Variable light distribution lamp control device, vehicle lamp fitting, and software program

Abstract

A control device 300 controls a variable light distribution lamp 210. The control device 300 receives, from a vehicle side, first vertical data V1 indicating the positions of an upper end and a lower end of a region of interest ROI in which a target exists, removes frequency components higher than a predetermined first cutoff frequency from the first vertical data V1 to generate second vertical data V2, and controls the vertical size, vertical position, and light attenuation ratio distribution of a light shielding region on the basis of the second vertical data V2. The control device 300 removes frequency components lower than a predetermined second cutoff frequency from first pitch data P1 indicating the pitch angle of a vehicle body to generate second pitch data P2, and adjusts the vertical position of the light shielding region in accordance with the second pitch data P2.

Description

Control device for variable-beam lamps, vehicle lighting fixtures, and software programs

[0001] This disclosure relates to vehicle lighting equipment.

[0002] Vehicle lighting systems generally allow switching between low beams and high beams. Low beams illuminate the area immediately surrounding the vehicle with a predetermined illuminance, and their light distribution is regulated to avoid glare to oncoming or preceding vehicles. They are primarily used when driving in urban areas. High beams, on the other hand, illuminate a wide area and a distant area ahead with relatively high illuminance. They are primarily used when driving at high speeds on roads with few oncoming or preceding vehicles. Therefore, while high beams offer superior visibility to the driver compared to low beams, they have the problem of causing glare to drivers of vehicles ahead and pedestrians.

[0003] In recent years, Adaptive Driving Beam (ADB) technology has been proposed, which dynamically and adaptively controls the high beam pattern based on the surrounding conditions of the vehicle. ADB technology detects the range of vehicles ahead of the vehicle, including preceding and oncoming vehicles (collectively referred to as "vehicles ahead"), and reduces glare on the vehicle by dimming the area corresponding to the vehicle ahead (called the light-blocking area).

[0004] International Publication WO2021 / 182151A1, International Publication WO2021 / 200701A1, International Publication WO2023 / 090327A1, International Publication WO2022 / 270413A1

[0005] High-resolution ADB control is being achieved by utilizing LED arrays and spatial light modulators such as DMDs and liquid crystals. In high-resolution ADB control, the vehicle ahead can be detected by target detection sensors such as cameras and LiDAR, and the light-shielding area can be controlled with high precision.

[0006] However, most of the currently available sensors for target detection, specifically cameras and LiDAR, do not have the responsiveness to capture the relative positional changes of the vehicle ahead caused by high-frequency pitching vibrations of the vehicle body.

[0007] Sensors for target detection are typically mounted on the vehicle, and the vehicle's ECU (Electronic Control Unit) detects the ROI (Region of Interest), which is the area where the target exists, based on the sensor's output. Target information, including the ROI, is transmitted from the vehicle's ECU to the vehicle's lighting fixtures via a vehicle bus such as a CAN (Controller Area Network) or LIN (Local Interconnect Network). The lighting fixture's ECU then creates a light-shielding area within the range indicated by the ROI.

[0008] Problem 1. Here, there is a delay in the transmission of target information necessary for controlling the light-shielding area. In other words, if the responsiveness of the vehicle-side sensor and the transmission delay of the target information cannot be ignored, when pitching vibrations of the vehicle body occur, the light-shielding area deviates from the actual position of the vehicle in front, causing glare to the vehicle in front.

[0009] Problem 2. If a vehicle equipped with a lighting system vibrates (pitches) at a speed faster than the response speed of the target detection sensors or the vehicle's ECU, or if a noisy light spot appears in front of the vehicle, the ROI may instantly jump to a distant area, instantly expand or contract in size, or suddenly disappear. In this case, if a light-shielding area is formed in accordance with the ROI, the light-shielding area will instantly move to a distant location, expand or contract in size, or disappear abruptly, causing discomfort to the driver.

[0010] To solve this problem, the inventors considered removing high-frequency components from the ROI using a filter and forming a light-shielding region based on the filtered ROI, i.e., the ROI with low-frequency components, and came to recognize the following issues.

[0011] When multiple targets are present in front of the vehicle, the lighting ECU processes multiple ROIs. That is, multiple filters are provided to correspond to multiple ROIs, and each filter processes the corresponding ROI.

[0012] Here, the number of targets in front of the vehicle and their relative positions change moment by moment. These changes disrupt the correspondence between the ROI and the filter. When a different ROI is input to a filter that was processing a certain ROI, an undesirable light-blocking region is generated.

[0013] Furthermore, this problem should not be considered as a general understanding of those skilled in the art, but rather as an issue independently recognized by the inventors.

[0014] Some aspects of this disclosure were made in such circumstances, and one exemplary objective is to provide a vehicle lighting device capable of precise ADB control.

[0015] A part of this disclosure relates to a control device for controlling a variable-beam lamp. The variable-beam lamp includes a plurality of light-emitting pixels and is configured to illuminate an area to form a high-beam light distribution with a beam having an intensity distribution corresponding to the luminance distribution of the plurality of light-emitting pixels. The control device receives first vertical data from the vehicle side indicating the positions of the upper and lower ends of a region of interest where a target exists, generates second vertical data by removing frequency components higher than a predetermined first cutoff frequency from the first vertical data, controls the vertical size, vertical position and attenuation rate distribution of the shading region based on the second vertical data, generates second pitch data by removing frequency components lower than a predetermined second cutoff frequency from first pitch data indicating the pitch angle of the vehicle body based on a sensor signal generated by a lamp-side sensor, and adjusts the vertical position of the shading region according to the second pitch data.

[0016] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a vehicle lighting device. This vehicle lighting device comprises a variable-beam lamp and a control device for controlling the variable-beam lamp. The variable-beam lamp includes a plurality of light-emitting pixels and is configured to illuminate an area to be formed with a high-beam light distribution with a beam having an intensity distribution corresponding to the luminance distribution of the plurality of light-emitting pixels. The control device controls the variable light distribution lamp such that (i) when the vehicle lamp is stationary, the light point corresponding to the target to be shielded in front of the vehicle lamp is vibrated vertically at a frequency lower than a predetermined first frequency, the vertical size, vertical position, and light attenuation rate distribution of the shielded area change; (ii) when the vehicle lamp is stationary, the light point is vibrated vertically at a frequency higher than the first frequency, the shielded area does not change; (iii) when the vehicle lamp is stationary, the light point is vibrated in the pitch direction at a frequency lower than a predetermined second frequency, the shielded area vibrates up and down relative to the light point; and (iv) when the vehicle lamp is stationary, the light point is vibrated in the pitch direction at a frequency higher than the second frequency, the shielded area continues to overlap with the light point.

[0017] A part of this disclosure relates to a control device for controlling a variable-beam lamp. The variable-beam lamp includes a plurality of light-emitting pixels and is configured to illuminate an area to be formed with a high-beam light distribution with a beam having an intensity distribution corresponding to the luminance distribution of the plurality of light-emitting pixels. The control device includes an input interface that receives a control signal from the vehicle side including at least one target data, each target data including vertical data and horizontal data defining a region of interest where the target is located; a filter block including a plurality of digital filters, each digital filter being assigned a corresponding one of at least one target data, and each digital filter filtering the vertical data included in the assigned target data; and a light distribution control unit that controls the variable-beam lamp so that for each target data, the range defined by the vertical data output from the corresponding digital filter and the corresponding horizontal data becomes a light-shielding region. The filter block resets the plurality of digital filters based on the control signal.

[0018] Furthermore, any combination of the above components, or any substitution of components or expressions between methods, apparatus, systems, etc., is also valid as a form of this disclosure. Moreover, the description in this section does not describe all the essential features of this disclosure, and therefore, subcombinations of these described features may also constitute this disclosure.

[0019] According to certain aspects of this disclosure, precise ADB control becomes possible.

[0020] This is a block diagram of a lighting system equipped with ADB functionality. This diagram illustrates the motion of the vehicle itself and the vehicle in front. This diagram illustrates the vertical motion of the vehicle in front, the pitching motion of the vehicle itself, and the frequency characteristics. This diagram illustrates the effect of transmission delay on ADB control. This diagram shows the control error when ADB control is performed based on the relative position after the transmission delay. This is a block diagram of a lighting system equipped with a vehicle lighting fixture according to Embodiment 1. This is a block diagram of a control device according to Embodiment 1. This diagram illustrates the frequency characteristics of the first filter and the second filter. This diagram illustrates the operation of the control device in Figure 7. This diagram illustrates light shielding control based on target data. This diagram illustrates light shielding control based on sensor signals. This diagram shows an evaluation system for the lighting system according to Embodiment 1. This is a block diagram of a control device according to Modification 1. This is a block diagram of a microcontroller. This is a block diagram of a lighting system equipped with ADB functionality. This is a block diagram of a control device according to Embodiment 2. Figures 17(a) and (b) are block diagrams showing examples of digital filter configurations. This diagram illustrates light distribution control without using a digital filter. This diagram illustrates light distribution control using a digital filter. This diagram illustrates problems caused by a digital filter. This is a diagram illustrating the reset process in the filter block. This is a block diagram of the lighting system according to Embodiment 3. This is a block diagram of the control device in Figure 21. This is a diagram illustrating the operation of the control device in Figure 23. This is a diagram illustrating light shielding control based on control signals from a vehicle. This is a diagram illustrating light shielding control based on sensor signals.

[0021] (Outline of Embodiments) An outline of some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is provided below. This outline is intended to provide a basic understanding of the embodiments and to serve as a prelude to the more detailed descriptions that follow, by simplifying some concepts of one or more embodiments and not limiting the scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, this outline is not a comprehensive overview of all possible embodiments and does not limit the essential components of the embodiments. For convenience, “one embodiment” may be used to refer to one embodiment (example or variation) or more embodiments (example or variation) disclosed herein.

