Patent Grant
10684355
This application is the U.S. national stage application of International Patent Application No. PCT/KR2016/008473, filed Aug. 1, 2016, which claims priority to Korean Application No. 10-2015-0122697, filed Aug. 31, 2015, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
The present invention relates to a vehicle radar device, and more particularly to a vehicle radar device including a short range radar module and a long range radar module.
A radar device is applied to various technical fields, and recently is installed in a vehicle to improve a mobility of the vehicle. Such a radar device uses electromagnetic waves to detect information about the surrounding environment of a vehicle. In addition, by using the corresponding information for moving a vehicle, efficiency of the movement of the vehicle can be improved. To this end, the radar device includes an antenna to transmit and receive electromagnetic waves.
Meanwhile, a vehicle radar may be classified into a long range radar (LRR) and a short range radar (SRR), and in the case of LRR, a frequency of 77 GHz band is mainly used, and in the case of SRR, a 24 GHz band is mainly used.
In order for a vehicle radar including both a LRR and a SRR to secure a field of view (FOV) and detection distance for simultaneously detecting objects placed at a long distance and a short distance, it is necessary to dispose an optimal interval between antenna channels and secure an antenna gain.
The present invention is directed to providing a radar module including an optimal arrangement structure between antenna channels for simultaneously detecting a short distance and a long distance and a vehicle radar device including the same.
One aspect of the present invention provides a radar module, including an antenna unit including a transmitting antenna unit and a receiving antenna unit, and a signal processing unit connected to the antenna unit and processing a transmission signal and a reception signal, wherein the transmitting antenna unit consists of a long-range transmitting antenna and a short-range transmitting antenna of a single channel, and the receiving antenna unit consists of a long-range receiving antenna and a short-range receiving antenna of a plurality of channels.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a vehicular radar device, including a case, a printed circuit board (PCB) which is accommodated in the case and in which an antenna unit is mounted, and the antenna unit including a transmitting antenna unit and a receiving antenna unit, wherein the transmitting antenna unit consists of a long-range transmitting antenna and a short-range transmitting antenna of a single channel, and the receiving antenna unit consists of a long-range receiving antenna and a short-range receiving antenna of a plurality of channels.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to detect objects at a short distance and at a long distance simultaneously by providing an arrangement structure of an optimal interval between antenna channels.
Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to designate identical or similar elements, and redundant description thereof will be omitted. The suffix “module” and “portion” of the components used in the following description are only given or mixed in consideration of ease of preparation of the description, and there is no meaning or role to be distinguished as it is from one another. Also, in the following description of the embodiments of the present invention, a detailed description of related arts will be omitted when it is determined that the gist of the embodiments disclosed herein may be obscured. Also, the accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, are incorporated in, and constitute a part of this description, and it should be understood that the invention is intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, or alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.
Terms including ordinals, such as first, second, etc., may be used to describe various components, but the elements are not limited to these terms. The terms are used only for distinguishing one component from another.
When a component is referred to as being “connected” or “joined” to another component, it may be directly connected or joined to the other component, but it should be understood that other component may be present therebetween. When a component is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly joined” to another component, it should be understood that other component may not be present therebetween.
A singular representation includes plural representations, unless the context clearly implies otherwise.
In the present application, terms such as “including” or “having” are used to specify the presence of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the description. However, it should be understood that the terms do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.
Referring to
The radar module 100 may perform a function of detecting a motion of an object in a peripheral area of a current position. That is, the radar module 100 may detect information about a surrounding environment via an electromagnetic wave, and may detect a movement of an object by a motion of the object.
The antenna unit 200 may include a transmitting antenna unit 210 and a receiving antenna unit 240. The transmitting antenna unit 210 may include a long-range transmitting antenna 220 and a short-range transmitting antenna 230, and the receiving antenna unit 240 may include a long-range receiving antenna 250 and a short-range receiving antenna 260.
