Short-range automotive radar transceiver

• US 20060132350A1
• Filed: 12/15/2005
• Published: 06/22/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: American Vehicular Sciences LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Automotive Technologies International Incorporated
• Inventors: Breed, David S., Makovenko, Sergei V., Boltovets, Nikolai S., Maltseva, Iryna A., Sobolev, Dmitrii V., Odnolko, Anatoliy F., Rukin, Vladimir P., Maltsev, Sergei B., Zorenko, Aleksander V., Basanets, Vladimir V., Pavlyuchenko, Andrei V., Markov, Alexander S., Shevchuk, Serguei D., Rudyk, Vasilii I.
• Granted Patent: US 7,324,039 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 342/70
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/343 using sawtooth modulation
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9315 Monitoring blind spots
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9318 Controlling the steering
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93185 Controlling the brakes
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9321 Velocity regulation, e.g. cruise control
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/032 Constructional details for solid-state radar subsystems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/35 Details of non-pulse systems

Abstract

Automotive vehicle including a radar transceiver each including a heterodyne active IMPATT multiplier module arranged to receive a signal from a VCO, a first balance mixer arranged to receive a signal from a VCO, a second balance mixer arranged to receive a signal from a receive antenna and the IMPATT multiplier module and derive a first intermediate frequency signal, a first amplifier for amplifying the output of the second balance mixer and providing the amplifier output to the first balance mixer, and a second amplifier for amplifying the output of the first balance mixer. The vehicle also includes a processor which receives output from the second amplifier of each transceiver and generates a control signal for controlling one or more vehicular components based on the output from the second amplifier(s). The components can be part of a collision avoidance system, blind spot monitoring system and the like.

Claims

1. An automotive radar transceiver, comprising:

a transmit antenna;

a receive antenna separate and isolated from said transmit antenna;

a frequency generator for generating a voltage pulse;

a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) arranged to receive the voltage pulse from said frequency generator and generate a signal;

a transmitter active IMPATT multiplier module arranged to receive the signal from said VCO and generate a radar probing signal which is directed to said transmit antenna;

a heterodyne active IMPATT multiplier module arranged to receive the signal from said VCO;

a first balance mixer arranged to receive the signal from the VCO;

a second balance mixer arranged to receive a signal from said receive antenna and said heterodyne active IMPATT multiplier module and derive a first intermediate frequency (IF) signal;

a first amplifier for amplifying the output of said second balance mixer and providing the amplifier output to said first balance mixer; and

a second amplifier for amplifying the output of said first balance mixer,

whereby analysis of the signal transmitted by said transmit antenna and the signal received by said receive antenna provides information for use in the vehicle.

2. The transceiver of claim 1, wherein said frequency generator is arranged to generate a symmetric saw-tooth voltage.

3. The transceiver of claim 1, wherein said VCO is arranged to generate a frequency-modulated signal.

4. The transceiver of claim 1, wherein said VCO includes a bipolar transistor to reduce phase noise in the generated signal.

5. The transceiver of claim 1, wherein said heterodyne active IMPATT multiplier module includes a silicon IMPATT diode.

6. The transceiver of claim 5, wherein said silicon IMPATT diode is arranged to form a radar probing signal with power no less than 30 mW in the 76-77 GHz frequency range.

7. The transceiver of claim 6, wherein the required linearity, frequency tuning rate and phase noise level for the probing signal are determined by the parameters of said VCO operating at 7.6-7.7 GHz.

8. The transceiver of claim 1, wherein said transmitter active IMPATT multiplier module includes an input transistor power amplifier arranged to receive the signal generated by said VCO, an active IMPATT frequency multiplier following said power amplifier, a bandpass filter following said frequency multiplier, a voltage regulator for regulating said power amplifier and a current regulator for regulating said frequency multiplier.

9. The transceiver of claim 8, wherein said frequency multiplier has a frequency multiplication factor of 10 and is constructed on a silicon multiplying IMPATT diode.

10. The transceiver of claim 1, wherein said heterodyne active IMPATT multiplier module includes an input transistor power amplifier arranged to receive the signal generated by said VCO, an active CW IMPATT frequency multiplier following said power amplifier, a bandpass filter following said frequency multiplier, a voltage regulator for regulating said power amplifier and a current regulator for regulating said frequency multiplier.

11. The transceiver of claim 10, wherein said frequency multiplier has a frequency multiplication factor of 11 and is constructed on a silicon multiplying IMPATT diode.

12. A method for generating and processing radar signals for vehicular uses, comprising:

providing a transmit antenna and a receive antenna separate and isolated from the transmit antenna on a vehicle;

directing a voltage pulse to a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) which generates a signal;

dividing the signal from the VCO into three signals and directing the divided signals to a transmitter active IMPATT multiplier module arranged having a multiplication factor of 30 and providing a radar probing signal in a 76-77 GHz frequency range, to a heterodyne active IMPATT multiplier module and to a first balance mixer;

directing an output signal from the transmitter active IMPATT multiplier module to the transmit antenna;

directing a signal from the receive antenna and a signal from the heterodyne active IMPATT multiplier module to a second balance mixer which derives a first intermediate frequency (IF) signal;

amplifying the output of the second balance mixer and providing the amplified output to the first balance mixer; and

amplifying the output of the first balance mixer to form a usable signal.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising determining the required linearity, frequency tuning rate and phase noise level for the signal transmitted by the transmit antenna based on parameters of the VCO.

14. , The method of claim 12, wherein the processing of the radar signal entails determining the distance between the transmit antenna and an object based on analysis of the transmitted signal and the received signal.

15. An automotive vehicle, comprising:

a radar transceiver including

a transmit antenna;

a receive antenna separate and isolated from said transmit antenna;

a frequency generator for generating a voltage pulse;

a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) arranged to receive the voltage pulse from said frequency generator and generate a signal;

a transmitter active IMPATT multiplier module arranged to receive the signal from said VCO and generate a radar probing signal which is directed to said transmit antenna;

a heterodyne active IMPATT multiplier module arranged to receive the signal from said VCO;

a first balance mixer arranged to receive the signal from said VCO;

a second balance mixer arranged to receive a signal from said receive antenna and said heterodyne active IMPATT multiplier module and derive a first intermediate frequency (IF) signal;

a first amplifier for amplifying the output of said second balance mixer and providing the amplifier output to said first balance mixer; and

a second amplifier for amplifying the output of said first balance mixer; and

a processor arranged to receive the output from said second amplifier and generate a control signal for controlling a component in the vehicle based on the output from said second amplifier.

16. The vehicle of claim 15, wherein said component is one of brakes and a steering system and said processor is arranged to determine a distance between an object and the vehicle and control said brakes or said steering system based on the determined distance between the object and the vehicle.

17. The vehicle of claim 15, wherein said transceiver is arranged to direct radar waves into a blind spot of the vehicle, further comprising a reactive system coupled to said processor, said processor generating a control signal to control said reactive system to provide information to the driver about the presence of objects in the blind spot.

18. The vehicle of claim 17, wherein said reactive system is an alarm system for audibly or visually notifying the driver of the presence of a vehicle in the blind spot.

19. The vehicle of claim 15, further comprising a database containing information about roads on which the vehicle travels, said processor being coupled to said map database for controlling the component based in part on the road on which the vehicle is traveling.

20. The vehicle of claim 15, further comprising a location determining system for determining the location of the vehicle on which the vehicle travels, said processor being coupled to said location determining system for controlling the component based in part on the location of the vehicle.