TWI762094B - Locomotive Radar System with Automatic Phase Adjustment - Google Patents

Abstract

A locomotive radar system with automatic phase adjustment, which includes a main board, a radar antenna arranged on the main board, a radar detection module, an angle sensing module, a processing module and a radar phase adjustment module, and the radar antenna is used for detecting At least one obstacle distance and one position angle value, and the angle sensing module is used for detecting a tilt angle value. After the processing module obtains the tilt angle value through the angle sensing module, it sends an adjustment parameter according to the tilt angle value to adjust the output phase of the radar antenna, and then adjust the direction of the radar beam emitted by the radar antenna.

Description

Locomotive Radar System with Automatic Phase Adjustment

The present invention relates to a vehicle radar, in particular to a vehicle radar system with automatic phase adjustment.

In order to improve driving safety and assist in the detection of blind spots that are difficult to see in driving, the technology of automotive radar devices is becoming more and more advanced, such as Parking Assist System (PAS), Blind Spot Detection, BSD), Lane Change Alert (LCA), Door Open Warning (DOW), etc. Different vehicle assistance functions can preset different warning distances. If the radar detects that the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is less than or equal to the preset warning distance, the radar device can issue a warning message to warn the driver.

In addition to cars, locomotives also need to be equipped with radar devices. In particular, large heavy-duty locomotives run fast and rely on the leaning of the body to pass through corners without significant deceleration. However, since the motorcycle rider needs to concentrate on the road ahead, it is more difficult to be distracted by the side obstacles and the following car. At this time, the rear following or side blind spot detection assistance system can be provided by the vehicle auxiliary radar to achieve the effect of multi-angle warning.

However, the radar device system must be vertical to the ground, and the antenna radiation should be horizontally polarized, so that the transmitted detection can accurately detect the obstacle distance. This part is not available on the car Doubt, but on locomotives there will be problems. For example, because the locomotive may rely on the body to tilt to pass the curve when it travels to the curve, at this time, the antenna will be tilted regardless of whether it is fixed at the front or the rear of the vehicle, and the detection field of the antenna will be tilted. When the field of the antenna is tilted, it is easy to cause misjudgment, so that the detected obstacle distance is no longer accurate. At present, there is a method to adjust the phase of the radar beam, but a phase controller must be used. The phase controller has multiple pins, each of which is 30 degrees. For example, if you drive a pin with an angle of 30 degrees, the radar beam will be emitted. To a 30-degree angle, if the pin is driven at a 120-degree angle, the radar beam will be launched to a 120-degree angle. But the inclination angle of the locomotive will not be exactly a multiple of 30 degrees, so the phase controller cannot be used to keep the radar radiation range horizontal.

Therefore, the present invention proposes an automatic phase adjustment locomotive radar system, which can maintain the antenna in a horizontal state to effectively solve the above problems. The specific structure and its implementation will be described in detail below:

The main purpose of the present invention is to provide a locomotive radar system with automatic phase adjustment, which can keep the radar device system in the original state when the locomotive is tilted, so as to avoid the radar device system tilting along with the vehicle body and causing misjudgment of obstacle detection.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a locomotive radar system with automatic phase adjustment, which, after obtaining the current tilt angle value, calculates an adjustment parameter to the radar phase adjustment module to adjust the output phase of the radar antenna, thereby making the radar beam direction to return to its original state.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an automatic phase adjustment locomotive radar system, which is arranged on the front or rear of a locomotive, and includes: a main board; Detects an obstacle and receives complex reflections from the obstacle Signal; a radar detection module, electrically connected to the radar antenna, receives the isoreflection signal and calculates an obstacle distance between the vehicle and the obstacle, and generates a warning message according to the obstacle distance; an angle sensing module , comprising at least one angle detector for detecting an inclination angle value of the locomotive; a processing module, electrically connected with the radar detection module and the angle detection module, and obtains the inclination angle through the angle detection module After the value is determined, an adjustment parameter is sent to adjust the output phase of the radar antenna according to the tilt angle value; and a radar phase adjustment module is connected to the signal of the processing module, receives the adjustment parameter and adjusts the output phase of the radar antenna accordingly, and then adjusts The direction of the radar beam emitted by the radar antenna.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the radar antenna includes at least one transmitting antenna and at least one receiving antenna, the two transmitting antennas emit detection waves, the detection waves collide with an obstacle and are reflected and received by the at least one receiving antenna.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the angle sensing module includes a gravity sensor (G-sensor) for detecting the gravity value of the locomotive, and then calculates the inclination angle of the locomotive as the inclination angle value.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the angle sensing module includes a gyroscope (Gyro) for detecting the steering angle of the locomotive, so as to further calculate the inclination angle value according to the steering angle.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the main board further includes a first chip, and the radar detection module is disposed on the first chip.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the main board further includes a second chip, and the processing module, the angle detection module and the radar phase adjustment module are arranged on the second chip.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the radar detection module is used to implement a vehicle assistance system.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the radar antenna is a patch antenna, a slot antenna, a horn antenna, a Yagi antenna or a dipole antenna.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the main board is disposed on the headlight of the locomotive.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the processing module is a microprocessor.

10: Locomotive radar system with automatic phase adjustment

11: Motherboard

12: Radar antenna

14: The first wafer

142: Radar detection module

16: Second chip

162: Processing Modules

164: Angle Sensing Module

166: Radar Phase Adjustment Module

20: Lighting Elements

22: Car lights

24: Fixed seat

30: Locomotive

32: Pavement

34: Obstacles

36: Touchdown

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an embodiment of a locomotive radar system with automatic phase adjustment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a locomotive radar system with automatic phase adjustment according to the present invention.

Figure 3A shows the maximum detection range of the radar antenna.

3B to 3D are schematic diagrams of adjusting the emission direction of the radar beam through a digital method according to the present invention.

Figures 4 to 9 are schematic diagrams and side views of the signal radiation range of the radar when the locomotive tilt angle is 0°, 10°, and 30°, respectively.

The present invention provides a locomotive radar system with automatic phase adjustment. No matter the locomotive is tilted due to vehicle turning or other reasons and the lights are no longer level, the radar device will still calculate an adjustment parameter according to the inclination angle to the radar phase adjustment module to adjust The output phase of the radar antenna makes the direction of the radar beam return to its original state, so that the radar will not cause misjudgment and generate false warning messages when detecting obstacles.

Please refer to FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 at the same time, wherein FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the locomotive radar system 10 for automatic phase adjustment according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram. In an embodiment of the present invention, The locomotive radar system 10 for automatic phase adjustment can be installed on the front or rear of the locomotive, and can also be installed on the lamp, as shown in Figure 1, in the lamp 22, and the lamp 22 is fixed on the body of the locomotive or Embedded in the hull of the locomotive. At least one lighting element 20 , such as a single light-emitting diode, a light-emitting diode array or a light bulb, can be disposed on the vehicle lamp 22 . In this embodiment, two lighting elements 20 are arranged on the vehicle lamp 22 . In the embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle lamp 22 is a rear vehicle lamp, and the vehicle radar system 10 for automatic phase adjustment can detect the following distance behind the vehicle.

The locomotive radar system 10 for automatic phase adjustment includes a main board 11 . The main board 11 is provided with a radar antenna 12 , a first chip 14 and a second chip 16 . The radar antenna 12 is electrically connected to the first chip 14 , and the first chip 14 is signally connected to the second chip 16 . The radar antenna 12 is used for detecting obstacles, including detecting the position of the obstacles and the distance between the locomotive and the obstacles. The radar antenna 12 includes a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna. In one embodiment, there are four receiving antennas and two transmitting antennas. The two transmitting antennas can send out detection waves independently or together, and are sent out by the transmitting antennas. After encountering an obstacle, the detected wave is reflected to form a reflected wave, the reflected wave is received by the receiving antenna, and then the signal is transmitted to the back end (the radar detection module 142 in the present invention) to calculate the distance between the obstacle and the locomotive obstacle distance.

The first chip 14 is provided with a radar detection module 142, which is electrically connected to the radar antenna 12. At least one vehicle auxiliary system, such as an active safety system or an anti-collision system, is installed therein. The radar detection module 142 is used for executing this vehicle assistance system. The radar detection module 142 is used for receiving the reflected signal of the detection wave of the radar antenna 12, and after calculating the obstacle distance between the vehicle and the obstacle, a warning message is generated according to the obstacle distance. For example, when the following distance of the car behind is less than 50 meters, a warning sound is issued.

