Sensor device

• US 10,192,431 B2
• Filed: 01/29/2015
• Issued: 01/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Smart Microwave Sensors GmbH
• Original Assignee: Smart Microwave Sensors GmbH
• Inventors: Mende, Ralph
• Primary Examiner(s): McNally, Kerri L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Thang D
• Application Number:
  US15/113,939
• Publication Number:
  US 20160343248A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,461 Days
• Field of Search: 340943
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/87 Combinations of radar systems, e.g. primary radar and secondary radar
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/91 for traffic control G01S13/93 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4026 Antenna boresight
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/403 in azimuth, i.e. in the horizontal plane
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4034 in elevation, i.e. in the vertical plane
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0116 from roadside infrastructure, e.g. beacons
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/04 using optical or ultrasonic detectors
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

A sensor device (4) is designed to detect road users along a stretch of a roadway and comprises a transmission and/or reception unit for emitting and/or receiving a transmission radiation. Said sensor device (4) is characterized in that the same includes at least one ascertainment unit for ascertaining an actual position and/or an actual orientation of the sensor device (4).

Claims

1. A sensor device that is configured to detect road users on a part of a traffic route, comprising:

a transmitting and/or receiving device for transmitting and/or receiving a transmission beam; and

at least one determination device for determining an actual position and/or an actual orientation in which the sensor device is disposed,

an electrical controller configured to compare the actual position and/or the actual orientation of the sensor with a target position and/or target orientation of the sensor to provide data for changing the actual position and/or actual orientation of the sensor to correspond with a target position and/or target orientation of the sensor; and

an electronic data memory which stores information about different sub regions of at least part of the traffic route or expected trajectories of which at least some road users travel along,

wherein the sensor device is positioned in a target position above or next to the traffic route,

wherein the electrical controller is configured

to determine an actual trajectory from data representing a plurality of road users detected at different points in time,

to compare said actual trajectory with the expected trajectories or with the information about different sub regions of the at least part of the traffic route, and

to determine a deviation of the actual elevation angle from the target elevation angle and/or a deviation of the actual azimuth angle from the target azimuth angle from a result of said comparison, and

wherein the target orientation compared by the electrical controller comprises a target elevation angle and a target azimuth angle and wherein the at least one determination device is configured to determine an actual elevation angle and/or an actual azimuth angle and/or an actual tilt angle.

2. The sensor device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one determination device is a global positioning system (GPS) module for determining the actual position.

3. The sensor device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a provision device for providing the actual position and/or the actual orientation of the sensor for further processing.

4. The sensor device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electrical controller is configured to obtain the target position and/or the target orientation from an electronic data memory.

5. The sensor device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the electronic data memory is part of the sensor device.

6. The sensor device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one determination device comprises a compass and/or a magnetometer for determining the actual azimuth angle.

7. The sensor device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electrical controller is configured to output a deviation of the actual position of the sensor from the target position and/or a deviation of the actual orientation of the sensor from the target orientation to an output device.

8. The sensor device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising at least one acceleration sensor with which an acceleration of the sensor device can be measured in at least one spatial direction.

9. The sensor device as claimed in claim 8 wherein said at least one acceleration sensor measures acceleration of the sensor device in at least two or three mutually independent spatial directions.

10. The sensor device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the different sub regions represent different lanes in the traffic route.

11. The sensor device as claimed in claim 7 wherein the output device is a display.

12. A road-monitoring sensor device that is configured to detect errors and deviations in its own position and/or orientation reducing detection of road users on a part of a traffic route, comprising:

a transmitting and/or receiving device for transmitting and/or receiving a transmission beam; and

at least one determination device for determining an actual position and/or an actual orientation in which the sensor device is disposed, an electrical controller configured to compare the actual position and/or the actual orientation of the sensor with a target position and/or target orientation of the sensor to provide data for changing the actual position and/or actual orientation of the sensor to correspond with a target position and/or target orientation of the sensor; and

an electronic data memory which stores information about different sub regions of at least part of the traffic route or expected trajectories of which at least some road users travel along, wherein the sensor device is positioned in a target position above or next to the traffic route, wherein the electrical controller is configured to determine an actual trajectory from data representing plurality of road users detected at different points in time, to compare said actual trajectory with the expected trajectories or with the information about different sub regions of the at least part of the traffic route, and to determine a deviation of the actual elevation angle from the target elevation angle and/or a deviation of the actual azimuth angle from the target azimuth angle from a result of the comparison, deviation being treated as an error reducing a detection region, and to provide for correction of the error, wherein the target orientation compared by the electrical controller comprises a target elevation angle and a target azimuth angle and wherein the at least one determination device is configured to determine an actual elevation angle and/or an actual azimuth angle and/or an actual tilt angle.

13. The road-monitoring sensor device of claim 12, wherein the electrical controller is configured to provide for correction of the error by outputting the deviation of the actual position from the target position and/or the deviation of the actual orientation from the target orientation to an output device.

14. The road-monitoring sensor device of claim 12, wherein the transmitting and/or receiving device comprises beam-shaping components, and wherein the electrical controller is configured to provided for correction of the error by changing activation of the beam-shaping components.