The antenna unit 200 may perform a radio transmission and reception function of the radar module 100. That is, the antenna unit 200 may transmit transmission signals to the air and receive reception signals from the air. Here, the transmission signals indicate radio signals transmitted from the radar module 100. And the reception signals indicate radio signals which are input to the radar module 100 as the transmission signals is reflected by a target.
The transmitting antenna unit 210 may transmit transmission signals to the air. The transmitting antenna unit 210 may include the long-range transmitting antenna 220 and the short-range transmitting antenna 230 of a single channel.
The receiving antenna unit 240 may receive reception signals from the air. The receiving antenna unit 240 may include the long-range receiving antenna 250 and the short-range receiving antenna 260 of a plurality of channels.
The signal processing unit 300 may perform a radio processing function of the radar module 100. The signal processing unit 300 may process transmission signals and reception signals. The signal processing unit 300 may include a transmission processing unit 310 and a reception processing unit 320.
The transmission processing unit 310 may generate transmission signals from transmission data. The transmission processing unit 310 may output transmission signals to the transmitting antenna unit 210. The transmission processing unit 310 may include an oscillation unit (not shown). For example, the oscillation unit may include a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) and an oscillator.
The reception processing unit 320 may receive reception signals from the receiving antenna unit 240. The reception processing unit 320 may generate reception data from the reception signals. The reception processing unit 320 may include a low noise amplifier (LNA; not shown) and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC; not shown). The LNA may low-noise amplify reception signals, and the ADC may convert reception signals from an analog signal to digital data to generate reception data.
The control unit 400 may drive the radar module 100. The control unit 400 may drive the radar module 100 while a vehicle is traveling. The control unit 400 controls the radar module 100 to determine whether or not an object is detected in a peripheral area of a current position. The control unit 400 may process transmission data and reception data. The control unit 400 may generate transmission signals from transmission data by controlling the transmission processing unit 310. The control unit 400 may generate reception signals from reception data by controlling the reception processing unit 320. The control unit 400 may synchronize transmission data and reception data. The control unit 400 may extract angular information, speed information, and distance information with respect to a target by performing a CFAR operation, a tracking operation, a target selection operation, etc. with reception data.
The radar module 100 may dispose the short-range transmitting antenna 230 between the long-range transmitting antenna 220 and the long-range receiving antenna 250, and may dispose the long-range receiving antenna 250 between the short-range transmitting antenna 230 and the short-range receiving antenna 260.
The length of the long-range transmitting antenna 220 may be longer than the length of the short-range transmitting antenna 230, and the length of the long-range receiving antenna 250 may be longer than the length of the short-range receiving antenna 260.
The transmission processing unit 310 is connected to the long-range transmitting antenna 220 and the short-range transmitting antenna 230, and is capable of outputting transmission signals, and may be connected to the reception processing unit 320 including a first reception processing unit 321 and a second reception processing unit 323.
The first reception processing unit 321 may be connected to the long-range receiving antenna 250 to receive reception signals and the second reception processing unit 323 may be connected to the short-distance receiving antenna 260 to receive reception signals. The first reception processing unit 321 may be disposed between the transmission processing unit 310 and the second reception processing unit 323.
The long-range transmitting antenna 220 may include a plurality of feeder lines, a distributing unit, and a plurality of radiators. In the embodiment, the first array a1 may include a feeder line 221, a distributing unit 222, and a plurality of radiators.
The feeder line 221 may be disposed extending from the distributing unit 222 to supply signals to the plurality of radiators. The feeder line 221 is extended in one direction and is arranged in parallel to each other in the other direction. The feeder line 221 is disposed spaced apart from each other at a predetermined distance, and signals may be transmitted from one end to the other end of the feeder line 221.
The distributing unit 222 is disposed between the signal processing unit 300 and the feeder line 221 and may supply signals to the feeder line 221. The distributing unit 222 may distribute signals to the plurality of feeder lines.
