Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Panasonic Automotive Systems Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Holdings Corporation

Ryosuke Shiozaki

Ken Takahashi

Yuichi Kashino

Suguru Fujita

Hiroshi Iwai

Junji Sato

Noriaki Saito

Osamu Shibata

Hidekuni Yomo

Kenta Iwasa

Shuji Akamatsu

Takaaki Kishigami

Tomohiro Yui

Kentaro Watanabe

Yuto Suzuki

Kouji Suzuki

Shigeki Nakamura

Hideki Iwaki

Hiroyuki Uno

Maki Nakamura

Tooru Miura

Chie Yamamoto

Kohei Sugimoto

A radar apparatus includes a circuit board including a board surface provided with an antenna module for transmitting an electromagnetic wave, a housing accommodating the circuit board and including a facing wall facing the board surface, and a heat transfer module transferring heat generated inside the housing to the housing. The facing wall includes a transmission portion transmitting therethrough the electromagnetic wave transmitted from the antenna module and an absorption portion having a thickness different from the thickness of the transmission portion and absorbing the electromagnetic wave which is incident. The heat transfer module includes a first transfer member placed to be in contact with the absorption portion in the housing and a second transfer member transferring the heat to the first transfer member.

Radar apparatus

A radar device includes radar transmission and receiving circuits. The radar transmission circuit transmits one or more transmission signals, each having a transmission period Tr. The radar receiving circuit receives one or more reflected signals in which the transmission signals are reflected by an object and estimates a direction of the object based on the reflected signals. The radar transmission circuit includes Nt transmission antennas. A control circuit sets a transmission gap period between a first and second periods, with the transmission gap period being a period during which the transmission signals are not transmitted. The first period is equal to an integral multiple of a period Np, the period Np is equal to or more than Nt times the transmission period Tr, and the second period is set after the first period and is equal to an integral multiple of the period Np.

Radar apparatus and radar method

A radar apparatus includes an antenna composed of an end-fire array antenna and including a plurality of antenna elements; and a circuit board in which the plurality of antenna elements is disposed side by side in a first direction. At least one of the plurality of antenna elements is parallel to a substrate surface of the circuit board. A directivity of at least one of the plurality of antenna elements is set to a third direction tilted with respect to the first direction and a second direction orthogonal to the first direction.

A radar device includes a radar transmitting circuit that transmits radar signals from a transmission array antenna, and a radar receiving circuit that receives returning wave signals, where the radar signals have been reflected at a target, from a receiving array antenna. One of the transmitting array antenna and the receiving array antenna includes multiple first antennas of which phase centers are laid out along a first axis direction. The other of the transmitting array antenna and the receiving array antenna includes multiple second antennas of which phase centers are laid out at a second spacing along a second axis direction that is different from the first axis direction. The multiple first antennas include multiple antennas of which the phase centers are laid out at a first spacing, and multiple antennas of which the phase centers are laid out at a third spacing that is different from the first spacing.

Radar device

A light apparatus mounted on a vehicle includes a lamp that emits light into a first region through a first cover and a radar provided on a lower side or an upper side of the lamp. The radar includes a separator provided between the lamp and the radar, a circuit board having a board surface arranged in a substantially horizontal manner, and an antenna that is disposed on the board surface of the circuit board, transmits electromagnetic waves through a second cover in a second region that is at least partially different from the first region, and receives reflected waves through the second cover from objects outside the vehicle in the second region.

In-vehicle light apparatus

A radar apparatus includes a plurality of transmission antennae and a radar transmitter that transmits transmission signals by using the plurality of transmission antennae. In a virtual reception array including a plurality of virtual antennae formed of a plurality of reception antennae and the plurality of transmission antennae, disposition positions of at least two of the virtual antennae are the same as each other, and, transmission intervals of the transmission signals that are sequentially transmitted from transmission antennae corresponding to the at least two virtual antennae among the plurality of transmission antennae are an equal interval.

A light apparatus mounted on a vehicle includes a lamp unit having: a first cover, and a light source that emits light through a first cover into a predetermined area including a first direction. The light apparatus also includes: a radar unit provided on a lower side or an upper side of the lamp unit, and a separator provided between the lamp unit and the radar unit. The radar unit includes: a circuit board having a board surface arranged in a substantially horizontal state, and an antenna unit that transmits an electromagnetic wave in a range including a second direction different from the first direction and that receives a reflected wave from an object existing outside the vehicle. The antenna unit is arranged in the board surface.

An antenna apparatus for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic waves via a cover member disposed outside, including: first and second antenna sections that are disposed adjacently to each other along a direction orthogonal to a predetermined direction to which the electromagnetic waves are transmitted and received and that transmit the electromagnetic waves, respectively; and first and second dielectric lenses that are disposed in the predetermined direction to which the first and second antenna sections transmit their electromagnetic waves and narrow beams of the electromagnetic waves transmitted by the first and second antennas, respectively, to transmit to the outside, in which an outer end face of first dielectric lens protrudes further forward in the predetermined direction than an outer end face of second dielectric lens.

Antenna apparatus

An antenna-integrated module includes: one or more semiconductor chips each including a silicon substrate, a metal layer stacked on a first surface of the silicon substrate, and one or more frequency converters; an insulating layer that surrounds the one or more semiconductor chips; a re-distribution layer that is stacked on a first surface of the insulating layer and on a first surface of the metal layer; one or more first antenna elements that are provided on the first surface of the metal layer with a first conductor pattern and that are connected to the one or more frequency converters; and one or more second antenna elements that are provided with a second conductor pattern on a first surface of the re-distribution layer stacked on the first surface of the insulating layer and that are connected to the one or more frequency converters.

Antenna-integrated module and radar device

An in-vehicle light apparatus for a vehicle is provided and includes lamp radar units. The lamp unit includes a light source and a reflector arranged around the light source and outputting light from an opening area of the reflector to a predetermined region including in a first direction. The radar unit is provided on a lower or upper side of the lamp unit and includes a circuit board having a board surface arranged in a substantially horizontal state and an antenna unit that transmits an electromagnetic wave and receives a reflected wave in a second direction. The opening area extends in a third direction different from the first direction and the second direction in plan view, and a direction perpendicular to the second direction on the board surface is a direction intersecting the first direction and non-parallel to the third direction.

A radar device includes: a housing that includes an aperture in a front direction as a transmitting direction of an electromagnetic wave; a circuit board disposed in the housing such that a board surface extends along the front direction; an antenna unit that includes antenna elements being arrayed along a direction intersecting the front direction in a region on a side in the front direction of the circuit board, and that transmits the electromagnetic wave to the outside of the housing through the aperture and receives a reflected wave of the electromagnetic wave; and a dielectric lens that is disposed in the aperture of the housing to extend along a direction in which the antenna elements are arrayed and that has a semi-cylindrical shape or a parabolic-cylindrical shape projecting in the front direction.

A radar device includes: a case having an opening at the front in a forward direction, which is a transmission direction of electromagnetic waves; a circuit board placed in the case, the circuit board having first and second circuit board parts, one component side of the first circuit board part facing in the forward direction, the component sides of the second circuit board part extending along the forward direction; a transmission antenna and reception antenna composed of a plurality of antenna elements placed into an array in a direction crossing the forward direction in an area, facing in the forward direction, on the circuit board; and a dielectric lens having a semi-cylindrical or parabolic cylindrical shape in the forward direction, the dielectric lens being placed in the opening in the case so as to extend along a direction in which the plurality of antenna elements are placed into an array.

An antenna device that has a housing formed with a window surface and transmits and receives an electromagnetic wave through a cover member facing the window surface, the antenna device having a length in a direction of transmitting and receiving the electromagnetic wave that is greater than a height thereof, comprises: a circuit board that is provided inside the housing; a reflection plate that is provided inside the housing and faces a board surface of the circuit board; a transmitting antenna that is provided inside the housing and transmits the electromagnetic wave to a side of the reflection plate; and a receiving antenna that is provided inside the housing and receives the electromagnetic wave.

Antenna device

An in-vehicle light apparatus for monitoring a region in a first direction outside a vehicle, including: a lamp unit including a light source and a reflector; a radar unit including a circuit board disposed such that a board surface extends substantially along the horizontal direction on a lower side or an upper side of the lamp unit and a plurality of antenna elements disposed in the hoard surface of the circuit hoard to transmit an electromagnetic wave in the first direction; and the plurality of the antenna elements are arranged in an array on the first direction side relative to the reflector in plan view, and an array direction of the plurality of antenna elements is a direction intersecting the first direction and non-parallel to an extending direction of an end portion on the side of the first direction of the reflector in plan view.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Ryosuke Shiozaki