KR-102962108-B1 - APPARATUS FOR LEVEL CORRECTION OF HEAD LAMP AND METHOD THEREOF

KR102962108B1KR 102962108 B1KR102962108 B1KR 102962108B1KR-102962108-B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a headlamp angle correction device and correction method that determines whether correction is required to raise or lower the headlamp angle by using the horizontal and vertical lengths of a license plate frame image to determine the level of a headlamp cut-off line and comparing it with the level of a target line calculated based on changes in the distance between vehicles, and corrects the headlamp angle so that the headlamp cut-off line follows the level of the target line at the corresponding distance between vehicles, thereby enabling sufficient visibility during night driving while minimizing the impact on the driver of the preceding vehicle's field of vision.

Inventors

이재웅

Assignees

현대자동차주식회사
기아 주식회사

Dates

Publication Date: 20260511
Application Date: 20210331

Claims (20)

A license plate frame image extraction unit that obtains a license plate frame image from an image of a preceding vehicle captured by a camera equipped in a vehicle; A license plate frame analysis unit that calculates the distance between vehicles to a preceding vehicle using the horizontal length of the license plate frame image and divides the reference height at which the license plate frame is separated from the ground within the rear area of the preceding vehicle into a plurality of unit areas using the vertical length of the license plate frame image; A headlamp level comparison unit that determines the need for headlamp angle correction by comparing the level of the cutoff line at which the headlamp light reaches the preceding vehicle with the level of the target line, which is a preset ideal cutoff line; and A headlamp level correction unit that, based on the judgment result, increases the angle of the headlamp when the level of the above cut-off line is lower than the target line, and decreases the angle of the headlamp when the level of the above cut-off line is higher than the target line, so that the cut-off line of the headlamp follows the level of the target line at the corresponding inter-vehicle distance; A headlamp angle correction device including
In claim 1, The above license plate frame analysis unit is, A distance calculation unit that calculates the distance between a vehicle and a preceding vehicle using the horizontal length of the above license plate frame image; and A reference height division unit that evenly divides the reference height at which the license plate frame is separated from the ground within the rear area of the preceding vehicle into a plurality of unit areas using the vertical length of the above license plate frame image; A headlamp angle correction device including
In claim 2, The above distance calculation unit is, A headlamp angle correction device characterized by calculating the distance between a preceding vehicle by deriving a proportional relationship by comparing the horizontal length of a license plate frame measured on the above license plate frame image with the horizontal length of a pre-set license plate standard.
In claim 2, The above license plate frame analysis unit is, A headlamp angle correction device characterized by correcting the result of the distance between vehicles calculated by the distance calculation unit using the distance between vehicles with respect to a preceding vehicle measured by a front radar sensor equipped in the vehicle.
In claim 2, The above standard height division part is, A headlamp angle correction device characterized by dividing the vertical length of a license plate frame appearing on the license plate frame image into a plurality of unit areas having the same height, and then dividing the reference height from the bottom of the license plate frame to the ground among the rear areas of the preceding vehicle into the unit areas.
In claim 2, The above headlamp level correction unit is, A headlamp angle correction device characterized by controlling the automatic correction type headlamp angle adjustment device capable of automatically adjusting the headlamp angle to automatically raise or lower the angle of the headlamp so that the cut-off line of the headlamp reaches the target line.
In claim 6, A headlamp angle correction device characterized by, when equipped with the above-described automatic correction type headlamp angle adjustment device, first performing a primary correction of the headlamp angle based on a result recognized by a sensor provided therein, and then additionally raising or lowering the headlamp angle by the headlamp level correction unit so that the headlamp cut-off line reaches the target line.
In claim 2, The above headlamp level correction unit is, A headlamp angle correction device characterized by displaying a voice or pop-up message requesting the performance of correction to raise or lower the angle of the headlamp so that the cut-off line of the headlamp reaches the target line, when the headlamp angle adjustment is provided with a switch-type headlamp angle adjustment device in which the adjustment of the headlamp angle depends on the operation of the driver.
In claim 2, A headlamp level display unit that displays a forward image including a preceding vehicle on a display means provided in a vehicle, and displays a target line and a cut-off line together on the preceding vehicle image; A headlamp angle correction device further including
In claim 9, The above headlamp level display unit is, A headlamp angle correction device characterized by displaying a preceding vehicle image, a cut-off line, and a target line together on the windshield glass when the vehicle is equipped with a head-up display (HUD).
A license plate frame image extraction step for obtaining a license plate frame image from an image of a preceding vehicle captured by a camera equipped in a vehicle; A license plate frame analysis step of calculating the distance between vehicles to the preceding vehicle using the horizontal length of the license plate frame image, and dividing the reference height at which the license plate frame is separated from the ground within the rear area of the preceding vehicle into a plurality of unit areas using the vertical length of the license plate frame image; A headlamp level comparison step for determining the need for headlamp angle correction by comparing the level of the cutoff line at which the headlamp light reaches the preceding vehicle with the level of the target line, which is a preset ideal cutoff line; and A headlamp level correction step that, based on the judgment result, increases the angle of the headlamp if the level of the above cut-off line is lower than the target line, and decreases the angle of the headlamp if the level of the above cut-off line is higher than the target line, so that the cut-off line of the headlamp follows the level of the target line at the corresponding inter-vehicle distance; A headlamp angle correction method including
In claim 11, The above license plate frame analysis step is, A distance calculation process for calculating the distance between a vehicle and a preceding vehicle using the horizontal length of the above license plate frame image; and A reference height division process that uses the vertical length of the above-mentioned license plate frame image to evenly divide the reference height at which the license plate frame is separated from the ground within the rear area of the preceding vehicle into a plurality of unit areas; A headlamp angle correction method including
In claim 12, In the above distance calculation process, A headlamp angle correction method characterized by calculating the distance between a preceding vehicle by deriving a proportional relationship by comparing the horizontal length of a license plate frame measured on the above license plate frame image with the horizontal length of a pre-set license plate standard.
In claim 12, A headlamp angle correction method characterized by correcting the result of the inter-vehicle distance calculated in the above distance calculation process by the inter-vehicle distance measurement value with the preceding vehicle measured by a front radar sensor equipped in the vehicle.
In claim 12, In the above standard height division process, A headlamp angle correction method characterized by dividing the vertical length of the license plate frame appearing on the license plate frame image into a plurality of unit areas having the same height, and then dividing the reference height from the bottom of the license plate frame to the ground among the rear areas of the preceding vehicle into the unit areas.
In claim 12, In the above headlamp level correction step, A headlamp angle correction method characterized by controlling the headlamp angle adjustment device of an automatic correction type capable of automatically adjusting the headlamp angle to automatically raise or lower the angle of the headlamp so that the cut-off line of the headlamp reaches the target line.
In claim 16, A headlamp angle correction method characterized by, when the above-described automatic correction type headlamp angle adjustment device is provided, first performing a primary correction of the headlamp angle based on a result recognized by a sensor or the like, and then further raising or lowering the headlamp angle to correct it so that the headlamp cut-off line reaches the target line in the headlamp level correction step.
In claim 12, In the above headlamp level correction step, A headlamp angle correction method characterized by displaying a voice or pop-up message requesting the performance of correction to raise or lower the angle of the headlamp so that the cut-off line of the headlamp reaches the target line, when a switch-type headlamp angle adjustment device is provided in which the adjustment of the headlamp angle depends on the operation of the driver.
In claim 12, A headlamp level display step that displays a forward image including a preceding vehicle on a display means provided in a vehicle, while displaying a target line and a cut-off line together on the preceding vehicle image; A headlamp angle correction method including further
In claim 19, In the above headlamp level display step, A headlamp angle correction method characterized by displaying a preceding vehicle image, a cut-off line, and a target line together on the windshield glass when the vehicle is equipped with a head-up display (HUD).

Description

Apparatus for Level Correction of Head Lamp and Method Thereof The present invention relates to a headlamp angle correction device and a correction method that automatically correct the illumination angle of a headlamp to reach a preset ideal target line or induce a correction operation by the driver. Head Lamp Leveling Devices (HLLDs) currently applied to vehicles include switch types that require driver operation for angle adjustment and automatic correction types that automatically adjust the angle. At that time, the switch type allowed the driver to adjust the height of the headlamps by operating a switch equipped in the vehicle up and down, but not only was the usage rate low, but it was also difficult to find an appropriate height. In addition, although this manual HLLD system can adjust the height of the headlamps based on the driver's judgment, once adjusted, no further adjustments are made even if there are changes in the vehicle's attitude (such as changes in the number of passengers, seating position, or weight of loaded cargo). Therefore, if the beam angle of the headlamps is high, it causes inconvenience to the driver of a preceding or oncoming vehicle while driving, or conversely, if it is low, it fails to secure an adequate visibility distance. In addition, the automatic correction type uses sensors to find the appropriate height of the headlamp and automatically corrects it, but using a total of 2 to 4 sensors on the front and rear axles for this purpose increases costs, and if implemented using only rear axle sensors to improve this, it becomes difficult to accurately sense the vehicle's posture, leading to problems such as the headlamp angle being lowered excessively. Accordingly, there is still a need for a device that can improve ease of operation by allowing the driver to intuitively recognize whether headlamp angle adjustment is required and to what extent in the case of a manual HLLD system, and in the case of an automatic HLLD system, improve the accuracy of angle correction through accurate sensing while eliminating factors that increase costs by minimizing the addition of sensors. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a headlamp angle correction device according to the present invention. Figure 2 is an example diagram showing the specifications of a license plate. FIG. 3 is an exemplary diagram showing images of a preceding vehicle taken at various distances between vehicles according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is an example diagram showing the difference in license plate sizes of preceding vehicles photographed at various distances between vehicles according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is an exemplary diagram showing the recognition of a license plate image by dividing it into equal intervals according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is an exemplary diagram showing the calculation of the height of a license plate frame from the ground using the segmentation result of a license plate image according to the present invention. FIG. 7 is an exemplary diagram showing the calculation of the height of a license plate frame from the ground for various intervals according to the present invention. FIG. 8 is an exemplary diagram showing a target line representing the illumination angle of an ideal headlamp according to the present invention. Fig. 9 is an example diagram showing that the headlamp is lowered excessively. FIG. 10 is an example diagram showing that the headlamp is excessively raised. FIG. 11 is an example diagram showing the application of the present invention to a vehicle, wherein the target line is lowered as the distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle increases. FIG. 12 is an exemplary diagram showing a state in which the cut-off line of a headlamp is lower than the target line according to the present invention. FIG. 13 is an exemplary diagram showing a state in which the cut-off line of a headlamp is higher than the target line according to the present invention. FIG. 14 is an example diagram showing the comparison result between the target line and the cut-off line of a headlamp on the output screen of a multifunction camera (MFC) according to the present invention. FIG. 15 is an example diagram showing the comparison result between the target line and the cut-off line of a headlamp on the windshield glass through a head-up display (HUD) according to the present invention. FIG. 16 is a configuration diagram of a headlamp angle correction method according to the present invention. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a flow for determining whether angle correction of a headlamp is required according to the present invention, and for automatically correcting the angle of the headlamp or requesting correction from the driver. Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to exemplary drawings. It should be noted that in assigning reference numerals to the components of each drawing, the same components are give