JP7432395B2 - processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a processing device.

In recent years, vehicles have been equipped with systems to ensure the safety of drivers and pedestrians, such as distance warning systems, adaptive cruise control, and collision mitigation braking. In-vehicle millimeter-wave radar is one of the sensors in the above system that searches the outside world in real time (estimates distance, speed, angle, reflection intensity, etc. as target information around the vehicle), and Target information is estimated by emitting radio waves, receiving reflected waves that bounce back from the target, and performing signal processing.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-243838 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-248056

However, the radar radiation axis of the radar device may deviate from the vehicle traveling direction axis due to aging or impact. This axis deviation may cause an error in estimation of surrounding target object information, which may affect vehicle control using radar information.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its purpose is to provide a processing device that can easily determine whether or not the radar radiation axis of a radar device is deviated from the vehicle traveling direction axis. That's true.

The processing device of the present invention that solves the above problems acquires information on reflected signals of radar radio waves reflected from a part of the own vehicle from three-dimensional information obtained by a radar device and expressed by angle, distance, and relative speed. The present invention is characterized in that information on the angle and amplitude is obtained from the information on the reflected signal, and the necessity of correction of the radar device is determined from the information on the angle and amplitude.

According to the present invention, it is possible to easily determine whether the radar radiation axis of the radar device is deviated from the vehicle traveling direction axis and the degree of possibility of axial deviation. Further features related to the invention will become apparent from the description herein and the accompanying drawings. Further, problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will be made clear by the following description of the embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating the configuration of a radar device according to the present embodiment. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the contents of processing in the aiming processing section. 5 is a flowchart illustrating processing of an axis deviation detection unit. A graph of three-dimensional information input from the receiving unit. The figure which shows an example of the angular spectrum corresponding to the reflected signal from the bumper acquired at the time of radar activation. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an angular spectrum corresponding to a reflected signal from a bumper acquired at each radar operation cycle. The figure which shows an example of the angular spectrum when the difference of the reflected signal acquired at the time of radar activation and every radar operation cycle is small. The figure which shows an example of the angular spectrum when the difference of the reflected signal acquired at the time of radar activation and every radar operation cycle is large. A diagram schematically showing a situation where a preceding vehicle is traveling on the same lane as the own vehicle on an expressway. A diagram schematically showing a situation where a preceding vehicle is traveling on the same lane as the own vehicle on an expressway. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing the positional relationship between the radar device and the bumper of the own vehicle.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described.

[First embodiment]
9 and 10 are diagrams schematically showing a situation where a preceding vehicle is traveling on the same lane as the own vehicle on an expressway. In FIG. 9, the radar radiation axis of the radar device is FIG. 10 shows a situation in which the radar radiation axis of the radar device is deviated from the vehicle movement direction axis of the own vehicle.

In the example shown in FIG. 9, the host vehicle 1 is traveling on an expressway, and a preceding vehicle, which is a target object P, is traveling in front of the host vehicle 1. The own vehicle 1 is equipped with a radar device 100 that detects a target P in front. The radar device 100 measures the distance L, angle θ, and relative speed V from the own vehicle 1 to the target P, and informs the vehicle control device such as the ACC or inter-vehicle distance warning system of the own vehicle 1 of the target P. It has a configuration that provides measurement information.

For example, when the radar device 100 is installed in a vehicle at a vehicle factory and shipped, the radar radiation axis 11 is adjusted so as to coincide with the vehicle traveling direction axis 12 of the host vehicle 1, as shown in FIG. . However, due to changes in vehicle posture over time, deterioration of the radar itself, collisions with obstacles, etc., as shown in FIG. Axis misalignment may occur between the radial axis 11 and the vehicle traveling direction axis 12.

If a relatively large axis misalignment occurs between the radar radiation axis 11 and the vehicle traveling direction axis 12, even though the preceding vehicle (target P) is actually traveling in the same lane as the own vehicle 1. First, the radar information may incorrectly estimate your position as if you were driving in the adjacent lane.

The radar device 100 of the present embodiment has a configuration that can easily determine whether the radar radiation axis 11 is deviated from the vehicle traveling direction axis 12, and whether the possibility of axial deviation is large or small. Below, the configuration of the radar device 100 of this embodiment will be explained in detail using the drawings.

<Radar equipment>
The radar device 100 is attached to the body of the own vehicle 1, such as a front cross member or a radiator core support, and emits radio waves such as millimeter waves toward the front of the own vehicle 1, and detects a target P such as a preceding vehicle. It has a configuration that receives the reflected wave reflected at the target object P and obtains information such as the distance L to the target P, the relative velocity V, and the angle θ based on the reflected signal of the reflected wave. Information on the target P acquired by the radar device 100 is supplied to the ACC and the inter-vehicle distance warning system, and is used for controlling these systems.

FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically showing the positional relationship between the radar device and the bumper of the own vehicle.
When the radar device 100 is attached to the own vehicle 1, it is adjusted so that the radar radiation axis 11, which is the direction in which radio waves are radiated, coincides with the vehicle traveling direction axis 12 extending forward from the own vehicle 1 (see FIG. 9). The radar device 100 is fixed to the front part of the vehicle body of the own vehicle 1, and in front of the radar device 100, a part of the vehicle body member of the own vehicle 1, such as the own vehicle bumper 10, is placed opposite to the radar device 100. .

The own vehicle bumper 10 is fixed to the body of the own vehicle 1 separately from the radar device 100, and is disposed facing the radar device 100 with a predetermined gap, for example, about 10 cm. The own vehicle bumper 10 has a configuration that allows some of the radio waves emitted from the radar device 100 to pass therethrough. The radar device 100 can detect the target P using radio waves transmitted through the own vehicle bumper 10 and their reflected waves. In this embodiment, a case where the vehicle body member is the own vehicle bumper 10 will be described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a configuration that can transmit a part of the radio waves emitted from the radar device 100 may be used. Any part that has one is fine. For example, the vehicle body member disposed facing the radar device 100 may be an emblem of the vehicle 1, a radiator grill, a resin exterior panel, or the like.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating the internal configuration of a radar device according to this embodiment. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a radar device according to the overall embodiment of this embodiment.

The radar device 100 includes hardware such as a CPU and memory, and software executed by the hardware, and is configured by the cooperation of the hardware and software. As shown in FIG. 1, the radar device 100 has internal functions including a transmitting section 102 that emits radio waves, a receiving section 101 that receives reflected waves, and a signal processing section (processing device) that processes reflected signals of the reflected waves. ) 103, and a transmission/reception control section 110 that controls the transmission section 102 and the reception section 101. The radar device 100 has a vehicle control unit 200 and a user interface 300 connected to its output side, and is adapted to transmit a signal of a detection result by the radar device 100 to the vehicle control unit 200 and user interface 300. .

The transmitting section 102 has a modulation processing section 120 that modulates radio waves, and a transmitting antenna 130 that emits radio waves, and the receiving section 101 has a receiving antenna 140 that receives reflected waves, and demodulates the reflected waves to generate a reflected signal ( It has a demodulation processing unit 150 that converts the data into digital data). Then, the signal processing unit 103 includes a frequency analysis unit 160 that performs frequency analysis on the reflected signal received from the reception unit 101, and a frequency analysis unit 160 that performs frequency analysis on the reflected signal received from the reception unit 101. It has an aiming processing section 170 that corrects the deviation, and a tracking section 180 that tracks the reflected signal.

In the radar device 100, a modulation processing unit 120 raises radio waves that have been subjected to phase modulation and frequency modulation according to the method to a carrier frequency in a specific frequency band such as a 77 GHz band, and then radiates them into space via a transmitting antenna 130. do. Then, the receiving antenna 140 receives reflected waves that are radio waves reflected from surrounding targets P and the bumper of the own vehicle 10. In the demodulation processing unit 150, the reflected wave is lowered to the baseband signal frequency band that can be analyzed by signal processing using the transmitted wave, and is converted into a reflected signal of digital data through a signal amplifier, filter processing, and AD conversion. converted.

In the radar device 100, the signal processing unit 103 inputs the reflected signal of the digital data converted by the demodulation processing unit 150 of the receiving unit 101 to the frequency analysis unit 160, and the frequency analysis unit 160 analyzes the reflected signal in the distance direction, velocity direction, and angular direction. Information on the distance L, relative velocity V, and angle θ (target information) to the surrounding target P is estimated from the frequency spectrum after Fourier transform. After inputting the estimated target information to the aiming processing unit 170 and performing correction amount estimation and correction processing using the correction amount, the tracking unit 180 inputs not only the currently estimated target information but also past target information. Target information is also taken into account to improve the estimation accuracy of target information.

