JP2000114830A - Antenna system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inexpensive antenna system capable of fully automatically controlling the drive of an antenna for turning the antenna toward a target communication satellite in a short time. SOLUTION: A modem 17 and an information center are connected through a public telephone line 3 and antenna position information is acquired. Then, based on the acquired antenna position information, a calculation part 22 calculates the target azimuth angle and target elevation angle in respect to the target communication satellite in the azimuth of the antenna and an antenna control part 21 controls the turn of the antenna so that the real azimuth angle and real elevation angle of the antenna can be coincident with the target azimuth angle and target elevation angle.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an antenna device, and more particularly, to an antenna device for receiving a broadcast wave from a communication satellite in a digital satellite broadcast receiving device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, digital satellite broadcasting for transmitting moving image information and audio information as digital data has attracted attention as a new broadcasting means, and a plurality of satellite broadcastings have been used.

A conventional digital satellite broadcast receiving apparatus has a parabolic antenna for receiving a broadcast radio wave transmitted from a communication satellite, extracts moving image information and audio information from the received radio wave as digital data, and extracts the extracted information. Are subjected to decoding processing, converted into analog information, and output to a display device such as a television. Further, the digital satellite receiver has a modem for communicating with a broadcasting company, and information can be accessed with the broadcasting company.

Some of the above-mentioned conventional digital satellite receivers have a fixed antenna as an antenna, and others have an antenna controller for adjusting the direction of the antenna based on a control signal. In the receiving device having the fixed antenna, the direction of the antenna with respect to the communication satellite is manually set.

Further, this receiving device having an antenna control device is provided with a position measuring device such as a global azimuth system (GPS) for specifying the installation position of the antenna, and the position is specified by an input operation of the position measuring device. The direction of the antenna is set based on the installation location information.

[0006]

However, as described above, in a receiving apparatus having a fixed antenna, there is a problem that the direction of the antenna must be manually set by a person while observing the receiving state. Further, the receiving device having the antenna control device has a problem in that an expensive device such as a GPS or a complicated input operation of information to the device is required in order to specify an installation location of the antenna.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems. As an antenna device mounted on a digital satellite receiver, drive control of an antenna for pointing an antenna to a target communication satellite is performed. It is an object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive antenna device that can be fully automated in a short time.

[0008]

An antenna device according to the present invention (Claim 1) includes an antenna for receiving a broadcast radio wave transmitted from a communication satellite, and an antenna for turning the antenna in a horizontal plane and a vertical plane. And an antenna supporting drive mechanism for movably supporting the antenna in the horizontal plane and the vertical plane, wherein the antenna position indicates an antenna installation place where the apparatus is installed. Position information acquiring means for acquiring information from an information center via a public telephone line; and a target azimuth angle and a target elevation angle of the antenna with respect to a communication satellite from which the broadcast radio wave is to be received, based on the antenna position information. And an antenna by the antenna support drive mechanism such that the azimuth and elevation of the antenna match the target azimuth and elevation. In which a control means for controlling the rotation.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the antenna device according to the first aspect, a communication terminal connectable to a public telephone line is provided in addition to the antenna device, and a terminal indicating an installation location of the communication terminal is provided. The position information is acquired as the antenna position information.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the antenna device according to the second aspect, the terminal location information includes a telephone number of a calling communication terminal in the communication system using the public telephone line. The information center is determined based on terminal specifying information for specifying the terminal, which is notified to the information center using a number display function for notification.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the antenna device according to the first aspect, there is provided a carrier wave monitor for monitoring a reception level of a carrier in a broadcast wave from the communication satellite. The rotation of the antenna by the support driving mechanism is controlled, and the azimuth and the elevation of the antenna are finely adjusted based on the output according to the change in the reception level from the carrier monitoring means. It is.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, a digital satellite broadcast transmission / reception system using an antenna device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of a transmission / reception system for digital satellite broadcasting using the above-mentioned antenna device.
In FIG. 2, reference numeral 20 denotes the transmission / reception system,
Is a communication satellite that constitutes the transmission / reception system 20 and transmits broadcast radio waves. Reference numeral 2 denotes a house in which a digital satellite broadcast receiving apparatus 10 equipped with the antenna device of the present embodiment is installed.
Is connected to the public telephone line 3. Reference numeral 4 denotes a terrestrial broadcast station for transmitting broadcast waves to the communication satellite 1. The terrestrial broadcast station 4 includes an information processing device (not shown).
Is provided, and the telephone number of the communication terminal is transmitted from the communication terminal of the digital satellite broadcast receiver 10 to the ground 4, the location of the communication terminal can be specified by the terrestrial broadcasting station. In the following description,
The terrestrial broadcasting station is also called an information center.

Next, a digital satellite broadcast receiver 10 equipped with the antenna device according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the digital satellite broadcast receiving apparatus 10. The digital satellite broadcast receiving apparatus 10 receives a broadcast radio wave from a communication satellite, performs signal processing such as detection, demodulation, and reproduction on the received broadcast radio wave, and outputs the processed signal to a display device 50. And a receiving unit 40.

Here, the receiving section 40 has a level meter (not shown) for monitoring the carrier wave level of the broadcast radio wave received by the antenna device 30, and the antenna device 30 is provided with an antenna main body. Is configured to be able to adjust the attitude of the antenna body based on the control signal so as to face the desired communication satellite.

That is, the antenna body of the antenna device 30 includes a concave reflecting mirror 11 for reflecting a broadcast radio wave and concentrating it at a focal point thereof, and receiving the broadcast radio wave reflected by the reflector 11 and converting it into an electric signal. The antenna body is rotatable in a horizontal plane and a vertical plane with respect to an antenna supporting base material (not shown). It is supported by. Here, the concave reflecting mirror has a parabolic cross section including the direction of the axis connecting the center and the focal position, and the direction of the axis is the direction of the antenna body.

The antenna driver 30a of the antenna device 30 detects an actual direction (antenna elevation direction) of the antenna main body in a vertical plane by detecting an angle formed by this direction and a horizontal direction as an elevation angle. The detection unit 13, an antenna elevation angle driving device 14 for rotating the antenna body in a vertical plane based on a control signal, and the direction (antenna direction) of the antenna body in the horizontal plane are defined by this direction and the reference direction. An antenna azimuth detecting unit 15 for detecting an angle as an azimuth and an antenna azimuth driving device 16 for rotating the antenna body in a horizontal plane based on a control signal are provided.

The control unit 30 of the antenna device 30
b controls the antenna elevation drive unit 14 and the antenna azimuth drive unit 16 based on signals from the antenna elevation angle detection unit 13, the antenna azimuth angle detection unit 15, a communication unit 30c and the reception unit 40 described below. In addition, it has an antenna control unit 21 for transmitting and receiving signals to and from a communication unit 30c, which will be described later, and a calculation unit 22 for calculating an angle required for controlling each of the driving devices.

The communication section 30c for communicating with an information source such as an external information terminal via a public telephone line includes a modem (communication terminal) 17 connected to the external information terminal via the public telephone line, A modem control unit 18 for controlling the modem 17 so that the modem 17 is connected to a desired communication terminal via a public telephone line, and the modem 17 is connected to the information center 4 based on a signal from the antenna control unit 18. (Refer to FIG. 2) to the modem control unit 18 to request the information center 4 for the location information of the installation area of the calling information terminal, and to transmit the location information obtained from the information center 4 to the antenna installation location. An antenna installation position acquisition unit 19 that outputs the position information to the antenna control unit 21 is shown.

The present digital satellite broadcast receiving apparatus 1
0 indicates that the communication unit 30c acquires antenna position information from an external information center 4 when the receiver is newly installed in a house or the like, or when the receiver is installed again after changing the installation location. The unit 21 controls the driving of the antenna body based on the antenna position information, and then controls the antenna support driving mechanism according to the change in the reception level during the driving control operation of the antenna based on the antenna position information. The azimuth and elevation of the antenna are finely adjusted based on the output of the level meter.

Next, the operation will be described. In the antenna body, the broadcast radio wave reflected by the reflecting mirror 11 is converted into an electric signal by a radio wave receiving source 12 including a primary radiator and a converter, and is supplied to a receiving unit 40. At this time, the level meter in the receiving unit 40 monitors the carrier level of the received broadcast radio wave. The receiving unit 4
At 0, the input received signal is subjected to demodulation and reproduction processing and output to the display device 50.

On the other hand, when the digital satellite broadcast receiving apparatus 10 is newly installed or the digital satellite broadcast receiving apparatus 10 is installed again,
That is, when it becomes necessary to set the antenna orientation for the target communication satellite, the antenna control unit 21 instructs the communication unit 30c to acquire the antenna installation position, and the communication unit 30c receives this request. And information center 4
Make a call to.

Specifically, the antenna control section 21 instructs the antenna installation position acquisition section 19 to acquire the installation location of the antenna. The antenna installation position acquisition unit 19 instructs the modem control unit 18 to connect the modem 17 to the information center 4 via the public telephone line 3, and the modem control unit 18 modulates the modem in accordance with the instruction of the antenna installation position acquisition unit 19. Control the connection of the modem 17 and the information center 4
Are connected via the public telephone line 3.

When the information center 4 and the modem 17 of the digital satellite broadcast receiver are connected by the public telephone line 3,
The information center uses a number display function to notify the telephone number of the calling communication terminal to the other communication terminal,
By notifying the information center 4 of the telephone number of the modem 17 from the modem 17 of the digital satellite broadcast receiving apparatus 10, the information center 4 specifies the installation location of the modem 17 from the area code, and determines the installation location of the modem 17. The indicated position information is transmitted to the modem 17. As a result, the antenna installation position acquisition unit 19 acquires the position information indicating the installation position of the modem 17 as antenna position information and sends it to the antenna control unit 21.

As described above, in the communication unit 30c, the control unit 3
When there is an instruction to acquire the antenna installation position from 0b, a call is made to the information center 4 to acquire antenna position information and transmit it to the control unit 30b.

Next, the control unit 30b communicates with the communication unit 30c.
When the antenna position information is further acquired, a calculation necessary for controlling each driving device is performed based on the acquired antenna position information, and the respective driving devices are controlled based on this.

Upon receiving the antenna position information from the antenna installation position acquisition unit 19, the antenna control unit 21 sends the antenna position information to the calculation unit 22. The calculating unit 22 calculates a target azimuth angle and a target elevation angle of the antenna with respect to the communication satellite 1 to receive broadcast radio waves based on the antenna position information. At this time, the antenna driving unit 3
The 0a antenna azimuth detecting unit 15 and the antenna elevation detecting unit 13 detect the actual azimuth and elevation of the antenna and output them to the antenna control unit 21. The antenna control unit 21 outputs the real azimuth angle and the real elevation angle of the antenna to the calculation unit 22, and the calculation unit 22 calculates the difference between the real azimuth angle and the real elevation angle of the antenna and the target azimuth angle and the target elevation angle. Then, the signal is output to the antenna control unit 21. The antenna control unit 21 sends a control signal to the antenna drive unit 30a, and the antenna azimuth drive unit 16 and the antenna elevation drive unit 14 calculate the control unit 22 based on the control signal.
The antenna is rotated in the azimuth direction and the elevation direction by the difference calculated in step (1).

In the antenna control section 21, when each of the driving devices 16 and 14 rotates the antenna in the azimuth and elevation directions by the difference calculated by the calculation section 22 based on the control signal, The output from the level meter in the receiving unit 40 is monitored, and the azimuth and elevation of the antenna are finely adjusted by controlling the rotation of the antenna in the azimuth and elevation directions according to the change in the carrier reception level.

Specifically, the antenna azimuth driving device 16
When the carrier reception level of the level meter in the receiving unit 40 reaches the maximum level during the driving of the antenna elevation angle driving device 14, the antenna control unit 21 changes the azimuth of the antenna body from the direction at the time of the end of the drive control to the carrier reception level. Is returned to the azimuth at the time when is at the maximum level. When the carrier reception level at the end of the drive control of the antenna azimuth drive 16 and the antenna elevation drive 14 has reached the maximum level, the antenna control unit 21 changes the direction of the antenna body at the end of the drive control. The azimuth is advanced slightly from the azimuth, and after the azimuth at the time when the reception level is maximized is returned to the azimuth at the time when the reception level is maximized.

As described above, in the control unit 30b, the calculation unit 2
2 calculates an angle required for setting the antenna direction to the target communication satellite, and sets the antenna control unit 21 so that the antenna is directed to the angle calculated by the calculation unit 22.
Transmits a control signal to the antenna driving unit 30a to control the rotation of the antenna. When controlling the rotation of the antenna, the antenna control unit 21 constantly monitors the carrier reception level of the broadcast radio wave with the level meter in the reception unit 40, and calculates the azimuth of the antenna calculated by the calculation unit 22. And find the best angle of reception around the elevation angle,
Driving of the antenna azimuth driving device 16 and the antenna elevation driving device 14 is controlled and fine-tuned so that the antenna is directed in that direction.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the position information indicating the antenna installation location where the digital satellite broadcast receiver is installed is acquired from information center 4 via public telephone line 3 and acquired. A target azimuth angle and a target elevation angle of the antenna with respect to the communication satellite 1 to receive the broadcast radio wave are calculated from the obtained antenna position information, and the azimuth angle and the elevation angle of the actual antenna, the target azimuth angle, Antenna azimuth drive 16 so that the elevation angle matches
And the antenna elevation driving device 14 is driven, so that the satellite broadcast receiving device does not require a special position measuring device such as GPS for specifying the antenna installation location or an input operation of the installation location, and the reception state can be reduced. Without having to manually move the antenna while looking at it to set the azimuth, you can set the antenna azimuth for the target communication satellite,
It is possible to obtain an inexpensive digital satellite broadcast receiver that can be performed in a short time and fully automatically.

