Vehicle lighting fixture control device, vehicle lamp system, and vehicle lighting fixture

Abstract

Provided is a control device (50) for an aiming unit (A) for adjusting the irradiation direction of a light source unit (10) of a vehicle lighting fixture (1). When the control device (50) is started, the control device (50) acquires an aiming initial value indicating an initial position, which is a predetermined posture that is from when aiming adjustment was performed and that is recorded in a memory (51), displaces the posture of the light source unit (10) to an initial position, and controls the aiming unit (A) on the basis of a command value indicating the amount of displacement in the irradiation direction of the light source unit (10) and the aiming initial value.

Description

Vehicle lighting device control device, vehicle lamp system, and vehicle lighting device

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a control device for a vehicle lamp, a vehicle lamp system, and a vehicle lamp.

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes an aiming device that changes the direction of light emitted from a light source unit of a vehicle lamp.

[0003] International Publication No. 2009 / 147799

[0004] Conventional vehicle lamps use an aiming device that uses an adjuster screw. Such an aiming device adjusts the attitude of the light source unit of the vehicle lamp and adjusts the illumination direction of the light source unit. In this way, a reference state, which is the attitude of the light source unit after the aiming adjustment, is set. When displacing the illumination direction of the vehicle lamp in response to vehicle behavior, such as the vehicle's inclination or driving state, using auto-leveling or swivel control using an AFS (Adaptive Front Lighting System), the illumination direction of the vehicle lamp is displaced from this reference state to a desired direction. In conventional aiming devices, the static friction of the adjuster screw is large, making it easy to maintain this reference state.

[0005] The inventors have investigated an aiming device that does not maintain the reference state with static friction, because a large static friction makes it difficult to quickly change the irradiation direction. However, in this case, since the reference state is not maintained with static friction, it is not possible to conceive of the reference state, and it is difficult to realize functions such as auto-leveling and AFS, which change the irradiation direction from the reference state to the target direction.

[0006] Therefore, the present disclosure aims to provide a control device for an aiming unit that can displace the illumination direction in accordance with the vehicle behavior even in a vehicle lamp that uses an aiming device that does not maintain a reference state using static friction force.

[0007] A control device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a control device for an aiming unit that adjusts the irradiation direction of a light source unit of a vehicle lamp, and when the control device is started up, the control device acquires an aiming initial value that indicates an initial position, which is a predetermined attitude when aiming adjustment is performed, stored in memory, displaces the attitude of the light source unit to the initial position, and controls the aiming unit based on a command value that indicates the amount of displacement of the irradiation direction of the light source unit and the aiming initial value.

[0008] Furthermore, a vehicle lamp system according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a light source unit, an aiming unit that drives the light source unit, a memory, a sensor, and a control device that outputs a command value indicating an amount of displacement of the irradiation direction of the light source unit based on the output of the sensor and controls the aiming unit, wherein upon startup, the control device displaces the attitude of the light source unit to an initial position based on an aiming initial value that indicates an initial position that is a predetermined attitude when aiming is adjusted and is recorded in the memory, and controls the aiming unit based on the command value indicating the amount of displacement of the irradiation direction of the light source unit and the aiming initial value.

[0009] A control device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a control device for an aiming unit that adjusts the irradiation direction of a light source unit of a vehicle lamp, wherein the aiming unit maintains a predetermined aiming-adjusted attitude when powered on, and includes a memory that records an aiming initial value that is input from outside and indicates the predetermined attitude when the aiming is adjusted, and is configured so that the aiming initial value recorded in the memory is read out at least when the control device is started and power is applied to the aiming unit.

[0010] Furthermore, a vehicle lamp according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a light source unit, an aiming unit capable of adjusting the direction of light emitted from each of the light source units, and a control device that controls the aiming unit, wherein the control device has a memory that records an aiming initial value that indicates the predetermined attitude when the aiming unit is adjusted for aiming, which is read out at least at startup.

[0011] Furthermore, a control device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a control device for an aiming unit that adjusts the irradiation direction of a light source unit of a vehicle lamp, wherein the aiming unit maintains an arbitrary predetermined posture when powered on, and when started up, the control device moves the light source unit to an aiming initial position that has been adjusted after the aiming adjustment and that is set when the aiming adjustment is performed, which is different from the origin position when adjusting the leveling.

[0012] According to the present disclosure, a control device for an aiming unit of a vehicle lamp is provided that can achieve a leveling function while employing an aiming device that does not maintain a reference state by static friction force.

[0013] Fig. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a vehicle headlamp (vehicle lamp) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a state during aiming adjustment of the vehicle headlamp according to the embodiment. Fig. 3 is an image diagram showing the irradiation position of light of the vehicle headlamp according to the first embodiment displayed on a screen. Fig. 4 is a block diagram of an aiming inspection system S. Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a situation in which a vehicle equipped with a vehicle headlamp according to the present disclosure performs a leveling operation.

[0014] [Configuration of Vehicle Lamp] Specific examples of vehicle lamps according to embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present disclosure is not limited to these examples, but is defined by the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims. In the following description, when referring to the front-rear direction, the up-down direction, and the left-right direction, these directions are defined as directions seen from the perspective of an occupant of a vehicle in which the vehicle lamp is installed.

[0015] Fig. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a vehicle headlamp (vehicle lamp) 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 1, the vehicle headlamp 1 includes a housing 2 that opens forward, and an outer lens 3 made of a translucent material that forms a lamp chamber together with the housing 2. The vehicle headlamp 1 includes a light source unit 10, a swivel unit 20, a leveling unit 30, and an extension Sa within the lamp chamber.

