MIMO ANTENNA WITH ELEVATION DETECTION

• US 20150253420A1
• Filed: 03/05/2014
• Published: 09/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aptiv Technologies AG (Aptiv PLC)
• Original Assignee: Delphi Technologies, Inc. (BorgWarner Incorporated)
• Inventors: ALLAND, STEPHEN W.
• Granted Patent: US 9,568,600 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/003 Bistatic radar systems; Multistatic radar systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/424 Stacked beam radar
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/4454 phase comparisons monopulse, i.e. comparing the echo signals received by an interferometric antenna arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/03 Details of HF subsystems specially adapted therefor, e.g. common to transmitter and receiver
• 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 7/2925 by using shape of radiation pattern
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/354 Extracting wanted echo-signals Doppler systems G01S13/50
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/065 Patch antenna array
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/08 the units being spaced along or adjacent to a rectilinear path waveguide fed H01Q21/0037

Abstract

A multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna for a radar system that includes a receive antenna, a first transmit antenna, and a second transmit antenna. The receive antenna is configured to detect radar signals reflected by a target toward the receive antenna. The first transmit antenna is formed of a first vertical array of radiator elements. The second transmit antenna is formed of a second vertical array of radiator elements distinct from the first vertical array. The second transmit antenna is vertically offset from the first transmit antenna by a vertical offset distance selected so an elevation angle to the target can be determined.

Claims

1. A multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna for a radar system, said antenna comprising:

a receive antenna configured to detect radar signals reflected by a target toward the receive antenna;

a first transmit antenna formed of a first vertical array of radiator elements; and

a second transmit antenna formed of a second vertical array of radiator elements distinct from the first vertical array, wherein the second transmit antenna is vertically offset from the first transmit antenna by a vertical offset distance selected so an elevation angle to the target can be determined.

2. The MIMO antenna in accordance with claim 1, wherein the second transmit antenna is horizontally offset from the first transmit antenna.

3. The MIMO antenna in accordance with claim 2, wherein the vertical offset distance is such that the second transmit antenna intersects a horizontal line that intersects the first transmit antenna.

4. The MIMO antenna in accordance with claim 1, wherein the receive antenna comprises one or more vertical arrays of detector elements, wherein the first transmit antenna and the receive antenna cooperate to establish a first group of phase-centers, and the second transmit antenna and the receive antenna cooperate to establish a second group of phase-centers vertically offset from the first group of phase-centers.

5. The MIMO antenna in accordance with claim 4, wherein the second transmit antenna is horizontally offset from the first transmit antenna, whereby the first group of phase-centers are horizontally offset from the second group of phase-centers.

6. The MIMO antenna in accordance with claim 5, wherein the second transmit antenna is horizontally offset from the first transmit antenna by a horizontal offset distance selected so the second group of phase-centers does not intersect any vertical line that intersects the first group of phase-centers.

7. The MIMO antenna in accordance with claim 5, wherein the second transmit antenna is horizontally offset from the first transmit antenna by a horizontal offset distance selected so the second group of phase-centers intersects a vertical line that intersects the first group of phase-centers.

8. The MIMO antenna in accordance with claim 7, wherein the horizontal offset distance is selected so the first group of phase-centers is interleaved with the second group of phase-centers.