US 11,747,428 B2
Corner sensor for a motor vehicle
Sébastien Chanal, Toulouse (FR); Sylvain Godet, Toulouse (FR); and Stéphane Billy, Toulouse (FR)
Assigned to CONTINENTAL AUTOMOTIVE GMBH, Hannover (DE)
Filed by Continental Automotive GmbH, Hannover (DE)
Filed on Feb. 9, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/171,308.
Claims priority of application No. 2001404 (FR), filed on Feb. 13, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2021/0255272 A1, Aug. 19, 2021
Int. Cl. G01S 3/48 (2006.01); G01S 3/04 (2006.01); G01S 3/74 (2006.01); H01Q 1/32 (2006.01); G01S 3/18 (2006.01); G01S 5/04 (2006.01)
CPC G01S 3/48 (2013.01) [G01S 3/043 (2013.01); G01S 3/18 (2013.01); G01S 3/74 (2013.01); G01S 5/04 (2013.01); H01Q 1/3283 (2013.01)] 13 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A corner sensor for a motor vehicle, said corner sensor being capable of communicating over a wireless communication link with an authentication device carried by a user of said vehicle, said corner sensor comprising:
i. an array of antennae, each antenna of which is configured to be active for reception during a predetermined time range, called “reception” time range, that is different from the reception time ranges of the other antennae of the array of antennae, so as to receive a different portion, called “segment”, of the same signal sent by the device via said wireless communication link;
ii. an electronic control unit configured to:
1. determine the phase difference between the segments received by the antennae of the array of antennae;
2. determine a probability of each angle of incidence over a predetermined range of angles on the basis of the determined phase differences and of a predefined table, so as to determine a probability profile (Pb) over the predetermined range of angles;
3. measure a power of the segments received by the antennae of the array of antennae so as to determine a power profile (Pu) over the predetermined range of angles;
4. determine an actual angle of incidence of the signal by multiplying the probability profile (Pb) with said power profile (Pu);
5. send a value of the determined actual angle of incidence to a central electronic control unit of the vehicle.