Obstacle recognition system for automotive vehicle
First Claim
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1. An obstacle recognition apparatus for a vehicle comprising:
- a radar for emitting radar waves to scan a given angular range in a width-wise direction of a vehicle equipped with the obstacle recognition apparatus, said radar further for receiving returns of the radar waves from objects present in the given angular range to determine distances to and angular directions of the objects in the width-wise direction of the vehicle;
a curve radius determining circuit for determining a radius of a curve in a road on which the vehicle is traveling; and
an obstacle recognition circuit for analyzing the returns of the radar waves received by said radar to recognize as targets a given number of the objects which are closer to a reference angular direction defined within said given angular range, said obstacle recognition circuit for changing the reference angular direction based on the radius of the curve determined by said curve radius determining circuit and said obstacle recognition circuit for analyzing the returns of the radar waves to recognize the objects as points in a coordinate system and further for performing a grouping operation to collect some of the points which meet a first grouping condition into groups, the grouping operation being initiated from the reference angular direction to the width-wise direction of the vehicle.
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Abstract
An obstacle recognition system for automotive vehicles is provided which is designed to recognize targets such as preceding vehicles to be tracked by a radar by grouping data elements derived through a scan of a frontal detection range using laser pulses. The system determines the radius of a curve in a road on which a system vehicle is traveling and shifts one of the data elements from which the grouping operation is to be initiated as a function of the radius of the curve, thereby enabling the recognition of the targets without decreasing the control reliability even when the system vehicle is turning the curve.
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5 Claims
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1. An obstacle recognition apparatus for a vehicle comprising:
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a radar for emitting radar waves to scan a given angular range in a width-wise direction of a vehicle equipped with the obstacle recognition apparatus, said radar further for receiving returns of the radar waves from objects present in the given angular range to determine distances to and angular directions of the objects in the width-wise direction of the vehicle;
a curve radius determining circuit for determining a radius of a curve in a road on which the vehicle is traveling; and
an obstacle recognition circuit for analyzing the returns of the radar waves received by said radar to recognize as targets a given number of the objects which are closer to a reference angular direction defined within said given angular range, said obstacle recognition circuit for changing the reference angular direction based on the radius of the curve determined by said curve radius determining circuit and said obstacle recognition circuit for analyzing the returns of the radar waves to recognize the objects as points in a coordinate system and further for performing a grouping operation to collect some of the points which meet a first grouping condition into groups, the grouping operation being initiated from the reference angular direction to the width-wise direction of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. An obstacle recognition apparatus for a vehicle comprising:
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a radar for emitting radar waves to scan a given angular range in a width-wise direction of a vehicle equipped with the obstacle recognition apparatus, said radar receiving returns of the radar waves from objects present in the given angular range to determine distances to and angular directions of the objects in the width-wise direction of the vehicle;
a curve determining circuit for determining whether a road on which the vehicle is traveling is curved or not; and
an obstacle recognition circuit for analyzing the returns of the radar waves received by I said radar to recognize as targets a given number of the objects which are closer to a reference angular direction defined within said given angular range, when it is determined by said curve determining circuit that the road is curved, said obstacle recognition circuit shifting the reference angular direction in an inward direction of the curved road and said obstacle recognition circuit further for analyzing the returns of the radar waves to recognize the objects as points in a coordinate system and for performing a grouping operation to collect some of the points which meet a first grouping condition into groups, the grouping operation being initiated from the reference angular direction to the width-wise direction of the vehicle.
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Specification