Antenna and radar devices

Abstract

The antenna device (150) includes a transmission antenna (10a) having a transmission channel (11), a transmission antenna (10b) having a transmission channel (21), a transmission antenna (10c) having a transmission channel (41), a transmission antenna (10d) having a transmission channel (42), and a receiving antenna (30) having receiving channels (31 to 34). The interval between the transmission antenna (10a) and the transmission antenna (10b) is wider than the width of the entire receiving antenna (30). The interval between the transmission antenna (10c) and the transmission antenna (10d) is narrower than the interval between adjacent channels in the receiving channels (31 to 34).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention provides a radar device for detecting a target object (hereinafter referred to as "target object") and an antenna device used in the radar device. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, the development of radar devices that are mounted on cars and detect targets has been underway. One example of a target is a car that is traveling in front of the car when the car is equipped with a radar device. Another example of a target is an obstacle that is located in front of the car when the car is equipped with a radar device.

[0003] In a car radar device, usually, a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna are separately provided, and more than two receiving antennas are provided. The definition of a channel will be described later. The transmitting antenna radiates radio waves. The receiving antenna receives the reflected waves from the target object of the radio waves radiated by the transmitting antenna. The signal processor of the car radar device calculates the distance from the car to the target object based on the frequency that changes with the time from the time when the transmitting antenna radiates the radio waves to the time when the receiving antenna receives the reflected waves or the distance to the target object. In addition, the signal processor calculates the speed of the target object based on the time-varying component of the distance to the target object, and calculates the azimuth of the target object observed from the car, that is, the angle of the target object, based on the phase difference of the signals received by multiple receiving channels. The car radar device prevents collisions with obstacles and performs driving control of the vehicle based on the calculated distance, speed and angle of the target object.

[0004] In the above-mentioned background technology, the following non-patent document 1 also discloses a method of virtually expanding the antenna opening by setting more than two transmitting antennas. Since there are multiple channels in both transmission and reception, this method is called multiple-input and multiple-output (hereinafter referred to as "MIMO"). Hereinafter, a radar device using the MIMO method is referred to as a "MIMO radar", and an antenna device used in a MIMO radar is referred to as a "MIMO antenna".

[0005] Prior art literature

[0006] Non-patent literature

[0007] Jian Li and Petre Stoica, “MIMO Radar with Colocated Antennas,” IEEE Signal Processing Magazine, Vol. 24, Issue 5, pp. 106-114, September 2007. Summary of the invention

[0008] Technical problem to be solved by the invention

[0009] Generally, the size of the antenna opening is inversely proportional to the beam width of the antenna pattern. Therefore, by increasing the antenna opening, the beam width of the antenna pattern can be narrowed. In addition, in a MIMO antenna, since the size of the antenna opening can be virtually enlarged, the beam width of the antenna pattern can be narrowed. In addition, even when the channel spacing of the receiving antenna is widened without changing the number of channels, the beam width of the antenna pattern can be narrowed because the size of the antenna opening can be enlarged.

[0010] On the other hand, when the channel spacing of the receiving antennas is widened, a lot of undesired radiation called grating lobes is generated during beam scanning, which causes a problem that it is difficult to determine the angle of the target object.

[0011] Furthermore, when measuring the horizontal angle and the vertical angle of the target object by the receiving antenna, it is necessary to arrange the receiving channels in a plane, which greatly increases the cost and complicates the device.

[0012] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to obtain an antenna device that can suppress an increase in cost and improve the angular resolution when observing a target object.

[0013] Technical means for solving technical problems

[0014] In order to solve the above problems and achieve the purpose, the antenna device involved in the present invention includes a transmitting antenna having multiple transmitting channels and a receiving antenna having multiple receiving channels. The transmitting antenna includes a first transmitting antenna, a second transmitting antenna, a third transmitting antenna, and a fourth transmitting antenna. The interval between the first transmitting antenna and the second transmitting antenna is wider than the overall width of the receiving antenna. The interval between the third transmitting antenna and the fourth transmitting antenna is narrower than the interval between adjacent channels in the multiple receiving channels.

[0015] Effects of the Invention

[0016] According to the antenna device according to the present invention, it is possible to improve the angular resolution when observing a target object while suppressing an increase in cost. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 This is a diagram showing a configuration example of a radar device including an antenna device according to Embodiment 1.

[0018] Figure 2 It shows the realization Figure 1 A diagram showing an example of the functional hardware structure of a signal processor.

[0019] Figure 3 This is a diagram showing an example of arrangement of element antennas in the antenna device according to the first embodiment.

[0020] Figure 4 This is a diagram showing an equivalent antenna structure of the antenna device according to Embodiment 1 in the high resolution mode.

[0021] Figure 5 This is a diagram showing an example of a reception antenna pattern in a horizontal plane in the high resolution mode of the antenna apparatus according to the first embodiment.

[0022] Figure 6 This is a diagram showing an equivalent antenna structure of the antenna device according to Embodiment 1 in the wide-angle mode.

[0023] Figure 7 This is a diagram showing an example of a receiving antenna pattern in a horizontal plane in the wide-angle mode of the antenna apparatus according to the first embodiment.

[0024] Figure 8 This is a diagram showing an example of arrangement of element antennas in an antenna device according to the second embodiment.

[0025] Fig. 9 This is a diagram showing an example of a transmission antenna pattern in a horizontal plane in a high resolution mode of the antenna apparatus according to the second embodiment.

[0026] Fig.10 This is a diagram showing an equivalent antenna structure of the antenna device according to the second embodiment in the high resolution mode.

[0027] Fig.11 This is a diagram showing an example of arrangement of element antennas in an antenna device according to a third embodiment.

[0028] Fig.12 This is a diagram showing an equivalent antenna structure of the antenna device according to the third embodiment in the high resolution mode.

[0029] Fig.13 This is a diagram showing a modified example of the antenna device according to the third embodiment.

[0030] Fig.14 This is a diagram showing an equivalent antenna structure of an antenna device according to a modified example of Embodiment 3 in a high resolution mode.

[0031] Fig.15 It is shown Figure 1 FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a high-frequency circuit used in a radar device shown in FIG.

[0032] Fig.16 It is shown Fig.15 FIG. 2 is a diagram showing another configuration example of a high-frequency circuit.

[0033] Fig.17 This is a diagram showing an example of arrangement of element antennas in an antenna device according to a fifth embodiment.

[0034] Fig.18 This is a cross-sectional view showing a first configuration example of a substrate on which an antenna device is mounted according to the fifth embodiment.

[0035] Fig.19 This is a cross-sectional view showing a second configuration example of a substrate on which an antenna device is mounted according to the fifth embodiment.

[0036] Fig. 20 yes Fig.19 A first cross-sectional view taken along line XX-XX in the second structural example of the second substrate shown.

[0037] Fig.21 yes Fig.19 A second cross-sectional view taken along line XX-XX in the second structural example of the second substrate shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] Hereinafter, an antenna device and a radar device according to embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

[0039] Implementation method 1.

[0040] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a radar device including an antenna device according to Embodiment 1. Figure 1 In the embodiment, the radar device 300 includes a transmitting antenna 10 , a transmitting unit 302 , a receiving antenna 30 , a receiving unit 320 , and a signal processor 330 .

[0041] The transmission unit 302 includes a voltage controlled oscillator 304 , a power divider 306 , a high frequency transmission circuit 600 , a digital-to-analog (Digital Analog: hereinafter referred to as “DA”) converter 327 , and a modulation circuit 350 .

[0042] The receiving unit 320 includes a plurality of mixers 324 , a plurality of baseband amplifiers 323 , and a plurality of analog-to-digital (Analog Digital: hereinafter referred to as “AD”) converters 326 .

[0043] in addition, Figure 1 This is a simplified diagram. For example, components such as a modulator, a multiplier, and an amplifier are omitted in the transmitter 302, and components such as a filter and an amplifier are omitted in the receiver 320. A low noise amplifier may be provided between the receiving antenna 30 and the mixer 324.

[0044] Although not shown in the figure, the modulation circuit 350 is configured to include a reference signal oscillator, a DA converter, an AD converter, an amplifier, a mixer, a filter, a frequency divider, etc. In addition, the high-frequency transmission circuit 600 is configured to include a high-output amplifier (amplifier 132 described later), a phase shifter (phase shifter 131 described later), etc.

[0045] In addition, Figure 1 In the embodiment, the transmitting antenna 10 includes a plurality of transmitting channels constituted by one or more element antennas 82 .

[0046] The output end of the local oscillation signal of the voltage controlled oscillator 304 is connected to the input end of the power divider 306. The power divider 306 divides the power of the local oscillation signal of the voltage controlled oscillator 304 and outputs it to the high frequency transmission circuit 600. Multiple output ends of the power divider 306 are respectively connected to each input end of the high frequency transmission circuit 600 and the input end of the modulation circuit 350. Each output end of the high frequency transmission circuit 600 is respectively connected to the transmission antenna 10.

[0047] The oscillation signal output terminal of the modulation circuit 350 is connected to the control voltage input terminal of the voltage controlled oscillator 304. The local oscillation signal input terminal of the modulation circuit 350 is connected to the output terminal of the power divider 306. The modulation circuit 350 is connected to the signal processor 330 for signal input and output.

[0048] The output end of the DA converter 327 is connected to the high frequency transmission circuit 600. The input end of the DA converter 327 is connected to the signal processor 330. The DA converter 327 converts the transmission control information from the signal processor 330 into an analog transmission control signal, and inputs it to the high frequency transmission circuit 600. The transmission control information includes phase control information and transmission output information, and the transmission control signal includes a phase control signal and an output control signal. In addition, the details of the transmission channel in the high frequency transmission circuit 600 will be described later in Embodiment 4.

[0049] The modulation circuit 350 receives information on modulation parameters including a frequency modulation width and a modulation period from the signal processor 330, and generates a modulation signal in cooperation with the voltage controlled oscillator 304 based on the received modulation parameters. The voltage controlled oscillator 304 generates a modulation signal by changing the frequency of the output signal in accordance with the voltage change of the signal input from the modulation circuit 350. The modulation signal may be, for example, an FM-CW modulation signal that generates a linear frequency modulation signal having a modulation frequency characteristic in which, for example, the frequency changes with respect to time by repeatedly rising and falling linearly, or a high-speed modulation signal that generates a linear frequency modulation signal at a modulation speed faster than that of the FM-CW modulation.

[0050] The modulation circuit 350 may be configured by a phase lock control circuit (Phase Locked Loop: PLL) that synchronizes the phase when generating the modulation signal so as to stabilize the modulation signal.

[0051] For example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 6351910 and Japanese Patent No. 2018-185347, the modulation circuit 350 adjusts the modulation control voltage for controlling the oscillation frequency of the local oscillation signal output by the voltage-controlled oscillator 304 to a desired frequency based on the generation signal obtained by oscillation of the internal oscillator and the oscillation control signal from the signal processor 330. The modulation circuit 350 inputs the detection information of the local oscillation signal from the voltage-controlled oscillator 304 to the signal processor 330. In addition, the detailed description of the operation of the modulation circuit 350 is omitted.

[0052] The high frequency transmission circuit 600 controls the phase of the phase shifter by the phase control signal and controls the output of the high output amplifier by the output control signal according to the transmission control signal generated by the signal processor 330. These controls will be described later in Embodiment 4.

[0053] The receiving antenna 30 is formed into an array antenna by a plurality of element antennas 92. The plurality of element antennas 92 are connected to mixers 324, respectively. Each mixer 324 is connected to a baseband amplifier 323, respectively. Each baseband amplifier 323 is connected to an AD converter 326, respectively. The output of the AD converter 326 at the output end of the receiving unit 320 is input to the signal processor 330.

[0054] Next, explain Figure 1The operation of the radar device 300 shown in the figure. First, the voltage controlled oscillator 304 generates a transmission signal based on the modulation signal from the modulator (not shown). The transmission signal generated in the voltage controlled oscillator 304 is guided to the transmission antenna 10 via the power divider 306 and the high-frequency transmission circuit 600, and radiated from the transmission antenna 10 to the space. The transmission wave 96 radiated to the space is reflected by the target object 95. The reflected wave 97 from the target object 95 is received by the multiple element antennas 92 in the receiving antenna 30.

[0055] The received signals at the respective element antennas 92 are output to the respective mixers 324 connected to the respective element antennas 92. For the received signals output from the respective element antennas 92, the respective mixers 324 generate beat signals using the local oscillation signals provided from the voltage controlled oscillator 304 via the power divider 306. The beat signals are analog signals. The respective AD converters 326 convert the respective beat signals of the analog signals into digital beat signals and output each digital beat signal to the signal processor 330.

[0056] The signal processor 330 performs waveform shaping, signal correction processing such as temperature correction, frequency Fourier transform processing, etc. of each digital beat signal. In addition, the signal processor 330 performs beam synthesis and digital beam forming processing of the receiving beam based on each processed beat signal, and calculates and outputs the distance, speed and angle of the target object 95. In addition, the signal processor 330 has a mode switching unit 340. The details of the mode switching unit 340 will be described later.

[0057] Figure 1 All or part of the functionality of the illustrated signal processor 330 may be accomplished by, for example Figure 2 The hardware structure shown is implemented. Figure 2 It shows the realization Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the functions of the signal processor 330. The signal processor 330 can be configured to include a processor 500 for performing calculations, a memory 502 for storing programs and data read by the processor 500, and an interface 504 for inputting and outputting signals.

[0058] exist Figure 1 The signal processor 330 is shown in Figure 2 In the case of implementing the structure of Figure 2 The processor 500 shown is implemented by executing a program stored in the memory 502. Alternatively, part of the functions of the signal processor 330 may be implemented as an electronic circuit, and the other part may be implemented using the processor 500 and the memory 502.

[0059] The processor 500 may be, for example, a computing device, a microprocessor, a microcomputer, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), or a computing unit such as a DSP (Digital Signal Processor). The memory 502 may be, for example, a nonvolatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a flash memory, an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), or an EEPROM (registered trademark) (Electrically EPROM).

[0060] The processor 500 can exchange necessary information via the interface 504 , and the processor 500 can execute the program stored in the memory 502 , thereby performing the above-mentioned processing. The calculation results obtained by the processor 500 can be stored in the memory 502 .

[0061] Next, the antenna device according to Embodiment 1 will be described. Figure 3 This is a diagram showing an example of arrangement of element antennas in the antenna device according to the first embodiment. Figure 3 In the embodiment 1, the antenna device 150 includes transmitting antennas 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d and a receiving antenna 30. In the following description, the transmitting antennas 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d may be referred to as a "first transmitting antenna", a "second transmitting antenna", a "third transmitting antenna", and a "fourth transmitting antenna", respectively.

[0062] The transmission antenna 10a has a transmission channel 11. The transmission channel 11 has a feed point 81, an element antenna 82, and a line 83. The transmission channel 11 is connected to the feed point 81 via a plurality of element antennas 82 to form a distributed constant line 83, forming a subarray antenna. An example of the line 83 is a conductor pattern. In the transmission channel 11, a high-frequency signal applied to the feed point 81 is radiated to space as an electric wave from each element antenna 82 as a constituent element of the subarray antenna.

[0063] The feed point 81 and the element antenna 82 are connected to each other and the adjacent element antennas 82 are connected to each other through the line 8. The feed point 81 is a point that outputs a high frequency signal and Figure 3 The electrical connection point between an integrated circuit (hereinafter referred to as "IC") not shown in the figure and the line 83. Here, a processing unit obtained by combining the element antenna 82 and the line 83 connected to the feeding point 81 is defined as a "transmission channel".

[0064] An example of the element antenna 82 is as follows Figure 3 A quadrilateral patch antenna as shown. A patch antenna can be realized by forming a radiating element with a conductor on one surface of a dielectric substrate and setting the back surface as a ground plane, that is, a ground conductor. However, Figure 3 In the figure, the dielectric substrate and the ground plane are omitted. In addition, the element antenna 82 does not have to be a patch antenna, and any antenna having a radiation function may be used. Figure 3 In FIG. 1 , the number of element antennas 82 included in one transmission channel 11 is set to 4, but the number of elements is arbitrary, and the number of elements may also be 1.

[0065] The transmission antenna 10 b has a transmission channel 21 , the transmission antenna 10 c has a transmission channel 41 , and the transmission antenna 10 d has a transmission channel 42 . Figure 3 In the transmission channels 21, 41, and 42, the structures are set to be the same as the structure of the transmission channel 11. In the transmission channels 21, 41, and 42, a plurality of element antennas 82 are connected to the feed point 81 via the line 83, respectively, to form a subarray antenna. In addition, the number of element antennas in each transmission channel may be different between the transmission channels, but it is preferred that the number of element antennas of the transmission antenna 10a is the same as the number of element antennas of the transmission antenna 10b, and it is preferred that the number of element antennas of the transmission antenna 10c is the same as the number of element antennas of the transmission antenna 10d.

[0066] The receiving antenna 30 has receiving channels 31, 32, 33, and 34 (hereinafter referred to as "31 to 34"). Each receiving channel in the receiving antenna 30 has a receiving point 91, an element antenna 92, and a line 93. The plurality of element antennas 92 are connected to the receiving point 91 via the line 93 forming a distributed constant line, so that each element antenna 92 ​​forms a subarray antenna. Each receiving channel forming the subarray antenna receives a reflected wave 97 reflected by a target object 95 in the element antenna 92, and provides a high-frequency signal generated by the received reflected wave 97 to the receiving point 91.

[0067] The feed point 91 and the element antenna 92 ​​and the adjacent element antennas 92 are connected by a line 93. The feed point 91 is a point where a high frequency signal is input and Figure 3 The electrical connection point between the IC (not shown) and the line 93. Here, a processing unit obtained by integrating the element antenna 92 ​​and the line 93 connected to the feeding point 91 is defined as a reception channel.

[0068] As with the transmission channel 11, an example of the element antenna 92 ​​is as follows Figure 3The quadrilateral patch antenna shown in FIG. 9 is not necessarily a patch antenna, and any antenna having a receiving function may be used. Figure 3 In FIG. 1 , the number of element antennas 92 included in one receiving channel 31 is set to 4, but the number of elements is arbitrary, and the number of elements may also be 1.

[0069] also, Figure 3 In the embodiment, the structures of the receiving channels 32, 33, and 34 are set to be the same as the structure of the receiving channel 31. Figure 3 In the example, the number of receiving channels is set to 4, but the number of receiving channels can also be set to any number greater than 2.

[0070] Next, the positional relationship between the transmitting antennas 10 a , 10 b , 10 c , and 10 d and the receiving antenna 30 in the antenna device 150 according to the first embodiment will be described.

[0071] First, in the receiving antenna 30, four receiving channels 31 to 34 are arranged along the first direction, that is, the x1 direction. The first direction is the horizontal direction. In addition, in the receiving antenna 30, four element antennas 92 constituting each receiving channel are arranged along the second direction, that is, the y1 direction. The second direction is a direction orthogonal to the first direction, and is a vertical direction relative to the ground. In addition, the third direction, that is, the positive or negative direction of z1, is the arrival direction of the received radio wave arriving from the front of the receiving antenna 30. The third direction is a direction orthogonal to each of the first direction and the second direction.

[0072] As described above, in the receiving antenna 30 in the first embodiment, the four element antennas 92 arranged in the y1 direction constitute one receiving channel, and the four receiving channels 31 to 34 arranged in the x1 direction constitute a linear array in the x1 direction.

[0073] In the receiving antenna 30, four receiving channels 31 to 34 are arranged at equal intervals. Figure 3 In the figure, the interval between adjacent channels in the receiving channels 31 to 34 is recorded as "Dr", and the overall width of the receiving antenna 30 is recorded as "Ar1". In order to define Ar1 as the opening width of the receiving channel that can contribute to reception, the width between the left end of the element antenna 92 ​​in the receiving channel 31 located on the left side of the paper, that is, one side of the receiving antenna 30, and the right end of the element antenna 92 ​​in the receiving channel 34 located on the right side of the paper, that is, the other side of the receiving antenna 30 is set to Ar1. In addition, the interval between the phase center of the element antenna 92 ​​in the receiving channel 31 and the phase center of the element antenna 92 ​​in the receiving channel 34 is set to Ar11. That is, the interval Ar11 is the actual opening width of the receiving antenna 30 composed of the four receiving channels 31 to 34.

[0074] Furthermore, the transmitting antenna 10 a and the transmitting antenna 10 b are arranged at a distance wider than the entire width Ar1 of the receiving antenna 30 . Figure 3 In the example, the interval is recorded as "At1". In addition, the transmission antenna 10c and the transmission antenna 10d are arranged at an interval narrower than the interval Dr between adjacent channels in the reception channels 31 to 34. Figure 3 In the figure, the interval between the transmitting antenna 10b and the transmitting antenna 10c is recorded as "L1", and the interval between the phase center of the transmitting antenna 10b and the phase center of the transmitting antenna 10c is recorded as "L2", but L1 and L2 can take any values ​​within the scope of the antenna device of this embodiment.

[0075] If the above relationship is sorted out, the following relationship holds between the interval At1 between the transmitting antenna 10a and the transmitting antenna 10b, the overall width Ar1 of the receiving antenna 30, the interval Dr between adjacent channels in the receiving channels 31 to 34, and the interval Dt between the transmitting antenna 10c and the transmitting antenna 10d.

[0076] At1>Ar1>Dr>Dt…(1)

[0077] Next, the operation of the antenna device 150 according to the first embodiment will be described.

[0078] First, the antenna device 150 involved in Embodiment 1 operates in roughly two operation modes. One of the operation modes is a "MIMO operation mode" in which the antenna device operates as a MIMO antenna. The other of the operation modes is a "phased array operation mode" in which the antenna device operates as a phased array antenna.

[0079] In the MIMO operation mode, radio waves of multiple signals orthogonal to each other are radiated from at least two transmission channels of the transmission antennas 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d, and the received signal received via the receiving antenna 30 is demodulated and separated, and weighted synthesis is performed by digital processing. Among the technologies for generating multiple signals orthogonal to each other, there are methods of using coded modulation for the transmission signal, methods of changing the carrier frequency for each transmission antenna, time division methods of changing the transmission timing for each transmission antenna, and methods of applying phase modulation to each pulse transmitted by the radar. Hereinafter, the antenna device involved in this embodiment operating as a MIMO antenna is referred to as "MIMO operation".

[0080] In the phased array operation mode, at least two transmission channels among the transmission antennas 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d simultaneously radiate a single signal into space, and Figure 1 or Figure 3The phase shifter or signal processing of the signal processor 330 (not shown) adjusts the phase of the received signal received via the receiving antenna 30 and performs beam synthesis. In addition, when the transmission signal is radiated into space as radio waves, the radiation direction of the radio waves, that is, the beam control of the antenna pattern, can be controlled by the phase shifter. Hereinafter, the operation of the antenna device involved in this embodiment as an antenna device for a phased array radar is referred to as "phased array operation".

[0081] In addition, there are two operation modes in the MIMO operation mode. One of the two operation modes is a "high-resolution mode" in which the angle range that can be observed by the antenna device is relatively narrow but the angle resolution that can be distinguished is relatively high. The other of the two operation modes is a "wide-angle mode" in which the angle resolution that can be distinguished by the antenna device is relatively low but the angle range that can be observed is relatively wide. In addition, in the following description, the high-resolution mode may be referred to as the "first operation mode" and the wide-angle mode may be referred to as the "second operation mode". In addition, the phased array operation mode may be referred to as the "third operation mode".

[0082] The mode switching unit 340 selects one of the high-resolution mode and the wide-angle mode according to a preset control sequence or a mode control signal (not shown) from the outside, and generates transmission control information corresponding to the selected operation mode and outputs it to the DA converter 327. The signal processor 330 performs reception signal processing corresponding to the selected operation mode according to the selection of the mode switching unit 340. In addition, the signal processor 330 forms a reception beam based on the reception signal of the reception antenna 30 using the reception signal from the AD converter 326, and performs arithmetic processing for estimating the distance, speed, and angle of the target object 95.

[0083] Hereinafter, in this specification, the high-resolution mode and the wide-angle mode are described in detail. In the antenna device 150 of the first embodiment, the phased array operation uses a known technique, and a detailed description thereof is omitted here.

[0084] First, the high resolution mode is described. In the high resolution mode, based on the transmission control information and reception signal processing corresponding to the high resolution mode, the transmission channels 11 and 21 and the reception channels 31 to 34 are used.

[0085] exist Figure 3 In the transmission channel 11 , when a high-frequency signal is applied to the feeding point 81 , a transmission wave 96 is radiated from the element antenna 82 . Figure 3The transmission channel 21 of the transmission channel also operates in the same manner. In the following, for the sake of simplicity, the operation of radiating the transmission wave 96 from the element antenna connected to a certain transmission channel is simply described as "radiating radio waves from the transmission channel". In addition, similarly, for the sake of simplicity, the operation of receiving the reflected wave 97 from the element antenna connected to a certain reception channel is simply described as "receiving radio waves by the reception channel".

[0086] Transmission wave 96 radiated from transmission channels 11 and 21 is reflected by target object 95, and reflected wave 97 from target object 95 is received by reception antenna 30. In reception channel 31, a high frequency signal received by element antenna 92 ​​is input to reception point 91. Reception channels 32, 33, and 34 operate in the same manner.

[0087] The radiation of the radio waves from the transmission channel 11 and the radiation of the radio waves from the transmission channel 21 are alternately switched in a time-division manner within each frequency chirp period according to a control sequence preset by the mode switching unit 340 or an external mode control signal (not shown). The transmission channel 11 and the transmission channel 21 use the frequency chirp of the same waveform.

[0088] Furthermore, by appropriately configuring the voltage controlled oscillator 304, the mixer 324, and the power divider 306, the transmission channels 11 and 21 and the reception channels 31 to 34 can be operated by frequency division or orthogonal code division.

[0089] The high frequency signal obtained at the receiving point 91 is input to the mixer 324, subjected to frequency conversion by the mixer 324, and then converted into a digital signal by the AD converter 326. Then, the signal processor 330 performs calculation processing to estimate the distance, speed, and angle of the target object 95. In the antenna device of this embodiment, the distance estimation and speed estimation of the target object 95 are assumed to use a known technology, and detailed description is omitted here.

[0090] Next, as a reception signal processing in the high-resolution mode, the angle estimation of the target object 95 is described. First, the phase of the high-frequency signal obtained by the reception channels 31 to 34 changes with the angle of the target object 95. Therefore, the angle of the target object 95 can be estimated based on the phase change of the high-frequency signal. In estimating the angle of the target object 95, an algorithm such as MUSIC (Multiple Signal Classification) can be used, but for simplicity, the estimation method by beam scanning is used for description here.

[0091] In the signal processor 330, at multiple angles, the high frequency signals obtained from the receiving channels 31 to 34 or the signals obtained by digitizing them are multiplied by weights obtained by adjusting the phases to enhance them at specific angles and then summed. This allows a stronger signal to be obtained according to the angle at which the target object exists, and thus the angle of the target object can be estimated.

[0092] As described above, in the high-resolution mode, there are operations of radiating radio waves from the transmission channel 11 and receiving the radio waves by the reception channels 31 to 34, and operations of radiating radio waves from the transmission channel 21 and receiving the radio waves by the reception channels 31 to 34. Since the transmission channel 11 and the transmission channel 21 are located at different positions, the phases of the radio waves received by the reception channels 31 to 34 also change. Thus, a MIMO operation can be performed in which multiple channels are used for transmission and reception.

[0093] Next, regarding the effect of the high resolution mode in Embodiment 1, in addition to the above-mentioned drawings, refer to Figure 4 as well as Figure 5 The following is a description of the drawings. Figure 4 This is a diagram showing an equivalent antenna structure of the antenna device according to Embodiment 1 in the high resolution mode. Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of a receiving antenna pattern in a horizontal plane in a high resolution mode of the antenna device according to Embodiment 1. The horizontal plane is Figure 3 The second direction shown is the plane orthogonal to the y1 direction

[0094] As described above, one of the features of the antenna device 150 according to the first embodiment is that the interval At1 between the transmission channel 11 and the transmission channel 21 is wider than the entire width Ar1 of the receiving antenna 30. Figure 4 As shown, a received signal equivalent to the case where the receiving antenna 30 and the receiving antenna 40 are arranged at an interval At1 is obtained. The receiving antenna 40 is a virtual receiving antenna for explaining the receiving phase input to the signal processor 330. If the case where the radio wave is radiated from the transmission channel 11 and received by the receiving antenna 30 is used as a reference, then when the radio wave is radiated from the transmission channel 21 and received by the receiving antenna 30, the received signal equivalent to the received signal obtained by Figure 4 That is, the equivalent aperture width Arr1 of the receiving antenna of the antenna device 150 is approximately twice the substantial aperture width Ar11 of the receiving antenna 30 .

[0095] Figure 5 An example of a receiving antenna pattern in the horizontal plane of the antenna device 150 is shown in FIG. The horizontal axis is the angle (degrees), and the vertical axis is the gain, which is expressed in decibels (dB). Figure 5In FIG. 1 , the dotted line is the receiving antenna pattern when the receiving antenna 30 is used alone. This refers to the performance of the receiving antenna when only the transmission channel 11 or only the transmission channel 21 is used. In addition, the solid line is the receiving antenna pattern when both the transmission channel 11 and the transmission channel 21 are used and the antenna device 150 performs MIMO operation. This refers to Figure 4 The receiving antenna pattern obtained by combining the receiving antenna 30 with the receiving antenna 40, which is a virtual receiving antenna, includes the virtual receiving antenna, and thus can be said to be a receiving antenna pattern including a physical array and a virtual array. In contrast, the dotted line is a receiving antenna pattern when the receiving antenna 30 is used alone, and can be said to be a receiving antenna pattern of only a physical array.

[0096] like Figure 5 As shown in FIG. 1 , in the receiving antenna pattern including the physical array and the virtual array, a narrower beam width can be obtained compared with the receiving antenna pattern of only the physical array. This is because the opening width of the equivalent receiving antenna is increased in the former.

[0097] As described above, according to the antenna device involved in Embodiment 1, in the high-resolution mode, the antenna device performs MIMO operation by using a group of a first transmitting antenna and a second transmitting antenna whose interval between the transmitting antennas is wider than the overall width of the receiving antennas. As a result, the antenna opening can be virtually enlarged and the beam width can be narrowed. Thus, the angular resolution when observing the target object can be improved.

[0098] Next, the wide angle mode is described. In the wide angle mode, the transmission channels 41 and 42 and the reception channels 31 to 34 are used based on the transmission control information and reception signal processing corresponding to the wide angle mode.

[0099] Figure 3 In the example, radio waves are radiated from the transmission channel 41. The radio waves radiated from the transmission channel 41 are reflected by the target object 95 and received by the receiving antenna 30. In addition, radio waves are also radiated from the transmission channel 42. The radio waves radiated from the transmission channel 42 are reflected by the target object 95 and received by the receiving antenna 30.

[0100] The radiation of the radio waves from the transmission channel 41 and the radiation of the radio waves from the transmission channel 42 are alternately switched in a time-division manner within each frequency chirp period according to a control sequence preset by the mode switching unit 340 or an external mode control signal (not shown). The frequency chirp of the same waveform is used in the transmission channel 41 and the transmission channel 42.

[0101] The respective frequency chirping periods of transmission channels 41 and 42 are different from those of transmission channels 11 and 21, that is, different timings. Further, by appropriately configuring the voltage controlled oscillator 304, the mixer 324, and the power divider 306, it is also possible to operate the transmission channels 41 and 42 and the reception channels 31 to 34 by frequency division or orthogonal code division.

[0102] Further, the operations of the reception channels 31 to 34 in the reception antenna 30 and the arithmetic processing for estimating the distance and speed of the target 95 in the signal processor 330 are the same as those described in the high-resolution mode, and thus the description thereof is omitted here.

[0103] Next, as the reception signal processing in the wide-angle mode, the angle estimation of the target 95 will be described. First, the phase of the high-frequency signal obtained by the reception channels 31 to 34 changes with the angle of the target 95. Therefore, similar to the high-resolution mode, the angle of the target 95 can be estimated based on the phase change of the high-frequency signal.

[0104] Similar to the high-resolution mode, in the wide-angle mode, there are also operations of radiating radio waves from the transmission channel 41 and receiving the radio waves by the reception channels 31 to 34, and operations of radiating radio waves from the transmission channel 42 and receiving the radio waves by the reception channels 31 to 34. Since the positions of the transmission channel 41 and the transmission channel 42 are different, the phases of the radio waves received by the reception channels 31 to 34 also change. Thereby, the MIMO operation using multiple channels for transmission and reception can be performed.

[0105] The wide-angle mode of the embodiment 1 is characterized in that the interval Dt between the transmission channel 41 and the transmission channel 42 is narrower than the interval Dr between adjacent reception channels in the reception antenna 30. Further, Figure 3 in this case, the interval Dt between the transmission channel 41 and the transmission channel 42 and the interval Dr between adjacent reception channels are shown in a relationship of Dt = Dr / 2. Further, the relationship of Dt = Dr / 2 is an example, and if the relationship is Dt < Dr, it is included in the gist of the embodiment 1.

[0106] Figure 6 FIG. is a diagram showing an equivalent antenna structure in the wide-angle mode of the antenna device 150 according to the embodiment 1. If the case of radiating radio waves from the transmission channel 41 and receiving them by the reception antenna 30 is taken as a reference, in the case of radiating radio waves from the transmission channel 42 and receiving them by the reception antenna 30, a reception signal equivalent to the phase received by a virtual reception antenna at the position of the reception antenna 40 shown in Figure 6 is obtained. Further, as described above, Figure 3In the example of FIG. 4 , the interval Dt between the transmission channel 41 and the transmission channel 42 and the interval Dr between adjacent reception channels are in the relationship of Dr>Dt. Therefore, in the wide-angle mode, Figure 6 As shown in FIG. 1 , the antenna structure is formed in which the entirety of the receiving channels 31 to 34 is offset by Dt in the right direction of the paper. Thus, the receiving antenna 30 and the receiving antenna 40 are configured to be arranged in a manner offset by the interval Dt, and the respective receiving channels constituting the receiving antenna 30 and the respective receiving channels constituting the receiving antenna 40 are configured to be alternately arranged. In addition, since the interval Dr and the interval Dt are set to the relationship of Dt=Dr / 2, as shown in FIG. Figure 6 As shown, the virtual receiving channel is configured at a middle position between adjacent receiving channels.

[0107] Figure 7 : is a diagram showing an example of a receiving antenna pattern in a horizontal plane in a wide-angle mode of the antenna device 150 according to Embodiment 1. The horizontal axis is the angle (degrees), and the vertical axis is the gain, which is expressed in decibels (dB). Figure 7 In FIG. 1 , the dotted line is the receiving antenna pattern when the receiving antenna 30 is used alone. This refers to the performance of the receiving antenna when only the transmission channel 41 or only the transmission channel 42 is used. In addition, the solid line is the receiving antenna pattern when both the transmission channels 41 and 42 are used and the antenna device 150 performs MIMO operation. This refers to Figure 6 The receiving antenna pattern obtained by combining the receiving antenna 30 with the virtual receiving antenna, that is, the receiving antenna 40, is Figure 5 In the same manner as in the case of , it can be said that the receiving antenna pattern includes both the physical array and the virtual array. In contrast, the dotted line is the receiving antenna pattern when the receiving antenna 30 is used alone, and is Figure 5 The same is true for the case of , which can be said to be the receiving antenna pattern of only the physical array. Figure 7 In the figure, the dotted line and the antenna's main beam are directed to the right 45 degrees in the horizontal plane.

[0108] Generally, in a receive antenna pattern of an antenna arrangement, the denser the channel spacing, the more difficult it is to generate grating lobes that cause unwanted radiation. Figure 7 In the dashed line of , the channel spacing is relatively coarse, so that a grating lobe is generated in the direction of about -20 degrees. In the case of this example, it becomes difficult to distinguish between the object mark 95 in the direction of 45 degrees and the object mark 95 in the direction of -20 degrees. On the other hand, Figure 7 In the solid line, the channel spacing becomes denser through MIMO operation, so that no grating lobes are generated.

[0109] As described above, according to the antenna device involved in Embodiment 1, in the wide-angle mode, the antenna device performs MIMO operation by using a group of the third transmitting antenna and the fourth transmitting antenna whose interval between the transmitting antennas is narrower than the interval between adjacent receiving channels in the receiving antennas. As a result, the interval between the real receiving antenna and the virtual receiving antenna can be narrower than the interval between adjacent receiving channels in the real receiving antenna and arranged densely. As a result, when observing an object, unnecessary grating lobes can be suppressed and the observable angle range can be expanded.

[0110] In addition, according to the antenna device involved in embodiment 1, by changing the transmission channel used in the wide-angle mode and the high-resolution mode, the receiving antenna can be shared in the wide-angle mode and the high-resolution mode. Thus, the wide-angle mode can be realized without setting a separate receiving channel for the wide-angle mode. Thus, the increase in cost can be suppressed, and both high resolution and wide angle in the angle estimation of the target object can be taken into account. In addition, the receiving antenna can be shared, so the size of the device can be suppressed and a simpler radar device can be constructed.

[0111] Implementation method 2.

[0112] Figure 8 This is a diagram showing an example of arrangement of element antennas in an antenna device according to the second embodiment. Figure 8 In the antenna device 150A according to the second embodiment, Figure 3 In the structure of the antenna device 150 involved in the embodiment 1 shown, the transmitting antennas 10a and 10b are replaced by the transmitting antennas 10e and 10f, respectively, and the transmitting antennas 10c and 10d are deleted. In addition, the transmitting antenna 10e is provided with two transmitting channels 11 and 12, and the transmitting antenna 10f is provided with two transmitting channels 21 and 22. In addition, regarding other structures, the same or equivalent structures as the structures of the embodiment 1 are marked with the same reference numerals, and repeated descriptions are omitted. In addition, in the following description, the transmitting channels 11, 12, 21, and 22 may be respectively referred to as "first transmitting channel", "second transmitting channel", "third transmitting channel", and "fourth transmitting channel".

[0113] right Figure 8 to supplement the structure. Figure 8 In the embodiment, the transmission antenna 10e and the transmission antenna 10f are arranged at a distance wider than the overall width Ar1 of the receiving antenna 30, which is the same as the first embodiment. However, since the structures of the transmission antennas 10e and 10f are different from those of the first embodiment, Figure 8 In the example, "At2" is used to mark the interval. Figure 8In the example of, when there are two transmission channels, the interval At2 is the length between the midpoint of the transmission channels 11 and 12 and the midpoint of the transmission channels 21 and 22. When there are three or more transmission channels, in each of the transmission antennas 10e and 10f, the same radio wave is transmitted at the same time in each transmission channel, so the interval At2 is the length between the phase center of the transmission antenna 10e and the phase center of the transmission antenna 10f.

[0114] Next, the operation of antenna device 150A according to Embodiment 2 will be described. Antenna device 150A according to Embodiment 2 is similar to antenna device 150 according to Embodiment 1, and mainly has two operation modes, namely, a high-resolution mode and a wide-angle mode.

[0115] First, the high-resolution mode in Embodiment 2 will be described. In the high-resolution mode, transmission channels 11, 12, 21, and 22 and reception channels 31 to 34 are used.

[0116] In the antenna device 150A according to the second embodiment, radio waves are radiated from a plurality of transmission channels arranged in the horizontal direction, that is, the x1 direction. Figure 8 In the structure, radio waves are radiated simultaneously from transmission channels 11 and 12, and radio waves are radiated simultaneously from transmission channels 21 and 22. Thus, compared with the case where radio waves are radiated only from transmission channel 11 or only from transmission channel 12, the beam width of the radiation pattern can be narrowed.

[0117] Fig. 9 : is a diagram showing an example of a receiving antenna pattern in a horizontal plane in a high-resolution mode of an antenna device according to Embodiment 2. The transmitting antenna pattern is the same as the radiation pattern. The horizontal axis is the angle (degrees), and the vertical axis is the gain, which is expressed in decibels (dB). In addition, Fig. 9 In FIG. 1 , the dotted line is a transmission antenna pattern when a single transmission channel (e.g., transmission channel 11) is used. In addition, the transmission antenna pattern is realized when two transmission channels, such as transmission channels 11 and 12, are used simultaneously. It can be seen that, compared with the former, the latter can converge the antenna beam to the vicinity of the front, so that the power can be concentrated in the direction to be observed.

[0118] The radio waves radiated from the transmission channels 11 and 12 are reflected by the target object 95 and received by the receiving channels 31 to 34 of the receiving antenna 30. The radio waves radiated from the transmission channels 21 and 22 are also reflected by the target object 95 and received by the receiving channels 31 to 34 of the receiving antenna 30. In the signal processor 330 of the radar device 300, signal processing is performed to estimate the distance, speed, and angle of the target object 95 based on the signal obtained by digitizing the high-frequency signal obtained at the receiving point 91. In addition, as described above, since the estimation of the distance and speed of the target object 95 uses a well-known technology, the description is omitted here.

[0119] Next, the angle estimation of the target object 95 in the high-resolution mode in the second embodiment is described. In the high-resolution mode of the second embodiment, there are operations of radiating radio waves from the transmission channels 11 and 12 of the transmission antenna 10e and receiving the radio waves by the receiving channels 31 to 34, and radiating radio waves from the transmission channels 21 and 22 of the transmission antenna 10f and receiving the radio waves by the receiving channels 31 to 34. At this time, the transmission channels 11 and 12 of the transmission antenna 10e operate as the first transmission antenna, and the transmission channels 21 and 22 of the transmission antenna 10f operate as the second transmission antenna. Since the transmission antenna 10e and the transmission antenna 10f are located at different positions, the phase of the radio waves received by the receiving channels 31 to 34 also changes. Thus, a MIMO operation using multiple channels for transmission and reception can be performed.

[0120] Fig.10 1 is a diagram showing an equivalent antenna structure in the high resolution mode of the antenna device according to Embodiment 2. Fig.10 As shown in FIG. 1 , a reception signal equivalent to that obtained when the receiving antenna 30 and the receiving antenna 40a as a virtual receiving antenna are arranged at an interval At2 is obtained. If the case where radio waves are radiated from the transmission channels 11 and 12 and received by the receiving antenna 30 is used as a reference, then when radio waves are radiated from the transmission channels 21 and 22 and received by the receiving antenna 30, a reception signal equivalent to that obtained by Fig.10 The phase equivalent to the phase received by the virtual receiving antenna at the position of the receiving antenna 40a shown in . Thereby, for example, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.

[0121] In addition, in embodiment 1, if Figure 3 As shown, one transmitting antenna has one transmitting channel. In contrast, in Embodiment 2, as shown in FIG. Figure 8 As shown, one transmission antenna has two transmission channels. Therefore, the gain of one transmission antenna in Embodiment 2 is higher than that in Embodiment 1. Therefore, when the interval between the transmission antennas is the same, the resolution in the high-resolution mode of Embodiment 2 becomes higher than that of Embodiment 1.

[0122] Next, the angle estimation of the target 95 in the wide-angle mode in Embodiment 2 will be described. In the wide-angle mode of Embodiment 2, there are operations of radiating radio waves from the transmission channel 11 of the transmission antenna 10e and receiving the radio waves by the reception channels 31 to 34, and operations of radiating radio waves from the transmission channel 12 of the transmission antenna 10e and receiving the radio waves by the reception channels 31 to 34. That is, in the wide-angle mode of Embodiment 2, only the transmission antenna 10e is used, and the transmission antenna 10f is not used. At this time, the transmission channel 11 operates as the third transmission antenna, and the transmission channel 12 operates as the fourth transmission antenna. Since the positions of the transmission channel 11 and the transmission channel 12 in the x1 direction are different, the phases of the radio waves received by the reception channels 31 to 34 also change. Thus, MIMO operations using multiple channels for transmission and reception can be performed.

[0123] The wide-angle mode of Embodiment 2 is characterized in that the interval Dt between the transmission channel 11 and the transmission channel 12 is narrower than the interval Dr between adjacent reception channels in the reception antenna 30. In addition, Figure 8 in this case, the interval Dt between the transmission channel 11 and the transmission channel 12 and the interval Dr between adjacent reception channels are shown as a relationship of Dt = Dr / 2. Additionally, the relationship of Dt = Dr / 2 is an example, and if the relationship is Dt < Dr, it is included in the gist of Embodiment 2.

[0124] With the above structure, as shown in the description of Embodiment 1, Figure 6 the reception channels 31 to 34 constituting the reception antenna 30 and the reception channels constituting the virtual reception antenna 40a are alternately arranged. Thus, it becomes an equivalent structure that is the same as or equivalent to Embodiment 1 in which the reception antenna 30 having the reception channels 31 to 34 and the reception antenna 40 having the virtual reception channels are arranged with an offset interval Dt. Therefore, the same effects as those of Embodiment 1 can be obtained.

[0125] In addition, in the wide-angle mode of Embodiment 2, radio waves are radiated only from any one of the two transmission channels. The radiation pattern in the horizontal plane at this time is as shown by the dashed line in Fig. 9 and it is possible to radiate radio waves over a wide range by using only 1 transmission channel. Thus, the resolution in the high-resolution mode can be improved while maintaining the wide-angle performance in the wide-angle mode.

[0126] In addition, according to the antenna device involved in Embodiment 2, in both the wide-angle mode and the high-resolution mode, the receiving antenna 30 is shared as in Embodiment 1, and a part of the transmission channel is further shared. By sharing a part of the transmission channel, when the high-resolution mode is used as a reference, as shown in Embodiment 1, the wide-angle mode can be realized without setting a separate transmission channel for the wide-angle mode. As a result, the increase in cost can be suppressed, and both high resolution and wide angle in the angle estimation of the target object can be taken into account. In addition, since a part of the transmission channel can be shared, the size of the device can be suppressed and a simpler radar device can be constructed compared to Embodiment 1.

[0127] in addition, Figure 8 In the structure, between the transmitting antennas 10e, 10f and the receiving antenna 30, there is only a relationship At2>Ar1 between the interval At2 between the transmitting antenna 10e and the transmitting antenna 10f and the overall width Ar1 of the receiving antenna 30, and the relative positional relationship between the group of transmitting antennas 10e, 10f and the receiving antenna 30 is arbitrary.

[0128] By the above structure, as used in the description of the first embodiment Figure 6 As shown, the receiving channels 31 to 34 constituting the receiving antenna 30 and the respective receiving channels constituting the virtual receiving antenna 40 are alternately arranged. Thus, the same or equivalent structure as the first embodiment in which the receiving antenna 30 having the receiving channels 31 to 34 and the receiving antenna 40 having the virtual receiving channel are arranged offset by the interval Dt is obtained. Therefore, the same effect as the first embodiment can be obtained.

[0129] In the second embodiment, the transmission channels 11 and 12 of the transmission antenna 10e are used in the wide-angle mode, but the transmission channels 21 and 22 of the transmission antenna 10f may be used instead of the transmission antenna 10e to radiate radio waves. Of course, in the transmission antenna 10f, the interval between the transmission channels 21 and 22 needs to be narrower than the interval Dr between adjacent reception channels in the reception antenna 30.

[0130] Implementation method 3.

[0131] Fig.11 This is a diagram showing an example of arrangement of element antennas in an antenna device according to a third embodiment. Fig.11 In the antenna device 150B according to the third embodiment, Figure 8 In the configuration of the antenna device 150A according to the second embodiment shown, the transmission antennas 10e and 10e are replaced with transmission antennas 10g and 10h, respectively.

[0132] The transmission antenna 10g is provided with eight transmission channels 61 to 68, and the transmission antenna 10h is provided with eight transmission channels 71 to 78. The structure of each transmission channel will be described later.

[0133] In addition, regarding other structures, if they are the same or equivalent to the structures of Embodiment 2, the same or equivalent structural parts are marked with the same reference numerals to indicate them, and repeated descriptions are omitted. In addition, in the following description, transmission channels 61, 62, 63, 64, 71, 72, 73, 74 can be respectively referred to as "first transmission channel", "second transmission channel", "third transmission channel", "fourth transmission channel", "fifth transmission channel", "sixth transmission channel", "seventh transmission channel" and "eighth transmission channel". In addition, in the following description, one or more of transmission channels 65 to 68 can be collectively referred to as "ninth transmission channel", and at least one or more of transmission channels 75 to 78 can be collectively referred to as "tenth transmission channel".

[0134] right Fig.11 to supplement the structure. Fig.11 In the embodiment 2, the transmission antenna 10g and the transmission antenna 10h are arranged at a distance wider than the width Ar1 of the entire receiving antenna 30, which is the same as the second embodiment. However, since the structures of the transmission antennas 10g and 10h are different from those of the second embodiment, Fig.11 In each of the transmitting antennas 10g and 10h, the same radio wave is transmitted at the same time in each transmission channel, so the interval At3 is the length between the phase center of the transmitting antenna 10g and the phase center of the transmitting antenna 10h.

[0135] In addition, Fig.11 In the embodiment, the transmission channels 61, 63, 71, and 73 have the same structure, the transmission channels 62, 64, 72, and 74 have the same structure, and the transmission channels 65 to 68 and 75 to 78 have the same structure. Each of the transmission channels 61, 63, 71, and 73 and each of the transmission channels 62, 64, 72, and 74 are symmetrical with respect to the y1-direction axis, and each of the transmission channels 65 to 68 and each of the transmission channels 75 to 78 are symmetrical with respect to the y1-direction axis.

[0136] also, Fig.11 In the transmission channels 61 to 64 and 71 to 74, two element antennas 82 are arranged in one row in the y1 direction, and in the transmission channels 65 to 68 and 75 to 78, eight element antennas 82 are arranged in four rows in the x1 direction and in two rows in the y1 direction.

[0137] That is, in the transmission channels 61 to 64 and 71 to 74 , two element antennas 82 arranged in the y1 direction are connected to respective feeding points 81 via respective lines 83 , thereby forming sub-array antennas each consisting of two element antennas 82 .

[0138] In addition, in the transmitting channels 65 to 68 and 75 to 78, four element antennas 82 respectively arranged in the x1 direction are connected via respective lines 83 to form a four-element antenna group, and two columns of four-element antenna groups are arranged in the y1 direction and connected to respective feeding points 81, thereby forming sub-array antennas consisting of a total of eight element antennas 82.

[0139] Fig.11 In the structure, the number of elements of the element antenna 82 in the transmission channels 61 to 64 and 71 to 74 is set to 2, but it can be multiple (N, N is an integer greater than 2). In addition, the number of elements of the element antenna 82 in the transmission channels 65 to 68 and 75 to 78 is set to 8, but it can be multiple (M, M is an integer greater than 2). It is preferred that M is greater than N.

[0140] in addition, Fig.11 The configuration of each transmission channel shown is an example. The number of element antennas 82, the arrangement direction, the arrangement order of each transmission channel in each of the transmission antennas 10g, 10h, etc. are arbitrary and may be determined in accordance with the performance of the radar device.

[0141] in addition, Fig.11 In the transmission antenna 10g, as a preferred arrangement example, the positions of the phase centers of the groups of transmission channels 61 and 62, the groups of transmission channels 63 and 64, and each of the transmission channels 65 to 68 are arranged to coincide with each other on the x1 axis. The same is true for the transmission antenna 10h.

[0142] In addition, in the following description, instead of the above definition, the transmission antennas 61, 62, 71, 72 may be referred to as “the first transmission subarray antenna”, “the second transmission subarray antenna”, “the third transmission subarray antenna”, and “the fourth transmission subarray antenna”, respectively. In addition, the transmission channels 63, 64, 73, 74 may be referred to as “the fifth transmission subarray antenna”, “the sixth transmission subarray antenna”, “the seventh transmission subarray antenna”, and “the eighth transmission subarray antenna”, respectively. In addition, the transmission channels 65, 66, 67, 68, 75, 76, 77, 78 may be referred to as “the ninth transmission subarray antenna”, “the tenth transmission subarray antenna”, “the eleventh transmission subarray antenna”, “the twelfth transmission subarray antenna”, “the thirteenth transmission subarray antenna”, “the fourteenth transmission subarray antenna”, “the fifteenth transmission subarray antenna”, and “the sixteenth transmission subarray antenna”, respectively.

[0143] Next, the operation of antenna device 150B according to Embodiment 3 will be described. As in Embodiments 1 and 2, antenna device 150B according to Embodiment 3 is mainly characterized by having two operation modes, namely, a high-resolution mode and a wide-angle mode.

[0144] First, the high-resolution mode in Embodiment 3 is described. In the high-resolution mode, transmission channels 61 to 68 and 71 to 78 and reception channels 31 to 34 are used.

[0145] Fig.11 In the embodiment, the radio waves radiated from each of the transmission channels 61-68 are reflected by the target object 95 and received by the receiving channels 31-34 of the receiving antenna 30. The radio waves radiated from each of the transmission channels 71-78 are also reflected by the target object 95 and received by the receiving channels 31-34 of the receiving antenna 30.

[0146] In the high-resolution mode, at least the transmission channel 66 and the transmission channel 67 and the transmission channel 76 and the transmission channel 77 are switched alternately to transmit radio waves. In the wide-angle mode, during the adjacent first frequency chirp period and the second frequency chirp period, the transmission channel 61 or the transmission channel 63 and the transmission channel 62 or the transmission channel 64 are switched alternately to transmit radio waves. Then, during the adjacent third frequency chirp period and the fourth frequency chirp period, the transmission channel 71 or the transmission channel 73 and the transmission channel 72 or the transmission channel 74 are switched alternately to transmit radio waves. These processes are implemented according to a control sequence preset by the mode switching unit 340 or a mode control signal (not shown) from the outside.

[0147] In the signal processor 330 of the radar device 300, signal processing is performed to estimate the distance, speed, and angle of the target object 95 based on the signal obtained by digitizing the high-frequency signal obtained at the receiving point 91. As described above, since the estimation of the distance and speed of the target object 95 uses a known technology, the description thereof is omitted here.

[0148] Next, the angle estimation of the target object 95 in the high-resolution mode in the third embodiment is described. In the high-resolution mode in the third embodiment, there are operations of simultaneously radiating radio waves from each of the transmission channels 61 to 68 of the transmission antenna 10g and receiving the radio waves by the reception channels 31 to 34, and simultaneously radiating radio waves from each of the transmission channels 71 to 78 of the transmission antenna 10h and receiving the radio waves by the reception channels 31 to 34. At this time, the transmission channels 61 to 64 of the transmission antenna 10g operate as the first transmission antenna, and the transmission channels 71 to 74 of the transmission antenna 10h operate as the second transmission antenna. Since the transmission antenna 10g and the transmission antenna 10h are located at different positions, the phase of the radio waves received by the reception channels 31 to 34 also changes. Thus, a MIMO operation can be performed in which a plurality of channels are used for transmission and reception.

