Sensing system, reception device, control circuit, storage medium, sensing method, and reception method

Abstract

A sensing system (50) that can image a phase change medium comprises: a transmission device (10) that generates a radar signal, generates a code, generates a carrier signal, generates a high-frequency signal by using the carrier signal and a multiplication signal obtained by multiplying the radar signal by the code, and transmits the high-frequency signal from a plurality of transmission antenna elements (18); a reflection plate (22); and a reception device (30) that receives, by a plurality of reception antenna elements (32), a high-frequency signal that is a reflected wave reflected by the reflection plate (22) or a measurement target (21) that is a phase change medium, or a scattered wave scattered by the same, converts the high-frequency signal into a baseband or intermediate-frequency reception signal, generates transmission path information from the reception signal by using the radar signal, the carrier signal, and the code, identifies the position of the measurement target (21) by using the transmission path information, corrects the focal point of the measurement target (21), determines the phase change of the measurement target (21), and generates an image of the measurement target (21).

Description

Sensing system, receiving device, control circuit, storage medium, sensing method, and receiving method

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a sensing system, a receiving device, a control circuit, a storage medium, a sensing method, and a receiving method for measuring a measurement target using electromagnetic waves.

[0002] Conventionally, imaging, measurement, etc. have been performed using the frequency range of the terahertz band. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a phase change detection device that includes a terahertz transmission element, a terahertz detection element, and a phase change medium disposed between the terahertz transmission element and the terahertz detection element, and detects a terahertz wave or a reflected terahertz wave transmitted from the terahertz transmission element with the terahertz detection element, and detects a phase change between a first phase and a second phase of the phase change medium.

[0003] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2013-96615

[0004] However, according to the above conventional technology, there is a problem that since the phase change medium is grasped as a lump or a single point, it cannot be grasped as a surface.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to obtain a sensing system capable of imaging a phase change medium.

[0006] To solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objective, the sensing system of this disclosure is characterized by comprising: a transmitting device having a plurality of transmitting antenna elements, which generates a radar signal, generates a code for separating the high-frequency signal transmitted from the transmitting device into a high-frequency signal at the receiving device, and generates a carrier signal for generating a high-frequency signal, which generates a high-frequency signal using a multiplied signal obtained by multiplying the radar signal and the code generated for each transmitting antenna element and transmits it from the transmitting antenna elements; a reflector arranged in the path between the transmitting device and the receiving device and capable of forming a MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) transmission path; and a receiving device having a plurality of receiving antenna elements, which receives a high-frequency signal that is a measurement target which is a phase change medium or a reflected wave or scattered wave reflected by the reflector, converts the high-frequency signal into a baseband or intermediate frequency received signal, generates transmission path information from the received signal using the radar signal, carrier signal and code, identifies the position of the measurement target using the transmission path information, performs focus correction on the measurement target, and performs phase change determination on the measurement target to generate an image of the measurement target.

[0007] The sensing system of this disclosure has the effect of enabling imaging of phase-change media.

[0008] Figures illustrating the overview of measurements assumed in the sensing system according to Embodiment 1; Figures illustrating an example of terahertz waves transmitted from a transmitting device to the sensing system according to Embodiment 1, reflected or scattered by a reflector, and received by a receiving device; Figures illustrating the reflection of terahertz waves transmitted from a transmitting device to the sensing system according to Embodiment 1 in a liquid; Figures illustrating the reflection of terahertz waves transmitted from a transmitting device to the sensing system according to Embodiment 1 in a solid; Figures illustrating an example configuration of the sensing system according to Embodiment 1; Flowchart illustrating the operation of the sensing system according to Embodiment 1; Flowchart illustrating the operation of the receiving device according to Embodiment 1; Figures illustrating an example configuration of a processing circuit when the processing circuit realizing the receiving device according to Embodiment 1 is implemented with a processor and memory; Figures illustrating an example of a processing circuit when the processing circuit realizing the receiving device according to Embodiment 1 is configured with dedicated hardware; Figures illustrating the overview of measurements assumed in the sensing system according to Embodiment 2; Figures illustrating an example configuration of the sensing system according to Embodiment 2; Flowchart illustrating the operation of the sensing system according to Embodiment 2; Flowchart illustrating the operation of the receiving device according to Embodiment 2

[0009] The sensing system, receiving device, control circuit, storage medium, sensing method, and receiving method according to embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0010] Embodiment 1. Figure 1 is a diagram showing an overview of the measurement assumed in the sensing system 50 according to Embodiment 1. The sensing system 50 comprises a transmitting device 10, a measuring device 20, and a receiving device 30. The transmitting device 10 transmits terahertz waves, which are radio waves in the terahertz band, from a transmitting array 17 composed of a plurality of transmitting antenna elements 18. The receiving device 30 processes the terahertz waves received by a receiving array 31 composed of a plurality of receiving antenna elements 32. The measuring device 20 comprises a measurement target 21, which is a phase change medium, and a reflector 22 that reflects terahertz waves. The reflector 22 is a plate that can form a MIMO transmission path in the path of the transmitting array 17, the reflector 22, and the receiving array 31. That is, the reflector 22 can be placed in the path between the transmitting device 10 and the receiving device 30 to form a MIMO transmission path. A MIMO transmission path is also called a MIMO transmission path.

[0011] Here, a MIMO transmission path is a transmission path in which each receiving antenna element 32 of the receiving array 31 of the receiving device 30 can receive signals from all of the widely spaced transmitting antenna elements 18 of the transmitting array 17 of the transmitting device 10, as shown in Figure 2. Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of a terahertz wave transmitted from the transmitting device 10, reflected or scattered by the reflector 22, and received by the receiving device 30 in the sensing system 50 according to Embodiment 1. In Figure 2, a terahertz wave transmitted from one transmitting antenna element 18 of the transmitting array 17 of the transmitting device 10 is reflected or scattered N times by the reflector 22 and received by N receiving antenna elements 32 of the receiving array 31 of the receiving device 30. N is an integer of 2 or more. For simplicity, it is omitted in Figure 2, but in reality, terahertz waves transmitted from other transmitting antenna elements 18 of the transmitting array 17 of the transmitting device 10 also have the same relationship as shown in Figure 2.

[0012] Next, the principle by which the receiving device 30 of the sensing system 50 detects the phase change of the measurement target 21, which is a phase change medium, will be explained. Figure 3 is a diagram showing the reflection of terahertz waves transmitted from the transmitting device 10 of the sensing system 50 according to Embodiment 1 in a liquid. Figure 4 is a diagram showing the reflection of terahertz waves transmitted from the transmitting device 10 of the sensing system 50 according to Embodiment 1 in a solid. When terahertz waves are irradiated onto a liquid, the terahertz waves are reflected at the liquid surface. On the other hand, when terahertz waves are irradiated onto a solid, the terahertz waves are transmitted without being reflected at the solid surface and are reflected by the reflector 22 behind the solid. The receiving device 30 of the sensing system 50 can detect the phase change by utilizing the difference shown in Figures 3 and 4.

[0013] Figure 5 shows an example configuration of a sensing system 50 according to Embodiment 1. The sensing system 50 comprises a transmitting device 10, a measuring device 20, and a receiving device 30. In the sensing system 50, the transmitting device 10 and the receiving device 30 are controlled by software.

[0014] The transmitting device 10 includes a synchronization unit 11, a radar signal generation unit 12, a code generation unit 13, a carrier signal generation unit 14, an encoding unit 15, a high-frequency signal generation unit 16, and a transmitting array 17. As described above, the transmitting array 17 includes a plurality of transmitting antenna elements 18.

[0015] The synchronization unit 11 adjusts the timing of the operation of each part of the transmitting device 10 and the receiving device 30. The synchronization unit 11 controls the timing of radar signal generation by the radar signal generation unit 12, code generation by the code generation unit 13, and carrier signal generation by the carrier signal generation unit 14 in the transmitting device 10.

[0016] The radar signal generation unit 12 generates a radar signal at the baseband or intermediate frequency. The radar signal is a periodic broadband signal.

[0017] The code generation unit 13 generates codes for the receiving device 30 to separate the high-frequency signal transmitted from the transmission array 17, which includes a plurality of transmitting antenna elements 18, into high-frequency signals transmitted from each transmitting antenna element 18.

[0018] The carrier signal generation unit 14 generates a carrier signal, which is a reference carrier for generating the final high-frequency signal. The carrier signal generation unit 14 divides the frequency band available to the transmitting device 10 into multiple subbands and periodically switches the subbands used by the high-frequency signals transmitted from the multiple transmitting antenna elements 18 to generate a carrier signal that utilizes the entire available frequency band.

[0019] The encoding unit 15 performs code multiplication for each of the multiple transmitting antenna elements 18 by multiplying the radar signal generated by the radar signal generation unit 12 by the code generated by the code generation unit 13. In the following description, the signal obtained by multiplying the radar signal and the code may be referred to as the multiplied signal.

[0020] The high-frequency signal generation unit 16 generates a high-frequency signal for transmission from each transmitting antenna element 18 using the signal obtained by multiplying the radar signal and the code in the encoding unit 15, and the carrier signal generated by the carrier signal generation unit 14. The high-frequency signal generation unit 16 is, for example, an upconverter or frequency multiplier, and generates a high-frequency signal with a subband bandwidth using the radar signal multiplied by the code and the carrier signal, and transmits it from multiple transmitting antenna elements 18.

[0021] In the transmitting array 17, the transmitting antenna element 18 transmits the high-frequency signal generated by the high-frequency signal generation unit 16.

[0022] Thus, the transmitting device 10 has a plurality of transmitting antenna elements 18, and generates radar signals, generates codes for separating the high-frequency signals transmitted from the transmitting device 10 into high-frequency signals at the receiving device 30, and generates carrier signals for generating high-frequency signals. A high-frequency signal is generated using a multiplied signal obtained by multiplying the radar signal and code generated for each transmitting antenna element 18, and the carrier signal, and transmitted from the transmitting antenna elements 18.

[0023] The configuration and operation of the transmitter 10 in this embodiment are similar to, for example, the configuration and operation of the transmitter in the sensing system described in International Publication No. 2024 / 166356. Furthermore, the high-frequency signals generated by the transmitter 10 in this embodiment are similar to the high-frequency signals generated by the transmitter in the sensing system described in International Publication No. 2024 / 166356. Therefore, a detailed description of the operation of the transmitter 10 and the high-frequency signals generated by the transmitter 10 in this embodiment will be omitted.

[0024] The receiving device 30 includes a receiving array 31, a signal conversion unit 33, a detection unit 34, a correlation processing unit 35, a MIMO transmission path regeneration unit 36, a layer extraction unit 37, a focus correction unit 38, and a phase change determination unit 39. As described above, the receiving array 31 includes a plurality of receiving antenna elements 32.

[0025] In the receiving array 31, the receiving antenna element 32 receives a high-frequency signal transmitted from the transmitting device 10, which is a reflected wave or scattered wave that has been reflected by the measurement target 21 or the reflector 22. In other words, the receiving antenna element 32 receives the reflected or scattered wave of the high-frequency signal transmitted from the transmitting device 10. The receiving antenna element 32 can also directly receive the high-frequency signal transmitted from the transmitting device 10, depending on the positional relationship and orientation relationship between the transmitting antenna element 18 of the transmitting device 10 and the receiving antenna element 32 of the receiving device 30.

[0026] The signal conversion unit 33 converts the high-frequency signal received by each receiving antenna element 32 into a baseband or intermediate frequency signal, i.e., downconverts it. The signal conversion unit 33 is, for example, a downconverter, and converts the high-frequency signals received by multiple receiving antenna elements 32 into a received signal in the frequency band of the radar signal used to generate the high-frequency signal in the transmitting device 10, i.e., a baseband or intermediate frequency received signal, using the carrier signal used when the transmitting device 10 generated the high-frequency signal.

[0027] The detection unit 34 is positioned for each receiving antenna element 32 and detects the baseband or intermediate frequency received signal converted by the signal conversion unit 33 using the radar signal used to generate the high-frequency signal in the transmitting device 10, i.e., the radar signal generated by the radar signal generation unit 12 of the transmitting device 10, to obtain received information. The received information is the reflected or scattered wave of the high-frequency signal received by each receiving antenna element 32 and includes the high-frequency signals transmitted from the multiple transmitting antenna elements 18. The receiving device 30 may also obtain received information by mixing the baseband or intermediate frequency received signal converted by the signal conversion unit 33 using a mixer. The following describes the case in which the detection unit 34 performs detection.

[0028] The correlation processing unit 35 is located for each receiving antenna element 32 and performs correlation processing on the received information obtained by detection in the detection unit 34 using the code used when the radar signal was encoded in the transmitting device 10, that is, the code generated in the code generation unit 13 of the transmitting device 10. This separates the received information into signals from each transmitting antenna element 18 of the transmitting device 10, that is, separates the received signals received by the multiple receiving antenna elements 32 into signals from each transmitting antenna element 18 transmitted from the transmitting device 10 for each receiving antenna element 32.

[0029] The MIMO transmission path regeneration unit 36 ​​uses signals separated by the correlation processing unit 35 for each transmitting antenna element 18 and each receiving antenna element 32 to regenerate the state of the transmission path between the transmitting device 10 and the receiving device 30, and generates MIMO transmission path information indicating the state of the transmission path. The MIMO transmission path regeneration unit 36 ​​generates MIMO transmission path information for each frequency bin, for example. In the following description, the MIMO transmission path regeneration unit 36 ​​may be simply referred to as the transmission path regeneration unit, and the MIMO transmission path information may be simply referred to as transmission path information.

