JP2020077976A - Blocking prediction method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a blocking prediction method that can predict occurrence of blocking according to the type of INMAL antenna used in a ship.SOLUTION: In a blocking prediction method in which a first FB antenna 21a and a second FB antenna 21b is provided to form a first group 21, and it is determined whether blocking occurs in the first group 21, when the prediction result corresponds to the determination, notification of the occurrence of the blocking in the first group 21 is performed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a blocking prediction method for predicting blocking of signals transmitted to and received from an artificial satellite.

  There is a system for communicating using artificial satellites, and this system is used in various fields. For example, a communication system using satellites is used for communication at sea where base stations cannot be installed. As this communication system, there are Inmarsat Global Xpress (hereinafter referred to as “GX”) and Inmarsat Freebroadband (hereinafter referred to as “FB”) by Inmarsat (registered trademark). In order to use the service provided by Inmarsat, a GX antenna or an FB antenna is required as an Inmal antenna, and these Inmar (FB / GX) antennas are installed in a ship.

  By the way, structures such as a chimney, a mast, and a cabin are provided on the ship. When these structures are located between each INMAL antenna of the ship and the communication satellite when the ship is navigating, the signal from the communication satellite may be blocked. In other words, blocking may occur when the ship travels along the route. Therefore, there is a device that predicts blocking in order for the ship side to grasp the occurrence of blocking in advance (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  In such an apparatus, a blocking chart is created by drawing a straight line radially from the position where each INMAL antenna is installed on a plan view of a hull showing the structure of a ship. The data of the blocking chart is the blocking chart data. Then, the azimuth angle and elevation angle of the communication satellite at the position of each ship, that is, the position of the communication satellite is calculated, and the blocking chart data is referred to based on these azimuth angle and elevation angle. Calculate the area.

JP, 2005-2493, A

  By the way, the conventional device for predicting blocking has the following problems. That is, some ships may be equipped with a plurality of INMAL (FB / GX) antennas. In this case, conventionally, it has only been individually predicted whether or not blocking will occur at each INMAL antenna on board.

  However, in reality, there are ships that design communication priorities and the like according to the type of INMAL antenna (FB / GX) installed on the ship. May differ from. For example, when a ship is equipped with two FB antennas and two GX antennas, the FB antenna is used for important data communication such as navigation information, and the GX antenna is used as a low priority service for passengers. Sometimes.

  In this case, when even one of the two FB antennas causes blocking, it is necessary to notify the date and time of the occurrence of the blocking. However, regarding the two GX antennas, unless the two antennas simultaneously cause blocking, the blocking is performed. In some situations, it is not necessary to notify the date and time of occurrence.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a blocking prediction method capable of predicting the occurrence of blocking depending on the type of INMAL antenna used in a ship.

  In order to solve the above problems, the invention of claim 1 includes a plurality of antennas, forms a plurality of antenna groups including at least one of the antennas, and determines whether blocking occurs in units of the antenna groups. A blocking prediction method for making a determination, wherein when a prediction result that is a predicted result corresponds to the determination, the blocking prediction method is notified that blocking has occurred for this antenna group.

  The invention of claim 2 is the blocking prediction method according to claim 1, wherein it is determined that blocking has occurred when blocking has occurred for at least one antenna of the antenna group.

  The invention of claim 3 is the blocking prediction method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is determined that blocking has occurred when blocking has occurred for all antennas of the antenna group.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the blocking prediction method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the method of forming the antenna group includes at least one of one or more antennas and one or more antenna groups. The feature is that

  The invention of claim 5 is the blocking prediction method according to claim 4, wherein another antenna group is formed as another group in the antenna group, and the antenna group is blocked including a prediction result for the other group. Is determined to have occurred.

  According to the invention of claim 1, since the occurrence of blocking is notified according to the antenna group, for example, a determination for notifying whether blocking occurs or not is arbitrarily set for each group of antennas mounted on the hull. It is possible to predict the occurrence of blocking depending on the group of antennas. Further, the determination can be arbitrarily set for each group of antennas corresponding to each ship, and the occurrence of blocking according to the ship can be predicted.

  According to the invention of claim 2, when the blocking occurs for at least one antenna of the antenna group, the notification of the occurrence of the blocking is performed. Therefore, when the priority of the communication by the antenna is high, the fact that the blocking occurs will be notified. You can

  According to the invention of claim 3, when the blocking occurs for all the antennas of the antenna group, the notification of the occurrence of the blocking is performed. Therefore, when the priority of the communication by the antenna is low, it is possible to notify the occurrence of the blocking. it can.

