CN110174649B - Radio frequency front-end transceiver and vehicle-mounted radar transceiver system - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of radars, in particular to a radio frequency front-end transceiver and a vehicle-mounted radar transceiver system. The radio frequency front-end transceiver device comprises: an antenna array; a transceiver unit electrically connected with the antenna array for receiving and transmitting electromagnetic wave signals through the antenna array; wherein the antenna array comprises a transmitting antenna for transmitting the electromagnetic wave signal, and at least part of the transmitting antenna has a signal transmission direction different from a polarization direction; the transmitting antenna with different polarization directions and signal transmission directions can effectively improve the flexibility of placement and layout of the antenna array, and can effectively reduce the occupied area of the whole antenna array on the premise of ensuring the signal receiving and transmitting performance of the antenna, so that the size of the antenna and the size of a vehicle-mounted radar receiving and transmitting system are reduced.

Description

RF front-end transceiver, vehicle-mounted radar transceiver system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of radar technology, and in particular to a radio frequency front-end transceiver device and a vehicle-mounted radar transceiver system.

Background technique

Radar is an electronic device that uses electromagnetic waves to detect objects. When working, the radar emits electromagnetic waves to detect the echo reflected from the object, so that the distance to the object and other information can be determined. With the development of smart devices, small radars are increasingly used in the civilian field. Millimeter wave (narrow wave) radar systems have gradually been applied to various vehicles to remind the distance between the vehicle and obstacles, assist personnel operation or vehicle automatic driving.

The size of the radar component mainly depends on the size of the antenna array, and the detection direction depends on the radiation direction of the antenna array. Due to its frequency characteristics, the millimeter wave radar system can use a smaller antenna, so it has obvious advantages on consumer smart devices. Existing millimeter wave radar systems usually include planar antenna arrays, in which antenna units such as patch antennas and slot antennas. The radiation direction of these antennas is mainly perpendicular to the antenna surface. However, with the miniaturization of smart devices and the demand for multi-module applications, how to highly integrate the millimeter wave radar system into the device remains a huge challenge.

Antenna design and layout are the decisive factors affecting the volume and shape of the final product. Due to limited installation space, the volume of such antenna products tends to be miniaturized, such as vehicle-mounted radar transceiver systems. Because the area of the antenna is proportional to its gain, and the increased chip integration further increases the difficulty of antenna layout. Therefore, a reasonable antenna design is urgently needed so that the antenna can have both small size and high performance.

Summary of the invention

In view of this, an embodiment of the present invention provides a radio frequency front-end transceiver device and a vehicle-mounted radar transceiver system. By using a transmitting antenna with a polarization direction different from the signal transmission direction, the flexibility of the placement and layout of the antenna array can be effectively improved, and while ensuring the antenna transceiver signal performance, the area occupied by the entire antenna array can be effectively reduced, thereby achieving the purpose of reducing the size of the antenna and the vehicle-mounted radar transceiver system.

In an optional embodiment, the present application provides a radio frequency front-end transceiver device, which may include:

Antenna arrays;

a transceiver unit, electrically connected to the antenna array, and configured to transmit and receive electromagnetic wave signals through the antenna array;

Wherein, the antenna array includes a transmitting antenna for transmitting the electromagnetic wave signal, and

The signal transmission direction of at least part of the transmitting antennas is different from the polarization direction.

In the embodiment of the RF front-end transceiver device of the present application, by setting a transmitting antenna with a signal transmission direction and a polarization direction different from each other, the flexibility of the design and layout of the entire antenna array can be effectively improved, while also reducing the area occupied by the entire antenna array, thereby effectively reducing the size of the RF front-end transceiver device.

In an optional embodiment, the signal transmission direction of at least part of the transmitting antenna is perpendicular to the polarization direction, which can further improve the performance of the antenna array in sending and receiving electromagnetic wave signals while further reducing the area occupied by the antenna array.

In an optional embodiment, the feeding method of the transmitting antenna whose signal transmission direction is different from the polarization direction is intermediate feeding, which can effectively reduce the length of each transmitting antenna feed line, not only improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the antenna array, but also improve the power of the electromagnetic wave signal transmitted by the transmitting antenna, or effectively reduce the power consumption of the transmitting antenna when transmitting electromagnetic wave signals of the same intensity.

In an optional embodiment, the transmitting antenna whose signal transmission direction is different from the polarization direction may include:

at least two first transmitting antenna units;

A connecting feeder line, used to connect the first transmitting antenna units in parallel; and

A channel feeder, one end of which is connected to the transceiver unit, and the other end of which is connected to the center point of the connecting feeder, so that each first transmitting antenna unit can be fed through the center point, which can not only further shorten the length of each feeder, but also improve the directional radiation performance of the transmitting antenna, thereby improving the performance of the transceiver device;

The signal transmission direction on the first transmitting antenna unit is different from the polarization direction of the transmitting antenna.

In an optional embodiment, the first transmitting antenna units are evenly distributed on the same side of the channel feeder.

In an optional embodiment, the first transmitting antenna unit includes:

Sub-feeders; and

A plurality of radiating units connected in parallel, one end of each of the radiating units being connected to the sub-feeder;

The radiation units are alternately and evenly distributed on both sides of the sub-feeder.

In an optional embodiment, the antenna array may further include a receiving antenna for receiving an echo of the electromagnetic wave signal transmitted by the transmitting antenna, and the polarization direction of the receiving antenna is the same as the signal transmission direction;

The polarization direction of the receiving antenna is the same as the polarization direction of the transmitting antenna.

In an optional embodiment, the receiving antenna includes a plurality of radiating elements connected in series;

Wherein, the feeding mode of the receiving antenna is edge feeding.

In an optional embodiment, the electromagnetic wave signal is a millimeter wave signal.

In an optional embodiment, the transmitting antenna includes:

a first transmitting sub-antenna, wherein a polarization direction of the first transmitting sub-antenna is different from a signal transmission direction;

A second transmitting sub-antenna, wherein the polarization direction of the second transmitting sub-antenna is the same as the signal transmission direction;

The second transmitting sub-antenna includes a plurality of radiating units connected in series, and the feeding mode of the receiving antenna is edge feeding.

In an optional embodiment, the device may further include:

a dielectric substrate, the transceiver unit and the antenna array being arranged on the same surface of the dielectric substrate;

The receiving antenna and the first transmitting sub-antenna are distributed on the same side or on two opposite sides of the transceiver unit.

In an optional embodiment, the transceiver unit is a radar chip having a transceiver function;

The antenna array is integrated on or in a packaging layer of the radar chip.

In an optional embodiment, the embodiment of the present application further provides a vehicle-mounted radar transceiver system, which may include:

At least one RF front-end transceiver device as described in any one of the embodiments of the present application; and

A processor connected to the radio frequency front-end transceiver;

The processor is used to perform data processing according to the electromagnetic wave signals sent and received by the antenna array.

In the embodiment of the vehicle-mounted radar transceiver system of the present application, by utilizing a radio frequency front-end transceiver device having a transmitting antenna with a signal transmission direction and a polarization direction different from each other, not only can the placement and layout of at least part of the transmitting antenna be flexibly adjusted, but also the design of the entire transceiver device is made more compact while ensuring performance, effectively reducing the feeder length, reducing the size of the feed network, and reducing the space occupied by the vehicle-mounted radar transceiver system.

It should be noted that since the size of the RF front-end transceiver device in the embodiment of the present application can be further reduced, the product including the RF front-end transceiver device can be applied to more scenarios and environments such as vehicles (such as autonomous driving), drones, robots, smart homes, consumer electronic devices, etc. For example, a vehicle-mounted radar transceiver system including the RF front-end transceiver device, the solution adopted in the embodiment of the present application expands the use space and market prospects of such products.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent through the description of the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the following drawings, in which:

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a radio frequency front-end transceiver device in an optional embodiment;

FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a conventional radio frequency front-end transceiver device in which transceiver antennas are arranged on opposite sides of a transceiver unit;

FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a radio frequency front-end transceiver device in which the transceiver antenna is arranged on the same side of the transceiver unit in an optional embodiment;

FIG4 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a radio frequency front-end transceiver device in which transceiver antennas are arranged on opposite sides of a transceiver unit in an optional embodiment;

FIG5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a radio frequency front-end transceiver device in which the transceiver antenna is arranged on the same side of the transceiver unit in another optional embodiment;

FIG6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a vehicle-mounted radar transceiver system in an optional embodiment.

