FM-CW radar apparatus for measuring relative speed of and distance to an object

• US 5,731,778 A
• Filed: 12/02/1996
• Issued: 03/24/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Fujita, Akihisa, Mizuno, Hiroshi, Hazumi, Hiroshi, Nakatani, Hiroto, Naganawa, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Sotomayor, John B.
• Application Number:
  US08/759,129
• Time in Patent Office: 477 Days
• Field of Search: 342/70, 342/71, 342/72, 342/106, 342/109, 342/111, 342/115, 342/114, 342/196
• US Class Current: 342/70
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/34 using transmission of continuous, frequency-modulated waves while heterodyning the received signal, or a signal derived therefrom, with a locally-generated signal related to the contemporaneously transmitted signal
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/343 using sawtooth modulation
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/345 using triangular modulation
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/58 Velocity or trajectory determination systems; Sense-of-movement determination systems
• 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 2013/9325 for inter-vehicle distance regulation, e.g. navigating in platoons
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93271 in the front of the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/282 Transmitters
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/352 Receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/354 Extracting wanted echo-signals Doppler systems G01S13/50
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/356 involving particularities of FFT processing

Abstract

An FM-CW radar which is suitable for automotive anti-collision systems, for example, is provided. This radar outputs a radar signal in the form of a triangular wave whose frequency is increased at a given rate and decreased at a given rate. A receiver receives a wave reflected from a target to produce a beat signal and takes the Fourier transform of the beat signal to determine peak frequency components thereof showing peaks in a frequency spectrum. The receiver also determines phases of the peak frequency components and selects at least one from the peak frequency components in a frequency-rising range wherein the frequency of the radar signal is increased and at least one from the peak frequency components in a frequency-falling range wherein the frequency of the radar signal is decreased which show substantially the same phase to pair them for determining the distance to and relative speed of the target based on the frequency of the paired peak frequency components.

Claims

1. An FM-CW radar system comprising:

radar wave transmitting means for transmitting a radar wave having a frequency increased at a given rate and decreased at a given rate;

radar wave receiving means for receiving a radar wave reflected from an object present in a radar detection range to mix the radar wave transmitted from said radar wave transmitting means with the radar wave received by said radar wave receiving means to produce a beat signal;

first means for taking the Fourier transform of the beat signal in a frequency-rising range wherein the frequency of the radar wave transmitted from said radar wave transmitting means is increased and a frequency-falling range wherein the frequency of the radar wave transmitted from said radar wave transmitting means is decreased to derive frequency components, said first means selecting peak frequency components showing peaks in a frequency spectrum of the derived frequency components in the frequency-rising range and the frequency-falling range, respectively;

second means for determining phases of the peak frequency components selected by said first means;

third means for comparing the phases of the peak frequency components in the frequency-rising range with the phases of the peak frequency components in the frequency-falling rage to pair at least one of the frequency components in the frequency-rising range with at least one of the frequency components in the frequency-falling range which show a preselected relation between the phases thereof as being derived based on the radar wave reflected from the same object; and

fourth means for determining a distance to and a relative speed of the object based on frequencies of said peak frequency components paired by said third means.

2. An FM-CW radar system comprising:

radar wave transmitting means for transmitting a radar wave having a frequency increased at a given rate and decreased at a given rate;

first radar wave receiving means for receiving a radar wave reflected from an object present in a radar detection range to mix the radar wave transmitted from said radar wave transmitting means with the radar wave received by said first radar wave receiving means to produce a first beat signal;

second radar wave receiving means for receiving a radar wave reflected from an object present in the radar detection range to mix the radar wave transmitted from said radar wave transmitting means with the radar wave received by said second radar wave receiving means to produce a second beat signal;

first means for taking the Fourier transform of the first and second beat signals in a frequency-rising range wherein the frequency of the radar wave transmitted from said radar wave transmitting means is increased and a frequency-falling range wherein the frequency of the radar wave transmitted from said radar wave transmitting mesas is decreased to derive frequency components of the first and second beat signals, said first means selecting peak frequency components showing peaks in frequency spectra of the derived frequency components of the first and second beat signals in the frequency-rising range and the frequency-falling range, respectively;

second mesas for determining first complex vectors of the peak frequency components of the first beat signal derived by said first means;

third mesas for determining second complex vectors of the peak frequency components of the second beat signal derived by said first means;

fourth means for determining correlations between the first and second complex vectors of the peak frequency components determined by said second and third mesas in each of the frequency-rising range and the frequency-falling rage, showing substantially the same frequency;

fifth means for comparing the correlations between the first and second complex vectors of the peak frequency components in the frequency-rising range with the correlations between the complex vectors of the peak frequency components in the frequency-falling range to determine at least one pair of the peak frequency components showing substantially the same correlation;

sixth means for determining a distance to and relative speed of the object based on a frequency of the pair of the peak frequency components determined by said fifth means.

3. An FM-CW radar system as set forth in claim 2, wherein said second means determines first phases of the peak frequency components of the first beat signal based on the first complex vectors, said third means determining second phases of the peak frequency components of the second beat signal based on the second complex vectors, and said fourth means determines differences between the first and second phases, respectively, as the correlations.

4. An FM-CW radar system as set forth in claim 2, wherein said second means determines first amplitudes of the peak frequency components of the first beat signal based on the first complex vectors, said third means determining second amplitudes of the peak frequency components of the second beat signal based on the second complex vectors, and fourth means determines the correlations between the first and second amplitudes, respectively.

5. An FM-CW radar system as set forth in claim 4, wherein the correlations between the first and second amplitudes are differences between the first and second amplitudes.

6. An FM-CW radar system as set forth in claim 2, wherein said fourth means determines first differences between the first complex vectors of the peak frequency components and the second complex vectors of the peak frequency components in the frequency-rising range and second differences between the first complex vectors of the peak frequency components and the second complex vectors of the peak frequency components in the frequency-falling range, and wherein said fifth means compares the first differences with the second differences to determine at least one pair of the peak frequency components showing the first difference and the second difference equal to each other.

7. An FM-CW radar system as set forth in claim 6, wherein said fifth means compares absolute values of the first differences with absolute values of the second differences to determine the at least one pair of the peak frequency components showing the absolute value of the first difference and the absolute value of the second difference equal to each other.

8. An FM-CW radar system as set forth in claim 6, wherein the first differences are differences in bearing angle of the first complex vectors and the second complex vectors of the peak frequency components in the frequency-rising range and the second differences are differences in bearing angle of the first complex vectors and the second complex vectors of the peak frequency components in the frequency-falling range.