METHODS AND APPARATUS UTILIZING DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING OF ULTRA WIDE BAND RADAR SIGNALS FOR LIVING OBJECT DETECTION IN WIRELESS POWER TRANSFER APPLICATIONS

• US 20160341821A1
• Filed: 11/06/2015
• Published: 11/24/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: WiTricity Corporation
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Wang, Qi
• Granted Patent: US 10,627,499 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/124 Detection or removal of foreign bodies
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/126 Methods for pairing a vehicle and a charging station, e.g. establishing a one-to-one relation between a wireless power transmitter and a wireless power receiver
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/38 specially adapted for charging by inductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/66 Data transfer between charging stations and vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/003 Bistatic radar systems; Multistatic radar systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/0209 Systems with very large relative bandwidth, i.e. larger than 10 %, e.g. baseband, pulse, carrier-free, ultrawideband
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/582 adapted for simultaneous range and velocity measurements
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/87 Combinations of radar systems, e.g. primary radar and secondary radar
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/88 Radar or analogous systems specially adapted for specific applications electromagnetic prospecting or detecting of objects, e.g. near-field detection, G01V3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/027 Constructional details of housings, e.g. form, type, material or ruggedness
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/285 Receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/2886 using I/Q processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles

Abstract

An apparatus for detecting an object in a detection area of a wireless power transfer system is provided. The apparatus comprises a receiver configured to receive a plurality of radar signals from a radar transceiver. The apparatus comprises a processor configured to convert the plurality of radar signals to a plurality of digital radar signals. The processor is configured to bandpass filter the plurality of digital radar signals. The processor is configured to remove frequency content below a first threshold frequency common to at least two consecutive digital radar signals of the plurality of digital radar signals. The processor is configured to down-convert the plurality of digital radar signals into a plurality of complex digital baseband signals. The processor is configured to detect a range, a speed, and a direction of the object in the detection area based at least in part on the plurality of complex digital baseband signals.

Claims

1. An apparatus for detecting an object in a detection area of a wireless power transfer system, the apparatus comprising:

a receiver configured to receive a plurality of radar signals from a radar transceiver;

a processor configured to;

convert the plurality of radar signals to a plurality of digital radar signals,

band pass filter the plurality of digital radar signals,

remove frequency content below a first threshold frequency common to at least two consecutive digital radar signals of the plurality of digital radar signals,

down-convert the plurality of digital radar signals into a plurality of complex digital baseband signals, and

detect a range, a speed, and a direction of the object in the detection area based at least in part on the plurality of complex digital baseband signals.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of complex digital baseband signals comprises an in-phase component and a quadrature-phase component.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to remove the frequency content below the first threshold frequency common to the at least two consecutive digital radar signals of the plurality of digital radar signals before down-converting the plurality of digital radar signals.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to remove frequency content above a second frequency threshold from the plurality of complex digital baseband signals.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to remove a DC component from the plurality of digital radar signals.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, by band pass filtering the plurality of digital radar signals before down-converting the plurality of digital radar signals, the processor amplifies the plurality of digital radar signals, reduces an amount of noise in the plurality of digital radar signals and removes frequency components of the plurality of digital radar signals above a second threshold frequency.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to detect the range, the speed, and the direction of the object in the detection area based at least in part on the plurality of complex digital baseband signals at least partly by sensing a Doppler shift present in the plurality of complex digital baseband signals.

8. A method for detecting an object in a detection area of a wireless power transfer system, the method comprising:

receiving a plurality of radar signals from a radar transceiver;

converting the plurality of radar signals to a plurality of digital radar signals;

band pass filtering the plurality of digital radar signals;

removing frequency content below a first threshold frequency common to at least two consecutive digital radar signals of the plurality of digital radar signals;

down-converting the plurality of digital radar signals into a plurality of complex digital baseband signals; and

