TWI794075B - Removable radar sensing device for parking monitoring - Google Patents

Abstract

A radar sensing device includes a radar sensing module disposed in a housing. The radar sensing module continuously radiates radio frequency signals to the environment where a vehicle is parked, and generates, upon receipt of a reflected radio frequency signal from an object in the environment, an abnormal detection result. A connection module disposed in the housing includes a first connection part for receiving the abnormal detection result, and a second connection rotatable relative to the housing and electrically connected to the first connection part. A connection interface of the second connection part is exposed outwardly of the housing, and is detachably coupled to an electronic device in the vehicle such that the abnormal detection result is transmitted to the electronic device for it to activate the surveillance video function accordingly. The second connection part is rotatable relative to the housing within a predetermined angle range as a result of an angle limiting mechanism formed between the second connection part and the housing.

Description

Removable Radar Sensing Unit for Parking Monitoring

The present invention relates to a radar sensing device, in particular to a removable radar sensing device for parking monitoring.

At present, the existing driving recording equipment with parking monitoring function usually uses the built-in image capture module (such as CCD module) and gravity sensor (G-sensor), and utilizes the execution of software related to motion detection, in the vehicle When a moving object is detected in front of the vehicle or the vehicle body vibrates after parking, the image capture module is triggered in time to continue shooting and recording, thereby achieving the effect of parking monitoring. However, such a monitoring method is relatively power-consuming, which not only limits the parking monitoring (standby) time, but is also detrimental to the battery life of the vehicle.

In order to reduce the power consumption during monitoring standby and prolong the monitoring standby time, a relatively power-saving parking monitoring method has been developed, in which the radar sensor built into the driving recorder is used, and according to the sensing of the radar sensor As a result, the video recording function of the driving recorder is activated. However, a dash cam device with a built-in radar sensor will have a relatively For a larger volume, in addition, the appearance design will be limited due to the consideration of the implementation of the radar sensing function.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a removable radar sensing device for parking monitoring, which can overcome at least one disadvantage of the prior art.

Therefore, a removable radar sensing device for parking monitoring provided by the present invention is suitable for use in combination with an electronic device installed in a vehicle and has a video recording function, and includes a casing, a radar sensing A measuring module, a connecting module, and an angle limiting mechanism.

A casing forms an inner space and an opening communicating with the inner space.

A radar sensing module is disposed in the interior space and operates to continuously transmit radio frequency signals to the environment near the vehicle when the vehicle is parked, and to receive signals reflected from any objects present in the environment in response to An abnormal detection result is generated when the radio frequency signal is detected.

A connecting module includes a first connecting part arranged in the inner space and electrically connected to the radar sensing module to receive the abnormal detection result, and a part arranged in the inner space, which is rotatable relative to the casing and electrically a second connecting portion connected to the first connecting portion, the second connecting portion has a connecting interface extending from the opening and exposed to the housing, the second connecting portion The connection interface is detachably coupled to the electronic device to transmit the abnormality detection result received by the first connection part to the electronic device through itself, so that the electronic device receives the abnormality detection When the result is activated, the video recording function is enabled for parking monitoring.

The angle limiting mechanism is formed between the casing and the second connection portion of the connection module to allow the casing to be within a predetermined angle range when the connection interface of the second connection portion is coupled to the electronic device Rotate relative to the second connecting portion.

In some embodiments, the electronic device includes a USB interface, the abnormality detection result includes a signal in a Universal Asynchronous Transceiver (UART) format, and the second connection portion of the connection module includes a UART-USB conversion circuit to The UART format of the abnormal detection result is converted into a USB format, and the connection interface of the second connection part is a USB interface coupled to the USB interface of the electronic device.

In some embodiments, the type of the connection interface of the second connection part of the connection module is selected from one of Type-A, Type-B, Type-C, mini-A and mini-B and matches The type of the USB interface on the electronic device.

The effect of the present invention is that: since the second connection part of the connection module is electrically connected to an electronic device such as a driving recorder that can support parking monitoring in a detachable manner, the radar sensing device of the present invention is compatible with the driving recorder. When combined, it can be considered as an external radar sensor. Therefore, for the manufacturer of this kind of driving recorder (supporting parking monitoring), it is possible to design a driving recorder with a relatively small volume under less restrictions, which can simultaneously take into account the needs of customers for the parking monitoring function. or not, to improve Cost-effectiveness. In addition, due to the angle limiting mechanism, the radar sensing device of the present invention can be selectively positioned at a desired sensing position within the predetermined angle range.

