US7061373B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Vehicle obstacle detecting device
Assignee: Nissan Motor Co Ltd
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Filing: 2004-06-23
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Granted: 2006-06-13
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Expires: 2024-06-23
Abstract
Abstract The vehicle obstacle detecting device improves safety of the vehicle by utilizing information detected by a plurality of sensors to appropriately handle situations in which an obstacle exists in a blind spot of the sensors. The vehicle obstacle detecting device includes at least first and second sensors arranged such that sensing scopes of the first and second sensors do not substantially overlap. The vehicle obstacle detecting device is configured to observe the behavior of an obstacle existing within the sensing scope of one of the first and second sensors and predict the blind spot behavior of the obstacle in a blind spot between the sensing scopes of the first and second sensors based on the observed behavior of the obstacle. Thus, the vehicle obstacle detecting device is configured to predict the existence of an obstacle in the blind spot where the first and second sensors cannot actually detect the obstacle.
Inventors
- 👤 Hiroshi Takahashi
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 23:14
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01S; G01S13/00; G01S13/88; G01S13/93; G01S13/931; G08; G08G; G08G1/00; G08G1/16; G08G1/166; G08G1/167; G01S2013/9315
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 18
Claim 1
Independent Claim
207 words
A vehicle obstacle detecting device adapted to be mounted on a vehicle to detect an obstacle, comprising: a plurality of sensors including at least a first sensor having a sensing scope that does not substantially overlap a sensing scope of the second sensor thereby defining a blind spot between the sensing scopes of the first and second sensors; an obstacle behavior observing section configured to observe a behavior of an obstacle within at least the sensing scope of the first sensor; and a blind spot behavior predicting section configured to predict a blind spot behavior of the obstacle in the blind spot between the sensing scopes of the first and second sensors based on the behavior of the obstacle in the sensing scope of the first sensor observed by the obstacle behavior observing section, the blind spot behavior predicting section is configured to obtain the blind spot behavior of the obstacle by using at least one parameter, and to adjust the at least one parameter based on a difference between the blind spot behavior and an actual behavior of the obstacle within the blind spot so that a blind spot behavior of a next obstacle within the blind spot is predicted using the at least one parameter.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
207 words
A vehicle obstacle detecting device adapted to be mounted on a vehicle to detect an obstacle, comprising: a plurality of sensors including at least a first sensor having a sensing scope that does not substantially overlap a sensing scope of the second sensor thereby defining a blind spot between the sensing scopes of the first and second sensors; an obstacle behavior observing section configured to observe a behavior of an obstacle within at least the sensing scope of the first sensor; and a blind spot behavior predicting section configured to predict a blind spot behavior of the obstacle in the blind spot between the sensing scopes of the first and second sensors based on the behavior of the obstacle in the sensing scope of the first sensor observed by the obstacle behavior observing section, the blind spot behavior predicting section is configured to obtain the blind spot behavior of the obstacle by using at least one parameter, and to adjust the at least one parameter based on a difference between the blind spot behavior and an actual behavior of the obstacle within the blind spot so that a blind spot behavior of a next obstacle within the blind spot is predicted using the at least one parameter.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
85 words
The vehicle obstacle detecting device as recited in claim 1 , wherein the blind spot behavior predicting section is configured to obtain a predicted position of the obstacle within the blind spot after the obstacle departs from the sensing scope of the first sensor by using the at least one parameter, and to adjust the at least one parameter based on a difference between the predicted position and an actual position of the obstacle when the obstacle enters the sensing scope of the second sensor.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
80 words
The vehicle obstacle detecting device as recited in claim 1 , wherein the blind spot behavior predicting section is configured to obtain a predicted time when the obstacle will enter the sensing scope of the second sensor after the obstacle departs from the sensing scope of the first sensor, and to adjust the at least one parameter based on a difference between the predicted time and an actual time when the obstacle enters the sensing scope of the second sensor.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
62 words
The vehicle obstacle detecting device recited in claim 2 , further comprising an adjustment prohibiting section configured to prohibit adjusting the at least one parameter used in the blind spot behavior predicting section to predict the blind spot behavior of the obstacle when the difference between the predicted position and the actual position of the obstacle is larger than a prescribed value.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
62 words
The vehicle obstacle detecting device recited in claim 3 , further comprising an adjustment prohibiting section configured to prohibit adjusting the at least one parameter used in the blind spot behavior predicting section to predict the blind spot behavior of the obstacle when the difference between the predicted time and the actual time of the obstacle is larger than a prescribed value.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
46 words
The vehicle obstacle detecting device as recited in claim 1 , wherein the obstacle behavior observing section is further configured to set a hypothetical position of the obstacle when the blind spot behavior predicting section is unable to predict the blind spot behavior of the obstacle.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
67 words
The vehicle obstacle detecting device as recited in claim 1 , further comprising a diagnostic section configured to diagnose an abnormality of the vehicle obstacle detecting device by determining whether the difference between the blind spot behavior and the actual behavior of the obstacle when the obstacle enters the sensing scope of the second sensor is larger than a prescribed value with a prescribed amount of frequency.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
175 words
A method for detecting an obstacle in a vicinity of a vehicle, comprising: sensing a first area adjacent the vehicle to define a first sensing scope; sensing a second area adjacent the vehicle to define a second sensing scope that does not substantially overlap with the first sensing scope such that a blind spot is defined between the first and second sensing scopes; observing a behavior of an obstacle within the first sensing scope; predicting a blind spot behavior of the obstacle in the blind spot between the first and second sensing scopes based on the behavior of the obstacle in the first sensing scope observed by the obstacle behavior observing section; obtaining the blind spot behavior of the obstacle by using at least one parameter; and adjusting the at least one parameter based on a difference between the blind spot behavior and an actual behavior of the obstacle within the blind spot so that a blind spot behavior of a next obstacle within the blind spot is predicted using the at least one parameter.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
175 words
A method for detecting an obstacle in a vicinity of a vehicle, comprising: sensing a first area adjacent the vehicle to define a first sensing scope; sensing a second area adjacent the vehicle to define a second sensing scope that does not substantially overlap with the first sensing scope such that a blind spot is defined between the first and second sensing scopes; observing a behavior of an obstacle within the first sensing scope; predicting a blind spot behavior of the obstacle in the blind spot between the first and second sensing scopes based on the behavior of the obstacle in the first sensing scope observed by the obstacle behavior observing section; obtaining the blind spot behavior of the obstacle by using at least one parameter; and adjusting the at least one parameter based on a difference between the blind spot behavior and an actual behavior of the obstacle within the blind spot so that a blind spot behavior of a next obstacle within the blind spot is predicted using the at least one parameter.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
74 words
The method as recited in claim 8 , wherein the obtaining of the blind spot behavior includes obtaining a predicted position of the obstacle within the blind spot after the obstacle departs from the first sensing scope by using the at least one parameter, and adjusting the at least one parameter based on a difference between the predicted position and an actual position of the obstacle when the obstacle enters the second sensing scope.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
66 words
The method as recited in claim 8 , wherein the obtaining of the blind spot behavior includes obtaining a predicted time when the obstacle will enter the first sensing scope after the obstacle departs from the first sensing scope, and adjusting the at least one parameter based on a difference between the predicted time and an actual time when the obstacle enters the second sensing scope.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
53 words
The method recited in claim 9 , further comprising prohibiting adjusting the at least one parameter used in the blind spot behavior predicting section to predict the blind spot behavior of the obstacle when the difference between the predicted position and the actual position of the obstacle is larger than a prescribed value.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
53 words
The method recited in claim 10 , further comprising prohibiting adjusting the at least one parameter used in the blind spot behavior predicting section to predict the blind spot behavior of the obstacle when the difference between the predicted time and the actual time of the obstacle is larger than a prescribed value.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method as recited in claim 8 , further comprising setting a hypothetical position of the obstacle when the blind spot behavior is unable to be predicted.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
54 words
The method as recited in claim 8 , further comprising diagnosing an abnormality by determining whether the difference between the blind spot behavior and the actual behavior of the obstacle when the obstacle enters the second sensing scope of the second sensor is larger than a prescribed value with a prescribed amount of frequency.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
160 words
A vehicle obstacle detecting device adapted to be mounted on a vehicle to detect an obstacle, comprising: detecting means for detecting an obstacle within a plurality of prescribed sensing scopes, the prescribed sensing scopes defining a blind spot where the obstacle is undetectable by the detecting means; observing means for observing a behavior of the obstacle within one of the prescribed sensing scopes; and predicting means for predicting a blind spot behavior of the obstacle in the blind spot based on the behavior of the obstacle observed by the observing means; obtaining means for obtaining the blind spot behavior of the obstacle by using at least one parameter; and adjusting means for adjusting the at least one parameter based on a difference between the blind spot behavior and an actual behavior of the obstacle within the blind spot so that a blind spot behavior of a next obstacle within the blind spot is predicted using the at least one parameter.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
160 words
A vehicle obstacle detecting device adapted to be mounted on a vehicle to detect an obstacle, comprising: detecting means for detecting an obstacle within a plurality of prescribed sensing scopes, the prescribed sensing scopes defining a blind spot where the obstacle is undetectable by the detecting means; observing means for observing a behavior of the obstacle within one of the prescribed sensing scopes; and predicting means for predicting a blind spot behavior of the obstacle in the blind spot based on the behavior of the obstacle observed by the observing means; obtaining means for obtaining the blind spot behavior of the obstacle by using at least one parameter; and adjusting means for adjusting the at least one parameter based on a difference between the blind spot behavior and an actual behavior of the obstacle within the blind spot so that a blind spot behavior of a next obstacle within the blind spot is predicted using the at least one parameter.
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| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
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| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2009-06-12 | 2009-12-12 | 2010-06-13 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2013-06-12 | 2013-12-12 | 2014-06-13 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2017-06-12 | 2017-12-12 | 2018-06-13 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |