JP5304393B2 - Radar equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a radar apparatus, and more particularly, to a phased array radar apparatus capable of performing adaptive beam scanning.

  A radar device generally detects the presence of a target by emitting a radio wave into space and receiving a reflected signal from the target, and measures its position, movement status, and the like. The main performance of this radar device is detection performance, position measurement accuracy, tracking performance, and the like.

  In a general radar apparatus, beam scanning is performed on a required spatial region by sequentially changing the direction of a radio wave beam formed by the antenna by mechanically swinging the antenna. In the mechanically rotating radar apparatus, since beam scanning is possible only in the direction in which the antenna is facing, search beam scanning is performed that repeats a constant operation in synchronization with the rotation of the antenna.

  Here, in order to continuously track the target at a predetermined time interval, an upper limit is generally set for the scan time, which is a time required to perform a beam scan for the spatial region to be monitored. Is. Generally, the shorter the tracking time, the better. On the other hand, the time required for beam scanning in one direction is determined by the required detection performance and clutter suppression performance. Generally, the detection frequency and the clutter suppression performance improve as the number of times of radio wave irradiation in one direction increases. However, increasing the number of radio wave irradiations increases the scan time. Accordingly, the specifications of the radar apparatus are determined by comprehensively trade-offing both the scan time and beam scan time conditions.

On the other hand, in recent years, instead of a mechanical swing radar device, the phase of radio waves radiated from each of small antennas arranged on a plane is electrically controlled to synthesize the radio waves from these small antennas. A phased array radar apparatus that performs beam scanning by swiveling and recognizing a beam has been put into practical use. According to this phased array radar apparatus, adaptive beam scanning that instantaneously performs beam scanning in an arbitrary direction can be performed.
By this adaptive beam scanning, for example, tracking beam scanning can be performed in which beam scanning is performed at the predicted target position during tracking. When the search beam scan and the tracking beam scan are combined, the total time of the search beam scan and the tracking beam scan becomes the scan time. If the number of tracking targets is large, the tracking beam scan time increases and the scan time becomes longer. The tracking performance can be improved without significantly increasing the scan time as compared with the case of only the search beam scanning.

  For example, if the tracking beam scan is performed once between the search beam scan and the search beam scan, the target tracking data rate can be doubled. FIG. 4 is a model diagram for explaining the timing of the search beam scan and the tracking beam scan. As shown in FIG. 4, the search beam scan S and the tracking beam scan T are alternately performed. Since the target is detected by detection once for each of the search beam scan and the tracking beam scan during the scan time, it can be seen that the data rate is doubled for the target being tracked.

Search beam scanning scans the spatial area to be monitored in order, but the target in the irradiation range of the search beam scan cannot always be detected. Depending on the small reflection cross-section area of the target or the influence of clutter, etc. It may not be detected. In this regard, the method of transmitting the search beam scanning and the tracking beam scan with the same specifications has a smaller H (Height) / W (Width) configuration of the radar apparatus than the method of transmitting with different specifications. Although the control is simple but the detection performance is equivalent, there is a high possibility that the tracking beam scanning will not be detected unless it is detected by the search beam scanning in the irradiation range.

  From such a viewpoint, there is provided a technique (first related technique) for maintaining tracking by tracking beam scanning when a target being tracked is not detected by search beam scanning (Patent Document 1). As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 5, the radar apparatus 100 according to the first related technique includes a transmission signal input from a transmitter 102 described later and a phase for each element input from a beam scan data generator 103 described later. An antenna element 101A to 101L that irradiates a space with radio waves according to control data such as amplitude to form a beam, and a transmitter 102 that generates a transmission signal that is a source of the radio waves irradiated to the space by the antenna elements 101A to 101L. The beam scanning data generator 103 for generating control data such as phase and gain necessary for forming the beam in a desired direction as a whole by the radio waves irradiated by the antenna elements 101A to 101L, and the antenna elements 101A to 101L. An input analog reception signal is frequency-converted or A / D converted into a digital reception signal, which will be described later. A signal processor 105 that performs signal processing for S / N improvement and unnecessary signal suppression such as pulse compression and pulse Doppler processing, and distance, direction, and detection from the digital received signal after signal processing Detection data belonging to the same target from among the target detector 106 for detecting detection data including information related to the target such as time, and time-series detection data obtained each time radio waves are emitted from the antenna elements 101A to 101L. And a tracking processor 107 that performs processing of outputting tracking data after calculating the predicted position and traveling direction of the target, following the motion of the target, calculating the track quality. Here, the track quality is an index indicating how reliable the tracking data is.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the radar apparatus 100 includes a tracking beam form selector 108 that outputs the number of transmission signals, the direction of transmission, and the like as tracking beam form data from the predicted position information and the track quality from the tracking processor 107. And a beam scanning scheduling unit 109 which performs beam scanning scheduling based on the search beam scanning and tracking beam form data and outputs the beam scheduling information to the beam scanning data creation unit 103.

