JP2014207687A - Mobile unit and beam direction control method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mobile communication system which permits a transmitting side mobile unit to irradiate a beam precisely in a direction toward a receiving side mobile unit in an environment in which a GPS is unusable and, therefore, positional relationship between transmitting side and receiving side mobile units needs to be calculated by only an INS.SOLUTION: In a mobile communication system, communication is performed between mobile units 1 to 4 by using pencil beams. The mobile communication system includes: a beam control part 24 in which a transmitting side mobile unit transmits a transmission beam in a direction toward a receiving side mobile unit; a monopulse angle measurement part 34 in which the receiving side mobile unit receives the transmission beam and performs monopulse angle measurement on the basis of the received transmission beam; and an angle measurement result reporting part 35 in which a measured angle error value obtained as a result of the monopulse angle measurement is reported from the receiving side mobile unit to the transmitting side mobile unit. The beam control part 24 corrects the irradiated direction of a pencil beam on the basis of the measured angle error value obtained from the receiving side mobile unit.

Description

  The present invention relates to a moving body and a beam direction control method thereof, and more particularly to a moving body using a pencil beam and a beam direction control method thereof.

  A network in which a moving body performs peer-to-peer communication using a pencil beam (narrow beam) is known. In order to configure this type of network, a mobile body that transmits data (hereinafter referred to as a transmitting-side mobile body) accurately irradiates a mobile body that receives data (hereinafter referred to as a receiving-side mobile body). There is a need to.

  Therefore, the core technology for realizing this type of network is the direction control of the beam that the transmitting mobile body irradiates to the receiving mobile body. Here, the beam direction control will be briefly described.

  In order to accurately irradiate the beam on the receiving-side moving body, the transmitting-side moving body needs to know the position of the receiving-side moving body with a certain degree of accuracy (accuracy to the extent that the receiving-side moving body enters the beam width). . In an environment where GPS (Global Positioning System) can be used, the position information obtained from GPS is periodically exchanged between the moving bodies, so that the positions of both moving bodies can be accurately known.

  The transmitting-side moving body includes the obtained position information of the receiving-side moving body, the position information of the own-moving body obtained from GPS, the INS (Internal Navigation System) of the own-moving body, and the orientation and direction information of the moving body. Etc. are used to control the direction of the beam applied to the receiving side moving body.

  On the other hand, as an example of a communication system related to the present invention, in a mobile wireless communication apparatus that has a wireless transmission / reception unit and communicates with a relatively moving counterpart, radio communication that transmits self-information including its own location to the counterpart And the compressed data is transmitted to the other party via the laser communication line connected to the other party based on the information transmitted by the communication unit and the other party information including the position of the other party. The thing provided with the laser communication part is disclosed (refer patent document 1). Further, it is described that this mobile wireless communication device is equipped with INS or GPS in order to measure its own accurate current position information.

  As another example, two ground devices are provided on the central axis of the runway RWY, and GPS receivers are provided on these ground devices, respectively, so that these landing positions are transmitted at different frequencies f1 and f2. A guidance system is disclosed (see Patent Document 2).

  In this system, the aircraft is also provided with a GPS receiver to obtain aircraft position information. Based on these three pieces of position information, the aircraft is guided to the vicinity of the runway RWY. When entering the final course, radar waves are sent to the corner reflectors A1 and A2 provided at both ends of the center axis of the runway RWY, and landing of the aircraft is guided based on the error signal obtained by the reflected waves. I do.

  Further, it is described that the aircraft has a tracking radar unit, and the tracking radar unit transmits a radar wave to the corner reflector A1 and performs monopulse angle measurement processing on the reflected signal.

  Further, as another example, in a method for measuring an azimuth angle of a wireless station in a wireless network that includes a plurality of wireless stations and performs wireless communication between the wireless stations, for each wireless station in a service area of the plurality of wireless stations A first step of measuring in advance a signal measurement value that is a received electric field strength, a received signal-to-interference noise ratio or a carrier-to-interference noise ratio for each predetermined azimuth angle and storing it in a storage device as a signal measurement value table; The transmission electric field strength of each transmission signal from each radio station is measured using at least two adjacent sector patterns including the sector pattern of the main beam of the azimuth having the maximum signal measurement value in the signal measurement value table. Based on each measured received electric field strength, a monopulse angle measurement process is used to calculate a difference pattern between two previously measured sector patterns. And calculating the azimuth angle of the radio station that has transmitted the transmission signal, by linearly approximating the quotient pattern divided by n by the azimuth angle of the main beam of the two sector patterns and having the maximum received electric field strength. An invention is disclosed (see Patent Document 3).

JP 2001-44941 A JP 11-345400 A JP 2004-266523 A

  However, since the GPS radio wave is weak, it is easily disturbed. If the GPS is obstructed, the position information of the mobile body cannot be obtained from the GPS. On the other hand, as an alternative to GPS, there is a method of acquiring position information of the own mobile body from the INS equipped in the mobile body.

  The INS is composed of a gyro and an accelerometer, and reports the posture and orientation of the mobile unit from the departure point and self-location information to the mobile unit at regular intervals. Errors accumulate. For this reason, the difference between the attitude direction information of the own mobile object obtained from the INS and the actual attitude direction information of the own mobile object increases with time. Therefore, it is also difficult to obtain the directivity direction information of the moving body from the INS with the required position accuracy. For this reason, there exists a subject that the transmission side mobile body cannot irradiate a beam to a reception side mobile body exactly.

  On the other hand, the technique described in Patent Document 1 is to determine the direction of the counterpart communication device by measuring its own position using INS and GPS and exchanging the information with the counterpart. However, even if INS can be used, Patent Document 1 does not describe at all how to specify the direction in which the counterpart communication device exists when GPS cannot be used. Therefore, the technique described in Patent Document 1 cannot solve the problem of the present invention.

  Further, the technique described in Patent Document 2 is completely different from the present invention in that the GPS receiver is provided in two ground devices and an aircraft, and each position is measured. In addition, although the point of performing monopulse angle measurement processing is described, the present invention and the configuration are not the angle measurement processing of the moving object versus the moving object, but the angle measurement processing of the corner reflectors A1 and A2 of the aircraft versus the runway. Furthermore, the angle measurement process is not for measuring the error in the direction of the beam transmitted from the other party, but for calculating the angle at which the aircraft enters the runway. The purpose is different. Therefore, the technique of patent document 2 cannot solve the problem of the present invention.

  The technique described in Patent Document 3 is common to the present invention in that a viewpoint for calculating the azimuth angle of a wireless station that transmits a transmission signal using monopulse angle measurement processing is disclosed. However, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 3 is limited to the technology up to calculating the azimuth angle of a wireless station, and there is no description on how to use the calculation result of the azimuth angle.

  That is, the invention disclosed in Patent Document 3 does not have a configuration for notifying the counterpart radio station of the azimuth calculation result (that is, the beam azimuth error value). In other words, the invention disclosed in Patent Document 3 is not intended to notify the counterparty radio station of the calculation result of the azimuth angle, so the object is completely different from the present invention, and the configuration for achieving the object is completely different from the present invention. Different. Therefore, the technique of patent document 3 cannot solve the problem of the present invention.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is that the GPS cannot be used, and therefore, in an environment where the positional relationship between the transmitting side and the receiving side moving body must be calculated only by INS, the transmitting side moving body is in the direction of the receiving side moving body. It is an object of the present invention to provide a movable body capable of accurately irradiating a beam and a beam direction control method.

In order to solve the above problems, a mobile body according to the present invention is a mobile body in a mobile communication system that performs communication between mobile bodies using a pencil beam,
A moving body comprising beam width control means for controlling a beam width of a transmission beam in accordance with a distance from a counterpart moving body.

A beam direction control method according to the present invention is a beam direction control method in a mobile communication system that performs communication between mobile objects using a pencil beam,
The transmitting-side moving body includes a beam width control step for controlling the beam width of the transmitting beam in accordance with the distance from the receiving-side moving body.

  According to the present invention, in an environment in which GPS cannot be used, and the positional relationship between the transmitting side and the receiving side mobile unit must be calculated only by INS, the transmitting side mobile unit is accurately positioned in the direction of the receiving side mobile unit. Can be irradiated with a beam.

It is a block diagram of an example of the mobile communication system which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the mobile bodies 1-4 which concern on this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of a transmission part. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of a receiving part. FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of an example of a combining circuit 32A included in the receiving unit 32 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of operation | movement of the beam direction control method which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the monopulse angle measurement in the beam direction control method which concerns on this invention. It is a monopulse beam pattern figure which shows an example of the monopulse angle measurement in a receiving side moving body. It is a figure which shows an example of the relative pointing direction error in INS17 of a moving body. It is a block diagram of the transmission part in 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of operation | movement of 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of operation | movement of 3rd Embodiment. It is a block diagram of the transmission part in 4th Embodiment. It is a block diagram of the transmission part in 5th Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of 6th Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an example of a mobile communication system according to the present invention. In the present embodiment, a vehicle traveling on the ground will be described as an example of a moving body. However, the present invention is not limited to this vehicle, and the present invention can also be applied to a flying object.

  Referring to the figure, an example of a mobile communication system according to the present invention is configured to include mobiles 1 to 4 constituting a mesh network.

  Each of the mobile bodies 1 to 4 constituting this mesh network performs peer-to-peer communication with a counterpart mobile body that makes a pair using a pencil beam (narrow beam). It is also possible to configure an ad hoc network with these mobiles 1 to 4. Furthermore, it is also possible to include one or a plurality of other mesh type networks similar to this mesh type network, and connect these networks with a communication link.

  Each of the moving bodies 1 to 4 exchanges their own position information, speed information, etc. using a partner beam and a pencil beam, and the position information, speed information, etc. acquired from the other party moving body, and their own position information, Based on the speed information and the posture direction information, the direction of the relative partner moving body viewed from its center line (reference direction) is calculated, and its pencil beam is irradiated in that direction to Communicate.

  As an example, inter-mobile communication is performed using time slots assigned by TDMPA (Time Division Multiple Pair Access; a time slot assigned in a time division manner, in which data is transmitted / received between two paired mobiles). Is called. As an example of the frequency, millimeter waves are used.

  At this time, the pair of mobile bodies irradiate each other with a pencil beam, thereby enabling full-duplex communication. However, the realization of full-duplex communication depends on the frequency band that can be acquired, the necessity of full-duplex communication in operation, and the like.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the moving bodies 1 to 4 according to the present invention. Referring to the figure, the mobile bodies 1 to 4 include antennas 11 and 12, a transmission unit 13, a reception unit 14, a control unit 15, a GPS 16, an INS 17, and a program storage unit 18. . The antennas 11 and 12 are configured to be capable of directivity control. As an example, the transmitting antenna 11 is composed of one antenna and the receiving antenna 12 is composed of four antennas. Further, as an example of the antennas 11 and 12, a phased array antenna is used.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the transmission unit. In the figure, only the parts unique to the present invention are displayed, and explanations and illustrations are omitted for other parts of the transmitter. The transmission unit 13 transmits one beam. Referring to the figure, the transmitter 13 generates an excitation unit 21 that generates a high-frequency signal for a transmission beam, a signal output from the excitation unit 21 as transmission data (information to be transmitted), and an angle measurement result notification unit 35 (receiver). The modulation unit 23 that modulates data using data from the control unit 15 and the beam irradiation direction of the signal output from the modulation unit 23 are output from the signal from the control unit 15 and the demodulation unit 33 (described later) of the reception unit. And a beam control unit 24 that performs control using angle measurement result information included in the signal. Then, one beam is transmitted from the beam control unit 24 via the antenna 11.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the receiving unit. The receiving unit 14 receives one beam from the transmitting unit 13 of the counterpart mobile body at the receiving unit 32 via the antenna 12. Referring to the figure, the reception unit 14 includes a reception unit 32, a demodulation unit 33 that demodulates the sum information (Σ) of the amplitude of the reception signal received by the reception unit 32, and the amplitude of the reception signal received by the reception unit 32. The monopulse angle measurement unit 34 performs monopulse angle measurement based on the sum information (Σ), the height information (Δ height) and the direction information (Δ direction), and calculates the angle measurement error value, and is calculated by the monopulse angle measurement unit 34 And an angle measurement result notifying unit 35 that outputs the angle measurement error value to the modulation unit 23 of the transmission unit 13. Further, the demodulator 33 outputs received data and outputs angle measurement result information measured by the counterpart mobile body included in the received signal to the beam controller 24 of the transmitter 13.

  FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of an example of the synthesis circuit 32A included in the reception unit 32 of FIG. A plurality of antennas 12 (four in this embodiment as an example) are connected to the input side of the combining circuit 32A. As an example, the combining circuit 32A is configured by a known hybrid circuit (for example, a rat race circuit or the like). The sum signal (Σ) of signals from the plurality of antennas 12 and signals from the plurality of antennas 12 and their signals A difference signal (Δ) calculated from signals having different phases by 180 degrees is output. That is, the sum signal (Σ) output from the synthesizing circuit 32A is output to the demodulator 33 and the monopulse angle measuring unit 34, and the difference signal (Δ) (Δ high and low and Δ azimuth) output from the synthesizing circuit 32A is the monopulse measurement. Output to the corner 34.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the GPS 16 is a part that measures the position of the mobile body using a satellite, and the INS 17 is a part that acquires its posture and orientation information. The antenna 11 is for transmission, and the antenna 12 is for reception.

  The program storage unit 18 stores a program for a beam direction control method to be described later. The control unit 15 refers to the program in the program storage unit 18 and controls the transmission unit 13, the reception unit 14, the GPS 16 and the INS 17.

  In order to irradiate the transmitting beam to the receiving-side moving body accurately, it is necessary for the transmitting-side moving body to know the position of the receiving-side moving body with a certain accuracy (accuracy enough to allow the receiving-side moving body to enter the beam). . Under an environment where GPS can be used, position information obtained from GPS is periodically exchanged between the moving bodies, so that the positions of both moving bodies can be accurately known. The transmitting-side moving body controls the direction of the transmitting beam by using the position of the receiving-side moving body and the attitude and azimuth information obtained from the GPS and INS of the moving body.

  On the other hand, when the GPS is obstructed in some way, it is necessary to measure the directivity direction of the mobile body only by INS. However, since INS accumulates self-position errors over time, the beam irradiated from the transmitting-side moving body gradually shifts from the receiving-side moving body due to the INS accumulation error of both the transmitting and receiving-side moving bodies. There is a problem of going.

  The present invention solves this problem using monopulse angle measurement. In monopulse angle measurement, it is possible to measure the amount of displacement from the center line of the transmission beam at the reception side mobile body, so by sending the measurement result to the transmission side mobile body, the transmission beam center at the transmission side mobile body. The offset value of the line can be corrected.

  An example of the beam direction control method of the present invention will be described below. In the following description, as an example, there are a transmitting-side moving body and a receiving-side moving body, and each moving body includes a transmitting unit illustrated in FIG. 3 and a receiving unit illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. To do.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the beam direction control method according to the present invention. As a premise, it is assumed that the transmitting-side mobile unit cannot use GPS, and is therefore in an environment where the positional relationship between the transmitting-side and receiving-side mobile units must be calculated only by INS. Therefore, the transmitting side mobile body acquires its own position information and speed information using INS, and transmits the information to the receiving side mobile body.

  First, one transmission beam is transmitted from the beam control unit 24 of the transmission unit 13 of the transmission side moving body to the reception side moving body (step S1). Next, the receiving unit 32 of the receiving unit 14 of the receiving side mobile body receives the transmission beam (step S2). Next, the monopulse angle measurement unit 34 of the receiving-side moving body inputs the transmission beam (Σ, Δ height and Δ direction) from the reception unit 32, and performs monopulse angle measurement based on the transmission beam (step S3).

  Next, the angle measurement error value, which is a result signal of the monopulse angle measurement, is output to the angle measurement result notification unit 35 by the monopulse angle measurement unit 34. Next, the angle measurement error value is output from the angle measurement result notification unit 35 to the modulation unit 23 of the transmission unit 13. Next, the modulation signal of the angle measurement error value is output from the modulation unit 23 to the beam control unit 24. Then, the angle measurement error value is notified from the beam control unit 24 to the transmitting-side moving body (step S4).

  Next, the angle measurement error value from the receiving-side moving body is received by the receiving unit 14 of the transmitting-side moving body. That is, the receiving unit 32 (see FIG. 4) of the receiving unit 14 of the transmitting side mobile body receives the angle measurement error value from the receiving side mobile body. Next, the demodulator 33 inputs a Σ signal that is a part of the signal received by the receiver 32. This Σ signal includes angle measurement error value information from the receiving-side moving body.

  Next, the demodulator 33 demodulates the angle measurement error value and outputs it to the beam controller 24 of the transmitter 13. Then, the beam control unit 24 calculates the direction data of the receiving-side moving body from the control unit 15 (calculated based on the self-position and posture direction information of the transmitting-side moving body and the self-position information received from the receiving-side moving body. ) And the pencil beam irradiation direction are corrected based on the angle measurement error value (step S5).

  As a result, the transmission beam of the transmitting-side moving body can be accurately directed in the direction of the receiving-side moving body.

  Next, a specific example of monopulse angle measurement in the beam direction control method according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a specific example of monopulse angle measurement in the beam direction control method according to the present invention. The part shown by the solid line in the figure shows a case where the pencil beam transmitted from the transmitting unit 13 of the transmitting side moving body is accurately directed in the direction of the receiving unit 14 of the receiving side moving body (this The position of the receiver 14 in this case is indicated by a solid line 14A).

  However, in reality, since the INS pointing direction information accumulates errors over time, the pointing direction of the pencil beam transmitted from the transmitting unit 13 of the transmitting-side moving body deviates from the receiving unit 14 over time. (The position of the receiving unit 14 in this case is indicated by a broken line 14B). It is assumed that an angle error pointing from the transmitting side moving body to the receiving side moving body at this time is α (degrees).

  In order to correct this angular error, one transmission beam transmitted from the transmission side mobile unit is received by the reception unit 14 of the reception side mobile unit, and monopulse angle measurement is performed based on the transmission beam received by the reception side mobile unit. Then, information on the angle error α calculated as a result is transmitted to the transmitting-side moving body. The transmitting side moving body corrects the beam direction to the receiving side moving body so that the angle error α approaches zero based on the obtained angle error information.

  Next, an example of monopulse angle measurement at the receiving-side moving body that has received the transmission beam transmitted from the transmitting-side moving body will be described. FIG. 8 is a monopulse beam pattern diagram showing an example of monopulse angle measurement at the reception-side moving body.

  In the monopulse angle measurement, one transmission beam transmitted from the transmitting-side moving body is received by the receiving unit 14 via the antenna (for example, a phased array antenna) of the receiving-side moving body, and the combining circuit 32A (see FIG. 5)), a predetermined process is performed to obtain angle measurement information.

  The monopulse method includes a method for detecting amplitude and a method for detecting phase. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as an example, a method of detecting the phase of a monopulse with a phased array antenna is adopted. However, in the following monopulse angle measurement, an example of a method of detecting amplitude will be described for convenience. The method for detecting the phase can be described in the same manner as the method for detecting the following amplitude.

  In the amplitude comparison monopulse, two reception beams that are partially overlapped and received by the reception-side moving body are treated as a set, and an angle error (deviation from the front of the antenna) is detected. As shown in the present embodiment, when detecting an angle error for both azimuth and elevation, four reception beams are used.

  An example in which two reception beams are used will be described. A single transmission beam (monopulse) transmitted from the beam control unit 24 of the transmission-side moving body is synthesized by the monopulse angle measurement unit 34 of the reception-side moving body. The signal is received at 32A, and the sum and difference of the amplitudes of the respective reception beams are calculated (see FIG. 8A).

  The angle error can be calculated from the sum (Σ) and difference (Δ) of the amplitudes. The angle error voltage (ε) is obtained by normalizing the difference signal (Δ) by the sum signal (Σ), that is, the angle error voltage (ε) is obtained by dividing the difference signal (Δ) by the sum signal (Σ). (Ε = Δ / Σ). The angle error voltage (ε) is generally S-shaped, and the deviation of the antenna from the front direction can be detected (see FIG. 8B). This angle error voltage (ε) corresponds to the angle error α (degrees) shown in FIG.

  The monopulse angle measurement unit 34 of the reception unit 14 of the reception side mobile body calculates the angle error α, and the angle measurement result notification unit 35 outputs the angle error α information to the modulation unit 23 of the transmission unit 13.

  On the other hand, the modulation unit 23 having received the angle error α information modulates the angle error α information and the transmission data and outputs the modulated data to the beam control unit 24. The beam control unit 24 transmits the angle error α information and transmission data to the transmission-side moving body.

  On the other hand, the transmission side mobile body receives the angle error α information and the transmission data from the reception side mobile body via the antenna 12 at the reception unit 32 in the reception unit 14. The demodulator 33 demodulates the angle error α information and the received data. Then, the demodulated signal of the angle error α information is output to the beam control unit 24 of the transmission unit 13 and the reception data is output as it is.

  The beam control unit 24 calculates the counterpart mobile body (that is, the reception-side mobile body) calculated based on the self-position and posture direction information obtained by the control section 15 (see FIG. 2) and the self-position information received from the reception-side mobile body. ) To obtain data indicating the general direction.

  Then, the beam control unit 24 controls the direction of the transmission beam with respect to the reception-side moving body based on the acquired data and the angle error α information obtained from the demodulation unit 33. Specifically, the direction of the transmission beam is controlled so that the angle error α approaches zero. As a result, the beam of the transmitting-side moving body can be accurately directed toward the receiving-side moving body.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a relative pointing direction error in the INS 17 of the moving body. The figure also shows an example in which transmission beam transmission is performed a plurality of times from the transmission side mobile unit to the reception side mobile unit.

  This figure shows a case where transmission beams are transmitted from the transmission side mobile unit to the reception side mobile unit every time t1, t2, t3,..., Tn (n is a positive integer). Then, each time the transmission beam is transmitted at each of the times t1, t2, t3,..., Tn, information on the angle error α is received from the receiving side mobile body, and the transmission beam is transmitted so that the angle error α becomes zero. An example is shown in which the error is corrected from d2 to d1 by correcting the direction, and the state of the error d1 is maintained thereafter.

  On the other hand, a curve h in the figure shows an example of a directivity direction error when the transmission beam is not transmitted from the transmission side moving body to the reception side moving body. As shown in the figure, it can be seen that the error in the pointing direction of the transmitting-side moving body is integrated and increased with time.

  In the present invention, as a result of monopulse angle measurement performed on the transmission beam irradiated from the transmission-side moving body to the reception-side moving body at time t1, the transmission-side mobile body directs the transmission beam. The direction error can be reduced from d2 to d1 (d2> d1).

  Further, the transmission beam of the transmission side mobile body is transmitted periodically from the transmission side mobile body to the reception side mobile body after time t1 (time t2, t3,..., Tn). It is possible to keep the error in the directivity direction within d1. As a result, the transmitting-side moving body can direct the transmission beam toward the receiving-side moving body even after time t1.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the transmission beam irradiated from the transmission-side moving body is measured by the receiving-side moving body, and the angle measurement result is notified to the transmission-side moving body. Since the transmission-side mobile body is configured to correct the direction of the transmission beam based on the angle measurement result, the beam of the transmission-side mobile body is accurately directed toward the reception-side mobile body in an environment where GPS cannot be used. It becomes possible. Further, according to the configuration in which the transmission beam is transmitted a plurality of times, the integrated error value in the pointing direction can be held within a predetermined value.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The second embodiment relates to another example in which transmission beams are transmitted a plurality of times. The operation of performing transmission beam transmission a plurality of times is as described above, but the second embodiment devise a method for calculating the angle measurement error.

  In the second embodiment, the monopulse angle measurement unit 33 of the mobile object transmits the monopulse angle measurement result when the integrated value of the angle measurement error reaches a predetermined threshold as a result of performing the monopulse angle measurement a plurality of times. Notify

  In the first embodiment, every time the receiving side mobile body receives a transmission beam from the transmitting side mobile body, the reception side mobile body notifies the result of monopulse angle measurement to the transmitting side mobile body. On the other hand, according to the second embodiment, it is possible to reduce the number of times of notifying the result of the monopulse angle measurement as compared with the case of the first embodiment.

  Next, a third embodiment will be described. The third embodiment relates to a beam width control method for a transmission beam. FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a transmission unit in the third embodiment, and FIGS. 11 and 12 are diagrams illustrating an example of the operation of the third embodiment.

  Referring to FIG. 10, the transmission unit 13 according to the present invention includes a beam width control unit 25 that controls the beam width of the transmission beam, following the beam control unit 24 shown in FIG. In addition, in the same figure, a deflecting unit 26 for deflecting the beam is also displayed at the subsequent stage of the beam width control unit 25. This deflecting unit 26 is also included in the configuration of the transmitting unit in FIG. In the example of FIG. 3, illustration of the deflection unit 26 is omitted for convenience. FIG. 11 shows an example when the beam width (in other words, the beam divergence angle) is 3 degrees, and FIG. 12 shows an example when the beam width (beam divergence angle) is 12 degrees.

  Even if there is a certain amount of error in the position of the receiving-side moving body, the transmitting-side moving body can capture the receiving-side moving body in the beam by widening the beam width. 11 shows beam widths at distances of 1 NM, 10 NM, 50 NM, and 100 NM when the beam width (beam divergence angle) is 3 degrees, and FIG. 12 shows 1 NM when the beam width (beam divergence angle) is 12 degrees. , 10 NM, 50 NM, and 100 NM.

  When the beam width is 12 degrees, the beam width is about four times that when the beam width is 3 degrees. Therefore, even when the error of the position of the receiving-side moving body held by the transmitting-side moving body is relatively large, there is a high possibility that the receiving-side moving body will be captured within the beam width range. It becomes possible to communicate with the body.

  As described above, according to the third embodiment of the present invention, even when the position error of the reception-side moving body is relatively large, the transmission-side moving body receives the signal by widening the beam width in the transmission-side moving body. It becomes possible to communicate with the side mobile unit. In other words, by controlling the transmission side mobile body to widen the beam width of the transmission beam when the distance to the reception side mobile body is short, and to narrow the beam width of the transmission beam when the distance to the reception side mobile body is long, It becomes possible to communicate with the receiving side mobile unit regardless of the distance from the receiving side mobile unit.

  Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. The fourth embodiment relates to a transmission power control method. FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of a transmission unit in the fourth embodiment. Referring to the figure, the transmission unit 13 according to the present invention includes a transmission power control unit 29 instead of the beam width control unit 25 of the third embodiment (see FIG. 10). Note that the deflection unit 26 is also shown in FIG. 13 for the same reason as described for FIG.

  The transmission power control unit 29 controls the transmission power according to the distance from the receiving side moving body. As a result, the transmission-side mobile body can communicate with the reception-side mobile body using transmission power suitable for the distance from the reception-side mobile body.

  Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. The fifth embodiment relates to a method for controlling the height and azimuth of the divergence angle of a transmission beam. FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram of a transmission unit in the fifth embodiment.

  Referring to FIG. 14, the transmitter 13 according to the present invention includes a height and azimuth direction divergence angle control unit 27 for controlling the height and azimuth direction divergence angle of the transmission beam, following the beam control unit 24 shown in FIG. 3, And a communication interval control unit 28 for controlling the communication interval. 14 also shows the deflection unit 26 for the same reason as described for FIG.

  When the receiving side moving body is in the vicinity of the transmitting side moving body, the receiving side moving body moves with high mobility (for example, when it rapidly moves at an angle of 60 degrees or more), or when moving in the azimuth direction, the transmitting side moves. In some cases, the beam irradiated from the body deviates from the receiving-side moving body.

  In this embodiment, the moving body is assumed to be a vehicle traveling on the ground, but as an example of the case where the receiving-side moving body is highly maneuverable, the moving body rises with a steep slope immediately before the receiving-side moving body. The case where there is a slope to be considered is conceivable.

  In such a case, in the short-range communication as described above, the elevation angle in the elevation direction and the azimuth direction of the beam is widened by the elevation and azimuth direction divergence angle control unit 27 (for example, from 3 degrees to 20 degrees, etc.) Alternatively, the communication interval control unit 28 shortens the communication interval relatively short (for example, the 1 second interval is shortened to the 0.1 second interval or the like). Note that the elevation and azimuth direction divergence angle control unit 27 may widen the divergence angle in both the elevation and azimuth directions, or may widen the divergence angle of only one of the elevation and the azimuth direction.

