Control apparatus for vehicle lamp and vehicle lamp system

• US 9,238,431 B2
• Filed: 05/17/2012
• Issued: 01/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koito Manufacturing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Koito Manufacturing Company Limited
• Inventors: Kasaba, Yusuke, Yamazaki, Masashi, Toda, Atsushi
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Tuan C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): SMITH, ISAAC G
• Application Number:
  US13/473,858
• Publication Number:
  US 20120294020A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,342 Days
• Field of Search: 362/466, 362/473, 362/462, 701/1, 701/36, 702/141, 702/150, 702/154
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/10 due to vehicle inclination, e.g. due to load distribution
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/114 Vehicle acceleration or deceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/116 Vehicle at a stop
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/324 Road inclination, e.g. uphill or downhill
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 9/00 Measuring inclination, e.g. by clinometers, by levels

Abstract

A control apparatus for a vehicle lamp includes a receiver to receive an acceleration signal indicative of an acceleration detected by an acceleration sensor, and a controller to derive an inclination angle of a vehicle relative to a horizontal plane from the acceleration signal. While the vehicle is stopped and if a change in the acceleration exceeds a threshold, the controller outputs an adjustment signal indicative of an instruction to adjust an optical axis of the vehicle lamp in accordance with a difference in the inclination angle before and after the change in the acceleration.

Claims

1. A control apparatus for a vehicle lamp, the control apparatus comprising:

a receiver to receive an acceleration signal indicative of an acceleration detected by an acceleration sensor;

a memory; and

a controller to derive an inclination angle of a vehicle relative to a horizontal plane from the acceleration signal,

wherein, while the vehicle is stopped and if a change in the acceleration exceeds a threshold, the threshold corresponding to a change in the acceleration due to a vibration of the vehicle, the controller outputs an adjustment signal indicative of an instruction to adjust an optical axis of the vehicle lamp in accordance with a difference in the inclination angle before and after the change in the acceleration,

wherein the inclination angle of the vehicle with respect to the horizontal plane includes a sum of a first angle and a second angle, the first angle being an inclination angle of a road surface relative to the horizontal plane, and the second angle being an inclination angle of the vehicle relative to the road surface,

wherein a reference value of the second angle is stored in the memory, and

wherein, when the change in the acceleration exceeds the threshold while the vehicle is stopped, the controller updates the reference value of the second angle by using the difference in the inclination angle before and after the change as a difference in the second angle to change the reference value of the second angle by an angle corresponding to the difference, and generates the adjustment signal by using the updated reference value of the second angle.

2. The control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, while the vehicle is traveling, the controller avoids outputting the adjustment signal or outputs a maintaining signal indicative of an instruction to maintain a position of the optical axis.

3. A vehicle lamp system comprising:

a vehicle lamp having an adjustable optical axis;

an acceleration sensor that detects an acceleration; and

a control apparatus, the control apparatus comprising;

a receiver to receive an acceleration signal indicative of the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor;

a memory; and

a controller to derive an inclination angle of a vehicle relative to a horizontal plane from the acceleration signal,

wherein, while the vehicle is stopped and if a change in the acceleration exceeds a threshold, the threshold corresponding to a change in the acceleration due to a vibration of the vehicle, the controller outputs an adjustment signal indicative of an instruction to adjust the optical axis of the vehicle lamp in accordance with a difference in the inclination angle before and after the change in the acceleration,

wherein the inclination angle of the vehicle with respect to the horizontal plane includes a sum of a first angle and a second angle, the first angle being an inclination angle of a road surface relative to the horizontal plane, and the second angle being an inclination angle of the vehicle relative to the road surface, wherein a reference value of the second angle is stored in the memory, and

wherein, when the change in the acceleration exceeds a threshold while the vehicle is stopped, the controller updates the reference value of the second angle by using the difference in the inclination angle before and after the change as a difference in the second angle to change the reference value of the second angle by an angle corresponding to the difference, and generates the adjustment signal by using the updated reference value of the second angle.

4. The vehicle lamp system according to claim 3, wherein, while the vehicle is traveling, the controller avoids outputting the adjustment signal or outputs a maintaining signal indicative of an instruction to maintain a position of the optical axis.