Vehicular auto light system

• US 7,638,747 B2
• Filed: 04/24/2007
• Issued: 12/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Fujie, Kenichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee; John R
• Application Number:
  US11/790,153
• Publication Number:
  US 20080100225A1
• Time in Patent Office: 980 Days
• Field of Search: 250/208.1, 250/205, 250/214.AL, 348/148
• US Class Current: 250/208.1
• 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 2300/314 Ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0626 for control of overall brightness
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/144 the light being ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/16 Calculation or use of calculated indices related to luminance levels in display data
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/11 by determining the brightness or colour temperature of ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection

Abstract

A vehicular auto light system is configured to calculate screen brightness on the basis of image data obtained from imaging means that images the outside of a vehicle, operate the imaging means and control imaging conditions with imaging condition control means such that the screen brightness becomes constant, estimate the amount of light around the vehicle with around-vehicle light amount estimating means on the basis of an operation amount of the imaging conditions, and turn lights of the vehicle ON or OFF on the basis of the light amount estimation result.

Claims

1. A vehicular auto light system comprising:

imaging means that is installed in a vehicle, images at least the area in front of the vehicle, and outputs image data thereof;

screen brightness calculating means that calculates a screen brightness on the basis of the image data;

imaging condition control means that compares the calculated screen brightness with a target value, operates the imaging means by an operation amount based on the deviation between the calculated screen brightness and the target value, and controls imaging conditions of the imaging means;

around-vehicle light amount estimating means that estimates the amount of light around the vehicle on the basis of the operation amount; and

headlight control means that causes headlights of the vehicle to be turned ON or OFF on the basis of the estimated amount of light.

2. The vehicular auto light system of claim 1, further comprising operation amount correcting means that corrects the operation amount resulting from the imaging condition control means on the basis of an increase or decrease in the amount of light around the vehicle resulting from the turning ON or the turning OFF of the headlights of the vehicle.

3. The vehicular auto light system of claim 1, wherein the vehicle headlight control means is disposed with at least one of an ON threshold that causes the headlights to be turned ON and an OFF threshold that causes the headlights to be turned OFF, and the ON threshold and the OFF threshold are set to values larger than the amount of light of the headlights.

4. The vehicular auto light system of claim 1, wherein the screen brightness calculating means is configured to acquire screen brightnesses of plural regions of image data obtained by the imaging means and use, as screen brightness, a weighted average brightness value of the screen brightnesses.