Radar assembly for a motor vehicle

Abstract

The utility model relates to a radar assembly for a motor vehicle, which is provided with at least one circuit board (2) provided with an antenna assembly (3); a control unit (4) operating the antenna assembly (3) to transmit and receive radar beams; a housing (5) having a housing base body (6) and a housing opening (8) formed by housing side walls (7) of the housing base body (6), the circuit board (2) being arranged in the housing base body (6) with the antenna assembly (3) turned toward the housing opening (8); and a radome (9) arranged on the housing opening (8). According to the invention, the housing walls (5) are designed in such a way that the area of the cross-section (Q) expanded between the housing walls (5) increases at least in some sections from the printed circuit board (2) to the housing opening (8).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to a radar component for a motor vehicle, comprising: at least one circuit board having an antenna component; a control unit operating the antenna component to transmit and receive radar beams; a housing having a housing base and a housing opening formed by housing side walls of the housing base, wherein the circuit board is arranged in the housing base with the antenna component turned toward the housing opening; and a radar cover arranged on the housing opening. Background Art

[0002] The known prior art (DE 10 2019 200 912 A1) from which the present invention originates relates to a radar assembly.

[0003] The radar assemblies discussed are used in the sensor systems of motor vehicles. These can be sensor systems for the vehicle's exterior, for example, in driver assistance systems for partially automated and automated vehicles, which use radar devices for speed control and collision detection. Furthermore, the radar assemblies discussed can be used to monitor the vehicle interior, in particular for object and person detection and for anti-trapping and anti-collision protection during the maneuvering of motor vehicle doors.

[0004] A known radar assembly (DE 102019200912 A1) includes a control unit and an antenna assembly on a circuit board. To suppress interference signals, an absorber is provided that partially covers the circuit board and absorbs interference radiation in the area of the circuit board. The radar assembly also includes a housing covered by a radome. The radome is dome-shaped and surrounds the circuit board, thereby preventing interference signals from being reflected by the housing walls. Utility Model Content

[0005] Here, it is a challenge to further simplify the structure of radar assemblies known from the prior art.

[0006] The present invention is based on the problem of designing and improving the known radar assembly in such a way that a further optimization is achieved with respect to the aforementioned challenges.

[0007] The above problem is solved in that the housing walls are designed in such a way that the area of the cross section extending between the housing walls increases at least in sections from the printed circuit board to the housing opening.

[0008] The following basic consideration is important: the housing is equipped with a housing wall that is optimized with respect to suppressing reflections to the antenna assembly. In particular, a simple, flat cover can be used as the radome, which is supported by the housing wall.

[0009] In particular, it is proposed that the housing walls be designed in such a way that the area of the cross section extending between the housing walls increases at least in sections from the printed circuit board to the housing opening.

[0010] As a result, the radar beam is only slightly reflected by the housing wall toward the antenna assembly and is instead directed toward the housing opening. Consequently, the housing wall extends beyond the antenna assembly in the direction of the housing opening, without increasing interference effects caused by the housing. This allows for a simpler design of the radome and absorber. In particular, the absorber isn't even strictly necessary, as interference radiation propagating on the circuit board is often reflected away from the antenna assembly by the housing wall.

[0011] Particularly preferred embodiments are the subject matter of the dependent claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The present invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate only exemplary embodiments. In the accompanying drawings:

[0013] Figure 1 The proposed radar assembly is shown a) in a plan view, b) in a cross section in a first embodiment, and c) in a cross section in another embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] The drawing shows a proposed radar assembly 1 for a motor vehicle. In principle, the radar assembly 1 can be used for various purposes in a motor vehicle, with reference to the initial explanations.

[0015] The exemplary embodiment shown in the figures and preferred in this respect relates to a radar assembly 1 for a motor vehicle, comprising: at least one printed circuit board 2 having an antenna assembly 3; a control unit 4 which operates the antenna assembly 3 for transmitting and receiving radar beams; a housing 5 having a housing base body 6 and a housing opening 8 formed by housing side walls 7 of the housing base body 6, wherein the printed circuit board 2 is arranged in the housing base body 6 with the antenna assembly 3 turned towards the housing opening 8; and a radome 9 arranged over the housing opening 8.

[0016] The printed circuit board 2 of the radar assembly 1 has an antenna assembly 3, which is shown only schematically in the drawing. Here, and preferably, the antenna assembly 3 has a plurality of antenna elements, which are designed to transmit and receive radar beams. Depending on the intended use, various variations are conceivable for the design of the antenna elements, with the antenna elements preferably being arranged in one or more antenna arrays.

[0017] The printed circuit board 2 (preferably a high-frequency printed circuit board 2 in this case) also includes a control unit 4, which operates the antenna assembly 3 to transmit and receive radar beams. The control unit 4 can also be provided separately from the printed circuit board 2. The control unit 4 is preferably designed as an integrated circuit, a microcontroller, or the like. The control unit 4 assumes the control technology tasks associated with transmitting and receiving radar beams via the antenna assembly 3 and is, in particular, also configured to evaluate radar signals. The control unit 4 preferably enables continuous, further preferably frequency-modulated, operation of the radar assembly 1, for example as an FMCW radar assembly. For example, the control unit 4 and the antenna assembly 3 are configured to operate with radar radiation in a frequency band around 24 GHz and / or 77 GHz. Another embodiment provides for pulsed operation of the radar assembly 1, for example as a UWB radar sensor in the frequency range of 6.5 to 10 GHz.

[0018] The printed circuit board 2 may additionally have electronic components such as interfaces (eg CAN interfaces), power supplies, etc. Furthermore, further components, likewise not shown here, may be accommodated in a housing 5 of the radar assembly 1 , which will be explained further.

[0019] The housing 5 is designed to protect the electronic components of the radar assembly 1 (here, in particular the printed circuit board 2) from environmental influences and can, in principle, be constructed from various materials, such as plastic, metal, and ceramic. Here, the housing 5 can completely enclose the printed circuit board 2 in cooperation with a radome 9. The radome 9 extends over at least a section of the housing opening 8, here preferably over the entire housing opening 8. The radome 9 is preferably designed as a film, more preferably as a plastic film, which covers the housing opening 8.

[0020] The housing base 6 has housing side walls 7, which extend in the direction of the housing opening 8 beyond the antenna assembly 3 and the printed circuit board 2. The housing side walls 7 are understood here to be those parts of the housing base 6 that laterally surround the printed circuit board 2 with respect to a normal to the printed circuit board 2. Here, and preferably, a cuboid basic shape of the housing 5 is provided, with the housing walls 5 forming the side faces of the cuboid.

[0021] The printed circuit board 2 is held in a housing base body 6 , wherein the antenna assembly 3 faces a housing opening 8 in order to transmit and receive radar radiation through the housing opening 8 .

[0022] What is now essential is that the housing walls 5 are designed in such a way that the area of the cross section Q extending between the housing walls 5 increases at least partially in sections from the printed circuit board 2 to the housing opening 8 .

[0023] Therefore, the housing wall 5 has a shape that is open to the housing opening 8 at least in sections. An example of a cross section Q between the housing walls 5 is a cross section Q perpendicular to the normal of the circuit board 2, whose area increases from the circuit board 2 to the housing opening 8.

[0024] Furthermore, it is preferably provided here that the housing walls 5 are designed in such a way that the cross section Q extending between the housing walls 5 increases continuously from the printed circuit board 2 to the housing opening 8 .

[0025] In this context, a "continuous" increase is understood to mean that the area of the developed cross-section Q closer to the housing opening 8 is always larger than the area of the other developed cross-section Q closer to the printed circuit board 2. Reflections at the housing wall 5 can thus be largely avoided. Furthermore, the shape of the housing wall 5 in the area between the printed circuit board 2 and the housing opening 8 preferably has no interruptions in order to avoid backscattering.

[0026] Furthermore, it is preferably provided here that one of the housing walls 5 , preferably the housing walls 5 , is at least partially flat and that the normal of the housing wall 5 forms an angle of less than 90°, preferably less than 75°, further preferably less than 60° relative to the normal of the printed circuit board 2 .

[0027] Here, the shape of a truncated pyramid is approximately produced by means of the correspondingly inclined housing wall 5. In the example shown, the truncated pyramid has an approximately rectangular base.

[0028] exist Figure 1 In the embodiment shown in b), the orientation of the housing walls 5 is the same for all housing walls, wherein the normal of the housing wall 5 is at the same angle relative to the normal of the printed circuit board 2 .

[0029] exist Figure 1 In another design scheme shown in c), however, it is provided that the shape of the housing wall 5 is designed differently depending on the distance of the corresponding housing wall 5 from the antenna component 3, preferably, the housing wall 5 at a smaller distance from the antenna component 3 has a smaller angle between the normal of the housing wall 5 and the normal of the circuit board 2 compared to the housing wall 5 at a larger distance from the antenna component 3.

[0030] The shape of the housing walls 5 can be adapted to the respective requirements for reflection based on the position of the antenna assembly 3 between the housing walls 5, in particular if the antenna assembly 3 is not arranged centrally between the housing walls 5. The distance between the antenna assembly 3 and the housing walls 5 is understood here to mean the shortest connection between the antenna assembly 3 and the housing walls 5.

[0031] In another embodiment (not shown), it is provided that the antenna assembly 3 adjoins the radome 9 , preferably the radome 9 holds the antenna assembly 3 .

[0032] By arranging the antenna assembly 3 particularly close to the radome 9 , interfering influences caused by the housing wall 5 can be further minimized.

[0033] It is also conceivable to arrange radar assembly 1 on radome 9, wherein the described design of housing wall 5 is omitted. Accordingly, a radar assembly 1 for a motor vehicle is disclosed, comprising: at least one antenna assembly 3; a control unit 4 that operates antenna assembly 3 to transmit and receive radar beams; a housing 5 having a housing base 6 and a housing opening 8 formed by housing side walls 7 of housing base 6; and a radome 9 arranged over housing opening 8. Antenna assembly 3 adjoins radome 9, wherein radome 9 preferably holds antenna assembly 3.

[0034] Furthermore, a motor vehicle is disclosed, which has a radar assembly 1 according to at least one of the described embodiments.

Claims

1. A radar assembly for a motor vehicle, comprising: at least one printed circuit board (2) having an antenna assembly (3); a control unit (4) for operating the antenna assembly (3) to transmit and receive radar beams; a housing (5) having a housing base (6) and a housing opening (8) formed by a housing side wall (7) of the housing base (6), wherein: The circuit board (2) is arranged in the housing base (6) with the antenna assembly (3) turned toward the housing opening (8); and a radome (9) is arranged on the housing opening (8), It is characterized by: The housing walls (5) are designed in such a way that the area of a cross section (Q) extending between the housing walls (5) increases at least partially in sections from the printed circuit board (2) to the housing opening (8).

2. The radar assembly according to claim 1, wherein: The housing walls (5) are designed in such a way that the area of a cross section (Q) extending between the housing walls (5) increases continuously from the printed circuit board (2) to the housing opening (8).

3. The radar assembly according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that One of the housing walls (5) is designed to be at least partially flat, and a normal to the housing wall (5) forms an angle of less than 90° with respect to a normal to the printed circuit board (2).

4. The radar assembly according to claim 3, characterized in that The normal to the housing wall (5) forms an angle of less than 75° with respect to the normal to the circuit board (2).

5. The radar assembly according to claim 4, characterized in that The normal of the housing wall (5) forms an angle of less than 60° with respect to the normal of the circuit board (2).

6. The radar assembly according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The shape of the housing wall (5) is designed differently depending on the distance between the corresponding housing wall (5) and the antenna assembly (3).

7. The radar assembly according to claim 6, characterized in that Compared to a housing wall (5) at a greater distance from the antenna assembly (3), a housing wall (5) at a smaller distance from the antenna assembly (3) has a smaller angle between the normal of the housing wall (5) and the normal of the circuit board (2).

8. The radar assembly according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The antenna assembly (3) is adjacent to the radome (9).

9. The radar assembly according to claim 8, characterized in that The radome (9) holds the antenna assembly (3).

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