Apparatus, method and articles of manufacture for velocity and bearing determination of an object

1. A sensor system for detecting an object comprising:

a signal source comprising:

at least first and second antennas, each for transmitting sensor signal pulses toward an object and for receiving reflected signal pulses therefrom;

means for phase delaying the transmitted signal pulses prior to their transmission; and

means for generating information signals based on transmitted and reflected signal pulses; and

an information processor programmed to receive the information signals and to determine bearing information for said object based on a phase difference between an information signal corresponding to the at least first antenna and an information signal corresponding to the at least second antenna.

2. The sensor system of claim 1 , wherein said information processor is further programmed to determine velocity and direction information for said object.

3. The sensor system of claim 1 , wherein said signal source comprises:

a pulse source for providing the sensor signal pulses; and

wherein the means for generating information signals is an information signal generator configured to generate information signals corresponding to a particular one of the at least first and second antennas if a portion of a sensor signal pulse and a reflected signal pulse of the particular antenna are present concurrently in said information signal generator.

4. The sensor system of claim 3 , wherein the pulse source comprises an oscillator coupled to a pulse generator, said pulse generator configured to generate a pulse having a pulse length equal to a predetermined pulse duration, and said pulse generator pulsing a bias of the oscillator to provide the pulsed signal to the phase delaying means.

5. The sensor system of claim 4 wherein said oscillator is a voltage controlled oscillator.

6. The sensor system of claim 3 , wherein the pulse source comprises an oscillator that generates an oscillator signal, a pulse generator that generates a pulsed signal having a pulse length equal to the predetermined pulse duration, and a radio frequency (RF) switch coupled to the oscillator and the pulse generator, the RF switch being responsive to the pulse generator and providing the pulsed signal to the phase delaying means.

7. The sensor system of claim 6 , wherein the oscillator is a voltage controlled oscillator.

8. The sensor system of claim 3 , wherein said information signal generator comprises at least one dual mode mixer configured to mix sensor signal pulses with corresponding reflected signal pulses.

9. The sensor system of claim 8 , wherein said phase delaying means comprises:

at least one phase shifter for phase shifting a first sensor signal pulse by a first predetermined angle, and for phase shifting a second signal pulse and a second reflected signal pulse by a second predetermined angle, the first signal pulse being transmitted by the at least first antenna, and the second signal pulse and second reflected signal pulse being transmitted and received by the at least second antenna;

wherein a first information signal comprises the phase shifted first sensor signal pulse and a first reflected signal pulse; and a second information signal comprises the phase shifted second sensor signal pulse and the phase shifted second reflected signal pulse.

10. The sensor system of claim 9 wherein said phase shifter comprises a first delay line placed before a first dual mode mixer and a second delay line placed after a second dual mode mixer, said first and second delay line each introducing a phase delay of 45 degrees to a signal passing therethrough.

11. The sensor system of claim 8 , wherein said information processor further comprises:

a first holding capacitor coupled between a first dual mode mixer and a first voltage reference node, wherein the first holding capacitor stores at least a portion of an information signal corresponding to the at least first antenna;

a second holding capacitor coupled between a second dual mode mixer and a second voltage reference node, wherein the second holding capacitor stores at least a portion of an information signal corresponding to the at least second antenna;

a preamplifier coupled to said first holding capacitor and said second holding capacitor and providing a first and second preamplified signal, from said first and second holding capacitors, respectively; and

a sampler coupled to said preamplifier for sampling said first and second preamplified signals thereby generating a first and second set of sample points therefrom.

12. The sensor system of claim 3 , wherein the at least first and second antennas each have an aperture separated by a distance not greater than one half of a wavelength of a pulsed signal.

13. The sensor system of claim 1 , wherein said transmitted sensor signals pulses are in-phase with each other and wherein information signals corresponding to the at least first antenna and information signals corresponding to the at least second antenna are in quadrature with each other.

14. The sensor system of claim 1 , wherein said information processor comprises a signal sampling circuit for sampling information signals to provide a plurality of sample points; and a microprocessor programmed to calculate said bearing information from said sample points.

15. The sensor system of claim 14 , wherein a first information signal corresponding to the at least first antenna is sampled to create a first set of sample points and a second information signal corresponding to the at least second antenna is sampled to create a second set of sample points, and wherein said microprocessor is programmed to:

perform coordinate transformation of said first and second set of sample points, wherein said transformed first and second set of sample points define part of an ellipse, said ellipse having bases a and b;

calculate amplitude delta of said transformed first and second sets of sample points to create a first and second set of delta coordinates for said ellipse;

solve a linear system of equations for said bases a and b; and

calculate said bearing information for said object using said bases a and b.

16. The sensor system of claim 15 , wherein said microprocessor is further programmed to:

transform sample pairs formed from said first and second set of sample points to define a circle;

calculate a phase difference between said transformed sample pairs; and

calculate speed of said object with said phase differences.

17. A method for calculating bearing information for an object, the method comprising the steps of:

transmitting at least a first and second sensor signal pulse from at least a first and second antenna, respectively, toward said object;

receiving a first and second reflected signal pulse therefrom;

generating a first and second information signal from said first and second reflected signal pulse, said information signals being based on a mix of transmitted sensor signal pulses and reflected signal pulses; and

determining bearing information for said object based on a phase difference between said first and second information signal.

18. A method for calculating bearing information for an object comprising the steps of:

transmitting sensor signal pulses from at least first and second antennas toward an object;

receiving signal pulses reflected from the object via said at least first and second antennas;

generating a first information signal based on reflected signal pulses received on the at least first antenna and generating a second information signal based on reflected signal pulses received on the at least second antenna;

generating a first and second set of sample points from said first and second information signals, respectively;

performing coordinate transformation of said first and second set of sample points, wherein said transformed first and second set of sample points define part of an ellipse, said ellipse having bases a and b;

calculating amplitude delta of said transformed first and second sets of sample points to create a first and second set of delta coordinates for said ellipse; and

solving a linear system of equations to determine values for the bases a and b using said delta coordinates; wherein if base a is less than base b, the object is at a bearing angle between 0° and 90°, and wherein if base a is greater than base b, the object is at a bearing angle between 90° and 180°.

19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising the steps of:

transforming sample pairs formed from said first and second set of sample points to define a circle;

calculating a phase difference between said transformed sample pairs; and

calculating speed of said object with said phase differences.

20. A sensor system for detecting an object comprising:

a signal source comprising:

a pulse source for providing at least a first and a second sensor signal pulse, said pulse source comprising at least one phase shifter to phase shift the first sensor signal pulse by a first predetermined angle, and to phase shift the second sensor signal pulse and a second reflected signal pulse by a second predetermined angle;

at least a first antenna for transmitting said first sensor signal pulse toward an object and a second antenna for transmitting said second sensor signal pulse toward the object, wherein said first antenna is adapted to receive a first reflected signal pulse from the object, and said second antenna is adapted to receive a second reflected signal from the object; and

an information signal generator comprising at least first and second dual mode mixers for generating a first information signal by mixing the first sensor signal pulse with the first reflected signal pulse if a portion of the first signal pulse and the first reflected signal pulse are present concurrently in the information signal generator, and for generating a second information signal by mixing the second sensor signal pulse with the second reflected signal pulse if a portion of the second signal pulse and the second reflected signal pulse are present concurrently in the information signal generator, said first sensor signal pulse, said second sensor signal pulse, and said second reflected signal pulse all being phase shifted;

and

an information processor programmed to receive the first and second information signals from information signal generator and to determine bearing information for the object based on a phase difference between the first and second information signal;

wherein the phase shifter comprises a first delay line placed before the first dual mode mixer and a second delay line placed after said second dual mode mixer, said first and second delay lines each introducing a phase delay of 45 degrees to a signal passing therethrough.

21. A sensor system for detecting an object comprising:

a signal source comprising:

a pulse source for providing at least a first and a second sensor signal pulse;

at least a first and a second antenna, each having an aperture separated by a distance not greater than one half of a wavelength of a pulsed signal, the first antenna for transmitting the first sensor signal pulse toward an object and the second antenna for transmitting the second sensor signal pulse toward the object, wherein said first antenna is adapted to receive a first reflected signal pulse from the object, and said second antenna is adapted to receive a second reflected signal from the object; and

an information signal generator for generating a first information signal if a portion of the first signal pulse and the first reflected signal pulse are present concurrently in the information signal generator, and for generating a second information signal if a portion of the second signal pulse and the second reflected signal pulse are present concurrently in the information signal generator;

and

an information processor programmed to receive the first and second information signals from information signal generator and to determine bearing information for the object based on a phase difference between the first and second information signals.

22. A sensor system for detecting an object comprising:

a signal source comprising:

a pulse source for providing at least a first and a second sensor signal pulse;

at least a first antenna for transmitting the first sensor signal pulse toward an object and a second antenna for transmitting the second sensor signal pulse toward the object, wherein said first antenna is adapted to receive a first reflected signal pulse from the object, and said second antenna is adapted to receive a second reflected signal from the object; and

an information signal generator comprising at least one dual mode mixer for generating a first information signal by mixing the first sensor signal pulse with the first reflected signal pulse if a portion of the first signal pulse and the first reflected signal pulse are present concurrently in the information signal generator, and for generating a second information signal by mixing the second sensor signal pulse with the second reflected signal pulse if a portion of the second signal pulse and the second reflected signal pulse are present concurrently in the information signal generator;

and

an information processor programmed to receive the first and second information signals from information signal generator and to determine bearing information for the object based on a phase difference between the first and second information signal, said information processor comprising:

a first holding capacitor coupled between a first dual mode mixer and a first voltage reference node, wherein the first holding capacitor stores at least a portion of said first information signal;

a second holding capacitor coupled between a second dual mode mixer and a second voltage reference node, wherein the second holding capacitor stores at least a portion of said second information signal;

a preamplifier coupled to said first holding capacitor and said second holding capacitor and providing a first and second preamplified signal, from said first and second holding capacitors, respectively; and

a sampler coupled to said preamplifier to sample said first and second preamplified signal to generate first and second set of sample points therefrom.