1. A radar sensor, comprising:

the receiver chain is connected to the transmitter by a serial connection,

wherein the receive chain comprises a plurality of elements associated with processing radar signals received by the radar sensor,

wherein at least one of a sampling rate of an analog-to-digital converter in the plurality of elements or a filter included in an analog front end in the plurality of elements is reconfigurable independently of at least one other element in the plurality of elements to change a sensor capability of the receive chain from a first radar mode of operation corresponding to the radar sensor to a second radar mode of operation corresponding to the radar sensor.

2. The radar sensor of claim 1, wherein the first radar operating mode is one of a Short Range Radar (SRR) mode, a Mid Range Radar (MRR) mode, or a Long Range Radar (LRR) mode, and

wherein the second radar mode of operation is different from the first radar mode of operation, and the second radar mode of operation is one of the SRR mode, the MRR mode, or the LRR mode.

3. The radar sensor of claim 1, further comprising:

a microcontroller configured to provide configuration information associated with reconfiguring the plurality of elements.

4. The radar sensor of claim 3, wherein the microcontroller is configured to provide the configuration information to one or more of the plurality of elements.

5. The radar sensor of claim 3, wherein the microcontroller is configured to provide the configuration information to a configuration register associated with storing the configuration information, the configuration information corresponding to one or more of the plurality of elements.

6. The radar sensor of claim 1, wherein the receive chain is a first receive chain and the plurality of elements is a first plurality of elements, and

wherein the radar sensor further comprises:

a second receive chain comprising a second plurality of elements associated with processing the radar signals received by the radar sensor,

wherein at least one element of the second plurality of elements is reconfigurable independently of at least one other element of the second plurality of elements and independently of the first plurality of elements to change a sensing capability of the second receive chain from corresponding to a third radar mode of operation to corresponding to a fourth radar mode of operation.

7. The radar sensor of claim 1, wherein the receive chain is a first receive chain and the plurality of elements is a first plurality of elements, and

wherein the radar sensor further comprises:

a second receive chain comprising a second plurality of elements associated with processing the radar signals received by the radar sensor,

the second plurality of elements is configured to cause the radar sensor to operate in a third radar mode of operation; and is

The first and second pluralities of elements are configured to cause the radar sensor to operate in the second and third radar modes of operation simultaneously.

8. The radar sensor of claim 7, wherein a data output rate associated with the second radar operation mode matches a data output rate associated with the third radar operation mode.

9. The radar sensor of claim 7, wherein the second plurality of elements includes another filter to perform band selection associated with digital signals corresponding to the second receive chain.

10. The radar sensor of claim 7, wherein the first plurality of elements and the second plurality of elements are arranged on a single integrated circuit.

11. The radar sensor of claim 1, wherein the receive chain is a first receive chain and the plurality of elements is a first plurality of elements, and

wherein the radar sensor further comprises:

a second receive chain comprising a second plurality of elements associated with processing the radar signals received by the radar sensor, an

A wave digital filter for processing a combined digital signal associated with the first receive chain and the second receive chain,

the wave digital filter is included in the first plurality of elements and the second plurality of elements.

12. The radar sensor of claim 1, wherein the radar sensor is a frequency modulated continuous wave radar sensor.

13. The radar sensor of claim 1, wherein the at least one other element of the plurality of elements comprises at least one of:

an antenna is provided on the base plate,

a low noise amplifier for amplifying the low noise signal,

mixers, or

A digital front end.

14. The radar sensor of claim 1, wherein each element of the plurality of elements is an independently reconfigurable element.

15. The radar sensor of claim 6, wherein at least one element of the first plurality of elements is reconfigurable independently of at least one other element of the first plurality of elements and independently of the second plurality of elements.

16. The radar sensor of claim 6, further comprising:

a microcontroller configured to provide configuration information associated with reconfiguring one or more of the first plurality of elements and/or the second plurality of elements.

17. The radar sensor of claim 7, wherein one or more elements of the second plurality of elements are reconfigured to cause the radar sensor to operate in the second and fourth radar modes of operation simultaneously.

18. The radar sensor of claim 1, further comprising:

a wave digital filter configured to:

receiving a first digital signal associated with the receive chain;

receiving a second digital signal associated with another receive chain of the radar sensor;

wherein the first digital signal and the second digital signal are received as a combined digital signal combined by frequency multiplexing; and is

The combined digital signal is processed.

19. The radar sensor of claim 18, wherein the wave digital filter, when processing the combined digital signal, is configured to:

separating the combined digital signal into a low-pass output corresponding to the first digital signal and a high-pass output corresponding to the second digital signal,

wherein the low-pass output and the high-pass output are processed.

20. The radar sensor of claim 19, the high-pass output being multiplied by an interleaving sequence before being processed.

Background

Radar-based sensors may use Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar to determine the range, velocity, and/or angular position of a target. Such radar-based sensors may be configured to operate in a short-range radar (SRR) mode (e.g., detection range of about 0.05 meters to about 20 meters), a medium-range radar (MRR) mode (e.g., detection range of about 1 meter to 60 meters), a long-range radar (LRR) mode (e.g., detection range of about 10 meters to 200 meters), and so forth.

Disclosure of Invention

According to some possible embodiments, a Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar sensor may include: a receive chain, wherein the receive chain comprises a plurality of elements associated with processing the radar signal, and wherein at least one element of the plurality of elements may be configured to be independent of at least one other element of the plurality of elements.

According to some possible embodiments, the radar sensor may include: a first receive chain comprising a first plurality of elements associated with processing radar signals, wherein at least one element of the first plurality of elements is configurable independently of at least one other element of the first plurality of elements and a second plurality of elements associated with the second receive chain; and the second receive chain includes a second plurality of elements associated with processing the radar signal, wherein at least one element of the second plurality of elements is configurable independently of at least one other element of the second plurality of elements and the first plurality of elements associated with the first receive chain.

According to some possible embodiments, a Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar sensor may include a plurality of elements to process a signal and provide an output, wherein the plurality of elements are associated with a receive chain of the FMCW radar sensor, and wherein an element of the plurality of elements may be configured independently of other elements of the plurality of elements.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an overview of example embodiments described herein;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an example FMCW radar sensor in which techniques described herein may be implemented;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an example embodiment of an FMCW radar sensor having receive chains that are independently configurable to allow the FMCW radar sensor to operate in different modes simultaneously;

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an additional example embodiment of an FMCW radar sensor having a receive chain that is independently configurable to allow the FMCW radar sensor to operate in different modes simultaneously; and

fig. 5 is a diagram of an example implementation of an FMCW radar sensor that includes a single bidirectional wave digital filter used by multiple receive chains.

Detailed Description

The following detailed description of example embodiments refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements.

Applications for FMCW radar sensors may require sensing capabilities in different range ranges, and each range may have different resolution requirements (e.g., range resolution, speed resolution, azimuth (i.e., angle) resolution, etc.). For example, automotive applications for FMCW radar sensors (e.g., Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), autonomous driving systems, etc.) may require that the FMCW radar sensors be capable of operating in at least two modes, e.g., super SRR mode, MRR mode, and LRR mode, at a given time during operation.

One technique to meet the different sensing capability requirements is to use an FMCW radar system that includes multiple FMCW radar sensors. Here, elements of the receive chain (e.g., including one or more Radio Frequency (RF) elements, digital elements, etc.) of each FMCW radar sensor are statically configured to provide sensing capabilities corresponding to different ranges. For example, elements of a receive chain of a first FMCW radar sensor may be configured to provide SRR sensing capabilities, while elements of a receive chain of a second (i.e., different) FMCW radar sensor may be configured to provide MRR sensing capabilities. However, the use of multiple FMCW radar sensors results in increased cost (e.g., in terms of money, power consumption, processor usage, etc.) and/or complexity of the FMCW radar system. Furthermore, elements of the receive chain may be statically configured (i.e., not reconfigurable) so as to prevent the first FMCW radar sensor or the second FMCW radar sensor from operating in additional and/or different modes, except where the first and second FMCW radar sensors are initially configured.

Another technique to meet the demand for different sensing capabilities is to use FMCW radar sensors that are operated in multiple modes sequentially. For example, elements of a first receive chain of an FMCW radar sensor may be statically configured to provide SRR sensing capability and elements of a second receive chain of the FMCW radar sensor may be statically configured to provide MRR sensing capability. Here, during operation, the FMCW radar sensor may switch back and forth between using the first receive chain (i.e., operating as an SRR sensor) and using the second receive chain (i.e., operating as an MRR sensor). In other words, the FMCW radar sensor may be operated in multiple modes sequentially, but may be operated in only one mode at a given time. However, such sequential operation results in increased power consumption (e.g., as compared to a single mode of operation) and/or causes safety issues associated with FMCW radar sensors. Furthermore, as described above, the elements of the receive chain may be statically configured, thereby preventing the FMCW radar sensor from being configured to operate in an additional or different mode.

Embodiments described herein provide an FMCW radar sensor with one or more receive chains that include independently configurable elements. In some embodiments, such independently configurable elements allow the FMCW radar sensor to operate in multiple modes simultaneously. In some embodiments, the FMCW radar sensor may include multiple receive chains, where elements of each receive chain are independently configurable.

Fig. 1 is a diagram of an overview of an example implementation 100 described herein. As shown in fig. 1, assume that the FMCW radar sensor includes a first Rx chain including a first set of components (e.g., component 1A, component 1B, and component 1C), a second Rx chain including a second set of components (e.g., component 2A, component 2B, and component 2C), and a microcontroller. The set of components may include one or more elements associated with processing the radar signal to provide a digital output, such as a low noise amplifier, a mixer, an analog front end, an analog-to-digital converter, a digital front end, and so forth. Further, assume that the microcontroller determines that the FMCW radar sensor is to operate in a first mode (i.e., mode 1) for detecting targets within a first range of distances and in a second mode (i.e., mode 2) for detecting targets within a second range of distances.

As shown in fig. 1, the microcontroller may provide configuration information associated with elements of the first Rx chain and the second Rx chain. The configuration information may include information identifying parameter settings that configure or manage the manner in which the elements operate. In some embodiments, the microcontroller may provide configuration information to the elements included in the Rx chain. Additionally or alternatively, the microcontroller may provide configuration information to a configuration register associated with storing the configuration information, where the configuration information corresponds to one or more elements of one or more Rx chains.

As further shown in fig. 1, the microcontroller may provide first configuration information associated with the first Rx chain indicating (for the first Rx chain to operate in the first mode) that element 1A is to operate based on the first element a configuration, element 1B is to operate based on the first element B configuration, and element 1C is to operate based on the first element C configuration. As shown, each element of the first Rx chain may be independently configured.

As further shown in fig. 1, the microcontroller may also provide second configuration information associated with the second Rx chain indicating (for the second Rx chain to operate in the second mode) that the element 2A is to operate based on the second element a configuration and the element 2C is to operate based on the second element C configuration. It should be noted that in this example, the microcontroller does not provide configuration information associated with element 2B (e.g., the microcontroller may determine that element 2B has been configured with the second element B configuration and does not need to be reconfigured). As shown, each element of the second Rx chain may be independently configurable. Further, as shown in this example, the FMCW radar sensor may include multiple Rx chains, each with one or more independently configurable elements. Here, due to the independent configuration of the elements of the first Rx chain and the second Rx chain, the FMCW radar sensor may be simultaneously operated in different modes. In some embodiments, elements of the Rx chain may be reconfigured (e.g., at a later time) in order for the FMCW radar sensor to provide sensing capabilities associated with one or more other ranges.

As noted above, fig. 1 is provided as an example only. Other examples are possible and may differ from that described with respect to fig. 1. For example, fig. 1 and other example embodiments described herein are described in the context of an FMCW radar sensor, and the techniques described herein may be equally applicable to another type of radar-based sensor.

Fig. 2 is a diagram of an example FMCW radar sensor 200 that may implement techniques described herein. As shown in FIG. 2, FMCW radar sensor 200 may include a set of receive chains 205-1 through 205-N (N ≧ 1) (referred to herein as Rx chains 205-1 through Rx chains 205-N). As shown, each Rx chain 205 may include an antenna 210 (e.g., antenna 210-1 through antenna 210-N), a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA)215 (e.g., LNA215-1 through LNA215-N), a mixer 220 (e.g., mixer 220-1 through mixer 220-N), an Analog Front End (AFE)225 (e.g., AFE225-1 through AFE 225-N), an analog-to-digital (ADC)230 (e.g., ADC230-1 through ADC 230-N), and a Digital Front End (DFE)235 (e.g., DFE 235-1 through DFE 235-N). As further shown, the FMCW radar sensor 200 may also include a configuration register 240 and a Microcontroller (MCU) 245.

In some embodiments, the FMCW radar sensor 200 may be implemented on a single integrated circuit (i.e., the Rx chain 205, the configuration registers 240, and the MCU245 may be implemented on a single integrated circuit). Additionally or alternatively, one or more Rx chains 205 of the FMCW radar sensor 200 and the configuration registers 240 may be implemented on a single integrated circuit, while the MCU245 may be implemented on a different integrated circuit. Additionally or alternatively, one or more Rx chains 205 of the FMCW radar sensor 200 may be implemented on a single integrated circuit, while the configuration registers 240 and/or the MCU245 may be implemented on different integrated circuits.

Rx chain 205 includes a set of elements associated with receiving and processing radar signals and provides an output (e.g., a digital output) corresponding to the radar signals. For example, as shown in fig. 2, Rx chain 205 may include antenna 210, LNA215, mixer 220, AFE225, ADC230, and DFE 235. It should be noted that although the Rx chains 205 of the FMCW radar sensor 200 are shown as having the same elements, one or more Rx chains of the FMCW radar sensor 200 may include different elements.

In some embodiments, one or more elements of Rx chain 205 may be independently configurable (e.g., based on information stored by configuration registers 240 and/or provided by MCU 245). In some embodiments, the FMCW radar sensor 200 may include multiple Rx chains 205. In some embodiments, the FMCW radar sensor 200 may include multiple Rx chains 205 arranged on a single integrated circuit.

The antenna 210 includes components capable of receiving radar signals (i.e., radio waves) and converting the radar signals into electrical signals for further processing by other components of the Rx chain 205. In some implementations, the antenna 210 may be connected to the LNA215 such that the antenna 210 may provide an electrical signal to the LNA 215.

LNA215 includes components capable of amplifying electrical signals. In some embodiments, the LNA215 may be arranged to receive the electrical signal provided by the antenna 210 and amplify the electrical signal without significantly reducing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the electrical signal. In some embodiments, one or more parameters of LNA215 may be configurable. For example, the gain parameters of the LNA215 may be configured based on information stored by the configuration register 240 and/or provided by the MCU245 (i.e., the LNA215 may have a variable gain). In some embodiments, LNA215 may provide the amplified electrical signal to mixer 220.

Mixer 220 includes components capable of mixing the amplified electrical signal (e.g., received from LNA 215) with an oscillating electrical signal provided by a local oscillator (not shown) to produce an electrical signal at an Intermediate Frequency (IF) (referred to herein as an IF electrical signal) that may be further processed by other components of Rx chain 205. In some embodiments, the mixer 220 may provide the IF electrical signal to the AFE 225.

AFE225 includes one or more elements associated with filtering and/or processing the IF electrical signal (e.g., provided by mixer 220) to generate an amplified and filtered electrical signal (referred to herein as an amplified/filtered electrical signal) for conversion by ADC 230. For example, the AFE225 may include one or more analog baseband filters, such as a high pass filter, a low pass filter, a band pass filter, and the like. In some implementations, one or more parameters of the AFE225 may be configurable. For example, the cutoff frequency of the filters included in AFE225 may be based on information stored by configuration registers 240 and/or provided by MCU 245. As another example, the gain parameters of the filters included in AFE225 may be configured according to information stored by configuration registers 240 and/or provided by MCU 245. In some embodiments, the AFE225 may be connected to the ADC230 so as to allow the AFE225 to provide an amplified/filtered electrical signal to the ADC 230.

The ADC230 includes components capable of converting the amplified/filtered electrical signal (e.g., provided by the AFE 225) from the analog domain to the digital domain. In other words, the ADC230 includes elements capable of converting the amplified/filtered electrical signal from an analog signal to a digital signal. In some implementations, one or more parameters of the ADC230 may be configurable. For example, the sampling rate of ADC230 may be configured based on information stored by configuration register 240 and/or provided by MCU 245. As another example, the word length associated with ADC230 may be configured based on information stored by configuration register 240 and/or provided by MCU 245. In some embodiments, ADC230 may be connected to DFE235 to allow ADC230 to provide a digital signal to DFE 235.

DFE235 includes one or more elements associated with processing a digital signal (e.g., provided by ADC 230) and outputs the processed digital signal. For example, DFE235 may include one or more digital baseband filters, decimation filters (e.g., a two-way Wave Digital Filter (WDF)), digital filters, interpolators, decimators, and the like. In some embodiments, one or more parameters of DFE235 may be configurable. For example, the filter characteristics (e.g., cutoff frequency, ripple, etc.) of the filters included in DFE235 may be configured based on information stored by configuration registers 240 and/or provided by MCU 245. As another example, the interpolation factors of the interpolators of DFE235 may be configured based on information stored by configuration registers 240 and/or provided by MCU 245. As another example, the decimation factor of the decimation filter included in DFE235 may be configured based on information stored by configuration register 240 and/or provided by MCU 245. In some implementations, DFE235 may output processed digital signals (e.g., to MCU 245) for controlling systems associated with FMCW radar sensor 200 (e.g., ADAS, autonomous driving system, etc.).

In some embodiments, one or more elements of the Rx chain 205 may be independently configurable (i.e., one element may be independently configured from another element of the same Rx chain 205). For example, the filters included in the elements of Rx chain 205 (e.g., analog baseband filters included in AFE225, digital baseband filters included in DFE 235) may be switchable filters, meaning that one or more parameters of the filters (e.g., cutoff frequency) may be configured by using one or more switches included in the FMCW radar sensor 200 integrated circuit, which increases or decreases resistance to the filters. In this example, MCU245 may provide configuration information associated with the configuration filter to configuration registers 240, and configuration registers 240 may provide the configuration information to the filter (e.g., such that the switch operates according to the configuration information to cause the filter to be configured to have a desired cutoff frequency).

In this manner, one or more elements of Rx chain 205 may be dynamically configured by configuration registers 240 and/or MCU 245. For example, the MCU245 may configure a particular element by providing first configuration information to the configuration register 240 and at a later time (e.g., during operation of the FMCW radar sensor 200, between operations of the FMCW radar sensor 200), provide second configuration information to reconfigure the particular element. In some embodiments, multiple elements of the Rx chain 205 may be independently configurable.

Configuration registers 240 comprise devices capable of receiving, storing, and/or providing configuration information associated with configuring one or more elements of one or more Rx chains 205. For example, configuration registers 240 may include memory elements that can be received from MCU245, configuration information associated with particular elements of a particular Rx chain 205, store the configuration information, and provide the configuration information to particular elements of a particular Rx chain 205 (e.g., such that the particular elements are configured to operate based on the configuration information).

In some embodiments, the configuration register 240 may store configuration information corresponding to a plurality of elements of the Rx chain 205, where the configuration information corresponding to each of the plurality of elements is stored independently (e.g., such that each element of the Rx chain 205 may be configured independently). Additionally or alternatively, the configuration register 240 may store configuration information corresponding to multiple Rx chains 205 (e.g., such that multiple elements of multiple Rx chains 205 may be configured independently). In some embodiments, configuration register 240 may receive configuration information from MCU 245.

MCU245 includes a device capable of controlling the operation of FMCW radar sensor 200. For example, MCU245 may include a microcontroller, microprocessor, digital signal processor, or the like, capable of identifying one or more modes in which FMCW radar sensor 200 is to operate, and determining and providing configuration information corresponding to the one or more modes to configuration registers 240. In some embodiments, MCU245 may determine and provide configuration information corresponding to one or more elements of one or more Rx chains 205. In other words, the MCU245 may control the configuration of the various elements of the different Rx chains 205 included in the FMCW radar sensor 200 (i.e., the MCU245 may control the configuration of the various elements of the different Rx chains 205 disposed on the same integrated circuit).

The number, arrangement, or type of elements and devices shown in fig. 2 are provided as examples. In practice, there may be additional elements and/or devices, fewer elements and/or devices, different arrangements of elements and/or devices, and/or different types of elements and/or devices than those shown in fig. 2. Further, two or more elements and/or devices shown in fig. 2 may be implemented within a single element and/or device, or a single element and/or device shown in fig. 2 may be implemented as multiple distributed elements or devices. Additionally or alternatively, a set of elements (e.g., one or more elements) or a set of devices (e.g., one or more devices) of the FMCW radar sensor 200 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of elements or another set of means of the FMCW radar sensor 200.

Fig. 3 is a diagram of an example implementation 300 of an FMCW radar sensor 200 with an Rx chain 205 that is independently configurable to allow the FMCW radar sensor 200 to operate in different modes simultaneously. For purposes of the example embodiment 300, assume that the MCU245 determines that the FMCW radar sensor 200 is to operate in a first mode to detect targets having a first range resolution (e.g., 7.5cm) in a first range (e.g., 0m to 35m) and a second mode to detect targets having a second range resolution (e.g., 15.0cm) in a second range (e.g., 0m to 70 m). As shown in fig. 3, the FMCW radar sensor 200 includes a first Rx chain 205 (e.g., Rx chain 205-1) and a second Rx chain 205 (e.g., Rx chain 205-2). Here, the elements of each Rx chain 205 are independently configurable, as described above with respect to fig. 2.

In this example, assume that a transmitter associated with FMCW radar sensor 200 is configured to transmit radar signals with a ramp duration of 61.4 microseconds (μ β) at a bandwidth of 2 gigahertz (GHz) (e.g., to achieve a first range resolution of 7.5 cm).

As shown in the left-hand box of fig. 3, the elements of the first Rx chain 205 may be configured independently (e.g., independent of each other, independent of the elements of the second Rx chain 205). For example, the MCU245 may provide first configuration information associated with the first Rx chain 205 to the configuration register 240. Here, the first configuration information may indicate that the low-pass analog filter included in the AFE225-1 in the first Rx chain 205 is to be configured to a frequency of 7.5 megahertz (MHz), and the sampling rate of the ADC230-1 included in the first Rx chain 205 is to be set to 16.7 MHz. This configuration may provide a range capability of about 0m to about 35m, a range resolution as low as 7.5cm, a total of 1024 samples per ramp duration, and a processing gain of up to 30 decibels (dB).

In this example, the configuration register 240 may store first configuration information associated with the first Rx chain 205, such that the AFE225-1 is provided with or accesses information that causes the AFE225-1 to operate at 7.5MHz frequency, and such that the ADC230-1 is provided with or accesses information that causes the ADC230-1 to operate at 16.7MHz sampling rate. For example, the configuration register 240 may push configuration information to the AFE225-1 and/or the ADC 230-1. As another example, AFE225-1 and/or ADC230-1 may read configuration information from configuration register 240 before or during operation of FMCW radar sensor 200.

As shown in the right-hand box of fig. 3, the elements of the second Rx chain 205 may also be configured independently (e.g., independent of each other, independent of the first Rx chain 205). For example, MCU245 may provide second configuration information associated with second Rx chain 205 to configuration register 240. Here, the second configuration information may indicate that the low-pass analog filter in the AFE225-2 included in the second Rx chain 205 is to be configured to a frequency of 15.0MHz, and the sampling rate of the ADC230-2 included in the second Rx chain 205 is to be set to 33.3 MHz. This configuration of these elements of the second Rx chain 205 results in 2048 samples per ramp duration, however, only 1024 consecutive samples may be provided for further processing (e.g., to make the data output rate consistent between the first Rx chain 205 and the second Rx chain 205 after the buffer). This configuration may provide a range capability of about 0m to about 70m, a range resolution as low as 15.0cm, a total of 1024 samples per ramp duration, and a processing gain of up to 30 decibels (dB).

In this example, the configuration register 240 may store second configuration information associated with the second Rx chain 205 such that the AFE225-2 is provided with or accesses information that causes the AFE225-2 to operate at a 15.0MHz frequency and the ADC230-2 is provided with or accesses information that causes the ADC230-2 to operate at a 33.3MHz sampling rate. For example, the configuration register 240 may push configuration information to the AFE225-2 and/or the ADC 230-2. As another example, AFE225-2 and/or ADC230-2 may read configuration information from configuration register 240 before or during operation of FMCW radar sensor 200.

It should be noted that in this example, the various elements of a given Rx chain 205 are independently configurable. For example, with respect to the first Rx chain 205, AFE225-1 and ADC230-1 are configured independently. These elements are configured without modifying and/or changing the configuration (e.g., default configuration, previously stored configuration) of the other elements of the first Rx chain 205 (e.g., LNA215-1, DFE 235-1). Further, in this example, the elements of the multiple Rx chains 205 are independently configurable (i.e., the elements of the multiple Rx chains 205 may be independently configured) in order to allow the FMCW radar sensor 200 to operate in different modes simultaneously.

In some embodiments, the elements of the first Rx chain 205 and/or the second Rx chain 205 may be reconfigured (e.g., at a later time) to allow the first Rx chain 205 and/or the second Rx chain 205 to provide sensing capabilities associated with different ranges. In this case, the MCU245 may provide updated configuration information to the configuration register 240 and may reconfigure elements of the first Rx chain 205 and/or the second Rx chain 205 accordingly.

As noted above, fig. 3 is provided as an example only. Other examples are possible and may differ from that described with reference to fig. 1. For example, the FMCW radar sensor 200 may include a third Rx chain 205 that includes elements that may be independently configured to allow the FMCW radar sensor 200 to operate in a first mode (e.g., using the first Rx chain 205), a second mode (e.g., using the second Rx chain 205), and a third mode (e.g., using the third Rx chain 205).

Fig. 4 is a diagram of an additional example implementation 400 of the FMCW radar sensor 200 with the Rx chain 205, which may be independently configured to allow the FMCW radar sensor 200 to operate in different modes at the same time. For purposes of the example embodiment 400, assume that the MCU245 determines that the FMCW radar sensor 200 is to operate in a first mode to detect targets in a first range (e.g., 0m to 50m) and a second mode to detect targets in a second range (e.g., 0m to 100 m). As shown in fig. 4, the FMCW radar sensor 200 includes a first Rx chain 205 (e.g., Rx chain 205-1) and a second Rx chain 205 (e.g., Rx chain 205-2). Here, the elements of each Rx chain 205 are independently configurable, as described above with respect to fig. 2.

As shown in the solid box in the left portion of fig. 4, the elements of the first Rx chain 205 may be configured independently (e.g., independent of each other, independent of the second Rx chain 205). For example, the MCU245 may provide first configuration information associated with the first Rx chain 205 to the configuration register 240. Here, the first configuration information may indicate that the low-pass analog filter in the AFE225-1 included in the first Rx chain 205 is to be configured to a frequency of 20.0MHz, and the sampling rate of the ADC230-1 included in the first Rx chain 205 is to be set to 40.0 MHz. For the purposes of the exemplary embodiment 400, it is assumed that this configuration of these elements of the first Rx chain 205 is such that the range capability of the first Rx chain 205 is about 0m to about 50 m.

In this example, the configuration register 240 may store first configuration information associated with the first Rx chain 205, such that the AFE225-1 is provided with or accesses information that causes the AFE225-1 to operate at a 20.0MHz frequency, and such that the ADC230-1 is provided with or accesses information that causes the ADC230-1 to operate at a 40.0MHz sampling rate.

As shown by the solid box in the right-hand portion of fig. 4, the elements of the second Rx chain 205 may also be configured independently (e.g., independent of each other, independent of the first Rx chain 205). For example, MCU245 may provide second configuration information associated with second Rx chain 205 to configuration register 240. Here, the second configuration information may indicate that the low-pass analog filter included in the AFE225-2 in the second Rx chain 205 is to be configured to a frequency of 40.0MHz, and the sampling rate of the ADC230-2 included in the second Rx chain 205 is to be set to 40.0 MHz. For the purposes of the exemplary embodiment 400, it is assumed that this configuration of these elements of the second Rx chain 205 is such that the range capability of the second Rx chain 205 is about 0m to about 100 m.

In this example, the configuration register 240 may store second configuration information associated with the second Rx chain 205 such that the AFE225-2 is provided with or accesses information that causes the AFE225-2 to operate at a 40.0MHz frequency and the ADC230-2 is provided with or accesses information that causes the ADC230-2 to operate at a 40.0MHz sampling rate.

It should be noted that in this example, the ADC230-2 is configured to downsample the analog signal associated with the second Rx chain 205. For example, for a typical FMCW radar sensor 200 to achieve the desired 100m range capability, the sample rate ADC230-2 should in this case be approximately equal to twice the analog bandwidth associated with the AFE225-2 or 80.0MHz (e.g., 40.0MHz x 2-80.0 MHz). In the example implementation 400, the sampling rate of the ADC230-2 is configured to be 40.0MHz, which is equal to one-half the sampling rate of the ADC230-1 and the typical sampling rate of the ADC 230-2.

In some embodiments, the ADC230-2 may be configured to down-sample the analog signal provided by the AFE225-2 in order to operate the ADC230-2 at the same sampling rate as the ADC230-1, thereby allowing the first Rx chain 205 and the second Rx chain 205 to output data at the same data output rate. In this case, operating ADCs 230-1 and 230-2 at the same sampling rate may reduce the complexity associated with implementing FMCW radar sensor 200 because different data output rates (resulting from different sampling rates) may require different clocks to be configured on FMCW radar sensor 200 (i.e., multiple clocks may be required on a single integrated circuit), which may increase the area of the integrated circuit, require additional components to be placed on the integrated circuit, reduce the manufacturability of the integrated circuit, increase the cost of the integrated circuit, etc. (e.g., as compared to an integrated circuit having a single clock).

However, the down-sampling of the ADC230-2 may prevent the second Rx chain 205 of the FMCW radar sensor 200 from distinguishing between targets located in a range (e.g., 0 to 20MHz) corresponding to a lower portion of the analog bandwidth associated with the first Rx chain 205 and targets located in a range (e.g., 20 to 40MHz) corresponding to an upper portion of the analog bandwidth associated with the second Rx chain 205. In other words, due to the down-sampling, the FMCW radar sensor 200 may not be able to determine whether the target identified by the second Rx chain 205 is in the range of 0m to 50m or in the range between 50m to 100 m. In some embodiments, the FMCW radar sensor 200 may resolve this ambiguity by comparing information associated with the first Rx chain 205 chain to information associated with the second Rx chain 205.

