EP1605542A1 - Procédé pour aligner au moins une antenne avec une plateforme volant à haute altitude - Google Patents

Procédé pour aligner au moins une antenne avec une plateforme volant à haute altitude Download PDF

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Publication number
EP1605542A1
EP1605542A1 EP04100243A EP04100243A EP1605542A1 EP 1605542 A1 EP1605542 A1 EP 1605542A1 EP 04100243 A EP04100243 A EP 04100243A EP 04100243 A EP04100243 A EP 04100243A EP 1605542 A1 EP1605542 A1 EP 1605542A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
antenna
platform
process according
variation
threshold
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP04100243A
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German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Ali Louzir
Jean-Yves Le Naour
Dominique Lo Hine Tong
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
THOMSON LICENSING
Original Assignee
Thomson Licensing SAS
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Thomson Licensing SAS filed Critical Thomson Licensing SAS
Publication of EP1605542A1 publication Critical patent/EP1605542A1/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q1/00—Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
    • H01Q1/12—Supports; Mounting means
    • H01Q1/125—Means for positioning

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to the field of high bit rate wireless networks, more particularly the use of a platform flying at high altitude or HAP (standing for High Altitude Platform) used to ensure cellular coverage of a determined geographical area.
  • HAP standing for High Altitude Platform
  • FIG. 1 An example of a solution using platforms flying at high altitude as proposed by the Boeing company is represented by way of illustration in Figure 1.
  • a platform 1 consisting for example of a cargo type aircraft, flies at an altitude of around some twenty kilometres above the ground and describes curves, more specifically circles, of around one kilometre in diameter about a fixed point situated vertically in line with the desired area of coverage referenced 2.
  • Ka band namely the band lying between 24 GHz and 29 GHz, more particularly at 28 GHz
  • the above dimensioning makes it possible to uncover a ground area of around 35 km in diameter, with a ground antenna of around 20 cm diameter without this antenna being furnished with tracking means.
  • the present invention therefore relates to a method of aligning an antenna, more particularly an antenna having fixed beams with an HAP platform. This method makes it possible among other things to minimize the losses related to the motion of the platform. It is moreover particularly simple and cheap to implement.
  • the process for aligning an antenna with a platform flying at high altitude is characterized in that the antenna is aligned with the centre of the curve described by the platform.
  • a position of the antenna is detected for which the level of variation in the signal received remains below a threshold.
  • the threshold is determined as a function of the variations in gain at the border of the area of coverage. According to a variant, this threshold may be adjustable.
  • the antenna is a fixed antenna.
  • the present invention therefore relates to a process comprising the following steps:
  • the fine adjustment by progressive iteration and the calculation of the variation in residual power are carried out over a determined time interval that corresponds, preferably, to a revolution of the platform.
  • the present invention also relates to a terminal linked to the antenna, furnished with means for the implementation of the above process.
  • the terminal linked to the antenna comprises among other things means for detecting the power received, means for analyzing the variation in power over time and means indicating that the variation is less than a determined threshold.
  • the value of the threshold is stored in a table parameterized as a function of the position of the terminal.
  • this terminal may comprise means for displaying the variation in power over time.
  • FIG. 2 Represented in Figure 2 is a platform 1 flying at high altitude describing a circle c as well as, diagrammatically by dashed lines, the radiation pattern of a ground antenna A situated vertically in line with the platform and the radiation pattern of an antenna A' situated at the border of the area of coverage.
  • the two antennas A and A' point towards the centre p of the circle c described by the platform flying at high altitude.
  • the 3 dB aperture of the antenna beam ⁇ 3dB and the maximum gain g(0) are given by the following approximate formulae:
  • the boresight deviation angles at the centre of the area and on the edge are respectively equal to
  • the values of the gain during alignment of the antenna on the centre of the circle described by the platform fluctuate very slightly, with a maximum value of 0.3 dB which can be chosen as threshold value in accordance with the present invention.
  • FIG. 4 Represented diagrammatically in Figure 4 is a terminal associated with a fixed antenna 10 aligned with the centre of the circle described by the platform.
  • the antenna is connected to a user terminal consisting of two main subassemblies formed respectively of the ODU 11 or "Outdoor Unit” and of the IDU 13 or "Indoor Unit".
  • the ODU is coupled to the directional antenna 10 and is generally situated outside a building whereas the IDU is situated near the user, inside the building.
  • the signal transmitted by the HAP platform is received by the terminal in Ka band, namely around 28 GHz. It is firstly amplified then transposed to L band (lying between 1 and 2 GHz) with a constant gain in the ODU 11.
  • the ODU comprises circuits well known to the person skilled in the art, namely schematically a duplexer connected to the uplink and the downlink which consist respectively in the case of the uplink of an amplifier AMP, of a mixer and of an amplifier HPA and in the case of the downlink of an amplifier LNA, of a mixer and of an amplifier AMP, the mixers and the amplifiers of the uplink and downlink being connected to one and the same local oscillator.
  • the ODU 11 is linked to the IDU 13 by a coaxial cable 14.
  • Means allowing the implementation of the process of the present invention are provided in the IDU. These means are represented by the highlighted circuit 15.
  • the IDU also comprises, connected to the coaxial cable 14, a duplexer so as to connect to the said coaxial cable the generator of the signal to be transmitted as well as the circuit for processing the signal received.
  • the device for the implementation of the present invention essentially comprises a circuit evaluating the power of the signal received, circuits for digitally processing the power signal received and optionally circuits for servocontrol and circuits for controlling the motor whereby the antenna can be pointed towards the platform, as symbolized by the dashed line I.
  • the circuit of Figure 3 therefore comprises a detector 150 of the power received, a circuit 151 for digitizing the signal from the detector of the power received followed by a processing circuit 152 that makes it possible to calculate on the basis of the digitized signal, the alteration in the power received over a time interval t that may be chosen, according to one embodiment, equal to a complete revolution of the platform.
  • the device can comprise a display system 153 making it possible to represent the alteration in the residual power and which may consist of a Bargraph type system.
  • the signal from the circuit 152 may be connected to an optional servocontrol device and is sent to the controls of motors of the antenna.
  • the signal from the circuit 152 is compared with a stored threshold corresponding to the maximum value of the residual power variation.
  • This threshold value is stored in a table and is dependent on the position of the terminal in the area of coverage.
  • the signal from the comparator 155 is sent to a signalling device 156 such as a light-emitting diode or any means of signalling.
  • the operator firstly makes a coarse adjustment to the pointing of the antenna in the direction of the platform by searching for the maximum power received by the antenna. Thereafter, the operator refines the pointing of the antenna of the terminal at the centre of the circle described by the HAP platform, doing so by successive iterations. For each pointing attempt, the residual power variation is calculated during a revolution of the HAP. The calculated value is compared with the theoretical value stored in the parameterized table and when the value of the residual variation in the power of the signal received is less than the threshold predefined in this table, an indicator is then activated by the IDU 11 to indicate that the pointing is correct.
  • the time for the analysis period will be 33.9 seconds.
  • the process of the present invention makes it possible to set up automatic monitoring of the antenna pointing carried out periodically with a servocontrol of the pointing of the antenna through electrical control of motors.

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  • Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)
EP04100243A 2003-01-30 2004-01-23 Procédé pour aligner au moins une antenne avec une plateforme volant à haute altitude Withdrawn EP1605542A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FR0301033 2003-01-30
FR0301033A FR2850795A1 (fr) 2003-01-30 2003-01-30 Procede d'alignement d'au moins une antenne au sol avec une plate-forme volant a haute altitude

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1605542A1 true EP1605542A1 (fr) 2005-12-14

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Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP04100243A Withdrawn EP1605542A1 (fr) 2003-01-30 2004-01-23 Procédé pour aligner au moins une antenne avec une plateforme volant à haute altitude

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EP (1) EP1605542A1 (fr)
FR (1) FR2850795A1 (fr)

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS5817706A (ja) * 1981-07-24 1983-02-02 Toshiba Corp アンテナ装置
US6011511A (en) * 1996-11-07 2000-01-04 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Satellite dish positioning system
US6393281B1 (en) * 1993-03-26 2002-05-21 At&T Wireless Services Inc Seamless hand-off for air-to-ground systems

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS5817706A (ja) * 1981-07-24 1983-02-02 Toshiba Corp アンテナ装置
US6393281B1 (en) * 1993-03-26 2002-05-21 At&T Wireless Services Inc Seamless hand-off for air-to-ground systems
US6011511A (en) * 1996-11-07 2000-01-04 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Satellite dish positioning system

Non-Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
DOVIS F ET AL: "4G COMMUNICATIONS BASED ON HIGH ALTITUDE STRATOSPHERIC PLATFORMS: CHANNEL MODELING AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION", GLOBECOM'01. 2001 IEEE GLOBAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE. SAN ANTONIO, TX, NOV. 25 - 29, 2001, IEEE GLOBAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE, NEW YORK, NY : IEEE, US, vol. VOL. 1 OF 6, 25 November 2001 (2001-11-25), pages 557 - 561, XP001090317, ISBN: 0-7803-7206-9 *
KONEFAL T ET AL: "Site diversity for high-altitude platforms: a method for the prediction of joint site attenuation statistics", IEE PROCEEDINGS: MICROWAVES, ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, IEE, STEVENAGE, HERTS, GB, vol. 149, no. 2, 3 May 2002 (2002-05-03), pages 124 - 128, XP006018379, ISSN: 1350-2417 *
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN vol. 007, no. 094 (E - 171) 20 April 1983 (1983-04-20) *
THORNTON J ET AL: "BROADBAND COMMUNICATIONS FROM A HIGH-ALTITUDE PLATFORM: THE EUROPEAN HELINET PROGRAMME", ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING JOURNAL, INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, LONDON, GB, vol. 13, no. 3, June 2001 (2001-06-01), pages 138 - 144, XP001058773, ISSN: 0954-0695 *
TOZER T C ET AL: "HIGH-ALTITUDE PLATFORMS FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS", ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING JOURNAL, INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, LONDON, GB, vol. 13, no. 3, June 2001 (2001-06-01), pages 127 - 137, XP001058772, ISSN: 0954-0695 *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
FR2850795A1 (fr) 2004-08-06

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