ANTENNA, SENSOR, AND VEHICLE MOUNTED SYSTEM

• US 20190310345A1
• Filed: 08/03/2017
• Published: 10/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Astemo Ltd. (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Systems Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: NAGAISHI, Hideyuki, KURIYAMA, Akira, KITAYAMA, Akira, KURODA, Hiroshi
• Granted Patent: US 11,199,608 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/50 Systems of measurement based on relative movement of target
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/93 for anti-collision purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9328 Rail 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 7/034 Duplexers switching devices for waveguides H01P1/10; transmit-receive switching in transceivers H04B1/44
• 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: H01Q 1/3233 particular used as part of a sensor or in a security system, e.g. for automotive radar, navigation systems
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/02 Waveguide horns
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 19/06 using refracting or diffracting devices, e.g. lens radome H01Q1/42
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 19/08 for modifying the radiation pattern of a radiating horn in which it is located corrugated horns H01Q13/0208; producing a circular polarisation H01Q13/0241
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/06 Arrays of individually energised antenna units similarly polarised and spaced apart
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/064 using horn or slot aerials slotted waveguides arrays H01Q21/005

Abstract

The present invention is an antenna provided with: a plurality of radiating parts formed on a base plate; a waveguide tube inside of which radio waves emitted from the radiating parts propagate; a lens having a plurality of curved surfaces having a substantially hyperbolic shape and disposed in an opening of the waveguide tube; and a protruding part formed in a tapered shape between the plurality of radiating parts. The tip of the protruding part is formed at a position lower than an opening surface.

Claims

1. An antenna comprising:

a plurality of radiating parts formed on a base plate;

a waveguide tube inside of which radio waves emitted from the radiating parts propagate;

a lens having a plurality of curved surfaces having a substantially hyperbolic shape and disposed in an opening of the waveguide tube; and

a protruding part formed in a tapered shape between the plurality of radiating parts, wherein

the tip of the protruding part is formed at a position lower than the opening surface.

2. The antenna according to claim 1, wherein

the protruding part is formed in a tapered shape in at least one of a linear shape, a curved shape, a hyperbolic shape, and an ellipsoidal sphere shape,

a cross section of the waveguide tube monotonically expands from the radiating parts to the opening, and

the waveguide tube is in contact with the lens at the opening opposite to the radiating part.

3. The antenna according to claim 1, wherein

with a wavelength of the radio wave emitted from the radiating part as λ

, the tip of the protruding part is formed at a position lower than the opening surface by 3 λ

/4 to 5 λ

/4.

4. The antenna according to claim 1, wherein

the opening of the waveguide tube and the lens are formed in a shape in which beams narrower in a second direction than in a first direction, the second direction and the first direction being orthogonal to each other, in a cross section perpendicular to the radiation direction of the beam, and

lens curved surfaces are arranged side by side in the second direction such that the plurality of beams emitted from the lens are synthesized.

5. The antenna according to claim 1, wherein

the opening of the waveguide tube and the lens are formed in a shape longer in a second direction than in a first direction, the first direction and the second direction being orthogonal to each other, in a cross section perpendicular to the radiation direction of the beam, and

the waveguide tube and the lens are disposed such that the first direction is a horizontal direction and the second direction is a vertical direction.

6. The antenna according to claim 5, wherein

the shape of the opening of the waveguide tube includes at least one linear side.

7. The antenna according to claim 5, further comprising:

a reference potential part that is formed around the radiating part on the base plate, the reference potential part being a reference potential of the radiating part, wherein

the reference potential part is electrically connected to the waveguide tube.

8. The antenna according to claim 1, wherein

the lens has curved surfaces of a hyperbolic curve in both of a first direction and a second direction which are orthogonal to each other, in a cross section perpendicular to the radiation direction of the beam.

9. The antenna according to claim 1, wherein

the lens has a curved surface of a rotating hyperbolic curve.

10. The antenna according to claim 1, wherein

one surface or both surfaces of the lens have a shape obtained by combining any one of a hyperbolic curve, a rotating hyperbolic curve and a curved surface of a cylindrical shape.

11. The antenna according to claim 1, wherein

the plurality of radiating parts are disposed side by side in the vertical and horizontal directions.

12. The antenna according to claim 1, wherein

in an opening of the waveguide tube, a first direction defining a short side and a second direction defining a long side are determined, the first direction and the second direction being perpendicular to the radiation direction of the beam, and being orthogonal to each other, and

the lens is disposed such that the optical axis of the lens is inclined in the second direction through the radiating part.

13. A sensor including the antenna according to claim 1, comprising:

at least one of a transmission circuit and a reception circuit, wherein

each of the transmission circuit and the reception circuit is connected to the radiating part.

14. The sensor according to claim 13, further comprising:

a signal processing unit connected to the transmission circuit and the reception circuit.

15. A vehicle mounted system including the sensor according to claim 14, comprising:

a vehicle control unit connected to the signal processing unit.