For example, assume that the second Rx chain 205 chain detects a target at a particular time. Here, the FMCW radar sensor 200 (e.g., MCU 245) may determine whether the first Rx chain 205 chain detects a target at a particular time based on information provided by the first Rx chain 205. If the FMCW radar sensor 200 determines that the first Rx chain 205 does not detect a target at a particular time, the FMCW radar sensor 200 may determine that the target detected by the second Rx chain 205 chain is within a range corresponding to an upper portion of the analog bandwidth associated with the second Rx chain 205 (i.e., the target is within a range of 50m to 100 m). Alternatively, if the FMCW radar sensor 200 determines that the first Rx chain 205 detects a target at a particular time, the FMCW radar sensor 200 may determine that the target detected by the second Rx chain 205 chain is within a range corresponding to a lower portion of the analog bandwidth associated with the first Rx chain 205 (i.e., the target is within a range of 0m to 50 m). In this case, the FMCW radar sensor 200 may exclude (i.e., ignore) the target detected by the second Rx chain 205.

In some embodiments, the FMCW radar sensor 200 may be able to resolve ambiguities between multiple (e.g., two or more) Rx chains 205 while maintaining a constant sampling rate and/or data output rate across the multiple Rx chains 205. For example, in addition to the first and second Rx chains 205, 205 described above, the FMCW radar sensor 200 may include a third Rx chain 205 configured to provide a third range (e.g., longer range) of sensing capabilities. In this case, the third analog signal associated with the third Rx chain 205 (e.g., based on 80MHz frequency filtering) may also be downsampled at 40MHz, which is equal to a typical quarter of the 160MHz sampling rate. Here, in the above manner, the FMCW radar sensor 200 may solve ambiguity between the first Rx chain 205, the second Rx chain 205, and the third Rx chain 205 by comparing information provided by the first Rx chain 205, the second Rx chain 205, and the third Rx chain 205.

In some embodiments, as described above, the FMCW radar sensor 200 may resolve this ambiguity when the downsampled sampling rate associated with the first Rx chain 205 matches the sampling rate of the second Rx chain 205. In this case, different Rx chains 205 of the FMCW radar sensor 200 may simultaneously provide different ranges of sensing capability while maintaining the same sampling rate and/or the same data output rate.

Additionally or alternatively, the FMCW radar sensor 200 may resolve ambiguities when a downsampled sampling rate associated with the first Rx chain 205 does not match (i.e., is different from) a sampling rate of the second Rx chain 205. Although the above exclusion principle may still be implemented in this case, the different sampling rates may negatively impact the cost and/or complexity of the FMCW radar sensor 200, since, as described above, the sampling rates of the first Rx chain 205 and the second Rx chain 205 (resulting in different data output rates) may require different clocks to be placed on the FMCW radar sensor 200.

In some embodiments, the elements of FMCW radar sensor 200 may be configured to prevent ambiguity caused by down-sampling (e.g., rather than implementing the exclusion techniques described above). For example, as shown by the dashed box in the lower right portion of fig. 4, the decimation filter of DFE 235-1 may be configured such that only targets corresponding to a range (e.g., 50m to 100m) of the higher portion (e.g., 20 to 40MHz) of the analog bandwidth associated with the first Rx chain 205 are identified by the second Rx chain 205. In other words, in some embodiments, rather than resolving ambiguity, the elements of the second Rx chain 205 of the FMCW radar sensor 200 may be configured to prevent ambiguity.

In some embodiments, DFE235 may include a bi-directional WDF to prevent ambiguity. Continuing with the above example, DFE 235-2 may include a bidirectional WDF to prevent ambiguity. In this case, the half-band nature of the bidirectional WDF causes the bidirectional WDF to generate two digital signals from the digital signal provided by ADC 230-2. Here, the first digital signal of the two-way WDF may correspond to a range associated with a lower portion of the analog bandwidth of the second Rx chain 205 (i.e., a 0m to 50m range), and the second digital signal of the two-way WDF may correspond to a range associated with an upper portion of the analog bandwidth of the second Rx chain 205 (i.e., a 50m to 100m range). In other words, DFE 235-2 may select portions of the input digital signal that correspond to higher portions of the analog bandwidth. This technique may be referred to as band selection. In this case, DFE 235-2 may provide a second digital signal (e.g., corresponding to a range of 50m to 100m) as an output (e.g., after further processing).

In some implementations, using a bi-directional WDF to prevent ambiguity may reduce the cost (e.g., in terms of money, power consumption, processor usage), area, and/or complexity of the FMCW radar sensor 200, such as using a digital filter bank, compared to another technique that may be used to implement such band selection.

It should be noted that in this example, the various elements of a given Rx chain 205 are independently configurable. For example, with respect to the first Rx chain 205, AFE225-1 and ADC230-1 are independently configured based on information stored by configuration register 240. Here, these elements are configured to not modify and/or change the configuration (e.g., default configuration, previously stored configuration) of the other elements (e.g., LNA215-1, DFE 235-1) of the first Rx chain 205. Further, in this example, the elements of the multiple Rx chains 205 are independently configurable (i.e., the multiple Rx chains 205 may be independently configured) in order to allow the FMCW radar sensor 200 to operate in different modes simultaneously.

