Vehicle-mounted radar apparatus

• US 6,040,795 A
• Filed: 01/16/1998
• Issued: 03/21/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Watanabe, Masahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Lobo, Ian J.
• Application Number:
  US09/008,546
• Time in Patent Office: 795 Days
• Field of Search: 342/70, 342/71, 342/72, 342/80, 342/85, 342/91
• US Class Current: 342/70
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/44 Monopulse radar, i.e. simultaneous lobing
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/932 using own vehicle data, e.g. ground speed, steering wheel direction

Abstract

Data is acquired by transmitting radio waves or by receiving radio waves by means of a fixed beam provided in a vehicle-mounted radar apparatus, and an antenna unit is provided which has such an antenna gain that a straight line-of-sight distance with respect to each straight line-of-sight angle from a subject vehicle to a preceding vehicle traveling on a subject-vehicle lane is set as a maximum detection distance. Therefore, it is possible to detect a preceding vehicle traveling on a subject-vehicle lane from a subject vehicle, and not detect objects such as vehicles which are present in a longer distance than is necessary, thereby alleviating a burden on signal processing.

Claims

1. A vehicle-mounted radar apparatus for mounting on a subject vehicle comprising:

a fixed beam antenna unit for transmitting radio waves and receiving radio waves reflected by a vehicle, said antenna unit configured to have an antenna gain which is set so that a maximum detection distance for detecting objects using the vehicle-mounted radar apparatus is a straight line-of-sight distance with respect to each straight line-of-sight angle from said subject vehicle to a target vehicle traveling on a same path; and

a signal processing unit for determining a relative distance and a relative velocity of said target vehicle based on reflected radio waves received by said antenna.

2. A vehicle-mounted radar apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said antenna unit comprises a monopulse antenna.