Patent ID: 7382442

Claim:
An object detector including a case, a light emitter disposed in the case for emitting probe light, a rotary body disposed in the case for reflecting the probe light at reflection faces thereof to scan a predetermined area with the probe light, a projection window formed by a translucent material for allowing passage of the probe light reflected by the rotary body, and a light receiver disposed in the case for receiving reflected light of the probe light, the object detector detecting an object by reflecting the probe light, which is emitted by the light emitter, at the rotary body, by projecting the probe light to an outside of the case through the projection window, and by receiving the probe light reflected by an object outside the case with the light receiver, wherein the reflection faces of the rotary body include a first face for projecting the probe light to a first predetermined area through the projection window and a second face for projecting the probe light to a second predetermined area higher than the first predetermined area through the projection window, and the rotary body rotates to project the probe light to the first predetermined area and the second predetermined area through the projection window, wherein the object detector is mounted in a vehicle, the second predetermined area is located a vertical distance above the first predetermined area relative to the vehicle, and a projection angle of the second face is different than a projection angle of the first face.