WO1999044846A1

WO1999044846A1 - Vehicle improved in outward sight and device and method for reducing glare

Info

Publication number: WO1999044846A1
Application number: PCT/JP1998/001863
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yoshikazu Ichiyama
Original assignee: Yoshikazu Ichiyama
Priority date: 1998-03-04
Filing date: 1998-04-23
Publication date: 1999-09-10

Abstract

A vehicle improved in the outward sight of a driver on both the front and rear sides by reducing intense glaring light rays exceeding a given level incident to the eyes of the driver from an external light source, such as the sun, head lamps of approaching cars, etc., by selectively controlling the light transmittance to effect dimming through a light modulating window by using liquid crystal window glass which can sectionally modulate the light; and a device and method for reducing glare. The outward sight of the driver (11) is improved by reducing only light rays (16 and 18) incident to the eyes of the driver (11) from head lamps (15, 17) etc., by sectionally using light modulating window glass for the front window (12), rear window (13), etc., and specifying the section (19) of the front window (12) which transmits the light rays (16) or the section (20) of the rear window (13) which transmits the light rays (18) and controlling the light transmittance of the section (19 or 20) by making the driver (11) wear a head-mount sensor, etc., provided with a photodetector element which is brought nearer to the eyes of the driver.

Description

Description Vehicle and anti-glare device and method for improving external visibility

Technical field

The present invention relates to a vehicle, an anti-glare device and a method for improving visibility in front and around by reducing strong incident light from an external light source. The present invention relates to a vehicle, an anti-glare device, and a method for improving external visibility by selectively dimming only light rays incident on an occupant's eyes from an external light source that is a source of the vehicle.

Background art

It is widely known that sunlight or a headlight of an oncoming vehicle in a vehicle such as a car or the like significantly reduces the ability to visually recognize the front or rear of the occupant, and various devices have been devised. This includes coloring the window glass or devising the material, and controlling the reflectance of the rearview mirror. The introduction of recent technological achievements is being considered for these measures. For example, a light control glass is used for the window glass of an automobile, and a light sensor detects strong external light to control the light transmittance of the window glass. It is something to control. However, these control the light transmittance or reflectivity of the entire window or the entire rearview mirror, and have the disadvantage of blocking the field of view more than necessary. It is only light rays incident on the eyes of the occupants that pass through the window glass that are harmful to sunlight or the headlights of oncoming vehicles at night, which make the external visibility of the occupants difficult. Considered local. From this point of view, it is desirable to control the light transmittance of only the necessary portion of the window glass to diminish only the light rays entering the occupant's eyes, as disclosed in US Pat. No. 5,350,012. The proposal example using light glass is in line with the purpose. You. However, the important point is how to specify the section to be controlled in the dimming window glass. In the example proposed in US Pat. No. 5,350,012, a stereo camera is used. The position of the light source is specified on the three-dimensional coordinates, and the pupil of the occupant is also specified on the three-dimensional coordinates by another three-dimensional camera to calculate the division on the dimming window through which the light beam passes. The process of identifying the category is complicated and the hardware cost is high, which poses a serious problem for practical use. In addition, there are many factors that require adjustments such as the movement of system elements or the addition of target occupants, or cost, which makes practical application difficult. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an anti-glare device and method capable of selectively illuminating or blocking only light rays having an intensity of a certain level or higher that impede the occupant's external visibility and entering the occupant's eyes. And to provide vehicles at low cost.

Disclosure of the invention

Even when sunlight enters the eyes of a vehicle occupant and hinders external visibility, even if it is a headlight of another vehicle, only light rays incident on the occupant's eyes are harmful and pass through the window glass. In view of the fact that they are local, the present invention provides a vehicle, an anti-glare device and a method capable of selectively dimming or blocking light rays incident on the eyes of these occupants based on the fact that they are local. Specifically, the vehicle uses a dimmable window glass that can be dimmed separately, and furthermore, a dimming window drive unit and a means for identifying the dimmable window glass located between the occupant's eyes and the external light source. , A general control unit that controls the entire system, identifies the section of the dimming window glass interposed between the external strong light source and the eye of the anti-glare subject, and controls the dimming window driving section. A vehicle, an anti-glare device and a method for selectively dimming or blocking only light incident on an eye of an anti-glare subject from an external strong light source by controlling the light transmittance of the section of the light window glass. The dimmable window glass is composed of a liquid crystal material that has multiple sections and is sealed between the electrodes. It can control the light transmittance by applying a voltage between the electrodes, and is widely used in display devices and the like. Is a well-known technique. Each of these sections is electrically selected by the dimming window driver, and is electrically controlled to individually adjust and control the light transmittance. The most important point in realizing the system is to specify in real time the section on the dimming window through which the light beam entering the occupant's eye passes with respect to the moving external light source. Means are proposed. The first means is to attach a head mount sensor to the occupant to be anti-glare, place the sensor near the eyes, and modulate the light transmittance for each section in such a way that the section of the dimming window can be specified. Then, the section whose light transmittance is changed in the same manner as the output fluctuation of the head mount sensor is identified as the section to be dimmed. The second means is to install a beam direction detector on the dashboard near the occupant or on the ceiling to monitor the direction of the incident beam. The dimming control is performed by specifying the corresponding section on the dimming window from the output of the beam direction detector. In the latter method, the division on the dimming window to be controlled for dimming from the output of the beam direction detector depends on a predetermined correspondence map, but a learning process is applied to form this correspondence map. In particular, the first method is used in the learning process for automation. Thus, according to the present invention, in a vehicle using a piecewise dimming window, it is possible to specify a section to be dimmed by a simple device and method. The first method to identify the dimming window section can directly identify the dimming window section, and requires any adjustments or other processing in the system, such as increasing the number of head-mounted sensors, moving them, and so on. And not. In addition, the second means requires a correspondence map between the beam direction detector output and the dimming window section, but this is also automatically formed by the learning process using the first means, and these systems are used. No adjustment or setting of elements is required. According to the present invention, the constituent elements are installed and moved flexibly, and only light rays incident on the eyes of the occupant are selectively dimmed or blocked. Thus, a vehicle and an anti-glare device and method capable of improving external visibility can be realized at low cost.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

A brief description of the drawings used to explain the operation of the principle of the present invention will be given.

