Radar measurement device and radar measurement method

Abstract

A radar measurement device and a radar measurement method are provided that use a digital delay circuit to easily adjust the difference between the time a radar wave passes through a transmitting device and the time it passes through a receiving device. [Solution] A radar measurement device 1 that transmits pulsed radar waves, receives echoes reflected from the radar waves, and performs predetermined measurements based on the echoes includes a transceiver circuit (transceiver means) 3 and a processing circuit (arithmetic means) 4. The transceiver circuit 3 generates pulsed radar waves, transmits the generated radar waves, and receives echoes that are reflected waves of the transmitted radar waves. The processing circuit 4 includes a digital delay circuit 41 that outputs the radar waves transmitted by the transceiver circuit 3 or the echoes received by the transceiver circuit 3 after a specified time based on input parameters.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a radar measurement device and a radar measurement method for performing predetermined measurements using pulsed radar waves. [Background technology]

[0002] Pulse-shaped radar waves are transmitted, and echoes reflected from the radar waves are received, and various measurements are performed using the echoes. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a buried object detection device that transmits pulse-shaped radar waves and receives echoes reflected from the radar waves to detect buried objects in a medium. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-053774 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, because the characteristics of devices that transmit radar waves and devices that receive radar waves differ from component to component, a discrepancy can occur between the time it takes for the wave to pass through the transmitting device and the time it takes for the wave to pass through the receiving device. To correct this discrepancy, analog delay circuits have traditionally been used to adjust the discrepancy. Adjusting the discrepancy using analog delay circuits involves changing the circuit configuration, such as the number and type of delay elements that allow the radar waves to pass, which is time-consuming.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a radar measurement device and a radar measurement method that can easily adjust the difference between the transit time of a radar wave from a transmitting device and the transit time of a radar wave from a receiving device using a digital delay circuit. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a radar measurement device according to the present invention is a radar measurement device that transmits pulsed radar waves, receives echoes reflected from the radar waves, and performs a predetermined measurement based on the echoes, and includes: a transmitting / receiving means that transmits the radar waves and receives the echoes; and a calculation means that performs calculations to perform the predetermined measurement based on the echoes. The calculation means includes a digital delay circuit that outputs the radar waves transmitted by the transmitting / receiving means or the echoes received by the transmitting / receiving means after a desired time has elapsed after receiving the radar waves transmitted by the transmitting / receiving means or the echoes received by the transmitting / receiving means, and the digital delay circuit outputs the radar waves transmitted by the transmitting / receiving means or the echoes received by the transmitting / receiving means after a desired time has elapsed based on input parameters.

[0007] In the radar measurement device according to the present invention, the digital delay circuit may change the phase of the radar wave transmitted by the transmitting / receiving means or the phase of the echo received by the transmitting / receiving means based on an input parameter.

[0008] In the radar measurement device according to the present invention, the digital delay circuit may change a pulse width of the radar wave transmitted by the transmitting / receiving means or of the echo received by the transmitting / receiving means based on an input parameter.

[0009] In the radar measurement device according to the present invention, the calculation means may be configured as a module including the digital delay circuit using an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0010] A radar measurement method according to the present invention is a radar measurement method to be executed by a computer including a processor and a storage unit, wherein the processor executes a transmission / reception step of transmitting the radar waves and receiving the echoes, and a calculation step of performing a calculation to perform a predetermined measurement based on the echoes, wherein in the calculation step, when the radar waves transmitted in the transmission / reception step or the echoes received in the transmission / reception step are input, a digital delay circuit outputs the radar waves or the echoes after a desired time based on input parameters. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] The radar measurement device and method according to the present invention transmit pulsed radar waves, receive reflected echoes, and perform calculations to perform a predetermined measurement based on the echoes. The device includes a digital delay circuit that outputs the radar waves or echoes at a desired time, based on input parameters. Therefore, by changing the parameters of the digital delay circuit, the radar waves or echoes can be output at a desired time, making it possible to easily adjust the difference between the time the radar waves pass through a transmitting device and the time the radar waves pass through a receiving device. This eliminates the need to change the circuit configuration to adjust the number and type of delay elements that allow the radar waves to pass, thereby reducing the amount of work required by the operator.

[0012] In the radar measurement device according to the present invention, the digital delay circuit changes the phase or pulse width of the radar wave or echo based on the input parameters, thereby enabling highly accurate adjustment of the difference between the time the radar wave passes through the transmitting device and the time the radar wave passes through the receiving device.

