JP2002250762A - Antenna directing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an antenna directing apparatus, mounted on a flying object, by which a directional antenna is directed precisely to a base station on the ground from the flying object and which can ensure a high transmission quality. SOLUTION: In the antenna directing apparatus mounted on the flying object, radio waves are transmitted toward the base station from the flying object. The apparatus is provided with a first computing means which finds the azimuth angle of the base station from the flying object on the basis of known latitude and longitude information on the base station and on the basis of latitude and longitude information obtained from a GPS receiver 11 mounted on the flying object, a second computing means which finds the azimuth angle in the advance direction of the flying object on the basis of a difference in the latitude and longitude information obtained in every prescribed period from the GPS receiver 11 and a third computing means which finds a rotation angle at which the directional antenna 19 mounted on the flying object is directed to the base station on the basis of the azimuth angle of the base station by the first computing means and on the basis of the azimuth angle in the advance direction of the flying object by the second computing means.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an antenna pointing device for a flying object, which controls the pointing of a video transmitting antenna mounted on a flying object such as a helicopter to a base station on the ground.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the relay of television broadcasting, automobiles,
FPU (Field pi) is used for flying objects such as ships or helicopters.
ck-up Unit) An external relay station equipped with a device is often used. At present, the technology for transmitting video signals using helicopters is also expanding to the police and firefighting fields, not only for security in large-scale events such as marathon relay and security during disasters, but also for security in urban areas. It is also indispensable for controlling traffic for parking violations. As described above, a transmission technology for transmitting a video signal photographed from the sky to a base station on the ground in real time using a helicopter is indispensable.

Conventionally, an omni-directional antenna or a directional antenna has been used as an antenna mounted on a helicopter, and the directional antenna performs automatic direction control for directing to a base station. For automatic directional control of a directional antenna,
A conventional example is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-298889. Referring to the automatic direction adjusting device of the FPU antenna shown in FIG. 6, an angle difference ε between a traveling direction of a moving object (automobile) and an azimuth of a BS (broadcast satellite) or CS (communication satellite) viewed from the moving object. , The angle difference γ between the true north direction as viewed from the mobile unit and the azimuth of the base station as viewed from the mobile unit, and the BS or CS as viewed from the mobile unit in the true north direction and as viewed from the mobile unit.
Are obtained respectively. Using the obtained ε, γ, and α, an angle difference H between the azimuth in the traveling direction of the moving object and the azimuth of the base station is calculated by a calculation formula of H = ε + γ−α. , The horizontal directivity angle of the FPU antenna is automatically controlled.

In an antenna pointing device mounted on a helicopter, a GPS (Gl) is used to detect position information of a flying object.
An obal positioning system) receiver is used, and an azimuth detecting device using a gyro is used as the azimuth detecting means. In the gyro-based azimuth detecting device, the azimuth angle of the flying object in the nose direction is input in advance. While the GPS receiver can know the current position at one-second intervals, the gyro-based azimuth detecting means determines in advance which direction the reference azimuth (mainly the nose direction) of the aircraft is at takeoff. After that, the reference azimuth of the current aircraft is calculated from the previously set azimuth angle and the current rotation angle of the aircraft. The directional angle of the directional antenna is controlled using this azimuth angle.

[0005]

In a television relay, a high frequency band is required for transmitting a video signal, so that a high transmission quality is required. When performing TV relay with a mobile unit equipped with an omnidirectional antenna, if the mobile unit is relatively close to the base station, even if the video signal is transmitted by the omnidirectional antenna, a sufficient electric field is applied to the base station. However, when the distance between the flying object and the base station is long, there is a disadvantage that sufficient electric field strength cannot be provided.In such a case, a directional antenna is used. Was.

On the other hand, in the above-described conventional automatic direction adjusting device for an FPU antenna, in order to control the direction of the FPU antenna, the direction of the BS is detected and the angle of the base station is calculated. Pointing control must also be performed. Therefore, the azimuth deviation caused by the directivity control of the BS antenna exerts an adverse effect on the control parameter for the directivity control of the FPU antenna, and is one of the factors for removing the main lobe of the FPU antenna to be controlled. However, there is a problem that transmission quality is affected.

In the above-described antenna pointing device mounted on a helicopter, a gyro is used as an azimuth detecting means in pointing control of a directional antenna. However, an error occurs in the gyro with the passage of time. Errors accumulate gradually, and the accuracy of azimuth detection decreases over time, and the antenna pointing control cannot be performed accurately. In such a case, the operator performing the television relay manually adjusts the direction of the antenna after receiving a notification from the base station that is the receiving side that the direction of the antenna is shifted by radio communication. Is the current situation,
This adjustment is time-consuming because the cabin is narrow,
In the worst case, there was a disadvantage that television broadcasting had to be interrupted during that time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and is directed to a vehicle mounted on an air vehicle capable of accurately pointing a directional antenna from the air vehicle to a base station on the ground and ensuring high transmission quality. An object of the present invention is to provide an antenna pointing device.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the invention of claim 1 is for mounting on a flying object for transmitting radio waves from the flying object to a base station. An antenna pointing device for obtaining an azimuth of the base station from the vehicle based on known latitude and longitude information of the base station and latitude and longitude information obtained from a GPS receiver mounted on the vehicle. A first calculating means, a second calculating means for obtaining an azimuth in a traveling direction of the flying object based on a difference between latitude and longitude information obtained from the GPS receiver at predetermined intervals, and the first calculating means Third calculating means for obtaining a rotation angle at which a directional antenna mounted on the flying object is directed to the base station from the azimuth angle of the base station and the azimuth angle in the traveling direction of the flying object by the second calculating means. And characterized by having Is a container-oriented devices.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the G mounted on the flying object
This is an antenna pointing device that uses the latitude and longitude information from the PS receiver to control the pointing antenna mounted on the flying object to the base station. The latitude and longitude information from the GPS receiver and the known latitude and longitude information from the base station Thus, the azimuth of the base station from the flying object can be obtained by the first calculation means. GP
Since the latitude / longitude information from the S receiver is obtained at predetermined intervals, the preceding latitude / longitude information and the current latitude / longitude information are input to the second calculating means, and the azimuth in the traveling direction of the flying object is obtained from the difference. The corner can be detected. The third calculation means can calculate a rotation angle for directing the directional antenna to the base station from the azimuth obtained from the first calculation means and the second calculation means,
Based on this rotation angle, the directional antenna can be driven to rotate and accurately point to the base station. The first calculation means corresponds to a base station azimuth angle calculation unit, the second calculation means corresponds to a declination calculation unit, and the third calculation means corresponds to an antenna rotation angle calculation unit. The azimuth is usually a declination with reference to the true north direction, but the reference azimuth can be set arbitrarily.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the antenna pointing device according to the first aspect, the azimuth information of the nose of the flying object is obtained from azimuth detecting means mounted on the flying object. Antenna pointing device.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the azimuth information of the nose direction of the aircraft is input to the azimuth detecting means (azimuth detecting unit) mounted on the flying object in advance, and the azimuth information of the hull is calculated based on the rotation angle of the aircraft thereafter.
The azimuth information in the nose direction can be output. The declination is obtained from the azimuth information from the azimuth detecting means,
The azimuth angle (declination) of the base station as seen from the flying object
The antenna pointing device is configured to calculate the antenna rotation angle by subtracting the antenna rotation angle from the value. The azimuth detecting means is a detection device that detects the azimuth of the aircraft body in the nose direction (reference azimuth) using a gyroscope or a geomagnetic sensor.

[0013] The invention of claim 3 is characterized in that the initial value of the azimuth information of the nose direction of the flying object stored in the azimuth detecting means is updated to new azimuth information as needed. An antenna pointing device according to the item (1).

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the reference azimuth which is an initial value of the azimuth detecting means mounted on the flying object is updated to the latest azimuth information, and based on the azimuth information of the nose direction outputted from the azimuth detecting means. The azimuth (declination) in the nose direction is calculated, and the azimuth (declination) in the nose direction is subtracted from the azimuth (declination) of the base station viewed from the flying object, thereby obtaining the antenna rotation angle. Can be calculated. The initial value of the azimuth detecting means is to accurately calculate the antenna rotation angle by updating the azimuth information obtained from the latitude and longitude information detected by the GPS receiver at that time when the advancing direction of the flying object is the nose direction can do. Even when the flying object is at low speed or stagnant, the antenna rotation angle can be accurately calculated by the output from the azimuth detecting means, so that the flying object is at a long distance from the base station. The directional antenna can be accurately pointed at the base station even when making a turning flight.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an antenna pointing device for mounting on an air vehicle according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an antenna pointing device according to the present invention. In the present embodiment, an omnidirectional antenna and a directional antenna mounted on a flying object such as a helicopter are selectively used depending on the situation. Particularly, when a directional antenna is used, the directional antenna is directed to a base station and a video signal or the like is used. This is an antenna pointing device for transmitting without removing the main lobe. The selection between the omnidirectional antenna and the directional antenna is made mainly based on the distance (short distance, long distance) between the flying object and the base station.

First, the main part of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, a GPS receiver 11 provided on a flying object, an input device 12 for inputting known latitude and longitude information of a base station provided with a receiving antenna, a GPS
Memory 13 for storing latitude and longitude information from receiver 11
And the latitude / longitude information stored in the memory 13 and the latitude / longitude information of the current vehicle obtained from the GPS receiver 11, are input, and the azimuth of the traveling direction of the vehicle (declination: the traveling direction is true north) Declination calculator 14 for outputting the azimuth angle with the direction)
And the known latitude / longitude information of the base station input from the input device 12 and the latitude / longitude information of the current flying object input from the GPS receiver 11, respectively, and the azimuth of the base station viewed from the flying object. The base station azimuth calculation unit 15 that outputs (declination), the azimuth (declination) from the declination calculation unit 14 and the azimuth (declination) from the base station azimuth calculation unit 15 are input. And an antenna rotation angle calculation unit 16 that calculates an azimuth in the direction of the base station from the traveling direction of the flying object.

Further, in the present embodiment, the directional antenna 19 based on the rotation angle from the antenna rotation angle calculation unit 16 is used.
An antenna rotation drive unit 17 that rotates the antenna in a predetermined direction;
An antenna rotation position detector 18 for detecting an actual rotation angle of the directional antenna 19 is provided. Directional antenna 19
Is an antenna rotation drive unit 17, a directional antenna 19,
By performing closed loop control with the antenna rotational position detection unit 18, directivity control is performed so that the directional antenna 19 is correctly directed to the base station. The latitude and longitude information of the base station may be stored in the storage device 12 'via the input device 12, and the latitude and longitude information of the base station may be read from the storage device 12' as needed. In addition, the storage device stores in advance R
Latitude and longitude information of some base stations may be stored in the OM or the RAM, and the base station may be called by selecting a necessary base station from among them. As another format, a floppy (registered (Trademark) A disk or a memory card may be carried on board when boarding. Furthermore, it is also possible to transmit data directly from a base station or a command center using a wireless device or a mobile phone. The directional antenna 19 is mainly configured by a horn antenna using a frequency band of 15 GHz.

Next, for each component of the present embodiment,
This will be described with reference to FIGS. GPS receiver 1
Numeral 1 is mounted on a flying object, and based on position information obtained from a GPS satellite, the current position of the flying object is output as latitude and longitude information and input to a main part of the antenna pointing control device. Known latitude and longitude information (Y, X) of the base station 2
Is input from the input device 12 such as a keyboard and stored in the storage device 12 '.
2 ′ and input to the base station azimuth calculating unit 15. The current latitude / longitude information (y ', x') from the GPS receiver 11 and the latitude / longitude information (y, x) one sample before from the memory 13 are input to the argument calculator 14, and the traveling direction of the flying object is input. The azimuth (declination) of (the direction to which the nose is pointing) is calculated. Note that Y, y, y 'are latitude information, and X, x, x' are longitude information.

The declination calculating unit 14 calculates an angle between the traveling direction of the flying object and the true north direction, that is, a declination. This calculation method will be described with reference to FIGS. Assuming that the flying object 1 moves and reaches the position of the flying object 1 ′, the latitude and longitude information obtained from the GPS receiver 11 mounted on the flying object 1 changes every moment from the latitude and longitude information (y, x). Then, the current latitude and longitude information (y ', x') is obtained. In the flying object 1 ', the azimuth of the traveling direction of the flying object 1' is known from the difference between the latitude and longitude information (y, x) and the latitude and longitude information (y ', x'), and the deviation of the traveling direction of the flying object 1 'is determined. The angle can be calculated. Deflection angle θ which is the azimuth angle of the flight direction of the flying object 1 '
a can be calculated by the following equation.

