JP4036158B2 - Vehicle obstacle detection device and inter-vehicle distance control device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention provides a vehicle obstacle detection device that sends a signal around a vehicle and detects an obstacle existing around the vehicle based on the reflected signal, and an inter-vehicle distance control that controls an inter-vehicle distance from a preceding vehicle. Relates to the device.

  2. Description of the Related Art There is known an apparatus that transmits a signal such as a laser beam in front of a vehicle and detects a distance between the obstacle and the host vehicle based on a reflected signal reflected by an obstacle such as a preceding vehicle. In such an apparatus, when the arrangement interval of the reflectors provided on the guardrail or the like is substantially equal to the distance traveled by the vehicle during the signal transmission cycle (distance measurement cycle), the reflector (stationary object) is placed on the own vehicle. May be erroneously detected as an object moving at the same speed. In view of such a problem, there is known an obstacle recognition device that excludes an obstacle having a predetermined relative acceleration or more from a detection target in view of the relative acceleration of the preceding vehicle falling within a predetermined range (Patent Document). 1).

JP-A-9-178848

  However, when the speed of the host vehicle is substantially constant, the relative acceleration of the reflector with respect to the host vehicle is substantially constant. Therefore, in the conventional obstacle recognition device, reflectors provided at equal intervals are set at the same speed as the host vehicle. There is a possibility of erroneous detection as a moving object.

(1) When the obstacle detection device for a vehicle according to the present invention detects an obstacle arranged at equal intervals, it uses at least a measurement period of a radar means for calculating a distance between the own vehicle and the obstacle. It is characterized by changing.
(2 ) The inter-vehicle distance control device according to the present invention includes the vehicle obstacle detection device according to the present invention, and controls the inter-vehicle distance with respect to the preceding vehicle to a predetermined inter-vehicle distance.

According to the vehicle obstacle detection device of the present invention, it is possible to prevent erroneous detection of the relative speed of stationary objects provided at equal intervals with respect to the host vehicle. Moreover, according to the inter-vehicle distance control device including the vehicle obstacle detection device according to the present invention, inter-vehicle distance control with respect to the preceding vehicle can be appropriately performed.

-First embodiment-
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of a vehicle obstacle detection device according to the present invention. The vehicle obstacle detection device 1 according to the first embodiment includes a preceding vehicle recognition device 2, a control unit 3, and a vehicle speed sensor 30 that detects the speed of the vehicle. The preceding vehicle recognition device 2 includes a power supply circuit 4, a signal processing device 5, a drive circuit 6, a light emitting element 7, a light emitting lens 8, a light receiving lens 9, a light receiving element 10, and an amplifier circuit 11. Prepare.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state in which the laser beam 12 is transmitted from the preceding vehicle recognition device 2 mounted on the host vehicle 14 and the reflected light 13 reflected by the preceding vehicle 15 is received. As shown in FIG. 2, the preceding vehicle recognition device 2 is attached to the front of the vehicle 14 (for example, a front grill or a front bumper).

  The power supply circuit 4 turns on / off the power of the preceding vehicle recognition apparatus 2 based on the power supply voltage input from the external power supply. When receiving the control signal from the control unit 3, the signal processing device 5 outputs a drive signal for driving the light emitting element 7. The drive circuit 6 that has received the drive signal from the signal processing device 5 drives (emits light) the light emitting element 7. As the laser light emitted from the light emitting element 7, near infrared light having a peak of radiation intensity in the vicinity of a wavelength λ = 850 to 950 nm is used. The light emitted from the light emitting element 7 passes through the light emitting lens 8 and is emitted as pulsed radiation 12 toward the front of the host vehicle 14. As will be described later, the emitted light 12 is emitted every measurement period τs.

  The emitted light 12 transmitted from the preceding vehicle recognition device 2 is reflected by the preceding vehicle 15 and returns as reflected light 13. The reflected light 13 is collected by the light receiving lens 9 and received by the light receiving element 10. The light receiving element 10 converts the received light into a current proportional to the amount of light and outputs the current to the amplifier circuit 11. The amplifier circuit 11 amplifies the current output converted by the light receiving element 10 and outputs the amplified current output to the signal processing device 5.

The signal processing device 5 calculates the inter-vehicle distance d between the host vehicle 14 and the preceding vehicle 15 according to the following equation (1) based on the time t from when the emitted light 12 is emitted until the reflected light 13 is received. .
d = (c × t) / 2 (1)
Where c is the speed of light.

  The control unit 3 performs various controls such as maintaining a constant inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle 15 based on an inter-vehicle distance signal input from the signal processing device 5 and a relative speed signal obtained by a method described later. . That is, various signals obtained by the vehicle obstacle detection device can be used for various controls of the inter-vehicle distance control device.

  A method for calculating a relative speed with respect to a preceding vehicle or a target such as a reflector (reflector) provided on a guardrail will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the distance d1 from the host vehicle 14 to the target 17 is detected by the signal processing device 5 (see FIG. 3A). The target 17 is detected in the obstacle detection area 16 by laser light.

  Next, a window 18 is set for the detected target 17 (see FIG. 3B). This window 18 is set so that an object that moves by a predetermined amount or more within the distance measuring cycle is excluded from the relative speed calculation process. Thereby, it is possible to prevent unnecessary calculation processing from being performed on an object that does not need to perform relative speed calculation processing, such as an oncoming vehicle.

  The range of the window 18 can be set based on the range of relative speeds to be detected. Here, a value corresponding to the speed Vs of the host vehicle 14 is set as a constant value in the direction away from the host vehicle 14 and a stationary object is detected in the direction approaching the host vehicle 14. And A value detected by the vehicle speed sensor 30 is used as the speed Vs of the host vehicle.

For example, when the host vehicle 14 is traveling at 72 km / h (= 20 m / s), the approaching direction to the host vehicle 14 is 20 m / s, and the direction of leaving is uniformly 10 m / s. . That is, the relative speed range to be dealt with is -20 to +10 (m / s) (minus signifies the approach direction). In this case, the size of the window 18 is 4 m (= 20 m / s × 0.2 s) in the approaching direction and 2 m (= 10 m / s) in the approaching direction when the ranging period τs of the preceding vehicle recognition device 2 is 200 ms. × 0.2s).

Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the target detected in the next distance measurement exists in the window 18 (see FIG. 3C). If it is determined that it exists in the window 18, the distance d2 to the target is detected, and the distance d1 to the target detected by the previous distance measurement and the target detected by the current distance measurement are detected. Based on the distance d2, the relative speed Vr is calculated from the following equation (2).
Vr = (d2−d1) / τs (2)
If the target does not exist in the window 18 at the current distance measurement, the target 17 detected at the previous distance measurement is excluded from the target of the relative speed calculation process.

  Subsequently, when the target is arranged at regular intervals, such as a reflector installed on the guardrail or a pylon installed on the construction site, the relative speed is erroneously calculated. This will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 4A, it is assumed that the vehicle 14 is traveling in the construction section, and the pylons 19 are arranged at a predetermined interval dr.

  As described above, the preceding vehicle recognition device 2 detects the pylon 19 (d, e, f) in the obstacle detection area 16 and sets a window 18 for each detected pylon 19. FIG. 4B is a diagram showing a state in which a window 18 is set for each detected pylon 19.

The preceding vehicle recognition device 2 performs the next distance measurement at the measurement cycle τs. FIG. 4C is a diagram illustrating a result of the next distance measurement. At this time, when the relationship dr = Vs × τs (Vs is the speed of the host vehicle 14) is established, the pylon 19 seems to move at the same speed as the speed Vs of the host vehicle (FIG. 4C). )reference). For example, the pylon e has moved by the distance dr during the measurement period τs, but the pylon f has moved to the position where the pylon e was detected at the previous distance measurement (FIG. 4B, As shown in FIG. 4C, the pylon appears to be present at the same position when the host vehicle 14 is used as a reference. That is, the pylon 19 that is a stationary object may be erroneously detected as a moving object that moves at the same speed as the host vehicle 14.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure performed by the vehicle obstacle detection device according to the first embodiment. The process starting from step S10 is performed by the preceding vehicle recognition device 2. In step S10, laser light is transmitted from the preceding vehicle recognition device 2 to perform distance measurement (target detection), and the process proceeds to step S20. In step S20, it is determined whether the target is detected as a result of the distance measurement performed in step S10. If it determines with the target not being detected, it will return to step S10, and if it determines with the target having been detected, it will progress to step S30.

  In step S30, it is determined whether or not there are targets arranged at equal intervals in the detected target. When a plurality of targets are arranged at equal intervals, the reflected light from each target is input to the light receiving element 10 at equal time intervals. Therefore, when the reflected light from the target is input to the light receiving element 10 at equal time intervals, it is determined that there are targets arranged at equal intervals. If it is determined that there are no targets arranged at equal intervals, the process proceeds to step S40. If it is determined that there are targets arranged at equal intervals, the process proceeds to step S50.

  In step S40, the measurement period τs in the next distance measurement is set to a reference value (for example, 200 ms), and the process proceeds to step S60. On the other hand, in step S50 that proceeds after it is determined that there are targets arranged at equal intervals, the measurement period τs in the next distance measurement is determined based on the target interval dr and the speed Vs of the host vehicle. . The target interval dr is calculated by the equation (1) by detecting the light reception time interval of the reflected light. The measurement period τs is set so as to satisfy the relationship of τs <dr / Vs. For example, when the target interval dr is 4 m and the speed Vs of the host vehicle is 20 m / s, the value is less than 200 ms, and is set to 100 ms here. When the measurement cycle τs is set, the process proceeds to step S60.

  In step S60, the size of the window is determined for the detected target by the method described above. Since the measurement period τs when the targets are arranged at equal intervals is set to a value smaller than the reference value (200 ms), compared to the case where the targets are not arranged at equal intervals, The size becomes smaller.

  In step S70 following step S60, it is determined whether or not a window has already been set. If it is determined that the window has already been set, the process proceeds to step S110. If it is determined that the window has not been set, the process proceeds to step S80. In step S80, it is determined whether or not the target detected by the current ranging is present in the already set window. If it is determined that the target does not exist in the window, the process proceeds to step S110, and if it is determined that the target exists, the process proceeds to step S90.

  In step S90, the target existing in the position closest to the host vehicle 14 is selected from the targets existing in the window, and the process proceeds to step S100. In step S100, the relative speed of the target selected in step S90 with respect to the host vehicle 14 is calculated. The relative speed is calculated based on the above-described equation (2). When the relative speed is calculated, the process proceeds to step S110. In step S110, a window having the size determined in step S60 is set for the target detected in the current ranging. When the window is set, the process returns to step S10. Thereafter, the processes after step S10 described above are repeated.

  The process according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 5 described above, that is, the process performed by the vehicle obstacle detection apparatus in the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIGS. 6A to 6C, the target 19 is a pylon. First, the target 19 is detected by the preceding vehicle recognition device 2 (see FIG. 6A). When a plurality of targets are detected, it is determined whether or not the targets are arranged at equal intervals by the method described above. When the targets 19 are arranged as shown in FIG. 6A, it is detected that the targets 19 are arranged at equal intervals dr.

  When it is detected that the targets 19 are arranged at equal intervals, the measurement interval τs for the next distance measurement is changed. As described above, when the target interval dr is 4 m and the speed Vs of the host vehicle is 20 m / s, the measurement period τs is set to 100 ms. The size of the window in this case is 20 m / s × 100 ms = 2 m in the direction approaching the host vehicle, and 10 m / s × 100 ms = 1 m in the direction away from the host vehicle. A window 20 is set for each detected target 19 based on the size of the window. FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a state in which a window 20 is set for each detected target 19.

  At the time of the next distance measurement, since the measurement cycle τs is changed to 100 ms, the target 19 (pylon) moves only 20 m / s × 100 ms = 2 m. FIG. 6C is a diagram illustrating a result of the next distance measurement. As described above, since the window 20 is set to a size of 2 m in the direction approaching the host vehicle 14, the pylons d, e, and f detected in the previous distance measurement are also used in the next distance measurement. , Detected in the same window. However, the positions detected in the window are different (see FIGS. 6B and 6C). Further, since the size of the window in the direction away from the host vehicle 14 is 1 m, for example, the pylon f is not detected at the next distance measurement in the window in which the pylon e is detected.

  According to the vehicle obstacle detection device in the first embodiment, it is determined whether or not a plurality of obstacles detected by the preceding vehicle recognition device 2 are arranged at equal intervals, and are arranged at equal intervals. If it is determined that the obstacle is present, the measurement cycle for detecting the obstacle is changed, so that it is possible to prevent erroneous detection of the relative speed of the stationary object provided at equal intervals with respect to the host vehicle. Accordingly, stationary objects arranged at equal intervals are erroneously detected as objects moving at the same speed as the own vehicle, and the erroneously detected object is erroneously recognized as a preceding vehicle for keeping the inter-vehicle distance constant. Can be prevented.

  Further, by setting the window 20 on the basis of the vehicle speed Vs detected by the vehicle speed sensor 30 and the changed measurement cycle τs, an obstacle in which the movement amount in the measurement cycle τs is greater than or equal to a predetermined movement amount threshold value. The object was excluded from the relative speed calculation process. Thereby, it is possible to prevent unnecessary calculation processing from being performed. That is, setting the window 20 is equivalent to setting the movement amount threshold value within the measurement period τs.