[0149] Fig.12 1 is a diagram showing an equivalent antenna structure in the high resolution mode of the antenna device according to Embodiment 3. Fig.12 As shown in FIG. 1 , a reception signal equivalent to that obtained when the receiving antenna 30 and the receiving antenna 40b as a virtual receiving antenna are arranged at interval At3 is obtained. If the case where radio waves are radiated from the transmission channels 61 to 68 and received by the receiving antenna 30 is used as a reference, then when radio waves are radiated from the transmission channels 71 to 78 and received by the receiving antenna 30, a signal equivalent to that obtained by Fig.12 The phase equivalent to the phase received by the virtual receiving antenna at the position of the receiving antenna 40b shown in . This can achieve the same effect as that of the second embodiment.

[0150] In addition, in Embodiment 2, Figure 8 As shown, one transmitting antenna has two transmitting channels. In contrast, in Embodiment 3, as shown in FIG. Fig.11 As shown, one transmitting antenna has eight transmitting channels. Therefore, the gain of one transmitting antenna in Embodiment 3 is higher than that in Embodiment 2. Therefore, the resolution in the high-resolution mode of Embodiment 3 is higher than that in Embodiment 2. In addition, in the structure of Embodiment 3, the number of transmitting channels per transmitting antenna is not limited to eight. As long as the high-resolution mode and the wide-angle mode can be realized, the number of transmitting channels per transmitting antenna may be an even number of four or more.

[0151] Next, the angle estimation of the target 95 in the wide-angle mode in Embodiment 3 will be described. In the wide-angle mode of Embodiment 3, there are operations of radiating radio waves from the transmission channels 61 and 63 of the transmission antenna 10g and receiving the radio waves by the reception channels 31 to 34, and operations of radiating radio waves from the transmission channels 62 and 64 of the transmission antenna 10g and receiving the radio waves by the reception channels 31 to 34. That is, in the wide-angle mode of Embodiment 3, only the transmission antenna 10g is used, and the transmission antenna 10h is not used. At this time, the transmission channels 61 and 63 operate as a third transmission antenna, and the transmission channels 62 and 64 operate as a fourth transmission antenna. Since the positions of the transmission channels 61 and 63 and the transmission channels 62 and 64 in the x1 direction are different, the phases of the radio waves received by the reception channels 31 to 34 also change. Thereby, MIMO operations using multiple channels for transmission and reception can be performed.

[0152] The wide-angle mode of Embodiment 3 is characterized in that the interval Dt between the group of the transmission channels 61 and 63 and the group of the transmission channels 62 and 64 is narrower than the interval Dr between adjacent reception channels in the reception antenna 30. In addition, Fig.11 in this case, the interval Dt between the group of the transmission channels 61 and 63 and the group of the transmission channels 62 and 64 and the interval Dr between adjacent reception channels are shown as a relationship of Dt = Dr / 2. In addition, the relationship of Dt = Dr / 2 is an example, and if the relationship is Dt < Dr, it is included in the gist of Embodiment 3.

[0153] With the above structure, it becomes the same structure as that used in the description of Embodiment 1. Figure 6 Specifically, it is configured such that the reception channels 31 to 34 constituting the reception antenna 30 and the respective reception channels constituting the virtual reception antenna 40b are alternately arranged. Thereby, it becomes the same or equivalent structure as that of Embodiments 1 and 2 in which the reception antenna 30 having the reception channels 31 to 34 and the reception antenna 40b having the virtual reception channels are arranged with an offset of the interval Dt. Therefore, the same effects as those of Embodiments 1 and 2 can be obtained.

[0154] In addition, according to the antenna device according to Embodiment 3, in both the wide-angle mode and the high-resolution mode, the reception antenna 30 is shared in the same manner as in Embodiment 1, and further a part of the transmission channels is shared. By sharing a part of the transmission channels, in the case of taking the high-resolution mode as a reference, as shown in Embodiment 1, the wide-angle mode can be realized without providing a separate transmission channel for the wide-angle mode. Thereby, an increase in cost can be suppressed, and both high resolution and wide-angle in the angle estimation of the target can be achieved. In addition, since a part of the transmission channels can be shared, compared with Embodiment 1, the size of the device can be suppressed and a radar device with a simpler configuration can be formed.

[0155] Furthermore, in the antenna device according to the third embodiment, among some of the transmission channels having different positions in the vertical direction, there are transmission channels whose interval Dt is narrower than the interval Dr between adjacent channels among the receiving channels 31 to 34. Specifically, in the transmitting antenna 10g, the transmission channels 61, 63, 65 to 68 have different positions on the axis in the vertical direction. Among these transmission channels, there is a transmission channel 62 that is arranged to be offset by an interval Dt in the horizontal direction relative to the transmission channel 61. In addition, there is a transmission channel 64 that is arranged to be offset by an interval Dt in the horizontal direction relative to the transmission channel 63. On the other hand, among the transmission channels 65 to 68, there is no other transmission channel at the position of the interval Dt. In the case of this example, all the transmission channels constituting the transmitting antenna 10g are used in the high-resolution mode, so that the beam width in the vertical direction becomes relatively narrow. On the other hand, the transmission channels 61 to 64 are used in the wide-angle mode, so that the beam width in the vertical direction becomes relatively wide. Thus, the beam width in the vertical direction can be changed according to the operation mode. Here, although the transmission antenna 10g has been described, the transmission antenna 10h can also be operated in the same manner.

[0156] In addition, according to the antenna device involved in Embodiment 3, radio waves can be radiated simultaneously through the transmission channels 61 to 68 and 71 to 78 arranged in the vertical direction. When the total output power is set to be constant, a plurality of transmission channels are used, thereby reducing the power of each transmission channel. As a result, the required output of the IC (not shown) connected to each transmission channel can be reduced, and the amplifier of the IC can be simply configured.

[0157] in addition, Fig.11 In the structure, between the transmitting antennas 10g, 10h and the receiving antenna 30, there is only a relationship At3>Ar1 between the interval At3 between the transmitting antenna 10g and the transmitting antenna 10h and the overall width Ar1 of the receiving antenna 30, and the relative positional relationship between the group of transmitting antennas 10g, 10h and the receiving antenna 30 is arbitrary.

[0158] In Embodiment 3, the transmission channels 61 to 64 of the transmission antenna 10g are used in the wide-angle mode, but the transmission channels 71 to 74 of the transmission antenna 10h may be used instead of the transmission antenna 10e to radiate radio waves. Of course, in the transmission antenna 10h, the interval between the group of transmission channels 71 and 73 and the group of transmission channels 72 and 74 needs to be narrower than the interval Dr between adjacent reception channels in the reception antenna 30.

[0159] also, Fig.11In the structure of FIG. 1 , the transmission channels 61 to 68 and 71 to 78 constituting each of the transmission antennas 10g and 10h are located at different positions in the vertical direction, so that the beam direction in the vertical direction can be changed by providing a phase difference to the radio waves transmitted by each transmission channel. Thus, the vertical angle of the target object 95 can be estimated.

[0160] exist Fig.11 In the structure of , an example of beam scanning in the vertical direction is as follows. Switching to the transmission of any one or both of the transmission channel 61 and the transmission channel 63, and switching to the transmission of any one or both of the transmission channel 62 and the transmission channel 64 are switched alternately. Alternatively, switching to the transmission of any one or both of the transmission channel 71 and the transmission channel 73, and switching to the transmission of any one or both of the transmission channel 72 and the transmission channel 74 are switched alternately. Alternatively, switching to the transmission of any one or more of the transmission channels 61 to 68, and switching to the transmission of any one or more of the transmission channels 71 to 78 are switched alternately.

[0161] In addition, when there is no need to change the beam direction in the vertical direction or when there is no need to narrow the beam in the vertical direction, transmission channels 65 to 68 and 75 to 78 may not be used, and only transmission channels 61 to 64 and 71 to 74 may be used.

[0162] also, Fig.11 The antenna device 150B according to the third embodiment shown in the figure may also be configured as follows: Fig.13 shown. Fig.13 This is a diagram showing a modified example of the antenna device according to the third embodiment.

[0163] Fig.13 In the antenna device 150C according to the modification of the third embodiment, Fig.11 In the structure of the antenna device 150B involved in the third embodiment shown, the receiving antenna 30 is replaced by the receiving antenna 30A. In the receiving antenna 30A, in addition to the receiving channels 31 to 34, receiving channels 35 and 36 are added. The receiving channel 35 has two receiving channels with the same structure as the receiving channel 31. One receiving channel and another receiving channel are arranged at the same interval as the interval Dr between adjacent channels in the receiving channels 31 to 34, and the receiving channels are connected by the line 93b so that the receiving point becomes one. The receiving channel 36 also has the same structure. In addition, the structure of the transmitting antennas 10g and 10h is the same as that of the receiving channel 31. Fig.11 For structures that are the same or equivalent to the above, the same reference numerals are given to the same structural parts, and repeated descriptions are omitted.

[0164] Receiving channel 35 is adjacent to receiving channel 31 and arranged in the negative direction of x1. Receiving channel 36 is adjacent to receiving channel 34 and arranged in the positive direction of x1. The interval between receiving channel 31 and receiving channel 35 and the interval between receiving channel 34 and receiving channel 36 are arbitrary, but are configured so that the overall width of receiving antenna 30A becomes Ar2. Fig.11 The structure is the same as that of the transmission antenna 10g and the transmission antenna 10h. There is a relationship At3>Ar2 between the interval At3 between the transmission antenna 10g and the transmission antenna 10h and the width Ar2 of the entire receiving antenna 30A. In the case where the receiving channels 35 and 36 cannot be confined between the transmission antenna 10g and the transmission antenna 10h due to the size of the receiving channels 35 and 36, the interval At3 can also be widened.

[0165] The operation of high-resolution mode is basically the same as Fig.11 The operation is the same as the structure shown in . Fig.14 1 is a diagram showing an equivalent antenna structure in the high resolution mode of the antenna device according to Embodiment 3. Fig.14 As shown in FIG. 1 , a reception signal equivalent to that obtained when the receiving antenna 30A and the receiving antenna 40A are arranged at an interval At3 is obtained. If the case where radio waves are radiated from the transmission channels 61 to 68 and received by the receiving antenna 30A is used as a reference, then when radio waves are radiated from the transmission channels 71 to 78 and received by the receiving antenna 30A, a reception signal equivalent to that obtained by Fig.14 The phase equivalent to the phase received by the virtual receiving antenna at the position of the receiving antenna 40A shown in . This can achieve the same effects as those of the second and third embodiments.

[0166] The wide-angle mode action is basically the same Fig.11 The operation of the structure shown in is the same. In the wide-angle mode, unlike the high-resolution mode, a part of the reception channels may be used for processing. Here, reception channels 31 to 34 are used.

[0167] Fig.13 In the embodiment, when the receiving channels 31 to 34 are used as receiving antennas and MIMO operation is performed by using the transmission through the transmission channels 61 and 63 and the transmission through the transmission channels 62 and 64, the structure of the virtual receiving channel is the same as Figure 6 That is, the relative positional relationship between the receiving antenna 30A and the virtual receiving antenna 40A is the same as that in Embodiment 1. Thus, the effects of Embodiment 3 described above can be obtained.

[0168] Implementation method 4.

[0169] In the fourth embodiment, Figure 1 A high-frequency circuit used in the radar device shown is described. Fig.15It is shown Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a high frequency circuit used in a radar device. Fig.15 , only the structure of the portion connected to each of the transmitting antennas 10g and 10h is shown.

[0170] Fig.15 In the embodiment, the high frequency circuit 200 includes an oscillator 201 and 16 transmitters 111 to 118, 121 to 128. The oscillator 201 is composed of Figure 1 A voltage controlled oscillator 304 is provided.

[0171] The transmitter 111 includes a phase shifter 131, an amplifier 132, an output terminal 133, and a control line 134. The transmitters 112 to 118 and 121 to 128 are also configured in the same manner as the transmitter 111. The eight transmitters 111 to 118 are arranged in the same manner as the transmitter 111. Fig.11 The number of transmission channels 61 to 68 in the embodiment corresponds to that in the embodiment, and the eight transmitters 121 to 128 are arranged to correspond to that in the embodiment. Fig.11 The output terminal 133 of the transmitter 111 is connected to Fig.11 The output terminals 133 of the transmitters 112 to 118 and 121 to 128 are connected to the feed points 81 of the corresponding transmission channels in the same manner as the transmitter 111. The transmitters 111 to 118 and 121 to 128 constitute Figure 1 The high frequency transmitting circuit 600. Figure 1 The power divider 306 is shown simply as a portion of the structure through line 202.

[0172] Next, the operation of the high-frequency circuit 200 in the fourth embodiment will be described.

[0173] The oscillator 201 generates a high frequency signal. The high frequency signal generated by the oscillator 201 is distributed to the transmitters 111 to 118 and 121 to 128 via the line 202. At this time, the frequency of the oscillator 201 may be set to 1 / N (N is an integer), and a multiplier may be provided in each transmitter to multiply the frequency by N and output.

[0174] The mode switching unit 340 of the signal processor 330 generates transmission control information composed of phase control information of the phase shifter 131 and output control information of the amplifier 132 corresponding to each mode according to each of the MIMO operation in the high-resolution mode and the MIMO operation in the wide-angle mode, and transmits the transmission control information to the DA converter 327. The DA converter 327 performs digital-to-analog conversion of the phase control information into a phase control signal, and performs digital-to-analog conversion of the output control information into an output control signal.

[0175] The phase shifter 131 adjusts the phase of the high-frequency signal based on the phase control signal of the transmission control signal from the DA converter 327. The amplifier 132 amplifies the power of the high-frequency signal based on the output control signal of the transmission control signal from the DA converter 327. The high-frequency signal output from the amplifier 132 is transmitted to the element antenna 82 via the output terminal 133 and the feeding point 81 of each transmission channel, and the electric wave is radiated from the element antenna 82.

[0176] In the above operation, the phase of the high frequency signal is adjusted by the phase shifter 131, thereby changing the direction of the antenna beam in the vertical direction. As a result, the angle can be measured in the vertical direction. In addition, in the above, the case where the antenna device performs a phased array operation when measuring the angle in the horizontal direction is described, but by changing the direction of the antenna beam in the vertical direction, it can also perform a phased array operation in the vertical direction.

[0177] The control line 134 switches on and off the output of the high-frequency signals of the transmitters 111 to 118 and 121 to 128 .

[0178] First, in high-resolution mode, Fig.11 When the transmitting antenna 10g radiates radio waves, the transmitters 111 to 118 are turned on and the transmitters 121 to 128 are turned off. Fig.11 When the transmitting antenna 10h radiates radio waves, the transmitters 111 to 118 are turned off and the transmitters 121 to 128 are turned on.

[0179] In addition, in wide-angle mode, Fig.11 When radio waves are radiated from the transmission channels 61 and 63 of the transmission antenna 10g, the transmitters 111 and 113 are turned on and the other transmitters are turned off. When radio waves are radiated from the transmission channels 62 and 64 of the transmission antenna 10g, the transmitters 112 and 114 are turned on and the other transmitters are turned off.

[0180] As described above, by using the high-frequency circuit 200 in the fourth embodiment, the MIMO operation in the high-resolution mode and the MIMO operation in the wide-angle mode can be realized simply by turning on or off each transmitter.

[0181] In addition, although the above description is about the operation of turning on or off each transmitter, the output power of the transmitter that is turned on can also be adjusted. By adjusting the output power of the transmitter, the beam width, beam direction, etc. can be finely controlled.

[0182] also, Fig.15 The high frequency circuit 200 can also be Fig.16 As shown. Fig.16 It is shown Fig.15FIG. 2 is a diagram showing another configuration example of the high frequency circuit 200 shown in FIG.

[0183] Fig.16 The high frequency circuit 200A shown includes IC110 and IC120. Fig.16 , transmitters 111 to 118 are mounted on IC 110, and transmitters 121 to 128 are mounted on IC 120. Fig.16 In the case of a structure of, by turning on and off the transmitter in the IC, each transmission channel can operate in a wide-angle mode and a high-resolution mode.

[0184] In addition, Fig.16 In the embodiment, IC110 includes all transmitters connected to the transmission channels 61 to 68 provided in the transmission antenna 10g, and IC120 includes all transmitters connected to the transmission channels 71 to 78 provided in the transmission antenna 10h, but the present invention is not limited to this structure. For example, all transmitters connected to the transmission channels 61 to 68 and 71 to 78 may be included in one IC. The IC may also be an existing IC.

[0185] Furthermore, contrary to the above, for example, the transmitters connected to the transmission channels 61 to 68, 71 to 78 may also be divided into several groups, and an IC may be included in each group. Fig.11 In the case of a structure of, it can be divided into 6 groups. The first group is a transmitter group connected to transmission channels 61 and 63, the second group is a transmitter group connected to transmission channels 62 and 64, the third group is a transmitter group connected to transmission channels 65 to 68, the fourth group is a transmitter group connected to transmission channels 71 and 73, the fifth group is a transmitter group connected to transmission channels 72 and 74, and the sixth group is a transmitter group connected to transmission channels 75 to 78. Through these groupings, each transmission channel can be operated in the wide-angle mode and the high-resolution mode by turning on and off the IC unit.

[0186] Implementation method 5.

[0187] Fig.17 This is a diagram showing an example of arrangement of element antennas in an antenna device according to a fifth embodiment. Fig.17 In the antenna device 150D according to the fifth embodiment, Fig.13 In the configuration of the antenna device 150C according to the third embodiment shown, the feeding point 81 and the receiving point 91 are replaced with converters 84 and 94 , respectively. Fig.17 The converter 84 is Fig.13 One of the implementation methods of the feeding point 81. Fig.17 The converter 94 is Fig.13 One of the implementation methods of the receiving point 91. Therefore, Fig.17The electrical operation of the antenna device 150D shown is similar to Fig.13 The electrical operation of the antenna device 150C shown is the same. In addition, the same reference numerals are attached to the same or equivalent components as those in the third embodiment, and duplicate descriptions are omitted as appropriate.

[0188] Fig.18 This is a cross-sectional view showing a first configuration example of a substrate on which an antenna device is mounted according to the fifth embodiment. Fig.18 An example of the structure of the substrate is shown. Fig.17 The cross-sectional structure of the line XVIII-XVIII shown. Fig.17 The antenna elements of the antenna device shown above are arranged in Fig.18 The first substrate 402, which is responsible for the wiring of the circuit, is directly or indirectly in contact with the back side of the first surface 414 of the antenna substrate 401, that is, the second surface 415. Examples of bonding materials are adhesives, adhesive sheets, etc. In addition, in the first substrate 402, a plurality of openings 407 for passing high-frequency signals are formed in the z1 direction as the third direction. The openings 407 are formed by the first surface 414 of the antenna substrate 401, the two inner side surfaces 416 of the first substrate 402, and Fig.18 The other two inner side surfaces not shown in the figure are formed. On these inner surfaces, a conductor film is formed on the surface by at least metal plating treatment, thereby forming a conductor.

[0189] The second substrate 403 is arranged in the negative direction of z1 relative to the first substrate 402 . Fig.18 The structure in which the second substrate 403 is provided for each transmission channel is exemplified, and two second substrates 403 are arranged corresponding to the transmission channels 63 and 64 .

[0190] An IC 404 that generates a high frequency signal is mounted on each of the second substrates 403. That is, the IC 404 is mounted on the surface of the second substrate 403 on the first substrate 402 side. An example of the circuit of the IC 404 is Fig.15 The high-frequency signal from IC404 is transmitted to the line 405 formed on the second substrate 403. The first substrate 402 and the second substrate 403 are connected by solder balls 406 as an example of a conductive connection member. In addition, the number of solder balls 406 is arbitrary, and they can be arranged between the first substrate 402 and the second substrate 403 as needed, and are used for the conduction of high-frequency signals, power supply, and conduction of control signals, etc.

[0191] The opening 407 is inserted between the line 83 connected to the element antenna 82 and the IC 404 that generates the high-frequency signal, and serves as a transmission space of a waveguide that transmits the high-frequency signal. The waveguide is a tube that transmits the fluctuations of the electromagnetic field of the waveguide mode (TE mode or TM mode) in the traveling direction. In embodiment 5, a plurality of rectangular holes are formed on the substrate to form a plurality of square waveguides in which the normal direction of the substrate, i.e., the third direction, is set as the transmission direction of the fluctuations of the electromagnetic field. In addition, the shape of the tube cross section of the waveguide may be a cross-sectional shape other than a square, such as a cocoon-shaped shape with semicircles on the two short sides of the rectangle.

[0192] The high-frequency connection parts 411 and 412 shown by the dotted lines refer to the structural parts that transmit the high-frequency signal of the line 405 to the line 83 via the opening part 407. The high-frequency connection parts 411 and 412 constitute a converter (waveguide microstrip converter) that converts the fluctuation of the electromagnetic field between the waveguide mode and the microstrip mode. An arbitrary converter is formed in the second substrate 403 for the conversion from the line 405 to the opening part 407. In addition, the conversion from the opening 407 to the line 83 is performed by the converter 84 formed on the antenna substrate 401. One form of the converter 84 is a conductor pattern formed on the surface of the antenna substrate 401. The conductor pattern is a structure as follows: it is connected to a matching circuit not shown in the figure, so that the radio wave does not leak when converting from the waveguide mode to the microstrip mode. In addition, the implementation method of the converter 84 is arbitrary and is not limited to the conductor pattern.

[0193] In addition, the opening 407 is formed on each transmission channel. In the following description, the opening 407 formed on each of the transmission channels 61 to 68 may be respectively referred to as the "first opening", "second opening", "third opening", "fourth opening", "fifth opening", "sixth opening", "seventh opening" and "eighth opening". In addition, in order to distinguish the conductor pattern connected to the element antenna 82 from the conductor pattern connected to the IC 404, the former may be referred to as the "first conductor pattern" and the latter may be referred to as the "second conductor pattern".

[0194] The first feature of the fifth embodiment is that the element antennas 82 of a plurality of transmission channels are arranged on the same surface, that is, the first surface 414, of the antenna substrate 401. The second feature of the fifth embodiment is that the openings 407 for transmitting high-frequency signals to adjacent transmission channels are located outside the XVIII-XVIII line connecting the respective element antennas 82 to each other when the second surface 415 of the antenna substrate 401 is viewed from the z1 direction. In addition, the openings 407 may be replaced by high-frequency connecting portions 411 and 412. That is, the high-frequency connecting portion 411 of the transmission channel 63 and the high-frequency connecting portion 412 of the transmission channel 64 are located outside the XVIII-XVIII line connecting the respective element antennas 82 to each other when the second surface 415 of the antenna substrate 401 is viewed from the z1 direction.

[0195] Thus, the presence of high-frequency connection parts 411 and 412 does not restrict the arrangement of element antenna 82, and the arrangement of element antenna 82 can be easily realized. In particular, the channel intervals between transmission channels 61 and 62, between transmission channels 63 and 64, between transmission channels 71 and 72, and between transmission channels 73 and 74 are narrow. Therefore, the arrangement of embodiment 5 that does not restrict the arrangement of element antenna 82 makes it easy to realize.

[0196] In addition, if IC404 is installed in Fig.17 The same structure can be achieved by placing the IC 404 on the periphery of the position of the converter 84. In this case, the IC 404 is arranged on the same surface as the element antenna, but a large amount of wiring (not shown) such as the power supply and control lines of the IC 404 also needs to be on the same surface as the element antenna, so the wiring becomes difficult. In addition, in order to suppress the radiation of unnecessary radio waves from the IC 404, a shielding structure can be provided in the IC 404. Therefore, in order to avoid the element antenna 82 from radiating the necessary radio waves, a large amount of shielding structure is required, and the manufacturing becomes difficult. In contrast, in the fifth embodiment, the IC 404 is mounted on the back side opposite to the surface where the element antenna is arranged, so these problems do not occur.

[0197] Although the above describes the sending channel, the receiving channel can also be set Fig.17 The converter 94 is set to Fig.18 In this case, IC404 is replaced with a receiver.

[0198] In addition, although the waveguide structure in which the opening 407 is formed in the first substrate 402 is exemplified as a structure for passing millimeter waves, other structures may be used. For example, the opening 407 may be replaced with a coaxial structure, and the converters of the second substrate 403 and the antenna substrate 401 may be replaced with line-coaxial converters.

[0199] Fig.19This is a cross-sectional view showing a second configuration example of a substrate on which an antenna device is mounted according to the fifth embodiment. Fig.19 Shown with Fig.17 The cross-sectional structure of the line XVIII-XVIII shown in FIG. Fig.18 Different examples. Fig.18 The difference is that the second substrate 403 is one and carries IC408 instead of IC404. IC404 generates a high-frequency signal for one transmission channel, and IC408 generates high-frequency signals for two transmission channels. That is, Fig.18 and Fig.19 The essential difference is whether the IC is centralized, but the actions of the two are the same.

[0200] according to Figures 17 to 19 In the structure, a plurality of waveguides are formed on the first substrate 402, and one end of the waveguide faces the second surface of the antenna substrate 401 or is arranged opposite to the second surface of the antenna substrate 401, so that a waveguide-microstrip converter is formed between the first conductor pattern and the waveguide. Moreover, at least the waveguide connected to the transmission channel 61 and the other waveguides connected to the transmission channel 63 are arranged at different positions. Alternatively, at least the waveguide connected to the transmission channel 62 and the other waveguides connected to the transmission channel 64 are arranged at different positions. Moreover, the other end of the waveguide is arranged opposite to the other end of the second conductor pattern. A plurality of waveguides are inserted between the first conductor pattern and IC404 or IC408 to transmit high-frequency signals.

[0201] Fig. 20 yes Fig.19 The first cross-sectional view of the second structural example of the second substrate 403 taken along the line XX-XX is shown. Fig. 20 Shown with Fig.17 The excerpts of the parts corresponding to the transmission channels 63 and 64 in FIG. Fig. 20 The dotted line shows Fig.17 The transmission channels 63 and 64 in the range exist. Fig.19 The range of the opening 407 in FIG. Fig. 20 As shown, the group of the opening portion 407 of the transmission channel 63 and the group of the opening portion 407 of the transmission channel 64 are formed along the first direction, that is, the x1 direction.

[0202] Fig. 20The structure shown has four features. The first feature is that IC408 generates a high-frequency signal to two transmission channels 63 and 64. The second feature is that IC408 is configured on a substrate different from the antenna substrate 401. The third feature is that for the two transmission channels 63 and 64 associated with IC408, the corresponding openings 407 are not provided on the adjacent channel side, but on the opposite side of the adjacent channels. The fourth feature is that the conductive connecting member, i.e., the solder ball 406, is arranged at intervals of λ / 4 so as to surround the opening 407. In addition, "λ" is the operating wavelength of the receiving antenna 40 in the millimeter wave band.

[0203] Thus, even when the IC 408 generates high-frequency signals of two transmission channels, the high-frequency connection portions 411 and 412 can be arranged to avoid the element antenna 82, and the connection between the IC 408 and each of the transmission channels 63 and 64 can be easily achieved. In addition, the solder balls 406 are arranged around the opening 407 at intervals of λ / 4 to suppress leakage of the electromagnetic field from the opening 407 operating as a waveguide.

[0204] The connection between the IC 408 and each of the transmission channels 63 and 64 is described above, but the transmission channels 61 and 62 can also be connected in the same manner.

[0205] Alternatively, you may consider installing IC408 in Fig.17 As an example, it is possible to consider that IC 408 is mounted at the position of converter 84 in transmission channel 64. In the case of this structure, element antenna 82 and line 83 of transmission channel 64 exist around IC 408, making it difficult to connect IC 408 and element antenna 82 of transmission channel 63. That is, the same problem as the problem in the case of arranging IC 404 on the same surface as the surface where the element antenna is arranged, which is described above, occurs.

