Vehicular headlight apparatus

• US 9,415,718 B2
• Filed: 09/18/2014
• Issued: 08/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Futamura, Shinichi, Mizuno, Ryu, Masuda, Koichi
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, ANH Q
• Application Number:
  US14/489,553
• Publication Number:
  US 20150003087A1
• Time in Patent Office: 698 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 1/143 combined with another condition, e.g. using vehicle recognition from camera images or activation of wipers
• 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 2300/122 Steering angle
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/334 on motorways
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/41 preceding vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/42 oncoming vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/45 Special conditions, e.g. pedestrians, road signs or potential dangers
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 9/008 for anti-collision purposes

Abstract

The vehicular headlight apparatus includes a control means configured to change a light illumination area following a position of a detected target object until a shift angle between a reference direction and a direction to the target object with respect to a headlight is calculated to exceed a maximum limit shift angle, and configured to, when a vehicle speed is detected to exceed a predetermined threshold value, set the maximum limit shift angle to a small deflection angle, and change the present light illumination area to a low-beam light illumination area covered by the headlight in a low-beam state if the shift angle is calculated to exceed the maximum limit shift angle set to the small deflection angle.

Claims

1. A vehicular headlight apparatus comprising:

a headlight which illuminates ahead of a vehicle;

means for changing a light illumination area of the headlight;

means for recognizing ahead of the vehicle;

means for calculating a position of a given target object based on data outputted from said recognizing means;

means for detecting a speed of the vehicle; and

means for controlling the changing means, when the given target object is detected, said controlling means working to change the light illumination area through said changing means in order to minimize dazzling to the given target objet based on analysis results derived by said calculating means,

wherein when the speed of the vehicle, as detected by said detecting means, exceeds a given threshold value, said controlling means changes the light illumination area to a low-beam light illumination area earlier than when the speed of the vehicle is lower than the given threshold value; and

wherein the vehicle headlight apparatus has three modes;

a high-beam mode, an intermediate beam mode, and a low-beam mode, and a time when the intermediate beam mode is switched to the low-beam mode when the speed of the vehicle is higher than a predetermined value is earlier than that when the speed of the vehicle is lower than the predetermined value.

2. A vehicular headlight apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said analyzing means detects the given target object and calculates positions of the given target object in a vertical direction and a width-wise direction thereof based on the data, as outputted from said recognition means, further comprising:

reference direction determining means for determining a reference direction with respect to a direction of light emission of the headlight when the target object is detected;

shift angle calculating means for calculating, as a shift angle, an angle between the reference direction and a direction to the target object based on a location where the headlight is mounted;

first storage means for storing a maximum deflection angle set to a maximum limit shift angle that is a maximum value of said shift angle for following the target object, wherein when the target object is detected, the control means changes the light illumination area until the shift angle exceeds the maximum deflection angle based on the analysis results derived by said analyzing means in order to follow the target object, further comprising second storage means for storing a small deflection angle smaller than the maximum deflection angle, and wherein the control means is configured to, when the vehicle speed is detected to exceed the given threshold value, set the maximum limit shift angle to the small deflection angle, and change the light illumination area to a low-beam light illumination area covered by the headlight in a low-beam state when the shift angle, as calculated by said shift angle calculating means, has exceeded the small deflection angle.

3. A vehicular headlight apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said analyzing means detects the given target object and calculates a distance to the given target object based on the data, as outputted from said recognition means, and wherein when the target object is detected, said control means changes the light illumination area so as to follow the target object based on the analysis results, as derived by the analyzing means, until the calculated distance drops below a given distance and, when the speed of the vehicle, as detected by said vehicle speed detecting means, exceeds the given threshold value, also increases the given distance to be longer than when the speed of the vehicle does not exceed the given threshold value.

4. A vehicular headlight apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the given target object is an oncoming vehicle.

9. A vehicular headlight apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein when an object is detected, the high-beam mode is switched to the intermediate-beam mode regardless of the speed of the vehicle.

5. A camera apparatus in combination with a vehicular headlight apparatus equipped with a headlight which illuminates ahead of a vehicle and means for changing a light illumination area of the headlight, comprising:

means for controlling the changing means;

means for recognizing ahead of the vehicle;

means for calculating a position of a given target object based on data outputted from said recognizing means; and

means for detecting a speed of the vehicle,

wherein when the given target object is detected, said controlling means works to change the light illumination area in order to minimize dazzling to the given target objet based on analysis results derived by said calculating means,

wherein when the speed of the vehicle, as detected by said detecting means, exceeds a given threshold value, said controlling means changes the light illumination area to a low-beam light illumination area earlier than when the speed of the vehicle does not exceed the given threshold value; and

wherein the vehicle headlight apparatus has three modes;

a high-beam mode, an intermediate beam mode, and a low-beam mode, and a time when the intermediate beam mode is switched to the low-beam mode when the speed of the vehicle is higher than a predetermined value is earlier than that when the speed of the vehicle is lower than the predetermined value.

