US 12,298,380 B1
Reduced radar sensor power consumption
James Steven Skeoch, Palos Verdes Estates, CA (US); and Michael Kalajian, Calabasas, CA (US)
Assigned to Amazon Technologies, Inc., Seattle, WA (US)
Filed by Amazon Technologies, Inc., Seattle, WA (US)
Filed on May 1, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/141,890.
Application 18/141,890 is a continuation of application No. 16/946,189, filed on Jun. 9, 2020, granted, now 11,703,583.
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. G01S 13/536 (2006.01); G01S 7/35 (2006.01); G01S 7/41 (2006.01); G01S 13/56 (2006.01); G01S 13/86 (2006.01)
CPC G01S 13/536 (2013.01) [G01S 7/352 (2013.01); G01S 7/415 (2013.01); G01S 13/56 (2013.01); G01S 13/867 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A communication device comprising:
at least one processor;
a radar sensor communicatively coupled with the processor, the radar sensor comprising a transmitter, a first receiver, and a second receiver; and
a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the communication device to perform operations comprising:
operating the radar sensor in a first operational mode that utilizes the transmitter and the first receiver and does not utilize the second receiver, wherein the first operational mode does not involve angle of arrival (AoA) estimation or Doppler Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) processing;
causing the radar sensor to, in the first operational mode, perform stationary object removal, range FFT processing, and amplitude thresholding;
detecting, using the radar sensor in the first operational mode, motion of an object within a threshold distance from the radar sensor;
responsive to the detecting of the motion of the object, transitioning the radar sensor from the first operational mode to a second operational mode that utilizes the transmitter, the first receiver, and the second receiver, wherein the second operational mode involves AoA estimation but does not involve Doppler FFT processing;
transmitting, by the transmitter while using the radar sensor in the first operational mode, a first number of radar frames in a first time interval; and
transmitting, by the transmitter while using the radar sensor in the second operational mode, a second number of radar frames in the first time interval, the second number being greater than the first number;
wherein using the second operational mode consumes more power than using the first operational mode due to increasing detection processing at an increased frame rate.