  Further, by preventing erroneous detection of the relative speed, the inter-vehicle distance control that is performed by the control unit 3 and that maintains the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle can be appropriately performed.

-Modified configuration example-
A modified configuration example of the vehicle obstacle detection device according to the first embodiment will be described. In the vehicle obstacle detection device according to the first embodiment described above, the measurement cycle τs is changed when a plurality of detected targets are arranged at equal intervals. However, based on the attenuation rate of the reflected light of the laser beam transmitted from the preceding vehicle recognition device 2, the targets arranged at equal intervals are reflected on the reflector (reflector) provided on the guardrail or on the construction site. After determining that the pylon is installed, the measurement cycle τs can be changed.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the intensity of the reflected light that is reflected by the reflectors arranged at equal intervals and received by the light receiving element 10 of the preceding vehicle recognition device 2. As described above, if the reflectors are arranged at equal intervals, the reflected light reflected by the reflectors is input to the light receiving element 10 at equal time intervals (see FIG. 7). Further, the intensity of the reflected light received by the light receiving element 10 is the highest in the intensity of the light reflected by the reflector that is closest to the host vehicle 14 and is reflected by the reflector that is located far from the host vehicle 14. The intensity of light decreases. In this case, since the reflectance of each reflector is the same, when the reflectors are arranged at equal intervals, the intensity of the reflected light input to the light receiving element 10 is predetermined as shown in FIG. Attenuates at a decay rate of.

  In many cases, the targets are arranged at equal intervals by a reflector provided on the guard rail or a pylon installed on the construction site, and the reflectance of these objects is the same. Therefore, when a plurality of detected targets are arranged at equal intervals and the intensity of light reflected by each target and input to the light receiving element 10 is attenuated at a predetermined attenuation rate The detected target can be determined to be a reflector or pylon that is a stationary object. That is, in the modified configuration example of the vehicle obstacle detection device according to the first embodiment, a plurality of detected targets are arranged at equal intervals, and reflected by each target to the light receiving element 10. When the intensity of the input light is attenuated at a predetermined attenuation rate, the measurement cycle τs is changed. Thereby, when the relative speed of the reflector or the pylon with respect to the host vehicle is calculated, it is possible to prevent the reflector or the pylon from being erroneously detected as a moving object that moves at the same speed as the host vehicle.

  When the vehicles are arranged at equal intervals, the reflection surface shape of the vehicles varies, and thus the attenuation rate of the intensity of the light input to the light receiving element 10 is not constant.

-Second Embodiment-
In the vehicle obstacle detection device according to the first embodiment, when the targets arranged at equal intervals are detected, the distance measurement measurement period τs by the preceding vehicle recognition device 2 is changed. In the vehicle obstacle detection device according to the second embodiment, when it is determined that the detected target is a stationary object such as a reflector or a pylon arranged at equal intervals, the detected target is subjected to a relative speed calculation process. Exclude from The method for determining that the detected target is a stationary object such as a reflector or a pylon arranged at equal intervals is as described in the modified configuration example of the vehicle obstacle detection device in the first embodiment. Further, it is performed based on the attenuation rate of the reflected light.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure performed by the vehicle obstacle detection device according to the second embodiment. Steps for performing the same processing as the processing performed in the flowchart shown in FIG. 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The processing performed in steps S10 to S30 is the same as the processing performed in the vehicle obstacle detection device in the first embodiment. However, if it is determined in step S30 that there are no equidistant targets, the process proceeds to step S40, and if it is determined that equidistant targets are present, the process proceeds to step S200.

  In step S200, it is determined whether or not the attenuation rate of the intensity of the reflected light received by the light receiving element 10 is within a predetermined range. As described above, when targets arranged at equal intervals have the same reflectance as a reflector or pylon, the intensity of the reflected light received by the light receiving element 10 is attenuated at a constant attenuation rate. I will do it. In step S200, it is determined whether or not the attenuation rate is within a predetermined range. If it is determined that the attenuation rate is not within the predetermined range, the process proceeds to step S50, and the measurement cycle τs is changed as described above. On the other hand, if it is determined that the attenuation rate is within the predetermined range, the process proceeds to step S210.

