JP2003069509A - Underwater communication system with beam forming function and beam forming method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an underwater communication system which allows an underwater station to reduce power consumption. SOLUTION: A marine station 1 notifies the location information of the latitude and longitude of the marine station 1, which is obtained by using a GPS receiver 13, and the location information of the latitude, longitude, and depth of water of an underwater station 2, which is obtained in advance, to the underwater station. On the basis of the location information notified from the marine station 1, the underwater station 2 controls the beam direction of a beam used for the communication with the marine station 1 so as to become the direction of a beam 3a directing from a beam 3 to the marine station 1, and controls a beam width 4 of the beam so as to become a beam width 4a.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to underwater communication with a beam forming function for performing underwater communication using an acoustic signal between a sea station including a water station having a main body installed on the water and an underwater station installed on the seabed. The present invention relates to a system and its beamforming method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an underwater communication system, power saving is an important issue in order to operate an underwater station called an underwater vehicle or an underwater section with a battery or the like. It is possible to reduce the size of the system or extend the continuous operation period.

One of the conventional underwater data transmission devices of this type is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-151133 (title of the invention: underwater data transmission device). In this underwater data transmission device, in data transmission in which data is transmitted using acoustic signals between a ship traveling under water and an underwater vehicle, the distance between the ship and the underwater vehicle is detected, and according to this distance. The transmission speed of the data transmitted by the underwater vehicle is changed. That is, when the data transmission distance is long, the transmission speed is lowered, and when the data transmission distance is short, the transmission speed is increased. Therefore, regardless of the distance of the acoustic signal transmitted by the underwater vehicle, data transmission of optimum quality and transmission speed can be performed.

[0004]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The disclosed underwater data transmission apparatus transmits transmission data by using an acoustic signal of constant power, so that even if there is little data to be transmitted by the underwater vehicle, it is almost constant. There is a drawback that power consumption is always generated and power consumption cannot be reduced when the amount of transmitted data is small. This drawback becomes a particularly serious problem when the power source of the underwater vehicle is a battery.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and to provide an underwater communication system capable of reducing the power consumption of an underwater station.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention of an underwater communication system with a beam forming function according to claim 1 is to communicate between a maritime station and an underwater station using sound as a transmission medium. In the underwater communication system, the marine station acquires the position information of the marine station using a GPS receiver, notifies the underwater station together with the previously acquired position information of the underwater station, and Based on the position information of the sea station and the position information of the underwater station notified from the sea station, the station controls the direction and width of a beam used for communication with the sea station. Characterize.

The invention of an underwater communication system with a beamforming function according to claim 2 is an underwater communication system for performing communication between a marine station and an underwater station using sound as a transmission medium, wherein the marine station comprises: Latitude, longitude, depth of the underwater station and position information consisting of latitude and longitude of the marine station to the underwater station, the underwater station, based on the position information notified from the marine station, the The beam direction of a beam used for communication with a marine station is controlled to face the marine station, and further, the beam width of the beam is controlled to be narrowed.

Further, the invention of an underwater communication system with a beam forming function according to claim 3 is an underwater communication system for performing communication between a marine station and an underwater station using sound as a transmission medium, wherein the marine station comprises: An underwater communication unit that performs modulation / demodulation processing, a transducer that converts an electric signal into an acoustic signal and an acoustic signal into an electric signal, a GPS receiver that receives a GPS signal and acquires position information of the marine station, , The underwater station, an underwater communication unit for performing modulation and demodulation processing,
A transducer that converts an electrical signal into an acoustic signal and an acoustic signal into an electrical signal, and the beam direction of a beam used for communication with the marine station based on position information of the marine station and the underwater station. A control unit for controlling the transducer of the underwater station so as to change the beam width of the beam toward the marine station.

Further, the invention of an underwater communication system with a beam forming function according to claim 4 is the above-mentioned claim 1.
3 to 3, the marine station issues a transmission request command issuance instruction to the underwater station to request transmission of position information of the marine station and the underwater station.

Further, the invention of an underwater communication system with a beam forming function according to claim 5 is the above claim 3.
The control unit described, the position information storage means for storing the position information consisting of the latitude and longitude of the marine station and the latitude, longitude and water depth of the underwater station sent from the marine station, and the position information storage means Beam direction control means for directing a beam used for communication with the marine station to the direction of the marine station based on the stored position information, and controlling the transducer to change the beam width of the beam Beam width control means.

Further, the invention of a beamforming method for an underwater communication system with a beamforming function according to a sixth aspect is provided with a beamforming function for forming a beam for communication between a maritime station and an underwater station using sound as a transmission medium. A beamforming method for an underwater communication system, wherein the marine station acquires position information including latitude and longitude of the marine station using a GPS receiver, and the previously acquired position information of the underwater station and the marine station are acquired. The position information of the station, notifies the underwater station from the marine station, based on the position information of the marine station and the underwater station notified from the marine station, the underwater station, the marine station and The beam direction of the beam used for the communication is directed to the marine station, and the beam width of the beam is changed.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION First, an outline of an underwater communication system having a beam forming function of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention. Note that the beam forming described here means to direct the beam direction to the maritime station 1 and to change the beam width to change the transmission gain.

In FIG. 1, the marine station 1 transmits the position information of the marine station 1 and the underwater station 2 to the underwater station 2, and the underwater station 2
Directs a beam in the direction of the maritime station 1 based on the received position information, and transmits observation data using a beam having a narrow beam width. By using a beam with a narrow beam width,
The transmission gain is increased, and the transmission power can be reduced by the increased transmission gain. Therefore, it is possible to save power in the underwater station 2.

<< Structure >> The structure of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The underwater communication system with a beam forming function of the present invention is configured to have at least one marine station 1 installed on the sea or above the water and at least one underwater station 2 installed on the seabed.

The maritime station 1 includes an underwater communication unit 11 and a transmitter / receiver 1.
2, a GPS receiver 13, and an operation / display unit 14 are included.

The underwater station 2 includes an underwater communication unit 21 and a transceiver 2.
2, control unit 23, underwater instrument 24, transponder 25,
It is configured to include a battery (not shown).

The underwater communication unit 11 mainly performs modulation / demodulation processing, and the transceiver 12 converts an electric signal into an acoustic signal or an acoustic signal into an electric signal.

The GPS receiver 13 receives a GPS signal (not shown) and obtains the latitude and longitude position information of the marine station 1.

The operation / display unit 14 gives a command transmission instruction to the underwater station 2 and displays observation data collected from the underwater station 2. Further, the position information of the latitude, longitude, and water depth of the place where the underwater station 2 is installed is stored.

The position information of the underwater station 2 is changed by a ship (not shown) that installs the underwater station 2 on the seabed, and three-point distance measurement using a transponder (not shown) mounted on the ship and the transponder 25 of the underwater station 2 is used. Obtained by.

The above-described marine station 1 is a position obtained by combining the obtained latitude, longitude, and water depth position information of the underwater station 2, as well as the latitude and longitude position information of the marine station 1 acquired by the GPS receiver 13. The information is notified to the underwater station 2.

The underwater communication section 21 of the underwater station 2 mainly performs modulation / demodulation processing, and the transducer 22 converts an electric signal into an acoustic signal or an acoustic signal into an electric signal.

The wave transmitter / receiver 22 is, for example, an assembly of 16 wave transmitters / receivers, and these 16 wave transmitters / receivers form a wave transmission / reception surface in a plane arrangement of 4 rows and 4 columns, 4 rows each in the vertical and horizontal directions. Then
The underwater station 2 is mounted on the side that wants to view the marine station 1. The beam direction and the beam width are changed by independently controlling the row direction and the column direction. The control in the row direction and the column direction is performed by changing the phase and amplitude of the signal supplied to the transducer 22. Alternatively, the transmitter / receiver 22 may be configured as follows, for example. The wave transmitting / receiving surface on which the individual wave transmitters / receivers constituting the wave transmitter / receiver 22 are arranged is moved to change the beam direction, and further, these individual wave transmitters / receivers have different beam widths, respectively. The transducer is switched to change the beam width.

