Method for detecting target echoes in a received signal of an ultrasonic sensor of a motor vehicle, ultrasonic sensor device, and motor vehicle

An ultrasonic sensor device for a motor vehicle, comprising:

• a receiving unit for receiving a sound signal and for providing an electrical reception signal depending on the received sound signal;
• and
• an evaluation device for detecting target echoes in the reception signal, wherein the evaluation device is configured to:
• provide a reference signal for decoding the reception signal,
• with respect to a multiplicity of predetermined frequency shift values, provide in each case a correlation input signal by shifting the reference signal in terms of its frequency by the respective frequency shift value to produce a plurality of frequency shifted input signals,
• correlate the reception signal separately with each of the plurality of frequency shifted input signals and thereby to provide respective correlation output signals, as the result of the respective correlation,
• provide, based on the plurality of frequency shifted input signals, a summation signal as the sum of the correlation output signals, and
• on the basis of the summation signal, select one of the correlation output signals and to detect the target echoes by evaluating the selected correlation output signal.