JP2002090093A - System and method for tracking/guiding target - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To guide a projectile surely toward a target while simplifying the facility. SOLUTION: In a projectile 20, backscattering light of a laser beam LB irradiated from an infrared laser irradiator 12 toward a target T is detected by an infrared sensor, track and direction of the laser beam LB are determined from the detection results of the infrared sensor at a system control section, flying position and direction of the projectile 20 are determined with respect to the laser beam LB by comparing the track and direction of the laser beam LB with the flying position/speed information of the projectile 20 detected by a position/speed sensor, and then the flying direction is substantially aligned with the laser beam direction by providing an attitude driving section with a guide signal corresponding to the shift of the track and direction of the laser beam LB from the flying position and direction, thereby bringing the projectile 20 close to the laser beam LB.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a target tracking guidance system in which, when a target is captured by, for example, a radar, a laser beam is emitted from an infrared laser irradiating device toward a target direction and a flying object flies toward the target direction. And a target tracking guidance method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a target tracking guidance system for tracking a flying object to a target, a laser beam is emitted in a target direction by an infrared laser irradiating device when a target is captured by a radar device, a light wave imaging device, or the like. There is a system that makes a flying object fly in a target direction.

In this type of system, a flying object captures a target by receiving a laser beam emitted from the target, and flies in the direction of the target. However, in this type of system, the success or failure of capturing the target depends on the amount of infrared radiation emitted from the target,
If the target's infrared radiation is small, it may not be captured,
There is a problem that the capture distance is short.

One of the methods for solving this problem is to irradiate a target with a laser beam and detect the reflected light with an infrared seeker mounted on the flying object, thereby capturing the target and directing the target toward the target. There is a semi-active method to fly a flying object. However, in this semi-active method,
Since the target reflected light is used, a high-output laser is required, and the size of the infrared laser irradiation device itself becomes large.

[0005]

As described above, in the conventional target tracking guidance system, when an infrared laser radiated from a target is used, if the amount of infrared radiation of the target is small, the target cannot be captured. There is a problem that the distance becomes short, and in the case of using the target reflected light, a high-output laser is required, which causes a problem that the infrared laser irradiation device itself becomes large.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a target tracking guidance system and a target tracking guidance method capable of reliably guiding a moving object to a target while simplifying equipment. is there.

[0007]

A target tracking guidance system according to the present invention includes a laser beam irradiation device for irradiating a laser beam toward a target direction when a target is captured, and a moving body moving toward the target direction. The moving body includes scattered light detection means for detecting backscattered light of the laser beam emitted from the laser beam irradiation device, moving body position / velocity information obtained by a sensor of the moving body itself, and scattered light detection. And a moving position / direction calculating means for calculating a moving position and a moving direction of the moving body with respect to a trajectory and a direction of the laser beam based on the result of the comparison. .

The moving body generates a guidance signal for the moving body such that the moving position / moving direction calculated by the moving position / direction calculating means substantially coincides with the trajectory and direction of the laser beam. Means, and a moving body driving means for changing a moving position and a moving direction of the moving body in accordance with the guide signal from the guide signal generating means. The moving body may further include target tracking control means for controlling a moving direction with respect to the moving body driving means so as to capture a target and move toward the target direction when the tip of the laser beam is detected. It is characterized by.

That is, according to the present invention, in the moving body,
The backscattered light of the laser beam irradiated from the laser beam irradiation device toward the target is detected and used as a kind of a guide signal to the target. In this case, the moving body does not need to constantly capture the target, and the target can be captured after flying using the scattered light of the laser beam.
As a result, it is possible to construct a system that can sufficiently cope with a target that emits a minute infrared intensity that cannot be captured by a conventional moving body. Further, the laser beam emitted from the laser beam irradiation device only needs to indicate the target direction, and it is not necessary to increase the spread angle of the laser beam and drive the target into the beam. This means that a laser beam having a high beam density, which is optimal for detecting backscattering, is irradiated. This makes it possible to reduce the size of the laser beam irradiation device and contribute to simplification of equipment. Further, the moving body only needs to track the trajectory of the laser beam irradiated toward the target until the target is captured, and this processing can suppress background clutter and the like. That is, in this system, it is only necessary to mount a sensor for detecting the backscattered light of the laser beam on the moving body, so that the cost of the entire system can be reduced.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a target tracking guidance system according to the present invention.

[0012] The system shown in FIG.
A flying object 20 is provided. Of these, ground equipment 10
Is a radar device 11, an infrared laser irradiation device 12,
And a control device 13. The radar device 11 notifies the control device 13 of the result of capturing the target T by transmitting a radar wave and then receiving a radar reflected wave reflected by the target T. The control device 13 drives the infrared laser irradiation device 12 based on the notified result of capturing the target T. The infrared laser irradiating device 12 irradiates a laser beam LB having a high beam density toward the target T based on command information from the control device 13. Thereafter, the control device 13 causes the launch vehicle (not shown) to launch the flying object 20.

As shown in FIG. 2, the flying object 20 includes an antenna 21, a frequency converter 22, a reception detector 23, a system control unit 24, a position / speed sensor 25, an infrared sensor 26, an attitude And a drive unit 27.

That is, the radio wave from the target T received by the antenna 21 of the flying object 20 is converted into an intermediate frequency by the frequency converter 22 and then received by the reception detector 23 as a result of capturing the target T. 24. The system control unit 24 inputs information indicating the flying position and the flying direction of the flying object 20 detected by the position / speed sensor 25. The infrared sensor 26 detects backscattered light of the laser beam LB emitted from the infrared laser irradiation device 12,
Information indicating the detection result is input to the system control unit 24. Note that the laser beam LB emitted from the infrared laser irradiation device 12 is narrowed down to have a high density, and thus generates backscattered light.

The system control unit 24 sends a guidance signal to the attitude driving unit 27 based on the input information, and
The flying direction of 0 is controlled. Also, the system control unit 24
Is a flight position / direction calculation function, a guidance signal generation function,
It has a target tracking function.

The flight position / direction calculation function compares and compares the position / speed information of the flying object 20 detected by the position / speed sensor 25 with the detection result of the infrared sensor 26,
The flying position and the flying direction of the flying object 20 with respect to the trajectory and direction of the laser beam LB are calculated by image processing based on the comparison and collation results.

The guidance signal generation function generates a guidance signal that substantially matches the flight position and flight direction calculated by the flight position and direction calculation function with the trajectory and direction of the laser beam LB.

The target tracking function captures the target T when detecting the tip of the laser beam LB, and controls the flying direction of the flying object 20 so as to fly in the target direction.

Next, the operation of the system having the above configuration will be described. Now, for example, a radar device 11 mounted on the ground device 10 first detects and follows a target T having a small infrared radiation intensity. Then, the control device 13 directs the infrared laser irradiation device 12 in the target direction based on the target angle information obtained from the radar device 11, and
Irradiate B. Tracking status of target T, laser beam LB
When the irradiation condition is confirmed to be stable, the control device 13 instructs the launch pad to launch the flying object 20 in the direction of the expected hit point. The launched flying object 20 cannot capture the target T because the infrared radiation intensity of the target T is low.

Therefore, in the flying object 20, the system control unit 24 executes a control processing procedure as shown in the flowchart of FIG.

When this control process is started, the system control unit 24 first compares the flying position and direction detected by the position / speed sensor 25 with the trajectory and direction of the laser beam LB obtained from the detection result of the infrared sensor 26. Then, the flying position and the flying direction of the flying object 20 with respect to the laser beam direction are obtained from the comparison result (step ST1), and the direction substantially matches the laser beam direction or the position is within an allowable distance from the laser beam. Is determined (step ST2). Here, if the flying position and the flying direction of the flying object 20 do not fall within the permissible range (NO), a guidance signal is generated so that the flying position and the flying direction substantially coincide with the trajectory and direction of the laser beam LB. This guidance signal is sent to the attitude driving unit 27, and as shown in FIG.
0 is brought close to the laser beam LB, and the attitude of the flying object 20 is changed so that the flying direction substantially matches the laser beam direction (step ST3). Then, the system control unit 24
Determines again whether the flying position and the flying direction of the flying object 20 fall within the allowable range in the process of step ST2, and if the flying position and the flying direction fall within the allowable range (YES), the guidance to the attitude driving unit 27 is performed. The signal transmission is stopped, the flying direction of the flying object 20 is maintained as it is, and the flying object 20 is caused to fly along the trajectory of the laser beam LB.

When the target T exists before the laser beam, the laser beam LB is not irradiated before the target T, and an image in which the trajectory of the laser beam ends halfway as shown in FIG. can get.

Therefore, the system control unit 24 determines whether or not the tip of the laser beam LB has been detected (step ST4), and keeps the flying direction of the flying object 20 until the tip of the laser beam LB is detected. The processing of step ST4 is repeatedly executed.

When the tip of the laser beam LB is detected by image processing, the system control unit 24 captures the result of capturing the target T from the reception detector 23 (step ST5), and determines the flight direction of the flying object 20 and the target. It is determined whether or not the directions match with each other (step ST6), and a guidance signal is generated so that the flight direction substantially matches the laser beam direction until the directions are matched.
(Step ST7), and the processes of steps ST6 and ST7 are repeatedly executed.

The system control unit 24 controls the flying object 2
If the flight direction of 0 coincides with the target direction (YE
S), the transmission of the guidance signal to the attitude driving unit 27 is stopped, the flying direction of the flying object 20 is maintained as it is, and the flying object 20 is caused to fly toward the target direction (step ST8).

According to such a processing procedure, it is possible to improve the accuracy of hitting a target T having a small infrared radiation intensity.

As described above, in the above-described embodiment, the backscattered light of the laser beam LB emitted from the infrared laser irradiating device 12 toward the target T is detected by the infrared sensor 26 in the flying object 20, and the system control is performed. Part 2
4, the trajectory and direction of the laser beam LB are obtained from the detection result of the infrared sensor 26, and the laser beam LB
By comparing the trajectory and direction of the flying object 20 with the flying position / speed information of the flying object 20 detected by the position / speed sensor 25,
The flying position and the flying direction of the flying object 20 with respect to the laser beam LB are obtained, and the guidance signal corresponding to the deviation between the trajectory and the direction of the laser beam LB and the flying position and the flying direction is generated and given to the attitude driving unit 27. , Flying object 20
Is brought close to the laser beam LB, so that the flight direction and the laser beam direction are substantially matched. That is, it is not necessary for the flying object 20 to always capture the target T, and the capture of the target T may be performed when the tip of the laser beam LB is detected.