[0030] The layer extraction unit 37 identifies the position of the measurement target 21 using MIMO transmission path information. The layer extraction unit 37 extracts the measurement target 21 from the MIMO transmission path information reproduced by the MIMO transmission path regeneration unit 36 ​​using a specific curved surface. Specifically, the layer extraction unit 37 identifies the position of the measurement target 21 by extracting reflection point information of layers corresponding to the distance in the depth direction of the measurement target 21 as seen from multiple receiving antenna elements 32, from the MIMO transmission path information.

[0031] The focus correction unit 38 performs focus correction on the measurement target 21 whose position has been identified. As focus correction for the measurement target 21, the focus correction unit 38 performs focus correction on the extracted reflection point information according to the position of the layer.

[0032] The phase change determination unit 39 uses the focus-corrected information of the measurement target 21 to determine the phase change of the measurement target 21, and generates and outputs an image of the measurement target 21.

[0033] Thus, the receiving device 30 has multiple receiving antenna elements 32 and receives high-frequency signals transmitted from the transmitting device 10, which has multiple transmitting antenna elements 18, which are either the measurement target 21, which is a phase change medium, or reflected waves or scattered waves reflected by the reflector 22. The receiving device 30 converts the high-frequency signals into baseband or intermediate frequency received signals and generates transmission path information from the received signals using radar signals, carrier signals, and codes. The receiving device 30 uses the transmission path information to identify the position of the measurement target 21, performs focus correction on the measurement target 21, and determines the phase change of the measurement target 21 to generate an image of the measurement target 21.

[0034] Figure 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the sensing system 50 according to Embodiment 1. In the sensing system 50, the transmitting device 10 generates a high-frequency signal (step S11) and transmits it from the transmitting array 17 to the object to be measured 21 (step S12).

[0035] When the receiving device 30 receives a high-frequency signal transmitted from the transmitting device 10 and reflected or scattered by the object to be measured 21 or the reflector 22 (step S13), it generates MIMO transmission path information indicating the state of the transmission path between the transmitting device 10 and the receiving device 30 using the carrier signal, radar signal, and code (step S14).

[0036] The receiving device 30 uses MIMO transmission path information to identify the position of the measurement target 21, performs focus correction and phase change determination on the measurement target 21, and generates an image of the measurement target 21 (step S15).

[0037] Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the receiving device 30 according to Embodiment 1. The flowchart in Figure 7 shows the details of the operation from step S13 to step S15 of the flowchart in Figure 6. Note that the details of the operation of the transmitting device 10 in steps S11 and S12 of the flowchart in Figure 6 are the same as the operation of the flowchart shown in Figure 5 of the aforementioned International Publication No. 2024 / 166356, so the explanation is omitted.

[0038] In the receiving device 30, the multiple receiving antenna elements 32 receive the reflected or scattered waves of the high-frequency signal transmitted from the transmitting device 10, which has multiple transmitting antenna elements 18, and which has been reflected or scattered by the object to be measured 21 or the reflector 22 (step S21).

[0039] The signal conversion unit 33 converts the reflected or scattered waves of the high-frequency signals received by the multiple receiving antenna elements 32 into received signals in the frequency band of the radar signal used to generate the high-frequency signals in the transmitting device 10, using the carrier signal used when the transmitting device 10 generated the high-frequency signals (step S22).

[0040] The detection unit 34 detects the received signal using the radar signal generated by the transmitting device 10 and obtains received information which includes the reflected or scattered waves of the high-frequency signals received by each receiving antenna element 32 and the high-frequency signals transmitted from the plurality of transmitting antenna elements 18 (step S23).

[0041] The correlation processing unit 35 performs correlation processing on the received information using the code used when the radar signal was encoded by the transmitting device 10, and separates the received signal into signals for each transmitting antenna element 18 transmitted from the transmitting device 10 for each receiving antenna element 32 (step S24).

[0042] The MIMO transmission path reproduction unit 36 generates MIMO transmission path information indicating the state of the transmission path between the transmitting device 10 and the receiving device 30 using the separated signals (step S25).

[0043] The layer extraction unit 37 identifies the position of the measurement target 21 using the MIMO transmission path information (step S26).

[0044] The focus correction unit 38 performs focus correction on the measurement target 21 whose position has been identified (step S27).

[0045] The phase change determination unit 39 performs phase change determination on the measurement target 21 using the information of the measurement target 21 on which focus correction has been performed, and generates an image of the measurement target 21 (step S28).

[0046] Next, the hardware configuration of each device of the sensing system 50 will be described. In the receiving device 30, the receiving array 31 is composed of a plurality of receiving antenna elements 32. The signal conversion unit 33, the detection unit 34, the correlation processing unit 35, the MIMO transmission path reproduction unit 36, the layer extraction unit 37, the focus correction unit 38, and the phase change determination unit 39 are realized by a processing circuit. The processing circuit may be a processor and a memory that execute a program stored in the memory, or may be dedicated hardware. The processing circuit is also called a control circuit.

[0047] Figure 8 shows an example of the configuration of a processing circuit 90 when the processing circuit for realizing the receiving device 30 according to Embodiment 1 is realized by a processor 91 and a memory 92. The processing circuit 90 shown in Figure 8 is a control circuit and comprises a processor 91 and a memory 92. When the processing circuit 90 is composed of a processor 91 and a memory 92, each function of the processing circuit 90 is realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. The software or firmware is written as a program and stored in the memory 92. In the processing circuit 90, each function is realized by the processor 91 reading and executing the program stored in the memory 92. That is, the processing circuit 90 includes a memory 92 for storing a program that will result in the processing of the receiving device 30 being executed. This program can also be said to be a program that causes the receiving device 30 to execute each function realized by the processing circuit 90. This program may be provided by a storage medium on which the program is stored, or by other means such as a communication medium.

[0048] The above program can also be described as a program that causes the receiving device 30 to execute the following steps: a transmission step in which the transmitting device 10 has a plurality of transmitting antenna elements 18, generates a radar signal, generates a code for separating the high-frequency signal transmitted from the transmitting device 10 into a high-frequency signal at the receiving device 30, and generates a carrier signal for generating a high-frequency signal, generates a high-frequency signal using a multiplied signal obtained by multiplying the radar signal and code generated for each transmitting antenna element 18 and the carrier signal, and transmits it from the transmitting antenna elements 18; and a reception step in which the receiving device 30 has a plurality of receiving antenna elements 32, receives a high-frequency signal which is a measurement target 21 that is a phase change medium or a reflected wave or scattered wave reflected by a reflector 22 that is placed in the path between the transmitting device 10 and the receiving device 30 and can form a MIMO transmission path, converts the high-frequency signal into a baseband or intermediate frequency received signal, generates transmission path information from the received signal using the radar signal, carrier signal, and code, identifies the position of the measurement target 21 using the transmission path information, performs focus correction of the measurement target 21, and performs phase change determination of the measurement target 21 to generate an image of the measurement target 21.

[0049] Here, the processor 91 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a processing device, an arithmetic device, a microprocessor, a microcomputer, or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), etc. Also, the memory 92 is, for example, a non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a flash memory, an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), an EEPROM (registered trademark) (Electrically EPROM), a magnetic disk, a flexible disk, an optical disk, a compact disk, a mini disk, or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), etc.

[0050] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a processing circuit 93 in the case where the processing circuit for realizing the receiving device 30 according to Embodiment 1 is configured by dedicated hardware. The processing circuit 93 shown in FIG. 9 is, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or a combination thereof. For the processing circuit, a part may be realized by dedicated hardware and a part may be realized by software or firmware. Thus, the processing circuit can realize each of the above functions by dedicated hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof.

[0051] The hardware configuration of the receiving device 30 has been described, and the hardware configuration of the transmitting device 10 is similar. In the transmitting device 10, the transmitting array 17 is composed of a plurality of transmitting antenna elements 18. The synchronization unit 11, radar signal generation unit 12, code generation unit 13, carrier signal generation unit 14, encoding unit 15, and high-frequency signal generation unit 16 are implemented by processing circuits. The processing circuits may be a processor and memory that executes a program stored in memory, or they may be dedicated hardware. Processing circuits are also called control circuits.

[0052] As described above, according to this embodiment, in the sensing system 50, the transmitting device 10 controls the timing of radar signal generation, code generation, and carrier signal generation, generates a high-frequency signal with a subband bandwidth, and transmits it from a plurality of transmitting antenna elements 18. The receiving device 30 receives the high-frequency signal transmitted from the transmitting device 10 and reflected or scattered by the measurement target 21 or the reflector 22, generates MIMO transmission path information using the carrier signal, radar signal, and code generated by the transmitting device 10, identifies the position of the measurement target 21, performs focus correction and phase change determination of the measurement target 21, and generates an image of the measurement target 21. As a result, the sensing system 50 is able to image the measurement target 21, which is a phase change medium.

[0053] Embodiment 2. Embodiment 2 describes the case in which the reflector 22a of the measuring device 20a moves in parallel in the sensing system 50a.

[0054] Figure 10 is a diagram showing an overview of the measurement assumed in the sensing system 50a according to Embodiment 2. The sensing system 50a comprises a transmitting device 10, a measuring device 20a, and a receiving device 30a. The measuring device 20a comprises a measurement target 21 and a reflector 22a that reflects terahertz waves.

[0055] In Embodiment 1, it was assumed that the reflector 22 of the measuring device 20 was fixed, but in Embodiment 2, the reflector 22a of the measuring device 20a moves in parallel within a defined range. That is, the reflector 22a can change its position relative to the transmitting device 10, the object to be measured 21, and the receiving device 30a. Although Figure 10 shows an example in which the reflector 22a can move in two directions, the direction of movement of the reflector 22a is not limited to the example in Figure 10.

[0056] The receiving device 30a processes the terahertz waves received by the receiving array 31, which is composed of multiple receiving antenna elements 32. After determining the phase change, the receiving device 30a synthesizes and outputs multiple images that have undergone imaging processing. That is, the receiving device 30a synthesizes multiple images generated according to the position of the translated reflector 22a. In the second embodiment, the receiving device 30a can improve image quality by synthesizing multiple images imaged according to the position of the reflected reflector 22a after the reflector 22a has been translated.

[0057] Figure 11 shows an example of the configuration of a sensing system 50a according to Embodiment 2. The sensing system 50a comprises a transmitting device 10, a measuring device 20a, and a receiving device 30a. In the measuring device 20a, the reflector 22a is capable of translational movement as shown in Figure 10. The translational movement of the reflector 22a may be set to move in a predetermined direction, or it may be set to move in a direction requested by an external device (not shown). The receiving device 30a is the same as the receiving device 30 of Embodiment 1 shown in Figure 5, with the addition of an image synthesis unit 40. In Embodiment 2, the phase change determination unit 39 generates images of multiple measurement targets 21 according to the position of the translated reflector 22a. The image synthesis unit 40 synthesizes the images of the multiple measurement targets 21 generated by the phase change determination unit 39 according to the position of the translated reflector 22a.

[0058] Furthermore, when the image synthesis unit 40 synthesizes images of multiple measurement targets 21, it may acquire operational information due to the parallel movement of the reflector 22a, such as the position information of the reflector 22a, from the reflector 22a or an external device that controls the movement of the reflector 22a. This allows the image synthesis unit 40 to synthesize images of multiple measurement targets 21 using images of multiple measurement targets 21 generated by the phase change determination unit 39 when the reflector 22a is in different positions.

[0059] Figure 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the sensing system 50a according to Embodiment 2. In the flowchart shown in Figure 12, the operations from step S11 to step S15 are the same as the operations from step S11 to step S15 in the flowchart of Embodiment 1 shown in Figure 6. The receiving device 30a synthesizes the multiple images generated by the phase change determination (step S16).

[0060] Figure 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of the receiving device 30a according to Embodiment 2. In the flowchart shown in Figure 13, the operations from step S21 to step S28 are the same as the operations from step S21 to step S28 in the flowchart of Embodiment 1 shown in Figure 7. In the receiving device 30a, the image synthesis unit 40 synthesizes a plurality of images generated by the phase change determination unit 39 (step S29).

[0061] The hardware configuration of each device in the sensing system 50a will now be described. In the receiving device 30a, the image synthesis unit 40 is implemented by a processing circuit. The processing circuit may be a processor and memory that execute a program stored in memory, or it may be dedicated hardware.

[0062] As described above, according to this embodiment, in the sensing system 50a, the reflector 22a of the measuring device 20a is moved in parallel. In the receiving device 30a, the image synthesis unit 40 synthesizes the image generated by the phase change determination unit 39 according to the position of the translated reflector 22a. As a result, the sensing system 50a can synthesize multiple images, thereby improving the image quality.

[0063] The configurations shown in the above embodiments are examples only, and it is possible to combine them with other known technologies, combine different embodiments, and omit or modify parts of the configuration without departing from the gist of the invention.

[0064] 10 Transmitter, 11 Synchronization unit, 12 Radar signal generation unit, 13 Code generation unit, 14 Carrier signal generation unit, 15 Encoding unit, 16 High-frequency signal generation unit, 17 Transmitting array, 18 Transmitting antenna element, 20, 20a Measuring device, 21 Measurement target, 22, 22a Reflector, 30, 30a Receiving device, 31 Receiving array, 32 Receiving antenna element, 33 Signal conversion unit, 34 Detection unit, 35 Correlation processing unit, 36 MIMO transmission path regeneration unit, 37 Layer extraction unit, 38 Focus correction unit, 39 Phase change determination unit, 40 Image synthesis unit, 50, 50a Sensing system, 90, 93 Processing circuit, 91 Processor, 92 Memory.

