Radar device for detecting target objects

Abstract

The present invention provides a radar device for detecting a target object, which can improve the target object detection performance by improving the field of view (FOV) and can be widely used in various fields, such as robots and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and self-driving cars.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the priority of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0028531 filed on March 4, 2021 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The following description relates to a technology for detecting a target object, and more particularly, to a radar device for detecting a target object. Background Art

[0004] The technology of using a camera to detect a target object has a weakness in that the detection performance is reduced due to backlight or rain. The use of radar technology can solve the weakness of the camera target detection technology.

[0005] Figure 1 The antenna of the radar device used to detect the target object in the prior art is shown. Figure 1 In the case of a radar device for detecting a target object in the related art shown, the feed line connecting the antenna patch has a half wavelength having the effective dielectric constant of the microstrip line, and the beam width of the radiated beam is determined by the spacing between the centers of the patches. For a printed circuit board (PCB) with a low dielectric constant, the distance between the centers of the antenna is the wavelength in air, which is greater than the half wavelength.

[0006] Figure 2 FIG. 3 shows a three-dimensional (3D) beam pattern of a radar device used to detect a target object in the prior art. Figure 3a and Figure 3b FIG. 1 shows a one-dimensional (1D) beam pattern of a radar device used to detect a target object in the prior art. Figure 3a shows the 1D beam pattern in azimuth direction, Figure 3b The 1D beam pattern in the elevation direction is shown.

[0007] like Figure 2 and Figure 3a , Figure 3b As shown, the radar device used to detect the target object in the prior art has a sharp (severely tilted) beam pattern based on the center of the main lobe, so it can be seen that the field of view (FOV) is very narrow.

[0008] A radar device for detecting a target object used in a drone, an autonomous vehicle, etc. should have an excellent FOV. Therefore, the present inventors have studied a technology for improving the FOV of a radar device for detecting a target object used in a drone, an autonomous vehicle, etc. Summary of the invention

[0009] The Summary introduces a series of concepts in a simplified form, which are further described in the Detailed Description below. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0010] The following description relates to a radar apparatus for detecting a target object having an improved field of view (FOV) to obtain excellent target object detection performance.

[0011] In one general aspect, a radar device for detecting a target object is provided, comprising: an antenna having an antenna patch and a feed line connecting the antenna patch; and a control module, the module being controlled to transmit or receive a radar signal through the antenna and configured to detect the target object by analyzing the transmitted and received radar signals, wherein in the feed line, a bent portion is formed so that the length of the feed line is half the wavelength of a transmission / reception wavelength as an effective dielectric constant of a microstrip line, and a spacing between the antenna patches is less than half the wavelength of a transmission / reception wavelength as a wavelength in air, so as to expand a field of view (FOV).

[0012] The radar device for detecting a target object may further include a radome configured to protect the antenna and at the same time be able to additionally expand a field of view (FOV).

[0013] The radome may be implemented with a thickness that is less than a multiple of half the wavelength of the transmit / receive wavelength so that the target object detection area is aligned with the field of view (FOV).

[0014] When a radar signal is multiply reflected within a radome having a thickness approximately equal to a multiple of a half wavelength of the transmission / reception wavelength, the radiation components can have the same phase and maximum radiation can be achieved.

[0015] The antenna may be arranged as a plurality of antennas.

[0016] Multiple antennas can be distributed through separation lines to form a branch structure.

[0017] The separator line can be connected to the control module.

[0018] Other features and aspects will be apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 An antenna of a radar device used for detecting a target object in the prior art is shown.

[0020] Figure 2 A three-dimensional (3D) beam pattern of a radar device used to detect a target object in the prior art is shown.

[0021] Figure 3a and Figure 3b A one-dimensional (1D) beam pattern of a radar device used to detect a target object in the prior art is shown.

[0022] Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of one embodiment of a radar apparatus for detecting a target object according to the present invention.

[0023] Figure 5 A configuration of one embodiment of an antenna of a radar device for detecting a target object according to the present invention is shown.

[0024] Figure 6 A 3D beam pattern of a radar device for detecting a target object according to the present invention is shown.

[0025] Figure 7a and Figure 7b A 1D beam pattern of a radar device for detecting a target object according to the present invention is shown.

[0026] Figure 8 FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an implementation scheme of a radar cover in a radar device for detecting a target object according to the present invention.

[0027] Fig. 9 A 3D beam pattern is shown when a radome is implemented in a radar apparatus for detecting a target object according to the present invention.

[0028] Fig.10a and Fig.10b A 1D beam pattern is shown when a radome is implemented in a radar apparatus for detecting a target object according to the present invention.

[0029] Throughout the drawings and detailed description, unless otherwise described, the same drawing reference numerals will be understood to refer to the same elements, features, and structures. The relative size and depiction of these elements may be exaggerated for clarity, illustration, and convenience. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The following description is provided to help the reader fully understand the methods, devices and / or systems described herein. Therefore, various changes, modifications and equivalents of the methods, devices and / or systems described herein will be proposed to those skilled in the art. In addition, descriptions of known functions and structures may be omitted for clarity and brevity.

[0031] Below, the present invention will be described in detail so that those skilled in the art can easily understand and reproduce the present invention by referring to the exemplary embodiments described in the accompanying drawings. Although specific embodiments are shown in the drawings and related detailed descriptions are described, this is not intended to limit the various embodiments of the present invention to a specific form.

[0032] In describing the present invention, when it is determined that a detailed description of a related known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the embodiments of the present invention, the detailed description thereof may be omitted.

[0033] When a component is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another component, it can be understood that it can be directly connected or coupled to another component but another component may still exist between the two.

[0034] Meanwhile, when a component is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another component, it should be understood that there are no other components involved.

[0035] Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the structure of an embodiment of a radar device for detecting a target object according to the present invention, Figure 5 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an antenna of a radar device for detecting a target object according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, a radar device 100 for detecting a target object according to the present embodiment includes an antenna 110 and a control module 120 .

[0036] The antenna 110 includes an antenna patch 111 and a feed line 112 connecting the antenna patches. In this case, the feed line 112 has a bent portion 112a formed so that the length of the feed line 112 can be half the wavelength of the transmission / reception wavelength as the microstrip line, and the spacing between the antenna patches is smaller than half the wavelength of the transmission / reception wavelength as the wavelength in the air, thereby being implemented so that the field of view (FOV) can be extended.

[0037] When the bent portion 112a is formed in the feed line 112, the spacing between the antenna patches 111 is reduced to less than half the wavelength of the transmission / reception wavelength of the radar signal, while the length of the feed line 112 is maintained at half the wavelength of the transmission / reception wavelength of the radar signal, and a slight signal loss occurs in the central portion of the beam pattern. However, the signal is strengthened at the periphery, and the concentration of the beam pattern is weakened and evenly distributed. Therefore, the FOV is expanded, and the length of the antenna is also reduced, which is advantageous for miniaturization of the device.

[0038] Meanwhile, the antenna 110 may be provided as a plurality of antennas 110, and the plurality of antennas 110 may be distributed through the dividing line 113 to form a branch structure. In this case, the dividing line 113 is connected to the control module 120, and the radius of the FOV is determined by the number of antennas 110 and the number of antenna patches 111 included in each antenna 110.

[0039] Figure 6 shows a three-dimensional (3D) beam pattern of a radar device for detecting a target object according to the present invention, Figure 7a and Figure 7b FIG. 1 shows a one-dimensional (1D) beam pattern of a radar device for detecting a target object according to the present invention. Figure 7a shows the 1D beam pattern in azimuth direction, Figure 7b The 1D beam pattern in the elevation direction is shown.

[0040] like Figure 6 and Figure 7a , Figure 7b As shown, Figure 2 and Figure 3a , Figure 3b Compared with the radar device for detecting the target object in the prior art shown in FIG. 1 , in the radar device for detecting the target object according to the present invention, a relatively flat (flatter slope) beam pattern is shown with the center of the main lobe as the center, and the beam pattern is evenly distributed around the center. Therefore, it can be seen that a wider FOV is formed than that of the prior art.

[0041] The control module 120 is controlled to transmit and receive radar signals through an antenna and detect a target object by analyzing the transmitted and received radar signals. The configuration of the control module 120 for transmitting and receiving radar signals and detecting a target object by analyzing the radar signals has been known in various ways before this application, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0042] By implementing the present invention in this manner, the target object detection performance can be improved by increasing the FOV, thereby providing a radar device for target object detection with excellent quality, which can be widely used in various fields, such as robots and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, as well as self-driving cars.

[0043] Meanwhile, according to another aspect of the present invention, the radar device 100 for detecting a target object may further include a radome 130. The radome 130 protects the antenna 110 and can additionally expand the FOV.

[0044] In this case, the radome 130 may be implemented to have a thickness less than a half-wavelength multiple of the transmission / reception wavelength so that the target object detection area is aligned with the FOV portion. For example, when the thickness of the radome 130 is implemented to be less than a half-wavelength multiple of the transmission / reception wavelength and close to a half-wavelength multiple of the transmission / reception wavelength, the radiation components have the same phase and the radar signal is reflected multiple times within the radome, thereby achieving maximum radiation.

[0045] In the case of a radar signal radiating a frequency less than or equal to the gigahertz (GHz) band, the thickness of the radome can be made as thin as possible compared to the minimum thickness that can protect the antenna (i.e., the transmission / reception wavelength of the radar signal), thereby minimizing the impact of the radome.

[0046] However, in the case of radiating a radar signal of a millimeter (mm) band frequency, in order to realize a radome having a thickness at which the influence of the radome can be ignored, the thickness of the radome should be 1 mm or less. However, when the thickness of the radome is 1 mm or less, the antenna cannot be protected.

[0047] Therefore, in the present invention, when the thickness of the radome is implemented to be less than a half-wavelength multiple of the transmission / reception wavelength and close to a half-wavelength multiple of the transmission / reception wavelength, the radiation components have the same phase and the radar signal is reflected multiple times in the radome, thereby achieving maximum radiation. Therefore, even when a radar signal of a millimeter wave band frequency is radiated, the FOV can be additionally expanded while the antenna 110 is protected by the radome 130.

[0048] Figure 8 An embodiment of a radome in a radar device for detecting a target object according to the present invention is shown, wherein a radome 130 having a thickness less than a half wavelength multiple of a transmission / reception wavelength is implemented in front of an antenna 110 to protect the antenna 110 .

[0049] at the same time, Fig. 9 shows a 3D beam pattern when a radome is implemented in a radar apparatus for detecting a target object according to the present invention, Fig.10a and Fig.10b shows a 1D beam pattern when a radome is implemented in a radar apparatus for detecting a target object according to the present invention, Fig.10a shows the 1D beam pattern in azimuth direction, Fig.10b The 1D beam pattern in the elevation direction is shown.

[0050] refer to Fig. 9 and Fig.10a , Fig.10b ,and Figure 6 and Figure 7a , Figure 7b Compared to the case without the radome shown in , when the radome is implemented to have a thickness less than a multiple of half the wavelength of the transmit / receive wavelength, a relatively flat (flatter slope) beam pattern is displayed based on the center of the main lobe, so it can be seen that the FOV is further extended.

[0051] According to the present invention, the target object detection performance can be improved by improving the FOV, thereby providing a high-quality radar device for target object detection, which can be widely used in various fields, such as robots and IoT devices, and self-driving cars.

[0052] Some examples have been described above. However, it should be understood that various modifications may be made. For example, if the described techniques are performed in a different order and / or if components in the described systems, architectures, devices, or circuits are combined in a different manner and / or replaced or supplemented by other components or their equivalents, appropriate results may be achieved. Therefore, other implementations are also included within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A radar device for detecting a target object, in, include: An antenna having an antenna patch and a feed line connected to the antenna patch; a control module, the control module being controlled to transmit or receive a radar signal through the antenna and being configured to detect a target object by analyzing the transmitted and received radar signals, wherein a curved portion is formed in the feed line so that the length of the feed line is half the wavelength of the transmission / reception wavelength, and the spacing between the antenna patches is less than half the wavelength of the transmission / reception wavelength to expand the field of view (FOV); as well as a radome configured to protect the antenna and at the same time to additionally extend the field of view, wherein the radome is implemented to have a thickness less than a multiple of half the wavelength of the transmitting / receiving wavelength so that the target object detection area is aligned with the field of view portion, and In this case, when the radar signal is multiply reflected in a radome having a thickness approximately equal to a multiple of half the wavelength of the transmission / reception wavelength, the radiation components can have the same phase and achieve maximum radiation.

2. The radar device for detecting a target object according to claim 1, in, The antenna is arranged as a plurality of antennas.

3. The radar device for detecting a target object according to claim 2, in, The plurality of antennas are distributed through separation lines to form a branch structure.

4. The radar device for detecting a target object according to claim 3, in, The separation line is connected to the control module.

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