Directional speed and distance sensor
First Claim
1. A directional sensor for the purposes of detecting a presence of a vehicle or of an object within a zone of interest on a roadway or in a parking space, comprising:
- a transmitter for transmitting a low power microwave transmit pulse such that the effective pulse width is less than 10 ns;
a directional antenna system to enable the transmit pulse to be radiated towards a detection area;
an adjustable receive window to receive reflected, scattered, and bounced signals of transmit pulses, the adjustable receive window being adjustable in relation to the transmit pulse;
an integrator that performs one or more of integrating and combining signals from multiple received pulses to increase a signal to noise ratio;
a digitizer that digitizes the integrated or combined signal from the integrator using an analog to digital conversion process;
a module for comparing the digitized signal to at least one of preset and dynamically computed threshold values to determine the presence or absence of an object in the field of view of the sensor; and
at least one pulse generator capable of generating at least one pulse with rise and fall times of less than 3 ns each or less than 10 ns in duration for controlling the transmit pulses and receive windows.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method of using a directional sensor for the purposes of detecting the presence of a vehicle or an object within a zone of interest on a roadway or in a parking space. The method comprises the following steps: transmitting a microwave transmit pulse of less than 5 feet; radiating the transmitted pulse by a directional antenna system; receiving received pulses by an adjustable receive window; integrating or combining signals from multiple received pulses; amplifying and filtering the integrated receive signal; digitizing the combined signal; comparing the digitized signal to at least one preset or dynamically computed threshold values to determine the presence or absence of an object in the field of view of the sensor; and providing at least one pulse generator with rise and fall times of less than 3 ns each and capable of generating pulses less than 10 ns in duration.
173 Citations
18 Claims
-
1. A directional sensor for the purposes of detecting a presence of a vehicle or of an object within a zone of interest on a roadway or in a parking space, comprising:
-
a transmitter for transmitting a low power microwave transmit pulse such that the effective pulse width is less than 10 ns; a directional antenna system to enable the transmit pulse to be radiated towards a detection area; an adjustable receive window to receive reflected, scattered, and bounced signals of transmit pulses, the adjustable receive window being adjustable in relation to the transmit pulse; an integrator that performs one or more of integrating and combining signals from multiple received pulses to increase a signal to noise ratio; a digitizer that digitizes the integrated or combined signal from the integrator using an analog to digital conversion process; a module for comparing the digitized signal to at least one of preset and dynamically computed threshold values to determine the presence or absence of an object in the field of view of the sensor; and at least one pulse generator capable of generating at least one pulse with rise and fall times of less than 3 ns each or less than 10 ns in duration for controlling the transmit pulses and receive windows. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A directional sensor for the purposes of detecting a presence of a vehicle or of an object within a zone of interest on a roadway or in a parking space, comprising:
-
a transmitter for transmitting a low power microwave transmit pulse such that the effective pulse width is less than 10 ns; a directional antenna system to enable the transmit pulse to be radiated towards a detection area; a receive window to receive reflected, scattered, and bounced signals of transmit pulses, the receive window being fixed in relation to the transmit pulse; an integrator that performs one or more of integrating and combining signals from multiple received pulses to increase a signal to noise ratio; a digitizer that digitizes the integrated or combined signal from the integrator using an analog to digital conversion process; a module for comparing the digitized signal to at least one of preset and dynamically computed threshold values to determine the presence or absence of an object in the field of view of the sensor; and at least one pulse generator capable of generating at least one pulse with rise and fall times of less than 3 ns each or less than 10 ns in duration for controlling the transmit pulses and receive windows. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
Specification