[0016] The light source unit 10 emits a high beam light distribution pattern and a low beam light distribution pattern. The light source unit 10 includes a light source 17 such as an LED (Light Emitting Diode), optical components such as a reflector 15 and a lens 16 that project the light emitted from the light source 17 forward, a heat sink (not shown), and a lamp bracket (not shown) to which these components are attached.

[0017] Although the illustrated example shows a single lens, multiple lenses or multiple reflectors may be installed. Also, a single light source 17 or multiple light sources 17 may be provided.

[0018] The extension Sa is provided between the outer lens 3 and the light source unit 10. The extension Sa is a member that prevents components inside the lamp chamber and the inner surface of the housing 2 from being visible from the outside through the outer lens 3, thereby enhancing the aesthetic appearance of the vehicle headlamp 1.

[0019] In the vehicle headlamp 1 according to this embodiment, a single light source unit 10 is attached to the housing 2 via a swivel unit 20 and a leveling unit 30 so as to be displaceable relative to the housing 2 .

[0020] The swivel unit 20 rotates the light source unit 10 and the leveling unit 30 relative to the housing 2 about a swivel axis L1. The swivel axis L1 extends in the vertical direction. The swivel unit 20 includes a swivel shaft member 21 extending along the swivel axis L1, and a swivel motor 22 that applies a rotational force to the swivel shaft member 21. When the swivel motor 22 operates, the swivel motor 22 applies a rotational force about the swivel axis L1 to the swivel shaft member 21. Because the swivel shaft member 21 is fixed to the underside of the housing 2, when the swivel motor 22 applies a rotational force to the swivel shaft member 21, the swivel motor 22 rotates together with the light source unit 10 and the leveling unit 30 about the swivel axis L1 relative to the housing 2.

[0021] The swivel unit 20 maintains an arbitrary predetermined orientation when energized. That is, when a command value instructing a rotation angle of +4.2 degrees is input to the swivel unit 20, the swivel unit 20 maintains an orientation with a rotation angle of +4.2 degrees when energized unless another command value is input. Also, when a command value instructing a rotation angle of -1.2 degrees is input to the swivel unit 20, the swivel unit 20 maintains an orientation with a rotation angle of -1.2 degrees when energized unless another command value is input. The swivel unit 20 may be configured so that it can no longer maintain the orientation it was maintaining when power is stopped.

[0022] The leveling unit 30 supports the light source unit 10 rotatably about a leveling axis L2 relative to the swivel unit 20. The leveling axis L2 extends in the left-right direction. The leveling unit 30 includes a leveling shaft member 31 extending along the leveling axis L2, and a leveling motor 32 that applies a rotational force to the leveling shaft member 31. The leveling shaft member 31 is fixed to the swivel motor 22 via a bracket or the like. Because the leveling shaft member 31 is fixed to the swivel motor 22, when the leveling motor 32 applies a rotational force to the leveling shaft member 31, the leveling motor 32 rotates together with the light source unit 10 about the leveling axis L2 relative to the housing 2.

[0023] The leveling unit 30 maintains an arbitrary predetermined posture when energized. That is, when a command value specifying a rotation angle of +3.8 degrees is input to the leveling unit 30, the leveling unit 30 maintains a posture with a rotation angle of +3.8 degrees when energized unless another command value is input. Also, when a command value specifying a rotation angle of -0.3 degrees is input to the leveling unit 30, the leveling unit 30 maintains a posture with a rotation angle of -0.3 degrees when energized unless another command value is input. The leveling unit 30 may be configured so that it can no longer maintain the posture it was maintaining when power is stopped.

[0024] Both the swivel unit 20 and the leveling unit 30 described above can be driven by electrical control, and their rotation states are controlled by a control device 50 (described later). The swivel unit 20 is used to shift the direction of light emitted by the light source unit 10 in the left-right direction depending on the driving conditions while the vehicle is running, such as in an adaptive front lighting system (AFS). The leveling unit 30 is used to shift the direction of light emitted by the light source unit 10 in the up-down direction depending on the fore-and-aft tilt of the vehicle and the inclination of the road surface, such as in an auto-leveling function. In addition to realizing these functions, the swivel unit 20 and the leveling unit 30 of this embodiment are also used as components for performing aiming adjustment. For this reason, in this disclosure, the term "aiming unit A" does not refer to a device that is driven only during aiming adjustment, but is used to refer to a device that is driven to perform leveling and swivel operations during aiming adjustment and while the vehicle 100 is running. That is, in this embodiment, the swivel unit 20 and the leveling unit 30, which are originally operated while the vehicle 100 is traveling, are also used during aiming adjustment. The aiming adjustment, which will be described in detail below, may refer to adjusting the illumination direction of the vehicle headlamp 1 in a reference state. The swivel operation and leveling operation are performed by displacing the optical axis by a desired angle in a desired direction from a reference state in which the optical axis extends in a predetermined direction. The aiming adjustment may refer to adjusting the direction in which the optical axis extends in this reference state. Essentially, the aiming adjustment is performed at a different timing from the swivel operation and leveling operation described above. The aiming adjustment is primarily performed at a time other than when the vehicle is traveling, such as when the vehicle 100 is shipped or during vehicle inspection. In contrast, the swivel operation and leveling operation change the illumination direction of light depending on the traveling state of the vehicle 100 and the external conditions of the vehicle 100 while traveling, and are performed while the vehicle 100 is traveling.

[0025] In the vehicle headlamp 1 according to this embodiment, the adjustment of the irradiation direction of light emitted by the light source unit 10 (aiming adjustment) is performed by the swivel unit 20 and the leveling unit 30. In the following description, the swivel unit 20 and the leveling unit 30 will be collectively referred to as the aiming unit A. In the following description, the irradiation direction of light emitted by the light source unit 10 will sometimes be referred to as the "optical axis."

[0026] [Aiming Inspection System] Next, aiming adjustment by the aiming inspection system S of the vehicle headlamp 1 according to this embodiment will be described in detail using Figures 2, 3, and 4. Figure 2 is a diagram showing the state during aiming adjustment of the vehicle headlamp 1 according to this embodiment. Figure 3 is an image diagram showing the irradiation position of light of the vehicle headlamp 1 according to this embodiment, displayed on a screen 201. Figure 4 is a block diagram of the aiming inspection system S.

[0027] 2 and 4, the aiming inspection system S according to this embodiment is composed of a vehicle 100 equipped with a vehicle headlamp 1, and a tester 200. The tester 200 determines whether the optical axis of the vehicle headlamp 1 is within a specified range. The vehicle headlamp 1 performs aiming adjustment in accordance with the determination result received from the tester 200, as will be described later. Aiming adjustment may be performed, for example, during the inspection process of vehicle production, during inspection under the automobile inspection and registration system (so-called vehicle inspection), or when the vehicle headlamp 1 is replaced.

[0028] 2 , the vehicle 100 includes a vehicle ECU 101, an inclination sensor 102, and a vehicle headlamp 1. The vehicle ECU 101 controls various operations of the vehicle 100, such as driving. The vehicle ECU 101 includes a processor such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or a general-purpose CPU (Central Processing Unit). Although not shown, the vehicle 100 also includes, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory) in which various vehicle control programs are stored and a RAM (Random Access Memory) in which various vehicle control data is temporarily stored. The processor of the vehicle ECU 101 loads data designated by various vehicle control programs stored in the ROM onto the RAM and controls various operations of the vehicle 100 in cooperation with the RAM. The vehicle ECU 101 is configured to be able to communicate with the tester 200 and a control device 50, which will be described later.

[0029] The tilt sensor 102 is a vehicle height sensor, an acceleration sensor, a six-axis sensor, or the like. The tilt sensor 102 detects the tilt of the vehicle 100 with respect to the road surface and can output a signal indicating tilt information K to the vehicle ECU 101. The tilt information K is, for example, information on the tilt angle of the vehicle 100 with respect to the road surface. The tilt sensor 102 can detect the tilt of the vehicle 100, for example, in a situation where a load is concentrated on the front of the vehicle 100, causing the front to tilt downward.

[0030] The vehicle headlamp 1 according to this embodiment includes a control device 50 in addition to the light source unit 10 and the aiming unit A shown in FIG. 1 . The control device 50 includes a processor such as an ASIC, an FPGA, or a general-purpose CPU. The control device 50 can control the rotation state of the aiming unit A and has a memory 51 that can record drive information for the aiming unit A. The vehicle ECU 101 and the vehicle headlamp 1 are compliant with protocols such as CAN (Controller Area Network) and LIN (Local Interconnect Network), and are capable of communicating with each other.

[0031] The control device 50 controls the aiming unit A based on signals acquired from the vehicle ECU 101. The control device 50 may also control the on / off and brightness of the light source unit 10 based on signals acquired from the vehicle ECU 101.

[0032] The tester 200 has a screen 201 and an optical axis determination unit 202. The screen 201 is disposed in front of the vehicle 100, and light from the vehicle headlamp 1 is irradiated onto the screen 201. During aiming adjustment, the vehicle 100 is positioned at a predetermined position and in a predetermined posture relative to the screen 201. As shown in Fig. 3, a low-beam light distribution pattern irradiated by the vehicle headlamp 1 during aiming adjustment is projected onto the screen 201. Fig. 3 shows the vicinity of the cutoff line CL of the low-beam light distribution pattern projected onto the screen 201.

[0033] The optical axis determination unit 202 is composed of a camera that captures the light distribution pattern projected on the screen 201 and an information processing device that processes the image output from the camera. This information processing device also includes a processor, such as an ASIC, FPGA, or general-purpose CPU, and a memory. The optical axis determination unit 202 determines the direction of the optical axis of the vehicle headlamp 1 based on the image acquired from the camera. As shown in FIG. 3 , the image captured of the screen 201 includes a low-beam light distribution pattern having a cutoff line CL. The optical axis determination unit 202 determines the direction of the optical axis of the vehicle headlamp 1 based on the elbow point EL of the cutoff line CL. In this embodiment, the elbow point EL is the point on the extension of the optical axis of the vehicle headlamp 1 where the extension intersects with the screen 201. The optical axis determination unit 202 determines whether the optical axis of the vehicle headlamp 1 is located within a specified range CA defined by regulations. In FIG. 3 , the specified range defined by regulations is indicated by the symbol CA. The optical axis determination unit 202 determines whether the actual elbow point EL, which indicates the optical axis of the vehicle headlamp 1 mounted on the vehicle 100 under inspection, is located within this specified range CA. The optical axis determination unit 202 also outputs deviation amount information that indicates the amount of deviation of the actual elbow point EL from the ideal elbow point ELi, which is the center point of the specified range CA.

