Inter-vehicle control apparatus and distance measurement apparatus
First Claim
1. An object recognition apparatus for a vehicle comprising:
- radar means for transmitting a plurality of transmission waves throughout a predetermined angular range in a forward direction of the vehicle, receiving a reflected wave of each of the transmission waves from a reflecting object in response to the transmission, and outputting, when each of the reflected waves is received, a reception signal corresponding to an intensity of the reflected wave; and
recognition means for recognizing an object existing in the forward direction of the vehicle on the basis of a result of the transmission/reception by said radar means,wherein the radar means includes;
distance calculation means for calculating a distance to said reflecting object in a transmission direction of the transmission wave on the basis of a time length from the transmission of the transmission wave to the reception of the reflected wave;
intensity calculation means for calculating an intensity of the reflected wave on the basis of the reception signal, andthe recognition means includes first unification means for, when the radar means receives a plurality of reflected waves in response to the transmission of the transmission waves, unifying a plurality of reflecting objects producing the plurality of reflected waves to recognize the plurality of reflecting objects as the same reflecting object provided that i) a difference between distances calculated by the distance calculation means on the basis of the plurality of reflected waves is shorter than a predetermined distance, ii) the plurality of reflected waves are produced by transmission waves transmitted close to each other from the radar means, and iii) a difference between the intensifies of the plurality of reflected waves calculated by the intensity calculation means is lower than a predetermined value.
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Abstract
In an object recognition apparatus for a vehicle which uses intensities of reflected waves from reflecting objects to make a recognition on whether a reflecting object is a vehicle or a non-vehicle, a plurality of transmission waves are emitted to receive a plurality of reflected waves from the reflecting objects, and a decision is made as to whether or not the reflecting object producing the plurality of reflected waves is a unitary reflecting object. If the decision shows a unitary reflecting object, the highest intensity of intensities of the reflected waves from the unitary reflecting object is compared with a reference intensity to makes a decision on whether the reflecting object is a vehicle or a non-vehicle. This enables univocally making a decision for each unitary reflecting object as to whether the reflecting object is more likely to be a vehicle or to be a non-vehicle, thus improving the recognition accuracy.
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Citations
13 Claims
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1. An object recognition apparatus for a vehicle comprising:
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radar means for transmitting a plurality of transmission waves throughout a predetermined angular range in a forward direction of the vehicle, receiving a reflected wave of each of the transmission waves from a reflecting object in response to the transmission, and outputting, when each of the reflected waves is received, a reception signal corresponding to an intensity of the reflected wave; and recognition means for recognizing an object existing in the forward direction of the vehicle on the basis of a result of the transmission/reception by said radar means, wherein the radar means includes; distance calculation means for calculating a distance to said reflecting object in a transmission direction of the transmission wave on the basis of a time length from the transmission of the transmission wave to the reception of the reflected wave; intensity calculation means for calculating an intensity of the reflected wave on the basis of the reception signal, and the recognition means includes first unification means for, when the radar means receives a plurality of reflected waves in response to the transmission of the transmission waves, unifying a plurality of reflecting objects producing the plurality of reflected waves to recognize the plurality of reflecting objects as the same reflecting object provided that i) a difference between distances calculated by the distance calculation means on the basis of the plurality of reflected waves is shorter than a predetermined distance, ii) the plurality of reflected waves are produced by transmission waves transmitted close to each other from the radar means, and iii) a difference between the intensifies of the plurality of reflected waves calculated by the intensity calculation means is lower than a predetermined value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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Specification