Radar device

• US 8,760,341 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2011
• Issued: 06/24/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Nakagawa, Kado
• Primary Examiner(s): Barker, Matthew M
• Application Number:
  US13/077,384
• Publication Number:
  US 20120092209A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,181 Days
• Field of Search: 342/109, 342/128
• US Class Current: 342/109
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/345 using triangular modulation
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/584 adapted for simultaneous range and velocity measurements
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/356 involving particularities of FFT processing

Abstract

Provided is a radar device capable of preventing mispairing from occurring, and obtaining a distance to a target and a relative velocity to the target even if at least one of the peak frequencies of beat signals cannot be extracted and pairs of the peak frequencies cannot be generated. A target estimation part (20) estimates a distance (RN) to a target (21, 22) and a relative velocity (VN) to the target (21, 22) based on a distance (RO) to the target (21, 22) and a relative velocity (VO) to the target (21, 22), which have been decided by a target decision part (13) in a previous cycle, when at least one of the peak frequencies of the beat signal cannot be extracted and the pair of the peak frequencies cannot be generated.

Claims

1. A radar device, comprising:

a transmission part that radiates a transmission signal having four modulation sections as a transmission wave;

a reception part that receives a reflected wave resulting from reflecting the transmission wave by a target as a reception signal;

a mixing part that mixes the transmission signal and the reception signal together to generate a beat signal; and

a target detection part that calculates a distance to the target and a relative velocity to the target based on the beat signal,

wherein the target detection part comprises;

a peak frequency extraction part configured to extract peak frequencies in the respective four modulation sections from the beat signal that has been analyzed in frequency;

a first pair distance/relative velocity calculation part configured to pair the peak frequencies in two modulation sections of the four modulation sections among the peak frequencies extracted by the peak frequency extraction part to generate a first pair, and calculate the distance and the relative velocity of the first pair;

a second pair distance/relative velocity calculation part configured to pair the peak frequencies in another two modulation sections different from the two modulation sections among the peak frequencies extracted by the peak frequency extraction part to generate a second pair, and calculate the distance and the relative velocity of the second pair;

a target decision part configured to decide the distance to the target and the relative velocity to the target when the distance and the relative velocity of the first pair are equal to the distance and the relative velocity of the second pair, respectively; and

a target estimation part configured to estimate a distance to the target and a relative velocity to the target based on a distance to the target and a relative velocity to the target, which have been decided by the target decision part in a previous cycle, when at least one of the peak frequencies of the beat signal cannot be extracted and the pair of the peak frequencies cannot be generated.

2. A radar device according to claim 1, wherein the target estimation part comprises:

a current target distance/relative velocity estimation part configured to estimate a current distance and a current relative velocity by using a linear predictive method based on the distance to the target and the relative velocity to the target, which have been decided by the target decision part in the previous cycle, respectively;

a first pair peak frequency estimation part configured to estimate two peak frequencies of the first pair based on the current distance and the current relative velocity, which have been estimated by the current target distance/relative velocity estimation part;

a second pair peak frequency estimation part configured to estimate two peak frequencies of the second pair based on the current distance and the current relative velocity, which have been estimated by the current target distance/relative velocity estimation part;

a first pair peak check part configured to check whether or not the two peak frequencies of the first pair, which have been estimated by the first pair peak frequency estimation part, are extracted as the peak frequencies by the peak frequency extraction part;

a second pair peak check part configured to check whether or not the two peak frequencies of the second pair, which have been estimated by the second pair peak frequency estimation part, are extracted as the peak frequencies by the peak frequency extraction part; and

a target distance/relative velocity calculation part configured to calculate the distance to the target and the relative velocity to the target when check results of the first pair peak check part and the second pair peak check part show that the at least one of the peak frequencies of the beat signal cannot be extracted and the pair of the peak frequencies cannot be generated.

3. A radar device according to claim 2, wherein the target distance/relative velocity calculation part calculates the distance to the target and the relative velocity to the target based on the two peak frequencies of the first pair, when the two peak frequencies of the first pair, which have been estimated by the first pair peak frequency estimation part, are extracted as the peak frequencies by the peak frequency extraction part, and when one of the peak frequencies of the second pair, which have been estimated by the second pair peak frequency estimation part, is extracted as the peak frequency by the peak frequency extraction part, and another of the peak frequencies of the second pair is not extracted as the peak frequency.

4. A radar device according to claim 2, wherein the target distance/relative velocity calculation part calculates the distance to the target and the relative velocity to the target based on the two peak frequencies of the second pair, when the two peak frequencies of the second pair, which have been estimated by the second pair peak frequency estimation part, are extracted as the peak frequencies by the peak frequency extraction part, and when one of the peak frequencies of the first pair, which have been estimated by the first pair peak frequency estimation part, is extracted as the peak frequency by the peak frequency extraction part, and another of the peak frequencies of the first pair is not extracted as the peak frequency.

5. A radar device according to claim 2, wherein the target distance/relative velocity calculation part calculates the distance to the target and the relative velocity to the target based on the two peak frequencies of the first pair, when the two peak frequencies of the first pair, which have been estimated by the first pair peak frequency estimation part, are extracted as the peak frequencies by the peak frequency extraction part, and when neither of the two peak frequencies of the second pair, which have been estimated by the second pair peak frequency estimation part, is extracted as the peak frequency.

6. A radar device according to claim 2, wherein the target distance/relative velocity calculation part calculates the distance to the target and the relative velocity to the target based on the two peak frequencies of the second pair, when the two peak frequencies of the second pair, which have been estimated by the second pair peak frequency estimation part, are extracted as the peak frequencies by the peak frequency extraction part, and when neither of the two peak frequencies of the first pair, which have been estimated by the first pair peak frequency estimation part, is extracted as the peak frequency.

7. A radar device according to claim 2, wherein, when one of the peak frequencies of the first pair, which have been estimated by the first pair peak frequency estimation part, is extracted as the peak frequency by the peak frequency extraction part, and another of the peak frequencies of the first pair is not extracted as the peak frequency, and when one of the peak frequencies of the second pair, which have been estimated by the second pair peak frequency estimation part, is extracted as the peak frequency by the peak frequency extraction part, and another of the peak frequencies of the second pair is not extracted as the peak frequency, the target distance/relative velocity calculation part calculates the distance to the target and the relative velocity to the target based on the extracted one of the peak frequencies of the first pair and the extracted one of the peak frequencies of the second pair.

8. A radar device according to claim 2, wherein, when a difference between the peak frequency estimated by one of the first pair peak frequency estimation part and the second pair peak frequency estimation part, and the peak frequency extracted by the peak frequency extraction part falls within a given range, the first pair peak check part and the second pair peak check part determine that the extracted peak frequency is extracted as a peak frequency.

9. A radar device according to claim 8, wherein the given range is approximately 0.