[0021]

(Equation 1)

The moving distance A in the latitude direction in the equation (1) is shown in FIG.
As shown by 5, it is proportional to the difference between the latitude values. That is,
The travel distance A in the latitude direction is the latitude difference between two points a and b,
(Θ ₁−θ₂). Therefore, the moving distance A is
It can be calculated by the above equation (2). In the actual calculation
Is used to convert the calculated latitude difference to decimal
No problem. Note that the latitude θ₁, Θ₂Is y,
y '.

[0023]

(Equation 2)

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, the moving distance in the longitudinal direction changes depending on the latitude of the point, and the moving distance decreases as the distance from the pole increases. Therefore, the moving distance in the longitude direction is calculated by multiplying a correction coefficient depending on the latitude on the basis of the moving distance in the latitudinal direction at the equator. Longitude difference between two points when the aircraft is flying a, b are expressed by theta _3, the moving distance C latitudinal direction is determined by the following expression. The value calculated by the following equation can be used as it is converted to a decimal number.

[0025]

(Equation 3) However, the moving distance C indicates the moving distance of the latitude theta _2.

Accordingly, the declination θa can be calculated by substituting the moving distance A in the longitudinal direction and the moving distance C in the longitudinal direction calculated by the equations 2 and 3 into the equation 1.

Further, the base station azimuth calculating unit 15 calculates the GP
Latitude and longitude information (y ', x') of the flying object 1 'obtained from the S receiver 11, and the latitude and longitude information (Y, X) of the base station 2
Is input. The azimuth (declination) θb of the base station 2 as viewed from the flying object 1 ′ can be calculated by Expression 4. The distance in the latitude direction corresponds to the difference between the latitude y 'of the vehicle and the latitude Y of the base station, and the distance in the longitude direction corresponds to the difference between the longitude x' of the vehicle and the longitude X of the base station. It can be calculated from the following four equations.

[0028]

(Equation 4)

Subsequently, the rotation angle (θc) of the antenna is
It is calculated by the antenna rotation angle calculator 16. The antenna rotation angle calculator 16 calculates the azimuth 21 (declination θa) calculated by the declination calculator 14 and the base station azimuth (declination θb) calculated by the base station azimuth calculator 15. The rotation angle (θc) of the antenna to be directed to the target base station is calculated.

[0030]

(Equation 5)

The antenna rotation driving section 17 is formed of a stepping motor, and drives the stepping motor based on the rotation angle (θc) signal from the antenna rotation angle calculation section 16 to rotate the antenna 19. The antenna rotation position detection unit 18 is configured by a rotary encoder,
The actual rotation of the directional antenna 19 is detected and fed back to the antenna rotation angle calculation unit 16 to obtain an error in the rotation angle of the antenna, and the error is corrected so that no error occurs between the rotation angle and the actual rotation angle. Directional control of the directional antenna 19 to the base station is performed accurately.

The helicopter is also equipped with a non-directional antenna (not shown), and may be switched to a non-directional antenna at short distances. At close range,
This is because, since the electric field strength of the radio wave can be sufficiently given, the transmission quality can be more easily ensured than by controlling the directional antenna. Also, the directional antenna always performs directivity control toward the fixed station even when using an omnidirectional antenna to prevent interruption of the relay screen when switching from using an omnidirectional antenna to a directional antenna. I have.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the present invention. The antenna pointing device of the present embodiment includes:
The memory 13 is deleted from the embodiment of FIG. 1 and an azimuth detecting unit 12a is provided. The other configuration is the same as that of FIG. In the present embodiment, by providing the azimuth detecting unit 12a, for example, when the azimuth detecting unit 12a is configured by a gyro, the azimuth in the nose direction from the rotation angle of the nose of a flying object, for example, a helicopter with respect to the true north direction, Can be detected.

In this embodiment, the flying object is flying at a low speed,
Or, in the case of the hovering state, the traveling direction of the flying object cannot be detected by the GPS receiver. In particular, when the airframe is rotated in the hovering state, the traveling direction of the flying object cannot be detected by the GPS receiver. That is, when the flight distance is short and there is no difference in the latitude and longitude information, the traveling direction of the flying object cannot be detected. In such a case, the pointing of the directional antenna 19 to the base station is controlled by means for detecting the azimuth in the traveling direction of the flying object by the azimuth detecting unit 12a.

In this embodiment, by providing the azimuth detecting unit 12a, the azimuth (true north direction) is grasped at an airport or a base such as a helicopter, and the direction of the aircraft is set to an initial value in a gyro while waiting in advance. However, even if the azimuth direction of the aircraft moves after takeoff, the initial value and the current azimuth can be compared to detect the current rotation angle of the aircraft in the nose direction. From the azimuth detecting unit 12a, the rotation angle in the nose direction is input to the declination calculation unit 14, and the declination calculation unit 14 outputs the declination in the nose direction of the fuselage, and the antenna rotation angle calculation unit 16 Is input to Further, based on the latitude / longitude information from the GPS receiver 11 and the latitude / longitude information of the base station, the declination of the base station as viewed from the flying object is calculated by the base station azimuth calculation unit 15 and the value is calculated by the antenna rotation angle calculation. The antenna rotation angle is input to the section 16 and output.

The azimuth detecting unit 12a may use a geomagnetic sensor. The geomagnetic sensor detects the true north direction from geomagnetism, so like a gyro,
It is not necessary to store the azimuth in advance, and the rotation angle can be calculated from the azimuth (declination) of the helicopter body.
Note that the azimuth of the geomagnetic sensor may be out of order depending on geographical conditions or external conditions such as buildings, and it is preferable to use a gyro.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which an azimuth detecting unit 12a is added to the embodiment of FIG. In the present embodiment, in addition to the operation described in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the numerical value of the rotation angle of the aircraft from the azimuth detecting unit 12a is input to the declination calculation unit 14, and the rotation angle of the flying body in the nose direction is calculated. The azimuth (declination) is calculated, and the pointing of the directional antenna 19 to the base station is controlled.

In this embodiment, when performing a TV relay with a flying object such as a helicopter or the like, an azimuth detecting unit is provided in accordance with the distance from the base station and the flight mode of the flying object (hovering flight, low speed flight, high speed flight, etc.). The rotation angle of the directional antenna 19 is calculated on the basis of the information on the deflection in the nose direction by the calculation of the declination in the nose direction by 12a or the calculation of the declination by the latitude and longitude information of the GPS receiver 11. Thus, the directional antenna 19 is accurately directed to the base station.

On the other hand, the azimuth detecting unit 12 using a gyro
In a, the rotation angle of the aircraft is detected from the azimuth angle in the nose direction. The azimuth detection unit 12a presets the azimuth in the nose direction as an initial value (initial azimuth angle) in advance during standby, and detects the rotation angle and the initial value of the aircraft even if the azimuth of the aircraft moves after takeoff. By making the comparison, the azimuth (declination) of the nose direction of the current flying object with respect to the true north direction can be detected. However, the azimuth detecting unit 12 using the gyro is used.
Also in the case of a, there is a drawback that an error occurs in the instruction of the gyro as the time elapses and the azimuth is shifted.

The present embodiment is an antenna pointing device having a function of correcting a deviation of the direction in the direction detecting unit 12a using a gyro. As described in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the latitude and longitude information from the GPS receiver 11 is stored in the memory 1.
3 and the latitude / longitude information from the memory 13 and the current latitude / longitude information from the GPS receiver 11 are input to the declination calculation unit 14, respectively. Angle) is calculated, and this azimuth information is given to the azimuth detecting unit 12a, and the azimuth information preset previously is reset, and is constantly updated with new azimuth information.

In this embodiment, when the flying object is flying at a high speed, the directional antenna 19 is controlled so as to be accurately directed to the base station as described in the embodiment of FIG. On the other hand, when the flying object arrives at a shooting point that is far from the base station, it often shifts to a turning flight around the shooting point. In such a case, it is difficult to control the antenna pointing based on the azimuth angle in the traveling direction by the GPS receiver 11, so the directional antenna 19 is transmitted to the base station by using the azimuth angle in the nose direction by the azimuth detecting unit 12a. Direction control is performed so as to aim. Also, when the flying object is hovering and turning at the shooting point, the directional antenna 19
Is directed so as to point to the base station.