100: Radar sensing device

1: Radar sensing module

11: Crystal oscillator

12: Processor

13: RF circuit

14: The first connection interface

15: Transmitting antenna

16: Receiving antenna

2: Connect the module

21: The first connecting part

22: The second connecting part

221: UART-USB conversion circuit

222: Second connection interface

3: Shell

31: The first shell part

32: Second shell part

33: Internal space

34: opening

41: card slot

200: electronic device

Other features and functions of the present invention will be clearly presented in the implementation manner with reference to the drawings, wherein: FIG. 1 is an exploded view, illustrating a radar sensing device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a A block diagram exemplarily illustrates the composition structure of this embodiment; FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram exemplarily illustrating the use state of this embodiment positioned at a desired sensing orientation; and FIG. 4 exemplarily depicts this embodiment It can be used in combination with different types of driving recorders.

Before the present invention is described in detail, it should be noted that in the following description, similar elements are denoted by the same numerals.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a radar sensing device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is schematically shown, which is suitable for use in combination with an electronic device 200 installed in a vehicle (not shown) and having a video recording function. , so as to jointly realize the function of parking monitoring. In this embodiment, the electronic device 200 is, for example, but not limited to, a driving recorder, and includes, for example, a USB interface (not shown). The radar sensing device 100 includes a housing 3 , a radar sensing module 1 , a connecting module 2 , and an angle limiting mechanism.

In this embodiment, the casing 3 is, for example, formed by a first casing part 31 and a second casing part 32 to form an internal space 33 and an opening 34 communicating with the internal space 33 (see figure 1).

The radar sensing module 1 is disposed in the inner space 33 . In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 , the radar sensing module 1 includes, for example, a crystal oscillator 11 mounted on a printed circuit board ( FIG. 1 ), a processor electrically connected to the crystal oscillator 11 12. A radio frequency circuit 13 electrically connected to the processor 12 , a first connection interface 14 electrically connected to the processor 12 , and a transmitting antenna 15 and a receiving antenna 16 electrically connected to the radio frequency circuit 13 . The crystal oscillator 11 is operative to generate a clock signal as a frequency reference. The processor 12 operates to generate a sensing signal according to a clock signal from the crystal oscillator 11 . The radio frequency circuit 13 generates a corresponding radio frequency signal according to the sensing signal generated by the processor 12 and transmits it through the transmitting antenna. The signal generates a corresponding received signal and provides it to the processor 12 for subsequent processing. On the other hand, the angle of the signal sent and received by the radar sensing module will be determined according to the required detection distance and required The accuracy of the measured object is selected. Usually, the detection distance of the vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar for parking detection is about 0.5 to 50 meters, and the radar sending and receiving angle is about 60 to 80 degrees. between. In this embodiment, the first connection interface 14 is, for example, used to transmit signals or data in a Universal Asynchronous Transceiver (UART) format. Therefore, in actual use, that is, when the vehicle is parked, the radar sensing module 1 continuously sends radio frequency signals to the environment near the vehicle via the transmitting antenna 15, and in response to any After the object receives the radio frequency signal reflected from the object via the receiving antenna 16, the processor 12 further calculates the distance of the vicinity of the vehicle according to the signal generated by the radio frequency circuit 13 corresponding to the radio frequency signal received by the receiving antenna 16. Information such as the position distance, relative speed, and moving trajectory of the object exists in the corresponding signal receiving direction in the environment, thereby generating an abnormal detection result. Note that the anomaly detection results contain signals in UART format.

The connecting module 2 includes a first connecting portion 21 and a second connecting portion 22 electrically connected to the first connecting portion 21 in a wired manner (see FIG. 1 ). The first connection part 21 is disposed in the inner space 33 and coupled to the first connection interface 14 of the radar sensing module 1 to receive the abnormality detection result. The second connecting portion 22 is partially disposed in the inner space 33 and can rotate relative to the casing 3 (see FIG. 1 ). In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the second connection part 22 includes a UART-USB conversion circuit 221 electrically connected to the first connection part 21, and a second UART-USB conversion circuit 221 electrically connected to the UART-USB conversion circuit 221. connection interface 222 . The UART-USB conversion circuit 221 operates to convert the UART format of the abnormality detection result transmitted through the first connection part 21 into a USB format. In this embodiment, the second connection interface 222 extends outward from the opening 34 and is exposed to the casing 3, and is detachably coupled to the electronic device. 200 (see Figure 3). More specifically, the second connection interface 222 is also a USB interface, which is coupled with the USB interface of the electronic device 200 . Please note that the type of the second connection interface 222 is selected from one of Type-A, Type-B, Type-C, mini-A and mini-B and matches the type of the USB interface of the electronic device 200 . In this way, the second connection interface 222 transmits the anomaly detection result converted into USB format to the electronic device 200 via itself, so that the electronic device 200 starts the recording function when receiving the anomaly detection result for further processing. Parking monitoring.

The angle limiting mechanism is formed between the housing 3 and the second connection portion 22 of the connection module 2 to allow the second connection interface 222 of the second connection portion 22 to couple the electronic device 200 ( The housing 3 can rotate relative to the second connecting portion 22 within a predetermined angle range during the USB interface). In this embodiment, the angle limiting mechanism 4 includes, for example, a plurality of locking grooves 41 formed on the outer ring surface of the second connecting portion 22 and distributed in the predetermined angle range, and formed on the inner surface of the housing 3 teeth (not shown). Since each locking slot 41 corresponds to a sensing orientation, the user can manually rotate the housing 3 according to the parking environment of the vehicle so that the locking tooth is engaged with a locking slot 41 corresponding to the desired sensing orientation. Together, as shown in Figure 3, to obtain the best sensing effect.

Incidentally, since the second connection interface 222 is a USB interface, the radar sensing device 100 can be used in combination with different types of driving recorders with a high degree of freedom (see FIG. 4 ). Especially for the driving recorder that does not support the parking monitoring function originally, it only needs to be matched with the radar sensing device 100 and the corresponding sensor pre-installed on the driving recorder. The parking monitoring function can be easily upgraded by using the application program with the parking monitoring function, and using the abnormal detection result generated by the radar sensing device 100 as a trigger signal to start video recording.

In addition, in practical applications, the overall environment of indoor or outdoor parking lots is also different. For example, there are fixed structures such as walls and pillars or other blocking objects around certain specific parking positions. In this case, because the radar sense The angle limitation of the measurement module 1 itself is likely to be blocked by these fixed structures or blocking objects in the general detection direction to form a large piece of invalid and false positive detection results. Therefore, this practical application will further reveal and avoid method for the above case. When the vehicle is parked, the electronic device 200 confirms that it has stopped at a desired position according to the sensing result of the acceleration sensor (such as G-sensor), and then executes it through the driver's visual confirmation or in combination with the vehicle. The image recognition technology of the electronic device 200 recognizes the surrounding structures and/or blocking objects at the desired location; then, when the electronic device 200 detects that the vehicle engine enters the parked state based on, for example, changes in the battery power supply of the vehicle At this time, the electronic device 200 can generate, for example, an auditory or visual orientation prompt according to the orientation of the surrounding structure and/or the blocking object confirmed through image recognition, and then manually rotate the housing according to the orientation prompt 3 to position the radar sensing module 1 at an optimal sensing position that effectively avoids obstacles (such as walls, pillars, or blocking objects), thereby providing an optimal and effective sensing range. For example, the electronic device 200 provides the generated orientation prompt to the driver in the form of voice playback or display as a reference for orientation adjustment. Test. On the other hand, different angle markings can be attached or printed on the outside of the housing 3 to help the driver rotate the housing 3 to the angle marking corresponding to the most suitable sensing orientation. It is worth mentioning that when the electronic device 200 detects that the radar sensing module 1 has been rotated and adjusted to a certain position through an internal electronic switch, the electronic device 200 can send a test command to the radar sensing module Set 1, so that the radar sensing module 1 sends a test radio frequency signal, the test radio frequency signal advances along the current sensing direction, if there are still fixed structures such as walls, pillars or other blocking objects in the early stage of the advancing path, The radio frequency signal will be forced to reflect prematurely. At this time, the radar sensing module 1 can receive the reflected radio frequency signal to obtain a test reflection time. When the test reflection time is too short (for example, 1 second, but not ), showing that the current sensing direction of the radar sensing module 1 has not completely avoided the above-mentioned fixed structure, etc., when the electronic device 200 can remind the driver again through the above-mentioned voice or display method, to ensure that the driver is manually adjusted The sensing orientation can avoid obstacles such as fixed structures that may cause invalid sensing to the greatest extent. Please note that when the vehicle is restarted, the electronic device 200 will also issue a voice prompt to remind the driver to adjust the sensing orientation of the radar sensing module 1 back to a preset orientation, that is, the housing 3 Turn back to the angle line corresponding to the preset orientation, for example, the zero degree line (not shown).

