Radar sensor system and method for operating a radar sensor system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11650284-B2
Application number	US-201816962145-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 14, 2018
Priority date	Feb 15, 2018
Publication date	May 16, 2023
Grant date	May 16, 2023

Abstract

A radar sensor system and a method for operating a radar sensor system. The radar sensor system includes: at least one first sub-sensor system and a second sub-sensor system, each for generating sensor data, each sub-sensor system including an antenna array including at least one receiving antenna and at least one transmitting antenna; a control device, by which each sub-sensor system is independently transferrable from a normal operation into a silent operation; and a data fusion device, which is designed to fuse the sensor data exclusively of the sub-sensor systems during the normal operation with one another for generating output data.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A radar sensor system, comprising:
a clock generator to provide a shared clock signal;
a plurality of sub-sensor systems including at least one first sub-sensor system and a second sub-sensor system, each of the sub-sensor systems being configured to generate sensor data, each of sub-sensor systems including an antenna array, the antenna array including at least one receiving antenna and at least one transmitting antenna;
a control device, by which each of the sub-sensor systems is independently transferrable from a normal operation into a silent operation; and
a data fusion device configured to fuse the sensor data, using only the sub-sensor systems in the normal operation, with one another for generating output data;
wherein the first sub-sensor system is coupled to the control device and to the data fusion device, and wherein the second sub-sensor system is coupled to the control device and to the data fusion device, and wherein the first sub-sensor system and the second sub-sensor system are each coupled to the clock generator to receive the shared clock signal,
wherein when the radar sensor system is in a state in which all of sub-sensor systems function error free, the sensor data of all sub-sensor systems are fused with one another with the data fusion device, and wherein when at least one of the sub-sensor systems is transferred into the silent operation, the sensor data of sub-sensor systems transferred into the silent operation are not fused with the sensor data of the other sub-sensor systems, and
wherein a plurality of the antenna arrays are situated mirror-symmetrically with respect to at least two axes of mirror symmetry, so that improved accuracy is achieved in at least two spatial dimensions in the radar sensor system, and redundancy exists for compensating for a failure.

2. The radar sensor system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the data fusion device is configured to fuse the sensor data generated by the sub-sensor systems, at a raw data level.

3. The radar sensor system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the data fusion device is configured to fuse the sensor data generated by the sub-sensor systems at a raw data level or at a spectra level.

4. The radar sensor system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the control device includes a multitude of control units, at least one of the control units being assigned to each of sub-sensor systems for transferring the respective sub-sensor system into the silent operation.

5. The radar sensor system as recited in claim 4 , wherein the control units are microcontrollers.

6. The radar sensor system as recited in claim 4 , wherein the data fusion device includes a data interface between at least two of the multitude of control units.

7. The radar sensor system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the control device includes a central control unit for at least two of the sub-sensor systems or is made up of a central control unit for all of the sub-sensor systems.

8. The radar sensor system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the antenna arrays of at least two of the sub-sensor systems are situated point-symmetrically and/or axially symmetrically and/or rotation-symmetrically with respect to one another.

9. The radar sensor system as recited in claim 1 , wherein each of the sub-sensor systems includes a dedicated independent voltage supply unit, which is feedable electrical energy via a shared plug connector of the radar sensor system.

10. A method for operating a radar sensor system, the method comprising:
receiving sensor data of a first sub-sensor system of a plurality of sub-sensor systems of a radar sensor system;
receiving sensor data of a second sub-sensor system the plurality of sub-sensor systems of the radar sensor system;
providing, via a clock generator, a shared clock signal to the sub-sensor systems;
transferring at least one of the sub-sensor systems from a normal operation into a silent operation, independently of the other sub-sensor systems;
fusing, via a fusion device, the sensor data using only those sub-sensor systems which are in the normal operation, using the shared clock signal, for generating output data; and
outputting the generated output data;
wherein the first sub-sensor system is coupled to the control device and to the data fusion device, and wherein the second sub-sensor system is coupled to the control device and to the data fusion device, and wherein the first sub-sensor system and the second sub-sensor system are each coupled to the clock generator to receive the shared clock signal,
wherein when the radar sensor system is in a state in which all of sub-sensor systems function error free, the sensor data of all sub-sensor systems are fused with one another with the data fusion device, and wherein when at least one of the sub-sensor systems is transferred into the silent operation, the sensor data of sub-sensor systems transferred into the silent operation are not fused with the sensor data of the other sub-sensor systems, and
wherein a plurality of the antenna arrays are situated mirror-symmetrically with respect to at least two axes of mirror symmetry, so that improved accuracy is achieved in at least two spatial dimensions in the radar sensor system, and redundancy exists for compensating for a failure.

Assignees

• Bosch Gmbh Robert

Inventors

• Schoor Michael
• Loesch Benedikt
• Mayer Marcel

Classifications

• G01S13/87 Primary

  Combinations of radar systems, e.g. primary radar and secondary radar · CPC title

• G01S13/42

  Simultaneous measurement of distance and other co-ordinates (indirect measurement G01S13/46) · CPC title

• G01S7/03 Primary

  Details of HF subsystems specially adapted therefor, e.g. common to transmitter and receiver · CPC title

• G01S13/931

  of land vehicles · CPC title

• G01S7/4004 Primary

  of parts of a radar system · CPC title