[0013] In the radar measurement device according to the present invention, the calculation means is configured as a module including a digital delay circuit using an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), which makes it possible to adjust the difference between the transit time of the radar wave from the transmitting device and the transit time of the radar wave from the receiving device using a simple circuit configuration. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a radar measurement device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 2 is a waveform diagram showing an outline of adjustment of the passing time of a radar from a transmitting device to a receiving device by the radar measurement device 1 of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a conventional radar measurement device 1A. [Figure 4] 4 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the circuit configuration of the analog delay circuit 8 of FIG. 3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] The present invention will be described below based on the illustrated embodiments. The following description and drawings are examples for explaining the present invention, and appropriate omissions and simplifications have been made for clarity of explanation. The present invention can be implemented in various other forms. Unless otherwise specified, each component may be singular or plural. In the following description, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals. Their names and functions are also the same. Therefore, detailed descriptions thereof will not be repeated.

[0016] (Embodiment 1) <1. Configuration of radar measurement device 1> 1 is a schematic diagram showing a radar measurement device 1 according to a first embodiment, which uses the radar measurement device and radar measurement method of the present invention. The radar measurement device 1 transmits pulsed radar waves, receives echoes reflected from the radar waves, and performs a predetermined measurement based on the echoes, and is used, for example, to detect a predetermined object. The radar measurement device 1 includes an antenna 2, a transmitting / receiving circuit (transmitting / receiving means) 3, a processing circuit (computing means) 4, a display unit 5, an operation unit 6, and a distance detection unit 7.

[0017] The antenna 2 is a transceiver that has the function of wirelessly transmitting (in other words, radiating) pulsed radar waves as radio waves and capturing and receiving echoes, which are waves reflected from the transmitted / radiated radar waves. The antenna 2 scans the measurement (detection) target of the radar measurement device 1 by repeatedly transmitting pulsed radar waves and receiving echoes.

[0018] The transmission / reception circuit (transmission / reception means) 3 is a communication circuit that has the function of generating pulsed radar waves, transmitting the generated radar waves via the antenna 2, and receiving echoes, which are waves reflected from the transmitted radar waves, via the antenna 2. The transmission / reception circuit 3 transmits radar waves at predetermined time intervals and receives and outputs echoes. The transmission / reception circuit 3 executes the transmission / reception steps of generating pulsed radar waves, transmitting the generated radar waves via the antenna 2, and receiving echoes, which are waves reflected from the transmitted radar waves, via the antenna 2.

[0019] The radar system of the radar waves generated by the transmission / reception circuit 3 may be any radar system capable of detecting the measurement (detection) target of the radar measurement device 1, and may be, for example, a single-frequency CW (Continuous Wave) radar, a Doppler radar, or an FMCW (Frequency Modulated-Continuous Wave) radar. The transmission / reception circuit 3 performs a radar scan by transmitting radar waves to the measurement (detection) target of the radar measurement device 1 via the antenna 2, and outputs the acquired echoes.

[0020] The transmission / reception circuit 3 has a configuration including, for example, a voltage generator, a voltage-controlled oscillator, etc. as a component for generating radar waves. The voltage generator generates and outputs a control voltage in which high-level sections and low-level sections change alternately and continuously on the time axis. The voltage-controlled oscillator generates and outputs a transmission signal in which high-level sections and low-level sections change alternately and continuously on the time axis in response to the control voltage.

[0021] The transmission / reception circuit 3 has, for example, a configuration including an A / D converter as a configuration for receiving echoes. The A / D converter performs sampling processing (in other words, analog-to-digital conversion processing) on ​​the received echoes using a predetermined sampling frequency, converts the echoes into digital data, and outputs the digital data.

[0022] The processing circuit (arithmetic means) 4 is a circuit having a function of performing calculations based on the echoes to perform predetermined measurements to detect the measurement (detection) target of the radar measurement device 1. For example, when measuring the distance to the measurement target, the processing circuit 4 transmits the radar waves generated by the transmission / reception circuit 3 via the antenna 2, and calculates and outputs the time until the reflected wave from the measurement target in the echo received via the antenna 2 and the traveling speed of the radar waves. The processing circuit 4 also executes a calculation step to perform calculations based on the echoes to perform predetermined measurements to detect the measurement (detection) target of the radar measurement device 1.

[0023] The processing circuit 4 has a computer-based configuration including, for example, a storage unit and a control unit (not shown). The storage unit stores programs for executing various control processes and functions in the control unit, input data, etc., and is composed of memories including RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory), and storages including HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), and DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory). The control unit controls the overall operation of the radar measurement device 1 by having a processor constituting the control unit read programs stored in the storage unit and execute instructions included in the programs. The control unit is hardware for executing an instruction set written in the programs and is composed of an arithmetic unit, registers, peripheral circuits, etc. The control unit is composed of at least one processor, typically a microprocessor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), but may also be other types of processors including an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), microprocessor, processor core, and multiprocessor. The at least one processor may be a single-core or multi-core processor, and may also be a processor in the broad sense, such as a hardware circuit (e.g., a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) that performs some or all of the processing.

[0024] Furthermore, the processing circuit 4 may be configured as a module including the digital delay circuit using an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). An FPGA is a device that integrates logic circuits and allows designers to program the configuration of the logic circuits on-site.

[0025] Furthermore, the processing circuit 4 has the function of a digital delay circuit 41 .

[0026] The digital delay circuit 41 has the function of outputting the radar wave transmitted by the transmission / reception circuit 3 or the echo received by the transmission / reception circuit 3 after a desired time based on parameters input by the user to the radar measurement device 1. The digital delay circuit 41 is configured, for example, by a delay control circuit that delays an input signal by clock units in response to a delay control signal and outputs the delayed signal.

[0027] The digital delay circuit 41 may be configured to change the phase of the radar wave or echo, i.e., to shift the waveform of the radar wave or echo along the time axis, or to change the pulse width of the radar wave or echo.

[0028] The display unit 5 displays and presents data such as images, videos, and text to the user in accordance with the control of the processing circuit 4. The display unit 5 is configured, for example, by a display, specifically an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display.

[0029] The operation unit 6 is a device for accepting input operations from the user. Specifically, the operation unit 6 includes a keyboard for accepting character input from the user and a mouse, which is a pointing device for accepting input from the user for selecting an object displayed on the display. Note that the operation unit 6 may be configured as a touch screen that detects the position of the user's contact on the touch panel, for example, by using a capacitive touch panel.

[0030] The distance detection unit 7 is used to acquire position information of the measurement object, and acquires, for example, information on the travel distance measured by detecting the rotation of the wheels, information on the position (latitude, longitude) of the measurement object from a GPS receiver, information on the angle to the measurement object from a gyro sensor, and information on the altitude of the measurement object from an altimeter. The acquired information is calculated by the processing circuit 4 and treated as measurement data, which is displayed on the display unit 5 and stored in a memory unit or the like.

[0031] <2. Adjustment of radar waves or echoes by radar measurement device 1> FIG. 2 is a waveform diagram showing an outline of adjustment of the radar passing time of a transmitting device and a receiving device by the radar measurement device 1 of FIG.

[0032] The waveform diagram shown in Figure 2 is a waveform diagram showing a clock waveform L1 output by the transceiver circuit 3, a TX trigger waveform L2 which is a radar wave output by the transceiver circuit 3, and an RX trigger waveform L3 which is an echo received by the transceiver circuit 3. An example of a counter CN based on the clock waveform L1 is also shown. As shown in Figure 2, the TX trigger which is a radar wave output by the transceiver circuit 3 starts when the counter CN = 2 and has a pulse width set to 4, while the RX trigger which is an echo received by the transceiver circuit 3 starts when the counter CN = 0 and has a pulse width set to 2.

[0033] As described above, the characteristics of the devices that make up the transmission / reception circuit 3 that transmits radar waves and receives echoes differ from component to component, so even if the settings are as shown in Figure 2, there may be a discrepancy between the time it takes for the transmitting device to pass through and the time it takes for the receiving device to pass through. For this reason, the radar measurement device 1 accepts input from the user to adjust the setting values ​​of the TX trigger and RX trigger through operation of the operation unit 6. These values ​​are output to the processing circuit 4, and the digital delay circuit 41 delays the output of the radar waves or echoes according to the input setting values ​​before outputting them.

[0034] For example, changing the start timing values ​​of the TX trigger and RX trigger changes the timings T1 and T2 shown in Fig. 2. Also, changing the width values ​​of the TX trigger and RX trigger changes the pulse widths T3 and T4 shown in Fig. 2. This makes it possible to adjust the difference between the transit time of the transmitting device and the transit time of the receiving device by adjusting the waveform peaks of the TX trigger and RX trigger so that they do not overlap.

[0035] <3. Comparison with conventional methods> Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a conventional radar measurement device 1A, and Fig. 4 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the circuit configuration of the analog delay circuit 8 of Fig. 3.

[0036] The radar measurement device 1A shown in Figure 3 differs from the radar measurement device 1 shown in Figure 1 in that it does not have a digital delay circuit 41 but has an analog delay circuit 8, but the other configurations are similar.

[0037] As shown in Fig. 4, the analog delay circuit 8 is configured to transmit an electrical signal of a radar wave or an echo from power transmission line L4 to power transmission line L5, with a plurality of delay elements 81 and a plurality of switches 82 provided in between. The delay elements 81 are elements that delay an input signal by a predetermined time and output the signal, and are comprised of resistors or the like. The switches 82 are devices that switch whether or not to pass the electrical signal of a radar wave or an echo through the corresponding delay element 81.

[0038] In the radar measurement device 1A, when the radar waves transmitted by the transmission / reception circuit 3 or the echoes received by the transmission / reception circuit 3 are to be output after a desired time, the output timing of the radar waves or echoes is adjusted by turning on / off the multiple switches 82 in the analog delay circuit 8 to control whether the electrical signal of the radar waves or echoes passes through the delay element 81. That is, in the radar measurement device 1A, the output timing of the radar waves or echoes is adjusted manually, for example, by soldering. Adjusting the deviation caused by such an analog delay circuit is time-consuming. The configuration of the radar measurement device 1 reduces this time-consuming effort.

[0039] <4. Effects> The radar measurement device and radar measurement method in the radar measurement device 1 according to the embodiment include a digital delay circuit 41. The digital delay circuit 41 outputs the radar waves transmitted by the transmission / reception circuit 3 or the echoes received by the transmission / reception circuit 3 after a desired time based on parameters input by the user. Therefore, for example, by changing the input parameters to the digital delay circuit 41, it is possible to output the radar waves or echoes after a desired time, thereby easily adjusting the difference between the time the radar waves pass through the transmitting device and the time the radar waves pass through the receiving device. This eliminates the need to change the circuit configuration to change the number and type of delay elements that allow the radar waves to pass, thereby reducing the amount of work required by the operator.

[0040] Furthermore, based on parameters input by the user, the digital delay circuit 41 changes the phase or pulse width of the radar wave transmitted by the transmission / reception circuit 3 or the echo received by the transmission / reception circuit 3. This makes it possible to precisely adjust the difference between the time the radar wave passes through the transmitting device and the time it passes through the receiving device.

[0041] The processing circuit 4 is configured as a module including a digital delay circuit using an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), which allows for a simple circuit configuration to adjust the difference between the time the radar wave passes through the transmitting device and the time it passes through the receiving device.

[0042] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the specific configuration is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the present invention also includes design changes and the like that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention. For example, the digital delay circuit 41 may be automatically executed under software control by the processing circuit 4, so that the radar waves transmitted by the transmission / reception circuit 3 or the echoes received by the transmission / reception circuit 3 are automatically output after a desired time. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 1: Radar measurement device 1A: Radar measurement device 2: Antenna 3: Transmitting and receiving circuit 4: Processing circuit 5: Display section 6 :Operation section 7: Distance detection unit 8: Analog delay circuit 41: Digital delay circuit 81: Delay element 82: Switch CN: Counter L1: Clock waveform L2: TX trigger waveform L3: RX trigger waveform L4: Power line L5: Power line T1: Timing T2: Timing T3: Pulse width T4: Pulse width

Claims

1. A radar measurement device that transmits pulsed radar waves, receives echoes reflected from the radar waves, and performs a predetermined measurement based on the echoes, a transmitting / receiving means for transmitting the radar wave and receiving the echo; a calculation means for performing calculations to perform predetermined measurements based on the echoes, the calculation means includes a digital delay circuit that outputs a radar wave transmitted by the transmitting / receiving means or an echo received by the transmitting / receiving means after a given time has elapsed since the input of the radar wave, The digital delay circuit outputs the radar wave transmitted by the transmitting / receiving means or the echo received by the transmitting / receiving means after a predetermined time based on the input parameters. A radar measurement device characterized by:

2. The digital delay circuit changes the phase of the radar wave transmitted by the transmitting / receiving means or the phase of the echo received by the transmitting / receiving means based on the input parameters.

2. The radar measurement device according to claim 1, wherein:

3. the digital delay circuit changes the pulse width of the radar wave transmitted by the transmitting / receiving means or the echo received by the transmitting / receiving means based on the input parameters; 2. The radar measurement device according to claim 1, wherein:

4. the calculation means is configured as a module including the digital delay circuit using an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array); 4. The radar measurement device according to claim 1, wherein the first and second sensors are arranged in a plane parallel to each other.

5. A radar measurement method to be executed by a computer having a processor and a memory unit, comprising: a transmitting / receiving step in which the processor transmits the radar wave and receives the echo; a calculation step of performing a calculation for performing a predetermined measurement based on the echo; In the calculation step, when the radar wave transmitted in the transmission / reception step or the echo received in the transmission / reception step is input, a digital delay circuit that outputs the radar wave or the echo after an arbitrary time based on input parameters outputs the radar wave or the echo after an arbitrary time. A radar measurement method comprising:

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