  According to the invention of claim 4, the antenna group can be arbitrarily set. That is, the antenna group may be referred to as an antenna group not only when it includes a plurality of antennas but also when it includes only one antenna. In this case, the blocking data of the one antenna is substantially used. Then, the determination as to whether or not blocking occurs is performed between the plurality of antenna groups formed in this way.

  According to the invention of claim 5, with respect to the antennas of the antenna group, another antenna group is formed to form a nest (nesting) of the antenna group, and the antenna group is judged by including the prediction result of the antenna group of this nest. The occurrence of blocking can be notified. That is, an antenna group including the antenna group therein is formed, and whether or not blocking occurs is determined between the plurality of antenna groups.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of the blocking area display device to which the blocking prediction method by Embodiment 1 of this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the antenna mounted in the ship. It is a figure which shows an example of a blocking chart image. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a blocking occurrence prediction process according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the nautical chart image with a route. It is a figure which shows an example of the nautical chart image with a route in which the blocking area was shown. It is a figure which shows the antenna mounted in the ship. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of a blocking occurrence prediction process according to the second embodiment.

  Next, each embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 shows a blocking area display device to which the blocking prediction method according to this embodiment is applied. This blocking area display device includes an arithmetic processing device 11, an input device 12, and an output device 13. Such an arithmetic processing unit 11 is installed in a ship 100 as shown in FIG. 2, for example. In this embodiment, the deck 101 of the ship 100 has a first FB antenna 21a and a second FB antenna 21b as inmal antennas, a first GX antenna 22a and a second GX antenna 22b as inmal antennas. Is installed. The first FB antenna 21a and the second FB antenna 21b are used for important high-priority data communication such as navigation information. Further, the first GX antenna 22a and the second GX antenna 22b are used for data communication for services of relatively low priority. In this embodiment, the first FB antenna 21a and the second FB antenna 21b form a first group 21, and the first GX antenna 22a and the second GX antenna 22b form a second group 22. is doing.

  The input device 12 is a keyboard or the like connected to the arithmetic processing device 11 as a peripheral device. Various instructions and the like are input to the input device 12 by an operation performed by a person in charge.

  The output device 13 is a printer, a display, or the like connected to the arithmetic processing device 11 as a peripheral device. The output device 13 outputs various information under the control of the arithmetic processing device 11 and notifies the person in charge.

The arithmetic processing device 11 is a device that includes a processor, a storage device, and the like inside, and that performs various types of processing from a device, a sensor, and the like included in the ship. Therefore, various kinds of information are input to the arithmetic processing unit 11. In particular,
a1. Position of own ship given by GPS receiver (hereinafter referred to as "position information")
a2. The direction of the ship (bow) given by the gyro (hereinafter referred to as the "heading")
a3. Ship speed a4. Given by SDME (Speed and Distance Measuring Equipment). Individual identification code of another ship, ship name, position, course, speed, destination, etc. by AIS (Automatic Identification System) a5. Depth a6. Given by acoustic sounder Observation values such as wind speeds provided by various sensors a7. Information on the radar image provided by the radar device is input to the arithmetic processing unit 11.

  The arithmetic processing unit 11 fetches the position information of the own ship at any time according to an instruction from the input unit 12, and generates a chart image based on the chart data corresponding to the position information. Further, the arithmetic processing unit 11 superimposes an image showing a route on the nautical chart image to generate a nautical chart image with a route. The arithmetic processing unit 11 controls the output unit 13 to output the generated nautical chart image with a route.

  The arithmetic processing unit 11 stores blocking chart data in a storage device in advance. The blocking chart data is the desired satellite, which is a communication satellite in this embodiment, on the deck of the own ship according to the combination of the azimuth and elevation of the main lobe of the antenna of the satellite communication device, for example, the first FB antenna 21a. It indicates whether or not there is a portion that interrupts the propagation path of the radio signal formed between the two. That is, the blocking chart data represents the arrangement status of the shield that shields the signal propagation path. Drawing is performed by GUI (Graphical User Interface) processing based on this blocking chart data to generate a blocking chart image visually displayed as an image or the like. An example of this blocking chart image is shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a blocking chart image of the first FB antenna 21a installed on the deck of the ship, where the circumferential direction is the horizontal azimuth (azimuth) and the radial direction is the vertical azimuth (elevation). Then, the uncommunicable portion designated by the azimuth angle and the elevation angle is plotted in black to be the shielded portion A. When a communication satellite exists in the direction of the shielded portion A, communication using the communication satellite becomes impossible.

  Thus, the blocking chart corresponds to the antenna located at the center of the chart. In this embodiment, four antennas, that is, the first FB antenna 21a and the second FB antenna 21b, and the first GX antenna 22a and the second GX antenna 22b, are installed in a group, and four antennas are installed. Four types of blocking chart data are prepared for the antenna. Of course, one blocking chart data may be used for four antennas.

The arithmetic processing unit 11 can quickly perform the later-described blocking prediction by using such blocking chart data. The blocking chart data may be configured as a set of records in which at least a part of the following is reflected, for example.
b1. The shape, dimensions, and attitude of the part of the ship on the deck b2. Radio signal frequency, modulation method, waveform (pulse width, period), power b3. Antenna directivity, gain

  A position (given by latitude and longitude, for example) that serves as a reference for calculating an azimuth angle and an elevation angle at the position of the ship is registered in the storage device of the arithmetic processing device 11 in advance for each communication satellite.

  In this embodiment, as described above, the first FB antenna 21a and the second FB antenna 21b, and the first GX antenna are provided for the ship 100 according to the communication satellites that provide various services. 22a and the second GX antenna 22b are installed as an INMAL antenna. Further, the antennas are grouped into a first group 21 composed of the first FB antenna 21a and the second FB antenna 21b, and a second group 22 composed of the first GX antenna 22a and the second GX antenna 22b. Has been done. Therefore, in this embodiment, the following blocking occurrence prediction processing is performed. An example of this blocking occurrence prediction process is shown in FIG. Hereinafter, a blocking prediction method will be described together with a blocking occurrence prediction process. The arithmetic processing unit 11 determines the heading of the bow when the blocking occurrence prediction process is started (step S1). For example, when predicting whether or not blocking will occur at a sampling point on a planned route, the processing unit 11 sets the heading to the direction from this sampling point to the next WPT (Way Point T). .. After that, the arithmetic processing unit 11 selects an antenna to be predicted from the first group 21 and the second group 22 (step S2).

  Next, the arithmetic processing unit 11 calculates the azimuth angle and elevation angle when the communication satellite is viewed from the antenna of the hull, that is, the antenna selected in step S2, with respect to the heading obtained in step S1 (step S3). .. Then, the arithmetic processing unit 11 compares the azimuth angle and the elevation angle with the blocking chart data (step S4), and predicts whether blocking may occur at these azimuth angle and elevation angle (step S4). Step S5). That is, the arithmetic processing unit 11 checks whether or not the direction of the communication satellite overlaps the shielded portion A, and calculates the blocking area. When step S5 ends, the arithmetic processing unit 11 saves the prediction result, that is, the situation of whether blocking occurs in the storage device (step S6).

  When step S6 ends, the arithmetic processing unit 11 determines whether or not there is an unselected antenna in step S2 (step S7). If there is an unselected antenna in step S7, the arithmetic processing unit 11 returns the process to step S2.

On the other hand, if there is no unselected antenna in the first group 21 or the second group 22 in step S7, the processing device 11 determines that the first FB antenna 21a and the second FB antenna 21b of the first group 21 are It is determined whether the first determination condition is met (step S8). The first determination condition is set in advance for this step S8. In this embodiment, the prediction result for the first FB antenna 21a and the prediction result for the second FB antenna 21b, that is,
c1. The prediction result for the first FB antenna 21a is blocking occurrence c2. Of the two antenna situations in which the prediction result for the second FB antenna 21b is blocking, the case where the antenna situation of c1 or the antenna situation of c2 is obtained is the first determination condition. Such a first determination condition is an OR (or) condition of the antenna status c1 of the first FB antenna 21a and the antenna status c2 of the second FB antenna 21b.

The first judgment condition is
(C1∨c2)
Can be expressed as It should be noted that the above is repeated,
c1: The prediction result indicates that blocking occurs in the first FB antenna 21a c2: The prediction result indicates that blocking occurs in the second FB antenna 21b,
∨: OR
(): Indicates an antenna group.

  Since the first FB antenna 21a and the second FB antenna 21b are used for important data communication such as navigation information, when the blocking occurs for any one of these antennas, It is a judgment condition.

  In this embodiment, the first determination condition is set with the two antennas as the first group 21. When three or more antennas are included in the first group 21, the first determination condition may be that one of the antennas causes blocking as in this embodiment.

In step S8, the processing device 11 reads the prediction results of the first FB antenna 21a and the second FB antenna 21b of the first group 21 from the storage device, and determines that the first determination condition applies to the read prediction result. , And outputs the prediction result (step S9). In step S9, the arithmetic processing unit 11 maps the blocking area, for example, by plotting the predicted result on the route-added chart image. An example of a nautical chart image with a route is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the nautical chart represented by the nautical chart data shows the route B planned by the own ship. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the arithmetic processing unit 11 indicates a blocking area for the navigation chart image with the route, in this embodiment, the blocking occurrence sea area and the occurrence date and time. Here, for example, "13th 13:33", which is the date and time when blocking occurs for the first FB antenna 21a.
And "13th 14:16", which is the date and time when blocking ends.
And are shown in the sea area on Route B.

  When such mapping is completed, the arithmetic processing unit 11 controls the output unit 13 in step S9 to output, for example, a navigation-line-equipped nautical chart image in which a blocking area is mapped.

When the first determination condition is not satisfied for each antenna of the first group 21 in step S8, or when step S9 ends, the processing device 11 causes the first GX antenna 22a and the second GX antenna of the second group 22 to operate. It is determined whether 22b corresponds to the second determination condition (step S10). That is, similarly to step S8, the second determination condition is set in advance for step S10. In this embodiment, the prediction result for the first GX antenna 22a and the prediction result for the second GX antenna 22b, that is,
d1. The prediction result for the first GX antenna 22a is blocking occurrence d2. Among the two antenna situations in which the prediction result for the second GX antenna 22b is that blocking has occurred, the case where both the antenna situation of d1 and the antenna situation of d2 are obtained is the second determination condition. Such a second determination condition is an AND condition between the antenna status d1 of the first GX antenna 22a and the antenna status d2 of the second GX antenna 22b.

The second judgment condition is
(D1∧d2)
Can be expressed as In addition, although it repeats in the above,
d1: The prediction result indicates that blocking occurs in the first GX antenna 22a d2: The prediction result indicates that blocking occurs in the second GX antenna 22b,
∧: AND
(): Indicates an antenna group.

  Since the first GX antenna 22a and the second GX antenna 22b are used for data communication for relatively low priority service, blocking occurs in two of these antennas, that is, in all the antennas. The case where it does is used as the second determination condition.

  In this embodiment, the second determination condition is set with the two antennas as the second group 22. When three or more antennas are included in the second group 22, the second determination condition may be a case where blocking occurs in all the antennas, as in this embodiment.

  In step S10, the processing device 11 reads the prediction results of the first GX antenna 22a and the second GX antenna 22b of the second group 22 from the storage device, and determines that the second determination condition applies to the read prediction result. , And outputs the prediction result (step S11). The processing in step S11 is similar to that in step S9 described above. Then, the arithmetic processing device 11 controls the output device 13 in step S11 to output, for example, a nautical chart image with a route in which a blocking area is mapped. At this time, in this embodiment, the blocking areas by the two antennas of the first GX antenna 22a and the second GX antenna 22b are combined to combine the blocking areas, and the combined blocking areas are mapped.

  When the second determination condition is not satisfied for each antenna of the second group 22 in step S10, or when step S11 ends, the arithmetic processing unit 11 ends the blocking occurrence prediction process.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, the condition for notifying whether or not blocking occurs for each of a plurality of types of antennas mounted on the hull, for example, the combination of AND and OR of each antenna is set. , Can be changed arbitrarily for each ship. Thus, for example, with respect to a plurality of antennas used for important data communication such as navigation information, when blocking occurs for one antenna, a blocking area can be displayed and notified. Further, with respect to a plurality of antennas used for data communication for a service having a relatively low priority, when blocking occurs in all antennas, a blocking area can be displayed and notified.

(Embodiment 2)
In the first embodiment, the first determination condition is set for the first group 21 and the second determination condition is set for the second group 22, and the blocking occurrence prediction process (FIG. 4) is performed. In this embodiment, the following processing is performed. In order to perform the prediction process of blocking occurrence according to this embodiment, in this embodiment, the first FB antenna 21a of the first group 21, the first GX antenna 22a and the second GX antenna 22a of the second group 22 are used. With the antenna 22b, the third group 23 is formed in advance on the vessel 100 as shown in FIG. That is, the third group 23 is formed so as to include the first GX antenna 22a and the second GX antenna 22b of the second group 22, and the antenna group is nested. In other words, the second group 22 is further formed in the third group 23 including the first FB antenna 21a, the first GX antenna 22a, and the second GX antenna 22b.

  Then, in this embodiment, the arithmetic processing unit 11 performs the blocking occurrence prediction process for the third group 23. An example of the blocking occurrence prediction process is shown in FIG. Steps S1 to S7 of the blocking occurrence prediction process are the same as the blocking occurrence prediction process of FIG. 4 described above, and thus description thereof will be omitted.

  When the processing device 11 finishes the process of step S7, it is determined whether the first FB antenna 21a, the first GX antenna 22a, and the second GX antenna 22b of the third group 23 satisfy the third determination condition. It is determined (step S8a). The third determination condition is set in advance for this step S8a.

In this embodiment, the first FB antenna 21a is as described in the first embodiment,
c1. There is an antenna situation in which the prediction result of the first FB antenna 21a is blocking. Also, as described in the first embodiment, the first GX antenna 22a and the second GX antenna 22b of the second group 22 are the same as described in the first embodiment.
d1. The prediction result for the first GX antenna 22a is blocking occurrence d2. There are two antenna situations in which the prediction result of the second GX antenna 22b is blocking. In such an antenna situation, the case where the antenna situation of c1 is obtained, or the case where both the situation of d1 and the situation of d2 are obtained is the third determination condition. Such a third determination condition is an OR (or) between the antenna situation c1 of the first FB antenna 21a and the antenna situations d1 and d2 of the second group 22 forming a nest in the third group 23. In addition, the second group 22 forming a nest is an AND condition between the antenna status of the first GX antenna 22a and the antenna status of the second GX antenna 22b.

The third judgment condition is
(C1∨ (d1∧d2))
Can be expressed as It should be noted that the above is repeated,
c1: The prediction result indicates that blocking occurs in the first FB antenna 21a d1: The prediction result indicates that blocking occurs in the first GX antenna 22a d2: The prediction result indicates that blocking occurs in the second GX antenna 22b,
∨: OR
∧: AND
(): Indicates an antenna group. Here, the outer parenthesis "()" represents the third group 23, and the inner parenthesis "()" represents the second group 22 of the nest.

  In step S8a, the processing device 11 reads the prediction result of the first FB antenna 21a, the first GX antenna 22a, and the second GX antenna 22b of the third group 23 from the storage device, and the read prediction result is If it is determined that the three determination conditions are applicable, the prediction result is output (step S9a). The process in step S9a is the same as step S9 described above. Then, the arithmetic processing device 11 controls the output device 13 in step S9a to output, for example, a nautical chart image with a route in which a blocking area is mapped. At this time, in this embodiment, a blocking area is created based on the blocking areas of the first FB antenna 21a, the first GX antenna 22a, the second GX antenna 22b, and the three antennas, and the created blocking area Are mapped.

  When the third determination condition is not satisfied for each antenna of the third group 32 in step S8a, or when step S9a ends, the arithmetic processing unit 11 ends the blocking occurrence prediction process.

Although the third group 23 is formed by the first FB antenna 21a and the second group 22 in this embodiment, the method of forming the antenna group can be set arbitrarily. Further, when the third group 23 satisfies the third determination condition, it is determined that blocking has occurred, but the determination condition is not limited to this. For example, as the determination condition,
(C1∧ (d1∨d2))
Can be set, and various settings are possible.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, a condition for notifying whether or not blocking occurs for each antenna that is mounted on the hull and forms an antenna group, for example, AND of each antenna in the antenna group. The combination of and OR can be arbitrarily changed for each ship.

11 arithmetic processing device 12 input device 13 output device 100 ship 21 first group (antenna group)
21a 1st FB antenna 21b 2nd FB antenna 22 2nd group (antenna group)
22a 1st GX antenna 22b 2nd GX antenna 23 3rd group (antenna group)

Claims (5)

A blocking prediction method comprising a plurality of antennas, forming a plurality of antenna groups consisting of at least one of the antennas, and determining whether or not blocking occurs in the antenna group units,
When the prediction result, which is the predicted result, corresponds to the determination, it notifies that blocking has occurred for this antenna group,
A blocking prediction method characterized by the above. Determining that blocking has occurred when blocking has occurred for at least one antenna of the antenna group,
The blocking prediction method according to claim 1, wherein: It is determined that blocking occurs when blocking occurs for all antennas of the antenna group,
The blocking prediction method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein. The method of forming the antenna group includes at least one of one or more antennas and one or more antenna groups,
The blocking prediction method according to claim 1, wherein: Another antenna group is formed as another group in the antenna group, and it is determined that blocking has occurred in the antenna group including a prediction result for the another group,
The blocking prediction method according to claim 4, wherein:

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