[0022] 1. A control device according to one embodiment controls a variable-beam lamp. The variable-beam lamp includes a plurality of light-emitting pixels and is configured to illuminate an area to form a high-beam light distribution with a beam having an intensity distribution corresponding to the brightness distribution of the plurality of light-emitting pixels. The control device receives first vertical data from the vehicle side indicating the positions of the upper and lower ends of the region of interest where a target exists, generates second vertical data by removing frequency components higher than a predetermined first cutoff frequency from the first vertical data, controls the vertical size, vertical position and attenuation rate distribution of the light-shielding region based on the second vertical data, generates second pitch data by removing frequency components lower than a predetermined second cutoff frequency from first pitch data indicating the pitch angle of the vehicle body based on a sensor signal generated by the lamp-side sensor, and adjusts the vertical position of the light-shielding region according to the second pitch data.

[0023] In this configuration, low-frequency components of the relative motion between the vehicle and the vehicle in front are detected by a vehicle-side sensor that is relatively slow and has high latency, while high-frequency components are detected by a lighting-side sensor that is relatively fast and has low latency. The position, size, and attenuation rate distribution of the light-shielding area are determined based on the low-frequency components of the output of the vehicle-side sensor, and the vertical position of the light-shielding area is adjusted based on the high-frequency components of the sensor signal from the lighting-side sensor. This makes it possible to accurately track the light-shielding area of ​​the high-beam distribution relative to the target even with pitching of various frequencies.

[0024] A light-emitting pixel refers to a unit of brightness control. Therefore, if a variable-beam lamp is composed of an array of light-emitting elements, each light-emitting element corresponds to a light-emitting pixel. If the variable-beam lamp includes a patterning device such as a spatial light modulator like a DMD (Digital Mirror Device) or a liquid crystal device, one pixel of the patterning device corresponds to a light-emitting pixel.

[0025] In one embodiment, the control device may gradually control the attenuation rate distribution of the light-shielding region based on the second vertical data. In other words, by ensuring that the second pitch data does not affect the gradual control, it is possible to suppress the vertical expansion of the light-shielding region when pitching occurs.

[0026] In one embodiment, the variable-beam lamp may have a controllable beam intensity distribution according to a control image generated by a control device. The control device may generate a base image that defines the beam intensity distribution when no shading region exists, generate a first shading image based on second vertical data which has more pixels in the vertical direction than the control image and in which the pixel value of each pixel represents the attenuation rate of the shading region, generate a second shading image which has the same number of pixels in the vertical direction as the control image by cutting out a range in the vertical direction from the first shading image according to second pitch data, and generate a control image by combining the base image and the second shading image.

[0027] In one embodiment, the control device generates second horizontal data by removing frequency components higher than a predetermined third cutoff frequency from first horizontal data indicating the positions of the left and right ends of the region of interest, and controls the horizontal size, horizontal position, and attenuation rate distribution of the light-shielding region based on the second horizontal data. It may also generate second yaw data by removing frequency components lower than a predetermined fourth cutoff frequency from first yaw data indicating the yaw angle of the vehicle body based on a sensor signal from the lamp side sensor, and adjust the horizontal position of the light-shielding region according to the second yaw data. In this case, the light-shielding region of the high beam distribution can be made to accurately track a target with respect to yaw vibrations of various frequencies.

[0028] In one embodiment, the sensor on the lamp side may be a gyro sensor.

[0029] In one embodiment, the sensor on the lighting fixture side may be a camera.

[0030] A vehicle lighting fixture according to one embodiment may include any of the above-described control devices, a lighting fixture-side sensor capable of detecting information correlated with the vehicle body's tilt angle, and a variable-light distribution lamp.

[0031] A vehicle lighting device according to one embodiment comprises a variable-beam lamp and a control device for controlling the variable-beam lamp. The variable-beam lamp includes a plurality of light-emitting pixels and is configured to illuminate an area to be formed with a high-beam light distribution with a beam having an intensity distribution corresponding to the brightness distribution of the plurality of light-emitting pixels. The control device controls the variable-beam lamp such that (i) when the vehicle lamp is stationary, the light point corresponding to the target to be shielded in front of the vehicle lamp is vibrated vertically at a frequency lower than a predetermined first frequency, the vertical size, vertical position, and attenuation rate distribution of the shielded area change; (ii) when the vehicle lamp is stationary, the light point is vibrated vertically at a frequency higher than the first frequency, the shielded area does not change; (iii) when the vehicle lamp is stationary, the light point is vibrated in the pitch direction at a frequency lower than a predetermined second frequency, the shielded area vibrates up and down relative to the light point; and (iv) when the vehicle lamp is stationary, the light point is vibrated in the pitch direction at a frequency higher than the second frequency, the shielded area continues to overlap with the light point. With this configuration, the shielded area of ​​the high beam distribution can be accurately tracked relative to the target for pitching of various frequencies.

[0032] 2. A control device according to one embodiment controls a variable-beam lamp. The variable-beam lamp includes a plurality of light-emitting pixels and is configured to illuminate an area to form a high-beam light distribution with a beam having an intensity distribution corresponding to the brightness distribution of the plurality of light-emitting pixels. The control device includes an input interface that receives a control signal from the vehicle side including at least one target data, each target data including vertical data and horizontal data defining the region of interest where the target is located; a filter block that includes a plurality of digital filters, each digital filter to which a corresponding one of at least one target data is assigned, and each digital filter filters the vertical data included in the assigned target data; and a light distribution control unit that controls the variable-beam lamp so that the range defined by the vertical data output from the corresponding digital filter and the corresponding horizontal data for each target data becomes a light-shielding region. The filter block resets the plurality of digital filters based on the control signal.

[0033] With this configuration, if there is a possibility that the correspondence between the digital filter and the target data has changed, resetting the digital filter prevents unnatural changes in the light-shielding area, enabling accurate ADB control.

[0034] A light-emitting pixel refers to a unit of brightness control. Therefore, if a variable-beam lamp is composed of an array of light-emitting elements, each light-emitting element corresponds to a light-emitting pixel. If the variable-beam lamp includes a patterning device such as a spatial light modulator like a DMD (Digital Mirror Device) or a liquid crystal device, one pixel of the patterning device corresponds to a light-emitting pixel.

[0035] In one embodiment, the filter block may reset a plurality of digital filters when the number of at least one target data included in a control signal changes. When the number of target data changes, there is a possibility that the correspondence between the digital filters and the target data becomes different from the previous correspondence. Therefore, by using a change in the number as a trigger for resetting the digital filters, accurate ADB control can be achieved.

[0036] In one embodiment, each piece of target data may include type information indicating a type of a target. The filter block may reset a plurality of digital filters when the type information included in target data assigned to any digital filter changes. When the type information changes, there is a high possibility that a mismatch has occurred in the correspondence between the digital filters and the target data. Therefore, by using a change in the type information as a trigger for resetting the digital filters, accurate ADB control can be achieved.

[0037] A vehicular lamp according to one embodiment may include any one of the control devices described above and a variable light distribution lamp.

[0038] (Embodiment) Hereinafter, preferred embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. The same or equivalent components, members, and processes shown in the respective drawings are denoted by the same reference symbols, and overlapping descriptions are appropriately omitted. In addition, the embodiments are illustrative rather than limiting the present disclosure, and not all features and combinations thereof described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the essence of the disclosure.

[0039] (First Embodiment) Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a lamp system 100 having an ADB function. The lamp system 100 is mounted on an automobile and has a function of a headlamp that irradiates a visual field in front of the vehicle. In a high beam mode, the lamp system 100 has an ADB function of blocking light in a region where an oncoming vehicle and a preceding vehicle (hereinafter collectively referred to as a forward vehicle) exist, according to a situation in front of the vehicle.

[0040] Fig. 1 shows a virtual vertical screen 2, on which a high-beam light distribution 4 is schematically illustrated. The high-beam light distribution 4 includes a light shielding area 6 where illuminance is substantially zero in an area where a preceding vehicle is present. Since the position of the preceding vehicle changes moment by moment, the lamp system 100 controls the position of the light shielding area 6 so as to follow the preceding vehicle. An area other than the light shielding area 6 is referred to as an irradiation area 8. That is, the high-beam light distribution 4 includes the light shielding area 6 and the irradiation area 8.

[0041] The lamp system 100 includes a vehicular lamp 200R, a vehicle ECU 110, and a vehicle-side sensor 120. The vehicle-side sensor 120 is a camera, LiDAR, or the like, and senses conditions ahead of the vehicle. The vehicle ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 110 detects a target object to be shielded from light, such as a preceding vehicle, based on an output of the vehicle-side sensor 120, and generates target data (ROI information) S1 indicating a region of interest (ROI) where the target object is located. The target data S1 may include first vertical data V1 indicating positions of the upper end and the lower end of the region of interest, and first horizontal data H1 indicating positions of the left end and the right end of the region of interest. Normally, position information is expressed as an angle.

[0042] The format of the first vertical data V1 is not limited, and may include coordinates of the upper end and the lower end of the region of interest in the vertical direction, or may be a combination of coordinates of any one of the upper end, the lower end, and the center and the height of the region of interest. Similarly, the format of the first horizontal data H1 is not limited, and may include coordinates of the left end and the right end of the region of interest, or may be a combination of coordinates of any one of the left end, the right end, and the center and the width of the region of interest.

[0043] The vehicle ECU 110 and the vehicular lamp 200R are connected via a vehicle bus such as CAN (Controller Area Network) or LIN (Local Interconnect Network), enabling mutual transmission and reception of information. The target data S1 is transmitted from the vehicle ECU 110 to the vehicular lamp 200R via the vehicle bus. The vehicular lamp 200R performs ADB control using the target data S1 when the high beam is turned on.

[0044] The vehicle lighting fixture 200R comprises a variable-beam lamp 210 and a control device 300. The variable-beam lamp 210 comprises a light-emitting device 212. The light-emitting device 212 is, for example, an LED array and includes a plurality of light-emitting pixels PIX2. The luminance values ​​of the plurality of light-emitting pixels PIX2 are set according to the pixel values ​​of the plurality of pixels PIX1 included in the control image IMG1 generated by the control device 300. The variable-beam lamp 210 illuminates the area on the virtual vertical screen 2 in front of the vehicle where the high-beam light distribution 4 should be formed with a beam BM having an intensity distribution corresponding to the luminance distribution of the plurality of light-emitting pixels PIX2.

[0045] The control device 300 generates a control image IMG1 that defines the high beam light distribution based on the target data S1, and controls the brightness of multiple light-emitting pixels PIX2 of the variable light distribution lamp 210. Of the multiple pixels PIX1 that make up the control image IMG1, the pixel values ​​of the portion corresponding to the light-shielding region 6 defined based on the target (region of interest) are substantially zero. As a result, multiple light-emitting pixels PIX2 corresponding to the light-shielding region 6 are turned off. Light-emitting pixels that should be turned off are called off pixels. Note that a pixel being off means that it is dimmed to the extent that it does not produce glare, and may include cases where it is completely shaded or dimmed.

[0046] The control device 300 updates the brightness of the control image IMG1, or in other words, the brightness of multiple light-emitting pixels PIX2, at each control cycle T. The control cycle T is, for example, several ms to about 100 ms.

[0047] Figure 2 illustrates the motion of the vehicle itself and the vehicle in front. The relative vertical positional relationship between the vehicle itself 30 and the vehicle in front 32 while driving (simply referred to as the position of the vehicle in front) is affected by the vertical motion V of the vehicle in front 32 and the orientation of the vehicle-side sensor 120 due to the pitching vibration of the vehicle itself 30.

[0048] Figure 3 illustrates the vertical motion of the vehicle in front, the pitching motion of the vehicle itself, and their frequency characteristics. The vertical motion of the vehicle in front is in a relatively low frequency band, while the pitching motion of the vehicle itself includes higher frequency components.

[0049] The problems that may occur in the lighting system 100 shown in Figure 1 will be explained.

[0050] Accurate ADB control is possible if the vehicle-side sensor 120 is fast enough to follow the pitching of the vehicle, and if the transmission delay between the vehicle lighting unit 200R and the control device 300 is negligible. However, currently, the vehicle-side sensor 120 does not have a response speed fast enough to follow high-speed pitching vibrations. In addition, there is a transmission delay that cannot be ignored between the vehicle lighting unit 200R and the control device 300.

[0051] Figure 4 illustrates the effect of transmission delay on ADB control. The upper panel shows the actual relative vertical positions of the vehicle 30 and the vehicle 32 in front while the vehicle is in motion. Here, the pitching frequency gradually increases. The lower panel of Figure 4 shows the relative positions after the transmission delay caused by the vehicle bus. When the pitching frequency is low, the transmission delay does not pose a major problem. However, as the pitching frequency increases, the error between the actual position and the position acquired by the control device 300 increases. When the pitching frequency reaches a certain frequency fmax, the error becomes maximum.

[0052] Figure 5 shows the control error when ADB control is performed based on the relative position after the transmission delay. The horizontal axis represents the pitching frequency fp. As enclosed by the dashed line A, in the region where the pitching frequency fp is sufficiently low (fp < fx), the control error is small (for example, 50% or less), the reliability of the target data S1 is high, and accurate ADB control is possible. As an example, when the delay is 200 ms, the frequency at which the control error becomes 50% is about 0.5 Hz. As the pitching frequency fp increases, the effect of the transmission delay becomes more pronounced, and the control error increases. A control error of 100% is equivalent to not performing any tracking control for pitching vibrations. When the pitching frequency fp becomes the frequency fmax in Figure 4, the control error increases to 200%. A control error of 200% indicates that the light-shielding region 6 is displaced in the opposite direction to the displacement of the vehicle in front. The above are the problems that can occur in the lighting system 100 of Figure 1.

[0053] Figure 6 is a block diagram of a lighting system 100 equipped with a vehicle lighting fixture 200 according to Embodiment 1. The vehicle lighting fixture 200 according to this embodiment is provided with a lighting fixture-side sensor 220. The lighting fixture-side sensor 220 generates a sensor signal S2 that correlates with the tilt (pitch angle) θp of the vehicle body. A gyro sensor can be used as the lighting fixture-side sensor 220, and the sensor signal S2 includes a signal indicating the angular velocity ωp around the pitch axis.

[0054] The following relationships hold between the light fixture-side sensor 220 and the vehicle-side sensor 120: • The detection speed (response speed) of the light fixture-side sensor 220 is faster than the detection speed (response speed) of the vehicle-side sensor 120. • The transmission delay of the sensor signal from the light fixture-side sensor 220 to the control device 300 is shorter than the transmission delay of the target data S1 from the vehicle-side sensor 120 to the control device 300.

[0055] The control device 300 controls the variable-light distribution lamp 210 based on the sensor signal S2, in addition to the target data S1 which indicates the region of interest (ROI) where the target is located.

[0056] The control device 300 generates second vertical data V2 by removing frequency components higher than a predetermined first cutoff frequency fc1 from first vertical data V1, which is included in the target data S1 and indicates the positions of the upper and lower ends of the region of interest (ROI). Based on the second vertical data V2, the control device 300 controls the vertical size, vertical position, and attenuation rate distribution of the light-shielding region 6.

[0057] As the relative positional relationship between the target and the vehicle changes, the target data S1 changes moment by moment. If only the position of the light-shielding area 6 is changed in response to the changes in the target data S1, without changing the size or distribution of the light-shielding area 6, the light-shielding area 6 will frequently move up and down and left and right, causing inconvenience to the driver of the vehicle.

[0058] Therefore, the control device 300 may perform gradual change control (also called time-blurring control) of the light-shielding area 6. Gradual change control means gradually changing the light reduction rate within the light-shielding area 6 over time. For example, when a certain part moves from inside the light-shielding area to outside the light-shielding area, the light reduction rate of that part is gradually changed at a relatively slow speed. Conversely, when a certain part moves from outside the light-shielding area to inside the light-shielding area, the light reduction rate of that part is gradually changed at a relatively fast speed. The applicant has proposed various methods for gradual change control (for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-037427, Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-048537, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-071741). The gradual change control applicable to this embodiment is not limited to a specific one.

[0059] The control device 300 generates first pitch data P1 indicating the pitch angle θp of the vehicle body based on the sensor signal S2 generated by the lamp-side sensor 220, and removes frequency components lower than a predetermined second cutoff frequency fc2 from the first pitch data P1 to generate second pitch data P2. The control device 300 adjusts the vertical position of the light-shielding region 6 according to the second pitch data P2 (pitching correction). In other words, the second pitch data P2 does not affect the gradual change control.

[0060] The above describes the configuration of the lighting system 100 according to Embodiment 1. Next, the processing and configuration of the control device 300 will be described.

[0061] Figure 7 is a block diagram of the control device 300 according to Embodiment 1. The control device 300 is implemented as a combination of a microcontroller (CPU) including a CPU and a software program executed by the CPU. Therefore, each block shown in Figure 7 does not necessarily represent the hardware configuration, but may represent a function realized by software.

[0062] The control device 300 includes an input interface 302, an output interface 304, a light distribution control unit 306, an integrator 310, and a filter block 320.

[0063] The input interface 302 is capable of communicating with the vehicle ECU 110 and is a vehicle bus controller such as a CAN (Controller Area Network) or LIN (Local Interconnect Network). The input interface 302 receives target data S1 from the vehicle ECU 110.

[0064] The integrator 310 integrates the angular velocity ωp of the sensor signal S2 to generate first pitch data P1 that indicates the pitch angle θp of the vehicle body.

[0065] The filter block 320 applies filtering to the target data S1 and the first pitch data P1. The filter block 320 includes a first filter 322 and a second filter 324.

[0066] The first filter 322 receives first vertical data V1, which is vertical position information y, removes frequency components higher than the first cutoff frequency fc1, and generates second vertical data V2. The first cutoff frequency fc1 is determined in Figure 5 based on the upper frequency fx of the highly reliable range A.

[0067] The second filter 324 receives first pitch data P1, which represents the pitch angle θp. The second filter 324 has frequency characteristics complementary to the first filter 322, and removes frequency components lower than the second cutoff frequency fc2 to generate second pitch data P2.

[0068] Figure 8 illustrates the frequency characteristics of the first filter 322 and the second filter 324. The second filter 324 may be a high-pass filter. The first cutoff frequency fc1 and the second cutoff frequency fc2 can be set near the frequency fx in Figure 4, and the two filters 322 and 324 cross over near frequency fx. The two cutoff frequencies fc1 and fc2 may be the same or different. The order and type of the first filter 322 and the second filter 324 may also be the same or different. The filter block 320 may also apply filtering to the first horizontal data H1.

[0069] Returning to Figure 7, the light distribution control unit 306 generates a control image IMG1 based on the data processed by the filter block 320. The light distribution control unit 306 includes a light shielding control unit 330 and a control image generation unit 340.

[0070] The light-shielding control unit 330 is supplied with second vertical data V2, first horizontal data H1, and second pitch data P2. Based on the second vertical data V2, first horizontal data H1, and second pitch data P2, the light-shielding control unit 330 generates a second light-shielding image IMG_SHD2 that defines the position, size, and light-reducing rate distribution of the light-shielding area.