  In step S210, the targets that are arranged at equal intervals and that have the attenuation rate of the intensity of the light reflected by each target and input to the light receiving element 10 within a predetermined range are compared in step S100. Excluded from speed calculation processing. In step S210, when the process of excluding from the target of the relative speed calculation process is performed, the process proceeds to step S40. In step S40, the measurement period τs in the next distance measurement is set to a reference value (for example, 200 ms), and the process proceeds to step S60. Thereafter, similarly to the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, the processing after step S60 is performed.

  According to the vehicle obstacle detection device in the second embodiment, the attenuation factor of the intensity of light that is arranged at equal intervals and reflected by each target and input to the light receiving element 10 is predetermined. A target within the range is determined to be a reflector or a pylon, and is excluded from the target of the relative speed calculation process. Further, the distance measurement period τs by the preceding vehicle recognition device 2 is set to the reference value and is not changed. Accordingly, unnecessary relative speed calculation processing is prevented from being performed on a stationary object such as a reflector or a pylon, and an increase in processing load can be avoided because the measurement cycle τs is not changed. That is, in the vehicle obstacle detection device according to the first embodiment, when the targets arranged at equal intervals are detected, the measurement cycle τs is set to a value smaller than the reference value, so that the processing load increases. . However, according to the vehicle obstacle detection device in the second embodiment, an increase in processing load can be avoided.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. For example, although the preceding vehicle recognition device 2 described above has been described as a fixed optical axis radar that emits laser light having a predetermined spread angle in front of the vehicle, the laser light having a small spread angle is scanned in the left-right direction in front of the vehicle. Thus, a scanning radar that detects an obstacle may be used. The preceding vehicle recognition device 2 has been described as a laser radar that emits laser light, but a millimeter wave radar that uses millimeter wave radio waves can also be used.

In the vehicle obstacle detection device according to the first embodiment, the measurement cycle τs is changed when obstacles arranged at equal intervals are detected. At this time, if the changed measurement period τs is shorter than the time from when the distance between the host vehicle and the obstacle is detected until the relative speed is calculated, the relative speed of the obstacle should not be calculated. May be.

In the modified configuration example of the vehicle obstacle detection device according to the first embodiment, a plurality of detected targets are arranged at equal intervals, and reflected by each target and input to the light receiving element 10. The measurement period τs was changed when the intensity of light attenuated at a predetermined attenuation rate. In this case, even if the intensity of the reflected light is not the same as the predetermined attenuation rate, the measurement cycle τs may be changed as long as it is within a predetermined range.

In the modified configuration example of the obstacle detection device for a vehicle according to the second embodiment, the attenuation rate of the intensity of light that is arranged at equal intervals and reflected by each target and input to the light receiving element 10 is obtained. Targets within the predetermined range were excluded from the target of the relative speed calculation process. However, if it is detected that a plurality of obstacles are arranged at equal intervals regardless of the magnitude of the attenuation rate of the intensity of the reflected light, the relative speed of these obstacles may not be calculated.

  In the above description, the vehicle unit includes the control unit 3 that performs control to keep the inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle 15 constant based on the inter-vehicle distance signal and the relative speed signal input from the preceding vehicle recognition device 2. An obstacle detection device was used. However, the obstacle detection device for a vehicle can be configured with the configuration excluding the control unit 3, and the device including the control unit 3 can be expressed as an inter-vehicle distance control device.

  The correspondence between the constituent elements of the claims and the constituent elements of the first and second embodiments is as follows. That is, the preceding vehicle recognition device 2 is the radar means, the relative speed calculation means, the array determination means, the measurement period changing means, the reflected signal intensity detecting means, the interval detecting means, and the threshold value setting means, and the vehicle speed sensor 30 is the vehicle speed detecting means. The control unit 3 constitutes control means. In addition, as long as the characteristic function of this invention is not impaired, each component is not limited to the said structure.

The figure which shows the structure of 1st Embodiment of the obstacle detection apparatus for vehicles by this invention. The figure which shows a mode that a laser beam is sent from the preceding vehicle recognition apparatus mounted in the own vehicle, and the reflected light which reflected and returned to the preceding vehicle is received. FIGS. 3A to 3C are diagrams for explaining a method for calculating the relative speed of a target detected by laser light. 4A to 4C are diagrams for explaining an example in which the relative speed of stationary objects arranged at equal intervals is erroneously calculated. The flowchart which shows the process sequence performed with the obstacle detection apparatus for vehicles in 1st Embodiment. FIGS. 6A to 6C are views showing a state in which ranging is performed by the vehicle obstacle detection device according to the first embodiment. The figure which shows the intensity | strength of the reflected light reflected by the light-receiving element of a preceding vehicle recognition apparatus after reflecting with the reflector arranged at equal intervals The flowchart which shows the process sequence performed with the obstacle detection apparatus for vehicles in 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle obstacle detection apparatus 2 ... Leading vehicle recognition apparatus 3 ... Control unit 4 ... Power supply circuit 5 ... Signal processing apparatus 6 ... Drive circuit 7 ... Light emitting element 8 ... Light emitting lens 9 ... Light receiving lens 10 ... Light receiving element 11 ... Amplifier circuit 12 ... Radiated light 13 ... Reflected light 14 ... Own vehicle 15 ... Prior vehicle 16 ... Detection area 17 ... Targets 18, 20 ... Window 19 ... Pylon 30 ... Vehicle speed sensor

