Abstract: A vehicle-mounted radar apparatus for transmitting radar waves toward the outside of a vehicle mounting the apparatus thereon and receiving the radar waves reflected from an object to thereby acquire information about the object. In the apparatus, a target detection unit transmits and receives the radar waves to detect positions of targets. An object position determination unit determines a position of the object reflecting the radar waves on the basis of the positions of the targets. A representative target selection unit selects a representative target from the targets. A same-object target selection unit selects targets belonging to the same object as the representative target. A large-vehicle determination unit determines whether or not the object is a large vehicle on the basis of a number of targets selected by the same-object target selection unit and reflection wave received powers for the respective targets.

Abstract: A target recognition apparatus includes a detecting unit and an estimating unit. The detecting unit detects an object that is present in a traveling direction of a vehicle, and acquires information for estimation that is used to perform an object type estimation to presume whether or not the detected object is an object to be used in control for enabling the vehicle to perform a predetermined operation. The estimating unit performs the object type estimation based on the information for estimation. When a predetermined first condition is met, the control for enabling the vehicle to perform a predetermined operation is prohibited or suppressed. The predetermined first condition indicates that erroneous estimation may occur in the object type estimation.

Abstract: In a system, a detecting module cyclically detects positional information of reflection points of received echoes. A sampling module cyclically samples, from the detected reflection points for each cycle, first and second reflection points. The first and second reflection points are expected to be reflection points of the respective first and second reflective portions of a moving object in front of the system. A first determining module determines whether a distance between the first and second reflection points varies over time. A second determining module determines that the first and second reflection points correspond to reflection points of the respective first and second reflective portions of a single moving object when it is determined that the distance between the first reflection point and the second reflection point is substantially invariant over time.

Abstract: A vehicle-mounted radar apparatus for transmitting radar waves toward the outside of a vehicle mounting the apparatus thereon and receiving the radar waves reflected from an object to thereby acquire information about the object. In the apparatus, a target detection unit transmits and receives the radar waves to detect positions of targets. An object position determination unit determines a position of the object reflecting the radar waves on the basis of the positions of the targets. A representative target selection unit selects a representative target from the targets detected by the target detection unit. A same-object target selection unit selects targets belonging to the same object as the representative target. A large-vehicle determination unit determines whether or not an extent of the targets selected by the same-object target selection unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value for large-vehicle determination.

Abstract: A device for detecting an azimuth has a transmission array antenna having plural transmission antenna elements arrayed along an array axis and a receiving array antenna having plural receiving antenna elements arrayed along the array axis. A reception signal is acquired for each of channels by transmitting and receiving a search wave through each of the channels. The channels are arbitrary combinations of each of the transmission antenna elements and each of the receiving antenna elements. A first spatial frequency analysis is performed along the array axis of either ones of the transmission antenna elements and the receiving antenna elements using the reception signal. A second spatial frequency analysis is then performed along the array axis of the other ones of the antenna elements using results of the first spatial frequency analysis. An azimuth of a target is determined based on analysis results from the second spatial frequency analysis.

Abstract: The present invention provides, as one aspect, a microstrip array antenna including a dielectric substrate, on a back face of which a conductive grounding plate is formed, and a strip conductor formed on the dielectric substrate. The strip conductor comprises a feeding strip line which extends in an extension direction, and at least two radiation antenna elements. At least one of the antenna elements is connected with one side of the strip line, and at least one of the antenna elements is connected with the other side of the strip line. The longitudinal directions of the antenna elements are parallel to each other and are at an angle of other than 90° with respect to the extension direction. The strip line has a bending shape and fully extends in the extension direction so that the antenna elements are connected with the strip line at the same angle.

Abstract: In a system, a detecting module cyclically detects positional information of reflection points of received echoes. A sampling module cyclically samples, from the detected reflection points for each cycle, first and second reflection points. The first and second reflection points are expected to be reflection points of the respective first and second reflective portions of a moving object in front of the system. A first determining module determines whether a distance between the first and second reflection points varies over time. A second determining module determines that the first and second reflection points correspond to reflection points of the respective first and second reflective portions of a single moving object when it is determined that the distance between the first reflection point and the second reflection point is substantially invariant over time.

Abstract: In a radar apparatus, a signal processor successively selects outputs of a plurality of receiving channels at time intervals and repeat, at a sampling cycle, a sequence of the successive selections of the outputs of the plurality of receiving channels, thus sampling values of a beat signal. The signal processor changes a value of the time interval for a current sequence of the successive selections of the outputs of the plurality of receiving channels so that the value of the time interval for the current sequence of the successive selections of the outputs of the plurality of receiving channels is different from a value of the time interval for a previous sequence of the successive selections of the outputs of the plurality of receiving channels.