In some embodiments, the elements of the first Rx chain 205 and/or the second Rx chain 205 may be reconfigured (e.g., at a later time) to allow the first Rx chain 205 and/or the second Rx chain 205 to provide sensing capabilities associated with different ranges. In this case, the MCU245 may provide updated configuration information to the configuration register 240 and may reconfigure elements of the first Rx chain 205 and/or the second Rx chain 205 accordingly.

As noted above, fig. 4 is provided as an example only. Other examples are possible and may differ from that described with respect to fig. 1. For example, the FMCW radar sensor 200 may include a third Rx chain 205 that includes elements that may be independently configured to allow the FMCW radar sensor 200 to operate in a first mode (e.g., using the first Rx chain 205), a second mode (e.g., using the second Rx chain 205), and a third mode (e.g., using the third Rx chain 205).

In some embodiments, the FMCW radar sensor 200 may include a single bidirectional WDF for use by multiple Rx chains 205. Fig. 5 is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment 500 of an FMCW radar sensor 200 that includes a single bi-directional WDF included in a combined DFE235 (e.g., DFE235 capable of processing signals associated with Rx chain 205-1 and Rx chain 205-2) for use by multiple Rx chains 205.

As shown in fig. 5, the bidirectional WDF may be arranged such that the bidirectional WDF receives a first digital signal associated with a first Rx chain 205 and a second digital signal associated with a second Rx chain 205. Here, the first digital signal and the second digital signal may be combined by frequency multiplexing. For example, the second digital signal may be modulated into a frequency interval that will be idle after the AFE225-2 is processed. In some embodiments, three or more digital signals may be similarly processed (e.g., when the target sampling rate and initial spectrum allow).

In this example, the second digital signal (e.g., associated with an analog bandwidth of 0MHz to 22MHz) may be associated with an interleaving sequence (e.g., a [ n ])]＝(-1)ⁿ) Multiplied to produce a modified digital signal (e.g., as shown by the upper multiplier in fig. 5). Here, the resulting spectrum associated with the bandwidth supported by the digital signal is shifted (e.g., compared to a spectrum that is not multiplied by the interleaved sequence). In this example, assuming an ADC 230-0 sampling rate of 100MHz, the shifted spectrum shows support related to an analog bandwidth of 28MHz to 50MHz (e.g., instead of 0MHz to 22 MHz).

Next, as shown by the adder in fig. 5, the first digital signal may be added to the modified digital signal. Here, even if the first digital signal is also associated with 0MHz to 22MHz analog bandwidth, the corresponding spectrum does not interfere. The combined digital signal may then be processed by the bidirectional WDF of combined DFE235 (e.g., decimation may be applied to the combined digital signal). In this manner, a single bidirectional WDF in combined DFE235 can process both the first digital signal and the second digital signal. Thus, a single bidirectional WDF may be used, thereby reducing the cost and/or complexity of the FMCW radar sensor 200 (e.g., as compared to an FMCW radar sensor 200 that includes a separate WDF in each Rx chain 205). In some embodiments, one or more parameters of the bidirectional WDF may be independently configured (e.g., based on information stored by configuration registers 240 and/or provided by MCU 245).

In this example, the bidirectional WDF may separate the combined digital signal into a low-pass output corresponding to the first digital signal and a high-pass output corresponding to the second digital signal during processing (e.g., a half-band low-pass bidirectional WDF acting as a decimation filter can determine the equivalent high-pass output at negligible cost, thereby separating the combined digital signal). The high-pass output may then be multiplied by the interleaving sequence, as shown by the lower multiplier in fig. 5, such that the high-pass output represents an analog bandwidth of 0MHz to 22MHz (e.g., a baseband representation of the lower modulation-recovered signal of the frequency-shifted signal). The low-pass output and the high-pass output may then be further processed by one or more other elements of the combined DFE 235.

As noted above, fig. 5 is provided as an example only. Other examples are possible and may be different than that described with respect to fig. 5.

Embodiments described herein provide an FMCW radar sensor having one or more receive chains that include independently configurable elements. In some embodiments, such independently configurable elements allow the FMCW radar sensor to operate in multiple modes simultaneously. In some embodiments, an FMCW radar sensor may include multiple receive chains, where elements of each receive chain may be independently configured (e.g., independent of other elements of the same receive chain, independent of elements of different receive chains, etc.).

The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the implementations.

As used herein, the term element is intended to be broadly interpreted as hardware, firmware, and/or a combination of hardware and software.

Even if combinations of features are disclosed in the claims and/or in the description, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of possible embodiments. In fact, many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification. Although each dependent claim listed below may directly depend on only one claim, a disclosure of possible implementations includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the set of claims.

No element, act, or instruction used herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Further, as used herein, the articles "a" and "an" are intended to include one or more items, and may be used interchangeably with "one or more. Further, as used herein, the term "collection" is intended to include one or more items (e.g., related items, unrelated items, combinations of related items and unrelated items, etc.) and may be used interchangeably with "one or more". The term "a" or similar language if only one item is intended. Furthermore, as used herein, the terms "having," "having," and the like are intended to be open-ended terms. Further, the phrase "based on" is intended to mean "based, at least in part, on" unless explicitly stated otherwise.