[0071] The second light-shielding image IMG_SHD2 has the same size as the control image IMG1, and the pixel value of each pixel in the second light-shielding image IMG_SHD2 indicates the light-reducing rate. The light-reducing rate takes values ​​from 0 to 1, where 0 represents a completely shielded state and 1 represents an unshielded state.

[0072] The control image generation unit 340 generates a control image IMG1 based on the second light-shielding image IMG_SHD2. The control image generation unit 340 includes, for example, a base image generation unit 342 and a synthesis unit 344.

[0073] The base image generation unit 342 generates a base image IMG2 that defines the beam intensity distribution when no light-shielding region exists. The synthesis unit 344 generates a control image IMG1 by synthesizing the second light-shielding image IMG_SHD2 and the base image IMG2. The synthesis may also be performed by multiplying the corresponding pixels of the second light-shielding image IMG_SHD2 and the base image IMG2.

[0074] The light-shielding control unit 330 includes a first light-shielding image generation unit 332 and a second light-shielding image generation unit 334. The first light-shielding image generation unit 332 receives second vertical data V2 and first horizontal data H1 as input. Based on the second vertical data V2 and the first horizontal data H1, the first light-shielding image generation unit 332 generates a first light-shielding image IMG_SHD1. In the first light-shielding image IMG_SHD1, the pixel value of each pixel represents the light reduction rate of the light-shielding area, and the number of pixels in the vertical direction is greater than that of the control image IMG1.

[0075] The second light-shielding image generation unit 334 generates a second light-shielding image IMG_SHD2 having the same number of pixels in the vertical direction as the control image IMG1 by cutting out a range corresponding to the second pitch data P2 in the vertical direction from the first light-shielding image IMG_SHD1.

[0076] The output interface 304 transmits the control image IMG1 generated by the control image generation unit 340 to the variable light distribution lamp 210. The output interface 304 is a serial interface and may be a transmitter for image serial interfaces such as HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface, registered trademark) or DVI (Digital Visual Interface).

[0077] Figure 9 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the control device 300 shown in Figure 7. Each pixel of the first light-shielding image IMG_SHD1 represents a light-reducing rate from 0 to 1, where the light-reducing rate is 1 outside the light-shielding region SHD, and the pixel value is less than 1 inside the light-shielding region SHD. A pixel value of 0 indicates a completely light-shielded area.

[0078] The X-coordinate and width W of the light-shielding region SHD within the first light-shielding image IMG_SHD1 are controlled based on the first horizontal data H1. The Y-coordinate and height H of the light-shielding region SHD within the first light-shielding image IMG_SHD1 are controlled based on the second vertical data V2. The light-reducing rate distribution within the light-shielding region SHD is controlled at least based on the second vertical data V2.

[0079] The second light-shielding image IMG_SHD2 is generated by cutting out a portion in the height direction from the first light-shielding image IMG_SHD1 according to the second pitch data P2. The position of the cutout in the height direction is determined according to the second pitch data P2.

[0080] Then, the control image IMG1 is generated by multiplying the pixel values ​​of the second light-shielding image IMG_SHD2 and the base image IMG2.

[0081] Figure 10 illustrates light-shielding control based on target data S1. The target 902 in front of the vehicle is a preceding vehicle. From time t0 to time t3, the position of the target 902 gradually changes. Based on the target data S1 indicating the region of interest where the target 902 is located, the control device 300 changes the position of the light-shielding region SHD and performs gradual change control to generate the first light-shielding image IMG_SHD1.

[0082] At time t0, the attenuation rate within the light-shielding region SHD is 0. From time t0 to t3, the attenuation rate near the upper end of the light-shielding region SHD increases from 0 to 1 over time. From time t0 to t3, the attenuation rate near the lower end of the light-shielding region SHD decreases from 1 to 0. The gradual change control ends at time t3. Since no vehicle vibration occurs, the position from which the second light-shielding image IMG_SHD2 is extracted from the first light-shielding image IMG_SHD1 is the same.

[0083] This control allows the light-shielding region SHD to move in accordance with the movement of the target 902, and also allows the light-reducing rate at the boundary of the light-shielding region SHD to change naturally.

[0084] Figure 11 illustrates light shielding control based on the sensor signal S2. It describes light shielding control when the vehicle 904 equipped with the lighting system 100 is pitching.

[0085] The object 902 in front of the vehicle is the preceding vehicle. From time t0 to time t3, the relative position of the object 902 and the vehicle 904 remains constant, but the pitch angle θp of the vehicle 904 changes. In other words, the object data S1 indicating the region of interest where the object 902 is located remains constant.

[0086] Therefore, from time t0 to t3, the position, size, and attenuation rate of the light-shielding region SHD in the first light-shielding image IMG_SHD1 remain constant. As the pitch angle θp changes, the position from which the second light-shielding image IMG_SHD2 is extracted from the first light-shielding image IMG_SHD1 changes in response to its high-frequency components. As a result, even if pitching occurs, the position of the light-shielding region SHD is corrected vertically to counteract it, thereby suppressing glare on the target 902.

[0087] In other words, the pitch angle θp does not affect the gradual change control. This advantage becomes clear when compared with the comparative technology. In the comparative technology, the pitch angle θp is used as a parameter for gradual change control, and when the vehicle body pitches, if the position of the light-shielding area SHD changes, gradual change control is applied to the upper and lower sides of the light-shielding area SHD, causing the light-shielding area SHD to extend vertically, which reduces forward visibility. In contrast, in Embodiment 1, as shown in Figure 11, even when the vehicle body pitches, the vertical width of the light-shielding area SHD remains constant, suppressing glare while providing the driver of the vehicle with a good field of view.

[0088] Figure 12 shows an evaluation system 500 for a lighting system 100 according to Embodiment 1. The evaluation system 500 includes an excitation stage 510 and an excitation stage 520. The excitation stage 510 applies a pitching vibration of frequency fp to the vehicle lighting fixture 200. The excitation stage 520 vibrates a light source (or image) 522 that emits light simulating a vehicle in front in the vertical direction at frequency fv. Frequencies fp and fv can be controlled independently.

[0089] (Operation 1) Now, let's consider stopping the excitation stage 510 and using the excitation stage 520 to vibrate the light source 522 in the vertical direction. In this case, the displacement of the light source 522 is detected by the vehicle-side sensor 120. When the vibration frequency fv is lower than the first cutoff frequency fc1, the vertical size and position of the light-shielding region 6 within the beam BM changes in accordance with the light source 522, and the light-shielding rate distribution of the light-shielding region 6 also changes.

[0090] As the vibration frequency fv is increased, the amplitude of the light-shielding region 6 decreases, and when it exceeds the first cutoff frequency fc1, it stops and no longer tracks the light source 522. However, it is difficult to imagine that an actual vehicle in front would move up and down at such a high frequency.

[0091] (Operation 2) Consider stopping the excitation stage 520 and using the excitation stage 510 to impart pitching vibration to the vehicle light fixture 200. At this time, the vehicle-side sensor 120 is disconnected from the excitation stage 510 and is not affected by the vibration. In this case, if the pitching frequency fp is lower than the second cutoff frequency fc2, the light-shielding region 6 will not remain stationary on the light source 522 but will vibrate up and down in accordance with the vibration of the optical axis of the vehicle light fixture 200. As the pitching frequency fp is increased and exceeds the second cutoff frequency fc2, the light-shielding region 6 is controlled based on the sensor signal S2 generated by the light fixture-side sensor 220, and the light-shielding region 6 remains stationary on the light source 522 and continues to overlap.

[0092] Next, a modified example of the control device 300 will be described.

[0093] (Modification 1) Figure 13 is a block diagram of the control device 300A according to Modification 1. The control device 300 in Figure 7 controls the light distribution to follow high-speed vibrations in the pitching direction, but in Modification 1, the light distribution is controlled to follow high-speed vibrations in the yaw direction as well.

[0094] The sensor signal S2 includes a signal indicating the angular velocity ωp around the pitch axis, as well as a signal indicating the angular velocity ωy around the yaw axis. The integrator 312 integrates the angular velocity ωy of the sensor signal S2 to generate first yaw data Y1, which indicates the yaw angle θy of the vehicle body.

[0095] In the control device 300A, the filter block 320A further comprises a third filter 326 and a fourth filter 328.

[0096] The third filter 326 receives first horizontal data H1, which is horizontal position information x, and removes frequency components higher than the third cutoff frequency fc3 to generate second horizontal data H2. The third cutoff frequency fc3 is determined in Figure 5 based on the upper frequency fx of the highly reliable range A. The third filter 326 may be a low-pass filter.

[0097] The fourth filter 328 receives the first yaw data Y1, which represents the yaw angle θy. The fourth filter 328 has a frequency characteristic complementary to the third filter 326, and removes frequency components lower than the fourth cutoff frequency fc4 to generate the second yaw data Y2.

[0098] The frequency characteristics of the third filter 326 and the fourth filter 328 are complementary, similar to those of the first filter 322 and the second filter 324, and they cross over near frequency fx. The two cutoff frequencies fc3 and fc4 may be the same or different. Also, the order and type of the third filter 326 and the fourth filter 328 may be the same or different.

[0099] The light-shielding control unit 330A is supplied with second vertical data V2, second horizontal data H2, second pitch data P2, and second yaw data Y2. Based on the second vertical data V2, second horizontal data H2, second pitch data P2, and second yaw data Y2, the light-shielding control unit 330A generates a second light-shielding image IMG_SHD2 that defines the position, size, and light-reducing rate distribution of the light-shielding area.

[0100] The second light-shielding image IMG_SHD2 has the same size as the control image IMG1, and the pixel value of each pixel in the second light-shielding image IMG_SHD2 indicates the light-reducing rate. The light-reducing rate takes values ​​from 0 to 1, where 0 represents a completely shielded state and 1 represents an unshielded state.

