JP3326130B2 - Obstacle detection method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an obstacle detecting method for detecting an obstacle on a road using radio waves.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional obstacle detection method uses a spatial and temporal method for each direction of a received radio wave, such as an obstacle detection radar in a road safety driving system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-128688. The non-stationary object on the road is detected by correcting (calibrating) the measured value during operation with the measured value during normal operation, and detects the beat frequency of the received radio wave. Thus, the state of the object on the road from the moving state to the stopped state is detected.

[0003]

According to the above prior art, an obstacle is detected by correcting the measured value at the time of operation with one measured value at the time of steady state. There is a problem in that it is not possible to perform an appropriate correction and to be able to detect an obstacle accurately due to the influence of a variation or noise of the measurement value in one measurement value.

[0004] In addition, the steady state of the road changes over time due to snow cover and the growth of surrounding vegetation.
When the measurement value during operation is corrected using a single measurement value at a regular time, there is a problem that an error may cause erroneous detection or an obstacle may be difficult to detect.

Further, when detecting from the moving state to the stop state of an object on the road based on the beat frequency of the received radio wave, it is necessary to calculate the moving speed of the object by calculation from the beat frequency of the received radio wave each time. There's a problem.

In order to solve the problems of the above-described obstacle detection method according to the prior art, it is a first object of the present invention to obtain a calibration value excluding the influence of the variation of measurement data and noise.

It is a second object of the present invention to reliably detect only an unsteady object in the measurement target range even if the measurement target range and the surrounding conditions change.

It is a third object of the present invention to facilitate a process of detecting an unsteady object from the obtained measurement data.

It is a fourth object of the present invention to display the moving state of an object directly from measurement data.

[0010]

In order to achieve the first object, according to the present invention, a reflector which can be driven to rotate in an arbitrary direction and a high-frequency signal modulated toward the reflector are radiated. The modulated high-frequency signal is emitted from the reflector toward the measurement target range, the reflected wave is reflected again by the reflector, the reflected wave from the reflector is received, and the reflected wave and the radiation A transmitting and receiving unit that detects a beat signal from a part of the modulated high-frequency signal, a signal processing unit that receives a beat signal output from the transmitting and receiving unit, performs necessary processing, and obtains required measurement data, Using an obstacle detection device having a display unit for receiving and displaying data output from the signal processing unit, prior to operation of the obstacle detection device, measuring a measurement target range in a steady state, and performing the measurement. Steady state for all measurement points in the target range The first measurement data is obtained, and then the difference between the second measurement data obtained by measuring all the measurement points in the measurement target range and the first measurement data is obtained for every measurement point, The measurement is repeated until the number of the second measurement data in which the obtained difference is equal to or smaller than a certain value reaches N (arbitrary constant) for all the measurement points, and is obtained for each of all the measurement points. The variance of the obtained second measurement data is obtained, and the difference between the third measurement data obtained in the measurement at the time of operation of the obstacle detection device and the separately obtained calibration value is obtained for each of the same measurement points. It is characterized in that the presence or absence of an unsteady object is determined by comparing the difference with a value obtained by multiplying a value of the variance obtained for each measurement point by a constant.

In order to achieve the second object, in the present invention, a reflection plate which can be driven to rotate in an arbitrary direction, and a high-frequency signal modulated toward the reflection plate is radiated to measure the object to be measured from the reflection plate. The modulated high-frequency signal is radiated toward the range, the reflected wave is reflected again by the reflector, the reflected wave from the reflector is received, and the reflected wave and the radiated modulated high-frequency signal are received. And a signal processing unit that detects a beat signal from a part of the signal processing unit, a signal processing unit that receives a beat signal output from the transmission and reception unit, performs necessary processing, and obtains required measurement data, and an output from the signal processing unit. Using an obstacle detection device having a display unit for receiving and displaying the measured data, and prior to the operation of the obstacle detection device, measuring the measurement target range at a steady state, and measuring all of the measurement target range. First steady state measurement data for a point Give the data, then determined for each all the second measurement data of the measurement points obtained by measurement, all the measurement points the difference between the first measurement data of the measurement object range,
The measurement was repeated until the number of the second measurement data in which the obtained difference was equal to or less than a certain value reached N (an arbitrary constant) for all the measurement points, and was obtained for each of all the measurement points. An average value of the second measurement data is obtained, the obtained average value is used as a calibration value of the measurement point, and third measurement data obtained in measurement during operation of the obstacle detection device;
A difference from the calibration value is obtained for each of the same measurement points, and the presence or absence of an unsteady object is determined using the obtained difference.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the obstacle detecting method according to the second aspect, the third measurement data and the third measurement data obtained in the measurement at the time of operation of the obstacle detecting device are provided. Using the difference from the calibration value described in item 2,
The presence or absence of an unsteady object is determined, and when it is determined that there is no unsteady object, a new calibration value is obtained by using the calibration value and the third measurement data, and replaced with the previous calibration value. It is characterized in that the calibration value is updated for each measurement point.

In order to achieve the first and second objects, the present invention provides a reflector which can be driven to rotate in an arbitrary direction, and a reflector which emits a high-frequency signal modulated toward the reflector. Radiating the modulated high-frequency signal toward the measurement target range from the above, the reflected wave is reflected again by the reflector, the reflected wave from the reflector is received, and the reflected wave and the radiated modulated A transmission / reception unit for detecting a beat signal from a part of the high-frequency signal, a signal processing unit for receiving a beat signal output from the transmission / reception unit and performing required processing to obtain required measurement data; Using an obstacle detection device having a display unit that receives and outputs data output from the unit, prior to operation of the obstacle detection device, measures a measurement target range at a steady state, and measures the measurement target range. First in steady state for all measurement points The measurement data is obtained, and then the difference between the second measurement data obtained by measuring all the measurement points in the measurement target range and the first measurement data is obtained for every measurement point, and the obtained difference is obtained. The measurement is repeated until the number of second measurement data below a certain value reaches N (an arbitrary constant) for all the measurement points, and the second measurement data obtained for each of all the measurement points is obtained. For the variance and the average value for, the obtained average value as the calibration value of the measurement point,
Using the difference between the third measurement data obtained in the measurement at the time of operation of the obstacle detection device and the calibration value, the presence or absence of an unsteady object is determined, and when it is determined that there is no unsteady object,
A new calibration value is obtained by using the calibration value and the third measurement data, the calibration value is updated for each measurement point by replacing the previous calibration value, and the third measurement data and the calibration value are updated. It is characterized in that the presence or absence of an unsteady object is determined by comparing the difference between the value and the value obtained by multiplying the value of the variance obtained for each measurement point by a constant value.

In order to achieve the third object, in the fifth aspect, a reflection plate which can be driven to rotate in an arbitrary direction, and a high-frequency signal modulated toward the reflection plate is radiated to measure the object to be measured from the reflection plate. The modulated high-frequency signal is radiated toward the range, the reflected wave is reflected again by the reflector, the reflected wave from the reflector is received, and the reflected wave and the radiated modulated high-frequency signal are received. And a signal processing unit that detects a beat signal from a part of the signal processing unit, a signal processing unit that receives a beat signal output from the transmission and reception unit, performs necessary processing, and obtains required measurement data, and an output from the signal processing unit. And a display unit for receiving and displaying the measured data, dividing the measurement target range of the obstacle detection device into blocks of an appropriate size, and measuring all the measurement points in the measurement target range. Calibrating the third measurement data of The fourth measurement data is allocated to the blocks including the respective measurement points, and one fifth measurement data representing a representative value is extracted from the fourth measurement data included in the block for each block, and the extraction is performed. It is characterized in that an unsteady object is detected using the representative value obtained.

In order to achieve the first to third objects, the present invention provides a reflector which can be driven to rotate in an arbitrary direction, and a reflector which emits a high-frequency signal modulated toward the reflector. Radiating the modulated high-frequency signal toward the measurement target range from the above, the reflected wave is reflected again by the reflector, the reflected wave from the reflector is received, and the reflected wave and the radiated modulated A transmission / reception unit for detecting a beat signal from a part of the high-frequency signal, a signal processing unit for receiving a beat signal output from the transmission / reception unit and performing required processing to obtain required measurement data; Using an obstacle detection device having a display unit that receives and outputs data output from the unit, prior to operation of the obstacle detection device, measures a measurement target range at a steady state, and measures the measurement target range. First in steady state for all measurement points The measurement data is obtained, and then the difference between the second measurement data obtained by measuring all the measurement points in the measurement target range and the first measurement data is obtained for every measurement point, and the obtained difference is obtained. The measurement is repeated until the number of second measurement data below a certain value reaches N (an arbitrary constant) for all the measurement points, and the second measurement data obtained for each of all the measurement points is obtained. For the variance and the average value for, the obtained average value as the calibration value of the measurement point,
Using the difference between the third measurement data obtained in the measurement at the time of operation of the obstacle detection device and the calibration value, the presence or absence of an unsteady object is determined, and when it is determined that there is no unsteady object,
A new calibration value is obtained by using the calibration value and the third measurement data, the calibration value is updated for each measurement point by replacing the previous calibration value, and the third measurement data and the calibration value are updated. By comparing the difference between the measured value and the value obtained by multiplying the value of the variance obtained for each measurement point by a constant, the presence or absence of an unsteady object is determined. The range is divided into blocks of an appropriate size, and the fourth measurement data obtained by calibrating the third measurement data of all the measurement points in the measurement target range is allocated to the block including the respective measurement points. Extracting one fifth measurement data indicating a representative value from the fourth measurement data included in the block for each block, and detecting an unsteady object using the extracted representative value. It is characterized by.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the obstacle detection method according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in the measurement at the time of operation of the obstacle detection device, each of the blocks is provided for each block. When one piece of fifth measurement data indicating a representative value of a block is extracted and an unsteady object is detected using the extracted representative value, the fifth measurement data measured last time and the fifth measurement data measured this time are used. According to the comparison with the measurement data, the state where the probability that the unsteady object is stopped is high, the state where the probability that an abnormal object exists is high, the state where the probability that the unsteady object is moving at low speed, and the state where the unsteady object is moving Is determined to be in a non-existent state, etc., and a high-to-low count is given to each block in the order described above, except for a state in which an unsteady object does not exist. repeat,
After the counts are integrated for each block, the status of each block is determined using the counts integrated for each block and output to the display unit.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an obstacle detecting device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state of a road in a measurement target range according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the signal processing unit of the obstacle detection device illustrated in FIG. 1, which is continuous in the order of FIGS. 3, 4, and 5; FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation when a part of the functions of FIG. 5 is extended.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a reflection plate, 2 is a driving unit,
3 is a transmitting / receiving unit, 31 is an antenna, 32 is a circulator,
33 is a coupler, 34 is a transmitter, 35 is a modulator, 36 is a mixer, 37 is an amplifier, 4 is a signal processing unit, and 5 is a display unit. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 71 denotes a position of the reflector of the obstacle detection device, reference numeral 72 denotes a road on which an obstacle is to be detected, reference numeral 73 denotes blocks, a1 to a5 and b1 to b5 denote block numbers, 74 denotes a measurement target range, 75 indicates the traveling direction of the vehicle or the like, a4 (n-1), a4 (n), b2 (n-1)
And b3 (n) show an example of the measurement point at which the measurement data was obtained.

The operation will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the transmission / reception unit 3, the high-frequency signal oscillated by the oscillator 34 is modulated by the modulator 35, supplied to the antenna 31 via the coupler 33 and the circulator 32, radiated from the antenna 31 to the reflector 1, and the reflector 1 is The radio wave from 31 is reflected and emitted in the direction of detecting an obstacle, and the reflected wave is reflected again to the antenna 31. The antenna 31 receives the reflected wave and sends it to the mixer 36 via the circulator 32,
The mixer 36 detects a beat signal from the reflected wave and a part of the modulated high-frequency signal transmitted from the oscillator 34 and received via the coupler 33, and transmits the beat signal to the amplifier 37.
The amplifier 37 amplifies the beat signal and sends it to the signal processing unit 4. The reflecting plate 1 is driven to rotate by the driving unit 2 and emits a radio wave from the antenna 31 of the transmitting and receiving unit 3 to the measurement target area, and reflects the reflected wave back to the antenna 31. And sends the drive angle signal to the signal processing unit 4.

The radiation range of the radio wave radiated from the reflector 1 is defined as a measurement range 74, the measurement range 74 is divided into small angles, divided into a number of sections, and the beat signal is obtained for each section. The amplifier 37 of the transmission / reception unit 3 sends the beat signal to the signal processing unit 4. The signal processing unit 4 converts the beat signal from analog data to digital data, and then performs a fast Fourier transform process to obtain a power spectrum. In this power spectrum, the vertical axis indicates signal strength, the horizontal axis indicates frequency, and the frequency on the horizontal axis can be converted to distance.Therefore, after converting the horizontal axis of the power spectrum to distance, the signal strength is sampled at fixed distance intervals. The signal strength, drive angle and distance are collectively measured together with the sampled signal strength and distance correspondence data and the drive angle signal from the drive unit 2. Performs processing as over data, the flow of the processing will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIGS. 2 to 6 show the flow of processing of measurement data and the like in the signal processing unit 4, wherein a rectangle indicates processing inside the signal processing unit 4, a diamond indicates a judgment on the result of the processing, Y (Yes) indicates the output direction when the result of the determination is positive, and N (No) indicates the direction of the output when the result of the determination is negative. Circles are jump symbols, and the same characters are connected correspondingly within the same drawing or with another drawing.