The control unit 23 includes a beam direction control unit 231,
A beam width control unit 232, a position information storage unit 233 and the like are provided.

The beam direction control unit 231 controls the transducer 22 so that the beam 3 is directed toward the maritime station 1.
Let beam 3a. That is, the beam direction control unit 231
Controls the beam direction of the beam 3 toward the marine station 1 based on the positional information (latitude and longitude of the marine station 1 and latitude, longitude and water depth of the underwater station 2) stored in the positional information storage unit 233. Beam 3a.

The beam width controller 232 controls the transducer 22 so that the beam width 4 becomes the narrowed beam width 4a. The beam widths shown in the beam widths 4 and 4a are predetermined, and two types of the beam widths 4 and 4a are shown here, but they may be three or more types. Predetermining a narrow beam width to further increase the transmission gain, or conversely, predetermining a wide beam width to maintain the communication line in case the beam direction does not coincide with the direction of the maritime station 1. Is possible.

The position information storage unit 233 stores position information sent from the marine station 1 including the latitude and longitude of the marine station 1 and the latitude, longitude and water depth of the underwater station 2.

The underwater instrument 24 is, for example, an observation instrument including an ocean bottom seismometer for observing the seabed condition or the seabed environment, and collects and records observation data.

The transponder 25 sends a response signal to a signal sent from a transponder mounted on a ship (not shown) in which the underwater station 2 is installed. Based on this response signal, the transponder of this ship acquires the position information (latitude, longitude, water depth) of the underwater station 2.

The battery (not shown) is an underwater communication unit 21,
Underwater station 2 including transmitter / receiver 22, control unit 23, underwater instrument 24, etc.
Supply power to the components.

As described above, the underwater station 2 is the marine station 1.
The beam is formed based on the position information of the marine station 1 and the underwater station 2 notified from the observation data, and the observation data measured by the underwater instrument 24 is transmitted to the marine station 1.

<Operation> The operation of FIG. 1 will be described below. First, the underwater station 2 is installed on the seabed by a ship (not shown). Next, this ship changes its location, and the installation position of the underwater station 2 is measured by three-point distance measurement using a transponder (not shown) mounted on this ship and the transponder 25 of the underwater station 2. From this positioning, the position information of the latitude, longitude and water depth of the place where the underwater station 2 is installed is acquired and stored in the maritime station 1.

The underwater station 2 installed on the seabed is started by, for example, a timer (not shown), and collects and records observation data measured by the underwater measuring device 24.

The marine station 1 receives a GPS signal (not shown) at the GPS receiver 13 to acquire the latitude and longitude position information of the marine station 1. When collecting observation data from the underwater station 2, the operation / display unit 14 of the marine station 1 issues an instruction to issue a transmission request command to the underwater station 1 to the underwater station 2. This transmission request command is a command for requesting that the position information including the latitude and longitude of the marine station 1 and the latitude, longitude, and water depth of the underwater station 2 be transmitted from the marine station 1 to the underwater station 2.
The marine station 1 matches the transmission request command from the underwater station 2 or periodically notifies the underwater station 2 of position information including the latitude and longitude of the marine station 1 and the latitude, longitude, and water depth of the underwater station 2.

The underwater station 2 stores the positional information notified from the marine station 1 in the positional information storage section 233.

The beam direction control unit 231 has a beam width of 4 based on the position information (latitude and longitude of the sea station 1 and latitude, longitude and water depth of the underwater station 2) stored in the position information storage unit 233. 3 is controlled so as to be directed toward the maritime station 1 to form a beam 3a having a beam width 4.

Next, the beam width controller 232 controls the transducer 22 so that the beam width of the beam 3a changes from the beam width 4 to the beam width 4a. For example, this control
It is also possible to switch to the beam 3b having the beam width 4a. When the beam direction coincides with the direction of the maritime station 1, the beam width control unit 232 transmits / receives signals so that the beam width 4a is further narrowed in order to further increase the transmission gain. It is also possible to control the device 22.

