(19)
(11) EP 2 602 154 A8

(12) CORRECTED EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION
published in accordance with Art. 153(4) EPC

(15) Correction information:
Corrected version no 1 (W1 A1)

(48) Corrigendum issued on:
28.08.2013 Bulletin 2013/35

(88) Date of publication A3:
12.06.2013 Bulletin 2013/24

(43) Date of publication:
12.06.2013 Bulletin 2013/24

(21) Application number: 10855648.1

(22) Date of filing: 06.08.2010
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC): 
B60Q 1/14(2006.01)
(86) International application number:
PCT/JP2010/063423
(87) International publication number:
WO 2012/017559 (09.02.2012 Gazette 2012/06)
(84) Designated Contracting States:
AL AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MK MT NL NO PL PT RO SE SI SK SM TR

(71) Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Toyota-shi, Aichi-ken, 471-8571 (JP)

(72) Inventor:
  • TAKAGAKI, Tatsuya
    Toyota-shi, Aichi-ken, 471-8571 (JP)

(74) Representative: Kuhnen & Wacker 
Patent- und Rechtsanwaltsbüro Prinz-Ludwig-Strasse 40A
85354 Freising
85354 Freising (DE)

   


(54) VEHICLE LIGHT DISTRIBUTION CONTROL DEVICE AND METHOD


(57) A vehicle light distribution control apparatus includes a camera configured to capture a scene in a forward direction of the vehicle; a lighting apparatus configured to illuminate a forward direction of the vehicle with illumination light; and a controller configured to detect an image portion in an image captured by the camera as an object estimated as another vehicle when the image portion meets a predetermined criterion, and control a light distribution of the illumination light based on a detection result, wherein if the controller detects the object estimated as another vehicle within an illumination region of the illumination light, it limits the illumination region of the illumination light such that the object estimated as another vehicle is not illuminated by the illumination light, and then if it does not detect an object estimated as another vehicle within a non-illumination region of the illumination light due to the limitation, it restricts a cancellation of the limitation of the illumination region of the illumination light until a predetermined cancellation criteria is met.