JP5533763B2 - In-vehicle radar system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an on-vehicle radar device mounted on a vehicle and used for detecting various targets existing around the vehicle.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in-vehicle radar devices that detect obstacles and the like around a vehicle by transmitting and receiving laser light, ultrasonic waves, millimeter waves, and the like have been used for control and the like to improve vehicle running safety. .

  As one example of this type of in-vehicle radar device, as shown in FIG. 10A, a part of the irradiation light emitted radially from the light irradiation source 101 toward the front of the vehicle is reflected by reflectors 102 and 103. There is known an in-vehicle radar device 100 that can detect a target not only in front of a vehicle but also on both left and right sides of the vehicle by reflecting the light on both the left and right sides (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In the on-vehicle radar device 100 configured as described above, for example, as shown in FIG. 10B, when entering an intersection such as a crossroad or a T-shaped road, the host vehicle intersects the road on which the vehicle is traveling. It can detect the state of the road (hereinafter referred to as “intersection road”). Even if there is a wall up to the border of the road, and there is a blind spot due to the wall, etc., the vehicle or walking that exists in the blind spot Or the like can be detected.

JP 2009-103482 A

However, the radar device 100 described in Patent Document 1 has a problem that detection suitable for the road environment cannot be performed because the laser beams are evenly irradiated on both the left and right sides.
That is, for example, in Japan, vehicles are left-hand traffic, so the right side of vehicles that pass by oncoming vehicles or passing vehicles and the left side where pedestrians, bicycles, parked vehicles, etc. exist are clearly roads. Since the environment is not equal to the left and right, there is a possibility that it is not possible to accurately cope with the situation that occurs based on this uneven environment.

  In order to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an in-vehicle radar device capable of detection suitable for a road environment.

  In the on-vehicle radar device of the present invention made to achieve the above object, the irradiating means individually radiates radar waves on the right side and the left side with respect to the forward direction of the host vehicle, and the light receiving means is based on the irradiating means. A reflected wave of the radar wave coming from the irradiation direction of the radar wave is received.

  The irradiation means includes a right irradiation wave that is a radar wave irradiated to the right side and a left irradiation wave that is a radar wave irradiated to the left side, of directivity in a horizontal plane or directivity in a vertical plane. At least one of them is set to be asymmetrical so as to match the asymmetry of the road environment.

According to the on-vehicle radar device configured as described above, detection suitable for the road environment can be performed, so that necessary information can be accurately acquired. As a result, reliability of various controls based on the acquired information can be obtained. Can be improved.

  For example, when the vehicle is on the left side, as shown in FIG. 2 (a), a vehicle with a fast moving speed approaches from the right side in the troubled lane of the intersection road that will enter first when entering the intersection. However, since pedestrians and bicycles moving at a relatively low speed approach from the left side, the driver's field of view tends to be biased to the right.

  Therefore, as the left-right asymmetric setting described above, specifically, the left irradiation wave is set so that the horizontal beam width is set wider than that of the right irradiation wave, and the angle range closer to the forward direction is included as the irradiation range. It is possible.

  In other words, the right irradiation wave used for detection in the right direction approaching a vehicle with a fast moving speed is effective when the horizontal beam width is narrow enough to ensure a long detection distance, and conversely, the approaching wave is relatively For pedestrians and bicycles that move at low speeds, drivers with a wide horizontal beam width that can detect a wide range of angles are effective for detection in the left direction, where the driver's blind spot tends to be wide. It becomes.

  Further, according to the road decree, the road has a gradient of 1.5 to 2.0 deg in the direction crossing the road. For this reason, when considering the situation immediately before entering the intersection, the vehicle is inclined in the forward direction with the left side being low and the right side being high. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4A, when the radar wave is irradiated along the bottom surface of the vehicle, the right irradiation wave is irradiated upward and the left irradiation wave is irradiated downward with respect to the horizontal surface on the ground. It will be. Then, the right irradiation wave becomes easier to hit at a distance closer to the windshield of the vehicle having a low reflection intensity, and the left irradiation wave is irradiated toward the road surface, so that the detection distance is reduced anyway. There is a problem of end up.

  Therefore, as the above-described left-right asymmetric setting, specifically, the right irradiation wave is directed downward with respect to the horizontal plane by an offset angle set based on the road inclination determined by the road decree, and the left irradiation wave is It is conceivable to set the horizontal plane so as to face upward by an offset angle.

Thereby, when approaching an intersection, the detection of the target in the left-right direction of a vehicle can be performed effectively, without reducing a detection distance.
In the in-vehicle radar device of the present invention, the irradiation unit may include, for example, two radar wave generation sources that individually generate a right irradiation wave and a left irradiation wave. In this case, the irradiation means can be configured simply.

  The irradiation unit may include an irradiation direction changing unit that changes the irradiation direction of the right irradiation wave and the left irradiation wave. In this case, the irradiation direction can be changed according to the situation.

  In addition, as radar waves, radio waves such as millimeter waves may be used. In particular, when laser light is used, the irradiating means uses right and left irradiated waves via optical means for diverging or converging the laser light. May be configured to transmit and receive.

In this case, the directivity of the right irradiation wave and the left irradiation wave can be adjusted by appropriately selecting the optical means.
Further, the irradiating means divides the path of the irradiation light emitted from the single radar wave generation source and the radar wave generation source into two directions, thereby generating the right irradiation wave and the left irradiation wave. You may be comprised with the branch means to produce | generate.

In this case, since the number of expensive radar wave generation sources (laser radars and light emitting diodes) is reduced, the irradiating means, and thus the in-vehicle radar device can be configured at low cost.
Further, when the branching unit is formed of a reflecting mirror that reflects the laser light, the irradiating unit includes an irradiation direction changing unit that changes the irradiation direction of the right irradiation wave and the left irradiation wave by changing the installation angle of the reflecting mirror. It may be. In this case, the irradiation direction can be changed according to the situation.

  In the on-vehicle radar device according to the present invention, the environment detection unit detects the state of the host vehicle and the situation around the host vehicle, and the irradiation direction changing unit controls the direction of the radar wave according to the detection result of the environment detection unit. It may be configured to.

Explanatory drawing which shows a structure and operation | movement of the vehicle-mounted radar apparatus of 1st Embodiment. Explanatory drawing which showed typically the detection range of the vehicle-mounted radar apparatus of 1st Embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows the structure and operation | movement of the vehicle-mounted radar apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. Explanatory drawing which showed typically the detection range of the vehicle-mounted radar apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows the structure and operation | movement of the vehicle-mounted radar apparatus of 3rd Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the structure of the target detection apparatus of 4th Embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows a structure and operation | movement of the vehicle-mounted radar apparatus which comprises a target detection apparatus. The flowchart which shows the content of the side target detection process which a control part performs. Explanatory drawing which shows the irradiation direction (detection range) of irradiation light. Explanatory drawing which shows the structure and detection range of a conventional apparatus.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
<Overall configuration>
1A and 1B are explanatory views showing the configuration and operation of an on-vehicle radar device 1 to which the present invention is applied, in which FIG. 1A is a top view (an explanatory view on an irradiation side), FIG. Is a bottom view (an explanatory diagram on the light receiving side). FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the detection range (radar wave irradiation range) of the in-vehicle radar device, where (a) is a conventional device and (b) is a case of the present embodiment.

  The in-vehicle radar device 1 is used by being attached to the front surface of the vehicle, and is irradiated with the right irradiation light SR, which is a radar wave irradiated on the right side in the forward direction of the vehicle, and on the left side in the forward direction of the vehicle. The left irradiation light SL, which is a radar wave, is generated, and the right irradiation light SR and the reflected light of the left irradiation light SL are received to detect an obstacle reflected by the radar wave.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the in-vehicle radar device 1 divides a laser beam emitted from a light source 10 that generates a laser beam, a light receiving unit 11 that receives the laser beam, and a laser beam emitted from the light source 10 into two. By changing the optical path of the laser light in a substantially vertical direction, the right irradiation light SR and the left irradiation light SL are generated, and the reflected light of the right irradiation light SR and the left irradiation light SL is transmitted to the light receiving unit 11. From the optical path changer 12 that guides, the right lens unit 13 that diverges or converges the right irradiation light SR that is disposed on the optical path of the right irradiation light SR that extends from the optical path changer 12 to the outside of the device 1, and the optical path changer 12 A left lens unit 14 is provided on the optical path of the left irradiation light SL that reaches the outside of the apparatus 1 and diverges or converges the left irradiation light SL.

The light source 10 is configured by a laser diode or a light emitting diode. In the following, the direction along the optical axis of the laser light emitted from the light source 10 is the front-rear direction (vertical direction in FIG. 1).
The direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction is the horizontal direction (the left-right direction in FIGS. 1A and 1C, the direction orthogonal to the paper surface in FIG. 1B), the direction orthogonal to both the front-rear direction and the horizontal direction. The direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIGS. 1A and 1C and the left-right direction in FIG.

The in-vehicle radar device 1 is installed in the vehicle such that the front-rear direction coincides with the vehicle length direction, the lateral direction coincides with the vehicle width direction, and the up-down direction coincides with the vehicle height direction.
The light receiving unit 11 includes a known image sensor including a plurality of light receiving elements (CMOS, CCD, etc.) arranged in a line, and is arranged below the light source 10 so that the arrangement direction of the light receiving elements coincides with the horizontal direction. Has been.

  The optical path changer 12 is composed of a prism type mirror formed in a triangular prism shape, and is arranged so that the center line passing through one apex of the triangle coincides with the optical axis JC of the laser light emitted from the light source 10. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 1A, the laser light emitted from the light source 10 is split into two by reflecting against two surfaces sandwiching the apex, and the two-branched laser light is laterally transmitted. The optical path is changed so as to be opposite to each other along the direction. Conversely, the optical path of the reflected light that arrives at the optical path changer 12 from both sides in the horizontal direction (that is, both the left and right sides) is changed so as to go to the light receiving unit 11.

<Lens configuration>
As shown in FIG. 1B, the right lens unit 13 includes a right irradiation lens group 13a composed of lenses having a function of narrowing the beam width of the right irradiation light SR coming from the optical path changer 12, and a right irradiation lens. The light receiving lens group 13b is configured in the same manner as the group 13a and is disposed below the right irradiation lens group 13a. However, in the right irradiation lens group 13a, the optical axis JR of the right irradiation light SR that has passed through the lens group 13a faces forward by an angle βR set in advance with respect to the horizontal direction, and in advance with respect to the horizontal direction. The right irradiation light SR is directed downward by a set angle δR (not shown), and the right irradiation light SR has an angle range αR within a horizontal plane (a plane formed by the front-rear direction and the horizontal direction) with the optical axis JR as the center. It is set so as to spread within an angle range of γR within a vertical plane (a plane formed by the horizontal direction and the vertical direction). Further, the right light receiving lens group 13b guides an optical path for guiding the reflected light of the right irradiation light SR to the right half of the light receiving element group constituting the light receiving unit 11 (hereinafter referred to as “right light receiving unit”) via the optical path changer 12. It is set to form. Then, the reflected wave of the right irradiation light SR guided to the right light receiving unit forms an image at a position corresponding to the arrival direction (azimuth in the horizontal plane) of the reflected light.

  The left lens unit 14 is the same as the right lens unit 13 and is not shown in the figure. However, the left lens unit 14 is composed of a lens having an action of expanding the beam width of the left irradiation light SL coming from the optical path changer 12. The lens group 14a is configured in the same manner as the left irradiation lens group 14a, and includes a left light receiving lens group 14b disposed below the left irradiation lens group 14a. However, in the left irradiation lens group 14a, the optical axis JL of the left irradiation light SL that has passed through the lens group 14a is directed forward by an angle βL set in advance in the horizontal direction, and is previously set in the horizontal direction. The left irradiation light SL is set so as to be directed downward by the set angle δL and spread in an angle range of αL in the horizontal plane around the optical axis JL and in an angle range of γL in the vertical plane. Yes. The left light receiving lens group 14b guides the reflected light of the left irradiation light SL to the left half of the light receiving element group constituting the light receiving unit 11 (hereinafter referred to as “left light receiving unit”) via the optical path changer 12. It is set to form. The reflected light of the left irradiation light SL guided to the left light receiving part forms an image at a position corresponding to the arrival direction (azimuth in the horizontal plane) of the reflected light.

  Note that αR and γR representing the spread of the right illumination light SR, βR representing the orientation of the optical axis JR of the right illumination light SR in the horizontal plane, αL and γL representing the spread of the left illumination light SL, and the light of the left illumination light SL. ΒL representing the orientation of the axis JL in the horizontal plane has a relationship represented by at least the expressions (1) and (2).

αL> αR and γL> γR (1)
βL> βR (2)
That is, as shown in FIG. 2B, the right irradiation light SR whose beam width is narrowed by the right lens unit 13 has a detection distance compared to the left irradiation light SL whose beam width is expanded by the left lens unit 14. The left illumination light SL is longer than the right illumination light SR, and the detection range is set to be wider in the forward direction than the right illumination light SR, and the directivity in the horizontal plane and in the vertical plane are set. The directivity is set to be different.

  Specifically, for example, αR = 45 [deg], αL = 20 [deg], βR = 30 [deg], βL = 5 [deg], γR = 15 [deg], γL = 20 [deg], δR = ΔL = 0 [deg].

  The on-vehicle radar device 1 configured as described above is activated manually or automatically when the host vehicle is about to enter an intersection, and detects targets present on both the left and right sides of the vehicle.

<Effect>
As described above, the in-vehicle radar device 1 detects the right direction in consideration of the left-right asymmetric road environment generated based on the left-hand traffic of the vehicle and the left-right asymmetric blind spot range generated based on the driver's behavior. The right irradiation light SR used for the left and the left irradiation light SL used for detection in the left direction are set to have asymmetric directivity suitable for the driving environment.

  Specifically, the right illumination light SR is set to ensure a long detection distance, and the left illumination light SL is set to ensure a wide detection range. Therefore, when entering the intersection, the front lane of the intersection road is viewed from the right direction. A vehicle approaching the vehicle can be detected at an early stage, and a target in a blind spot that spreads from the left side to the front side when the driver's attention is biased to the right side can be accurately detected.

  That is, according to the on-vehicle radar device 1, information necessary for the situation can be accurately acquired by detection suitable for the road environment and the driver's habits, and as a result, the reliability of various controls based on the acquired information can be obtained. Can be improved.

<Correspondence with Invention>
In this embodiment, the light source 10 and the optical path changer 12, the left and right irradiation lens groups 13a and 14a are irradiation means, the right irradiation light SR is the right irradiation wave, the left irradiation light SL is the left irradiation wave, the optical path changer 12 and the light receiving unit 11. Are the light receiving means, the optical path changer 12 is the irradiation direction changing means and the branching means, the light source 10 is the radar wave generating means, and the right lens portion 13 and the left lens portion 14 are the optical means.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment will be described.
<Overall configuration>
3A and 3B are explanatory views showing the configuration and operation of the on-vehicle radar device 2 of the present embodiment, where FIG. 3A is a top view, FIG. 3B is a front view (an explanatory view on the irradiation side), and FIG. It is explanatory drawing on the light-receiving side. However, illustration of the optical path changer 12 is omitted in FIGS. 4A and 4B are explanatory views schematically showing the detection range of the on-vehicle radar device. FIG. 4A shows the case of the conventional device, and FIG. 4B shows the case of the present embodiment.

  The in-vehicle radar device 2 is different from the in-vehicle radar device 1 of the first embodiment only in the arrangement of the right lens unit 13 and the left lens unit 14, and therefore will be described with a focus on different parts of this configuration. .

<Lens layout>
As shown in FIG. 3, in the in-vehicle radar device 2, the right irradiation lens group 13 a constituting the right lens unit 13 has an optical axis JR of the right irradiation light SR that has passed through the lens group 13 a is angled with respect to the lateral direction. The right light receiving lens group 13b receives the reflected light of the right irradiation light SR via the optical path changer 12 so as to face forward by βR and downward by an angle δR + Δδ with respect to the horizontal direction. The light path is arranged so as to form an optical path leading to the right half (right light receiving portion) of the light receiving element group constituting the portion 11.

  Further, the left irradiation lens group 14a constituting the left lens unit 14 has the optical axis JL of the left irradiation light SL that has passed through the lens group 14a directed forward by an angle βL with respect to the horizontal direction and in the horizontal direction. The left light receiving lens group 14b is arranged so as to face downward by an angle δL−Δδβ (if δL <Δδ, it faces upward by | δL−Δδ |). It arrange | positions so that the optical path led to the left half (left light-receiving part) of the light-receiving element group which comprises the light-receiving part 11 via the optical path changer 12 may be formed.

  Note that αR, αL, βR, βL, γR, γL, δR, and δL are the same values as those in the first embodiment. Further, Δδ is an angle set based on the road inclination angle specified in the Road Decree, and Δδ = 1.5 to 2 [deg].

  In other words, on roads that have been maintained in accordance with the road mandate, the center of the road (in the case of one lane on each side, the right side in the direction of vehicle travel) is higher than the edge of the road. When the left side is low and the right side is high, as shown in FIG. 4A, the right irradiation light SR is irradiated toward a position higher than expected, and the left irradiation light SL is lower than expected. It is irradiated toward the position. Therefore, the inclination angle of the road is set as an offset angle Δδ, and the optical axis of the right irradiation light SR is inclined downward by this offset angle Δδ, and the optical axis of the left irradiation light SL is inclined upward, as shown in FIG. As shown, the optical axis with respect to the horizontal surface on the ground is correctly oriented in the desired direction.

<Effect>
As described above, according to the on-vehicle radar device 2, when detecting a target on both the left and right sides of the vehicle when entering the intersection, the detection distance is not reduced due to the influence of the road inclination. Necessary information can be acquired promptly.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment will be described.
<Overall configuration>
5A and 5B are explanatory views showing the configuration and operation of the on-vehicle radar device 3 of the present embodiment, where FIG. 5A is a top view (an explanatory view on the irradiation side), FIG. 5B is a side view, and FIG. (Explanatory drawing on the light receiving side).

  The on-vehicle radar device 3 differs from the on-vehicle radar devices 1 and 2 of the first and second embodiments in that the optical path changer 12 is omitted and the configuration of the light source 10 and the light receiving unit 11 is different. Since there are only different points, the description will focus on the different parts of this configuration.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the light source 10 in the in-vehicle radar device 3 includes a right light source 10 a arranged so as to irradiate laser light toward the right irradiation lens group 13 a along the horizontal direction, and a left side along the horizontal direction. The left light source 10b is arranged so as to irradiate laser light toward the irradiation lens group 14a.

The light receiving unit 11 in the in-vehicle radar device 3 is disposed below the right light source 10a and at a position for receiving the reflected light incident through the right light receiving lens group 13b, and is arranged in a line along the front-rear direction. A plurality of light receiving elements arranged in a line along the front-rear direction, arranged at a position to receive reflected light incident below the left light source 10b and through the left light-receiving lens group 14b. It consists of the left light-receiving part 11b which consists of a light receiving element.

  The reflected light of the right irradiation light SR transmitted through the right light receiving lens group 13b corresponds to the arrival direction of the reflected light (that is, the direction in which the target reflecting the right irradiation light SR exists) in the right light receiving unit 11a. Similarly, the reflected light of the left irradiation light SL that is imaged at the position and transmitted through the left light receiving lens group 14b arrives at the left light receiving unit 11b (that is, a target that reflects the left irradiation light SL is reflected). The image is formed at a position corresponding to the horizontal orientation.

<Effect>
As described above, according to the on-vehicle radar device 3, not only the same effects as the on-vehicle radar devices 1 and 2 are obtained, but also the optical path changer 12 is omitted, so that the optical path changer 12 is changed from the light source 10. Since a space for securing an optical path leading to is unnecessary, the apparatus can be miniaturized.

<Correspondence with Invention>
In the present embodiment, the right light source 10a and the left light source 10b correspond to two radar wave generation sources.

[Fourth Embodiment]
Next, a fourth embodiment will be described.
<Overall configuration>
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the target detection device 30 configured using the in-vehicle radar device 4 to which the present invention is applied.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the target detection device 30 transmits and receives the right irradiation light SR and the left irradiation light SL, and can change the directions of the optical axes JR and JL of the irradiation light SR and SL. An in-vehicle radar device 4 and various sensors and sensors provided for detecting a vehicle state (including at least a vehicle speed, a state of an ignition switch, a state of a hazard lamp), and a sensor group 5; Obtains the position of the host vehicle from a GPS device (not shown), displays a map around the host vehicle, the position of the host vehicle on the map, etc. based on map data prepared in advance, and performs route setting, route guidance, etc. Based on various information obtained from the known navigation device 6, the front camera 7 that images the front of the vehicle, the sensor group 5, the navigation device 6, and the front camera 7, A control unit 8 that performs target detection using the digital device 4, and a notification device 9 that notifies the vehicle occupant of the detection result audibly (sound or alarm) or visually (various displays). .

<In-vehicle radar system>
FIGS. 7A and 7B are explanatory diagrams showing the configuration and operation of the portion of the in-vehicle radar device 4 that transmits and receives the right irradiation light SR.

The in-vehicle radar device 4 is different from the in-vehicle radar device 1 according to the first embodiment only in a part of the configuration, and thus the description will focus on this different part.
7A and 7B, in the in-vehicle radar device 4, the optical path changer 12 is not a triangular prism prism mirror, but a pair of plate-like reflecting mirrors 12a that reflect the laser light from the light source 10. , 12b. These reflecting mirrors 12a and 12b are disposed at the same position as the reflecting surface of the prism mirror in the first embodiment, and are further rotatably attached with the side closer to the light source 10 as an axis. In FIG. 7, the reflection mirror 12b related to the transmission / reception of the left irradiation light SL is not shown.

  In addition, the right lens unit 13 always changes its position and inclination in conjunction with the movement of the reflecting mirror 12a so as to be positioned on the optical path of the right irradiation light SR from the reflecting mirror 12a to the outside of the device 4. It is configured. Similarly, the position and the inclination of the left lens unit 14 are interlocked with the movement of the reflecting mirror 12b so that the left lens unit 14 is always positioned on the optical path of the left irradiation light SL from the reflecting mirror 12b to the outside of the device 4. It is configured to change.

  The in-vehicle radar device 4 is provided with a drive circuit 41 (see FIG. 6) including a step motor and the like for individually driving the reflecting mirror 12a and the right lens unit 13, and the reflecting mirror 12b and the left lens unit 14. ing.

  In the present embodiment, the angles of the reflecting mirrors 12a and 12b indicate the directions of the irradiation lights SR and SL irradiated through the lens sections 12 and 13 as “side” (see FIG. 9C). , “Lateral rear” (see FIG. 9 (b)), “rear” (see FIG. 9 (a)), and “last” (see FIG. 9 (d)). Yes.

<Control unit>
The control unit 8 includes a well-known microcomputer mainly composed of a CPU, ROM, and RAM, and detects a target existing in front of the vehicle based on an image captured by the front camera 7. And the on-vehicle radar device 4 is operated, and at least a side target detection process for detecting a target existing on the side of the vehicle from the detection result is executed.

  Since the forward target detection process is a well-known process performed using pattern matching or the like, a detailed description is omitted here, but at least a traffic light and a pedestrian crossing are detected.

Below, the content of the side target detection process is demonstrated along the flowchart shown in FIG. 8, and explanatory drawing which shows the irradiation direction of irradiation light SR and SL shown in FIG.
Note that this process is always activated regardless of whether the ignition switch is on or off.

  As shown in FIG. 8, in this process, first, it is determined whether or not the ignition switch is turned off (S110), and if it is turned off, it is determined whether or not there is a possibility of opening the door ( S120).

Specifically, this determination is affirmative when the state of the hazard lamp specified from the detection result by the sensor group 5 is blinking, and negative when it is extinguished.
When it is determined that there is no possibility of opening the door, the process returns to S110. On the other hand, when it is determined that there is a possibility of opening the door, the irradiation directions of the irradiation light SR, SL of the in-vehicle radar device 4 (hereinafter, referred to as the irradiation direction). "Detection direction") is set to "last" (S130), door movable range notification processing (S140) for detecting the movable range of the door and notifying the vehicle occupant is executed, and the process returns to S110.

  When the detection direction is “last”, specifically, as shown in FIG. 9D, the entire region through which the door passes while the vehicle door is in the fully open state to the fully open state is shown. The angles of the reflecting mirrors 12a and 12b are set so as to be included in the irradiation ranges of the irradiation lights SR and SL. In the door movable range notification process, when an obstacle is detected, the movable range of the door that does not collide with the obstacle is obtained and notified from the position of the obstacle.

If it is determined in S110 that the ignition switch is turned on, it is determined whether or not an intersection or pedestrian crossing exists within a predetermined range in the traveling direction (S150).
Specifically, this determination may be made based on map information around the current location acquired from the navigation device 6, or may be made based on whether a traffic light or a pedestrian crossing has been detected by the forward target detection process. .

  If it is determined that there is an intersection or a pedestrian crossing, the detection direction of the in-vehicle radar device 4 is set to “side” (S160), and the vehicle passing through the road intersecting the course of the own vehicle or the pedestrian crossing is passed. The side detection process (S170) which detects the pedestrian who is going to detect and notifies a driver is performed, and it returns to S110.

  When the detection direction is “side”, specifically, as shown in FIG. 9C, the reflecting mirrors 12a and 12b are arranged so that the left and right sides are within the irradiation range of the irradiation light SR and SL. Is set. However, as described in the first to third embodiments, the irradiation ranges of the two irradiation lights SR and SL are set so as to have an undirected directivity.

  If it is determined in S150 that there is no intersection / crosswalk, it is determined whether the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than a predetermined medium speed (for example, 20 km / h) (S180). This determination is made based on the detection results from the vehicle speed sensors constituting the sensor group 5.

  If it is determined that the vehicle speed is medium speed or higher, the detection direction of the in-vehicle radar device 4 is set to “laterally rear” (S190), and the vehicle that enters the course of the host vehicle is detected and notified to the driver. Is executed, and the process returns to S110.

  When the detection direction is “laterally rear”, specifically, as shown in FIG. 9B, the reflecting mirrors 12a, 12a, An angle of 12b is set.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the vehicle speed is lower than the medium speed, that is, the vehicle speed is low, the detection direction of the in-vehicle radar device 4 is set to “rearward” (S210), and a two-wheeled vehicle that tries to pass through the side of the own vehicle is detected. Then, a slip-through detection process (S220) to notify the driver is executed, and the process returns to S110.

<Effect>
As described above, according to the target detection device 30, since the detection direction of the in-vehicle radar device 4 is changed according to the road environment, it is possible to acquire accurate information according to the situation. The reliability of the control executed based on the above can be improved.

<Correspondence with Invention>
In the present embodiment, the sensor group 5, the navigation device 6, the front camera 7 and the front target detection process correspond to the environment detection means, and the reflecting mirrors 12a and 12b and the drive circuits 41 and S110 to S210 correspond to the irradiation direction changing means.