Claims (9)

Radar means for sending a signal to the front of the vehicle for each measurement period, and calculating at least the distance between the vehicle and the obstacle based on the reflected signal reflected by the obstacle;
A relative speed calculating means for calculating a relative speed of the obstacle with respect to the host vehicle based on the distance to the obstacle calculated by the radar means;
Arrangement determining means for determining whether or not a plurality of obstacles detected by the radar means are arranged at equal intervals;
An obstacle detection device for a vehicle, comprising: a measurement cycle changing unit that changes the measurement cycle when the arrangement determining unit determines that a plurality of obstacles are arranged at equal intervals. The vehicle obstacle detection device according to claim 1,
A reflection signal intensity detecting means for detecting the intensity of the reflection signal reflected by the obstacle;
The measurement period changing unit determines that the plurality of obstacles are arranged at equal intervals by the arrangement determining unit, and the intensity of the reflected signal detected by the reflected signal intensity detecting unit is a predetermined attenuation rate. The vehicle obstacle detection device, wherein the measurement cycle is changed when the vehicle is attenuated. In the obstacle detection device for vehicles according to claim 1 or 2,
An interval detection means for detecting an arrangement interval of obstacles determined to be arranged at equal intervals by the arrangement determination means;
Vehicle speed detecting means for detecting the speed of the host vehicle,
The measurement cycle changing unit determines a value of a measurement cycle to be changed based on an obstacle interval detected by the interval detection unit and a vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detection unit. Obstacle detection device. The obstacle detection device for a vehicle according to claim 3,
The measurement period changing means changes the obstacle interval detected by the interval detecting means to a period shorter than a value obtained by dividing the interval of the obstacle by the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detecting means. apparatus. In the obstacle detection device for vehicles according to claim 3 or 4,
A movement amount threshold setting means for setting a movement amount threshold between the measurement periods based on the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detection means and the measurement period changed by the measurement period changing means;
The relative speed calculation means, when the movement amount of the obstacle with respect to the host vehicle during the measurement period is equal to or larger than the movement amount threshold set by the movement amount threshold setting means, A vehicle obstacle detection device characterized by not calculating a speed. In the obstacle detection device for vehicles according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
In the relative speed calculation means, the measurement period changed by the measurement period change means is shorter than the time from when the distance between the host vehicle and the obstacle is detected until the relative speed is calculated by the relative speed calculation means. In the case, the vehicle obstacle detection device does not calculate the relative speed of the obstacle. The vehicle obstacle detection device according to claim 1,
A reflection signal intensity detecting means for detecting the intensity of the reflection signal reflected by the obstacle;
The measurement period changing means determines that a plurality of obstacles are arranged at equal intervals by the arrangement determining means, and the intensity of the reflected signal detected by the reflection intensity detecting means is attenuated at a predetermined attenuation rate. If not, change the measurement period,
The relative speed calculating means determines that the plurality of obstacles are arranged at equal intervals by the arrangement determining means, and the intensity of the reflected signal detected by the reflected signal intensity detecting means is the predetermined attenuation rate. An obstacle detection device for a vehicle that does not calculate relative speeds of the obstacles when the vehicle is attenuated . In the obstacle detection device for vehicles given in any 1 paragraph of Claims 1-7 ,
The arrangement determining means determines whether or not a plurality of obstacles are arranged at equal intervals based on a signal reception interval of a reflected signal reflected by a plurality of obstacles and received by the radar means. A vehicle obstacle detection device characterized by the above. The vehicle obstacle detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
  Control for controlling the inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle to a predetermined inter-vehicle distance based on the distance to the obstacle calculated by the radar means and the relative speed of the obstacle to the host vehicle calculated by the relative speed calculating means. Means for controlling the distance between vehicles.

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