# US 10,768,288 B2 · Azimuth determination with the aid of a radar sensor

> Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt

- Number: US 10,768,288 B2
- Document ID: US10768288B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/485,460
- Filed: 2017-04-12
- Published: 2017-11-09
- Granted: 2020-09-08
- Earliest claimed: 2016-05-09
- Assignees: Robert Bosch GmbH
- Applicants: Robert Bosch GmbH
- Inventors: Benedikt Loesch; Volker Gross
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10768288B2

## CPC

- G01S 13/06: Systems determining position data of a target
- G01S 7/032: {Constructional details for solid-state radar subsystems}
- G01S 13/42: Simultaneous measurement of distance and other co-ordinates (indirect measurement G01S13/46)
- G01S 13/931: of land vehicles
- H01Q 1/3233: {particular used as part of a sensor or in a security system, e.g. for automotive radar, navigation systems}
- H01Q 21/065: {Patch antenna array}
- G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
- H01Q: ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS (radiators or antennas for microwave heating H05B6/72)

## Abstract

A radar sensor includes one transmitting antenna, multiple first receiving antennas with the same vertical heights, and a second receiving antenna with a vertical height different from the others. A method for determining the azimuth angle of an object with respect to the radar sensor includes steps of determining an approximation for the azimuth angle in a coarse grid based on the signals of all receiving antennas, and determining the azimuth angle in a fine grid based on the signals of the first receiving antennas in a range around the approximation.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for determining the azimuth angle of an object with respect to a radar sensor, the method comprising:
transmitting, using a transmitting antenna, a radar signal;
receiving, using multiple receiving antennas including a plurality of first receiving antennas having a same vertical height and at least one second receiving antenna having a vertical height different from the height of the plurality of first receiving antennas, first reflection signals by the plurality of first receiving antennas and at least one second reflection signal by the at least one second receiving antenna;
determining an approximation for the azimuth angle in a coarse grid based on both the first reflection signals of the plurality of first receiving antennas and the at least one second reflection signal of the at least one second receiving antenna; and
subsequently to determining the approximation, determining the azimuth angle in a fine grid based on the first reflection signals of the first receiving antennas in a range around the approximation;
wherein the determination of one of: i) the azimuth angle, or ii) the approximation, is carried out with the aid of scaling a vector of the signals of the receiving antennas, and comparing the scaled vector of the signals of the receiving antennas with a stored vector for the receiving antennas for a reference signal.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the determination of one of: i) the azimuth angle, or ii) the approximation, is carried out with the aid of a deterministic maximum likelihood method.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the coarse grid is at least three times as large as the fine grid.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the coarse grid lies in the range of 1°-2° and the fine grid lies in the range of 0.1°-0.5°.

### Claim 5

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium on which is stored program code for determining the azimuth angle of an object with respect to a radar sensor, and the program code, when executed by a computer, causing the computer to control:
transmitting, using a transmitting antenna, a radar signal;
receiving, using multiple receiving antennas including a plurality of first receiving antennas having a same vertical height and at least one second receiving antenna having a vertical height different from the height of the plurality of first receiving antennas, first reflection signals by the plurality of first receiving antennas and at least one second reflection signal by the at least one second receiving antenna;
determining an approximation for the azimuth angle in a coarse grid based on both the first reflection signals of the plurality of first receiving antennas and the at least one second reflection signal of the at least one second receiving antenna; and
subsequently to determining the approximation, determining the azimuth angle in a fine grid based on the first reflection signals of the first receiving antennas in a range around the approximation;
wherein the determination of one of: i) the azimuth angle, or ii) the approximation, is carried out with the aid of scaling a vector of the signals of the receiving antennas, and comparing the scaled vector of the signals of the receiving antennas with a stored vector for the receiving antennas for a reference signal.

### Claim 6

A radar sensor, comprising:
a transmitting antenna;
multiple first receiving antennas at the same vertical heights;
a second receiving antenna at a vertical height different from the height of the multiple first receiving antennas; and
a processing unit to determine an approximation for the azimuth angle in a coarse grid based on the signals of all of the first receiving antennas and second receiving antenna, and subsequently to determining the approximation, determine the azimuth angle in a fine grid based on signals of the first receiving antennas in a range around the approximation;
wherein the determination of one of: i) the azimuth angle, or ii) the approximation, is carried out with the aid of scaling a vector of the signals of the receiving antennas, and comparing the scaled vector of the signals of the receiving antennas with a stored vector for the receiving antennas for a reference signal.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The radar sensor as recited in claim 6, wherein at least one of the antennas is an antenna array made up of a field of individual patches.

### Claim 8 (depends on 6)

The radar sensor as recited in claim 6, wherein a difference between the vertical height of the second receiving antenna and the heights of the first receiving antennas is less than a vertical extension of the second receiving antenna.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the multiple receiving antennas are strip-shaped phased array antennas.

### Claim 10

A method for determining the azimuth angle of an object with respect to a radar sensor, the method comprising:
transmitting, using a transmitting antenna, a radar signal;
receiving, using multiple receiving antennas including a plurality of first receiving antennas having a same vertical height and at least one second receiving antenna having a vertical height different from the height of the plurality of first receiving antennas, first reflection signals by the plurality of first receiving antennas and at least one second reflection signal by the at least one second receiving antenna;
determining an approximation for the azimuth angle in a coarse grid based on both the first reflection signals of the plurality of first receiving antennas and the at least one second reflection signal of the at least one second receiving antenna; and
subsequently to determining the approximation, determining the azimuth angle in a fine grid based on the first reflection signals of the first receiving antennas in a range around the approximation;
wherein the determination of one of: i) the azimuth angle, or ii) the approximation, is carried out with the aid of comparing a vector based on the signals of the receiving antennas with a stored vector for the receiving antennas for a reference signal, and wherein stored vectors for the receiving antennas correspond to a plurality of predetermined angles.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the at least one second receiving antenna includes a plurality of second receiving antennas with vertical heights different from each other.

### Claim 12

A method for determining the azimuth angle of an object with respect to a radar sensor, the method comprising:
transmitting, using a transmitting antenna, a radar signal;
receiving, using multiple receiving antennas including a plurality of first receiving antennas having a same vertical height and at least one second receiving antenna having a vertical height different from the height of the plurality of first receiving antennas, first reflection signals by the plurality of first receiving antennas and at least one second reflection signal by the at least one second receiving antenna;
determining an approximation for the azimuth angle in a coarse grid based on both the first reflection signals of the plurality of first receiving antennas and the at least one second reflection signal of the at least one second receiving antenna; and
subsequently to determining the approximation, determining the azimuth angle in a fine grid based on the first reflection signals of the first receiving antennas in a range around the approximation;
wherein the determination of one of: i) the azimuth angle, or ii) the approximation, is carried out with the aid of comparing a vector based on the signals of the receiving antennas with a stored vector for the receiving antennas for a reference signal, and
wherein the plurality of first receiving antennas includes at least three antennas having unequal horizontal spacing between each other.