Headlight controller and vehicle headlight system

• US 9,738,214 B2
• Filed: 07/24/2014
• Issued: 08/22/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Stanley Electric Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Stanley Electric Company Limited
• Inventors: Nakatani, Akihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Zimmerman, Brian
• Assistant Examiner(s): Eustaquio, Cal
• Application Number:
  US14/340,329
• Publication Number:
  US 20150055357A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,125 Days
• 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 2300/122 Steering angle
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/41 preceding vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/42 oncoming vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/43 following vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/143 the main emission direction of the LED being parallel to the optical axis of the illuminating device
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/151 arranged in one or more lines
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/255 Lenses with a front view of circular or truncated circular outline
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/663 by switching light sources by switching incandescent light sources F21S41/162

Abstract

A headlight controller and a vehicle headlight system including an ADB and AFS can include a headlight controller and an optical unit. The headlight controller can include a system controller and a camera photographing vehicles located in a travelling direction of a subject vehicle, and the system controller can be configured to output a control signal to provide favorable light distribution patterns by using image data output from the camera in accordance with traffic conditions. The optical unit can be configured to emit beam lights using lights emitted from a first and second light-emitting device via a projector lens so that the beam lights can be used as a high/low beam without movable parts. Thus, the disclosed subject matter can include providing vehicle headlight systems that can form various favorable light distribution patterns by utilizing the characteristics of the controller and the optical unit in accordance with the traffic conditions.

Claims

1. A vehicle headlight system including an adaptive driving beam (ADB) and an adaptive front lighting system (AFS), comprising:

a right and left optical unit each including at least one of a first light-emitting device having a first light-emitting surface for a low beam and a second light-emitting device having a second light-emitting surface, and an LED drive circuit emitting at least one of the first light-emitting device and the second light-emitting device, wherein the first light-emitting device includes at least one white LED aligning in a substantially horizontal direction with reference to the road, on which the subject vehicle drives, and thereby projects light emitted from the first light-emitting device under a substantially horizontal line so as to extend in the substantially horizontal direction, and the second light-emitting device includes a plurality of white LEDs arranged in a matrix array shape in the substantially horizontal direction with reference to the road, and thereby projects light emitted from the second light-emitting device in an upward direction of the substantially horizontal line while overlapping the light projected by the first light-emitting device near the substantially horizontal line, wherein each of at least continuous five projecting regions in the substantially horizontal direction is independently projected by the LED drive circuit;

a camera having an optical axis being located adjacent a subject vehicle having the right and left headlight, configured to photograph at least one vehicle located in a forward direction of the subject vehicle, and the camera being configured to output the at least one vehicle photographed by the camera as image data;

a vehicle detector detecting the at least one vehicle in accordance with the image data output from the camera, detecting locating data of the at least one vehicle with respect to the optical axis of the camera, and being configured to output said vehicle locating data as vehicle data;

a light-increasing area detector configured to detect a travelling direction of the subject vehicle by using a rudder angle signal output from the subject vehicle, configured to determine a light-emitting area in response to the travelling direction of the subject vehicle, configured to set up a light-increasing area in the light-emitting area in accordance with the travelling direction of the subject vehicle, and configured to output said setup light-emitting area including the light-increasing area as light-increasing area data;

a light-emitting area controller configured to detect whether the at least one vehicle exists or not in the travelling direction of the subject vehicle in accordance with the vehicle data output from the vehicle detector, configured to set up the light-emitting area from the light-increasing data output from the light-increasing area detector, configured to set up the light-increasing area from the light-increasing data when the vehicle does not exist, and configured to output at least said light-increasing area and said light-emitting area as light-emitting area data;

a light distribution controller configured to receive the light-emitting area data output from the light-emitting area controller, and configured to output a light-emitting control signal to the right and left optical unit of the subject vehicle in accordance with the light-emitting area data output from the light-emitting area controller; and

wherein an amount of light on the light-increasing area emitted from the right and left headlight of the subject vehicle is configured to become larger than another amount of light emitted on the light-emitting area, where is located other than the light-increasing area and a non-light-emitting area, when the light-increasing area detector judges that a road, on which the subject vehicle drives, is a rightward/leftward curved road.

2. The vehicle headlight system including an ADB and an AFS according to claim 1, wherein the light-emitting area controller is configured to judge whether the at least one vehicle exists or not, by judging whether the vehicle is or not on the light-increasing area where is set up by the light-increasing area detector.

3. The vehicle headlight system including an ADB and an AFS according to claim 1, wherein the light-emitting area controller judges whether that the vehicle exists or not, by judging whether the vehicle is or not on a prescribed area with reference to the travelling direction of the subject vehicle.

4. The vehicle headlight system including an ADB and an AFS according to claim 1, wherein the travelling direction of the subject vehicle is set up at a plurality of different angles.

5. The vehicle headlight system including an ADB and AFS according to claim 1, wherein the camera is a color camera, which photographs color image data.

6. The vehicle headlight system including an ADB and AFS according to claim 1, wherein the light-increasing area detector is configured to judge that the at least one vehicle exists by extracting at least one of a headlight of an oncoming vehicle and a tail lamp of a front vehicle driving forward in a forward direction of the subject vehicle from the vehicle data output from the vehicle detector.

7. The vehicle headlight system including an ADB and an AFS according to claim 1, wherein the light-increasing area detector judges the traveling direction of the subject vehicle by comparing the rudder angle signal with a plurality of prescribed values.

