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Distance detecting apparatus and method for a vehicle

  • US 5,159,557 A
  • Filed: 06/11/1991
  • Issued: 10/27/1992
  • Est. Priority Date: 06/13/1990
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A distance detecting apparatus for a vehicle comprising:

  • a pair of optical systems including image-sensing means for imaging an object at two different points and generating first and second image signals representative of the object;

    window forming means for forming a specific window for one of the first and second image signals on a screen of a display;

    distance measuring means for making a comparison between the first and second image signals in the specific window so as to measure the distance from the optical systems to the object;

    provisional window setting means for successively sampling image signals at a predetermined time interval, making a comparison between the sampled image signals in the specific window at two successive points in time, detecting the most similar of the sampled image signals between the two time points, and setting up a provisional window based on the most similar sampled image signals;

    symmetry evaluating means for evaluating the symmetry of said image signals within the provisional window, said symmetry evaluating means being operable to shift the provisional window little by little so as to find the best position thereof which provides the best symmetry of the image signals therein; and

    reference image setting means for setting, as reference image signals, a new window at the best position of the provisional window.

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