Radar device, radar control method, and radar control program

Abstract

To provide a radar device capable of suppressing the amount of memory usage, and others.SOLUTION: A control unit of a radar device includes an acquisition unit that acquires a mixed reception signal received by a specific reception antenna, and a definition unit that defines a plurality of decoded signals obtained by decoding the acquired mixed reception signal for each code corresponding to each antenna set. The control unit includes an estimation unit that estimates a reception signal component corresponding to each antenna set in the mixed reception signal before decoding from each corresponding decoded signal. The control unit includes a removal unit that removes the reception signal component corresponding to a transmission signal from the antenna set other than the target antenna set from the mixed reception signal.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a technique for controlling a radar device. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a MIMO radar using a pseudorandom phase modulation method. This MIMO radar transmits transmission signals modulated with different CDM codes from each transmitting antenna. The MIMO radar generates decoded signal spectra by decoding the received signals according to each CDM code, and estimates side lobe signal components from each decoded signal spectrum. The MIMO radar obtains a decoded signal spectrum in which the side lobe signal components are suppressed by subtracting each estimated side lobe signal component from the decoded signal spectrum corresponding to the target transmitting antenna. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] U.S. Patent No. 9,952,319 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the technology of Patent Document 1, since each side lobe signal component due to other transmitting antennas is subtracted from each decoded signal spectrum corresponding to each transmitting antenna, it is necessary to store in memory the same number of decoded signal spectra as the number of codes and the same number of side lobe signal components, which may increase the amount of memory used in the process of suppressing the side lobe signal components.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a radar device capable of suppressing memory usage. Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a radar control method capable of suppressing memory usage. Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a radar control program capable of suppressing memory usage. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The technical means of the present disclosure for solving the problems will be described below. Note that the claims and the reference symbols in parentheses in this section indicate the correspondence with the specific means described in the embodiments described later in detail, and do not limit the technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0007] A first aspect of the present disclosure is a radio frequency (RF) signal processing system comprising: one or more transmit antennas (TX); a transmission signal generating unit (2) for generating a plurality of types of transmission signals modulated by different codes to be transmitted from a transmission antenna; a receiving antenna (RX) for receiving a mixed received signal obtained by mixing the transmitted signals reflected by a reflecting object; a control unit (100) for processing the mixed received signal; Equipped with The control unit an acquisition unit (110) that acquires a mixed received signal received by a specific receiving antenna; a definition unit (120) that defines a plurality of decoded signals obtained by decoding the acquired mixed received signal for each code; an estimation unit (130) for estimating received signal components corresponding to each transmitted signal in the mixed received signal before decoding from the corresponding decoded signals; a removal unit (140) for removing, from the mixed received signal, received signal components corresponding to transmission signals other than the target transmission signal; The radar device is provided with:

[0008] A second aspect of the present disclosure is a radar control method executed by a processor (102) to control a radar device (1) including one or more transmitting antennas (TX), a transmitting signal generating unit (2) that generates a plurality of types of transmitting signals modulated with different codes and transmitted from the transmitting antennas, and a receiving antenna (RX) that receives a mixed receiving signal obtained by mixing the transmitting signals reflected by a reflecting object, the method comprising: Obtaining a mixed received signal received at a particular receive antenna; defining a plurality of decoded signals obtained by decoding the acquired mixed received signal for each code; Estimating received signal components corresponding to each transmitted signal in the mixed received signal before decoding from the corresponding decoded signals; removing received signal components corresponding to transmit signals other than the transmit signal of interest from the mixed received signal; Includes.

[0009] A third aspect of the present disclosure is a radar control program stored in a storage medium (101) for controlling a radar device (1) including one or more transmitting antennas (TX), a transmitting signal generating unit (2) that generates a plurality of types of transmitting signals modulated with different codes and transmitted from the transmitting antennas, and a receiving antenna (RX) that receives a mixed receiving signal in which the transmitting signals reflected by a reflecting object are mixed, the radar control program including instructions to be executed by a processor (102), The command is, Obtaining a mixed received signal received at a specific receive antenna; defining a plurality of decoded signals obtained by decoding the acquired mixed received signal for each code; Estimating received signal components corresponding to each transmitted signal in the mixed received signal before decoding from the corresponding decoded signals; removing received signal components corresponding to transmission signals other than the transmission signal of interest from the mixed received signal; Includes.

[0010] According to the first to third aspects, the received signal components estimated from the decoded signal are removed from the mixed received signal before decoding. Therefore, it is sufficient to store the mixed received signal until the removal of the received signal components is completed, and there is less need to store the same number of frequency spectra of the decoded signal as the number of codes. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the amount of memory used. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a radar device according to a first embodiment; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a control unit according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] 4 is a graph showing an example of a transmission signal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an overview of estimation of received signal components. [Figure 5] 4 is a flowchart illustrating a radar control method according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] 4 is a flowchart illustrating a radar control method according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] 10 is a graph showing dynamic range with and without side lobe suppression. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a radar control method according to a second embodiment. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a radar control method according to a third embodiment. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing a radar control method according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 11] 13 is a flowchart illustrating a radar control method according to the fifth embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram conceptually illustrating an encoding process in a sixth embodiment. [Figure 13] 13 is a flowchart showing a radar control method according to a sixth embodiment. [Figure 14] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a radar control method according to another embodiment. [Figure 15] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a radar control method according to another embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the overall configuration of a radar device according to another embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, multiple embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that corresponding components in each embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant description may be omitted. Furthermore, when only a portion of the configuration is described in each embodiment, the configuration of another previously described embodiment may be applied to the remaining portions of the configuration. Furthermore, in addition to the combinations of configurations explicitly stated in the description of each embodiment, configurations of multiple embodiments may be partially combined together even if not explicitly stated, provided that there is no particular problem with the combination.

[0013] (First embodiment) A first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 7. A radar device 1 is mounted on a moving body such as a vehicle. The radar device 1 transmits a transmission signal St to the outside world, receives the transmission signal St reflected by an object as a reception signal Sr, and detects, as target information, the distance to the target, which is the object that reflected the transmission signal St, the relative speed to the target, the direction of the target, etc.

[0014] The target information output from the radar device 1 is input to an in-vehicle ECU (Electronic Control Unit) via an in-vehicle network such as a Control Area Network (CAN) (registered trademark) or Ethernet (registered trademark). The in-vehicle ECU executes various processes for automatic driving of the vehicle and advanced driving assistance based on the acquired target information of each target.

[0015] The processes based on the target information include, for example, collision avoidance process, warning process, etc. The collision avoidance process is a process of controlling the vehicle to avoid a collision with a target by controlling the brake system, steering system, etc. based on the target information of each target. The warning process is a process of warning the driver of the possibility of a collision with a target based on the target information of each target.

[0016] 1, the radar device 1 of this embodiment includes a transmission signal generating unit 2, multiple transmission circuits 3, multiple transmission antennas TX, multiple reception antennas RX, multiple reception circuits 4, and a control unit 100. The radar device 1 is a so-called MIMO (Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output) radar that transmits transmission signals from multiple transmission antennas TX to artificially increase the number of reception antennas RX beyond the actual number.

[0017] The transmission signal generating unit 2 receives a control signal from the control unit 100 and generates a modulated signal in response to the control signal. This generated signal is, for example, a so-called chirp signal whose frequency varies over time (see FIG. 3). The generated signal is distributed to each channel of the transmitting circuit 3 and the receiving circuit 4 and output. The signal generating unit outputs, as a transmission signal, a generated signal to which a pseudo-random phase modulation with a different code is applied for each transmission channel corresponding to each transmitting antenna TX. This modulation method is also called code division multiplexing (CDM). As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the transmission signals transmitted from different transmitting antennas TX have substantially the same chirp transmission time, center frequency, and frequency band. In FIG. 3, the transmission signals transmitted from different transmitting antennas TX are represented by different line types, i.e., solid lines and dashed lines.

[0018] That is, in this embodiment, transmission signals to which phase modulation with mutually different codes has been applied are transmitted to the outside world from each of the multiple transmission antennas TX. Note that, in relation to the transmission signals, the signals generated and output to the receiving circuit 4 are hereinafter referred to as local signals.

[0019] The transmitting circuit 3 and the receiving circuit 4 are each mainly composed of a semiconductor integrated circuit device such as an MMIC (Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit). The transmitting circuit 3 is connected to a transmitting antenna TX and outputs a transmitting signal to the transmitting antenna TX. The transmitting circuit 3 is equipped with amplifiers 30 in the same number as the connected transmitting antennas TX. The amplifiers 30 amplify the transmitting signals output from the transmitting signal generating unit 2 and output them to the corresponding transmitting antennas TX.

[0020] The transmitting antenna TX converts an electrical signal, as a transmission signal, supplied from the transmission signal generating unit 2 into a radio wave signal and transmits it to the outside. In this embodiment, it is assumed that 12 transmitting antennas TX are provided. In the following, when each transmitting antenna TX is to be individually distinguished, it will be expressed as a transmitting antenna TXn (n is a natural number from 1 to 12). The transmitting antenna TX includes at least one antenna element. For example, the transmitting antenna TX is a patch antenna including multiple flat antenna elements. The antenna elements are arranged on the surface opposite to the ground plane of a dielectric substrate having a ground plane provided on one surface thereof, so as to face the ground plane. The multiple antenna elements are connected, for example, in series, by a feeder line that supplies an electrical signal.