Fig. 1 shows the background of the present invention and the basic concept, showing the case in which the car and the occupant, and the headlights of other cars before and after, are occupied by the front headlight through the windshield. The light beam enters the eyes of the occupant, and from the rear headlights enters the occupant's eyes through the rear window and knock mirror, which may impair the occupant's external visibility. In the figure, these rays illuminate almost the entire car, but if they are limited to rays that enter the occupant's eyes, they may pass through extremely local parts of the front and rear windows. Also shown. FIG. 2 is a view for explaining the first embodiment of the present invention, in which a dimmable glass that can be dimmed dimmably is used for the window glass, so that the occupant can arrange the photodetector near the eyes. Attach a suitable head mount sensor. FIG. 3 shows an example of a head mount sensor in which a light detecting element is held on a spectacle-like support so as to be arranged around the eye. Figure 4 shows the case where the light transmittance of each section of the dimming window is changed in a binary manner to control the average light transmittance. Then, an example of specifying the classification by comparing it with the output of the head mount sensor is shown. Figure 5 shows the case where the light transmittance of each section of the dimming window is changed in a binary manner to control the average light transmittance. The light transmittance of the light is emphasized and the timing is changed for each section with modulation, and the output of the head mount sensor is output. 5 shows an example of a following mode to be compared with the following. Fig. 6 shows a simple flow diagram for controlling the light transmittance by specifying the dimming window section using a head-mounted sensor. FIG. 7 shows an example of a head mount sensor and a light detecting element in which a reflective element is held on a spectacle-like support so as to be arranged around the eye. Fig. 8 shows the structure of a head-mounted sensor in which a light-blocking filter is arranged on the light-sensing element of the head-mounted sensor so that it does not pass red light. FIG. 9 is a view for explaining a second embodiment of the present invention, in which a dimming glass that can be controlled in a piecewise manner is used for a rear window, and a light beam incident on an occupant's eye through a rearview mirror is used as a head mount sensor. An example is shown in which the dimming control is selectively performed and the light control is selectively performed. FIG. 10 is a view for explaining a third embodiment of the present invention, which has a light direction detector and a head mount sensor, and identifies a dimming window in combination with a learning process to identify an occupant's eye. An example is shown in which dimming control is selectively performed on a light beam incident on. Figure 11 shows a flow diagram including a learning process for forming a correspondence map showing the correspondence between the beam direction detector output and the dimming window section. Fig. 12 shows an example of a beam direction detector having a small aperture and an image sensor. Fig. 13 shows an example of a beam direction detector having a simple imaging optical system and an image sensor. Fig. 14 shows an example of setting the light transmittance stepwise in the dimming section. FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and shows a configuration example in which a light control rear mirror is controlled using a light beam direction detector and a head mount sensor. FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining the fifth embodiment of the present invention, and shows a configuration example in which dimming control of the front and rear windows is simultaneously performed using a light beam direction detector and a head mount sensor.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The configuration, principle, and operation of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 shows the structure of a vehicle window glass, rearview mirror, etc. for viewing outside, the occupants, and also the external light source, etc., to explain the background and basic concept of the present invention. In this figure, it is assumed that headlights 15 and 17 of other vehicles are located before and after the vehicle 10 and light beams indicated by numbers 16 and 18 are incident on the eyes of the occupant 11 from them. Ray 16 passes through the front window 12, and ray 18 enters the occupant's 11 eye through the rear window 13 and the knock mirror 14. In the figure, it is assumed that the light from the headlights of other vehicles is incident from the front and rear at night, but sunlight is also incident during the day, which significantly impairs the visibility especially outside. There are many. In response to this, some window glasses are colored to reduce the light transmittance, or some rearview mirrors can change the reflectance during the day and at night. However, if the light transmittance of the entire window is reduced uniformly too much to fear the incident light, the external visibility will be significantly reduced. In the present invention, only the rays incident on the occupant's eyes are harmful regardless of the sunlight or the headlights of other vehicles, and they are local when considered only when passing through the window glass. Based on the fact that only the rays incident on these occupants' eyes are selectively dimmed or 63 Consider a vehicle that can block light and anti-glare devices and methods. That is, in Fig. 1, the headlights 15 and 17 illuminate the entire vehicle 10 but the rays 16 incident on the eyes of the occupant 11 pass through the front window 12 A vehicle or an anti-glare device or method for controlling the light transmittance of only the section 20, etc., when the section 19 and the light beam 18 pass through the rear window # 13 is proposed.

However, even in the case of vehicles such as automobiles, vehicles change direction on their own, and other vehicles also change direction while traveling, and in the case of oncoming vehicles, they approach each other and are inevitable. The direction of the light beam incident on is changed. In other words, the section where the ray 16 passes through the front window 12 and the section where the ray 18 passes through the rear window 13 move with time, so that the section that controls the light transmittance cannot be specified and followed. This is the most important issue. The concept of the present invention will be briefly described again with reference to FIG. 1. If the front window 12 or the rear window 13 or, if necessary, the side window, the upper window, and the like, the dimmable dimming is possible. Using an optical window glass, the section 19 where the light beam 16 passes through the front window, or the section 20 where the light beam 18 passes through the rear window, etc. are specified and controlled, and their light transmittance is controlled. Light rays 16 and 18 entering the eyes of the occupant 11 from the headlights 15 and 17 are selectively reduced to improve the external visibility of the occupant 11.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the first embodiment of the present invention, showing an example in which dimming control of a front window is performed using a head-mounted sensor. The basic configuration consists of at least a dimming glass optical system, a dimming glass driving unit, a head mount sensor, and a general control unit.

Light control glass optics are electrically composed of dimming lath with controllable capacity plurality of divided light transmittance selectable in and electrically independently front window 1 ^2. The dimming glass is composed of liquid crystal and electrodes encapsulated, and is a well-known technology for display devices and so on, and its description is omitted. The dimming glass drive unit 21 is instructed by the section of the front window 12 and the light transmittance of the section, electrically selects the section, and generates an electric signal corresponding to the target light transmittance. Is added to control and adjust the light transmittance in a piecewise manner. The light transmittance of the light control glass section changes according to the applied voltage. As a control method, the voltage is changed and controlled in an analog manner so as to conform to the desired light transmittance, or the applied voltage is binary. That is, there is a method of controlling the average light transmittance by changing and controlling the duration of each of high and low on the time axis as two types of light transmittance, high and low. Today, when digital control by a microcomputer is generalized, the latter method is advantageous in terms of cost and the description of the present invention is exclusively based on the latter method. However, the present invention can also be realized by the former method.