The plurality of radiators may radiate signals from the long-range transmitting antenna 220. The plurality of radiators may form a radiation pattern of the long-range transmitting antenna 220. The plurality of radiators may be dispersedly disposed on the feeder line 221. The plurality of radiators may be arranged along the feeder line 221. As a result, signals may be supplied from the feeder line 221 to the radiators 220. The plurality of radiators may be made of a conductive material. Here, the plurality of radiators may include at least one of silver (Ag), palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), copper (Cu), gold (Au), and nickel (Ni).
In an embodiment, a radiator 223 of an array a1 disposed at an edge of a plurality of arrays may be more spaced apart from the distributing unit 222 than a radiator 225 of an array a2 disposed in the middle. That is, in order to adjust the phases of the plurality of arrays to be equal, the radiator 223 of the array a1 disposed at the edge of the plurality of arrays may be disposed more spaced apart from the distributing unit 222 than the radiator 225 of the array a2 disposed in the middle.
In addition, the radiators 223 and 225 closest to the distributing unit 222 of the plurality of arrays may be disposed spaced apart from the feeder line 221. For example, the radiators 223 and 225 may be implemented as a gap coupled patch antenna to reduce an amount of radiation.
A patch of a radiator 224 disposed farthest from the distributing unit 222 of the plurality of arrays may have the largest size among patches of the plurality of radiators to reduce the side lobe of radio waves.
An interval w1 between the third array a3 and the fourth array a4 may be 1.6 mm or more and 1.8 mm or less, preferably 1.8 mm, but is not limited thereto.
In the embodiment, a length h3 of the first array a1 may be 40 mm or more and 42 mm or less, and preferably 41.6 mm, and an interval h2 between a first radiator 225 and a second radiator 226 of the second array a2 may be narrower than an interval h1 between a third radiator 227 and a fourth radiator 228, but is not limited thereto.
Referring to
In an embodiment, a radiator 233 closest to the distributing unit 232 among arrays may be disposed spaced apart from the feeder line 231. For example, the radiator 233 may be implemented as a gap coupled patch antenna to reduce an amount of radiation.
A patch of a radiator 237 disposed farthest from the distributing unit 232 among the arrays may have the largest size among patches of the plurality of radiators to reduce the side lobe of radio waves.
In the embodiment, a length h4 of the array may be 29 mm or more and 31 mm or less, and preferably 29.7 mm, and an interval h5 between a first radiator 233 and a second radiator 234 of the array may be narrower than an interval h6 between a third radiator 235 and a fourth radiator 236, but is not limited thereto.
Referring to
The long-range receiving antenna 250 may include a plurality of feeder lines, a distributing unit, and a plurality of radiators. In the embodiment, a first array a1 may include a feeder line 251, a distributing unit 252, and a plurality of radiators.
The feeder line 251 may be disposed extending from the distributing unit 252 to supply signals to the plurality of radiators. The feeder line 251 is extended in one direction and is arranged in parallel to each other in the other direction. The feeder line 251 is disposed spaced apart from each other at a predetermined distance, and a signal may be transmitted from one end to the other end of the feeder line 251.
The distributing unit 252 is disposed between the signal processing unit 300 and the feeder line 251 and may supply signals to the feeder line 251. The distributing unit 252 may distribute signals to the plurality of feeder lines.
The plurality of radiators may receive signals from the long-range receiving antenna 250. The plurality of radiators may form a radiation pattern of the long-range receiving antenna 250. The plurality of radiators may be dispersedly disposed on the feeder line 251. The plurality of radiators may be arranged along the feeder line 251. The plurality of radiators may be made of a conductive material. Here, the plurality of radiators may include at least one of silver (Ag), palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), copper (Cu), gold (Au), and nickel (Ni).
In an embodiment, a radiator 253 of the array a1 disposed at an edge of the plurality of arrays may be more spaced apart from the distributing unit 252 than a radiator 255 of the array a2 disposed in the middle. That is, in order to adjust the phases of the plurality of arrays to be equal, the radiator 253 of the array a1 disposed at the edge of the plurality of arrays may be disposed more spaced apart from the distributing unit 252 than the radiator 255 of the array a2 disposed in the middle.