The output information of the tracking section 180 and the processing result of the aiming processing section 170 are provided to the vehicle control section 200 and the user interface 300. The aiming processing section 170 transmits information on the possibility of axis deviation to the vehicle control section 200 and the user interface 300. The vehicle control unit 200 can receive information from the aiming processing unit 170 indicating that the axis deviation of the radar device 100 needs to be corrected.

The radar device 100 can provide the output information of the tracking section 180 to the vehicle control section 200 and have it utilized as a determining factor for vehicle control. Further, by providing the output information of the aiming processing unit 170 to the user interface 300, the radar device 100 can visually monitor the surrounding target information estimated by the radar device 100 in real time.

<Aiming processing section>
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of processing in the aiming processing section.
In the aiming processing unit 170, the axis deviation detection unit 171 determines the magnitude of the possibility of axis deviation. Axis misalignment determined by the axis misalignment detection unit 171 means that the radar radiation axis 11 of the radar device 100 is not aligned with or parallel to the vehicle traveling direction axis 12 of the own vehicle 10, and the radar radiation axis 11 and the vehicle traveling direction This is defined as a non-parallel state in which the direction axis 12 is shifted, for example, so as to intersect. When the radar device 100 is installed on the body of the own vehicle 10 at the vehicle factory or during vehicle inspection and maintenance, the radar radiation axis 11 is adjusted so as to coincide with the vehicle traveling direction axis 12, and no axis misalignment occurs. However, axis misalignment occurs due to aging or when subjected to external impact.

The axis deviation detection unit 171 determines the degree of possibility that an axis deviation has occurred (the presence or absence of an axis deviation). If the result of the determination is that the possibility of axis deviation is small, no aiming processing is performed, and only processing by the tracking unit 180 is performed. If the result of the determination is that there is a high possibility of axis deviation, a process to correct the axis deviation is performed, and information 175 indicating that there is a possibility of axis deviation is output to the vehicle control unit 200 and the user interface 300. Processing takes place.

In the process of correcting the axis deviation, an axis deviation estimation unit 173 estimates the axis deviation amount δ between the radar radiation axis 11 and the vehicle traveling direction axis 12, and then an axis deviation correction unit 174 estimates the axis deviation amount δ. The target information (distance L, relative velocity V, and angle θ for each target) is corrected using the amount δ. In this way, only when it is necessary to correct the axis deviation, the amount of axis deviation is estimated and the correction process using the estimated amount is executed.

The processing by the axis deviation detection unit 171 will be explained separately for cases where it is determined that the possibility of axis deviation is low and cases where it is determined that the possibility of axis deviation is high. Note that in this embodiment, the word "possibility" can also be translated as "necessity."

First, if the determination process 172 of the axis deviation detection unit 171 determines that the possibility of axis deviation is small, the axis deviation estimation unit 173 and the axis deviation correction unit 174 are skipped, and the information received by the reception unit 101 is corrected. The data is provided to the tracking unit 180 as is.

On the other hand, if it is determined that there is a high possibility of axis deviation, axis deviation estimation processing by axis deviation estimation section 173 and axis deviation correction processing by axis deviation correction section 174 are performed. Then, information indicating that there is a high possibility of axis deviation (information 175 indicating that there is a possibility of axis deviation) is provided to the vehicle control unit 200, and is used as material for determining control execution for controlling ACC, Stop & Go, etc. in the vehicle control unit 200. Utilized.

Furthermore, by notifying the user through the user interface 300 of the judgment result that there is a high possibility of axis deviation (possible axis deviation information 175), the user is encouraged to take the vehicle equipped with the radar device 100 to a dealer or the like. It is possible to prompt the user to correct the axis misalignment using hardware. Note that the fact that there is a high possibility of axis deviation can be expressed as an example of the radar being in an unhealthy state, for example.

The above-mentioned "unhealthy state" includes not only a state where the radar radiation axis 11 is deviated from the vehicle traveling direction axis 12, but also a state where a large amount of mud or snow has adhered to the bumper 10 of the vehicle, etc. This is defined as a state in which the estimation of target object information by the radar device 100 can be adversely affected in the entire system including the own vehicle 1 itself. For example, when a large amount of mud or snow adheres to the bumper 10 of the own vehicle, radio waves reflected from the target P will be received through the snow or mud. Therefore, attenuation of radio wave intensity and change in frequency characteristics may occur, resulting in shortening of detection distance and errors in estimating the distance and speed of the target.

