Vehicle on which millimeter wave radar is mounted

• US 6,081,223 A
• Filed: 05/11/1999
• Issued: 06/27/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Inventors: Murakami, Taku, Yamasaki, Kunihiro, Kitahara, Yasuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Sotomayor, John B.
• Application Number:
  US09/308,024
• Time in Patent Office: 413 Days
• Field of Search: 342/70, 342/71, 342/72, 342/109, 342/114, 342/115, 342/125, 340/904, 340/435, 340/436, 340/437
• US Class Current: 342/70
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9318 Controlling the steering
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93185 Controlling the brakes
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/932 using own vehicle data, e.g. ground speed, steering wheel direction
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9321 Velocity regulation, e.g. cruise control
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93271 in the front of the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9329 cooperating with reflectors or transponders

Abstract

The present invention relates to a vehicle with a millimeter wave radar by which not only a distance and a relative velocity can be measured but also traffic information of other various kinds can be obtained. A reflector (4a) which is installed at a predetermined position (5) near a road along which the vehicle (1) is traveling and changes the reflection intensity of a reflected wave (3b) every predetermined period of time to indicate a road state (X) near the predetermined position (5) and traffic information with the change (N1), a memory unit (6) which is mounted on the vehicle (1) and in which the change (N1) and an operation command (S1) of the vehicle (1) based upon the change (N1) are stored beforehand, being made to correspond to each other, and a control unit (8) which is mounted on the vehicle (1), reads the operation command (S1) corresponding to the change (N1) detected by the millimeter wave radar from the memory unit (6) and supplies the read operation command (S1) to a vehicle operating means (7) of the vehicle (1) to operate the vehicle (1) are provided.

Claims

1. A vehicle on which a millimeter wave radar which transmits a transmitted wave from a transmitting antenna of the millimeter wave radar mounted on the vehicle, receives a reflected wave from an object with a receiving antenna, and detects a distance and a relative velocity to the object is mounted, said vehicle on which a millimeter wave radar is mounted, comprising:

a reflector which is installed at a predetermined position near a road along which the vehicle is traveling and changes the reflection intensity of the reflected wave every predetermined period of time to indicate a road state near the predetermined position and traffic information with the change;

a memory unit which is mounted on the vehicle and in which the change and an operation command of the vehicle based upon the change are stored beforehand, being made to correspond to each other; and

a control unit which is mounted on the vehicle, reads the operation command corresponding to the detected change from said memory unit when the millimeter wave radar detects the change, and supplies the read operation command to a vehicle operating means of the vehicle to operate the vehicle.

2. A vehicle on which a millimeter wave radar which transmits a transmitted wave from a transmitting antenna of the millimeter wave radar mounted on the vehicle, receives a reflected wave from an object with a receiving antenna, and detects a distance and a relative velocity to the object is mounted, said vehicle on which a millimeter wave radar is mounted, comprising:

a plurality of reflectors which are put into arrangement so that distances between adjacent reflectors are combination of distances not more than detection distance resolution (Δ

L) of the millimeter wave radar and distances not less than the detection distance resolution (Δ

L) in a predetermined range along a road along which the vehicle is traveling, to indicate a road state in and around the predetermined range with the arrangement;

a memory unit which is mounted on the vehicle and in which the arrangement and an operation command of the vehicle based upon the arrangement are stored beforehand, being made to correspond to each other; and

a control unit which is mounted on the vehicle, reads the operation command corresponding to the detected arrangement from said memory unit when the millimeter wave radar detects the arrangement, and supplies the read operation command to a vehicle operating means of the vehicle to operate the vehicle.

3. A vehicle on which a millimeter wave radar which transmits a transmitted wave from a transmitting antenna of the millimeter wave radar mounted on the vehicle, receives a reflected wave from an object with a receiving antenna, and detects a distance and a relative velocity to the object is mounted, said vehicle on which a millimeter wave radar is mounted, comprising:

a reflector which is installed at a predetermined position of another vehicle and changes the reflection intensity of the reflected wave every predetermined period of time to indicate an operation state of the other vehicle with the change;

a memory unit which is mounted on the vehicle and in which the change and an operation command of the vehicle based upon the change are stored beforehand, being made to correspond to each other; and

a control unit which is mounted on the vehicle, reads the operation command corresponding to the detected change from said memory unit when the millimeter wave radar detects the change, and supplies the read operation command to a vehicle operating means of the vehicle to operate the vehicle.

4. A vehicle on which a millimeter wave radar which transmits a transmitted wave from a transmitting antenna of the millimeter wave radar mounted on the vehicle, receives a reflected wave from an object with a receiving antenna, and detects a distance and a relative velocity to the object is mounted, said vehicle on which a millimeter wave radar is mounted, comprising:

a controller which is mounted on the vehicle and changes detection distance resolution (Δ

L) of the millimeter wave radar which is set at a plurality of levels by switching the levels;

a plurality of reflectors which are installed at predetermined positions near a road along which the vehicle is traveling and transmit the reflected wave to which road states near the predetermined positions and traffic information are indicated at each of the plurality of levels of detection distance resolution (Δ

L); and

a vehicle control unit which operates the vehicle based upon the indicated reflected wave received by the receiving antenna.

5. The vehicle on which the millimeter wave radar is mounted in accordance with claim 4,

wherein said controller sets a predetermined threshold value relative to the received intensity of the indicated reflected wave received by the receiving antenna and makes the indicated reflected wave an indicated binary-coded signal.