Detailed ways

The present invention is described below based on embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. In the detailed description of the present invention below, some specific details are described in detail. It is possible for a person skilled in the art to fully understand the present invention without the description of these details. In order to avoid confusing the essence of the present invention, known methods, processes, and flows are not described in detail. In addition, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.

In view of the technical problem that in traditional RF front-end devices, an antenna with the same polarization direction as the signal transmission direction is used to transmit and receive electromagnetic wave signals, which makes it difficult to arrange the antenna and it is difficult to further reduce the size of the antenna, in the embodiments of the present application, a transmitting antenna with a polarization direction different from the signal transmission direction is creatively used, while the polarization direction of the receiving antenna can be kept the same as the signal transmission direction, thereby effectively improving the flexibility of the placement and layout of the antenna array, and under the premise of ensuring the antenna's signal transmission and reception performance, it can also effectively reduce the area occupied by the entire antenna array, thereby achieving the purpose of reducing the size of the antenna and the vehicle-mounted radar transceiver system.

The following is an example of a radio frequency front-end transceiver device in an embodiment of the present application, with reference to the accompanying drawings:

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a radio frequency front-end transceiver in an optional embodiment. As shown in FIG1 , the radio frequency front-end transceiver may include a transceiver unit 120 and an antenna array (not shown) for transceiving electromagnetic wave signals. The transceiver unit 120 and the antenna array may be integrated on the same surface of a dielectric substrate 110, and used to transmit and receive high-frequency electromagnetic wave information such as millimeter waves, microwaves and centimeter waves, so as to perform operations such as ranging, calibration and communication. The antenna array may include a transmitting antenna for transmitting electromagnetic wave signals and a receiving antenna 130 for receiving electromagnetic wave echoes. The transmitting antenna may include a first transmitting sub-antenna 150 and a second transmitting sub-antenna 140. That is, the transmitting antenna may be used to transmit electromagnetic wave signals, and the receiving antenna 130 may be used to receive the echo formed by the electromagnetic wave signals reflected by the target object (or obstacle), and based on the difference between the echo signal and the transmitted electromagnetic wave signal, the above-mentioned ranging, distance measurement, calibration and communication operations are performed.

It should be noted that the structure shown in Figure 1 is a four-transmit and four-receive (i.e., 4T4R) antenna structure, that is, it includes four transmitting antennas 130 and four receiving antennas (i.e., two first transmitting sub-antennas 150 and two second transmitting sub-antennas 140), and in other optional embodiments, the antenna can also be set to an antenna structure of four transmit and two receive, four transmit and three receive, etc., that is, as long as it includes at least one transmitting antenna and at least one receiving antenna, and the same antenna structure can also be used for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic wave signals at the same time, and in some special application scenarios, even only an antenna structure including a first transmitting sub-antenna 150 as shown in Figure 1 can be set. At this time, the first transmitting sub-antenna 150 can also perform operations such as receiving echoes based on time division multiplexing.

FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a radio frequency front-end transceiver device in which the conventional transceiver antennas are arranged on opposite sides of the transceiver unit. As shown in FIG2, in the conventional antenna array, the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna are of the same structure, and are generally antenna structures with the same polarization direction as the signal transmission direction, that is, the transceiver unit 220, the receiving antenna 230, the wideband transmitting antenna 240, and the narrowband transmitting antenna 250 are all located on the dielectric substrate 210, and each antenna is connected to the transceiver unit 220 through a feeder 260, and the signal transmission direction of the receiving antenna 230 and the wideband transmitting antenna 240 is shown as arrow A, and the signal transmission direction of the narrowband transmitting antenna 250 is shown as arrow B, and each antenna is vertically polarized and the signal transmission direction is consistent with the antenna polarization direction. Among them, since the receiving antenna 230 and the wide-wave transmitting antenna 240 are respectively located on one side of the transceiver unit 220, and the narrow-wave transmitting antenna 250 is located on the other side of the transceiver unit 220, that is, the transmitting antennas are located on both sides of the transceiver unit 220, and the signal transmission direction of each transmitting antenna is 180°, and each transmitting antenna is an antenna structure with the same polarization direction as the signal transmission, which will lead to the antenna's directional pattern separation defect due to manufacturing errors, thereby affecting the long-distance detection capability of the antenna. At the same time, since the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna are both the same antenna structure, the antenna wiring and layout will be relatively simple, and the required area size will also be larger.

Based on the traditional antenna structure shown in Figure 2, the inventor creatively proposed the structure shown in Figure 1 in the embodiment of the present application, that is, the first transmitting sub-antenna 150 is set to an antenna structure with a signal transmission direction and a polarization direction different from each other, and at the same time, the receiving antenna 130 is kept as an antenna structure with the signal transmission direction and the polarization direction the same, that is, the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna have different structures, and a transmitting antenna with a polarization direction different from the signal transmission direction is used, for example, a transmitting antenna with a polarization direction and a signal transmission direction perpendicular to each other, that is, the second transmitting antenna 140 shown in Figure 1 is different from the first transmitting antenna 150. The antenna structure is used to realize the transmission of different electromagnetic waves, thereby effectively improving the flexibility of antenna wiring and layout, and at the same time can further reduce the size of the area required for antenna distribution, thereby effectively reducing the size of the RF front-end transceiver device.

In an optional embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1 , the transceiver unit 120 may be a radar chip with a transceiver function, the first transmitting sub-antenna 150 may be used to transmit narrowwave signals, and the second transmitting sub-antenna 140 may be used to transmit widewave signals; at the same time, the receiving antenna 130 and the first transmitting sub-antenna 150 may be distributed on opposite sides of the transceiver unit 120, and the second transmitting sub-antenna 140 may be adjacent to the receiving antenna 130 and arranged on both sides of the transceiver unit 120 opposite to the first transmitting sub-antenna 140. Among them, the polarization directions of the first transmitting sub-antenna 150, the second transmitting sub-antenna 140 and the receiving antenna 130 are the same (for example, the direction shown by arrow A in Figure 1), and the signal transmission direction of the receiving antenna 130 can be the same as the polarization direction (for example, also the direction shown by arrow A in Figure 1), and at the same time, the signal transmission direction of the first transmitting sub-antenna 150 is perpendicular to the polarization direction (for example, the direction shown by arrows C and D in Figure 1), that is, the signal transmission direction of the receiving antenna 130 is different from the signal transmission direction of the first transmitting sub-antenna 150, for example, as shown in Figure 1, the signal transmission directions of the two are perpendicular.

In a conventional antenna array, the sub-antenna units included in each antenna are composed of a plurality of radiating units connected in series. As shown in FIG2 , the narrowband transmitting antenna 250 includes a plurality of sub-antenna units 231 connected in parallel, and each receiving antenna 230 and the wideband transmitting antenna 240 includes a sub-antenna unit 231. However, each sub-antenna unit 231 is composed of a plurality of radiating units 270 connected in series, and the narrowband transmitting antenna 250 is also an edge feeder, which only makes the occupied area of the entire antenna larger, and also makes the feeder 260 connecting the narrowband transmitting antenna 250 and the transceiver unit 220 longer. At the same time, the equal-length winding of the feeder 260 connected to the adjacent transceiver unit 220 is also longer, which increases the loss. If the feeder 260 in the form of a microstrip line or a coplanar waveguide is used, it may also affect the isolation and the radiation pattern.

