Collision avoidance system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A collision avoidance system comprising:
- rangefinder scanner means mounted to a first vehicle for determining range and angle of at least one target; and
processor means for tracking target range and angle, said processor means predicting time of intercept of said target, and calculating the rate of change of separation distance between said target and said first vehicle, calculating the acceleration of said separation distance, and predicting the distance between said target and said first vehicle at the said predicted time of intercept, when said first vehicle is approaching said target on a variety of path geometries including a curved path, a sloped path and a straight path.
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Abstract
A collision avoidance system particularly suited for automotive applications includes an electro-optical rangefinder scanner, retroreflectors on target vehicles, and a processing unit. The rangefinder supplies data on the range and angle of target vehicles to the processor, which monitors each target vehicle'"'"'s position, speed and acceleration and constantly determines and updates target range, angle, velocity, acceleration and predicted separation distances. A warning signal or evasive manuever instructions are issued if the predicted separation at the time of intercept is below a minimum acceptable value.
277 Citations
51 Claims
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1. A collision avoidance system comprising:
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rangefinder scanner means mounted to a first vehicle for determining range and angle of at least one target; and processor means for tracking target range and angle, said processor means predicting time of intercept of said target, and calculating the rate of change of separation distance between said target and said first vehicle, calculating the acceleration of said separation distance, and predicting the distance between said target and said first vehicle at the said predicted time of intercept, when said first vehicle is approaching said target on a variety of path geometries including a curved path, a sloped path and a straight path. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A rangefinder scanner comprising
framing mirror; -
primary mirror; strip mirror; rotating scanning disc having a plurality of concave reflectors disposed in an arc on one side thereof; a collection optic; and a detector, said framing mirror conducting a linear scan of a scene in a first direction and directing said linear scan toward said primary mirror, said primary mirror refocusing said linear scan onto said strip mirror, said concave reflectors scanning said linear image received from said strip mirror pixel by pixel in a second direction and directing said image to said collection optic which focuses said image onto said detector; pulse transmission means for transmitting a pulse of light toward a pixel in the scene to be scanned; range determination means for determining the range of a target in the scene based upon the time elapsed between transmission of said pulse and detection of a pulse reflected from the target. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A rangefinder method comprising the steps of:
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providing a rangefinder scanner having transmission means for transmitting a light pulse toward a pixel in a scene and receiving channel means for receiving and detecting said light pulse reflected from a target, said receiving channel means including rotating scanning disc and detector; activating said transmission means to emit a light pulse toward a pixel in the scene; querying said detector for at least one range interval subsequent to transmission of said light pulse to detect said pulse reflected from a target in the scene; and determining the range of the target based upon the elapsed time between transmission of said pulse and detection of said reflected pulse. - View Dependent Claims (38)
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39. A collision avoidance method comprising the steps of:
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providing a rangefinder scanner associated with a vehicle for scanning a scene, said rangefinder scanner including framing mirror, primary mirror, strip mirror, rotating scanning disc having a plurality of concave reflectors disposed thereon, collection optic, detector, and light pulse transmitter, said framing mirror conducting a linear scan of the scene in a first direction, said primary mirror focusing said linear scan onto said strip mirror, said concave scanning disc reflectors scanning said linear image from said strip mirror in a second direction, said collection optic focusing said scanned image onto said detector; transmitting a pulse of light toward a pixel of the scene; querying said detector for at least one range interval subsequent to transmission of said pulse in order to detect said light pulse reflected from a target in the scene; determining the optical displacement between the time zero transmission of said pulse and detection of said reflected pulse; determining the range of the target based upon said optical displacement and the speed of rotation of said scanning disc; determining the angle of the target based upon the position of the ranged pixel in the scene; determining from said range and angle data separation distance and predicted separation distance at time of intercept of said vehicle and said target; and emitting a collision warning in the event the predicted separation distance is below a predetermined minimum value. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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44. The method of claim 42 wherein said step of determining the range of the target further comprises conducting a staggered overscan of the scene.
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45. The method of claim 39 further comprising the step of providing a retroreflector associated with a target.
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46. A collision avoidance system associated with a subject vehicle for detecting and tracking at least one target and predicting the separation distance between the subject vehicle and each target at the time of intercept, the system operating under all variety of road geometries, vehicle speeds and traffic fields encountered in ordinary driving situations, the system comprising:
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rangefinder scanner means mounted to the subject vehicle for determining the range and angle of each target, said rangefinder scanner means having a high pixel range rate, a relatively wide field of view, and high spatial resolution; processor means for tracking target range and angle, said processor means predicting time of intercept of said target, and calculating the rate of change of separation distance of said target and said first vehicle, calculating the acceleration of said separation distance, and predicting the separation distance between said target and the subject vehicle at said predicted time of intercept, said processor means emitting a collision warning in the event said predicted separation distance is less than a predetermined value. - View Dependent Claims (47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
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Specification