Therefore, it is possible to construct a system that can sufficiently cope with a target T that emits a very small infrared intensity, which cannot be captured by a conventional flying object.

In the above embodiment, the laser beam LB emitted from the infrared laser irradiating device 12 only needs to indicate the target direction, and it is not necessary to increase the spread angle of the laser beam LB and drive the target T into the beam. Absent. For this reason, it is possible to reduce the size of the infrared laser irradiation device 12, thereby contributing to simplification of the ground equipment 11.

Further, in the above embodiment, the flying object 2
In the case of 0, the trajectory of the laser beam LB irradiated toward the target T may be tracked until the target T is captured, and the background clutter and the like can be suppressed by this processing. Therefore, it is only necessary to install the infrared sensor 26 for detecting the backscattered light of the laser beam LB in the flying object 20, and the other circuits can be used, so that the cost of the entire system can be reduced.

In the above embodiment, only the receiving system of the flying object 20 is shown. However, it goes without saying that the flying object 20 is also provided with a transmission system. Further, the internal configuration of the flying object 20 has been described as a hardware configuration, but the invention can also be implemented with a software configuration. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the radar device 11 is used for capturing a target has been described. However, a lightwave imaging device may be used. Further, the infrared sensor 26 may be an image seeker.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the target tracking guidance system on the ground is described. However, the present invention is not limited to the ground, and may be applied to outer space. In this case, it becomes very convenient if the present invention is applied to guiding a robot as a moving body to dust and dust in outer space.

In addition, the configuration of the flying object, the procedure for controlling the flight of the flying object, and the like can be variously modified without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0034]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to provide a target tracking guidance system and a target tracking guidance method capable of reliably guiding a moving object toward a target while simplifying the equipment.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a target tracking guidance system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the flying object shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining a control processing operation of the system control unit shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of an image representing a position and a direction relationship between a laser beam and a flying object obtained by the system control unit shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a view showing an example of an image representing a position and a direction relationship between a laser beam and a flying object obtained by the system control unit shown in FIG. 2;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Ground equipment, 11 ... Radar device, 12 ... Infrared laser irradiation device, 13 ... Control device, 20 ... Flying object, 21 ... Antenna, 22 ... Frequency converter, 23 ... Reception detector, 24 ... System control part, 25 ... Position / speed sensor, 26 ... Infrared sensor, 27 ... Attitude drive unit, T ... Target.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A laser beam irradiation device for irradiating a laser beam toward a target direction when capturing a target, and a moving body moving toward the target direction, wherein the moving body includes the laser beam irradiation. Scattered light detection means for detecting backscattered light of the laser beam emitted from the device; moving body position / velocity information obtained by a sensor of the moving body itself; and comparing and comparing the detection result by the scattered light detection means. And a moving position / direction calculating means for calculating a moving position and a moving direction of the moving body with respect to a trajectory and a direction of the laser beam based on the result of the comparison and collation. 2. The moving body generates a guidance signal for the moving body such that the moving position and moving direction calculated by the moving position and direction calculating means substantially coincide with the trajectory and direction of the laser beam. 2. The target tracking guidance according to claim 1, further comprising: a guidance signal generating unit that performs a moving operation and a moving body driving unit that changes a moving position and a moving direction of the moving body in accordance with the guidance signal from the guidance signal generating unit. system. 3. The moving body, when detecting a tip of a laser beam from a detection result by the scattered light detecting means,
2. The target tracking guidance system according to claim 1, further comprising target tracking control means for controlling a moving direction of the moving body driving means so as to capture the target and move toward the target direction. 4. The target tracking guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the moving body is a flying body that flies in a target direction. 5. A target tracking guidance system including a laser beam irradiation device that irradiates a laser beam in the target direction when a target is captured, and a mobile unit that moves in the target direction. In the target tracking guidance method, a first step of detecting backscattered light of a laser beam emitted from the laser beam irradiation device; moving body position / velocity information obtained by a sensor of the moving body itself; And a second step of calculating a movement position and a movement direction of the moving body with respect to a trajectory and a direction of a laser beam based on the comparison and comparison results. Tracking guidance method. 6. The moving position calculated in the second step
A third step of generating a guidance signal for the moving body such that the moving direction substantially matches the trajectory and direction of the laser beam, and the movement position of the moving body based on the guidance signal obtained in the third step And a fourth step of changing a moving direction.
The described target tracking guidance method. 7. The method according to claim 5, further comprising a fifth step of, when detecting the tip of the laser beam, capturing the target and controlling a moving direction of the moving body so as to move toward the target direction. The target tracking guidance method according to claim 5, wherein 8. The target tracking guidance method according to claim 5, wherein the moving body is a flying body that flies in a target direction.