Sensor device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10101440-B2
Application number	US-201515545954-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 8, 2015
Priority date	Jun 8, 2015
Publication date	Oct 16, 2018
Grant date	Oct 16, 2018

Abstract

There are provided correlation process units 5 - 1 ( 5 - 2 , . . . , and 5 -N) for performing a cross-correlation process between replicas of a plurality of mutually orthogonal transmission signals and reception signals of receiving antenna elements 3 - 1 ( 3 - 2 , . . . , and 3 -N) and outputting a plurality of signals after the cross-correlation process, and a weighting unit 6 for weighting the plurality of signals after the cross-correlation process outputted from the correlation process units 5 - 1 to 5 -N in accordance with the arrangement of transmitting antennas 2 - 1 to 2 - 3 and the receiving antenna elements 3 - 1 to 3 -N and an antenna directivity pattern, and a signal combination unit 10 combines the plurality of signals after the cross-correlation process that are weighted by the weighting unit 6.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A sensor device comprising:
a transmission signal generator to generate a plurality of mutually orthogonal transmission signals;
a transmitting antenna unit to emit the transmission signals generated by the transmission signal generator from a plurality of transmitting antennas to space;
an array antenna constituted by one or more receiving antenna elements to receive reflected waves of the transmission signals that are reflected by an observation target after being emitted from the plurality of transmitting antennas;
a plurality of correlation processors to perform a cross-correlation process between the plurality of transmission signals and reception signals of the receiving antenna elements and outputting a plurality of signals after the cross-correlation process;
a weighting unit to weight the plurality of signals after the cross-correlation process outputted from the plurality of correlation processors in accordance with a placement of the transmitting antennas and the receiving antenna elements and a plurality of antenna directivity patterns, each of the plurality of antenna directivity patterns being allocated to the plurality of transmitting antennas in a predetermined pattern; and
a signal combiner to combine the plurality of signals after the cross-correlation process that are weighted by the weighting unit.

2. The sensor device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a replica generator to generate replicas of the plurality of transmission signals generated by the transmission signal generator,
wherein the plurality of correlation processors perform a cross-correlation process between the replicas of the plurality of transmission signals generated by the replica generator and the reception signals of the receiving antenna elements and output the plurality of signals after the cross-correlation process.

3. The sensor device according to claim 1 , wherein the weighting unit obtains a length of an antenna aperture after the cross-correlation process by the plurality of correlation processors from the placement of the transmitting antennas and the receiving antenna elements, determines a weight value by which the plurality of signals after the cross-correlation process outputted from the plurality of correlation processors are multiplied in accordance with the length of the antenna aperture and the antenna directivity pattern, and multiplies, by the weight value, the plurality of signals after the cross-correlation process outputted from the plurality of correlation processors.

4. The sensor device according to claim 3 , wherein in a case where there exists a receiving antenna element whose position in an array direction matches a position of any one of the plurality of transmitting antennas, among the one or more receiving antenna elements, so that the plurality of signals after the cross-correlation process outputted from the plurality of correlation processors include a signal after the cross-correlation process whose position in the antenna aperture after the cross-correlation process is overlapped with that of another signal after the cross-correlation process, the weighting unit sets a weight value by which the signals after the cross-correlation process, whose positions being overlapped with each other, are multiplied, to a value less than a weight value determined in a case where the position of the signal in the antenna aperture after the cross-correlation process is not overlapped with that of another signal after the cross-correlation process.

5. The sensor device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a directivity switcher to switch directivities of the plurality of transmitting antennas; and
a timing controller to control switching timing of the directivities by the directivity switching unit.

Assignees

• Mitsubishi Electric Corp

Inventors

• Kato Yasunori
• Chikaoka Shigeru
• Takahashi Toru
• Takahashi Ryuhei

Classifications

• G01S2007/406

  Physics · mapped topic

• G01S7/4052 Primary

  by simulation of echoes · CPC title

• H01Q3/26 Primary

  varying the relative phase or relative amplitude of energisation between two or more active radiating elements; varying the distribution of energy across a radiating aperture ({H01Q3/12,} H01Q3/22, H01Q3/24 take precedence) · CPC title

• G01S7/406

  using internally generated reference signals, e.g. via delay line, via RF or IF signal injection or via integrated reference reflector or transponder · CPC title

• H01Q3/28

  varying the amplitude · CPC title