The overall control unit 22 performs various kinds of settings such as classification and identification in cooperation with the head mount sensor 24, start / stop of the whole system, setting of the light intensity level to be anti-glare, or level of dimming control. Controls the operation of the entire system.

The head mount sensor 24 detects the intensity of the light beam incident on the eyes of the occupant 11 as a structure in which the light detecting element 25 is arranged near the eyes when worn by the occupant 11. In the above configuration, the light beam 16 entering the eyes of the occupant 11 from the headlight 15 of another vehicle through the front window 12 is detected by the head mount sensor 24, and the intensity is detected by the brightness sensor. When the brightness is higher than a predetermined value compared to the ambient brightness detected by 23, the general control unit 22 instructs the light control glass drive unit 21 to identify each part of the front window 12 The light transmittance is modulated as described above, and the section 19 through which the light beam 16 passes is specified based on the variation of the light intensity detected by the head mount sensor 124, and the position of the section and the degree of decrease in the light transmittance are determined. Instruct the light control glass drive unit 21 to reduce the light transmittance and reduce the intensity of the light beam 16 incident on the occupant 11's eye. The brightness sensor 23 has a light detection element and is arranged so that the incident light does not enter directly, and detects the surrounding brightness. FIG. 3 shows a configuration example of the head mount sensor 24 used in the example of FIG. In the same figure, a head mount sensor 24 has a light-sensitive element 25 attached to a spectacle-like support portion 26 around the eye. It is arranged on the side and detects the intensity of the light beam incident on the eye. Numeral 27 is the output line of the photodetector 25, but wireless transmission is possible using electromagnetic waves, infrared rays, and the like. In addition, the accuracy can be further improved if the transparent photodetector is configured directly on the spectacle lens and placed in front of the eye. An important point as shown in the first embodiment of the present invention is the specification of the section 19 to be dimmed in the front window 12 and the light transmission in each section of the window is described with reference to FIGS. An example of a voltage waveform for rate modulation or an output waveform of the head mount sensor 24 will be described to explain the method of specifying the division in more detail. In these figures, examples are given in which sections are specified and dimming control is performed, assuming that the light transmittance of each section can take only binary values, high and low.

In Fig. 4, number 41 indicates the reference timing, and numbers 42, 43, and 44 indicate the voltage waveforms applied to each section. The voltage applied to each section of the light control glass is such that the higher the voltage, the higher the light transmittance, and the lower the voltage, the lower the light transmittance. As shown in the waveforms of numbers 46, 47, and 48, the voltage of each section decreases the voltage in a short-time pulse manner at different timings based on the reference timing 41 to reduce the light transmittance. If a strong light ray 16 enters the eyes of the occupant 1 1, the force detected by the head mount sensor 2 4 is output. is there. In the figure, the number 45 indicates the output voltage from the head mount sensor 124. As shown in the number 49, a waveform in which the output decreases is seen. The section where the transmittance is reduced can be identified as the section through which the light beam 16 passes. In the figure, the category corresponding to No. 43 corresponds to the voltage waveform No. 47 that modulates the light transmittance and the No. 49, which is the change in the output waveform of the head mount sensor 24. ing. In this way, section identification is directly possible by modulating the light transmittance so that each section can be identified, and monitoring the output of the head mount sensor 24. When the number of sections is small as a whole, it is possible to change the timing of light transmittance modulation in all sections, and drive is possible. However, when the number of sections is increased to increase the resolution, vertical and horizontal It is practical to change the timing for each band-shaped area to drive the sections. To reduce the light transmittance of a section after the section is specified, the light transmission must be performed within the reference timing interval. Do this by increasing the percentage of time to decrease the rate. In this case, the time occupied by the area where the light transmittance is reduced, which corresponds to No. 47, is extended to lower the average light transmittance and reduce the intensity of the light rays entering the occupant's eyes. Naturally, these repetitions must be performed so quickly that humans cannot see them, and the repetition of the reference timing is set to several tens of times or more per second. In addition, the optimum level of the light transmittance for the specified section and the monitoring of the light intensity are feedback-controlled so that the average output of the head mount sensor is at a predetermined level, and the light transmittance is not reduced. The light intensity is monitored based on the instantaneous intensity in the time zone. Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining the control of each section after the section is specified, and the method of section following in accordance with the movement of the light source. In the figure, after the section indicated by No. 43 is determined to be the section to be dimmed, the average amount of light is reduced by increasing the ratio of dimming within the reference timing. The section where the light is dimmed is shown as No. 53 in the output of the head mount sensor 1 indicated by No. 51. In a vehicle or the like which is a main application of the present invention, it is necessary to capture a section to be dimmed in real time because a light source necessarily moves. In the case of this figure, if the time from the reference timing 41 is different so that the light transmittance of the other segments 42 and 44 can be distinguished during the time zone where the light transmittance is high in category 43, respectively. And the light is shortly pulsed. When the light beam passes through only 43, no waveform change appears in the output of the head mount sensor 24 as shown by number 51, but the light beam moves and the number 4 When passing through the section indicated by 4, the output of the head mount sensor is indicated by the number 54. The level increases slightly, and the output of the head mount sensor decreases as indicated by the number 55 at the same timing as the timing 48 when the light transmittance of the section indicated by the number 44 decreases. In this way, it is easy to monitor and follow the movement of the section to be dimmed due to the movement of the light source. In addition, since the continuity of ray movement can be taken into account, the sections to be searched by modulating the light transmittance as shown by numbers 42 and 44 can be limited to the area around the current section 43. These processes are shown as a flow diagram in FIG. / JP 8/01863 Although it is easy and accurate to identify the section to be dimmed in a window using a head-mounted sensor, it is difficult to always use a head-mounted sensor with an output line. I feel annoying. There is also a wireless configuration method using electromagnetic waves, infrared rays, etc., but Fig. 7 describes an example in which a reflection element is used to make wireless. In this figure, the head mount sensor 70 is assumed to have a reflective element 71 on a spectacle-like support 72, and is reflected to the periphery of the eye so that a ray 16 incident on the eye is reflected. The element 71 is arranged. On the other hand, a light detecting element 73 is arranged above or in front of the occupant 11 and near the upper side of the front window 12 so that the light beam 16 incident on the occupant 11's eye is reflected by the reflecting element 71 (number 7 4) Then, the light is detected by the photodetector 73. Since the relative relationship between the reflection element 71 and the light detection element 73 is undefined, the reflection element 71 has a structure in which the direction is determined to some extent and irregularly reflected, or a curved surface shape which concentrates and reflects in a certain area. Is desirable. An example of selecting light beams to be dimmed by color will be described with reference to FIG. According to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the head mount sensor 24 detects a harmful light beam and selectively dims it in an extremely short time, thereby improving the external visibility of the occupant. However, red is generally used for stop lamps or emergency lights in automobiles, etc. However, if the red light is used in response to this red light, it will cause erroneous recognition of occupants, and conversely, the safe operation of vehicles. It may hinder the purpose of the present invention. In the present embodiment, a filter 81 for preventing the transmission of red light is disposed in the light detecting element 25 of the head mount sensor 24, and the head mount sensor 24 is configured to detect only light beams other than red light. I do. With this configuration, the head mount sensor 2 does not output red light, so if the external light source is only red, the dimming function does not work and the eyes of the occupants are unified with a red system. The danger signal is incident without dimming and does not impair the occupants' perception. In addition, the light detection element 25 of the head mount sensor 24 uses a color-identifiable element to cooperate with the overall control unit to reduce the degree of dimming of red and other light rays, and to change the dimming mode. It is also possible to improve external safety checks. FIG. 9 shows a functional block diagram of the second embodiment of the present invention, in which the eyes of an occupant are viewed from behind a vehicle. An example will be described in which the light rays incident on the light are selectively reduced. Similar to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the basic configuration is composed of at least a dimming glass optical system, a dimming glass driving unit, a head mount sensor, and a general control unit. Only the configuration of the light control glass optical system differs slightly from the figure. In the example shown in Fig. 9, the dimming glass optical system consists of a rear window 13 composed of dimming glass that can be dimmed in a piecewise manner and a normal back mirror 14.

