OBSTACLE DETECTION DEVICE

• US 20160069990A1
• Filed: 04/21/2014
• Published: 03/10/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation, Nippon Soken, Inc.
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation, Nippon Soken, Inc.
• Inventors: HARADA, Taketo, MATSUURA, Mitsuyasu, AKIYAMA, Keiko
• Granted Patent: US 9,903,942 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/08 Systems for measuring distance only indirect measurement G01S15/46
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/42 Simultaneous measurement of distance and other co-ordinates indirect measurement G01S15/46
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/876 Combination of several spaced transmitters or receivers of known location for determining the position of a transponder or a reflector G01S15/872 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2015/932 for parking operations
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2015/938 in the bumper area radar in bumper area G01S2013/93275; bumper with obstacle sensor of electric or electronic type B60R19/483
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2015/939 vertical stacking of sensors, e.g. to enable obstacle height determination
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/521 Constructional features
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/539 using analysis of echo signal for target characterisation; Target signature; Target cross-section
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/165 for passive traffic, e.g. including static obstacles, trees

Abstract

An obstacle detection device includes a plurality of ultrasonic sensors and a detection control unit. The detection control unit detects an object by using one of at least two of the ultrasonic sensors as a transmission sensor that transmits an ultrasonic wave and the other of the at least two of the ultrasonic sensors as a reception sensor that receives the ultrasonic wave transmitted by the transmission sensor and reflected. A difference of heights of the one used as the transmission sensor and the other used as the reception sensor attached to a surface of a vehicle body from a ground is a predetermined threshold height that is defined based on twice a height of a bump on the ground as a non-detection object.

Claims

1. An obstacle detection device comprising:

a plurality of ultrasonic sensors detecting an obstacle by transmitting an ultrasonic wave and receiving a reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave transmitted; and

a detection control unit detecting an object using one of at least two of the ultrasonic sensors as a transmission sensor that transmits an ultrasonic wave and the other of the at least two of the ultrasonic sensors as a reception sensor that receives the ultrasonic wave transmitted by the transmission sensor and reflected, wherein

the ultrasonic sensor used as the transmission sensor and the ultrasonic sensor used as the reception sensor are attached to a surface of a vehicle body at different heights from a ground so that a difference of the heights between the ultrasonic sensor used as the transmission sensor and the ultrasonic sensor used as the reception sensor is a predetermined threshold height,

the predetermined threshold height is defined based on twice a height of a bump on the ground as a non-detection object that is not to be detected, and

the detection control unit determines that the object is the bump on the ground as the non-detection object, on condition that, when the transmission sensor transmits the ultrasonic wave to an area where the object exists, a reception result received from the reception sensor does not satisfy a predetermined detection condition for detecting the obstacle.

3. The obstacle detection device according to claim 1, wherein the bump on the ground as the non-detection object includes a curbstone.

4. The obstacle detection device according to claim 1, wherein

the detection control unit controls both the transmission sensor and the reception sensor to receive the ultrasonic wave transmitted by the transmission sensor and reflected, and

the detection control unit specifies that the object exists, on condition that a reception result received from the transmission sensor satisfies the predetermined detection condition for detecting the obstacle, and the detection control unit determines that the object specified is the bump on the ground as the non-detection object, on condition that the reception result received from the reception sensor does not satisfy the predetermined detection condition for detecting the obstacle.

5. The obstacle detection device according to claim 1, wherein

the one of the at least two of the ultrasonic sensors used as the transmission sensor is located lower than the other of the at least two of the ultrasonic sensors used as the reception sensor.

6. The obstacle detection device according to claim 1, wherein

the detection control unit detects the object by using the one of the at least two of the ultrasonic sensors as the transmission sensor and the other of the at least two of the ultrasonic sensors as the reception sensor,

the detection control unit detects the object again by using the one as the reception sensor and the other as the transmission sensor, and

the detection control unit determines that the object is the bump on the ground as the non-detection object, on condition that a plurality of reception results produced by the reception sensor do not satisfy the predetermined detection condition for detecting the obstacle.

7. The obstacle detection device according to claim 1, further comprising:

an acquisition unit acquiring a direction angle of a horizontal component of the object relative to a front direction of the reception sensor; and

a correction unit correcting an attenuation of a reception intensity of the reception sensor due to a directional characteristic of the reception sensor in a horizontal direction according to the direction angle of the object acquired by the acquisition unit, wherein

the detection control unit determines whether the reception intensity corrected by the correction unit satisfies the predetermined detection condition for detecting the obstacle, and

the detection control unit determines that the object is the bump on the ground as the non-detection object, on condition that the reception intensity corrected does not satisfy the predetermined detection condition.

2. An obstacle detection device comprising:

a plurality of ultrasonic sensors detecting an obstacle by transmitting an ultrasonic wave and receiving a reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave transmitted; and

a detection control unit detecting an object using one of at least two of the ultrasonic sensors as a transmission sensor that transmits an ultrasonic wave and the other of the at least two of the ultrasonic sensors as a reception sensor that receives the ultrasonic wave transmitted by the transmission sensor and reflected, wherein

the ultrasonic sensor used as the transmission sensor and the ultrasonic sensor used as the reception sensor are attached to a surface of a vehicle body at different heights from a ground so that a difference of the heights between the ultrasonic sensor used as the transmission sensor and the ultrasonic sensor used as the reception sensor is equal to or more than 10 cm, and

the detection control unit determines that the object is a bump on the ground as a non-detection object, on condition that, when the transmission sensor transmits the ultrasonic wave to an area where the object exists, a reception result received from the reception sensor does not satisfy a predetermined detection condition for detecting the obstacle.