<Axis misalignment detection section>
The basic principle of the axis deviation detection section 171 will be explained. The axis deviation detection unit 171 determines the possibility of an axis deviation between the radar radiation axis 11 and the vehicle traveling direction axis 12 of the host vehicle 1 . The information input to the axis deviation detection unit 171 is the information output from the frequency analysis unit 160, and is based on the angle θ, distance L, and relative This is three-dimensional information of velocity V. The angle θ mentioned above is the angle from the radar radiation axis 11 to the target P when the clockwise direction is positive and the counterclockwise direction is negative. The relative velocity V is the relative velocity of the target P measured with the radar device 100 as a reference.

First, before explaining the entire flowchart of the axis deviation detection section 171 shown in FIG. 3, the contents of S420, S440, and S450, which are the main processes of the axis deviation detection section 171, will be explained. Functional blocks other than these will be described after each functional block described above is explained.

In S420, processing for storing initial information is performed. The initial information storage process in S420 is executed at the timing when the radar device 100 starts up the radar. The radar device 100 repeats a series of processes: irradiation of radio waves by the transmitting antenna 130, reception of reflected waves by the receiving antenna 140, and processing by the signal processing unit 103. The time from when the power is turned on until the end of the first process is defined as the radar startup time, and the time after that is defined as the radar operation, not the startup time.

4 and 5 are diagrams explaining the contents of the initial information storage process in S420. FIG. 4 is a graph of three-dimensional information input from the receiving unit, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an angular spectrum corresponding to a reflected signal.

First, as shown in the graph of FIG. 4, information on the area F corresponding to the reflected signal of the own vehicle bumper 10 is calculated from three-dimensional information of the angle θ, distance L, and relative speed V of the target P existing around the radar. get. In the initial information storage process in S420, information on reflected signals is acquired when the radar device 100 is started up. More specifically, when the radar is activated, three-dimensional information of a region F that may include a reflected signal of a reflected wave reflected by the own vehicle bumper 10 is acquired. The three-dimensional information of the region F is such that the relative speed V between the radar device 100 and the vehicle bumper 10 is 0 m/sec, the distance L is about 20 cm, and the angle is between +90 degrees and -90 degrees. Note that acquiring information on the region F corresponding to the reflection from the own vehicle bumper 10 can be expressed as an example of a function of acquiring information on a reflected signal of a radar radio wave reflected from a part of the own vehicle 1.

Next, the relationship between the angle θ and the amplitude A in this region F, that is, the angle spectrum B1 corresponding to the reflected signal from the own vehicle bumper 10 is obtained. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the maximum amplitude A0 and the angle θ0 corresponding to the maximum amplitude A0 in the angle spectrum B1 are acquired and written into the memory 0 of the radar device 100. Note that the angle spectrum B1 can be expressed as an example of angle and amplitude information, for example. The above is the main operating principle of the initial information storage process in S420.

In S440, processing for storing current information is performed. The basic operating principle of the current information storage process in S440 is the same as the initial information storage process in S420, but the timing of acquiring the maximum amplitude A and the angle θ corresponding to the maximum amplitude A from the angular spectrum is different.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an angular spectrum corresponding to a reflected signal from the bumper of the own vehicle acquired at each radar operation cycle.

In the initial information storage process of S420, three-dimensional information of the area F is acquired when the radar is activated, whereas in the current information storage process of S440, information is acquired during radar operation. In the current information storage process of S440, three-dimensional information is input at each preset radar operation cycle, and information on the angle θ and amplitude A in area F, that is, the reflected signal from the own vehicle bumper 10 is input. Obtain an angular spectrum B2.

For example, if the radar operation cycle is 50 msec, the angular spectrum B2 is acquired every 50 msec by receiving the input of the three-dimensional information of the region F. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the maximum amplitude A1 in the angle spectrum B2 and the angle θ1 corresponding to the maximum amplitude A1 are written in the memory 1 of the radar device 100. Note that the angle spectrum B2 can be expressed as an example of angle and amplitude information, for example. The above is the main operating principle of the current information storage process in S440.