In the figure, the light beam 18 from the headlight 17 of the car behind enters the occupant's 11 eye through the rear window 13 and the knock mirror 14. 2 is different from FIG. 2 only in that there is a normal rearview mirror 14 between the rear window 13 and the occupant 11; controller 2 2, constituted by the brightness sensor-2 3 and Heddomau cement sensor _{2 4.} The operation, principle, operation, and the like are the same as in the first embodiment shown in FIG. FIG. 10 schematically shows a third embodiment of the present invention. The dimming control using a head-mounted sensor makes it easy to identify the section, but on the other hand, there remains a problem that mounting is troublesome. In the third embodiment, a beam direction detector was used to overcome this problem. This structure eliminates the need for a head mount sensor after the learning process. This figure is an example of application to the front window 12 as in the first embodiment shown in Fig. 2. The basic configuration consists of at least a light control glass optical system, a light control glass drive unit, a head mount sensor, and a light beam direction. It consists of a detector, a general control unit, and so on.

The dimming glass optical system is a front window 12 composed of dimming glass that can be dimmed in the same way as in Fig. 2, and the other dimming glass drive unit 21 and the head mount sensor 24 are also included. This is the same as the first embodiment shown in FIG.

The beam direction detector 120 is located near the occupant 11 around the front window 12 and is composed of a small aperture and a two-dimensional image sensor. The light spot to be created is detected at the pixel position of the built-in image sensor to determine the direction of the light beam. At the same time, ambient brightness is detected based on an average output level other than the light spot.

The general control unit 101 cooperates with the head mount sensor 24 and the beam direction detector 120. It supervises the operation of the system as a whole, specifying various categories, starting and stopping the entire system, setting the light intensity level to be used for anti-glare, or setting the level of dimming control.

Other head mount sensor 24, light control glass drive unit 21 and the like are the same as in the example of FIG. In the third embodiment shown in Fig. 10, basically, the direction of the light beam 16 is detected by the light direction detector 120 and the general control unit 101, and the corresponding map is referred to. Basically, the dimming control is performed by specifying the section of the front window 12. The correspondence map showing the correspondence between the output of the beam direction detector 120 and the section of the front window 12 is a head. It is automatically formed by learning using the mount sensor 24.

In the process of identifying the front window 12 from the output of the beam direction detector 120, the overall control unit 101 monitors the output of the beam direction detector 120 to detect the surrounding brightness, When a light beam with a predetermined level or higher than the ambient brightness is detected, the pixel position on the image sensor of the light beam direction detector 120 where the light spot created by the light beam is located is defined as the light beam direction, and the pixel position and the corresponding map are used. , The section of the window 12 is specified as the section 19 to be dimmed. The ray 102 incident on the ray direction detector 120 originates from the same light source 15 but is strictly different from the ray 16 incident on the eyes of the occupant 11 and therefore passes through the front window 12 The classification is also different. The distance between the occupant 11 and the headlight 15 is at least several meters, while the distance between the occupant 11 and the beam direction detector 120 is within several tens of centimeters. 16 and 102 can be approximated as almost parallel, and the output of the beam direction detector 120 can be used to estimate the direction of the beam 16 incident on the occupant's 11 eye. Therefore, if the correspondence between the pixel position in the image sensor, which is the output of the light direction detector 120, and the division in the front window 122 is correctly given, the output of the light direction detector 120 is used as the output of the front window 122. Can be specified.

It is conceivable that the relationship between this pixel position and the divisions in the front window 12 may be given as a correspondence map from the beginning, but the position of the beam direction detector 120, the posture of the occupant 11 or the occupant 11 It is impossible to give a fixed map when considering the change of Noh. According to the present invention, as shown in the first embodiment of FIG. 2, the correspondence map is automatically formed by learning using the means for specifying the division by the head mount sensor 24, and after the correspondence map is completed. Is operated without the head mount sensor 24. FIG. 11 shows a flowchart for forming a correspondence map by a learning process. As shown in the figure, it takes time to form corresponding maps for all pixel positions or all sections of the front window. Or instruct the general control unit 101 to complete the corresponding map by interpolation work. With reference to FIGS. 10 and 11, the process of specifying the section on the front window 12 in the third embodiment shown in FIG. 10 will be described in further detail. In the learning process, the ray direction detector 120 outputs the direction of the ray 16 as the pixel position of the built-in image sensor, and the overall control unit 101 sends the front window through the dimming glass control unit 21. The light transmittance of each section in section 12 is modulated to be identifiable, and section 19 is specified from the output fluctuation mode of the head mount sensor 24. The overall control unit 101 stores the correspondence between the pixel position and the specified section 19 and controls the dimming of the section 19. This process is repeated, and when the correspondence between the pixel position and the division of the front window 12 is accumulated, automatically or when the general control unit 101 is separately instructed to perform the interpolation work to complete the correspondence map. , End the learning process. After the learning process is completed, the division of the front window 1 2 is identified using only the output of the beam direction detector 120 using the corresponding map, and the dimming control of each section of the front window 1 2 is performed to control the eyes of the occupant 11. Attenuates external light rays 16 incident on. In this way, the dimming control of the front window 12 can be performed without wearing the head mount sensor 24 through the learning process, but if the light source is relatively close, it can be seen by the occupants. It is naturally expected that the angle between the incident light beam and the light beam incident on the beam direction detector will be large, and the error in specifying the section will be large. In order to further improve the accuracy in this regard, the light direction detector detects the distance to the light source together with the direction of the light beam and learns the correspondence map between the light direction and the distance to the light source and the light control glass section by learning. Let's make it. Distance to light source In order to detect separation, two identical light direction detectors are placed depending on the position of the lens that forms the imaging optical system that minimizes the light spot by using an imaging optical system as the light direction detector. It is also possible to use the difference between the directions of the light beams output by both. In any case, it is not necessary to calculate the distance from the light source, and it is sufficient to obtain the parameters required to specify it. In the latter case, from the outputs indicating the beam directions of the two beam direction detectors, the difference between the beam directions and their outputs and the corresponding map between the dimmable glass sections or the two outputs and the dimmable glass section are calculated. The purpose can be achieved if it is formed by the learning process as it is.

