VEHICULAR ANTICIPATORY SENSOR SYSTEM
First Claim
1. A vehicle including a system to prevent collisions between the vehicle and objects in a path of the vehicle, comprising:
- a laser system arranged to direct at least one laser beam outward from said laser system, said laser system being arranged to generate at least one laser beam in an eye-safe portion of the electromagnetic spectrum at a wavelength above 1.4 microns;
an imaging receiver for receiving at least one laser beam reflected from objects in the path of the at least one laser beam and creating at least one image from the received at least one laser beam;
a processor coupled to said receiver and arranged to receive signals derived from the received at least one laser beam and process the signals to determine a distance between said laser system and an object from which the at least one laser beam has been reflected, said processor being further configured to determine a range gate including the determined distance between said laser system and the object and then configure said receiver to receive additional reflections of the laser beam from any objects only in the determined range gate; and
a reactive system coupled to said processor, said processor being arranged to control said reactive system to indicate the presence of objects in the determined range gate.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
System and method for preventing collisions between a vehicle and objects in a path of the vehicle includes a laser system arranged to direct at least one laser beam outward therefrom and which is in an eye-safe portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, an imaging receiver for receiving at least one laser beam reflected from objects in the path of the laser beam, a processor coupled to the receiver and arranged to receive signals derived from the received laser beam and process the signals to determine a distance between the laser system and the objects from which the laser beam has been reflected, and one or more reactive systems coupled to the processor. The processor controls the reactive system to indicate the presence of objects at specific distances from the vehicle. This indication may be used to take preventive action to avoid the collision, either manually or automatically.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A vehicle including a system to prevent collisions between the vehicle and objects in a path of the vehicle, comprising:
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a laser system arranged to direct at least one laser beam outward from said laser system, said laser system being arranged to generate at least one laser beam in an eye-safe portion of the electromagnetic spectrum at a wavelength above 1.4 microns; an imaging receiver for receiving at least one laser beam reflected from objects in the path of the at least one laser beam and creating at least one image from the received at least one laser beam; a processor coupled to said receiver and arranged to receive signals derived from the received at least one laser beam and process the signals to determine a distance between said laser system and an object from which the at least one laser beam has been reflected, said processor being further configured to determine a range gate including the determined distance between said laser system and the object and then configure said receiver to receive additional reflections of the laser beam from any objects only in the determined range gate; and a reactive system coupled to said processor, said processor being arranged to control said reactive system to indicate the presence of objects in the determined range gate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for preventing collisions between a vehicle and objects in a path of the vehicle, comprising:
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directing at least one laser beam outward from a laser system on the vehicle, the at least one laser beam being in an eye-safe portion of the electromagnetic spectrum at a wavelength above 1.4 microns; receiving at least one laser beam reflected from an object in the path of the at least one laser beam by means of a laser beam receiving system; processing, using a processor, the received at least one laser beam on the vehicle to determine, based on an image derived from the received at least one laser beam, a distance between the vehicle and the object from which the at least one laser beam has been reflected; determining a range gate including the determined distance between the vehicle and the object;
then receiving additional reflections of the at least one laser beam only from any objects in the determined range gate; and
then controlling a reactive system on the vehicle to indicate the presence of objects in the determined range gate. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification