Radar device and signal processing method for radar device

Abstract

The present invention discloses a radar device and a signal processing method for the radar device. The radar device includes a transmitter module, which is configured to generate a transmission wave, including: generating a first chirp chain at a first chirp rate for the transmission wave to be output, including: generating a first transmission signal including at least one modulated signal to be output at a first angle; generating a second transmission signal to be output at a second angle different from the first angle; and generating a second chirp chain at a second chirp rate for the transmission wave to be output, including: generating a third transmission signal including at least one modulated signal to be output at the first angle; and generating a fourth transmission signal including at least one modulated signal to be output at the second angle, wherein the first chirp rate is different from the second chirp rate.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a radar device, and more particularly to a signal method of the radar device. Background Art

[0002] This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.

[0003] U.S. Publication No. 2019 / 0113602 A1 cites a radar device with a steerable transmit beam angle using a narrow beam width, as disclosed in the publication. Figure 2 shown.

[0004] To reduce the detection time, the transmission signal at a first angle is extracted and other signals at other angles are transmitted during the interval between the extraction times, as disclosed in the publication. Figure 4 This maintains the same velocity resolution as without signal decimation.

[0005] However, the interval time reduces the maximum explicit speed by the decimation ratio. To compensate for this maximum explicit speed reduction, the application proposes to use a short but continuous signal chain (e.g. Figure 4 during Ttx1) with the combination of the decimated signal chain described above.

[0006] The patent publication also describes an example using only a decimated signal chain without using a short but continuous signal, as shown in Figure 13. However, no compensation for the maximum explicit speed is performed. In addition, the maximum explicit speed that can be detected in the publication may be limited by the unit signal time length.

[0007] U.S. Publication No. 2019 / 0113602, published on April 18, 2019, is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Summary of the Invention

[0008] In a feature, a radar device includes: a transmitter module configured to generate a transmission wave based on a transmission signal and output the transmission wave at each of a plurality of predetermined angles; a receiver module configured to receive a reflected wave of the transmission wave from a target and generate a reception signal based on the reflected wave; and a control module configured to determine information about the target based on the reception signal, wherein the information includes at least one of a speed of the target and a distance to the target, wherein the transmitter module is configured to generate the transmission wave, including: generating a first chirp chain at a first chirp rate for the transmission wave to be output, including: generating a chirp chain at intervals of a predetermined idle operation time including a chirp chain for the transmission wave to be output at the first angle The invention relates to a method for generating a first transmission signal including at least one modulation signal for a transmission wave to be output; and generating, in each interval of an idle operation time, a second transmission signal including at least one modulation signal for a transmission wave to be output at a second angle different from the first angle; and generating a second chirp chain at a second chirp rate for the transmission wave to be output, comprising: generating, at intervals of a predetermined idle operation time, a third transmission signal including at least one modulation signal for the transmission wave to be output at the first angle; and generating, in each interval of the idle operation time, a fourth transmission signal including at least one modulation signal for the transmission wave to be output at the second angle, wherein the first chirp rate is different from the second chirp rate.

[0009] In another feature, the control module is configured to: obtain a beat signal of the first chirp chain at a first angle; perform a first fast Fourier transform (FFT) and a second fast Fourier transform on the beat signal and generate a two-dimensional power spectrum; extract a peak from the two-dimensional power spectrum; and determine a first speed of the target based on the peak.

[0010] In still another feature, the control module is further configured to determine a distance to a target based on the peak value.

[0011] In another feature, the control module is further configured to: acquire a second beat signal of the second chirp chain at a first angle; perform a third FFT and a fourth FFT on the second beat signal and generate a two-dimensional power spectrum; extract a second peak from the second two-dimensional power spectrum; and determine a second speed of the target based on the second peak.

[0012] In still another feature, the control module is further configured to determine a difference between the speed of the target and a second speed of the target.

[0013] In still further features, the control module is further configured to determine a compensation value based on the difference.

[0014] In still another feature, the control module is further configured to determine a speed of the target based on the compensation value and one of the first speed and the second speed.

[0015] In still further features, the control module is configured to set the speed based on a sum of (a) the compensation value and (b) the one of the first speed and the second speed.

[0016] In still another feature, the electronic control module is configured to selectively actuate the actuator based on the information about the target.

[0017] In still another feature, the electronic control module is configured to selectively one of accelerate and decelerate the vehicle based on the information about the target.

[0018] In yet another feature, the first chirp chain has a first chirp slope at a first angle, and the first chirp chain has a second chirp slope at a second angle different from the first angle, wherein the second chirp slope is different from the first chirp slope.

[0019] In yet another feature, the first chirp chain has a first chirp slope at a first angle, and the second chirp chain has a second chirp slope at the first angle, wherein the second chirp slope is the same as the first chirp slope.

[0020] In a feature, a method includes: generating a transmission wave based on a transmission signal and outputting the transmission wave at each of a plurality of predetermined angles; receiving a reflected wave of the transmission wave from a target and generating a reception signal based on the reflected wave; and determining information about the target based on the reception signal, wherein the information includes at least one of a speed of the target and a distance to the target, and wherein generating the transmission wave includes: generating a first chirp chain at a first chirp rate for the transmission wave to be output, including: generating the first transmission signal including at least one modulation signal for the transmission wave to be output at the first angle at intervals of a predetermined idle operation time ; and within each interval of the idle operation time, generating a second transmission signal including at least one modulation signal for a transmission wave to be output at a second angle different from the first angle; and generating a second chirp chain at a second chirp rate for the transmission wave to be output, including: generating a third transmission signal including at least one modulation signal for the transmission wave to be output at the first angle at intervals of a predetermined idle operation time; and within each interval of the idle operation time, generating a fourth transmission signal including at least one modulation signal for the transmission wave to be output at the second angle; and wherein the first chirp rate is different from the second chirp rate.

[0021] In another feature, the method further includes: acquiring a beat signal of the first chirp chain at a first angle; performing a first fast Fourier transform (FFT) and a second fast Fourier transform on the beat signal and generating a two-dimensional power spectrum; extracting a peak from the two-dimensional power spectrum; and determining a first speed of the target based on the peak.

[0022] In still further features, the method further comprises determining a distance to the target based on the peak value.

[0023] In another feature, the method further includes: acquiring a second beat signal of the second chirp chain at the first angle; performing a third FFT and a fourth FFT on the second beat signal and generating a two-dimensional power spectrum; extracting a second peak from the second two-dimensional power spectrum; and determining a second speed of the target based on the second peak.

[0024] In still further features, the method further comprises determining a difference between the velocity of the target and a second velocity of the target.

[0025] In still further features, the method further comprises determining a compensation value based on the difference.

[0026] In still further features, the method further comprises determining a speed of the target based on the compensation value and one of the first speed and the second speed.

[0027] In still further features, the method further comprises setting the speed based on a sum of (a) the compensation value and (b) the one of the first speed and the second speed.

[0028] Further areas of applicability of the present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description, claims, and drawings.The detailed description and specific examples are intended for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] The present disclosure will be more fully understood based on the detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which:

[0030] Figure 1 is a functional block diagram of an example radar device;

[0031] Figure 2 is an example illustration of detecting distance and relative speed in a fast chirp modulation (FCM) scheme;

[0032] Figure 3 It is an example illustration of signal extraction and the relationship between relative speed and signal time length;

[0033] Figure 4 including a top figure containing an example chirp chain and a bottom figure containing an example chirp chain with decimation;

[0034] Figure 5 Includes example graphs of velocity estimation;

[0035] Figure 6 Includes example illustrations of two sets of decimation signal chains;

[0036] Figure 7 Includes example diagrams of maximum explicit velocity compensation;

[0037] 8A-8F include example graphs of offset (T offset ) optimization;

[0038] Figure 9 is a flow chart depicting an example method for object detection and velocity estimation;

[0039] Figure 10 Includes example graphs of chirp chains over time; and

[0040] Figure 11 Includes example graphs of chirp chains with different chirp slopes.

[0041] Among the drawings, reference numerals may be repeated to identify similar and / or identical elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0043] In order to increase the maximum detection distance, a method of increasing the signal power by using a narrow beam width for the radar device can be used. In order to widen the field of view (FoV) of the radar device, the radar device can manipulate multiple beams on the desired FoV. Therefore, at a specific FoV, a radar device using a narrow beam width takes longer to detect than a radar device using a wide beam width. The detection time can be reduced by shortening the time length of the modulated signal, which can be kept as short as possible. However, this may reduce the velocity resolution.

[0044] The present disclosure is directed to reducing detection time without reducing velocity resolution and increasing the maximum unambiguous velocity of radar devices using narrow beamwidths.

