In-vehicle radar device and communication device

• US 20070164896A1
• Filed: 11/09/2006
• Published: 07/19/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Calsonic Kansei Corporation, Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Suzuki, Hideya, Hanawa, Kazuhiko
• Application Number:
  US11/594,947
• Publication Number:
  US 20070164896A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 342/70
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9316 combined with communication equipment with other vehicles or with base stations
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/932 using own vehicle data, e.g. ground speed, steering wheel direction
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9325 for inter-vehicle distance regulation, e.g. navigating in platoons
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93273 on the top of the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/006 using shared front-end circuitry, e.g. antennas G01S13/765, G01S13/825 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/023 Interference mitigation, e.g. reducing or avoiding non-intentional interference with other HF-transmitters, base station transmitters for mobile communication or other radar systems, e.g. using electro-magnetic interference [EMI] reduction techniques auxiliary means for detecting or identifying radar signals or the like G01S7/021; means for anti-jamming G01S7/36
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/0232 Avoidance by frequency multiplex
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/161 Decentralised systems, e.g. inter-vehicle communication

Abstract

In order to consider an optimum control method and an optimum mounting method needed, a UWB having a communication function and a radar function are used. For an obstacle vehicle in front, the distance between two cars is measured using the radar function, and according to this distance, a hazard warning is issued to a driver or a pre-crash operation is carried out. Moreover, by informing its own position to each other between vehicles using the communication function, the distance to a vehicle near to the own vehicle is measured regardless of clutter, and according to this distance, a hazard warning is issued to a driver or a pre-crash operation is carried out. Moreover, the operating frequency and transmission power of a radar are changed based on its own location information, thereby reducing influence to and from other wireless system.

Claims

1. An in-vehicle radar device provided with a transmission and receiving part for transmitting and receiving a radar wave, the in-vehicle radar device for measuring the distance between an own vehicle and an object, comprising:

a positioning part for positioning its own location information;

a transmission data generation part for generating a radar wave, the radar wave being made by adding vehicle information containing at least its own vehicle ID and the own location information to a generated radar wave pulse;

a receiving wave identification part which, when a receiving wave is not the reflection wave of a radar wave which the own in-vehicle radar device transmitted, extracts a vehicle information of the receiving wave; and

a distance measurement part which, when the receiving wave is the reflection wave of a radar wave which the own in-vehicle radar device transmitted, calculates the distance to the object from a delay time of the receiving wave, and which, when the receiving wave is not the reflection wave of the radar wave which the own in-vehicle radar device transmitted, calculates the distance to a relevant vehicle by using the extracted vehicle information.

2. The in-vehicle radar device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission data generation part changes the transmission cycle of the radar wave according to the driving speed of the own vehicle.

3. The in-vehicle radar device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission data generation part generates a radar wave made by adding a signal corresponding to the vehicle information to a signal having a waveform of repeating a same waveform in a certain cycle.

4. The in-vehicle radar device according to claim 1, wherein the distance measurement part calculates the distance and direction of a vehicle, which transmitted the receiving wave, from-location information contained in the vehicle information extracted in the receiving wave identification part and the own location information by the positioning part.

8. The in-vehicle radar device according to claim 1, wherein the radar wave uses a plurality of frequency bands, the in-vehicle radar device comprising:

map information which defines frequencies to use, based on the longitude and latitude.

an own position measurement means for measuring its own position; and

a control means which changes the frequency band to use, in accordance with the operating frequencies of the map information according to the location information by the own position measurement means.

9. The in-vehicle radar device according to claim 8, wherein the control means changes the power of transmitting electric wave according to the frequency band to use.

5. A communication device provided with a transmitter for transmitting a radar wave from a transmission antenna and a receiver for receiving a radar wave via a receiving antenna, the communication device comprising:

a positioning part for positioning its own location information;

a transmission data generation part which generates a radar wave, the radar wave being made by adding vehicle information containing at least location information by the positioning part and the own vehicle ID to a generated radar wave pulse;

a control part for specifying a transmission timing of the generated radar wave;

a receiving wave identification part which extracts vehicle information of a receiving wave having a vehicle ID different from its own vehicle ID, based on a vehicle ID of the receiving wave received in the receiver; and

a distance measurement part which calculates the distance and direction to a vehicle, which transmitted a relevant vehicle information, from a location information contained in the extracted vehicle information and its own location information by the positioning part.

6. The communication device according to claim 5, wherein the transmission data generation part changes the transmission cycle of the radar wave according to the driving speed of the own vehicle.

7. The communication device according to claim 5, wherein the transmission data generation part generates a signal having a waveform of repeating a same waveform in a certain cycle followed by a radar wave containing a signal corresponding to the vehicle information.

10. The communication device according to claim 5, wherein the radar wave uses a plurality of frequency bands, the communication device comprising:

map information which defines frequencies to use, based on the longitude and latitude;

an own position measurement means for measuring its own position; and

a control means which changes the frequency band to use, in accordance with the operating frequency of the map information according to the location information by the own position measurement means.

11. The communication device according to claim 10, wherein the control means changes the type of data to transmit, according to the frequency band to use.