Fujitsu Ten Limited

Fujitsu Corporation

Kanako Honda

Osamu Isaji

Kazuo Shirakawa

Tetsuo Seki

Naofumi Ohkubo

Masao Nakano

Nobukazu Shima

Kenji Oka

Kimihisa Yoneda

A radar apparatus includes a transmission section, a delay device, a reception section, a switch control section, a switching frequency detection section, and a relative distance calculation section. The transmission section transmits a signal wave, which is spectrum spread by using a spread code. The delay device gives delay to the spread code. The reception section receives a wave reflected by an object and spectrum despreads the reflected wave with using the delayed spread code to output a despread signal. The switch control section switches at a switching frequency an operation of at least one of the transmission section, the reception section, and the delay device. The switching frequency detection section detects the switching frequency from the despread signal. The relative distance calculation section calculates a distance to the object based on a detection result provided by the switching frequency detection section and an amount of the delay.

Radar apparatus

An antenna unit includes at least one transmission antenna and plural reception antennas. A receiver detects information including azimuth information for a target, based on an output from the antenna unit. An antenna switching unit switches connections between a transmitter and the transmission antenna and between the reception antenna and the receiver. The antenna unit includes a wide-beam array antenna and plural narrow-beam array antennas having a narrower beam width than the array antenna. A monopulse process is performed based on an output of a predetermined pair of array antennas from among the array antennas formed as the narrow-beam array antennas.

Monopulse radar apparatus and antenna switch

Provide an on-vehicle radar device that performs transmission control of a monitoring signal, following fixed rules, so that interference with other radar devices can be avoided with certainty. An on-vehicle radar device comprises a transceiver which transmits/receives a monitoring signal at a specified frequency band and transmits a priority order signal at a frequency within the above-mentioned frequency band, and a controller which switches the signals transmitted by the transceiver. The transceiver receives a priority order signal of another radar device, and when interference with the signal of the other radar device is detected, the controller, based on the priority order of that other device and on the priority order of the device itself, shifts, by a specified frequency amount, the frequency band of the monitoring signal transmitted by the transceiver.

On-vehicle radar device and on-vehicle radar device control system

An image processing device includes a camera that picks up an image, an image density recognizer that recognizes density of the image, and an exposure controller that in an exposure control period automatically controls an exposure of the camera based on the density recognized. The exposure controller period includes at least a maximum exposure period during which the exposure is set to a maximum exposure, a minimum exposure period during which the exposure is set to a minimum exposure, and a normal exposure period during which the exposure is set to in between the maximum exposure and the minimum exposure.

Imaging processing device and a method of processing an image

In a radar apparatus having a plurality of antennas having switches respectively, malfunctions of the switches are detected by comparing the reception signal levels of the respective antennas with one another. Specifically, if the difference among the reception signal levels is at least a predetermined value, it is determined that at least one switch malfunctions so as not to be turned ON. Moreover, if the difference among the signal levels is smaller than the gain difference of each antenna and is substantially the same, it is determined that there is a malfunction in which all of the compared switches are not turned OFF. In addition, in an OFF state of each switch, if a reception signal of a predetermined level or more is detected, it is determined that there is a malfunction in which at least one switch is not turned OFF.

The invention is directed to reducing the number of high-frequency components in a phase monopulse radar. A received signal selected by alternately selecting two antennas by a first switch is amplified by a receiver amplifier and mixed in a mixer with a portion of a transmitter signal. Each beat signal output from the mixer is distributed via a second switch to a selected one of two processing systems.

A radar includes a transmission section, a heterodyne reception section, a power supply section and a detection section. The transmission section emits a transmission wave to a target. The heterodyne reception section receives a reflected wave from the target. The power supply section supplies power to the reception section. A switching frequency of the power supply section is in synchronization with a local oscillation frequency of the reception section. The detection section determines that the switching frequency is out of synchronization with the local oscillation frequency when a certain peak frequency existing in an output signal of the reception section before a transmission state of the transmission section is changed still exists in the output signal of the reception section after the transmission state of the transmission section is changed.

Radar

The search/detection apparatus modulates a carrier signal by a modulation signal, generates a probe signal for detecting the location of a target, and receives the probe signal reflected by the target as an echo signal. Then, the search/detection apparatus detects the existence of an interference signal other than the echo signal from the received signal and modifies the parameter of the modulation signal and/or carrier signal.

Search/detection apparatus

In a radar apparatus constructed to perform switching between a plurality of receiving antennas by using a switch, the effect of noise induced by the antenna switching is eliminated. A situation where there is no echo signal from a target is created, for example, by turning off a transmitter amplifier, and the Fourier transformed result obtained at this time is taken as a correction value and stored in a memory. During radar operation, the effect of the noise induced by the antenna switching can be eliminated by subtracting the correction value from the Fourier transformed result.

In an FM-CW radar apparatus which determines the azimuth to a target by a phase monopulse technique, an abnormal value resulting from the presence of multiple targets is detected. Three receiving antennas are arranged at spacings of 5&#x3bb;/4 and 6&#x3bb;/4, respectively, and it is determined whether the difference between the azimuth obtained from the combination of the receiving antennas spaced 5&#x3bb;/4 apart and the azimuth obtained from the combination of the receiving antennas spaced 6&#x3bb;/4 apart is smaller than a predetermined value or not; when the condition has been satisfied n times in succession, it is determined that the detected value is normal. On the other hand, if the condition has not been satisfied n times in succession, or if the difference is not smaller than the predetermined value, it is determined that the detected value is an abnormal value resulting from the presence of multiple targets.

A method for image processing that compensates for inconsistent edge detection. A field of view of a camera is segmented in the form of a matrix by angle and by measured range value based on parallax; matrix data is calculated for a segment where a detected edge exists, and for segments surrounding the segment, the calculated matrix data is then assigned to each of the segments; a search is made through the assigned matrix data to find a segment that has matrix data exceeding a predetermined threshold value. If, the detected edge exists in the found segment, edge data of the edge is taken to represent the position of an object.

Method for processing an image captured by a camera

A radar has a transmission section, a reception section that receives a reflected wave of the transmission wave, a transmission switch section, a delay section that delays a predetermined timing, a reception switching section, a difference processing section, and a calculation section. The transmission section switches between a first frequency and a second frequency to transmit a transmission wave having one of the frequencies. The transmission switch section switches between turning-on and turning-off of an operation of the transmission section at the predetermined timing. The reception switching section switches between turning-on and turning-off of an operation of the reception section according to the timing delayed. The difference processing section outputs a difference between the transmission wave and the reflected wave. The calculation section calculates a distance on a basis of a delay amount, when a detection waveform has a difference frequency between the first frequency and the second frequency.

In an information processing apparatusto be installed in a vehicle, there are set a plurality of pixels by means of dividing a detection space around a vehicle into sub-divisions. One or more sensorscapture detection information DS pertaining to the state of inside of the detection space. A parameter conversion sectionproduces first parameters pertaining to an object located in the pixel on the basis of the detection information DS for each sensor, and assigns the first parameters to each pixel. The parameter integration sectionintegrates the first parameters assigned to the pixel on a per-pixel basis, and assigns to the pixel a second parameter which is the result of integration of the first parameters. A processing execution sectionperforms an adaptive task pertaining to vehicle control, through use of integration information MDconsisting of the second parameters assigned to all pixels or through use of control information DC based on the integration control information MD. As a result, processing for integrating information is made common without regard to the combination of the sensors

Information processing apparatus, information capturing apparatus, information integration apparatus, controller, object detector, and information processing method

A method for detecting a target located above a road by using a camera and a radar system, wherein when it is determined that the target captured by the camera is the same target that has been captured by the radar, and when it is determined from an image captured by the camera that the target is at a height higher than road level, the method determines that the target is a stationary object located above the road. Further, when it is determined that the distance to the target captured by the camera or the radar is decreasing, and that the reception level from the target captured by the radar is also decreasing, the method determines that the target is a stationary object located above the road.

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Kobe, Japan

Kanako Honda