Patent ID: 11960003
Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 6:
7. An object detection device comprising:
an ultrasonic transceiver including an ultrasonic transmitter provided in a vehicle and two ultrasonic receivers provided in the vehicle and capable of receiving an ultrasonic wave from the ultrasonic transmitter;
an object detector connected to the ultrasonic transceiver, the object detector outputting, to the ultrasonic transmitter, an input signal for causing the ultrasonic transmitter to transmit an object detection ultrasonic wave that is an ultrasonic wave for performing object detection, obtaining, from at least one of the two ultrasonic receivers, an output signal in a period in which the object detection ultrasonic wave is reflected by an object around the ultrasonic transceiver and received as a reflected wave by the ultrasonic receiver, determining whether the output signal includes a signal of the reflected wave, and detecting the object; and
an abnormality detector connected to the ultrasonic transceiver, the abnormality detector performing, as an abnormality detection process, outputting, to the ultrasonic transmitter, an input signal for causing the ultrasonic transmitter to transmit an abnormality detection ultrasonic wave that is an ultrasonic wave whose transmission time is longer than that of the object detection ultrasonic wave, obtaining, from each of the two ultrasonic receivers, an abnormality detection output signal that is an output signal in a period in which the abnormality detection ultrasonic wave is to be received as a direct wave by the ultrasonic receiver, determining whether each of the abnormality detection output signals includes a signal of the direct wave, obtaining, from each of the two ultrasonic receivers, an output signal in a period different from the period in which the direct wave is to be received by the ultrasonic receiver, calculating, for each of these output signals, a noise level indicating an intensity of noise from another vehicle, and when each of the abnormality detection output signals obtained from the two ultrasonic receivers includes no signal of the direct wave and a difference between the two calculated noise levels is not less than a predetermined fifth threshold, detecting that there is an abnormality in the ultrasonic transmitter.