Transmitting ultrasonic signal data

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12487320-B2
Application number	US-202418741936-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 13, 2024
Priority date	May 16, 2017
Publication date	Dec 2, 2025
Grant date	Dec 2, 2025

Abstract

A method for transmitting data from an ultrasonic sensor to a computer system includes forming a feature vector signal from an electric reception signal; recognizing signal objects in the reception signal and classifying the signal objects according to predetermined signal object classes. The signal objects are forms or sequences of forms. At least one object parameter allocated to the signal object and one symbol for the signal object class are allocated to each signal object, or for each signal object, at least one signal object parameter and a symbol object are determined. The method further includes determining a chirp value as an allocated signal object parameter. The method further includes transmitting the symbol and the at least one signal object parameter to the computer system as data of a recognized signal object, wherein the at least one signal object parameter includes a signal object parameter indicating the chirp value.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method for transmitting sensor data, from a sensor to computer system in a vehicle, comprising:
emitting an ultrasonic burst; receiving an ultrasonic signal and forming an ultrasonic reception signal; forming a feature vector signal from the ultrasonic reception signal; recognizing signal objects and classifying the signal objects in recognized signal object classes within the ultrasonic reception signal based on the feature vector signal;
wherein, to each signal object thus recognized and classified, at least one allocated signal object parameter and at least one symbol are allocated corresponding to the recognized signal object classes allocated to this signal object or
wherein, for each signal object thus recognized and classified, at least one allocated signal object parameter and at least one symbol for this signal object are determined; and
determining a chirp value as an allocated signal object parameter which indicates, whether the recognized signal object is an echo of an ultrasonic transmission burst including chirp-up, chirp-down, or no chirp features; transmitting the at least one symbol of the recognized signal object classes and the at least one allocated signal object parameter of the recognized signal object classes, wherein the at least one signal object parameter includes a signal object parameter indicating the chirp value; and classifying an object in an environment of the vehicle or determining a distance to an object in the environment of the vehicle based on the transmitted at least one symbol and the at least one allocated signal object parameter.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
generating a confidence signal by establishing a correlation between the ultrasonic reception signal or a signal derived therefrom and a reference signal; and transmitting, the confidence signal.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the feature vector signal includes the confidence signal as a partial signal in the feature vector signal.

4 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
generating a phase signal; generating a phase confidence signal by forming a correlation between the phase signal or a signal derived therefrom and a reference signal; comparing the phase confidence signal to one or more threshold values for generating a discretized phase confidence signal; and transmitting the discretized phase confidence signal.

5 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein at least one recognized signal object class is a wavelet.

6 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein the wavelet is a triangular wavelet.

7 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein the wavelet is a rectangular wavelet.

8 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein the wavelet is a half sine wavelet.

9 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein one of the at least one allocated signal object parameter:
includes a temporal shift of the wavelet of the recognized signal objects; or includes a temporal compression or extension of the wavelet of the recognized signal object; or includes an amplitude of the wavelet of the recognized signal object.

10 . The method according to claim 5 , further comprising:
transmitting an error condition of the sensor; wherein the transmission of the error condition of the sensor is performed with higher priority than:
the transmission of the at least one recognized signal object class and/or
the transmission of the one allocated signal object parameter.

11 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein a signal object comprises a combination of two or more basic signal objects.

12 . The method according to claim 11 , wherein a basic signal object of the two more basic signal objects is an intersection of an amount of an amplitude of an envelope signal with an amount of a threshold value signal at a time of crossing.

13 . The method according to claim 11 , wherein a basic signal object of the two more basic signal objects is an intersection of an amount of an amplitude of an envelope signal with an amount of a threshold value signal at a time of crossing in an ascending direction.

14 . The method according to claim 11 , wherein a basic signal object of the two more basic signal objects includes an intersection of an amount of an amplitude of an envelope signal with an amount of a threshold value signal at a time of crossing in a descending direction.

15 . The method according to claim 11 , wherein a basic signal object of the two more basic signal objects includes a maximum amount of an amplitude of an envelope signal above an amount of a threshold value signal at a time of maximum.

16 . The method according to claim 11 , wherein a basic signal object of the two more basic signal objects includes a minimum amount of an amplitude of an envelope signal above an amount of a threshold value signal at a time of minimum.

17 . The method according to claim 11 , wherein a basic signal object of the two more basic signal objects includes a predefined temporal sequence and/or temporal grouping of other basic signal objects.

18 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the transmission of the at least one symbol of the recognized signal object classes and the at least the one allocated signal object parameter of the recognized signal object classes is a transmission of a signal object class of a signal object having a predefined temporal sequence of other signal objects, and wherein at least one signal object class of at least one of these other signal objects is not transmitted.

19 . A sensor suitable or provided for performing the method according to claim 1 , wherein the sensor is an ultrasonic sensor.

20 . A sensor system comprising:
at least one computer system; and at least two sensors according to claim 19 .

21 . The sensor system according to claim 20 , wherein the sensor system is configured to transmit data from each of the at least two sensors to the computer system according to a method comprising:
emitting an ultrasonic burst; receiving an ultrasonic signal and forming an ultrasonic reception signal; generating a confidence signal by establishing a correlation between the ultrasonic reception signal or a signal derived therefrom and a reference signal; forming the feature vector signal from the ultrasonic reception signal; recognizing signal objects and classifying these signal objects in the recognized signal object classes within the ultrasonic reception signal;
wherein, to each signal object thus recognized and classified, at least one allocated signal object parameter and one symbol are allocated corresponding to the signal object class allocated to this signal object or
wherein, for each signal object thus recognized and classified, at least allocated signal object parameter and a symbol for this signal object are determined;
determining a chirp value as an allocated signal object parameter which indicates, whether the recognized signal object is an echo of an ultrasonic transmission burst including chirp-up, chirp-down, or no chirp features; transmitting the at least one symbol of the recognized signal object classes and the at least one allocated signal object parameter of the recognized signal object classes, wherein the at least one signal object parameter includes a signal object parameter indicating the chirp value.

22 . The sensor system according to claim 20 , wherein,
in each of the at least two sensors, a respective ul

Assignees

• Elmos Semiconductor Se

Inventors

• Kreiss Dennis

Classifications

• G01S15/931

  of land vehicles · CPC title

• G01S15/876

  Combination of several spaced transmitters or receivers of known location for determining the position of a transponder or a reflector (G01S15/872 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G01S13/862

  Combination of radar systems with sonar systems · CPC title

• G01S7/539

  using analysis of echo signal for target characterisation; Target signature; Target cross-section · CPC title

• G01S7/52001

  Auxiliary means for detecting or identifying sonar signals or the like, e.g. sonar jamming signals · CPC title