The second chip 16 includes a processing module 162 , an angle sensing module 164 and a radar phase adjustment module 166 . The processing module 162 is electrically connected to the radar detection module 142 , the angle sensing module 164 and the radar phase adjustment module 166 . Among them, the processing module 162 is a microprocessor (MCU), and a position angle value between the obstacle and the locomotive is calculated by the processing module 162. As long as the position of the vehicle and the position of the obstacle are known, the forward direction of the vehicle is different from that of the vehicle. The angle between the connecting line between the vehicle and the obstacle is the position angle value. If the present invention is applied to the rear lights of the locomotive, it is to detect the following distance of the rear vehicle. If the detection range is large, the distance of the obstacles on the side of the vehicle body can be further detected. When the wave of the radar antenna 12 detects When the obstacle is too close, a warning message will be sent to the knight. The radar antenna 12 can be a patch antenna, a slot antenna, a horn antenna, a Yagi antenna or a dipole antenna, but not limited thereto.

The angle sensing module 164 is a sensor for detecting whether the vehicle lamp is tilted. In this embodiment, a gravity sensor (G-sensor) or a gyroscope (Gyro) can be used. The gravity sensor first detects the gravity value of the locomotive, and then further calculates the inclination angle of the headlight, as A value of the inclination angle, in other words, if the locomotive is perpendicular to the ground, the inclination angle value is 0, that is, the reference value; if the vehicle is inclined when cornering, the inclination angle value is the angle between the locomotive and the normal of the road surface; The gyroscope is used to detect the steering angle of the locomotive, and further detect the current tilt angle of the headlights, that is, the tilt angle value of the locomotive. If the locomotive radar system 10 for automatic phase adjustment of the present invention is installed on the rear lights, the angle of the tilt of the lights is equivalent to the tilt angle of the body of the locomotive. In addition, the gyroscope can also sense the angle of the three-dimensional space, which makes the detection of the inclination angle of the locomotive more accurate when the locomotive is pressed on the curve. Any other sensor capable of detecting and calculating the tilt angle can also be used as the angle sensing module 164 of the present invention.

When the vehicle light 22 is tilted, the angle sensing module 164 detects the tilt angle value and transmits it to the processing module 162 . After receiving the tilt angle value, the processing module 162 calculates an adjustment parameter.

The processing module 162 only needs to obtain the tilt angle value from the angle sensing module 164 , and then sends an adjustment parameter to the radar phase adjustment module 166 according to the tilt angle value. After receiving the adjustment parameters sent by the processing module 162 , the radar phase adjustment module 166 adjusts the output phase of the radar antenna 12 according to the adjustment parameters, thereby adjusting the direction of the radar beam emitted by the radar antenna 12 . In this way, no matter the locomotive is tilted due to vehicle turning or other reasons, the headlights are no longer level, but after the radar phase adjustment module 166 adjusts the output phase of the radar antenna, the direction of the radar beam can be restored to its original state. The radar antenna 12 will be almost always maintained in a vertical state with the ground to ensure that the radar detection field remains horizontal. Figures 3A to 3D show the detection range and detection direction of the radar beam, wherein Figure 3A shows the maximum detection range of the radar antenna, and Figures 3B to 3D show the radar phase adjustment module 166 passing through A schematic diagram of digitally adjusting the emission direction of the radar beam, after the present invention adjusts the direction of the radar beam, the obstacles 34 in the left, middle and right directions can be detected. The radar beam direction angles in FIGS. 3B to 3D are only schematic diagrams.

4 to 9 are a schematic diagram and a side view of the inclination angle of the locomotive, respectively. Please refer to Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 first, when the locomotive 30 is perpendicular to the road surface 32, the locomotive radar system 10 with automatic phase adjustment is kept horizontal, and when the radiation horizontal viewing angle of the locomotive radar system 10 is 120 degrees, the radar hits the road surface 32 When the contact point 36 is shown in the figure, the shortest distance d between the automatic phase adjustment locomotive radar system 10 and the road surface 32 is 4.978 meters; when the radiation horizontal viewing angle of the locomotive radar system 10 is 90 degrees, the radar The shortest distance d to the road surface 32 is 6.422 meters; when the radiation horizontal viewing angle of the locomotive radar system 10 is 60 degrees, the shortest distance d from the radar to the road surface 32 is 9.013 meters. Figures 6 and 7 show that the locomotive 30 is inclined to the right by 10 degrees. When the radiation horizontal viewing angle of the locomotive radar system 10 is 120 degrees, the shortest distance d from the radar to the road surface 32 is 1.723 meters; When the radiation horizontal viewing angle is 90 degrees, the shortest distance d from the radar to the road surface 32 is 2.672 meters; When the horizontal viewing angle is 60 degrees, the shortest distance d from the radar to the road surface 32 is 4.222 meters. Figures 8 and 9 show that the locomotive 30 is inclined to the right by 30 degrees. When the radiation horizontal viewing angle of the locomotive radar system 10 is 120 degrees, the shortest distance d from the radar to the road surface 32 is 0.784 meters; When the radiation horizontal angle of view is 90 degrees, the shortest distance d from the radar to the road surface 32 is 1.297 meters; when the radiation horizontal angle of view of the locomotive radar system 10 is 60 degrees, the shortest distance d from the radar to the road surface 32 is 2.157 meters. As can be seen from the figure, when the locomotive 30 is tilted, the angle of the locomotive radar system 10 for automatic phase adjustment will also be tilted, which will also affect the signal radiation angle and range. When the locomotive 30 is inclined at 10 degrees, the signal radiation range will hit the road surface 32 earlier than 0 degrees and deform. When the locomotive 30 is inclined to 30 degrees, the shortest distance from the radar to the road surface 32 will be shorter, and the signal radiation range will be shorter. Get to the road surface 32 faster. Therefore, in order to avoid the problem that the radar hits the road 32 early and affects the obstacle detection effect when the locomotive 30 is inclined, the present invention provides the locomotive radar system 10 with automatic phase adjustment, which can adjust the direction of the radar beam, so that the signal radiation range is always Maintain the horizontal state as shown in Figure 4.