In the comparison process of S450, a process of comparing the initial information stored in the initial information storage section S420 and the current information stored in the current information storage section S440 is performed. Then, if there is no difference between the two pieces of information, it is determined that the possibility of axis deviation is low, and if a difference has occurred, it is determined that the possibility of axis deviation is high. Then, the information of the determined result is output, and if the possibility of axis deviation is small, the processing of the axis deviation estimation unit 173 and axis deviation correction unit 174 is skipped, and only if the possibility of axis deviation is high. Processing by the axis deviation estimation unit 173 and axis deviation correction unit 174 is executed.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an angular spectrum when the difference between the reflected signals acquired at the time of radar activation and each radar operation cycle is small, and FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the difference between the reflected signals acquired at the time of radar activation and each radar operation cycle. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an angular spectrum when the angle is large.

In the example shown in FIG. 7, the angular spectrum B1 of the information acquired at the time of radar activation and the angular spectrum B2 of the information acquired at each radar operation cycle are the same, and a state in which they completely match is shown. On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 8, the angular spectrum B1 of the information acquired at the time of radar activation is different from the angular spectrum B2 of the information acquired for each radar operation cycle, and the maximum amplitude A0 at the time of radar activation and the angle spectrum B2 of the information acquired for each radar operation cycle are different. The difference between the maximum amplitude A1 and the maximum amplitude A1 at the time of radar activation is 3.5 dB, and the difference between the angle θ0 corresponding to the maximum amplitude A0 at the time of radar activation and the angle θ1 corresponding to the maximum amplitude A1 for each radar operation cycle is 3 degrees. has been done.

In the present embodiment, the possibility of axis deviation is determined based on the time-series changes in the information of the maximum amplitude A and the angle θ corresponding to the maximum amplitude A, and the necessity of correction of the radar device 100 is determined. Specifically, the information stored in the initial information storage process of S420 and the current information storage process of S440, that is, the maximum amplitudes A0 and A1, and the angles θ0 and θ1 corresponding to the maximum amplitudes are compared, and the maximum amplitude A0 and If the difference between A1 and the angles θ0 and θ1 are each less than a preset threshold, it is determined that the possibility of axis misalignment is small, and the difference between the maximum amplitudes A0 and A1 and the angles θ0 and θ1 are determined to be small. If at least one of the differences is larger than a threshold value, it is determined that the possibility of axis misalignment is high. Then, when there is a high possibility of axis deviation, the radar device 100 is corrected. Note that the comparison process in S450 is expressed as an example of a function of determining whether or not correction of the radar device 100 is necessary by monitoring changes in the maximum amplitude A and changes in the angle θ at the time of the maximum amplitude A, for example. can do. The above is the main operating principle of the comparison process in S450.

Next, the entire process of the axis deviation detection unit 171 will be explained using the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, it is determined whether the current processing time is the radar activation time (S401). When the radar is activated, the process moves to Step A, and when the radar is in operation, the process moves to Step B. In this embodiment, Step A is performed only once when the radar is activated, and Step B is performed every radar operation cycle thereafter.

First, a case where it is determined that the current processing time is the radar activation time (YES in S401) and the process moves to Step A will be described.

In Step A, the previous information reading process of S410 and the initial information storage process of S420 are executed. In the previous information reading process of S410, the maximum amplitude A0' of the angular spectrum of the reflected signal from the host vehicle bumper 10 at the time of the previous radar stop and the angle corresponding to the maximum amplitude A0' are stored in advance in the memory 0' of the radar device 100. A process of reading θ0' from memory 0' is performed. Then, in the initial information storage process of S420, the maximum amplitude A0 in the angular spectrum of the reflected signal from the own vehicle bumper 10 and the angle θ0 corresponding to the maximum amplitude A0 are acquired, and are stored separately from the memory 0' in the radar device 100. The process of writing to memory 0 is performed.

Subsequently, comparison processing in S430 is executed. In the comparison process of S430, the maximum amplitude A0' and angle θ0' stored in memory 0' are read out, and the maximum amplitude A0 and angle θ0 stored in memory 0 are read out. Then, processing is performed to calculate the amplitude difference ΔA1 between the maximum amplitudes A0 and A0' and the angular difference Δθ1 between the angles θ0 and θ0' (S431).

If the amplitude difference ΔA1 and the angular difference Δθ1 are both below the preset threshold (YES in S432), it is determined that there is a small possibility that the radar device 100 is axially misaligned and there is no need to perform aiming processing. After making a judgment, the process moves to S434. In S434, processing is performed to write the amplitude A0 and the angle θ0 into the memory 0.