  In addition, it is difficult to predict whether or not the receiving-side moving body moves in a high mobility or azimuth direction on the transmitting-side moving body side, so when the position of the receiving-side moving body is in the vicinity of the position of the transmitting-side moving body The transmitting-side moving body expands the beam and narrows the beam when it is far away.

  As a result, even when the position of the receiving-side moving body is in the vicinity of the position of the transmitting-side moving body and the receiving-side moving body moves with high mobility or azimuth, the transmitting-side moving body moves the receiving-side moving body into the beam. Can be caught. Note that the beam divergence angle and communication interval necessary to capture the receiving-side moving body in the beam are appropriately changed according to the distance between the transmitting-side moving body and the receiving-side moving body and the degree of maneuvering of the receiving-side moving body. The

  As described above, according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention, even when the receiving-side moving body moves with high mobility or azimuth, the transmitting-side moving body can capture the receiving-side moving body in the beam. It becomes possible.

  Next, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the first embodiment, the case where the reception-side moving body performs monopulse angle measurement has been described, but it is also possible for the transmission-side moving body to perform monopulse angle measurement and correct the irradiation direction of the pencil beam. In the sixth embodiment, an example of this beam direction control method will be described.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the operation of the sixth embodiment of the present invention. This figure shows an example of a beam direction control method when the transmitting-side moving body performs monopulse angle measurement.

  Referring to the figure, first, the transmission-side moving body transmits a transmission beam in the direction of the reception-side moving body (step S11). Next, the receiving side mobile unit receives the transmission beam and transmits a return beam to the return transmission side mobile unit (step S12). Next, the transmitting-side moving body that has received the return beam performs monopulse angle measurement based on the return beam (step S13). Then, based on the error value obtained as a result of the monopulse angle measurement, the transmitting side moving body corrects the irradiation direction of the pencil beam from the own moving body to the receiving side moving body (step S14).

  The operation of the monopulse angle measurement itself is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the part for performing the monopulse angle measurement on the transmission side mobile unit side is the reception unit (see FIG. 4) on the transmission side mobile unit side and the first embodiment. It can be done in the same way. Therefore, the description of the configuration of the transmitting side moving body and the receiving side moving body in the fifth embodiment is omitted.

  As described above, according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention, by performing monopulse angle measurement on the transmission side moving body, the beam of the transmission side moving body can be accurately directed toward the reception side moving body. It becomes possible.

  Next, a seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described. The seventh embodiment relates to a program for a beam direction control method. As shown in FIG. 2, the mobile body has a program storage unit 18. The program storage unit 18 stores a program for the beam direction control method shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 6 and 15. The mobile control unit 15 (corresponding to “computer”) reads the program from the program storage unit 18 and controls the transmission unit 13 and the reception unit 14 according to the program. Since the control method has already been described, description thereof is omitted here.

  Note that both the transmission side and the reception side mobile units have the program shown in FIGS. 6 and 15, and the transmission side mobile unit performs the processing of steps S1 and S5 in FIG. Then, steps S2 to S4 in FIG. 6 are performed. Further, the transmission side moving body performs the processing of steps S11, S13, and S14 in FIG. 15, and the reception side moving body performs the processing of step S12 in FIG.

  As described above, according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention, in an environment where GPS cannot be used and therefore the positional relationship between the transmitting side and the receiving side moving body must be calculated only by INS, It is possible to obtain a program that allows the moving body to accurately irradiate the beam in the direction of the receiving-side moving body.

  A part or all of the above-described embodiment can be described as in the following supplementary notes, but is not limited thereto.

(Appendix 1)
A mobile communication system that performs communication between mobile bodies using a pencil beam, in which a transmission side mobile body transmits a transmission beam in a direction of a reception side mobile body, and the reception side mobile body transmits the transmission Monopulse angle measuring means for receiving a beam at a receiving unit and performing monopulse angle measurement based on the received transmission beam, and a measurement error value obtained as a result of monopulse angle measurement from the reception side moving body to the transmission side moving body Angle measurement result notification means for notifying, the beam control means is a mobile communication system for correcting the irradiation direction of the pencil beam based on the angle measurement error value acquired from the receiving side mobile body,
The mobile communication system, wherein the transmitting-side mobile body includes beam width control means for controlling a beam width of a transmission beam in accordance with a distance from the receiving-side mobile body.

(Appendix 2)
The mobile communication system according to appendix 1, wherein the transmission side mobile unit includes transmission power control means for controlling transmission power of a transmission beam in accordance with a distance from the reception side mobile unit.