In an optional embodiment, in response to the technical problems existing in the structure shown in FIG. 2 above, the inventor of the present application creatively proposes to use parallel radiating units to form the sub-antenna unit of the transmitting antenna, and at the same time use the middle (or central) feeding method to electrically connect the transmitting antenna to the transceiver unit. As shown in FIG. 1 , the transceiver unit 120 may include multiple receiving channels and multiple transmitting channels, the receiving antenna 130 may include multiple receiving sub-antennas 131, and each receiving sub-antenna 131 corresponds to the multiple receiving channels one by one, each receiving sub-antenna 131 includes a receiving sub-antenna unit composed of multiple radiating units 170 connected in series, that is, each receiving sub-antenna unit is connected to a receiving channel of the transceiver unit 120 through a channel feeder 162, thereby forming an edge-powered receiving sub-antenna 131. Similarly, each second transmitting sub-antenna 140 also corresponds to a transmitting channel one by one, and each second transmitting sub-antenna 140 includes a second receiving sub-antenna unit 141 composed of a plurality of radiating units 170 connected in series, that is, each second receiving sub-antenna unit 141 is connected to a transmitting channel of the transceiver unit 120 through a channel feeder 161, thereby forming an edge-powered second transmitting sub-antenna 140.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG1 , each first transmitting sub-antenna 150 may include a first transmitting antenna unit 151 (or 152), and each first transmitting antenna unit 151 (or 152) may be connected to a corresponding transmitting channel through a channel feeder 162. Among them, each first transmitting antenna unit 151 (or 152) may include a plurality of first receiving sub-antenna units 180 connected in parallel by a connecting feeder 1621, and each first transmitting sub-antenna unit 180 may include a plurality of radiating units 170 connected in parallel by a sub-feeder 1622, and each radiating unit 170 is alternately and evenly distributed on both sides of the sub-feeder 1622. Similarly, the first transmitting antenna unit 151 (or 152) and its corresponding transmitting channel are connected by a channel feeder 162, and each of the first transmitting antenna units 151 is evenly distributed on the same side of its channel feeder 162, thereby forming a first transmitting antenna 150 whose polarization direction is perpendicular to the signal transmission direction.

Specifically, as shown in FIG1 , taking the example that the transceiver unit 120 includes 4 receiving channels and 4 transmitting channels, the receiving antenna 130 includes 4 receiving sub-antennas 131, which correspond to the 4 receiving channels one by one, and the signal transmission direction of the receiving antenna 130 is shown as arrow A; and each second receiving sub-antenna unit 141 in the second transmitting sub-antenna 140 may include 6 radiating units 170 connected in series, and the second receiving sub-antenna unit 141 is electrically connected to the receiving channel of the transceiver unit 120 through the feeder 161. At the same time, the two first transmitting sub-antennas 150 may include a first transmitting antenna unit 151 and a first transmitting antenna unit 152, respectively, and the first transmitting antenna unit 151 and the first transmitting antenna unit 152 are arranged in a bilaterally symmetrical manner, the signal transmission direction of the first transmitting antenna unit 151 is shown as arrow C, and the signal transmission direction of the first transmitting antenna unit 152 is shown as arrow D. In addition, the first transmitting antenna unit 151 and the first transmitting antenna unit 152 may respectively correspond to one transmitting channel, and be connected to the transceiver unit 120 via a channel feeder 162 .

As shown in Figure 1, in an optional embodiment, taking the first transmitting antenna unit 151 as an example for detailed description, the first transmitting antenna unit 151 may include six mutually parallel sub-feeders 1622, that is, each sub-feeder 1622 may extend parallel to each other in the direction indicated by the arrow C, and the six sub-feeders 1622 are connected in parallel through a unit feeder 1621, and each sub-feeder 1622 may be provided with a plurality of evenly distributed unit nodes 1625; for example, four evenly distributed unit nodes 1625 may be provided on a single sub-feeder 1622 in Figure 1, and a corresponding radiation unit 170 may be provided at each unit node 1625, that is, the end of each radiation unit 170 is electrically connected to the sub-feeder 1622 at the unit node 1625.

