RECEPTION DEVICE AND RECEPTION METHOD

• US 20160011306A1
• Filed: 11/27/2013
• Published: 01/14/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: ASAHINA, Tsutomu, SHIMBO, Daisuke, MURATA, Satoshi
• Granted Patent: US 9,383,437 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 11/06 using intensity measurements
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 3/3052 in bandpass amplifiers (H.F. or I.F.) or in frequency-changers used in a (super)heterodyne receiver H03G3/32, H03G3/34 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/12 Neutralising, balancing, or compensation arrangements

Abstract

A reception device (100) includes: AGC circuits (103) to generate electric power information individually indicating signal strengths of respective received signals generated from a respective plurality of radio waves received at a plurality of places; stationary-state detection circuits (105) to calculate individually the amounts of time domain fluctuation in the respective signal strengths indicated by the electric power information generated by the AGC circuits (103), and to detect individually, on the basis of the respective calculated amounts of fluctuation, whether the reception device (100) is stationary or not; and a self-stationary determination circuit (106) to determine, on the basis of a plurality of detection results from the stationary-state detection circuits (105), whether the reception device (100) is stationary or not.

Claims

1. A reception device for receiving radio waves, comprising:

an automatic gain control unit to generate electric power information individually indicating signal strengths of respective received signals generated from each of radio waves received at a plurality of antennas installed at a plurality of different places on a vehicle;

a stationary-state detection unit to calculate individually amounts of time domain fluctuation in the respective signal strengths indicated by the electric power information generated by the automatic gain control unit, and to detect individually, on the basis of the calculated amounts of fluctuation, whether the reception device is stationary or not; and

a self-stationary determination unit to determine, on the basis of a plurality of detection results from the stationary-state detection unit, whether the reception device is stationary or not.

2. The reception device of claim 1, wherein the self-stationary determination unit determines that the reception device is stationary if at least a predetermined number of detection results, among the plurality of detection results from the stationary-state detection unit, indicate that the reception device is stationary.

3. The reception device of claim 2, wherein the predetermined number is ‘

1’

.

4. The reception device of claim 2, wherein the predetermined number is a majority of the plurality of detection results of stationary-state detection performed by the stationary-state detection unit.

5. The reception device of claim 1, wherein the automatic gain control unit also individually adjusts electric power of the respective received signals generated from each of the radio waves received at the plurality of antennas,

the reception device further comprising:

a transmission path estimation unit to estimate individually delay profiles from the respective received signals adjusted by the automatic gain control unit; and

a delay profile discontinuity detection unit to detect individually whether each of the delay profiles estimated by the transmission path estimation unit is discontinuous or not;

wherein if the delay profile discontinuity detection unit detects that at least one of the delay profiles estimated by the transmission path estimation unit is discontinuous, the stationary-state detection unit does not detect whether the reception device is stationary or not, on the basis of electric power information corresponding to a radio wave received at a place where the delay profile is detected to be discontinuous, among the plurality of places.

6. The reception device of claim 1, wherein the automatic gain control unit also individually adjusts electric power of the respective received signals generated from each of the radio waves received at the plurality of antennas,

the reception device further comprising:

a transmission path estimation unit to estimate individually delay profiles from the respective received signals adjusted by the automatic gain control unit;

a delay profile discontinuity detection unit to detect individually whether each of the delay profiles estimated by the transmission path estimation unit is discontinuous or not; and

a delay profile shape monitoring unit to detect individually reflected waves caused by a fixed object, from a shape of each of the delay profiles estimated by the transmission path estimation unit, and to detect individually whether the reception device is stationary or not, on the basis of fluctuations in the respective detected reflected waves;

wherein the self-stationary determination unit determines whether the reception device is stationary or not, on the basis of the plurality of detection results from the stationary-state detection unit and detection results from the delay profile shape monitoring unit.

7. The reception device of claim 1, further comprising:

the plurality of antennas; and

a reception unit to generate individually received signals from each of the radio waves received at the plurality of antennas;

wherein at least any one of the automatic gain control unit, the stationary-state detection unit, and the reception unit is constituted by multiple units.

8. A reception method comprising:

a signal strength detection step to generate electric power information individually indicating signal strengths of respective received signals generated from each of radio waves received at a plurality of places antennas installed at a plurality of different places on a vehicle;

a stationary-state detection step to calculate individually amounts of time domain fluctuation in the respective signal strengths indicated by the electric power information generated in the signal strength detection step, and to detect individually, on the basis of each of the calculated amounts of fluctuation, whether a stationary-state is detected or not; and

a self-stationary determination step to determine, on the basis of a plurality of detection results from the stationary-state detection step, whether the stationary-state is detected or not.

9. The reception method of claim 8, wherein the self-stationary determination step determines that the stationary-state is detected, if at least a predetermined number of detection results, among a plurality of detection results of stationary-state detection performed in the stationary-state detection step, indicate that the stationary-state is detected.

10. The reception method of claim 9, wherein the predetermined number is ‘

1’

.

11. The reception method of claim 9, wherein the predetermined number is a majority of the plurality of detection results of the stationary-state detection performed in the stationary-state detection step.

12. The reception method of claim 8, further comprising:

an automatic gain control step to adjust individually electric power of the respective received signals generated from each of the radio waves received at the plurality of antennas;

a transmission path estimation step to estimate individually delay profiles from the respective received signals adjusted in the automatic gain control step; and

a delay profile discontinuity detection step to detect individually whether each of the delay profiles estimated in the transmission path estimation step is discontinuous or not;

wherein if the delay profile discontinuity detection step detects that at least one of the delay profiles estimated in the transmission path estimation step is discontinuous, the stationary-state detection step does not detect whether the stationary-state is detected or not, on the basis of electric power information corresponding to a radio wave received at a place where the delay profile is detected to be discontinuous, among the plurality of places.

13. The reception method of claim 8, further comprising:

an automatic gain control step to adjust individually electric power of the respective received signals generated from each of the radio waves received at the plurality of antennas;

a transmission path estimation step to estimate individually delay profiles from the respective received signals adjusted in the automatic gain control step;

a delay profile discontinuity detection step to detect individually whether each of the delay profiles estimated in the transmission path estimation step is discontinuous or not; and

a delay profile shape monitoring step to detect individually reflected waves caused by a fixed object from a shape of each of the delay profiles estimated in the transmission path estimation step, and to detect individually whether the stationary-state is detected or not, on the basis of fluctuations in the respective detected reflected waves;

wherein the self-stationary step performs determination of whether the stationary-state is detected or not, on the basis of the plurality of detection results from the stationary-state detection step and detection results from the delay profile shape monitoring step.

14. The reception method of claim 8, further comprising a reception step to receive each radio waves at the respective plurality of antennas, and to generate individually received signals from each of the radio waves.