In this embodiment, the directivity of the directional antenna 19 can be controlled by a computer. Also,
Although not shown in FIG. 3, the flight form of the flying object is estimated by a computer, and distance information between the flying object and a base station is input to the computer to estimate an optimal pointing control method of the pointing antenna. , A gyro-based azimuth detection unit, or antenna pointing control based on only GPS position information can be selected. Such computer-based selection means may be referred to as, for example, azimuth information selection means. The flight mode is a hovering flight, a low-speed flight, a high-speed flight, and the like, and also depends on the output of the transmitting antenna. However, the transmitting mode depends on the linear distance between the flying object and the base station or the geographical condition. It can be easily determined from a possible area or the like. Incidentally, if the flying object is a hovering flight or a low-speed flight and the distance between the flying object and the base station is long, the antenna pointing control based on the azimuth information from the azimuth detecting unit using a gyro or the like is selected. Of course, a helicopter is usually equipped with an omni-directional antenna and a directional antenna.
Either omnidirectional or directivity antenna may be selected.

As described above, in the first to third embodiments,
Although helicopters were mainly described as flying vehicles,
The invention is not limited to this embodiment, and may be a light aircraft. Further, in the above embodiment, the directivity control of the directional antenna mounted on the flying object to the base station is performed by the closed loop control by the antenna rotation angle calculation unit, the antenna rotation drive unit, and the antenna rotation position detection unit. Direction control to the base station, but antenna rotation drive,
Feedback control using a closed loop by the antenna rotation position detection unit may be performed.

[0044]

As described above, according to the present invention, there is an advantage that the directivity of a directional antenna mounted on a flying object can be accurately controlled by a relatively simple device to a base station. Direction control can perform high-speed arithmetic processing and directivity control even while moving, so that there is an advantage that high transmission quality can be ensured.

Further, according to the present invention, when directing the directional antenna mounted on the flying object to the base station, the directional antenna is controlled by the flying speed of the flying object and the distance between the flying object and the base station. It is possible to select whether to use the azimuth information by the azimuth detecting unit or the azimuth information by the GPS receiver as the control parameter of the gyro, and accurately control the directivity of the directional antenna to the base station using the optimal control factor. ,
There is an advantage that high transmission quality can be ensured even during movement.

According to the present invention, when the flying object is a helicopter, an omnidirectional antenna and a directional antenna are usually mounted, and the omnidirectional antenna varies depending on the flight speed of the flying object and the distance between the flying object and the base station. An antenna capable of maximizing the characteristics of both the antenna and the directional antenna is selected, a video signal is transmitted to the base station, and accurate pointing control can be performed. In addition, since the deterioration of the reception state due to the shift of the main lobe of the transmission signal at the base station is reduced, it is possible to simplify the complicated transmission operation of the operator in the airplane, There is also an advantage that high transmission quality can be ensured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an antenna pointing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the antenna pointing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the antenna pointing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 1 'flying object 2 base station 11 GPS receiver 12 input device (latitude / longitude information input section of base station) 12' memory (latitude / longitude information storage section of base station) 12a azimuth detecting section 13 memory 14 declination calculating section (Second calculation means) 15 Base station azimuth calculation section (First calculation means) 16 Antenna rotation angle calculation section (Third calculation means) 17 Antenna rotation drive section 18 Antenna rotation position detection section 19 Directional antenna

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2F105 AA03 BB07 BB17 5J021 AA01 AB07 DA07 EA04 FA13 FA30 GA02 GA07 HA03 HA08 JA07 5J062 BB03 CC07 FF04 FF06 HH04

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An antenna pointing device mounted on an air vehicle for transmitting radio waves from the air vehicle to a base station, comprising: information on known latitude and longitude of the base station and a GPS mounted on the air vehicle.
First calculating means for obtaining the azimuth of the base station from the flying object based on the latitude and longitude information obtained from the receiver; and a difference between the latitude and longitude information obtained every predetermined period from the GPS receiver. Second calculating means for obtaining an azimuth in the traveling direction of the aircraft based on the azimuth of the base station by the first computing means and an azimuth of the flying direction of the flying body by the second computing means. And a third calculating means for determining a rotation angle at which the directional antenna mounted on the flying object is directed to the base station from the angle. 2. The antenna pointing device according to claim 1, wherein the azimuth information of the flying object in the nose direction is obtained from azimuth detecting means mounted on the flying object. 3. The antenna pointing device according to claim 2, wherein an initial value of the azimuth information of the nose of the flying object stored in the azimuth detecting means is updated to new azimuth information as needed.