Multi-mode multi-input multi-output (MIMO) radar sensors

• US 11,360,210 B2
• Filed: 07/02/2019
• Issued: 06/14/2022
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2019
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Amadjikpe, Arnaud L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gregory, Bernarr E
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pervin, Nuzhat
• Application Number:
  US16/460,686
• Publication Number:
  US 20190324136A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,078 Days
• Field of Search: 342 70
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/42 Simultaneous measurement of distance and other co-ordinates indirect measurement G01S13/46
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/70 for range tracking only
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/84 for distance determination by phase measurement
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/0254 Active array antenna
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0434 using multiple eigenmodes

Abstract

Multi-mode multi-input multi-output (MIMO) radar sensors are described herein. An example MIMO radar sensor includes a receiver module including an array of receiver antenna elements to receive radar signals and a transmitter module including an array of transmitter antenna elements. Groups of the transmitter antenna elements form transmitter chains. The example MIMO radar sensor further includes a control system to, in a first mode, activate a first set of the transmitter antenna elements of each of the transmitter chains, and, in a second mode, activate a second set of the transmitter antenna elements of each of the transmitter chains, where the second set is larger than the first set. The transmitter antenna elements are arranged such that distances between phase centers of the transmitter chains in the first mode and the second mode are the same.

Claims

1. A multi-input multi-output (MIMO) radar sensor comprising:

a receiver module including an array of receiver antenna elements to receive radar signals;

a transmitter module including;

a first transmitter chain including a first transmitter antenna element and a second transmitter antenna element; and

a second transmitter chain including a third transmitter antenna element and a fourth transmitter antenna element, the receiver antenna elements and the transmitter antenna elements spaced to produce a predetermined horizontal pitch and a predetermined vertical pitch in a virtual array; and

processor circuitry to;

in a first mode;

activate the first transmitter antenna element while the second transmitter antenna element is deactivated, the first transmitter antenna element activated by driving the first transmitter antenna element with a first signal; and

activate the third transmitter antenna element while the fourth transmitter antenna element is deactivated, the third transmitter antenna element activated by driving the third transmitter antenna element with a second signal that is orthogonal to the first signal; and

in a second mode;

activate both the first and second transmitter antenna elements of the first transmitter chain by driving the first and second transmitter antenna elements with the first signal; and

activate both the third and fourth transmitter antenna elements of the second transmitter chain by driving the third and fourth transmitter antenna elements with the second signal, the transmitter antenna elements arranged such that distances between phase centers of the first and second transmitter chains in the first mode and the second mode are the same.

2. The MIMO radar sensor of claim 1, wherein the first transmitter chain and the second transmitter chain arranged in a horizontal row, and wherein, in the first mode and the second mode, a phase center of the first transmitter chain is horizontally spaced from a phase center of the second transmitter chain by four times the horizontal pitch.

3. The MIMO radar sensor of claim 2, wherein the transmitter module includes a third transmitter chain disposed vertically below the first transmitter chain, and wherein, in the first mode and the second mode, the phase center of the first transmitter chain is vertically spaced from a phase center of the third transmitter chain by the vertical pitch.

4. The MIMO radar sensor of claim 3, wherein the transmitter module includes a fourth transmitter chain arranged in a horizontal row with the third transmitter chain and disposed vertically below the second transmitter chain, and wherein, in the first mode and the second mode, the phase center of the third transmitter chain is horizontally spaced from a phase center of the fourth transmitter chain by four times the horizontal pitch, and the phase center of the second transmitter chain is vertically spaced from the phase center of the fourth transmitter chain by the vertical pitch.

5. The MIMO radar sensor of claim 4, wherein the first, second, third, and fourth transmitter chains are arranged in a 2×

2 grid.

6. The MIMO radar sensor of claim 5, wherein the first, second, third, and fourth transmitter chains form a first transmitter subarray, the transmitter module further including a plurality of additional transmitter subarrays.

7. The MIMO radar sensor of claim 1, further including first, second, third, and fourth power amplifiers associated with the respective ones of the transmitter antenna elements.

8. The MIMO radar sensor of claim 7, wherein the processor circuitry is to activate the transmitter antenna elements by controlling a voltage to the respective ones of the power amplifiers.

9. The MIMO radar sensor of claim 1, wherein the processor circuitry is to alternate between activating the transmitter antenna elements in the first mode and the second mode.

10. The MIMO radar sensor of claim 1, wherein the receiver module is separate from the transmitter module.

11. The MIMO radar sensor of claim 1, wherein each of the transmitter chains includes four transmitter antenna elements arranged in a row.

12. The MIMO radar sensor of claim 11, wherein the transmitter antenna elements of each of the transmitter chains is-separated from an adjacent transmitter antenna element by the horizontal pitch.

13. The MIMO radar sensor of claim 12, wherein each of the transmitter antenna elements is a low gain antenna.

14. The MIMO radar sensor of claim 1, wherein the first and second transmitter antenna elements of the first transmitter chain are arranged in a first row and the third and fourth transmitter antenna elements of the second transmitter chain are arranged in a second row below the first row, and wherein the first and second transmitter antenna elements in the first row are horizontally offset from the third and fourth transmitter antenna elements in the second row.

15. The MIMO radar sensor of claim 14, wherein the transmitter antenna elements of each of the transmitter chains is separated from an adjacent transmitter antenna element by two times the horizontal pitch.

16. The MIMO radar sensor of claim 15, wherein each of the transmitter antenna elements is a high gain antenna.

25. The MIMO radar sensor of claim 1, wherein the first and third transmitter antenna elements are in a same relative position in the respective first and second transmitter chains, and the second and fourth transmitter antenna elements are in a same relative position in the respective first and second transmitter chains.

17. At least one non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause at least one processor to at least:

alternate between activating first and second transmitter chains of a transmitter module in a first mode for a first period of time and activating the first and second transmitter chains in a second mode for a second period of time, the first transmitter chain including a first transmitter antenna element and a second transmitter antenna element, the second transmitter chain including a third transmitter antenna element and a fourth transmitter antenna element, the first and second transmitter chains to be driven by signals that are orthogonal to each other, the first and second transmitter chains activated in the first mode by activating the first and third transmitter antenna elements while the second and fourth transmitter antenna elements are deactivated, the first and second transmitter chains activated in the second mode by activating the first, second, third, and fourth transmitter antenna elements the transmitter antenna elements of the first set and being larger than the first set, the transmitter antenna elements arranged such that distances between phase centers of the first and second transmitter chains in the first mode and the second mode are the same.

18. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the at least one processor to activate the transmitter antenna elements by controlling voltage to a plurality of power amplifiers associated with respective ones of the transmitter antenna elements.

19. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the first period of time and the second period of time are a same duration of time.

20. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein, between the first period of time and the second period of time, the instructions, when executed, cause the at least one processor to process echoed radar signals received by receiver antenna elements of a receiver module.

21. A method comprising:

alternating, by executing an instruction with at least one processor, between activating first and second transmitter chains of a transmitter module in a first mode for a first period of time and activating the first and second transmitter chains in a second mode for a second period of time, the first transmitter chain including a first transmitter antenna element and a second transmitter antenna element, the second transmitter chain including a third transmitter antenna element and a fourth transmitter antenna element, the first and second transmitter chains to be driven by signals that are orthogonal to each other, the first and second transmitter chains activated in the first mode by activating the first and third transmitter antenna elements while the second and fourth transmitter antenna elements are deactivated, the first and second transmitter chains activated in the second mode by activating the first, second, third, and fourth transmitter antenna elements the transmitter antenna elements arranged such that distances between phase centers of the first and second transmitter chains in the first mode and the second mode are the same.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the activating of the transmitter chains includes controlling voltage to power amplifiers associated with respective ones of the transmitter antenna elements.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the first period of time and the second period of time are a same length of time.

24. The method of claim 21, further including, between activating the first and second transmitter chains in the first mode and the second mode, processing echoed radar signals received by receiver antenna elements of a receiver module.

26. An apparatus comprising:

at least one memory;

instructions in the apparatus; and

processor circuitry to execute the instructions to;

alternate between activating first and second transmitter chains of a transmitter module in a first mode for a first period of time and activating the first and second transmitter chains in a second mode for a second period of time, the first transmitter chain including a first transmitter antenna element and a second transmitter antenna element, the second transmitter chain including a third transmitter antenna element and a fourth transmitter antenna element, the first and second transmitter chains to be driven by signals that are orthogonal to each other, the first and second transmitter chains activated in the first mode by activating the first and third transmitter antenna elements while the second and fourth transmitter antenna elements are deactivated, the first and second transmitter chains activated in the second mode by activating the first, second, third, and fourth transmitter antenna elements the transmitter antenna elements arranged such that distances between phase centers of the first and second transmitter chains in the first mode and the second mode are the same.