Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha

Hiroshi Touge

Yoshihiro Naruse

Mitsuhiro Ando

Takehiko Sugiura

Hideyuki Aikyo

Shinichi Harada

Manabu Katoh

An ultrasonic sensor provided at a flip-up back door that opens and closes via a pivot shaft provided at a rear top of a vehicle, the ultrasonic sensor detecting an object in a vicinity of the vehicle by intermittently transmitting an ultrasonic wave, which hits the object to thereby generate a reflected wave as a reflection of the ultrasonic wave, the ultrasonic sensor including a sensor head provided at the back door and including a transmitter transmitting the ultrasonic wave and a receiver receiving the reflected wave, wherein the sensor head is provided at a position in a vicinity of a centerline of the vehicle in a width direction thereof and where a distance from a corner of an edge portion of the back door to the sensor head is shorter than a distance from the sensor head to a small aboveground structure provided on the ground.

Ultrasonic sensor

An object detecting apparatus detecting an object position based on a reflected wave generated by reflection of a transmitted ultrasonic wave from the object includes a transmitting portion transmitting the ultrasonic wave, a receiving portion receiving the ultrasonic waves as received signals, a detecting position detecting an envelope and an operation portion detecting a peak of each envelope and obtaining an approximate line with a maximum change amount of the envelope in a change amount increasing period set to a gradient of the approximate line, provided that the change amount increasing period is defined as a period that an amount of change per a predetermined unit time of the envelope, heading to the peak, continues to increase, the operation portion obtaining a time that a voltage value of the approximate line equals a reference value as a receipt time and detecting the object position based on the receipt time.

Object detecting apparatus, opening and closing control system for vehicle using object detecting apparatus, and method of detecting upstroke of envelope

A microwave oscillating portionhas an output oscillator function that is capable of adjusting automatically a frequency of microwaves radiated from an electrically conductive member made of an outer panel-as an antenna at a specific frequency of a sufficiently short wavelength in relation to a size of the electrically conductive member made of the outer panel-. The microwave oscillating portioncan detect a human and an object of a detection objectin a detection areaA-A set at an outside of the outer panel-that is integrally or separably mounted on a vehicle

Proximity sensor

An obstacle detecting system for a vehicle, which includes an ultrasonic sensor provided at a vehicle body for detecting obstacles surrounding the vehicle. A central axis in a transmitting direction of an ultrasonic wave from the ultrasonic sensor is arranged to approximately follow a surface of the vehicle body.

Obstacle detecting system for vehicle

An obstacle detection device includes a transmitting portion for sending ultrasonic wave, a plurality of receiving portions provided at different positions and receiving reflected waves of the ultrasonic wave, a plurality of envelope wave acquiring portions for acquiring envelope waves corresponding to the reflected waves, on the basis of the reflected waves received by the receiving portions, determining portions for determining a peak of each of the envelope waves, storing portions for storing a partial data of the each of the envelope waves, whose peak is determined by the determining portions, estimating portions for estimating a starting point of the each of the envelope waves by using the partial and location determining portions for determining a location of an obstacle on the basis of the starting point of the each of the envelope waves.

Obstacle detection device and method for estimating receiving time

An apparatus for monitoring surroundings of a vehicle includes an imaging apparatus provided at the vehicle, a plurality of ultrasonic sensors provided around the imaging apparatus as a unit with the imaging apparatus, an object-position-detecting apparatus for detecting a position of an object appearing within an imaging range of the imaging apparatus on the basis of outputs of the plurality of the ultrasonic sensors and a display-controlling apparatus for performing a predetermined image processing for an image obtained by the imaging apparatus at a position corresponding to the position of the object detected by the object-position-detecting apparatus.

Apparatus for monitoring surroundings of vehicle and sensor unit

A closed space monitor system monitors the closed space by detecting a change in the air flow and the volume change of the closed space. The closed space monitor system includes a transmitter for generating and transmitting a compression wave of gas, a receiver for receiving the compression wave of gas, a inverting amplifier for amplifying the signal from the receiver via an electric current-voltage conversion portion, and automatic gain control portion. The amplified signal from the receiver is transmitted from the transmitter for generating the stationary wave in the closed space.

Closed space monitor system

An angular rate sensor has a pair of masses located symmetrically with respect to a point on the xy-plane, a support beam connected to each of the masses so as to be substantially movable in a direction, a center anchor supporting the support beam at the point, a floating body having a plurality of slits and located symmetrically with respect to the point, and a pair of displacement detecting elements located in the slits to detect rotational vibration about the point when an angular rate occurs. A connecting beam is located symmetrically with respect to the point, and driving electrodes vibrate in an anti-phase manner.

Angular rate sensor

An angular velocity sensor includes coupling beams supported afloat by highly flexible support beams so as to be movable relative to a substrate, with the support beams being flexible in the x-axis and a y-axis directions and being symmetrical with respect to the center of the sensor. A first vibrator and a second vibrator are supported by respective coupling beams through spring beams that are highly flexible in the x-direction, with the spring beams being symmetrical with respect to the x-axis passing through the center symmetrical to each other with respect to the y-axis passing through the center. Drive electrodes drive at least one of the first vibrator and the second vibrator to vibrate in the x-direction. First displacement detection electrodes detect a y-directional vibration of the first vibrator and second displacement detection electrodes detect a y-directional vibration of the second vibrator. Precision with respect to detecting the angular velocity is prevented from being lowered by electrical and mechanical disturbances.

Angular velocity sensor

An angular rate sensor comprises an oscillator excited for oscillation in x-direction, a movable electrode disposed in opposing relationship with a stationary electrode along z-direction, and a movable electrode support for transmitting the oscillation of the oscillator in the z-direction to the movable electrode while interrupting the transmission of the oscillation in the x-direction, and is formed by a micromachining operation. The movable electrode support includes an oscillator support beam continuing from the oscillator and extending in y-direction, an electrode support beam continuing from the oscillator support beam and extending in the x-direction, and a connector stem extending in the x-direction form the electrode support beam and connected to the movable electrode at a position which represents the center of gravity of the movable electrode. When a turning force about the y-axis is applied to the oscillator, Coriolis force is produced and causes the oscillator to undergo an elliptical motion, depicting an ellipse on an x-z plane. The electrode support beam and the oscillator support beam interrupt the x-component of the elliptical oscillation while transmitting only the z-component to the movable electrode. An electrical circuit connected to the movable electrode produces an electrical signal representing the z-component of the oscillation.

Growing community of inventors

Ichinomiya, Japan

Hiroshi Touge