JP2011247761A - Object detector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To quickly and precisely detect an object.SOLUTION: An object detector 10 includes: a wide-angle right radar 11R and a wide-angle left radar 11L which are disposed in a right front part and a left front part of a user's vehicle and are capable of scanning all of an area in front of the vehicle at a time ; and a processor 12. The processor 12 includes an object detection part 26 which, if a reflection point rR detected by the right radar 11R and a reflection point rL detected by the left radar 11L exist in one object, calculates a distance between reflection points rR and rL and distances to respective reflection points rR and rL in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle and detects a width of the object on the basis of the distance between reflection points and the distances to respective reflection points rR and rL.

Description

  The present invention relates to an object detection device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, a radar apparatus that performs a plurality of scans by dividing an entire front area of a vehicle into a plurality of angle areas and sequentially transmitting an electromagnetic wave and receiving a reflected wave for each angle area is known. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1). This radar apparatus compares the detection result of the reception intensity distribution with respect to the scanning angle with the model pattern of the reception intensity distribution created in advance for each of a plurality of vehicle types, and detects the vehicle type of the preceding vehicle from this comparison result.

JP-A-11-271441

  By the way, in the radar apparatus according to the above-described prior art, in order to detect an object at a long distance with a desired accuracy, it is necessary to scan the finely divided angular region with an electromagnetic wave having a narrow beam width. However, when scanning is performed on an object existing at a short distance with such a scanning setting, the required scanning angle range is widened, and the time required for scanning increases, and the object cannot be detected quickly. The problem arises.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an object detection device capable of detecting an object quickly and accurately.

  In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, an object detection device according to a first aspect of the present invention is a radar device (for example, the right in the embodiment) arranged at the left front portion and the right front portion of the host vehicle. An object detection device including a radar 11R, a left radar 11L, and a processing device 12), wherein the radar device emits an electromagnetic wave to the front area and receives a reflected wave of the electromagnetic wave, whereby The reflection position of the reflected wave in the direction can be detected, and the reflection position detected by the radar device in the left front portion and the radar device in the right front portion in one scan with respect to the entire front area of the host vehicle. When the detected reflection position exists on the same object, detection means for detecting the width of the object based on the distance between the reflection positions (for example, in the embodiment) Comprising a body detection unit 26).

  Furthermore, in the object detection device according to the second aspect of the present invention, the detection means detects the width of the object based on the distance from the radar device to the reflection position in the front-rear direction of the host vehicle.

  With the object detection device according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to quickly and easily detect the width of an object existing in the front area of the host vehicle by one scan of the entire front area of the host vehicle.

  According to the object detection device of the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to improve the detection accuracy of the object width based on the distance from the radar device to the reflection position.

It is a block diagram of the object detection apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of each reflective point rR, rL with respect to the relative position with the own vehicle P which concerns on embodiment of this invention, the preceding vehicle Q of the traveling path ahead of the own vehicle, and the human body H. Changes in the reflection points rR and rL according to the distance (the distance to the front object) between the host vehicle P according to the embodiment of the present invention and the preceding vehicle Q and the human body H in front of the traveling path of the host vehicle P. It is a figure which shows an example. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the object detection apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of an object detection device of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
An object detection device 10 according to this embodiment is mounted on a vehicle that transmits a driving force of an internal combustion engine (not shown) to drive wheels (not shown) via a transmission (not shown), for example, as shown in FIG. The right radar unit 11R and the left radar unit 11L disposed in the right front part and the left front part of the vehicle, the processing device 12, the throttle actuator 13, the brake actuator 14, the steering actuator 15, and the notification device 16 are configured. ing.

The right radar 11R and the left radar 11L are radar devices that use, for example, a monopulse method (for example, a phase monopulse method) for angle measurement and distance measurement, and have a wide-angle angle detection range that can scan the front area of the vehicle at a time. Have.
The right radar 11R and the left radar 11L transmit an electromagnetic wave transmission signal to the front area of the vehicle, and the electromagnetic wave is reflected by an external object (for example, another vehicle, a structure, a road surface, etc.), and the reflected wave generated The reflected signal is received. Then, a signal related to the transmission signal and the reflection signal is output to the processing device 12.

  The processing device 12 includes, for example, two reflection point detection units 21R and 21L, a reflection point classification unit 22, a left / right direction position determination unit 23, a front / rear direction distance calculation unit 24, an object detection unit 26, and a vehicle control unit. 27.

  The reflection point detection units 21R and 21L detect the reflection positions (reflection points) rR and rL of the reflected wave based on the signals output from the right radar 11R and the left radar 11L, and the angles of the reflection points rR and rL. (At least azimuth and elevation angle) and distance are detected. Each reflection point rR, rL is, for example, within each angle detection range (for example, each range AR, AL shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B) of each right radar 11R and left radar 11L and each left radar 11R and left radar. The reflection point is the shortest distance from the radar 11L.

Thereby, as shown in FIG. 2A, for example, the reflection point rR detected by the right radar 11R with respect to another vehicle (preceding vehicle Q) preceding the traveling path ahead of the vehicle (host vehicle P). And the reflection point rL detected by the left radar 11L is a value corresponding to the distance between the right radar 11R and the left radar 11L or the vehicle width of the preceding vehicle Q.
For example, as shown in FIG. 2B, for a small object such as a human body H existing in front of the traveling path of the vehicle (host vehicle P), the distance between the reflection points rR and rL is as follows. The vehicle width is smaller than the vehicle width of the preceding vehicle Q.

  The reflection point classification unit 22 determines whether the reflection points rR and rL detected by the reflection point detection units 21R and 21L exist on the same object. This determination is made, for example, by the distance in the front-rear direction of each reflection point rR, rL (that is, the distance from the right radar 11R to the reflection point rR and the distance from the left radar 11L to the reflection point rL in the front-rear direction of the vehicle (own vehicle P)). ) Or the like.

  The left-right direction position determination unit 23 determines that the distance between the reflection points rR and rL is greater than zero when the reflection points rR and rL exist on the same object as a result of determination by the reflection point classification unit 22. It is determined whether or not it has a value. This determination is, for example, determination of whether or not the reflection point rR detected by the right radar 11R is located on the right side of the reflection point rL detected by the left radar 11L.

The front-rear direction distance calculation unit 24 determines that this object (when the reflection points rR and rL are on the same object and the distance between the reflection points rR and rL is greater than zero) The distance in the front-rear direction to the front object) is calculated.
The predetermined range calculation unit 25 calculates a predetermined range for the distance between the reflection points rR and rL according to the distance to the front object calculated by the front-rear direction distance calculation unit 24.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3A, when the forward object is another vehicle (preceding vehicle Q) that precedes the front of the traveling path of the vehicle (own vehicle P), each reflection point rR, rL corresponds to the preceding vehicle Q. The distance between the reflection points changes between the reflection points rR and rL in a decreasing trend as the distance increases.
On the other hand, for example, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the forward object is a small object such as a human body H existing in front of the traveling path of the vehicle (own vehicle P), each reflection point rR, rL The distance between the reflection points rR and rL is almost zero regardless of the distance between the reflection points rR and rL.

  The predetermined range calculation unit 25 stores data such as a predetermined map indicating a correspondence relationship between the distance to the front object and the distance between the reflection points rR and rL in advance with a plurality of different front object ( For example, it is stored for each preceding vehicle Q and human body). A reflection point that changes in accordance with the distance and the size of the forward object (for example, the preceding vehicle Q and the human body) by the map search according to the distance to the forward object calculated by the longitudinal distance calculation unit 24. The inter-distance data is acquired, and at least a predetermined range (for example, a range corresponding to the vehicle widths of various vehicles) required to distinguish the preceding vehicle Q from the human body is acquired.

The object detection unit 26 determines whether the distance between the reflection points between the reflection point rR and the reflection point rL is a value within a predetermined range of the distance between the reflection points calculated by the predetermined range calculation unit 25. Based on this, it is determined whether or not the forward object is another vehicle (for example, the preceding vehicle Q).
For example, when the distance between the reflection points rR and rL is a value within a predetermined range, the object detection unit 26 indicates that the front object is another vehicle (for example, the preceding vehicle Q). Thus, it is determined that the vehicle has a width corresponding to the vehicle width.

Based on the determination result signal output from the object detection unit 26, the vehicle control unit 27 avoids following travel, avoids collision, or reduces impact at the time of collision with respect to an object existing in front of the traveling path of the vehicle (own vehicle P). The control signal for controlling the traveling state of the vehicle is output. This control signal includes, for example, a control signal for controlling the transmission operation of the transmission (T / M), a control signal for controlling the driving force of the internal combustion engine by the throttle actuator 13, and a control signal for controlling deceleration by the brake actuator 14 and the steering actuator. 15 is a control signal for controlling the turning.
The vehicle control unit 27 outputs a control signal for controlling the notification device 16 based on the determination result signal output from the object detection unit 26, for example, by notifying various information to the driver of the vehicle. .

Note that the notification device 16 includes, for example, a tactile transmission device, a visual transmission device, and an auditory transmission device.
The tactile transmission device is, for example, a seat belt device, a steering control device, or the like, and generates a predetermined tension on the seat belt, for example, in response to a control signal output from the vehicle control unit 27 so that the passenger of the own vehicle can sense the touch. For example, a perceivable tightening force is applied, or vibration (steering vibration) that can be perceived tactilely by the driver of the host vehicle is generated on the steering wheel, for example.
The visual transmission device is, for example, a display device or the like, and displays predetermined information on the display device or blinks a predetermined lamp according to a control signal input from the vehicle control unit 27, for example.
The auditory transmission device is, for example, a speaker, and outputs a predetermined sound or voice according to a control signal input from the vehicle control unit 27.

  The object detection apparatus 10 according to this embodiment has the above-described configuration. Next, the operation of the object detection apparatus 10 will be described.

First, for example, in step S01 shown in FIG. 4, based on the signals output from the right radar 11R and the left radar 11L, the reflection position of the reflected wave reflected by the object in front of the traveling path of the vehicle (own vehicle P) ( Reflection points) rR and rL are detected.
Next, in step S02, for example, the distance in the front-rear direction of each reflection point rR, rL (that is, the distance from the right radar 11R to the reflection point rR and the distance from the left radar 11L to the reflection point rL in the vehicle front-rear direction). By determining whether or not they match, it is determined whether or not each of the reflection points rR and rL exists on the same object.
If this determination is “NO”, the flow proceeds to the end.
On the other hand, if the determination is “YES”, the flow proceeds to step S03.

Next, in step S03, for example, by determining whether or not the reflection point rR detected by the right radar 11R is located on the right side of the reflection point rL detected by the left radar 11L, the reflection points rR and rL are determined. It is determined whether or not the distance between the reflection points between has a value greater than zero.
If this determination is “NO”, the flow proceeds to the end.
On the other hand, if this determination is “YES”, the flow proceeds to step S 04.

Next, in step S04, the distance in the front-rear direction to the object (front object) where each reflection point rR, rL exists is calculated.
Next, in step S05, a predetermined range with respect to the distance between the reflection points between the reflection points rR and rL is calculated according to the distance to the front object.

Next, in step S06, it is determined whether or not the distance between the reflection points rR and rL is a value within a predetermined range.
If this determination is “YES”, the flow proceeds to step S 07, and in this step S 07, the object (front object) on which each of the reflection points rR and rL exists is another vehicle (for example, the preceding vehicle Q). Thus, it is determined that the vehicle has a width corresponding to the vehicle width, and the process proceeds to the end.
On the other hand, if this determination is “NO”, the flow proceeds to the end.

As described above, according to the object detection device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the right radar 11R and the left radar 11L having the wide angle detection range are used once for the entire wide front area of the vehicle (the host vehicle P). In this scanning, the width of the object existing in the front area can be detected quickly and easily. In particular, short-distance object detection is more effective because it requires a short processing time.
In addition, for example, the right radar 11R and the left radar 11L having a wide angle detection range are cheaper than a radar apparatus that scans a finely divided angular region with an electromagnetic wave having a narrow beam width. Yes, the cost required for the device configuration can be reduced.
Furthermore, the detection accuracy of the object width can be improved based on the distance from the right radar 11R to the reflection point rR and the distance from the left radar 11L to the reflection point rL in the front-rear direction of the vehicle (own vehicle P).

  In the above-described embodiment, the right radar 11R and the left radar 11L are radar devices that use a monopulse system (for example, a phase monopulse system) for angle measurement and distance measurement. Alternatively, a radar apparatus using another method may be used. Further, the radar apparatus may use a method other than the pulse method for distance measurement, such as an FMCW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) method.

10 Object detection device 11R Right radar (radar device)
11L Left radar (radar device)
12 Processing equipment (radar equipment)
21R, 21L Reflection point detection unit 22 Reflection point classification unit 23 Left-right direction position determination unit 24 Front-rear direction distance calculation unit 25 Predetermined range calculation unit 26 Object detection unit (detection means)
27 Vehicle control unit

Claims (2)

An object detection device including a radar device disposed at a left front portion and a right front portion of a host vehicle,
The radar apparatus can detect the reflection position of the reflected wave in the left-right direction of the host vehicle by transmitting an electromagnetic wave to the front area and receiving the reflected wave of the electromagnetic wave.
The reflection position detected by the radar device in the left front part and the reflection position detected by the radar device in the right front part in one scan with respect to the entire front area of the host vehicle are on the same object. An object detection apparatus comprising: a detection unit configured to detect the width of the object based on a distance between the reflection positions when present. The object detection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit detects a width of the object based on a distance from the radar apparatus to the reflection position in a front-rear direction of the host vehicle.

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