(Appendix 3)
The transmitting side mobile body controls the elevation and azimuth direction of the transmission beam in order to capture the receiving side mobile body when the receiving side mobile body moves in high or azimuth directions. The mobile communication system according to appendix 1 or 2, characterized in that it includes a direction divergence angle control means.

(Appendix 4)
The transmission-side moving body includes communication interval control means for shortening a communication interval in order to catch the reception-side moving body when the reception-side moving body moves with high mobility or azimuth direction. 4. The mobile communication system according to any one of items 1 to 3.

(Appendix 5)
The mobile communication system according to any one of appendices 1 to 4, wherein an ad hoc network is formed between the mobile units.

(Appendix 6)
6. The mobile communication system according to any one of appendices 1 to 5, wherein each mobile acquires its own location information from GPS (Global Positioning System) or INS (Internal Navigation System).

(Appendix 7)
A mobile communication system that performs communication between mobile bodies using a pencil beam, in which a transmission side mobile body transmits a transmission beam in a direction of a reception side mobile body, and the reception side mobile body transmits the transmission A return beam transmitting means for receiving a return beam and transmitting a return beam to the transmitting-side moving body; and a monopulse angle measurement in which the transmitting-side moving body that has received the returning beam performs monopulse angle measurement based on the returning beam And an irradiation direction correcting means for correcting the irradiation direction of the pencil beam from the moving body to the receiving side moving body based on the angle measurement error value obtained as a result of monopulse angle measurement by the transmitting side moving body. A mobile communication system.

(Appendix 8)
A beam direction control method in a mobile communication system that performs communication between mobile objects using a pencil beam,
The transmission side mobile unit includes a beam width control step for controlling the beam width of the transmission beam according to the distance from the reception side mobile unit,
The transmission-side moving body includes a communication interval control step for shortening a communication interval in order to capture the receiving-side moving body when the receiving-side moving body moves with high mobility or azimuth direction. Direction control method.

(Appendix 9)
9. The beam direction control method according to appendix 8, wherein an ad hoc network is formed between the mobile objects.

(Appendix 10)
The beam direction control method according to appendix 8 or 9, wherein each moving body acquires its own position information from GPS (Global Positioning System) or INS (Internal Navigation System).

(Appendix 11)
A beam direction control method in a mobile communication system that performs communication between mobile bodies using a pencil beam, wherein a transmission side mobile body transmits a transmission beam in a direction of a reception side mobile body, and the reception A return beam transmitting step in which the side mobile unit receives the transmission beam and transmits a return beam to the transmission side mobile unit; and the transmission side mobile unit that has received the return beam performs monopulse measurement based on the return beam. Monopulse angle measurement step for performing an angle, and irradiation direction correction for correcting the irradiation direction of the pencil beam from the own moving body to the receiving side moving body based on the angle measurement error value obtained by the transmitting side moving body as a result of monopulse angle measurement And a beam direction control method.

  The present invention can be applied not only to vehicles traveling on the ground but also to flying objects such as aircraft.

1-4 Mobile body 11, 12 Antenna 13 Transmitter 14 Receiver 15 Control unit 16 GPS
17 INS
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 18 Program storage part 21 Excitation part 23 Modulation part 24 Beam control part 25 Beam width control part 26 Deflection part 27 Vertical divergence angle control part 28 Communication interval control part 29 Transmission power control part 32 Reception part 32A Synthesis | combination circuit 33 Demodulation part 34 Monopulse Angle measurement unit 35 Angle measurement result notification unit

Claims (3)

A mobile communication system that configures a mesh network by performing inter-unit communication using a narrow beam between three or more mobiles,
The mobile transmits / receives a transmission beam including its own position information and velocity information to / from a communication partner mobile body,
Based on the received position information and speed information of the other party mobile body, and its own position information and speed information, the relative direction of the other party mobile body seen from itself is calculated, and the direction obtained by the calculation A mobile communication system characterized by irradiating the transmission beam on the mobile communication system. A mobile unit that forms a mesh network by performing inter-unit communication using a narrow beam between three or more mobile units,
The mobile body includes a beam transmission means for transmitting a transmission beam including its own position information and velocity information to a communication counterpart mobile body;
Beam receiving means for receiving a transmission beam transmitted by the counterparty mobile body and including position information and velocity information of the counterparty mobile body,
The beam transmitting means calculates a relative direction of the opponent mobile body as seen from itself based on the received position information and speed information of the opponent mobile body and its own position information and speed information. A moving body that irradiates the transmission beam in a direction obtained by calculation. A mobile communication method for forming a mesh network by performing inter-unit communication using a narrow beam between three or more mobile bodies,
A receiving-side moving body receiving a transmission beam including position information and velocity information of the transmitting-side moving body from the transmitting-side moving body;
Based on the received position information and speed information of the transmitting mobile body, and the position information and speed information of itself, calculating a relative direction of the transmitting mobile body as viewed from itself;
A beam direction control method comprising irradiating the transmission beam in a direction obtained by calculation.

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