6. A camera apparatus as set forth in claim 5, wherein the camera apparatus is a stereo camera.

7. A camera apparatus as set forth in claim 5, wherein the vehicular headlight apparatus is equipped with a radar.

8. A camera apparatus in combination with a vehicular headlight apparatus equipped with a headlight which illuminates ahead of a vehicle and means for changing a light illumination area of the headlight, comprising:

means for controlling the changing means;

means for recognizing ahead of the vehicle;

means for calculating a position of a given target object based on data outputted from said recognizing means; and

means for detecting a speed of the vehicle,

wherein said calculating means works to detect an object that is at least one of a lane on a road, a configuration of the road, a road surface condition, a retreat area (i.e., a safe area), a light source, an obstacle, a preceding vehicle, a preceding pedestrian, a preceding object, a stationary vehicle, a stationary pedestrian, a stationary object, an oncoming vehicle, an oncoming pedestrian, an oncoming object, a two-wheeled vehicle, a bicycle, a roadside object, a signboard, a road sign, a traffic signal, an object blocking a view of the camera apparatus, and an environment outside the vehicle,

wherein when the given target object is detected, said controlling means works to change the light illumination area in order to minimize dazzling to the given target objet based on analysis results derived by said calculating means,

wherein said controlling means performs a vehicle control mode that is at least one of a frontal collision avoidance operation, a collision avoidance operation at a traffic intersection, a crossing collision avoidance operation, a speed alerting operation, a lane departure controlling operation, a collision alerting operation, an inter-vehicle gap alerting operation, a lane departure warning operation, an automatic high-beam operation, a sign displaying operation, a full-speed adaptive cruise control operation, a lane-keeping operation, an accident avoidance operation when a lane is changed, a blind spot alerting operation, a blind spot monitoring operation, an automatic lane change operation, a front cross traffic alerting operation, a rear cross traffic alerting operation, a pedal misapplication avoidance operation, and an automatic parking operation, and

wherein when the speed of the vehicle, as detected by said detecting means, exceeds a given threshold value, said controlling means changes the light illumination area to a low-beam light illumination area earlier than when the speed of the vehicle does not exceed the given threshold value; and

wherein the vehicle headlight apparatus has three modes;

a high-beam mode, an intermediate beam mode, and a low-beam mode, and a time when the intermediate beam mode is switched to the low-beam mode when the speed of the vehicle is higher than a predetermined value is earlier than that when the speed of the vehicle is lower than the predetermined value.

10. A vehicular headlight apparatus comprising:

a headlight which illuminates ahead of a vehicle;

means for changing a light illumination area of the headlight;

means for recognizing ahead of the vehicle;

means for calculating a position of a given target object based on data outputted from said recognizing means;

means for detecting a speed of the vehicle;

and

means for controlling the changing means, when the given target object is detected, said controlling means working to change the light illumination area through said changing means in order to minimize dazzling to the given target objet based on analysis results derived by said calculating means,

wherein when the speed of the vehicle, as detected by said detecting means, exceeds a given threshold value, said controlling means changes the light illumination area to a low-beam light illumination area earlier than when the speed of the vehicle is lower than the given threshold value; and

wherein said analyzing means detects the given target object and calculates positions of the given target object in a vertical direction and a width-wise direction thereof based on the data, as outputted from said recognition means, further comprising;

reference direction determining means for determining a reference direction with respect to a direction of light emission of the headlight when the target object is detected;

shift angle calculating means for calculating, as a shift angle, an angle between the reference direction and a direction to the target object based on a location where the headlight is mounted;

first storage means for storing a maximum deflection angle set to a maximum limit shift angle that is a maximum value of said shift angle for following the target object, wherein when the target object is detected, the control means changes the light illumination area until the shift angle exceeds the maximum deflection angle based on the analysis results derived by said analyzing means in order to follow the target object, further comprising second storage means for storing a small deflection angle smaller than the maximum deflection angle, and wherein the control means is configured to, when the vehicle speed is detected to exceed the given threshold value, set the maximum limit shift angle to the small deflection angle, and change the light illumination area to a low-beam light illumination area covered by the headlight in a low-beam state when the shift angle, as calculated by said shift angle calculating means, has exceeded the small deflection angle.

11. A vehicular headlight apparatus comprising:

a headlight which illuminates ahead of a vehicle;

means for changing a light illumination area of the headlight;

means for recognizing ahead of the vehicle;

means for calculating a position of a given target object based on data outputted from said recognizing means;

means for detecting a speed of the vehicle;

and

means for controlling the changing means, when the given target object is detected, said controlling means working to change the light illumination area through said changing means in order to minimize dazzling to the given target objet based on analysis results derived by said calculating means,

wherein when the speed of the vehicle, as detected by said detecting means, exceeds a given threshold value, said controlling means changes the light illumination area to a low-beam light illumination area earlier than when the speed of the vehicle is lower than the given threshold value; and

wherein said analyzing means detects the given target object and calculates a distance to the given target object based on the data, as outputted from said recognition means, and wherein when the target object is detected, said control means changes the light illumination area so as to follow the target object based on the analysis results, as derived by the analyzing means, until the calculated distance drops below a given distance and, when the speed of the vehicle, as detected by said vehicle speed detecting means, exceeds the given threshold value, also increases the given distance to be longer than when the speed of the vehicle does not exceed the given threshold value.