KR101040303B1 - Real time radiometer using beamforming and method using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A device and method for processing passive image in real time are provided to electronically scan a thermal noise signal inputted at various angles. CONSTITUTION: A beam forming unit(110) beam-forms a thermal noise signal and transmits the beam-formed thermal noise signal via a lens. A receiving and processing unit(120) receive a thermal noise signal and displays the received thermal noise signal in real time.

Description

Real-time passive image processing device and method using beamforming {REAL TIME RADIOMETER USING BEAMFORMING AND METHOD USING THE SAME}

The present invention relates to a passive image processing apparatus and method, and more particularly, to a real-time passive image processing apparatus and method using beamforming.

As a method for detecting a near or far object, an active image processing device that analyzes a reflected waveform and time by transmitting electromagnetic waves to an object, such as a radar, and a thermal noise emitted by the object itself such as a radiometer. There is a passive image processing apparatus for obtaining a.

Passive image processing apparatus is more complicated than the radar configuration of the receiving end and requires high sensitivity operation, but because it detects the thermal noise of the millimeter wave band radiated from the object itself has the advantage that there is no signal interference and the signal processing is relatively easy.

However, the conventional passive image processing apparatus has a relatively large size and a heavy weight, and in particular, the lens driving for changing the angle of incidence is very difficult due to the mounting of a heavy lens.

In particular, the antenna is placed on the imaging surface of the lens and a single two-dimensional planar image is obtained through a mechanical scan. In order to obtain at least one planar image, at least a few minutes may take several tens of minutes.

In addition, when a plurality of antennas are arranged on the image plane of the lens, one receiver is required for each antenna element, which is not practical in terms of cost and size. Of course, there is no practical product.

An object of the present invention is to provide a real-time passive image processing apparatus using beamforming.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a real-time passive image processing method using beamforming.

The real-time passive image processing apparatus using beamforming according to the above object of the present invention includes a beam forming unit for beamforming a thermal noise signal, passing the beamformed thermal noise signal through a lens, and a beam forming unit. Receiving the thermal noise signal, and may be configured to include a receiving processing unit for processing and displaying the received thermal noise signal in real time. Here, the beam forming unit periodically blocks and unblocks the thermal noise signal passing through the lens through a chopper, and the receiving processor periodically receives the unblocked thermal noise signal and is synchronized with the chopper. The thermal noise signal may be configured to remove noise in a blocked state. The beam forming unit may be configured to beamform the incident angle of the thermal noise signal to be automatically changed or to change the incident angle of the thermal noise signal according to a user's command.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a real-time passive image processing method using beamforming, the beam forming unit beamforming a thermal noise signal, the beam forming unit passing the beamformed thermal noise signal through a lens, Periodically blocking and unblocking the thermal noise signal passing through the lens through a chopper, periodically receiving the unblocked thermal noise signal by a reception processor, and synchronizing the reception processor with the chopper And removing noise in a state where reception of the thermal noise signal is blocked, and receiving and processing the thermal noise signal from which the noise is removed. Here, the beamforming unit beamforming the thermal noise signal may be configured to perform beamforming such that the incident angle of the thermal noise signal is automatically changed, or change the incident angle of the thermal noise signal according to a user's command to beamform the beamformer. Can be.

According to the real-time passive image processing apparatus and method using the beamforming as described above, the thermal noise signal can be beamformed to electronically scan the thermal noise signal incident at various angles. That is, since the heavy lens is not mechanically scanned while changing the direction of the lens in various directions, the driving can be easily and quickly made. In addition, a chopper for periodically blocking and unblocking the thermal noise signal in front of the receiving processing unit (receiving end) can capture and eliminate noise when it is blocked. In other words, accurate and clear images can be obtained by removing noise. Ultimately, images can be generated and displayed in real time.

1 is a block diagram of a real-time passive image processing apparatus using beamforming according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a flowchart of a real-time passive image processing method using beamforming according to an embodiment of the present invention.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. Like reference numerals are used for like elements in describing each drawing.

The terms first, second, A, B, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as the second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as the first component. And / or < / RTI > includes any combination of a plurality of related listed items or any of a plurality of related listed items.

When a component is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another component, it may be directly connected to or connected to that other component, but it may be understood that other components may be present in between. Should be. On the other hand, when a component is said to be "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there is no other component in between.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, components, or a combination thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Terms such as those defined in the commonly used dictionaries should be construed as having meanings consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art and shall not be construed in ideal or excessively formal meanings unless expressly defined in this application. Do not.

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

1 is a block diagram of a real-time passive image processing apparatus using beamforming according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a real-time passive image processing apparatus 100 (hereinafter, referred to as a passive image processing apparatus) using beamforming according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a beam forming unit 110 and a receiving processing unit 120. It can be configured to include). More specifically, the beam forming unit 110 may be configured to include a phaser 111, a beamforming controller 112, a lens 113, and a chopper 114, and the reception processor 120. ) May be configured to include an antenna 121, a low noise amplifier 122, a detector 123, a phase discrimination detector 124, a signal processor 125, and an image indicator 126.

The passive image processing apparatus 100 may scan the thermal noise signal incident from various angles by beamforming the thermal noise signal. That is, since it is not necessary to drive the fixed heavy lens as it is, the scanning speed is quick and easy. In addition, by transmitting the thermal noise signal periodically blocked and unblocked by the chopper 114 to the reception processing unit 120, the reception processing unit 120 can easily recognize the noise captured in the state in which the thermal noise signal is blocked, Noise reduction can be performed efficiently. Thus, detection of an object and display of an image may be performed in real time. Hereinafter, the detailed structure is demonstrated.

The beam forming unit 110 may be configured to beamform the thermal noise signal, and transmit the beamformed thermal noise signal through the lens 113. In the past, without this beamforming function, the thermal noise signal was configured to pass only through the lens. However, in the present invention, by increasing the intensity of the thermal noise signal incident at a specific incident angle in the front by beamforming through the phase shift, the thermal noise signal incident in all directions in front of the lens 113 is selectively received while the lens 113 is fixed. can do.

On the other hand, the beam forming unit 110 may be configured to beamforming to automatically change the incidence angle of the thermal noise signal or to change the incidence angle of the thermal noise signal according to a user's command. That is, it may be configured to automatically scan for all incidence angles in front, or may be configured to scan for a specific incidence angle specified by the user. More specifically, the beamforming controller 112 electronically controls the phase shift of the phaser 111. The phase shifter 111 may be composed of a ferrite and a diode.

On the other hand, the beam forming unit 110 periodically blocks and unblocks the thermal noise signal passing through the lens 113 through the chopper 114, and the reception processor 120 blocks the unblocked thermal noise signal. And receive periodically and in synchronization with the chopper 114 to remove noise in a blocked state of the thermal noise signal. Here, the chopper 114 may be configured to periodically transmit the thermal noise signal by opening and closing the opening and closing while opening and closing the opening and closing opening according to a certain period. The chopper 114 is configured to be synchronized with the phase discrimination detector 124 of the reception processor 120 to be described later. Accordingly, the phase discrimination detector 124 may perform a corresponding operation according to the blocking period of the chopper 114.

Next, the reception processor 120 may be configured to receive the thermal noise signal transmitted from the beam forming unit 110 and to display and process the received thermal noise signal in real time. More specifically: The reception processor 120 receives a thermal noise signal received from the beam forming unit 110 through the antenna 121. The low noise amplifier 122 may be configured to amplify the thermal noise signal received through the antenna 121 and convert the thermal noise level into a DC component in the detector 123. The detector 123 may be composed of a diode. In addition, the phase discrimination detector 124 is synchronized with the chopper 114, and may distinguish between a section in which a thermal noise signal is received and a section in which the thermal noise signal is blocked by the chopper 114. Accordingly, the phase discrimination detector 124 may recognize the internal noise captured in the non-received section and may remove the internal noise from the received thermal noise signal. In addition, the signal processor 125 may process the thermal noise signal in real time, and the image display 126 may be configured to display a real time image of about 30 frames per second.

2 is a flowchart of a real-time passive image processing method using beamforming according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, first, the beam forming unit 110 beamforms a thermal noise signal (S110).

Next, the beam forming unit 110 passes the beamformed thermal noise signal through the lens 113 (S120). Unlike the related art, thermal noise signals of various angles are electronically scanned through beamforming. Here, the beam forming unit 110 may be configured to beamforming the incident angle of the thermal noise signal to be automatically changed, or to change the incident angle of the thermal noise signal according to a user's command to beamform the beam noise. As a result, the scan speed may increase rapidly.

Next, the beam forming unit 110 periodically blocks and unblocks the thermal noise signal passing through the lens 113 through the chopper 114 (S130). The chopper 114 may be configured to mechanically block and unblock through opening and closing according to rotation.

Next, the reception processor 120 periodically receives the unblocked thermal noise signal (S140).

Next, the reception processor 120 is synchronized with the chopper 114 to remove noise in a state where reception of the thermal noise signal is blocked (S150). This noise is internal noise of the reception processor 120 itself.

Next, the reception processor 120 processes and displays the thermal noise signal from which the noise is removed (S160). That is, the reception processor 120 may acquire and display an image in real time.

Although described with reference to the embodiments above, those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention can be variously modified and changed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims below. Could be.

Claims (5)

A beam forming unit for beamforming a thermal noise signal and transmitting the beamformed thermal noise signal through a lens;
And a reception processor configured to receive the thermal noise signal transmitted from the beam forming unit and to signal-process and display the received thermal noise signal in real time. The method of claim 1,
The beam forming unit periodically blocks and unblocks a thermal noise signal passing through the lens through a chopper,
And the reception processor periodically receives the unblocked thermal noise signal, and synchronizes with the chopper to remove noise in a state where the thermal noise signal is blocked. The method of claim 1, wherein the beam forming unit,
Beamforming so that the incident angle of the thermal noise signal is automatically changed, or beamforming by changing the incident angle of the thermal noise signal according to a user's command. Beamforming, by the beam forming unit, the thermal noise signal;
The beam forming unit passing the beamformed thermal noise signal through a lens;
Periodically blocking and unblocking the thermal noise signal passing through the lens by the beam forming unit through a chopper;
A reception processor periodically receiving the unblocked thermal noise signal;
Synchronizing with the chopper to remove the noise in a state in which reception of the thermal noise signal is blocked;
And receiving and processing the thermal noise signal from which the noise is removed and displaying the signal by the reception processor. The method of claim 4, wherein the beamforming unit beamforms the thermal noise signal.
Beamforming so that the incident angle of the thermal noise signal is automatically changed, or beamforming by changing the incident angle of the thermal noise signal according to a user's command.

Images