# US 10,870,386 B2 · Vehicle lamp > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,870,386 B2 - Document ID: US10870386B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/351,246 - Filed: 2019-03-12 - Published: 2019-09-12 - Granted: 2020-12-22 - Earliest claimed: 2018-03-12 - Assignees: Stanley Electric Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Stanley Electric Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Naoki Muramatsu - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10870386B2 ## CPC - B60Q 1/1438: {Actuating means for dimming masks or screens} - B60Q 1/143: {combined with another condition, e.g. using vehicle recognition from camera images or activation of wipers} - B60Q 2300/056: Special anti-blinding beams, e.g. a standard beam is chopped or moved in order not to blind - B60Q 2300/41: preceding vehicle - B60Q 2300/42: oncoming vehicle - B60Q: ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL ## Abstract A vehicle lamp comprising: mask-object detecting means that detects a mask-object to be masked ahead of a self-vehicle; prediction means that predicts a position of the mask-object detected by the mask-object detecting means; and a lamp unit that forms, a light distribution pattern including a non-illumination region that does not illuminate the mask-object positioned at the position predicted by the prediction means, wherein the position of the mask-object predicted by the prediction means is a position of the mask-object after the lapse of the predetermined time. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A vehicle lamp comprising: mask-object detecting means that detects a mask-object to be masked ahead of a self-vehicle; prediction means that predicts a position of the mask-object detected by the mask-object detecting means; a lamp unit that forms, a light distribution pattern including a non-illumination region that does not illuminate the mask-object positioned at the position predicted by the prediction means, non-illumination region setting means that sets, on a basis of the position predicted by the prediction means, the non-illumination region; lamp unit controlling means that controls the lamp unit; angle detecting means that detects an angle of the mask-object detected by the mask-object detecting means with respect to the self-vehicle; difference calculating means that calculates a difference between angles detected by the angle detecting means; average moving amount calculating means that calculates, on a basis of the difference calculated by the difference calculating means, an average moving amount of the mask-object detected by the mask-object detecting means; and correction value calculating means that calculates a correction value by multiplying the average moving amount of the mask-object calculated by the average moving amount calculating means, by a coefficient, wherein the position of the mask-object predicted by the prediction means is a position of the mask-object after a lapse of a predetermined time, the lamp unit controlling means controls the lamp unit to form, the light distribution pattern including the non-illumination region set by the non-illumination region setting means, the prediction means predicts, on a basis of the angle detected by the angle detecting means the position of the mask-object detected by the mask-object detecting means and the prediction means adds the angle detected by the angle detecting means and the correction value calculated by the correction value calculating means to predict the position of the object detected by the mask-object detecting means. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The vehicle lamp according to claim 1, wherein the angle detecting means detects an angle on the right side and an angle on the left side of the mask-object detected by the mask-object detecting means with respect to the self-vehicle; the difference calculating means calculates a difference in a larger one of the right angle and the left angle detected by the angle detecting means; and the prediction means adds the larger one of the right angle and the left angle detected by the angle detecting means and the correction value calculated by the correction value calculating means to predict the position of the object detected by the mask-object detecting means. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The vehicle lamp according to claim 1, wherein, when N differences are calculated by the difference calculating means, the average moving amount calculating means divides a sum of the N differences by the N to calculate the average moving amount of the mask-object. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The vehicle lamp according to claim 1, wherein, when differences the number of which is less than N are calculated by the difference calculating means, the average moving amount calculating means divides a sum of the differences, the number of which is less than N, by the N to calculate the average moving amount of the mask-object. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The vehicle lamp according to claim 1, wherein when a change in relative position of the mask-object detected by the mask-object detecting means to the self-vehicle exceeds a threshold, the non-illumination region setting means sets the non-illumination region that does not illuminate the mask-object positioned at the position predicted by the prediction means, and when a change in relative position of the mask-object detected by the mask-object detecting means to self-vehicle does not exceed the threshold, the non-illumination region setting means sets the non-illumination region that does not illuminate the mask-object positioned at the position detected by the angle detecting means. ### Claim 6 (depends on 2) The vehicle lamp according to claim 2, wherein the mask-object is the preceding vehicle, the angle on the right side of the preceding vehicle with respect to the self-vehicle is detected with tail lamps on the right side of the preceding vehicle being used as a reference, and the angle on the left side of the preceding vehicle with respect to the self-vehicle is detected with tail lamps on the left side of the preceding vehicle being used as a reference. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The vehicle lamp according to claim 6, further comprising: moving direction determining means that determines a moving direction of the preceding vehicle, wherein the moving direction determining means determines the moving direction of the preceding vehicle on the basis of the angle on the right side and the angle on the right side of the preceding vehicle detected by the angle detecting means. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) The vehicle lamp according to claim 6, wherein when the mask-object detected by the mask-object detecting means is the preceding vehicle turning right, the difference calculating means calculates a difference in the angle on the right side of the preceding vehicle, and when the mask-object detected by the mask-object detecting means is the preceding vehicle turning left, the difference calculating means calculates a difference in the angle on the left side of the preceding vehicle. ### Claim 9 (depends on 6) The vehicle lamp according to claim 6, wherein when the mask-object is the preceding vehicle turning right, the prediction means adds the angle on the right side detected by the angle detecting means and correction value calculated by the correction value calculating means to predict position of the mask-object, detected by the mask-object detecting means, after the lapse of the predetermined time, and when the mask-object is the preceding vehicle turning left, the prediction means adds the angle on the left side detected by the angle detecting means and correction value calculated by the correction value calculating means to predict position of the mask-object, detected by the mask-object detecting means, after the lapse of the predetermined time. ### Claim 10 (depends on 6) The vehicle lamp according to claim 6, wherein when the mask-object is the preceding vehicle turning right, the non-illumination region setting means sets the angular range between an angle obtained by adding a predefined numerical value to the angle on the right side predicted by the prediction means and the angle on the left side detected by the angle detecting means as the non-illumination region, and when the mask-object is the preceding vehicle turning left, the non-illumination region setting means sets the angular range between an angle obtained by adding a predefined numerical value to the angle on the left side predicted by the prediction means and the angle on the right side detected by the angle detecting means as the non-illumination region. ### Claim 11 (depends on 2) The vehicle lamp according to claim 2, wherein the mask-object is the oncoming vehicle, the angle on the right side of the oncoming vehicle with respect to the self-vehicle is detected with headlamps on the right side of the oncoming vehicle being used as a reference, and the angle on the left side of the oncoming vehicle with respect to the self-vehicle is detected with headlamps on the left side of the oncoming vehicle being used as a reference. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The vehicle lamp according to claim 11, wherein when the mask-object is the oncoming vehicle traveling on the right-hand traffic, the prediction means adds the angle on the left side detected by the angle detecting means and correction value calculated by the correction value calculating means to predict position of the mask-object, detected by the mask-object detecting means, after the lapse of the predetermined time, and when the mask-object is the oncoming vehicle traveling on the left-hand traffic, the prediction means adds the angle on the right side detected by the angle detecting means and correction value calculated by the correction value calculating means to predict position of the mask-object, detected by the mask-object detecting means, after the lapse of the predetermined time. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The vehicle lamp according to claim 11, wherein when the mask-object is the oncoming vehicle traveling on the right-hand traffic, the non-illumination region setting means sets the angular range between the angle on the left side predicted by the prediction means and an angle obtained by subtracting a predefined numerical value from the angle on the right side detected by the angle detecting means as the non-illumination region, and when the mask-object is the oncoming vehicle traveling on the left-hand traffic, the non-illumination region setting means sets the angular range between the angle on the right side predicted by the prediction means and an angle obtained by subtracting a predefined numerical value from the angle on the left side detected by the angle detecting means as the non-illumination region.