[0101] The light-shielding control unit 330A includes a first light-shielding image generation unit 332A and a second light-shielding image generation unit 334A. The first light-shielding image generation unit 332A generates a first light-shielding image IMG_SHD1 based on the second vertical data V2 and the second horizontal data H2. In the first light-shielding image IMG_SHD1, the pixel value of each pixel represents the light reduction rate of the light-shielding area, and the number of pixels in the vertical and horizontal directions is greater than that of the control image IMG1.

[0102] The first light-shielding image generation unit 332A controls the vertical position and height of the light-shielding region and performs gradual change control based on the second vertical data V2. The first light-shielding image generation unit 332A also controls the horizontal position and width of the light-shielding region and performs gradual change control based on the second horizontal data H2.

[0103] The second light-shielding image generation unit 334 generates a second light-shielding image IMG_SHD2 which has the same number of pixels in the vertical and horizontal directions as the control image IMG1 by cutting out a range corresponding to the second pitch data P2 in the vertical direction and a range corresponding to the second yaw data Y2 in the horizontal direction from the first light-shielding image IMG_SHD1.

[0104] (Modification 2) The light fixture-side sensor 220 is not limited to a gyro sensor, but may also use a camera (image sensor) or the like.

[0105] Figure 14 is a block diagram of the microcontroller. The microcontroller 800 comprises a processor 810, a non-volatile memory 820, a memory 830, and an interface circuit 840. The non-volatile memory 820 is flash memory and is a storage medium that stores the aforementioned software program 850 executed by the processor 810. At startup, the processor 810 loads the software program 850 into the memory 830 and executes the instructions of the software program 850. The interface circuit 840 is a UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver and Transmitter), a 3-wire serial interface, and I ２ This may include serial interfaces such as C-bus interfaces, CAN interfaces, GPIO, A / D converters, and D / A converters. The components of the microcontroller 800 may be integrated into a single IC package, or it may be a microcontroller board in which several IC packages are mounted on a printed circuit board.

[0106] The above is an example of the implementation of the control device 300.

[0107] (Embodiment 2) Figure 15 is a block diagram of a lighting system 100 equipped with an ADB function. The lighting system 100 is mounted on an automobile and has the function of a headlamp that illuminates the field of view in front of the vehicle. In high beam mode, this lighting system 100 has an ADB function that blocks light from the area where oncoming vehicles and preceding vehicles (hereinafter collectively referred to as "vehicles ahead") are present, depending on the situation in front of the vehicle.

[0108] Figure 15 shows a virtual vertical screen 2, on which the high beam light distribution 4 is schematically represented. The high beam light distribution 4 includes a shading region 6 in the area where the vehicle in front is located, where the illuminance is substantially zero. Since the position of the vehicle in front changes moment by moment, the lighting system 100 controls the position of the shading region 6 to follow the vehicle in front. The area outside the shading region 6 is called the illuminated region 8. In other words, the high beam light distribution 4 includes the shading region 6 and the illuminated region 8.

[0109] The lighting system 100 comprises a vehicle lighting fixture 200, a vehicle ECU 110, and a vehicle-side sensor 120. The vehicle-side sensor 120 is a camera or LiDAR, and senses the situation in front of the vehicle. Based on the output of the vehicle-side sensor 120, the vehicle ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 110 detects objects that are subject to light blocking, such as a vehicle ahead, and generates object data TGT indicating the region of interest (ROI) where the object exists. The combination of the vehicle-side sensor 120 and the vehicle ECU 110 functions as an object sensor.

[0110] The target data TGT includes vertical data Dv and horizontal data Dh, which define the ROI. The ROI is the region where the target exists. The vertical data Dv may include values ​​indicating the positions of the upper and lower ends of the ROI. Typically, these positions are expressed as angles. Similarly, the horizontal data Dh may include values ​​indicating the positions of the left and right ends of the ROI.

[0111] The format of the vertical data is not limited; it may include the coordinates of the top and bottom edges of the ROI, or it may be a combination of the coordinates of the top, bottom, or center edges and the height of the ROI. Similarly, the format of the horizontal data is not limited; it may include the coordinates of the left and right edges of the ROI, or it may be a combination of the coordinates of the left, right, or center edges and the width of the ROI.

[0112] The vehicle ECU 110 and the vehicle lighting unit 200 are connected via a vehicle bus such as CAN (Controller Area Network) or LIN (Local Interconnect Network), enabling them to send and receive information from each other. The vehicle ECU 110 transmits a control signal S1, which includes target data TGT, to the vehicle lighting unit 200 via the vehicle bus. When the high beams are activated, the vehicle lighting unit 200 uses the target data TGT included in the control signal S1 to perform ADB control.

[0113] If multiple targets are present in front of the vehicle, target data TGT is generated for each target. Therefore, the control signal S1 may include zero, one, or more target data TGTs, depending on the driving scene.

[0114] The vehicle lighting fixture 200 comprises a variable-beam lamp 210 and a control device 300. The variable-beam lamp 210 comprises a light-emitting device 212. The light-emitting device 212 is, for example, an LED array and includes a plurality of light-emitting pixels PIX2. The brightness values ​​of the plurality of light-emitting pixels PIX2 are set according to the pixel values ​​of the plurality of pixels PIX1 included in the control image IMG1 generated by the control device 300. The variable-beam lamp 210 illuminates the area on the virtual vertical screen 2 in front of the vehicle where the high-beam light distribution 4 should be formed with a beam BM having an intensity distribution corresponding to the brightness distribution of the plurality of light-emitting pixels PIX2.

[0115] The control device 300 generates a control image IMG1 that defines the high beam light distribution based on the control signal S1, and controls the brightness of multiple light-emitting pixels PIX2 of the variable light distribution lamp 210. Of the multiple pixels PIX1 that make up the control image IMG1, the pixel values ​​of the portion corresponding to the light-shielding region 6 defined based on the ROI are substantially zero. As a result, multiple light-emitting pixels PIX2 corresponding to the light-shielding region 6 are turned off. Light-emitting pixels that should be turned off are called off pixels. Note that a pixel being off means that it is dimmed to the extent that it does not produce glare, and may include cases where it is completely shaded or dimmed.

[0116] The control device 300 updates the brightness of the control image IMG1, or in other words, the brightness of multiple light-emitting pixels PIX2, at each control cycle T. The control cycle T is, for example, several ms to about 100 ms.

[0117] Figure 16 is a block diagram of the control device 300 according to Embodiment 2. The control device 300 is implemented as a combination of a microcontroller (CPU) including a CPU and a software program executed by the CPU. Therefore, each block shown in Figure 16 does not necessarily represent the hardware configuration, but may represent a function realized by software.

[0118] The control device 300 includes an input interface 302, an output interface 304, a filter block 320, and a light distribution control unit 306.

[0119] The input interface 302 is capable of communicating with the vehicle ECU 110 and is a controller for the vehicle bus, such as a CAN (Controller Area Network) or LIN (Local Interconnect Network). The input interface 302 receives a control signal S1 from the vehicle ECU 110, which includes one or more target data TGT1, TGT2, ... Each target data TGTi includes vertical data Dv and horizontal data Dh that define the ROI where the target located in front of the vehicle is located.

[0120] The filter block 320 includes multiple m digital filters 322_1 to 322_m. The number m of digital filters 322 should be equal to or greater than the maximum number of target data TGTs that can be included in the control signal S1.

[0121] The filter controller 321 receives multiple target data TGT1 to TGTm and extracts vertical data Dv and horizontal data Dh that define the ROI from each target data TGT. The filter controller 321 then assigns one corresponding TGTj (j=1,2,...n) from at least one target data TGT1 to TGTn to each digital filter 322_i (i=1,2,...m).

[0122] In this embodiment, the filter assignment by the filter controller 321 is performed with i = j. That is, the filter controller 321 assigns the target data TGT1, TGT2, ... included in the control signal S1 to digital filters 322_1, 322_2, ... in order from the beginning.

[0123] Each digital filter 322_i receives the vertical data Dvj contained in the assigned target data TGTj and performs filtering. The digital filter 322_i may be a low-pass filter and removes frequency components higher than the cutoff frequency. The digital filter 322 is implemented as a digital filter. The digital filter 322 removes frequency components higher than the cutoff frequency from the input vertical data Dvj.

[0124] The horizontal data Dhj included in each target data TGTj is supplied to the light distribution control unit 306 either without passing through the digital filter 322 or through a low-pass filter having other characteristics (not shown).

[0125] The light distribution control unit 306 generates a control image IMG1 for each target data TGTi such that the range defined by the combination of the vertical data Dvj' output from the corresponding digital filter 322_j and the corresponding horizontal data Dhj becomes the light-shielding area, and controls the variable light distribution lamp 210.

[0126] The light distribution control unit 306 includes a light shielding control unit 330 and a control image generation unit 340.

[0127] The light-shielding control unit 330 receives one or more pairs of vertical data Dv and horizontal data Dh output from the filter block 320.

[0128] The light-shielding control unit 330 generates a light-shielding image IMG_SHD that defines the position, size, and light-reducing rate distribution of the light-shielding area based on pairs of vertical data Dv and horizontal data Dh.

[0129] For example, the light-shielding image IMG_SHD has the same size as the control image IMG1, and the pixel value of each pixel in the second light-shielding image IMG_SHD indicates the light-reducing rate. The light-reducing rate takes a multi-level value from 0 to 1, where 0 represents a completely shielded state and 1 represents an unshielded state. The light-reducing rate may also be a binary value of 0 and 1.

[0130] The control image generation unit 340 generates the control image IMG1 based on the light-shielding image IMG_SHD. The method for generating the control image IMG1 based on the light-shielding image IMG_SHD is not particularly limited, but for example, the control image IMG1 can be generated by combining the base image used when light shielding is not performed with the light-shielding image IMG_SHD.

[0131] The output interface 304 transmits the control image IMG1 generated by the control image generation unit 340 to the variable light distribution lamp 210. The output interface 304 is a serial interface and may be a transmitter for image serial interfaces such as HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface, registered trademark) or DVI (Digital Visual Interface).

[0132] The filter controller 321 of the filter block 320 resets the multiple digital filters 322_1 to 322_m based on the control signal S1.

[0133] In one embodiment, the filter controller 321 resets the digital filters 322_1 to 322_m when there is a possibility that a change has occurred in the correspondence between the digital filters 322 and the target data TGT based on the target data TGT1 to TGTm included in the control signal S1.

[0134] FIGS. 17(a) and 17(b) are block diagrams showing configuration examples of the digital filter 322. The digital filter in FIG. 17(a) is of FIR (Finite Impulse Response) type, and the digital filter in FIG. 17(b) is of IIR (Infinite Impulse Response) type.

[0135] The digital filter 322 in FIG. 17(a) includes a plurality of delay elements D1, D2, ..., a plurality of coefficient circuits a １ , a ２ ..., and a plurality of adders A1, A2, .... The delay element D delays an output by one control cycle with respect to an input. The coefficient circuit a ｉ multiplies an input by a coefficient a ｉ . The adder A adds two inputs. The number of elements and the values of coefficients are designed according to the order of the filter.

[0136] The outputs of the plurality of delay elements D1, D2, ... represent the previous past value, the penultimate past value, ... of the input signal x of the digital filter 322. Resetting the digital filter 322 corresponds to initializing these past values.

[0137] The digital filter 322 in FIG. 17(b) includes a plurality of input delay elements Di1, Di2, ..., a plurality of coefficient circuits a １ , a ２ ..., a plurality of input adders Ai1, Ai2, ..., a plurality of output delay elements Do1, Do2, ..., a plurality of coefficient circuits b １ , b ２ ..., and a plurality of output adders Ao1, Ao2, .... The delay elements Di and Do delay an output by one control cycle with respect to an input. The coefficient circuit a ｉ multiplies an input by a coefficient a ｉ . Similarly, the coefficient circuit b ｉ multiplies an input by a coefficient b ｉMultiply by . Adders Ai and Ao each add the two inputs. The number of elements and the values ​​of the coefficients are designed according to the order of the filter.

[0138] The outputs of the multiple input delay elements Di1, Di2, etc., represent the previous past value, the value before that, etc., of the input signal x of the digital filter 322. Similarly, the outputs of the multiple output delay elements Do1, Do2, etc., represent the previous past value, the value before that, etc., of the output signal y of the digital filter 322. Resetting the digital filter 322 is equivalent to initializing the past values ​​of the input and output.

[0139] This explains the effects of digital filters.

[0140] Figure 18 illustrates light distribution control without the use of a digital filter. The left side shows the detection results from the target sensor at each time point t1, t2, t3, and t4 in chronological order. At time t1, the appropriate ROI is detected relative to the preceding vehicle 902. At time t2, if vibrations occur faster than the response speed of the detection system, the ROI is detected in the wrong position. At time t3, the ROI returns to the correct position.

[0141] The right side of Figure 18 shows the high beam light distribution 4 at each time t1, t2, t3, and t4. In light distribution control without a digital filter, the shading region 6 is formed directly at the position of the ROI detected by the target sensor. Therefore, if the ROI shifts away from the preceding vehicle 902 at time t3, the shading region 6 will be formed at the shifted position. In this example, this will cause glare to the preceding vehicle 902. Even if no glare is caused, the shading region 6 within the high beam light distribution 4 will move at high speed, causing annoyance to the driver of the vehicle.

[0142] Figure 19 illustrates light distribution control using a digital filter. The detection result from the target sensor on the left is the same as in Figure 18, and a detection error occurred at time t2.

[0143] Even if the ROI momentarily moves to an incorrect position due to a detection error, the filtered vertical data is influenced by the past correct vertical data values. Therefore, in control using a low-pass filter, even at time t2, the light-shielding region 6 does not instantly move to the incorrect ROI position, but begins to move slowly. Then, after time t3 and t4, it returns to the correct position.

[0144] In this way, by applying a low-pass filter to the vertical data, it is possible to create an appropriate light distribution in the event of an error in the target sensor.

[0145] Next, we will explain the problems that arise when the reset process described above is not performed in the control device 300 using a digital filter.

[0146] Figure 20 illustrates the problems caused by the digital filter. The upper part of Figure 20 shows the driving scenes at times t1, t2, and t3 in chronological order, the middle part shows the assignment of target data to the digital filter 322 in the filter block 320, and the lower part shows the light distribution pattern (shading area).

[0147] At time t1, there is a preceding vehicle 902A and an oncoming vehicle 902B, both detected by the target sensor. The control device 300 receives information about the oncoming vehicle 902B as target data TGT1 and information about the preceding vehicle 902A as target data TGT2.

[0148] Digital filter 322_1 is assigned target data TGT1, and digital filter 322_2 is assigned target data TGT2. In this state, a light-shielding region 6_1 is formed at the correct position based on the vertical data DvB and horizontal data DhB of the oncoming vehicle 902B, and a light-shielding region 6_2 is formed at the correct position based on the vertical data DvA and horizontal data DhA of the preceding vehicle 902A. The symbols enclosed in "'" inside the digital filter 322 represent past values.

[0149] At time t2, when oncoming vehicle 902B completely passes the vehicle, the ROI included in the target data TGT1 moves outside the illumination range of the high beam distribution 4, and the light-shielding region 6_1 disappears from the high beam distribution 4.

[0150] At time t3, when the oncoming vehicle 902B disappears from the field of view of the target sensor (vehicle-side sensor 120), target data corresponding to the oncoming vehicle 902B is no longer generated, and a control signal S1 containing information about the preceding vehicle 902A as the first target data TGT1 is supplied to the control device 300. The filter controller 321 assigns this target data TGT1 to the first digital filter 322_1. At this time, the past value inside the digital filter 322_1 is a value based on the vertical data DvB of the oncoming vehicle 902B that has already disappeared. The digital filter 322_1 takes the vertical data DvA of the preceding vehicle 902A as input and performs calculations using the vertical data DvB of the oncoming vehicle 902B that has already disappeared as its past value, so its output represents an intermediate position which is a combination of the two vertical data DvA and DvB. As a result, the position of the light-shielding area 6_1 based on the output of the digital filter 322_1 is correct in the horizontal direction where no filtering is performed, but in the vertical direction where filtering is performed, it deviates from the preceding vehicle 902A, which may cause glare.

[0151] As time progresses, the past values ​​inside the digital filter 322_1 approach the value DvA' based on the position of the preceding vehicle 902A, and the light-shielding region 6_1 approaches the preceding vehicle 902A in the vertical direction, eventually returning to the correct position (time t4).

[0152] Thus, when using a digital filter, if the correspondence between the digital filter 322 and the target data TGT is misaligned, there is a risk that the light-shielding region 6 will not be formed in the correct position.

[0153] This problem can be solved by the reset process in the filter block 320 described above.

[0154] Figure 21 illustrates the reset process in the filter block 320. The operation at times t1 and t2 in Figure 21 is the same as in Figure 20. At time t3, if the correspondence between the target data and the digital filters 322 changes from the past correspondence, all digital filters 322 are reset using the initial value Init. Specifically, in the case of an FIR filter, the initial value Init should be input to the past input value, and in the case of an IIR filter, the initial value Init should be input to both the past input value and the past output value. The initial value Init can be determined based on the implementation; for example, the lower limit of the numerical range may be selected, or 0 may be selected.

[0155] From within the digital filter 322_1, past values ​​of the vertical data DvB of the oncoming vehicle 902B are erased. As a result, the output of the filter 322_1 quickly approaches the vertical data DvA of the preceding vehicle 902A without being affected by the vertical data DvB of the oncoming vehicle 902B, and therefore the light-shielding region 6_1 is formed in the correct position.

[0156] Thus, according to this embodiment, if a change occurs in the correspondence between the digital filter 322 and the target data TGT, resetting the digital filter 322 prevents the light-shielding region 6 from changing unnaturally, enabling accurate ADB control.

[0157] Next, I will explain specific examples of conditions for resetting the digital filter.

[0158] The filter block 320 resets multiple digital filters 322_1 to 322_m when the number n of target data TGT changes. When the number n of target data TGT changes, the correspondence between the digital filters 322 and the target data TGT may have changed from the previous correspondence. Therefore, by using the change in the number n as a trigger for resetting the digital filters, accurate ADB control becomes possible.

[0159] Each object data TGT may include a value indicating the type it represents, in addition to the location data of the region of interest. The type may be an oncoming vehicle, a preceding vehicle, a person, a sign, etc.

[0160] When the type information contained in the target data TGT assigned to any of the digital filters 322 changes, the filter block 320 resets the multiple digital filters 322_1 to 322_m.

[0161] If the type information changes, there is a high probability that a mismatch has occurred in the correspondence between the digital filter and the target data. Therefore, by using the change in type information as a trigger for resetting the digital filter, accurate ADB control becomes possible.

[0162] Note that the triggers for resetting the filter are not limited to those described here. The vehicle ECU 110 may generate a flag indicating that the target data TGT it is generating is unreliable, that there is a possibility of false detection, or that the number of targets has changed. This flag may then be included in the control signal S1 along with the target data TGT and transmitted to the vehicle lighting device 200. The filter controller 321 may reset the digital filter 322 using the assertion of this flag as a trigger.

[0163] Next, a lighting system according to Embodiment 3 will be described. Embodiment 3 can be understood as a combination of Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2.

[0164] Figure 22 is a block diagram of a lighting system 100A according to Embodiment 3. In Embodiment 3, the vehicle lighting fixture 200A is provided with a lighting fixture-side sensor 220. The lighting fixture-side sensor 220 generates a sensor signal S2 that correlates with the tilt (pitch angle) θp of the vehicle body. A gyro sensor can be used as the lighting fixture-side sensor 220, and the sensor signal S2 includes a signal indicating the angular velocity ωp around the pitch axis.

[0165] The light fixture-side sensor 220 is not limited to a gyro sensor; a camera (image sensor) or the like may also be used.

[0166] The following relationships hold between the light fixture-side sensor 220 and the vehicle-side sensor 120: • The detection speed (response speed) of the light fixture-side sensor 220 is faster than the detection speed (response speed) of the vehicle-side sensor 120. • The transmission delay of the sensor signal from the light fixture-side sensor 220 to the control device 300A is shorter than the transmission delay of the target data TGT from the vehicle-side sensor 120 to the control device 300A.

[0167] The control device 300A controls the variable-light distribution lamp 210 based on the sensor signal S2, in addition to the target data TGT which indicates the ROI where the target is located.

[0168] As described above, the target data TGT includes vertical data Dv and horizontal data Dh that define the ROI. The control device 300A removes frequency components higher than a predetermined first cutoff frequency fc1 from the vertical data Dv included in the target data TGT. This process is performed in the filter block 320 described above. Based on the filtered vertical data Dv', the vertical size, vertical position, and attenuation rate distribution of the light-shielding region 6 are controlled.

[0169] As the relative position of the target and the vehicle changes, the target data TGT changes moment by moment. If only the position of the light-shielding area 6 is changed in response to the changes in the target data TGT, without changing the size or distribution of the light-shielding area 6, the light-shielding area 6 will frequently move up and down and left and right, causing annoyance to the driver of the vehicle.

[0170] Therefore, the control device 300A may perform gradual change control (also called time-based blurring control) of the light-shielding area 6. Gradual change control means gradually changing the light reduction rate within the light-shielding area 6 over time. For example, when a certain part moves from inside the light-shielding area to outside the light-shielding area, the light reduction rate of that part is gradually changed at a relatively slow speed. Conversely, when a certain part moves from outside the light-shielding area to inside the light-shielding area, the light reduction rate of that part is gradually changed at a relatively fast speed. The applicant has proposed various methods for gradual change control (for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-037427, Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-048537, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-071741). The gradual change control applicable to this embodiment is not limited to a specific one.

[0171] The control device 300 generates pitch data Dp, which indicates the pitch angle θp of the vehicle body, based on the sensor signal S2 generated by the lamp-side sensor 220. From the pitch data Dp, it removes frequency components lower than a predetermined second cutoff frequency fc2 to generate pitch data Dp'. The control device 300 adjusts the vertical position of the light-shielding region 6 according to the pitch data Dp' (pitching correction). In other words, the pitch data Dp' does not affect the gradual change control.

[0172] The above describes the configuration of the lighting system 100A according to Embodiment 3. Next, the processing and configuration of the control device 300A will be explained.

[0173] Figure 23 is a block diagram of the control device 300A shown in Figure 21. The control device 300A includes an input interface 302, an output interface 304, a light distribution control unit 306, an integrator 310, and a filter block 320.

[0174] The integrator 310 integrates the angular velocity ωp of the sensor signal S2 to generate pitch data Dp, which represents the pitch angle θp of the vehicle body.

[0175] The filter block 320 applies filtering to the vertical data Dv and pitch data Dp included in the target data TGT. The filter block 320 comprises a first filter 322 and a second filter 324.

[0176] The first filter 322 receives vertical data Dv indicating the upper and lower ends of the ROI, removes frequency components higher than the first cutoff frequency fc1, and generates vertical data Dv'.

[0177] Here, one digital filter 322 is shown corresponding to one target data, but in reality, multiple digital filters are provided. The filter block 320 also includes a filter controller (not shown in Figure 23, 321 in Figure 16).

[0178] The second filter 324 receives pitch data Dp, which represents the pitch angle θp. The second filter 324 has frequency characteristics complementary to the first filter 322, and removes frequency components lower than the second cutoff frequency fc2 to generate pitch data Dp'.

[0179] The frequency characteristics of the first filter 322 and the second filter 324 are shown in Figure 8. The second filter 324 may be a high-pass filter. The two cutoff frequencies fc1 and fc2 may be the same or different. The order and type of the first filter 322 and the second filter 324 may also be the same or different. The filter block 320 may also apply filtering to the horizontal data Dh.

[0180] The light distribution control unit 306 generates a control image IMG1 based on the data processed by the filter block 320. The light distribution control unit 306 includes a light shielding control unit 330 and a control image generation unit 340.

[0181] The light-shielding control unit 330 is supplied with vertical data Dv', horizontal data Dh, and pitch data Dp'. Based on the vertical data Dv', horizontal data Dh, and pitch data Dp', the light-shielding control unit 330 generates a second light-shielding image IMG_SHD2 that defines the position, size, and light-reducing rate distribution of the light-shielding area.

[0182] The second light-shielding image IMG_SHD2 has the same size as the control image IMG1, and the pixel value of each pixel in the second light-shielding image IMG_SHD2 indicates the light-reducing rate. The light-reducing rate takes a multi-level value from 0 to 1, where 0 represents a completely shielded state and 1 represents an unshielded state.

[0183] The control image generation unit 340 generates a control image IMG1 based on the second light-shielding image IMG_SHD2. The control image generation unit 340 includes, for example, a base image generation unit 342 and a synthesis unit 344.

[0184] The base image generation unit 342 generates a base image IMG2 that defines the beam intensity distribution when no light-shielding region exists. The synthesis unit 344 generates a control image IMG1 by synthesizing the second light-shielding image IMG_SHD2 and the base image IMG2. The synthesis may also be performed by multiplying the corresponding pixels of the second light-shielding image IMG_SHD2 and the base image IMG2.

[0185] The light-shielding control unit 330 includes a first light-shielding image generation unit 332 and a second light-shielding image generation unit 334. The first light-shielding image generation unit 332 receives vertical data Dv' and horizontal data Dh as input. Based on the vertical data Dv' and horizontal data Dh, the first light-shielding image generation unit 332 generates a first light-shielding image IMG_SHD1. In the first light-shielding image IMG_SHD1, the pixel value of each pixel represents the light reduction rate of the light-shielding area, and the number of pixels in the vertical direction is greater than that of the control image IMG1.

[0186] The second light-shielding image generation unit 334 generates a second light-shielding image IMG_SHD2 having the same number of pixels in the vertical direction as the control image IMG1 by cutting out a range corresponding to the pitch data Dp' in the vertical direction from the first light-shielding image IMG_SHD1.

[0187] The output interface 304 transmits the control image IMG1 generated by the control image generation unit 340 to the variable light distribution lamp 210. The output interface 304 is a serial interface and may be a transmitter for image serial interfaces such as HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface, registered trademark) or DVI (Digital Visual Interface).

[0188] Figure 24 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the control device 300A shown in Figure 23. Each pixel of the first light-shielding image IMG_SHD1 represents a light-reducing rate from 0 to 1, where the light-reducing rate is 1 outside the light-shielding region SHD, and the pixel value is less than 1 inside the light-shielding region SHD. A pixel value of 0 indicates a completely light-shielded area.

[0189] The X-coordinate and width W of the light-shielding region SHD within the first light-shielding image IMG_SHD1 are controlled based on the horizontal data Dh. The Y-coordinate and height H of the light-shielding region SHD within the first light-shielding image IMG_SHD1 are controlled based on the filtered vertical data Dv'. The attenuation rate distribution within the light-shielding region SHD is controlled at least based on the filtered vertical data Dv'.

[0190] The second light-shielding image, IMG_SHD2, is generated by cutting out a portion in the height direction from the first light-shielding image, IMG_SHD1, according to the filtered pitch data Dp'. In other words, the position of the cutout in the height direction is determined according to the pitch data Dp'.

[0191] Then, the control image IMG1 is generated by multiplying the pixel values ​​of the second light-shielding image IMG_SHD2 and the base image IMG2.

[0192] Figure 25 illustrates light-shielding control based on a control signal S1 (target data TGT) from a vehicle. The target 902 in front of the vehicle is a preceding vehicle. From time t0 to time t3, the position of the target 902 gradually changes. Based on the target data TGT indicating the region of interest where the target 902 is located, the control device 300 changes the position of the light-shielding region SHD and performs gradual change control to generate the first light-shielding image IMG_SHD1.

[0193] At time t0, the attenuation rate within the light-shielding region SHD is 0. From time t0 to t3, the attenuation rate near the upper end of the light-shielding region SHD increases from 0 to 1 over time. From time t0 to t3, the attenuation rate near the lower end of the light-shielding region SHD decreases from 1 to 0. The gradual change control ends at time t3. Since no vehicle vibration occurs, the position from which the second light-shielding image IMG_SHD2 is extracted from the first light-shielding image IMG_SHD1 is the same.

[0194] This control allows the light-shielding region SHD to move in accordance with the movement of the target 902, and also allows the light-reducing rate at the boundary of the light-shielding region SHD to change naturally.

[0195] Figure 26 illustrates light shielding control based on the sensor signal S2. It describes light shielding control when the vehicle 904, which is equipped with the lighting system 100, is pitching. The target 902 in front of the vehicle is a preceding vehicle. From time t0 to time t3, the relative positional relationship between the target 902 and the vehicle 904 remains constant, but the pitch angle θp of the vehicle 904 changes. In other words, the target data TGT, which indicates the region of interest where the target 902 is located, remains constant.