[0045] As a method for shortening the detection time of radar devices using narrow beamwidths, this application involves using two sets of decimated signal chains to estimate the compensated speed based on the difference between the two measured speed results. This improves the maximum detectable clear speed limit by optimizing the time difference between the two signal chains.

[0046] This article describes a method for reducing the detection time of radar devices using narrow beamwidths without compromising performance. Signal duration is related to detection time, and velocity resolution and maximum unambiguous velocity can have a strong dependency on signal duration. This article describes an effective compensation system and method that achieves both detection time and performance improvements for radar devices using narrow beamwidths.

[0047] Reference Figure 1The vehicle-mounted system 1 (the system in the vehicle) includes a radar device 10 and a driving support ECU (electronic control unit) 100. A unit may also be referred to as a module. For example, an electronic control unit may be referred to as an electronic control module.

[0048] The in-vehicle system 1 is installed in a vehicle. A radar device (module) 10 includes a transmitter (module) 20 that transmits transmission waves and a receiver (module) 40 that receives the transmission waves reflected by an object as reception waves. Through signal processing at a controller (module) 60, the controller 60 detects the distance to the target, the relative speed to the target, and the azimuth / direction of the target as target information. The target is the object that reflected the transmission waves back to the radar device 10. The radar device 10 outputs the detected target information.

[0049] Target information (range, relative speed, bearing / direction) output from the radar device 10 is input to the driving support ECU 100 via an in-vehicle network such as a CAN (Controller Area Network) or Ethernet.

[0050] Phase adjustment circuit (module) 26 can be combined with transmit antenna array 28 (an array of one or more transmit antennas) to form a transmit phased array antenna. Phase adjustment circuit (module) 44 can be combined with receive antenna array 42 (an array of one or more receive antennas) to form a receive phased array antenna.

[0051] To set a desired transmit beam direction, phase adjustment circuit 26 follows signals from controller 60 to adjust the phase shift of each transmit signal entering an antenna element in transmit antenna array 28. Similarly, to set a desired receiver beam direction, phase adjustment circuit 44 follows signals from controller 60 to adjust the phase shift of each receive signal entering an antenna element in antenna array 42.

[0052] Reference Figure 2 The radar device 10 may be a fast chirp modulation (FCM) radar device. In the FCM scheme, the controller 60 determines the distance to the target based on the frequency of a beat signal generated from the transmitted and received signals. The controller 60 determines the distance based on the beat frequency (the frequency of the beat signal), such as by determining a first fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the beat signal.

[0053] Furthermore, in the FCM scheme, the controller 60 determines the relative speed of the target based on the phase rotation of the frequency components detected continuously with respect to the same target. Figure 2As shown, the velocity is calculated by controller 60 based on the beat frequency of a second FFT of each beat signal in the chirp chain. For example, controller 60 may perform a second FFT on the signal resulting from the first FFT. The maximum unambiguous velocity Vmax0 may be inversely proportional to the chirp time Tchirp, while the velocity resolution ΔV0 may be inversely proportional to the number of chirps Nchirp. To achieve a smaller velocity resolution, a longer chirp chain length may be useful for beam direction.

[0054] Reference Figure 3 To reduce the detection time in multiple beam directions while maintaining the same velocity resolution, controller 60 decimates the chirps in the beam direction transmitted during the interval between decimation times, as well as the chirps in other directions. Consequently, the equivalent detection time can be reduced by a multiple of the decimation factor NB. However, the maximum unambiguous velocity can also be reduced by a factor of NB.

[0055] The prior patent application uses a chirp chain to reduce the detection time from the radar device 10 while using two different types of chirps with the same maximum unambiguous velocity and velocity resolution, such as Figure 4 As shown in the following figure. One chirp can have a large maximum explicit velocity, but a large velocity resolution. Another chirp can have a small velocity resolution, but a small maximum explicit velocity. Figure 5 The two results shown result in the same maximum explicit velocity and velocity resolution.

[0056] Reference Figure 6 , the controller 60 uses two chirp chains, and both chirp chains are decimated. Figure 6 As shown, the chirp time Tchirp2 of the second signal can be longer than the chirp time Tchip1 of the first signal by T offset This results in two different maximum unambiguous velocities of the target, Vmax1 and Vmax2, and two different velocity resolutions, ΔV1 and ΔV2. The slope and chirp time of the unit chirp between the two chirp chains can be set to the same value to have equivalent maximum detection range and range resolution.

[0057] Reference Figure 7 Ambiguity folding of the detected speed may occur at integer multiples of Vmax1 and Vmax2 relative to the actual speed, such as Figure 7 As shown in the top graph of FIG. The speed difference between the two detected speeds V1 and V2 can be a constant value within each folded position / range on the actual speed axis (x-axis). The compensation value is determined by the controller 60 based on the folded position. The actual speed can then be estimated by adding the compensation value to the detected speed (i.e., V1 or V2).

[0058] This has the advantage that a maximum explicit velocity greater than the maximum explicit velocity determined by the chirp time of the unit chirp (ie, ±Vmax0), for example, ±2Vmax0, can be estimated.

[0059] 8A to 8F , the difference T between Tchirp1 and Tchirp2 is selected. offset , to correctly distinguish the folding position. From Figure 8A / Figure 8B to Figure 8E / Figure 8F, T offset Increase. T offset The smaller , the larger the detected position error between the detected speed differences, possibly because the difference is small in the absence of position overlap. offset The larger the value, the larger the detected position error between the detected speed differences, which may be due to position overlap.

[0060] In this example, the decimation rate is four. The maximum clear speed is reduced by a factor of four and is Vmax1. The maximum clear speed can be increased to 8Vmax1, which is twice the maximum clear speed that can be estimated from the US publication discussed above.

[0061] Reference Figure 9 , a flow chart depicting an example method of target detection performed by the processing unit 70 in the controller 60 is shown.

[0062] When the present process starts, at step 1 , the controller 60 acquires first modulation data (ie, the beat signal of FCM).

[0063] At 2, the controller 60 performs a two-dimensional FFT process on the first modulated data. Specifically, Figure 2 As shown, the controller 60 performs a first FFT process on the first modulated data and generates a power spectrum for each chirp. Next, the controller 60 collects the processing results of all chirps in each frequency bin and performs a second FFT process on the results. Then, based on the results of the first and second FFT processes, the controller 60 determines a two-dimensional power spectrum.

[0064] At 3 , the controller 60 extracts peaks from the two-dimensional power spectrum.

[0065] At 4 , the controller 60 calculates the distance and speed of the extracted peak.

[0066] From 5 to 8, the controller repeats the same processing as from 1 to 4, except that the data processed is the second modulated data.

[0067] At 9, the controller 60 calculates the difference between the two calculated speeds from 4 and 8. The speed difference is a constant value at each folded position. The compensation value is determined by the controller 60 based on the folded position. The actual speed of the target can then be estimated by the controller 60 based on the sum (addition) of the compensation value and the calculated speed at 4 or 8.

[0068] At 10, the controller 60 adds 1 to the "count" value, which is a counter value of the number of beam directions. When control starts, the "count" is initially set to 0.

[0069] At 11, if the "count" value is not equal to the predetermined number of beam directions ("No"), control returns to 1 and repeats 1 to 11 for another beam direction. In the case of "Yes", which means that the measurement in each beam direction has been completed, control proceeds to 12.

[0070] At 12, the controller 60 outputs the distance and compensated velocity measurements across the entire beam direction to the ECU 100. The ECU 100 may take one or more actions based on the distance and / or compensated velocity. For example, the ECU 100 may adjust (e.g., increase or decrease) the torque output of a torque-generating device (e.g., an engine or electric motor) based on the distance and / or compensated velocity, the ECU 100 may adjust the application of mechanical brakes, the ECU 100 may adjust steering (e.g., left or right), etc.

[0071] Figure 10 An example diagram includes a first chirp chain and a second chirp chain at different emission angles (A1, A2, ..., AN). In this example, each chirp (triangle) has the same chirp slope. The first chirp chain has a first chirp rate, and the second chirp chain has a second chirp rate that is different from the first chirp rate.

[0072] Figure 11 Example diagram of a first chirp chain and a second chirp chain at different emission angles (Aa, Ab, ... AN). In this example, the chirps (triangles) at different angles have different chirp slopes (slopes of the leading edges of the triangles). For example, the chirp at angle Aa has a different slope than the chirp at angle Ab. The first chirp chain has a first chirp rate, and the second chirp chain has a second chirp rate that is different from the first chirp rate. The chirp rate can refer to the period between consecutive starts of chirps at the angles of the chirp chain. In other words, the period between the starts of consecutive chirps of the chirp chain at the emission angles can be the same.

