US5223907A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Guard rail detecting device
Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corp
•
Filing: 1992-02-14
•
Granted: 1993-06-29
•
Expires: 2012-02-14
Abstract
Abstract A guard rail detecting device mounted on a motor vehicle has: two image sensors spaced vertically to sense a scene in front of the motor vehicle; a window setting device for setting a plurality of windows on the display screen at predetermined positions; a distance calculating device for calculating the distances from the vehicle to the parts of the guard rail which are held as images in the windows; and a device for calculating the curvature of the guard rail from the distances thus calculated.
Inventors
- 👤 Yoshiaki Asayama
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 13:29
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01S; G01S11/00; G01S11/12
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 4
Claim 1
Independent Claim
163 words
A guard rail detecting device in which upper and lower image signals representing images formed on image sensors through a pair of upper and lower optical systems are compared with each other, to electrically detect the deviation of said two images from each other thereby to measure a distance from a vehicle to a plurality of points on a guard rail located ahead of said vehicle according to the principle of trigonometrical measurement, said guard rail detecting device comprising: window setting means for setting a plurality of windows on one of said upper and lower image signals at predetermined positions; distance calculating means for calculating the distance from said vehicle to said guard rail for each of said windows, by detecting deviation between an image signal in each window as a reference signal and another image signal corresponding to said reference signal; and curvature calculating means for calculating the curvature of said guard rial from the distances calculated by the distance calculating means.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
163 words
A guard rail detecting device in which upper and lower image signals representing images formed on image sensors through a pair of upper and lower optical systems are compared with each other, to electrically detect the deviation of said two images from each other thereby to measure a distance from a vehicle to a plurality of points on a guard rail located ahead of said vehicle according to the principle of trigonometrical measurement, said guard rail detecting device comprising: window setting means for setting a plurality of windows on one of said upper and lower image signals at predetermined positions; distance calculating means for calculating the distance from said vehicle to said guard rail for each of said windows, by detecting deviation between an image signal in each window as a reference signal and another image signal corresponding to said reference signal; and curvature calculating means for calculating the curvature of said guard rial from the distances calculated by the distance calculating means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
25 words
A guard rail detecting device as claimed in claim 1 further comprising display means for displaying the image sensed by one of said image sensors.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
44 words
A guard rail detecting device as claimed in claim 1 further comprising alarm means for informing the driver of the vehicle that the road is sharply curved, before the vehicle reaches the sharp turn, based on a result calculated by said curvature calculating means.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US4195425A
Cited
JPS5749841A
Cited
US4589770A
Cited
US4668084A
Cited
US4916302A
Cited
JPS6338085A
Cited
US5023712A
Cited
US5139327A
Cited
US5131740A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1996-06-28 | 1996-12-28 | 1997-06-29 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2000-06-28 | 2000-12-28 | 2001-06-29 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2004-06-28 | 2004-12-28 | 2005-06-29 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |