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EP-4741885-A2 - MICROWAVE BARRIER SYSTEM

EP4741885A2EP 4741885 A2EP4741885 A2EP 4741885A2EP-4741885-A2

Abstract

A microwave barrier system is described, including: a first microwave barrier (100) whose microwave transmitter unit has an electrically tunable microwave generator (600), wherein the first microwave barrier (100) is configured to operate at a selectable microwave frequency; and at least a second microwave barrier, the microwave transmitter unit of which has an electrically tunable microwave generator (600), wherein the second microwave barrier is configured to operate at a selectable microwave frequency; and wherein the first microwave barrier (100) and the second microwave barrier each have a microwave transmitter unit (104) and a microwave receiver unit (102); and wherein the microwave barrier system is configured, by means of the respective microwave receiver unit (102), to determine microwave operating channels (210) in an available frequency range for microwave barriers; and the microwave barrier system is configured to assign a microwave operating channel (210) to each of the respective microwave barriers (100) of the microwave barrier system in such a way as to reduce mutual interference between the microwave barriers (110); and the respective microwave barrier has a communication unit which is configured to couple the respective microwave receiver unit (102) with the respective microwave transmitter unit (104), wired and/or wirelessly, by means of a signal in order to transmit the microwave operating channel for the operation of the respective microwave barrier (100) from the microwave receiver unit (102) to the microwave transmitter unit (104).

Inventors

  • SCHULTHEISS, DANIEL
  • FISCHER, MICHAEL

Assignees

  • VEGA Grieshaber KG

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20230607

Claims (15)

  1. Microwave barrier system, with: a first microwave barrier (100) whose microwave transmitter unit has an electrically tunable microwave generator (600), wherein the first microwave barrier (100) is configured to operate at a selectable microwave frequency; and at least a second microwave barrier, the microwave transmitter of which has an electrically tunable microwave generator (600), wherein the second microwave barrier is configured to be operated with a selectable microwave frequency; and wherein the first microwave barrier (100) and the second microwave barrier each comprise a microwave transmitter unit (104) and a microwave receiver unit (102); and wherein the microwave barrier system is configured by means of the respective microwave receiver unit (102) to determine microwave operating channels (210) in an available frequency range for microwave barriers; and the microwave barrier system is configured to assign a microwave operating channel (210) to each of the respective microwave barriers (100) of the microwave barrier system in such a way as to reduce mutual interference between the microwave barriers (110); and The respective microwave barrier has a communication unit which is configured to wirelessly couple the respective microwave receiver unit (102) with the respective microwave transmitter unit (104) in order to transmit the microwave operating channel for the operation of the respective microwave barrier (100) from the microwave receiver unit (102) to the microwave transmitter unit (104).
  2. Microwave barrier system according to claim 1, wherein the microwave barrier system is configured depending on a provided The number of microwave barriers and/or a provided arrangement of the respective microwave barriers (100) in the microwave barrier system is to be assigned a respective microwave frequency channel (210) to the respective microwave barriers (100) in such a way that frequency channels (210) are assigned to spatially adjacent microwave barriers (100) of the microwave barrier system in such a way that mutual interference by microwave radiation of spatially adjacent microwave barriers in the microwave barrier system is reduced.
  3. Microwave barrier system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the receiving unit of at least one microwave barrier (110, 120) is configured to determine an attenuation of the microwave signal based on a microwave operating channel (210).
  4. Microwave barrier system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the microwave barrier system is configured, depending on the provided arrangement of the respective microwave barriers in the microwave barrier system, to assign microwave operating channels (210) to the microwave barriers (100) such that microwave frequency channels (210) that are not adjacent in frequency are assigned to spatially adjacent microwave barriers of the microwave barrier system.
  5. Microwave barrier system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the respective microwave receiver unit (102) is configured to determine an extraneous signal amplitude for at least one microwave operating channel of the plurality of available frequency channels; and the microwave operating channel is determined from the available frequency channels (202) based on the at least one specific extraneous signal amplitude of the available frequency channels (202) in order to reduce interference during operation of the respective microwave barrier (100) by an extraneous signal.
  6. Microwave barrier system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the microwave receiving unit (102) is connected to the microwave transmitting unit (104) to be wirelessly coupled to each other via the communication unit, in particular wirelessly via Bluetooth and/or wirelessly via WLAN.
  7. Microwave barrier system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the respective communication unit is configured to couple the respective microwave receiver unit (102) with a further microwave barrier by means of a signal in order to determine the microwave operating channel for the operation of the further microwave barrier (304) and/or to transmit the operating channel to the further microwave barrier and/or to transmit an external signal amplitude determined by the receiver unit of the further microwave barrier to the respective microwave barrier (100).
  8. Microwave barrier system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the first microwave barrier (100) is arranged spatially adjacent to the second microwave barrier; and the microwave barrier system is configured to determine the microwave operating channel of the first microwave barrier (100), while the microwave transmitting unit of the second microwave barrier is operated on a second microwave operating channel.
  9. Microwave barrier system according to claim 8, wherein interference radiation caused by operation of the transmitting unit of the second microwave barrier on the second operating channel is interpreted by the first microwave barrier (100) as an extraneous signal amplitude in order to determine the microwave operating channel for the first microwave barrier (100).
  10. Microwave barrier system according to one of the preceding claims, which is set up by means of the respective communication unit, to transmit diagnostic information from the respective microwave transmitter unit (104) to the respective microwave receiver unit (102) in order to avoid and/or determine a malfunction of the respective microwave barrier (100).
  11. Microwave barrier system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the respective microwave receiving unit (102) is coupled to the respective microwave transmitting unit (104) by means of a microwave signal based on the respective microwave operating channel in order to establish a coupling path between the respective microwave transmitting unit and the respective receiving unit; and in particular the microwave barrier system is configured to determine an attenuation of the microwave signal in the respective coupling path.
  12. Microwave barrier system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one of the microwave barriers (100) is configured to be operated based on a modulated microwave signal in order to reduce mutual interference between at least two microwave barriers of the microwave barrier system.
  13. Microwave barrier system according to claim 12, wherein the microwave transmitter unit of the at least one microwave barrier (100) is configured to generate a modulated microwave signal; and a receiver unit coupled to the microwave transmitter unit so configured is configured to selectively detect the attenuation of the microwave signal based on the modulated microwave signal.
  14. Microwave barrier system according to claim 12 or 13 wherein the respective microwave signal of at least one microwave barrier (100) of the microwave barrier system is modulated with a code, and the respective microwave barrier is configured to be operated selectively based on the microwave signal modulated with the code.
  15. Microwave barrier system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a single microwave receiver unit is both the microwave receiver unit of the first microwave barrier (100) and the microwave receiver unit of the second microwave barrier.

Description

Reference to related applications The present application claims the priorities of European patent application no. 22 178 479.6, filed on 10 June 2022 and No. 22 178 491.1, submitted on June 10, 2022 , which are incorporated in full by reference into this document. background A microwave barrier typically emits a continuous microwave signal towards an associated receiver. If the direct transmission path from transmitter to receiver is interrupted by an object or by the fill level in a container, this manifests as a missing or reduced signal level at the receiver. This drop in signal level can be detected at the receiver and converted into a switching signal. To determine the direction from which an object passes the barrier, a system with two receivers and one transmitter, or two completely independent microwave barriers, can be used. When an object passes through such a barrier, the switching sequence determines the direction of passage. If the two receivers in a system of multiple microwave barriers are located close to each other, microwave radiation from a microwave transmitter in one barrier can interfere with a receiver in a neighboring barrier. This can affect the sensitivity and thus the signal-to-noise ratio of the individual receiver. Reduced signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) can result in an increased probability of malfunctions or switching errors in the affected microwave barrier. To increase SNRs between adjacent microwave receivers, different polarization planes can typically be selected for the neighboring microwave barriers. Furthermore, the positions of the transmitter and receiver of adjacent microwave barriers can typically be swapped so that a transmitter of one microwave barrier is located adjacent to a receiver of the other. This prevents the transmitter of one microwave barrier from directly interfering with the receiver of the other. This effectively decouples the two microwave barriers. Disclosure of the invention Beyond three or more closely spaced microwave barriers, the signal-to-noise ratio can no longer be improved using the measures described above. Decoupling the microwave barriers using different polarization planes of the microwave radiation also becomes less effective the more microwave barriers are operated in close proximity. This means that interference from microwave transmitters affecting receivers not belonging to the same microwave barrier can increase with the number of microwave barriers. However, to determine the position of an object in a room or the fill level in a container, more than two microwave barriers operating close together may be necessary. According to aspects of the invention, a microwave barrier system is proposed according to the features of the independent claim. Advantageous embodiments are the subject of the dependent claims and the following description. In this entire description of the invention, the sequence of process steps is presented in such a way that the process is easily comprehensible. However, the person skilled in the art will recognize that many of the process steps can also be carried out in a different order. They can be done and lead to the same result. In this sense, the order of the procedural steps can be changed accordingly and is therefore also disclosed. According to one aspect, a microwave barrier system is proposed, comprising a first microwave barrier and at least one second microwave barrier. A microwave transmitter unit of the first microwave barrier includes an electrically tunable microwave generator, and the first microwave barrier is configured, based on the microwave transmitter unit, to operate at a first selectable microwave frequency. A microwave transmitter unit of the second microwave barrier has an electrically tunable microwave generator, and the first microwave barrier is configured, based on the microwave transmitter unit, to operate at a second selectable microwave frequency. The first and second microwave barriers each have a microwave transmitter unit and a microwave receiver unit. The microwave barrier system is configured, by means of the respective microwave receiver unit, to determine microwave operating channels, in particular for the operational operation of the respective microwave barrier, within an available frequency range for microwave barriers, and the microwave barrier system is configured to assign a microwave operating channel (210) to each of the microwave barriers of the microwave barrier system in such a way as to reduce mutual interference between the microwave barriers. Each microwave barrier has a communication unit that is configured to couple the respective microwave receiver unit with the respective microwave transmitter unit, wired and/or wirelessly, in order to transmit the microwave operating channel for the operation of the respective microwave barrier from the microwave receiver unit to the microwave transmitter unit. The respective microwave receiving unit can be coupled t