JPH0720232A - Radar apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make possible carrying use by achieving a smaller size and a saving of power. CONSTITUTION:An angle of rotation of an antenna 1 is detected to be stored into an antenna angle register 7. A distance measuring circuit 15 calculates a distance data based upon a reflected radio wave from a target after transmission from the antenna 1 to be stored into an address corresponding to a memory circuit 16. A display device 24 performs a display with a liquid crystal to achieve a saving of power. The antenna 1 is turned manually to eliminate a motor. Various circuits are integrated and thus, portability is made possible with a saving of power and a smaller size.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a radar device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Radar devices are widely used in ships and aircraft for weather observation, ensuring safety of navigation at night and in fog, and confirming the position with a target. This radar device uses the straightness of radio waves such as microwaves to generate 3 waves per second.
Measure the time until the arrival of the reflected wave that the radio wave traveling at the speed of 0,000 km reflects to another ship or land and returns partially, and displays the distance to the other ship or land on a display device such as a CRT. It is a device.

However, these radar devices are large-scale transmitters using a magnetron, etc.
It is composed of a large rotating slot antenna of ~ 3m, an aerial part with a radome, a display device with a large afterimage type CRT (CRT), a motor that rotates the antenna about 24 times / minute, and high output with high accuracy. High performance and robustness
Although it has excellent weather resistance, it is extremely large and consumes a large amount of power.

[0004]

The conventional radar device is used only for industrial purposes, is not portable, and requires specialized knowledge for its operation. Therefore, it can be used by ordinary people for consumer use. There was a problem I couldn't do.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a radar device which is excellent in portability, small in size and light in weight, and which can be used by ordinary people at leisure and outdoors. To do.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a rotatable antenna means and a radio wave which is radiated each time the antenna means is rotated by a certain angle and a reflected radio wave which is reflected by an object. Radar means for receiving and obtaining distance data indicating the distance to the object, storage means for storing the distance data obtained by this radar means in correspondence with the angle of the antenna means, and distance stored in this storage means And a display means for displaying data.

Further, according to the present invention, the equipment case, the antenna means manually rotatably attached to the equipment case, and the rotation detecting means for detecting that the antenna means is rotated by a certain angle and outputting a pulse signal. A radar means for radiating a radio wave through the antenna means and receiving a reflected radio wave reflected by an object to obtain distance data indicating a distance to the object; and the distance data obtained by the radar means for the rotation. Storage means for sequentially storing based on the pulse signal output from the detection means,
It is also characterized in that it is provided with a display means for displaying the distance data stored in the storage means.

Further, the present invention is provided by a wristwatch type case, an antenna means rotatably attached to the case, a timepiece circuit means provided inside the case for obtaining current time information, and a taking circuit means. Time display means for displaying time information, rotation detection means for detecting that the antenna means is rotated by a certain angle and outputting a pulse signal, and radiating a partial radio wave through the antenna means and hitting an object. Radar means for receiving reflected radio waves to obtain distance data indicating a distance to an object, and storage means for sequentially storing distance data obtained by the radar means based on a pulse signal output from the rotation detecting means. And distance display means for displaying the distance data stored in the storage means.

[0009]

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention incorporated in an electronic timepiece mechanism. The small antenna 1 is attached to the rotary support 2, and the rotation of the rotary support 2 causes the antenna 1 to rotate integrally. The rotation of the rotary support 2 is performed manually, and the number of rotations of the rotary support 2 is detected by the rotation angle detection sensor 3. In this case, as the rotation angle detection sensor 3, for example, a slit or a bright and dark pattern such as black and white is provided on the same circumference of the rotation support 2, and these are detected by a photocoupler including a light emitting diode and a phototransistor, It can be configured to detect the rotation direction and the rotation angle of the rotary support 2.

The rotation angle of the antenna 1 detected by the rotation angle detection sensor 3 is input to and calculated by the antenna angle calculation circuit 5 via the drive and amplification circuit 4 of the sensor 3.
After that, it is stored in the antenna angle register 7 and displayed on the display device 24.

The oscillator circuit 8, the sentence collection circuit 9, the control circuit 19 and the clock circuit 22 constitute an electronic watch climate. The oscillator circuit 8 oscillates a reference frequency pulse serving as a reference for clocking, and the frequency divider circuit 9 This pulse is divided by a pulse, and the divided pulse is clocked by a clock circuit 22 via a control circuit 19, and a time is displayed by a display device 24 controlled by a display control circuit 23.

In the present embodiment, the pulse frequency-divided by the frequency dividing circuit 9 is also output to the modulation circuit 10, and the high frequency pulse modulated and modulated by the circuit 10 is input to the transmission circuit 11 for transmission / reception. Switching circuit 12 and distance measuring circuit 15
Is output to.

The transmission / reception switching circuit 12 switches between emission of radio waves from the antenna 1 and reception of reflected radio waves that are radiated and reflected by hitting the target. The reflected radio wave received by the transmission / reception switching circuit 12 is amplified by the frequency conversion / amplification circuit 13 and then converted by the detection circuit 14 into a time series video signal. Conventionally, this video signal is displayed as it is on a CRT such as a cathode ray tube, but in the present embodiment, this video signal is output to the distance measuring circuit 15 and converted into a digital value indicating the distance to the target by the circuit 15. RAM
Is output to the storage circuit 16 including an electronic memory such as.

The storage circuit 15 stores the distance data to the target or the digitized video data. The storage circuit 15 stores the distance data or video data from the detection circuit 14 at an address corresponding to the angle of the antenna 1 under the control of the memory address control circuit 6.

The storage circuit 15 stores distance data or video data corresponding to each angle of 360 ° around the antenna 1 for one rotation. These stored data are stored in the control circuit 1 by operating the operation unit 18 including operation buttons.
Storage circuit 1 via 9 and memory address control circuit 6
6 is read from the target distance register 17 and the display device 2
4 is displayed. Reference numeral 21 is a control circuit for the distance scale with respect to the target, and this distance scale is also displayed on the display device 24. Two
A display magnification control circuit 0 controls the magnification of the image displayed by the display device 24.

FIG. 2 shows pulses transmitted and received by the antenna 1 having the above-described structure. The transmission pulse has a pulse width t in the time domain T ₁ and is transmitted intermittently from the antenna 1. Also, the time domain T ₂ in which two transmission pulses are transmitted
Is switched to the receiving state, and during this time domain T ₂ ,
For example, the reflected radio waves A and B from two targets are received.
FIG. 3 shows an example of a display mode in which the received reflected radio waves A and B are displayed on the display device.

In the above structure, weak microwaves, quasi-microwave FM waves such as UHF waves and VHF waves can be used as the radio waves transmitted from the antenna 1.
As a result, although the measurement distance range is narrowed to some extent, the circuit for transmitting and receiving radio waves can be downsized and can be integrated with other circuits such as the control circuit 19, the timing circuit 22 and the antenna angle calculation circuit 5.

Further, by using as the display device 24 an LCD that operates with a low current in the summer μA order for a small current, the power consumption can be reduced, and a small battery such as a dry battery or a button battery used for other circuits can be used. It becomes possible to drive. For this reason, a large-capacity commercial power supply is not required, and the size can be reduced. Therefore, it can be made into a shape of a small electronic device such as a wrist watch, a desk calculator, an electronic notebook, etc., and it is excellent in portability and can be easily used for leisure or outdoor consumer use.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the second embodiment of the present invention, in which the same elements as in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, an electronic bearing sensor 25 such as a magnetic sensor is provided on the rotary support 2 of the antenna 1. The electronic azimuth sensor 25 detects the direction of the antenna 1 which changes with rotation as an absolute azimuth with reference to magnetic north. The azimuth detected by the electronic azimuth sensor 25 is passed through the driving and amplification circuit 26 of the sensor 25 and the azimuth calculation circuit 27.
And is calculated as a digital value by the circuit 27. The calculated azimuth is the memory address control circuit 28.
Azimuth register 2 with the corresponding address input to
9 and is displayed on the display device 24.

In this embodiment, an azimuth is used instead of the rotation angle of the antenna 1 used in the first embodiment, and this azimuth is used as a memory address control or an index of the distance data of the target. Therefore, in the first embodiment, it is necessary to fix the entire device and determine the rotation angle of the antenna 1 based on the relative position with respect to the device, whereas in the second embodiment, it is not necessary to fix the entire device. , It can be surely detected even if it is slightly shaken or moved, which is convenient for use.

In the present embodiment, the electronic azimuth sensor 25 is used.
Can be fixed in the device. In this case, the user wearing the device can change the direction of the body or manually rotate the device itself to measure the distance of the target in each direction. Furthermore, there is an advantage that the distance can be measured without a mechanism for rotating the antenna 1, and the configuration is simpler and the size can be reduced.

In this embodiment as described above, since the azimuth and distance of the target are displayed in correspondence with the absolute azimuth, it is easy to use and accurate measurement and display are possible.

FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the antenna 1 is constructed by arranging a plurality of array antennas 1a, 1b ... 1n in parallel. The array antennas 1a, ..., 1n form the antenna 1 by forming elongated slit-shaped openings in the waveguide at equal intervals and erected at the respective openings of the waveguide. Then, the distance and the direction to the target are measured by electronically operating the transfer of the transmission / reception radio waves of each array antenna 1a, ..., 1n. In this embodiment, since it is not necessary to rotate the antenna 1, the structure is simple and the portability is excellent.

FIG. 6 shows the display device 2 in the above embodiment.
4 shows details of the display mode displayed by No. 4. The display device 24 has a first display screen 24a made of a liquid crystal display member (LCD). On the first display screen 24a, a fixed distance scale D and a variable distance ring (VRM) are displayed concentrically, and a trajectory display F is performed. G is the bow line (heading mark), H is the electronic cursor (EBL), I is the north mark, and these are also displayed at the same time.
Is displayed on the first display screen 24a.

The azimuth scale K is printed or marked on the periphery of the first display screen 24a. 24
Reference numeral b denotes a second display screen for displaying the distance range on the LCD, which displays the distance range L and the interval M between the fixed distance scales D on the first display screen 24a by digital values. 24c
Is a third display screen for displaying the direction on the LCD,
The direction N of the bow line and the direction P of the electronic cursor are displayed by digital values. Reference numeral 24d is a fourth display screen for digitally displaying the variable distance ring (VRM), where Q is the digital value of the inner VRM and R is the digital value of the outer VRM on the first display screen 24a. 24e is a fifth display screen for performing mode display. For example, "HU" is the bow up mode, "NU" is the north up mode, and "C".
"U" indicates a target azimuth up mode. 24f is a sixth display screen for digitally displaying the date and time.

FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 show the outer appearance of a wristwatch type of this embodiment. The case 41 is formed as a wristwatch type, and a rotating bezel 42 is rotatably attached to the upper surface of the case 41. The rotary bezel 42 corresponds to the rotary support 2, the antenna 1 is attached to the rotary bezel 42, and the antenna 1 is rotated by a manual rotation operation on the bezel 42.

As described above, in the structure in which the antenna 1 is manually rotated, the electric motor is not required, the power consumption can be reduced, and the size can be reduced. Reference numeral 43 is an operation button provided on the side surface of the case 41, and 44 is an electronic azimuth sensor provided on the opposite side surface. The first display screen 24a and the sixth display screen 24f are the case 4
1 is disposed on the upper surface. FIG. 9 shows another example of the external configuration, and the same elements as those in FIGS. 7 and 8 are associated with the same reference numerals. In this example, the antenna 1 is fixedly provided in the case 41.

As described above, the radar device of the present invention can be integrated into an entire circuit, and can reduce power consumption, and can be reduced in size and weight. Therefore, it is excellent in portability and can be easily used for leisure and the like. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a waveform diagram of pulses for transmission and reception.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a display example.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a front view of an example of a display mode of the display device.

FIG. 7 is a front view of an example of an external configuration.

FIG. 8 is a side view of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a front view of another example of the external configuration.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 antenna 2 rotation support body 3 rotation angle detection sensor 11 transmission circuit 12 transmission / reception switching circuit 15 distance measurement circuit 16 storage circuit 24 display device

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A rotatable antenna means, and a radar that emits a radio wave every time the antenna means is rotated by a certain angle and receives a reflected radio wave reflected by an object to obtain distance data indicating a distance to the object. Means, a storage means for storing the distance data obtained by the radar means in association with the angle of the antenna means, and a display means for displaying the distance data stored in the storage means. And radar means. 2. The radar device according to claim 1, wherein the antenna means is composed of a slot type array antenna in which a plurality of elongated slit-shaped openings are provided at equal intervals in a waveguide. 3. A device case, antenna means rotatably attached to the device case by hand, rotation detection means for detecting that the antenna means has been rotated by a certain angle, and outputting a pulse signal, Radar means for radiating radio waves through the antenna means and receiving reflected radio waves reflected by an object to obtain distance data indicating the distance to the object, and distance data obtained by this radar means from the rotation detecting means. A radar apparatus comprising: a storage unit that sequentially stores the output pulse signal, and a display unit that displays the distance data stored in the storage unit. 4. A wristwatch type case, antenna means rotatably mounted on the case, clock circuit means provided inside the case for obtaining current time information, and time information obtained by the taking circuit means. The time display means for displaying, the rotation detecting means for detecting that the antenna means has been rotated by a certain angle and outputting a pulse signal, and the reflection reflected by hitting an object and radiating a partial radio wave through the antenna means. Radar means for receiving the radio wave to obtain distance data indicating the distance to the object; storage means for sequentially storing the distance data obtained by the radar means based on the pulse signal output from the rotation detecting means; A radar device comprising: distance display means for displaying distance data stored in the storage means.