[0196] Therefore, from time t0 to t3, the position, size, and attenuation rate of the light-shielding region SHD in the first light-shielding image IMG_SHD1 remain constant. As the pitch angle θp changes, the position from which the second light-shielding image IMG_SHD2 is extracted from the first light-shielding image IMG_SHD1 changes in response to its high-frequency components. As a result, even if pitching occurs, the position of the light-shielding region SHD is corrected vertically to counteract it, thereby suppressing glare on the target 902.

[0197] In other words, the pitch angle θp does not affect the gradual change control. This advantage becomes clear when compared with the comparative technology. In the comparative technology, the pitch angle θp is used as a parameter for gradual change control, and when the vehicle body pitches, if the position of the light-shielding area SHD changes, gradual change control is applied to the upper and lower sides of the light-shielding area SHD, causing the light-shielding area SHD to extend vertically, which reduces forward visibility. In contrast, in Embodiment 2, as shown in Figure 24, even when the vehicle body pitches, the vertical width of the light-shielding area SHD remains constant, suppressing glare while providing the driver of the vehicle with a good field of view.

[0198] In Embodiment 2, the microcontroller can be configured in the same manner as in Figure 14.

[0199] The embodiments described above are illustrative, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications are possible in combinations of their components and processing steps. Such modifications will be described below.

[0200] In the embodiments, the variable-beam lamp 210 was described as an LED array, but this disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the variable-beam lamp 210 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.

[0201] In this embodiment, the case in which the control device 300 is implemented as a microcontroller has been described, but it may also be implemented as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

[0202] While the embodiments relating to this disclosure have been described using specific terminology, this description is merely illustrative to aid understanding and does not limit the scope of this disclosure or the claims. The scope of this disclosure is defined by the claims, and therefore embodiments, examples, and modifications not described herein are also included within the scope of this disclosure.

[0203] (Note) In one aspect, the following technologies are disclosed in this specification.

[0204] (Item 1) A control device for controlling a variable-beam lamp, wherein the variable-beam lamp includes a plurality of light-emitting pixels and is configured to illuminate an area to form a high-beam light distribution with a beam having an intensity distribution corresponding to the luminance distribution of the plurality of light-emitting pixels, the control device comprises: an input interface for receiving a control signal from the vehicle side including at least one target data, each target data including vertical data and horizontal data defining a region of interest where the target exists; a filter block including a plurality of digital filters, each digital filter being assigned a corresponding one of the at least one target data, and each digital filter filtering the vertical data included in the assigned target data; and a light distribution control unit for controlling the variable-beam lamp such that the range defined by the vertical data output from the corresponding digital filter and the corresponding horizontal data for each target data becomes a light-shielding region, wherein the filter block resets the plurality of digital filters based on the control signal.

[0205] (Item 2) The control device according to Item 1, characterized in that the filter block resets the plurality of digital filters when the number of at least one target data included in the control signal changes.

[0206] (Item 3) The control device according to Item 1, wherein each target data includes type information indicating the type of the target, and the filter block resets the plurality of digital filters when the type information included in the target data assigned to any of the digital filters changes.

[0207] (Item 4) A vehicle lighting device comprising a control device described in any of Items 1 to 3, and the variable light distribution lamp.

[0208] (Item 5) A program for a control device that controls a variable-beam lamp, wherein the variable-beam lamp includes a plurality of light-emitting pixels and is configured to illuminate an area to form a high-beam light distribution with a beam having an intensity distribution corresponding to the brightness distribution of the plurality of light-emitting pixels, and the program is characterized by causing the processor of the control device to execute: a step of receiving a control signal from the vehicle side including at least one target data, wherein each target data includes vertical data and horizontal data defining an area of ​​interest where the target is located; a step of providing the functions of a plurality of digital filters; a step of assigning a corresponding one of the at least one target data to each digital filter; a step of each digital filter filtering the vertical data included in the assigned target data; a step of controlling the variable-beam lamp such that for each target data, the range defined by the vertical data output from the corresponding digital filter and the corresponding horizontal data becomes a light-shielding area; and a step of resetting the plurality of digital filters based on the control signal.

[0209] This disclosure relates to vehicle lighting equipment.

[0210] 100...Lighting system, 110...Vehicle ECU, 120...Vehicle-side sensor, 200...Vehicle lighting fixture, 210...Variable light distribution lamp, 212...Light-emitting device, 220...Lighting fixture-side sensor, 300...Control device, 302...Input interface, 304...Output interface, 306...Light distribution control unit, 310...Integrator, 320...Filter block, 322...First filter, 324...Second filter, 326...Third filter, 328...Fourth filter, 330...Light shielding control unit, 332...First light shielding image generation unit, 334...Second light shielding image generation unit, 340...Control image generation unit ,342...Base image generation unit,344...Synthesis unit,S1...Target data,S2...Sensor signal,D1...First vertical data,D2...Second vertical data,D3...First pitch data,D4...Second pitch data,D5...First horizontal data,D6...Second horizontal data,D7...First yaw data,D8...Second yaw data,IMG1...Control image,IMG_SHD1...First light-shielding image,IMG_SHD2...Second light-shielding image,IMG2...Base image,4...High beam light distribution,6...Light-shielding area,8...Irradiation area,30...Own vehicle,32...Vehicle in front,510,520...Excitation stage,522...Light source.

Claims

1. A control device for controlling a variable-beam lamp, wherein the variable-beam lamp includes a plurality of light-emitting pixels and is configured to illuminate a region to form a high-beam light distribution with a beam having an intensity distribution corresponding to the luminance distribution of the plurality of light-emitting pixels, the control device receives first vertical data from the vehicle side indicating the positions of the upper and lower ends of a region of interest where a target exists, generates second vertical data by removing frequency components higher than a predetermined first cutoff frequency from the first vertical data, controls the vertical size, vertical position and attenuation rate distribution of the light-shielding region based on the second vertical data, generates second pitch data by removing frequency components lower than a predetermined second cutoff frequency from first pitch data indicating the pitch angle of the vehicle body based on a sensor signal generated by a lamp-side sensor, and adjusts the vertical position of the light-shielding region according to the second pitch data.

2. The control device according to claim 1, characterized in that the control device gradually controls the attenuation rate distribution of the light-shielding region based on the second vertical data.

3. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the variable-beam lamp is capable of controlling the intensity distribution of the beam in accordance with a control image generated by the control device, the control device generates a base image that defines the intensity distribution of the beam when no shading region exists, generates a first shading image based on the second vertical data, having more pixels in the vertical direction than the control image and the pixel value of each pixel representing the attenuation rate of the shading region, generates a second shading image having the same number of pixels in the vertical direction as the control image by cutting out a range in the vertical direction from the first shading image in accordance with the second pitch data, and generates the control image by combining the base image and the second shading image.

4. The control device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the control device generates second horizontal data by removing frequency components higher than a predetermined third cutoff frequency from first horizontal data indicating the positions of the left and right ends of the region of interest, controls the horizontal size, horizontal position and light attenuation distribution of the light-shielding region based on the second horizontal data, generates second yaw data by removing frequency components lower than a predetermined fourth cutoff frequency from first yaw data indicating the yaw angle of the vehicle body based on a sensor signal from the lamp-side sensor, and adjusts the horizontal position of the light-shielding region according to the second yaw data.

5. The control device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the lamp-side sensor is a gyro sensor.

6. The control device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the light fixture-side sensor is a camera.

7. A vehicle lighting fixture comprising: a control device according to claim 1 or 2; a lighting fixture-side sensor capable of detecting information correlated with the inclination angle of the vehicle body; and the variable light distribution lamp.

8. A program for a control device that controls a variable-beam lamp, wherein the variable-beam lamp includes a plurality of light-emitting pixels and is configured to illuminate an area to form a high-beam light distribution with a beam having an intensity distribution corresponding to the luminance distribution of the plurality of light-emitting pixels, and the program is characterized by causing the processor of the control device to execute: a step of receiving a sensor signal from a lamp-side sensor; a step of receiving first vertical data from the vehicle side indicating the positions of the upper and lower ends of a region of interest where a target exists; a step of generating second vertical data by removing frequency components higher than a predetermined first cutoff frequency from the first vertical data; a step of generating first pitch data indicating the pitch angle of the vehicle body based on the sensor signal; a step of generating second pitch data by removing frequency components lower than a predetermined second cutoff frequency from the first pitch data; a step of controlling the vertical size, vertical position and attenuation rate distribution of a light-shielding region based on the second vertical data; and a step of adjusting the vertical position of the light-shielding region according to the second pitch data.

9. A vehicle lamp comprising: a variable light distribution lamp; and a control device for controlling the variable light distribution lamp, wherein the variable light distribution lamp includes a plurality of light-emitting pixels and is configured to illuminate an area to form a high beam distribution with a beam having an intensity distribution corresponding to the luminance distribution of the plurality of light-emitting pixels; and the control device is configured such that (i) when the vehicle lamp is stationary and a light point corresponding to a target to be shielded in front of the vehicle lamp is vibrated vertically at a frequency lower than a predetermined first frequency, the vertical size, vertical position and attenuation rate distribution of the shielded area change; (ii) when the vehicle lamp is stationary and the light point is vibrated vertically at a frequency higher than the first frequency, the shielded area does not change; and (iii) when the light point is stationary and the vehicle lamp is vibrated in the pitch direction at a frequency lower than a predetermined second frequency, the shielded area vibrates vertically relative to the light point. (iv) A vehicle lamp characterized in that, when the vehicle lamp is vibrated in the pitch direction at a frequency higher than the second frequency while the light point is stationary, the light shielding region continues to overlap with the light point, and the variable light distribution lamp is controlled accordingly.

Images