[0073] The foregoing description is essentially merely illustrative and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, its application or purposes. The broad teachings of the present disclosure can be realized in various forms. Therefore, although the present disclosure includes specific examples, the true scope of the present disclosure should not be so limited, because other modifications will become apparent after studying the drawings, description and appended claims. It should be understood that one or more steps in the method can be performed in different orders (or simultaneously) without changing the principle of the present disclosure. In addition, although each embodiment is described above as having certain features, any one or more of these features described in any embodiment of the present disclosure can be realized in the features of any other embodiment and / or combined with the features of any other embodiment, even if the combination is not clearly described. In other words, the embodiments described are not mutually exclusive, and the combination of one or more embodiments is still within the scope of the present disclosure. The spatial relationship and functional relationship between elements (for example, between modules) are described using various terms, including "connection", "engagement", "interface" and "coupling". Unless explicitly described as "directly", when the relationship between a first element and a second element is described in the above disclosure, the relationship includes a direct relationship between the first element and the second element in which there are no other intermediate elements, and an indirect relationship between the first element and the second element in which there are one or more intermediate elements (spatially or functionally).

[0074] As used herein, the phrase at least one of A, B, and C should be construed to mean a logical (A or B or C), using a non-exclusive logical OR. For example, the phrase at least one of A, B, and C should be construed to include any of the following: (i) only A; (ii) only B; (iii) only C; (iv) A and B together; (v) A and C together; (vi) B and C together; (vii) A, B, and C together. The phrase at least one of A, B, and C should not be construed to mean "at least one of A, at least one of B, and at least one of C."

[0075] In a diagram, the direction of the arrow, indicated by an arrowhead, generally indicates the flow of information (such as data or instructions) of interest to the diagram. For example, when element A and element B exchange various information, but the information transmitted from element A to element B is relevant to the diagram, the arrow may point from element A to element B. This unidirectional arrow does not mean that no other information is transmitted from element B to element A. In addition, for information transmitted from element A to element B, element B may send a request for the information or an acknowledgment of receipt to element A. The term subset does not necessarily require a proper subset. In other words, the first subset of a first set may be coextensive with (equal to) the first set.

[0076] In this application, including the following definitions, the term "module" or the term "unit" or the term "controller" may be replaced with the term "circuit". The term "module" may refer to processor hardware (shared, dedicated, or a group) that executes code and memory hardware (shared, dedicated, or a group) that stores code executed by the processor hardware, is a part of the processor hardware (shared, dedicated, or a group) that executes code and the memory hardware (shared, dedicated, or a group) that stores code executed by the processor hardware, or includes the processor hardware (shared, dedicated, or a group) that executes code and the memory hardware (shared, dedicated, or a group) that stores code executed by the processor hardware.

[0077] The module may include one or more interface circuits. In some examples, the interface circuit can implement a wired or wireless interface connected to a local area network (LAN) or a wireless personal area network (WPAN). Examples of LANs are Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard 802.11-2016 (also referred to as WIFI wireless network standards) and IEEE standard 802.3-2015 (also referred to as Ethernet wired network standards). Examples of WPANs are IEEE standard 802.15.4 (including the ZigBee standard of the ZigBee Alliance) and the Bluetooth wireless network standard from the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) (including core specification versions 3.0, 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 5.0, and 5.1 from the Bluetooth SIG).

[0078] Modules can communicate with other modules using interface circuits. Although modules can be depicted in the present disclosure as being in logical communication directly with other modules, in various implementations, modules can actually communicate via a communication system. The communication system includes physical and / or virtual network devices such as hubs, switches, routers, and gateways. In some implementations, the communication system is connected to or traverses a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet. For example, the communication system can include multiple LANs connected to each other via the Internet or point-to-point leased lines using technologies including multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) and virtual private networks (VPNs).

[0079] In various implementations, the functionality of a module can be distributed across multiple modules connected via a communication system. For example, multiple modules can implement the same functionality distributed by a load balancing system. In another example, the functionality of a module can be split between a server (also known as a remote or cloud) module and a client (or user) module. For example, a client module can include a local or network application that executes on a client device and engages in network communication with a server module.

