Angle-resolving radar sensor for motor vehicles

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9488718-B2
Application number	US-201214232087-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 16, 2012
Priority date	Jul 12, 2011
Publication date	Nov 8, 2016
Grant date	Nov 8, 2016

Abstract

An angle-resolving radar sensor for motor vehicles having multiple antenna elements and multiple receive channels, at least two antenna elements connected to the same receive channel together having a directional characteristic having at least two main lobes having different primary sensitivity directions.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An angle-resolving radar sensor for a motor vehicle, comprising:
multiple antenna elements; and
multiple receive channels;
wherein at least two of the antenna elements are connected to a same one of the receive channels and together have a directional characteristic having at least two main lobes having different primary sensitivity directions, and
wherein the antenna elements are configured so that, in the directional characteristics of the antenna elements, angle positions, which are associated with different main lobes of the antenna elements connected to the same receive channel, are distinguishable based on associated amplitudes and phases and the amplitudes and phases, associated with the angle positions, of at least one additional receive channel.

2. The radar sensor of claim 1 , wherein at least one other antenna element is connected to another of the receive channels and has a directional characteristic having at least one main lobe having a primary sensitivity direction which lies between two primary sensitivity directions of the at least two main lobes.

3. The radar sensor of claim 1 , wherein the antenna elements connected to the same channel are directly connected to one another.

4. The radar sensor of claim 1 , wherein the radar sensor has a radar lens situated upstream from the antenna elements.

5. The radar sensor of claim 4 , wherein the antenna elements are situated outside of a focal plane of the radar lens.

6. The radar sensor of claim 1 , wherein the antenna elements are situated in series, at least one other antenna element connected to another receive channel being situated between the at least two antenna elements connected to the same receive channel.

7. The radar sensor of claim 1 , further comprising:
an evaluation device to determine an angle position of a detected radar object based on amplitudes and phases of received radar signals of the antenna elements, wherein the evaluation device is configured to distinguish between angle positions, assigned to the particular main lobes, of a radar object detected by the aforementioned at least two main lobes based on amplitudes and phases of received radar signals of the antenna elements connected to the same receive channel and based on amplitudes and phases of received radar signals of at least one additional antenna element connected to at least one additional receive channel.

8. The radar sensor of claim 1 , wherein at least two primary sensitivity directions of the antenna elements connected to a first one of the receive channels are nested with at least two primary sensitivity directions of the antenna elements connected to another one of the channels.

9. The radar sensor of claim 1 , wherein an optical axis of the radar sensor lies between two primary sensitivity directions of the main lobes of the at least two antenna elements connected to the same receive channel.

10. An angle-resolving radar sensor for a motor vehicle, comprising:
multiple antenna elements; and
multiple receive channels, wherein at least two of the antenna elements are connected to a same one of the receive channels and together have a directional characteristic having at least two main lobes having different primary sensitivity directions; and
an evaluation device to determine an angle position of a detected radar object based on amplitudes and phases of received radar signals of the antenna elements, wherein the evaluation device is configured to take into account, during the determination of the angle position, a phase difference between received radar signals from receive channels which are connected to the antenna elements which have directional characteristics having overlapping main lobes.

11. An angle-resolving radar sensor for a motor vehicle, comprising:
multiple antenna elements; and
multiple receive channels;
wherein at least two of the antenna elements are connected to a same one of the receive channels and together have a directional characteristic having at least two main lobes having different primary sensitivity directions; and
wherein the antenna elements have different particular primary sensitivity directions, the angular distance between the adjacent outer primary sensitivity directions being greater than an angular distance between the adjacent inner primary sensitivity directions.

Assignees

• Binzer Thomas
• Waldschmidt Christian
• Gross Volker
• Hellinger Raphael
• Kuehnle Goetz
• Treptow Andre
• Bosch Gmbh Robert

Inventors

• Binzer Thomas
• Waldschmidt Christian
• Gross Volker
• Hellinger Raphael
• Kuehnle Goetz
• Treptow Andre

Classifications

• G01S2013/9321

  Velocity regulation, e.g. cruise control · CPC title

• G01S7/02 Primary

  of systems according to group G01S13/00 · CPC title

• G01S13/931 Primary

  of land vehicles · CPC title