Also, in actual use, a new learning process must be performed under conditions such as a change or replacement of the position of the occupant 11 or a movement of the beam direction detector 120. Furthermore, when the number of occupants is increased once the learning process has been completed, there is no need for multiple head-mounted sensors, and another occupant can use the same head-mounted sensor as an additional learning process. It becomes possible by adding a corresponding map after attaching and learning process. The second embodiment shown in FIG. 9 can be similarly applied to the case of a structure for incident light rays from the rear. However, in this case, it is necessary to use a beam direction detector that monitors the rear. FIGS. 12 and 13 show the structure of the beam direction detector. In FIG. 12, the beam direction detector 120 is configured by incorporating a two-dimensional image sensor 123 in a housing 121 having a minute opening 122. The position of the light spot 1 25 formed on the image sensor 1 23 by the light beam 1 2 4 radiated from the small aperture 1 2 2 is detected by the pixels composing the image sensor 1 2 3. Let the position be the direction of ray 1 2 4. The beam direction detector 130 shown in FIG. 13 has an imaging lens 13 2 in place of the minute aperture 122 shown in FIG. The light beam direction detector 130 is constructed by incorporating a two-dimensional image sensor 133 inside a housing 131 having an imaging lens 132 in an opening. The position of the light spot 135 formed on the image sensor 133 by the light beam 134 irradiated by the imaging lens 133 is detected by the pixels constituting the image sensor 133, and the position of the pixel is determined by the pixel position. The direction of the beam 1 34 is assumed. Although the principle and operation of the beam direction detectors shown in Figs. 12 and 13 are the same, the size of a commonly used CCD image sensor is several millimeters square. Therefore, the beam direction detector 130 shown in FIG. 13 which can make the light spot 135 on the image sensor 133 smaller may be practical. The image sensor built into these beam direction detectors outputs color information in addition to the pixel position of the light spot as an image sensor corresponding to a color image, and the general control unit uses the color information for emergency use. For light rays that may be used for light, such as red light, the degree of dimming can be reduced and controlled so that information recognition for safety is not impaired. included. Fig. 14 shows an example of setting the light transmittance stepwise in the dimming section. Although the classification specified by the beam direction detector incorporated in the third embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 10 can be performed without using a head mount sensor, it is indirect classification specification. It is necessary to consider including some errors. In addition, if the light transmittance is set low only for the section through which the light beam passes, the front scene seen through the window changes stepwise, and a slight unnaturalness can be denied when looking ahead. In consideration of such points, in the example shown in Fig. 14, in addition to section 19 through which light passes, dimming up to section 14 1 around it also absorbs section-specific errors. In addition, the light transmittance is changed stepwise from the center to the periphery to match the surroundings, so that the front scene seen from the front window 12 has less discomfort. In Fig. 14, for the sake of simplicity, two levels of light transmittance are set in the dimming region. For example, 40% light transmittance in the center section 19, and 40% light transmittance in the surrounding section 14 1 Set the transmittance to 65% in order to gradually adjust to the transmittance of 85% for other categories. In the figure, there are two steps, but it is easy to change them in more steps, and the range and step of dimming are specified in advance by the general control unit. In addition, since the accuracy of section identification differs between the learning process using a head-mounted sensor and the subsequent stage of estimating the segmentation using a ray direction detector, the dimming area for each light beam is reduced in the former learning process. , In the latter case, the general control unit switches the area designation to increase the external visibility. It is also important to ensure the maximum, which is also included in the present invention. FIG. 15 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and shows an example in which the rearview mirror 151 is made of light control glass. The basic configuration consists of at least a dimming glass optical system, a dimming glass driving unit, a head mount sensor, a beam direction detector, and a general control unit.

Light control glass optics, the electrically selectable in and electrically rearview mirror 1 ⁵ 1 provided with the back surface reflective layer of the light control glass having a controllable capacity plurality of divided light transmittance independently It consists of a normal rear window 1 54. The light control glass is configured by enclosing a liquid crystal and an electrode, and is a well-known technique for display devices and the like, and therefore description thereof is omitted.

The beam direction detector 15 3 is placed at a position where the rearview mirror 15 1 is viewed from the side of the occupant 11 to detect the direction of the light beam 91, or at the rearview mirror 15 1 to look behind. To detect the direction of ray 18. Since the distance from the knock mirror 151 to the eyes of the occupant 11 is short and the angle change of the light beam 91 is small, it is generally difficult to detect the direction. Monitor. Figure 15 shows the latter example.

The other components of the dimming glass driving unit, head mount sensor 24, general control unit, etc., and the procedure and operation for specifying the section to be dimmed 152 are the same as those of the present invention shown in FIG. The description is omitted because it is the same as the third embodiment. FIG. 16 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention, in which a head-mounted sensor and a beam direction detector are used to deal with light beams from the front and rear of a vehicle. The basic configuration in this embodiment is composed of at least a light control glass optical system, a light control glass drive unit, a head mount sensor, a light beam direction detector, and a general control unit.

The dimming glass optical system has a front window 12, a rear window 13 and a normal rearview mirror 14, which are made of dimming glass that can be dimmed in a piecewise manner.