On the other hand, when at least one of the amplitude difference ΔA1 and the angle difference Δθ1 is larger than the threshold value (NO in S432), it is determined that there is a high possibility that an axis shift has occurred in the radar device 100, and that aiming processing is necessary. Then, the process moves to S433. In the aiming process of S433, the axis deviation estimation process and the axis deviation correction process are performed by the axis deviation estimation unit 173 and the axis deviation correction unit 174. Further, when at least one of the amplitude difference ΔA1 and the angular difference Δθ1 is larger than the threshold value, the process moves to S470, and a process is performed to notify the user through the user interface 300 that there is a high possibility that axis deviation has occurred.

When the aiming process is executed in S433, the process moves to the overwriting process in S460, in which the maximum amplitude A0 and angle θ0 stored in memory 0 are overwritten using A0' and θ0' stored in memory 0'. will be held. That is, in S460 overwriting, a process is performed in which A0' and θ0' stored in memory 0' are stored in memory 0 as the maximum amplitude A0 and angle θ0.

Next, a case will be described in which it is determined that the current processing time is not the radar activation time (NO in S401) and the process moves to Step B.

In Step B, the current information storage process of S440 is executed. In the current information storage process of S440, the maximum amplitude A1 in the angular spectrum of the reflected signal from the own vehicle bumper 10 and the angle θ1 corresponding to the maximum amplitude A1 are acquired, and are stored in memory 0' or memory 0 in the radar device 100. is written into another memory 1. In the current information storage process of S440, reflected signal information is acquired every radar operation cycle, and each time reflected signal information is acquired, information on maximum amplitude A1 and angle θ1 is updated.

Subsequently, comparison processing in S450 is executed. In the comparison process of S450, the maximum amplitude A0 and angle θ0 stored in memory 0 are read out, and the maximum amplitude A1 and angle θ1 stored in memory 1 are read out. Then, the amplitude difference ΔA2 between the maximum amplitudes A0 and A1 and the angular difference Δθ2 between the angles θ0 and θ1 are calculated (S451).

If the amplitude difference ΔA2 and the angular difference Δθ2 are both below the preset threshold (YES in S452), it is determined that there is a small possibility that the radar device 100 has an axis misalignment and that there is no need to perform aiming processing. After making a judgment, the process of Step B is ended (END).

On the other hand, when at least one of the amplitude difference ΔA2 and the angle difference Δθ2 is larger than the threshold value (NO in S452), it is determined that there is a high possibility that an axis misalignment has occurred, and it is necessary to perform aiming processing, and the process proceeds to S453. Transition. In S453, axis deviation estimation processing and axis deviation correction processing are performed by the axis deviation estimation unit 173 and axis deviation correction unit 174 of the aiming processing unit 170. Furthermore, when at least one of the amplitude difference ΔA2 and the angle difference Δθ2 is larger than the threshold value (NO in S452), the process moves to S490, and the user is informed through the user interface 300 that there is a high possibility that an axis misalignment has occurred. Processing to notify is performed.

When the aiming process in S453 is executed, the process moves to overwriting in S480, in which the maximum amplitude A1 and angle θ1 stored in memory 1 are overwritten using A0 and θ0 stored in memory 0. be exposed. That is, in the overwriting of S480, a process is performed in which A0 and θ0 stored in the memory 1 are stored in the memory 1 as the maximum amplitude A1 and angle θ1.

<Description of effects in this embodiment>
According to the present embodiment, information on the reflected signal of the radar radio wave reflected at the own vehicle bumper 10 is obtained from the three-dimensional information obtained by the radar device 100 and expressed by angle, distance, and relative speed. It is possible to obtain angle and amplitude information from the information, and determine the necessity of correction of the radar device from the angle and amplitude information.

Further, according to the present embodiment, in order to judge the necessity of correction of the radar device based on the time-series changes in the angle and amplitude information, initial information is information on the reflected signal from the own vehicle bumper 10 acquired in the past. and comparison information, which is information on the current reflection signal of the own vehicle's bumper 10, to determine whether there is an axis deviation of the radar device with respect to the vehicle. (1) It is possible to easily determine the presence or absence of an axis deviation. (2) The calculation load on the processing device can be reduced.

For example, the position of a target other than the own vehicle (such as a vehicle in front) changes due to factors other than the radar axis deviation (for example, a lane change operation based on the driver's intention of the driver in front), so it cannot be used as a standard for radar axis deviation. Therefore, it can be described as an unstable standard. On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, the possibility of axis deviation of the radar device 100 is detected using the reflected signal from the own vehicle bumper 10, which is a component from the own vehicle itself. In other words, since the component from the own vehicle itself (for example, the component from the own vehicle bumper 10) whose positional variation is small relative to the radar device 100 is used, the standard for determining the presence or absence of axis deviation is stable. There is. Therefore, it is possible to obtain the above-mentioned effect (1) that the presence or absence of axis misalignment can be easily determined.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the axis deviation estimation unit 173 and the axis deviation correction unit 174 perform a process of estimating the amount of axis deviation from a change in the trajectory of a stationary target and performing correction, for example, at the radar operation cycle. Do it every time. On the other hand, the axis deviation detection unit 171 monitors the amplitude difference ΔA2 and the angular difference Δθ2 every radar operation cycle. The axis deviation estimation unit 173 and the axis deviation correction unit 174 utilize changes in the locus of the stationary target, whereas the axis deviation detection unit 171 merely calculates the difference in information. Therefore, it is considered that the calculation load of the axis deviation detection unit 171 is lighter than that of the axis deviation estimation unit 173 and the axis deviation correction unit 174.

For example, assume that the radar activation period is 50 msec, the radar is activated for 30 minutes, and axis deviation occurs during this 30 minutes. At this time, the number of times the radar device 100 is activated is 36,000 times (30 minutes/50 msec), and when aiming processing is always performed every time as in the conventional case, the processing of the axis deviation estimation section 173 and the axis deviation correction section 174 is performed. It will be executed 36,000 times.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, aiming processing is performed in S433 or S453 only when it is determined that there is a high possibility of axis deviation. The processes of the axis deviation estimation unit 173 and the axis deviation correction unit 174 are executed only once when there is a high possibility that a deviation has occurred. Therefore, it can be seen that the processing load for determining the magnitude of the possibility of axis deviation is lighter than the processing load for correcting axis deviation by aiming. For the reasons described above, the present embodiment has the effect of reducing the calculation load compared to the conventional method.

In addition, although the above-mentioned embodiment demonstrated the case where the aiming processing part 170 of the signal processing part 103 was provided with the axis deviation detection part 171 as an example, it is not limited to this structure. For example, an axis deviation detection section may be provided in an ECU provided separately from the radar device 100, and the presence or absence of an axis deviation may be detected by the axis deviation detection section in the ECU using information detected by the radar device 100. You can also.

[Second embodiment]
This embodiment corresponds to claim 3, for example. In the first embodiment described above, the maximum amplitudes A0 and A1 and the angles θ0 and θ1 corresponding to the maximum amplitudes were compared, respectively, in order to determine the possibility of axis deviation.

In contrast, in this embodiment, the information to be compared is not the maximum amplitude A and its angle θ described above, but information at the null point in the angular spectrum. As shown in FIG. 5, the null point refers to a point where the amplitude locally drops significantly in the angular spectrum. In this embodiment, for example, in the angular spectrum, the point closest to the angle corresponding to the maximum amplitude where the amplitude is the lowest is defined as the null point C. Then, based on the information on the null point C, it is determined whether the possibility of axis deviation is large or small and whether or not aiming processing of the radar device 100 is necessary. According to the present embodiment, even when the amplitude A and the angle θ at the null point C are used as the initial information and comparison information, it is possible to determine the necessity of correction of the radar device 100 as in the first embodiment. can.

[Third embodiment]
This embodiment corresponds to claim 7, for example. A feature of this embodiment is that the information on the reflected signal is acquired at the time of shipment from the vehicle factory. When the radar device 100 is mounted on a vehicle and shipped from the vehicle factory, the radar device 100 determines the maximum amplitude A in the angular spectrum of the region F included in the reflection signal of the own vehicle bumper 10 and the angle θ0 corresponding to the maximum amplitude A. The data is written to memory 0' of radar device 100 and memory 00 which is different from memory 0 and memory 1. Here, the memory to be read in the previous information reading process of S410 in Step A is changed from memory 0' to the aforementioned memory 00.

According to this embodiment, in order to detect the possibility of axis misalignment, the reference information when calculating the difference in information is the information on the true origin (that is, the information at the time of shipment from the factory). It becomes possible to more reliably determine the presence or absence of axis misalignment. For example, even when the radar axis is deviated due to a collision with another vehicle when the radar is stopped, it is possible to determine whether or not the axis is deviated.

