JPH09136568A - Auto light control device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: In an autolight control device for automatically lighting a small light and a headlight of a car according to the ambient brightness, a user can easily adjust the setting of the illuminance for turning on and off. To do. A memory circuit is provided in a comparator circuit 11 of an automatic light control device that compares a detection value of an illuminance sensor 2 with a reference value and controls turning on and off of a small light Ls and a headlight Lh based on the comparison result. When the lighting switch 1 for turning on and off the small light Ls and the headlight Lh is operated in the memory circuit, the detected value of the illuminance sensor 2 at the time of the operation is stored, and the stored detected value is used as a reference. By controlling the turning on and off of the small light Ls and the headlight Lh as a value, the user can easily adjust the setting of the illuminance of turning on and off.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic light control device for automatically controlling turning on and off of a small light including a side light, a tail light and a number light of an automobile and a headlight according to ambient brightness. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is an automatic light control device as a device for automatically controlling the turning on and off of a headlight and a small light including a side light, a tail light and a number light of an automobile according to the brightness of the surroundings.

As shown in FIG. 8, for example, the automatic light control device comprises a lighting switch 1, an illuminance sensor 2, a control means 3 and light driving light relays 4a and 4b, and the control means 3 is an ignition switch. It is connected to the switch 5 and the driver's seat door switch 6.

The lighting switch 1 includes a small light switch position s for turning on and off a small light Ls consisting of a side light, a tail light and a number light, and a headlight switch position h for turning on and off the headlight Lh. It consists of an auto switch position a and an off position o for setting the small lights Ls and headlights Lh so that they can be turned on and off automatically. In addition to the normal light ON / OFF, AUT
It has a position called O.

In many cases, the illuminance sensor 2 uses a photo diode 7 as a detection element. The diode 7 is housed in a case 8 as shown in FIG. Is detected. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the case 8 accommodating the photodiode 7 has an optical filter 9
A sensitivity adjusting ring 10 is attached, and the amount of light incident on the photodiode 7 is adjusted by the ring 10 to adjust the detection sensitivity.

The control means 3 is composed of a comparator circuit 11 and an automatic extinguishing circuit 12.

The comparator circuit 11 comprises a comparator circuit 11a for twilight detection and a comparator circuit 11b for nighttime detection.
1b is connected to the illuminance detection sensor 2.

Further, each comparator circuit 11a, 11b
Of the switching transistor Tr.
The collector terminals of the switching transistors Tr1 and Tr2, which are connected to the bases of 1 and Tr2 and are connected to the comparator circuits 11a and 11b, are connected to the light relays 4a and 4b, respectively. The emitter terminals of the switching transistors Tr1 and Tr2 are
Lighting switch 1 auto switch position a
When the lighting switch 1 is set to the auto switch position a, the switching transistors Tr1 and Tr2 are grounded and are in an operating state, and the light relays 4a and 4b are driven.

That is, the surroundings become dark and the illuminance sensor 2
Output falls below a reference value preset in the comparator circuit 11a for detecting dusk, the comparator circuit 11a for detecting dusk detects the light relay 4a for driving the small light.
Is activated to turn on the small light Ls. Furthermore, when the surroundings become dark and the output of the illuminance sensor 2 falls below the reference value set in the night-time detection comparator circuit 11b, the night-time detection comparator circuit 11b activates the headlight driving light relay 4b. To turn on the headlight Lh. On the contrary, when the surroundings become bright and the detection output of the illuminance sensor 2 exceeds the reference value for lighting the small light Ls and the headlight Lh, each comparator circuit 11a,
11b stops the operation of the light relays 4a and 4b, respectively, and turns off the lights.

On the other hand, the automatic extinguishing circuit 12 is a logic circuit using, for example, an RS flip-flop circuit 13, as shown in FIG. 8, and is connected to the RS inputs of the RS flip-flop circuit 13, respectively. The driver's seat door switch 6 and the ignition switch 5 are connected. Also, R
The -Q output of the -S flip-flop circuit 13 is connected to the power supply switching transistor Tr3 that supplies power from the battery to the comparator circuit, and the power supply switching transistor Tr3 is turned on / off according to the truth table shown in FIG. To do.