The beam direction detector has a beam direction detector 161 for detecting the direction of the beam from the front and a beam direction detector 162 for detecting the direction of the beam from the rear. It is placed near the occupant 11 around the dove 12, the latter being mounted on the rearview mirror 14. „

Two PCT / JP98 / 01863 light control glass drive units are used to drive and control each of the front window 12 and the rear window 13. The light control glass of the front window 12 and the rear window 13 can be controlled by one light control glass drive unit assuming that the integrated light control glass is simply divided. FIG. 16 does not particularly show the light control glass driving unit.

The head-mounted sensor 124 receives the light ¹⁶ entering the occupant's 11 eye from the front via the front window 12 and the occupant's 11 eye from the rear via the rear window 13 and the rearview mirror 14. A light beam 18 incident on is detected, and one head mount sensor 24 responds to light beams from the front and rear.

The overall control unit identifies the front window 12 and rear window 13 in coordination with the head-mounted sensor 24, the beam direction detectors 161, 162, starts and stops the entire system, and prevents glare. It supervises the setting of the target light intensity level or various settings such as the dimming control level and the operation of the entire system. 10 differs from the third embodiment shown in FIG. 10 in that a rear window 13, a back mirror 14, and a beam direction detector 162 for monitoring the rear are added. However, if the dimming glass is divided into a front window 12 and a rear window 13, the operation principle is exactly the same if one understands that the integrated dimming glass is merely a division.

The beam direction detectors 16 1 and 16 2 search for light beams 16 and 18 having a predetermined intensity or higher from the brightness while detecting the surrounding brightness. In this case, the front window 12 and the rear window 13 modulate the light transmittance so that they can be identified, identify the section based on the output fluctuation of the head mounted sensor 24, and adjust the section. The light is controlled so that the intensity of the light beam incident on the eyes of the occupant 11 becomes lower than a predetermined level. At the same time, the correspondence between the output of the beam direction output by the beam direction detectors 16 1 and 16 2 and the specified section is stored. This process is repeated to form a corresponding map, and when the degree of perfection reaches a predetermined level, a part lacking the corresponding map is complemented automatically or instructed by interpolation work. After the corresponding map is completed, the classification is specified by the output of the beam direction detectors 16 1 and 16 2 and the corresponding map without using the head-mounted sensor 24. Dimming control.

As described above, the configuration, the principle operation, the operation, and the like of the present invention are described with reference to the embodiments. Focusing on the fact that the light is local, a vehicle that can improve external visibility by selectively reducing only harmful light by using a dimmable glass that can be dimmed in the window 及ぴ A method was proposed and explained. The most important point is to identify and follow the section to be dimmed under conditions where the direction of the light beam from the outside fluctuates. However, a direct section determination method using a head-mounted sensor and a learning process are also adopted. We proposed an indirect classification estimation method using a beam direction detector. The above-described apparatus and method according to the present invention are characterized by a simple configuration principle and low cost, and are further characterized by a flexible system configuration that can easily cope with fluctuations in environmental conditions such as an increase in occupants and movement of equipment. .

Although the present invention has been described by taking a car as an example, the arrangement of each component is not fixed, and it is possible to function with adaptability under arbitrarily installed conditions. It can be used for controlling unnecessary light beams in various optical devices and the like in addition to being mounted on vehicles such as automobiles. They are also important objects of the present invention.

Industrial applicability

As described above, according to the vehicle and the anti-glare device and the method for improving the external visibility according to the present invention, only the light emitted from the external light source and incident on the occupant's eyes is selectively dimmed to improve the external visibility. It provides vehicles that can be used, anti-glare devices, and application methods, and is effective for application to automobiles, trains, and aircraft. In addition, it can be applied to selective control of harmful rays incident on buildings, optical equipment, etc., not limited to vehicles.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. Light control glass optical system consisting of light control glass consisting of multiple sections that can be selected electrically and whose light transmittance can be controlled independently. A light control glass drive unit that controls the light transmittance by adding a signal, and a light beam that has a higher intensity than a predetermined level and that passes from an external light source to the occupant's eyes passes through in cooperation with the general control unit that has light detection means A light source having an intensity higher than a predetermined intensity that is incident on the occupant's eyes from an external light source and is composed of a section specifying means for specifying the dimming glass section to be controlled, and a general control section for controlling the operation of the entire system The vehicle is characterized in that the light-controlling glass section through which the light beam passes is specified, and the light transmittance of the light-controlling glass section is controlled and reduced, thereby selectively dimming and improving external visibility.

2. The light control glass optical system is configured by using a liquid crystal light control glass composed of a plurality of sections that can be electrically selected and independently controlled in light transmittance for a window. The vehicle described in item 1.

3. The light control glass optical system uses a liquid crystal light control glass composed of a plurality of sections that can be selected electrically and whose light transmittance can be independently controlled, and uses a mirror between the window and the occupant. 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle comprises:

4. The dimming glass optical system is composed of a dimming rear-view mirror using a liquid crystal dimming glass composed of a plurality of sections that can be electrically selected and whose light transmittance can be independently controlled. The vehicle according to paragraph 1 of the above.

5. The section identification means has at least a head mount sensor as a light detection means, modulates the light transmittance of each light control glass section through the light control glass driving section so as to be identifiable, and the occupant is in front of or near the eye. The head mount sensor, which is configured so that the light detecting element is arranged in the vehicle, is attached to the occupant's eyes from an external light source according to the variation of the output signal of the head mount sensor. 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the dimming glass through which the light beam passes is specified.

6. The classification specifying means according to claim 5, wherein the head-mounted sensor comprises one or more light-detecting elements and a supporting portion disposed in front of or near the eye, and is mounted on an occupant. 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the intensity of the light beam incident on and near the occupant's eye is detected.

7. The classification specifying means according to claim 5, wherein the head-mounted sensor is one or more light-reflecting elements arranged near the eye, and a light-reflecting element arranged around the supporting part and the occupant. The occupant is equipped with a head mounted sensor, which is composed of a sensing element, and the light detecting element detects the light beam reflected by the light reflecting element. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle is detected.

8. The classification specifying means has at least a light direction detector as a light detecting means, detects a direction of a light beam having a predetermined intensity or more, and determines a predetermined correspondence with the light direction output by the light direction detector. 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a category of the dimming glass having a relationship is specified as a category to be dimmed.

