Patent ID: 8502653

Claim:
A vehicle-use object detection apparatus comprising: a plurality of ultrasonic sensors mounted on a vehicle, each of the ultrasonic sensors being configured to receive a reflected version of an ultrasonic wave transmitted by itself; a first determination unit to make a determination whether an object is present around the vehicle based on the received reflected versions of the transmitted ultrasonic waves when a first detection condition is satisfied; a second determination unit to make a determination, for each of the ultrasonic sensors, that there is adhesion of snow around the ultrasonic sensor upon detecting that an echo wave having a length longer than a predetermined threshold and a magnitude larger than a predetermined value is present in a predetermined snow adhesion detection area thereof when a second detection condition different from the first detection condition is satisfied; and a notification unit to notify presence of an object around the vehicle based on a determination result produced by the first determination unit, and to notify, for each of the ultrasonic sensors, presence of adhesion of snow around the ultrasonic sensor based on a determination result produced by the second determination unit.