Automotive forward looking sensor application

Abstract

An automotive forward looking sensor (FLS) includes (a) a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) having an input port to which a VCO control signal comprising at least one of a ramp up portion and a ramp down portion is coupled and an output port at which a transmit RF signal is provided for coupling to a transmit antenna and (b) a linearization circuit having a first input port to which a feedback signal proportional to the transmit RF signal is coupled, a second input port to which a fixed frequency reference signal is coupled and an output port at which an error signal proportional to at least one of a phase difference and a frequency difference between the feedback signal and the fixed frequency reference signal is provided, wherein the VCO control signal is a function of the error signal and wherein the at least one ramp up portion and ramp down portion has a substantially linear slope. The FLS also includes an antenna assembly having thirteen antenna beams thereby allowing accurate resolution of multiple objects at distances up to 100 meters from the FLS.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.