[0021] The receiving antenna RX receives, as a received signal, a radio wave signal that includes a transmitted signal reflected from a target in the external world. Each of the multiple receiving antennas RX receives a signal that is a mixture of received signals corresponding to the transmitted signals from the multiple transmitting antennas TX. Hereinafter, this mixed signal received by each receiving antenna RX will be referred to as a mixed received signal. Furthermore, the components of the received signals that correspond to the transmitted signals from the multiple transmitting antennas TX and that are mixed in the mixed received signal will be referred to as received signal components.

[0022] The receiving antenna RX converts the received signal as a radio wave signal into an electrical signal and outputs it to the corresponding receiving circuit 4. The receiving antenna RX is, for example, a patch antenna in the same manner as the transmitting antenna TX, in which at least one antenna element is connected in series by a feeder line.

[0023] The receiving circuit 4 is connected to the receiving antenna RX and acquires the received signal received by the receiving antenna RX. The receiving circuit 4 includes amplifiers 40 and signal mixers 41, the number of which is the same as the number of connected receiving antennas RX.

[0024] The amplifier 40 amplifies the received signal received by the receiving antenna and outputs it to the signal mixer 41. The signal mixer 41 generates a beat signal by mixing the local signal from the transmission signal generation unit 2 with the received signal. The generated beat signal becomes an interference signal that represents the frequency difference between the received signal and the local signal. The beat signal is output to the control unit 100 after high-frequency components that deviate from the frequency difference between the received signal and the local signal have been filtered out by a low-pass filter (not shown).

[0025] The control unit 100 is connected to the signal generating unit and the receiving circuit via at least one of a LAN (Local Area Network) line, a wire harness, an internal bus, a wireless communication line, etc. The control unit 100 is configured to include at least one dedicated computer.

[0026] The dedicated computer constituting the control unit 100 may be a radar ECU (Electronic Control Unit) specialized for controlling a specific radar device 1. The dedicated computer constituting the control unit 100 may be a radar supervising ECU that supervises and controls a plurality of radar devices 1 mounted on a moving object. The dedicated computer constituting the control unit 100 may be a sensor supervising ECU that supervises and controls a plurality of sensors including the radar device 1 and other sensors such as LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging / Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging).

[0027] The dedicated computer constituting the control unit 100 has at least one memory 101 and one processor 102. The memory 101 is at least one type of non-transitory tangible storage medium, such as a semiconductor memory, a magnetic medium, or an optical medium, that non-temporarily stores computer-readable programs and data. Here, "storage" may refer to accumulation in which data is retained even when the host vehicle A is turned off, or temporary storage in which data is erased when the host vehicle A is turned off. The processor 102 includes at least one type of core, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a reduced instruction set computer (RISC)-CPU, a data flow processor (DFP), or a graph streaming processor (GSP).

[0028] In the control unit 100, the processor 102 executes a plurality of instructions included in a radar control program stored in the memory 101 in order to control the radar device 1. In this way, the control unit 100 constructs a plurality of functional blocks for controlling the radar device 1. As shown in Fig. 2, the functional blocks constructed in the control unit 100 include an acquisition block 110, a definition block 120, an estimation block 130, a removal block 140, a storage block 150, and an output block 160. Note that the above-mentioned functional blocks can also be referred to as a functional section, respectively, as an acquisition section, a definition section, an estimation section, a removal section, a storage section, and an output section.

[0029] The radar control method in which the control unit 100 controls the radar device 1 through cooperation of these blocks 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, and 160 is executed in accordance with the radar control flow shown in Figures 5 and 6. This radar control flow is executed repeatedly while the radar device 1 is running. Note that each "S" in this radar control flow represents a plurality of steps executed by a plurality of commands included in the radar control program.

[0030] First, in S10, the acquisition block 110 acquires a mixed received signal. The mixed received signal is a beat signal obtained by mixing a local signal from the signal generating unit and a received signal from the receiving antenna RX. The beat signal is an interference signal that represents the frequency difference between the received signal and the local signal. The mixed received signal is acquired as a digitized signal sampled at a predetermined time interval by an A / D converter.

[0031] In the next step S20, the definition block 120 performs a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) process on the mixed received signal. As a result, the definition block 120 acquires the distance spectrum of the mixed received signal. The acquired distance spectrum is a frequency spectrum showing peaks corresponding to the distance to the reflecting object, and is discrete signal data containing signal strength information for each bin (distance bin) corresponding to the distance, so it can also be expressed as a distance bin signal R. Here, the symbol C txn The received signal component encoded by P n The range bin signal R before decoding is the received signal component C before decoding from each transmit antenna TX. txn P n It can be defined as the sum of the following equation (1):

number

[0032] In S30, the storage block 150 stores the range bin signal R in the memory 101. In the following, a process is performed to remove from this range bin signal R any received signal components originating from transmitted signals transmitted from transmit antennas other than the target transmit antenna.

[0033] In S40, definition block 120 defines a decoded signal corresponding to range bin signal R. Specifically, definition block 120 generates a decoded signal by decoding range bin signal R with each code corresponding to each transmitting antenna TX. In the processing of S40, definition block 120 generates a decoded signal for any one code for each loop in the loop processing of S40 to S90.

[0034] For example, suppose that the transmitting antenna TX1 is the target transmitting antenna. In this case, the definition block 120 in S30 defines a code C corresponding to one of the other transmitting antennas TX2 to TX12. tx2 ~C tx12For example, if a specific code C txn When decoding is performed for C txn Coefficient C for decoding the phase modulation by txn * Using the above, it is expressed by the following formula (2): where, coefficient C txn * is C txn This is a coefficient that becomes 1 when multiplied by .

number

[0035] In the next step S50, the definition block 120 performs a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) process on the decoded signal. As a result, the definition block 120 acquires the frequency spectrum of the mixed received signal. This frequency spectrum is a velocity spectrum showing peaks corresponding to the velocity of the reflecting object, and is discrete signal data including signal strength information for each bin (velocity bin) corresponding to the velocity. In the Fast Fourier Transform process, the definition block 120 multiplies the range bin signal R by a window function. In this process, the definition block 120 uses a function other than a rectangular function (rectangular window) as the window function. The window function other than the rectangular function is, for example, a Hanning function or a Gaussian function. That is, in this embodiment, a window function is applied after decoding in the second FFT process.

[0036] In the above equation (2), when k=n, the coefficient of Pn is 1, so as shown in Figure 4, the velocity spectrum is a combination of peak Pn and the spectrum spread due to other terms.

[0037] Then, in S60, a received signal component C corresponding to the transmitted signal from the transmitting antenna TX corresponding to the code decoded in S30 is txn P n Estimate.

[0038] 6, the estimation block 130 detects peaks in the frequency spectrum obtained in S50. txn * In this case, peak detection is performed by P in Eq. n This corresponds to detecting the peaks. Subsequently, in S62, peak information regarding the detected peaks is stored in memory 101. The peak information includes, for example, at least information regarding the phase and amplitude of the peaks. Next, in S63, estimation block 130 generates a spectrum (substituted spectrum) from the frequency spectrum in which signal intensities other than the peaks are replaced with zero.

[0039] In the next step S64, the estimation block 130 performs an inverse Fourier transform on the permuted spectrum, thereby obtaining the estimated signal P as a distance spectrum. n The estimated signal P n ^ is the received signal component P before encoding corresponding to the transmitted signal from the transmitting antenna TXn. n Then, in S65, the estimation block 130 calculates the estimated signal P n For the corresponding code C txn This allows the estimation block 130 to estimate the C txn P n The coded estimated signal C txn P n ^ is obtained as the received signal component corresponding to the transmitted signal from the transmitting antenna TXn.

[0040] 5, in S70, the storage block 150 erases the peak information from the memory 101 and stores the estimated received signal component. Then, in S80, the cancellation block 140 stores the coded estimated signal C estimated as the received signal component corresponding to the transmitted signal from the transmitting antenna TXn. txn P n ^ is removed from the range bin signal R.

[0041] In S90, the cancellation block 140 determines whether or not all received signal components corresponding to transmission signals from transmitting antennas TX other than the target transmitting antenna have been cancelled from the range bin signal R. If cancellation has not been completed, the flow returns to S40 and the next loop process is executed to estimate the received signal components that have not yet been estimated.

[0042] On the other hand, if it is determined that all received signal components corresponding to transmission signals from transmitting antennas TX other than the target transmitting antenna TX have been removed, the flow proceeds to S100. Here, the removal of all received signal components corresponding to transmission signals from transmitting antennas TX other than the target transmitting antenna TXm corresponds to the separation of the range bin signal Rm for the target transmitting antenna TXm from the range bin signal R. The range bin signal Rm can be expressed by the following mathematical formula (3).

number

[0043] In S100, the definition block 120 defines a decoded signal from the removed range bin signal Rm. In the following S110, the definition block 120 acquires a frequency spectrum from the decoded signal. Then, in S120, the output block 160 acquires target information from the frequency spectrum. The target information includes at least one of the range, speed, and direction of the target. In the following S130, the output block 160 outputs the target information to the outside.