  According to the radar apparatus 100 having the above-described configuration, the track quality is deteriorated using the track quality as an index with respect to the target being tracked, that is, position measurement which is one of the main performances of the detection and the radar apparatus. When the performance of accuracy decreases and the tracking becomes unstable, the tracking performance can be improved by increasing the number of transmission signals of the tracking beam as shown in the model diagram of FIG.

  However, when the target cannot be detected by the search beam scanning, the radar apparatus 100 according to the first related technique has the wake quality temporarily until the tracking beam scan of the specification with improved detection performance is performed at the next timing. (First problem). The reason for this is that the beam scanning with improved tracking performance is performed with the tracking beam scanning as an indicator that the track quality after tracking processing will deteriorate when the tracking cannot be detected. This is because a time delay occurs. Further, the radar apparatus 100 has a problem that the wake quality is temporarily lowered when detection data having a low S / N is obtained (second problem). The reason is described below. The S / N is an important factor that determines the position measurement accuracy, and the position measurement accuracy of detection data with a low S / N is generally deteriorated. As a result, detection data with a low S / N is obtained. Wake quality deteriorates. Then, since the beam scanning of the specifications with improved detection performance by the tracking beam scanning is performed using the deterioration of the wake quality as an index, it takes time to obtain good detection data as in the case of the first problem. This is because a delay occurs.

  As another radar apparatus, a technique (second related technique) is provided in which the reliability of target information in angle measurement processing is improved to improve tracking performance (Patent Document 2). As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 7, the radar apparatus 200 according to the second related technology basically includes an antenna apparatus 201, a signal processing apparatus 202, and a beam control apparatus 203. The signal processing apparatus 202 is configured to detect a target. / An angle measurement processing unit 221, an angle measurement data reliability determination unit 222, and a track tracking processing unit 223. The beam control device 203 includes a beam search direction, elevation angle calculation unit 231, and a beam scan scheduling unit. 232.

  According to the radar apparatus 200 configured as described above, assuming that the search mode and the tracking mode are scheduled as originally in the beam scanning scheduling unit 232 of the beam control apparatus 203, for example, reception by the search beam of the azimuth θ1. The signal is processed by the target detection / angle measurement processing unit 221 of the signal processing device 202, and the angle measurement data of the detected target information is input to the angle measurement data reliability determination unit 222. If the reliability determination unit 222 determines that the input angle measurement processing data is not reliable, it causes the track tracking processing unit 223 to perform hold processing and notifies the beam scanning scheduling unit 232 that there is no reliability. do.

  The beam scanning scheduling unit 232 stores the notified azimuth θ1 and elevation angle φ1, and schedules the search beam to be directed to the azimuth θ1 and elevation angle φ1 again at the next timing of the search beam of the azimuth θ1. As a result, the azimuth and elevation angle are calculated so that the beam search azimuth / elevation angle calculation unit 231 can measure the angle of the beam again, and the determination result of the reliability determination unit 222 of the angle measurement processing data indicates the reliable measurement. When the corner processing data is obtained, a reliable notification is issued to the track tracking processing unit 223, and the track tracking processing unit 223 performs the track tracking processing using the target information obtained by releasing the hold. Therefore, when the angle measurement data for the detected target is unreliable data, the reliability of the target information in the angle measurement process can be improved and the tracking performance can be improved.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-273522 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 04-328481

By the way, since the radar apparatus according to the second related technology is configured to perform beam irradiation with the same transmission specifications in the same direction as the detected target, if the target cannot be detected by the search beam scanning, There is a problem that beam scanning cannot be performed.
That is, in the radar device 200, as is apparent from FIG. 7, the output of the track tracking processing unit 223 of the signal processing device 202 is not input to the beam scanning scheduling unit 232 of the beam control device 203, and the search beam scanning is performed again. When performing, the beam irradiation is performed in exactly the same direction as the first search beam scanning, not the predicted position obtained from the tracking process.

In addition, since the radar apparatus according to the related technology does not have a function to change the beam specifications, when the search data that can be detected by the first search beam scan and the reliability is low, the search beam scan is performed again. There is a problem that it is highly possible that only angle measurement processing data with low reliability can be obtained.
That is, in the radar apparatus 200 according to the related art 2, as apparent from FIG. 7, the beam specification selector 11 is not provided, so the transmission specification is changed (the specification is changed so that the detection performance is increased). ) Since the function cannot be exhibited, the possibility of obtaining highly reliable angle measurement processing data is reduced even when the search beam scan is performed again as described above.
Therefore, the radar apparatus according to Related Technology 2 cannot avoid the problem that the tracking performance is low.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and prevents deterioration in wake quality even when detection cannot be performed by search beam scanning or detection data having a low S / N is obtained by search beam scanning. It is another object of the present invention to provide a radar apparatus that can prevent a decrease in tracking performance.

  A first configuration of the present invention relates to a radar apparatus, and is arranged in a planar shape, irradiates and receives radio waves, a plurality of antenna elements, and radio waves emitted from each antenna element form a beam in a desired direction as a whole. A beam scanning data generator for generating control data including at least a phase and a gain, and time-series detection data including information on a target from a reception signal obtained each time a radio wave is emitted from the antenna element. Extract target detection data belonging to the same target from the target detector and the time-series detection data, calculate the predicted position and traveling direction of the target, follow the movement of the target, and output tracking data Based on the tracking processor and the input tracking data, the timing of tracking beam scanning is determined, and the scanning beam scanning and tracking beam scanning time allocation is performed. The first beam scanning scheduling unit that outputs scheduling data, the predicted position of the target being searched for scanning beam input from the tracking processing unit, and the target detection data are compared, and A detection data validity determination unit that determines whether or not the target is effectively detected as the target detection data, and a prediction when the detection data validity determination unit determines that there is no valid target detection data When it is determined that there is no effective target detection data by the beam specification selector that calculates and outputs the transmission specifications of the beam for re-searching that immediately irradiates the position, and the detection data validity determination unit, With respect to the scheduling data output from the first beam scanning scheduler, the beam parameters of the re-search beam calculated by the beam specification selector are used. Based on the data, and characterized in that it comprises a second beam scan scheduling for outputting a re-scheduling data re-scheduled again to the beam scanning data generator, a.

  A second configuration of the present invention relates to a target tracking method by a radar apparatus, and at least a phase for radio waves radiated from each of a plurality of antenna elements arranged in a plane form a beam in a desired direction as a whole, and Beam scanning data creation processing for creating control data including gain in time series, and target detection processing for detecting time series detection data including information on the target from a received signal obtained each time a radio wave is emitted from the antenna element. Tracking processing for extracting target detection data belonging to the same target from the time-series detection data, calculating a predicted position and a traveling direction of the target, following the movement of the target, and outputting tracking data; The tracking beam scanning timing is determined based on the input tracking data, the scanning beam scanning time and the tracking beam scanning time are allocated, and scanning is performed. The first beam scanning scheduling process for outputting the juling data, the predicted position at the time of the search beam scanning of the target being calculated calculated by the tracking processor is compared with the target detection data, and tracking is being performed. When it is determined that there is no valid target detection data in the detection data validity determination process for determining whether or not the target is effectively detected as the target detection data, and the detection data validity determination process, When it is determined that there is no effective target detection data in the beam specification selection process that calculates and outputs the transmission specifications of the beam for re-searching that immediately irradiates the predicted position, and the detection data validity determination process The re-search beam calculated in the beam specification selection process for the scheduling data output in the first beam scan scheduling process Based on the beam specification data, it is characterized by comprising a second beam scanning scheduling process of outputting the re-scheduling data re-scheduled again to the beam scanning data generator, a.

  According to the radar apparatus of the present invention, when detection is not possible by search beam scanning or when detection data having a low S / N is obtained by search beam scanning, the tracking process is performed to wait for the wake quality to deteriorate. In addition, the re-search beam with improved necessary detection performance is irradiated only in that direction immediately after the search beam scan. If the search beam scan cannot be detected or the S / N is Even when low detection data is obtained, tracking processing can be performed with good detection data obtained by beam scanning for re-searching, so that deterioration in track quality can be prevented, and tracking performance is reduced. Can be prevented.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a radar apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a model figure explaining the timing of search beam scanning and tracking beam scanning by the radar apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the radar apparatus which is 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a model figure explaining the timing of the search beam scanning and tracking beam scanning for increasing a data rate in a radar apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the conventional radar apparatus. It is a model figure explaining the timing of search beam scanning and tracking beam scanning by the radar apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the other conventional radar apparatus.

  The radar apparatus according to this embodiment includes a plurality of antenna elements that are arranged in a plane, radiate and receive radio waves, and at least a phase for radio waves emitted from the antenna elements to form a beam in a desired direction as a whole. Detects time-series detection data including distance, direction, and detection time information related to the target from a beam scanning data generator that generates control data including gain and a received signal that is obtained each time a radio wave is emitted from the antenna element. The target detection data belonging to the same target is extracted from the target detector and the time-series detection data, the predicted position and the traveling direction of the target are calculated, the movement of the target is followed, and the wake quality is calculated. After that, the tracking processor for outputting the tracking data and the timing of the tracking beam scanning are determined based on the input tracking data, and the search beam scanning and tracking are performed. A first beam scan scheduling unit that assigns scanning time for a group scan and outputs scheduling data; an S / N calculator that calculates an S / N at the time of detection for the target detection data; and the tracking By comparing the target detection data with the predicted position at the time of the search beam scanning of the target input from the processor, the target being detected is detected as the target detection data, and the S / N is a constant value. When it is determined that there is no effective target detection data by the detection data validity determination unit that determines whether or not the above is the case, it is for re-searching that immediately irradiates the predicted position. When it is determined that there is no valid target detection data by a beam specification selector that calculates and outputs a beam transmission specification, and the detection data validity determination unit, the first beam scanning schedule is determined. The scheduling data output from the receiver is rescheduled based on the beam specification data of the re-search beam calculated by the beam specification selector, and the scheduling data is re-scheduled. The problem of the present invention can be solved by including the second beam scan scheduling unit that outputs to the scan data creation unit.

It is preferable that the beam specification selector selects a beam transmission specification that contributes to an improvement in detection performance of the apparatus and performs beam scanning for re-search.
Specifically, the beam specification selector increases the transmission pulse width, increases the number of transmission signals, and / or increases the transmission power, thereby improving the transmission characteristics of the beam that contributes to improvement in detection performance of the apparatus. It is preferable to select a source and perform a re-search beam scan.

Embodiment 1

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the radar apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a model diagram for explaining the timing of search beam scanning and tracking beam scanning by the radar apparatus.
The radar apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment relates to a phased array radar apparatus capable of performing adaptive beam scanning. As shown in FIG. 1, antenna elements 1A to 1L, a transmitter 2, and beam scanning data creation are performed. 3, receiver 4, signal processor 5, target detector 6, detection data determiner 7, S / N calculator 8, tracking processor 9, and first beam scan scheduler 10. A beam specification selector 11 and a second beam scan scheduling unit 12.

  Here, the antenna elements 1 </ b> A to 1 </ b> L are controlled with respect to the space by control information such as phase and gain for each antenna element 1 </ b> A to 1 </ b> L input from the beam scanning data generator 3 and a transmission signal input from the transmitter 2. Irradiate radio waves to form a beam. The transmitter 2 generates a transmission signal that is a source of radio waves irradiated to the space by the antenna elements 1A to 1L. The beam scanning data generator 3 generates control data such as phase and gain necessary for forming a beam in a desired direction as a whole by the radio waves irradiated by the antenna elements 1A to 1L. The receiver 4 performs frequency conversion and A / D conversion on the analog reception signals input from the antenna elements 1A to 1L and outputs the analog reception signals to the signal processor 5 as digital reception signals. The signal processor 5 performs signal processing for S / N improvement and unnecessary signal suppression such as pulse compression and pulse Doppler processing.

  The target detector 6 detects detection data including information on the target such as distance, azimuth, and detection time from the digital received signal after signal processing. The detection data determination unit 7 compares the detected position of the tracking target inputted during tracking with the search beam input from the tracking processing unit 9 with the detected detection data, and detects the tracking target as detection data. It is determined whether / N is a certain value or more. The S / N calculator 8 calculates the S / N at the time of detection for the detected detection data. The tracking processor 9 extracts detection data belonging to the same target from time-series detection data obtained each time radio waves are emitted from the antenna elements 1A to 1L, and determines the predicted position and traveling direction of the target. After calculating and following the movement of the target and calculating the wake quality, a process of outputting tracking data is performed.

  Further, the first beam scanning scheduling unit 10 determines the tracking beam scanning timing based on the tracking data input from the tracking processing unit 9, assigns the scanning time of the search beam scanning and the tracking beam scanning, and obtains the scheduling data. Output. When it is determined by the detection data determination unit 7 that there is no valid detection data, the beam specification selector 11 selects the transmission specification of the beam for re-searching that immediately irradiates the predicted position, and sets the beam specification data. Output. Here, it is assumed that the transmission specifications of the re-search beam improve the detection performance by means capable of the radar apparatus such as increasing the transmission pulse width, increasing the number of transmission signals, and increasing the transmission power. Further, when there is no detection data, an appropriate specification according to S / N is selected as the specification having the highest detection performance.

The second beam scan scheduling unit 12 reschedules the scheduling data output from the first beam scan scheduling unit 10 with the beam specification data, and obtains the final scheduling data as the beam scanning data creation unit 3. Output to. Here, it is assumed that the transmission specifications of the beam for re-searching improve the detection performance by means capable of the radar apparatus such as increasing the transmission pulse width, increasing the number of transmission signals, and increasing the transmission power. In addition, when there is no detection data, the specification having the highest detection performance is selected, and an appropriate specification according to the S / N is selected.

Next, the operation of the radar apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment will be described.
First, the antenna elements 1 </ b> A to 1 </ b> L transmit radio waves to the space by control information such as phase and gain for each antenna element 1 </ b> A to 1 </ b> L input from the beam scanning data generator 3 and a transmission signal input from the transmitter 2. To form a beam. Next, the antenna elements 1 </ b> A to 1 </ b> L receive an analog reception signal that is a reflection signal from the target, and output it to the receiver 4. Next, the receiver 4 frequency-converts or A / D-converts the input analog reception signal and outputs it to the signal processor 5 as a digital reception signal. Next, the signal processor 5 performs signal processing for S / N improvement and unnecessary signal suppression such as pulse compression and pulse Doppler processing on the input digital reception signal, and outputs it to the target detector 6.

  Next, the target detector 6 detects detection data including information on the target such as distance, azimuth, and detection time from the digital received signal after the signal processing, and detects the detection data determiner 7 and the S / N calculator 8. Output to. Next, the S / N calculator 8 calculates the S / N at the time of detection for the detected detection data and outputs it to the detection data determination unit 7. The tracking processor 9 extracts detection data belonging to the same target from time-series detection data obtained each time radio waves are emitted from the antenna elements 1A to 1L, and determines the predicted position and traveling direction of the target. After calculating and following the movement of the target and calculating the track quality, tracking data is output. Next, the detection data determination unit 7 compares the predicted position of the tracking target input during the search beam input from the tracking processing unit 9 with the detected detection data, and the target being tracked is detected as detection data. It is determined whether or not S / N is equal to or greater than a certain value, and the result is output to the beam specification selector 11.

  The first beam scanning scheduling unit 10 determines the tracking beam scanning timing based on the tracking data input from the tracking processing unit 9, assigns the scanning time of the search beam scanning and the tracking beam scanning, and sets the scheduling data as the second data. Are output to the beam scan scheduling unit 12. When it is determined by the detection data determination unit 7 that there is no effective detection data, the beam specification selector 11 selects the transmission specification of the beam for re-searching that immediately irradiates the predicted position, and selects the beam specification data. This is output to the second beam scan scheduling unit 12. As described above, the transmission parameters of the re-search beam are to improve the detection performance by means capable of the radar device such as increasing the transmission pulse width, increasing the number of transmission signals, increasing the transmission power, etc. To do. In addition, when there is no detection data, the specification having the highest detection performance is selected, and an appropriate specification according to the S / N is selected.

  Next, the second beam scanning scheduling unit 12 reschedules the scheduling data output from the first beam scanning scheduling unit 10 with the beam specification data, and obtains the final scheduling data as the beam scanning data. Output to the generator 3.

  As shown in FIG. 2, as is clear from the model diagram for explaining the timing of the search beam scan and the re-search beam scan by the radar apparatus 1 of the first embodiment, According to the radar apparatus 1, when a search beam cannot be detected, the search data can be obtained with less time delay than the tracking beam scan by immediately performing a re-search beam scan with improved detection performance. it can.

  As described above, according to the radar device 1 of the first embodiment, when the search beam scanning cannot be performed or when the detection data having a low S / N is obtained by the search beam scanning, the tracking process is performed. When the search beam scan cannot be detected because the re-search beam with improved detection performance is irradiated immediately in the direction without waiting for the wake quality to deteriorate. Even if detection data with a low S / N is obtained by search beam scanning, tracking processing can be performed with good detection data obtained by re-search beam scanning, thus preventing deterioration in track quality In addition, it is possible to prevent the tracking performance from being lowered.

Embodiment 2

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a radar apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The configuration of the radar apparatus according to the second embodiment is greatly different from that of the first embodiment described above, in order to prevent a decrease in wake quality even when the detection performance is deteriorated by the clutter. It is the point which provided the vessel.
Generally, in the radar apparatus, when the detection performance is deteriorated due to the influence of clutter, it is because the amplitude of the clutter is larger than the noise and the S / C is smaller than the S / N. Here, C represents the amplitude value of the clutter. Therefore, the radar apparatus according to the second embodiment is configured to take countermeasures against clutter.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the radar apparatus 20 of the second embodiment has a clutter region between the signal processor 5 and the beam specification selector 11 in addition to the configuration of the radar apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. A detector 13 is provided. Other than this, the second embodiment is substantially the same as the first embodiment described above. Therefore, in FIG. 3, the same reference numerals are given to the respective parts corresponding to the constituent parts in FIG. 1, and the description thereof is omitted.

  The clutter region detector 13 detects a region where clutter exists in the spatial region from the digital received signal. When the predicted position of the target being tracked is within the clutter region, the beam specification selector 11 selects a beam specification having a high clutter suppression performance and performs beam scanning for re-search. As a beam specification for improving the clutter suppression performance, for example, by performing pulse Doppler processing with a pulse repetition frequency higher than that of search beam scanning, the resolution on the Doppler frequency axis is improved and S / C Is improved. By doing so, even when the search performance of the search beam is deteriorated due to the influence of clutter, it is possible to avoid deterioration of the wake quality and improve the tracking performance.

As described above, according to the radar apparatus 20 of the second embodiment, substantially the same effect as that of the radar apparatus 1 of the first embodiment can be obtained, and in particular, deterioration in detection performance due to the influence of clutter can be prevented. The effect that it is possible can be acquired.
As described above, the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and there are design changes and the like within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention. However, it is included in this invention. For example, if the cross section of the irradiation beam is not a point but has a certain extent, and the (second) search beam is irradiated immediately after the (first) search beam irradiation, the predicted position Recalculation of is unnecessary. However, recalculation may be performed as necessary. Even if the beam is irradiated to the predicted position, it can be detected over a range centered on the predicted position.

  Any phased array radar apparatus capable of performing adaptive beam scanning that instantaneously performs beam scanning in any direction can be applied regardless of the detailed configuration.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,20 Radar apparatus 1A-1L Antenna element 3 Beam scanning data preparation device 4 Receiver 5 Signal processor 6 Target detector 7 Detection data determination device (detection data validity determination device)
8 S / N calculator 9 Tracking processor 10 First beam scan scheduler 11 Beam specification selector 12 Second beam scan scheduler 13 Clutter region detector

Claims (9)

A plurality of antenna elements arranged in a plane and receiving and receiving radio waves;
A beam scanning data generator for generating control data including at least a phase and a gain for forming a beam in a desired direction as a whole by radio waves emitted from each antenna element;
A target detector for detecting time-series detection data including information on a target from a received signal obtained each time a radio wave is irradiated from the antenna element;
A tracking processor that extracts target detection data belonging to the same target from the time series detection data, calculates a predicted position and a traveling direction of the target, tracks the movement of the target, and outputs tracking data;
A first beam scan scheduling unit for determining timing of tracking beam scanning based on the input tracking data, assigning scanning time of search beam scanning and tracking beam scanning, and outputting scheduling data;
Whether the target under tracking is effectively detected as the target detection data by comparing the target detection data with the predicted position at the time of the search beam scanning of the target under tracking input from the tracking processor A detection data validity determiner for determining
A beam specification selector for calculating and outputting the transmission parameters of a re-search beam that immediately irradiates the predicted position when it is determined that there is no valid target detection data by the detection data validity determination device; ,
When the detection data validity determination unit determines that there is no effective target detection data, the beam specification selector calculates the scheduling data output from the first beam scan scheduling unit. A second beam scanning scheduler for rescheduling and outputting the re-scheduling data to the beam scanning data generator based on the beam specification data of the re-searched beam,
A radar apparatus comprising: A plurality of antenna elements arranged in a plane and receiving and receiving radio waves;
A beam scanning data generator for generating control data including at least a phase and a gain for forming a beam in a desired direction as a whole by radio waves emitted from each antenna element;
A target detector for detecting time-series detection data including distance, direction, and detection time information related to the target from a reception signal obtained each time radio waves are emitted from the antenna element;
Extracting target detection data belonging to the same target from the time series detection data, calculating the predicted position and traveling direction of the target to follow the movement of the target, calculating the track quality, and then tracking data A tracking processor to output,
A first beam scan scheduling unit for determining timing of tracking beam scanning based on the input tracking data, assigning scanning time of search beam scanning and tracking beam scanning, and outputting scheduling data;
An S / N calculator for calculating an S / N at the time of detection for the target detection data;
By comparing the target detection data with the predicted position at the time of the search beam scanning of the target being input, which is input from the tracking processor, the target being tracked is detected as the target detection data and S / N is A detection data validity determiner for determining whether or not a certain value or more;
A beam specification selector for calculating and outputting the transmission parameters of a re-search beam that immediately irradiates the predicted position when it is determined that there is no valid target detection data by the detection data validity determination device; ,
When the detection data validity determination unit determines that there is no effective target detection data, the beam specification selector calculates the scheduling data output from the first beam scan scheduling unit. A second beam scanning scheduler for rescheduling and outputting the re-scheduling data to the beam scanning data generator based on the beam specification data of the re-searched beam,
A radar apparatus comprising:   3. The radar apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the beam specification selector selects a transmission specification of the beam that contributes to an improvement in detection performance of the apparatus and performs beam scanning for re-searching. .   The beam specification selector selects a transmission specification of the beam that contributes to improvement of detection performance of the apparatus by increasing a transmission pulse width, increasing the number of transmission signals, and / or increasing transmission power. 3. The radar apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a beam scan for re-searching is performed. A signal processor for performing signal processing for S / N improvement and unnecessary signal suppression;
The radar apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the target detector detects the detection data from a digital reception signal after signal processing by the signal processor.   The clutter region detector for detecting a region where clutter exists in a spatial region based on the digital received signal is added between the signal processor and the beam specification selector. 5. The radar device according to 5.   When the predicted position of the target being tracked is within an area where the clutter exists, the beam specification selector selects a transmission specification of the beam having a high clutter suppression performance and performs a re-search beam The radar apparatus according to claim 6, wherein scanning is performed.   3. The radar apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the radar apparatus is a phased array radar apparatus capable of performing adaptive beam scanning. Beam scanning data creation processing for creating, in time series, control data including at least a phase and a gain for radio waves emitted from each of a plurality of antenna elements arranged in a plane to form a beam in a desired direction as a whole;
Target detection processing for detecting time-series detection data including information on a target from a received signal obtained each time radio waves are emitted from the antenna element;
Extracting target detection data belonging to the same target from the time-series detection data, calculating a predicted position and a traveling direction of the target to track the movement of the target, and outputting tracking data;
A first beam scanning scheduling process for determining tracking beam scanning timing based on the input tracking data, assigning scanning beam scanning and tracking beam scanning scanning times, and outputting scheduling data;
Whether the target being tracked is effectively detected as the target detection data by comparing the target detection data with the predicted position at the time of search beam scanning of the target being tracked calculated by the tracking processor Detection data validity determination processing for determining whether or not
When it is determined that there is no effective target detection data in the detection data validity determination processing, beam specification selection processing for calculating and outputting the transmission parameters of the beam for re-searching that immediately irradiates the predicted position; and ,
When it is determined in the detection data validity determination process that there is no effective target detection data, the beam data selection process is performed on the scheduling data output in the first beam scan scheduling process. A second beam scanning scheduling process for re-scheduling and outputting the re-scheduling data to the beam scanning data generator based on the calculated beam specification data of the re-search beam. A target tracking method using a radar device.

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