Apparatus and method for detecting division lines depicted on road

An apparatus for detecting a division line on a road on which a vehicle equipped with the apparatus travels:

• beam scanning means for scanning an beam-formed electromagnetic wave toward the road viewed from the vehicle, the beam-formed electromagnetic wave being transmitted repetitively at intervals along different directions in a width direction of the vehicle and an reflected electromagnetic wave from the road being received, each beam-formed electromagnetic wave being radiated to a radiation area on the road, the radiation areas made by transmitting the beam-formed electromagnetic wave a plurality of times virtually producing a scan area on the road;
• measuring means for measuring, every beam-formed electromagnetic wave, both intensity data indicative of intensity of the received reflected electromagnetic wave and distance data indicative of a distance between a division line on the road and the vehicle, based on information about the reflected electromagnetic wave received by the beam scanning means;
• data receiving means for receiving both the intensity data and the distance data measured by the measuring means;
• and
• detecting means for detecting the division line on the road based on characteristics of changes in both a sequence of the intensity data and a sequence of the distance data produced by mapping the received intensity data and distance data in a scanning order of the beam-formed electromagnetic wave, respectively.

An apparatus for detecting a division line depicted on a road on which a vehicle equipped with the apparatus travels, comprising:

• beam scanning means for scanning a beam-formed electromagnetic wave toward the road viewed from the vehicle, the beam-formed electromagnetic wave being transmitted repetitively at intervals along different directions in a width direction of the vehicle and an reflected electromagnetic wave from the road being received, each beam-formed electromagnetic wave being radiated to a radiation area on the road, the radiation areas made by transmitting the beam-formed electromagnetic wave a plurality of times virtually producing a scan area on the road;
• and
• detecting means for detecting the division line on the road based on information related to the transmission of the beam-formed electromagnetic wave and the reception of the reflected electromagnetic wave,
• wherein the detecting means is configured to detect the division line based on a signal showing the received beam-formed electromagnetic wave scanned a plurality of times in the width direction, the signal changing depending on a position of an overlap region in the radiation region, the radiation area produced every time the beam-formed electromagnetic wave is radiated being overlapped with the division line in the overlap region on the road.

An apparatus for detecting a division line depicted on a road on which a vehicle equipped with the apparatus travels, comprising:

• beam scanning means for scanning a beam-formed electromagnetic wave toward the road viewed from the vehicle, the beam-formed electromagnetic wave being transmitted repetitively at intervals along different directions in a width direction of the vehicle and an reflected electromagnetic wave from the road being received, each beam-formed electromagnetic wave being radiated to a radiation area on the road, the radiation areas made by transmitting the beam-formed electromagnetic wave a plurality of times virtually producing a scan area on the road;
• and
• detecting means for detecting the division line on the road based on information related to the transmission of the beam-formed electromagnetic wave and the reception of the reflected electromagnetic wave,
• wherein the detecting means is configured to detect the division line based on a signal showing the received beam-formed electromagnetic wave scanned a plurality of times in the width direction, the signal changing depending on both a position and an area of an overlap region in the radiation region, the radiation area produced every time the beam-formed electromagnetic wave is radiated being overlapped with the division line in the overlap region on the road.

A method of detecting a division line depicted on a road on which a vehicle travels, comprising steps of:

• scanning a beam-formed electromagnetic wave toward the road viewed from the vehicle, the beam-formed electromagnetic wave being transmitted repetitively at intervals along different directions in a width direction of the vehicle and an reflected electromagnetic wave from the road being received, each beam-formed electromagnetic wave being radiated to a radiation area on the road, the radiation areas made by transmitting the beam-formed electromagnetic wave a plurality of times virtually producing a scan area on the road;
• measuring, every beam-formed electromagnetic wave, distance data indicative of a distance between a division line on the road and the vehicle, based on information about the reflected electromagnetic wave received;
• receiving the distance data measured;
• and
• detecting the division line on the road based on characteristics of changes in a sequence of the distance data produced by mapping the received distance data in a scanning order of the beam-formed electromagnetic wave.

A method of detecting a division line on a road on which a vehicle travels:

• scanning an beam-formed electromagnetic wave toward the road viewed from the vehicle, the beam-formed electromagnetic wave being transmitted repetitively at intervals along different directions in a width direction of the vehicle and an reflected electromagnetic wave from the road being received, each beam-formed electromagnetic wave being radiated to a radiation area on the road, the radiation areas made by transmitting the beam-formed electromagnetic wave a plurality of times virtually producing a scan area on the road;
• measuring, every beam-formed electromagnetic wave, both intensity data indicative of intensity of the received reflected electromagnetic wave and distance data indicative of a distance between a division line on the road and the vehicle, based on information about the reflected electromagnetic wave received;
• receiving both the intensity data and the distance data which are measured;
• and
• detecting the division line on the road based on characteristics of changes in both a sequence of the intensity data and a sequence of the distance data produced by mapping the received intensity data and distance data in a scanning order of the beam-formed electromagnetic wave, respectively.

A method of detecting a division line depicted on a road on which a vehicle travels, comprising steps of:

• scanning a beam-formed electromagnetic wave toward the road viewed from the vehicle, the beam-formed electromagnetic wave being transmitted repetitively at intervals along different directions in a width direction of the vehicle and an reflected electromagnetic wave from the road being received, each beam-formed electromagnetic wave being radiated to a radiation area on the road, the radiation areas made by transmitting the beam-formed electromagnetic wave a plurality of times virtually producing a scan area on the road;
• and
• detecting the division line on the road based on information related to the transmission of the beam-formed electromagnetic wave and the reception of the reflected electromagnetic wave,
• wherein the detecting step is adapted to detect the division line based on a signal showing the received beam-formed electromagnetic wave scanned a plurality of times in the width direction, the signal changing depending on a position of an overlap region in the radiation region, the radiation area produced every time the beam-formed electromagnetic wave is radiated being overlapped with the division line in the overlap region on the road.

A method of detecting a division line depicted on a road on which a vehicle travels, comprising:

• scanning a beam-formed electromagnetic wave toward the road viewed from the vehicle, the beam-formed electromagnetic wave being transmitted repetitively at intervals along different directions in a width direction of the vehicle and an reflected electromagnetic wave from the road being received, each beam-formed electromagnetic wave being radiated to a radiation area on the road, the radiation areas made by transmitting the beam-formed electromagnetic wave a plurality of times virtually producing a scan area on the road;
• and
• detecting the division line on the road based on information related to the transmission of the beam-formed electromagnetic wave and the reception of the reflected electromagnetic wave,
• wherein the detecting step is adapted to detect the division line based on a signal showing the received beam-formed electromagnetic wave scanned a plurality of times in the width direction, the signal changing depending on both a position and an area of an overlap region in the radiation region, the radiation area produced every time the beam-formed electromagnetic wave is radiated being overlapped with the division line in the overlap region on the road.