Signal detection device, radar sensor, and electronic apparatus

Abstract

The embodiment of the utility model provides a signal detection device, a radar and electronic equipment, which can realize power detection of a differential signal line. The signal detection device is used for detecting a transmitting link for transmitting an FMCW signal, the transmitting link comprises a differential transmission line, the signal detection device comprises differential transmission line couplers and a first detection circuit, the differential transmission line couplers are inductively coupled to two sides of a differential transmission line to be detected, and the differential transmission line couplers are coupled to two sides of the differential transmission line to be detected. The differential transmission line coupler comprises a coupling port for outputting a coupling signal obtained by coupling the differential transmission line; the first detection circuit is connected with at least one coupling port and is used for detecting the coupling signal so as to determine whether the output power of a first circuit in the transmitting link is abnormal or not, and the first circuit is a circuit for inputting an FMCW signal to the differential transmission line.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present disclosure relate to, but are not limited to, the field of signal processing technology, and in particular to a signal detection device, a radar sensor, and an electronic device. Background Art

[0002] The self-test of radar chips usually refers to the hardware or software functions integrated into the radar system, which are used to self-diagnose and test the radar chips to ensure the normal operation and stable performance of the radar system. Self-test functions include but are not limited to power output detection and fault detection and alarm. Power output detection is used to detect whether the output power of the radar chip meets the specification requirements to ensure that the signal strength is sufficient for detecting targets; fault detection and alarm are used to scan hardware components, detect circuits and system status, find potential problems and generate alarms or logs. These self-test functions help improve the reliability, stability and performance of the radar system, and can promptly detect and solve potential problems to ensure the normal operation of radar equipment in various working environments. Utility Model Content

[0003] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a signal detection device, a radar sensor, and an electronic device, which can realize power detection of a differential signal line.

[0004] On the one hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a signal detection device for detecting a transmission link that transmits an FMCW signal, wherein the transmission link includes a differential transmission line, and the signal detection device includes a differential transmission line coupler and a first detection circuit, wherein: the differential transmission line coupler is inductively coupled to both sides of the differential transmission line to be detected, and the differential transmission line coupler includes at least one coupling port to output a coupled signal obtained by coupling the differential transmission line; the first detection circuit is connected to at least one coupling port to detect the coupled signal to determine whether the output power of the first circuit in the transmission link is abnormal, wherein the first circuit is a circuit that inputs the FMCW signal to the differential transmission line.

[0005] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a radar sensor, which includes the signal detection device as described in the above example.

[0006] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides an electronic device, which includes the signal detection device as described in the above example or the radar sensor as described in the above example.

[0007] By using the signal detection device provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure, signal detection can be performed on the differential transmission line that transmits the differential signal to detect whether the signal at the input end of the differential transmission line is abnormal, that is, whether the output of the front-end circuit is normal, and because the transmission line coupler is located on both sides of the differential transmission line, the symmetry of the layout can be guaranteed.

[0008] Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will be described in the following description, and partly become apparent from the description, or be understood by implementing the present disclosure. Other advantages of the present disclosure can be realized and obtained by the schemes described in the description, claims and drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The accompanying drawings are used to provide an understanding of the technical solution of the present disclosure and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the embodiments of the present disclosure, they are used to explain the technical solution of the present disclosure and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solution of the present disclosure. The shapes and sizes of the components in the accompanying drawings do not reflect the actual proportions and are only intended to illustrate the contents of the present disclosure.

[0010] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a signal detection device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0011] Figure 2A is a schematic diagram of a first matching circuit connection;

[0012] Figure 2B is another schematic diagram of first matching circuit connection;

[0013] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of another signal detection device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0014] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of another signal detection device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0015] Figure 5A A schematic diagram of another signal detection device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0016] Figure 5B A schematic diagram of another signal detection device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of a signal detection device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure being arranged in a cascade radar sensor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] The present disclosure describes multiple embodiments, but the description is exemplary rather than restrictive, and it is apparent to those skilled in the art that there may be more embodiments and implementations within the scope of the embodiments described in the present disclosure. Although many possible feature combinations are shown in the drawings and discussed in the specific embodiments, many other combinations of the disclosed features are possible. Unless specifically limited, any feature or element of any embodiment may be used in combination with any other feature or element in any other embodiment, or may replace any other feature or element in any other embodiment.

[0019] Unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure should be understood by people with ordinary skills in the field to which the present disclosure belongs. The "first", "second" and similar words used in the embodiments of the present disclosure do not indicate any order, quantity or importance, but are only used to distinguish different components. "Include" or "comprising" and similar words mean that the elements or objects before the word cover the elements or objects listed after the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects.

[0020] The radar sensor (i.e., radar chip) mainly includes a transmitting system and a receiving system. Among them, the transmitting system includes a radio frequency transmitting circuit and a transmitting antenna in the radar chip. Similarly, the receiving system includes a radio frequency receiving circuit and a receiving antenna in the radar chip. Both the transmitting system and the receiving system include many electronic devices, which may cause power loss of the radio frequency signal due to the failure of the electronic devices. In particular, for circuits containing differential transmission lines, there is currently no better signal detection circuit.

[0021] To this end, the embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a signal detection device for detecting a transmission link for transmitting a FMCW (frequency modulated continuous wave) signal, wherein the transmission link includes a differential transmission line, such as Figure 1 As shown, the signal detection device includes a differential transmission line coupler and a first detection circuit, wherein:

[0022] The differential transmission line coupler is inductively coupled to both sides of a differential transmission line to be detected. The differential transmission line coupler includes at least one coupling port to output a coupling signal obtained by coupling the differential transmission line.

[0023] The first detection circuit is connected to at least one coupling port for outputting a coupling signal, and detects the coupling signal output by the coupling port to determine whether the output power of the first circuit in the transmission chain is abnormal, wherein the first circuit is a circuit for inputting an FMCW signal to a differential transmission line.

[0024] For example, Figure 1 As shown, the differential transmission line coupler includes a first differential transmission line coupler (ie, the first transmission line coupler in the figure) and a second differential transmission line coupler (ie, the second transmission line coupler in the figure), and the coupling port of the first differential transmission line coupler is connected to the first detection circuit.

[0025] By using the signal detection device provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure, signal detection can be performed on the differential transmission line that transmits the differential signal to detect whether the signal at the input end of the differential transmission line is abnormal, that is, whether the output of the front-end circuit is normal, and because the transmission line coupler is located on both sides of the differential transmission line, the symmetry of the layout can be guaranteed.

[0026] In an exemplary embodiment, if Figure 2A As shown, the first transmission line coupler also includes a first matching circuit, and the first matching circuit is connected to a corresponding coupling port to perform impedance matching and reduce signal reflection and loss. One connection method is that the first transmission line coupler is grounded through the first matching circuit. Optionally, as Figure 2B As shown, in order to ensure the symmetry of the layout, the second transmission line coupler is connected to a Dummy circuit through a coupling port, and the circuit structure of the Dummy circuit is the same as that of the first matching circuit. It can be considered that the differential transmission line coupler includes at least two symmetrically arranged first matching circuits. One connection method is that the second transmission line coupler is grounded through the Dummy circuit. The Dummy circuit is used to provide the impedance matching required by the differential circuit, but may not output a signal.

[0027] In an exemplary embodiment, if Figure 3 As shown, the transmission line coupler includes an isolation port in addition to a coupling port, and the differential transmission line coupler outputs a sensing signal through at least one isolation port; the detection device may also include a second detection circuit, which is connected to at least one isolation port and is used to detect the sensing signal to determine whether the input power of the second circuit in the transmission link is abnormal, wherein the second circuit is a circuit for processing the FMCW signal output by the differential transmission line. Figure 3 The device shown can detect whether the signal at the output end of the differential transmission line is abnormal.

[0028] Optionally, in order to ensure impedance matching, the differential transmission line coupler may further include a second matching circuit, wherein the second matching circuit is connected to the isolation port of the first transmission line coupler.

[0029] In an exemplary embodiment, in order to ensure the symmetry of the layout and the symmetry of the loads on both sides of the transmission line, a dummy circuit can be connected to the coupling port of a transmission line coupler, and the circuit structure of the dummy circuit is the same as the circuit structure of the first matching circuit. It can be considered that the differential transmission line coupler includes at least two symmetrically arranged first matching circuits. Figure 4As shown, the differential transmission line coupler includes a first transmission line coupler and a second transmission line coupler. The first transmission line coupler includes a first coupling port and a first isolation port; the second transmission line coupler includes a second coupling port and a second isolation port. The coupling port and the isolation port of the second transmission line coupler are respectively connected to the Dummy circuit, for example, the coupling port and the isolation port are both grounded through the Dummy circuit, the circuit structure of the Dummy circuit connected to the coupling port is the same as the circuit structure of the first matching circuit, and the circuit structure of the Dummy circuit connected to the isolation port is the same as the circuit structure of the second matching circuit. By setting the Dummy circuit to be the same as the aforementioned matching circuit structure, the circuit structures of the first transmission line coupler and the second transmission line coupler remain symmetrical as a whole, as shown in FIG. Figure 4 shown.

