the blurred shading portion gives the driver a strong sense of discomfort.

[0056] In contrast to this, in the vehicle lamp 100 according to the embodiment, a reference area is generated so as to include the vibrating existence range 902, and the shading portion 904 is formed based on the reference area. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the vibration of the blurred shading portion 904, and to reduce the sense of discomfort felt by the driver.

[0057] Assume that vehicle ROI information is generated based on light spots corresponding to the headlamps and rear lamps of a vehicle ahead. When the light spot ahead of vehicle lamp 100 moves horizontally, control device 300 controls variable light distribution lamp 110 so that the width of the shading portion expands in accordance with the light spot and so that a light distribution in which the illuminance gradually changes around the shading portion is formed. The width of the shading portion increases as the speed at which the light spot moves increases.

[0058] Furthermore, when a light spot in front of the vehicle lamp 100 moves vertically, the control device 300 controls the variable light distribution lamp 110 so that the height of the light blocking portion increases in accordance with the light spot, and so that a light distribution in which the illuminance gradually changes around the light blocking portion is formed. The height of the light blocking portion increases as the moving speed of the light spot increases.

[0059] Furthermore, when the light spot in front of the vehicle lamp 100 vibrates horizontally, the control device 300 controls the variable light distribution lamp 110 so that the width of the shading portion increases according to the width (amplitude) of the vibration, and so that a light distribution is formed in which the illuminance gradually changes around the shading portion.

[0060] Furthermore, when the light spot in front of the vehicle lamp 100 vibrates vertically, the control device 300 controls the variable light distribution lamp 110 so that the height of the shading portion increases according to the width (amplitude) of the vibration, and so that a light distribution is formed in which the illuminance gradually changes around the shading portion.

[0061] Next, a specific configuration example of the vehicle lamp 100 will be described.

[0062] In one embodiment, the arithmetic processing unit 304 can be implemented as a combination of a software program and a processor that executes the software program. The processor may be a central processing unit (CPU) or a microcontroller.

[0063] FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a microcontroller. The microcontroller 800 includes a processor 810, a nonvolatile memory 820, a memory 830, and an interface circuit 840. The nonvolatile memory 820 is a flash memory and serves as a storage medium for storing a software program 850 executed by the processor 810. The processor 810 loads the software program 850 into the memory 830 upon startup and executes the instructions of the software program 850. The interface circuit 840 may include a universal asynchronous receiver and transmitter (UART), a three-wire serial interface, a serial interface such as an I2C bus interface, a CAN interface, a GPIO, an A / D converter, a D / A converter, and the like. The components of the microcontroller 800 may be built into a single IC package, or may be a microcomputer board in which several IC packages are mounted on a printed circuit board.

[0064] The software program 850 causes the processor 810 to execute the following processes: A process of storing vehicle ROI information indicating the range of presence of a forward vehicle in memory A process of generating a rectangular reference region REF that includes the n ranges of presence indicated by the most recent predetermined n (n≧2) pieces of light blocking information each time light blocking information is received A process of generating a light distribution pattern PTN in which the illuminance gradually changes based on the reference region REF A process of controlling the gradation of a plurality of control pixels PIX of the variable light distribution lamp 110 so as to form the light distribution pattern PTN

[0065] In order to control the plurality of control pixels PIX of the variable light distribution lamp 110, the control device 300 generates a control image IMG1 that defines the pixel values ​​of the plurality of control pixels PIX.

[0066] 8 is a diagram illustrating the generation of the control image IMG1 by the control device 300. The control device 300 generates the control image IMG1 by multiplying the corresponding pixel values ​​of the reference image IMG2 and the scaled image IMG3. ｊ , the pixel value of the corresponding pixel in the scaled image IMG3 is b ｊ , the pixel value of the corresponding pixel in the control image IMG1 is c ｊ When ｊ = a ｊ ×b ｊ This becomes:

[0067] The reference image IMG2 defines the illuminance distribution of the basic light distribution when no light-shielding portion exists. In other words, the reference image IMG2 defines the pixel values ​​a of the multiple control pixels PIX when no light-shielding portion exists.

[0068] The scaled image IMG3 includes a plurality of pixels whose pixel value b ranges from 0 to 1. A pixel value of 0 corresponds to 0% illumination, and a pixel value of 1 corresponds to 100% illumination. The pixel values ​​of the scaled image IMG3 are 1 outside the reference range REF, 0 inside the inner offset region OFS, and gradually change between 0 and 1 in the blurred region BLUR.

[0069] 9 is a functional block diagram of the control device 300. The control device 300 can be implemented by a microcontroller including a processor capable of executing a software program. Therefore, the block diagram of FIG. 9 does not show the hardware configuration of the control device 300, but rather shows the functions realized by the software program, in other words, the processes that the software program causes the processor to execute and the data described in the software program.

[0070] The control device 300 includes a memory 310 , a control unit 330 , and a multiplier 340 .

[0071] The control unit 330 stores the vehicle ROI information received the most recent n times in the memory 310 .

[0072] The control unit 330 generates a reference region REF based on the vehicle ROI information stored in the memory 310, and generates a scaled image IMG3.

[0073] The multiplier 340 generates a control image IMG1 by multiplying corresponding pixel values ​​of the reference image IMG2 and the scaled image IMG3 together.

[0074] The above-described embodiment is merely an example, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications are possible in the combination of the components and the processing steps. Such modifications will be described below.

[0075] (Variation 1) Figure 10 is a diagram showing a light distribution pattern PTN according to Variation 1. In Variation 1, the illuminance inside the reference area REF is set to 0%. An outer offset area OFS is defined, offset outward from the reference area REF, and the illuminance outside this outer offset area OFS is set to 100%. A blurred area BLUR is defined between the reference area REF and the outer offset area OFS, and the illuminance in the blurred area BLUR gradually changes from 100% to 0%.

[0076] (Variation 2) In Variation 2, both an outer offset region offset outward from the reference region REF and an inner offset region offset inward from the reference region REF are defined. The illuminance outside the outer offset region is set to 100%, and the illuminance inside the inner offset region is set to 0%. The area between the inner offset region and the outer offset region is a blurred region BLUR, and the illuminance in the blurred region BLUR gradually changes from 100% to 0%.

[0077] In the embodiment, the reference area REF is a rectangle that exactly encompasses the vehicle presence ranges, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. The reference area REF may be defined to encompass the vehicle presence ranges with a margin.

[0078] (Variation 4) In the embodiment, the variable light distribution lamp 110 has been described as an LED array, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, the variable light distribution lamp 110 may be a combination of a light source and a spatial light modulator that patterns the light emitted from the light source. For example, a DMD (Digital Mirror Device) or a liquid crystal device can be used as the spatial light modulator.

[0079] (Variation 5) In the embodiment, the control device 300 is implemented as a microcontroller. However, the control device 300 may be implemented as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

[0080] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described using specific terms, this description is merely an example to facilitate understanding and does not limit the scope of the present disclosure or the claims. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims, and therefore, embodiments, examples, and modifications not described herein are also included in the scope of the present invention.

[0081] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle lamp.

[0082] 200 Lighting system 202 Vehicle ECU 204 Sensor 100 Vehicle lighting fixture 110 Variable light distribution lamp 120 High-definition lamp unit 122 Light-emitting element array 124 Irradiation optical system 150 Fixed light distribution lamp 300 Control device 302 Interface circuit 304 Processing unit 900 Oncoming vehicle 902 Existence range BM1 First beam BM2 Second beam 6 First portion 8 Second portion 2 Virtual vertical screen

Claims

1. A control device for controlling a variable light distribution lamp, wherein the variable light distribution lamp includes a plurality of control pixels whose gradation can be controlled independently, and is configured to be capable of emitting a beam having an intensity distribution according to the gradation of the plurality of control pixels, the control device comprising: an interface circuit for receiving shading information indicating the presence range of a vehicle ahead from a vehicle; and an arithmetic processing unit for determining a light distribution pattern in which illuminance gradually changes based on a reference area that is a rectangle containing n presence ranges indicated by a predetermined n (n≧2) pieces of shading information most recently received, and controlling the gradation of the plurality of control pixels based on the light distribution pattern.

2. The calculation processing unit calculates the leftmost coordinate x of the n ranges. ＬＥＦＴ The rightmost coordinate x of the n ranges ＲＩＧＨＴ , the coordinate y of the lowest end of the n ranges ＢＯＴＴＯＭ , the coordinate y of the top end of the n ranges ＴＯＰ Obtain (x ＬＥＦＴ , y ＢＯＴＴＯＭ ) (x ＬＥＦＴ , y ＴＯＰ ) (x ＲＩＧＨＴ , y ＢＯＴＴＯＭ ) (x ＲＩＧＨＴ , y ＴＯＰ 2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the reference region is generated with vertices of 3. A control device as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the light distribution pattern has an illuminance of 100% outside the reference area, an illuminance of 0% within an inner offset area offset inward from the reference area, and an illuminance that gradually changes between the reference area and the inner offset area.

4. A vehicular lamp comprising: a variable light distribution lamp including a plurality of control pixels whose gradation can be independently controlled, and configured to emit a beam having an intensity distribution according to the gradation of the plurality of control pixels; and a control device that receives shading information indicating the presence range of a vehicle ahead from a vehicle, and controls the variable light distribution lamp based on the shading information, wherein the control device uses a rectangle containing n presence ranges indicated by a predetermined n (n≧2) pieces of shading information most recently received as a reference area, and controls the gradation of the plurality of control pixels of the variable light distribution lamp so that the illuminance gradually changes based on the reference area.

5. A software program for controlling a variable light distribution lamp, the variable light distribution lamp including a plurality of control pixels whose gradation can be controlled independently, and configured to emit a beam having an intensity distribution according to the gradation of the plurality of control pixels, the software program causing a processor to execute the following steps: storing shading information indicating the presence range of a forward vehicle in a memory; determining a light distribution pattern in which illuminance gradually changes based on a reference area that is a rectangle containing n presence ranges indicated by a predetermined n (n≧2) pieces of shading information most recently received; and controlling the gradation of the plurality of control pixels based on the light distribution pattern.

6. A control device for controlling a variable light distribution lamp, the variable light distribution lamp including a plurality of control pixels whose gradations can be independently controlled, and configured to emit a beam having an intensity distribution according to the gradations of the plurality of control pixels, the control device controlling the variable light distribution lamp such that, when a light spot moves horizontally, the width of a light-shielding portion expands in the horizontal direction following the light spot, and a light distribution in which the illuminance gradually changes around the light-shielding portion is formed.