WO2020021812A1

WO2020021812A1 - Radar sensor

Info

Publication number: WO2020021812A1
Application number: PCT/JP2019/018305
Authority: WO
Inventors: 永石　英幸; 栗山　哲; 晃北山; 黒田　浩司
Original assignee: 日立オートモティブシステムズ株式会社
Priority date: 2018-07-26
Filing date: 2019-05-07
Publication date: 2020-01-30
Also published as: CN112219133A; JP2020016572A

Abstract

The present invention controls, with high accuracy, the radiation azimuth and the radiation range of a beam according to road conditions, etc. A radar sensor 10 wherein an information processing unit 55 generates a control signal, on the basis of vehicle surrounding-area state information, so that a beam having a radiation range and a radiation angle corresponding to the road state is generated. On the basis of a received signal and a reference signal, a signal processing circuit 40 generates respective difference signals before and after a switch-switching operation. On the basis of the respective difference signals, a phase difference detector 50 calculates a phase difference between transmission power supply units 11, 12 as a transmission phase difference, and on the basis of the control signal generated by the information processing unit 55, sets the phase shift amount and switches a switch of a switching unit.

Description

Radar sensor

The present invention relates to a radar sensor, and more particularly to a technique effective for a radar sensor that generates a narrow-angle beam.

周辺 As peripheral detection sensors for safe operation and safe operation of automobiles, railways, transportation equipment, and the like, there are, for example, Doppler sensors or radar sensors using radio waves.

For example, for automobiles, a plurality of radar sensors with different detection distances and detection angle ranges are used so as to cover the entire periphery of the automobile to realize safe driving support and automatic driving. In particular, a radar for long distances ahead is required to have a maximum detection distance of 200 m or more so that the radar can safely stop on a highway of about 200 km / h even on a highway with no speed limit.

アンテナ The antenna of such a radar sensor uses a narrow-angle beam with a vertical azimuth half-width of ± 2 deg or less while securing a horizontal azimuth detection range of ± 8 deg or more in order to obtain a high gain characteristic of the antenna.

A radar sensor that uses a high-gain antenna with a fixed azimuth is suitable for high-speed traveling where emphasis is placed on long-distance performance in front of the vehicle.However, in city driving, when turning right or left at an intersection or at a pedestrian crossing It is necessary to detect a wider range of obstacles, such as when passing by. Therefore, wide angle detection of ± 30 deg or more is desired even in a long distance radar in front.

However, if the radiation angle range of the antenna used for the radar is simply enlarged, the detection accuracy of the obstacle is degraded due to a decrease in the antenna maximum gain and interference of Doppler detection signals from various directions.

As a technique for solving such a problem, for example, by actively scanning the radiation direction of the antenna inside the radar sensor, it is possible to realize both the antenna gain and the wide-angle detection range.

As a technique for realizing this type of antenna gain and wide angle detection range at the same time, a phased array antenna consisting of a plurality of antennas to match the traveling direction of a radar-mounted moving object based on the signal obtained from the traveling direction detection device Are controlled by a phase shifter to detect a relative distance, a relative speed, and an angle with respect to an obstacle in a traveling direction (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP-A-2-287180

As described in the background art, the antenna used for a long-distance radar sensor for an automobile has a half-width in the horizontal direction of about ± 8 deg and a half-width in the vertical direction of about ± 2 deg. The phased array antenna controls the phase of each antenna element inside the radar sensor and actively scans the radiation azimuth, thereby realizing both high antenna gain and a wide angle detection range.

In the technique of Patent Document 1 described above, the radiation direction of the radar sensor is scanned in the traveling direction of the vehicle using the traveling direction detection device. By performing beam scanning in the traveling direction, it is possible to focus more on obstacles in the traveling direction of the vehicle.

In this case, there is no problem when the direction in which the vehicle wants to travel and the vehicle traveling direction match, such as a straight road. However, even if the traveling direction of the vehicle such as an intersection or pedestrian crossing matches the traveling direction of the vehicle, if you want to detect a vehicle or pedestrian from the left or right direction, or when the vehicle goes to the intersection to turn right or left, For example, when it is desired to detect an obstacle before operating the steering wheel, there is a problem that the detection of the obstacle is delayed only by making the radiation direction of the radar sensor coincide with the traveling direction.

An object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of controlling the radiation direction and the radiation range of a beam with high accuracy according to road conditions and the like.

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

のうち Among the inventions disclosed in the present application, the outline of a representative one will be briefly described as follows.

That is, a typical radar sensor has a signal processing circuit, a plurality of transmission power supply units, a reception power supply unit, a switch unit, a phase difference detector, a phase shifter, and an information processing unit. The signal processing circuit performs signal processing.

(4) The plurality of transmission power supply units emit radio waves based on the reference signal supplied from the signal processing circuit. The receiving power supply unit receives a radio wave and generates a reception signal based on the received radio wave.

The switch unit switches the connection state between the signal processing circuit and the transmission power supply unit by a switch switching operation. The phase difference detector adjusts a phase shift amount of the reference signal.

相 The phase shifter is provided between the signal processing circuit and the transmission power supply unit, and shifts the phase of the reference signal based on the amount of phase shift. The information processing unit generates a control signal for controlling a phase shift amount adjusted by the phase difference detector and a switch switching operation of the switch unit according to a road condition.

(4) The information processing unit generates a control signal based on vehicle surrounding situation information indicating a traveling environment of the vehicle such that a beam having a radiation range and a radiation angle corresponding to a road condition is generated. The signal processing circuit generates respective difference signals before and after the switch switching operation based on the received signal and the reference signal.

The phase difference detector calculates a phase difference between the transmission power supply units as a transmission phase difference based on the respective difference signals, and sets a phase shift amount and a switch unit based on a control signal generated by the information processing unit. Switch operation.

{Circle around (4)} The vehicle surrounding situation information input to the information processing unit is information input from outside.

効果 Of the inventions disclosed in the present application, the effects obtained by typical ones will be briefly described as follows.

(1) Early detection of a target can be performed with high accuracy.

(2) According to the above (1), the safety of the vehicle can be improved.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of the radar sensor according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process of adjusting a beam radiation direction in the radar sensor of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of beam radiation by the radar sensor of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of beam radiation by the radar sensor of FIG. 3. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a beam emission setting process based on vehicle surrounding situation information when passing through an intersection in the long distance radar mode in FIG. 3. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a radar sensor according to a second embodiment. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a radar sensor according to a third embodiment. FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a radar sensor according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a configuration of a radar sensor according to a fifth embodiment. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process of adjusting a beam radiation direction in the radar sensor of FIG. 9. FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a configuration of a radar sensor according to a sixth embodiment.

において In all the drawings for describing the embodiments, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals in principle, and the repeated description thereof will be omitted. Note that hatching may be used even in a plan view so as to make the drawings easy to understand.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail.

<Configuration of radar sensor>
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the radar sensor 10 according to the first embodiment.

The radar sensor 10 is installed, for example, at the front of the vehicle and emits a beam to detect a target in front of the vehicle. Further, the radar sensor 10 may be installed at the rear of the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 1, the radar sensor 10 includes a transmission power supply unit 11, a transmission power supply unit 12, a reception power supply unit 13, a switch unit 20, a phase shifter 30, a signal processing circuit 40, a phase difference detector 50, And an information processing unit 55.

The switch unit 20 includes a switch 21 and a switch 22. The transmission power supply unit 11 is a transmission antenna that radiates radio waves such as millimeter-wave signals based on a reference signal supplied from the signal processing circuit 40.

The transmission power supply unit 12 is a transmission antenna that emits a radio wave such as a millimeter wave signal based on the reference signal phase-shifted by the phase shifter 30. Radio waves simultaneously radiated from the transmission power supply units 11 and 12 are spatially combined into beams radiated in a predetermined direction based on a phase difference (transmission phase difference) between the antenna openings.

The switches 21 and 22 are switches for switching a connection state between the transmission power supply units 11 and 12 and the signal processing circuit 40. Examples of the switch include a transistor such as a MOSFET, a relay circuit, and the like.

The switch 21 is connected between the transmission power supply unit 11 and the signal processing circuit 40. When the switch 21 is on, that is, in a conductive state, the transmission power supply unit 11 is connected to the signal processing circuit 40. Thereby, the reference signal is supplied to the transmission power supply unit 11, and the transmission power supply unit 11 emits a predetermined radio wave based on the reference signal.

The switch 22 and the phase shifter 30 are connected in series between the transmission power supply unit 12 and the signal processing circuit 40. The switch 22 may be connected between the transmission power supply unit 11 and the phase shifter 30 as shown in FIG. 1, or may be connected between the phase shifter 30 and the signal processing circuit 40. It may be.

When the switch 22 is on, that is, in a conductive state, the transmission power supply unit 12 is connected to the signal processing circuit 40. As a result, the reference signal whose phase has been shifted by the phase shifter 30 is supplied to the transmission power supply unit 12, and the transmission power supply unit 12 radiates a predetermined radio wave based on the phase shifted reference signal. The phase shifter 30 will be described later.

The receiving power supply unit 13 is a receiving antenna that receives a radio wave such as a millimeter wave signal. The receiving power supply unit 13 is connected to the signal processing circuit 40. The reception power supply unit 13 generates a predetermined reception signal based on the received radio wave, and outputs the generated reception signal to the signal processing circuit 40.

The radio wave received by the reception power supply unit 13 may be an incoming wave directly propagating from the transmission power supply units 11 and 12, or may be a reflected wave from a target obtained by radar scanning. The transmission power supply units 11 and 12 and the reception power supply unit 13 are, for example, patch antennas and horn antennas.

The phase shifter 30 is a circuit that shifts the phase of the reference signal. For example, the phase shifter 30 shifts the phase of the reference signal based on the amount of phase shift set by the phase difference detector 50. The transmission phase difference between the antenna openings of the transmission power supply units 11 and 12 is set by the phase shift amount set in the phase shifter 30. Thereby, the beam radiation direction is set.

The signal processing circuit 40 is a circuit that performs various kinds of signal processing. For example, the signal processing circuit 40 generates a millimeter wave signal as a reference signal for radio wave emission. Further, the signal processing circuit 40 amplifies the generated reference signal to a desired power, and outputs the amplified reference signal to the transmission power supply units 11 and 12. Further, the signal processing circuit 40 also performs signal processing based on the reception signal output from the reception power supply unit 13. Details of the signal processing based on the received signal will be described later.

The phase difference detector 50 is a circuit for adjusting the beam azimuth. A control signal or the like generated by the information processing unit 55 is input to the phase difference detector 50. For example, the phase difference detector 50 calculates a transmission phase difference that is a phase difference between a plurality of transmission power supply units, and based on the calculated transmission phase difference, a control signal output from the information processing unit 55, and the like, Adjust the beam emission direction.

The information processing unit 55 generates a control signal to be output to the above-described phase difference detector 50 based on vehicle surrounding situation information input from the outside. The control signal includes information indicating a set value of the phase shift amount set by the phase difference detector 50, information for controlling on / off of the switches 21 and 22, and the like.

The phase difference detector 50 sets the phase shift amount of the phase shifter 30 based on the information indicating the set value of the phase shift amount described above. Further, the phase difference detector 50 switches the switches 21 and 22 on and off based on the information for controlling the switches 21 and 22 described above.

The vehicle peripheral information device 100 is a device for grasping what road the host vehicle is traveling on, such as a car navigation system, a GPS (Global Positioning System) device, an information device such as a smartphone, or a connected device. Such as cars.

A connected car is a car that has a function as an ITC (Information and Communication Technology) terminal. The connected car acquires various data such as the state of the vehicle and the surrounding road conditions using sensors, and integrates and analyzes it via a network. By doing so, the comfort and safety in the vehicle are improved.

The vehicle surrounding situation information is, for example, map information using the above-described car navigation or GPS device, information transferred from a map information application using a smartphone having a wireless communication function, or information such that the vehicle is always connected to the Internet such as a connected car. This is information on the road condition of the own vehicle which is connected and output from the Internet, and indicates the traveling environment of the vehicle.

Note that three or more transmission power supply units may be provided. Further, the phase shifter 30 may be provided for each transmission power supply unit, and the phase of the reference signal may be controlled for each transmission power supply unit.

<Adjustment of beam radiation direction>
Subsequently, adjustment of the beam radiation direction will be described.

In the first embodiment, the transmission phase difference between the transmission power supply units 11 and 12 is calculated based on the phase information in each path via the transmission power supply units 11 and 12. Then, the adjustment of the transmission phase difference is performed based on the transmission phase difference and the preset phase difference, whereby the beam radiation direction is adjusted.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process of adjusting the beam radiation direction in the radar sensor 10 of FIG. Adjustment of the beam radiation direction is performed by the processing of steps S10 to S80 shown in FIG.

First, the radar sensor 10 is started (step S10). When the power is turned on, the radar sensor 10 is activated, and the phase difference detector 50 resets the phase shift amount set in the phase shifter 30 at the end of the previous operation.

{Circle around (2)} Then, a process of emitting radio waves from the transmission power supply unit 11 is performed (step S20). The phase difference detector 50 turns on the switch 21 and turns off the switch 22. Thereby, the transmission power supply unit 11 is connected to the signal processing circuit 40. Thereby, the reference signal is supplied to the transmission power supply unit 11, and the transmission power supply unit 11 emits a radio wave based on the reference signal.

The receiving power supply unit 13 receives an incoming wave of a radio wave radiated from the transmission power supply unit 11 or a reflected wave from a target, and generates a reception signal before the switching operation based on the received radio wave. The reception power supply unit 13 outputs the generated reception signal to the signal processing circuit 40.

Next, a process of detecting the phase information (φ1) in the path via the transmission power supply unit 11 is performed (step S30). The signal processing circuit 40 generates a difference signal before the switching operation based on the reception signal before the switching operation and the reference signal output from the receiving power supply unit 13.

The difference signal is a signal defined by the difference between the received signal and the reference signal. The differential signal generated here includes the phase information of the entire path including the switch 21 or the switch 22, the wiring, and the transmission power supply unit 11.

(4) The signal processing circuit 40 converts the generated difference signal into a signal having a predetermined intermediate frequency, that is, an IF signal. Hereinafter, the difference signal converted into the signal of the intermediate frequency may be referred to as a converted difference signal. Then, the signal processing circuit 40 outputs the converted difference signal to the phase difference detector 50.

The phase difference detector 50 detects the amplitude information (A1) and the phase information (φ1) of the converted difference signal from the converted difference signal. The detected phase information (φ1) is phase information on a path via the transmission power supply unit 11. The amplitude information (A1) indicates the intensity of the received radio wave.

The phase difference detector 50 outputs the detected phase information (φ1) to the phase shifter 30 as a default phase shift amount. Further, the phase difference detector 50 may buffer the detected amplitude information (A1) and the detected phase information (φ1), or may store them in a storage device (not shown).

(4) Thereafter, a process of causing the transmission power supply unit 12 to emit radio waves is performed (step S40). The phase difference detector 50 turns off the switch 21 and turns on the switch 22 to switch the connection state.

Then, the transmission power supply unit 11 is electrically disconnected from the signal processing circuit 40. As a result, the reference signal that is phase-shifted based on the default phase shift amount in the phase shifter 30 is output to the transmission power supply unit 12. The transmission power supply unit 12 emits a radio wave based on the phase-shifted reference signal.

The receiving power supply unit 13 receives an incoming wave of a radio wave radiated from the transmission power supply unit 12 or a reflected wave from the target, and generates a reception signal after the switching operation based on the received radio wave. The receiving power supply unit 13 outputs the generated reception signal to the signal processing circuit 40.

Next, a process of detecting phase information in the path via the transmission power supply unit 12 is performed (step S50). The signal processing circuit 40 generates a differential signal after the switching operation based on the received signal after the switching operation and the reference signal output from the receiving power supply unit 13. The differential signal generated here includes the phase information of the entire path including the switch 21 or the switch 22, the wiring, and the transmission power supply unit 12.

(4) The signal processing circuit 40 converts the generated difference signal into a signal having a predetermined intermediate frequency. The signal processing circuit 40 outputs the converted difference signal to the phase difference detector 50.

The phase difference detector 50 detects the amplitude information (A2) and the phase information (φ2) of the converted difference signal from the converted difference signal. The detected phase information (φ2) is phase information in a path via the transmission power supply unit 12.

振幅 The detected amplitude (A2) is information indicating the strength of the received radio wave. The phase difference detector 50 may buffer the detected phase information (φ2) or store it in a storage device (not shown).

(4) After that, a process of calculating a phase difference at the antenna aperture surface of the transmission power supply units 11 and 12 is performed (step S60). The phase difference detector 50 calculates a difference (φ2−φ1) between the phase information (φ2) after the switching operation and the phase information φ1 before the switching operation as a transmission phase difference (Δφ).

Since the respective phase information (φ1, φ2) is detected based on the radio wave received by the common receiving power supply unit 13, the phase difference between the paths (φ2−φ1) is determined at the antenna aperture plane. This is in accordance with the phase difference. Therefore, the phase difference detector 50 calculates the transmission phase difference (Δφ) at the antenna aperture by calculating the phase difference (φ2−φ1).

Note that the distance to the receiving power supply unit 13 differs depending on the arrangement of the transmitting power supply units 11 and 12. For this reason, the phase difference detector 50 may correct the transmission phase difference Δφ according to the difference in the distance from each of the transmission power supply units 11 and 12 to the reception power supply unit 13.

Next, processing is performed to determine whether the radiation direction of the beam matches a predetermined radiation direction set in advance (step S70). The phase difference detector 50 compares the transmission phase difference calculated in the process of step S60 with the set phase difference. Note that the set phase difference refers to a phase difference between the transmission power supply units when emitting a beam in a set direction, that is, between the antenna openings of the transmission power supply units 11 and 12.

If the transmission phase difference matches the set phase difference (Yes), the phase difference detector 50 determines that the beam emission direction matches the preset direction, and ends the adjustment of the beam emission direction. I do. Thereafter, for example, both the switches 21 and 22 are turned on, and the beam is emitted in the adjusted direction, in other words, in the set direction.

On the other hand, when the transmission phase difference is different from the set phase difference (No), the phase difference detector 50 determines that the beam emission direction is different from the set direction. In this case, adjustment of the beam radiation direction is performed in the process of step S80 described below.

If the transmission phase difference falls within a predetermined allowable range including the set phase difference, the phase difference detector 50 may determine that these phase differences match. For example, the allowable range may be defined as a range in which a reflected wave from a target can be detected based on information such as amplitude information (A1, A2). As described above, by allowing the error of the transmission phase difference, the adjustment time in the radar radiation direction is reduced.

Next, a process of adjusting the beam radiation direction is performed based on the transmission phase difference and the set phase difference (step S80). For example, the phase difference detector 50 calculates a difference between the transmission phase difference and the set phase difference, and increments or decrements the phase shift amount according to the calculated difference value. The phase difference detector 50 outputs the adjusted phase shift amount to the phase shifter 30, and the information of the phase shift amount in the phase shifter 30 is updated.

As a result, the reference signal that is phase-shifted based on the adjusted phase shift amount is output to the transmission power supply unit 12, and the transmission power supply unit 12 radiates a radio wave based on the reference signal after the phase shift amount adjustment. I do.

The above-described process of adjusting the beam emission direction shown in FIG. 2 is periodically executed to measure all the phase differences between the opening surfaces of the transmission power supply units 11 and 12, thereby obtaining the phase of the transmission power supply units 11 and 12. Calibration can be performed.

As described above, the ability to control the radiation azimuth of the radar with high accuracy on-time after the radar sensor 10 is mounted on the vehicle eliminates the need to generate calibration data for each operating temperature of each radar in the inspection process before shipment. And the cost of characteristic inspection can be reduced.

<Processing after adjustment of beam radiation direction>
When the processing in step S80 is performed, the processing in steps S50 to S70 described above is performed again. In the process of step S50 again, the amplitude information (A2 ′) and the phase information (φ2 ′) in the path via the transmission power supply unit 12 are based on the reference signal and the received signal generated based on the radio wave received after the direction adjustment. ) Is detected again.

In the process of step S60 again, the transmission phase difference after the direction adjustment (Δφ ′ = φ2′−φ1) is calculated, and in the step S70 again, the transmission phase difference (Δφ ′) after the direction adjustment and the set phase difference are calculated. Are compared.

If the transmission phase difference (Δφ ′) after the adjustment of the beam emission direction and the set phase difference match, the adjustment of the beam emission direction ends, but if these phase differences do not match, the beam is processed by the processing in step S80. A readjustment of the radiation direction is performed. In this way, the adjustment of the beam radiation direction is repeatedly performed until the transmission phase difference and the set phase difference match.

Here, the case where the process of steps S50 to S80 is repeated to adjust the beam radiation direction has been described, but the adjustment may be performed by other methods.

For example, in the process of step S50, the switch 22 may be turned off after receiving the radio wave radiated from the transmission power supply unit 12. In this case, the process returns to step S40, and the beam emission direction is adjusted. Further, the process of steps S20 to S80 may be repeated to adjust the beam radiation direction.

After the adjustment of the beam radiation direction is completed, further adjustment may be performed for following the target. At that time, the phase difference detector 50 may execute the processing of steps S20 to S80 again, or may execute only the processing of steps S40 to S80 again.

If the processing is executed again from the processing in step S20, it is possible to reflect an environmental change such as a temperature change in the path via the transmitting power supply unit 11 after the activation of the radar sensor 10, and to adjust the beam radiation direction accurately. Can be performed.

Also, if only the processes in steps S40 to S80 are performed, the process for readjustment of the beam radiation direction can be shortened, and readjustment can be performed in a short time.

Calculating the transmission phase difference between the antenna openings of the transmission power supply units 11 and 12 based on the respective difference signals before and after the switching operation by the switch unit 20 by the adjustment process of the beam radiation direction in the radar sensor 10 described above. Therefore, it is possible to control the radiation direction of the beam with high accuracy.

{Circle around (4)} The signal processing circuit 40 converts the difference signal into a signal of a predetermined intermediate frequency, and the phase difference detector 50 detects phase information (φ1, φ2) in each path from the converted difference signal. According to this configuration, it is possible to perform signal processing while suppressing signal attenuation. Therefore, the detection accuracy of the amplitude information and the phase information can be secured.

Further, the phase difference detector 50 corrects the transmission phase difference according to the difference in distance between the transmission power supply units 11 and 12 and the reception power supply unit 13 or the distance between the transmission power supply units 11 and 12. . According to this configuration, the transmission phase difference is calculated more accurately, so that the beam radiation direction can be adjusted more accurately.

<Example of beam radiation>
After the on-time adjustment of the radiation azimuth in the radar sensor 10 shown in FIG. 2, the radar sensor 10 focuses on the front, which is the traveling direction of the vehicle, and detects the target.

The radar sensor 10 obtains road condition information such as an intersection or a pedestrian crossing in the traveling direction as vehicle surrounding condition information from the above-described vehicle surrounding condition information device 100, so that a vehicle crossing when passing through an intersection or a pedestrian crossing is obtained. The radar scans the beam at a wide angle to detect obstacles in advance to prevent contact with pedestrians and pedestrians.

At this time, the information processing unit 55 determines the switches 21 and 22 and the phase shifter 30 necessary for beam scanning by the phase difference detector 50 in consideration of the road condition information and the own vehicle speed included in the vehicle surrounding condition information. Control. Thus, the beam emission angle of the radar is scanned in a wide angle azimuth, and the presence or absence of an obstacle is detected in advance.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of beam radiation by the radar sensor 10 of FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the beam radiation by the radar sensor 10 of FIG.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show examples of the distance and beam direction when the vehicle enters the intersection.

ビーム As shown by the beam 150 in FIG. 3, in the long distance radar mode in which the aperture phase difference between the transmission power supply units is 0 deg, all of the transmission power supply units constituting the antenna array are used. At that time, the maximum detection distance is 200 m or more, and the detection range is about ± 8 deg.

Since the radiation range of the transmission power supply is defined by the effective aperture size that functions as an antenna, in an antenna array composed of a plurality of transmission power supply parts, the radiation beam depends on the number of antenna elements used. Is narrowed to have a high gain antenna radiation characteristic.

FIG. 3 shows an example in which the width of the road is 10 m and there is an intersection about 40 m ahead of the traveling vehicle. The radiation angle azimuth to be detected at the side of the road at the intersection is about 10 deg, as shown by the beam 151 in FIG. 3 on the left side of the road in the traveling direction of the vehicle, and the beam 152 in FIG. 3 is on the right side of the road in the traveling direction of the vehicle. As shown in FIG.

In the long-range radar mode, the radiation angle directions indicated by the

beams

151 and 152 in FIG. 3 exceed the detection range of the horizontal direction in the long-range radar mode described above. In order to scan the beam radiating angle of the radar in the wide-angle azimuth in the long-range radar mode, the setting of the phase difference detector 50 is set so that the radiating angle of the radar sensor 10 becomes 10 deg shown by the beam 151 and 15 deg shown by the beam 151. A phase value corresponding to a radiation angle of about 10 deg is added to the phase difference value to the phase shifter 30 for control.

情報処理 The added value is calculated by the information processing section 55 based on the vehicle surrounding situation information. The calculated result is output to the phase difference detector 50 as a control signal. The phase difference detector 50 operates the phase shifter 30 to add the phase value and shift the phase of the reference signal based on the received control signal.

In FIG. 3, when the vehicle further advances and the distance to the intersection becomes about 5 m, the radiation angle directions to be detected are about 40 deg for the beam 151 and about 50 deg for the beam 152. The phase value added to the phase difference setting value is a phase value based on each radiation azimuth.

If you want to detect the entire range of the pedestrian crossing according to the road width, in order to irradiate the range wider than the angle detection range ± 8 deg in the long-range radar mode, turn off a part of the switch and radiate the power from the transmission power supply. In order to cope with the above problem, the size of the synthetic aperture plane in the horizontal axis direction by the transmitting power supply unit configured as, for example, a phased array antenna is reduced, and the half value width of the radiation beam is widened.

This makes it possible to scan the beam emission angle of the radar in a wide-angle azimuth even in the long-range radar mode. As a result, not only the front which is the vehicle traveling direction, but also a target such as a vehicle or a pedestrian crossing when crossing an intersection or a crosswalk can be detected, so that safety can be improved.

Further, the power intensity of the millimeter wave signal output from the signal processing circuit 40 may be suppressed to reduce the intensity of the reflected signal from outside the road area, or signal processing of the received signal, for example, a spatial filter for each distance For example, the millimeter wave signal may be cut off.

Further, when an undetected angle range occurs between the beam 150 and the beam 152, the phase amount radiated to the beam 153 is set in the phase shifter 30 as shown in FIG. It may be used for behavior detection or the like.

The phase shifter 30 and the switch unit 20 are controlled by the phase difference detector 50 as described above, and the phase difference detector 50 is generated by the information processing unit 55 based on vehicle surrounding situation information input from outside. The setting of the phase shifter 30 and the switch unit 20 is performed based on the control signal thus obtained.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a beam radiation setting process based on vehicle surrounding situation information when passing through an intersection in the long-range radar mode in FIG.

{Circle around (3)} The flowchart in FIG. 5 shows the processing when the vehicle goes straight ahead at the intersection as shown in FIG. 3, for example, and the information processing unit 55 mainly performs the processing.

First, in the long-distance mode, when the vehicle travels straight, the vehicle travels using the beam 150 shown in FIG. 4 in which the maximum antenna gain is obtained in the front direction (step S101).

The information processing unit 55 calculates the vehicle braking distance by analyzing the speed information of the own vehicle included in the vehicle peripheral situation information acquired from the vehicle peripheral situation information device 100 (Step S102). For example, when the vehicle speed is about 60 km / h and the weather is fine, the vehicle braking distance is calculated to be about 40 m.

Then, the information processing section 55 determines whether or not the range of caution such as an intersection is within the range of the braking distance calculated in the process of step S102 from the vehicle surrounding situation information (step S103).

If it is determined that there is a caution area such as an intersection, the information processing unit 55 calculates the distance from the caution area to the vehicle from the vehicle surrounding situation information (step S104). When the calculated distance approaches the braking distance range of 40 m, the information processing unit 55 instructs the phase difference detector 50 and the signal processing circuit 40 to observe the situation of the entire caution range such as an intersection with the radar sensor 10. I do.

For example, in the case of an intersection, it is necessary to radiate radio waves in the directions of the

beams

151 and 152 shown in FIG. Therefore, the information processing unit 55 calculates a beam width covering the intersection road based on the vehicle surrounding situation information, and calculates the radiation angles of the

beams

151 and 152 from the calculation result (step S104).

Then, the information processing section 55 compares the calculated radiation angle with a preset radiation angle threshold to determine whether or not the radiation angle falls within the use range (step S105). If the calculated radiation angle is outside the use range, that is, larger than the radiation angle threshold value, the process returns to step S101 again.

When the calculated radiation angle is within the use range, that is, smaller than the radiation angle threshold, the information processing unit 55 determines that the radiation angles and the beam widths of the

beams

151 and 152 of the intersection road to be covered from the vehicle surrounding situation information are long. It is determined whether or not the mode is larger than the detection range of the beam 150 ± 8 deg (step S106).

If it is determined in step S106 that the radiation angles and beam widths of the

beams

151 and 152 are larger than the detection range of the beam 150 ± 8 deg, one of the switches 21 and 22 is set so that the radiation angle increases. Control to turn off is performed (step S107). Accordingly, the antenna aperture size is changed, and the detection ranges of the

beams

151 and 152 are widened.

After the processing in step S107, or when it is determined in the processing in step S106 that the radiation angles and the beam widths of the

beams

151 and 152 are smaller than the detection range of the beam 150 ± 8 deg, the information processing unit 55 outputs In the combination of the beam 151 and the beam 152, it is calculated from the radiation angles and the detection ranges of the beams 150 to 152 whether or not an undetectable range is generated in the range requiring caution, for example, in the case of an intersection. S108), it is determined whether there is a non-detection area (step S109).

In the process of step S109, when it is determined that there is one non-detection range between the beam 150 and the beam 152, the radiation direction of the beam 153 radiated to the non-detection area is calculated (step S110). When it is determined that there are a plurality of undetected areas, a radiation beam for filling the undetected areas is generated, and the undetected areas in the cautionary range are filled.

The operation ratio of the beam 150, the beam 151, the beam 152, and the beam 153 is determined by the information processing unit 55 according to the distance to the intersection and the vehicle speed. In this case, the information processing unit 55 outputs a control signal to the phase difference detector 50, and performs control for updating the millimeter wave signal strength and the phase amount addition value of the phase shifter 30 by the time length according to the operation ratio. Perform (Step S111). Further, by outputting a control signal for controlling the switches 21 and 22 to the phase difference detector 50, control for setting on / off of the switches 21 and 22 is performed.

Then, if the beam 150, the beam 151, the beam 152, and the beam 153 are radiated in one direction in each direction, in other words, if the operation ratio integration time becomes 100%, the process of step S104, which is the distance calculation process of the range requiring attention, is performed. And the flow from the processing in step S104 is repeated.

When the set radiation angle of the beam 151 and the beam 152 is within the range of use of the radar sensor or passes through the caution area, that is, when the distance to the vehicle is 0 m or less, only the radiation beam direction of the beam 150 is used. Return to the long-distance mode.

(4) The information processing section 55 performs control to maintain the long-distance mode until the caution range is generated. The occurrence of the caution range is performed by the information processing section 55 acquiring vehicle surrounding situation information such as map information in the car navigation or GPS device which is the vehicle surrounding situation information device 100, and detecting from the acquired vehicle surrounding situation information. .

With the above, the beam radiation setting process is completed.

Although FIG. 5 illustrates an example of the operation of the information processing unit 55 when traveling straight through an intersection as described above, the radar sensor 10 detects an oncoming vehicle or a pedestrian even when a vehicle turns around an intersection, for example. It is possible.

In this case, the information processing section 55 generates a control signal to be output to the phase difference detector 50 based on the vehicle surrounding situation information acquired from the vehicle surrounding situation information device 100, and sets or switches the switches 21 and 22. The phase amounts of the phase shifters 30 are added to set the phases of the radiation beams of the beams 150 to 153 shown in FIG.

(5) Although the operation ratio of the beams 150 to 153 changes according to the road conditions and the passing route of the vehicle, the processing in the information processing unit 55 is the same as the flowchart shown in FIG.

Furthermore, on a winding road, a so-called winding road, the traveling direction of the vehicle may not always coincide with the direction in which the vehicle should travel. There is no change in controlling the phase difference detector 50 by updating the setting.

As described above, it is possible to detect a target such as a vehicle or a pedestrian who crosses at an on-time when passing through an intersection or a crosswalk. Thereby, safety can be improved.

(Embodiment 2)
<Configuration example and operation example of radar sensor>
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of the radar sensor 10 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

が A radar sensor 10 shown in FIG. 6 is different from the radar sensor 10 shown in FIG. 1 of the first embodiment in that a camera 60 is newly provided. The camera 60 photographs a road or the like. Although the camera 60 is provided in the radar sensor 10 in FIG. 6, the camera 60 may be provided outside the radar sensor 10.

において In the radar sensor 10 shown in FIG. 6, the information processing section 55 acquires the photographing information that is the image and the moving image photographed by the newly provided camera 60 together with the vehicle surrounding situation information.

(4) The information processing section 55 has a function of a so-called image recognition process of recognizing and detecting objects, features, and the like from images and moving images acquired by the camera 60. Then, the road condition is recognized by performing image recognition processing on the image and the moving image acquired by the camera 60. The other connection configuration is the same as that of the radar sensor of FIG.

The information processing unit 55 recognizes, for example, an intersection based on a road shape whose image has been recognized, and recognizes a pedestrian crossing with a road sign or a road sign whose image has been recognized. Other road conditions are similarly recognized by road signs, road shapes, road signs, and the like.

As described above, the information processing unit 55 recognizes the road condition including the distance around the vehicle, and performs control to set the radiation range and the radiation angle of the beam according to the recognized road condition. These control processes are the same as those in the flowchart of FIG.

As described above, by performing the image recognition processing from the image and the moving image acquired by the camera 60, more advanced road condition information can be acquired.

FIG. 6 shows an example in which the information processing unit 55 controls the radiation range and the radiation angle of the beam using the image and the moving image acquired by the camera 60 and the vehicle surrounding situation information. May acquire the image and the moving image acquired by the camera 60 as vehicle surrounding situation information, and control the radiation range and the radiation angle of the beam using information recognized from the acquired vehicle surrounding situation information.

(Embodiment 3)
<Configuration example and operation example of radar sensor>
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of the radar sensor 10 according to the third embodiment.

が A radar sensor 10 shown in FIG. 7 is different from the radar sensor 10 shown in FIG. 1 of the first embodiment in that an angular velocity sensor 65 is newly provided.

The angular velocity sensor 65 is a sensor that detects, for example, the turning speed of the vehicle. The angular velocity sensor 65 may also be provided outside the radar sensor 10, for example, outside the vehicle.

角 The angular velocity information detected by the angular velocity sensor 65 is input to the information processing unit 55 together with the vehicle surrounding situation information. The information processing section 55 generates a control signal so as to scan the beam radiating angle of the radar in a wide-angle azimuth according to the angular velocity information of the vehicle detected by the angular velocity sensor 65 when the vehicle passes through the curve. Thus, the presence or absence of an obstacle can be detected in advance.

Specifically, the phase difference detector 50 and the signal processing circuit 40 are controlled so that the beam scans in a wider angle azimuth as the amount of angular velocity of the vehicle increases. By performing control to switch the switches 21 and 22 in accordance with the vehicle speed information obtained from the vehicle surrounding information information, the horizontal axis size of the synthetic aperture surface of the antenna is changed, and the half-width of the transmission beam is switched.

This makes it possible to set the radiation range and the radiation angle in accordance with the amount of displacement in the traveling direction of the vehicle and the vehicle speed. As a result, the beam is appropriately scanned in the traveling direction in which the vehicle should travel, even when traveling in various environments, such as when traveling on a highway curve, a gentle curve on a general road, or a sharp curve with a small curve radius. be able to.

As described above, by controlling the phase shift amount of the phase shifter 30 and the switching of the switches 21 and 22 based on the angular velocity information detected by the angular velocity sensor 65, the beam irradiation and the beam radiation focused on the traveling direction of the vehicle are performed. Range adjustment can be performed on-time.

Thus, the radiation range of the beam can be controlled with high accuracy according to the speed of the curve of the vehicle, so that the radar sensor 10 can detect the target earlier and estimate the obstacle with higher accuracy. it can.

(Embodiment 4)
<Configuration example and operation example of radar sensor>
In the fourth embodiment, an example will be described in which the radar sensor 10 is mounted on a vehicle capable of automatically driving.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of the radar sensor 10 according to the fourth embodiment.

The radar sensor 10 shown in FIG. 8 has the same configuration as the radar sensor 10 shown in FIG. 7 of the third embodiment. The difference is that traveling information such as a traveling route of the vehicle, which is output from an automatic driving ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 111 that controls automatic driving of the vehicle, is input to the information processing unit 55.

In the case of a vehicle capable of automatic driving, the traveling route to be followed by the vehicle is determined by the automatic driving ECU 111 searching for a route. The automatic driving ECU 111 sequentially determines a traveling route to be followed by the vehicle for obtaining vehicle driving that has the least danger of collision with an obstacle and that does not cause a sense of discomfort such as sudden acceleration, sudden braking, or sudden steering.

The information processing unit 55 performs phase shifter 30 based on the travel route information determined by the automatic driving ECU 111, the angular velocity information detected by the angular velocity sensor 65, the road situation information obtained from the vehicle surrounding situation information, the own vehicle speed information, and the like. And a control signal for controlling the switching of the switches 21 and 22 is output to the phase difference detector 50. The phase difference detector 50 sets the phase of the phase shifter 30 and switches the switches 21 and 22 based on the received control signal.

In this case, the information processing unit 55 updates the setting information of the phase shift by the phase difference detector 50 every time the route information of the automatic driving ECU 111 is updated according to the traveling environment. As a result, the radiation range and radiation angle of the radar required during automatic driving are appropriately applied, and early detection by the radar sensor 10 and highly accurate estimation of an obstacle can be performed.

(Embodiment 5)
<Configuration example of radar sensor>
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of the radar sensor 10 according to the fifth embodiment.

異なる A radar sensor 10 shown in FIG. 9 is different from the radar sensor 10 shown in FIG. 8 of the fourth embodiment in that an inclination angle detecting unit 70 and a radar reflection cross-sectional area calculating unit 71 are newly provided.

The tilt angle detection unit 70 detects the tilt angle of the radar sensor 10, in other words, the tilt angle of the vehicle. Information on the tilt angle detected by the tilt angle detection unit 70 is output to the information processing unit 55. The information processing unit 55 detects a shift in the radar radiation direction based on the input information on the tilt angle. This detection result is output to the phase difference detector 50.

Specifically, the information processing unit 55 detects an angle deviation in the beam radiation direction based on a plurality of relative distances of the target and the corresponding relative angles. For example, the information processing unit 55 estimates the relative angle when the radar sensor 10 is not tilted by comparing the relative angles for each relative distance, and compares the estimated relative angle with the calculated relative angle. Thus, the angular deviation in the beam radiation direction is detected. Then, the information processing section 55 detects the inclination of the radar sensor 10 based on the detected angle shift.

If the beam emission direction at the start of tracking of the target is substantially horizontal, the phase difference detector 50 should adjust the beam emission direction to the left and right in subsequent tracking. In this case, the information processing unit 55 can also detect the angle deviation in the beam radiation direction and the inclination of the radar sensor 10 using only the calculated relative angle.

Thus, by providing the inclination angle detection unit 70, it is possible to detect the inclination of the radar sensor 10 caused by the inclination of the vehicle due to the imbalance in weight balance.

The radar sensor 10 may output the inclination of the radar sensor 10 detected by the information processing unit 55 to the vehicle as vehicle inclination information. Then, the optical axis leveling of a headlight or the like may be automatically adjusted using the vehicle inclination information detected by the inclination angle detection unit 70.

In this case, the vehicle inclination information detected by the information processing unit 55 is input to a headlight auto-leveling ECU or the like that controls the optical axis of the headlight. The headlight auto-leveling ECU adjusts the optical axis of the headlight by controlling an actuator or the like of an optical axis adjustment unit that adjusts the optical axis of the headlight based on the input vehicle tilt information.

This makes it possible to maintain the headlight in an appropriate direction even when the vehicle is tilted, thereby improving the safety of the vehicle when traveling.

The radar reflection cross section calculator 71 calculates the radar reflection cross section (RCS: Radar Cross Section) of the target. For example, the radar reflection cross section calculation unit 71 calculates the radar reflection cross section of the target based on a target detection difference signal (difference signal) described later output from the signal processing circuit 40, and calculates the calculated radar reflection cross section. Is output to the information processing section 55.

<Example of beam radiation adjustment>
Next, adjustment of the beam radiation direction in the radar sensor 10 will be described.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the process of adjusting the beam radiation direction in the radar sensor 10 of FIG.

First, the radar sensor 10 is activated (Step S201). The processing in step S201 is the same as the processing in step S10 in FIG. 2 of the second embodiment described above.

(4) When the radar sensor 10 is activated, a table is created in which the phase shift amount and the transmission phase difference are associated (step S202). The phase difference detector 50 calculates the transmission phase difference for each phase shift amount while switching the phase shift amount set in the phase shifter 30. Then, the phase difference detector 50 creates a table in which the phase shift amount and the transmission phase difference are associated. Note that the method of calculating the transmission phase difference is the same as that in Embodiment 1, and a description thereof will not be repeated.

Next, the amount of phase shift when the transmission phase difference becomes zero is set in the phase shifter 30 (step S203). The phase difference detector 50 extracts a phase shift amount when the transmission phase difference becomes zero based on the created table, and sets the extracted phase shift amount in the phase shifter 30 as a reference phase shift amount.

(4) Then, the phase difference detector 50 turns on the switches 21 and 22. As a result, the radio waves radiated from the transmission power supply units 11 and 12 are spatially combined, and a beam is radiated in the traveling direction (0 deg) of the vehicle.

Then, the relative distance, relative speed, relative angle, and radar reflection cross-sectional area of the target are calculated (step S204). Radio waves emitted from the transmission power supply units 11 and 12 are reflected by the target, and the reception power supply unit 13 receives the reflected wave from the target.

The receiving power supply unit 13 generates a target detection reception signal when the reference phase shift amount is set in the phase shifter 30 as a reception signal based on the received reflected wave, and converts the generated target detection reception signal into a target signal. The signal is output to the signal processing circuit 40.

The signal processing circuit 40 generates a target detection differential signal as a differential signal based on the target detection received signal and the reference signal. Then, the signal processing circuit 40 outputs the generated target detection difference signal to the radar reflection cross-sectional area calculation unit 71 and the phase difference detector 50, respectively.

The radar reflection cross section calculator 71 calculates the radar reflection cross section based on the target detection difference signal output from the signal processing circuit 40. Then, the radar reflection cross-section calculation unit 71 outputs the calculated radar reflection cross-section to the phase difference detector 50.

On the other hand, the phase difference detector 50 calculates the relative distance, relative speed, and relative angle with the target based on the target detection difference signal output from the signal processing circuit 40. The calculation of the radar reflection cross-sectional area by the radar reflection cross-section calculation unit 71 and the calculation of the relative distance, relative velocity, and relative angle by the phase difference detector 50 may be performed in parallel.

The signal processing circuit 40 converts the difference signal for target detection into a signal (IF signal) of a predetermined intermediate frequency, and converts the converted difference signal for target detection into the radar reflection cross section calculator 71 and the phase difference detector 50. May be respectively output.

In this case, the radar reflection cross-section calculation unit 71 calculates the radar reflection cross-section based on the converted target detection difference signal. Further, the phase difference detector 50 calculates a relative distance, a relative angle, and a relative speed of the target based on the converted target detection difference signal.

The calculated relative distance, relative speed, relative angle, and radar reflection cross-sectional area may be buffered by the phase difference detector 50, or may be stored in a storage device (not shown) or the like.

When the radar reflection cross-section calculated by the radar reflection cross-section calculation unit 71 is output to the phase difference detector 50, the beam emission direction is adjusted according to the characteristics of the target so that the radar reflection cross-section becomes the maximum value (step S205). , S206).

Specifically, the process of step S205 determines whether or not the radar reflection cross-sectional area calculated in the process of step S204 is the maximum value. In the process of step S206, the amount of phase shift is adjusted based on the determination result in the process of step S205.

Targets include, for example, low-height vehicles such as sports cars, and high-height vehicles such as large trucks. There are also vehicles such as tank trucks where reflected waves are easily scattered. If the vehicle shape is different as described above, the optimum beam radiation direction may be different for each vehicle.

If the beam emission direction is not set to the optimal direction, the reflection intensity of the reflected wave from the target becomes weak, and the signal SN ratio of the received reflected wave becomes insufficient. Then, it may be difficult for the radar to track the target. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the beam emission direction of each vehicle is adjusted in steps S205 to S206 so that tracking is not disabled.

Hereinafter, the processing of steps S205 to S206 will be described in detail.

<Process after the first calculation of radar cross section>
First, processing after the first radar cross section calculation will be described.

In this case, since the radar reflection cross section is calculated only once, there is no information to be compared with the radar reflection cross section. Therefore, in the first process of step S205, the process of determining the radar reflection cross-sectional area by the phase difference detector 50 is not performed, and the process of step S206 is performed.

In the process of step S206, the phase difference detector 50 adjusts the amount of phase shift. However, in the first processing of step S206, since there is no determination result in the processing of step S205, there is no determination criterion for increasing or decreasing the phase.

Therefore, it is preferable that the phase difference detector 50 preliminarily define whether to increase or decrease or decrease the phase in the first process of step S206. This makes it possible to smoothly adjust the first phase shift amount.

After the adjustment of the phase shift amount, the process of step S240 is executed again, and the relative distance to the target, the relative speed, the relative angle, and the radar reflection cross-sectional area are calculated again.

<Process after calculation of radar cross section for the second and subsequent times>
Subsequently, a process after the radar reflection cross-sectional area is calculated for the second and subsequent times will be described.

では In the processing of step S205 after the second time, the radar reflection cross-sectional area calculated this time is compared with the radar reflection cross-sectional area up to the previous time. As a result, if the currently calculated radar reflection cross section is the maximum value (Yes), the phase difference detector 50 does not adjust the phase shift amount. Then, the process of step S204 is performed again.

On the other hand, if the currently calculated radar reflection cross-sectional area is not the maximum value (No), the process proceeds to step S206, and the phase difference detector 50 adjusts the phase shift amount. For example, if the current radar reflection cross-sectional area is smaller than the previous time, the phase difference detector 50 may return the next phase shift amount to a value of about the previous phase shift amount. Then, the process of step S204 is performed again. Thus, the phase difference detector 50 updates the target information as needed.

In the process of step S205, the phase difference detector 50 may perform the determination process with the plurality of beam reflection cross-sections calculated within a predetermined period including the previous time as a comparison target, or may perform the previous beam reflection cutoff. The determination process may be performed using only the area as a comparison target. As a result, the number of objects to be compared is reduced, so that the determination process is simplified and the processing time is shortened.

The radar cross section calculator 71 may be provided in the radar sensor 10 shown in FIG.

As described above, since the beam radiation direction is adjusted so that the radar reflection cross-sectional area of the target becomes the maximum value, a decrease in the reflection intensity of the reflected wave from the target is suppressed. Thus, in addition to the effects of the above-described embodiments, the radar can track the target regardless of the shape of the target.

(Embodiment 6)
<Configuration example and operation example of radar sensor>
FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of the radar sensor 10 according to the sixth embodiment.

The difference between the radar sensor 10 of FIG. 11 and the radar sensor 10 of FIG. 8 of the fourth embodiment is that the travel information such as the travel route of the vehicle that is output from the automatic driving ECU 111 is input to the information processing unit 55. In addition to this point, the steering angle information obtained by the steering angle sensor 67 is input.

The steering angle sensor 67 detects the steering angle of the steering wheel provided in the vehicle and outputs it as steering angle information. The steering angle information is input to the automatic driving ECU 111, and is input from the automatic driving ECU 111 to the information processing unit 55.

As described in the fourth embodiment, during automatic driving, the automatic driving ECU 111 grasps the route information. Therefore, the information processing unit 55 generates a control signal for setting the phase difference of the phase shifter 30 by the phase difference detector 50 based on the route information grasped by the automatic driving ECU 111.

On the other hand, when the automatic driving is canceled or when the driver determines the traveling direction, the information processing unit 55 generates the above-described control signal based on the steering angle information of the steering wheel, and sends the control signal to the phase difference detector 50. Output. The information processing section 55 detects a direction in which the driver intends to proceed the vehicle from the steering angle information, and causes the radar to scan so as to have a radiation direction suitable for the detected direction.

Thereby, the radar sensor 10 in FIG. 11 can detect an obstacle in the direction in which the vehicle should travel at an early stage with high sensitivity and high accuracy even when the route information output from the automatic driving ECU 111 is interrupted. it can. Also in this case, the processing of the beam radiation by the radar sensor 10 is the same as in FIG.

Here, in the example shown in FIG. 11, the steering angle sensor 67 is a sensor that detects the steering angle of the steering wheel provided in the vehicle, but may be, for example, a sensor that detects the steering angle of the tire.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but includes various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail for easy understanding of the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described above.

Further, a part of the configuration of one embodiment can be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment, and the configuration of one embodiment can be added to the configuration of another embodiment. . In addition, it is possible to add, delete, or replace another configuration with respect to a part of the configuration of each embodiment.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 radar sensor 11 transmission power supply unit 12 transmission power supply unit 13 reception power supply unit 20 switch unit 21 switch 22 switch 30 phase shifter 40 signal processing circuit 50 phase difference detector 55 information processing unit 60 camera 65 angular velocity sensor 67 steering angle Sensor 70 Inclination angle detection unit 71 Radar reflection cross section calculation unit 100 Vehicle surrounding situation information device 111

Claims

A signal processing circuit for performing signal processing;
Based on a reference signal supplied from the signal processing circuit, a plurality of transmission power supply units that emit radio waves,
Receiving the radio wave, based on the received radio wave, a receiving power supply for generating a reception signal,
A switch unit that switches a connection state between the signal processing circuit and the transmission power supply unit by a switch switching operation,
A phase shifter that shifts the phase of the reference signal based on the amount of phase shift;
An information processing unit that generates a control signal for controlling the phase shift amount and controlling the switch switching operation,
Has,
The radar, wherein the information processing unit generates the control signal based on vehicle surrounding situation information indicating a traveling environment of the vehicle, and adjusts an emitted beam to have a radiation range and a radiation angle corresponding to a road condition. Sensor.
A signal processing circuit for performing signal processing;
Based on a reference signal supplied from the signal processing circuit, a plurality of transmission power supply units that emit radio waves,
Receiving the radio wave, based on the received radio wave, a receiving power supply for generating a reception signal,
A switch unit that switches a connection state between the signal processing circuit and the transmission power supply unit by a switch switching operation,
A phase difference detector for adjusting a phase shift amount of the reference signal,
A phase shifter provided between the signal processing circuit and the transmission power supply unit, for shifting a phase of the reference signal based on the phase shift amount;
An information processing unit that generates a control signal for controlling a phase shift amount adjusted by the phase difference detector and a switch switching operation of the switch unit according to a road condition;
Has,
The information processing unit is configured to generate the control signal such that a beam having a radiation range and a radiation angle corresponding to a road condition is generated based on vehicle surrounding situation information indicating a traveling environment of the vehicle,
The signal processing circuit, based on the received signal and the reference signal, to generate respective difference signals before and after the switch switching operation,
The phase difference detector calculates a phase difference between the transmission power supply units as a transmission phase difference based on each of the difference signals, and the phase shift based on a control signal generated by the information processing unit. A radar sensor for setting an amount and performing a switching operation of the switch unit.
The radar sensor according to claim 2,
The radar sensor, wherein the vehicle surrounding state information input to the information processing unit is information input from outside.
The radar sensor according to claim 2,
Having a camera for photographing the road conditions on which the vehicle travels,
The radar sensor, wherein the information processing unit acquires photographing information photographed by the camera as the vehicle surrounding situation information, and generates the control signal based on a recognition result obtained by performing image recognition processing on the acquired photographing information.
The radar sensor according to claim 1,
An angular velocity sensor for detecting an angular velocity of the vehicle,
A radar sensor configured to recognize a change amount in a traveling direction of the vehicle based on the angular speed information detected by the angular speed sensor and generate the control signal in accordance with the recognized change amount of the vehicle; .
The radar sensor according to claim 2,
The radar sensor, wherein the vehicle surrounding information input to the information processing unit is traveling information of the vehicle output from an automatic driving ECU provided in the vehicle and controlling automatic driving of the vehicle.
The radar sensor according to claim 6,
The signal processing circuit has a radar reflection cross-sectional area calculation unit that calculates a radar reflection cross-sectional area of the target based on the target detection difference signal generated as the difference signal,
The radar sensor, wherein the information processing unit generates the control signal from the radar reflection cross-sectional area calculated by the radar reflection cross-section calculation unit so that the radar reflection cross-section becomes maximum.
The radar sensor according to claim 7,
A tilt angle detection unit that detects a tilt angle of the vehicle,
The information processing unit detects a deviation in a radar radiation direction based on the inclination angle detected by the inclination angle detection unit, and corrects a radiation range and a radiation direction of the beam according to the detected deviation. Generate a radar sensor.
The radar sensor according to claim 8,
A steering angle sensor that detects a steering angle of a steering wheel or a tire provided in the vehicle,
The information processing unit recognizes a traveling direction of the vehicle based on steering angle information detected by the steering angle sensor, and sets a radiation direction of the beam according to the recognized traveling direction of the vehicle. A radar sensor that generates the control signal.
The radar sensor according to claim 2,
A radar sensor, wherein the reference signal supplied by the signal processing circuit is a millimeter wave signal.