US Patent 10175352 Scalable architecture for an automotive radar system

First transmitter circuitry communicates, via bus interface circuitry, on a data bus to detect whether any second transmitter circuitry is coupled to the data bus. In instances that no second transmitter circuitry is detected as being coupled to the data bus, the first transmitter circuitry transmits beamformed signals via a first plurality of antenna elements using beamforming coefficients. In instances that second transmitter circuitry is detected as being coupled to the data bus, the first transmitter circuitry determines a phase offset between clock generation circuitry of the first transmitter circuitry and clock generation circuitry of the detected second transmitter circuitry. The first transmitter circuitry compensates the beamforming coefficients based on the determined phase offset. The first transmitter circuitry use the compensated beamforming coefficients for transmitting signals that are phase coherent with signals transmitted by the second transmitter circuitry.