That is, when the door is closed and the ignition switch 5 is turned on, both the R and S inputs of the RS flip-flop circuit 13 become "H", so that ~ Q
The output becomes L, the power supply transistor Tr3 is turned on, power is supplied to the comparator circuit 11, and the lights can be automatically turned on.

When the vehicle is stopped and the ignition switch 5 is turned off, the RS flip-flop circuit 1
"L" is input to the S input of 3, but since the transistor Tr1 for driving the light relay is ON, R
"L" is input to the input, the ~ Q output of the RS flip-flop circuit 13 is held in the "L" state,
It is kept in the automatic lighting state. At this time, when the door is opened, “H” is input to the R input of the RS flip-flop circuit 13.
Is input, the ~ Q output of the RS flip-flop circuit 13 is inverted and becomes "H". Therefore, the power transistor Tr3 is turned off, the supply of power to the comparator circuit 11 is stopped, and the lighting of the light during parking is prevented.

By the way, in such a conventional auto light control device, the reference value of the illumination illuminance at dusk and at night is:
The values are set in advance to about 130 lux and 50 lux, respectively. To change the set value, the sensitivity adjustment ring 10 in the illuminance sensor 2 is adjusted, or the reference voltage of the comparator circuit 11 of the control means is changed. I was using the method of resetting.

[0014]

However, in the above adjustment method, the sensitivity adjustment ring is adjusted by opening the case of the illuminance sensor of the dashboard and the circuit constant of the comparator circuit of the control means is set every adjustment. It must be done again, and ordinary users cannot easily make those adjustments.

Therefore, in order to carry out this adjustment, the vehicle must be brought to a dealer or a repair shop, which is very troublesome.

The lighting illuminance of the light varies depending on the brightness felt by individual users. For example, some users feel the lighting illuminance to be dark when the lighting illuminance is set in advance. However, there is a problem that it is desirable for the user to be able to easily do it.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to allow a user to easily adjust settings of illumination illuminance and illumination illuminance of small lights and headlights.

[0018]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention, a small light including a side light, a tail light and a number light, and a headlight are turned on and off. A lighting switch having a small light switch position and a headlight switch position to perform has an auto switch position for setting so that the small light and the headlight can be turned on and off automatically, and the auto switch position The control means compares the detected value of the illuminance sensor with a preset reference value by operating the lighting switch to the auto light control to control lighting and extinguishing of the small light and headlight based on the comparison result. In the device, the control means is a lighting switch switch. Tsu stores detection values of the illuminance sensor during operation in response to the switch operation, it was adopted a structure which is adapted to control the turning on and off the small light and headlight on the basis of the illuminance and the storage.

Further, at this time, when the lighting switch is set to a small light switch position from a position other than the small light position, the control means sets the current illuminance detected by the illuminance sensor to the small light. When the lighting switch is set to the headlight position from a position other than the headlight switch position, the current illuminance detected by the illuminance sensor is turned on by the headlights. That is, the configuration is adopted in which the illuminance at night is turned off and stored as the illuminance at night.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, claim 1 and claim 2 of the present invention will be described.
Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic light control device of this embodiment includes a lighting switch 1, an illuminance sensor 2, a control means 3, and a light relay 4a for driving a light.
4b.

The lighting switch 1 is, for example, a rotary switch having four positions, a small light switch position s, a headlight switch position h, an auto switch position a and an off position o, as in the conventional example. As shown in FIG. 3, a lever provided on the handle 14 for operating a signal turn.
By turning a knob built in the lever of the switch 15 and provided at the tip of the lever, it is possible to sequentially select the OFF, small light, headlight, and auto positions.

The illuminance sensor 2 is the same as the one explained in the conventional example in which the photodiode 7 is set in the case 8 provided with the optical filter 9 and the sensitivity adjusting ring 10.
As shown in FIG. 3, the optical filter 9 is installed on the upper surface of the dashboard so as to be exposed, and the ambient brightness can be detected through the windshield.

In the case of this embodiment, the control means 3 is constructed by composing the comparator circuit 11 with a digital arithmetic unit.

This comparator circuit 11 has an input section 2
0, a central processing unit 21, and an output unit 22,
For example, a one-chip microcomputer in which an I / O port for input / output, a memory circuit for processing, etc. are built in one chip can be used.

The input section 20 comprises a switch input section 20a and a sensor input section 20b.
Is an input circuit having a switch interface means for preventing chattering, and the lighting switch 1
The switch output of 1 can be input to the central processing unit 21.

Further, the sensor input section 20b has an A-D conversion means, and the detection output inputted from the illuminance sensor 2 is converted into digital data by the A-D conversion means and inputted to the central processing section 21. To do.

The central processing unit 21 has a memory circuit, a nonvolatile control memory in which a control program is written in the memory circuit, and a register memory (for example, a dusk) for rewritably storing output data from the illuminance sensor 2. And a night time illuminance data RAM memory) are provided, and the control program written in the control memory compares the detection values of the illuminance sensor 2 with the illuminance data stored in the register memory as a reference value. The output unit is driven based on the comparison result.

At this time, the central processing unit 21 reads the state of the setting position of the lighting switch 1 from the switch input unit 20a by the control program, and rewrites the data in the register memory based on the read data. It is like this.

The output section 22 is a driver circuit including a buffer amplifier and the like, and has two outputs in this embodiment, and each output can output a driver current capable of directly driving the light relays 4a and 4b.

The light relays 4a and 4b are composed of a small light relay 4a and a headlight relay 4b, and the small light relay 4a is connected to a small light Ls composed of a side light, a tail light and a number light. On the other hand, the headlight relay 4b is connected to the headlight Lh and is driven independently by the output unit 22.

Further, in this embodiment, the automatic extinguishing circuit 12 is constructed so that the comparator circuit 11 detects the outputs of the ignition switch 5 and the door switch 6 of the driver's seat, and the comparator circuit 11 controls extinction. Since the operation is the same as that described in the conventional example, the description thereof will be omitted here.

This embodiment is configured as described above,
In this auto light control device, the nighttime lighting of the illumination illuminance L1 and the comparator circuit 11 for lighting the headlights Lh stored in the register memory of the comparator circuit 11 for lighting the small light Ls set in advance by the manufacturer or dealer. If the lighting switch 1 is operated to the small light switch position s or the headlight switch position h when the setting value of the illuminance L2 reaches the brightness at which the small light Ls or the headlight Lh should be turned on or off, The illuminance is stored, and then the autolight control is performed using the illuminance data as a reference value. Next, the operation of the autolight control device is mainly shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. Based on To.

That is, in this auto light control device, as shown in FIG. 4, the central processing unit 21 activates the control program to start the processing ("processing 100", hereinafter "processing" omitted), and the lighting switch. 1 is read (101). At this time, if the lighting switch 1 is set to the auto switch position a, the auto light process is executed (200).

In the auto light processing (200), as shown in FIG. 5, the illuminance L1 at dusk saved in the register memory is compared with the detection value of the illuminance sensor 2 (201). When the illuminance L1 at dusk is larger than the currently detected ambient illuminance, that is, when the surroundings become darker, the small light relay 4a.
Is turned on to turn on the small light Ls (202).
On the contrary, when the lighting illuminance Ls at dusk is smaller, that is,
If the surroundings are bright, turn off the small light relay 4a.
After performing F, the small light Ls is turned off (203). Then, the detected values of the nighttime lighting L2 and the illuminance sensor 2 saved in the register memory are continuously compared (204), and as a result, the nighttime lighting illuminance is higher than the current ambient illuminance detected by the illuminance sensor 2. If L2 becomes larger,
Since the surroundings became darker than the set value, the headlight relay 4b is turned on and the headlight Lh is turned on (20
5). On the contrary, when the illumination illuminance L2 at night is small, the surroundings are bright, so the headlight relay 4a is turned off to turn off the headlight Lh (206), the main routine is returned (207), and this processing is repeated.

Through such a series of processing, the automatic light processing (200) can control the automatic lighting of the small light Ls and the headlight Lh.

On the other hand, when the lighting switch 1 is detected (101) and the lighting switch 1 is not set to the auto switch position a, headlight processing (300) and small light processing (500).
And are executed to return to the main routine and repeat these processes.

In the headlight process (300), as shown in FIG. 6, the lighting switch 1 is read (30
1) When the lighting switch 1 is set to the headlight switch position h (headlight switch ON), it is judged whether or not this switch operation is ongoing (302), and the judgment is stored in the register memory. It is discriminated whether the data of the illumination illuminance L2 at night may be rewritten (overwritten).

Incidentally, this discrimination can be performed using a flag. For example, the flag may be set when the lighting switch 1 is set to the headlight switch position h, and may be lowered when the lighting switch 1 is set to another position from the headlight switch position h.

As a result of this discrimination, when the above operation is performed for setting the illumination illuminance L2 at night, the small light relay 4a and the headlight relay 4b are turned on, and the small light Ls and the headlight. Lh is turned on (303), the detected illuminance data of the illuminance sensor 2 at that time is saved in the register as data of new night-time illumination illuminance L2 (304), and the process returns to the main routine (3).
05).

In this determination, if the setting to the position h is continued after the illuminance is set, the processing is performed even if the lighting switch 1 is set to the headlight switch position h. By returning to the main routine (305), the set illuminance data can be saved even if the lighting switch 1 is left at the headlight switch position h after setting.

On the other hand, when the lighting switch 1 is read (301) and the lighting switch 1 is not set to the headlight switch position h,
By turning off the headlight relay 4b and returning to the main routine (306), turning on and off of the headlight Lh can also be controlled by a manual operation.

When the headlight processing (300) is performed in this manner, it is determined whether or not the nighttime illumination illuminance L2 has been reset as described later (this determination can also be made by using a flag) (400), If it has been reset, the process continues, and if it has not been reset, the small write process (500) is executed.

In the small write process (500), FIG.
As shown in the above, in the same manner as the headlight processing (300), the lighting switch 1 is read (501),
When the lighting switch 1 is set to the small light switch position s, it is determined whether or not this switch operation is being continued (502), and by this determination, the data of the set illuminance of the lighting illuminance L1 at dusk is rewritten and stored. If it is acceptable to rewrite, as a result, if it is acceptable to rewrite, the small light relay 4a is turned on to turn on the small light Ls (503), and the illuminance detected by the illuminance sensor 2 at that time is changed to a new twilight time. The data of the lighting illuminance L1 is saved in the register (504), and the process returns to the main routine (505).

At this time, if the position is the one after the illuminance is set (502), the processing is terminated even if the lighting switch 1 is set to the small light switch position s, and the main routine is ended. By returning to (505), it is possible to save the set illuminance data even if the lighting switch 1 is left in the small light switch position s after setting.

On the other hand, when the lighting switch 1 is read (501) and the lighting switch 1 is not set to the small light switch position s, the small light relay 4a is turned off (50).
6) By returning to the main routine (50
5) The small light Ls can be turned on and off by manual operation.

At this time, for example, when setting the nighttime lighting illuminance L2 of the headlight Lh, in the above process, the lighting switch 1 is moved from the auto switch position a or the small light switch position s or the off position o to the headlight switch position. If set to h, the nighttime lighting illuminance L2 is set by the headlight processing (300).

By the way, when the lighting switch 1 is operated in this way, when the lighting switch 1 is in the headlight switch position h, the small switch position s is also turned on because of the switch configuration as shown in FIG. When the nighttime lighting illuminance L2 is reset by the headlight processing by the above-described processing (400), the dusk lighting illuminance L1 is not set.

