Vehicle Detection Apparatus

• US 20090085775A1
• Filed: 08/14/2008
• Published: 04/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: OTSUKA, Yuji, MONJI, Tatsuhiko, TAKEMURA, Masayuki
• Application Number:
  US12/191,815
• Publication Number:
  US 20090085775A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/937
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/867 Combination of radar systems with cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/86 Combinations of lidar systems with systems other than lidar, radar or sonar, e.g. with direction finders
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93185 Controlling the brakes
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9319 Controlling the accelerator
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9321 Velocity regulation, e.g. cruise control
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9325 for inter-vehicle distance regulation, e.g. navigating in platoons
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93271 in the front of the vehicles

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a vehicle detection apparatus has a first and a second sensors to detect vehicles ahead of the host vehicle, and a judgment part to judge that, in the case where the second sensor detects an object which the first sensor has detected, the object is a vehicle. The judging part judges the object as a vehicle in the case where it has once judged the object as a vehicle even though the second sensor does not detect the object in the next judgment. The first and second sensors should preferably be a radar and a camera, respectively.

Claims

1. A vehicle detection apparatus which comprises a first sensor and a second sensor to detect vehicles ahead of the host vehicle, and a judging part which, when said second sensor detects an object which said first sensor has detected, judges said object as a vehicle.

2. The vehicle detection apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said judging part judges said object as a vehicle in the case where it has once judged said object as a vehicle even though said second sensor does not detect said object in the next judgment.

3. The vehicle detection apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said first sensor is a radar.

4. The vehicle detection apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said second sensor is a camera.