9. The section identification means has at least a light direction detector and a head mount sensor as light detection means, and the light direction detector detects the direction of light having a predetermined intensity or more, and simultaneously drives the light control glass. The occupant modulates the light transmittance of each section of the light control glass through the section so that each section can be identified, and the occupant uses a head mount sensor configured so that a light detection element is arranged in front of or near the eye. The light-directed glass through which the light from the external light source to the occupant's eye passes is specified based on the variation of the output signal of the head-mounted sensor when mounted, and the light direction detected by the light-direction detector and the light specified by the light-direction detector are specified. It has a learning process of forming a correspondence map with light glass sections, and after the formation of the correspondence map, refers to the correspondence map from the output of the light beam direction detector 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the dimming glass section is specified by performing the following.

10. The classification specifying means according to claims 8 and 9, wherein the light beam direction detector has an image sensor for detecting a light spot incident from a minute opening, and detects the presence of a light spot. 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the light beam direction is defined by a pixel position of the image sensor.

11 1. The section identification means has at least a light direction detector and a head-mounted sensor as light detection means, and the light direction detector outputs the direction of the light having a predetermined intensity or more and the distance from the light source. At the same time, the light transmittance of each section of the light control glass is modulated through the light control glass drive unit so that each section can be identified, and the occupant is configured so that the light detection element is placed in front of or near the eye. The headlight sensor is mounted on the headlight sensor, and the type of the light control glass through which the light from the external light source to the occupant's eye passes is identified based on the variation of the output signal of the headmount sensor. A learning process for forming a correspondence map between the light direction detected by the detector and the distance from the light source to the specified light control glass section, and after forming the correspondence map, the correspondence map is obtained from the output of the light direction detector. Transportation ranging first claim of claim, characterized in that perform specific irradiation to the light control glass partition.

12. The light control glass drive section controls the light transmittance of a section through which a light beam entering the occupant's eye from an external light source passes and a peripheral section centered on the section. The vehicle described in section.

13. The dimming glass drive unit shall control the section through which the light beam entering the occupant's eye from the external light source passes and the light transmittance of the surrounding section centered on the section. 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the light transmittance is adjusted so as to change stepwise toward the vehicle.

14. In the case of having the learning process described in Claim 9, the dimming glass drive unit controls the dimming range to be narrower in the learning process of the classifying means and broader after learning to control the occupant. 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the dimming control of the light beam entering the eye is reliably performed.

15 5. The light transmittance of the dimming section is set discretely, and the average occupation time of each discrete light transmittance is controlled within a repetition cycle that is so fast that it is difficult to see it. 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the light transmittance is controlled.

16. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the light transmittance of the dimming section is set to a high value or a low value in claim 15.

17. In controlling the light transmittance of the dimming section by monitoring the light intensity with a head-mounted sensor or a light direction detector placed inside the dimming glass optical system, the average intensity of the passing light is used. 16. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the average light transmittance of the sections is controlled, and the light intensity is monitored based on the instantaneous intensity of a passing light beam in a time zone where the light transmittance is high.

18. The classification according to claim 1, wherein the classification specifying means has a function of identifying the color of the incident light, and reduces and adjusts the degree of dimming of the light of a color necessary for safety. Rides.

1 9. Light control glass optical system consisting of light control glass consisting of multiple sections that can be selected electrically and whose light transmittance can be controlled independently. A dimming glass drive unit that controls the light transmittance by adding a signal, and has an intensity higher than a predetermined value that can fly from the external light source to the eye of the anti-glare target in cooperation with the overall control unit that has light detection means. It is composed of a section specifying means for specifying the section of the dimming glass through which the light beam passes, a general control section for controlling the operation of the entire system, and the like. The light control glass section through which the light beam having the intensity of the light passes is specified, and the light transmittance of the light control glass section is controlled and reduced. To be Anti-glare device

20. The light control glass optical system is characterized by using a liquid crystal light control glass composed of a plurality of sections which can be electrically selected and independently control light transmittance for a window. Range The anti-glare device according to item 19.

2.1. The dimming glass optical system is characterized by being composed of a dimming rearview mirror using a liquid crystal dimming glass consisting of a plurality of sections that can be electrically selected and whose light transmittance can be independently controlled. 10. The anti-glare device according to claim 19, wherein the request is made.

22. The section identification means has at least a head-mounted sensor as a light detection means, modulates the light transmittance of each light control glass section through a light control glass drive unit in an identifiable manner, and the anti-glare target person A head-mounted sensor with a light-detecting element arranged in front or near the eye is attached, and light from an external light source to the eye of the anti-glare target passes through the head-mounted sensor according to the variation of the output signal of the head-mounted sensor. 10. The anti-glare device according to claim 19, wherein the division of the light control glass is performed.

23. In the classification means according to claim 22, the head mount sensor comprises one or more light-detecting elements and a supporting portion disposed in front of or near the eye. The anti-glare device according to claim 19, wherein the intensity of light rays incident on and near the eye of the anti-glare target is detected by being worn by the anti-glare target person.

24. The classification specifying means has at least a light direction detector as a light detecting means, detects a direction of a light beam having an intensity higher than a predetermined value, and determines a light direction output from the light direction detector in a predetermined correspondence. 10. The anti-glare device according to claim 19, wherein a category of the dimming glass having a relationship is specified as a category to be dimmed.

25. The section identification means has at least a light direction detector and a head mount sensor as light detection means, and the light direction detector detects the direction of light having a predetermined intensity or more, and simultaneously drives the light control glass. The light transmittance of each section of the light control glass is modulated through the section so that each section is identifiable, and the anti-glare target person is provided with a head manger in which a photodetector is arranged in front of or near the eye. The light direction detector detects the direction of the light control glass through which the light beam from the external light source to the eye of the anti-glare subject passes through from the variation of the output signal of the head mount sensor by attaching the light sensor. And a learning process for forming a correspondence map between the detected light direction and the specified light control glass section. After the formation of the correspondence map, the light control glass section is referred to from the output of the light direction detector with reference to the correspondence map. Features It antiglare device of the first 9 Claims claims, wherein performing.

26. The classification specifying means according to claims 24 and 25, wherein the light beam direction detector has an image sensor for detecting a light spot incident from a minute opening, and detects the presence of the light spot. 10. The anti-glare device according to claim 19, wherein the light beam direction is determined based on the detected pixel position of the image sensor.

