IMAGING APPARATUS, AND TRANSMISSION AND RECEPTION APPARATUS

• US 20120027057A1
• Filed: 06/20/2011
• Published: 02/02/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: NAKASHA, Yasuhiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,891,599 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 375/219
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/24 using frequency agility of carrier wave
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/89 for mapping or imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/282 Transmitters

Abstract

A transmission and reception apparatus includes: a transmitter circuit to transmit to an object a transmission signal including a comb-shaped wave in which a first plurality of pulses are arranged in a comb shape; and a receiver circuit to receive a reflection signal based on the transmission signal.

Claims

1. A transmission and reception apparatus comprising:

a transmitter circuit to transmit to an object a transmission signal including a comb-shaped wave in which a first plurality of pulses are arranged in a comb shape; and

a receiver circuit to receive a reflection signal based on the transmission signal.

2. The transmission and reception apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmitter circuit includes:

an oscillator circuit to generate an oscillator signal;

a transmission pulse generator circuit to generate a second plurality of pulses based on the oscillator signal; and

a first band pass filter to generate the comb-shaped wave based on at least a portion of the second plurality of the pulses.

3. The transmission and reception apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the receiver circuit includes:

a reception pulse generator circuit to generate a third plurality of pulses based on the oscillator signal;

a second band pass filter to generate a local oscillator signal based on at least a portion of the third plurality of the pulses, and

a mixer to down-convert the reflection signal into a baseband signal using the local oscillator signal.

4. The transmission and reception apparatus according to claim 3, wherein pass frequencies of the second band pass filter include a frequency fr_L that is lower than or equal to a frequency ft_L and closest to ft_L among frequencies fr of the third plurality of the pulses for reception, where pass frequencies of the first band pass filter are from ft_L to ft_H.

5. The transmission and reception apparatus according to claim 3, wherein pass frequencies of the second band pass filter include a frequency fr_H that is higher than or equal to a frequency ft_H and closest to ft_H among frequencies fr of the third plurality of the pulses for reception, where pass frequencies of the first band pass filter are from ft_L to ft_H.

6. The transmission and reception apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the transmission pulse generator circuit and the reception pulse generator circuit include a short pulse generator.

7. The transmission and reception apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the reception pulse generator circuit receives the oscillator signal, and

wherein the transmission pulse generator circuit receives a frequency-divided signal of the oscillator signal from a frequency divider provided between the oscillator circuit and the transmission pulse generator circuit.

8. The transmission and reception apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a frequency dividing ratio of the frequency divider is variable.

9. The transmission and reception apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the transmission pulse generator circuit receives the oscillator signal, and

wherein the reception pulse generator circuit receives a frequency-multiplied signal of the oscillator signal from a frequency multiplier provided between the oscillator circuit and the reception pulse generator circuit.

10. The transmission and reception apparatus according to claim 9,

wherein a frequency f of the oscillator circuit and a frequency multiplying ratio n of the frequency multiplier are variable, and

wherein the frequency multiplying ratio n is controlled in such a manner as to make f×

n be fixed, in accordance with a change in the frequency f of the oscillator circuit.

11. The transmission and reception apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmission signal includes any one of a microwave, a millimeter wave, a terahertz wave, and a submillimeter wave.

12. An imaging apparatus comprising:

a transmitter circuit to transmit to an object a transmission signal including a comb-shaped wave in which a first plurality of pulses are arranged in a comb shape; and

a receiver circuit to receive a reflection signal based on the transmission signal; and

an image information generation circuit to generate image information based on the reflection signal.

13. A transmission and reception apparatus comprising:

an oscillator circuit to generate an oscillator signal;

a transmission pulse generator circuit to generate a second plurality of pulses from the oscillator signal; and

a band pass filter to generate a transmission signal including a comb-shaped wave in which frequency components of a first plurality of pulses are arranged in a comb shape based on at least a portion of the second plurality of the pulses.