To sum up, since the second connection part 22 of the connection module 2 is electrically connected to an electronic device 200 such as a driving recorder that can support parking monitoring in a detachable manner, the radar sensing device 100 of the present invention is compatible with When used in combination, a dash cam can be thought of as an on-board radar sensor. Therefore, for this kind of driving (which can support parking monitoring) As far as manufacturers of car data recorders are concerned, they can design a relatively small-sized car driving recorder with fewer restrictions, which can simultaneously take into account the needs of customers for parking monitoring functions, thereby improving cost-effectiveness. In other words, for customers who want the parking monitoring function, they can purchase the combination of the radar sensing device 100 of the present invention and a vehicle recorder with a smaller volume at the same time, while for customers who do not want the parking monitoring function, they can only purchase a smaller vehicle. For small-sized driving recorders, the radar sensing device 100 of the present invention can be purchased additionally if there is an upgrade requirement in the future. In addition, due to the angle limiting mechanism 4 , the radar sensing device 100 of the present invention can be selectively positioned in a desired sensing orientation suitable for a parking environment within the predetermined angle range. Therefore, the radar sensing device 100 of the present invention can indeed achieve the purpose of the present invention.

But the above-mentioned ones are only embodiments of the present invention, and should not limit the scope of the present invention. All simple equivalent changes and modifications made according to the patent scope of the present invention and the content of the patent specification are still within the scope of the present invention. Within the scope covered by the patent of the present invention.

100: Radar sensing device

1: Radar sensing module

2: Connect the module

21: The first connecting part

22: The second connecting part

222: Second connection interface

3: Housing

31: The first shell part

32: Second shell part

33: Internal space

34: opening

41: card slot

Claims (3)

A removable radar sensing device for parking monitoring, suitable for use in conjunction with a vehicle-mounted electronic device with recording capabilities, comprising: A shell forming an internal space and an opening communicating with the internal space; A radar sensing module, disposed in the interior space, operates to continuously transmit radio frequency signals to the environment near the vehicle when the vehicle is parked, and to receive reflections from any objects present in the environment in response to the An abnormal detection result is generated when the radio frequency signal is received; A connecting module, including a first connecting part arranged in the inner space and electrically connected to the radar sensing module to receive the abnormality detection result, and a part arranged in the inner space, rotatable relative to the casing and The second connecting part is electrically connected to the first connecting part, and the second connecting part has a connecting interface extending from the opening and exposed to the housing, and the connecting interface is detachably coupled to the electronic device to transmitting the abnormality detection result received by the first connecting part to the electronic device via itself, so that the electronic device activates a video recording function for parking monitoring when receiving the abnormality detection result; and An angle limiting mechanism is formed between the casing and the second connection portion of the connection module to allow the casing to be within a predetermined angle range when the connection interface of the second connection portion is coupled to the electronic device Rotate relative to the second connecting portion. The removable radar sensing device for parking monitoring as described in claim 1, the electronic device includes a USB interface, wherein: The anomaly detection result includes a signal in a Universal Asynchronous Transceiver (UART) format; The second connection part of the connection module includes a UART-USB conversion circuit to convert the UART format of the abnormal detection result into a USB format, and the connection interface of the second connection part is a coupling to the electronic device The USB interface of the USB interface. The removable radar sensing device for parking monitoring as described in claim 2, wherein the type of the connection interface of the second connection part of the connection module is selected from Type-A, Type-B, One of Type-C, mini-A and mini-B is matched with the type of the USB interface of the electronic device.

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