The present invention relates generally to a vehicle sensing system for a vehicle and, more particularly, to a vehicle sensing system that utilizes one or more radar sensors at a vehicle.
Use of imaging and radar sensors in vehicle imaging systems is common and known. Examples of such known systems are described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,013,780, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present invention provides a driving assistance system or sensing system or control system for a vehicle that utilizes one or more radar sensors to sense regions exterior of the vehicle, with the radar sensor that transmits and receives signals, with the received signals processed to detect the presence of objects at or near the vehicle in the field of sensing of the sensor. The system includes a processor operable to process outputs of the receivers. The radar sensor also includes at least one antenna and at least some of the antennas is based on non-rectangular slot antenna waveguides with the waveguides comprising slots having a longitudinal portion and a transverse portion that extends transverse in at least one direction from the longitudinal portion.
These and other objects, advantages, purposes and features of the present invention will become apparent upon review of the following specification in conjunction with the drawings.
A vehicle sensing system and/or driver assist system and/or driving assist system and/or object detection system and/or alert system operates to capture sensing data exterior of the vehicle and may process the captured data to detect objects at or near the vehicle and in the predicted path of the vehicle, such as to assist a driver of the vehicle or a control for an autonomous vehicle in maneuvering the vehicle in a forward or rearward direction. The system includes a processor that is operable to receive sensing data from one or more sensors and provide an output, such as an alert or control of a vehicle system.
Referring now to the drawings and the illustrative embodiments depicted therein, a vehicle 10 (
Classical or current slot antenna structures are manufactured as or with or in rectangular slots (see
In accordance with the present invention, a substrate integrated waveguide T-shaped slot antenna (i.e., a radar antenna having a T-shaped or irregular-shaped slot) is provided (see
As used herein, the term “T-shaped slot antenna” is intended to encompass any non-rectangular-shaped slot in an antenna or a waveguide of an antenna, with the slot(s) having a longitudinal portion and a transverse portion that extends transverse in at least one direction from the longitudinal portion. As shown in
In some examples, the transverse portion of the slot of the non-rectangular slot antenna is centered along the longitudinal portion (
The antenna thus comprises one or more of irregular-shaped slots established along a conductive plate (or optionally at a waveguide of the antenna). The radar signals are emitted through the slots, with the slots affecting a radiation pattern of the antenna. The irregular shape or non-rectangular shape or T-shape of the slots provide enhanced range and function of the radar sensor.
The system may utilize sensors, such as radar or lidar sensors or the like. The sensing system may utilize aspects of the systems described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,753,121; 9,689,967; 9,599,702; 9,575,160; 9,146,898; 9,036,026; 8,027,029; 8,013,780; 6,825,455; 7,053,357; 7,408,627; 7,405,812; 7,379,163; 7,379,100; 7,375,803; 7,352,454; 7,340,077; 7,321,111; 7,310,431; 7,283,213; 7,212,663; 7,203,356; 7,176,438; 7,157,685; 6,919,549; 6,906,793; 6,876,775; 6,710,770; 6,690,354; 6,678,039; 6,674,895 and/or 6,587,186, and/or International Publication Nos. WO 2018/007995 and/or WO 2011/090484, and/or U.S. Publication Nos. US-2018-0231635; US-2018-0045812; US-2018-0015875; US-2017-0356994; US-2017-0315231; US-2017-0276788; US-2017-0254873; US-2017-0222311 and/or US-2010-0245066, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
Changes and modifications in the specifically described embodiments can be carried out without departing from the principles of the invention, which is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims, as interpreted according to the principles of patent law including the doctrine of equivalents.
The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/280,278, filed Feb. 20, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,199,611, which claims the filing benefits of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 62/632,695, filed Feb. 20, 2018, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 16280278 | Feb 2019 | US |
Child | 17643876 | US |