In addition, the radiators 253 and 255 closest to the distributing unit 252 of the plurality of arrays may be disposed spaced apart from the feeder line 251. For example, the radiators 253 and 255 may be implemented as a gap coupled patch antenna to reduce an amount of radiation.
A patch of a radiator 254 disposed farthest from the distributing unit 252 of the plurality of arrays may have the largest size among patches of the plurality of radiators to reduce the side lobe of radio waves.
In an embodiment, the long-range receiving antenna 250 includes four channels, and an interval between the channels may be less than 2λ.
In the embodiment, a length h7 of the first array a1 may be 40 mm or more and 42 mm or less, and preferably 41.6 mm, and an interval h9 between a first radiator 255 and a second radiator 256 of the second array a2 may be narrower than an interval h8 between a third radiator 257 and a fourth radiator 258, but is not limited thereto.
In the embodiment, an interval w2 between the first channel and the second channel may be 7.0 mm or more and 8.0 mm or less, preferably 7.5 mm, but is not limited thereto.
Referring to
The short-range receiving antenna 260 may include a feeder line 261, a distributing unit 262, and a plurality of radiators. The short-range transmitting antenna 230 of
In an embodiment, a radiator 263 closest to the distributing unit 262 of arrays may be disposed spaced apart from the feeder line 261. For example, the radiator 263 may be implemented as a gap coupled patch antenna to reduce an amount of radiation.
A patch of a radiator 267 disposed farthest from the distributing unit 262 of the arrays may have the largest size among patches of the plurality of radiators to reduce the side lobe of radio waves.
In an embodiment, the short-range receiving antenna 260 includes four channels, and an interval between the channels may be less than λ/2.
In the embodiment, a length h8 of the array may be 29 mm or more and 31 mm or less, and preferably 29.7 mm, and an interval h10 between a first radiator 263 and a second radiator 264 of the array may be narrower than an interval h9 between a third radiator 265 and a fourth radiator 266, but is not limited thereto.
Referring to
The radome 500 may accommodate the PCB 650 to protect the PCB 650 and the radome 500 may be fastened to the case 800. The radome 500 may be made of a material with low attenuation of radio waves and may be an electric insulator.
The waterproof ring 550 is disposed between the radome 500 and the case 800 to inhibit the vehicle radar device 1000 from being inundated with water. For example, the waterproof ring 550 may be made of an elastic material.
The shield unit 600 may shield a RF signal generated from an IC chip of the PCB 650. For this, the shield unit 600 may be formed in an area corresponding to the IC chip of the PCB 650.
A radar module including an antenna unit and a signal processing unit may be mounted on the PCB 650. The antenna unit may include a plurality of wide-angle antennas arranged in a row, but is not limited thereto. The signal processing unit may be a millimeter-wave radio frequency IC (RFIC), but is not limited thereto.
The bracket 700 may block noise generated during signal processing of the PCB 650.
A circuit for power supply and signal processing may be mounted on the auxiliary PCB 750, but is not limited thereto.
The case 800 may accommodate the connector 850, the auxiliary PCB 750, the bracket 700, the PCB 650, and the shield unit 600.
The connector 850 may transmit and receive signals between the vehicle radar device 1000 and an external apparatus. For example, the connector 850 may be a controller area network (CAN) connector, but is not limited thereto.
The above detailed description should not be construed restrictively in all aspects and should be regarded as illustrative. The scope of the present invention should be determined by reasonable interpretation of the appended claims, and all changes within the equivalent scope of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2015-0122697 | Aug 2015 | KR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2016/008473 | 8/1/2016 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2017/039161 | 3/9/2017 | WO | A |
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| Number | Date | Country |
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| 10-2011-0126939 | Nov 2011 | KR |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20180341005 A1 | Nov 2018 | US |
