US 11,940,555 B2
Radar apparatus for a vehicle and method of detecting misalignment
Rob Pinnock, Birmingham West Midlands (GB)
Assigned to ZF AUTOMOTIVE UK LIMITED, Solihull (GB)
Appl. No. 17/046,862
Filed by ZF AUTOMOTIVE UK LIMITED, Solihull West Midlands (GB)
PCT Filed Apr. 18, 2019, PCT No. PCT/EP2019/060064
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Oct. 12, 2020,
PCT Pub. No. WO2019/202069, PCT Pub. Date Oct. 24, 2019.
Claims priority of application No. 1806494 (GB), filed on Apr. 20, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0149021 A1, May 20, 2021
Int. Cl. G01S 7/40 (2006.01); G01S 13/86 (2006.01); G01S 13/931 (2020.01)
CPC G01S 7/4026 (2013.01) [G01S 7/40 (2013.01); G01S 13/86 (2013.01); G01S 13/931 (2013.01); G01S 7/403 (2021.05)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A radar apparatus for use in a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:
a radar housing which houses a radar sensor,
a first 3-axis accelerometer fixed in position relative to the radar sensor;
a movable support that comprises a first part, a second part, and an actuator in which in use the first part is fixed relative to the body of the vehicle, the second part is fixed relative to the radar housing, and the actuator is operable to move the second part relative to the first part around an axis that is fixed relative to the vehicle body by an actuator, and
a signal processing apparatus configured in use to determine a misalignment of the radar sensor from one or more of the signals output from the first 3 axis accelerometer and one or more signals output from a second 3 axis accelerometer that is fixed in position relative to the vehicle, in which the signals used are captured at different moments in time when the second part of the movable support is in two different positions.