Obstacle detecting apparatus of vehicle

• US 6,809,680 B2
• Filed: 10/22/2002
• Issued: 10/26/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Inventors: Tojima, Masanori
• Primary Examiner(s): Pihulic, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US10/277,188
• Publication Number:
  US 20030083818A1
• Time in Patent Office: 735 Days
• Field of Search: 342/70, 342/72, 701/301, 340/435
• US Class Current: 342/70
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/426 Scanning radar, e.g. 3D radar G01S13/66 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/87 Combinations of radar systems, e.g. primary radar and secondary radar
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9321 Velocity regulation, e.g. cruise control
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93271 in the front of the vehicles

Abstract

In detecting an obstacle of a vehicle, to be able to eliminate dead angle, shorten a detection period and reduce erroneous detection of the obstacle, when a vehicle runs on a running road, by pivoting a pivoting radar in a direction in accordance with a progressing direction of the vehicle, a total or a portion of a detection range of the pivoting radar can be made to be outside of a detection range of fixed radars. Therefore, an obstacle in a range outside of the detection range of the fixed radars can be detected by the pivoting radar.

Claims

1. An obstacle detecting apparatus of a vehicle for detecting an obstacle of a vehicle by using a radar, said obstacle detecting apparatus comprising:

a fixed radar fixed to the vehicle; and

a pivoting radar pivotable relative to the vehicle;

wherein the pivoting radar is pivoted in a direction in accordance with a progressing direction of the vehicle based on course data, such that radar beam is emitted in the direction in accordance with the progressing direction of the vehicle.

4. The obstacle detecting apparatus of a vehicle according to claim 1:

wherein different weights are added to a case of detecting an object by the fixed radar and a case of detecting the object by the pivoting radar and the detected object is determined to be the obstacle based on a total value of the weights.

2. An obstacle detecting apparatus of a vehicle for detecting an obstacle of a vehicle by using a radar, said obstacle detecting apparatus comprising:

a fixed radar fixed to the vehicle; and

a scanning of pivoting radar pivotable relative to the vehicle;

wherein by simultaneously emitting fluxes of radar beam from both of the fixed radar and the pivoting radar, the same obstacle is detected by the two radars.

8. The obstacle detecting apparatus of a vehicle according to claim 2:

wherein different weights are added to a case of detecting an object by the fixed radar and a case of detecting the object by the pivoting radar and the detected object is determined to be the obstacle based on a total value of the weights.

3. An obstacle detecting apparatus of a vehicle for detecting an obstacle of a vehicle by using a radar, said obstacle detecting apparatus comprising:

a fixed radar fixed to the vehicle; and

a pivoting radar pivotable relative to the vehicle;

wherein the pivoting radar is pivoted based on course data, such that radar beam is emitted in a range outside of a detection range of radar beam emitted from the fixed radar.

9. The obstacle detecting apparatus of a vehicle according to claim 3:

wherein different weights are added to a case of detecting an object by the fixed radar and a case of detecting the object by the pivoting radar and the detected object is determined to be the obstacle based on a total value of the weights.

5. An obstacle detecting apparatus of a vehicle for detecting an obstacle of a vehicle by using a radar, said obstacle detecting apparatus comprising:

a fixed radar fixed to the vehicle; and

a pivoting radar pivotable relative to the vehicle;

wherein different weights are added to a case of detecting an object by the fixed radar and the case of detecting the object by the pivoting radar and the detected object is determined to be the obstacle based on a total value of the weights.

6. An obstacle detecting apparatus of a vehicle for detecting an obstacle of a vehicle by using a radar, which comprises:

a plurality of radars mounted on the vehicle, and the plurality of radars differing in at least either one of a system and a kind thereof;

wherein different weights are added for detected objects based on the respective systems and the respective kinds of the radars; and

wherein when an object is detected by the respective radars, the detected object is determined to be the obstacle based on a total value of the weights.

7. An obstacle detecting apparatus of a vehicle for detecting a plurality of obstacles of a vehicle by using a radar, said obstacle detecting apparatus comprising:

predicted distance calculating means for successively calculating, when an object is detected by the radar, a predicted distance from the vehicle to the detected object thereafter;

distance measuring means for measuring a distance from the vehicle to the detected object at each time of detecting the object by the radar;

count adding means for comparing the distance measured by the distance measuring means and the predicted distance calculated by the predicted distance calculating means, determining whether the detected object is the same as the object detected in the past and successively adding a count of a corresponding one of the detected object when the detected object is determined to be the same as the object detected in the past at each time of detecting the object by the radar; and

obstacle determining means for determining that the corresponding one of the detected object is the obstacle when the count added by the count adding means becomes equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold.