CONTROL APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING LIGHT EMISSION OF VEHICLE HEADLIGHT, AND HEADLIGHT SYSTEM PROVIDED WITH THE CONTROL APPARATUS

• US 20160023591A1
• Filed: 03/12/2014
• Published: 01/28/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Imaeda, Koji, Hatada, Yoshikazu
• Granted Patent: US 9,527,433 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/1423 Automatic dimming circuits, i.e. switching between high beam and low beam due to change of ambient light or light level in road traffic
• 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 2300/322 Road curvature
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/42 oncoming vehicle

Abstract

A control apparatus, which controls a headlight unit, repeatedly performs a process of measuring brightness ahead of the own vehicle using a luminance sensor. For example, when a curved road region is present ahead of the own vehicle, measurement is made of the brightness of a road surface or a guardrail of a specified region (region to which light from a headlight unit of a forward vehicle is emitted) in the road region. Then, a variation Δ in a measurement value of the brightness from a previous measurement value is calculated. When the variation Δ is equal to or more than a threshold TH, a vehicle yet to emerge is predicted to emerge in a forward view of the own vehicle to thereby switch a lighting mode for the light emitted from the headlight unit to another mode so that the emergence area is darkened.

Claims

1. An antenna apparatus comprising;

a dielectric substrate having two faces, in which a ground plate is formed on one substrate face of the two faces;

a patch antenna provided with at least a single patch radiating element for power supply, the patch radiating element being formed on the other substrate face of the dielectric substrate, the other substrate face being opposite to the one substrate face on which the ground plate is formed, a predetermined direction on the substrate face of the dielectric substrate being set as a dominant polarized wave direction; and

a plurality of conductive structures provided with a patch-shaped conductor pattern formed on a substrate surface, which is the other substrate face, and a connecting conductor formed to pass through the dielectric substrate between the conductor pattern and the ground plate in order to electrically connect the conductor pattern and the ground plate,

wherein the plurality of conductive structures are arranged such that a structure absent region is formed on the substrate surface by the conductive structures, the structure absent region completely including the patch radiating element of the patch antenna and excluding the conductor pattern of the conductive structure from the structure absent region; and

when a line perpendicular to the dominant polarized wave direction and pasting through substantially a center of the patch antenna in the dominant polarized wave direction is set as a patch line, the structure absent region is formed by the plurality of conductive structures such that, in both an area further towards one end side of the dielectric substrate than the patch line and an area further towards the other end side of the dielectric substrate than the patch line, an absent distance changes into a plurality of types depending on the position on the patch line, the absent distance referring to the distance in the dominant polarized wave direction from an arbitrary position on the patch line to the conductor pattern forming the boundary of the structure absent region.

2. The antenna apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the structure absent region is formed to allow the absent distance to increase or decrease continuously or in steps from one end to the other end defining a predetermined range occupying at least part of the patch line in both of the area further towards the one end side of the dielectric substrate than the patch line and the area further towards the other end side of the dielectric substrate than the patch line.

3. The antenna apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the structure absent region is formed such that the absent distance is the longest from a center position of the patch antenna in the patch line in both of the area further towards the one end side of the dielectric substrate than the patch line and the area further towards the other end side of the dielectric substrate than the patch line.

4. The antenna apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the structure absent region is formed to allow the absent distance to decrease continuously or in steps in both a range from the center position to one end of a predetermined range including the center position in the patch line and a range from the center position to the other end of the predetermined range, in both of the area further towards the one end side of the dielectric substrate than the patch line and the area further towards the other end side of the dielectric substrate than the patch line.

5. The antenna apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conductor pattern composing the conductive structures is formed into a quadrangle or a hexagon.

6. The antenna apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a conductor plate is formed to enclose the patch radiating element in the structure absent region on the substrate surface.

7. The antenna apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one array of radiating elements is provided in a direction perpendicular to the dominant polarized wave direction or a plurality of arrays of radiating elements are provided in the dominant polarized wave direction, each of the arrays of patch radiating elements being composed of a plurality of the patch radiating elements arranged.

8. The antenna apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the structure absent region is formed such that the absent distance is the longest from a center position of the patch antenna in the patch line in both of the area further towards the one end side of the dielectric substrate than the patch line and the area further towards the other end side of the dielectric substrate than the patch line.

9. The antenna apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the structure absent region is formed to allow the absent distance to decrease continuously or in steps in both a range from the center position to one end of a predetermined range including the center position in the patch line and a range from the center position to the other end of the predetermined range, in both of the area further towards the one end side of the dielectric substrate than the patch line and the area further towards the other end side of the dielectric substrate than the patch line.

10. The antenna apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the conductor pattern composing the conductive structures is formed into a quadrangle or a hexagon.

11. The antenna apparatus according to claim 10, comprising a conductor plate formed to enclose the patch radiating element in the structure absent region on the substrate surface.

12. The antenna apparatus according to claim 11, wherein one array of radiating elements is provided in a direction perpendicular to the dominant polarized wave direction or a plurality of arrays of radiating elements are provided in the dominant polarized wave direction, each of the arrays of patch radiating elements being composed of a plurality of the patch radiating elements arranged.

13. The antenna apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the conductor pattern composing the conductive structures is formed into a quadrangle or a hexagon.

14. The antenna apparatus according to claim 3, comprising a conductor plate formed to enclose the patch radiating element in the structure absent region on the substrate surface.

15. The antenna apparatus according to claim 3, wherein one array of radiating elements is provided in a direction perpendicular to the dominant polarized wave direction or a plurality of arrays of radiating elements are provided in the dominant polarized wave direction, each of the arrays of patch radiating elements being composed of a plurality of the patch radiating elements arranged.

16. The antenna apparatus according to claim 2, comprising a conductor plate formed to enclose the patch radiating element in the structure absent region on the substrate surface.

17. The antenna apparatus according to claim 2, wherein one array of radiating elements is provided in a direction perpendicular to the dominant polarized wave direction or a plurality of arrays of radiating elements are provided in the dominant polarized wave direction, each of the arrays of patch radiating elements being composed of a plurality of the patch radiating elements arranged.