[0034] In this embodiment, aiming adjustment is initiated by the vehicle headlamp 1 irradiating light onto the screen 201 of the tester 200. The vehicle headlamp 1 projects a low-beam light distribution pattern including a cutoff line CL onto the screen 201. The optical axis determination unit 202 compares the elbow point EL of the cutoff line CL formed on the screen 201 with a specified range CA defined by regulations. In the example shown in FIG. 3 , it is determined that the elbow point EL is not within the specified range CA, and the optical axis determination unit 202 transmits failure information prompting the vehicle to perform aiming adjustment, as well as deviation amount information, to the vehicle ECU 101 of the vehicle 100.

[0035] Upon receiving the rejection information and the deviation amount information, the vehicle ECU 101 transmits the deviation amount information to the control device 50. The deviation amount information is information indicating a deviation amount ΔL, which includes a horizontal deviation amount ΔX (deviation in the X-axis direction) and a vertical deviation amount ΔY (deviation in the Y-axis direction) between the actual position of the elbow point EL and the ideal position of the elbow point ELi, as shown in FIG. 3, for example. Based on the deviation amount information acquired from the vehicle ECU 101, the control device 50 drives the aiming unit A so that the position of the actual elbow point EL coincides with the position of the ideal elbow point ELi. Specifically, the control device 50 outputs a command to the swivel unit 20 to displace the optical axis by ΔX and to the leveling unit 30 to displace the optical axis by ΔY.

[0036] Aiming unit A is driven in this manner, and tester 200 again compares the position of the actual elbow point EL with the position of the ideal elbow point ELi. This determination and driving of aiming unit A is repeated, and when the actual elbow point EL is positioned within specified range CA, optical axis determination unit 202 determines that the aiming adjustment is complete and transmits pass information to vehicle ECU 101. Vehicle ECU 101 transmits the pass information to control device 50. Upon receiving the pass information, control device 50 ends the aiming adjustment and records in memory 51 an aiming initial value that indicates the attitude of light source unit 10 when aiming adjustment was performed.

[0037] In this example, this is the amount of drive from one end of the maximum movable range of the aiming unit A during aiming adjustment. For example, if the maximum movable range of the swivel unit 20 is -20 degrees to +20 degrees and the swivel unit 20 is driven from -20 degrees to +19.58 degrees during aiming adjustment, +19.58 degrees is recorded in the memory 51 as the initial aiming value in the left-right direction. Also, if the maximum movable range of the leveling unit 30 is -5 degrees to +5 degrees and the leveling unit 30 is driven from -5 degrees to +4.97 degrees during aiming adjustment, +4.97 degrees is recorded in the memory 51 as the initial aiming value in the up-down direction. In this way, the initial aiming value may be, for example, angle information from at least one of the upper and lower movable ends and the left and right movable ends of the light source unit 10. Note that the numbers listed here are merely examples.

[0038] In this embodiment, immediately after the vehicle headlamp 1 is turned on (immediately after power is applied), the swivel unit 20 is turned on at -20 degrees, one end of its maximum range of movement, and the leveling unit 30 is turned on at -5 degrees, one end of its maximum range of movement. Therefore, to return the vehicle headlamp 1 to its reference state after turning it on, the control device 50 reads the aiming initial value from the memory 51 and drives the swivel unit 20 to change the optical axis by +19.58 degrees left and right, and the leveling unit 30 to change the optical axis by +4.97 degrees up and down. This determines the illumination direction of the vehicle headlamp 1 in its reference state as the direction set during aiming adjustment. In this way, the light source unit 10 can be returned to its reference state after the vehicle headlamp 1 is turned on.

[0039] [Leveling Operation] Next, the leveling operation of the vehicle headlamp 1 performed by the control device 50 according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 6. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a situation in which a vehicle 100 equipped with the vehicle headlamp 1 according to the present disclosure performs a leveling operation. In the situation shown in FIG. 5, the load of the vehicle 100 is concentrated at the front, and the vehicle 100 is tilted at an angle θ with respect to a direction parallel to the road surface. Therefore, the optical axis F1 of the light emitted by the vehicle headlamp 1 of the vehicle 100 is tilted at an angle θ with respect to a direction parallel to the road surface. In this situation, it is necessary to perform a leveling operation using the aiming unit A to displace the optical axis F1 by θ to obtain the optical axis F shown in FIG. 5.

[0040] 5 shows a situation in which the vehicle 100 is traveling on a flat road surface extending in the horizontal direction after the vehicle headlamp 1 is turned on. In FIG. 5, it is assumed that the center of gravity of the vehicle 100 is biased to the front due to the occupants of the vehicle 100 being unevenly seated, and the vehicle 100 is tilted by −θ degrees with respect to the road surface.

[0041] On the other hand, the optical axis of the vehicle headlamp 1 in the reference state is set to extend parallel to the road surface R when the vehicle 100 is parallel to the road surface R. Therefore, when the vehicle 100 is tilted forward as in the situation shown in Figure 5, the optical axis F1 of the vehicle headlamp 1 is tilted by an angle θ with respect to a direction parallel to the road surface. In such a situation, it is necessary to perform a leveling operation using the aiming unit A to displace the optical axis F1 by -θ to make it an optical axis F that extends parallel to the road surface R. A series of operations from activation of the vehicle headlamp 1 to setting the optical axis to extend to the road surface R will be described.

[0042] First, prior to the leveling operation, the control device 50 is started up, for example by supplying power to the vehicle headlamp 1. The control device 50 then acquires an aiming initial value that indicates the predetermined attitude at the time of aiming adjustment, which is stored in the memory 51, and drives the aiming unit A based on this aiming initial value to displace the attitude of the light source unit 10 to the predetermined attitude at the time of aiming adjustment. In this way, when the operation of the vehicle headlamp 1 starts, the light source unit 10 is first set to the predetermined attitude at the time of aiming adjustment. As a result, the optical axis of the light source unit 10 of the vehicle headlamp 1 extends in the direction that was set at the time of aiming adjustment.