When the beam is formed toward the marine station 1, the observation data measured by the underwater measuring instrument 24 is transmitted from the underwater station 2 to the marine station 1. The transmitted observation data is
It is displayed on the operation / display unit 14.

[0039]

The first effect is that the transmission gain can be increased in an underwater station by forming a beam having a narrow beam width toward the maritime station. The reason is,
This is because the sea station notifies the underwater station of position information including the latitude and longitude of the sea station and the latitude, longitude, and water depth of the underwater station.

The second effect is that the transmission power to be transmitted from the underwater station to the maritime station can be reduced by the amount of the increased transmission gain, so that the power consumption of the underwater station can be reduced. The reason is that the transmission gain can be increased as described in the first effect.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an underwater communication system with a beam forming function according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control unit of the underwater communication system with a beam forming function of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Maritime Bureau 11 Underwater communication section 12 Transceiver 13 GPS receiver 14 Operation / display 2 underwater stations 21 Underwater communication section 22 Transceiver 23 Control unit 231 Beam Direction Control Unit 232 Beam width controller 233 Position information storage unit 24 underwater instruments 25 transponder 3, 3a, 3b beam 4, 4a beam width

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An underwater communication system for performing communication between a marine station and an underwater station using sound as a transmission medium, wherein the marine station acquires position information of the marine station using a GPS receiver, Notifying the underwater station together with the position information of the underwater station that has been acquired in advance, the underwater station is based on the position information of the underwater station and the position information of the underwater station notified from the marine station. An underwater communication system with a beam forming function, which controls the direction and width of a beam used for communication with the marine station. 2. An underwater communication system for performing communication between a marine station and an underwater station using sound as a transmission medium, wherein the marine station comprises latitude and longitude of the underwater station, water depth and latitude of the marine station, Notifying the underwater station of position information consisting of longitude and the underwater station, based on the position information notified from the marine station, the beam direction of the beam used for communication with the marine station is the marine station. The underwater communication system with a beam forming function is characterized in that the beam width of the beam is controlled to be narrower. 3. An underwater communication system for performing communication between a maritime station and an underwater station using sound as a transmission medium, wherein the marine station converts an electrical signal into an acoustic signal and an underwater communication section for performing modulation / demodulation processing. And an underwater communication unit in which the underwater station performs modulation / demodulation processing, including a transmitter / receiver that converts an acoustic signal into an electrical signal, and a GPS receiver that receives a GPS signal and acquires position information of the marine station. , A transducer that converts an electrical signal into an acoustic signal and an acoustic signal into an electrical signal,
Based on the position information of the marine station and the underwater station, the beam direction of the beam used for communication with the marine station is directed to the marine station, and the transmission and reception of the underwater station to change the beam width of the beam. An underwater communication system with a beamforming function, comprising: a control unit for controlling the vessel. 4. The marine station issues a transmission request command issuance instruction for requesting transmission of position information of the marine station and the underwater station to the underwater station. An underwater communication system with a beamforming function according to any of the above. 5. The position information storage unit, wherein the control unit stores position information including latitude and longitude of the marine station and latitude, longitude and water depth of the underwater station transmitted from the marine station, and the position information. Beam direction control means for directing a beam used for communication with the marine station to the direction of the marine station based on the position information stored in the storage means, and the transceiver for changing the beam width of the beam 4. A beam width control means for controlling the beam forming function according to claim 3, wherein the underwater communication system has a beam forming function. 6. A beamforming method for an underwater communication system with a beamforming function for forming a beam for communication between a marine station and an underwater station using sound as a transmission medium, wherein the marine station uses a GPS receiver. Latitude of the marine station, to obtain position information consisting of longitude, the position information of the underwater station and the position information of the marine station previously acquired, notify the underwater station from the marine station,
Based on the position information of the marine station and the underwater station notified from the marine station, the underwater station directs the beam direction of the beam used for communication with the marine station to the marine station, and further A beamforming method for an underwater communication system with a beamforming function, characterized in that the beam width of a beam is changed.