Patent Description:
The following disclosure relates to a headlamp control system, and more particularly, to a front headlamp control system for controlling a light source mounted on a front side of a vehicle, and a control method thereof.

A vehicle according to the related art is equipped with a night driving safety system that enhances the visibility of the vehicle while significantly reducing damage from glare to other people, such as an intelligent head light emitting element, an adaptive driving beam (ADB) system, or a high beam assistance (HBA) system. The development of such a high beam system also has a problem in that appearances of wild animals on roads and roadkill are rapidly increasing while traveling due to excessive glare for wild animals.

More specifically, in a case of the current intelligent head light emitting element, especially the ADB system, the largest quantity of light at the center may be lost in a situation of following a preceding vehicle. As a result, the total light quantity may be decreased, and it may be difficult for a driver to recognize a wild animal when the wild animal appears on a shoulder of a curved road or the like. Accordingly, the need for a technology to eliminate potential safety threats by controlling the head light emitting element or the high beam based on vehicle driving information and environmental information such as a road curvature to provide optimal visibility to a driver has emerged.

Therefore, dynamic bending light (DBL), which is a technology applied to a low beam among the related arts, assists in improving the visibility on a curved road by rotating a beam pattern by means of connection to a steering. However, the DBL is also an incomplete technology that does not have enough time to recognize and take measures for wild animals in advance because the pattern rotates when a driver actually enters a curved road and controls the steering.

Further, in a case of the high beam, there is no corresponding solution because it is difficult to apply a general control mechanism due to the trend of removing an actuator. In particular, in a case of the ADB system, there is a problem that, when following a preceding vehicle, the efficiency of the high beam significantly deteriorates as a central portion that corresponds to the largest quantity of light is frequently not irradiated with light.

<CIT> discloses a vehicle headlamp system which can control beams from headlamps by accurately estimating an arriving position of one's own vehicle a predetermined time later. <CIT> discloses a headlight system for a vehicle which provides a cornering light function. <CIT> discloses a lighting device for vehicle which conducts irradiation control of the lighting device in accordance with a road profile, vehicle operation and vehicle running condition. <CIT> discloses a light distribution control of a head lamp device for a vehicle capable of moving a lighting region of a head lamp in front of the vehicle in rightward and leftward directions. <CIT> discloses an apparatus for controlling swivel angles of headlights mounted on a vehicle (a headlight swivel control apparatus), which controls a swivel angle of headlights which are mounted on the front a vehicle in a horizontal plane to the vehicle body. <CIT> discloses a vehicle lamp capable of changing the clearness of a contrast boundary line correspondingly to a traveling state or a traveling environment of a vehicle.

The present invention is defined by the appended independent claims, and preferred aspects of the present invention are defined by the appended dependent claims. An embodiment of the present invention is directed to providing a front headlamp control system that is highly applicable to existing vehicles and is capable of efficiently controlling light of a front headlamp by adjusting a light quantity of the front headlamp based on a combination of navigation information and camera information in addition to a steering angle of a steering wheel, and a control method thereof.

Another example relevant to understand the present invention is directed to providing a front headlamp control system that is capable of increasing visibility of an area in front of a driver by calculating a light-off section in a case where there is a preceding vehicle and increasing, in a case where a changed position of a high luminance region overlaps the light-off section, a range of a central luminance region in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction to maintain the high luminance region, and a control method thereof.

Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to providing a front headlamp control system that is capable of being easily implemented without an increase in the number of parts and an increase in cost by being controlled by means of interaction with a sensor already mounted in a vehicle, and a control method thereof.

In one general aspect, a front headlamp control system includes: a light source unit provided on a front side of a mobility device or mobile body and including two or more light emitting elements; and a control unit controlling the light source unit in such a way that a relative position or range of a high luminance region is changed within a predetermined light irradiation region based on received environmental information, in which the environmental information includes steering angle information of the mobility device, and further includes at least one of road surface information of a road surface on which the mobility device is located, or road navigation information.