First, an initial setting is performed prior to the measurement. 10
In No. 1, a state where there is no unsteady object in the entire measurement target range (hereinafter, a state where there is no unsteady object at the measurement point is referred to as a steady state)
The measurement is performed manually with the calibration data CAL0 [a, d].
(First measurement data) (hereinafter, calibration data CAL)
0 [a, d] is simply referred to as CAL0 [a, d]). CA
[A, d] shown in L0 [a, d] is a subscript (suffix) indicating an angle and d is a distance, and CAL0 [a, d]
Indicates data CAL0 of angle a and distance d. The following [a,
Letters with [d] have the same notation.

At 102, the measurement data DA is obtained by automatic measurement.
TA [a, d] (second measurement data) is obtained (hereinafter, measurement data DATA [a, d] is simply referred to as DATA [a, d]).
). At 103, the DATA [a, d] obtained at 102
And CAL0 [a, d] obtained in step 101 and the difference is compared with a fixed value TBD. In 103, DAT
A [a, d] and CAL0 [a, d] are the same [a,
d], that is, comparison is performed for the same measurement point. In the following description of the flow, two or more data having the subscripts of [a, d] are used in the same execution unit. In this case, unless otherwise specified, it means the data at the same measurement point as in the above.

The comparison of the above 103 is based on the obtained DATA.
It is determined whether or not [a, d] is data indicating an unsteady object. If the obtained difference is larger than TBD, 102
Return to step 104 if the value is smaller than TBD,
Then, it is determined that the vehicle is in the steady state, and DATA [a, d] is stored. Here, the constant TBD is set to be an optimal value for determining whether DATA [a, d] indicates an unsteady object.

At 105, the DATA stored at 104
It is checked whether or not [a, d] is a fixed number N for each measurement point. If the number is insufficient, the process returns to step 102; In 106, the average value of N DATA [a, d] is obtained, and the average value is replaced with CAL0 [a, d] obtained as 101 in CALm [a, d]. The variance ΔP [a, d] of N DATA [a, d] used for each measurement point (hereinafter, the variance ΔP [a, d] is simply referred to as ΔP [a, d]) is calculated and calculated after 111. Used to determine

At 107, it is checked whether or not CALm [a, d] of all the measurement points in the measurement target range has been obtained. If not, the process returns to step 102; At 108, it is checked whether or not ΔP [a, d] of all the measurement points in the measurement target range has been obtained. If not, the process returns to 102; if it has been obtained, the process proceeds to 109. This means that CALm [a, d] and ΔP [a, d] of all measurement points in the target range have been obtained.

At 109, a counter (not shown) provided in the signal processing unit 4 provided for each block obtained by dividing the measurement range 74 into blocks 73 of an appropriate size is Finish the initial setting of the detecting device.

Next, the operation of the obstacle detecting device in the operation state will be described. In 110, the measurement data DAT by automatic measurement
A [a, d] R (third measurement data) (hereinafter, measurement data DATA [a, d] R is simply referred to as DATA [a, d] R), proceed to 111, and at 111 obtain at 110 D
ATA [a, d] R and CALm [a,
d] is calculated, and the obtained difference is compared with a value obtained by multiplying ΔP [a, d] obtained by the initial setting by a constant γ. If the obtained difference is small, the process proceeds to step 112. Here, the above constant γ is the DA generated by the temporal change in the measurement target range and its surroundings.
A change in TA [a, d] R and a change in DATA [a, d] R caused by the presence of an unsteady object are classified and set to optimal values for determining a steady state.

At 112, it is determined that there is no unsteady object because the difference obtained is small, and the average value of DATA [a, d] R and CALm [a, d] is obtained. CALm [a, d], and if the above condition is satisfied, CALm [a, d] is replaced each time and CALm [a, d] is updated and used as a calibration value for the determination of 121 and thereafter. I do.

Reference numeral 121 denotes DATA [a, d] R and CALm
The difference from [a, d] is obtained, and the obtained difference is ΔP
If the value is larger than the value obtained by multiplying [a, d] by a constant α, the process proceeds to step 122, and if the value is smaller, the process directly proceeds to step 123. The difference between the above 121 and 111 is to change the determination level depending on the purpose when determining an unsteady object from the measurement data, and to give a relation α> γ by the difference between the constant α and γ multiplied by ΔP [a, d]. Is set to an optimal value for detecting an unsteady object. In 122, the DAT obtained above
The difference between A [a, d] R and CALm [a, d] is determined by the determination level value JDATA [a, d] (fourth measurement data) (hereinafter, the determination level value JDATA [a, d] is simply JDAT
A [a, d]), and then proceeds to 123.
The JDATA [a, d] can be said to be measurement data corrected by CALm [a, d].

