Other

Toshihiro Shimado

Nobuaki Miki

Kazuhiro Suzuki

Masao Kawai

Shoji Kobayashi

Toshiaki Niwa

Shigeo Tsuzuki

Kiyoshi Kurita

Seiji Sakakibara

Kouji Kobayashi

Yoshinori Matsushita

Kenji Itou

A light distribution control apparatus which is less affected by an error in a navigation function, and conducts a proper light distribution. An illuminated area and a glare quantity are controlled according to a determination on a traveling region of a vehicle (an expressway, a general road, or an urban region), and an illuminating direction is controlled according to a determination on a road shape. On the other hand, a navigation processor determines reliabilities of current position detection, and a vehicle position based on road data, and determines a reliability of the road shape and a reliability of the traveling region. A base illuminated area and a medium glare are selected when the reliability of the traveling region is low, an illuminated area according to the traveling region is selected and the glare quantity is decreased when the reliability is medium, and an illuminated area and a glare quantity according to the traveling region are selected when the reliability is high. A light distribution angle &thgr; hs according to a steering angle is selected when the reliability of the road shape is low, and a light distribution angle &thgr; hn for illuminating a vehicle position after T seconds is selected when the reliability is high.

Light distribution control apparatus

A vehicle control unit controls a vehicle having a device capable of controlling deceleration, such as a continuously variable transmission. An information detection device is capable of determining a relationship between the instant vehicle and a preceding vehicle running in front of the instant vehicle, for example, a headway distance and a relative speed therebetween. Based on the information derived from the detection device, the vehicle correlation is determined and compared with a predetermined target correlation. Then, deceleration of the instant vehicle is set by a deceleration setting device such that the determined correlation reaches the predetermined target correlation. The device for performing deceleration is controlled based on the deceleration that has been set.

Vehicle deceleration control unit

Growing community of inventors

Okazaki, Japan

Toshihiro Shimado