Vehicle surrounding environment detection radar system

Abstract

To refine a vehicle surrounding environment detection radar system that makes it possible to integrate a radar antenna, in particular, a waveguide antenna at low costs, and with small tolerance at the same time.SOLUTION: In a vehicle surrounding environment detection radar system including a circuit board (105) comprising: an antenna (140) for transmitting and / or receiving radar signals; at least one high-frequency component (110); and an element (111) for transmitting and / or receiving high-frequency signals, at least one attachment element (200) is arranged on the circuit board (105) / in the circuit board (105), and the antenna (140) has at least one connecting element (145). The antenna (140) is slid on the at least one attachment element (200), thereby the connecting element (145) interacts with the attachment element (200) so as to be attachable to the circuit board (105), and be positionable at the same time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention provides - an antenna for transmitting and / or receiving radar signals; - a substrate provided with at least one high-frequency component and elements for transmitting and / or receiving high-frequency signals; The present invention relates to a radar system for detecting the surrounding environment of an automobile. [Background technology]

[0002] Autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles are controlled by at least one sensor system that detects the vehicle's surroundings. Depending on the sensor data, for example, parking spaces, road conditions, other road users, or obstacles are detected and / or a driving trajectory is determined or corresponding control commands are calculated and transmitted to the vehicle's actuators. Vehicles are increasingly implementing comfort functions, such as adaptive cruise control, as well as safety functions, such as emergency brake assist. Radar sensors are particularly used in this regard. The main advantage of such sensors is that they directly measure physical quantities, rather than interpreting images recorded by, for example, a video camera.

[0003] A radar sensor transmits a high-frequency radar beam through an antenna structure and receives the beam reflected from an object. The detected object can be stationary or moving. From the received radar beam, the distance and direction (angle) to the object can be calculated. Furthermore, the object's relative velocity with respect to the radar sensor can be calculated. Typical radar sensors operate in the 76-81 GHz frequency band.

[0004] In addition to printed circuit board-based antennas, waveguide antennas are increasingly used as antennas. The integration, i.e., positioning and mounting, of such waveguide antennas is usually done using multiple screws. This integration incurs significant assembly costs. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The object of the invention is to develop a vehicle environment detection radar system of the type mentioned at the outset, in which a radar antenna, in particular a waveguide antenna, can be integrated at low cost and with low tolerances at the same time. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to the present invention, the above problem is solved by: - at least one mounting element is arranged on / on the substrate, - the antenna has at least one connecting element, The solution is achieved by the connection element cooperating with the mounting element in such a way that the antenna can be attached to the substrate by sliding onto the at least one mounting element and can be positioned at the same time.

[0007] By placing a mounting element on / to a substrate and an antenna comprising at least one connection element which cooperates with the mounting element so that the antenna can be positioned and attached by sliding, it becomes possible to manufacture a robust radar sensor with an antenna which can be assembled in a simple manner.

[0008] According to an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, at least one mounting element is a claw element, and at least one connecting element is a pin inserted into and held by a spring-loaded claw of the claw element. That is, the pin of the antenna, or hereinafter referred to as the antenna module, is inserted into the claw element, and the claw element essentially catches the pin with its claw, creating a frictional connection. This type of mounting allows for low-cost and simple assembly of the antenna without additional assembly steps such as screwing or gluing. Because the antenna module can be joined down to the block during assembly, the tolerance chain at the high-frequency input point from the printed circuit board to the waveguide is very small and is limited only by the geometric deviations of the printed circuit board and the antenna. Tolerance compensation is achieved by the guide length of the pin in the claw element.

[0009] According to an advantageous aspect of the invention, the mounting element is arranged in an opening in the base plate. Here, the mounting element may be located on the opposite side of the substrate from the antenna. However, the mounting element may also be located on the side of the substrate facing the antenna.

[0010] In principle, the mounting element may be mounted on / to the substrate in different ways. A particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention provides that the mounting element is mounted on the substrate by a surface mount component soldering process.

[0011] The mounting element may be made of one of the following materials: metal or plastic. Preferably, it is contemplated that a plurality of mounting elements and a plurality of connecting elements are provided for mounting the antenna on the substrate.

[0012] The antenna is preferably a waveguide antenna. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic side view of a radar system according to the present invention; [Figure 2]1 is a schematic isometric view of a mounting element in the form of a pawl element according to the present invention; [Figure 3a] 10A-10C illustrate various methods of arranging a mounting element according to the present invention on a substrate. [Figure 3b] 10A-10C illustrate various methods of arranging a mounting element according to the present invention on a substrate. [Figure 3c] 10A-10C illustrate various methods of arranging a mounting element according to the present invention on a substrate. [Figure 3d] 10A-10C illustrate various methods of arranging a mounting element according to the present invention on a substrate. [Figure 4a] 10A and 10B show other methods of arranging mounting elements according to the present invention on a substrate. [Figure 4b] 10A and 10B show other methods of arranging mounting elements according to the present invention on a substrate. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of an automotive ambient environment detection radar system. The radar system includes a housing 101 on which a substrate 105 is mounted. A high-frequency component 110 is mounted on the substrate 105, and the high-frequency component 110 is connected to a heat sink 114 for heat dissipation via a layer of thermal interface material (TIM) 112. A connector element 120 connects the circuitry mounted on the substrate to externally accessible wiring or the like. As further illustrated in FIG. 1, a conductive path, e.g., in the form of a copper pad 111, can be routed from the high-frequency component 110 to an antenna 140 through a corresponding opening (via) in the substrate 105. The antenna 140 is configured as a waveguide antenna, e.g., as shown schematically in FIG. 1. The antenna 140 terminates at its front end in a radome 150. A radar signal 142 passes through the waveguide 141 and is radiated to the outside through the radome 150.

[0015] As can be further seen in FIG. 1 , the antenna 140 has, for example, two pins 145. These pins 145 engage with mounting elements 200 arranged in corresponding openings 109 in the substrate 105. These mounting elements 200 may be formed as claw elements, for example, with tulip-shaped openings 212 in the direction of the pins 145, as shown in FIG. 2 . The mounting elements 200 in the form of claw elements may be mounted on the substrate 105, for example, by a surface-mounted component soldering process via the solder surface 220. In this case, the mounting elements are assembled on the substrate 105 by pick-and-place in a surface-mounted component soldering process, and subsequently connected to the substrate 105 in a material-bonded manner in a reflow process.

[0016] Here, the input of the high frequency from the printed circuit board may be via air (a launcher in the package) or via the above-mentioned copper pad 111 as shown in FIG. 1. The position of the high frequency component 110, also called the high frequency chip, is not important, so the high frequency component 110 may be positioned on the antenna side or on the opposite side of the antenna 140 as shown in FIG. 1. When positioned on the opposite side of the antenna 140, the high frequency is guided through the substrate or printed circuit board 105 using the above-mentioned vias and, for example, the copper pad 111. In principle, holes in the printed circuit board 105 through which the high frequency is directly radiated from the antenna package are also conceivable.

[0017] 3A and 3B, different variations of mounting of a mounting element 200 to a substrate 105 are shown schematically. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the mounting element 200 may be mounted, for example, by the surface mount component soldering techniques described above, in a corresponding opening 109 in the substrate 105 on the side opposite the antenna 140. Here, the embodiment shown in FIG. 3A differs from the embodiment shown in FIG. 3B in that in FIG. 3A, the mounting element is inserted into the opening 109 in the substrate 105, forming a metal path while inserted. This is not the case in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3B. Here, the mounting element 200 rests on the surface of the substrate 105, with the pin 145 engaging a corresponding tab 212 on the mounting element 200 on the side opposite the antenna 140 of the substrate 105. In the embodiments shown in Figures 3c and 3d, mounting element 200 is located on the side of substrate 105 facing antenna 140, with the embodiment shown in Figure 3c again showing mounting element 200 engaging opening 109 and forming a conductive channel in opening 109 along which pin 145 is guided, while the embodiment shown in Figure 3d omits such a conductive channel engaging opening 109 and guiding mounting pin 145.

[0018] 4a and 4b show other embodiments for mounting the antenna 140 on the printed circuit board 105. In these embodiments, the opening in the printed circuit board 105 is omitted. For example, the mounting element 200 is mounted by a surface mount component soldering process to the upper side of the printed circuit board 105, in this case the side of the printed circuit board 105 facing the antenna 140. The embodiment of the claw element 200 with the claw 211 shown in FIG. 4a does not have a guide for the pin 145, whereas the embodiment shown in FIG. 4b has a guide 230 for the pin 145 on the side opposite the claw 211 and facing the printed circuit board 105.

[0019] An advantage of the above-described automotive ambient environment detection radar system is that antenna 140 can be assembled on printed circuit board 105 / printed circuit board 105 in a very simple manner. Positioning accuracy in the structural axis (z-plane, which corresponds to the direction from board 105 toward antenna 140 in the drawing) is achieved by joining waveguide antenna 140 to printed circuit board 105 on a block during the assembly process. The resulting claw engagement between pin 145 and claw element 211 allows waveguide antenna 140 to be fixedly seated on printed circuit board 105.

[0020] The mounting element 200 itself may be made of plastic or metal, or other materials. [Explanation of symbols]

[0021] 101 Case 105 PCB 109 Opening 110 High-frequency components 111 Copper pad 112 Thermal interface materials (TIM) 114 Heat sink for heat dissipation 120 Connector Elements 140 Antenna 141 Waveguide 142 Radar Signal 145 pins 150 Radome 200 Mounting Elements 211 Nail 212 Nails 220 solder side 230 Guide

Claims

1. - An antenna (140) for transmitting and / or receiving radar signals, - A substrate (105) having at least one high-frequency component (110) and an element (111) for transmitting and / or receiving high-frequency signals In an automotive ambient environment detection radar system having - At least one mounting element (200) is disposed on / attached to the substrate (105), - The antenna (140) has at least one connection element (145), - The connection element (145) cooperates with the mounting element (200) such that the antenna (140) can be mounted on and simultaneously positioned on the substrate (105) by sliding over at least one mounting element (200). A radar system characterized by the above.

2. The radar system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one mounting element (200) is a claw element, and the at least one connection element is a pin (145) inserted into and held by a spring-biased claw (211) of the claw element (200).

3. The radar system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one mounting element (200) is disposed in an opening (109) of the substrate (105).

4. The radar system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one mounting element (200) is disposed on the side of the substrate (105) opposite to the antenna (140).

5. The radar system according to claim 1, wherein the mounting element (200) is disposed on the side of the substrate (105) facing the antenna (140).

6. The radar system according to claim 1, wherein the mounting element (200) is mounted on the substrate (105) by a surface mount component soldering process.

7. The radar system according to claim 1, wherein the mounting element (200) is made of either metal or plastic.

8. The radar system according to claim 1, characterized in that a plurality of mounting elements (200) and a plurality of connection elements (145) are provided.

9. The radar system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the antenna (140) is a waveguide antenna.

Images