To sum up, an automatic phase adjustment locomotive radar system provided by the present invention integrates an angle sensing device such as a gyroscope or a gravity sensor and the radar system on the same motherboard, and uses the difference between the current angle and the reference to calculate The angle of the radar wave should be adjusted, and a radar phase adjustment module is used to change the beam direction of the radar antenna. Even the slight angle change of 2.5 degrees can be adjusted digitally, so that the signal radiation range of the radar can be adjusted. Maintain a constant level state to avoid the situation that the radar misjudges the distance of obstacles or fails to detect obstacles due to the tilt of the body when the locomotive is cornering.

Only the above descriptions are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent changes or modifications made according to the features and spirits described in the scope of the application of the present invention shall be included in the scope of the application for patent of the present invention.

12: Radar antenna

14: The first wafer

142: Radar detection module

16: Second chip

162: Processing Modules

164: Angle Sensing Module

166: Radar Phase Adjustment Module

Claims (10)

A locomotive radar system with automatic phase adjustment, which is arranged on the front or rear of a locomotive, comprising: a main board; a radar antenna, arranged on the main board, for sending out multiple detection signals to detect an obstacle, and Receive the complex reflected signals reflected by the obstacle; a radar detection module, electrically connected with the radar antennas, receives the reflected signals and calculates an obstacle distance between the locomotive and the obstacle, and A warning message is generated according to the obstacle distance; an angle sensing module includes at least one angle detector for detecting an inclination angle value of the locomotive; a processing module, together with the radar detection module and The angle sensing module is electrically connected, and according to the tilt angle value detected by the angle sensing module, an adjustment parameter is sent to adjust the output phase of the radar antenna; and a radar phase adjustment module is connected with the processing module The signal connection receives the adjustment parameter and adjusts the output phase of the radar antenna accordingly, thereby adjusting the direction of the radar beam emitted by the radar antenna. The automatic phase adjustment locomotive radar system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the radar antennas include at least one transmitting antenna and at least one receiving antenna, the two transmitting antennas emit detection waves, and after the detection waves hit an obstacle reflected and received by the at least one receive antenna. The automatic phase adjustment locomotive radar system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the angle sensing module includes a gravity sensor (G-sensor) for detecting the gravity value of the locomotive, and then calculates the locomotive's gravity The inclination angle as the inclination angle value. The locomotive radar system for automatic phase adjustment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the angle sensing module includes a gyroscope (Gyro) for detecting the steering angle of the locomotive, so as to further calculate the inclination angle according to the steering angle value. The automatic phase adjustment locomotive radar system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main board further comprises a first chip, and the radar detection module is arranged on the first chip. The automatic phase adjustment locomotive radar system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main board further comprises a second chip, and the processing module, the angle detection module and the radar phase adjustment module are arranged in the second on the wafer. The locomotive radar system for automatic phase adjustment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the radar detection module is used to implement a vehicle assistance system. The automatic phase adjustment locomotive radar system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the radar antenna is a patch antenna, a slot antenna, a horn antenna, a Yagi antenna or a dipole antenna. The automatic phase adjustment locomotive radar system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main board is arranged on the headlight of the locomotive. The automatic phase adjustment locomotive radar system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing module is a microprocessor.

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