JP2002043999A - Ground terminal for satellite communication by orbiting satellite - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a ground terminal that makes a motion of tracking an orbiting satellite efficient and saves the power consumption. SOLUTION: A mode is discriminated (STEP 41), when a mode A or C (for one satellite tracking period) is detected, feeds 16, 17 are maintained on the spot and tracking is conducted under the control of an azimuth axis and an elevation axis (STEP 42). Whether or not the tracking is continued at a position of the feed tracking at present is discriminated (STEP 43), and when the tracking is not maintained, the feed is gradually moved toward the center of a guide rail 20 (STEP 44). In this case, a distance R between the tracking feed and the non-tracking feed is obtained, and whether or not the distance R is within a specified distance is discriminated (STEP 45), and the position of the non- tracking feed is gradually moved in matching with the motion of the tracking feed so that both the feeds are the specified distance or over apart (STEP 46). The processing above is repeated until the mode A or C is finished.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a terrestrial terminal device for satellite communication that performs communication via an orbiting satellite.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Currently, about 200 communication satellites are already orbiting the earth at a relatively low altitude. Thus, it is possible to communicate with at least several satellites at any point on the earth. Iridium systems and sky bridge systems have been proposed as systems using communication satellites.

As a conventional antenna device for a communication satellite, a parabolic antenna device and a phased array antenna device are widely used.

FIGS. 12 and 13 show examples of a parabolic antenna device. Parabolic antenna device 100 shown in FIG.
Is a post 101 established vertically on the ground or on a building
A rotation shaft 102 attached to the upper end of the post 101 in parallel with the post 101 and rotatably around the post 101; and a gear 102 externally fitted to the rotation shaft 102.
g, and a gear 103 that meshes with the gear 102g and is rotationally driven by a rotation motor (not shown).

[0005] The upper part of the radio wave focusing unit 120 is
The radio wave focusing unit 120 is attached to the upper end portion of the radio wave focusing unit 120 via a bracket 111 so as to be vertically rotatable.
The lower part of 20 is attached to the tip of the rod 112a of the cylinder unit 112 attached to the lower part of the rotating shaft 102. A power supply unit 130 is provided at a position where the electric wave is focused by the electric wave focusing unit 120.

[0006] Such a parabolic antenna device 100
Is driven by a rotating motor, so that the gear 103,
The azimuth of the radio wave focusing unit 120 can be controlled by rotating the rotating shaft 102 via 102g. On the other hand, when the cylinder unit 112 is extended, the elevation angle of the radio wave focusing unit 120 can be controlled. Thereby, the parabolic antenna device 100 tracks the communication satellite, directs the radio wave focusing unit 120 to the communication satellite, receives the radio wave output from the communication satellite in a good communication state, or The radio wave can be transmitted in a good communication state.

However, in the conventional parabolic antenna device 100 as described above, one radio wave focusing unit 120 is configured to correspond to one feed unit 130. Therefore, when there are a plurality of tracking satellites, a plurality of parabolic antenna devices 100 corresponding to the number of tracking satellites are required. For example, in order to track two satellites, two parabolic antenna devices 100 are required.

[0008] The two parabolic antenna devices 100 need to be arranged so as not to be an obstacle between the radio wave focusing unit 120 and the satellite. For example, when the radio wave focusing unit 120 is formed in a circular shape having a diameter of 45 cm, one of the radio wave focusing units 120 is
In order to prevent the “shadow” from being formed, it is necessary to arrange the two radio wave focusing units 120 approximately horizontally and at a distance of approximately 3 m as shown in FIG.

However, the apparatus as shown in FIG. 13 requires a large space for installation, and is difficult to spread to ordinary households. For this reason, there is a need for a satellite communication ground terminal device that supports two antenna mechanisms with one mount, enables tracking of two communication satellites with each antenna mechanism, and is compact and can be installed in a relatively small space. Have been.

Here, as a technique for preventing communication from being interrupted by the terrestrial terminal device, a hand that causes one of the antenna mechanisms to capture another satellite and start tracking before one of the antenna mechanisms can no longer track the satellite. There is a technique called over. To realize this handover, it is necessary to prevent the other antenna mechanism from restricting the movement of the antenna mechanism during satellite tracking. In addition, it is necessary to save power by efficiently moving each antenna mechanism so that it can be used for home use.

[0011]

As described above, in a terrestrial terminal for satellite communication for communicating with an orbiting satellite, two antenna mechanisms are supported by one mount, and each antenna There is a demand for a ground terminal device for satellite communication that enables the tracking of two communication satellites by a mechanism and that can be installed in a compact and relatively small space. However, in order to realize handover, satellite tracking is required. It is necessary that the other antenna mechanism does not restrict the movement of the inner antenna mechanism. In addition, it is necessary to save power by efficiently moving each antenna mechanism.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and when two antenna mechanisms are supported by one mount, the movement of the antenna mechanisms is not restricted and efficient. An object of the present invention is to provide a ground terminal device for satellite communication that realizes movement and enables power saving.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a terrestrial terminal apparatus for satellite communication using an orbiting satellite according to the present invention has the following characteristic configuration.

(1) A spherical lens for focusing a radio wave beam, a support rail formed in a semicircular shape having a diameter larger than that of the spherical lens, and the center point of the circular arc is defined by the center point of the spherical lens. And a first support mechanism rotatably supporting both ends thereof around a horizontal axis passing through the center of the spherical lens, and a first support mechanism with the center of the spherical lens positioned at the center of the spherical lens. A second support mechanism rotatably supporting about a vertical axis that passes therethrough; a first drive mechanism provided on the first support mechanism for rotating the support rail about the horizontal axis; A second drive mechanism for rotating a support mechanism around the vertical axis, and a self-propelled independent of each other on the support rail, and mounting the radiating elements such that their boresight axes are oriented toward the center of the spherical lens. Feeds the radiating element First and second feed for forming a radio wave beam utilizing the focusing action of the spherical lens Te,
Driving the first and second drive mechanisms, the first and second
A directional control device for controlling the self-propelling of the feed of the first and second feeds to control the forming direction of the radio wave beam formed by the first and second feeds in a designated direction; Orbiting satellites to be allocated are calculated, and the respective orbits are calculated.
And an arithmetic processing unit for directing a radio beam formed by the feed to the assigned satellite, and one of the first and second feeds tracks and communicates with the orbiting satellite through the arithmetic processing unit. Communication means for starting and tracking another orbiting satellite while the other feed is in progress, and repeatedly executing handover for switching communication destinations, thereby continuing communication, and the arithmetic processing device comprises: Through the control device, when the handover by the communication means is completed, each feed is maintained in place, and the following tracking processing is performed by the rotation or rotation processing of the elevation axis and the azimuth axis by the horizontal axis and the vertical axis. It is characterized by the following.

According to this configuration, when the handover is completed, the two feeds are maintained in place, and the tracking is performed by controlling the two axes of the azimuth axis and the elevation axis. Moving distance can be reduced.

(2) In the configuration of (1), the arithmetic processing unit, through the pointing control device, changes the position of the tracked feed as the elevation angle of the tracked satellite increases, by the movable area on the support arm. Characterized by gradually moving to the center of the.

According to this configuration, it is possible to track a satellite with a high elevation angle while suppressing the total moving distance of the feed during tracking.

(3) In the configuration of (1), when the tracked feed approaches the non-tracked feed through the pointing control device, the arithmetic processing unit changes the non-tracked feed from the tracked feed to the non-tracked feed. It is characterized by being gradually moved away.

According to this configuration, the non-tracking feed is gradually moved so as to be separated by a certain distance or more when the tracking feed approaches.
So that it does not interfere with the feed during tracking.

(4) A spherical lens for converging a radio wave beam, a support rail formed in a semicircular shape having a diameter larger than that of the spherical lens, and the center point of the arc of the support rail is the center point of the spherical lens. And a first support mechanism rotatably supporting both ends thereof around a horizontal axis passing through the center of the spherical lens, and a first support mechanism with the center of the spherical lens positioned at the center of the spherical lens. A second support mechanism rotatably supporting about a vertical axis that passes therethrough; a first drive mechanism provided on the first support mechanism for rotating the support rail about the horizontal axis; A second drive mechanism for rotating a support mechanism around the vertical axis, and a self-propelled independent of each other on the support rail, and mounting the radiating elements such that their boresight axes are oriented toward the center of the spherical lens. Feeds the radiating element First and second feed for forming a radio wave beam utilizing the focusing action of the spherical lens Te,
Driving the first and second drive mechanisms, the first and second
A directional control device for controlling the self-propelling of the feed of the first and second feeds to control the forming direction of the radio wave beam formed by the first and second feeds in a designated direction; Orbiting satellites to be allocated are calculated, and the respective orbits are calculated.
And an arithmetic processing unit for directing a radio beam formed by the feed to the assigned satellite, and one of the first and second feeds tracks and communicates with the orbiting satellite through the arithmetic processing unit. Communication means for starting and tracking another orbiting satellite while the other feed is in progress, and repeatedly executing handover for switching communication destinations, thereby continuing communication, and the arithmetic processing device comprises: Through the control device, when any of the first and second feeds re-acquire before the handover, the cable connecting the first and second feeds and the pointing control device is The rewinding process is performed by rotating around the vertical axis so as not to enter a danger area that may be wound around the vertical axis.

According to this configuration, rewinding can be reliably performed before winding of the cable occurs.

(5) In the configuration of (4), the arithmetic processing unit determines the risk area in advance using the latitude of the installation location as an input parameter.

According to this configuration, it is possible to easily obtain a danger area in which winding is expected to occur from the latitude of the installation location.

(6) In the configuration of (4), before the start of the rewinding process, the arithmetic processing unit calculates a rotation amount around the vertical axis required for the process, and when the rotation amount exceeds a prescribed amount, The rewinding process is executed after the recapture process is performed.

According to this configuration, since re-acquisition is given priority, the entire flow can be performed efficiently.

[0026]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are schematic diagrams showing the configuration of a terrestrial terminal device 11 for satellite communication according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view, and FIG. FIG.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a ground terminal device 11 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a substantially circular fixed base 12,
A substantially circular rotation base 13 is mounted on the fixed base 12 so as to be rotatable about the first rotation axis Y, and a spherical lens 14 is disposed so as to be centered on the first rotation axis Y.

The fixed base 12 has a base 121 fixed on the ground or on a building, formed with several arms 122 extending from the peripheral surface toward the center, and a pulley bearing 123 attached to the tip of each arm. Is done. A motor 15 for rotationally driving the rotary base 13 and a power supply drive control device 18 for performing power supply and position drive control of a pair of self-propelled power supply devices 16 and 17 described below are mounted on the base 121. . The motor 15 is mounted with the rotating shaft facing upward in the figure, and a roller 19 is mounted on the rotating shaft.

The rotating base 13 has a cylindrical support 131.
Into the bottom of the bearing 123 and the rotating base 1
A protruding circle portion 132 that rotatably supports the entirety 3 is integrally formed, and a peripheral surface thereof is brought into contact with a roller 19 attached to a rotation shaft of the motor 15 to rotate the entire rotation base 13 by the rotation of the roller 19. Are integrally formed. Furthermore, the first rotation axis Y
A pair of arms 134 and 13
5 are integrally formed. These arms 134, 135
Is a U-shape extending from the support 131 along the peripheral surface of the spherical lens 14, and the tip portion passes through the center of the spherical lens 14 and has a second rotation axis X perpendicular to the first rotation axis. Located on top.

A through-hole is formed at the tip of each of the pair of arms 134 and 135 on the second rotation axis X. Support pins 21 and 22 fixed to both ends of the guide rail 20 are inserted into these through holes. The guide rail 20 is formed in a semicircular shape at a fixed distance from the center of the spherical lens 14.
The first and second arms are rotatably supported on the second rotation axis X by being inserted into the through holes of the pair of arms 134 and 135.

The support pin 21 fixed to one end of the guide rail 20 is inserted into a through hole of the arm 134, and a washer ring 23 is attached to the end of the support pin 21 so as to prevent it from being pulled out. The support pin 22 fixed to the end of the arm 135 is inserted through the through hole of the arm 135, and the pulley 24 is attached to the end. Another through-hole is formed below the through-hole of the arm 135 in parallel with the through-hole, and the elevation-angle adjusting motor 25 is mounted with the rotary shaft inserted through the through-hole. You. A pulley 26 having a diameter smaller than that of the pulley 24 is attached to the end of the rotating shaft of the motor 25, and a belt 27 is provided between the pulleys 24 and 26.
Is applied. As a result, the rotation of the motor 25 is reduced and transmitted to the support pin 22 via the pulley 26, the belt 27, and the pulley 24, and the guide rail 20 is moved to the second rotation axis X.
Rotate around.

The pair of self-propelled power supply devices 16 and 17 are mounted on the guide rail 20 so as to be free to run. Although there are various methods for the self-propelled mechanism, they are omitted here because they are not directly related to the present invention. Each self-propelled power supply device 1
6 and 17 are connected to the power supply drive control device 18 by curl cords 28 and 29, respectively, and run on the guide rail 20 in response to a drive control signal from the control device 18;
Stop at the specified position. In each of the self-propelled power supply devices 16 and 17,
The antenna elements 30 and 31 are mounted so that the beam direction is directed to the center direction of the spherical lens 14, and a radio wave is radiated in the direction of the center point of the spherical lens 14 by power supply from the power supply drive control device 18, and Receive radio waves.

The entire structure of the above structure is covered with a bowl-shaped radome 33, and the bottom of the radome 33 is joined to the periphery of the base 121. This radome 3
Reference numeral 3 is made of a material having radio wave transmission and low thermal conductivity, for example, resin.

Here, the spherical lens 14 is also called a spherical dielectric lens, and is formed by laminating a dielectric on a concentric spherical surface, and can converge substantially parallel radio waves passing therethrough to one point. . FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the operation of the spherical lens 14. In the case shown in FIG.
Has a four-layer structure, but the number of dielectric layers is not limited to this. In general, the dielectric constant of the stacked dielectrics becomes lower toward the outside. As described above, the dielectric constant of each layer is different, and the transmitted radio wave can be refracted in the same manner as the optical system lens. For each layer, a foam material such as polystyrene (styrene foam) is used, and the dielectric constant is changed by changing the foaming rate.

In addition, the power supply drive control device 18 is connected to a host device 35 installed indoors. The host device 35 is configured using, for example, a general personal computer or a specially assembled computer, and sequentially grasps the orbit of a satellite to be communicated,
For the antenna system by each self-propelled power supply device 16, 17,
The target satellites are sequentially assigned, and commands are sent to the power supply drive control device 18 to acquire and track the satellites.

Next, the operation of the above ground terminal device as an antenna will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an outline of positioning control of the self-propelled power supply device, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an outline of positioning control of the self-propelled power supply device.

First, the selected two communicable satellites 4
The approximate positions sl and s2 of 1, 42 are the host device 35
Is input to the control device 18 (STEP 11).

As shown in FIG. 4, the controller 18 calculates the spherical lens 14 from the input positions s1 and s2 of the two satellites.
To place each of the two self-propelled power supply devices 16, 17 on a1, a2 extending through the center of
6, 17 (more specifically, their antenna elements 30,
The two positions P1 and P2 to be arranged in 31) are calculated (STEP 12).

Next, the control device 18 controls the self-propelled power supply device 1.
A first imaginary plane S including two positions P1 and P2 at which the positions 6 and 17 are to be arranged and the center O of the spherical lens 14, and a first rotation axis Y of the rotation base 13 passing through the center O of the spherical lens 14.
Then, the rotation motor 15 is driven to rotate the rotation base 13 so that the second rotation axis X is disposed on a line of intersection with the second virtual plane H orthogonal to (Step 13).

Following the rotation of the rotation base 13 or simultaneously with the rotation of the rotation base 13, the power supply drive control device 18 drives the elevation angle adjustment motor 25 to
Is rotated about the second rotation axis X, and the guide rail 20 is superimposed on the positions P1 and P2 (STEP 14).

Following the drive of the elevation angle adjustment motor 25 or simultaneously with the drive of the elevation angle adjustment motor 25, the controller 18
Moves the self-propelled power supply devices 16 and 17 on the guide rail 20 and moves them to the positions P1 and P2. (STEP1
5). Thereby, the initial positioning of the self-propelled power supply devices 16 and 17 is achieved.

The two orbiting satellites 41 and 42 orbit around the orbit at a speed of about 10 minutes until they emerge from the horizon (horizontal line) and sink to the horizon (horizontal line). The antenna device 11 according to the present embodiment tracks the satellites s1 and s2 whose positions change relatively quickly as described below.

After the initial positioning is achieved, one of the two satellites 41, 42, for example, the more accurate position (including the meaning of the position after the position change) of the satellite 41 is searched (first search). Step: STEP21). The search for the position of the satellite 41 is performed, for example, as follows.

First, the elevation angle adjusting motor 25 is bidirectionally rotated by a minute amount to rotate the guide rail 20 slightly bidirectionally around the second rotation axis X, and is positioned on the guide rail 20 in correspondence with the satellite 41. Self-propelled power supply device 1
6 is bidirectionally moved a small distance. As a result, the self-propelled power supply device 16 moves within the two-dimensional microsphere.

During the movement within the microsphere, the point Q at which the communication state between the satellite 41 and the self-propelled power supply device 16 is better.
Search for 1. The quality of the communication state can be determined by monitoring the strength of the received signal and the like. Point Q1 is
From the more accurate position of the satellite 41, the center O of the spherical lens 14
May correspond to a position on an axis extending through the shaft. That is, by searching for the point Q1, the satellite 4
1 can be known more accurately.

Next, each of the satellites 41 extending through the center O of the spherical lens 14 from the position of one satellite 41 searched in the first search step and the position of the other satellite 42 before the position change search in the first search step. The position on the axis is calculated. In this case, 2
Two positions Q1 and P2 are confirmed (STEP 22).

Then, a new first virtual plane S including the two positions Q1 and P2 where the self-propelled power supply devices 16 and 17 are to be arranged next and the center O of the spherical lens and a second virtual plane H are defined. The rotation motor 1 is arranged such that the second rotation axis X is disposed on the intersection line.
5 is driven to rotate the rotation base 13 (STEP
23).

Following the rotation of the rotation base 13 or simultaneously with the rotation of the rotation base 13, the control device 18 drives the elevation angle adjustment motor 25 to rotate the guide rail 20 around the second rotation axis X so that the position Q 1, Superimpose on P2 (STEP 24).

Following the drive of the elevation angle adjustment motor 25 or simultaneously with the drive of the elevation angle adjustment motor 25, the control device 18
Moves the self-propelled power supply devices 16 and 17 to the positions Q1 and P2 along the guide rail 20 (STEP 25). Thereby, the tracking positioning of the self-propelled power supply device 16 is achieved while the position P2 of the self-propelled power supply device 17 is preserved. Such a control form is called non-interference control.

After the tracking positioning of the self-propelled power feeding device 16 has been achieved, the more accurate position (including the meaning of the position after the position change) of the other satellite 42 of the two satellites 41 and 42 at that time is searched. Is performed (second search step: STEP31).
The search for the position of the satellite 42 is performed in the same manner as the search for the position of the satellite 41.

Through the center O of the spherical lens 14 from the position of the satellite 42 searched in the second search step and the position of the satellite 41 before the position search in the second search step (after the position search in the first search step). A position on each extending axis is calculated. In this case, two positions Q1, Q2 are confirmed. (STE
P32).

Then, a new first virtual plane S including the two positions Q1 and Q2 where the self-propelled power supply devices 16 and 17 are to be disposed next and the center O of the spherical lens 14, and a second virtual plane H , The rotation motor 15 is driven so that the second rotation axis X is arranged on the intersection of the rotation base 13 and the rotation base 13 is rotated. (S
TEP33).

Following the rotation of the rotation base 13 or simultaneously with the rotation of the rotation base 13, the control device 18 drives the elevation adjustment motor 25 to rotate the guide rail 20 around the second rotation axis X, 20 to position Q1,
Superimpose on Q2 (STEP 34).

Following the drive of the elevation angle adjustment motor 25 or simultaneously with the drive of the elevation angle adjustment motor 25, the control device 18
Moves the self-propelled power supply devices 16 and 17 to the positions Q1 and Q2 along the guide rail 20 (STEP 35). Thus, the tracking positioning of the self-propelled power supply device 17 is achieved while preserving the position Q1 of the self-propelled power supply device 16, that is, without interference.

Thereafter, the tracking positioning of the self-propelled power feeding device 16 and the tracking positioning of the self-propelled power feeding device 17 are performed alternately and continuously, whereby the two satellites 41 and 42 can be tracked almost continuously. It is possible. When the two satellites 41 and 42 approach and pass, the tracking control is easily performed by exchanging the satellites to be tracked between the self-propelled power supply devices 16 and 17 (handover) at the time of the overtaking. It becomes possible.

The self-propelled power feeding device 1 positioned as described above
When radio waves are radiated from 6 and 17, the radiated radio waves are sequentially passed through the layered dielectric material of the spherical lens 14, so that the traveling directions thereof are changed to be almost parallel, and the radio waves are converted into parallel radio waves by the satellites 41 and 4.
2 (see FIG. 3).

On the other hand, radio waves incident in parallel from the satellites 41 and 42 pass through the spherical lens 14 and are converged toward the self-propelled power supply devices 16 and 17 disposed at the focal positions thereof. , 17 (see FIG. 3).

As described above, in the ground terminal device 11 having the above configuration, the two self-propelled power supply devices 16 and 17 are arranged to face one spherical lens 14 so that their movements do not interfere with each other. Therefore, the two satellites 41 and 42
Can be tracked simultaneously, and can be installed in a small space.

The problem here is that, as described above, in implementing handover, it is necessary to prevent the other antenna mechanism from restricting the movement of the antenna mechanism during satellite tracking. In addition, there is a need to save power by efficiently moving each antenna mechanism.

Therefore, the present invention focuses on the movement of tracking (tracking control) and rewinding (rewind control), and provides a method for realizing the respective efficiency and power saving.

First, the motion control during tracking will be described.

FIG. 6 shows the flow of the processing mode when sequentially switching satellites to be tracked by handover. In the figure, the solid line indicates tracking and the dotted line indicates re-pointing.

In FIG. 6, during the period when the antenna system of one self-propelled power supply device (hereinafter, referred to as a first feed) 16 is tracking a satellite, the other self-propelled power supply device (hereinafter, referred to as a second feed). The antenna system according to (17) starts re-pointing of another satellite and enters a tracking state. Hereinafter, the two antenna systems alternately repeat the pointing and the tracking. In such a time series, the period during which one satellite is tracked is A mode, and the period during which a non-tracking feed is moved from the start of re-pointing to a position where tracking can be performed is B mode.
The mode in which the mode is tracking two satellites is referred to as C mode.
Mode ABC is cyclically switched. The handover is performed during the mode C.

In such a movement, the first and second feeds 16 and 17 run on the same guide rail 20 by themselves, so that they are mutually restricted in the movement range. Here, if the position of the feed is at the end of the guide rail 20, when the satellite is at a low elevation angle, blocking occurs due to the surrounding support mechanism. Also, in order to track a satellite with a high elevation angle, the feed needs to be close to the center of the guide rail 20. For this reason, during tracking in mode A and mode C, it is desirable to position the feed at the center of the guide rail 20 so that tracking can be performed regardless of the elevation angle of the satellite. On the other hand, in mode A, the feed that is not being tracked must not hinder the movement of the feed during tracking. The least obstructive position is the end of the guide rail 20.

From the above, simply considering the movement of each of the feeds 16 and 17, when the handover is completed,
The tracked feed is moved to the center of the guide rail 20 so that tracking can be performed regardless of the elevation angle of the satellite, and the untracked feed is moved to the end of the guide rail 20 so that it does not disturb the tracked feed. Will be done.

However, in such a movement, the total movement distance of the four axes is large, and power saving is required. Further, there is a great problem in terms of the life and performance of the motor and the like.

Accordingly, in the present invention, first, (1) two hand feeds are maintained in place at the time of completion of handover, and tracking is performed by controlling two axes of an azimuth axis and an elevation axis. To reduce the total travel distance. Next, (2) in order to track a satellite having a high elevation angle, the feed being tracked is gradually moved to the center of the guide rail 20, thereby suppressing the total movement distance of the feed being tracked. Enable tracking of satellites. Furthermore, (3)
The non-tracking feed is gradually moved so as to be at least a certain distance away when the tracking feed approaches, so as not to disturb the feed during tracking.

FIG. 7 shows the above processing procedure in detail. First, the mode is determined (STEP 41), and the mode A (1
When a satellite tracking period is detected, the feeds 16 and 17 are first maintained in place, and tracking is performed by controlling two axes of an azimuth axis and an elevation axis (S).
TEP42).

Here, as the satellite being tracked increases in elevation angle, tracking at that position becomes impossible. Therefore, it is determined whether or not the tracking can be continued at the position of the feed that is currently being tracked (STEP 43). If the tracking cannot be continued, the feed is directed to the center of the movable range on the guide rail 20 and the tracking is performed. It is moved gradually (STEP 44).

At this time, since the non-tracking feed is stopped on the guide rail 20 at the position at the time of completion of the handover, the feed during tracking may be obstructed depending on the position. Therefore, a distance R between the position of the feed during non-tracking and the position of the feed during tracking is determined, and it is determined whether the distance R is within a specified distance R0 (STEP 45).
When approaching within 0, the position of the non-tracking feed is gradually moved in accordance with the movement of the feed during tracking so as to be more than the specified distance R0 (STEP 46). The above processing is repeated until the mode A ends.

FIG. 8 exemplifies the movement of the feeds 16 and 17 when the above processing is performed. In FIG. 8, a thick line indicates that tracking and communication are being performed. Also,
The part a is the movement of STEP42, and the part b is STEP4.
The movement of 4 and the part of c show the movement of STEP46. As is clear from FIG. 8, the movement of each of the feeds 16 and 17 during the tracking of one satellite is the minimum necessary. This can be significantly shortened as compared with the case where the inside feed is always retracted to the end.

Next, the operation during rewinding will be described.

The feeders 16 and 17 are connected to the power supply drive control device 18 by curl cords 28 and 29, respectively, and run on the guide rail 20 in response to a drive control signal from the control device 18. It is desirable that the curl cords 28 and 29 have some allowance and hang down to the bottom. However, even if a margin is given, when the rotation base 13 rotates to nearly one and a half rotations, the cord will eventually wind around the rotation shaft. Therefore, it is necessary to perform a rewinding process to reverse the rotation of the rotating base 13 and unwind the wrapped cord before the wrapping occurs.

As described above, it is clear that some rewinding is necessary so that the code is not involved, but there is a technical difficulty in how to realize the rewinding. In particular, the problem is how long the extra code length should be, and how to set the extra azimuth angle. Further, when rewinding is performed at the same time as repointing, how to control the time required for repointing to be equal to or less than a required value (for example, 20 seconds) becomes a problem.

With respect to such a problem, in the present invention,
(1) First, when one of the first and second feeds 16 and 17 performs re-pointing before handover,
First and second feeds 16 and 17 and power supply drive control device 1
8 and 29 are connected to the rotating base 13.
Is rotated around the Y axis to perform a rewinding process so as not to enter a dangerous area that may be wrapped around the rotation axis (azimuth axis) Y. (2) Next, the orbit of the orbiting satellite is
Since it is formed in the east-west direction, the danger area is determined to some extent by the latitude of the installation location. Therefore, the risk area is determined in advance using the latitude of the installation location as an input parameter.
(3) Further, if the rotation angle for rewinding becomes large, there is a possibility that re-pointing may not be in time due to the rotation time. Therefore, before starting the rewinding process, the amount of rotation around the Y-axis required for the process is calculated. However, when the amount exceeds the specified amount, re-capture processing is performed first, and then rewinding processing is performed.

FIG. 9 shows the above procedure in detail.
In performing this processing, a dangerous area database is prepared in advance in the power supply drive control device 18 and the cords 28 and 29 are wound around the rotation axis (azimuth axis) Y of the rotation base 13 when the database is installed according to the direction. It is assumed that angle information of a potentially dangerous area is obtained and stored in a database. FIG. 10 shows an example of the dangerous area.

In FIG. 9, first, a pointing input generated by the start of the mode B is detected (STEP 51). At the time of the detection, a rotation direction and a rotation angle at the time of executing the pointing are obtained (STEP 52).
It is determined from the calculation result whether or not the vehicle enters the dangerous area (S
TEP53). If the vehicle does not enter the dangerous region, the process is executed as it is (STEP 54). If the vehicle enters the dangerous region, the time required for rotation during execution of rewinding is obtained (STEP 55). It is determined whether or not is less than the required value (STE
P56). If the value is equal to or less than the required value, the process is executed as it is (STEP 57). If the value exceeds the required value, the re-pointing process is executed first (STEP 58). Is executed after it becomes (STEP 5)
9).

FIG. 11 shows an example of the movement of the azimuth axis and the elevation axis when azimuth rewinding is performed by the above processing.

In FIG. 11, A, B and C indicate the above-mentioned modes. In the mode B, when the fluctuation of the azimuth axis is small as shown in FIG.
Is completed within the period. In contrast,
As shown in the figure, one or more rotations around the azimuth axis (360+
α) When relatively large rewinding such as rotation is required, the time required for the rotation exceeds the mode B period as shown in FIG. In such a case, as shown in (1), re-pointing is performed once by rotating by α, and as shown in (1), rewinding of the remaining azimuth axis (360) is performed in the mode A period.

Therefore, according to the control processing of the above-described embodiment, as apparent from the movement shown in FIG. 11, it is assumed that rewinding is performed before the azimuth axis rotates to the danger area where cord wrapping occurs. If this time is long, re-pointing is performed first and re-winding is performed during tracking of one satellite in mode A, so that winding of the code can be reliably prevented and re-pointing is completed. Can be suppressed to the required value or less.

As a result, in the tracking processing and the rewinding processing, there is no restriction due to the mutual movement of the two antenna mechanisms, and the amount of movement can be minimized, thereby realizing efficient movement and saving. Electricity can be realized.

[0083]

As described above, according to the present invention, when two antenna mechanisms are supported by one mount, efficient movement can be realized without restricting the movement of each antenna mechanism. It is possible to provide a ground terminal device for satellite communication that enables power saving.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a ground terminal device for satellite communication according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the operation of the spherical lens used in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary perspective view showing an outline of positioning control of the self-propelled power supply device used in the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an outline of positioning control of the self-propelled power supply device used in the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a flow of a processing mode when sequentially switching satellites to be tracked by handover in the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a specific processing procedure of feed position control in the one-satellite tracking mode in the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a movement during the feed position control shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a specific processing procedure of rewinding in the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a view showing an example of a dangerous area around the azimuth axis which requires rewinding in the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a movement during the rewinding control shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a parabolic antenna device used as a conventional satellite communication ground terminal device.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a parabolic antenna device for capturing and tracking two satellites as a conventional satellite communication ground terminal device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Ground terminal device for satellite communication 12 ... Fixed base 121 ... Base 122 ... Arm 123 ... Bearing 13 ... Rotating base 131 ... Support body 132, 133 ... Protruding part 134, 135 ... Arm 14 ... Spherical lens 15 ... Motor 16 , 17: Self-propelled power supply device 18: Power supply drive control device 19: Roller 20: Guide rail 21, 22, Support pin 23: Washer 24, 26 ... Pulley 25: Elevation angle adjustment motor 27 ... Belt 28, 29 ... Curl cord 30, 31 ... antenna element 33 ... radome 34 ... foam material layer 35 ... host device 41, 42 ... orbiting satellite

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5J020 AA02 BB02 BC05 CA02 DA03 5J021 AA02 AB07 BA03 DA03 EA02 GA02 HA03 HA07 JA07 5J047 AA04 AB09 BF10 5K072 AA20 AA27 BB22 DD03 DD04 DD16 GG02 GG06 GG19

