An object recognition system including a position sensor, an image sensor and a controller is provided. The position sensor determines the position of an object, and the image sensor captures an image of the object. The controller sets a processing area within the image captured by the image sensor based on the position of the object determined by the position sensor and a predetermined size for the object to be recognized. The controller extracts horizontal edges from the processing area, and identifies horizontal edges belonging to the outline of the object from the extracted edges. Thus, the object can be recognized based on the horizontal edges only. Similarly, the controller can extract vertical edges from the processing area and identify vertical edges belonging to the outline of the object. Preferably, the controller selects upper, lower, left, and right horizontal and vertical candidate ends of the object from the identified horizontal and vertical edges respectively, from which upper, lower, left, and right ends of the object are determined. If either one or both of the left and right horizontal candidate ends cannot be selected, candidate ends can be estimated based on the position of the object recognized in a previous recognition cycle, and the estimated candidate ends can be used in lieu of the candidate ends selected from the horizontal edges.

Object recognition system

A light emitting diode with strained layer superlatices (SLS) crystal structure is formed on a substrate A nucleation layer and a buffer layer are sequentially formed on the substrate, so as to ease the crystal growth for the subsequent crystal growing process An active layer is covered between an upper and a lower cladding layers The active later include III-N group compound semiconductive material A SLS contact layer is located on the upper cladding layer A transparent electrode is located on the contact later to serve as an anode Another electrode layer has contact with the buffer layer, and is separated from the lower and upper cladding layers

Light emitting diode

A driving/braking force manipulation control input of a k-th wheel, which denotes one or more specific wheels among a plurality of wheels of a vehicle, is determined such that a required condition concerning a relationship among a road surface reaction force that may act from a road surface on the k-th wheel on the basis of the detected values or estimated values of a side slip angle and a friction characteristic of the k-th wheel, a feedback control input related to the driving/braking force of the k-th wheel for bringing a difference between a state amount of the vehicle and a reference state amount close to zero, a driving/braking force feedforward control input based on a drive manipulated variable supplied by a driver of the vehicle, and a k-th wheel driving/braking force manipulation control input is satisfied. This arrangement makes it possible to properly control a motion of an actual vehicle to a desired motion while properly considering the characteristics of a road surface reaction force acting from a road surface on a wheel.

Vehicle Control Device

A brake control system includes a first wheel cylinder that applies braking force to a first wheel according to hydraulic pressure; a second wheel cylinder that applies braking force to a second wheel according to hydraulic pressure; a brake actuator that receives current and individually controls the hydraulic pressure of the first wheel cylinder and the hydraulic pressure of the second wheel cylinder; a power supply that supplies the current to the brake actuator; and a control portion which sets a braking force distribution between the first wheel and the second wheel based on the state-of-charge of the power supply, and controls the brake actuator according to the braking force distribution.

Brake control system, and brake control method

A system for assisting a lane-keep traveling of a vehicle is comprised of a camera for detecting a view ahead of the vehicle, a vehicle behavior detector including a vehicle speed sensor and a yaw rate sensor, and a controller. The controller is arranged to estimate a road shape on the basis of lane markers detected by the camera, to detect a target yaw rate necessary to return the vehicle at a center of the lane markers, and to determine that there is a possibility that the vehicle deviates from the lane when a difference between the target yaw rate and an actual yaw rate detected by the yaw rate sensor becomes greater than a threshold.

Lane-keep assisting system for vehicle

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simply and effectively prevent overcharge of a battery, by driving each brake means under the distribution ratio obtained by a brake force distribu tion deciding means, and applying deceleration which is obtained by a decelera tion operating means to a vehicle. SOLUTION: Mechanical brake force is applied to a rotation system of a wheel 4 by driving a brake actuator 7 by using a mechanical brake means of a controller 3, when brake operation is detected with a brake switch 5. Regenerative brake force is electrically applied to the wheel 4 by setting regenerative mode to a motor 2 and generating regenerative brake force on the motor 2 by using an electrical brake means of the controller 3. Distribution ratio of the mechanical brake force and the regenerative brake force is decided in accordance with the maximum cell voltage of a battery 1. Deceleration which is obtained in accordance with the number of revolutions of the motor 2 is applied to a vehicle, by driving the electrical brake means and the mechanical brake means, in order to totally obtain the brake force under the distribution ratio.

Brake control equipment of electric vehicle

PURPOSE: To realize the smooth and stable steering which does not respond to the steering system by a minor change in the vehicle behavior. CONSTITUTION: An automatic steering device is provided with a steering actuator 2A to steer a steering wheel, a road condition recognizing means 4 to recognize the road condition, and a steering control means 5 to control thc steering actuator 2A, a deflection angle detecting means 4A is provided in the road condition recognizing means 4, and the steering control means 5 is provided with a deflection angle converting means 5B to convert the detected deflection angle value to the deflection angle value for the steering control and a control amount setting means 5A to set the control amount of the steering actuator 2A are provided. The deflection angle value converting means 5B is provided with the dead zone where the deflection angle value for the steering control is set zero when the detected deflection angle value is smaller than the prescribed value, and the hysterisis to increase/decrease the steering angle with the characteristic where the deflection angle value for the steering control is increased/decreased according to the detected deflection angle value when the detected deflection angle value is larger than the prescribed value, and the detected deflection angle value is different in the decreasing tendency and the increasing tendency. COPYRIGHT: (C)1995,JPO

Automatic steering device for vehicle

PURPOSE: To enable an on-road object recognizing device for vehicle to accurately recognize an object on a road ahead of its own vehicle by comparing the reference distance corresponding to a range which is decided at every line range and distance to an object detected by means of a distance measuring means. CONSTITUTION: Picture information from a stereo camera 2 is fetched to the forward distance measurement controller 3 of an object recognizing means 5. A distance measuring means 7 which measures the distance between the object, the picture of which is taken with the camera 2, and its own vehicle is connected to the controller 3. In addition, a range-corresponding object data eliminating means 8 compares range cutting distances (range-corresponding reference distances) which are decided at every window line (range) of the picture information and the distance to the object detected by the measuring means 7 and, when the distance to the object is longer than the reference distance, eliminates the object from object data. When the distance to the object is longer than the reference distance, the measuring means 7 recognizes the object as an object to be recognized. COPYRIGHT: (C)1995,JPO

On-road object recognizing device for vehicle

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To evade deviation of a vehicle from a lane by warning a driver when the state of the deviation from the lane is predicted from the lateral movement of the vehicle obtained by recognizing a travel lane in front of the vehicle and its travel position. SOLUTION: Image information on the scene in front of the vehicle which is picked up by a CCD camera 2, steering wheel angle information θs from a steering wheel angle sensor 4 installed in the vehicle, and vehicle speed information V from a vehicle speed sensor 6 are inputted to an electronic control unit 10. An ECU 10 estimates the quantity of lateral movement to the vehicle according to the lane width and the traveling position of the vehicle in the lane recognized by an image processing part 11 on the basis of the image information and the steering angle and vehicle speed information detected by the steering wheel angle processing part 12 to find a future travel line, and also predicts the time up to the state of deviation from the travel lane by a deviation prediction time calculation part 14. Then a deviation decision part 15 decides the deviation of the vehicle or future deviation and the driver is warned from an alarm output part 16 through right and left speakers 20 and 22 according to the result.

Lane deviation warning device

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a braking device of the type utilizing also regenerative braking, for an electric vehicle, to have a large breaking force in a short period at a sudden brake operation, while surely executing effective use of energy through effective use of regenerative braking force. SOLUTION: This brake device of the type also using regenerative braking, for an electric vehicle, utilizes both regenerative braking and mechanical braking which employs a negative pressure type booster device 11, and includes a pressure control port leading to the atmospheric chamber 14 of the negative pressure type booster device 11, a breather valve 20 leading to the pressure control port and adjusting pressure within the atmospheric chamber 14 to control mechanical braking force, and a requested braking force detection means 41 detecting the braking force requested. Based on the requested braking force detected and a regenerative braking force that can then be generated, the device controls the breather valve 20 so that the braking force which is insufficient if consisting only of the regenerative braking force is secured by the mechanical braking force, and the device has an atmosphere inlet provided independently of time pressure control port and through which atmosphere can be introduced into the atmospheric chamber 14; when a request for sudden braking is recognized, the atmosphere inlet is opened to increase the mechanical braking force.

Toshiya Shinpo

Papers

Brake control equipment of electric vehicle

Automatic steering device for vehicle

On-road object recognizing device for vehicle

Lane deviation warning device

Brake device for type utilizing also regenerative braking for electric vehicle