At 123, it is confirmed whether or not the processing of all the measurement points in the measurement target range has been completed.
Proceed to 4 and return to 111 if not completed. 124
Now, the JDATA stored in the above 122 in the measurement target range
It checks whether [a, d] exists or not, and determines JDATA [a,
If there is no d], go to 125 and JDATA [a, d]
If there is even one, the process proceeds to 126. At 125, it is determined that there is no unsteady object in the measurement target range, and all counters provided in the signal processing unit 4 are cleared, and the routine proceeds to 157.

At 126, the JDAT is set for each measurement target angle.
The presence or absence of A [a, d] is checked, and if there is one or more JDATA [a, d] at the target angle, the process proceeds to 127. J
If there is no DATA [a, d], the process proceeds directly to 128. 12
In step 7, the maximum value of JDATA [a, d] is extracted for each measurement target angle, and the extracted determination level value is set to JDATA [a, d].
d] max and go to 128.

At 128, it is checked whether or not all the angles to be measured have been processed. If not completed, the process returns to 126, and if completed, the process proceeds to 129. In 129, the measurement target range 74 shown in FIG. 2 is divided into blocks 73 of an appropriate size, and the above-mentioned JDATA [a, d] max is assigned to each block.

At 130, the presence / absence of JDATA [a, d] max assigned to each block at 129 is checked for each block, and if there is one or more JDATA [a, d] max, the process proceeds to 132; Proceed directly to 133. 132
In JDATA [a, which indicates the maximum value in the same block,
d] max is extracted as a representative value, and the representative value is extracted as Bm
ax [a, d] (fifth measurement data)
Go to 33.

At 133, it is checked whether or not all blocks in the measurement range have been processed.
Return to 0, and proceed to 141 if completed. In 141, it is checked whether or not Bmax [a, d] is stored in the previous measurement for a block having Bmax [a, d] in the current measurement.
Proceed to.

At 142, it is checked whether or not Bmax [a, d] exists at the same measurement point between the previous measurement and the current measurement. If it does not exist, the process proceeds to 143;
Proceed to. In 143, the state where Bmax [a, d] exists in the same block for both the previous measurement and the current measurement and the position thereof is different is checked. If the state is illustrated, the block a4 shown in FIG. A4 (n-1)
((N-1) indicates the previous measurement, the same applies hereinafter) and a4 (n) ((n) indicates the current measurement, the same applies hereinafter). ) And a4 (n) are checked to see if they are within a certain distance ΔR, and if it is within ΔR, proceed to 150; if not, proceed to 148. Here, ΔR is a distance determined according to the operation situation, and is a distance determined based on a normal traveling speed of the moving object passing through the measurement target range.

At 144, Bmax [a,
d] is Bmax in this measurement for a block with
We are investigating a case in which a certain block [a, d] is adjacent to the traveling direction of the vehicle. If the state is illustrated, b2 (n−n) of blocks b2 and b3 shown in FIG.
1) and b3 (n), b2 (n-1) and b3 (n)
It is checked whether or not the distance of 3 (n) is within ΔR. If the distance is within ΔR, the process proceeds to 149; if not, the process proceeds to 148.

At 145, B of the current measurement at the same position
max [a, d] (n) and Bmax [a,
d] (n-1), and the obtained difference and ΔP
Comparing the value obtained by multiplying [a, d] by the constant β, the process proceeds to 146 if the obtained difference is smaller, and proceeds to 147 if the obtained difference is larger. Here, the constant β is Bmax [a, d] (n−1) detected at the same measurement point.
And Bmax [a, d] (n) are set to optimal values to determine whether they are certainly representative values of the same unsteady object or suspicious representative values.

At 146, it is determined that there is a high probability that there is a stationary object in the block, and the counter of the block is incremented by + A, and the process proceeds to 151. At 147, the probability that an abnormal object exists in the block is determined. Is high, the counter of the block is incremented by + B, and the process proceeds to 151. At 148, it is determined that there is no abnormality in the block, and the counter of the block is cleared. Judge that the probability that there is an object moving at a low speed from block to block is high, count up the value of the counter of the adjacent block plus the count number C, and clear the counter of the adjacent block Then go to 151, 15
At 0, it is determined that there is a high probability that there is an object moving at a low speed in the block, and the counter of the block is set to +
Count up C and proceed to 151. Here, the values A, B, and C give a relationship of A>B> C.

At 151, it is checked whether or not all the detected blocks of Bmax [a, d] have been checked. If the check has not been completed, the process returns to 141; if the check has been completed, the process proceeds to 152. At 152, a designated count P (hereinafter simply referred to as P) is used to determine the presence or absence of an unsteady object.
It is checked whether there is a block exceeding P. If there is no block exceeding P, the process proceeds to 153. If there is a block exceeding P, the process proceeds to 154. In 153, since there is no block exceeding the above P, it is determined that there is no unsteady object in the measurement target range, and the process proceeds to 157. At 154, it is checked whether or not the designated count Q (hereinafter, simply referred to as Q) has been exceeded in order to determine the state of the unsteady object. If it has not exceeded Q, the process proceeds to 155, and if it has exceeded Q, the process proceeds to 156. move on. Here, P and Q have a relation of P <Q. Further, P and Q give numerical values larger than the above-mentioned count-ups A to C, and when determining the presence or absence of an object stopped or moving at a low speed, 146, 14
When the count-up performed in steps 7, 149, and 150 is repeated a plurality of times, the values of P and Q are set so that the above-described determination is accurately performed so that the count number exceeds P or Q.

In 155, the count number of the block is P
And Q, it is determined that there is an object moving at a low speed, and the flow proceeds to 157. At 156, since it exceeds Q, it is determined that there is a stopped object, and the flow proceeds to 157. In 157, the above 1
Upon receiving the determination results from 53, 155, and 156, this is output from the signal processing unit 4 to the display unit 5 and the process proceeds to 158.

At 158, the DATA of the previous measurement data
The storage of [a, d] R and JDATA [a, d] are all deleted, and the process returns to 110.

Reference numeral 170 denotes a range corresponding to the extended function shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is an expanded view of the functions in the range 170 in FIG. 5, in which functions 159 to 162 are added. At 152, it is checked whether or not there is a block whose count number has exceeded P. If there is any block that has exceeded P, the flow proceeds to 159; otherwise, the flow proceeds to 153. 153 is
This is the same as 153 in FIG. In 159, the count is P
It is checked whether there are Pn or more blocks exceeding Pn. If there are Pn or more blocks whose count number exceeds P, 16
Go to 0, otherwise go to 154. Here, the number Pn is set to an optimal number for determining whether or not there is a traffic jam.

155 and 156 correspond to 155 and 1 in FIG.
Same as 56. At 160, it is checked whether or not there are at least Qm blocks whose count number has exceeded Q. If there are at least Qm blocks whose count number has exceeded Q, the process proceeds to 162; Here, the Qm number is set to an optimal number to determine whether the traffic is a mere traffic jam or a large traffic jam. At 161, it is determined that there is traffic, and the process proceeds to 157. At 162, it is determined that there is heavy traffic, and the process proceeds to 157.

157 and 158 are 157 and 1 in FIG.
Same as 58. By adding the above functions, more detailed output can be obtained from the signal processing unit 4. Further, by changing the value of the constant β in 145 of FIG. 5 and adding a function of determination similar to that of 145 before or after 145, the number of steps for determining Bmax [a, d] is increased. The result can be output from the signal processing unit 4.

[0049]

As described above, the variance ΔP [a, d] of N DATA [a, d] at each measurement point is obtained at 106 and used for determination of 111 and thereafter, so that non- When a stationary object is determined, there is an effect that it is possible to eliminate the influence of the variation and noise of the measurement data and the calibration data.

Further, as described above, at 106, the average value of N DATA [a, d] is obtained for each measurement point, and the obtained value is set as CALm [a, d].
L0 [a, d], and at 112, the measurement data DATA [a, d] R obtained at 110 and C obtained by initialization.
The difference from ALm [a, d] is obtained, and if the obtained difference is small or equal, it is determined that there is no unsteady object, and DATA [a, d] R and CALm [a, d] are determined. To calculate a new average value, and calculate the calculated average value with the above CAL
By updating CALm [a, d] instead of m [a, d], the change in the case where the road condition gradually changes over time due to snow cover, vegetation around the road, etc. Is reflected in the value of CALm [a, d], which has an effect of preventing an erroneous determination of an unsteady object when the background situation changes gradually.

As described above, at 129, the measuring range 74 shown in FIG. 2 is divided into blocks 73 of a certain size, and the size of the blocks is reduced to blocks (a1 to b5) of the size of a vehicle as an example. JDATA [a, d] max is assigned to each block and each block is processed so that the subsequent processing of the measurement data is performed in units of blocks, which has an effect of facilitating the processing of the measurement data.

Further, after 141, the moving state of the unsteady object is determined by counting each block in units of blocks as described above, and output from the signal processing unit 4 to the display unit 5. This has the effect of clearly displaying the moving state of the object from the measurement data.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an obstacle detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state of a road in a measurement target range according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of a signal processing unit of the obstacle detection device shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of a signal processing unit of the obstacle detection device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation of a signal processing unit of the obstacle detection device shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation in which some functions of FIG. 5 are extended.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Reflection plate 2 ... Drive part 3 ... Transmission / reception part 31 ... Antenna 32 ... Circulator 33 ... Coupler 34 ... Oscillator 35 ... Modulator 36 ... Mixer 37 ... Amplifier 4 ... Signal processing part 5 ... Display part 71 ... Obstacle detection device A position where the reflector is located 72 A road where an obstacle is to be detected 73 A block 74 A measurement target range 75 A indicating the traveling direction of an unsteady object or the like a1, a2, a3, a4, a5, b1, b2, b3 b
4, b5... Block numbers a4 (n), a4 (n-1), b2 (n-1), b3
(N) ... where the measurement data was obtained

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-6-52485 (JP, A) JP-A-9-128688 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01S 7/00-7/42 G01S 13/00-13/95 G08G 1/00 G08G 1/09

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] A reflector that can be driven to rotate in any direction;
The modulated high-frequency signal is emitted toward the reflector, and the modulated high-frequency signal is emitted from the reflector toward the measurement target range.The reflected wave is reflected again by the reflector, and the reflected wave is reflected from the reflector. Receiving a reflected wave and detecting a beat signal from the reflected wave and a part of the radiated modulated high-frequency signal; receiving a beat signal output from the transmitting / receiving unit to perform a required process Using an obstacle detection device having a signal processing unit that obtains required measurement data and a display unit that receives and outputs data output from the signal processing unit,
Prior to the operation of the obstacle detection device, the measurement target range is measured in a steady state, and first measurement data in a steady state is obtained for all the measurement points in the measurement target range. The difference between the second measurement data obtained by measuring the measurement points and the first measurement data is obtained for every measurement point, and the obtained difference is equal to or less than a certain value. Are repeated until the number of N reaches N (arbitrary constant) for all the measurement points, and the variance of the second measurement data obtained for each of the measurement points is obtained.
The difference between the third measurement data obtained in the measurement at the time of operation of the obstacle detection device and the separately obtained calibration value is obtained for each of the same measurement points, and the obtained difference and the variance obtained for each of the measurement points are obtained. An obstacle detection method characterized in that the presence / absence of an unsteady object is determined by comparing the value with a value obtained by multiplying the value by a constant. 2. A reflector which can be driven to rotate in any direction,
The modulated high-frequency signal is emitted toward the reflector, and the modulated high-frequency signal is emitted from the reflector toward the measurement target range.The reflected wave is reflected again by the reflector, and the reflected wave is reflected from the reflector. Receiving a reflected wave and detecting a beat signal from the reflected wave and a part of the radiated modulated high-frequency signal; receiving a beat signal output from the transmitting / receiving unit to perform a required process Using an obstacle detection device having a signal processing unit that obtains required measurement data and a display unit that receives and outputs data output from the signal processing unit,
Prior to the operation of the obstacle detection device, the measurement target range is measured in a steady state, and first measurement data in a steady state is obtained for all the measurement points in the measurement target range. The difference between the second measurement data obtained by measuring the measurement points and the first measurement data is obtained for every measurement point, and the difference of the second measurement data in which the obtained difference is equal to or less than a certain value is obtained. The measurement is repeated until the number reaches N (arbitrary constant) for all the measurement points, and the average value of the second measurement data obtained for each of the measurement points is obtained. The value is used as the calibration value of the measurement point, and the difference between the third measurement data obtained in the measurement at the time of operation of the obstacle detection device and the calibration value is obtained for each of the same measurement points,
An obstacle detection method, wherein the presence or absence of an unsteady object is determined using the obtained difference. 3. The obstacle detection method according to claim 2, wherein a difference between third measurement data obtained in measurement during operation of the obstacle detection device and a calibration value according to claim 2 is used. The presence or absence of an unsteady object is determined, and when it is determined that there is no unsteady object, a new calibration value is obtained by using the calibration value and the third measurement data, and replaced with the previous calibration value. An obstacle detection method, wherein a calibration value is updated for each measurement point. 4. A reflector that can be driven to rotate in any direction;
The modulated high-frequency signal is emitted toward the reflector, and the modulated high-frequency signal is emitted from the reflector toward the measurement target range.The reflected wave is reflected again by the reflector, and the reflected wave is reflected from the reflector. Receiving a reflected wave and detecting a beat signal from the reflected wave and a part of the radiated modulated high-frequency signal; receiving a beat signal output from the transmitting / receiving unit to perform a required process Using an obstacle detection device having a signal processing unit that obtains required measurement data and a display unit that receives and outputs data output from the signal processing unit,
