HEADLIGHT CONTROLLER AND VEHICLE HEADLIGHT SYSTEM

• US 20160332560A1
• Filed: 04/27/2016
• Published: 11/17/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Stanley Electric Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Stanley Electric Company Limited
• Inventors: Nakatani, Akihiro
• Granted Patent: US 9,751,455 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 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 2300/41 preceding vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/42 oncoming vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/153 arranged in a matrix
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/25 Projection lenses
• 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 can include a headlight controller and an optical unit. The headlight controller can include a system controller, a vehicle detector and a camera photographing forward vehicles located in a travelling direction of a subject vehicle, and the system controller can be configured to output a light-emitting control signal to provide favorable light distribution patterns by using vehicle data output from the vehicle detector in accordance with image data output from the camera. The optical unit can be configured to provide the favorable light distribution patterns using lights emitted from a right and left light-emitting device in accordance with the light-emitting control signal. 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 headlight controller and the optical unit in accordance with various traffic conditions.

Claims

1. A headlight controller including an adaptive driving system (ADB) for controlling a right and left headlight each having an optical axis be capable of projecting a plurality of light-emitting patterns in a plurality of light-emitting areas, wherein the plurality of light-emitting patterns align in a horizontal direction of a road, each of the light-emitting patterns is independently drown, each of the adjacent light-emitting patterns overlaps with respect to each other without a space between the adjacent light-emitting patterns, and each of edge portions of the plurality of light-emitting areas is a respective one of non-overlapping regions of the adjacent light-emitting patterns and each of middle portions of the plurality of light-emitting areas is a respective one of overlapping regions of the adjacent light-emitting patterns, comprising:

a camera having an optical axis (CA) being located adjacent a subject vehicle, which incorporates the right and left headlight into a right and left front of the subject vehicle, 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 configured to detect the at least one vehicle in accordance with the image data output from the camera, configured to generate locating data of the at least one vehicle with respect to the optical axis of the camera, and being configured to output the locating data vehicle as vehicle 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 determine light pattern data including a light-emitting area and a non-light-emitting area when the vehicle exists, and configured to output said light pattern data 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 headlight of the object vehicle in accordance with the light-emitting area data output from the light-emitting area controller; and

wherein at least one light-emitting area where the at least one vehicle is located in the plurality of light-emitting areas is darker than another light-emitting area where the at least one vehicle is not located in the plurality of light-emitting areas.

2. The headlight controller including an ADB according to claim 1, wherein each of relative light intensities of the plurality of light-emitting patterns is substantially the same when the vehicle detector does not detect the at least one vehicle in accordance with the image data output from the camera.

3. The headlight controller including an ADB according to claim 1, wherein each area of the adjacent light-emitting patterns overlapped with respect to each other is substantially the same.

4. The headlight controller including an ADB according to claim 2, wherein each area of the adjacent light-emitting patterns overlapped with respect to each other is substantially the same.

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

6. The headlight controller including an ADB according to claim 2, wherein the camera is a color camera, which photographs color image data.

7. The headlight controller including an ADB according to claim 1, wherein the optical axis of the camera is located in a substantially parallel direction with each optical axis of the right and left headlight.

8. The headlight controller including an ADB according to claim 2, wherein the optical axis of the camera is located in a substantially parallel direction with each optical axis of the right and left headlight.

9. A vehicle headlight system using the headlight controller including an ADB according to claim 1, further comprising:

a right and left optical unit replaced with the right and left headlight, each of the right and left optical unit including a plurality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) having a light-emitting surface as a light-emitting device to project the plurality of light-emitting patterns, and an LED drive circuit independently driving each of the plurality of LEDs.

10. The vehicle headlight system using the headlight controller including an ADB according to claim 9, further comprising:

a projector lens having a projector optical axis located in front of the plurality of LEDs, and the projector optical axis of the projector lens intersecting the light-emitting surface of the LEDs.