Karlsruher Institut Fur Technologie

Universität Karlsruhe

Karin Schuler

Werner Wiesbeck

Denis Becker

The present invention relates to a method for angular determination and/or for increasing the angular resolution or a detectable angular range when operating antenna groups using the technique of digital beam forming (DBF), as well as a device for carrying out the method. In the method, a measurement signal with a carrier signal and a frequency-modulated signal component are received via at least one antenna group directly or after reflection on one or several objects. The angle, at which the measurement signal is received, is determined by evaluating a phase difference in the received measurement signal which occurs between adjacent antenna elements of the antenna group. The method is characterized in that for determining the phase difference the frequency-modulated signal component is also evaluated, exclusively or additionally to an evaluation of the carrier signal. As a result of the method and the device, the angular resolution and/or the angular range which is detected in an unambiguous manner may be increased in a cost-effective manner with digital beam forming.

Digital beam forming using frequency-modulated signals

The present invention relates to a method for the operation of an antenna group () having M&#x2267;2 transmitters and N&#x2267;2 receivers () for the digital beamforming. In the method, a coherent transmit signal is transmitted in a transmit-receive-cycle via each of the M transmitters () into an area to be monitored, and a coherent receive signal from the area is recorded by each of the N receivers () for each transmit signal so that M&#xb7;N receive signals are obtained. To each receive signal, a combination of the respective transmitting transmitter () and the respective receiving receiver () is allocated. The M&#xb7;N receive signals are processed by means of digital beamforming to obtain spatial information about objects in the area to be monitored. In the method, each of the M&#xb7;N receive signals is multiplied during processing by an amplitude factor which is individually allocated to the respective combination of transmitter () and receiver (), wherein the amplitude factors are selected such that an increase of the signal dynamic range at the digital beamforming is achieved. The method and the apparatus formed for the execution of the method allow a high angle resolution and, at the same time, a high signal dynamic range.

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Ulm, Germany

Karin Schuler