[0044] The difference in dynamic range PSR between when side lobe suppression is performed and when it is not performed will be explained with reference to Fig. 7. Assuming one target, the dynamic range PSR can be expressed as the ratio from the maximum value of the peak of the target to the side lobe. When side lobe suppression processing is not performed, this dynamic range PSR satisfies the relationship shown in the following equation (4), where Nc is the total number of chirps in the transmitted signal and Ntx is the number of transmitting antennas modulated with CDM codes. (Number 4) PSR≒10log10(Nc)+10log10(Ntx-1)

[0045] On the other hand, when the side lobe suppression processing shown in this embodiment is performed, the dynamic range PSR satisfies the relationship shown in the following equation (5). (Number 5) PSR>10log10(Nc)+10log10(Ntx-1)

[0046] That is, the radar device 1 that performs side lobe suppression has a larger dynamic range PSR than the radar device 1 that does not perform side lobe suppression.

[0047] According to the first embodiment described above, received signal components estimated from a decoded signal are removed from a mixed received signal before decoding. Therefore, it is sufficient to store the mixed received signal until removal of the received signal components is completed, and there is less need to store frequency spectra of the decoded signal in the same number as the number of codes. Therefore, it is possible to reduce memory usage.

[0048] Second Embodiment As shown in FIG. 8, the second embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment.

[0049] In the second embodiment, once the received signal components are estimated in S60, the flow proceeds to S75. In S75, the storage block 150 stores the received signal components in the memory 101. Here, the storage block 150 does not erase the peak information stored in S62, but maintains the state in which it is held in the memory 101. After S75, the flow proceeds to S80.

[0050] After the removal process of the received signal components in S80, the flow proceeds to S85. In S85, the storage block 150 erases the removed received signal components from the memory 101. Note that even in S85, the storage block 150 maintains the peak information. After S85, the flow proceeds to S90.

[0051] (Third embodiment) As shown in FIG. 9, the third embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment.

[0052] In the third embodiment, once the peak information is stored in S62, the flow proceeds to S63a as shown in Fig. 9. In S63a, the estimation block 130 defines a sine wave signal according to the peak information.

[0053] Specifically, the estimation block 130 defines a sinusoidal signal corresponding to the peak according to the phase and amplitude of the peak. For example, the estimation block 130 defines the sinusoidal signal as a result of multiplying the phase and amplitude of a base signal, which is a base sinusoidal signal stored in advance in the memory 101 or the like. Alternatively, the estimation block 130 may define the sinusoidal signal as a result of multiplying the amplitude of the peak of the base signal, which is a base sinusoidal signal stored in advance in the memory 101 or the like, and adjusting the phase of the base signal according to the phase of the peak. After S63a, the flow proceeds to S65, where the estimation block 130 defines the received signal component as a result of multiplying the sign of the sinusoidal signal.

[0054] (Fourth embodiment) As shown in FIG. 10, the fourth embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment.

[0055] In the fourth embodiment, after S65, the flow shown in Fig. 10 proceeds to S66. In S66, the estimation block 130 calculates the coded estimated signal C tx2 The estimation block 130 performs correction for the effect of the window function on P2̂. Specifically, the estimation block 130 multiplies the signal component by the inverse of the window function. The estimation block 130 defines the signal component after this correction as the received signal component.

[0056] Fifth Embodiment As shown in FIG. 11, the fifth embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment.

[0057] In the fifth embodiment, after the process of S20, the flow in FIG. 11 proceeds to S25. In S25, definition block 120 applies a window function to distance bin signal R. Then, the flow proceeds to S30. After S40, the flow shown in FIG. 11 proceeds to S50a. In S50a, definition block 120 converts the decoded signal into a frequency spectrum without applying any window function other than a rectangular window to the decoded signal. In other words, definition block 120 executes a rectangular window application process. Note that executing a rectangular window application process is equivalent to stopping the window function application process itself.

[0058] According to the fifth embodiment, a window function is applied to the signal before the loop process of S40 to S90. That is, in the second FFT process, the window function is applied before decoding. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the need to apply a window function every time a signal is converted into a velocity spectrum.

[0059] (Sixth embodiment) As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the sixth embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment.

[0060] As shown in FIG. 12, the transmission signal generation unit 2 applies modulation using a different code to each antenna set including multiple transmission antennas TX. In the example shown in FIG. 12, for each of n antenna sets including a predetermined number of transmission antennas TX, codes C1, C2, ..., Cn are applied to each transmission signal from each transmission antenna TX constituting each antenna set. Furthermore, the transmission signal generation unit 2 applies phase shift keying to each transmission signal corresponding to each transmission antenna TX in the antenna set. Note that phase shift keying is also called rate modulation or simply phase modulation. Phase shift keying is a modulation method that imparts a specified virtual rate to a detected peak.

