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Optical radar apparatus for vehicle

  • US 5,604,580 A
  • Filed: 02/09/1995
  • Issued: 02/18/1997
  • Est. Priority Date: 02/10/1994
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A vehicular optical radar apparatus comprising:

  • optical radiation means for scanning and radiating light;

    light receiving means for receiving light which is radiated by said optical radiation means and is then reflected by an object;

    received-light intensity detection means for detecting an intensity of the reflected light;

    obstacle identifying means for identifying said object based on a distribution pattern of the received-light intensity detected by said intensity detection means, the distribution pattern being obtained with respect to the direction of scanning performed by said optical radiation means;

    distance calculation means for calculating a distance to said object, based on a propagation lag duration from the time when the light is radiated by said optical radiation means to the time when the reflected light is received by said light receiving means; and

    object-width calculation means for calculating a width of said object based on a scanning angle of said optical radiation means and the distance calculated by said distance calculation means;

    wherein said obstacle identifying means identifies said object based on the distance calculated by said distance calculation means, the distribution pattern of the received-light intensity with respect to the scanning direction, and the width of said object.

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