[0043] Next, the tilt sensor 102 detects the tilt of the vehicle 100. For example, the tilt sensor 102 detects the tilt of the vehicle 100 at intervals of 50 ms. The tilt sensor 102 transmits the detected tilt information K to the vehicle ECU 101, and the vehicle ECU 101 transmits the tilt information K to the control device 50. When the control device 50 receives the tilt information K from the vehicle ECU 101, the control device 50 further reads out an aiming initial value recorded in the memory 51. This aiming initial value is an angle set when the vehicle 100 is parallel to the road surface R at the time of shipment or vehicle inspection.

[0044] The control device 50 then calculates a leveling correction value based on the tilt information K and the aiming initial value. The tilt information K is the tilt angle of the vehicle 100 with respect to the road surface R. Therefore, if the optical axis is displaced to an angle obtained by adding the aiming initial value to a value (-θ) obtained by inverting the sign of the tilt information K, the optical axis will become parallel to the road surface R. For example, if the aiming initial value in the vertical direction is +4.97 degrees, the maximum vertical movement range of the aiming unit A is from -5 degrees to +5 degrees, and the tilt information K is -1.20 degrees, the optical axis will become parallel to the road surface R if the aiming unit A is driven to an attitude that is +6.17 = (4.97 + 1.20) degrees from the bottom end of the maximum movement range. Therefore, the control device 50 calculates a leveling correction value by adding the aiming initial value to the value (-θ) obtained by inverting the sign of the tilt information K, and drives the aiming unit A with the leveling correction value.

[0045] According to the control device 50 of the vehicle lamp 1 according to the present disclosure, when the control device 50 is started up, the control device 50 acquires an aiming initial value that indicates an initial position, which is a predetermined attitude when the aiming is adjusted, that has been stored in the memory 51, and displaces the attitude of the light source unit 10 to the initial position. As a result, the irradiation direction of the light source unit 10 at the time of start-up is displaced based on the aiming initial value stored in advance, so that the irradiation direction of the light source unit 10 at each start-up is kept constant.

[0046] Furthermore, the control device 50 of the vehicle lamp 1 according to the present disclosure controls the aiming unit A based on a command value (tilt information K) indicating the amount of displacement of the irradiation direction of the light source unit 10 and an aiming initial value. That is, the aiming unit A of the vehicle lamp 1 according to the present disclosure has the swivel unit 20 and the leveling unit 30 that operate when the vehicle 100 is traveling, and therefore can perform swiveling and leveling operations when the vehicle 100 is traveling. Therefore, the control device 50 can appropriately control the irradiation direction of the light source unit 10 as the swivel operation and leveling operation while the vehicle 100 is traveling, based on the initial position when aiming is adjusted based on the command value indicating the amount of displacement of the irradiation direction of the light source unit 10.

[0047] 4, a system including the light source unit 10, an aiming unit A, a memory 51, a sensor 102, and a control device 50 may be provided as a vehicle lamp system 300. The vehicle lamp system 300 according to the vehicle lamp 1 of the present disclosure includes the light source unit 10, an aiming unit A that drives the light source unit 10, the memory 51, the sensor 102, and a control device 50 that outputs a command value (tilt information K) that indicates an amount of displacement of the irradiation direction of the light source unit 10 based on the output of the sensor 102 and controls the aiming unit A. The control device 50 may be configured to, upon startup, displace the attitude of the light source unit 10 to an initial position based on an aiming initial value that indicates an initial position, which is a predetermined attitude when aiming adjustment is performed, stored in the memory 51, and control the aiming unit A based on the command value that indicates the amount of displacement of the irradiation direction of the light source unit 10 and the aiming initial value.

[0048] [Modification] In the embodiment described above, the control device 50 controls the aiming unit A, and the memory 51 is provided in the control device 50. However, the control mode of the aiming unit A and the configuration of the memory 51 are not limited to those described above.

[0049] For example, the control of the aiming unit A may be performed by the vehicle ECU 101. In this configuration, the memory 51 is provided in the control device 50, the vehicle ECU 101, the circuit section of the aiming unit A, etc. If the memory 51 is provided in the vehicle ECU 101, the vehicle ECU 101 does not need to read out the aiming initial value from another component when performing aiming adjustment or leveling operation, and therefore the control flow can be simplified. Furthermore, if the memory 51 is provided in the control device 50 or the circuit section of the aiming unit A, the flow for recording the aiming initial value of the aiming unit A in the memory 51 can be simplified.

[0050] Also, for example, the control device 50 may control the aiming unit A, and the memory 51 may be provided outside the control device 50. In this configuration, the memory 51 is provided in the vehicle ECU 101, the circuit section of the aiming unit, etc. When the memory 51 is provided in the circuit section of the aiming unit A, the flow of recording the aiming initial value of the aiming unit A in the memory 51 can be simplified.

[0051] In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the tilt sensor 102 is provided in the vehicle 100. However, the configuration of the tilt sensor 102 is not limited to that described above. For example, the tilt sensor 102 may be provided in the control device 50. In this case, the control device 50 does not need to acquire the tilt information K from the vehicle ECU 101 during the leveling operation, which simplifies the control flow.

[0052] In the above-described embodiment, the vehicle headlamp 1 has a single light source unit 10, and therefore the memory 51 has recorded the initial aiming value for this single light source unit 10. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this. If the vehicle headlamp 1 has multiple light source units 10 whose aiming is adjusted individually, the memory 51 may be configured to record the initial aiming value for each of the light source units 10. In other words, the vehicle headlamp 1 may have multiple light source units 10, and the aiming unit A may drive the multiple light source units 10 independently of each other, and the memory 51 may be configured to record the initial aiming value for each of the light source units 10 or the aiming unit A.

[0053] In the above-described embodiment, the control device 50 has the memory 51 and controls the aiming unit A. The embodiment has been described in which a lamp ECU mounted on a so-called vehicle headlamp 1 controls the aiming unit A and also includes the memory 51. The present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, a vehicle ECU 101 mounted on a vehicle to control the vehicle's running state may have the memory 51 and control the aiming unit A.

[0054] 4, the light source units 10 may include a right light source unit 10a for a right vehicle headlight mounted on the right front of the vehicle and a left light source unit 10b for a left vehicle headlight mounted on the left front of the vehicle, and the memory 51 may be configured to record the initial aiming value separately as an initial right aiming value for the right light source unit and an initial left aiming value for the left light source unit. That is, in the vehicle lamp system 300 of the present disclosure, the light source units 10 include the right light source unit 10a and the left light source unit 10b, and the memory 51 may be configured to record the initial aiming value separately as an initial right aiming value for the right light source unit 10a and an initial left aiming value for the left light source unit 10b. This makes it possible to control the left and right light source units 10 independently.

[0055] In the above-described configuration, the control device 50 may be configured to control at least one of the aiming units provided in the right light source unit 10a and the left light source unit 10b based on the relative deviation amount, which is the difference between the right aiming initial value and the left aiming initial value, thereby enabling efficient aiming adjustment and leveling control of each of the left and right light source units 10.

[0056] Although the above description has been given with reference to an example in which the present disclosure is applied to leveling control of a vehicle headlamp 1, the present disclosure may also be applied to swivel control. In this case, the initial position, which is a predetermined attitude when adjusting the aiming, serves as the reference position when swiveling the optical axis in the left-right direction. That is, the aiming unit A may be configured to be controlled based on a command value indicating the amount of displacement of the illumination direction of the light source unit 10 and an aiming initial value during swiveling. At the time of shipment and vehicle inspection, the optical axis is set to extend to the front of the vehicle 100 (the center in the left-right direction). Therefore, the command value indicating the amount of displacement of the illumination direction of the light source unit 10 is the amount by which the optical axis is desired to be swiveled from the front of the vehicle 100. Therefore, the swivel unit 20 is driven with a swivel command value calculated by adding the command value indicating the amount of displacement of the illumination direction of the light source unit 10 with the sign inverted and the aiming initial value. In this way, the optical axis can be displaced in the desired direction even during swiveling.

[0057] In conventional aiming devices that use an adjuster screw, even when the power supply to the motor that drives the adjuster screw is cut off, the static friction force between the adjuster screw and the nut is sufficiently large that the aiming-adjusted position of the light source unit can be maintained.

[0058] However, when an adjuster screw is not used as the aiming device, as in the vehicle headlamp 1 of this embodiment, the aiming-adjusted optical axis may not be maintained when de-energized. For example, when the above-mentioned swivel unit 20 or leveling unit 30 is de-energized, the light source unit 10 may rotate about the axes L1 and L2 due to the weight of the components. Therefore, the present disclosure provides a vehicle headlamp 1 configured as described above that can reliably maintain the aiming-adjusted position of the light source unit 10 when transitioning from a de-energized state to a powered state.

[0059] 1 to 5, the control device 50 controls the aiming unit A that adjusts the irradiation direction of the light source unit 10 of the vehicle lamp 1. The control device 50 includes a memory 51. During aiming adjustment, this memory 51 stores an aiming initial value that is input from outside and indicates a predetermined attitude when the aiming adjustment is performed.

[0060] The control device 50 is configured to read out the aiming initial value recorded in this memory 51 and drive the aiming unit A during normal use of the vehicle 100, not at the time of shipment or vehicle inspection. For example, when the vehicle headlamp 1 is started up, the control device 50 reads out the aiming initial value and drives the aiming unit A so that the light source unit 10 assumes a predetermined attitude when the aiming is adjusted by the aiming inspection system S. As a result, when the vehicle 100 is started up, the optical axis extends in a predetermined direction after the aiming adjustment. After the optical axis is set in the aiming-adjusted direction in this way, the system may be configured to perform leveling and swivel operations based on the aiming-adjusted optical axis.

[0061] In this way, the vehicle headlamp 1 according to the present disclosure is configured to read out the aiming initial value recorded in the memory 51 when the control device 50 is started up and power is applied to the aiming unit A, and the control device 50 is configured to drive the aiming unit A using the aiming initial value read out at the time of start-up and adjust the attitude of the light source unit 10. This allows the light source unit 10 to be positioned at the position adjusted for aiming by the aiming inspection system S at every start-up.

[0062] According to the control device of the present disclosure, the memory 51 provided in the control device 50 records, as an aiming initial value, the position of the aiming unit A when adjusting the aiming of the vehicle headlamp 1. This allows the vehicle headlamp 1 of the present disclosure to adjust the attitude of the light source unit 10 to the correct position based on the aiming initial value without exchanging information with devices other than the vehicle headlamp 1, such as the vehicle ECU 101.

[0063] Note that the vehicle headlamp and aiming unit to which the present disclosure is applied are not limited to the configurations described above. For example, in the above-described embodiment, aiming adjustment of the light source unit 10 does not have to be performed by the leveling unit 30 and the swivel unit 20. For example, the present disclosure can also be applied to a vehicle lamp provided with an electric aiming unit that adjusts the aiming of the light source unit 10 in addition to the leveling unit 30 and the swivel unit 20. In this case, the control device 50 of the present disclosure controls the aiming unit.

[0064] In the above-described embodiment, the vehicle headlamp 1 has a single light source unit 10, and therefore the memory 51 has been described as recording the initial aiming value for this single light source unit 10. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this. If the vehicle headlamp has multiple light source units 10 whose aiming is adjusted individually, the memory 51 may be configured to record the initial aiming value for each of the light source units 10. In other words, the vehicle headlamp 1 may have multiple light source units 10, and the aiming unit A may drive the multiple light source units 10 independently of each other, and the memory 51 may be configured to record the initial aiming value for each of the light source units 10 or the aiming unit A.

[0065] In the above-described embodiment, the control device 50 has the memory 51 and controls the aiming unit A. The embodiment has been described in which a lamp ECU mounted on a so-called vehicle headlamp 1 controls the aiming unit A and also includes the memory 51. The present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, the vehicle ECU 101 mounted on the vehicle 100 and controlling the running state of the vehicle 100 may have the memory 51 and control the aiming unit A.

[0066] The light source units 10 may include a right light source unit for a right vehicle headlight mounted on the right front of the vehicle and a left light source unit for a left vehicle headlight mounted on the left front of the vehicle, and the memory 51 may be configured to record the aiming initial value separately as a right aiming initial value for the right light source unit and a left aiming initial value for the left light source unit. In other words, the light source units 10 may have a right light source unit and a left light source unit, and the memory 51 may be configured to record the aiming initial value separately as a right aiming initial value for the right light source unit and a left aiming initial value for the left light source unit. This makes it possible to control the left and right light source units 10 independently.

[0067] Furthermore, the control device 50 according to the present disclosure may be configured such that the aiming unit A maintains a predetermined posture when energized, and the control device 50 moves the light source unit 10 to an initial aiming position set during the aiming adjustment, which is different from the origin position used during the leveling adjustment, upon startup. The origin position used during the leveling adjustment is a reference position during the leveling adjustment. For example, the origin position for leveling when the center of gravity of the vehicle is located at the front of the vehicle is displaced upward from the origin position for leveling when the center of gravity of the vehicle is located at the center. By independently setting the initial aiming position after the aiming adjustment and the origin position used during the leveling adjustment in this manner, it is easy to achieve advanced leveling operations that are tailored to the current center of gravity position of the vehicle.

[0068] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, it goes without saying that the technical scope of the present disclosure should not be interpreted as being limited by the description of the present embodiments. The present embodiments are merely examples, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications of the embodiments are possible within the scope of the invention described in the claims. The technical scope of the present disclosure should be determined based on the scope of the invention described in the claims and its equivalents.

[0069] According to the present disclosure, a control device for an aiming unit of a vehicle lamp is provided that can achieve a leveling function while employing an aiming device that does not maintain a reference state by static friction force.

[0070] The following configurations also constitute part of the present disclosure. Item 1: A control device for an aiming unit that adjusts the irradiation direction of a light source unit of a vehicle lamp, wherein when the control device is started, the control device acquires an aiming initial value that indicates an initial position that is a predetermined attitude when aiming adjustment is performed and that is stored in a memory, and displaces the attitude of the light source unit to the initial position, and controls the aiming unit based on a command value that indicates the amount of displacement of the irradiation direction of the light source unit and the aiming initial value. Item 2: The control device according to item 1, wherein the aiming initial value is angle information from at least one of the upper and lower movable ends and the left and right movable ends of the light source unit. Item 3: The control device according to item 1 or 2, wherein the aiming initial value is a drive amount of the aiming unit when adjusting the aiming of the light source unit. Item 4: A vehicle lamp system comprising: a light source unit; an aiming unit that drives the light source unit; a memory; a sensor; and a control device that outputs a command value that indicates an amount of displacement of the irradiation direction of the light source unit based on an output of the sensor and controls the aiming unit, wherein the control device, at startup, displaces the attitude of the light source unit to an initial position based on an aiming initial value that indicates an initial position that is a predetermined attitude when aiming is adjusted and that is stored in the memory, and controls the aiming unit based on the command value that indicates the amount of displacement of the irradiation direction of the light source unit and the aiming initial value. Item 5: The vehicle lamp system according to Item 4, wherein the sensor outputs a signal according to an inclination of a vehicle body. Item 6: The vehicle lamp system according to Item 4 or 5, wherein the light source units include a left light source unit and a right light source unit, and the memory records the aiming initial value by dividing it into a right aiming initial value for the right light source unit and a left aiming initial value for the left light source unit.Item 7: The vehicle lamp system according to Item 6, wherein the control device controls at least one of the aiming units provided in the right light source unit and the left light source unit, respectively, based on a relative deviation amount that is a difference between the right aiming initial value and the left aiming initial value. Item 8: The vehicle lamp system according to Item 4 or 5, wherein there are a plurality of light source units, the aiming unit drives the plurality of light source units independently of one another, and the memory records the aiming initial values ​​of each of the light source units or the aiming units. Item 9: A control device for an aiming unit that adjusts the irradiation direction of a light source unit of a vehicle lamp, wherein the aiming unit maintains a predetermined attitude after aiming adjustment when powered on, and includes a memory that records an aiming initial value that is input from outside and indicates the predetermined attitude when aiming is adjusted, and is configured to read out the aiming initial value recorded in the memory at least when the control device is started up and power is applied to the aiming unit. Item 10: The control device according to item 9, wherein the aiming initial value is angle information from at least one of the upper and lower movable ends and the left and right movable ends of the light source unit. Item 11: The control device according to item 9 or 10, wherein the aiming initial value is a drive amount of the aiming unit when adjusting the aiming of the light source unit. Item 12: The control device according to item 9, wherein the control device also controls turning the light source unit on and off. Item 13: A vehicular lamp comprising: a light source unit; an aiming unit capable of adjusting the direction of light irradiation of each of the light source units; and a control device that controls the aiming unit, wherein the control device is provided with a memory that records an aiming initial value that indicates the predetermined attitude when adjusting the aiming of the aiming unit, the aiming initial value being read out at least at startup.Item 14: The vehicular lamp according to item 13, wherein the light source units have a right light source unit and a left light source unit, and the memory records the aiming initial value separately as a right aiming initial value for the right light source unit and a left aiming initial value for the left light source unit. Item 15: The vehicular lamp according to item 13, wherein the vehicular lamp has a plurality of the light source units, and the aiming unit drives the plurality of light source units independently of one another, and the memory records the aiming initial value of each of the light source units or the aiming unit. Item 16: A control device for an aiming unit that adjusts the irradiation direction of a light source unit of a vehicular lamp, wherein the aiming unit maintains an arbitrary predetermined attitude when energized, and the control device moves the light source unit at startup to an aiming initial position that has been set when aiming adjustment was performed, which is different from an origin position when leveling adjustment is performed.

[0071] This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-42583 filed on March 18, 2024, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-42582 filed on March 18, 2024, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

1. A control device for an aiming unit that adjusts the irradiation direction of a light source unit of a vehicle lamp, wherein when the control device is started up, the control device acquires an aiming initial value that indicates an initial position, which is a predetermined attitude when aiming adjustment is performed, stored in memory, and displaces the attitude of the light source unit to the initial position, and controls the aiming unit based on a command value that indicates the amount of displacement of the irradiation direction of the light source unit and the aiming initial value.

2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the initial aiming value is angle information from at least one of the upper and lower movable ends and the left and right movable ends of the light source unit.

3. The control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the aiming initial value is a drive amount of the aiming unit when adjusting the aiming of the light source unit.

4. A vehicle lamp system comprising: a light source unit; an aiming unit that drives the light source unit; a memory; a sensor; and a control device that outputs a command value that indicates the amount of displacement of the irradiation direction of the light source unit based on the output of the sensor and controls the aiming unit, wherein the control device, at startup, displaces the attitude of the light source unit to an initial position based on an aiming initial value that indicates an initial position that is a predetermined attitude when aiming is adjusted and is stored in the memory, and controls the aiming unit based on the command value that indicates the amount of displacement of the irradiation direction of the light source unit and the aiming initial value.

5. The vehicle lamp system according to claim 4, wherein the sensor outputs a signal corresponding to the inclination of the vehicle body.

6. A vehicle lamp system according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the light source units include a left light source unit and a right light source unit, and the memory records the aiming initial value separately as a right aiming initial value for the right light source unit and a left aiming initial value for the left light source unit.

7. A vehicle lamp system as described in claim 6, wherein the control device controls at least one of the aiming units provided in the right light source unit and the left light source unit based on a relative deviation amount which is the difference between the right aiming initial value and the left aiming initial value.

8. A vehicle lamp system as claimed in claim 4 or 5, wherein there are a plurality of light source units, the aiming unit drives the plurality of light source units independently of one another, and the memory records the aiming initial values ​​of each of the light source units or the aiming units.

9. A control device for an aiming unit that adjusts the irradiation direction of a light source unit of a vehicle lamp, wherein the aiming unit maintains a predetermined attitude after aiming adjustment when powered on, and the control device has a memory that records an aiming initial value that is input from outside and indicates the predetermined attitude when aiming is adjusted, and is configured to read out the aiming initial value recorded in the memory at least when the control device is started up and power is applied to the aiming unit.

10. The control device according to claim 9, wherein the aiming initial value is angle information from at least one of the upper and lower movable ends and the left and right movable ends of the light source unit.

11. The control device according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the aiming initial value is a drive amount of the aiming unit when adjusting the aiming of the light source unit.

12. The control device according to claim 9, wherein the control device also controls turning on and off the light source unit.

13. A vehicle lamp comprising: a light source unit; an aiming unit capable of adjusting the direction of light emitted from each of the light source units; and a control device for controlling the aiming unit, wherein the control device has a memory for recording an initial aiming value that indicates a predetermined attitude when the aiming unit is adjusted for aiming, and that is read out at least at the time of startup.

14. A vehicle lamp according to claim 13, wherein the light source units include a right light source unit and a left light source unit, and the memory records the aiming initial value separately as a right aiming initial value for the right light source unit and a left aiming initial value for the left light source unit.

15. A vehicle lamp according to claim 13, wherein the vehicle lamp has a plurality of the light source units, the aiming unit drives the plurality of light source units independently of one another, and the memory records the aiming initial values ​​of each of the light source units or the aiming unit.

16. A control device for an aiming unit that adjusts the irradiation direction of a light source unit of a vehicle lamp, wherein the aiming unit maintains an arbitrary predetermined posture when powered on, and the control device moves the light source unit to an aiming initial position set when the aiming adjustment is performed, which is different from the origin position when leveling adjustment is performed, when started up.

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