Abstract: A radar apparatus includes a transmitter, a receiver, and a signal processor. The transmitter outputs a radar wave. The receiver includes a plurality of receiving antennas and a plurality of receiving devices. Each of the receiving devices mixes a reception signal from the corresponding receiving antenna with a local signal and outputs a beat signal. The signal processor samples the beat signal while selecting one of the receiving devices in order with a selecting period that is less than a half of a sampling period. The signal processor samples the beat signal with the sampling period and derives position information of a target by pair matching of peaks of a rising-modulation signal and a falling-modulation signal of the beat signal.

Abstract: In a radar with a non-uniformly spaced antenna array, an extractor estimates a number of arrivals of echoes to the antenna array. A setter sets a number of azimuths corresponding to a number of extracted peaks as a number of tested azimuths greater than the number of arrivals of echoes by a preset number. A determiner determines a level of correlations among steering vectors respectively corresponding to the tested azimuths. A selector selects, from the tested azimuths, azimuths as power-estimation targets based on the determined level of the correlations among the steering vectors. A first estimator estimates a received power level from each power-estimation target. A second estimator estimates, from the power-estimation targets, an azimuth of the target based on the estimated received power level from each power-estimation target. The estimated received power level from the azimuth is equal to or greater than a preset threshold level.

Abstract: A device for detecting an azimuth has a transmission array antenna having plural transmission antenna elements arrayed along an array axis and a receiving array antenna having plural receiving antenna elements arrayed along the array axis. A reception signal is acquired for each of channels by transmitting and receiving a search wave through each of the channels. The channels are arbitrary combinations of each of the transmission antenna elements and each of the receiving antenna elements. A first spatial frequency analysis is performed along the array axis of either ones of the transmission antenna elements and the receiving antenna elements using the reception signal. A second spatial frequency analysis is then performed along the array axis of the other ones of the antenna elements using results of the first spatial frequency analysis. An azimuth of a target is determined based on analysis results from the second spatial frequency analysis.

Abstract: A radar apparatus has a plurality of receiving antennas and an array transmitting antenna controlled to successively vary the direction of a transmitted beam within a range which includes a target detection range of directions. The direction of any target within the target detection range is detected based on a phase difference between incident reflected waves of adjacent receiving antennas. To eliminate false targets resulting from aliasing, each detected target is authenticated based upon closeness of its detected direction to the current transmitted beam direction. The receiving antennas and transmitting antenna are configured to exclude directions of grating lobes of the transmitted beam from the detection range, and thereby suppress effects of received reflected waves that originate from grating lobes.

Abstract: A radar apparatus has a plurality of receiving antennas and an array transmitting antenna controlled to successively vary the direction of a transmitted beam within a range which includes a target detection range of directions. The direction of any target within the target detection range is detected based on a phase difference between incident reflected waves of adjacent receiving antennas. To eliminate false targets resulting from aliasing, each detected target is authenticated based upon closeness of its detected direction to the current transmitted beam direction. The receiving antennas and transmitting antenna are configured to exclude directions of grating lobes of the transmitted beam from the detection range, and thereby suppress effects of received reflected waves that originate from grating lobes.

Abstract: The present invention provides, as one aspect, a microstrip array antenna including a dielectric substrate, on a back face of which a conductive grounding plate is formed, and a strip conductor formed on the dielectric substrate. The strip conductor comprises a feeding strip line which extends in an extension direction, and at least two radiation antenna elements. At least one of the antenna elements is connected with one side of the strip line, and at least one of the antenna elements is connected with the other side of the strip line. The longitudinal directions of the antenna elements are parallel to each other and are at an angle of other than 90° with respect to the extension direction. The strip line has a bending shape and fully extends in the extension direction so that the antenna elements are connected with the strip line at the same angle.

Abstract: In a radar with a non-uniformly spaced antenna array, an extractor estimates a number of arrivals of echoes to the antenna array. A setter sets a number of azimuths corresponding to a number of extracted peaks as a number of tested azimuths greater than the number of arrivals of echoes by a preset number. A determiner determines a level of correlations among steering vectors respectively corresponding to the tested azimuths. A selector selects, from the tested azimuths, azimuths as power-estimation targets based on the determined level of the correlations among the steering vectors. A first estimator estimates a received power level from each power-estimation target. A second estimator estimates, from the power-estimation targets, an azimuth of the target based on the estimated received power level from each power-estimation target. The estimated received power level from the azimuth is equal to or greater than a preset threshold level.