The control unit may control the light source unit in such a way that an intensity of light from a light emitting element that irradiates the high luminance region with the light among the two or more light emitting elements is higher than intensities of light from other light emitting elements.

The light source unit may further include a direction adjustment actuator that adjusts a light irradiation direction of the light emitting element, and the control unit may control the direction adjustment actuator in such a way that a luminance of the high luminance region is higher than a luminance of a region other than the high luminance region.

The control unit may calculate an expected movement route from the steering angle information of the mobility device, calculate a curvature of a road based on at least one of the road surface information image information or the road navigation information, and change, in a case where a curvature of the expected movement route is greater than the curvature of the road, a position of the high luminance region in a steering direction of the mobility device in proportion to an amount of real-time steering angle change.

The control unit may calculate an expected movement route from the steering angle information of the mobility device, calculate a curvature of a road based on at least one of the road surface information or the road navigation information, and further adjust, in a case where a curvature of the expected movement route is equal to or less than the curvature of the road, a position of the high luminance region in proportion to a real-time curvature of the road.

The control unit is configured, according to the invention, to sequentially set first to (n)th reference values for the curvature of the road, compare the first to (n)th reference values with the curvature of the road, and adjust the position of the high luminance region in stages, n being a natural number.

The environmental information may include information regarding an object in front of the mobility device, and in a case where one or more objects exist in front of the mobility device, the control unit may designate, as a low luminance region, a region where the object is positioned in the light irradiation region of the light source unit, and control the light source unit in such a way that a luminance of the low luminance region is equal to or lower than a predetermined value.

In a case where the low luminance region and the high luminance region at least partially overlap each other, the control unit may control to irradiate a portion where the low luminance region and the high luminance region overlap each other with a quantity of light corresponding to the low luminance region, and expand or change the relative position or range of the high luminance region to an outside of the low luminance region.

In a case where the low luminance region and the high luminance region at least partially overlap each other, the control unit may control to irradiate the portion where the low luminance region and the high luminance region overlap each other with a quantity of light corresponding to the low luminance region, and expand or change the relative position or range of the high luminance region to the outside of the low luminance region in at least one of a vertical direction or a horizontal direction with respect to the low luminance region.

In another general aspect, a control method of a front headlamp control system includes: a step (a) of receiving, by a control unit, environmental information including steering angle information of a mobility device and further including at least one of road surface information of a road surface on which the mobility device is located or road navigation information; a step (b) of calculating, by the control unit, a curvature of a road from the received environmental information; and a step (c) of setting or adjusting, by the control unit, a high luminance region based on the environmental information.

The step (c) may include a step (c1) of adjusting, by the control unit, a position of the high luminance region in such a way that the high luminance region is moved by a distance proportional to an amount of real-time steering angle change in a steering direction of the mobility device, in a case where a curvature of an expected route of the mobility device is greater than the curvature of the road.

In the step (c), in a case where a curvature of an expected route of the mobility device is equal to or less than the curvature of the road, the control unit sets first to (n)th reference values for the curvature of the road, and the step (c) may include: a step (c2) of maintaining a position of the high luminance region in a case where the curvature of the road is less than the first reference value, n being a natural number; and a step (c3) of adjusting, by the control unit, the position of the high luminance region in such a way that the position of the high luminance region is moved by a predetermined distance corresponding to an (i-<NUM>)th reference value in a case where the curvature of the road is less than an (i-<NUM>)th reference value, i being a positive integer, and <NUM> < i ≤ n.

The environmental information may include information regarding an object in front of the mobility device, and the control method may further include: after the step (c), in a case where one or more objects exist in front of the mobility device, a step (d) of calculating, by the control unit, a region where the object is positioned in a light irradiation region of a light source unit as a low luminance region; and a step (e) of setting, by the control unit, a final light pattern by adjusting the low luminance region and the high luminance region.

