Detection apparatus and detecting method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10620311-B2
Application number	US-201515548320-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 15, 2015
Priority date	Feb 2, 2015
Publication date	Apr 14, 2020
Grant date	Apr 14, 2020

Abstract

In a two-dimensional data structure stored in a memory of a weather radar apparatus, a height of an obstacle may be specified by a single parameter when the obstacle blocking a transmission signal is located in an observation area. A signal processor may process a reception signal based on blocking area specifying information. Thereby, a detection apparatus and a detecting method can specify with a smaller data amount an area where a transmission signal is blocked when performing a detection using transmission and reception signals.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A detection device, comprising:
a signal processor configured to perform detection processing of detecting a target object in a three-dimensional observation space by using a reception signal caused by a reflection of a transmission signal off the target object, the transmission signal transmitted from a transmitter installed at a predetermined transmitting location;
a non-transitory memory configured to store blocking area specifying information as a single parameter value of a maximum elevation angle reflected from an obstacle in the three-dimensional observation space, represented by a horizontal distance and an azimuth direction from the predetermined transmitting location, the blocking area specifying information being stored in the non-transitory memory in advance of the signal processor performing the detection processing; and
controller circuitry configured to control the detection processing to avoid processing areas blocked by the obstacle based on the blocking area specifying information.

2. The detection device of claim 1 , wherein the blocking area specifying information specifies plane coordinates of the obstacle by two parameters.

3. The detection device of claim 2 , wherein,
the two parameters that specify the plane coordinates include a row component and a column component that identify a cell in a matrix structure that is configured to hold the single parameter value.

4. The detection device of claim 3 , wherein,
a plurality of unit areas are defined at a ground surface of the three-dimensional observation space,
each cell in the matrix structure is associated with a corresponding unit area,
the two parameters specifying plane coordinates of the unit area at the bottom of the three-dimensional observation space are the row component and the column component in the matrix structure, and
the single parameter value specifying a height of the obstacle is stored in the corresponding cell such that areas of successive transmission scans that are blocked by the obstacle at greater elevation angles than the bottom of the three-dimensional observation space are known prior to the successive transmission scans being performed.

5. The detection device of claim 2 , wherein,
the plane coordinates are polar coordinates having an origin at the predetermined transmitting location, and
the two parameters specifying the polar coordinates are a coordinate in an azimuth direction around the predetermined transmitting location and a coordinate in a distance direction from the predetermined transmitting location.

6. The detection device of claim 1 , wherein
the detection processing includes first detection processing that applies to a first area from the predetermined transmitting location to the obstacle, and second detection processing that applies to a second area that is farther from the transmitter than the obstacle.

7. The detection device of claim 1 , wherein the signal processor displays the blocking area specifying information specified by the single parameter value, in at least one among
a table of a matrix,
a two-dimensional image, and
a three-dimensional image.

8. The detection device of claim 1 , wherein the signal processor generates an index indicating reliability of the reception signal with respect to whether the reflection of the transmission signal has been blocked by the obstacle.

9. The detection device of claim 8 , wherein the signal processor generates display data to display at least one of the index indicating the reliability and the blocking area specifying information in association with topography data of the three-dimensional observation space.

10. The detection device of claim 9 , further comprising a display device configured to display a content based on the display data.

11. The detection device of claim 1 , wherein the detection device is one of a weather radar apparatus, a radar apparatus, and an ultrasonic detection apparatus.

12. A detecting method, comprising:
detecting with a signal processor a target object in a three-dimensional observation space by using a reception signal caused by a reflection of a transmission signal off the target object, the transmission signal transmitted from a transmitter installed at a predetermined transmitting location;
storing in a non-transitory memory blocking area specifying information as a single parameter value of a maximum elevation angle reflected from an obstacle in the three-dimensional observation space, represented by a horizontal distance and an azimuth direction from the predetermined transmitting location, the blocking area specifying information being stored in the non-transitory memory in advance of the signal processor performing the detection processing; and
controlling with circuitry the detecting to avoid processing areas blocked by the obstacle based on the blocking area specifying information.

13. The detection method of claim 12 , wherein the blocking area specifying information specifies plane coordinates of the obstacle by two parameters.

14. The detection method of claim 13 , wherein,
the two parameters that specify the plane coordinates include a row component and a column component that identify a cell in a matrix structure that is configured to hold the single parameter value.

15. The detection method of claim 14 , wherein,
a plurality of unit areas are defined at a ground surface of the three-dimensional observation space,
each cell in the matrix structure is associated with a corresponding unit area of the three-dimensional observation space,
the two parameters specifying plane coordinates of the unit area at the bottom of the three-dimensional observation space are the row component and the column component in the matrix structure, and
the single parameter value specifying a height of the obstacle is stored in the corresponding cell in the matrix structure such that areas of successive transmission scans that are blocked by the obstacle at greater elevation angles than the bottom of the three-dimensional observation space are known prior to the successive transmission scans being performed.

16. The detection method of claim 13 , wherein,
the plane coordinates are polar coordinates having an origin at the predetermined transmitting location, and
the two parameters specifying the polar coordinates are a coordinate in an azimuth direction around the predetermined transmitting location and a coordinate in a distance direction from the predetermined transmitting location.

17. The detection method of claim 12 , wherein in a case where a parameter in a distance direction having an origin at a transmitting location where the transmission signal is transmitted, when the value of the parameter specifying the height of the obstacle increases, the parameter is stored.

18. The detection method of claim 12 , further comprising performing weather radar processing.

19. The detection method of claim 12 , further comprising performing radar object detection processing.

20. The detection method of claim 12 , further comprising performing ultrasonic detection processing.

21. The detection device of claim 1 , wherein
in response to a first obstacle being disposed at a first horizontal distance from the transmitter along a predetermined azimuth direction, a first maximum elevation angle as the a first single parameter value is stored in a portion of the non-transitory memory that corresponds to the first horizontal distance, and
in response to a second obstac

Assignees

• Furuno Electric Co

Inventors

• Asada Yasunobu
• Minowa Masahiro

Classifications

• G01S7/295

  Means for transforming co-ordinates or for evaluating data, e.g. using computers · CPC title

• G01S7/53

  Means for transforming coordinates or for evaluating data, e.g. using computers · CPC title

• G01S13/95

  for meteorological use · CPC title

• G01S13/951 Primary

  ground based · CPC title

• Y02A90/18

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic