JP6516160B2 - Vehicle equipped with radar device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle provided with a radar device, and more particularly to a vehicle provided with a radar device for detecting an object.

  Conventionally, in order to detect an object or an obstacle (another vehicle, a structure, a pedestrian, etc.) outside the vehicle, the vehicle is provided with a plurality of detection devices. For example, the vehicle described in Patent Document 1 is provided with a plurality of detection devices (a front camera, two rear radar devices, and a rear camera) corresponding to a plurality of measurement ranges in association with the lane change support device.

  When a radio wave type radar device using millimeter waves or microwaves is used as a detection device, the antenna is disposed in a place where it can not be seen from the outside so as not to damage the appearance of the vehicle. Specifically, for example, the front antenna of the front radar device for measuring the front of the vehicle can be arranged in a dedicated radome provided around the front grille of the vehicle, and for measuring the rear side of the vehicle The rear antenna of the rear radar device can be disposed in the space between the rear bumper and the rear end panel on both left and right sides of the vehicle.

JP, 2014-191632, A

  By the way, the object to be detected differs depending on the traveling state of the vehicle. For this reason, it is necessary to provide a plurality of detection devices corresponding to different detection objects. For example, when traveling at low speed such as parking or starting, it is necessary to detect an object present in a short distance and a wide field of view, but when traveling at high speed it is necessary to detect an object existing in a long distance and a narrow field of view is there.

  However, when many detection devices such as radar devices are provided corresponding to different detection objects, it is difficult to arrange the detection devices so that the detection performance is sufficiently exhibited at an appropriate position of the vehicle. As a result, there is a problem that the cost is significantly increased. Further, in order to further enhance the safety, it is considered to widen the detection range, and it becomes an issue to secure a place for appropriately arranging an additional detection device for that purpose and to suppress an increase in cost.

  For example, since the forward radar device is used in conjunction with an automatic steering operation system, it is designed to a specification suitable for detecting a relatively long distance object with high accuracy measurement. Further, since the rear radar device is used in conjunction with a warning system for the driver, the rear radar device is designed to a specification suitable for detecting an object located within a relatively wide angle range.

  And although the front antenna of the front radar device may be disposed in a dedicated radome provided around the front grille of the vehicle, the dedicated radome is expensive and may impair the appearance of the vehicle. In addition, although the rear antenna of the rear radar device exhibits sufficient measurement performance by itself, radio waves emitted from the rear antenna are likely to be diffusely reflected in a narrow space between the rear bumper and the rear end panel, and interference caused by the diffuse reflection. There were cases where the measurement performance was degraded by the waves. In this case, in order to suppress interference waves, it is necessary to take measures to improve the mounting position accuracy or separately provide an interference suppressing member around the rear antenna, but it is often difficult in a narrow internal space. .

  Therefore, it may be considered to miniaturize the antenna itself in order to be able to be arranged in a limited narrow space, but since the antenna performance decreases as the antenna area decreases, sufficient measurement performance can be obtained when the antenna is miniaturized. There is a risk of disappearing.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and has a radar device capable of detecting an object according to the traveling state of a vehicle without providing a large number of detection devices. The purpose is to provide a vehicle.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a vehicle provided with a radar device for detecting an object, the radar device comprising an antenna, a transmitting and receiving circuit for transmitting and receiving radio waves by the antenna, and the transmitting and receiving circuit A control circuit for controlling the antenna, the antenna comprising a flexible film and a plurality of antenna elements provided on the flexible film, wherein the antenna is configured as a flexible planar antenna The control circuit controls the transmission / reception circuit to select an antenna element to be used among a plurality of antenna elements of the antenna and change a beam pattern of radio waves transmitted by the antenna according to a traveling state of the vehicle. The antenna is configured to be usable by dividing a plurality of antenna elements into a plurality of antenna areas, and the control circuit is configured to include one or more of the plurality of antenna areas. Select antenna area, and controls the transceiver circuit so as to transmit and receive radio waves using an antenna area selected, the antenna, the side walls and the surface on the vehicle lower side extending in a vertical direction of the front bumper and / or a rear bumper of the vehicle And the plurality of antenna areas are respectively set to the side wall and the bottom wall, and the control circuit is configured to set the antenna area of the bottom wall when the vehicle speed is less than a predetermined speed threshold. The radio wave is transmitted to the lower side of the vehicle by selecting .

  According to the present invention configured as described above, an appropriate antenna element is selected by the control circuit from among the plurality of antenna elements constituting the antenna according to the traveling state of the vehicle. In the present invention, since the antenna is configured as a flat antenna having flexibility, it can be attached to the surface of a bumper member of a vehicle, other resin molded parts, glass parts, etc. It is easy to install and can be enlarged. In particular, since the bumper member has a large surface area, a large area antenna can be attached.

  Conventionally, for example, in a vehicle front radar device that measures the front of a vehicle, the mounting space is limited to a very small space, so the antenna area of the front antenna (the antenna element is formed on a rigid substrate) is small. The selective partial use of the antenna element in the antenna can not ensure predetermined antenna performance, so that such partial use has not been possible. However, according to the present invention, it is possible to increase the area of the antenna, and accordingly, it has become possible to secure predetermined antenna performance even if a part of the antenna is selectively used.

  Therefore, in the present invention, an appropriate antenna element is selected from the plurality of antenna elements according to the traveling state of the vehicle, that is, the traveling scene (for example, at low speed, at high speed, at reverse, at turning). By using it, an object can be detected appropriately. Further, according to the present invention, it is not necessary to separately provide a detection device according to the application for each traveling scene, and a system configuration using substantially one antenna can be realized, so that the cost can be reduced. .

Further, according to the present invention, by dividing the antenna into a plurality of antenna areas, it is possible to virtually have a plurality of sub-antennas, and accordingly, the antenna area (sub-antennas) can be appropriately selected according to the traveling state. By selecting it, the antenna element to be used can be selected.
Conventionally, the measurement range of the radar device extends horizontally from the vehicle, and does not include the road surface near the vehicle as the measurement range. For this reason, it was not possible to detect a ditch or a cliff (step) existing in the vicinity of the vehicle. However, in the present invention, the antenna area set on the side wall of the bumper member not only can detect an object present in the horizontal direction of the vehicle, but the antenna area set on the bottom wall of the bumper member The lower part in the vicinity (that is, the road surface) can be used as the measurement range. As a result, in the present invention, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of vehicle troubles due to grooves or cliffs (steps).

In the present invention, preferably, the beam pattern is changed by changing a selected antenna area among a plurality of antenna areas.
According to the present invention configured as described above, it is possible to easily change to a desired beam pattern by appropriately selecting the antenna area according to the traveling state.

In the present invention, preferably, the antenna is attached at least to one or both of the front bumper and the rear bumper of the vehicle.
According to the present invention configured as described above, since the front bumper and the rear bumper have a large surface area, it is possible to attach a large-area flexible antenna, which can improve antenna performance. .

  Further, in the present invention, since a plurality of antenna areas are set in the width direction and the vertical direction of the bumper member, it is possible to select the antenna areas at a plurality of places in the width direction. It is also possible to select an antenna area. Therefore, it is also possible to use beam patterns with antenna areas up and down, for example, forward or backward, and to set their directivity differently.

In the present invention, preferably, the control circuit determines the traveling state of the vehicle based on at least one of a vehicle speed of the vehicle, a gear position, a steering angle of a steering wheel, presence or absence of a brake operation, and an accelerator opening degree.
According to the present invention configured as described above, it is possible to set an appropriate beam pattern according to the speed, the traveling direction, the turning direction, and the acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle provided with a radar device capable of detecting an object according to the traveling state of the vehicle without providing a large number of detection devices.

It is an explanatory view of a vehicle of an embodiment of the present invention. It is an electric block diagram of a radar installation of an embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing of the radar apparatus of embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the attachment state of the film antenna part of the radar apparatus of embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the example of various division | segmentation use of the antenna in the radar apparatus of embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the beam pattern at the time of low speed driving | running | working in the radar apparatus of embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the beam pattern at the time of high-speed driving | running | working in the radar apparatus of embodiment of this invention. It is an explanatory view showing a beam pattern at the time of retreat in a radar installation of an embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the beam pattern in driving | running | working in the radar apparatus based on the modification of embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the high precision measurement mode in the radar apparatus of embodiment of this invention. It is an explanatory view of antenna arrangement in a radar installation concerning a modification of an embodiment of the present invention. It is an explanatory view of arrangement of a film antenna section in a radar installation concerning a modification of an embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing of the electric power transmission in the radar apparatus of FIG. 12, and signal transmission.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
First, a schematic configuration of a vehicle provided with a radar device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is an explanatory view of a vehicle, FIG. 2 is an electric block diagram of a radar device, FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a radar device, and FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing an attached state of a film antenna unit of the radar device.
As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 1 is provided with bumper members 10 and 11 (front bumper 10 and rear bumper 11) which are resin molded parts having radio wave permeability, and the film of the radar device 30 is provided inside each bumper member. The antenna unit 31 is attached.

  The radar device 30 of the present embodiment is a millimeter wave radar (for example, frequency 76 GHz to 77 GHz), transmits radio waves (measurement waves) from the film antenna unit 31, and transmits an object (for example, another vehicle, a road fixed structure, The radio wave (reflected wave) reflected by the pedestrian) is received by the antenna 32, and the relative distance between the object and the vehicle 1 and the relative velocity of the object are measured. The vehicle is not limited to four-wheeled vehicles, but includes traveling bodies such as two-wheeled vehicles and bicycles. Further, the radar device 30 is not limited to the millimeter wave radar, and may be configured by a microwave radar.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the radar device 30 includes a film antenna unit 31 and a controller (control circuit) 40, which are connected by electrical wiring. The film antenna unit 31 includes an antenna 32 and an RF circuit (transmission / reception circuit) 37. As shown in FIG. 3, the antenna 32 includes a film substrate 33, a large number of antenna elements 34 regularly formed at predetermined intervals on a surface (surface) of one side of the film substrate 33, and the other side of the film substrate 33. A ground portion 35 made of metal foil formed on the surface (rear surface) and an RF circuit 37 are provided. In addition, only one antenna 32 may be arrange | positioned in each bumper member, and it may be divided | segmented into plurality and arrange | positioned.

  The antenna 32 is configured as a planar antenna (microstrip patch antenna) having a large number of antenna elements 34. The film substrate 33 is a dielectric substrate formed of a flexible resin material. Therefore, the antenna 32 has flexibility as a whole. Therefore, the antenna 32 can be closely attached to the inner side surface of the bumper member 10 in a state of being bent along the curved surface of the bumper members 10 and 11 (see FIG. 4). For example, the antenna 32 can be attached by bonding means such as an adhesive.

  In the present embodiment, the antenna 32 is attached so as to extend over the whole of the bumper members 10, 11 in the vehicle width direction. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it may be separately disposed at a central portion in the width direction of each bumper member and at two places (total three places) of left and right side parts or plural places of left and right side parts.

  The antenna elements 34 are made of a substantially rectangular conductive metal foil, and are formed on the film substrate 33 at equal intervals in the vertical and horizontal directions (see FIGS. 3 and 4). An electrical signal line 36 extending from the RF circuit 37 and penetrating the film substrate 33 is connected to each antenna element 34 at a feed point. Each antenna element 34 is in close contact with the surface of the bumper member via the bonding means in a state where the film antenna unit 31 is attached to the bumper member.

  The antenna element 34 is provided separately for the element dedicated to transmission and the element dedicated to reception, the transmission antenna 32a is configured by a plurality of elements dedicated to transmission, and the reception antenna 32b is configured by a plurality of elements dedicated to reception. It is configured (see FIG. 2). For example, the row of transmitting antenna elements 34 and the row of receiving antenna elements 34 are alternately set on the film substrate 33 for each row. Therefore, the transmitting and receiving antenna elements 34 are mixedly set on the film substrate 33. The transmitting terminal of the RF circuit 37 is connected to the transmitting antenna element 34, and the receiving terminal of the RF circuit 37 is connected to the receiving antenna element 34. In the present embodiment, the antenna element 34 is set so as to distinguish functions for transmission and reception, but the present invention is not limited to this, and an RF circuit so as to make each antenna element 34 be an antenna element for both transmission and reception. You may change 37.

  The RF circuit 37 is configured as a chip component 37a by arranging a voltage control oscillator, a coupler, a mixer, an amplifier, a filter circuit and the like on an electronic substrate. The chip component 37a is disposed on the back surface of the film substrate 33, and is integrally connected to the film substrate 33 in a state of being electrically connected to the electrical signal line 36 and covered with a protective coating layer. The RF circuit 37 receives a transmission command from the controller 40 via the electrical signal line 45, and outputs a high frequency measurement wave from the transmission antenna 32a based on the transmission command, and the detection wave received by the reception antenna 32b. And a processing signal obtained by processing the measurement wave is output to the controller 40 via the electrical signal line 45. The RF circuit 37 may be configured separately from the antenna 32, and the RF circuit 37 may be attached to another component of the vehicle 1.

  One or more RF circuits 37 are provided in the bumper members 10 and 11, respectively. When one RF circuit 37 is provided in each bumper member, each RF circuit 37 processes transmission and reception of radio waves by all the antenna elements 34 of the film antenna unit 31 in each bumper member. When a plurality of RF circuits 37 are provided in each bumper member, each RF circuit 37 is a radio wave by the allocated antenna element 34 of the antenna elements 34 of the film antenna unit 31 in each bumper member. Process the transmission and reception of

  As shown in FIG. 3, each antenna element 34 is connected to an RF circuit 37 by an electrical signal line 36, and the RF circuit 37 is independent of each antenna element 34 (or a set of a plurality of antenna elements 34). Can be driven. Further, corresponding to each antenna element 34 (or a set of antenna elements 34), the A / D conversion unit 42 in the controller 40 is also configured to function independently.

  The controller 40 includes a processor unit (CPU) 41, an A / D conversion unit 42, a power supply circuit 43, and the like. The A / D conversion unit 42 is configured to convert an analog signal into a digital signal and to convert a digital signal into an analog signal. The processor unit 41 converts the transmission command into an analog signal by the A / D conversion unit 42 and outputs it to the RF circuit 37 to make the RF circuit 37 transmit the measurement wave, and the A / D conversion unit 42 converts it into a digital signal. Based on the converted processing signal from the RF circuit 37, the relative distance to the object, the relative velocity, and the like are calculated.

  Further, the processor unit 41 receives a sensor signal from the outside, and can appropriately control a transmission command. The sensor signal is a signal related to the traveling state of the vehicle 1. For example, a vehicle speed signal received from a vehicle speed sensor of the vehicle 1, a gear position signal received from a gear position sensor, a steering angle signal received from a steering wheel position sensor, a winker lever position They are a winker lever position signal received from a sensor, a brake operation signal received from a brake device, an accelerator opening signal received from an accelerator opening sensor, and the like.

Further, the power supply circuit 43 supplies DC power to constituent circuits (processor unit 41, A / D conversion unit 42, etc.) in the controller 40, and supplies DC power to the RF circuit 37 through the power supply line 47. Is configured as.
Although the RF circuit 37 and the controller 40 may be configured by components of a single package, respectively, the antenna 32 is divided into a plurality of areas, and sub circuit components (sub RF circuit and sub controller for each area) ), And may be constituted by a plurality of sub-circuit components (and main circuit components for controlling them).

  In the present embodiment, the controller 40 is configured to selectively use all or part of the large number of antenna elements 34 constituting the antenna 32 to perform measurement. Thereby, the radar device 30 according to the present embodiment can measure various radio wave beam patterns (radiation patterns) or antenna directivity.

  Further, the controller 40 is configured to perform digital beam forming by performing digital signal processing on processing signals received from the respective antenna elements 34 via the RF circuit 37 using digital beam forming technology. That is, the controller 40 can change and control various beam patterns or antenna directivity by weighting and combining the digitized processing signals. In the present embodiment, beam pattern formation is performed using digital beam forming technology. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an active phased array method may be adopted.

  The controller 40 also outputs the calculated information (distance, speed, etc.) of the target to the obstacle detection device 50. The obstacle detection device 50 constituting the driving support system is connected to an alarm device, a brake device, a seat belt device, a throttle device, and the like. The alarm device notifies the driver of an abnormality or a warning by lighting a lamp, sound from a speaker, display on a display, or the like.

  The obstacle detection device 50 operates the alarm device, the brake device, the seat belt device, the throttle device, and the like as needed based on the received information of the object. For example, when the obstacle detection device 50 determines that there is a risk that the vehicle may collide with an object (such as another vehicle) based on the information of the object, the alarm device notifies that effect, and the braking device The application, the operation of the attached motor to increase the tension of the seat belt of the seat belt device, the change of the throttle opening degree of the throttle device, etc. are performed.

  As described above, the flexible antenna 32 can be attached in close contact along the curved shape of the back surface (inner side surface) of the bumper members 10 and 11, as shown in FIG. At this time, the antenna 32 is attached not only to the back surface of the vertically extending side wall 12a of the bumper member but also to the back surfaces of the top wall 12b and the bottom wall 12c extending horizontally from the upper and lower ends of the side wall 12a There is. The antenna 32 is attached to the side wall 12a so as to extend from the back surface of the portion facing the front or the rear of the vehicle 1 to the back surface of the portion facing the left and right through the corner 12d.

  Next, an outline of the operation of the radar device of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of various divided usage examples of the antenna. Although only a part of the pole of the antenna 32 is shown in FIG. 5 for ease of understanding, the present invention is applicable to the entire antenna 32 as well. In FIG. 5, it is assumed that the vehicle 1 faces the vehicle 1 (that is, the horizontal direction of the paper corresponds to the horizontal direction of the vehicle 1, and the vertical direction of the paper corresponds to the vertical direction of the vehicle 1). In addition, although only one of the transmitting and receiving antenna elements 34 is shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that the other is disposed close to the individual antenna elements 34. FIG. 5 illustrates a limited use case, and one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the particular antenna element 34 can be selected and used in various ways by beamforming.

  First, FIG. 5A shows an example in which all the antenna elements 34 in a large area of the antenna 32 are used. As shown in FIG. 5A, the controller 40 outputs all the antenna elements 34 as one antenna by outputting a transmission command to the RF circuit 37 so that the measurement waves are emitted from all the antenna elements 34. It can be operated. At this time, a beam such as a pencil beam which narrows the beam width and extends sharply to a far distance is emitted by emitting a measurement wave which is in phase in a predetermined direction from an antenna having a large antenna area as a whole consisting of all antenna elements 34. It can form a pattern. With this beam pattern, beam directivity with high angular accuracy and distance accuracy can be achieved. For example, conventionally, in a radar apparatus that measures the front of a vehicle, the antenna area is limited to a small area, and thus, it has only the ability to detect an object located within a range up to about 200 m ahead of the vehicle. In the embodiment, an antenna area much larger than that of the conventional one can be secured, so that it is possible to detect an object located 500 m or more in front of the vehicle.

  Moreover, FIG. 5 (B) has shown the example which divides | segments and uses the big area of the antenna 32 up and down. As shown in FIG. 5B, the antenna 32 can be divided into an upper area b1 and a lower area b2, and each area can be used as one antenna. In this case, since the upper area b1 and the lower area b2 respectively extend in the horizontal direction as an elongated area, a flat beam pattern which is narrow in the horizontal direction and wide in the vertical direction is formed by each area. A flat beam pattern is also controlled by controlling the area having a narrow vertical width such as the upper area b1 and the lower area b2 to move in the vertical direction and / or the horizontal direction by sequentially switching positions in the antenna 32. Can be scanned vertically and / or horizontally. Furthermore, it is possible to form a narrow beam pattern from each area in different vertical directions from each area by the digital beam forming technology, and scan the thin beam in the vertical direction.

  Further, FIG. 5C shows an example in which a large area of the antenna 32 is divided into right and left. As shown in FIG. 5C, the antenna 32 can be divided into a left area c1 and a right area c2, and each area can be used as one antenna. In this case, since the left area c1 and the right area c2 respectively extend as an elongated area in the vertical direction, a flat beam pattern which is narrow in the vertical direction and wide in the horizontal direction is formed by each area. Also, by controlling the area having a narrow horizontal width such as the left area c1 and the right area c2 to move the position in the antenna 32 sequentially in the antenna 32 horizontally and / or vertically, a flat The beam pattern can be scanned horizontally and / or vertically. In addition, digital beam forming technology can form a narrow beam pattern from each area in different horizontal angular directions and scan the narrow beam in the horizontal direction.

  Further, FIG. 5D shows an example in which a small area in a large area of the antenna 32 is partially used. As shown in FIG. 5D, using only the upper area d1 and the lower area d2 which are narrow in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction of the antenna 32, each area can be used as one antenna. In this case, in the upper area d1 and the lower area d2, a beam pattern in which the beam width is wider in the horizontal direction and the measurement distance is shorter than in the case of FIG. 5B is formed. For example, by controlling such a limited narrow area to sequentially switch and move the position in the antenna 32, it is possible to sequentially measure the vicinity of a desired position of the vehicle 1.

  Further, FIG. 5E shows an example in which a large area of the antenna 32 is divided into a plurality of areas having a difference in area. As shown in FIG. 5E, using the wide upper area e1 and the narrow lower area e2 of the antenna 32, each area can be used as one antenna. In this case, the upper area e1 can form a beam pattern in which the beam width is narrower in the vertical direction than the lower area e2 and the measurement distance is longer. For example, the upper area e1 can be used to measure the front (or rear) distance of the vehicle 1, and the lower area e2 can be used to measure the short distance near the vehicle 1 near the road surface.

  In the present embodiment, each antenna element 34 can be driven independently, and each antenna element 34 can be set as one antenna area. Further, all the antenna elements 34 of the film antenna unit 31 are divided into a plurality of antenna areas, and each antenna area is set in advance so as to be configured by a set of a predetermined number (not necessarily the same number) of antenna elements 34. May be In addition, a plurality of modes may be set, and a plurality of antenna areas may be set in each mode. At this time, the same antenna element 34 may overlap in different modes.

  Next, the operation of the radar device of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 is an explanatory view showing a beam pattern at the time of low speed traveling, FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a beam pattern at the time of high speed traveling, FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing the beam pattern at the time of backward movement It is explanatory drawing which shows the beam pattern in driving | running | working which concerns on a modification, and FIG. 10 is explanatory drawing of a high precision measurement mode.

  As the outline of the operation of the radar device 30 of the present embodiment has been described with reference to FIG. 5, in the present embodiment, the antennas 32 disposed on the bumper members 10 and 11 of the vehicle 1 are integrated or in various antenna areas It can be divided and used. The operation of the radar device 30 that operates in accordance with the traveling state of the vehicle 1 will be described below on the premise of the outline of the above operation.

  First, FIGS. 6 and 7 show the change of the measurement mode according to the vehicle speed. As shown in FIG. 6 (A), the controller 40 sets the measurement mode to the low speed traveling mode when judging that the vehicle 1 is traveling at a predetermined speed threshold or lower based on the vehicle speed signal received from the vehicle speed sensor. And control the film antenna unit 31. That is, the controller 40 selects an antenna area for low-speed travel, but in this antenna area, the antenna elements 34 of the antenna 32 attached to the bumper member 10 are discretely distributed over the entire bumper member 10 in the horizontal direction. A predetermined percentage of antenna elements 34 are allocated to be distributed in In the antenna area, of the antenna elements 34 of the antenna 32 attached to the bumper member 11, a predetermined number of antenna elements 34 located at the horizontal center of the bumper member, and corner portions on both sides A small number of antenna elements 34 within a small area range to be located are allocated (see, for example, FIG. 5C).

  In the low speed travel mode, a measurement range (beam pattern) P1 having a large beam width is formed so that a relatively short distance range can be measured in a wide angle range toward the front and the side of the vehicle 1. Further, three measurement ranges P2, P3 and P4 can be measured toward the rear of the vehicle 1 and sideways from the left and right corners of the rear of the vehicle, respectively. Is formed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6B, the main beam P5 having a narrow beam width may be horizontally scanned within the measurement range formed by the selected antenna 32 of the bumper member 10. . In this case, the controller 40 may control to move the antenna area of the selected small area sequentially in time in the horizontal direction in the antenna 32 sequentially, as in FIG. 6A. A wide wide angular range beam pattern may be formed to scan the main beam direction by signal processing by digital beam forming technology.

  In addition, you may use together the measurement shown to FIG. 6 (A) and FIG. 6 (B). For example, when an object is detected in front of the vehicle in the measurement shown in FIG. 6A, the beam scan shown in FIG. 6B is switched to specify the object by more precise detection. It can be configured. Also, beam scanning may be performed for the measurement ranges P2, P3, and P4.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, when it is determined that the vehicle 1 is traveling at a speed exceeding a predetermined speed threshold based on the vehicle speed signal received from the vehicle speed sensor, the controller 40 selects the high speed traveling mode The film antenna unit 31 is controlled. That is, the controller 40 selects an antenna area for high-speed travel, but in this antenna area, of the antenna elements 34 of the antennas 32 attached to the bumper members 10 and 11, the horizontal central portion of each bumper member A large number of antenna elements 34 (or all antenna elements 34 of each bumper member) in a large area range and a small number of antenna elements 34 in a relatively small area range near both corners are allocated (e.g. 5 (A) and (C)).

  For this reason, from the antenna area of the large area set at the central portion of the bumper member 10, a measurement range P11 is formed in which the beam width is narrow and the far distance can be measured with high angle accuracy and distance accuracy. From the set small-area antenna area, large measurement ranges P12 and P13 of beam widths that can be measured in a wide angle range at a relatively short distance range are formed. Similarly, the measurement range P14 for long distance measurement and the measurement ranges P15 and P16 for short distance measurement are formed from the bumper member 11. Also in the high-speed travel mode, the beam scanning may be performed on the measurement range P11 to P16.

  Moreover, FIG. 8 has shown the measurement mode according to the gear position. As shown in FIG. 8, when the controller 40 determines that the vehicle 1 is moving backward based on the gear position signal received from the gear position sensor, the controller 40 sets the measurement mode to the backward mode and sets the film antenna unit 31 to Control. That is, although the controller 40 selects two antenna areas for backward movement (see, for example, FIGS. 5B and 5E), the first antenna area is attached to the bumper member 11 in the first antenna area. Among the antenna elements 34 of the antenna 32, a part of the antenna element 34 disposed on the back surface of the side wall 12a of the bumper member is allocated over the entire horizontal direction, and the second antenna area includes the bumper member over the entire horizontal direction. The antenna element 34 disposed on the back of the bottom wall 12c of the antenna is assigned.

  Therefore, in the reverse mode, a measurement range P21 is formed by the first antenna area so that a relatively short distance range can be measured toward the rear of the vehicle 1. In addition, a measurement range P22 is formed by the second antenna area so that a relatively short distance range can be measured downward from the bumper member 11 of the vehicle 1 toward the road surface. Therefore, in the present embodiment, at the time of backward movement, an obstacle located behind the vehicle 1 can be detected, and the step or groove 9 on the road surface behind the vehicle 1 which could not be detected conventionally is also detected. It can be detected.

  Further, instead of providing the second antenna area in the bumper member 11 in order to turn the beam direction downward as described above, the antenna 32 is disposed in the rear spoiler 2 which is a replaceable radio wave transparent resin molded component, A downward measuring range P23 as shown in FIG. 8 may be formed.

  Further, FIG. 9 shows a modified example of the measurement mode according to the vehicle speed and the gear position. As shown in FIG. 9, when the vehicle speed is low and the gear position is the drive position, the antenna area in the antenna 32 in the bumper member 10 is set to at least two antenna areas in the vertical direction (for example, B) (see (E)), a measurement range P31 which can measure the front of the vehicle, and a measurement range P32 which can measure the vicinity of the road surface within a relatively short distance ahead of the vehicle may be formed. . When the vehicle speed is low and the gear position is the reverse position, the antenna area in the antenna 32 in the bumper member 11 is set to at least two locations in the vertical direction (for example, as shown in FIGS. ), A measurement range P33 which can measure the rear of the vehicle, and a measurement range P34 which can measure the vicinity of a road surface within a relatively short distance range behind the vehicle may be formed.

  Further, FIG. 10 shows a high accuracy measurement mode. In the present embodiment, when the object (obstacle) O is detected in the measurement mode shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 while the vehicle 1 is traveling, the mode is switched to the high accuracy measurement mode. In the high accuracy measurement mode, of the antenna elements 34 of the antenna 32 attached to the bumper member 10, the antenna elements 34 within relatively large areas on both sides of the bumper member 10 are set to the left antenna area and the right antenna area (See, for example, FIG. 5C). Measurement ranges P41 and P42 are formed by the respective antenna areas. The controller 40 can measure the orientation and the distance of the object O independently from each of the measurement ranges P41 and P42. In addition, since the substantial separation distance r between both antenna areas is known separately from the measured distance, the object of the object can be obtained using the principle of triangulation based on the azimuth and the distance r obtained by the measurement. The distance to O can be measured accurately. Thereby, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the measurement distance to the object O.

  According to the present embodiment, the appropriate antenna element 34 is selected by the controller 40 among the plurality of antenna elements 34 constituting the antenna 32 according to the traveling state of the vehicle 1. In the present embodiment, since the antenna 32 is configured as a flat antenna having flexibility, it can be attached to the bumper members 10 and 11 of the vehicle 1, so the degree of freedom of attachment is high and the attachment is easy. Moreover, the area can be increased. In particular, since the bumper members 10 and 11 have a large surface area, a large area antenna 32 can be attached.

  In the present embodiment, the area of the antenna 32 can be increased, and accordingly, it has become possible to secure predetermined antenna performance even when a part of the antenna 32 is selectively used. Therefore, in the present embodiment, an appropriate antenna element of the plurality of antenna elements 34 according to the traveling state of the vehicle 1, that is, the traveling scene (for example, low speed travel, high speed travel, reverse position, turning etc.) By selecting and using 34, an object can be properly detected. Further, in the present embodiment, it is not necessary to separately provide a detection device according to the application for each traveling scene, and a system configuration using substantially one antenna 32 can be realized, thereby reducing cost. Can.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the antenna 32 is configured to be usable by dividing the plurality of antenna elements 34 into a plurality of antenna areas, and the controller 40 is configured to have one or more antennas of the plurality of antenna areas. An area is selected, and the RF circuit 37 is controlled to transmit and receive radio waves using the selected antenna area. Thus, in the present embodiment, by dividing the antenna 32 into a plurality of antenna areas, it is possible to virtually have a plurality of sub-antennas, so that the antenna area (sub-antennas) can be set according to the traveling state. By appropriately selecting, the antenna element 34 to be used can be selected.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the beam pattern is changed by changing the selected antenna area among the plurality of antenna areas. Thus, in the present embodiment, by appropriately selecting the antenna area according to the traveling state, it is possible to easily change to a desired beam pattern.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the antenna 32 is attached to the front bumper and the rear bumper of the vehicle 1. Thereby, in the present embodiment, since the front bumper and the rear bumper have a large surface area, it is possible to attach the large-area flexible antenna 32, and as a result, the antenna performance can be improved.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the antenna 32 is attached across the vehicle width direction and the vertical direction of the bumper members 10 and 11 of the vehicle 1, and the plurality of antenna areas are divided at least along the vehicle width direction or the vertical direction. Is set. Thus, in the present embodiment, by mounting the antenna 32 in the width direction and the vertical direction of the bumper members 10 and 11, the antenna 32 can be easily enlarged as a whole, and divided into a plurality of antenna areas. Also, a large antenna area can be secured in each antenna area. Therefore, in the present embodiment, not only good antenna performance can be secured for the entire antenna, but also good antenna performance can be secured in each antenna area.

  Further, in the present embodiment, since a plurality of antenna areas are set in the width direction and the vertical direction of the bumper members 10 and 11, it is possible to select the antenna areas at a plurality of places in the width direction. It is also possible to select the antenna area at multiple locations. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, it is possible to use a plurality of beam patterns with a plurality of antenna areas up and down and forwardly or backwardly, and set their directivity differently.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the antenna 32 is attached to the side wall 12a extending in the vertical direction of the bumper members 10 and 11 of the vehicle 1 and the bottom wall 12c extending in the horizontal direction facing the vehicle lower side. The area is set in the side wall 12a and the bottom wall 12c, respectively. Therefore, in the present embodiment, not only can an object present in the horizontal direction of the vehicle 1 be detected by the antenna area set on the side wall 12 a of the bumper members 10 and 11, and the bottom wall of the bumper members 10 and 11 By the antenna area set to 12c, the lower part (namely, road surface) of vehicle vicinity can be made into a measurement range. Thereby, in the present embodiment, since the groove or the cliff (step) can be detected, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of a trouble that the vehicle 1 falls into the groove or the like.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the controller 40 determines the traveling state of the vehicle 1 based on at least one of the vehicle speed of the vehicle 1, the gear position, the steering angle of the steering wheel, the presence or absence of the brake operation, and the accelerator opening. Thus, in the present embodiment, an appropriate beam pattern can be set according to the speed, the traveling direction, the turning direction, and the acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle 1.

The modification of this embodiment is described below.
In the above embodiment, the antenna 32 is disposed on the bumper members 10 and 11 at the front and back of the vehicle, but as shown in FIG. 11, the antenna 32 can be a headlamp lens 3 of the vehicle 1, a side mirror cover 4, a side sill garnish 5, may be attached to the brake lamp lens 6. These are all exchangeable and radio wave transparent resin molded parts. A beam pattern of a measurement range P51 is formed from the headlamp lens 3, a beam pattern of a measurement range P52 is formed from the side mirror cover 4, a beam pattern of a measurement range P53 is formed from the side sill garnish 5, and a brake lamp lens 6 form a beam pattern of the measurement range P54.

  When the controller 40 receives the steering angle signal from the steering wheel position sensor (or the winker lever position signal from the winker lever position sensor), the vehicle 1 determines the turning direction and detects an obstacle within the measurement range in the turning direction. . For example, when the driver rotates the steering wheel to the right by a predetermined angle or more, or when the winker lever is operated to instruct a right turn, the controller 40 starts measurement in the measurement ranges P51, P52, P53, P54. can do.

  As described above, since the antenna 32 of the present embodiment is in the form of a flexible film, it can be easily disposed on the inner side surface or the outer side surface of various resin molded parts. Thus, in the present embodiment, in addition to the antenna 32 disposed on the bumper members 10 and 11, the antenna 32 is disposed on another resin molded component, thereby setting the entire circumferential direction of the vehicle 1 as the measurement range can do.

  Further, as described above, in the present embodiment, the antenna 32 can not be viewed from the outside by arranging the antenna 32 inside the radio wave transmitting resin molded part, so the appearance of the vehicle 1 is impaired. Absent. However, since the film antenna unit 31 of the present embodiment is in the form of a film having flexibility, it is possible to make it invisible from the outside by attaching it to the outer surface of the vehicle 1 and painting it. . In this case, the film antenna unit 31 can be attached not only to the resin molded part but also to the metal body surface. Furthermore, it is also possible to arrange on the window glass of the vehicle 1. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the antenna 32 can be disposed in the entire area in the horizontal circumferential direction of the front and rear, right and left of the vehicle 1, and further in the entire circumferential direction including the upper surface and the lower surface of the vehicle 1. Therefore, the measurement range can be set in all directions including the vertical direction of the vehicle 1. For example, by disposing the antenna 32 on the upper surface of the body of the vehicle 1, it is possible to detect the clearance between the vehicle 1 and the ceiling in a place with height restrictions such as a three-dimensional parking lot. Further, by mounting the antenna 32 on the lower side surface of the vehicle, the measurement range can be extended to the lower side of the vehicle 1, so that it is possible to detect the presence of foreign matter below the vehicle 1 when the vehicle is started.

  In the above embodiment, the radar apparatus 30 is configured to measure the outside of the vehicle 1. However, the invention is not limited to this, and the vehicle interior of the vehicle 1 may be further measured. For this reason, the film antenna unit 31 can be attached to the vehicle interior parts and the vehicle seat in the vehicle interior. Thus, the presence or absence of the driver in the vehicle compartment can be detected.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the film antenna part 31 was arrange | positioned to the inner surface of the bumper members 10 and 11, it does not restrict to this, even if it arrange | positions the film antenna part 31 on the outer surface of the bumper members 10 and 11. Good. In this case, the RF circuit 37 is disposed outside the bumper member, and the controller 40 is disposed inside the bumper member. Therefore, the electrical signal line 45 and the power supply line 47 for performing signal transmission and power supply between them. Can be disposed through the bumper member. However, in this case, it is necessary to form a through hole in the bumper member, and it takes time for mounting.

  Therefore, in order to make it possible to arrange the film antenna unit 31 on the outer surface of the bumper member and the resin molded part more easily, it can be configured as shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. FIG. 12 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the mounted state, and FIG. 13 is a partial electrical block diagram of the RF circuit and controller.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the film antenna unit 131 including the RF circuit 137 is attached to the outer side surface of the bumper members 10 and 11. Although the RF circuit 137 is disposed on the inner side surface of the antenna 132 (between the bumper members 10 and 11) in FIG. 12, the RF circuit 137 may be disposed on the outer side surface of the antenna 132. Further, the bumper member and the film antenna portion 131 have a paint coating layer 60 formed by painting the outer surface thereof. On the other hand, the controller 140 is attached to the inner side surface of the bumper members 10 and 11.

  The RF circuit 137 and the controller 140 supply power by non-contact charging and transmit electrical signals by non-contact signal transmission. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13, the RF circuit 137 is provided with a charging circuit 138 and a signal transmission circuit 139, and the controller 140 is provided with a power feeding circuit 144 and a signal transmission circuit 145. The feed circuit 144 generates a magnetic field by supplying an alternating current to the primary coil 144a. Meanwhile, the charging circuit 138 receives the magnetic field generated by the primary coil 144a by the secondary coil 138a. At this time, in the charging circuit 138, a current is generated in the secondary coil 138a by electromagnetic induction, and this current is rectified to charge an internal battery (not shown). Thus, the controller 140 can charge the RF circuit 137.

  In addition, the signal transmission circuits 145 and 139 respectively include electrodes 145a and 139a, and electric field coupling between these electrodes is used. That is, capacitors are formed by the electrodes 145a and 139a, and by supplying a high frequency signal to one of the electrodes, a current corresponding to the high frequency signal is generated at the other electrode. Thereby, analog signal transmission can be performed between the RF circuit 137 and the controller 140. As described above, by disposing the film antenna unit 131 on the outer side surface of the bumper members 10 and 11, it is preferable because the reflection of radio waves by the bumper member does not occur.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the antenna 132 and the RF circuit 137 are located outside the bumper members 10 and 11 and the controller 140 is located inside the bumper members 10 and 11, the bumper member 10, If power supply and signal transmission are performed by electrical wiring between the inside and outside of the housing 11, it is necessary to form a through hole in the bumper member, and it takes time to attach an antenna or the like. Therefore, as in the present embodiment, by configuring the power supply to be performed by the non-contact power feeding method and performing the signal transmission by the non-contact signal transmission method, the attachment work can be extremely facilitated.

  Alternatively, a brake operation signal and an accelerator opening degree signal may be used as a signal for determining the traveling state of the vehicle 1. For example, the controller 40 determines that the brake operation has been performed by the input of the brake operation signal. In this case, there is a high possibility that an object is present in the front short distance range of the vehicle 1. Therefore, even while traveling at high speed, the controller 40 can switch to the measurement range of the low speed traveling mode (FIG. 6) so as to measure the relatively short distance range of the vehicle 1 with high accuracy. Further, the controller 40 determines that the speed is increased based on the input of the accelerator opening degree signal. In this case, if the rate of change of the accelerator opening to the positive side is larger than the predetermined value, the measurement range from the low speed travel mode to the high speed travel mode is earlier than shown in FIG. It can be switched to 7).

1 vehicle 2 rear spoiler 3 headlamp lens 4 side mirror cover 5 side sill garnish 6 brake lamp lens 9 step, groove 10, 11 bumper member (front bumper 10, rear bumper 11)
12a Side wall 12b Top wall 12c Bottom wall 12d Corner portion 30 Radar device 31, 131 Film antenna portion 32, 132 Antenna 32a Transmit antenna 32b Receive antenna 33 Film substrate 34 Antenna element 35 Ground portion 36 Electric signal line 37, 137 RF circuit 37a Case 40, 140 controller 41 processor unit 42 A / D conversion unit 43 power circuit 45 electric signal line 47 power supply line 50 obstacle detection device 60 paint coating layer 138 charging circuit 138 a secondary coil 139 signal transmission circuit 139 a electrode 144 feeding circuit 144 a Primary coil 145 Signal transmission circuit 145a electrode

Claims (4)

A vehicle equipped with a radar device for detecting an object,
The radar device has an antenna, a transmission / reception circuit that transmits / receives radio waves by the antenna, and a control circuit that controls the transmission / reception circuit.
The antenna has a flexible film and a plurality of antenna elements provided on the flexible film, and is configured as a flat antenna having flexibility.
The control circuit selects the antenna element to be used among the plurality of antenna elements of the antenna according to the traveling state of the vehicle and changes the beam pattern of radio waves transmitted by the antenna. Control
The antenna is configured to be usable by dividing the plurality of antenna elements into a plurality of antenna areas,
The control circuit selects one or more antenna areas among the plurality of antenna areas, and controls the transmission / reception circuit to transmit and receive radio waves using the selected antenna area,
The antenna is attached to a vertically extending side wall of a front bumper and / or a rear bumper of the vehicle and a horizontally extending bottom wall facing the lower side of the vehicle.
The plurality of antenna areas are respectively set on the side wall and the bottom wall ,
A vehicle provided with a radar device, wherein the control circuit causes a radio wave to be transmitted below the vehicle by selecting an antenna area of the bottom wall when a vehicle speed is equal to or less than a predetermined speed threshold .   The vehicle provided with the radar apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the beam pattern is changed by changing a selected antenna area among the plurality of antenna areas. The vehicle provided with the radar apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the antenna is attached to at least one or both of a front bumper and a rear bumper of the vehicle. The control circuit determines the traveling state of the vehicle based on at least one of a vehicle speed of the vehicle, a gear position, a steering angle of a steering wheel, presence or absence of a brake operation, and an accelerator opening degree. The vehicle provided with the radar apparatus of any one of -3 .

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