JP3077501B2 - Triangular distance measuring method and its distance measuring device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for measuring the distance of an object detected by, for example, a triangulation sensor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this type of triangulation method has been used for auto-focusing of a camera. In the triangulation method described above, reflected light from a subject with respect to natural light is received by a pair of lenses by a passive method, and condensed on two photosensor arrays provided on the left and right corresponding to the lenses. An image is projected, then the analog video signal from the photosensor is quantized, and the distance to the subject is calculated based on the quantized information. This photosensor array was composed of a plurality of photodiodes, for example, photoelectric conversion elements.

In the above-described triangulation method, the number and size (the number of photodiodes per window) of a light receiving area (hereinafter, referred to as a "window") for receiving reflected light is always constant regardless of the distance of the subject. Was set to When the subject is at infinity, the subject is projected by the photodiodes of the same window of the left and right photosensor arrays. Was projected.

[0004]

However, when the above-described triangulation method is applied to an automobile to measure the distance to another vehicle, if the window size of the photosensor array is small, the appearance is short. However, there is a problem that the distance cannot be measured for a car having a uniform pattern because there is no pattern. Also, if the window size is large, there is a problem in that a far-off vehicle enters the range-finding field of view at an object at another distance, resulting in an average range-finding result. Was.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a triangular distance measuring method and a triangular distance measuring method capable of distinguishing a short distance object from a long distance object and accurately measuring a distance to an object to be measured. It is an object to provide a distance device.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, reflected light from an object to natural light or light emission of the object itself (hereinafter simply referred to as "reflected light") is transmitted to a light receiving area (window). ) Of a plurality of distance measuring sensors (photodiodes constituting a photosensor array)
In the ranging method of projecting a plurality of object images based on the received light, and measuring the distance to the object from the relative displacement of the plurality of object images, the distance corresponding to the measured distance A triangular distance measuring method is provided in which a window for receiving reflected light is set by a setting unit, and a distance to the object is measured by a distance measuring unit based on the light reception in the set window.

[0007]

For example, in the setting means, the number and size of the windows of the photosensor array for receiving the reflected light in accordance with the distance are set in advance, and the optimum window is determined in accordance with the measured distance. The number and size are set and switched, a plurality of object images are projected based on the received light in the switched window, and the distance measuring means measures the distance to the object. Further, when the distance measuring means measures a plurality of distances, information on a specific distance, for example, the shortest distance from the measured distances is output to the setting means.

[0008] Therefore, distance measurement can be performed with the optimal number and size of windows of the photosensor array corresponding to the distance to the object, and a short-distance object and a long-distance object can be easily distinguished.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A triangular distance measuring method and a distance measuring apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a principle diagram showing the principle of a distance measuring device when the triangular distance measuring method according to the present invention is used for distance measurement of an automobile. In FIG. 1, a plurality of sensor units 10 each including a triangular distance measuring sensor are provided in an automobile 1 that performs distance measurement, and each of the sensor units 10 is connected to a sensor output control circuit 20 including a CPU and the like. The sensor output control circuit 20 is connected to a window control circuit 30 including a CPU and the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of sensor units 10 are provided on the left and right side surfaces of the vehicle, as well as on a diagonal surface, a front surface, and a rear surface. Object existing in the direction (other car) 2
Is receiving reflected light from The sensor unit 11
For example, as shown in FIG. 3, a pair of lenses 11 and 12 arranged in the vertical direction of the vehicle body and two sets of photosensor arrays 13 and 14 arranged corresponding to the lenses 11 and 12 are configured. (Hereinafter, this sensor unit,
It is called "vertical sensor unit". ). In this embodiment, the vertical sensor unit is shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the sensor unit may include a pair of lenses arranged in the lateral direction of the vehicle body and a pair of lenses arranged corresponding to the lenses. It is also possible to configure the sensor unit with a set of photosensor arrays (hereinafter, this sensor unit is referred to as a “horizontal sensor unit”). However, when the lateral sensor unit is provided on the side surface or the oblique surface of the vehicle, if the vehicle as the object to be measured has a relative speed, a predetermined time until the photodiode reacts is obtained. In the meantime, the pattern of the car flows in the horizontal direction,
Since the distance to the object cannot be measured, it is preferable to provide a vertical sensor unit.

The lenses 11 and 12 condense reflected light from the object 2 with respect to natural light, and form the photosensor arrays 13 and 1.
4 is projected onto the object image. Each of the photosensor arrays 13 and 14 is composed of, for example, a line sensor in which a plurality of photodiodes are arranged in a line, and outputs a sensor signal based on the projected object image to the sensor output control circuit 20. The photosensor arrays 13 and 14 are:
In addition to the above-described line sensor in which photodiodes are arranged one-dimensionally, for example, a plurality of photodiodes can be configured as a two-dimensional surface sensor.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the first embodiment in a distance measuring apparatus using a vertical sensor unit. The sensor output control circuit 20 and the window control circuit 30 shown in FIG. 1 have a functional configuration as shown in FIG. That is, the sensor output control circuit 20 includes a distance measuring unit 21 that measures the distance to another vehicle, and the window control circuit 30 determines a specific distance based on the distance measurement result from the distance measuring unit 21. It comprises means 31 and window setting means 32 for setting the windows of the photosensor arrays 13 and 14 from the specific distance.

The distance measuring means 21 includes a photo sensor array 1
At the same time as the sensor signals are input from 3 and 14, window information for setting the number and size of the windows is input from the window setting means 32. The distance measuring unit 21 quantizes the sensor signal input from the photodiode within the range of the number and the size of the set windows, and calculates a phase difference between the two object images based on the quantized data by an external light triangular method. The distance M to the object 2 is calculated based on the calculated phase difference, and the distance measurement result (distance information) is output to the vehicle travel control circuit 40 including the distance determination means 31 and the ECU. If the distance measurement means 21 cannot measure the distance,
The undetectable flag F is output to the window setting means 32 and the vehicle running control circuit 40. In addition, there are a plurality of objects detected on the photosensor arrays 13 and 14, and in this case, the distance measuring means 21 outputs a plurality of distance information.

The distance determining means 31 extracts and determines, for example, information on the shortest distance from the plurality of input distance information based on a predetermined algorithm, and outputs the information to the window setting means 32 as distance information. Further, the distance determining means 31 can set an algorithm so as to extract and determine, for example, information on the most frequent distance having a high frequency of occurrence, instead of the information on the shortest distance. In addition,
In this case, the distance determining means 31 needs to calculate the most frequent distance from the distance information input within a predetermined time.

As shown in an example of FIGS. 5 and 6, a setting map of the number of windows and the window size with respect to the distance is set in the window setting means 32 in advance. The reason why the setting map has hysteresis is to prevent the switching of the number of windows and the size from being performed every time the distance is measured when the measured distance is near the switching threshold. is there.

In the window setting means 32, the number of windows and the window sizes of the photosensor arrays 13 and 14 corresponding to the setting map are set in advance as shown in FIGS. In this embodiment, the central viewing angle of each window is 0 degree. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the photosensor arrays 13 and 14 are respectively composed of 200 photodiodes U0 to U199 and D0 to D199 (address values), and the relationship between the number of windows to be used and the size is set as shown in FIG. did. That is, in the present embodiment, for example, when the number of windows is one, U50 to U149 and D50 each having 100 window sizes are provided.
The first window of D149 is used. 2 windows
In the case of one, the first window of U25 to U99 and D25 to D99 each having 75 window sizes,
A second window of 100 to U174 and D100 to D174 is used. When the number of windows is three, U25 to U74, D25 each having a window size of 50
-1 to D74, and U75 to U124, D75
ＤD124, U125 to U174, D
A third window of 125 to D174 is used. If the number of windows is four, the window size is 35
First windows U30 to U64, D30 to D64, second windows U65 to U99, D65 to D99, third windows U100 to U134, D100 to D134, and U135 to U169, D135 to D169. The fourth window is used. If the number of windows is five, the window size is 28 U3s each.
0-U57, first windows D30-D57 and U58
U85, the second window of D58 to D85, and U86
U113, the third window of D86 to D113, and U11
4-U141, D114-D141 of the fourth window,
U142 to U169 and the fifth window of D142 to D169 are used. In these window settings, it is also possible to increase the size of each window so that adjacent windows overlap each other.

In the distance measuring apparatus having such a configuration, the window setting means 32 first sets, as an initial value, window information of the first window having a single window number and the maximum size, that is, address values U50 to U149 and D50 to U50. D149
Is output to the distance measuring means 21. The distance measuring means 21 performs the distance measurement according to the set number and size of the windows.
By switching the window 14 to the first window, the distance to each object existing within the detection range of the photosensor arrays 13 and 14 is determined, and the respective distance information is output to the distance determining means 31.

The distance determining means 31 determines specific distance information (for example, shortest distance information or most frequent distance information) from each input distance information, and outputs the determined specific distance information to the window setting means 32. When the specific distance information is input, the window setting means 32 determines the number of windows and the window size according to the distance information from the setting maps of FIGS. 5 and 6, and selects a corresponding address from the addresses of FIG. The window to be used is set, and the set window information is output to the distance measuring means 21. Further, the window setting means 32 obtains the direction, relative distance, relative speed, and the like of the object to be measured based on the input specific distance information, outputs these information to the vehicle travel control circuit 40, and controls the vehicle travel. enable.

The setting of the number of windows and the window size is sequentially performed for the specific distance information to be input, and the distance measuring means 21 sets the photo sensor array 13 in accordance with the number and size of the input windows. , 14 are sequentially switched to perform distance measurement. Then, when the distance measurement is not possible, the distance measuring means 21 outputs a non-detectable flag F to the window setting means 32.

When a non-detectable flag F indicating that distance measurement is not possible is input from the distance measuring means 21, the window setting means 32 resets the window information to an initial value and outputs it to the distance measuring means 21. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the number and size of the windows of the photosensor array for receiving the reflected light corresponding to the distance are set in advance, and the optimum photosensor array corresponding to the distance to the measured object is set. The distance and the distance are determined by the number and size of the windows, so that a short-distance object and a long-distance object can be easily identified and the distance between the short-distance object and the long-distance object can be accurately measured.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a distance measuring apparatus according to a second embodiment using a horizontal sensor unit. The same components as those in the first embodiment of FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals for convenience of explanation. The distance measuring device is used to measure the distance to an object existing in the front-rear direction of the automobile. The configuration is the same in any case. The case where the distance is measured will be described.

In such a distance measuring apparatus, when measuring the distance to an object in the front-rear direction of the automobile, it may be difficult to detect the position of the object, for example, the object at the end of a curve.
Therefore, in this embodiment, the position of the set window (window center angle) is shifted in accordance with the position of the object, and the field of view for distance measurement is changed to an appropriate field of view. The sensor output control circuit 20 shown in FIG. 1 includes a distance measuring unit 21 as in FIG. 4, and a window control circuit 30 determines a specific distance L1 based on a distance measurement result from the distance measuring unit 21. 31, a window setting means 32 for setting a window of the photosensor array, a distance setting means 33 for setting and outputting a specific distance L2 when distance measurement is impossible, and a window center angle determining means 34 for determining a window center angle θ1. A front corner R prediction unit 35 for predicting a front corner R, a front gaze angle calculation unit 36 for calculating a front gaze angle θ2, and a front gaze angle output unit 37 for taking in and outputting the calculated front gaze angle θ2. , Distance determining means 31 and distance setting means 33
And a switch 39 for switching the output from the window center angle determining means 34 and the output from the front gaze angle output means 37.

The distance measuring means 21 outputs the result of distance measurement and an undetectable flag F, as in FIG.
1 indicates an undetectable flag F of “1” when ranging is impossible, and an undetectable flag F of “0” when ranging is performed.
To the changeover switches 38 and 39 and the vehicle traveling control circuit 40 (see FIG. 1). An arbitrary specific distance L2, for example, L2 = 25 (m) is set in the distance setting means 33.
When the distance measurement is not possible, the information on the specific distance is output according to the switching of the changeover switch 38.

The window center angle determining means 34 determines the representative window center angle θ1 according to the distance L1 information determined by the distance determining means 31. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the photosensor array is divided into five windows A1 to A5.
When the object 2 is detected by dividing into windows A2 and A3
It is assumed that the object 2 image is projected at the predetermined position. In FIG. 10, the windows are separated from each other so that the divided windows can be easily recognized. In this case, the window center angle determining means 34 calculates the detected angle 1.5 ° of the object from the distance to the object 2 and the projection position, and from this value, the representative window center angle θ1 = 0.75 °
Ask for. Then, when the distance is measured by the distance measuring means 21, the window center angle determining means 34 changes the representative window central angle θ in accordance with switching of the switch 39.
Outputs 1.

As shown in FIG. 11, the front corner R predicting means 35 outputs a vehicle speed V (m / s) input from a vehicle speed sensor or the like.
The setting unit 35a for setting the steady-state yaw rate constant gain A per unit handle angle corresponding to the above-mentioned, and the yaw angle from the set yaw rate steady-state gain A and the handle angle θ3 (rad) input from a handle angle detection sensor (not shown). Speed

[0026]

From the vehicle speed V and the yaw angular velocity, a front corner R (m) = V / is calculated from the yaw angular velocity calculating unit 35b that calculates degree (rad / s) = A · θ3.

And a front corner R calculator 35c. Therefore, when the information on the vehicle speed and the steering wheel angle is input, the front corner R prediction unit 35 predicts the front corner R according to the information, and outputs the predicted information of the front corner R to the front gaze angle calculation unit 36. . The front corner R prediction unit 35 can also predict the front corner R from the yaw angular velocity input from, for example, a yaw angular velocity sensor and the information on the vehicle speed instead of the steering wheel angle. Similarly, in the case of the vertical sensor unit shown in FIG. 4, an appropriate front gaze angle can be calculated by using a forward slope detection unit and a vehicle body pitching angle detection unit. Here, as the forward slope detection means, use of the own vehicle position detection means and map information (so-called navigation information) may be considered.

The forward gaze angle calculating means 36 receives the distance L information from the distance determining means 31 or the distance setting means 33 and the forward corner R predicting means 35 via the changeover switch 38.
From the front corner R is input. The relationship between the distance L and the front corner R is as shown in FIG. 12, and the front gaze angle θ2 can be approximated by θ2 ≒ L / R.
Therefore, the forward fixation angle calculating means 36 calculates the forward fixation angle θ2 from the input distance L and the information on the front corner R, and outputs it to the forward fixation angle output means 37.

The front gaze angle output means 37 receives information on the front gaze angle θ2 from the front gaze angle calculation means 36, and the front gaze angle output means 37 cannot measure the distance by the distance measurement means 21. In such a case, the information of the front gaze angle θ2 is output according to the switching of the switch 39.
The changeover switch 38 switches the connection between the window setting means 32 and the distance determining means 31 or the distance setting means 33 according to the detection failure flag F from the distance measuring means 21. That is, when the undetectable flag F is “0”, the changeover switch 38 connects the distance determining means 31 and the window setting means 32, and sets the information of the determined distance L1 as the information of the distance L to set the window. Output to the means 32 and the front gaze angle calculating means 36. When the undetectable flag F is “1”, the changeover switch 38 connects the window setting means 32 and the distance setting means 33, and sets the information of the set distance L2 as the information of the distance L to set the window. Means 32 and Forward Gaze Angle Calculation Means 36
Output enabled.

The changeover switch 39 is operated by the window setting means 32 in response to the detection failure flag F from the distance measuring means 21.
And the connection of the window center angle determination means 34 or the front gaze angle output means 37 is switched. That is, when the undetectable flag F is “0”, the switch 39 switches the window setting means 32 and the window center angle determining means 3
4 so that the information on the determined representative window center angle θ1 can be output to the window setting means 32 as the information on the window center viewing angle θ. When the undetectable flag F is “1”, the window The setting means 32 and the front gaze angle output means 37 are connected, and the information of the front gaze angle θ2 is used as the information of the window center viewing angle θ to set the window setting means 3.
2 can be output.

As described above, the information on the distance L and the window center viewing angle θ is input to the window setting means 32, and the equation (f · tan θ) / p for correcting the window to be used is obtained from the window center viewing angle θ. Is set in advance. In this formula (f · tan θ) / p, f represents the focal length of the lens in the sensor unit, and p represents the pitch of the photodiode as shown in FIG. Then, the window setting means 32 determines the number of windows and the window size according to the distance L information from the setting maps of FIGS. Further, the window setting means 32 selects the corresponding address from the addresses in FIG. 8 to select the window to be used, and subtracts the address of the selected window from the above equation to correct the address of the window. Each window size of this address-corrected window is set. Next, the window setting means 32 outputs the set number of windows and the window size to the distance measuring means 21 as window information.

In the distance measuring apparatus thus configured,
The window setting means 32 first outputs to the distance measuring means 21 the window information of the first window having a single window number, the maximum size, and a window center angle of 0 degree as an initial value. The distance measuring means 21 switches the windows of the photo sensor arrays 13 and 14 for performing distance measurement in accordance with the set number and size of the windows, and
The distance to each object existing within the detection range is obtained, and the respective distance information is output to the distance determining means 31. At the same time, the distance measuring means 21 outputs the undetectable flag F of the flag "0" to the changeover switches 38 and 39 to connect the distance determining means 31, the window center angle determining means 34, and the window setting means 32. .

The distance determining means 31 determines specific distance information from each input distance information based on a predetermined algorithm, and outputs the specific distance information to the window setting means 32 and the window center angle determining means 34. The window center angle determining means 34 determines the representative window center angle θ1 in accordance with the distance L1 information determined by the distance determining means 31, and sets the window setting means 3 via the changeover switch 39.
Output to 2.

When the distance information L1 determined by the distance determining means 31 is input, the window setting means 32
The number of windows and the window size corresponding to the distance information are determined from the setting maps in FIGS. 5 and 6, and the corresponding address is selected from the addresses in FIG. Based on the information of θ1, each window size of the used window is corrected and set, and the set window information is output to the distance measuring means 21. Further, the window setting means 32 obtains the direction, relative distance, relative speed, and the like of the object to be measured based on the input distance information, and outputs these information to the vehicle travel control circuit 40 to control the vehicle travel. To

The forward fixation angle calculating means 36 calculates the forward fixation angle θ2 from the input information of the distance L and the front corner R, and outputs it to the forward fixation angle output means 37. When the distance measurement is not possible, the distance measuring means 21 outputs a “1” undetectable flag F to the changeover switches 38 and 39 to switch between the changeover switches 38 and 39. The setting unit 33 and the front gaze angle output unit 37 output the information of the preset distance L2 and the information of the front gaze angle θ2 to the window setting unit 32.

The window setting means 32 includes the distance setting means 3
5 and 6 when the specific distance L2 information is input from FIG.
8. The number of windows and the window size corresponding to the distance information are determined from the setting map of FIG. 8, the corresponding address is selected from the addresses in FIG. Viewing angle θ
2, each window size of the used window is corrected and set, and the set window information is used as the distance measuring means 21.
Output to

Therefore, in this embodiment, when measuring the distance to the object existing ahead of the curve in the front-rear direction, the set window position (window center angle) is shifted in correspondence with the corner R, Since the visual field for measuring the distance is changed to an appropriate visual field, an object existing at the end of the curve can be easily detected. In FIGS. 4 and 9, the vertical distance measuring device and the horizontal distance measuring device are separately shown. In some cases, even when distance measurement cannot be performed vertically, distance measurement can be performed horizontally, or when distance measurement cannot be performed horizontally, distance measurement can be performed vertically.

Therefore, as a third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13, there is provided a distance measuring device for measuring the distance of a target object around by combining a vertically arranged sensor unit and a horizontally arranged sensor unit. In FIG. 13, a vertical sensor unit is used as a reference. If the vertical sensor unit cannot detect the object, the horizontal sensor unit separately installed detects the object. In the embodiment of FIG.
It is assumed that the vertical distance measurement and the horizontal distance measurement are performed by the distance measurement device shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 13, in this embodiment, first, using the vertical sensor unit shown in FIG. 3, window information of the first window having a single window number and the largest size is measured as an initial value. (Step 101), and it is determined whether or not the undetectable flag F output from the distance measuring means 21 is "1" (Step 10).
2).

If the undetectable flag F output from the distance measuring means 21 is "0" indicating that distance measurement is possible, the window setting means 32 outputs the specific distance (representative) output from the distance determining means 31. The number of windows and the window size are set in accordance with the distance (step 103), and the information is output to the distance measuring means 21 to measure the distance of the object. If the undetectable flag F output from the distance measuring means 21 is "1" indicating that distance measurement is not possible, horizontal distance measurement is performed using the horizontal sensor unit (step 104). Then, it is determined whether the undetectable flag F output from the distance measuring means 21 is "1" (step 105).

Here, when the undetectable flag F output from the distance measuring means 21 is "0" indicating that distance measurement is possible, the window setting means 32 determines the distance in accordance with the representative distance output from the distance determining means 31. Then, the number of windows and the window size are set (step 106), and the information is output to the distance measuring means 21 so that the distance of the object is measured. If the undetectable flag F output from the distance measuring means 21 is "1" indicating that distance measurement is impossible (step 107), the process returns to step 101, where the initial value is output to the distance measuring means 21 and the vertical direction is output. Make the distance measurement take place.

Accordingly, in the present embodiment, when the vertical distance measurement using the vertical sensor unit is impossible, the horizontal distance measurement using the horizontal sensor unit is performed. Distance measurement based on differences in environment can be easily performed. In the present invention, the vertical distance measurement and the horizontal distance measurement may be performed using the distance measuring apparatus shown in FIG. In this case, the undetectable flag F output from the distance measuring means 21 is also output to the window setting means 32, and the switching from the vertical distance measurement to the horizontal distance measurement by the window setting means 32 is not possible. The determination from the flag F and the switching from the horizontal distance measurement to the vertical distance measurement can be performed in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment if the determination is made based on the angle between the undetectable flag F and the window center viewing angle θ, ie, θ = 0 ° ,
Distance measurement based on a difference in surrounding environment can be easily performed.

[0043]

As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of sets of ranging sensors having a light receiving area receive reflected light from an object with respect to natural light, and a plurality of object images are projected based on the received light. In the distance measuring method for measuring the distance to the object from the relative displacement of the plurality of object images, a light receiving area for receiving the reflected light is switched in accordance with the measured distance, and the switched light receiving area is used. Since the distance to the object is measured based on the received light, it is possible to identify the short-range object and the long-range object and accurately measure the distance to the object to be measured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a principle diagram showing a principle of a distance measuring apparatus when a triangulation method according to the present invention is used for distance measurement of an automobile.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a sensor unit disposed on a side surface of an automobile.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a sensor unit shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a first embodiment in a distance measuring device using a vertical sensor unit.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a setting map of the number of windows with respect to the distance set in the window setting means shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a setting map of a window size with respect to a distance.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of the photosensor array shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the relationship between the number of windows to be set and their sizes.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a distance measuring apparatus according to a second embodiment using a horizontal sensor unit.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an operation of determining a representative window center angle by window center angle determining means shown in FIG. 9;

11 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the front corner R prediction means shown in FIG. 9 in a different operation.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a relationship between a distance L, a front corner R, and a front gaze angle.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining a switching operation between a vertical distance measurement and a horizontal distance measurement used for distance measurement of an object.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automobile 2 Object to be measured 10 Sensor unit 20 Sensor output control circuit 21 Distance measuring means 30 Window control circuit 31 Distance determining means 32 Window setting means 33 Distance setting means 34 Window center angle determining means 35 Front corner R prediction means 36 Forward note Viewing angle calculation means 37 Front gaze angle output means 38, 39 Changeover switch

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Takahiro Maemura 5-33-8 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo Inside Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (72) Inventor Tadao Tanaka 5-33-8 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo No. Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (72) Inventor Misuzu Yamamoto 5-33-8 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (56) References JP-A-5-99663 (JP, A) ( 58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01C 3/00-3/32 B60R 21/00 620 G06T 1/00 G08G 1/16 G05D 1/02

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of sets of distance measuring sensors having a light receiving area receive reflected light from an object or light emission of the object itself (hereinafter, simply referred to as "reflected light"), and a plurality of objects are detected based on the received light. In the distance measuring method of projecting images and measuring the distance to the object from the relative displacement of the plurality of object images, setting a light receiving area for receiving the reflected light corresponding to the measured distance, A triangulation method comprising: measuring a distance to the object based on light reception in the set light receiving region. 2. The number and size of the light receiving areas of the distance measuring sensor are set in advance corresponding to the distance to the object, and the number and size of the light receiving areas corresponding to the measured distance are set. The triangulation method according to claim 1, wherein the method is switched. 3. A plurality of distance measuring sensors for receiving reflected light from an object with respect to natural light in a light receiving area, receiving the light in the light receiving area, projecting a plurality of object images based on the received light, and In a distance measuring apparatus for measuring a distance to an object from a relative displacement of an object image, determining means for determining a specific distance from the measured distances, the light receiving corresponding to the determined specific distance. Setting means for setting the number and size of the areas; and distance measuring means for measuring the distance to the object based on light reception by the light receiving areas of the set number and size. apparatus.