Distance-velocity predicting system
First Claim
1. A distance-velocity predicting system comprising:
- an illuminator for projecting a light beam for searching for an obstacle;
a plurality of position sensors spaced at a distance corresponding to a base line length, said plurality of position sensors forming a base line;
means for determining a closest point on said obstacle approximately closest to said base line;
means for sampling a shortest distance from said base line to said closest point on said obstacle in a direction perpendicular to said base line by obtaining an amount of said light beam being one of reflected and scattered by said closest point on said obstacle from at least one of said plurality of position sensors and measuring a time between which said shortest distance from said base line to said closest point on said obstacle is sampled; and
means for obtaining a relative velocity component of said obstacle in a direction perpendicular to said base line from time-series data on said sampled shortest distance from said base line to said closest point on said obstacle.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A distance-velocity predicting system has an illuminator for projecting a light beam for searching for an obstacle, and a plurality of position sensors spaced at a distance corresponding to a base line length. A minimum value of a distance component from the base line to an obstacle lying in a direction perpendicular to the base line, which is obtained from the light beam and the position sensors, or a value in the neighborhood of the minimum value, is sampled to obtain time-series data, and a relative velocity component in a direction perpendicular to the base line with respect to the obstacle is obtained in real time by using the time-series data. The relative velocity component perpendicular to the base line is compared with a predetermined threshold value, and when the relative velocity component exceeds the threshold value, a starting signal for life protecting equipment is generated.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A distance-velocity predicting system comprising:
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an illuminator for projecting a light beam for searching for an obstacle; a plurality of position sensors spaced at a distance corresponding to a base line length, said plurality of position sensors forming a base line; means for determining a closest point on said obstacle approximately closest to said base line; means for sampling a shortest distance from said base line to said closest point on said obstacle in a direction perpendicular to said base line by obtaining an amount of said light beam being one of reflected and scattered by said closest point on said obstacle from at least one of said plurality of position sensors and measuring a time between which said shortest distance from said base line to said closest point on said obstacle is sampled; and means for obtaining a relative velocity component of said obstacle in a direction perpendicular to said base line from time-series data on said sampled shortest distance from said base line to said closest point on said obstacle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A distance-velocity predicting system comprising:
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an illuminator for projecting a beam for searching for an obstacle; a first position sensor; a second position sensor spaced from a second position sensor and forming a base line therebetween; means for determining a closest point on said obstacle approximately closest to said base line; means for sampling a shortest distance from said base line to said closest point on said obstacle in a direction perpendicular to said base line by obtaining an amount of said beam reflected by said closest point on said obstacle from said first position sensor; means for measuring times between samples of said means for sampling; means for detecting a direction of movement of said obstacle with respect to said base line; and means for obtaining a relative velocity component of said obstacle in a direction perpendicular to said base line from said sampled shortest distances and from said measured times. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification