Coherent distributed radar system for manoeuvring and / or parking assistance

Abstract

A coherently distributed radar system (100) for manoeuvring and / or parking assistance, comprising at least one central station (200) and a plurality of radar devices (300, 300-k, 400, 400-I) linked to the central station (200) via optical transmission paths (500, 510); wherein the central station (200) is designed to generate the radar signal information to be emitted by the individual radar devices of the plurality of radar devices (300, 300-k, 400, 400-I) and to modulate it in each case onto a terahertz signal in order to transmit the modulated signal via the optical transmission paths (500, 510) to the respective radar devices of the plurality of radar devices (300, 300-k, 400, 400-I), and the plurality of radar devices (300, 300-k, 400, 400-I) each comprise an antenna and are designed to receive the radar signal information and to multiply its frequency and to emit it via the antenna (260, 360) and to modulate received radar signal information onto a terahertz signal and to transmit it optically back to the central station (200), wherein the central station (200) is additionally designed to evaluate the received radar signal information from the plurality of radar devices, wherein the central station (200) is designed to generate and evaluate the radar signal information to be emitted and the received radar signal information differently depending on a driving situation.

Description

[0001] Description

[0002] Coherent distributed radar system for maneuvering and / or parking assistance

[0003] The invention relates to the detection of the surroundings of vehicles, in particular motor vehicles, carried out by means of a radar system to support maneuvering and parking operations. In particular, the invention relates to radar systems that enable high angular resolution.

[0004] For assistance systems and automated driving, the most reliable possible environmental perception is essential. The vehicle's surroundings are recorded using sensors such as ultrasound, radar, lidar, and cameras. A holistic 360° 3D recording of the environment is desirable, so that all static and dynamic objects are detected. In the past, lidar, in particular, played a key role in redundant, robust environmental detection, as this type of sensor can precisely measure distances in environmental detection and can also be used for classification. However, these sensors are costly and complex to construct. 360° 3D environmental detection is particularly problematic, as either many smaller individual sensors are required to ensure this, which usually work with many individual light sources and detector elements, or large sensors are installed.One example of this is the Velodyne VLP 32C system from Ouster, Inc., San Francisco, USA. Furthermore, LiDAR systems are vulnerable to weather influences such as rain, fog, or direct sunlight.

[0005] Radar sensors have been established in the automotive sector for years and deliver reliable and fail-safe data in all weather conditions. Even poor visibility conditions such as rain, fog, snow, dust, and darkness barely affect their detection reliability. However, their resolution is currently limited; production radars in use have a resolution of approximately 2°. To meet the requirements for levels 4 and 5 of automated driving with safe driving functions, radar sensors must deliver three-dimensional images with high resolution in the range of 0.1° and below, with a high degree of immunity to disturbances from their surroundings. This cannot be achieved with conventional radar technology because the resolution of such systems is too low.

[0006] DE 102019 114 876 A1 describes a radar antenna arrangement for a vehicle, comprising at least one vehicle component, wherein the radar antenna arrangement has a plurality of radar devices configured to transmit and / or receive a radar beam. The radar devices are arranged on a component surface of the vehicle component. It is provided that the radar antenna arrangement has at least one antenna row for determining an azimuthal angle of the radar beam, which comprises a plurality of radar devices. Directly adjacent radar devices are spaced horizontally from one another. The radar antenna arrangement has at least one antenna column for determining an elevation angle of the radar beam, which comprises a plurality of radar devices. Directly adjacent radar devices are spaced vertically from one another. The at least one antenna row and the at least one antenna column enclose an angle α of 5° to 180°.

[0007] DE 102016217 134 A1 describes a motor vehicle with a detection device for angle-resolved detection of the motor vehicle surroundings by a radar method, wherein the detection device comprises at least one antenna device which is configured to transmit transmission signals and / or to receive reception signals, and a central device, wherein the central device and / or the antenna device have at least one respective coupling device by means of which terahertz radiation with a wavelength between 0.1 mm and 1.0 mm can be coupled into an associated dielectric waveguide of the motor vehicle in order to transmit control signals for controlling the transmission of the transmission signals and / or the reception signals or signals derived from the reception signals between the central device and the antenna device.

[0008] DE 102021 128 147 A1 describes an antenna device for a motor vehicle for transmitting and / or receiving electromagnetic radiation, comprising at least one first antenna element configured to transmit and / or receive the electromagnetic radiation using liquid crystal technology, and comprising an electronic computing device configured to generate a control signal for the at least one first antenna element. The invention provides that the antenna device has at least one second antenna element configured to transmit and / or receive the electromagnetic radiation using liquid crystal technology, wherein the first antenna element and / or the second antenna element are activated for transmitting and / or receiving depending on the control signal. Furthermore, a communication device, a radar device, and an assistance system are described.

[0009] Assistance systems for supporting parking maneuvers are also known from the state of the art. Ultrasound-based systems are often used to detect the surroundings, which rely on measuring the time of flight of reflected ultrasonic signals. However, these systems are not capable, or only insufficiently capable, of determining the angle between, for example, a vehicle's axle and a detected obstacle.

[0010] The invention is therefore based on the technical problem of creating an improved environment detection for maneuvering and parking operations with the lowest possible computing effort and improved environment information.

[0011] The invention is based on the idea of ​​using a coherent radar system in a vehicle to assist in maneuvering and parking situations. The radar system comprises a central station and a plurality of radar devices linked to the central station via optical transmission links, via which radar signals are transmitted and / or received. Depending on the driving situation, these signals are operated and evaluated differently in the radar devices. This allows for optimal acquisition of information about the surroundings while simultaneously minimizing the evaluation effort.For example, if the vehicle has already maneuvered into a parallel parking space during a parking maneuver and is approaching another parked vehicle bordering the parking space in the rear direction of travel, the angle information at which the radar echoes are recorded is of secondary importance for the radar systems installed in the rear area of ​​the vehicle beyond a certain distance. Rather, the minimum distance and relative speed to the nearest adjacent obstacle—in this case, the other vehicle parked behind—are of interest.In another situation, for example at the beginning of the parking process, however, it is of interest to determine as accurately as possible the area available for the vehicle to be parked, so that the angles to the individual obstacles or obstacle areas are also of interest, so that an angle determination of the received radar echoes is also advantageous.

[0012] Definition An optical transmission path is a signal transmission path on which the signal is not transmitted via electrical conductors, but via optical conductors according to the laws of optics.

[0013] A radar device is a device designed to transmit and / or receive a radar signal.

[0014] A radar signal is an emitted electromagnetic wave in the gigahertz frequency range. Radar signal information is the information associated with a radar signal, determined by frequency or amplitude modulation and / or its phase. This information can also be modulated onto another carrier signal, such as an optical signal.

[0015] Preferred embodiments

[0016] In particular, a radar system for maneuvering and / or parking assistance is provided, comprising: at least one central station and a plurality of radar devices linked to the central station via optical transmission links; wherein the central station is designed to generate the radar signal information to be emitted by each of the plurality of radar devices and to modulate each of them onto a terahertz signal in order to transmit the modulated signal via the optical transmission links to the respective one of the plurality of radar devices, and the plurality of radar devices each comprise an antenna and are designed to receive the radar signal information and to multiply it in frequency and to emit it via the antenna and to modulate received radar signal information onto a terahertz signal and to transmit it back to the central station, wherein the central station is additionally designed,to evaluate the received radar signal information of the plurality of radar devices, wherein the central station is designed to generate and evaluate the radar signal information to be emitted and the received radar signal information differently depending on a driving situation.

[0017] Furthermore, a method for operating a radar system for assisting a maneuvering or parking operation is provided, which comprises:

[0018] Generating radar signal information to be transmitted for a plurality of radar devices in a central station; modulating the radar signal information to a terahertz signal and optically transmitting the modulated terahertz signals to the plurality of radar devices, wherein each of the plurality of radar devices converts the radar signal information generated and optically transmitted into an electronic signal, multiplies its frequency, and transmits it as a radar signal via an antenna, and modulates received radar signal information contained in a reflected radar signal to a terahertz signal and transmits it back to the central station, wherein the central station generates and evaluates the radar signal information to be transmitted and the received radar signal information differently depending on the driving situation.

[0019] The advantage of the invention is that, depending on the current driving situation during maneuvering and / or parking, the individual radar devices are optimally used for surroundings detection, thereby reducing the computing effort and time required for information gathering. While the vehicle is at a greater distance from objects and obstacles and the most precise detection of the surroundings is initially desired, all or a large subset of the plurality of radar devices are operated coherently with one another. The increased computing effort compared to operation as pure distance and relative speed measurement in non-coherent operation of the individual radar devices is "offset" by the additional information acquired during evaluation.Very precise environmental detection can be achieved, which can be used, for example, to display a virtual top view before parking or maneuvering. However, when approaching a large, flat object directly, the iteration speed with which data is acquired and evaluated can be increased if the individual radar systems are used only for distance and relative speed measurements. In this case, the individual radar systems are no longer operated or evaluated coherently.

[0020] In a preferred embodiment of a radar system, it is thus provided that at least a subset of the plurality of radar devices is used both individually for pure distance and relative speed measurement and coherently coupled with at least one further one of the plurality of radar devices in order to detect objects in a near field of the vehicle during a maneuvering and / or parking process.

[0021] In a corresponding method, it is thus provided that at least a subset of the plurality of radar devices is used both individually for pure distance and relative speed measurement and coherently coupled with at least one further one of the plurality of radar devices in order to detect objects in a near field of the vehicle during a maneuvering and / or parking process.

[0022] One and the same radar device can therefore be used differently in the radar system or in the process sequence during a parking and / or maneuvering operation.

[0023] The individual radar devices are preferably designed as transmitting and receiving devices. This means that they can be used both to transmit a radar signal and to detect reflected radar signals. A radar device designed for transmitting a radar signal, thus as a transmitter, is provided to receive an optical terahertz signal onto which the radar signal information to be transmitted is modulated. The received radar signal information, which preferably has only one-eighth of the radar signal frequency to be transmitted, can be frequency-multiplied in an electrical circuit, in particular, for example, to multiply the frequency eightfold and then transmit it as an electromagnetic radar signal.Accordingly, a radar device configured as a receiving device is capable of detecting an electromagnetic radar signal echo and extracting the received radar signal information contained therein using baseband signal processing and modulating it onto an optical signal in order to transmit the received radar signal information to a central unit using the optical signal. This entire functionality of the radar device is preferably implemented in a photonic electronic integrated circuit (EPIC). The photonic components are implemented in silicon-on-insulator regions, and the electronic components are implemented in so-called bulk silicon regions.

[0024] The radar system is preferably designed such that the central station can determine at least one field of view for an upcoming driving maneuver or can acquire information defining the at least one field of view and operate and evaluate precisely those of the plurality of radar devices that cover the field of view in a coherent manner. Depending on the driving situation, at least one field of view is thus determined for which it is expedient to operate some of the plurality of radar devices in a coherent manner in order to acquire the most detailed information possible about the field of view. It is understood that several separate fields of view can exist simultaneously, for which different subsets of the radar devices are each operated and evaluated coherently.Simultaneously or staggered, the same or other radar systems can also be operated and used purely as distance and relative speed determining radar systems. If some or all of the multiple radar systems are operated coherently, then a so-called M1 MO analysis is preferably used, which stands for Multiple Input Multiple Output and means that several of the radar systems are used as transmitting systems and several of the radar systems are also used as receiving systems to receive these multiple transmitted radar signals, whereby these are each operated in a phase-locked manner to one another due to the coherence. The individual transmitting systems emit differently modulated signals. This enables more precise analysis, particularly with regard to angular resolution, than with the operation of individual or neighboring radar systems.Depending on the desired angular resolution, the number of coherently operated radar systems can be varied. This allows for a driving-situation-dependent analysis.

[0025] One embodiment provides that the central station determines at least one field of view for an upcoming driving maneuver or records information that defines the at least one field of view and generates coherently coupled radar signals to be emitted and coherently evaluates received radar signal information together for those of the plurality of radar devices that emit radar signals in this field of view and / or receive radar echoes from the field of view.

[0026] In one embodiment, it is provided that the central station generates the radar signal information to be emitted during a maneuvering and / or parking situation and evaluates the received radar signal information in such a way that the pure distance and relative speed measurements and the angle-resolved coherent environment detection are carried out individually in chronological sequence for at least a subset of the plurality of radar devices.

[0027] Particularly preferably, the radar signal information is generated in such a way that it comprises a frequency-modulated continuous wave signal.

[0028] The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to a drawing. Herein:

[0029] Fig. 1 is a schematic representation of a photonic radar system;

[0030] Fig. 2a is a front view of a vehicle; Fig. 2b is a side view of a vehicle;

[0031] Fig. 2c a rear view of a vehicle;

[0032] Fig. 3 is a schematic view of a vehicle parking in a parallel parking space; and

[0033] Fig. 4 shows a different driving situation while parking the vehicle in the parallel parking space according to Fig. 3.

[0034] Fig. 1 schematically shows a photonic radar system 100. This comprises a central station 200 and a plurality of radar devices 300, 300-k, which are designed as transmitters, and radar devices 400, 400-I, which are designed as receivers. The central station 200 and the radar devices 300, 300-k designed as transmitters are each individually connected to the central station via an optical fiber, i.e., a fiber, 500, 500-m. Similarly, the radar devices 400, 400-I designed as receivers are each individually coupled to two optical fibers 500, 500-m, 510, 510-k, one of which transmits the signal from the central station to the radar device 400, 400-I designed as a receiver, and the other serves as a return line 510, 510-o.

[0035] Trailing lowercase letters -k, -I, -m, ... represent natural numbers to indicate the countability and distinguishability of the corresponding objects.

[0036] In the illustrated embodiment, the central station 200 is designed to generate radar signal information to be emitted, wherein in the illustrated example, this occurs at a frequency that is a factor of 8 lower than the transmission of the radar signal from the corresponding radar devices 300 designed as transmitters. For this purpose, the central device 200 comprises a control device 210 that controls the radar signal information generation device 220. This generates a signal that is formed by adding a carrier frequency to a frequency that forms a frequency ramp depending on time and dividing the signal by a factor of 8. This radar signal information to be emitted is modulated onto an optical signal generated by a laser 230 in a modulator that is designed, for example, as a Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM) 240.The optical signal is selectively switched to one of the fiber outputs 255, 255-m via a 1:N switch 250, which is controlled by a control device 210.

[0037] One of the optical fibers, ie, one of the 500, 500-m fibers, is coupled to the fiber output 255. The other end of the 500, 500-m optical fibers is connected to one of the radar devices 300, 400.

[0038] A radar device 300, 300-k configured as a transmitter has a fiber input 305 to which the 500-m fiber coming from the central station is connected. The optical carrier signal with the modulated radar signal information and the radar signal information to be emitted is coupled into an electronic photonic integrated circuit (EPIC) 315 via a photoreceiving coupler 310. The photonic components are formed in a region containing silicon on an insulator, whereas the electronic components are formed on so-called bulk silicon. The coupled optical signal is fed to a photodiode 320, converted into an electronic signal, and amplified by a transimpedance amplifier 330. The frequency is then multiplied in a frequency multiplier 340, in the example shown by a factor of 4.An amplifier 350 generates the required transmission power for the radar signal to be transmitted, which is then transmitted via an antenna 360 (TX antenna).

[0039] The radar signal reflected from an object in the environment (not shown) is received by a radar device 400, 400-I designed as a receiver at its antenna 460 (Rx antenna). This radar device is also designed as an electronic-photonic integrated circuit (EPIC) 415. Analogous to the radar device 300 designed as a transmitter, the radar unit 400 designed as a receiver comprises a fiber input 405, a photoreceiving coupler 410, a photodiode 420, a transimpedance amplifier (TIA) 430, and a frequency quadrupler (x4) 440 to provide a signal for a quadrature mixer (IQ) with the necessary frequency to convert the radar signal received by the antenna 460 into a baseband signal, i.e., to extract the received radar signal information from the detected radar signal.Using a baseband signal processing device (BB signal processing) 470, the detected radar signal information is modulated via a driver 475 with an optical modulator 480 onto the optical signal originally originating from the central station, which was coupled to the photoreceiver coupler 410. A bias setting 477 also acts on the modulator. The thus modulated optical signal is forwarded via an optical transmit coupler 480 to a fiber output 495, to which an optical waveguide 510-o is connected. This waveguide modulates the detected radar signal information onto the optical carrier signal and transports it back to the central station 200.

[0040] The fiber inputs 260, 260-o for the fibers 510-o coming from the radar devices 400, 400-I designed as receivers are each coupled to a photodiode 265, a transimpedance amplifier 270 and a quadrature mixer 280 in order to transfer the corresponding detected radar signal information to an analog-to-digital converter and processor (ADC+PC) 290 coupled thereto, which carries out the entire evaluation of the detected radar signals.

[0041] Since the signals are transmitted using the optical carrier, the individual transmitted information items are phase-locked to one another. This enables coherent evaluation of the multitude of radar devices. In particular, a so-called MIMO radar signal evaluation can be performed, in which the radar echo signals generated by the various radar devices 300, 300-k configured as transmitters are detected by the multitude of radar devices 400, 400-I configured as receivers and evaluated together. This evaluation is referred to as multiple input multiple output evaluation. This type of evaluation is known to those skilled in the art and will not be explained in detail here.

[0042] In the illustrated schematic embodiment according to Fig. 1, the radar devices 300, 300-k configured as receivers and the radar devices 400, 400-I configured as receivers are shown as separate units. In other embodiments, the individual radar devices can be configured as both transmitters and receivers. The corresponding components can then be implemented in an electronic-photonic integrated circuit (EPIC).

[0043] In order to be able to carry out environmental detection in which the angle to objects is measured both in the azimuthal angle range, i.e. at an angle measured in a plane parallel to the horizontal, and in an elevation range, which is measured in a plane perpendicular to the horizontal, it is necessary for the radar devices not all to be arranged at a distance from one another along a spatial direction. Preferably, the radar devices are arranged along two spatial directions which intersect at an angle different from 0° and 180° or are skew to one another. Figs. 2a to 2c show a schematic view of a vehicle 1000 from its front 1002 (Fig. 2a), its left side 1004 (Fig. 2b) and its rear 1006 (Fig. 2c). Small schematic antenna symbols 1100 are shown, which identify the positions of radar devices.At the front 1002 of the vehicle 1000, these are arranged, for example, at a distance from one another at a lower edge 1012 of a windshield 1010 and, viewed from the front, at a left side edge 1014 of the windshield, essentially vertically spaced from one another. Additionally, radar devices 1100 are also arranged along a front bumper 1020, spaced horizontally from one another.

[0044] On the left side 1004 of the vehicle 1000, which is shown in Fig. 2b, radar devices 1100 are arranged horizontally spaced from one another along a sill 1050, as well as radar devices 1100 are arranged horizontally spaced from one another along a roof edge 1030. In addition, radar devices are arranged substantially vertically spaced from one another along a B-pillar 1040.

[0045] At the rear side 1006, which is shown in Fig. 2c, the radar devices 1100 are arranged horizontally spaced from one another along the rear bumper 1070 and horizontally spaced from one another along a lower side edge 1064 of the rear window 1060 and vertically spaced from one another along the left side edge 1064 of the rear window 1060, as seen from the rear.

[0046] The right side of the vehicle is not shown here, but is preferably designed analogously to the left side.

[0047] Due to the arrangement of the individual radar devices, it is possible to detect the entire surroundings of the vehicle 1000. The individual radar devices 1100 are all individually coupled to a central device (not shown), via which the radar devices 1100 are supplied with the radar signal information to be transmitted and the radar signal information detected in the radar echo is fed back to the central device. The central station performs the evaluation. Due to this arrangement, it is possible to perform a quasi-360° environmental detection.In this case, object positions can be determined not only with respect to the azimuthal angle relative to the vehicle 1000, but also with respect to the elevation angle, which is important, for example, for clearance heights or the height of curbs, for example with respect to the opening of doors, or for a ceiling height in parking garages, for example with respect to the opening of a tailgate. Since the computational effort for evaluating all radar devices 1100, i.e., the plurality of radar devices 1100, is very high, such a complete, coherent evaluation of all radar devices 1100 together is neither necessary nor sensible in every driving situation.

[0048] Fig. 3 shows a road 2000 with a parking lane 2100. Between a leading vehicle 2300 and a rear vehicle 2400 is a parking space 2200, into which a parking vehicle 2500 is parking. In the driving situation illustrated in Fig. 3 during the parking process, the various radar signal beams 2600 of the plurality of radar devices arranged on the vehicle are schematically indicated. Radar beams with identical hatching are operated coherently with one another. This means that the central station generates the individual radar signal information to be emitted, from which the radar signals are generated, in phase-locked relation to one another, and the acquired radar signal information received via radar echoes is transmitted back to the central station in phase-locked relation, so that an M1 MO radar analysis for the corresponding radar devices is possible and carried out.For the sake of simplicity, the radar signal beams of radar devices spaced apart along a vertical line are not shown.

[0049] While in the driving situation according to Fig. 3 all radar devices are operated coherently, in a different driving situation according to Fig. 4 during the same parking maneuver the individual radar devices are operated differently. The radar devices located in the rear area of ​​the parking vehicle 2500 are mostly operated individually, so that they are only evaluated for distance and relative speed measurements. Only in the rear area, which faces the lane, are two radar devices operated coherently in order to additionally determine the angle of possible obstacles. In the front area of ​​the motor vehicle, the radar devices located in the right half of the vehicle and the radar devices located in the left half of the vehicle are each operated coherently as two separate groups in order to additionally enable angular measurement or resolution of the objects.

[0050] It can therefore be seen from Figs. 3 and 4 that, depending on the specific driving situation, the individual radar devices of the plurality of radar devices are operated differently. To do so, the control device determines the field of view of interest and accordingly uses the radar devices that can cover the field of view to acquire the corresponding environmental information. Information about the field of view can also be provided by an assistance system. While before and at the start of the parking maneuver, the positions of the obstacles and their contours are of particular interest, requiring angle-resolved detection, when approaching the rear vehicle 2400, a minimum distance and a relative speed are primarily of interest, so that in the driving situation illustrated in Fig. 4, the radar devices in the rear area are used individually as pure distance and relative measurement radars.Depending on the specific parking or maneuvering situation, the individual radar devices can be operated differently in a temporal sequence.

[0051] The environmental information can also be used, for example, to display the surroundings of the vehicle 2500, for example, in a calculated top view or virtual 3D view of the surroundings, and to visualize it to a driver. All other uses in assistance systems are also possible, for example, to avoid a collision or to support or enable automated driving. The acquired environmental information can thus be output to and / or made available to one or more assistance systems or other vehicle devices.

[0052] It is understood that in addition to the azimuthal angles, the elevation angles can also be determined depending on the situation, for example to monitor clearance heights or to block the opening of upwardly pivoting vehicle openings, such as tailgates, if the ceiling height above the vehicle is not sufficient to open such a vehicle opening over the entire pivoting range.

[0053] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that only exemplary embodiments are described here. The features described in the individual embodiments can be used in any combination to implement the invention.

[0054] List of reference symbols

[0055] radar system

[0056] Central station

[0057] Control device

[0058] Radar signal information generating device

[0059] Laser

[0060] Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM)

[0061] 1:N switch, 255-j fiber outputs, 260-0 fiber inputs

[0062] Photodiode (PD)

[0063] Transimpedance amplifier (TIA)

[0064] Quadrature mixer (IQ)

[0065] Analog-digital converter and processor (ADC+PC), 300-k radar device (transmitter)

[0066] Fiber input

[0067] Photoreceiving coupler

[0068] Electronic-Photonic Integrated Circuit (EPIC)

[0069] Photodiode

[0070] Transimpedance amplifier (TIA)

[0071] Frequency quadrupler (x4)

[0072] Amplifier (PA)

[0073] Antenna (Tx antenna), 400-I radar device (receiver)

[0074] Fiber input

[0075] Photoreceiving coupler

[0076] Electronic-Photonic Integrated Circuit (EPIC)

[0077] Photodiode

[0078] Transimpedance amplifier (TIA)

[0079] Frequency quadrupler (x4)

[0080] Quadrature mixer (IQ)

[0081] Antenna (Tx antenna) 470 Baseband signal processing device (BB signal processing) 475 Driver 477 Default setting 480 Optical modulator 490 Optical transmit coupler 495 Fiber output 500-1 , ... , 500-m Optical fibers (fibers) 510-1 , ... 510-o Optical fibers (fibers / return channel) 1000 Vehicle 1002 Front 1004 Left side 1006 Rear 1010 Windshield 1012 Lower edge of the windshield 1014 Left side edge of the windshield 1020 Front bumper 1030 Roof edge 1040 B-pillar 1050 Sill 1060 Rear window 1062 Lower edge of the rear window 1064 Left side edge of the rear window 1070 Rear Bumper 1100 Radar devices / antenna symbols 2000 Road

[0082] 2100 Parking lane 2200 Parking space 2300 Vehicle in front 2400 Vehicle behind 2500 Parking vehicle 2600 Radar signal beams

Claims

Patent claims 1. Radar system (100) for maneuvering and / or parking assistance, comprising at least one central station (200) and a plurality of radar devices (300, 300-k, 400, 400-I) linked to the central station (200) via optical transmission links (500, 510); wherein the central station (200) is designed to generate the radar signal information to be emitted by each of the plurality of radar devices (300, 300-k, 400, 400-I) and to modulate each of them onto a terahertz signal in order to transmit the modulated signal via the optical transmission links (500, 510) to the respective one of the plurality of radar devices (300, 300-k, 400, 400-I), and the plurality of radar devices (300, 300-k, 400, 400-I) each comprise an antenna and are designed to receive the radar signal information and to multiply it in terms of frequency and to transmit it via the antenna (260,360) and to modulate received radar signal information onto a terahertz signal and to transmit it optically back to the central station (200), wherein the central station (200) is additionally designed to evaluate the received radar signal information of the plurality of radar devices, characterized in that the central station (200) is designed to generate and evaluate the radar signal information to be emitted and the received radar signal information differently depending on a driving situation.

2. Radar system (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that at least a subset of the plurality of radar devices (300, 300-k, 400, 400-I) is used both individually for pure distance and relative speed measurement and coherently coupled with at least one further one of the plurality of radar devices (300, 300-k, 400, 400-I) in order to detect objects in a near field of the vehicle (1000; 2500) during a maneuvering and / or parking process and / or to avoid collisions and / or to reduce the consequences of collisions.

3. Radar system (100) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the central station (200) is designed to have at least one field of view for a to determine an impending driving maneuver or to acquire information that defines at least one field of view and to operate and evaluate precisely those of the plurality of radar devices (300, 300-k, 400, 400-1) that cover this field of view in a coherent manner.

4. Radar system (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that the central station (200) generates the radar signal information to be emitted during a maneuvering and / or parking operation and / or for collision avoidance and / or for collision consequence reduction and evaluates the received radar signal information in such a way that the pure distance and relative speed measurements and the angle-resolved coherent environment detection are carried out individually in chronological sequence for at least a subset of the plurality of radar devices (300, 300-k, 400, 400-I).

5. Radar system (100) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the radar signal information to be emitted comprises a frequency-modulated continuous wave signal.

6. A method for operating a radar system (100) for assisting a maneuvering or parking operation, comprising: Generating radar signal information to be radiated for a plurality of radar devices (300, 300-k, 400, 400-I) in a central station (200); Modulating the radar signal information into a terahertz signal and optically transmitting the modulated terahertz signals to the plurality of radar devices, wherein each of the plurality of radar devices (300, 300-k, 400, 400-I) converts the radar signal information generated and optically transmitted into an electronic signal, multiplies its frequency, and transmits it as a radar signal via an antenna (260, 360) and / or modulates received radar signal information contained in a reflected radar signal into a terahertz signal and transmits it back to the central station (200), wherein the central station (200) generates and evaluates the radar signal information to be transmitted and the received radar signal information differently depending on the driving situation.

7. Method according to claim 6, characterized in that at least a subset of the plurality of radar devices (300, 300-k, 400, 400-I) is used both individually for pure distance and relative speed measurement and coherently coupled with at least one further radar device of the plurality of radar devices (300, 300-k, 400, 400-1) is used to detect objects in a near field of the vehicle (1000; 2500) during a maneuvering and / or parking operation and / or to avoid collisions and / or to reduce the consequences of collisions.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the central station (200) determines at least one field of view for an upcoming driving maneuver or records information that defines the at least one field of view and generates coherently coupled radar signals to be emitted and coherently evaluates received radar signal information together for those of the plurality of radar devices (300, 300-k, 400, 400-I) that emit radar signals in this field of view and / or receive radar echoes from the field of view.

9. Method according to one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the central station (200) generates the radar signal information to be emitted during a maneuvering and / or parking process and evaluates the received radar signal information in such a way that the pure distance and relative speed measurements and the angle-resolved coherent surroundings detection are carried out individually in chronological sequence for at least a subset of the plurality of radar devices (300, 300-k, 400, 400-I).

10. Method according to one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the radar signal information to be emitted is generated in such a way that it comprises a frequency-modulated continuous wave signal.

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