[0080] The term code as used above can include software, firmware and / or microcode, and can refer to a program, routine, function, class, data structure and / or object. Shared processor hardware includes a single microprocessor that executes some code or all code from multiple modules. Group processor hardware includes a microprocessor that is combined with an additional microprocessor to execute some code or all code from one or more modules. Reference to multiple microprocessors includes multiple microprocessors on discrete dies, multiple microprocessors on a single die, multiple cores of a single microprocessor, multiple threads of a single microprocessor, or a combination thereof.

[0081] Shared memory hardware includes a single memory device that stores some or all code from multiple modules. Group memory hardware includes a memory device that combines with other memory devices to store some or all code from one or more modules.

[0082] The term memory hardware is a subset of the term computer-readable medium. The term computer-readable medium as used herein does not include transient electrical signals or transient electromagnetic signals propagated through a medium (such as on a carrier wave); therefore, the term computer-readable medium is considered to be tangible and non-transient. Non-limiting examples of non-transient computer-readable media are non-volatile memory devices (such as flash memory devices, erasable programmable read-only memory devices, or mask read-only memory devices), volatile memory devices (such as static random access memory devices or dynamic random access memory devices), magnetic storage media (such as analog or digital magnetic tape or hard drives), and optical storage media (such as CDs, DVDs, or Blu-ray discs).

[0083] The apparatus and methods described in this application may be implemented in part or in whole by a special-purpose computer created by configuring a general-purpose computer to perform one or more specific functions implemented in a computer program. The functional blocks and flow chart elements described above serve as software specifications, which can be translated into a computer program by a skilled technician or programmer through routine work.

[0084] A computer program includes processor-executable instructions stored on at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium. A computer program may also include or rely on stored data. A computer program may include: a basic input / output system (BIOS) that interacts with the hardware of a special-purpose computer, device drivers that interact with specific devices of the special-purpose computer, one or more operating systems, user applications, background services, background applications, etc.

[0085] A computer program may include: (i) descriptive text to be parsed such as HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), XML (Extensible Markup Language), or JSON (JavaScript Object Notation), (ii) assembly code, (iii) object code generated by a compiler from source code, (iv) source code executed by an interpreter, (v) source code compiled and executed by a just-in-time compiler, etc. By way of example only, source code may be written using syntax from languages ​​including: C, C++, C#, Objective-C, Swift, Haskell, Go, SQL, R, Lisp, Fortran, Perl, Pascal, Curl, OCaml, HTML5 (Hypertext Markup Language Version 5), Ada, ASP (Active Server Pages), PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor), Scala, Eiffel, Smalltalk, Erlang, Ruby, Visual Lua, MATLAB, SIMULINK, and

[0086] Exemplary embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and will fully convey the scope to those skilled in the art. Many specific details such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments of this disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be used and that the exemplary embodiments can be implemented in many different forms and none of them should be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.

[0087] The terms used herein are only used to describe the purpose of specific example embodiments and are not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms "one", "an" and "the" may also be intended to include plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms "comprise", "compose", "include" and "have" are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of the features, integers, steps, operations, elements and / or parts, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, parts and / or their groups. The method steps, processes and operations described herein should not be interpreted as necessarily requiring them to be performed in the particular order discussed or described, unless specifically identified as the order of execution. It should also be understood that additional or alternative steps may be adopted.

Claims

1. A radar device, comprising: a transmitter module configured to generate a transmission wave based on the transmission signal and output the transmission wave at each of a plurality of predetermined angles; a receiver module configured to receive a reflected wave of the transmitted wave from a target and generate a received signal based on the reflected wave; as well as a control module configured to determine information about the target based on the received signal, wherein the information includes at least one of a speed of the target and a distance to the target, The transmitter module is configured to generate the transmission wave, including: A first chirp chain is generated at a first chirp rate for a transmit wave to be output, comprising: generating a first transmission signal including at least one modulation signal for a transmission wave to be output at a first angle at intervals of a predetermined idle operation time; and generating, within each interval of the idle operation time, a second transmission signal including at least one modulation signal for a transmission wave to be output at a second angle different from the first angle, wherein the first chirp chain is immediately repeated without a time offset; and A second chirp chain is generated at a second chirp rate for a transmit wave to be output, comprising: generating a third transmission signal including at least one modulation signal for a transmission wave to be output at the first angle at intervals of the predetermined idle operation time; and generating, within each interval of the idle operation time, a fourth transmission signal including at least one modulation signal for a transmission wave to be output at the second angle, wherein the second chirp chain is repeated in a time-shifted manner; The first chirp rate is different from the second chirp rate.