[0030] Figure 5A Another implementation of the signal detection device is given, the coupling port of the first transmission line coupler and the coupling port of the second transmission line coupler are both connected to the input end of the first detection circuit. In this example, the first detection circuit has two input ports, and the signals of the two input ports can be combined into one input signal for power detection. The isolation port of the first transmission line coupler is short-circuited with the isolation port of the second transmission line coupler. Optionally, as Figure 5B As shown, the first transmission line coupler also includes a first matching circuit connected to the coupling port of the first transmission line coupler, and the second transmission line coupler also includes a first matching circuit connected to the coupling port of the second transmission line coupler. In this example, by short-circuiting one end of the two couplers, the electromagnetic coupling can be enhanced, and a lower signal power detection limit can be achieved. In addition, the signals on both sides can be detected simultaneously to obtain a larger equivalent coupling coefficient. Figure 5A or Figure 5B The signal detection device in the example can be applied to an internal impedance stabilization circuit.

[0031] In an exemplary embodiment, the transmission line coupler comprises a transmission line which is inductively coupled to a differential transmission line. One end of the transmission line serving as the transmission line coupler is a coupled port, and the other end is an isolated port.

[0032] In an exemplary embodiment, the first matching circuit connected to the coupling port of the transmission line coupler and the second matching circuit connected to the isolation port can have the same configuration. The matching circuit converts the coupled power signal into detectable voltage or current information through a specific impedance. The impedance includes but is not limited to the antenna impedance under conventional applications, and can also be other impedances in specific application scenarios. The non-ideality of the impedance can be further eliminated by impedance calibration and other solutions.

[0033] In an exemplary embodiment, the first detection circuit and the second detection circuit are both used to detect signals. For example, the power of the signal can be detected to determine whether the signal is normal. For example, when the power is lower than a preset power threshold value, the signal is determined to be abnormal. For another example, the voltage value of the signal can be detected to determine whether the signal is normal. For example, when the voltage value is lower than a preset voltage threshold value, the signal is determined to be abnormal. The first detection circuit and the second detection circuit can be implemented using digital circuits, or can also be implemented using analog circuits.

[0034] Taking power detection as an example, an optional detection circuit (applicable to the first detection circuit and the second detection circuit) is implemented as follows: the detection circuit includes an AC-DC conversion circuit and a signal processing circuit, wherein the AC-DC conversion circuit is coupled to the transmission line coupler, and is used to convert the coupling signal (or induction signal) into a DC signal as a detection signal through a nonlinear response; the signal processing circuit is coupled to the AC-DC conversion circuit, and determines whether the front-end circuit (or back-end circuit) of the detection circuit is abnormal by detecting the power information carried by the detection signal. Specifically, the signal processing circuit may include an ADC circuit and a signal processor, wherein the ADC circuit is used to convert the received detection signal into a digital detection signal; the signal processor is connected to the ADC, and can be used to detect the received digital detection signal using the correspondence between the preset detection signal and the power, so as to output status information of whether the power is normal expressed in binary.

[0035] In an exemplary embodiment, the signal detection device may further include a feedback control device, which is connected to the first detection circuit, and adjusts the signal power of the FMCW signal transmitted by the first circuit according to the output power detection result provided by the first detection circuit. For example, when the first detection circuit detects the coupled signal output by the coupling port and determines that the output power of the first circuit in the transmission link is abnormal, an instruction to increase or decrease power is sent to the first circuit. For example, when it is determined that the output power of the first circuit is lower than a preset power threshold value according to the voltage value or power value of the coupled signal, an instruction to increase power is sent to the first circuit, or when it is determined that the output power of the first circuit is higher than a preset power threshold value according to the voltage value or power value of the coupled signal, an instruction to decrease power is sent to the first circuit.

[0036] In an exemplary embodiment, the feedback control device is also connected to the second detection circuit, and adjusts the signal power of the FMCW signal transmitted by the second circuit according to the input power detection result provided by the second detection circuit. For example, when the second detection circuit detects the sensing signal output by the isolation port and determines that the output power of the second circuit in the transmission link is abnormal, an instruction to increase or decrease the power is sent to the second circuit. For example, when it is determined that the output power of the second circuit is lower than a preset power threshold value according to the voltage value or power value of the sensing signal, an instruction to increase the power is sent to the second circuit, or when it is determined that the output power of the second circuit is higher than the preset power threshold value according to the voltage value or power value of the sensing signal, an instruction to decrease the power is sent to the second circuit.

[0037] The signal detection device may be arranged at any position with a differential transmission line inside the radar sensor, for example, may be arranged at a radio frequency transmitter, or may be arranged in a radio frequency receiver and / or a radio frequency receiver.

[0038] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a signal detection device for a cascade radar sensor is given. The current radar sensor can be used as a master chip or a controlled slave chip. The signal path of the main transceiver channel in the chip refers to a circuit link for transmitting and receiving FMCW signals in a single-chip mode. The signal detection device can be configured near any differential transmission line in the signal path of the main transceiver channel. The signal path of the cascade channel in the chip includes a circuit link for transmitting and receiving FMCW signals in a cascade master mode (the role is a master chip) or a cascade slave mode (the role is a slave chip). The signal detection device can be configured near any differential transmission line in the signal path of the cascade channel. For example, the differential side of the differential-to-single-ended circuit in the cascade interface.

[0039] When used as a master chip, the clock signal output by the phase-locked loop (PLL) is output to the slave chip through BUF1, BUF8, AMP2 and then through the mux_out interface to ensure the timing synchronization of the cascaded chips. At the same time, the first switch TG1 opens the path from the PLL to the transceiver end so that the signal can be sent to the RF transmitting circuit (TX port in the figure) or received through the RF receiving circuit (RX port in the figure). This path is the master control path or the main transceiver path.

[0040] When acting as a slave chip, the clock signal sent by the master chip is received through the mux_in interface. At the same time, the first switch TG1 closes the master control path, so that the signal received from the mux_in interface can be transmitted to the transceiver (TX / RX), which is called the controlled path, or the transceiver slave path.

[0041] The PDT in the figure is the signal detection device described in the embodiment of the present disclosure. The PDT setting position given in the figure is only an example. The signal detection device can be located at any one or several of the positions described in the figure. When the PDT is set in the signal path of the main control path of the cascade path, it can detect whether the front end of the main control path provides sufficient output power. When the PDT is set in the signal path of the controlled path of the cascade path, it can detect whether the power of the output signal of the controlled path is sufficient, and the isolation between the main control path and the controlled path can be judged accordingly. When the PDT is set at the front end of the transceiver port (TX and / or RX port) of the main transceiver path, it can detect whether the input power of the signal before entering the TX and / or RX port is sufficient. The above-mentioned judgment of whether the power is sufficient can be judged by whether it is greater than a preset power threshold.

[0042] Optionally, as shown in the figure, the PDT may also include a feedback control device, which is shown outside the PDT in the figure for a clear example. According to the detection result of the PDT, the feedback control device can send a control instruction to the circuit at the front end of the differential transmission line under test to increase or decrease the output power of the front end circuit. In the figure, BUF represents a buffer, AMP represents an amplifier, and TG represents a switch. The circuit devices on the main control path and the controlled path in the figure are only examples, and those skilled in the art can add, reduce and replace the circuit devices on the path as needed.

[0043] In an exemplary embodiment, the above-mentioned radar sensor can use the detection signal wave emitted by the radio frequency transmitting circuit and the echo signal wave received by the radio frequency receiving circuit to measure the physical quantity between it and the surrounding environment target. Specifically, the radio frequency transmitting circuit generates a chirp signal (such as an FMCW signal) according to a preset continuous frequency modulation method; the radio frequency transmitting signal is obtained by frequency multiplication processing, and the phase shift circuit is used to perform phase shift processing and then fed to the transmitting antenna to transmit the corresponding detection signal wave. When the detection signal wave is reflected by the object, an echo signal wave is formed. The echo signal wave is converted into a radio frequency receiving signal by the receiving antenna. The radio frequency receiving circuit is used to perform down-conversion, filtering, analog-to-digital conversion and other processing on the radio frequency receiving signal using the radio frequency transmitting signal to output a baseband digital signal representing the difference frequency between the detection signal wave and the echo signal wave. The signal processor is connected to the radio frequency receiving circuit, and is used to extract measurement information from the baseband digital signal through signal processing, and output measurement data. Since the measurement data contains the phase shift phase, it can be used to help determine the angle information of the detected target, etc. The signal processing includes performing digital signal processing calculations such as phase, frequency, and time domain on at least one signal to be processed provided by at least one receiving antenna. The measurement data includes at least one of the following: distance data for indicating the relative distance of at least one detected target; speed data for indicating the relative speed of at least one detected target; angle data for indicating the relative angle of at least one detected target, etc.

