Distance measuring apparatus
First Claim
1. A distance measuring apparatus, provided on a movable body having at least two sides, for measuring a distance and an azimuth of an object present in a forward direction, comprising:
- a wave transmitting device which transmits waves in a forward direction, the wave transmitting device including a single wave source and a deflection element for deflecting the waves emitted from the wave source in a plurality of directions, at least some of the waves being reflected by the object and returning to the apparatus;
a wave detecting device for detecting the waves reflected by the object which return to the apparatus; and
a processing device which determines a distance and an azimuth of the object based on the reflected waves detected by the wave detecting device,wherein a measurable area formed by the waves transmitted from the wave transmitting device has a shape with a generally constant width extending for a predetermined length in the forward direction.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Distance sensors are mounted on both ends of a vehicle and have light transmitting and receiving sections. A distance to an object is independently measured by alternately transmitting "one-side-only enlarged light beams" at a time interval and receiving corresponding reflected beams from the object. In an overlapped area of the "one-side-only enlarged light beams", the distance from the vehicle to the object, as well as the azimuth of the object, is measured by a triangulation distance measurement using an interval between the distance sensors as a baseline. The lengths of the "one-side-only enlarged light beams" in the running direction of the vehicle are about 50m and a width vertical to the running direction of the overlapped area is about 2m slightly greater than a width of the vehicle.
12 Citations
13 Claims
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1. A distance measuring apparatus, provided on a movable body having at least two sides, for measuring a distance and an azimuth of an object present in a forward direction, comprising:
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a wave transmitting device which transmits waves in a forward direction, the wave transmitting device including a single wave source and a deflection element for deflecting the waves emitted from the wave source in a plurality of directions, at least some of the waves being reflected by the object and returning to the apparatus; a wave detecting device for detecting the waves reflected by the object which return to the apparatus; and a processing device which determines a distance and an azimuth of the object based on the reflected waves detected by the wave detecting device, wherein a measurable area formed by the waves transmitted from the wave transmitting device has a shape with a generally constant width extending for a predetermined length in the forward direction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A distance measuring apparatus, provided on a movable body having at least two sides, for measuring a distance and an azimuth of an object present in a forward direction, comprising:
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wave transmitting means for transmitting waves in a forward direction, the wave transmitting means including a single wave source and a deflection element for deflecting the waves emitted from the wave source in a plurality of directions, at least some of the waves being reflected by the object and returning to the apparatus; wave detecting means for detecting the waves reflected by the object which return to the apparatus; and processing means for processing a distance and an azimuth of the object based on the reflected waves detected by the wave detecting means, wherein a measurable area formed by the waves transmitted from the wave transmitting means has a shape with a generally constant width extending for a predetermined length in the forward direction. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A distance measuring method for measuring a distance and an azimuth of an object present in a forward direction, comprising:
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a wave transmitting step for transmitting waves in a forward direction by use of a single wave source and a deflection element for deflecting the waves emitted from the wave source in a plurality of directions, at least some of the waves being reflected by the object; a wave detecting step for detecting the waves reflected by the object; and a processing step for processing a distance and an azimuth of the object on the basis of information obtained by the wave detecting step, wherein a measurable area formed by the waves transmitted from the wave transmitting step has a shape with a generally constant width extending for a predetermined length in the forward direction.
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Specification