US-12617333-B2 - Lamp controller and automotive lamp system

US12617333B2US 12617333 B2US12617333 B2US 12617333B2US-12617333-B2

Abstract

A drawing processing unit generates multi-gradation light distribution image data that defines a light distribution. The image processing unit executes multiple software processes sequentially. The drawing processing unit self-diagnoses the presence or absence of an abnormality for each software process. The drawing processing unit transmits first diagnostic data that indicates the self-diagnosis results to the auxiliary processor. Furthermore, the drawing processing unit transmits first feedback data based on data generated for each software process to the auxiliary processor. The auxiliary processor diagnoses the presence or absence of an abnormality in the multiple software processes executed by the drawing processing unit based on the first feedback data.

Inventors

Masashi Kato
Hirotaka Sawada

Assignees

KOITO MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20231220
Priority Date: 20210622

Claims (9)

1 . A lamp controller structured to control a patterning device including a plurality of controllable elements, the lamp controller comprising: a drawing processing unit structured to generate multi-gradation light distribution image data that defines a light distribution; a device interface circuit structured to convert the light distribution image data into a serial interface signal having a signal format required by the patterning device, and to transmit the serial interface signal to the patterning device; and an auxiliary processor, wherein the drawing processing unit is adaptive to execute a plurality of software processes sequentially, to execute diagnosis for the presence or absence of an abnormality for each software process, to transmit first diagnostic data indicative of a self-diagnosis result to the auxiliary processor, and to transmit first feedback data based on data generated for each software process to the auxiliary processor, and wherein the auxiliary processor is adaptive to execute diagnosis for the presence or absence of an abnormality in the plurality of software processes executed in the drawing processing unit based on the first feedback data.
2 . The lamp controller according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of software processes includes a process for determining a light distribution pattern based on input control information from a higher-level controller, and wherein the first feedback data includes data that describes a feature of the light distribution pattern.
3 . The lamp controller according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of software processes includes a process for loading the light distribution pattern into memory as image data, and wherein the first feedback data includes data that describes a feature of the image data.
4 . The lamp controller according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of software processes includes a process for converting the image data into a format that can be processed by the device interface circuit, and for outputting the image data, and wherein the first feedback data includes at least one of a control command for the device interface circuit and a data frame to be transmitted to the device interface circuit.
5 . The lamp controller according to claim 1 , wherein, upon detecting an abnormality in any one of the plurality of software processes in the drawing processing unit, the auxiliary processor executes a recovery process to be applied to a thread relating to the process in which the abnormality has been detected.
6 . The lamp controller according to claim 1 , wherein the drawing processing unit and the auxiliary processor are coupled via a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), and wherein the first feedback data is packetized in a SPI frame, and is transmitted to the drawing processing unit.
7 . The lamp controller according to claim 1 , wherein the device interface circuit comprises a plurality of blocks structured to sequentially execute a plurality of hardware processes, and is structured to execute diagnosis for the presence or absence of an abnormality for each block, and to transmit second diagnostic data indicative of a self-diagnosis result to the auxiliary processor together with second feedback data based on data generated for each block, and wherein the auxiliary processor is structured to execute diagnosis for the presence or absence of an abnormality for each of the plurality of blocks of the device interface circuit based on the second feedback data.
8 . The lamp controller according to claim 7 , wherein the drawing processing unit and the auxiliary processor are coupled via a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), wherein the drawing processing unit and the device interface circuit are coupled via an Inter IC (I 2 C) interface, wherein the second diagnostic data and the second feedback data are transmitted from the device interface circuit to the drawing processing unit via the I 2 C interface, and subsequently, the second diagnostic data and the second feedback data are transmitted from the drawing processing unit to the auxiliary processor.
9 . An automotive lamp system comprising: a patterning device; and the lamp controller according to claim 1 , structured to control the patterning device.

Description

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field The present invention relates to an automotive lamp. 2. Related Art Progress is being made in making headlamps more high-performance. A high-performance headlamp has a function of Adaptive Driving Beam (ADB) shading/dimming control, a function of road surface drawing, etc. As headlamps become more high-performance, a configuration of a lamp system becomes more complex. Basically, a headlamp employs a push-type system configuration in which multiple blocks or functions each sequentially execute processing from a higher level toward a lower level based on an instruction from a higher-level Electronic Control Unit (ECU). The Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL) is defined in order to support the safety of automobiles. The ASIL is a risk classification system with respect to the functional safety of automobiles. In the ASIL, four grades, i.e., A, B, C, and D, are defined. Such a grade is defined for each component of a vehicle. The grade ASIL-B is required for a headlamp. In order to ensure the safety of the system, an architecture, which is referred to as “1oo2D” (1 out of 2 with Diagnostics), is known. The 1oo2D architecture has been proposed based on a concept in which the system is duplicated, and even if a malfunction has occurred in one system, the normal system will be employed, thereby ensuring normal operation. For 1oo2D, two redundant systems are required. A high-performance headlamp includes a high-performance, and therefore high-cost, microcontroller (processor). Accordingly, in a case in which a redundant system is provided, i.e., two systems are each provided with such a microcontroller and appended peripheral devices, this leads to an increased cost. Furthermore, processing and judgment are executed after a response is received from each of the two redundant processors. Accordingly, in many cases, such an arrangement tends to have a slower overall processing speed. SUMMARY The present disclosure has been made in view of such a situation. An embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a lamp controller structured to control a patterning device including multiple controllable elements. The lamp controller includes: a drawing processing unit structured to generate multi-gradation light distribution image data that defines a light distribution; a device interface circuit structured to convert the light distribution image data into a serial interface signal having a signal format required by the patterning device, and to transmit the serial interface signal to the patterning device; and an auxiliary processor. The drawing processing unit is adaptive to execute multiple software processes sequentially, to execute self-diagnosis for the presence or absence of an abnormality for each software process, to transmit first diagnostic data indicative of a self-diagnosis result to the auxiliary processor, and to transmit first feedback data based on data generated for each software process to the auxiliary processor. The auxiliary processor is adaptive to execute diagnosis for the presence or absence of an abnormality in the multiple software processes executed in the drawing processing unit based on the first feedback data. It should be noted that any combination of the components described above or any manifestation of the present disclosure may be mutually substituted between a method, apparatus, or the like, which are also effective as an embodiment of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings which are meant to be exemplary, not limiting, and wherein like elements are numbered alike in several Figures, in which: FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a lamp system according to an embodiment; FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a lamp system provided with a lamp controller according to an embodiment; FIG. 3 is a function block diagram relating to a drawing processing unit and an auxiliary processor of the lamp controller; FIG. 4 is a function block diagram relating to a device interface circuit and the auxiliary processor of the lamp controller; FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a pulse width modulator and a monitoring circuit; FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a serializer and the monitoring circuit; FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the operation of a pixel PWM signal latch circuit and a framer; FIGS. 8A and 8B are diagrams showing a frame signal and a serial interface signal; and FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of the lamp controller. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Outline of Embodiments Description will be made regarding the outline of several exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The outline is a simplified explanation regarding several concepts of one or multiple embodiments as a preface to the detailed description described later in order to provide a basic understanding of the e