RADAR APPARATUS

• US 20140111367A1
• Filed: 08/09/2012
• Published: 04/24/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PANASONIC AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS CO., LTD. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kishigami, Takaaki, Mukai, Hirohito, Morita, Tadashi
• Granted Patent: US 9,372,259 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 342/21
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/0209 Systems with very large relative bandwidth, i.e. larger than 10 %, e.g. baseband, pulse, carrier-free, ultrawideband
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/103 particularities of the measurement of the distance G01S13/12, G01S13/14, G01S13/16, G01S13/18 and G01S13/20 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/26 wherein the transmitted pulses use a frequency- or phase-modulated carrier wave
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/28 with time compression of received pulses
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/284 using coded pulses
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/288 phase modulated
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/30 using more than one pulse per radar period
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/28 Details of pulse systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/2813 Means providing a modification of the radiation pattern for cancelling noise, clutter or interfering signals, e.g. side lobe suppression, side lobe blanking, null-steering arrays specially adapted to secondary radar systems G01S13/762; aerials or aerials systems H01Q21/29, H01Q25/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/282 Transmitters
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/292 Extracting wanted echo-signals

Abstract

A pulse transmission controller generates transmission timing signals for a high-frequency radar transmission signal in every transmission cycle. A transmission phase shifter gives a transmission signal generated by a modulator phase shifts each corresponding to a transmission cycle on the basis of the transmission timing signals generated at intervals that are equal to the transmission cycle. A reception phase shifter gives a reception signal that is output from an A/D converter reception phase shifts that are opposite in direction to the respective transmission phase shifts given by the transmission phase shifter on the basis of the transmission timing signals generated at intervals that are equal to the transmission cycle.

Claims

1. A radar apparatus comprising:

a pulse transmission controller that generates transmission timing signals for a high-frequency radar transmission signal in every transmission cycle;

at least one code generator that generates at least one code sequence having a prescribed code length;

a modulator that generates a baseband transmission signal by modulating the at least one code sequence on the basis of the transmission timing signals;

a transmission phase shifter that gives the baseband transmission signal phase shifts each corresponding to at least one transmission cycle on the basis of the transmission timing signals; and

an RF transmitter that converts a phase-shift-added transmission signal into the high-frequency radar transmission signal and transmitting the latter from a transmission antenna.

2. The radar apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the code generator includes:

a first code generator that generates a transmission code of one of complementary code sequences having a prescribed code length on the basis of transmission timing signals generated in odd-numbered transmission cycles or even-numbered transmission cycles; and

a second code generator that generates a transmission code of the other of the complementary code sequences having the prescribed code length on the basis of transmission timing signals generated in even-numbered transmission cycles or odd-numbered transmission cycles;

wherein the modulator modulates the one transmission code generated by the first code generator and the other transmission code generated by the second code generator; and

wherein the transmission phase shifter gives phase shifts each corresponding to two transmission cycles.

3. The radar apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmission phase shifter gives phase shifts of 90°

.

4. The radar apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a radar receiver that detects presence/absence of a target on the basis of a reflection wave signal of the high-frequency radar transmission signal,

wherein the radar receiver includes;

an RF receiver that receives, with a reception antenna, a reflection wave signal of the high-frequency radar transmission signal reflected by the target, and converts the received reflection wave signal into a baseband reception signal;

a reception phase shifter that gives the baseband reception signal supplied from the RF receiver opposite phase shifts which are opposite to the respective phase shifts given by the transmission phase shifter on the basis of the transmission timing signals;

a correlation value calculator that calculates correlation values between opposite-phase-shift-added baseband reception signal and the transmission code or codes; and

a coherent integrator that adds together the correlation values calculated by the correlation value calculator over a prescribed number of transmission cycles.

5. The radar apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a radar receiver that detects presence/absence of a target on the basis of a reflection wave signal of the high-frequency radar transmission signal,

wherein the radar receiver includes;

an RF receiver that receives, with a reception antenna, a reflection wave signal of the high-frequency radar transmission signal reflected by the target, and converts the received reflection wave signal into a baseband reception signal;

a correlation value calculator that calculates correlation values between the baseband reception signal supplied from the RF receiver and the transmission code or codes;

a reception phase shifter that gives the correlation signals calculated by the correlation value calculator opposite phase shifts which are opposite to the respective phase shifts given by the transmission phase shifter on the basis of the transmission timing signals generated at intervals that are equal to the transmission cycle; and

a coherent integrator that adds together opposite-phase-shift-added correlation values produced by the reception phase shifter over a prescribed number of transmission cycles.

6. The radar apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the radar receiver further includes:

a VGA that adjusts an output level of the baseband reception signal that is output from the RF receiver;

an A/D converter that converts an output-level-adjusted analog baseband reception signal produced by the VGA into a digital baseband reception signal;

a DC offset estimator that adds together correlation values calculated by the correlation value calculator over the prescribed number of transmission cycles, and estimating a DC offset component contained in the baseband reception signal on the basis of an addition result of the correlation values; and

an offset corrector that causes the VGA to adjust the output level of the baseband reception signal by correcting a DC offset amount in the VGA on the basis of the DC offset component estimated by the DC offset estimator.

7. The radar apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the radar receiver further includes:

a VGA that adjusts an output level of the baseband reception signal that is output from the RF receiver;

an A/D converter that converts an output-level-adjusted analog baseband reception signal produced by the VGA into a digital baseband reception signal;

a DC offset estimator that adds together opposite-phase-shift-added correlation values produced by the correlation value calculator over the prescribed number of transmission cycles, and estimating a DC offset component contained in the baseband reception signal on the basis of an addition result of the correlation values; and

an offset corrector that causes the VGA to adjust the output level of the baseband reception signal by correcting a DC offset amount in the VGA on the basis of the DC offset component estimated by the DC offset estimator.

8. The radar apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the radar receiver further includes:

a VGA that adjusts an output level of the baseband reception signal that is output from the RF receiver;

an A/D converter that converts an output-level-adjusted analog baseband reception signal produced by the VGA into a digital baseband reception signal;

a reception level detector that detects an output level of the baseband reception signal that is output from the A/D converter; and

a VGA controller that decreases a gain of the VGA for the output level of the baseband reception signal if the output level of the baseband reception signal detected by the reception level detector is higher than a prescribed level.

9. The radar apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the radar receiver further includes a distance estimator that estimates a distance to the target on the basis of an addition result of the correlation values supplied from the coherent integrator.

10. The radar apparatus according to claim 4, comprising:

plural radar receivers each of which is provided so as to correspond to a single reception antenna; and

a distance/direction estimator that estimates an incoming direction of reflection wave signals received by the respective reception antennas of the plural radar receivers on the basis of a reception phase difference or differences between the reflection wave signals, and estimates a distance to the target on the basis of addition results of the correlation values supplied from the coherent integrators of the radar receivers.

11. The radar apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the code generator includes:

a first complementary code generator that generates transmission codes of complementary code sequences having a prescribed code length on the basis of transmission timing signals generated in respective transmission cycles of odd-numbered or even-numbered pairs of transmission cycles; and

a second complementary code generator that generates transmission codes of complementary code sequences having a prescribed code length on the basis of transmission timing signals generated in respective transmission cycles of even-numbered or odd-numbered pairs of transmission cycles;

wherein the modulator modulates the transmission codes generated by the first complementary code generator in the odd-numbered or even-numbered pairs of transmission cycles, and modulates the transmission codes generated by the second complementary code generator in the even-numbered or odd-numbered pairs of transmission cycles; and

wherein the transmission phase shifter gives modulated transmission codes prescribed phase shifts corresponding to respective odd-numbered or even-numbered pairs of transmission cycles in the odd-numbered or even-numbered pairs of transmission cycles, and gives modulated transmission codes phase shifts being orthogonal to the corresponding prescribed phase shifts and corresponding to respective even-numbered or odd-numbered pairs of transmission cycles in the even-numbered or odd-numbered pairs of transmission cycles.

12. The radar apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the transmission phase shifter gives the modulated transmission codes prescribed phase shifts corresponding to respective odd-numbered or even-numbered pairs of transmission cycles in the odd-numbered or even-numbered pairs of transmission cycles, and gives the modulated transmission codes phase shifts that are deviated by π

/2 from the corresponding prescribed phase shifts and corresponding to respective even-numbered or odd-numbered pairs of transmission cycles in the even-numbered or odd-numbered pairs of transmission cycles.

13. The radar apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the radar receiver further includes:

a VGA that adjusts an output level of the baseband reception signal that is output from the RF receiver;

an A/D converter that converts an output-level-adjusted analog baseband reception signal produced by the VGA into a digital baseband reception signal;

a reception level detector that detects an output level of the baseband reception signal that is output from the A/D converter; and

a VGA controller that decreases a gain of the VGA for the output level of the baseband reception signal if the output level of the baseband reception signal detected by the reception level detector is higher than a prescribed level.

14. The radar apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the radar receiver further includes a distance estimator that estimates a distance to the target on the basis of an addition result of the correlation values supplied from the coherent integrator.