Claims

1. A sensing system comprising: a transmitting device having a plurality of transmitting antenna elements, which generates a radar signal, generates a code for separating the high-frequency signal transmitted from the transmitting device into the high-frequency signal at the receiving device, and generates a carrier signal for generating the high-frequency signal, which generates the high-frequency signal using a multiplied signal obtained by multiplying the radar signal and the code generated for each transmitting antenna element and the carrier signal, which then transmits the high-frequency signal from the transmitting antenna elements; a reflector arranged in the path between the transmitting device and the receiving device and capable of forming a MIMO transmission path; and a receiving device having a plurality of receiving antenna elements, which receives the high-frequency signal which is a measurement target that is a phase change medium or a reflected wave or scattered wave reflected by the reflector, which converts the high-frequency signal into a baseband or intermediate frequency received signal, which generates transmission path information from the received signal using the radar signal, the carrier signal, and the code, which identifies the position of the measurement target using the transmission path information, which performs focus correction on the measurement target, which performs phase change determination on the measurement target and generates an image of the measurement target.

2. The sensing system according to claim 1, characterized in that the reflector moves in parallel within a defined range, and the receiving device synthesizes a plurality of images generated according to the position of the moved reflector.

3. The sensing system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by comprising the object to be measured, which is a phase change medium.

4. A receiving device having a plurality of receiving antenna elements, which receives a high-frequency signal transmitted from a transmitting device having a plurality of transmitting antenna elements, which is a phase-change medium being a target to be measured or a reflected wave or scattered wave reflected by a reflector, comprising: a signal conversion unit that converts the high-frequency signal received by the plurality of receiving antenna elements into a baseband or intermediate frequency receiving signal using the carrier signal used when the transmitting device generated the high-frequency signal; a detection unit that detects the received signal using the radar signal used when the transmitting device generated the high-frequency signal, and obtains received information that includes the high-frequency signal received by each receiving antenna element and the high-frequency signal transmitted from the plurality of transmitting antenna elements; a correlation processing unit that performs correlation processing on the received information using the code used when the radar signal was encoded by the transmitting device, and separates the received signal into signals for each transmitting antenna element transmitted from the transmitting device for each receiving antenna element; a transmission path regeneration unit that generates transmission path information indicating the state of the transmission path between the transmitting device and the receiving device using the separated signals; and a layer extraction unit that identifies the position of the target to be measured using the transmission path information. A receiving device comprising: a focus correction unit that performs focus correction on the measurement target whose position has been identified; and a phase change determination unit that uses the focus-corrected information of the measurement target to determine the phase change of the measurement target and generates an image of the measurement target.

5. The receiving device according to claim 4, further comprising an image synthesis unit that synthesizes a plurality of images of the measurement targets generated by the phase change determination unit according to the position of the translated reflector.

6. A control circuit for controlling a sensor system comprising a transmitting device having a plurality of transmitting antenna elements and a receiving device having a plurality of receiving antenna elements, characterized in that the control circuit causes the sensor system to perform the following: generate a radar signal, generate a code for separating a high-frequency signal transmitted from the transmitting device into the high-frequency signal at the receiving device, and generate a carrier signal for generating the high-frequency signal; generate the high-frequency signal using a multiplicative signal obtained by multiplying the radar signal and the code generated for each transmitting antenna element and the carrier signal, and transmit it from the transmitting antenna elements; receive the high-frequency signal, which is a measured object that is a phase change medium or a reflected wave or scattered wave reflected by a reflector placed in the path between the transmitting device and the receiving device and capable of forming a MIMO transmission path; convert the high-frequency signal into a baseband or intermediate frequency received signal; generate transmission path information from the received signal using the radar signal, the carrier signal, and the code; identify the position of the measured object using the transmission path information; perform focus correction on the measured object; and perform phase change determination on the measured object to generate an image of the measured object.

7. A control circuit for controlling a receiving device having a plurality of receiving antenna elements and receiving a high-frequency signal transmitted from a transmitting device having a plurality of transmitting antenna elements, which is a measurement target being a phase change medium or a reflected wave or scattered wave reflected by a reflector, comprising: converting the high-frequency signal received by the plurality of receiving antenna elements into a baseband or intermediate frequency receiving signal using the carrier signal used when the high-frequency signal was generated in the transmitting device; detecting the received signal using the radar signal used when the high-frequency signal was generated in the transmitting device, and obtaining received information which includes the high-frequency signal received by each receiving antenna element and the high-frequency signal transmitted from the plurality of transmitting antenna elements; performing correlation processing on the received information using the code used when the radar signal was encoded in the transmitting device, separating the received signal into a signal for each transmitting antenna element transmitted from the transmitting device for each receiving antenna element; generating transmission path information indicating the state of the transmission path between the transmitting device and the receiving device using the separated signals; identifying the position of the measurement target using the transmission path information; and focusing the measurement target whose position has been identified. A control circuit characterized by causing the receiving device to perform a phase change determination of the object to be measured using the focus-corrected information of the object to be measured, and to generate an image of the object to be measured.