17. The vehicle headlight system including an ADB and an AFS according to 1, wherein the right and left optical unit projects a part of the light emitted from the second light-emitting device on the light-increasing area when the light-increasing area detector judges that a road, on which the subject vehicle drives, is a rightward/leftward curved road and when the rudder angle of the curved road is larger than a prescribed angle.

19. The vehicle headlight including an ADB and AFS according to claim 1, wherein the right and left optical unit projects a part of the light emitted from the second light-emitting device on the light-increasing area.

8. A vehicle headlight system including an ADB and AFS, comprising:

a right and left optical unit each including at least one of a first light-emitting device having a first light-emitting surface for a low beam and a second light-emitting device having a second light-emitting surface, and an LED drive circuit emitting at least one of the first light-emitting device and the second light-emitting device, wherein the first light-emitting device includes at least one white LED aligning in a substantially horizontal direction with reference to the road, on which the subject vehicle drives and thereby projects light emitted from the first light-emitting device under a substantially horizontal line so as to extend in the horizontal direction, and the second light-emitting device includes a plurality of white LEDs arranged in a matrix array shape in the substantially horizontal direction with reference to the road, and thereby projects light emitted from the second light-emitting device in an upward direction of the substantially horizontal line while overlapping the light projected by the first light-emitting device near the substantially horizontal line, wherein each of at least continuous five projecting regions in the substantially horizontal direction is independently projected by the LED drive circuit;

a camera having an optical axis being located adjacent a subject vehicle having the right and left optical unit, configured to photograph at least one vehicle located in a forward direction of the subject vehicle, and the camera being configured to output the at least one vehicle photographed by the camera as image data;

a vehicle detector detecting the at least one vehicle in accordance with the image data output from the camera, detecting locating data of the at least one vehicle with respect to the optical axis of the camera, and being configured to output said vehicle data as vehicle data;

a light-increasing area detector configured to detect a travelling direction of the subject vehicle by using a rudder angle signal output from the subject vehicle, configured to determine a light-emitting area in response to the travelling direction of the subject vehicle, configured to set up a light-increasing area in the light-emitting area in accordance with the travelling direction of the subject vehicle, and configured to output said setup light-emitting area including the light-increasing area as light-increasing area data;

a light-emitting area controller configured to detect whether the at least one vehicle exists or not in the travelling direction of the subject vehicle in accordance with the vehicle data output from the vehicle detector, configured to set up the light-emitting area from the light-increasing data output from the light-increasing area detector, configured to set up a non-light-emitting area in the light-emitting area from the light-increasing data when the vehicle exists, and configured to output at least said light-increasing area, said non-light-emitting area and said light-emitting area as light-emitting area data;

a light distribution controller configured to receive the light-emitting area data output from the light-emitting area controller, and configured to output a light-emitting control signal to the right and left optical unit of the subject vehicle in accordance with the light-emitting area data output from the light-emitting area controller; and

wherein an amount of light on the light-increasing area emitted from the right and left optical unit of the subject vehicle is configured to become larger than another amount of light emitted on the light-emitting area, where is located other than the light-increasing area and the non-light-emitting area, when the light-increasing area detector judges that a road, on which the subject vehicle drives, is a rightward/leftward curved road.

9. The vehicle headlight system including an ADB and an AFS according to claim 8, wherein the light-emitting area controller is configured to judge whether the at least one vehicle exists or not, by judging whether the vehicle is or not on the light-increasing area where is set up by the light-increasing area detector.

10. The vehicle headlight system including an ADB and an AFS according to claim 8, wherein the light-emitting area controller judges whether that the vehicle exists or not, by judging whether the vehicle is or not on a prescribed area with reference to the travelling direction of the subject vehicle.

11. The vehicle headlight system including an ADB and an AFS according to claim 8, wherein the travelling direction of the subject vehicle is set up at a plurality of different angles.

12. The vehicle headlight system including an ADB and AFS according to claim 8, wherein the camera is a color camera, which photographs color image data.

13. The vehicle headlight system including an ADB and an AFS according to claim 8, wherein the light-increasing area detector is configured to judge that the at least one vehicle exists by extracting at least one of a headlight of an oncoming vehicle and a tail lamp of a front vehicle driving forward in a forward direction of the subject vehicle from the vehicle data output from the vehicle detector.

14. The vehicle headlight system including an ADB and an AFS according to claim 8, wherein the light-increasing area detector judges the traveling direction of the subject vehicle by comparing the rudder angle signal with a plurality of prescribed values.

15. The vehicle headlight system including an ADB and an AFS according to claim 8, further comprising:

a first projector lens having an optical axis being located in front of the first light-emitting surface of the first light-emitting device, and the optical axis of the first projector lens intersecting with the first light-emitting surface of the first light-emitting device; and

a second projector lens having an optical axis being located in front of the second light-emitting surface of the second light-emitting device, and the optical axis of the second projector lens intersecting with the second light-emitting surface of the second light-emitting device.

16. The vehicle headlight system including an ADB and AFS according to claim 8, wherein the right and left optical unit projects a part of the light emitted from the second light-emitting device on the light-increasing area when the light-increasing area detector judges that a road, on which the subject vehicle drives, is a rightward/leftward curved road and when the rudder angle of the curved road is larger than a prescribed angle.

18. The vehicle headlight including an ADB and AFS according to claim 8, wherein the right and left optical unit projects a part of the light emitted from the second light-emitting device on the light-increasing area.