Millimeter wave radar and millimeter wave radar detection method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10698098-B2
Application number	US-201715718892-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 28, 2017
Priority date	Sep 29, 2016
Publication date	Jun 30, 2020
Grant date	Jun 30, 2020

Abstract

A millimeter wave radar includes an antenna unit including a plurality of antennas that receive millimeter waves, each of the antennas having a prescribed reception range from which the millimeter waves are incident on the antenna; and a signal processing unit that detects, on the basis of a difference between outputs of the plurality of antennas that have received millimeter waves, a moving object moving across the reception ranges of the plurality of antennas.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A millimeter wave radar, comprising:
an antenna unit including a plurality of antennas that receive millimeter waves, each of the antennas having a prescribed reception range from which the millimeter waves are incident on the antenna; and
a signal processing unit that detects, on the basis of a difference between outputs of the plurality of antennas that have received millimeter waves, a moving object moving across the reception ranges of the plurality of antennas,
wherein the respective prescribed reception ranges for the plurality of antennas are provided for detecting a measurement target object, and the signal processing unit is configured to detect the measurement target object from the outputs of the plurality of antennas, and
wherein when an output of any of the plurality of antennas exceeds a prescribed threshold value, the signal processing unit determines that the moving object is in front of the measurement target object and rejects a result of the detection of the measurement target object.

2. The millimeter wave radar according to claim 1 , wherein the signal processing unit estimates a movement direction or a movement speed of the moving object on the basis of the difference between the outputs of the plurality of antennas.

3. The millimeter wave radar according to claim 2 ,
wherein the plurality of antennas includes four antennas, and
wherein the signal processing unit estimates the movement direction or the movement speed of the moving object on the basis of a difference between a sum of outputs of two antennas of the four antennas and a sum of outputs of two other antennas.

4. The millimeter wave radar according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a transmission antenna that transmits millimeter waves,
wherein the plurality of antennas are arranged with the transmitting antenna at a center.

5. The millimeter wave radar according to claim 4 , further comprising:
a separator that is arranged on the transmitting antenna so as to separate the reception ranges of the plurality of antennas from one another without overlaps therebetween.

6. The millimeter wave radar according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of antennas are transmitting-receiving antennas that respectively transmit millimeter waves.

7. The millimeter wave radar according to claim 6 , further comprising:
separators that are arranged on the transmitting-receiving antennas so as to separate reception ranges of the transmitting-receiving antennas from one another without overlaps therebetween.

8. A millimeter wave radar detection method, comprising:
receiving, via a plurality of antennas, millimeter waves reflected from a measurement target object and a moving object that moves across prescribed reception ranges of the plurality of antennas, the respective prescribed reception ranges being defined as ranges from which millimeter waves reflected from the measurement target object are incident on the respective antennas; and
detecting, on the basis of a difference between outputs of the plurality of antennas that receive millimeter waves, the moving object moving across the reception ranges of the plurality of antennas,
wherein the respective prescribed reception ranges for the plurality of antennas are provided for detecting the measurement target object, and the method further comprises detecting the measurement target object from the outputs of the plurality of antennas, and
wherein the method further comprises, when an output of any of the plurality of antennas exceeds a prescribed threshold value, determining that the moving object is in front of the measurement target object and rejecting a result of the detection of the measurement target object.

9. A millimeter wave radar, comprising:
an antenna unit including a plurality of antennas that receive millimeter waves reflected from a measurement target object and a moving object that moves across reception ranges of the plurality of antennas, the reception ranges being defined as ranges from which millimeter waves reflected from the measurement target object are incident on the respective antennas; and
a signal processing unit that detects the measurement target object in accordance with outputs of the plurality of antennas that have received millimeter waves reflected from the measurement target object, the signal processing unit further determining whether the moving object is moving across the reception ranges of the plurality of antennas, and if so determined, rejecting a result of the detection of the measurement target object.

10. The millimeter wave radar according to claim 9 , wherein the reception ranges of the plurality of antennas are set so that there is no overlap among the reception ranges.

11. The millimeter wave radar according to claim 9 , wherein when the moving object is moving across the reception ranges of the plurality of antennas, the processing unit determines, on the basis of a difference between the outputs of the plurality of antennas that have received millimeter waves, a movement direction or movement speed, or both, of the moving object.

12. The millimeter wave radar according to claim 9 , wherein the signal processing unit determines that the moving object is moving across the reception ranges of the plurality of antennas and rejects the result of the detection of the measurement target object, when an output of any of the plurality of antennas exceeds a prescribed threshold value.

Assignees

• Taiyo Yuden Kk

Inventors

• Igawa Izumi
• Sunagawa Ryuichi
• Aoki Yutaka

Classifications

• G01S13/62

  Sense-of-movement determination {(G01S13/589 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• G01S13/58 Primary

  Velocity or trajectory determination systems; Sense-of-movement determination systems · CPC title

• G01S13/18

  wherein range gates are used · CPC title

• G01S13/581 Primary

  using transmission of interrupted pulse modulated waves and based upon the Doppler effect resulting from movement of targets · CPC title