[Fourth embodiment]
This embodiment corresponds to claim 6, for example. A feature of this embodiment is that the information on the reflected signal is acquired during vehicle inspection and maintenance. The radar device 100 obtains the maximum amplitude A0 and the angle θ0, which are the information written in the memory 0 in the initial information storage unit S420, during vehicle inspection and maintenance, and compares them with the information written in the memory 00. According to this embodiment, the difference between the true origin information (that is, the information when the vehicle was shipped from the factory) and the information at the current time can be taken during vehicle inspection and maintenance, so that the current radar axis is set to the factory It is possible to use this as one of the materials for confirming whether the radar axis is equivalent to or not.

[Fifth embodiment]
This embodiment corresponds to claim 8, for example. A feature of this embodiment is that information about reflected signals is stored in a server external to the own vehicle. In this embodiment, the information (the maximum amplitude A1 in the angular spectrum B2 and the angle θ1 corresponding to the maximum amplitude A1) written in the memory 1 in the current information storage unit S440 is sent to an external server at every radar activation period (for example, 50 msec). Save to.

According to this embodiment, the maximum amplitude A1 and the angle θ1 can be stored and observed in association with time. Therefore, it is possible to detect abnormalities other than the presence or absence of axis deviation of the radar device 100. For example, it is also possible to detect when the temperature of the radar device 100 or the vehicle bumper 10 becomes extremely high or low, or when the axis of the radar device 100 slowly shifts over a long period of time.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various designs can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention as described in the claims. Changes can be made. For example, the embodiments described above have been described in detail to explain the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to having all the configurations described. Furthermore, it is possible to replace a part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Furthermore, it is possible to add, delete, or replace some of the configurations of each embodiment with other configurations.

100... Radar device, 110... Transmission/reception control section, 120... Modulation processing section, 130... Transmission antenna, 140... Receiving antenna, 150... Demodulation processing section, 160... Frequency Analysis section, 170... Aiming processing section, 171... Axis deviation detection section, 173... Axis deviation estimation section, 174... Axis deviation correction section, 180... Tracking section, 200... Vehicle Control unit, 300... User interface, S410... Previous information reading process, S420... Initial information storage process, S430... Comparison process, S440... Current information storage process, S450... Comparison process .

Claims (13)

From the three-dimensional information obtained by the radar device and expressed by angle, distance, and relative speed, information on the reflected signal of the radar radio wave reflected from a part of the own vehicle is acquired, and the angle and amplitude are calculated from the information on the reflected signal. A processing device that acquires information and determines the necessity of correction of the radar device from the information on the angle and amplitude,
Obtain information on the maximum amplitude and the angle at the time of the maximum amplitude from the information on the angle and amplitude,
A processing device that determines whether or not correction of the radar device is necessary by monitoring changes in the maximum amplitude and changes in the angle at the time of the maximum amplitude. The processing device according to claim 1,
Obtaining null point information from the angle and amplitude information,
A processing device that determines whether correction of the radar device is necessary based on information about the null point. The processing device according to claim 1,
A processing device in which a processing load for the judgment is lighter than a processing load for the correction. The processing device according to claim 1,
A processing device that acquires information about the reflected signal when the radar device is activated. The processing device according to claim 1,
A processing device that acquires information on the reflected signal during vehicle inspection and maintenance. The processing device according to claim 1,
A processing device that acquires information about the reflected signal at the time of factory shipment. The processing device according to claim 1,
A processing device in which information about the reflected signal is stored in a server external to the own vehicle. The processing device according to claim 1,
A processing device that updates the angle and amplitude information each time information on the reflected signal is obtained. The processing device according to claim 1,
A processing device that notifies a notification means of the determination result when it is determined that correction of the radar device is necessary. The processing device according to claim 1,
A processing device that provides information indicating that correction of the radar device is necessary to a vehicle control device of the host vehicle. The processing device according to claim 1,
A processing device that estimates a correction amount and executes correction processing only when correction is necessary. The processing device according to claim 1,
The part of the own vehicle is a bumper,
A processing device that determines the necessity of correction of the radar device based on time-series changes in the angle and amplitude information. The processing device according to claim 1,
A processing device that performs an axis deviation estimation process and an axis deviation correction process when it is determined that the correction is necessary.

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