Further, as shown in Fig. 1, the above-mentioned four radiation units 170 can also be alternately arranged on opposite sides of the sub-feeder 1622. In addition, the connecting feeder 1621 is connected to a transmission channel of the transceiver unit 120 through the channel feeder 162 at its center point 1623, that is, the transceiver unit 120 is electrically connected to the first transmitting antenna unit in the direction of the middle feeding. The connecting feeder 1621 is also provided with uniformly distributed sub-nodes 1624, which can be symmetrically distributed based on the center point 1623 of the connecting feeder 1621, and one end of each sub-feeder 1622 is electrically connected to the sub-node 1624 on the connecting feeder 1621, and then the parallel connection of multiple sub-feeders 1622 is realized through the connecting feeder 1621 to form a first transmitting antenna unit 151 with a parallel structure, and the radiation unit string 180 formed by each sub-feeder 1622 in the first transmitting antenna unit 151 (that is, a single sub-feeder and the radiation unit 170 thereon constitute the radiation unit string 180) is connected in parallel in the same transmitting channel by the connecting feeder 1621 through the channel feeder 162.

In an embodiment of the present application, as shown in Figure 1, since the feeding method of the first transmitting sub-antenna 150 is intermediate feeding, the length of each transmitting antenna feed line (such as the length of the equal-length winding on the channel feed line close to the transceiver unit 120) can be effectively reduced, which not only improves the signal-to-noise ratio of the antenna array, but also improves the power of the electromagnetic wave signal emitted by the transmitting antenna, or effectively reduces the power consumption of the transmitting antenna when transmitting electromagnetic wave signals of the same intensity.

It should be noted that the specific arrangement numbers of the receiving channels, transmitting channels, and each receiving antenna and transmitting antenna array described in the embodiments of the present application are examples, and their numbers can be adjusted accordingly according to actual needs. The radiating unit 170 can be any one of a vertical end-fire antenna, a planar end-fire antenna, a printed dipole, a Vivaladi antenna, a slotted antenna, and a horn antenna. Similarly, the polarization directions of the receiving antenna 130, the first transmitting sub-antenna 150, and the second transmitting sub-antenna 140 can be selected from at least one of vertical polarization and horizontal polarization, and the setting direction of the first transmitting sub-antenna 150 needs to match its polarization direction.

FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a radio frequency front-end transceiver device in which a transceiver antenna is arranged on the same side of a transceiver unit in an optional embodiment. As shown in FIG3 , the radio frequency front-end transceiver device may include a dielectric substrate 310, a transceiver unit 320, and an antenna array for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic wave signals, that is, the transceiver unit 320 and the antenna array may be integrated on the dielectric substrate 310, and used to transmit and receive high-frequency electromagnetic wave information such as millimeter waves, microwaves and centimeter waves, so as to perform operations such as ranging, calibration and communication. Among them, the antenna array may include a transmitting antenna for transmitting electromagnetic wave signals and a receiving antenna 330 for receiving electromagnetic wave echoes, and the transmitting antenna may include a first transmitting sub-antenna 350 and a second transmitting sub-antenna 340, that is, the transmitting antenna may be used to transmit electromagnetic wave signals, and the receiving antenna 330 may be used to receive the echo formed by the electromagnetic wave signals after being reflected by the target object (or obstacle), and based on the difference between the echo signal and the transmitted electromagnetic wave signal, the above-mentioned ranging, distance measurement, calibration and communication operations are performed.

The sub-antenna units included in each antenna are composed of multiple radiating units connected in series. As shown in Figure 3, the receiving antenna 330 includes multiple sub-antenna units 331 connected in parallel; the second transmitting sub-antenna 340 includes multiple sub-antenna units 341 connected in parallel. The above sub-antenna units are all composed of multiple radiating units connected in series. The first transmitting sub-antenna 350 includes a first transmitting antenna unit 351 and a first transmitting antenna unit 352.

As shown in FIG3 , the transceiver unit 320 may be a radar chip with transceiver functions, the first transmitting sub-antenna 350 may be used to transmit narrowband signals, and the second transmitting sub-antenna 340 may be used to transmit wideband signals; meanwhile, the receiving antenna 330, the first transmitting sub-antenna 350, and the second transmitting sub-antenna 340 are all located on the same side of the transceiver unit 320. Among them, the polarization directions of the first transmitting sub-antenna 350, the second transmitting sub-antenna 340, and the receiving antenna 330 are all the same (e.g., the direction shown by arrow A in FIG3 ), and the signal transmission direction of the receiving antenna 330 may be the same as the polarization direction (e.g., the direction shown by arrow A in FIG3 ), and the signal transmission direction of the first transmitting sub-antenna 350 is perpendicular to the polarization direction (e.g., the direction shown by arrows C and D in FIG3 ), that is, the signal transmission direction of the receiving antenna 330 is different from the signal transmission direction of the first transmitting sub-antenna 350, for example, as shown in FIG3 , the signal transmission directions of the two are perpendicular.

The specific structure of the first transmitting sub-antenna 350 in Figure 3 is similar to that in Figure 1 and will not be repeated here. Compared with Figure 1, in Figure 3, the first transmitting sub-antenna 350, the receiving antenna 330 and the second transmitting sub-antenna 340 are all arranged on the same side of the transceiver unit 320, and the signal transmission direction of the first transmitting sub-antenna 350 is perpendicular to the polarization direction. By setting a transmitting antenna with a signal transmission direction different from the polarization direction, the flexibility of the design and layout of the entire antenna array can be effectively improved, the antenna performance degradation caused by manufacturing errors can be reduced, and the area occupied by the entire antenna array can be reduced, thereby effectively reducing the size of the RF front-end transceiver device.

In an optional embodiment, the transceiver unit is, for example, a radar chip having a transceiver function, and the above-mentioned antenna array may be integrated on or in a packaging layer of the radar chip.

In an optional embodiment, as shown in FIG4 , only the receiving antenna 430 and the first transmitting sub-antenna 450 are used in a coordinated manner, and the receiving antenna 430 and the first transmitting sub-antenna 450 are symmetrically arranged on the upper and lower sides of the transceiver unit 420, respectively. Of course, the receiving antenna 430 and the first transmitting sub-antenna 450 can also be arranged on the left and right sides of the transceiver unit 420, respectively. The first transmitting sub-antenna 450 has the same structure and layout as the first transmitting sub-antenna 150 shown in FIG1 , which will not be described here. It is also electrically connected to the transceiver unit 420 by means of middle feeding, and the receiving antenna 430 is electrically connected to the transceiver unit 420 by means of edge feeding. In this embodiment, the second transmitting sub-antenna 440 is omitted, which can make the transceiver device smaller in the horizontal (vertical) direction to meet the size requirements of specific usage scenarios.

Similarly, as another optional embodiment, as shown in FIG5 , it also adopts a combination of only using the first transmitting sub-antenna 550 and the receiving antenna 230. The receiving antenna 530 and the first transmitting sub-antenna 550 are both arranged on the same side of the transceiver unit 520, and the first transmitting sub-antenna 550 is parallel to the receiving antenna 530 and is arranged on the right side of the receiving antenna 530. Specifically, the receiving antenna 530 is located directly above the transceiver unit 520, and the first transmitting sub-antenna 550 is located on the upper right of the transceiver unit 520. The interior of the first transmitting sub-antenna 550 adopts the same layout as the first embodiment in FIG1 , which will not be repeated here.

It should be noted that the directions such as "up, down, left, and right" in the embodiments of the present application are all based on the front view drawings. Those skilled in the art should know that in actual applications, the distribution of the antenna array can be adaptively adjusted according to actual needs, and the adjusted distribution method should also be included in the technical content scope of the present application.

FIG6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a vehicle-mounted radar transceiver system in an optional embodiment. As shown in FIG6 , the vehicle-mounted radar transceiver system includes: a radio frequency front-end transceiver device 61 and a processor 62 connected to the radio frequency front-end transceiver device 61, wherein the processor is used to perform data processing according to the electromagnetic wave signal received and sent by the antenna array (radio frequency front-end transceiver device 61). Of course, the vehicle-mounted radar transceiver system may also include a plurality of radio frequency front-end transceivers 61 respectively connected to the processor 62, and the transceiver unit in the radio frequency front-end transceiver device 61 may be an independent transceiver chip, or may be integrated with the processor 62 to form a system-level chip.

In the above embodiments, the size of the antenna is further reduced, so that the transceiver can be applied to more scenarios and environments such as vehicles, drones, robots, smart homes, etc., expanding the use space and market prospects of such products.

To summarize, the RF front-end transceiver device and the vehicle-mounted radar transceiver system of the embodiments of the present invention, by utilizing a RF front-end transceiver device having a transmitting antenna with a signal transmission direction and a polarization direction different from each other, not only can the placement and layout of at least part of the transmitting antenna be flexibly adjusted, but also, while ensuring performance, the design of the entire transceiver device is more compact, effectively shortening the feeder length, reducing the size of the feeding network, and reducing the space occupied by the vehicle-mounted radar transceiver system.

It should be noted that since the size of the RF front-end transceiver device in the embodiment of the present application can be further reduced, the product including the RF front-end transceiver device can be applied to more scenarios and environments such as vehicles (such as autonomous driving), drones, robots, smart homes, consumer electronic devices, etc. For example, a vehicle-mounted radar transceiver system including the RF front-end transceiver device, the solution adopted in the embodiment of the present application expands the use space and market prospects of such products.

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. For those skilled in the art, the present invention may have various modifications and variations. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims (9)

1. A radio frequency front-end transceiver device, the device comprising:

An antenna array;

A transceiver unit electrically connected with the antenna array for receiving and transmitting electromagnetic wave signals through the antenna array;

wherein the antenna array comprises a transmitting antenna for transmitting the electromagnetic wave signal, and

At least part of the transmitting antennas have different signal transmission directions and polarization directions;

the antenna array further comprises a receiving antenna for receiving echoes of electromagnetic wave signals transmitted by the transmitting antenna, and the polarization direction of the receiving antenna is the same as the signal transmission direction;

the polarization direction of the receiving antenna is the same as the polarization direction of the transmitting antenna.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a signal transmission direction of the at least some of the transmit antennas is perpendicular to a polarization direction; and/or

The feeding mode of the transmitting antenna with the signal transmission direction different from the polarization direction is intermediate feeding.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the transmitting antenna having a signal transmission direction different from a polarization direction comprises:

At least two first transmit antenna elements;

The connecting feeder line is used for connecting the first transmitting antenna units in parallel; and

A channel feeder, one end of which is connected with the transceiver unit, and the other end of which is connected to the central point of the connection feeder;

the signal transmission direction on the first transmitting antenna unit is different from the polarization direction of the transmitting antenna.

4. A device according to claim 3, wherein each of the first transmit antenna elements is evenly distributed on the same side of the channel feed; and/or

The first transmit antenna unit includes:

a sub-feeder; and

A plurality of radiating elements connected in parallel, wherein one end of each radiating element is connected to the sub-feed line;

Wherein, each radiation unit is alternately and evenly distributed on two sides of the sub feeder line in turn.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the receive antenna comprises a plurality of radiating elements in series;

the feeding mode of the receiving antenna is edge feeding.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the electromagnetic wave signal is a millimeter wave signal; and/or

The transceiver unit is a radar chip with transceiver function;

Wherein the antenna array is integrated on or in the packaging layer of the radar chip.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the transmit antenna comprises:

the first transmitting sub-antenna has a polarization direction different from a signal transmission direction;

the polarization direction of the second transmitting sub-antenna is the same as the signal transmission direction;

the second transmitting sub-antenna comprises a plurality of radiating units connected in series, and the feeding mode of the receiving antenna is edge feeding.

8. The apparatus as recited in claim 7, further comprising:

A dielectric substrate, the transceiver unit and the antenna array being disposed on a same surface of the dielectric substrate;

Wherein the receiving antenna and the first transmitting sub-antenna are distributed on the same side or opposite sides of the transceiver unit.

9. A vehicle-mounted radar transceiver system, comprising:

at least one radio frequency front-end transceiver device according to any one of claims 1-8; and

The processor is connected with the radio frequency front-end transceiver;

the processor is used for performing data processing according to electromagnetic wave signals sent and received by the antenna array.