Ultra-wideband circuit

Abstract

An ultra wide band circuit includes a first pin, a second pin, a control buffer, a fundamental frequency circuit, a switch, a transmission circuit, a receiving circuit, a first low noise amplifier and a second low noise amplifier. The control buffer stores a plurality of control values. The fundamental frequency circuit is coupled with the control buffer and is used for setting the plurality of control values. The switch is coupled to the first pin. The transmission circuit is coupled to the control buffer and the switch, and operates according to a first control value of the plurality of control values. The receiving circuit is coupled to the control buffer and operates according to a second control value of the plurality of control values. The first low noise amplifier is coupled to the switch and the receiving circuit. The second low noise amplifier is coupled to the second pin and the receiving circuit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an ultra-wideband circuit, and more particularly to an ultra-wideband circuit supporting ultra-wideband ranging and radar detection. Background Art

[0002] See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 A schematic diagram shows existing ultra-wideband (UWB) ranging and radar detection systems for vehicles. Vehicle 100 is equipped with five ranging anchors 101-105 and a kick-activated tailgate radar detector 110. Both ranging anchors 101-105 and radar detector 110 utilize UWB technology. Each ranging anchor 101-105 requires a UWB circuit.

[0003] See also Figure 2 , Figure 2 2 is a functional block diagram of conventional radar detector 110. UWB circuit 210 and UWB circuit 220 collaborate to detect object 201. UWB circuit 210 and UWB circuit 220 are coupled to antenna 203 and antenna 205, respectively. UWB circuit 210 includes a transmitting circuit 212, a receiving circuit 214, and a switch 216. UWB circuit 220 includes a transmitting circuit 222, a receiving circuit 224, and a switch 226.

[0004] Both UWB circuit 210 and UWB circuit 220 utilize a single transmitting circuit and a single receiving circuit. Because UWB circuit 210 and UWB circuit 220 cannot simultaneously transmit and receive signals, radar detector 110 requires two UWB circuits. Furthermore, UWB circuit 210 and UWB circuit 220 must synchronize their signals. This requirement for two UWB circuits increases the cost of vehicle 100.

[0005] Furthermore, if the radar detector 110 shares the UWB circuit with the ranging anchor point 104 and / or the ranging anchor point 105 to save costs, the antenna 203 and the antenna 205 must be omnidirectional antennas, which makes the radar detector 110 more susceptible to interference (less accurate). Summary of the Invention

[0006] In view of the shortcomings of the prior art, one object of the present disclosure is to provide an ultra-wideband circuit to improve the shortcomings of the prior art.

[0007] One embodiment of the present disclosure provides an ultra-wideband circuit, comprising: a first pin, a second pin, a control register, a baseband circuit, a switch, a transmitting circuit, a receiving circuit, a first low-noise amplifier, and a second low-noise amplifier. The control register stores a plurality of control values. The baseband circuit is coupled to the control register for setting the plurality of control values. The switch is coupled to the first pin. The transmitting circuit is coupled to the control register and the switch and operates according to a first control value among the plurality of control values. The receiving circuit is coupled to the control register and operates according to a second control value among the plurality of control values. The first low-noise amplifier is coupled to the switch and the receiving circuit. The second low-noise amplifier is coupled to the second pin and the receiving circuit.

[0008] The technical means implemented by the embodiments of the present disclosure can improve at least one of the shortcomings of the prior art. Therefore, the present disclosure can reduce circuit area and improve performance compared to the prior art.

[0009] The features, practices and effects of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings which serve as embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of existing vehicle-used ultra-wideband ranging and radar detection;

[0011] Figure 2 It is a functional block diagram of an existing radar detector;

[0012] Figure 3 is a functional block diagram of one embodiment of the UWB circuit disclosed herein;

[0013] Figure 4 FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of another embodiment of the UWB circuit disclosed herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] The technical terms used in the following descriptions are based on customary terms in the technical field. If there are explanations or definitions for some terms in this specification, the interpretation of such terms shall be based on the explanations or definitions in this specification.

[0015] Since some components included in the ultra-wideband circuit of the present disclosure may be known components individually, details of the known components will be omitted in the following description without affecting the full disclosure and feasibility of the device invention.

[0016] See also Figure 3 , Figure 3This is a functional block diagram of one embodiment of a UWB circuit disclosed herein. UWB circuit 310 includes a switch 311, a low-noise amplifier (LNA) 312, an LNA 314, a transmit circuit 316, a receive circuit 317, a control buffer 318, and a baseband circuit 319, all coupled to one another. Furthermore, UWB circuit 310 includes pins 306 and 308. Pin 306 is coupled to antenna 301 and switch 311. Pin 308 is coupled to antenna 303 and LNA 314. Antenna 301 is an omnidirectional antenna, while antenna 303 is a directional antenna. In some embodiments, UWB circuit 310 may be part of a system on a chip (SoC).

