Denso Corporation

Mazda Motor Corporation

Keiji Matsuoka

Yoshie Samukawa

Toyohito Nozawa

Koji Shimizu

Akiyoshi Mizutani

Noriaki Shirai

Yoshiaki Hoashi

Eiji Teramura

Hiroshi Ohkata

Hiroshi Ookata

Haruki Okazaki

Tsutomu Natsume

Akira Isogai

Takao Nishimura

Takaharu Oguri

Shunya Kumano

Mamoru Shimamoto

Katsuhiro Morikawa

Kouji Shimizu

Masaya Okada

Yu Maeda

In an apparatus for controlling travel of an own vehicle which is a vehicle carrying the apparatus, an information acquirer is configured to acquire information regarding a target around the own vehicle from a target detector. A controller is configured to, if determining, using the target information acquired by the information acquirer, that if travel of the own vehicle is continued in accordance with a collision avoidance trajectory determined to avoid a collision with an object located on a roadway ahead of the own vehicle, the own vehicle is likely to collide with the object or another object, change a setting of a driving state of the own vehicle so as to avoid or reduce a likelihood of the collision.

Apparatus and system for controlling travel of vehicle

A target detection apparatus counts the number of reflection points, taking a reflection point of interest as being a target reflection point, for each detected reflection point, the reflection points being present in a target area that is set with reference to the target reflection point and each having a difference in speed from the target reflection point, the difference being not more than a preset identical speed determination threshold, and extracts a parallel-running pair that is a pair of the reflection points that meet preset parallel-running conditions. The target detection apparatus determines that the two reflection points configuring the parallel-running pair originate from an identical target, when a count value is not less than a preset size determination threshold, the count value being of at least either of the two reflection points configuring the extracted parallel-running pair and generates target information reflecting the determination results.

Target detection apparatus and vehicle control system

The cruise control apparatus includes a headway control means for making a first determination as to whether or not at least one recognized front vehicle running ahead of an own vehicle is a preceding vehicle present in an own-vehicle lane in which the own vehicle is running, performing a headway control to cause the own vehicle to run following the preceding vehicle when the first determination is affirmative, and a vehicle type recognizing means for recognizing a type of the recognized front vehicle. The headway control means is configured to change a way to perform the headway control depending on the type (vehicle size, for example) of the recognized front vehicle.

Cruise control apparatus

A vehicle-mounted radar apparatus for transmitting radar waves in a forward traveling direction of a vehicle mounting the apparatus thereon (radar-mounting vehicle) and receiving the radar waves reflected from an object to acquire information about the object. In the apparatus, a target detection unit transmits and receives the radar waves to detect positions of targets. A representative target selection unit selects a representative target from the targets detected by the target detection unit. A same-object target selection unit selects targets belonging to the same object as the representative target. An object position determination unit calculates a value of a predefined function of lateral positions of two or more targets of all the targets selected by the same-object target selection unit as a lateral position, along a vehicle-width direction of the radar-mounting vehicle, of the specific reflecting object.

Vehicle-mounted radar apparatus

A vehicle-mounted radar apparatus for transmitting radar waves toward the outside of a vehicle mounting the apparatus thereon and receiving the radar waves reflected from an object to thereby acquire information about the object. In the apparatus, a target detection unit transmits and receives the radar waves to detect positions of targets. An object position determination unit determines a position of the object reflecting the radar waves on the basis of the positions of the targets. A representative target selection unit selects a representative target from the targets. A same-object target selection unit selects targets belonging to the same object as the representative target. A large-vehicle determination unit determines whether or not the object is a large vehicle on the basis of a number of targets selected by the same-object target selection unit and reflection wave received powers for the respective targets.

A vehicle-mounted radar apparatus for transmitting radar waves toward the outside of a vehicle mounting the apparatus thereon and receiving the radar waves reflected from an object to thereby acquire information about the object. In the apparatus, a target detection unit transmits and receives the radar waves to detect positions of targets. An object position determination unit determines a position of the object reflecting the radar waves on the basis of the positions of the targets. A representative target selection unit selects a representative target from the targets detected by the target detection unit. A same-object target selection unit selects targets belonging to the same object as the representative target. A large-vehicle determination unit determines whether or not an extent of the targets selected by the same-object target selection unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value for large-vehicle determination.

Vechicle-mounted radar apparatus

In a radar device, an azimuth estimating module estimates, when there are a plurality of arrival echo and an angular range between the arrival azimuth of one of adjacent arrival echoes in the plurality of arrival echoes and the arrival azimuth of the other thereof is equal to or smaller than a predetermined azimuth resolution of a plurality of receiving antennas, a virtual azimuth and virtual power for each of first frequency components and second frequency components. The virtual azimuth is within the angular range between the arrival azimuth of one of adjacent arrival echoes in the plurality of arrival echoes and the arrival azimuth of the other thereof, and the virtual power is received power of a virtual arrival echo from the virtual azimuth.

Radar device for detecting azimuth of target

A target object information estimating device embodied by an electronically agile radar sensor is mounted in a moving vehicle. The device has a unit outputting a radar wave every measuring period, receiving radar waves reflected from a target object through different transmission paths and calculating a distance to the object in each measuring period to detect the object, a unit tracking the object in a tracking term of measuring periods, a unit setting the distance changed with time as a null distance each time electric power of the received waves is reduced to a minimal value, and a unit producing an actual pattern of null points corresponding to the null distances, collating the actual pattern with modeled patterns corresponding to various heights and estimates the height of the object from the collation result as information about the object.

Device for estimating information on target object

In an object recognition apparatus for a vehicle which uses intensities of reflected waves from reflecting objects to make a recognition on whether a reflecting object is a vehicle or a non-vehicle, a plurality of transmission waves are emitted to receive a plurality of reflected waves from the reflecting objects, and a decision is made as to whether or not the reflecting object producing the plurality of reflected waves is a unitary reflecting object. If the decision shows a unitary reflecting object, the highest intensity of intensities of the reflected waves from the unitary reflecting object is compared with a reference intensity to makes a decision on whether the reflecting object is a vehicle or a non-vehicle. This enables univocally making a decision for each unitary reflecting object as to whether the reflecting object is more likely to be a vehicle or to be a non-vehicle, thus improving the recognition accuracy.

Object recognition apparatus for vehicle and distance measurement apparatus

An object recognition apparatus in a subject vehicle includes a radar unit for transmitting a plurality of laser beams in a scan range spread in horizontal and vertical directions of the subject vehicle and receiving a reflection, a recognition unit for recognizing the object in front of the subject vehicle based on the reflection, a determination sub-unit in the radar unit, a calculation sub-unit in the radar unit; and an adjustment sub-unit in the radar unit. The radar unit is so disposed in the subject vehicle with a center axis of one of the plurality of the laser beams aligned with a target angle that the determination sub-unit uses coverage in the vertical direction of the laser beam being sufficient for variation of heights of the reflector on the object at a first distance detected by the radar unit as the predetermined condition for selecting of the object.

Object recognition apparatus for motor vehicle

Inter-vehicle control apparatus and distance measurement apparatus

If the maximum time width Lt of the intensity of received light of reflected waves from a vehicle ahead is smaller than a reference time width, it is judged that the vehicle ahead is positioned in proximity to the detection limit distance of an obstacle detection device for vehicle. Thus, there is no problem, for example, even if a cut-in vehicle is present in reality between the vehicle ahead and the vehicle of interest and nevertheless, the distance to the cut-in vehicle cannot be detected. It can be judged whether the vehicle ahead is positioned in proximity to the detection limit distance of the device by judging the magnitude relation between Lt and the reference time width. As a result, the detecting capability of the device can be judged with accuracy.

Method for detecting an obstacle around a vehicle

Object recognition apparatus for vehicle, inter-vehicle control apparatus, and distance measurement apparatus

In an object recognition apparatus using a radar unit for a vehicle, in mounting the radar unit on the vehicle, a transmission wave is outputted throughout an appropriate angular range in a forward direction of the vehicle in a state where a margin is given to a tolerance of the mounting angle of the radar unit on the vehicle. Laser beams are radiated at a target placed at a predetermined positional relationship relative to the radar unit mounted on the vehicle to extract a laser beam which provides the maximum light-reception intensity in each of the X-axis and Y-axis directions. Moreover, a predetermined angular range is set in each of the X-axis and Y-axis directions so that the laser beam which provides the maximum light-reception intensity is centered therein, and the predetermined angular range is used as a recognition area.

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Kariya, Japan

Keiji Matsuoka