SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING LIGHT QUANTITY OF HEADLIGHT

• US 20090086497A1
• Filed: 09/26/2008
• Published: 04/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: KAMIOKA, Takahiro, Yamamoto, Atsushi, Horii, Yasutoshi
• Granted Patent: US 7,985,010 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 362/466
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/085 due to special conditions, e.g. adverse weather, type of road, badly illuminated road signs or potential dangers B60Q1/10, B60Q1/12, B60Q1/1423 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/2603 Attenuation of the light according to ambient luminiosity, e.g. for braking or direction indicating lamps
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/054 Variable non-standard intensity, i.e. emission of various beam intensities different from standard intensities, e.g. continuous or stepped transitions of intensity
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/056 Special anti-blinding beams, e.g. a standard beam is chopped or moved in order not to blind
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/112 Vehicle speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/20 Indexing codes relating to the driver or the passengers
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/41 preceding vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/42 oncoming vehicle

Abstract

In a system for controlling a headlight of a vehicle to be controlled, a dazzling level determiner determines a parameter value of a dazzling level of a driver of an other vehicle ahead of the controlled vehicle based on information associated with a relative positional relationship between the controlled vehicle and the other vehicle. The dazzling level represents a possibility that the driver of the other vehicle feels dazzling to light irradiated from the headlight of the controlled vehicle. A light-quantity adjuster adjusts a quantity of light to be irradiated from the headlight of the controlled vehicle based on the determined parameter value of the dazzling level.

Claims

1. A system for controlling a headlight of a vehicle to be controlled, the system comprising:

a dazzling level determiner configured to determine a parameter value of a dazzling level of a driver of an other vehicle ahead of the controlled vehicle based on information associated with a relative positional relationship between the controlled vehicle and the other vehicle, the dazzling level representing a possibility that the driver of the other vehicle feels dazzling to light irradiated from the headlight of the controlled vehicle; and

a light-quantity adjuster configured to adjust a quantity of light to be irradiated from the headlight of the controlled vehicle based on the determined parameter value of the dazzling level.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the light-quantity adjuster is configured to reduce the quantity of light to be irradiated from the headlight of the controlled vehicle when the determined parameter value of the dazzling level is changed to increase from a preset threshold value.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein the light-quantity adjuster is configured to monotonically reduce the quantity of light to be irradiated from the headlight of the controlled vehicle with increase in the determined parameter value of the dazzling level.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein the light-quantity adjuster is configured to adjust an intensity of light to be irradiated from the headlight of the controlled vehicle based on the determined parameter value of the dazzling level.

5. A system according to claim 1, wherein the light-quantity adjuster comprises:

a lamp configured to output light; and

a light-transmission adjusting member arranged opposing the lamp and having a movable portion, movement of the movable portion allowing a light transmission of the light-transmission adjusting member to be changed, the light-transmission adjusting member being configured to move the movable portion by an amount of movement to thereby change transmission therethrough with respect to the light outputted from the lamp, the amount of movement being determined based on the determined parameter value of the dazzling level.

6. A system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a speed sensor configured to measure a speed of the controlled vehicle; and

a lower-limit determiner configured to determine a lower limit of the quantity of light to be irradiated from the headlight of the controlled vehicle based on the measured speed of the controlled vehicle,

wherein the light-quantity adjuster is configured to adjust the quantity of light to be irradiated from the headlight of the controlled vehicle so that the adjusted quantity of light is equal to or higher than the determined lower limit.

7. A system according to claim 1, wherein the dazzling level determiner comprises a distance detector configured to measure a distance between the controlled vehicle and the other vehicle as the information associated with the relative positional relationship between the controlled vehicle and the other vehicle,

the dazzling level determiner being configured to determine the parameter value of the dazzling level of the driver of the other vehicle based on the measured distance.

8. A system according to claim 1, wherein the other vehicle is a preceding vehicle that the controlled vehicle follows, the dazzling level determiner comprises:

a first image pickup unit configured to pick up a plurality of images ahead of the controlled vehicle; and

a tall-light detecting unit configured to detect, as the information associated with the relative positional relationship between the controlled vehicle and the other vehicle, a light intensity pattern of a tail light of the preceding vehicle based on the plurality of picked-up images,

the dazzling level determiner being configured to determine the parameter value of the dazzling level of the driver of the preceding vehicle based on the detected light intensity pattern of the tail light of the preceding vehicle.

9. A system according to claim 8, further comprising:

a stop lamp detecting unit configured to detect a light intensity pattern of a stop lamp of the preceding vehicle based on the plurality of picked-up images,

wherein the light-quantity adjuster is configured to;

reduce the quantity of light to be irradiated from the headlight of the controlled vehicle when the determined parameter value of the dazzling level is changed to increase from a preset threshold value; and

increase the preset threshold value at a moment when the light intensity pattern of the stop lamp is detected by the stop lamp detecting unit.

10. A system according to claim 1 further comprising:

a dazzling determiner configured to determine whether a driver of the controlled vehicle feels dazzling to a light irradiated from a headlight of a following vehicle; and

an informing unit configured to, when it is determined that the driver of the controlled vehicle feels dazzling to the light irradiated from the headlight of the following vehicle, inform the following vehicle of dazzling information indicative of a fact that the driver of the controlled vehicle to the light irradiated from the headlight of the following vehicle.

11. A system according to claim 10, wherein the informing unit is configured to increase an intensity of light to be irradiated form a tail light of the controlled vehicle to thereby inform the following vehicle of the dazzling information.

12. A system according to claim 11, wherein the dazzling determiner comprises a second image pickup unit configured to pick up a face image of the driver of the controlled vehicle, the dazzling determiner being configured to carry out:

a first determination of whether light reflected from an inside rearview mirror of the controlled vehicle is irradiated on an area of the face image around the driver'"'"'s eyes; and

a second determination whether the driver of the controlled vehicle feels dazzling to the light irradiated from the headlight of the following vehicle based on a result of the first determination.

13. A system according to claim 12, wherein the dazzling determiner is configured to:

measure a contrast ratio between a light intensity of at least one point in the area of the face image around the driver'"'"'s eyes and a light intensity of at least one point in the remaining area of the face image; and

carry out the second determination based on the measured contrast ratio.