8. A storage medium storing a program for controlling a sensor system comprising a transmitting device having a plurality of transmitting antenna elements and a receiving device having a plurality of receiving antenna elements, wherein the program causes the sensor system to perform the following: generate a radar signal, generate a code for separating a high-frequency signal transmitted from the transmitting device into the high-frequency signal at the receiving device, and generate a carrier signal for generating the high-frequency signal; generate the high-frequency signal using a multiplicative signal obtained by multiplying the radar signal and the code generated for each transmitting antenna element and the carrier signal, and transmit it from the transmitting antenna elements; receive the high-frequency signal, which is a measurement target that is a phase-change medium or a reflected wave or scattered wave that is reflected by a reflector placed in the path between the transmitting device and the receiving device and capable of forming a MIMO transmission path; convert the high-frequency signal into a baseband or intermediate frequency received signal; generate transmission path information from the received signal using the radar signal, the carrier signal, and the code; identify the position of the measurement target using the transmission path information; perform focus correction on the measurement target; and perform phase change determination on the measurement target to generate an image of the measurement target.

9. A storage medium storing a program for controlling a receiving device having a plurality of receiving antenna elements and a plurality of transmitting antenna elements, the receiving device having a high-frequency signal which is a measurement target that is a phase-change medium or a reflected wave or scattered wave which is reflected by a reflector, wherein the program converts the high-frequency signal received by the plurality of receiving antenna elements into a baseband or intermediate frequency receiving signal using the carrier signal used when the high-frequency signal was generated by the transmitting device, detects the received signal using the radar signal used when the high-frequency signal was generated by the transmitting device, obtains received information which includes the high-frequency signal received by each receiving antenna element and the high-frequency signal transmitted from the plurality of transmitting antenna elements, performs correlation processing on the received information using the code used when the radar signal was encoded by the transmitting device, separates the received signal into a signal for each transmitting antenna element transmitted from the transmitting device for each receiving antenna element, generates transmission path information which indicates the state of the transmission path between the transmitting device and the receiving device using the separated signals, identifies the position of the measurement target using the transmission path information, and performs focus correction on the measurement target whose position has been identified. A storage medium characterized in that it causes the receiving device to perform a phase change determination of the object to be measured using the focus-corrected information of the object to be measured, and to generate an image of the object to be measured.

10. A sensing method characterized by comprising: a transmission step in which a transmitting device has a plurality of transmitting antenna elements, generates a radar signal, generates a code for separating the high-frequency signal transmitted from the transmitting device into the high-frequency signal at a receiving device, and generates a carrier signal for generating the high-frequency signal, generates the high-frequency signal using a multiply signal obtained by multiplying the radar signal and the code generated for each transmitting antenna element and transmits it from the transmitting antenna element; and a reception step in which a receiving device has a plurality of receiving antenna elements, receives the high-frequency signal which is a measurement target which is a phase change medium or a reflected wave or scattered wave which is a reflected wave or scattered wave which is placed in the path between the transmitting device and the receiving device and can form a MIMO transmission path, converts the high-frequency signal into a baseband or intermediate frequency received signal, generates transmission path information from the received signal using the radar signal, the carrier signal and the code, identifies the position of the measurement target using the transmission path information, performs focus correction on the measurement target and performs phase change determination on the measurement target to generate an image of the measurement target.

11. A receiving method for a receiving device having a plurality of receiving antenna elements and receiving a high-frequency signal transmitted from a transmitting device having a plurality of transmitting antenna elements, the high-frequency signal being a measurement target which is a phase change medium or a reflected wave or scattered wave reflected by a reflector, comprising: a signal conversion step in which a signal conversion unit converts the high-frequency signal received by the plurality of receiving antenna elements into a baseband or intermediate frequency receiving signal using a carrier signal used in the generation of the high-frequency signal by the transmitting device; a detection step in which a detection unit detects the received signal using a radar signal used in the generation of the high-frequency signal by the transmitting device to obtain received information which includes the high-frequency signal received by each receiving antenna element and the high-frequency signal transmitted from the plurality of transmitting antenna elements; a correlation processing step in which a correlation processing unit performs correlation processing on the received information using a code used in the encoding of the radar signal by the transmitting device to separate the received signal into a signal for each transmitting antenna element transmitted from the transmitting device for each receiving antenna element; and a transmission path regeneration step in which a transmission path regeneration unit generates transmission path information indicating the state of the transmission path between the transmitting device and the receiving device using the separated signals. A receiving method characterized by comprising: a layer extraction step in which a layer extraction unit identifies the position of a measurement target using the transmission path information; a focus correction step in which a focus correction unit performs focus correction on the measurement target whose position has been identified; and a phase change determination step in which a phase change determination unit performs phase change determination on the measurement target using the focus-corrected information on the measurement target and generates an image of the measurement target.

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