27. The classification specifying means has at least a light direction detector and a head-mounted sensor as light detecting means, and the light direction detector outputs the direction of the light having a predetermined intensity or more and the distance from the light source. At the same time, the light transmittance of each section of the light control glass is modulated through the light control glass drive unit so that each section can be identified, and the occupant is configured so that the light detection element is placed in front of or near the eye. A light-mounting sensor is attached, and a light-controlling glass through which a light beam from an external light source to an occupant's eye passes is identified based on a variation mode of an output signal of the head-mount sensor. And a learning step of forming a correspondence map between the detected light direction and the distance from the light source and the specified light control glass section. After the formation of the correspondence map, the correspondence map is obtained from the output of the light direction detector. Anti-glare device ranging first 9 claim of claim, characterized in that perform specific irradiation to the light control glass partition. 28. The dimming glass drive unit controls the light transmittance of the section through which the light beam from the external light source enters the eye of the anti-glare subject and the surrounding sections centered on the section under the direction of the general control unit. 10. The anti-glare device according to claim 19, wherein the light transmittance is adjusted so as to change stepwise from the center of the area toward the peripheral section.

29. In the case of having the learning process described in claim 25, the dimming glass driving unit controls the dimming range to be dimmed narrowly in the learning process of the segment specifying means and broadly after learning to prevent. 20. The anti-glare device according to claim 19, wherein the anti-glare device surely controls light extinction of light rays incident on the eyes of the person to be glareed.

30. The light transmittance of the dimming section is set discretely, and by controlling the occupation time as the average of each discrete light transmittance within a repetition cycle that is so fast that it is difficult to see, the average The anti-glare device according to claim 19, wherein light transmittance is controlled.

31. The anti-glare device according to claim 19, wherein in claim 30, the light transmittance of the dimming section is set to a high or low binary value.

32. In controlling the light transmittance of the dimming section by monitoring the light intensity with a head mount sensor or a light direction detector placed inside the dimming glass optical system, the average of the transmitted light Claims 19 and 30 wherein the average light transmittance of the relevant section is controlled by the intensity, and the intensity of the light is monitored by the instantaneous intensity of the passing light in a time zone where the light transmittance is high. The anti-glare device according to claim.

33. The classification specifying means has a function of identifying the color of an incident light beam, and the general control unit reduces and adjusts the degree of dimming for a light beam of a specified specific color. 19 Anti-glare device described in item 9.

3 4. Light control glass consisting of multiple sections that can be selected electrically and whose light transmittance can be controlled independently A dimming glass optical system consisting of: a dimming glass driving unit that electrically selects each section of the dimming glass and adds an electric signal to control the light transmittance; Section identification means for identifying the section of the dimming glass through which light beams having a predetermined intensity or higher that fly from the external light source to the eye of the anti-glare subject pass through together with the external light source, and the overall control for overall operation of the system In the system composed of the parts and the like, the following steps are taken to divide the dimming glass section through which the light rays having a higher intensity than the predetermined intensity which fly out of the window and enter the eye of the anti-glare subject pass. A method of directly identifying by a head mounted sensor, controlling the light transmittance of the section to reduce, and selectively dimming only the light rays entering the eye of the anti-glare subject to improve external visibility Law;

(1) It is detected from the output of the head mount sensor that the intensity of the incident light beam is higher than a predetermined value.

(2) Modulate in such a way that the light control glass drive unit can identify the light transmittance of each light control glass section.

(3) Identify the dimming glass section to be dimmed from the output fluctuation of the head mount sensor and the modulation mode of each dimming glass section.

(4) The dimming glass drive section electrically selects the specified dimming glass section, controls the applied electric signal to reduce the light transmittance, and reduces the light intensity incident on the eye of the anti-glare subject. .

35. In step (2) of claim 34, the light transmittance of each light control glass section is modulated by changing the timing so that all the light control glass sections can be identified. A method for improving external visibility according to claim 34.

36. In step (2) of Claim 34, the light transmittance is modulated by changing the timing for each of the vertical and horizontal strips of the light control glass section, and each light control glass section is controlled. The method for improving external visibility according to claim 34, wherein the external visibility is made identifiable.

3 7. Light control glass consisting of multiple sections that can be selected electrically and whose light transmittance can be controlled independently A dimming glass optical system consisting of: a dimming glass driving unit that electrically selects each section of the dimming glass and adds an electric signal to control the light transmittance; Section identification means for identifying the section of the dimming glass through which light beams having a predetermined intensity or higher that fly from the external light source to the eye of the anti-glare subject pass through together with the external light source, and the overall control for overall operation of the system In the system composed of the parts and the like, the following steps are used to divide the dimming glass section through which the light beam having a higher intensity than a predetermined intensity that passes from outside the window and enters the eye of the anti-glare subject passes. A method for selectively dimming light rays incident on the eyes of the anti-glare target by specifying the direction detector to improve external visibility;

(1) If there is no instruction to newly form or modify the correspondence map between the output of the beam direction detector and the light control glass section, start from step (9). If there is an instruction to form or modify the correspondence map, the correspondence map is formed or modified by the learning process consisting of the following steps (2) to (8).

(2) Detecting that the intensity of the incident light beam is equal to or higher than a predetermined value.

(3) Specify the dimming glass section through which the light beam entering the anti-glare subject's eye passes by another means.

(4) Adjusting and controlling the light transmittance of the light control glass section to selectively diminish incident light.

(5) The direction of the incident light is output from the light direction detector.

(6) The correspondence between the beam direction detector output in step (5) and the specified dimming glass section in step (2) is stored.

(7) Repeat steps (2)-(6) to learn the correspondence map between the output of the beam direction detector and the section of the light control glass.

(8) After the learning process, repeat the following steps (9) to (12).

(9) Detect that the intensity of the incident light beam is higher than a predetermined value.

(10) The pixel position of the built-in image sensor is output from the beam direction detector as the direction of the incident beam.

(1 1) Refer to the corresponding map from the beam direction detector output in step (10) to specify the dimming glass section (12) Adjusting the light transmittance of the light control glass section to selectively diminish incident light.

38. The external visibility according to claim 37, wherein the designation of the light control glass category in step (3) of claim 37 is performed by the method described in claim 34. How to improve.

39. In step (7) of Claim 37, when the corresponding map reaches the completion degree specified in advance, the interpolation work is performed automatically or instructed to complete the corresponding map. 38. The method for improving external visibility according to claim 37, characterized in that:

40. In step (5) of claim 37, the beam direction detector outputs information sufficient to calculate the distance to the light source in addition to the beam direction, and the step of claim 37

The method according to claim 37, wherein in step (6), the correspondence between the output and the specified dimming glass section in step (2) of claim 37 is stored. A way to improve external visibility.