[0044] In an exemplary embodiment, the present disclosure also provides an electronic device including the aforementioned signal detection device or the aforementioned radar sensor.

[0045] Exemplarily, the electronic device includes: a device body; and at least one radio device such as a phase shift circuit, a radio frequency transmitting circuit, a radio frequency receiving circuit, or a radar sensor arranged on the device body. The device body is a structure that carries the radio device and is connected to the radio device signal. The radio device transmits and / or receives a radio signal that has been phase-shifted by a phase shifter to achieve functions such as target detection and / or communication within the range of beam scanning, so as to provide the device body with detection target information and / or communication information, thereby assisting or even controlling the operation of the device body.

[0046] In an optional embodiment, the electronic device including the device body and the aforementioned at least one radio device may be a component or product used in fields such as smart housing, transportation, smart home, consumer electronics, monitoring, industrial automation, in-cabin detection, and health care. For example, the device body may be intelligent transportation equipment (such as automobiles, bicycles, motorcycles, ships, subways, trains, etc.), security equipment (such as cameras), liquid level / flow rate detection equipment, intelligent wearable devices (such as bracelets, glasses, etc.), smart home equipment (such as sweeping robots, door locks, televisions, air conditioners, smart lights, etc.), various communication devices (such as mobile phones, tablet computers, etc.), and gates, intelligent traffic lights, intelligent signs, traffic cameras, and various industrialized mechanical arms (or robots), etc. It may also be various instruments for detecting life characteristic parameters and various equipment equipped with the instruments, such as in-cabin detection of automobiles, indoor personnel monitoring, intelligent medical equipment, consumer electronic equipment, etc.

[0047] In the description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the meanings of the above terms in the present disclosure can be understood according to the circumstances.

Claims

1. A signal detection device, characterized in that: A transmitting link for detecting a transmission FMCW signal, wherein the transmitting link comprises a differential transmission line, and the signal detection device comprises a differential transmission line coupler and a first detection circuit, wherein: The differential transmission line coupler is inductively coupled to both sides of the differential transmission line to be detected, and the differential transmission line coupler includes at least one coupling port to output a coupling signal obtained by coupling the differential transmission line; The first detection circuit is connected to at least one coupling port to detect the coupling signal to determine whether the output power of the first circuit in the transmission chain is abnormal, wherein the first circuit is a circuit for inputting an FMCW signal to the differential transmission line.

2. The signal detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The differential transmission line coupler further includes a first matching circuit, wherein the first matching circuit is connected to a corresponding coupling port.

3. The signal detection device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The differential transmission line coupler outputs the sensing signal through at least one isolation port; The signal detection device also includes a second detection circuit, which is connected to at least one isolation port and is used to detect the induced signal to determine whether the input power of the second circuit in the transmission link is abnormal, wherein the second circuit is a circuit for processing the FMCW signal output by the differential transmission line.

4. The signal detection device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The differential transmission line coupler further includes a second matching circuit, wherein the second matching circuit is connected to a corresponding one of the isolation ports.

5. The signal detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The differential transmission line coupler includes at least two transmission line couplers, and a coupling port and an isolation port of one of the transmission line couplers are both grounded through a Dummy circuit.

6. The signal detection device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The differential transmission line coupler comprises a first transmission line coupler and a second transmission line coupler symmetrically arranged on the differential transmission line; The first coupling port of the first transmission line coupler and the second coupling port of the second transmission line coupler are both connected to the input end of the first detection circuit, and the first isolation port of the first transmission line coupler and the second isolation port of the second transmission line coupler are short-circuited.

7. The signal detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a feedback control device, which is connected to the first detection circuit and is configured to adjust the signal power of the FMCW signal transmitted by the first circuit according to the output power detection result provided by the first detection circuit.

8. The signal detection device according to claim 3, characterized in that: It also includes a feedback control device, which is connected to the second detection circuit and adjusts the signal power of the FMCW signal transmitted by the second circuit according to the input power detection result provided by the second detection circuit.

9. A radar sensor, characterized in that: Comprising the signal detection device as described in any one of claims 1-8.

10. The radar sensor according to claim 9, characterized in that: The signal detection device is configured in a signal path of a cascade path in the radar sensor, or in a signal path of a main transceiver path in the radar sensor.

11. An electronic device, characterized in that: The method comprises the signal detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, or comprises the radar sensor according to claim 9 or 10.

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