The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 04, 2000
Filed:
Jan. 20, 1998
Michael E Farmer, West Bloomfield, MI (US);
Michael P Bruce, Brighton, MI (US);
Automotive Systems Laboratory, Inc., Farmington Hills, MI (US);
Abstract
A relatively narrow beam of either RF or optical electromagnetic radiation is scanned over a relatively wide azimuthal range. The return signal is processed to detect the range and velocity of each point of reflection. Individual targets are identified by clustering analysis and are tracked in a Cartesian coordinate system using a Kalman filter. The threat to the vehicle for a given target is assessed from estimates of the relative distance, velocity, and size of each target, and one or more vehicular devices are controlled responsive to the assessment of threat so as to enhance the safety of the vehicle occupant. In a preferred embodiment, a quantized linear frequency modulated continuous wave RF signal is transmitted from and received by a multi-beam antenna having an aziumthal range of at least +/-100 degrees and an individual beam width of approximately 10 degrees.