[Other Embodiments]
As mentioned above, although several embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, In the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention, it is possible to implement in various aspects. is there.

In the fourth embodiment, the lens units 13 and 14 are interlocked with the reflecting mirrors 12a and 12b. However, as shown in FIGS. 7C and 7D, the lens units 13 and 14 are fixed and reflected. You may comprise so that only the mirrors 12a and 12b may be moved. However, in this case, the lens portions 13 and 14 need to have such sizes that the positions of the lens portions 13 and 14 do not deviate from the optical path when the reflecting mirrors 12a and 12b are changed.

Moreover, in the said 4th Embodiment, you may comprise so that an optical path may be changed using DMD (Digital Micromirror Device) instead of the reflective mirrors 12a and 12b.
Furthermore, in the fourth embodiment, only when the detection direction is “lateral”, the irradiation ranges of the irradiation light SR and SL are set to the left and right non-targets. Depending on the situation, the irradiation range may be set to be left and right non-target.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1-4 ... Vehicle-mounted radar apparatus 5 ... Sensor group 6 ... Navigation apparatus 7 ... Front camera 8 ... Control part 9 ... Notification apparatus 10 ... Light source 10a ... Right light source 10b ... Left light source 11 ... Light receiving part 11a ... Right light receiving part 11b ... Left Light-receiving part 12 ... Optical path changer 12a, 12b ... Reflector 13 ... Right lens part 13a ... Right irradiation lens group 13b ... Right light-receiving lens group 14 ... Left lens part 14a ... Left irradiation lens group 14b ... Left light-receiving lens group 30 ... Object Mark detection device 41 ... Drive circuit

Claims (9)

An on-vehicle radar device mounted on a vehicle,
Irradiation means for individually irradiating radar waves to the right side and the left side with respect to the forward direction of the host vehicle,
A light receiving means for receiving a reflected wave of the radar wave arriving from an irradiation direction of the radar wave by the irradiation means;
With
The irradiation means is a right irradiation wave that is a radar wave irradiated to the right side and a left irradiation wave that is a radar wave irradiated to the left side, among directivity in a horizontal plane or directivity in a vertical plane, At least one is set to be asymmetric so that it matches the asymmetry of the road environment,
The right irradiation wave is directed downward by an offset angle set based on a road inclination determined by a road decree with respect to a horizontal plane, and the left irradiation wave is directed upward by the offset angle with respect to a horizontal plane. An in-vehicle radar device characterized by being set as described above .   The left irradiation wave is set so that a horizontal beam width is set wider than that of the right irradiation wave and an angle range closer to a forward direction is included as an irradiation range. In-vehicle radar device. It said illumination means, vehicle radar device according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that it comprises two radar wave generation source for generating individually with the right illuminating beam and the left radiation wave. The on-vehicle radar device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the irradiation unit includes an irradiation direction changing unit that changes an irradiation direction of the right irradiation wave and the left irradiation wave. The radar waves, on-vehicle radar device according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that it consists of a laser beam. 6. The on-vehicle radar device according to claim 5 , wherein the irradiating means includes optical means for diverging or converging laser light, and transmits and receives the right irradiation wave and the left irradiation wave via the optical means. . The irradiation means includes a single radar wave source that generates laser light;
Branch means for generating the right irradiation wave and the left irradiation wave by branching the path of the irradiation light irradiated from the radar wave generation source in two directions;
The on-vehicle radar device according to claim 5 or 6 , characterized by comprising : The branching means comprises a reflecting mirror that reflects the laser light,
The in-vehicle radar device according to claim 7 , further comprising irradiation direction changing means for changing an irradiation direction of the right irradiation wave and the left irradiation wave by changing an installation angle of the reflecting mirror. Environment detection means for detecting the state of the host vehicle and the situation around the host vehicle,
9. The on-vehicle radar device according to claim 4, wherein the irradiation direction changing unit controls the direction of the radar wave according to a detection result of the environment detection unit.