Multibeam Radar Sensor Antenna Switching for Angular Resolution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Multibeam radar sensor systems face challenges in accurately distinguishing targets within a specific angular range and suppressing false echoes from reflections, leading to spurious signals and unwanted reactions in proximity warning and adaptive cruise control systems.
Innovation Solution
A multibeam radar sensor apparatus with multiple antennas, where at least one is bidirectional as a transfer mixer, and a second mixer is switchable between transfer and isolating modes, allowing for varying transmission and reception characteristics to enhance angular resolution and unambiguity, preventing detection of targets outside the specified range and identifying multiple echoes accurately.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If multiple parallel antennas are used to increase spatial resolution, then angular resolution is improved, but false echoes from targets outside the visual range are also detected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the transmitting antennas switchable - they can be activated or deactivated depending on the operational phase. During reception phases when a particular antenna is not needed for transmission, it is deactivated to prevent generating false echoes, while remaining available for reception. This dynamic switching resolves the contradiction between needing multiple antennas for angular resolution and avoiding false echoes from active antennas.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements periodic action through time-multiplexed operation where antennas are alternately activated for transmission and reception in a cyclic manner. Each antenna undergoes periodic switching between transmitting and receiving states, allowing the system to achieve high angular resolution through multiple antennas while minimizing false echoes by ensuring only the necessary antennas are active during each reception phase.
2Measurement precision
If purely receiving antennas are added at edge regions to produce narrower beam lobes, then angular resolution is further improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by designing all antennas with dual functionality - each antenna can serve as both a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna depending on the operational phase. This eliminates the need for separate purely receiving antennas at edge regions, reducing device complexity while maintaining the capability to produce narrow beam lobes and achieve high angular resolution through appropriate antenna selection and switching.
3Reliability
If all antennas are always active for transmission and reception, then detection coverage is maximized, but targets outside the specified angular range cannot be distinguished
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction through dynamic antenna switching - during reception phases, only the antennas that are or were actively transmitting are enabled for reception. This dynamic configuration ensures that detection coverage is maintained through multiple antennas while preventing false echoes from antennas that are not currently contributing to the measurement, thereby improving angular range accuracy and enabling distinction of targets within the specified angular range.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively prevents detection of targets outside the intended angular range and unambiguously determines the position of targets by varying the radiation characteristics, reducing false echoes and improving the system's ability to distinguish between actual and reflected targets.
Implementation Method 1
a radar signal is transmitted in a direction of a target and a reflected radar echo is received
Implementation Method 2
for determining a distance and/or a speed of a target
Data Source
AI summary
In a multibeam radar sensor apparatus having at least two transmission/reception channels, whose signal paths each include an antenna and a mixer, at least one first mixer is configured bidirectionally as a transfer mixer, and at least one second mixer is switchable from a first into a second operating state; in the first operating state, the mixer is bidirectionally configured as a transfer mixer, and in the second operating state, the mixer being configured in an at least approximately isolating manner as a receiving mixer. In addition, in a method for determining a distance and/or a speed of a target, a radar signal is transmitted in a direction of the target and a reflected radar echo is received, for which at least two transmission/reception channels are used whose signal paths each include an antenna and a mixer; at least one mixture is switched over from a first into a second operating state, in order to use the mixer, in the first operating state, bidirectionally as a transfer mixture, and, in the second operating state, in an at least approximately isolating manner as a receiving mixer.