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A spherical lens for converging a radio wave beam, a support rail formed in a semicircular shape having a diameter larger than that of the spherical lens, and the center point of the circular arc is defined as the center point of the spherical lens. A first support mechanism for rotatably supporting both ends around a horizontal axis passing through the center of the spherical lens so that both ends are at the same position; and passing the first support mechanism through the center of the spherical lens. A second support mechanism rotatably supporting about a vertical axis; a first drive mechanism provided on the first support mechanism for rotating the support rail about the horizontal axis; and a second support mechanism A second mechanism for rotating the mechanism about the vertical axis
The drive mechanism and the self-propelled independently of each other on the support rail, mounted with radiating elements so that their boresight axes are directed to the center of the spherical lens, and feeds the radiating element to the spherical lens First and second feeds for forming a radio wave beam using a focusing action; driving of the first and second drive mechanisms;
A directional control device for controlling the self-propelling of the first feed to control the forming direction of the radio wave beam formed by the first and second feeds in a designated direction; and the first and second feeds capturing and tracking. An arithmetic processing unit that calculates the orbit by assigning orbiting satellites, and directs the radio beam formed by the first and second feeds in the direction of the assigned satellite through the pointing control device; and the arithmetic processing device. While one of the first and second feeds is tracking the orbiting satellite and performing communication, the other feed starts capturing and tracking another orbiting satellite to switch the communication destination And a communication means for continuously performing communication by repeatedly executing the operation, wherein the arithmetic processing device is configured to perform the handover by the communication means through the pointing control device. Satellite communication by orbiting satellites, wherein each feed is kept in place at the time of completion of the tracking, and the following tracking processing is performed by turning or rotating the elevation axis and the azimuth axis by the horizontal axis and the vertical axis. Ground terminal equipment. 2. The arithmetic processing device according to claim 1, wherein the position of the feed being tracked is gradually moved to the center of the movable area on the support arm as the elevation angle of the satellite to be tracked increases through the pointing control device. The terrestrial terminal device for satellite communication using an orbiting satellite according to claim 1, characterized in that: 3. The arithmetic processing device according to claim 1, wherein the non-tracking feed is gradually moved away from the tracking feed when the non-tracking feed approaches the non-tracking feed through the pointing control device. Claim 1 characterized by the following:
A terrestrial terminal device for satellite communication using the orbiting satellite described in the above. 4. A spherical lens for converging a radio wave beam, a support rail formed in a semicircular shape having a diameter larger than that of the spherical lens, and the center point of the circular arc is defined as the center point of the spherical lens. A first support mechanism for rotatably supporting both ends around a horizontal axis passing through the center of the spherical lens so that both ends are at the same position; and passing the first support mechanism through the center of the spherical lens. A second support mechanism rotatably supporting about a vertical axis; a first drive mechanism provided on the first support mechanism for rotating the support rail about the horizontal axis; and a second support mechanism A second mechanism for rotating the mechanism about the vertical axis
The drive mechanism and the self-propelled independently of each other on the support rail, mounted with radiating elements so that their boresight axes are directed to the center of the spherical lens, and feeds the radiating element and supplies the radiating element with the spherical lens. First and second feeds for forming a radio wave beam using a focusing action; driving of the first and second drive mechanisms;
A directional control device for controlling the self-propelling of the first feed to control the forming direction of the radio wave beam formed by the first and second feeds in a designated direction; and the first and second feeds capturing and tracking. An arithmetic processing unit that calculates the orbit by assigning orbiting satellites, and directs the radio beam formed by the first and second feeds in the direction of the assigned satellite through the pointing control device; and the arithmetic processing device. While one of the first and second feeds is tracking the orbiting satellite and performing communication, the other feed starts capturing and tracking another orbiting satellite to switch the communication destination And a communication means for continuously performing communication by repeatedly executing the first feed and the second feed through the pointing control device. When re-acquisition is performed before the handover, a cable connecting the first and second feeds and the pointing control device is prevented from entering a dangerous area where the cable may be wound around the vertical axis. A terrestrial terminal device for satellite communication by orbiting satellites, wherein the terminal device is rotated around the vertical axis to perform rewinding processing. 5. The terrestrial terminal device for orbiting satellite communication according to claim 4, wherein said arithmetic processing device obtains said dangerous area in advance using the latitude of the installation location as an input parameter. 6. The arithmetic processing unit calculates a rotation amount around a vertical axis required for the rewinding process before starting the rewinding process, and after exceeding a predetermined amount, performs a re-capture process first. The terrestrial terminal device for satellite communication using an orbiting satellite according to claim 4, wherein a rewinding process is performed.