[0206] Fig.21 yes Fig.19 The second cross-sectional view of the second structure example of the second substrate 403 is shown along the line XX-XX. Fig.21 Shown with Fig.17 The excerpts of the parts corresponding to the transmission channels 61 to 68 in FIG. Fig.21 The dotted line shows Fig.17 The range where the transmission channels 61 to 68 exist. In addition, the single-dot chain line shows the range of each opening portion where the transmission channels 61 to 68 are formed. Fig.21As shown, along the second direction, i.e., the y1 direction, a group of openings 407 of the transmission channel 61 and a group of openings 407 of the transmission channel 63, a group of openings 407 of the transmission channel 62 and a group of openings 407 of the transmission channel 64, a group of openings 407 of the transmission channel 65 and a group of openings 407 of the transmission channel 66, and a group of openings 407 of the transmission channel 67 and a group of openings 407 of the transmission channel 68 are formed.

[0207] IC409 is connected to the transmission channels 61-68 via the line 405. An example of the circuit of IC409 is Fig.16 IC110 or IC120 in.

[0208] Fig.21 The structure shown has three features. The first feature is that IC409 generates high-frequency signals to eight transmission channels 61 to 68. The second feature is that IC409 is arranged on a substrate different from the antenna substrate 401. The third feature is that, for the four transmission channels 61 to 64 associated with IC409, the opening 407 corresponding to each of the groups of transmission channels 63 and 64 and the groups of transmission channels 61 and 62 is not provided on the adjacent channel side, but is provided on the opposite side of the adjacent channel.

[0209] Thereby, each high-frequency connection portion can be arranged by avoiding the element antenna 82 , and connection between the IC 409 and each group of the transmission channels 63 , 64 and the transmission channels 61 , 62 can be easily achieved.

[0210] Above, in Fig.21 , the configuration of the high frequency connection portion of each of the groups of transmission channels 63 and 64 and the groups of transmission channels 61 and 62 is described, but IC409 is connected to transmission channels 65 to 68 in addition to transmission channels 61 to 64. Fig.17 As shown, the converters 84 of the transmission channels 65 to 68 and the high-frequency connection parts (not shown) corresponding to the converters 84 can be arranged at positions that do not interfere with the element antennas 82 of the respective transmission channels.

[0211] Thus, even when IC409 generates high-frequency signals of eight transmission channels 61 to 68, the high-frequency connection parts of the transmission channels 61 to 68 can be configured to avoid the element antenna 82, and the connection between IC409 and each of the transmission channels 61 to 68 can be easily achieved.

[0212] Furthermore, the structure shown in the above-mentioned embodiment is an example of the content of the present invention, and it is also possible to combine with other well-known technologies, and a part of the structure may be omitted or changed within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0213] Description of symbols

[0214] 10, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e, 10f, 10g, 10h transmitting antenna, 11, 12, 21, 22, 41, 42, 61-68, 71-78 transmitting channel, 30, 30A, 40, 40a, 40b, 40A receiving antenna, 31-36 receiving channel, 81 feeding point, 82, 92 element antenna, 83, 93, 93b, 202, 405 line, 84, 94 converter, 91 receiving point, 95 target object, 96 transmitting wave, 97 reflected wave, 110, 120, 404, 408, 409 IC, 111-118, 121-128 transmitter, 131 phase shifter, 132 amplifier, 133 output terminal, 134 control line, 15 0, 150A, 150B, 150C, 150D antenna device, 200, 200A high-frequency circuit, 201 oscillator, 300 radar device, 302 transmitter, 304 voltage-controlled oscillator, 306 power distributor, 320 receiving unit, 323 baseband amplifier, 324 mixer, 326 AD converter, 327 DA converter, 330 signal processor, 340 mode switching unit, 350 modulation circuit, 401 antenna substrate, 402 first substrate, 403 second substrate, 406 solder ball, 407 opening, 411, 412 high-frequency connecting portion, 414 first surface, 415 second surface, 416 inner surface, 500 processor, 502 memory, 504 interface, 600 high-frequency transmitting circuit.

Claims

1. An antenna device, The antenna device comprises a transmitting antenna having a plurality of transmitting channels and a receiving antenna having a plurality of receiving channels, and the antenna device is characterized in that: The transmitting antenna comprises a first transmitting antenna, a second transmitting antenna, a third transmitting antenna and a fourth transmitting antenna. The interval between the first transmitting antenna and the second transmitting antenna is wider than the entire width of the receiving antenna. The interval between the third transmitting antenna and the fourth transmitting antenna is narrower than the interval between adjacent channels among the plurality of receiving channels. The arrangement direction of the first transmitting antenna and the second transmitting antenna, and the arrangement direction of the third transmitting antenna and the fourth transmitting antenna are arranged in one arrangement direction of the plurality of receiving channels, The transmitting antenna operates as a group of the first transmitting antenna and the second transmitting antenna in a first operation mode, and operates as a group of the third transmitting antenna and the fourth transmitting antenna in a second operation mode. In the first operation mode and the second operation mode, part or all of the plurality of reception channels constituting the reception antenna are shared.

2. The antenna device according to claim 1, The first transmitting antenna and the second transmitting antenna are alternately switched in a time division manner, and the third transmitting antenna and the fourth transmitting antenna are alternately switched in a time division manner at a timing different from that of the first transmitting antenna and the second transmitting antenna.

3. The antenna device according to claim 1, The first operation mode is a high-resolution mode in which the observable angle range is relatively narrower than that of the second operation mode but the angular resolution is relatively higher. The second operation mode is a wide-angle mode having a relatively lower angular resolution than the first operation mode but a relatively wider observable angular range.

4. The antenna device according to claim 1, The transmitting antenna has a first transmitting channel, a second transmitting channel, a third transmitting channel and a fourth transmitting channel, The first transmission channel and the second transmission channel act as the first transmission antenna. The third transmission channel and the fourth transmission channel operate as the second transmission antenna, The first transmission channel operates as the third transmission antenna, The second transmission channel operates as the fourth transmission antenna.

5. The antenna device according to claim 1, The transmitting antenna has a first transmitting channel, a second transmitting channel, a third transmitting channel and a fourth transmitting channel, The first transmission channel and the second transmission channel act as the first transmission antenna. The third transmission channel and the fourth transmission channel operate as the second transmission antenna, The third transmission channel operates as the third transmission antenna, The fourth transmission channel operates as the fourth transmission antenna.

6. The antenna device according to claim 4, comprising: An antenna substrate having a first surface, on which the element antennas of the first transmission channel, the second transmission channel, the third transmission channel, and the fourth transmission channel and the element antennas of the receiving channel are arranged; a first substrate abutting against a back side of the first surface of the antenna substrate, that is, a second surface; as well as one or more second substrates, the one or more second substrates being electrically connected to the first substrate via a plurality of conductive connection members between surfaces on the opposite side of the surface of the first substrate abutting against the antenna substrate, A plurality of openings are formed by the inner side surface of the first substrate and the second surface of the antenna substrate. The plurality of opening portions are inserted between a line connected to the element antenna and an integrated circuit that generates a high-frequency signal, and transmit the high-frequency signal.

7. The antenna device according to claim 6, The plurality of receiving channels are arranged along a first direction, The group of the first transmission channel and the third transmission channel and the group of the second transmission channel and the fourth transmission channel are arranged along the first direction, The first transmission channel and the third transmission channel are arranged along a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and the second transmission channel and the fourth transmission channel are arranged along the second direction, A first opening for transmitting the high-frequency signal to the first transmission channel and a second opening for transmitting the high-frequency signal to the second transmission channel are located outside a line connecting the respective element antennas when the second surface is viewed from a third direction orthogonal to the first direction and the second direction. The third opening for transmitting the high frequency signal to the third transmission channel and the fourth opening for transmitting the high frequency signal to the fourth transmission channel are located outside a line connecting the respective element antennas when the second surface is viewed from the third direction.

8. The antenna device according to claim 7, The group of the first opening and the second opening and the group of the third opening and the fourth opening are formed along the second direction. A group of the first opening and the third opening and a group of the second opening and the fourth opening are formed along the first direction.

9. The antenna device according to claim 1, The transmitting antenna has a first transmitting channel, a second transmitting channel, a third transmitting channel, a fourth transmitting channel, a fifth transmitting channel, a sixth transmitting channel, a seventh transmitting channel and an eighth transmitting channel, The plurality of receiving channels are arranged along a first direction, The group of the first transmission channel and the third transmission channel, the group of the second transmission channel and the fourth transmission channel, the group of the fifth transmission channel and the seventh transmission channel, and the group of the sixth transmission channel and the eighth transmission channel are arranged along the first direction, The group of the first transmission channel and the group of the third transmission channel are arranged along a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and the positions of the first transmission channel and the third transmission channel are consistent on an axis of the first direction. The second transmission channel and the fourth transmission channel are arranged along the second direction, and positions of the second transmission channel and the fourth transmission channel are consistent on an axis in the first direction. The fifth transmission channel and the seventh transmission channel are arranged along the second direction, and positions of the fifth transmission channel and the seventh transmission channel are consistent on an axis in the first direction. The sixth transmission channel and the eighth transmission channel are arranged along the second direction, and positions of the sixth transmission channel and the eighth transmission channel are consistent on an axis in the first direction. The first transmission channel, the second transmission channel, the third transmission channel, and the fourth transmission channel act as the first transmission antenna. The fifth transmission channel, the sixth transmission channel, the seventh transmission channel and the eighth transmission channel act as the second transmission antenna, The first transmission channel and the third transmission channel act as the third transmission antenna. The second transmission channel and the fourth transmission channel operate as the fourth transmission antenna.

10. The antenna device according to claim 1, The transmitting antenna has a first transmitting channel, a second transmitting channel, a third transmitting channel, a fourth transmitting channel, a fifth transmitting channel, a sixth transmitting channel, a seventh transmitting channel and an eighth transmitting channel, The plurality of receiving channels are arranged along a first direction, The group of the first transmission channel and the third transmission channel, the group of the second transmission channel and the fourth transmission channel, the group of the fifth transmission channel and the seventh transmission channel, and the group of the sixth transmission channel and the eighth transmission channel are arranged along the first direction, The first transmission channel and the third transmission channel are arranged along a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and positions of the first transmission channel and the third transmission channel are consistent on an axis of the first direction. The second transmission channel and the fourth transmission channel are arranged along the second direction, and positions of the second transmission channel and the fourth transmission channel are consistent on an axis in the first direction. The fifth transmission channel and the seventh transmission channel are arranged along the second direction, and positions of the fifth transmission channel and the seventh transmission channel are consistent on an axis in the first direction. The sixth transmission channel and the eighth transmission channel are arranged along the second direction, and positions of the sixth transmission channel and the eighth transmission channel are consistent on an axis in the first direction. The first transmission channel, the second transmission channel, the third transmission channel, and the fourth transmission channel act as the first transmission antenna. The fifth transmission channel, the sixth transmission channel, the seventh transmission channel and the eighth transmission channel act as the second transmission antenna, The fifth transmission channel and the seventh transmission channel act as the third transmission antenna. The sixth transmission channel and the eighth transmission channel operate as the fourth transmission antenna.

11. The antenna device according to claim 9, comprising: an antenna substrate having a first surface, on which the element antennas of the first transmission channel, the second transmission channel, the third transmission channel, the fourth transmission channel, the fifth transmission channel, the sixth transmission channel, the seventh transmission channel, and the eighth transmission channel and the element antennas of the receiving channel are arranged; a first substrate abutting against a back side of the first surface of the antenna substrate, that is, a second surface; as well as one or more second substrates, the one or more second substrates being electrically connected to the first substrate via a plurality of conductive connection members between surfaces on the opposite side of the surface of the first substrate abutting against the antenna substrate, A plurality of openings are formed by the inner side surface of the first substrate and the second surface of the antenna substrate. The plurality of opening portions are inserted between a line connected to the element antenna and an integrated circuit that generates a high-frequency signal, and transmit the high-frequency signal.

12. The antenna device according to claim 11, The plurality of receiving channels are arranged along a first direction, The group of the first transmission channel and the third transmission channel, the group of the second transmission channel and the fourth transmission channel, the group of the fifth transmission channel and the seventh transmission channel, and the group of the sixth transmission channel and the eighth transmission channel are arranged along the first direction, The first transmission channel and the third transmission channel are arranged along a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, the second transmission channel and the fourth transmission channel are arranged along the second direction, the fifth transmission channel and the seventh transmission channel are arranged along the second direction, and the sixth transmission channel and the eighth transmission channel are arranged along the second direction, A first opening for transmitting the high-frequency signal to the first transmission channel and a second opening for transmitting the high-frequency signal to the second transmission channel are located outside a line connecting the respective element antennas when the second surface is viewed from a third direction orthogonal to the first direction and the second direction. A third opening for transmitting the high-frequency signal to the third transmission channel and a fourth opening for transmitting the high-frequency signal to the fourth transmission channel are located outside a line connecting the respective element antennas when the second surface is viewed from the third direction. A fifth opening for transmitting the high-frequency signal to the fifth transmission channel and a sixth opening for transmitting the high-frequency signal to the sixth transmission channel are located outside a line connecting the respective element antennas when the second surface is viewed from the third direction. The seventh opening for transmitting the high frequency signal to the seventh transmission channel and the eighth opening for transmitting the high frequency signal to the eighth transmission channel are located outside a line connecting the respective element antennas when the second surface is viewed from the third direction.

13. The antenna device according to claim 12, The first opening and the second opening are formed along the first direction, the third opening and the fourth opening are formed along the first direction, the fifth opening and the sixth opening are formed along the first direction, and the seventh opening and the eighth opening are formed along the first direction. The first opening portion and the third opening portion are formed along the second direction, the second opening portion and the fourth opening portion are formed along the second direction, the fifth opening portion and the seventh opening portion are formed along the second direction, and the sixth opening portion and the eighth opening portion are formed along the second direction.

14. The antenna device according to any one of claims 6, 7, 11, 12 and 13, One or more integrated circuits are included, each of which carries a plurality of transmitters.

15. The antenna device according to any one of claims 6, 7, 11, 12 and 13, The invention comprises a plurality of integrated circuits, each of which carries one or more transmitters.

16. The antenna device according to claim 14, The integrated circuit is mounted on a surface of the second substrate on the first substrate side.

17. The antenna device according to claim 9, at least one ninth transmission channel is arranged on at least one of the positive side and the negative side in the second direction of the group in which the first transmission channel and the second transmission channel and the group in which the third transmission channel and the fourth transmission channel are arranged, at least one tenth transmission channel is arranged on at least one of the positive side and the negative side in the second direction of the group in which the fifth transmission channel and the sixth transmission channel are arranged and the group in which the seventh transmission channel and the eighth transmission channel are arranged, In the first action mode, The ninth transmission channel radiates electric waves simultaneously with the first transmission channel, the second transmission channel, the third transmission channel, and the fourth transmission channel. The tenth transmission channel radiates electric waves simultaneously with the fifth transmission channel, the sixth transmission channel, the seventh transmission channel, and the eighth transmission channel.

18. The antenna device according to claim 17, a transmitter connected to each of the first transmission channel, the second transmission channel, the third transmission channel, the fourth transmission channel, the fifth transmission channel, the sixth transmission channel, the seventh transmission channel, the eighth transmission channel, the ninth transmission channel, and the tenth transmission channel, The transmitter includes a phase shifter.

19. The antenna device according to claim 18, The system comprises one or more integrated circuits, each of which carries a plurality of the transmitters.

20. The antenna device according to claim 18, comprising a plurality of integrated circuits, each of which is equipped with one or more of the transmitters, By turning on and off the integrated circuit unit, the plurality of transmission channels are operated at least in the first operation mode.

21. The antenna device according to any one of claims 1, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18 and 19, The interval between the third transmitting antenna and the fourth transmitting antenna is 1 / 2 of the interval between adjacent channels among the plurality of receiving channels.

22. The antenna device according to claim 6, The antenna substrate has a first surface, on which are arranged: a plurality of first element antennas, the plurality of first element antennas being connected to a first transmission channel, a second transmission channel, a third transmission channel, and a fourth transmission channel, respectively; a first conductor pattern, the first conductor pattern being connected to the first element antennas; and a plurality of second element antennas, the plurality of second element antennas being connected to a plurality of receiving channels arranged between the first transmission channel and the second transmission channel. The first substrate is in contact with the second surface of the antenna substrate which is the back surface of the first surface directly or indirectly via a bonding material. The one or more second substrates are electrically connected to the first substrate via a plurality of conductive connection members between surfaces on opposite sides of the surface of the first substrate that directly or indirectly abuts against the antenna substrate, an integrated circuit that generates a high-frequency signal is mounted on a surface opposite to the first substrate and a second conductor pattern having an end connected to the integrated circuit is formed, A plurality of waveguides are formed on the first substrate, one end of the waveguide is arranged facing or opposite to the second surface of the antenna substrate, a waveguide-microstrip converter is formed between the first conductor pattern and the waveguide, at least the waveguide connected to the first transmission channel and the other waveguides connected to the third transmission channel are arranged at different positions, or at least the waveguide connected to the second transmission channel and the other waveguides connected to the fourth transmission channel are arranged at different positions, and the other end of the waveguide is arranged opposite to the other end of the second conductor pattern, The plurality of waveguides are inserted between the first conductor pattern and the integrated circuit to transmit the high-frequency signal.

23. An antenna device, comprising: A receiving antenna, the receiving antenna comprising a plurality of element antennas to form a subarray, wherein the plurality of subarrays are arranged along a first direction respectively, a first transmitting subarray antenna and a second transmitting subarray antenna, the first transmitting subarray antenna and the second transmitting subarray antenna being arranged along the first direction on one side sandwiched between the receiving antennas; a third transmitting subarray antenna and a fourth transmitting subarray antenna, the third transmitting subarray antenna and the fourth transmitting subarray antenna being arranged on the other side sandwiched between the receiving antennas; a fifth transmitting subarray antenna and a sixth transmitting subarray antenna, the fifth transmitting subarray antenna and the sixth transmitting subarray antenna being arranged along the first direction on one side sandwiched between the receiving antennas; a seventh transmitting subarray antenna and an eighth transmitting subarray antenna, the seventh transmitting subarray antenna and the eighth transmitting subarray antenna being arranged on the other side sandwiched between the receiving antennas; a ninth transmitting subarray antenna and a tenth transmitting subarray antenna, the ninth transmitting subarray antenna and the tenth transmitting subarray antenna are arranged on one side sandwiched between the first transmitting subarray antenna, the second transmitting subarray antenna, the fifth transmitting subarray antenna and the sixth transmitting subarray antenna along a second direction orthogonal to the first direction; an eleventh transmitting subarray antenna and a twelfth transmitting subarray antenna, the eleventh transmitting subarray antenna and the twelfth transmitting subarray antenna are arranged on the other side sandwiched between the first transmitting subarray antenna, the second transmitting subarray antenna, the fifth transmitting subarray antenna and the sixth transmitting subarray antenna; a thirteenth transmitting subarray antenna and a fourteenth transmitting subarray antenna, the thirteenth transmitting subarray antenna and the fourteenth transmitting subarray antenna are arranged along the second direction on one side sandwiched between the third transmitting subarray antenna, the fourth transmitting subarray antenna, the seventh transmitting subarray antenna and the eighth transmitting subarray antenna; a fifteenth transmitting subarray antenna and a sixteenth transmitting subarray antenna, the fifteenth transmitting subarray antenna and the sixteenth transmitting subarray antenna are arranged on the other side sandwiched between the third transmitting subarray antenna, the fourth transmitting subarray antenna, the seventh transmitting subarray antenna and the eighth transmitting subarray antenna; The first transmitting sub-array antenna and the fifth transmitting sub-array antenna are arranged in the second direction, The second transmitting sub-array antenna and the sixth transmitting sub-array antenna are arranged in the second direction, The third transmitting sub-array antenna and the seventh transmitting sub-array antenna are arranged in the second direction, The fourth transmitting sub-array antenna and the eighth transmitting sub-array antenna are arranged in the second direction, In each of the first transmission subarray antenna, the second transmission subarray antenna, the third transmission subarray antenna, and the fourth transmission subarray antenna, a plurality of element antennas are respectively connected to the same feeding point, In each of the fifth transmitting subarray antenna, the sixth transmitting subarray antenna, the seventh transmitting subarray antenna, and the eighth transmitting subarray antenna, a plurality of element antennas are respectively connected to the same feeding point, In each of the ninth transmitting subarray antenna, the tenth transmitting subarray antenna, the eleventh transmitting subarray antenna, the twelfth transmitting subarray antenna, the thirteenth transmitting subarray antenna, the fourteenth transmitting subarray antenna, the fifteenth transmitting subarray antenna, and the sixteenth transmitting subarray antenna, a plurality of element antennas are respectively connected to the same feeding point, The interval between the phase centers of the first transmitting subarray antenna and the second transmitting subarray antenna, the interval between the phase centers of the third transmitting subarray antenna and the fourth transmitting subarray antenna, the interval between the phase centers of the fifth transmitting subarray antenna and the sixth transmitting subarray antenna, and the interval between the phase centers of the seventh transmitting subarray antenna and the eighth transmitting subarray antenna are narrower than the interval between the phase centers of the subarray located on one side of the receiving antenna and the subarray located on the other side of the receiving antenna.

24. The antenna device according to claim 23, In the first action mode, At least the tenth transmission subarray antenna and the eleventh transmission subarray antenna, and the fourteenth transmission subarray antenna and the fifteenth transmission subarray antenna are alternately switched to transmit radio waves, In the second action mode, During the adjacent first frequency linear frequency modulation period and the second frequency linear frequency modulation period, the first transmission sub-array antenna or the fifth transmission sub-array antenna and the second transmission sub-array antenna or the sixth transmission sub-array antenna are alternately switched to transmit radio waves, During the adjacent third frequency linear frequency modulation period and fourth frequency linear frequency modulation period, the third transmission sub-array antenna or the seventh transmission sub-array antenna and the fourth transmission sub-array antenna or the eighth transmission sub-array antenna are alternately switched to transmit radio waves.

25. The antenna device according to claim 23 or 24, The spacing between the first transmitting subarray antenna and the second transmitting subarray antenna, the spacing between the fifth transmitting subarray antenna and the sixth transmitting subarray antenna, the spacing between the third transmitting subarray antenna and the fourth transmitting subarray antenna, and the spacing between the seventh transmitting subarray antenna and the eighth transmitting subarray antenna are respectively 1 / 2 of the spacing between adjacent channels in the receiving antenna.

26. The antenna device according to claim 23 or 24, Switching to transmission of either or both of the first transmission subarray antenna and the fifth transmission subarray antenna, and switching to transmission of either or both of the second transmission subarray antenna and the sixth transmission subarray antenna are alternately switched, or Switching to transmission of any one or both of the third transmission subarray antenna and the seventh transmission subarray antenna, and switching to transmission of any one or both of the fourth transmission subarray antenna and the eighth transmission subarray antenna are alternately switched, or Switching to the transmission of any one or more of the first transmitting subarray antenna, the second transmitting subarray antenna, the fifth transmitting subarray antenna, the sixth transmitting subarray antenna, the ninth transmitting subarray antenna, the tenth transmitting subarray antenna, the eleventh transmitting subarray antenna, and the twelfth transmitting subarray antenna, and switching to the transmission of any one or more of the third transmitting subarray antenna, the fourth transmitting subarray antenna, the seventh transmitting subarray antenna, the eighth transmitting subarray antenna, the thirteenth transmitting subarray antenna, the fourteenth transmitting subarray antenna, the fifteenth transmitting subarray antenna, and the sixteenth transmitting subarray antenna are switched alternately.

27. The antenna device according to claim 26, The first transmitting subarray antenna, the second transmitting subarray antenna, the third transmitting subarray antenna, the fourth transmitting subarray antenna, the fifth transmitting subarray antenna, the sixth transmitting subarray antenna, the seventh transmitting subarray antenna, the eighth transmitting subarray antenna, the ninth transmitting subarray antenna, the tenth transmitting subarray antenna, the eleventh transmitting subarray antenna, the twelfth transmitting subarray antenna, the thirteenth transmitting subarray antenna, the fourteenth transmitting subarray antenna, the fifteenth transmitting subarray antenna and the sixteenth transmitting subarray antenna have phase shifters so as to scan the beam in the second direction.

28. An antenna device, comprising: A first transmitting antenna, wherein the first transmitting antenna has a transmitting channel A, a transmitting channel B, a transmitting channel C, and a transmitting channel D; A second transmitting antenna, wherein the second transmitting antenna has a transmitting channel E, a transmitting channel F, a transmitting channel G, and a transmitting channel H; as well as a receiving antenna having a plurality of receiving channels, The plurality of receiving channels are arranged along a first direction, The group of the transmission channel A and the transmission channel B and the group of the transmission channel E and the transmission channel F are arranged along the first direction, and the group of the transmission channel C and the transmission channel D and the group of the transmission channel G and the transmission channel H are arranged along the first direction. The transmission channel A and the transmission channel B are arranged along a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. The transmission channel E and the transmission channel F are arranged along the second direction, The transmission channel C and the transmission channel D are arranged along the first direction, The transmission channel G and the transmission channel H are arranged along the first direction, The interval between the phase center of the first transmitting antenna and the phase center of the second transmitting antenna is wider than the overall width of the receiving antenna; The interval between the phase centers of the group of the transmission channels C and D and the interval between the phase centers of the group of the transmission channels G and H are narrower than the interval between adjacent channels among the plurality of the reception channels.

29. An antenna device, comprising: A first transmitting antenna, the first transmitting antenna having a first transmitting channel, a second transmitting channel, a third transmitting channel, and a fourth transmitting channel; a second transmission antenna having a fifth transmission channel, a sixth transmission channel, a seventh transmission channel, and an eighth transmission channel; and a receiving antenna having a plurality of receiving channels, The plurality of receiving channels are arranged along a first direction, The group of the first transmission channel and the third transmission channel, the group of the second transmission channel and the fourth transmission channel, the group of the fifth transmission channel and the seventh transmission channel, and the group of the sixth transmission channel and the eighth transmission channel are arranged along the first direction. The first transmission channel and the third transmission channel are arranged along a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, The second transmission channel and the fourth transmission channel are arranged along the second direction, The fifth transmission channel and the seventh transmission channel are arranged along the second direction, The sixth transmission channel and the eighth transmission channel are arranged along the second direction, The interval between the phase center of the first transmitting antenna and the phase center of the second transmitting antenna is wider than the overall width of the receiving antenna; An interval between a phase center of a group of the first transmission channel and the third transmission channel and a phase center of a group of the second transmission channel and the fourth transmission channel is narrower than an interval between adjacent channels among the plurality of reception channels.

30. The antenna device according to claim 29, A converter that converts fluctuations of an electromagnetic field is formed in each of the first transmission channel, the second transmission channel, the third transmission channel, the fourth transmission channel, the fifth transmission channel, the sixth transmission channel, the seventh transmission channel, and the eighth transmission channel and the plurality of reception channels.

31. The antenna device according to any one of claims 28 to 30, Among the plurality of receiving channels arranged along the first direction, the receiving channels at both ends are configured such that two element antenna groups formed in the receiving channels other than the two ends are arranged along the first direction.

32. A radar device, Comprising the antenna device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 31.

33. The radar device according to claim 32, The radar device includes a signal processor that generates transmission control information including phase shift information and transmission output information corresponding to a first operation mode and a second operation mode, respectively.

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