The step (d) may include: a step (d1) of temporarily storing a position of the high luminance region adjusted in the step (c); a step (d2) of receiving and storing position information of the object; and a step (d3) of comparing the position information of the object with the light irradiation region of the light source unit to determine the low luminance region, and in a case where the high luminance region and the low luminance region at least partially overlap each other, the step (d) may further include a step (d4) of expanding the high luminance region in at least one of a vertical direction or a horizontal direction with respect to the low luminance region.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Terms and words used in the present specification and claims are not to be construed as a general or dictionary meaning, but are to be construed as meaning and concepts meeting the technical ideas of the present invention based on a principle that the present inventors may appropriately define the concepts of terms in order to describe their inventions in best mode.

Hereinafter, a basic configuration of a front headlamp control system <NUM> according to the present invention will be described with reference to <FIG>.

The front headlamp control system <NUM> according to the present invention may include a light source unit <NUM> provided on a front side of a mobility device V and including two or more light emitting elements, and a control unit <NUM> controlling the light source unit <NUM> in such a way as to change a relative position of a high luminance region H within a predetermined light irradiation region based on received environmental information. It is preferable that the environmental information includes steering angle information of the mobility device V and includes at least one of road surface information of a road surface on which the mobility device V is located, or road R navigation information.

Here, the light source unit <NUM> may be an intelligent headlamp, an adaptive driving beam (ADB) system, or a high beam assistance (HBA) system, and the control unit <NUM> may be an electronic control unit (ECU) of the mobility device V. The environmental information received by the control unit <NUM> is preferably received from a sensor unit <NUM> mounted on the mobility device V, and the sensor unit <NUM> preferably includes a navigation system, a camera, and a steering sensor.

Here, the high luminance region H is a central luminance region for light from the light source unit <NUM>, and may be a region having a relatively high luminance in the light irradiation region of the light source unit <NUM>. At this time, it is preferable that the control unit <NUM> controls the light source unit <NUM> with the ultimate goal of positioning the high luminance region H at the center of a visual field of a driver. At this time, the control unit <NUM> does not increase or decrease a light irradiation range of the light source unit <NUM>, but controls a light irradiation angle of the light source unit <NUM> using a swivel actuator or controls an intensity of each light source included in the light source unit <NUM> by pixelating each light source for each position to control the position and range of the high-intensity region H. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the high luminance region H from deviating from the center of the visual field of the driver and being eccentric when the mobility device V turns a corner or the like, and it is possible to efficiently secure the visual field of the driver by changing and securing the position of the high luminance region H in a case where a region switched to the low luminance region L due to the presence of an external obstacle (or turned off) overlaps the high luminance region H. In addition, excessive energy consumption can be prevented by maintaining the total quantity of light within a predetermined small range without increasing or decreasing the light irradiation range as a whole.

Hereinafter, the adjustment of the high luminance region H by the control unit <NUM> will be described in more detail with reference to <FIG> and <FIG>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, in a case where a road R on which the mobility device V travels is a curved road having a curvature equal to or greater than a predetermined curvature, when the low luminance region L is generated due to the presence of an existing first front object O1, and a second front object O2 additionally appears on the road, a visual field blocking phenomenon may occur as the low luminance region L and the high luminance region H overlap each other. Accordingly, it may be difficult for the driver to recognize the appearance of the second front object O2. Therefore, it is preferable that the control unit <NUM> maintains a portion where the low luminance region L and the high luminance region overlap each other as the low luminance region L to prevent the existing first front object O1 from being irradiated with an excessive quantity of light, and changes the position and range of the high luminance region H in such a way as to be adjacent to the low luminance region L as illustrated in <FIG> to secure the high luminance region H, thereby securing the visual field of the driver.

Hereinafter, an algorithm for adjusting the high luminance region H by the control unit <NUM> will be described in more detail with reference to <FIG>.

It is preferable that the control unit <NUM> calculates, before controlling the low luminance region L and the high luminance region H, an expected movement route from the steering angle information of the mobility device V, calculates the curvature of the road R based on at least one of the road surface information of the road surface on which the mobility device V is located or the road R navigation information, and changes the position of the high luminance region H in proportion to the amount of change in real-time steering angle in a steering direction of the mobility device V in a case where a curvature of the expected movement route is greater than the curvature of the road R.