[0017] The baseband circuit 319 controls the UWB circuit 310 to operate in the UWB ranging mode or the radar detection mode by setting the control value of the control buffer 318. The switch 311, the transmitting circuit 316, the low noise amplifier 312, the receiving circuit 317 and the low noise amplifier 314 operate according to the control value. Figure 3 As shown, in some embodiments, the control buffer 318 includes five control values ​​R0-R4. Control value R0 corresponds to the switch 311. Control value R1 corresponds to the transmitting circuit 316. Control value R2 corresponds to the low noise amplifier 312. Control value R3 corresponds to the receiving circuit 317. Control value R4 corresponds to the low noise amplifier 314.

[0018] In radar detection mode, control values ​​R0 to R4 are respectively a first value (e.g., logic 1), a first value, a second value (e.g., logic 0), a first value, and a first value. Control values ​​R1 and R3 being the first value indicate that the transmitting circuit 316 and the receiving circuit 317 are enabled. Control value R0 being the first value indicates that the switch 311 is switched to the transmitting circuit 316, enabling the transmitting circuit 316 to send the radio frequency signal St via the antenna 301. Control value R2 being the second value indicates that the low-noise amplifier 312 is disabled. Control value R4 being the first value indicates that the low-noise amplifier 314 is enabled. In this way, the UWB circuit 310 receives the reflected signal Sr from the object via the path of antenna 303 → low-noise amplifier 314 → receiving circuit 317 to achieve radar detection. Because the UWB circuit 310 receives signals via the directional antenna 303, the radar detection of the UWB circuit 310 can avoid interference signals from other directions, enhancing the anti-interference capability of the radar detection. In addition, generally speaking, the gain of a directional antenna (5-10 dBi) is higher than the gain of an omnidirectional antenna (about 2.15 dBi).

[0019] In UWB ranging mode, control values ​​R1-R4 are the first, second, third, and fourth values, respectively, enabling the transmitter circuit 316, low-noise amplifier 312, and receiver circuit 317, and disabling the low-noise amplifier 314. Baseband circuit 319 first controls control value R0 to the first value (switching switch 311 to transmitter circuit 316), enabling transmitter circuit 316 to transmit RF signal St via antenna 301. It then controls control value R0 to the second value (switching switch 311 to receiver circuit 317), enabling UWB circuit 310 to receive reflected signal Sr from an object via the path from antenna 301 to low-noise amplifier 312 to receiver circuit 317, thereby implementing UWB ranging. Because UWB circuit 310 receives signals via omnidirectional antenna 301 in UWB ranging mode, UWB ranging can be more accurate.

[0020] The operating principles of the low noise amplifier 312 and the low noise amplifier 314 are well known to those skilled in the art and will not be further described.

[0021] See also Figure 4 , Figure 4 FIG4 is a functional block diagram of another embodiment of a UWB circuit disclosed herein. UWB circuit 410 is similar to UWB circuit 310, except that the mixer originally included in receiving circuit 317 has been removed from receiving circuit 317. That is, UWB circuit 410 includes mixer 413, mixer 415, and receiving circuit 417, but receiving circuit 417 does not include a mixer.

[0022] The input of mixer 413 is coupled to the output of low noise amplifier 312 ; the output of mixer 413 is coupled to the input of receiving circuit 417 . The input of mixer 415 is coupled to the output of low noise amplifier 314 ; the output of mixer 415 is coupled to the input of receiving circuit 417 .

[0023] In UWB circuit 410, control value R2 also corresponds to mixer 413, while control value R4 also corresponds to mixer 415. That is, mixer 413 and mixer 415 operate according to control value R2 and control value R4, respectively. More specifically, low-noise amplifier 312 and mixer 413 are simultaneously enabled or disabled, and low-noise amplifier 314 and mixer 415 are simultaneously enabled or disabled.

[0024] Because the low noise amplifier 312 and the mixer 413 are both disabled in the radar detection mode, Figure 3In the embodiment (only the low noise amplifier 312 is disabled), the RF signal St is less likely to leak to the receiving circuit 417 (ie, the isolation between the transmitting circuit and the receiving circuit is better), and thus the UWB circuit 410 has better performance.

[0025] The operating principles of the mixers 413 and 415 are well known to those skilled in the art and will not be further described.

[0026] Equation (1) is the radar transmission formula, where P r is the received power, P t is the transmit power, G t is the transmit antenna gain, G r is the receiving antenna gain, σ is the radar cross section, R is the distance, and λ is the wavelength.