[0061] In this case, the control unit 100 performs side lobe suppression processing for each code of each antenna set in the processing of S10 to S110 in Fig. 13. That is, the control unit 100 estimates the received signal component in a state in which the received signals corresponding to the transmitted signals having the same code in the antenna set are mixed. That is, the received signal component estimated in this embodiment is a mixed component of the received signals corresponding to the transmitted signals from the transmitted antennas TX in the antenna set.

[0062] After the process of S110, the output block 115 separates each received signal component corresponding to each transmitted signal from the antenna set in S115. Because phase shift keying is applied, a different peak is detected in the velocity spectrum for each received signal component. Therefore, the output block 160 separates each peak for each corresponding velocity, thereby obtaining a frequency spectrum for each received signal component corresponding to the transmitted signal transmitted from each transmitting antenna in the antenna set.

[0063] (Other embodiments) Although multiple embodiments have been described above, the present disclosure should not be construed as being limited to those embodiments, and can be applied to various embodiments and combinations within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of the present disclosure.

[0064] In a modified example, the transmission signal generating unit 2 of the sixth embodiment may apply amplitude modulation to each transmission signal instead of phase shift keying. In this case, the output block 160 separates, in S115, each received signal component corresponding to each transmission signal at the antenna set based on differences in peaks caused by the amplitude modulation. Note that amplitude modulation includes so-called time division multiplexing (TDM), which modulates each transmission signal so that a time difference occurs in the chirp.

[0065] In a modified example, the control unit 100 may remove each received signal component from the range bin signal R after completing estimation processing for all received signal components other than the received signal component corresponding to the transmission signal from the target transmitting antenna TX. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 14, after S70, in S76, it is determined whether the estimation block has completed estimation of all components. If estimation has not been completed, the flow returns to S40, and if estimation has been completed, the flow proceeds to S81. In S81, the removal block removes each estimated received signal component from the range bin signal R. After S81, the flow proceeds to S100.

[0066] In a modified example, the control unit 100 may output a frequency spectrum to the outside instead of the target information. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 15, after S110, the flow proceeds to S140. In S140, the output block outputs the frequency spectrum converted in S110 to the outside. For example, the output block outputs the frequency spectrum to an in-vehicle ECU external to the radar device 1. In this case, the target information, etc., is acquired by the in-vehicle ECU to which the frequency spectrum is output.

[0067] In a modified example, the radar device 1 may include only a single transmitting antenna TX, as shown in Fig. 16. In this case, the transmitting signal generating unit 2 generates a transmitting signal for one transmitting antenna, which is a mixture of multiple transmitting signals modulated with different codes.

[0068] In a modified example, the dedicated computer constituting the control unit 100 may be an integration ECU that integrates the driving control of the host vehicle A. The dedicated computer constituting the control unit 100 may be a judgment ECU that judges a driving task in the driving control of the host vehicle A. The dedicated computer constituting the control unit 100 may be a monitoring ECU that monitors the driving control of the host vehicle A. The dedicated computer constituting the control unit 100 may be an evaluation ECU that evaluates the driving control of the host vehicle A.

[0069] In a modified example, the dedicated computer constituting the control unit 100 may be a navigation ECU that navigates the driving route of the host vehicle A. The dedicated computer constituting the control unit 100 may be a locator ECU that estimates the self-state quantity of the host vehicle A. The dedicated computer constituting the control unit 100 may be an actuator ECU that controls the driving actuator of the host vehicle A. The dedicated computer constituting the control unit 100 may be an HCU (Human Machine Interface Control Unit (HMI)) that controls the presentation of information in the host vehicle A. The dedicated computer constituting the control unit 100 may be a computer other than the host vehicle A that constitutes, for example, an external center or mobile terminal capable of communicating with the host vehicle A.

[0070] In a modified example, the dedicated computer constituting the control unit 100 may have at least one of a digital circuit and an analog circuit as a processor. Here, the digital circuit is at least one of an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), an SOC (System on a Chip), a PGA (Programmable Gate Array), and a CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device). Furthermore, such a digital circuit may have a memory that stores a program.

[0071] In a modified example, the host moving body to which the control unit 100 is applied may be, for example, an autonomous robot capable of autonomously traveling or remotely traveling to transport luggage or collect information, etc. Furthermore, the autonomous robot may be an autonomous traveling robot including an autonomous vehicle.

