Denso Corporation

Nippon Soken, Inc.

Hideki Hioki

Toshiyuki Konishi

Yohei Nakakura

Yoshihisa Okada

Mitsuyasu Matsuura

Toshiki Isogai

A laser sensor is located close to a rotation axis of a vehicle door and configured to emit a laser beam to a surface of the vehicle door and accept reflected light reflected from an obstacle for scanning a scanning plane shifted in a door-opening direction, in which the vehicle door is openable. A determination section determines whether an obstacle, which is possible to make contact with the vehicle door, exists in the door-opening direction of the vehicle door, based on a result of emission and acceptance of the laser beam of the laser sensor. An opening regulating section regulates an opening of the vehicle door in response to determination of the determination section that the obstacle exists.

Vehicle door control apparatus and method for controlling vehicle door

A distance measuring sensor is arranged to a vehicle door, and measures a distance to an object in a direction corresponding to a scanning angle. A memory stores a standard angle and a comparison distance corresponding to the scanning angle. A distance-shortest scanning angle is defined by the shortest value of the measured distance. When the distance-shortest scanning angle is different from the standard angle, the scanning angle is corrected. The object is determined to be an obstacle having a possibility to contact with the door, when the measured distance is equal to or shorter than a corrected comparison distance corresponding to the corrected scanning angle.

Obstacle detecting device

A laser sensor projects laser light in the downward direction. If the laser sensor does not receive any laser light reflected by an obstacle or the ground, it is determined that the obstacle is present in the direction of projection of the laser light. It is thus possible to detect the presence of the obstacle, which will at least affect the opening of the vehicle door.

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Ichinomiya, Japan

Hideki Hioki