detecting a range, a speed, and a direction of the object in the detection area based at least in part on the plurality of complex digital baseband signals.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein each of the plurality of complex digital baseband signals comprises an in-phase component and a quadrature-phase component.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising removing the frequency content below the first threshold frequency common to the at least two consecutive digital radar signals of the plurality of digital radar signals before down-converting the plurality of digital radar signals.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising removing frequency content above a second frequency threshold from the plurality of complex digital baseband signals.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising removing a DC component from the plurality of digital radar signals.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein, by band pass filtering the plurality of digital radar signals before down-converting the plurality of digital radar signals, the plurality of digital radar signals are amplified, an amount of noise in the plurality of digital radar signals is reduced, and frequency components of the plurality of digital radar signals above a second threshold frequency are removed.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the detecting the range, the speed, and the direction of the object in the detection area based at least in part on the plurality of complex digital baseband signals comprises sensing a Doppler shift present in the plurality of complex digital baseband signals.

15. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium comprising code that, when executed, causes an apparatus for detecting an object in a detection area of a wireless power transfer system to:

receive a plurality of radar signals from a radar transceiver;

convert the plurality of radar signals to a plurality of digital radar signals;

band pass filter the plurality of digital radar signals;

remove frequency content below a first threshold frequency common to at least two consecutive digital radar signals of the plurality of digital radar signals;

down-convert the plurality of digital radar signals into a plurality of complex digital baseband signals; and

detect a range, a speed, and a direction of the object in the detection area based at least in part on the plurality of complex digital baseband signals.

16. The medium of claim 15, wherein each of the plurality of complex digital baseband signals comprises an in-phase component and a quadrature-phase component.

17. The medium of claim 15, wherein the code, when executed, causes the apparatus to remove the frequency content below the first threshold frequency common to the at least two consecutive digital radar signals of the plurality of digital radar signals before down-converting the plurality of digital radar signals.

18. The medium of claim 15, wherein the code, when executed, causes the apparatus to remove frequency content above a second frequency threshold from the plurality of complex digital baseband signals.

19. The medium of claim 15, wherein the code, when executed, causes the apparatus to remove a DC component from the plurality of digital radar signals.

20. The medium of claim 15, wherein, by band pass filtering the plurality of digital radar signals before down-converting the plurality of digital radar signals, the code, when executed, causes the apparatus to amplify the plurality of digital radar signals, reduce an amount of noise in the plurality of digital radar signals, and remove frequency components of the plurality of digital radar signals above a second threshold frequency.

21. The medium of claim 15, wherein the code, when executed, causes the apparatus to detect the range, the speed, and the direction of the object in the detection area based at least in part on the plurality of complex digital baseband signals at least partly by sensing a Doppler shift present in the plurality of complex digital baseband signals.

22. An apparatus for detecting an object in a detection area of a wireless power transfer system, the apparatus comprising:

means for receiving a plurality of radar signals from a radar transceiver;

means for converting the plurality of radar signals to a plurality of digital radar signals;

means for band pass filtering the plurality of digital radar signals;

means for removing frequency content below a first threshold frequency common to at least two consecutive digital radar signals of the plurality of digital radar signals;

means for down-converting the plurality of digital radar signals into a plurality of complex digital baseband signals; and

means for detecting a range, a speed, and a direction of the object in the detection area based at least in part on the plurality of complex digital baseband signals.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein each of the plurality of complex digital baseband signals comprises an in-phase component and a quadrature-phase component.

24. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the means for removing the frequency content below the first threshold frequency common to the at least two consecutive digital radar signals of the plurality of digital radar signals operates before the means for down-converting the plurality of digital radar signals.

25. The apparatus of claim 22, further comprising means for removing frequency content above a second frequency threshold from the plurality of complex digital baseband signals.

26. The apparatus of claim 22, further comprising means for removing a DC component from the plurality of digital radar signals.

27. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein, by band pass filtering the plurality of digital radar signals before down-converting the plurality of digital radar signals, the plurality of digital radar signals are amplified, an amount of noise in the plurality of digital radar signals is reduced, and frequency components of the plurality of digital radar signals above a second threshold frequency are removed.

28. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the means for detecting the range, the speed, and the direction of the object in the detection area based at least in part on the plurality of complex digital baseband signals senses a Doppler shift present in the plurality of complex digital baseband signals.