[0032]

According to the antenna apparatus of the first aspect, an antenna for receiving a broadcast radio wave transmitted from a communication satellite and the antenna are rotatably supported in a horizontal plane and a vertical plane. And an antenna support driving mechanism for rotating the antenna in the horizontal plane and the vertical plane, wherein the antenna position information indicating the antenna installation location where the apparatus is installed is transmitted to a public telephone. Position information acquisition means for acquiring from the information center via a line, and angle calculation for calculating a target azimuth angle and a target elevation angle of the antenna with respect to a communication satellite to receive the broadcast radio wave based on the antenna position information And means for controlling the rotation of the antenna by the antenna support drive mechanism such that the azimuth and elevation of the antenna match the target azimuth and elevation. Control means, so there is no need for a special position measuring device to identify the antenna installation location or input operation of the installation location on the satellite broadcast receiver itself, and the antenna It is possible to obtain an inexpensive antenna device that can perform the setting of the antenna azimuth for a target communication satellite in a short time and fully automatically without the need to manually move the azimuth to set the azimuth.

According to the antenna device of the second aspect,
2. The antenna device according to claim 1, further comprising: a communication terminal that can be connected to a public telephone line, attached to the antenna device, and obtains terminal position information indicating an installation location of the communication terminal as the antenna position information. It does not require a special position measurement device for specifying the antenna installation location or the input operation of the installation location on the satellite broadcast receiver main unit, and the antenna orientation can be set for the target communication satellite. Settings can be made.

According to the antenna device of the third aspect,
3. The antenna device according to claim 2, wherein the terminal location information is used in a communication system using the public telephone line.
The number is notified to the information center using a number display function of notifying the telephone number of the calling communication terminal to the other communication terminal, and the number is determined based on terminal identification information for identifying the terminal. This eliminates the need for a special position measuring device for specifying the installation location of the antenna and the input operation of the installation location, which are necessary for the main body of the satellite broadcast reception device, and can provide an inexpensive digital satellite broadcast reception device.

According to the antenna device of the fourth aspect,
2. The antenna device according to claim 1, further comprising a carrier monitoring unit that monitors a reception level of a carrier in a broadcast wave from the communication satellite, wherein the control unit controls rotation of the antenna by the antenna support driving mechanism, The azimuth and the elevation of the antenna are finely adjusted based on the output according to the change of the reception level from the carrier monitoring means. , It is possible to search for the best angle in the reception state and set the antenna direction for the target communication satellite.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a digital satellite broadcast receiving apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration example of a digital satellite broadcast transmission / reception system 20 using the antenna device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Communication satellite 2 Housing 3 Public telephone line 4 Information center 10 Digital satellite broadcast receiver 11 Concave reflector 12 Radio wave reception source 13 Antenna elevation angle detection unit 14 Antenna elevation angle drive unit 15 Antenna azimuth angle detection unit 16 Antenna azimuth angle drive unit 17 Modem Reference Signs List 18 modem control unit 19 antenna installation position acquisition unit 20 transmission / reception system 21 antenna control unit 22 calculation unit 30 antenna device 30a antenna drive unit 30b control unit 30c communication unit 40 reception unit 50 display device

Claims (4)

[Claims] An antenna for receiving broadcast radio waves transmitted from a communication satellite, an antenna rotatably supported in a horizontal plane and a vertical plane, and an antenna mounted in the horizontal plane and a vertical plane. And an antenna supporting drive mechanism for rotating the antenna at a position where the antenna position information indicating the antenna installation location where the device is installed is obtained from an information center via a public telephone line. Means, based on the antenna position information, angle calculating means for calculating a target azimuth and a target elevation angle of the antenna with respect to a communication satellite from which the broadcast wave is to be received; Control means for controlling the rotation of the antenna by the antenna support drive mechanism so as to match the azimuth angle and the target elevation angle. Tena device. 2. The antenna device according to claim 1, further comprising: a communication terminal that can be connected to a public telephone line, attached to said antenna device, and said terminal position information indicating the installation location of said communication terminal. An antenna device obtained as information. 3. The antenna device according to claim 2, wherein the terminal location information uses a number display function of notifying a telephone number of a calling communication terminal to a communication terminal of the other party in the communication system using the public telephone line. Characterized in that the antenna device is determined based on terminal specifying information for specifying the terminal, which is notified to the information center as described above. 4. The antenna device according to claim 1, further comprising: a carrier wave monitoring means for monitoring a reception level of a carrier wave in a broadcast wave from the communication satellite; An antenna device for controlling movement of the antenna and finely adjusting an azimuth angle and an elevation angle of the antenna based on an output corresponding to a change in a reception level from the carrier wave monitoring means.