[0072] In addition to the embodiments described above, the above-described embodiments and modifications may be implemented as a control device that is configured to be mountable on a moving body and has at least one processor 102 and one memory 101. Specifically, the above-described embodiments and modifications may be implemented in the form of a processing circuit (e.g., a processing ECU, etc.) or a semiconductor device (e.g., a semiconductor chip, etc.).

[0073] (Disclosure of technical ideas) This specification discloses multiple technical ideas described in the following multiple clauses. Some clauses may be written in a multiple dependent form, with the subsequent clause referring to the preceding clause as an alternative. Furthermore, some clauses may be written in a multiple dependent form, referring to another multiple dependent clause. These multiple dependent clauses define multiple technical ideas.

[0074] (Technical thought 1) one or more transmit antennas (TX); a transmission signal generating unit (2) for generating a plurality of types of transmission signals modulated by different codes to be transmitted from the transmitting antenna; a receiving antenna (RX) for receiving a mixed received signal obtained by mixing the transmitted signals reflected by a reflecting object; a control unit (100) for processing the mixed received signal; Equipped with The control unit an acquisition unit (110) that acquires the mixed received signal received by the specific receiving antenna; a definition unit (120) that defines a plurality of decoded signals obtained by decoding the acquired mixed received signal for each of the codes; an estimation unit (130) that estimates received signal components corresponding to each of the transmitted signals in the mixed received signal before decoding from the corresponding decoded signals; a removal unit (140) that removes, from the mixed received signal, the received signal components corresponding to the transmission signals other than the target transmission signal; A radar device comprising:

[0075] (Technical thought 2) a plurality of the transmitting antennas; The radar device according to Technical Idea 1, wherein the transmission signal generating unit generates, for each of a plurality of antenna sets including at least one of the transmitting antennas, a plurality of types of the transmission signals modulated with different codes.

[0076] (Technical Thought 3) The radar device according to Technical Idea 2, wherein each of the antenna sets is one of the transmitting antennas.

[0077] (Technical Thought 4) The radar device according to Technical Idea 2, wherein each of the antenna sets is a set of a plurality of the transmitting antennas.

[0078] (Technical Thought 5) The radar device according to any one of Technical Ideas 1 to 4, wherein the transmission signal generating unit generates a transmission signal for one of the transmitting antennas, the transmission signal being a mixture of a plurality of transmission signals modulated by different codes.

[0079] (Technical Thought 6) The definition unit converts the plurality of decoded signals into frequency spectra; The estimation unit A radar device according to any one of Technical Ideas 1 to 5, which includes extracting a peak from the frequency spectrum and estimating the received signal component by multiplying the code with a transformed signal defined by an inverse Fourier transform of the peak.

[0080] (Technical Thought 7) The definition unit converts the plurality of decoded signals into frequency spectra; The estimation unit The radar device according to any one of Technical Ideas 1 to 5 includes acquiring peak information regarding peaks in the frequency spectrum, and estimating the received signal component by multiplying a sine wave signal corresponding to the peak information by the code.

[0081] (Technical Thought 8) The definition unit converts the plurality of decoded signals into frequency spectra; The system further comprises a storage unit (150) for storing, in a storage medium (101), peak information of the frequency spectrum corresponding to each code and the received signal component estimated according to the peak information; The radar device according to any one of Technical Ideas 1 to 7, wherein the storage unit erases the peak information from the storage medium after estimating the received signal component.

[0082] (Technical Thought 9) The definition unit converts the plurality of decoded signals into frequency spectra; The system further comprises a storage unit (150) for storing, in a storage medium (101), peak information of the frequency spectrum corresponding to each code and the received signal component estimated according to the peak information; The radar device according to any one of Technical Ideas 1 to 7, wherein the storage unit holds the peak information until the removal unit removes the received signal components from the mixed received signal.

[0083] (Technical Thought 10) The definition unit converts the plurality of decoded signals into frequency spectra; The estimation unit The radar device according to any one of Technical Ideas 1 to 9, which corrects the influence of a window function in transforming the decoded signal into the frequency spectrum.

[0084] (Technical Thought 11) The radar device according to any one of Technical Ideas 1 to 9, wherein the definition unit converts the decoded signal, to which a window function other than a rectangular window is applied before decoding, into a frequency spectrum, and applies the rectangular window when converting the decoded signal into the frequency spectrum.

[0085] It should be noted that the above technical ideas 1 to 11 may be realized in the form of a radar control method and a radar control program. [Explanation of symbols]

[0086] 1: radar device, 2: transmission signal generation unit, 100: control unit, 101: memory (storage medium), 102: processor, 110: acquisition block (acquisition section), 120: definition block (definition section), 130: estimation block (estimation section), 140: removal block (removal section), 150: memory block (storage section), TX: transmission antenna, RX: reception antenna

Claims

1. one or more transmit antennas (TX); a transmission signal generating unit (2) for generating a plurality of types of transmission signals modulated by different codes to be transmitted from the transmitting antenna; a receiving antenna (RX) for receiving a mixed received signal obtained by mixing the transmitted signals reflected by a reflecting object; a control unit (100) for processing the mixed received signal; Equipped with The control unit an acquisition unit (110) that acquires the mixed received signal received by the specific receiving antenna; a definition unit (120) that defines a plurality of decoded signals obtained by decoding the acquired mixed received signal for each of the codes; an estimation unit (130) that estimates received signal components corresponding to each of the transmitted signals in the mixed received signal before decoding from the corresponding decoded signals; a removal unit (140) that removes, from the mixed received signal, the received signal components corresponding to the transmission signals other than the target transmission signal; A radar device comprising:

2. a plurality of the transmitting antennas; 2. The radar device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission signal generation unit generates, for each of a plurality of antenna sets including at least one of the transmission antennas, a plurality of types of the transmission signals modulated with different codes for each of the plurality of antenna sets.

3. 3. The radar device according to claim 2, wherein each of the antenna sets includes one of the transmitting antennas.

4. 3. The radar device according to claim 2, wherein each of the antenna sets includes a plurality of the transmitting antennas.

5. The radar device according to claim 1 , wherein the transmission signal generating unit generates the transmission signal for one of the transmission antennas by mixing a plurality of the transmission signals modulated with different codes.

6. The definition unit converts the plurality of decoded signals into frequency spectra; The estimation unit 2. The radar device according to claim 1, further comprising: extracting a peak from the frequency spectrum; and estimating the received signal component by multiplying a transformed signal defined by an inverse Fourier transform of the peak by the code.

7. The definition unit converts the plurality of decoded signals into frequency spectra; The estimation unit The radar device according to claim 1 , further comprising: acquiring peak information relating to a peak in the frequency spectrum; and estimating the received signal component by multiplying a sine wave signal corresponding to the peak information by the code.

8. The definition unit converts the plurality of decoded signals into frequency spectra; The system further comprises a storage unit (150) for storing, in a storage medium (101), peak information of the frequency spectrum corresponding to each code and the received signal component estimated according to the peak information; The radar device according to claim 1 , wherein the storage unit erases the peak information from the storage medium after estimating the received signal component.

9. The definition unit converts the plurality of decoded signals into frequency spectra; The system further comprises a storage unit (150) for storing, in a storage medium (101), peak information of the frequency spectrum corresponding to each code and the received signal component estimated according to the peak information; The radar device according to claim 1 , wherein the storage unit holds the peak information until the removal unit removes the received signal components from the mixed received signal.

10. The definition unit converts the plurality of decoded signals into frequency spectra; The estimation unit The radar device according to claim 1 , wherein the influence of a window function in the transformation of the decoded signal into the frequency spectrum is corrected.

11. 2. The radar device according to claim 1, wherein the definition unit converts the decoded signal to which a window function other than a rectangular window is applied before decoding into a frequency spectrum, and applies the rectangular window when converting the decoded signal into the frequency spectrum.

12. A radar control method executed by a processor (102) to control a radar device (1) including one or more transmitting antennas (TX), a transmitting signal generating unit (2) that generates a plurality of types of transmitting signals modulated with different codes and transmitted from the transmitting antennas, and a receiving antenna (RX) that receives a mixed receiving signal in which the transmitting signals reflected by a reflecting object are mixed, comprising: Obtaining the mixed received signal received at a specific receive antenna; defining a plurality of decoded signals obtained by decoding the acquired mixed received signals for each of the codes; Estimating received signal components corresponding to each of the transmitted signals in the mixed received signal before decoding from the corresponding decoded signals; removing from the mixed received signal the received signal components corresponding to the transmitted signals other than the transmitted signal of interest; A radar control method comprising:

13. A radar control program is stored in a storage medium (101) for controlling a radar device (1) including one or more transmitting antennas (TX), a transmitting signal generating unit (2) that generates a plurality of types of transmitting signals modulated with different codes and transmitted from the transmitting antennas, and a receiving antenna (RX) that receives a mixed receiving signal in which the transmitting signals reflected by a reflecting object are mixed, the radar control program including instructions to be executed by a processor (102), The instruction: acquiring the mixed received signal received at a specific receiving antenna; defining a plurality of decoded signals obtained by decoding the acquired mixed received signals for each of the codes; Estimating received signal components corresponding to each of the transmitted signals in the mixed received signal before decoding from the corresponding decoded signals; removing, from the mixed received signal, the received signal components corresponding to the transmission signals other than the transmission signal of interest; A radar control program including:

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