WO1994012893A1 - Vehicle reversing aid - Google Patents
Vehicle reversing aid Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO1994012893A1 WO1994012893A1 PCT/GB1993/002372 GB9302372W WO9412893A1 WO 1994012893 A1 WO1994012893 A1 WO 1994012893A1 GB 9302372 W GB9302372 W GB 9302372W WO 9412893 A1 WO9412893 A1 WO 9412893A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- range
- pulses
- interval
- vehicle
- pulse
- Prior art date
Links
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
- G01S17/00—Systems using the reflection or reradiation of electromagnetic waves other than radio waves, e.g. lidar systems
- G01S17/02—Systems using the reflection of electromagnetic waves other than radio waves
- G01S17/06—Systems determining position data of a target
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
- G01S17/00—Systems using the reflection or reradiation of electromagnetic waves other than radio waves, e.g. lidar systems
- G01S17/88—Lidar systems specially adapted for specific applications
- G01S17/93—Lidar systems specially adapted for specific applications for anti-collision purposes
- G01S17/931—Lidar systems specially adapted for specific applications for anti-collision purposes of land vehicles
Definitions
- This invention relates to vehicle obstruction detection systems and particularly, but not exclusively, to such detection systems for use on vehicles in car parks and other areas of restricted space and random 'obstructions'.
- Radar sytems for detecting the presence and range of objects are of course well known.
- light based systems using lasers for the same purpose - "lidar" - are known.
- the range is commonly determined by means of a series of "range gates” which open for a predetermined short time commencing at some predetermined time after the transmission of the radar pulse.
- the delay between transmit pulse and gate opening is staggered so that the range gates cover successive periods in the range of interest, and thus cover the actual range of interest.
- a complete picture in the direction of transmission can thus be obtained from the various returns of a single pulse from different range cells.
- Such a system may be satisfactory in most radar situations, eg. where the target is a tank, aircraft or other military entity at some distance, but presents difficulty when the circumstances are of a much more localised or domestic nature and particularly when the 'target' range is only several metres at maximum and more commonly only tens of centimetres.
- pulse transit time is likely to be of the order of a nanosecond or less and each range cell perhaps 15 centimetres.
- Processing circuitry which could cope with successive signal samples at intervals of a nanosecond would at best be very expensive and at worst be impracticable.
- Anologue-digital converters in particular are generally not able to operate at this speed.
- radar In another context it is known to use radar to determine the height of clouds, to assist in the landing and take-off of aircraft for example.
- a similar principle is involved in that radar pulses are transmitted vertically upward and range gates are timed to receive signals from successive range cells. In this case however, the maximum range could be in the region of 3000 metres with range cells of perhaps 20 metres.
- the assessment of a single range cell per pulse (or per multiplicity of pulses) has been proposed but there is clearly no pressure on the speed of the processing electronics in view of the great distances and substantial transit times involved.
- the present invention is in a clearly very different context of very small distances associated with the slow movement of road vehicles.
- the maximum range of interest may be taken as not substantially exceeding the maximum dimension of the vehicle on which the system is, or is to be, fitted. Commonly, this range of interest will be a small fraction of the vehicle dimension, for example one metre.
- the range cells need to be correspondingly small, typically 10 to 15 centimetres.
- An object of the present invention is then to facilitate the determination of the range of obstructions in road vehicle situations such as described above.
- a vehicle obstruction detection system for detecting obstructions within the immediate vicinity of a vehicle and within a range which is a fraction of the maximum vehicle dimension, comprises a radiation source for producing a train of non-visible electromagnetic wave pulses, an echo receiver for detecting reflections of the pulses from an obstruction within a predetermined field, the receiver including means for limiting the response to each pulse to a particular range interval within the range and means for selecting sequential values of the range interval for different pulses or groups of pulses.
- the means for limiting the response to a particular range interval preferably comprises range gate means defining a particular range interval, processing means for processing signals accepted by the range gate means, and means for stepping the range gate means through the range intervals sequentially.
- the means for stepping the range gate means may be arranged to be stepped once for each pulse transmitted.
- a method of detecting and locating obstructions to the manoeuvring of a vehicle when the obstructions are within a range of interest which is a fraction of the maximum vehicle dimension comprises the steps of transmitting a train of electromagnetic pulses each of duration corresponding to the required range interval within said range of interest, operating a receiver gate for a time interval corresponding to a single range interval in respect of each pulse, and stepping the time interval sequentially so that the range of interest is covered by a plurality of pulses.
- Figure 1 is a block diagram of the basic elements of the system as applied to a car; and Figure 2 is a diagrammatic plan view of a car with the obstruction area relevant to the invention indicated as one of a number of areas of significance in navigation of the vehicle.
- the region around the car is divided into different sections A, B, C and D for various purposes associated with its navigation.
- Section A in front of the car is a sector extending for a considerable distance and covering the car's own lane and adjacent lanes in addition, for the detection and discrimination of vehicles and non-offensive road furniture, as described in GB Patent Application No: 9313724.
- Sections B cover the areas on each side and partly to the rear of the car.
- Sections C are the areas commonly known as 'blind spots' in which adjacent cars can not normally be seen in the wing mirrors of the car in question.
- Section D immediately to the rear of the car is of particular concern to the present invention. It extends the width of the car and rearwards for about 2-3 metres. It is in this region D that objects, obstructions, vehicles etc will cause a potential hazard when the car is reversing.
- a sensor head 1 is mounted on or immediately adjacent the rear bumper 3 of the car, the sensor being directed rearwards.
- the sensor head is a short-range scanning laser and optical sensor and in particular comprises a solid state laser or light emitting diode (not shown) driven by a modulator supplying it with very short pulses of 1 or 2 nanoseconds duration, and at a pulse repitition rate of the order of 5 kHz.
- the sensor head includes a rotating or oscillating plane mirror arranged to scan the laser beam over the azimuth angle of interest. In the case of the rotating mirror, pulse transmission is linked with the mirror orientation so as to transmit only within the arc of interest.
- the mirror orientation is determined by angle pick-off means, eg. optically coded rotor discs, and provided to the display 4 to identify the current laser beam position.
- the laser and scanner are part of a receiver which includes:
- a wavelength filter which predominantly passes the wavelength emitted by the laser or light emitting diode e.g. between 0.8 and 2.0 microns, in preference to other, visible, wavelengths, arising for example from sunlight, car or street lights etc.,
- the receiver electronics that is, other than the laser/sensor head, are conveniently housed integrally with the sensor head or adjacent to it..
- a multiplicity of pulses may be transmitted before incrementing the range to the next range cell.
- the display 4 may be positioned in front of the driver with the other instruments, or possibly behind or to one side of him so that he would be able to see it when facing rearwards in a reversing situation. In such a situation he would switch on the system so as to scan the region D of Figure 2 and see a display of the region D from the bumper outwards. From the position of the laser head on the bumper, a PPI radial display would show an arc of 160° - 170° in azimuth and any obstructions within that arc, which would include anything within a few centimetres of the "bumper". It is the visual location of the obstruction relative to the bumper that is important, rather than a quantitative measure of the range to bumper.
- a laser or light-emitting-diode based system provides the driver of a vehicle with information on the relative position of any obstruction, (larger than a specified size and within a specified range and limits of lateral position), to the rear of his vehicle.
Landscapes
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Electromagnetism (AREA)
- Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Radar, Positioning & Navigation (AREA)
- Remote Sensing (AREA)
- Optical Radar Systems And Details Thereof (AREA)
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP6512880A JPH08503772A (en) | 1992-11-20 | 1993-11-18 | Vehicle reverse assist device |
EP94900224A EP0670050A1 (en) | 1992-11-20 | 1993-11-18 | Vehicle reversing aid |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB9224366.6 | 1992-11-20 | ||
GB929224366A GB9224366D0 (en) | 1992-11-20 | 1992-11-20 | Reversing aid facilitator |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO1994012893A1 true WO1994012893A1 (en) | 1994-06-09 |
Family
ID=10725422
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/GB1993/002372 WO1994012893A1 (en) | 1992-11-20 | 1993-11-18 | Vehicle reversing aid |
Country Status (4)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0670050A1 (en) |
JP (1) | JPH08503772A (en) |
GB (2) | GB9224366D0 (en) |
WO (1) | WO1994012893A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE4433776C2 (en) * | 1994-09-22 | 1999-02-18 | Daimler Benz Ag | Pulse radar method |
US6734807B2 (en) | 1999-04-01 | 2004-05-11 | Lear Automotive Dearborn, Inc. | Polarametric blind spot detector with steerable beam |
JP2014006114A (en) * | 2012-06-22 | 2014-01-16 | Denso Corp | Radar system and program |
Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP0092825A2 (en) * | 1982-04-28 | 1983-11-02 | ELTRO GmbH Gesellschaft für Strahlungstechnik | Distance sensor for an ordnance fuze |
EP0444402A2 (en) * | 1990-02-24 | 1991-09-04 | ELTRO GmbH Gesellschaft für Strahlungstechnik | Method and apparatus for indicating visibility in fog to drivers of motor vehicles |
DE4040894C1 (en) * | 1990-12-20 | 1992-04-30 | Eltro Gmbh, Gesellschaft Fuer Strahlungstechnik, 6900 Heidelberg, De | Motor vehicle parking aid using pulsed laser - evaluates signal reflected from obstacle and received by semiconductor diode at rear corner of vehicle |
Family Cites Families (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3649124A (en) * | 1968-12-05 | 1972-03-14 | Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co | Foreground object locating device |
US3735398A (en) * | 1971-05-20 | 1973-05-22 | Sperry Rand Corp | Base band short range pre-collision sensor for actuation of vehicle safety apparatus |
US4281326A (en) * | 1976-04-27 | 1981-07-28 | Anderson Lawrence F | Automatic collision warning target display system |
GB1546061A (en) * | 1978-01-03 | 1979-05-16 | Lapy V | Automatic shipboard collision avoidance system |
-
1992
- 1992-11-20 GB GB929224366A patent/GB9224366D0/en active Pending
-
1993
- 1993-11-18 EP EP94900224A patent/EP0670050A1/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1993-11-18 WO PCT/GB1993/002372 patent/WO1994012893A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 1993-11-18 GB GB9323799A patent/GB2273015B/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1993-11-18 JP JP6512880A patent/JPH08503772A/en active Pending
Patent Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP0092825A2 (en) * | 1982-04-28 | 1983-11-02 | ELTRO GmbH Gesellschaft für Strahlungstechnik | Distance sensor for an ordnance fuze |
EP0444402A2 (en) * | 1990-02-24 | 1991-09-04 | ELTRO GmbH Gesellschaft für Strahlungstechnik | Method and apparatus for indicating visibility in fog to drivers of motor vehicles |
DE4040894C1 (en) * | 1990-12-20 | 1992-04-30 | Eltro Gmbh, Gesellschaft Fuer Strahlungstechnik, 6900 Heidelberg, De | Motor vehicle parking aid using pulsed laser - evaluates signal reflected from obstacle and received by semiconductor diode at rear corner of vehicle |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
GB9224366D0 (en) | 1993-01-13 |
GB9323799D0 (en) | 1994-01-05 |
EP0670050A1 (en) | 1995-09-06 |
JPH08503772A (en) | 1996-04-23 |
GB2273015A (en) | 1994-06-01 |
GB2273015B (en) | 1996-11-13 |
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