In addition, it is preferable that the control unit <NUM> calculates an expected movement route from the steering angle information of the mobility device V, calculates the curvature of the road R based on at least one of the road surface information of the road surface on which the mobility device V is located or the road R navigation information, and more sharply adjusts the position of the high luminance region H as the real-time curvature of the road R is increased in the steering direction of the mobility device V in a case where a curvature of the expected movement route is equal to or less than the curvature of the road R.

In addition, the control unit <NUM> sequentially sets first to (n)th reference values for the curvature of the road R (n is a positive integer greater than <NUM>), and compares the calculated curvature of the road R with predetermined first to (n)th reference values to set the amount of change of the relative position of the high luminance region H in stages.

In this case, in a case of a first example of the light source unit <NUM>, the light source unit <NUM> is formed by integrating a plurality of light emitting elements. The control unit <NUM> may control each light emitting element independently by dividing and pixelating the light irradiation region according to the position of the light emitting element. It is preferable that the control unit <NUM> designates the high luminance region H as described above and controls the light source unit <NUM> in such a way that an intensity of light from a light emitting element that irradiates the high luminance region H with the light among the plurality of light emitting elements is higher than intensities of light from other light emitting elements.

In addition, in a case of a second example of the light source unit <NUM>, the light source unit <NUM> may further include a direction adjustment actuator for adjusting a light irradiation direction of the light emitting element. At this time, it is preferable that the direction adjustment actuator is a swivel actuator. It is preferable that the control unit <NUM> controls the direction adjustment actuator in such a way that a luminance of the high luminance region H is higher than a luminance of a region other than the high luminance region H.

At this time, the control unit <NUM> may designate the position of the high luminance region H as described above, calculate a distance of the high luminance region H from the current state, and calculate an angle to which the light source unit <NUM> is to be adjusted by the direction adjustment actuator. In this case, a direction adjustment speed for the light source unit <NUM> may be controlled by applying a filter time constant of the light source unit <NUM>.

Further, the environmental information received by the control unit <NUM> may include information regarding an object in front of the mobility device V, the information including size and speed information of an obstacle positioned in front of the mobility device V, and in a case where one or more objects are detected in front of the mobility device V, the control unit <NUM> may designate a region where the object is positioned in the light irradiation region of the light source unit <NUM> as the low luminance region L and lower the luminance.

Accordingly, in a case where the first example of the light source unit <NUM> is applied, it is preferable to decrease the quantity of light from a light emitting element that irradiates the low luminance region L with the light or turn off the light emitting element, and in a case where the second example of the light source unit <NUM> is applied, it is preferable to mask the low luminance region L to irradiate the low luminance region L with a predetermined quantity or less of light.

At this time, in a case where the low luminance region L and the high luminance region H at least partially overlap each other, it is preferable that the control unit <NUM> change the relative position of the high luminance region H in the light irradiation region in such a way as to expand the high luminance region H to the surroundings of the low luminance region L as much as the size of the overlapping portion of the high luminance region H. As illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, in a case where the first example of the light source unit <NUM> is applied, and the relative position of the high luminance region H designated according to the steering angle of the steering wheel of the mobility device V and the curvature of the road R at least partially overlaps with the low luminance region L, it is preferable that the control unit <NUM> expands the range of the high luminance region H to the surroundings of the low luminance region L to secure the high luminance region H. At this time, it is preferable to irradiate a portion where the low luminance region L and the high luminance region H overlap each other with a designated quantity of light corresponding to the low luminance region L to prevent an external object from being irradiated with light having a high intensity.

More specifically, as illustrated in <FIG>, in a case where the light source unit <NUM> is a type of light source unit that emits light in such a way that an entire range corresponding to a width of an obstacle in a vertical direction becomes the low luminance region L, it is preferable that the control unit <NUM> designates the high luminance region H in such a way as to expand the range of the high luminance region H in a horizontal direction with respect to the low luminance region L in a dispersed manner. Alternatively, as illustrated in <FIG>, in a case where the light source unit <NUM> is a type of light source unit that also has a vertical control function and thus does not emit only light corresponding to a position of an obstacle, it is preferable that the control unit <NUM> designates the high luminance region H in such a way as to expand the range of the high luminance region H in not only the horizontal direction but also the vertical direction with respect to the low luminance region L in a dispersed manner. In this case, it is preferable that the range of the high luminance region H adjusted to be positioned outside the low luminance region L has the same size as that of the range of the existing high luminance region H.

Furthermore, as illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, in a case where the second example of the light source unit <NUM> is applied, and the relative position of the high luminance region H designated according to the steering angle of the steering wheel of the mobility device V and the curvature of the road R at least partially overlaps with the low luminance region L, it is preferable that the control unit <NUM> adjusts the position of the high luminance region H to the left or right to secure the high luminance region H at the surroundings of the low luminance region L. At this time, it is preferable to irradiate a portion where the low luminance region L and the high luminance region H overlap each other with a designated quantity of light corresponding to the low luminance region L to prevent an external object from being irradiated with light having a high intensity.

More specifically, as illustrated in <FIG>, in a case where the light source unit <NUM> is a type of light source unit that emits light in such a way that an entire range corresponding to a width of an obstacle in the vertical direction becomes the low luminance region L, it is preferable that the control unit <NUM> designates the high luminance region H in such a way that the high luminance region H is moved in the horizontal direction with respect to the low luminance region L to secure the high luminance region H outside the low luminance region L. Alternatively, as illustrated in <FIG>, in a case where the light source unit <NUM> is a type of light source unit that also has the vertical control function and thus does not emit only light corresponding to a position of an obstacle, it is preferable that the control unit <NUM> designates the high luminance region H in such a way that the high luminance region H may be moved not only in the horizontal direction but also the vertical direction with respect to the low luminance region L to secure the high luminance region H outside the low luminance region L. It is preferable that the range of the high luminance region H moved to be positioned outside the low luminance region L has the same size as that of the range of the existing high luminance region H.

At this time, furthermore, when the positions and ranges of the low luminance region L and the high luminance region H are determined by the above-described algorithm, in a case where the low luminance region L and the high luminance region H are adjacent to each other, quantities of light of adjacent pixels may be adjusted to an intermediate value between the quantity of light in the low luminance region L and the quantity of light in the high luminance region H.

Hereinafter, a control method of the front headlamp control system according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to <FIG>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the control method of the front headlamp control system according to the present invention includes a step (a) of receiving, by the control unit <NUM>, the environmental information including the steering angle information of the mobility device V and further including at least one of the road surface information of the road surface on which the mobility device V is located or the road R navigation information. Here, the environmental information in the step (a) is preferably received from the sensor unit <NUM>, and the sensor unit <NUM> preferably includes a navigation system, a camera, and a steering sensor. The control method of the front headlamp control system according to the present invention includes: a step (b) of calculating the curvature of the road R from the received environmental information; and a step (c) of setting or adjusting the high luminance region H based on the environmental information.

As illustrated in <FIG>, it is preferable that the step (c) includes a step (c1) of adjusting, by the control unit <NUM>, the position of the high luminance region H in the steering direction of the mobility device V in such a way that the high luminance region H is moved by a distance proportional to the amount of real-time steering angle change in the steering direction of the mobility device V, in a case where a curvature of an expected route of the mobility device V is greater than the curvature of the road R.

Further, in the step (c), in a case where a curvature of an expected route of the mobility device V is equal to or less than the curvature of the road R, the control unit <NUM> sets the first to (n)th reference values for the curvature of the road R (n is a positive integer greater than <NUM>), and the step (c) preferably includes: a step (c2) of maintaining the position of the high luminance region H in a case where the calculated curvature of the road R is less than the first reference value; and a step (c3) of adjusting, by the control unit <NUM>, the position of the high luminance region H in such a way that the position of the high luminance region H is moved by a predetermined distance corresponding to an (i-<NUM>)th reference value (i is a positive integer greater than <NUM> and equal to or smaller than n in a case where the calculated curvature of the road R is less than an (i-<NUM>)th reference value.

In addition, as illustrated in <FIG>, it is preferable that the environmental information includes information regarding an object in front of the mobility device V, and the control method of the front headlamp control system according to the present invention further includes: after the step (c), in a case where one or more objects exist in front of the mobility device V, a step (d) of calculating, by the control unit <NUM>, a region where the object is positioned in a light irradiation region of the light source unit <NUM> as the low luminance region L; and a step (e) of setting, by the control unit <NUM>, a final light pattern by adjusting the low luminance region L and the high luminance region H.

It is preferable that the step (d) includes: a step (d1) of temporarily storing the position of the high luminance region H adjusted in the step (c); a step (d2) of receiving and storing position information of the object in front of the mobility device V; and a step (d3) of comparing the position information of the object in front of the mobile vehicle V with the light irradiation region of the light source unit <NUM> to determine the low luminance region L, and in a case where the high luminance region H and the low luminance region L at least partially overlap each other, the step (d) further includes a step (d4) of expanding the high luminance region H in at least one of the vertical direction or the horizontal direction with respect to the low luminance region L.

More specifically, in the step (d4), in a case where the first example (an example in which a plurality of light emitting elements are independently controlled) of the light source unit <NUM> is applied, it is preferable that the control unit <NUM> expands the range of the high luminance region H in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction to secure the high luminance region H. At this time, it is preferable to irradiate a portion where the low luminance region L and the high luminance region H overlap each other with a designated quantity of light corresponding to the low luminance region L to prevent an external object from being irradiated with light having a high intensity. In addition, it is preferable that the size of the high luminance region H expanded to the outside of the low luminance region L is adjusted to be the same as that of the existing high luminance region H.

More specifically, in the step (d4), in a case where the second example (an example in which a swivel actuator is applied to control the light irradiation angle) of the light source unit <NUM> is applied, it is preferable that the control unit <NUM> adjusts the position of the high luminance region H to the left or right to secure the high luminance region H. At this time, it is preferable to irradiate a portion where the low luminance region L and the high luminance region H overlap each other with a designated quantity of light corresponding to the low luminance region L to prevent an external object from being irradiated with light having a high intensity. In addition, it is preferable that the size of the high luminance region H expanded to the outside of the low luminance region L is adjusted to be the same as that of the existing high luminance region H.

As described above, the front headlamp control system and the control method thereof according to the present invention are highly applicable to existing vehicles and is capable of efficiently controlling light of a front headlamp by adjusting a light quantity of the front headlamp based on a combination of navigation information and camera information in addition to a steering angle of a steering wheel.

Further, it is possible to increase visibility of an area in front of a driver by calculating a light-off section in a case where there is a preceding vehicle and increasing, in a case where a changed position of a high luminance region overlaps the light-off section, a range of a central luminance region in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction to maintain the high luminance region.

Claim 1:
A system for controlling a headlamp of a mobility device, comprising:
a light source unit (<NUM>) disposed at a front of the mobility device and including a plurality of light emitting elements; and
a control unit (<NUM>) configured to:
receive environmental information of the mobility device, the environmental information including steering angle information of the mobility device and further including at least one of road surface information and road navigation information; and
control, based on the received environmental information, the light source unit to change a relative position or range of a high luminance region within a predetermined light irradiation region of the light source unit;
calculate, based on the steering angle information, a curvature of an expected movement route of the mobility device;
calculate, based on at least one of the road surface information and road navigation information, a curvature of a road; and
in response to the calculated curvature of the expected movement route being equal to or less than the calculated curvature of the road, set first to (n)th reference values for the calculated curvature of the road, wherein (n) is a positive integer greater than one, and the (i)th reference value increases as the integer (i) increases; compare the first to (n)th reference values with the calculated curvature of the road; and adjust the position of the high luminance region in stages based on results of the comparison.