JP2007174390A - Radar system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a radar system appropriate for use as a rear confirmation radar for a vehicle such as an automobile. <P>SOLUTION: An antenna element and a high frequency circuit are attached to a rear confirmation device such as a sideview mirror of an automobile. A mirror body 12 of the rear confirmation device is equipped with a substrate 12a comprised of frosted glass or the like, transparent glass 12b that provides an optical path, a metal film 12c provided between the substrate 12a and the transparent glass 12b and functioned as a reflector, and a protecting film 12d covering a surface of the transparent glass 12b, namely, a mirror surface. As the antenna element, a patch array antenna 14 is comprised of a transparent electrode material, and formed into the surface of the transparent glass 12b, namely, into mirror surface. Thus, an object existent at a mirror surface side can be monitored without disturbing a field of view. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a radar apparatus, and more particularly to a radar apparatus of a type in which an antenna element is integrated with a mirror.

  In recent years, many radar devices using microwaves and millimeter waves have been proposed. The range of application of such a radar device is various. For example, if it is mounted on an automobile, it is possible not only to accurately detect the distance from the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle, but also to be a driver's blind spot. Pre-crash such as detecting obstacles in the position, for example, diagonally behind or near the bumper to alert the driver, or even detecting the inevitable collision approaching and tightening the seat belt Control can be performed.

  Various proposals have been made as to which part of the vehicle the antenna element used in such a radar device is arranged, but most of them are exterior parts that do not shield radio waves, for example, the positions inside the front and rear bumpers. Most of them. Moreover, although mounting on the side surface is also desired for side surface monitoring, it is difficult to realize because there are few exterior members that do not shield radio waves.

  On the other hand, although not an antenna element used in a radar apparatus, Patent Document 1 proposes a method of arranging an antenna element such as a radio on a window glass (rear glass, side glass, etc.) of a vehicle. However, although the window glass of a vehicle is suitable as a position for arranging a receiving antenna such as a radio, the position of an antenna element for a radar device is particularly arranged because the windshield and the rear glass are inclined upward. Is not necessarily appropriate.

Patent Document 2 proposes a method of incorporating an antenna element such as a radio into a rearview mirror. However, since the mirror is provided with a metal film that serves as a reflector, as described in Patent Document 2, when the antenna element is incorporated into the housing of the mirror, the metal that is the reflection film moves backward. Radio waves are blocked. For this reason, when the antenna element described in Patent Document 2 is applied to a radar apparatus, the front side can be monitored, but the rear side cannot be monitored. Therefore, although this method is also suitable as a position where a receiving antenna such as a radio is arranged, it cannot be applied to a radar for backward confirmation.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-66843 Japanese translation of PCT publication No. 2004-512755

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a radar device that can be suitably used as a radar for confirming the rear of a vehicle such as an automobile.

  A radar apparatus according to the present invention includes a vehicle rearward confirmation device having a mirror surface, an antenna element provided on the mirror surface, and a high-frequency circuit connected to the antenna element, and the antenna element is made of a transparent electrode material. It is configured.

  According to the present invention, since the antenna element made of the transparent electrode material is provided on the mirror surface of the rear confirmation device, it is possible to monitor the object existing on the mirror surface side without disturbing the field of view. Therefore, the radar device according to the present invention is preferably applied to a side mirror or a room mirror for automobiles. If the present invention is applied to a side mirror for an automobile, it is possible to monitor an object existing obliquely rearward as viewed from the driver by a radar. Moreover, if the present invention is applied to a vehicle rearview mirror, an object existing behind the vehicle can be monitored by a radar.

  In this invention, it is preferable that the back confirmation apparatus is provided with the angle change means for changing the angle of a mirror surface. According to this, when the angle of the mirror surface is changed in order to change the visual recognition area, the monitoring position by the radar can be changed in conjunction with this.

  The radar apparatus according to the present invention preferably includes a plurality of antenna elements, and further includes switching means for switching the antenna elements to be used. According to this, by providing a difference in the radiation patterns of a plurality of antennas, it becomes possible to change the monitoring position by switching the antenna elements to be used.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the rear confirmation device is configured to be able to monitor the interior of the vehicle when it is not in use. According to this, it is possible to use not only for backward confirmation during traveling but also for in-vehicle monitoring during parking.

  In this invention, it is preferable that the back confirmation apparatus is comprised so that switching between the normal position which is a use state, and the storage position which is a non-use state is possible. Such a configuration is suitable when the radar device according to the present invention is applied to a side mirror for an automobile, and according to this, when the mirror surface faces the inside of the vehicle by folding the side mirror into the storage position, It becomes possible to monitor a certain object.

  In the present invention, the antenna element preferably forms a beam that is wider in the horizontal direction than in the vertical direction. According to this, when it is used as a radar for backward confirmation, it is possible to monitor a wider area and reduce unnecessary reflection components from the road surface or the like.

  As described above, the radar device according to the present invention is provided with the antenna element made of the transparent electrode material on the mirror surface of the rear confirmation device, so that the object existing on the mirror surface side can be monitored without obstructing the field of view. It becomes. As a result, when applied to a side mirror for an automobile, it is possible to monitor an object existing obliquely behind the driver.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the structure of a side mirror 10 for an automobile, which is a rear confirmation device incorporating a radar device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic exploded perspective view.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the side mirror 10 incorporating the radar device according to the present embodiment includes a housing 11, a mirror main body 12 fitted in the housing 11, and a housing behind the mirror main body 12. 11 and a high-frequency circuit 13 housed in 11. A plurality of patch array antennas 14 are provided on the mirror surface of the mirror main body 12, and the feed line 14 a of the patch array antenna 14 is connected to the high frequency circuit 13. The output of the high frequency circuit 13 is supplied to a controller (not shown). Since the high-frequency circuit 13 is disposed on the back side of the mirror body 12, this does not hinder the visibility.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the structure of the mirror body 12.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the mirror body 12 includes a base 12a made of frosted glass, a transparent glass 12b serving as an optical path, and a metal film 12c provided between the base 12a and the transparent glass 12b and functioning as a reflector. The protective glass 12d covers the surface of the transparent glass 12b, that is, the mirror surface. Here, the “mirror surface” refers to a surface located on the side opposite to the metal film 12c when viewed from the transparent glass 12b. Therefore, in the case where another layer is formed on the surface of the transparent glass 12b, the transparent glass In addition to the surface of 12b, the surface of the other layer is also included in the “mirror surface”.

As shown in FIG. 3, the patch array antenna 14 is formed on the surface of the transparent glass 12b, that is, a mirror surface. The patch array antenna 14 is made of a transparent electrode material. There is no particular limitation on the specific transparent electrode material, ITO or ZnO, a material such as SrCu ₂ O ₂ may be selected. The thickness of the patch array antenna 14 can be set to a very thin value of about several μm. As a result, the patch array antenna 14 hardly disturbs the field of view. Further, the surface of the patch array antenna 14 is covered with a protective film 12d, thereby being physically and chemically protected.

  The patch array antenna 14 preferably has a pattern that forms a wider beam in the horizontal direction than in the vertical direction. This makes it possible to monitor a larger area by forming a wide beam in the horizontal direction, while reducing unwanted reflection components from the road surface etc. by suppressing the spread of the beam in the vertical direction. Because it becomes.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view showing the automobile 19 provided with the side mirror 10 and the monitoring area of the radar device incorporated in the side mirror 10.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the monitoring area 10a of the radar device substantially overlaps the visible area 10b of the driver using the side mirror 10, but has a wider monitoring area in the horizontal direction. For this reason, not only the object which exists in the driver | operator's visually recognizable area 10b using the side mirror 10, but the object which exists outside the driver | operator's visible area 10b can be detected. Since such an area behind the vehicle is an area to be aware of when changing lanes, by attaching such a radar device to the side mirror, the driver can be used especially when changing lanes at high speeds. It is possible to assist.

  The processing when the radar device detects another vehicle or the like at the time of lane change is not particularly limited, and processing such as sounding a warning sound to alert the driver may be performed.

  The monitoring area can be changed by changing the angle of the mirror body 12 or switching the patch array antenna 14 to be used. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, if the side mirror 10 is provided with the angle changing means 15 so that the viewing area can be changed, the monitoring position by the radar can be changed in conjunction with the angle change of the mirror body 12a. Is possible.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, when a plurality of patch array antennas 14 are provided, a difference is provided in the radiation pattern of each patch array antenna 14 and used by the switching means 13 a provided in the high frequency circuit 13. If the patch array antenna 14 to be switched is switched, the monitoring position by the radar can be changed.

  The side mirror 10 for automobiles is preferably foldable when not in use. In other words, it is preferable to be able to switch between the normal position for rearward confirmation shown in FIG. 4 and the storage position folded to the vehicle body side shown in FIG. In this case, when the vehicle is at the normal position shown in FIG. 4, the rear monitoring can be performed as described above, and when the vehicle is at the storage position shown in FIG. 6, the inside of the vehicle can be monitored.

  That is, when the side mirror 10 is folded to the storage position, the mirror surface faces the inside of the vehicle, so that an object in the vehicle can be monitored. The determination of whether the object exists in the vehicle or outside the vehicle may be made based on the distance between the patch array antenna 14 and the object. Alternatively, an object detected by both the left and right patch array antennas 14 can be determined to be an object in the vehicle. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, when the side mirror 10 is folded to the storage position, since the overlapping monitoring area is limited to the inside of the vehicle, the object detected by both patch array antennas 14 is an object existing in the vehicle. It becomes possible to judge that.

  There are various ways of using such in-vehicle monitoring. For example, this can be detected when a suspicious person enters the vehicle during parking, or when a child left in the vehicle goes out of the vehicle. There is no particular limitation on the processing when the intrusion of a suspicious person is detected, and it is only necessary to perform processing such as sounding a warning sound.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Needless to say, it is included in the range.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a side mirror of an automobile has been described. However, it is most preferable to apply to the side mirror as in the above embodiment for rearward monitoring when changing lanes. In order to make it possible to monitor the interior of the vehicle when the present invention is applied to a rearview mirror, the radar monitoring area may be limited to the interior of the vehicle in a non-use state such as when the engine is stopped. .

  In addition, the application target of the present invention is not limited to the automobile backward confirmation device, but can be applied to other uses. However, considering that the antenna element is attached to the mirror side of the rear confirmation device, it can be said that it is most suitable to apply to a rear confirmation mirror used in an automobile.

  In the above embodiment, the interior of the vehicle is monitored when the side mirror 10 is in the retracted position. However, the interior of the vehicle can be monitored using the angle adjustment function of the mirror body 12. For example, when the vehicle is stopped, it is possible to monitor the inside of the vehicle by directing only the mirror main body 12 toward the inside of the vehicle while the side mirror 10 itself is held at the normal position.

  Furthermore, it is possible to monitor not only the interior of the vehicle but also whether or not a suspicious person is approaching the vicinity of the garage by using the radar device according to the present invention. In this case, it is possible to monitor a wide area including the inside of the vehicle by holding the side mirror 10 itself at a normal position and moving the angle of the mirror body 12 periodically or continuously. According to such usage, it is possible to improve crime prevention in the vicinity of the garage.

1 is a schematic perspective view showing a structure of a side mirror 10 for an automobile in which a radar device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is incorporated. 1 is a schematic exploded perspective view showing a structure of a side mirror 10. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a structure of a mirror body 12. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing a vehicle 19 provided with a side mirror 10 and a monitoring area of a radar device incorporated in the side mirror 10. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the mechanism part for changing a monitoring area. It is a typical top view which shows the state by which the side mirror 10 was folded.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Side mirror 10a Monitoring area 10b Visible area 11 Housing | casing 12 Mirror main body 12a Base body 12b Transparent glass 12c Metal film 12d Protective film 13 High frequency circuit 13a Switching means 14 Patch array antenna 14a Feed line 15 Angle changing means 19 Automobile

Claims (6)

  A vehicle rear confirmation device having a mirror surface, an antenna element provided on the mirror surface, and a high-frequency circuit connected to the antenna element, wherein the antenna element is made of a transparent electrode material. Radar equipment.   The radar apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the backward confirmation device includes an angle changing unit for changing an angle of the mirror surface.   3. The radar apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising switching means for switching a plurality of antenna elements to be used.   The radar device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the backward confirmation device is configured to be able to monitor the interior of the vehicle when not in use.   The radar apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the backward confirmation device is configured to be able to switch between a normal position that is in use and a storage position that is not in use. . The radar device according to claim 1, wherein the antenna element forms a beam that is wider in a horizontal direction than in a vertical direction.

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