[0027] (1)

[0028] According to equation (1), when frequency f=7987.2MHz, G t =G r =2.15dBi, σ = 0.02, and R = 5m, the link loss (Path loss) Because the UWB circuit 310 and the UWB circuit 410 receive signals through the second link 324 in the radar detection mode, the noise factor is improved by 1.5dB. Compared with the first link 322, the detection range is improved from 5m to 5.45m under the same link loss. In addition, compared with the omnidirectional antenna used in the prior art, the antenna gain G is improved by using the directional antenna 303 instead of the omnidirectional antenna used in the prior art. r It will improve from 2.15dBi to 5.15dBi; therefore, under the same link loss, the corresponding detection distance will increase to 6.48m.

[0029] Furthermore, since the second link 324 lacks a switch (because it does not need to switch between signal reception and signal transmission), in addition to relatively low link loss, impedance matching can be adjusted specifically for signal reception. Consequently, the noise factor of the second link 324 is improved by 1.5 dB compared to the noise factor of the first link 322 (i.e., the sensitivity is improved by 1.5 dB).

[0030] Generally speaking, UWB regulations (e.g., those of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)) require that the transmit power must be less than -41.3 dBm / MHz in equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP). Therefore, even if the transmit antenna gain is increased, the regulatory limitations still prevent improvements in transmission range. Conversely, since regulations do not limit receive power, the present disclosure increases transmission range by increasing the antenna gain of the second link 324 without being constrained by these regulations.

[0031] In summary, UWB circuit 310 can operate in either radar detection mode or UWB ranging mode. The radar detection mode and UWB ranging mode share transmit circuit 316 and receive circuit 317, thereby reducing circuit area and cost. Furthermore, because UWB circuit 310 receives signals via different antennas in the two modes, UWB circuit 310 performs better in both modes.

[0032] Please note that in the above disclosed figures, the shapes, sizes and proportions of the components are merely for illustration purposes to help those having ordinary knowledge in the technical field understand the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the present disclosure.

[0033] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure are described above, these embodiments are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art may modify the technical features of the present disclosure based on the explicit or implicit content of the present disclosure. All such modifications may fall within the scope of the patent protection sought by the present disclosure. In other words, the scope of patent protection of the present disclosure shall be subject to the scope of the claims of this specification.

Claims

1. An ultra-wideband circuit, comprising: First pin; Second pin; A control register storing a plurality of control values; A baseband circuit, coupled to the control register, for setting the plurality of control values; a switch coupled to the first pin; a transmitting circuit coupled to the control register and the switch and operated according to a first control value among the plurality of control values; a receiving circuit coupled to the control register and operating according to a second control value among the plurality of control values; a first low noise amplifier coupled to the switch and the receiving circuit; as well as The second low noise amplifier is coupled to the second pin and the receiving circuit.

2. The ultra-wideband circuit according to claim 1 , further comprising: A first mixer is coupled between the first low noise amplifier and the receiving circuit; and The second mixer is coupled between the second low noise amplifier and the receiving circuit.

3. The ultra-wideband circuit according to claim 2, wherein: When the ultra-wideband circuit operates in the radar detection mode, the baseband circuit enables the transmitting circuit, the receiving circuit, the second low-noise amplifier, and the second mixer through the control buffer, disables the first low-noise amplifier and the first mixer, and controls the switch to switch to the transmitting circuit.

4. The ultra-wideband circuit according to claim 3, wherein: The first pin is coupled to an omnidirectional antenna, the second pin is coupled to a directional antenna, and the ultra-wideband circuit sends signals through the omnidirectional antenna and receives signals through the directional antenna.

5. The ultra-wideband circuit according to claim 2, wherein: When the ultra-wideband circuit operates in the ultra-wideband ranging mode, the baseband circuit enables the transmitting circuit, the receiving circuit, the first low-noise amplifier, and the first mixer through the control buffer, disables the second low-noise amplifier and the second mixer, and first controls the switch to switch to the transmitting circuit and then controls the switch to switch to the receiving circuit.

6. The ultra-wideband circuit according to claim 5, wherein: The first pin is coupled to an omnidirectional antenna, the second pin is coupled to a directional antenna, and the ultra-wideband circuit sends and receives signals through the omnidirectional antenna.

7. The ultra-wideband circuit according to claim 1, wherein: The first pin is coupled to an omnidirectional antenna, and the second pin is coupled to a directional antenna.

8. The ultra-wideband circuit according to claim 7, wherein: When the ultra-wideband circuit operates in the radar detection mode, the ultra-wideband circuit transmits signals through the omnidirectional antenna and receives signals through the directional antenna.

9. The ultra-wideband circuit according to claim 8, wherein The baseband circuit enables the transmitting circuit, the receiving circuit and the second low noise amplifier through the control buffer, disables the first low noise amplifier, and controls the switch to switch to the transmitting circuit.

10. The ultra-wideband circuit according to claim 7, wherein: When the UWB circuit operates in the UWB ranging mode, the UWB circuit transmits and receives signals via the omnidirectional antenna.

Images