ELECTRONIC SCANNING RADAR APPARATUS, RECEIVED WAVE DIRECTION ESTIMATING METHOD, AND RECEIVED WAVE DIRECTION ESTIMATING PROGRAM

• US 20120268316A1
• Filed: 10/18/2011
• Published: 10/25/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Elesys Co., Ltd. (Nidec Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Honda Elesys Co., Ltd. (Nidec Corporation)
• Inventors: KANAMOTO, Junji
• Granted Patent: US 8,648,745 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 342/158
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/345 using triangular modulation
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/584 adapted for simultaneous range and velocity measurements
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 3/74 Multi-channel systems specially adapted for direction-finding, i.e. having a single antenna system capable of giving simultaneous indications of the directions of different signals systems in which the directions of different signals are determined sequentially and displayed simultaneously G01S3/04, G01S3/14

Abstract

An electronic scanning radar apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a frequency resolving unit resolves beat signals into beat frequencies having a predetermined frequency bandwidth and calculates complex data based on the resolved beat signals for each beat frequency. An azimuth calculating unit estimates a number of received waves based on eigenvalues of a matrix being part of a primary normal equation having complex data as elements calculated from the beat signals, creates coefficients calculated as a solution of a secondary normal equation of a signal subspace created based on eigenvalues and eigenvectors corresponding to the number of the estimated waves, and calculates a DOA of a received wave based on the created coefficients.

Claims

1. An electronic scanning radar apparatus mounted on a moving object, comprising:

a receiving unit configured to include a plurality of antennas receiving a received wave arriving from a target having reflected a transmitted wave;

a beat signal generating unit configured to generate beat signals from the transmitted wave and the received wave;

a frequency resolving unit configured to resolve the beat signals into beat frequencies having a predetermined frequency bandwidth and calculate complex data based on the resolved beat signals for each beat frequency; and

an azimuth detecting unit configured to estimate a wave number of the received wave based on an eigenvalue being a component part of a normal equation having complex data as elements calculated based on the beat signals, create a coefficient calculated as a solution of a normal equation of a signal subspace formed based on eigenvalues and eigenvectors corresponding to a number of the estimated wave number, and calculate a DOA of the received wave based on the created coefficient.

2. The electronic scanning radar apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the azimuth detecting unit calculates the DOA of the received wave based on the normal equation of the signal subspace by an AR spectrum estimating method using an autoregressive model.

3. The electronic scanning radar apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the azimuth detecting unit estimates the wave number based on a calculated result according to a value of the eigenvalue, separates a signal subspace being effective and a noise subspace in response to the wave number, and calculates the coefficient from the signal subspace.

4. The electronic scanning radar apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the azimuth detecting unit calculates the coefficient based on the normal equation of the signal subspace formed from the eigenvector and the eigenvalue obtained by eigenvalue decomposition being a component part of the normal equation.

5. The electronic scanning radar apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the azimuth detecting unit calculates the eigenvalues and the eigenvectors from a matrix being a component part of the normal equation having the same order as the order being applied to the order of the normal equation created based on complex data calculated from the beat signals.

6. The electronic scanning radar apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the azimuth detecting unit calculates the eigenvalues and the eigenvectors from an averaged matrix being a component part of an averaged normal equation obtained by averaging a plurality of normal equations.

7. The electronic scanning radar apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the azimuth detecting unit creates the averaged normal equation for calculating the eigenvalues and the eigenvectors from complex data acquired in detection cycles corresponding to predetermined detection times including a present detection cycle in repeatedly performed detection cycles calculating the DOA of the received wave.

8. The electronic scanning radar apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the azimuth detecting unit performs an averaging process to a matrix and a right-hand vector being a component part of a normal equation having complex data as elements in advance of calculations of the eigenvalues and eigenvectors.

9. The electronic scanning radar apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the azimuth detecting unit determines the eigenvalues with a fixed threshold value being independent on a distance between the target and the electronic scanning radar apparatus and estimates the wave number.

10. The electronic scanning radar apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the azimuth detecting unit normalizes the eigenvalues based on a maximum value of the eigenvalues when a value calculated from the eigenvalues is equal or greater than a predetermined threshold value.

11. The electronic scanning radar apparatus according to claim 10, wherein a value calculated from the eigenvalues is either the maximum value of the eigenvalues or a sum total of the eigenvalues.

12. The electronic scanning radar apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the azimuth detecting unit determines values of the normalized eigenvalues bases on a predetermined threshold value, and selects the wave number based on a determination result of the values.

13. The electronic scanning radar apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the azimuth detecting unit selects the wave number based on each result determined from values calculated from the eigenvalues using plural threshold values.

14. The electronic scanning radar apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the azimuth detecting unit interrupts the wave number estimation process based on the value calculated from the eigenvalues.

15. The electronic scanning radar apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the azimuth detecting unit determines to interrupt the wave number estimation process based on either the maximum value of the eigenvalues or a sum total of the eigenvalues.

16. The electronic scanning radar apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the azimuth detecting unit interrupts a calculation process of the DOA of the received wave based on interruption of the wave number estimation process.

17. The electronic scanning radar apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the azimuth detecting unit forcibly sets an arbitrary predetermined wave number as the wave number based on interruption of the wave number estimation process.

18. The electronic scanning radar apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a memory unit configured to store complex data based on the beat signals detected in detection cycles repeatedly calculating the DOA of the received wave; and

a target link unit configured to correlate with a target to be detected and store the complex data correlated with the correlated target to the memory unit in a present detection cycle and a past detection cycle performed before the present detection cycle.

19. The electronic scanning radar apparatus according to claim 18, wherein

the memory unit stores the distance from the correlated target and the relative velocity of the correlated target detected in the past detection cycle in correlation with the complex data or a normal equation, and

the target link unit correlates the target in the present detection cycle and a target in the past detection cycle time sequentially related to the present detection cycle being correlated with the target in the present detection cycle.

20. The electronic scanning radar apparatus according to claim 18, wherein when the target link unit correlates targets respectively detected in the present and past detection cycles, the target link unit detects whether or not the targets in the present and past detection cycles correspond to the correlated target based on a result determined whether a present distance and a present relative velocity obtained from a detection beat frequency in the present detection cycle is respectively included in a distance range and a relative velocity range calculated based on a past distance and a past relative velocity obtained in the past detection cycle.

21. The electronic scanning radar apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the azimuth detecting unit creates the matrix being a component part of the averaged normal equation for calculating the eigenvalues and the eigenvectors including the complex data acquired in the past detection cycle.

22. The electronic scanning radar apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the azimuth detecting unit includes the normal equation calculated in the past detection cycle with the matrix being a component part of the normal equation and the averaged normal equation for calculating the eigenvalues and the eigenvectors.

23. The electronic scanning radar apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the azimuth detecting unit estimates a spectrum by averaging the coefficient calculated from the normal equation of the signal subspace for calculating the DOA of the received wave and another coefficient calculated based on the normal equation of the signal subspace in the past detection cycle.

24. The electronic scanning radar apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a target detecting unit configured to detect a presence of the target by detecting a peak value from an intensity value of the beat frequency,

wherein the azimuth detecting unit calculates the DOA of the received wave based on complex data corresponding to the target which the target detecting unit has detected the presence of the target.

25. The electronic scanning radar apparatus according to claim 24, further comprising:

a DBF processing unit configured to detect the presence of the target and an azimuth of the target based on a digital beam forming process increasing a detection sensitivity of the received wave receiving from a predetermined direction based on the complex data; and

a target link unit configured to correlate with the detected target and store the complex data correlated with the correlated target to the memory unit in a present detection cycle and a past detection cycle performed before the present detection cycle,

wherein the target detecting unit further includes

a normal equation creating unit configured to create a normal equation and detect an azimuth of the target based on the digital beam forming process of the beat frequency in the present detection cycle, and

the target link unit correlates with the target in the present and past detection cycles with respect to a distance, a relative velocity and an azimuth.

26. The electronic scanning radar apparatus according to claim 25,

wherein the DBF processing unit further includes

a channel deleting unit configured to detect a target, determine the target as a DBF detection target, replace a spectrum intensity of an angular channel where a target has not been detected with “

0,” and

output resultant data as new spatial complex data, when intensities of spectra of adjacent angular channels are greater than a predetermined DBF threshold values in a predetermined angular channel range, and

an IDBF processing unit configured to create a recreated complex data obtained by applying an inverse DBF processing to the new spatial complex data,

wherein the normal equation creating unit creates the normal equation from the recreated complex data.

27. The electronic scanning radar apparatus according to claim 26, wherein

the channel deleting unit divides a spectrum into each angular channel range corresponding to the DBF detection target when a plurality of DBF detection targets are detected and creates spatial complex data corresponding to a number of the DBF detection targets,

the IDBF processing unit creates the recreated complex data for each of the DBF detection targets by applying the inverse DBF processing to the spatial complex data of each of the DBF detection targets, and

the normal equation creating unit calculates a normal equation for each of the DBF detection targets based on the recreated complex data for each of the DBF detection targets.

28. A received wave direction estimating method using an electronic scanning radar apparatus mounted on a moving object, comprising:

a receiving step of receiving a received wave arriving from a target having reflected a transmitted wave by use of a receiving unit including a plurality of antennas;

a beat signal generating step of generating beat signals from the transmitted wave and the received wave by use of a beat signal generating unit;

a frequency resolving step of resolving the beat signals into beat frequencies having a predetermined frequency bandwidth and calculating complex data based on the resolved beat signals for each beat frequency by use of a frequency resolving unit; and

a azimuth estimating step of estimating a wave number of the received wave based on an eigenvalue being a component part of a normal equation having complex data as elements calculated based on the beat signals, creating a coefficient calculated as a solution of a normal equation of a signal subspace formed based on eigenvalues and eigenvectors corresponding to a number of the estimated wave number, and calculating a DOA of the received wave based on the created coefficient by use of an azimuth detecting unit.

29. A received wave direction estimating program for causing a computer to control operations on a received wave direction estimation by use of an electronic scanning radar apparatus mounted on a moving object, the program causing a computer to execute:

a receiving process that receives a received wave arriving from a target having reflected a transmitted wave by use of a receiving unit including a plurality of antennas;

a beat signal generating process that generates beat signals from the transmitted wave and the received wave by use of a beat signal generating unit;

a frequency resolving process that resolves the beat signals into beat frequencies having a predetermined frequency bandwidth and calculates complex data based on the resolved beat signals for each beat frequency by use of a frequency resolving unit; and

a azimuth estimating process that estimates a wave number of the received wave based on an eigenvalue being a component part of a normal equation having complex data as elements calculated based on the beat signals, creates a coefficient calculated as a solution of a normal equation of a signal subspace formed based on eigenvalues and eigenvectors corresponding to a number of the estimated wave number, and calculates a DOA of the received wave based on the created coefficient by use of an azimuth detecting unit.