Prior to the operation of the obstacle detection device, the measurement target range is measured in a steady state, and first measurement data in a steady state is obtained for all the measurement points in the measurement target range. The difference between the second measurement data obtained by measuring the measurement points and the first measurement data is obtained for every measurement point, and the number of the second measurement data in which the obtained difference is equal to or less than a certain value is obtained. Is N for all measurement points (arbitrary constant)
And the variance and average of the second measurement data obtained for each of all the measurement points are obtained, and the obtained average is used as the calibration value of the measurement point, and the obstacle detection device Using the difference between the third measurement data obtained in the measurement at the time of operation and the calibration value, the presence or absence of an unsteady object is determined. If it is determined that there is no unsteady object, the calibration value and the second A new calibration value is obtained using the third measurement data, the calibration value is updated for each measurement point by replacing the previous calibration value, and the difference between the third measurement data and the calibration value is calculated by: An obstacle detection method, wherein the presence or absence of an unsteady object is determined by comparing a value obtained by multiplying a value of the variance obtained for each of the measurement points by a constant value. 5. A reflector which can be driven to rotate in any direction,
The modulated high-frequency signal is emitted toward the reflector, and the modulated high-frequency signal is emitted from the reflector toward the measurement target range.The reflected wave is reflected again by the reflector, and the reflected wave is reflected from the reflector. Receiving a reflected wave and detecting a beat signal from the reflected wave and a part of the radiated modulated high-frequency signal; receiving a beat signal output from the transmitting / receiving unit to perform a required process Using an obstacle detection device having a signal processing unit that obtains required measurement data and a display unit that receives and outputs data output from the signal processing unit,
The measurement range of the obstacle detection device is divided into blocks of an appropriate size, and the fourth measurement data obtained by calibrating the third measurement data of all the measurement points in the measurement range is respectively measured. A fifth measurement data indicating a representative value is extracted from the fourth measurement data included in the block for each block which is assigned to the block including the point, and a non-stationary object is extracted using the extracted representative value. An obstacle detection method characterized by detecting an obstacle. 6. A reflector which can be driven to rotate in any direction,
The modulated high-frequency signal is emitted toward the reflector, and the modulated high-frequency signal is emitted from the reflector toward the measurement target range.The reflected wave is reflected again by the reflector, and the reflected wave is reflected from the reflector. Receiving a reflected wave and detecting a beat signal from the reflected wave and a part of the radiated modulated high-frequency signal; receiving a beat signal output from the transmitting / receiving unit to perform a required process Using an obstacle detection device having a signal processing unit that obtains required measurement data and a display unit that receives and outputs data output from the signal processing unit,
Prior to the operation of the obstacle detection device, the measurement target range is measured in a steady state, and first measurement data in a steady state is obtained for all the measurement points in the measurement target range. The difference between the second measurement data obtained by measuring the measurement points and the first measurement data is obtained for every measurement point, and the number of the second measurement data in which the obtained difference is equal to or less than a certain value is obtained. Is N for all measurement points (arbitrary constant)
And the variance and average of the second measurement data obtained for each of all the measurement points are obtained, and the obtained average is used as the calibration value of the measurement point, and the obstacle detection device Using the difference between the third measurement data obtained in the measurement at the time of operation and the calibration value, the presence or absence of an unsteady object is determined. If it is determined that there is no unsteady object, the calibration value and the second A new calibration value is obtained using the third measurement data, the calibration value is updated for each measurement point by replacing the previous calibration value, and the difference between the third measurement data and the calibration value is calculated by: By comparing the variance value obtained for each measurement point with a value obtained by multiplying the value by a constant, the presence or absence of an unsteady object is determined, and the measurement target range of the obstacle detection device is appropriately sized. Divided into blocks of all measurement points in the measurement target range Assigned to the fourth measurement the block of data contained measurement points each have a obtained by calibrating the third measurement data, fourth included in the block for each block
An obstacle detection method characterized in that one fifth measurement data indicating a representative value is extracted from the measurement data of (1), and an unsteady object is detected using the extracted representative value. 7. The obstacle detection method according to claim 6, wherein in the measurement at the time of operation of the obstacle detection device, one fifth measurement data indicating a representative value of the block is extracted for each block, When a non-stationary object is detected using the extracted representative value, the probability that the non-stationary object has stopped is determined by comparing the fifth measurement data measured last time with the fifth measurement data measured this time. High state, a state where there is a high probability that an abnormal object is present, a state where there is a high probability that the unsteady object is moving at a low speed, and a state where the unsteady object is not present are determined. Except in the case where there is no unsteady object, a high to low count is given to each block in the above order, the measurement is repeated a fixed number of times, and the count is integrated for each block. Count accumulated for each block An obstacle detection method, wherein a situation for each block is determined using the number of blocks and output to a display unit.