2. The radar device according to claim 1, wherein The control module is configured to: acquiring a beat frequency signal of the first chirp chain at the first angle; performing a first fast Fourier transform and a second fast Fourier transform on the beat signal and generating a two-dimensional power spectrum; extracting peaks from the two-dimensional power spectrum; as well as A first velocity of the target is determined based on the peak value.

3. The radar device according to claim 2, wherein: The control module is further configured to determine a distance to the target based on the peak value.

4. The radar device according to claim 2, wherein: The control module is further configured to: Acquire a second beat frequency signal of the second chirp chain at the first angle; performing a third fast Fourier transform and a fourth fast Fourier transform on the second beat frequency signal to generate a second two-dimensional power spectrum; extracting a second peak from the second two-dimensional power spectrum; as well as A second speed of the target is determined based on the second peak value.

5. The radar device according to claim 4, wherein The control module is further configured to determine a difference between a first speed of the target and a second speed of the target.

6. The radar device according to claim 5, wherein The control module is further configured to determine a compensation value based on the difference.

7. The radar device according to claim 6, wherein: The control module is further configured to determine a speed of the target based on the compensation value and one of the first speed and the second speed.

8. The radar device according to claim 7, wherein: The control module is configured to set the speed based on a sum of the compensation value and the one of the first speed and the second speed. 9 . The radar apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an electronic control module configured to selectively actuate an actuator based on information about the target.

10. The radar device according to claim 9, wherein The electronic control module is configured to selectively one of accelerate and decelerate the vehicle based on information about the target.

11. The radar device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein: The first chirp chain has a first chirp slope at the first angle, and the first chirp chain has a second chirp slope at a second angle different from the first angle, wherein the second chirp slope is different from the first chirp slope.

12. The radar device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein: The first chirp chain has a first chirp slope at the first angle, and the second chirp chain has a second chirp slope at the first angle, wherein the second chirp slope is the same as the first chirp slope.

13. A signal processing method, comprising: generating a transmission wave based on the transmission signal, and outputting the transmission wave at each of a plurality of predetermined angles; receiving a reflected wave of the transmitted wave from a target and generating a received signal based on the reflected wave; as well as determining information about the target based on the received signal, wherein the information includes at least one of a speed of the target and a distance to the target, and Wherein, generating the transmission wave includes: A first chirp chain is generated at a first chirp rate for a transmit wave to be output, comprising: generating a first transmission signal including at least one modulation signal for a transmission wave to be output at a first angle at intervals of a predetermined idle operation time; and generating, within each interval of the idle operation time, a second transmission signal including at least one modulation signal for a transmission wave to be output at a second angle different from the first angle, wherein the first chirp chain is immediately repeated without a time offset; and A second chirp chain is generated at a second chirp rate for a transmit wave to be output, comprising: generating a third transmission signal including at least one modulation signal for a transmission wave to be output at the first angle at intervals of the predetermined idle operation time; and generating, in each interval of the idle operation time, a fourth transmission signal including at least one modulation signal for a transmission wave to be output at the second angle, wherein the second chirp chain is repeated in a time-shifted manner; and The first chirp rate is different from the second chirp rate. The signal processing method according to claim 13 , wherein: The signal processing method further includes: acquiring a beat frequency signal of the first chirp chain at the first angle; performing a first fast Fourier transform and a second fast Fourier transform on the beat signal and generating a two-dimensional power spectrum; extracting peaks from the two-dimensional power spectrum; and A first velocity of the target is determined based on the peak value. The signal processing method according to claim 14 , further comprising determining a distance to the target based on the peak value.

16. The signal processing method according to claim 14 or 15, further comprising: Acquire a second beat frequency signal of the second chirp chain at the first angle; performing a third fast Fourier transform and a fourth fast Fourier transform on the second beat frequency signal to generate a second two-dimensional power spectrum; extracting a second peak from the second two-dimensional power spectrum; as well as A second speed of the target is determined based on the second peak value.

17. The signal processing method according to claim 16, further comprising: A difference between a first speed of the object and the second speed of the object is determined.

18. The signal processing method according to claim 17, further comprising: A compensation value is determined based on the difference.

19. The signal processing method according to claim 18, further comprising: The speed of the target is determined based on the compensation value and one of the first speed and the second speed.

20. The signal processing method according to claim 19, further comprising: The speed is set based on a sum of the compensation value and the one of the first speed and the second speed.

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