Abstract: In a columnar-shaped magnetic marker including a magnet formed by dispersing a magnetic powder of iron oxide in a polymer material and to be laid in a road without being accommodated in a metal container, one end face of an outer peripheral surface and an entire outer peripheral side surface of magnet are covered with metal foil forming a conductive layer, and an RFID tag which performs wireless communication with a tag reader mounted on a vehicle side is arranged on the end face of magnetic marker provided with metal foil as being in a state of being electrically insulated from metal foil.

Abstract: A marker detection device which detects a magnetic marker laid in a road by using a sensor unit in which a plurality of combinations of a magnetic sensor and a magnetic-field generation coil are arranged includes a storage part which stores characteristic information of each magnetic-field generation coil, an estimation part which estimates a magnetic differential value acting on the magnetic sensor due to a current differential value acting on the magnetic-field generation coil by referring to the characteristic information of each magnetic-field generation coil, and a calibration part which calibrates each magnetic sensor so as to enhance uniformity in sensitivity, which is a ratio between an output differential value of the magnetic sensor in accordance with a change of a current by the current differential value acting on the magnetic-field generation coil and the estimated magnetic differential value.

Abstract: Provided is a rotary machine in which the output of a magnetic sensor is hardly lowered even if the rotation speed of a rotor becomes high. The rotary machine includes a rotor, a housing, a magnet, and a magnetic sensor. The rotor axially rotates around a rotation axis. The housing is formed of a conductive material and contains the rotor. The magnet is attached to the rotor such that an arrangement direction of a pair of magnetic poles is in a radial direction of the rotor. The magnetic sensor is attached to the housing. The magnetic sensor detects a time variation of a magnetic field generated from the magnet to detect the rotation speed of the rotor. The magnetic sensor is located on the outside than the magnet in the radial direction. The magnetism sensing direction of the magnetic sensor is orthogonal to the radial direction.

Abstract: A driving support system capable of collecting usage fees from a user using the system, and including an information acquiring part which acquires, from a vehicle side capable of acquiring marker identification information for identifying a detected magnetic marker, upload information including the marker identification information, a marker database having marker position data recorded therein as being linked to the marker identification information, an information providing part which provides the vehicle side with support information including the marker position data, a usage fee totalizing part which totalizes the usage fees to be charged to the vehicle side in accordance with a history of providing the support information, and a payment request part which transmits a withdrawal request to external server of a financial institution which manages an account from which the usage fees are withdrawn.

Abstract: A magnetic marker (1), laid in or on a road so as be detectable by a magnetic sensor (2) attached to a bottom surface side of a vehicle (5), that is used for vehicle-side drive assist control for assisting driving is an isotropic ferrite plastic magnet, molded into a columnar shape, that contains a magnetic powder of iron oxide, i.e. a powder of a magnetic material, dispersed in a polymer material. In a marker system (1S) including this magnetic marker (1), magnetic markers (1) accommodated in holes (530) bored in a road surface (53) are arranged along the center of a lane.

Abstract: A vehicle position management method includes granting an information acquisition right, which is a right to receive support information helpful for driving vehicle, when upload information including marker identification information which identifies detected magnetic marker is acquired from vehicle side capable of detecting magnetic marker laid in a road, providing vehicle to which the information acquisition right has been granted with the support information, and identifying and managing a position of vehicle associated with the upload information based on a laying position of magnetic marker identified by the marker identification information included in the upload information.

Abstract: A magnetic marker (1), laid in or on a road so as be detectable by a magnetic sensor (2) attached to a bottom surface side of a vehicle (5), that is used for vehicle-side drive assist control for assisting driving is an isotropic ferrite plastic magnet, molded into a columnar shape, that contains a magnetic powder of iron oxide, i.e. a powder of a magnetic material, dispersed in a polymer material. In a marker system (1S) including this magnetic marker (1), magnetic markers (1) accommodated in holes (530) bored in a road surface (53) are arranged along the center of a lane.

Abstract: A position capture method for capturing an own vehicle position by using a positioning part that measures a position of a vehicle (4) and a plurality of magnetic markers (5) laid on a traveling path of the vehicle (4) with their laying positions specified includes: upon detection of any of the plurality of magnetic markers (5), selecting, from among the laying positions of the plurality of magnetic markers (5), the laying position located nearest to an actual measured position measured by the positioning part; and capturing, as the own vehicle position, a corrected position based on the laying position, thereby making high-accuracy position capture possible.

Abstract: A magneto-impedance sensor which makes it possible to further improve the accuracy of external magnetic field measurement includes a magneto-impedance element, a detection circuit, a magneto-sensitive body wiring line and a conductive layer wiring line. The magneto-impedance element includes a magneto-sensitive body and a conductive layer adjacent to the magneto-sensitive body. The magneto-sensitive body and the conductive layer pass a current therethrough in the opposite directions. The magneto-sensitive body wiring line and the conductive layer wiring line are electrically connected to the magneto-sensitive body and the conductive layer, respectively. A detection coil and a detection circuit of the magneto-impedance element are electrically connected to each other through detecting conductive wires. At least parts of these lines are adjacent to each other and allow a current to pass therethrough in opposite directions.

Abstract: An installation system has a laser range finder set at a reference position to measure a distance to a target, an installation cart which performs operation for laying a magnetic marker in a road, and an arithmetic unit which identifies a position relation of a laying position where the magnetic marker is laid with respect to the reference position. When operation for laying the magnetic marker in a road is performed, by taking the installation cart during performing the operation of laying the magnetic marker in the road as a target, based on a distance to the installation cart measured by the laser range finder, the position relation of the laying position with respect to the reference position is identified by the arithmetic unit.

Abstract: A position capturing system (1) includes a vehicle (5) provided with a measuring unit (2) which magnetically detects a magnetic marker (10) laid in a road and determines a polarity thereof and a GPS unit (35) which measures a position; a database (34) having stored therein a laying position of each of magnetic markers (10) linked with polarity information of the magnetic marker (10); and a position capturing unit (32) which executes processes for capturing the position of the vehicle (5) by selecting corresponding laying position from the database (34) when any of the magnetic markers (10) is detected; and when any of the magnetic markers (10) is detected, selects the laying position located in a specified area with reference to a measured position by the GPS unit (35) and linked with polarity information which complies with the polarity of the detected magnetic marker (10).

Abstract: A magnetic marker retaining method that includes placing a plurality of sheet-shaped magnetic markers on a surface of a band-shaped carrier sheet, the plurality of sheet-shaped magnetic markers being so as to be spaced in a longitudinal direction of the band-shaped carrier sheet; and retaining the plurality of sheet-shaped magnetic markers in a state of a roll body with the band-shaped carrier sheet rolled up in a roll shape, the band-shaped carrier sheet being rolled up such that each surface of the plurality of sheet-shaped magnetic markers directly contacts the other side of the surface of the band-shaped carrier sheet, on which the plurality of sheet-shaped magnetic markers are placed, and the plurality of sheet-shaped magnetic markers being to be laid on a road.

Abstract: A marker system (1) including a sensor array (21) for detecting a magnetic marker laid in a road, a tag reader (34) which acquires marker position information indicating a laying position of the magnetic marker, an IMU (22) which estimates a relative position of a vehicle by inertial navigation calculation, and a control unit (32) which performs an arithmetic process for identifying a position of the vehicle based on the laying position of the detected magnetic marker, and also identifies the position of the vehicle after passage over the magnetic marker based on a relative position of the vehicle estimated by the IMU (22), thereby allowing stable identification of its own vehicle position without being affected by surrounding environment.

Abstract: A magnetic marker retaining method that includes placing a plurality of sheet-shaped magnetic markers on a surface of a band-shaped carrier sheet, the plurality of sheet-shaped magnetic markers being so as to be spaced in a longitudinal direction of the band-shaped carrier sheet; and retaining the plurality of sheet-shaped magnetic markers in a state of a roll body with the band-shaped carrier sheet rolled up in a roll shape, the band-shaped carrier sheet being rolled up such that each surface of the plurality of sheet-shaped magnetic markers directly contacts the other side of the surface of the band-shaped carrier sheet, on which the plurality of sheet-shaped magnetic markers are placed, and the plurality of sheet-shaped magnetic markers being to be laid on a road.

Abstract: A magnetic detection device that is reduced in size and thickness, but also accurate, includes a substrate and an element disposed on the substrate and including a magneto-sensitive wire sensing an external magnetic field component in an extending direction and a detection coil looping around the magneto-sensitive wire. The magnetic detection device further includes a magnetic field deflector deflecting an external magnetic field around the magneto-sensitive wire, and having a nonmagnetic material core part and a soft magnetic material shell part covering an outer side of at least part of the core part. The magnetic field deflector has a hollow, rather than solid, structure of soft magnetic material. The soft magnetic material volume is therefore significantly smaller, and the hysteresis caused in the magnetic field deflector is remarkably reduced. With the magnetic detection device, the magnetic field component orthogonal to the substrate is also detected with higher accuracy.

Abstract: In an operation method of marker system (1) in which laying position information indicating a position where a magnetic marker (10) is laid is provided to a vehicle (3) side for achieving control for assisting driving of the vehicle (3) by using the magnetic marker (10), since positional accuracy required when laying magnetic markers (10) can be relaxed, the laying position information of the magnetic marker (10) positioned on the vehicle (3) side which performs the control for assisting driving is used as correction information to correct the laying position information indicating the position where the magnetic marker (10) is laid, and laying cost of magnetic markers (10) can be suppressed.

Abstract: In a marker detection method for detecting magnetic markers (10) laid in a road by sensor units (11) attached to a vehicle (5), in a marker detection system (1) including two sensor units (11) arranged so as to be separated in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle (5) and two magnetic markers (10) arranged at spacings equal thereto so as to be simultaneously detectable by the two sensor units (11), magnetism generation sources simultaneously detected by the two sensor units (11) are detected as the magnetic markers (10), thereby reducing erroneous detection.

Abstract: In an installation method for laying magnetic markers (10) in a road for driving assist control on a vehicle side, a laying work vehicle (2) sequentially lays the magnetic markers (10) while moving along the road without performing a prior survey or the like of laying positions, and then by using a positioning work vehicle (3) including a magnetic sensor capable of detecting magnetism, the laid magnetic markers (10) are detected and the laying positions are identified to generate position data regarding the magnetic markers (10), thereby allowing reduction of cost of laying the magnetic markers (10).

Abstract: A learning system (1) for vehicles for learning a neutral point of a measurement sensor equipped in a vehicle by using a magnetic marker disposed in a traveling road includes a sensor unit (11) which detects the magnetic marker and measures a lateral shift amount of the vehicle with respect to the magnetic marker, a route information acquiring part which acquires route information indicating a shape of the traveling road, and a learning determination part which determines whether a learning condition as a condition for performing learning of the neutral point of the measurement sensor is satisfied, wherein a fluctuation range of a lateral shift amount measured by the sensor unit (11) when the vehicle is traveling a learning road as a traveling road in a constant shape is equal to or smaller than a predetermined threshold is set at least as the learning condition.

Abstract: A magnetic marker (1), laid in or on a road so as be detectable by a magnetic sensor (2) attached to a bottom surface side of a vehicle (5), that is used for vehicle-side drive assist control for assisting driving is an isotropic ferrite plastic magnet, molded into a columnar shape, that contains a magnetic powder of iron oxide, i.e. a powder of a magnetic material, dispersed in a polymer material. In a marker system (1S) including this magnetic marker (1), magnetic markers (1) accommodated in holes (530) bored in a road surface (53) are arranged along the center of a lane.