When setting the lighting illuminance L1 of the small lights Ls at dusk, in the above process, the lighting switch 1 is set from the auto position a or the headlight switch position h or the off position o to the small light position s. Then, the small light processing (500) sets the lighting illuminance L1 at dusk.

When the lighting switch 1 is set to the auto switch position o by performing the above processing, the lighting illuminance L1 at dusk and the lighting illuminance L2 at night set as described above are set as new reference values. Lighting control of the small light Ls and the headlight Lh can be performed.

Therefore, in this automatic light control device, the lighting switch 1 is set to the small light switch position s and the headlight switch position h when the user reaches the brightness at which the small light Ls or the headlight Lh is desired to be turned on. You can adjust the illumination intensity to your liking with a simple operation.

In the above, as shown in FIG.
When the position of the lighting switch 1 is selected by rotating the knob of the signal lever 15 of the handle 14, for example, from the small light switch position s to the auto switch position a.
It is conceivable that the headlight switch position h is always passed when the switch is changed to, and at that time, the lighting illuminance L2 of the headlight Lh is set at dusk, which is the process of FIGS. 4 to 7. If a timer is provided therein and a waiting time is provided when the lighting switch 1 is read by the timer, the switch can be switched during the waiting time, so that the above problem can be solved.

In the above embodiment, the illuminance is stored in the RAM circuit provided in the central processing unit,
Although it was made to memorize, when doing so, since the auto light control device must be always connected to the power supply, the dark current increases, so in order to prevent this, RA
The EEPROM 25 may be used instead of M.

Further, although not particularly mentioned in the above embodiment, the comparator circuit 11 of the auto light control device has a hysteresis circuit for preventing blinking in the vicinity of the threshold value of the reference illuminance and a running circuit. It goes without saying that a timer circuit (delay circuit) is provided therein so as not to turn off the light accidentally when the ambient brightness changes for a moment due to a street light or the like.

Further, in the above embodiment, the illuminance sensor 2
Although the control unit 3 and the control unit 3 are separately provided, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a detection element is provided in the auto light unit, a condenser lens is provided in the dashboard, and both are connected by an optical fiber. Of course, it can also be applied to things that do.

[0056]

According to the inventions of claims 1 and 2, the control means for controlling lighting and extinguishing of the small light and the headlight according to the operation of the lighting switch is constituted as described above. By storing the detection value of the illuminance sensor during operation and controlling lighting and extinguishing of the small light and headlight based on the stored illuminance, the illuminance during automatic lighting can be adjusted without providing a special switch. Moreover, the user can make settings according to his or her preference.

For this reason, it is very convenient, and the adjustment can be easily performed, for example, when it feels dark, which contributes to safe driving.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an operation explanatory diagram for explaining the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory diagram for explaining the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a conventional example.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of an illuminance sensor.

FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory view for explaining a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Lighting switch 2 Illuminance sensor 3 Control means a Auto switch position Ls Small light Lh Headlight

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A small light including a side light, a tail light, and a number light, and a lighting switch having a small light switch position for turning on and off a headlight and a headlight switch position, the small light and the headlight. Has an auto switch position for automatically turning on and off, and the control means operates the lighting switch to that auto switch position, and the control means sets the detected value of the illuminance sensor to a preset reference value. Compare with the value,
In the automatic light control device for controlling the turning on and off of the small light and the headlight based on the comparison result, the control means stores the detected value of the illuminance sensor during operation according to the switch operation of the lighting switch, An auto light control device that controls lighting and extinguishing of small lights and headlights based on the stored illuminance. 2. When the lighting switch is set to a small light switch position from a position other than the small light position, the current illuminance detected by the illuminance sensor by the control means is set as a lighting illuminance at dusk for turning on and off the small light. When the lighting switch is set to the headlight position from a position other than the headlight switch position, the control unit stores the current illuminance detected by the illuminance sensor as the nighttime illumination illuminance for turning on and off the headlight. The automatic light control device according to claim 1, wherein