JP4060763B2 - Array antenna feeder and array antenna system using the same - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an array antenna feeding apparatus, and more particularly to a technique effective when applied to a phased array antenna system for satellite installation.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a conventional satellite-mounted antenna, a backup circuit for equipment failure is configured by providing a redundant system in the power feeding system. For example, the broadcasting antenna mounted on the broadcasting satellite BS-2 has a 14 GHz horn for the uplink frequency and a 12 GHz horn for the downlink (for broadcasting) each mounted on the reflector. Broadcast waves are received and transmitted. In this broadcasting antenna, when one active system is provided in the receiving system, one redundant system is provided in the transmitting system, and one redundant system is provided in the transmitting system (corresponding to two broadcast channels), and the active system fails. The broadcast is continued and the reliability of the broadcasting satellite is ensured (for example, see Non-Patent Document 1).
[0003]
Also, as another satellite-mounted antenna, a hybrid matrix amplifier is divided into two, and a configuration in which a redundant system of the amplifier is provided and a configuration in which a redundant system is not provided constitutes a hybrid that has a large effect when an amplifier fails. As for the matrix amplifier, there is a hybrid system amplifier that can compensate by a redundant system and has a small influence on the failure of the amplifier, and has built a power supply system that allows the failure (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
[0004]
In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, a reflector-type phased array antenna in which a plurality of feeding horns are combined with a reflector is mounted on a satellite, and the radiation pattern is arbitrarily changed to compensate for rain attenuation in the rain region 701. A satellite-mounted phased array antenna system has been proposed (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 2). In this phased array antenna system, as shown in FIG. 8A, the horn array 801 has a configuration in which a plurality of horns are arranged in an array. As shown in FIG. 8B, the diameter is about 10 meters. By combining 200 to 300 feeding horns with the reflecting mirror 802, radiating prescribed transmission power to the clear sky area in the service area (see “national beam” in FIG. 7B), the diameter 100 The rain region 701 of about a kilometer is configured to be able to increase the specified value +10 decibels (see “intensifying beam” in FIG. 7B).
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-9-284046 (paragraph number 0062)
[Non-Patent Document 1]
Keiji Endo and Takehiro Izumi, “Basic Knowledge of Broadcasting Satellites” Kenrokukan, Chapter 6, Figure 6-3 of Satellite Technology (p.121)
[Non-Patent Document 2]
Shoji Tanaka, Tetsuya Yamada, Takao Murata, “Examination of radiation pattern of phased array fed reflector antenna for broadcasting satellite”, IEICE Technical Report, AP2001-169, PP. 61-67 (2002-1)
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As a result of examining the prior art, the present inventor has found the following problems.
The example of Non-Patent Document 1 is an antenna composed of one reflector and one horn when focusing only on the transmission system, and depending on the number of channels, at least one redundant system is provided per horn. become.
[0007]
On the other hand, the phased array antenna system as shown in FIG. 7 has a configuration having a large number of feeding horns. As a redundant system in such a phased array antenna, when at least one redundant system is provided in one horn as in the prior art, naturally, a large number of horns of 200 to 300 are arranged. If this is the case, a double number of redundant systems are required as a whole, and the power supply circuit becomes large, and at the same time, it is difficult to mount on a satellite. In addition, when a large number of redundant systems are arranged, the cost of the phased array antenna system also becomes enormous.
[0008]
A method of separately providing a redundant system as a common redundant system in case of failure of the active system is also conceivable (see Patent Document 1). However, at least the number of redundant systems capable of supporting 200 to 300 active systems is at least. About 50 systems are considered necessary, and the same problems as described above arise.
[0009]
The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to use a redundant system as a redundant system of an array antenna power supply device, and to convert the current system into a redundant system, so that the redundant system can be made compact by using only switch means. To provide a technique capable of improving the reliability of the array antenna feeding device and the array antenna system.
[0010]
The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
Of the inventions disclosed in this application, the outline of typical ones will be briefly described as follows.
[0012]
(1) A plurality of power supply circuits for supplying excitation power to each of a plurality of radiation elements, and the plurality Pieces The radiating element and the plurality Pieces Switch means for switching the connection with the power supply circuit, and when any power supply circuit of the plurality of power supply circuits fails, the failed power supply circuit is disconnected from the radiating element, and from among the plurality of power supply circuits Control means for controlling the switch means to connect a power feeding circuit used in place of the selected faulty power feeding circuit to the disconnected radiating element; A power supply circuit having a smaller output than the failed power supply circuit is selected as a power supply circuit used in place of the failed power supply circuit. This is an array antenna feeder.
[0014]
( 2 ) (1) ) In the array antenna feeding device described above, after switching the feeding circuit, the phase and / or amplitude of feeding to the radiating element is controlled so that the radiating element radiates a desired radiation pattern.
[0015]
( 3 ) (1) mentioned above Or (2) In the array antenna feeding device according to claim 1, the switch means is a microwave matrix switch.
[0016]
( 4 ) A plurality of radiating elements; a plurality of power feeding circuits for feeding excitation power to each of the plurality of radiating elements; Pieces The radiating element and the plurality Pieces Switch means for switching the connection with the power supply circuit, and when any power supply circuit of the plurality of power supply circuits fails, the failed power supply circuit is disconnected from the radiating element, Said Selected from a plurality of feeder circuits Said The power supply circuit used in place of the failed power supply circuit was disconnected. Said To connect to the radiating element Said Control means for controlling the switch means, A power supply circuit having a smaller output than the failed power supply circuit is selected as a power supply circuit used in place of the failed power supply circuit. This is an array antenna system.
[0017]
That is, as the redundant system of the failed power supply circuit, the switch means is controlled to use another power supply circuit of the current system, so it is not necessary to provide a redundant system different from the current system, and the redundant system is configured with a simple configuration. can do.
[0018]
In addition, even when a failure occurs in a power supply circuit connected to a radiation element that has a large contribution to radiation pattern formation, the radiation pattern quality can be significantly degraded by using a power supply circuit that has a smaller contribution instead. Can be prevented.
[0019]
As a result, the redundant system can be configured compactly, and the reliability of the array antenna system can be improved.
[0020]
Further, as a redundant system of the failed power supply circuit, the deterioration of the radiation pattern quality can be minimized by switching the failed power supply system according to the contribution degree of each power supply system to the radiation pattern formation.
[0021]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The embodiment of the present invention relates to a feeding circuit of a phased array antenna, and when a feeding circuit connected to a radiating element having a large contribution to the formation of a radiation pattern fails, the failed feeding circuit output is output from the radiating element. By separating the feed circuit output connected to the radiation element that has a relatively small contribution to the radiation pattern formation and connecting to the radiation element having a large contribution to the radiation pattern formation using a matrix switch, The reliability of the satellite-mounted phased array antenna is improved by reforming the radiation pattern without significantly degrading the antenna.
[0022]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that components having the same function are denoted by the same reference symbols throughout the drawings for describing the embodiment of the invention, and the repetitive description thereof is omitted.
[0023]
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of an array antenna system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, an explanation will be given taking an array of three horns as an example. Here, the horn is an abbreviation for a horn antenna, and includes a conical horn, a pyramid horn, an elliptical horn and the like. A radiating element is a superordinate concept of individual antennas that radiate radio waves. In the following description, it may be described as a horn or generally as a radiating element.
[0024]
1, 101a to 101c are first to third horns, 102a to 102c are first to third lines, 103a to 103c are first to third directional couplers, and 104a to 104c are first to third horns. Third amplifiers 105a to 105c are first to third phase / amplitude controllers, 106a to 106c are first to third output level sensors, 107a to 107c are first to third power supply circuits, and 108 is A matrix switch control circuit (control means) 109 is a microwave matrix switch (switch means).
[0025]
As shown in FIG. 1, a first power supply circuit 107 a is connected to the first horn 101 a via a microwave matrix switch 109. Similarly, a second power feeding circuit 107b is connected to the second horn 101b via a microwave matrix switch 109. Similarly, a third power feeding circuit 107 c is connected to the third horn 101 c via a microwave matrix switch 109. The first to third power feeding circuits 107a to 107c include first to third phase / amplitude controllers 105a to 105c, first to third amplifiers 104a to 104c, and first to third directional couplers, respectively. 103a to 103c.
[0026]
The broadcast wave signal is input to the first to third phase / amplitude controllers 105a to 105c of the power feeding circuits 107a to 107c. The microwave matrix switch 109 includes a first line 102a connected to the first horn 101a, a second line 102b connected to the second horn 101b, and a third line 102c connected to the third horn 101c. Consists of. The combined outputs of the first to third directional couplers 103a to 103c are input to the first to third output level sensors 106a to 106c, and then a digital signal corresponding to the level is input to the matrix switch control circuit 108. The control output switches the first to third lines 102 a to 102 c in the microwave matrix switch 109.
[0027]
FIG. 1 shows the state of the microwave matrix switch 109 when the first horn 101a fails. In the present embodiment, when the first to third feeding circuits 107a to 107c connected to the three horns are operating normally, the output of the first directional coupler 103a is transmitted through the first line 102a. Then, it is connected to the first horn 101a. Similarly, the output of the second directional coupler 103b is connected to the second horn 101b via the second line 102b. Similarly, the output of the third directional coupler 103c is connected to the third horn 101c via the third line 102c. As a situation here, it is assumed that the radiated power of the second horn 101b is smaller than that of the first and third horns 101a and 101c. Here, when the first power supply circuit 107a fails, the matrix switch control circuit 108 determines that the output of the second horn 101b is the smallest from the outputs of the first to third output level sensors 106a to 106c, It is determined that the second power feeding circuit 107b is a redundant system. As a result, the second line 102b of the microwave matrix switch 109 is disconnected from the second horn 101b, and the first line 102a is also disconnected from the failed first power supply circuit 107a, and the second power supply circuit 107b. Is connected to the first horn 101a. Further, after switching the power feeding circuit output, the setting value of the first phase / amplitude controller 105a of the first power feeding circuit 107a is set in the second phase / amplitude controller 105b of the second power feeding circuit 107b. And prevent significant degradation of the radiation pattern. It should be noted that the phase / amplitude controllers 105b and 105c of the power supply circuits 101b and 101c are adjusted to the redesigned excitation phase and amplitude so that a desired radiation pattern is obtained after switching the power supply circuit. Can be further reduced.
[0028]
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the microwave matrix switch of the present embodiment. However, FIG. 2A is a diagram when all the power supply circuits are operating normally, and FIG. 2B is a diagram when the second power supply circuit 107b is out of order. In this example, the case of an array antenna system having four horns as a radiating element will be described. However, first to fourth feeding circuits 107a to 107d, first to fourth horns 101a to 101d, and a matrix switch (not shown) The control circuit 108 is similar to the array antenna system shown in FIG.
[0029]
As is clear from FIGS. 2A and 2B, the microwave matrix switch of this embodiment is a known microwave band changeover switch (hereinafter referred to as a switch) that connects two of the four terminals. It is configured by connecting 16 switches in a matrix form. Each of the switches 201a to 201d and 203a to 203l connects the terminal A and the terminal C and connects the terminal B and the terminal D together with the first operation mode indicated by a cross in FIG. And a second operation mode in which the terminal B and the terminal C are connected. Switching of each of the switches 201a to 201d and 203a to 203l is controlled based on a control signal from the matrix switch control circuit.
[0030]
As described above, in the microwave matrix switch according to the present embodiment, the 16 switches 201a to 201d and 203a to 203l are connected in a matrix form so that the outputs of the first to fourth power feeding circuits 107a to 107d are four. Supply to any of the horns 101a to 101d is possible. In the present embodiment, the output of the power supply circuit (for example, the second power supply circuit 107b) determined to be faulty can be connected to any of the termination resistors 202e to 202h, and the first to fourth The terminal resistors 202e to 202h that are not connected to any of the power feeding circuits 107a to 107d are connected to the other terminal resistors 202a to 202d.
[0031]
First, based on FIG. 2A, the operation of the microwave matrix switch of the present embodiment when it is normal, that is, when all the power supply circuits are operating normally will be described.
[0032]
As is clear from FIG. 2A, the switches 201a to 201d have an output from the first power feeding circuit 107a to the first horn 101a and an output from the second power feeding circuit 107b to the second as shown in an enlarged view. The horn 101b is controlled so that the output of the third feeding circuit 107c is connected to the third horn 101c and the output of the fourth feeding circuit 107d is connected to the fourth horn 1d. Other switches (represented by a cross) indicated by 203a to 203l are connected to form a signal path from the top to the bottom and from the left to the right in the drawing (the connection shown at the bottom left in FIG. 2A). Becomes). Termination resistors 202a to 202h are connected as shown in FIG. 2A, and when the phased array antenna is operating normally, the outputs of all the feeding circuits (first to fourth feeding circuits 107a to 107d) are , All are connected to horns (first to fourth horns 101a to 101d).
[0033]
As described above, when all of the first to fourth power supply circuits 107a to 107d are operating normally, the first power supply circuit 107a is used as the first horn 101a and the second power supply circuit 107b is used as the first power supply circuit. The switches 201a to 201d and 203a to 203l are connected to the second horn 101b so that the third feeding circuit 107c is connected to the third horn 101c and the fourth feeding circuit 107d is connected to the fourth horn 101d. Be controlled.
[0034]
For example, in the path where the power supply signal output from the first power supply circuit 107a is supplied to the first horn 101a, the output of the first power supply circuit 107a is first input to the A terminal of the switch 201a in the second operation mode. The power supply signal is output from the D terminal. The power supply signal output from the D terminal of the switch 201a is input to the B terminal of the switch 203a in the first operation mode and output from the D terminal. The power feeding signal output from the D terminal of the switch 203a is input to the B terminal of the switch 203b in the first operation mode and output from the D terminal. The power supply signal output from the D terminal of the switch 203b is input to the B terminal of the switch 203c in the first operation mode, and is supplied to the first horn 101a connected to the D terminal. The power supply signals output from the other power supply circuits 107b to 107d are also supplied to the second to fourth horns 101b to 101d, respectively, in the same manner as described above.
[0035]
At this time, since the switch 201a is in the second operation mode, the termination resistor 202a is connected to the C terminal of the switch 201a via the B terminal. Here, since the switches 203d, 203g, and 203j are each in the first operation mode, the A terminal and the C terminal of the switches 203d, 203g, and 203j are connected. Therefore, the termination resistor 202a and the termination resistor 202e are connected, and the potential of this signal line is fixed to the ground. Note that the signal lines to which the other termination resistors 202b to 202d and 202f to 202h are connected are also fixed to the ground as described above.
[0036]
Next, based on FIG. 2B, the operation of the microwave matrix switch of the present embodiment at the time of failure, that is, when a failure occurs in the power feeding circuit will be described. In the following description, a case where a failure occurs in the second power feeding circuit 107b will be described, but the same operation is performed when any of the first to fourth power feeding circuits 107a to 107d fails. Further, in the following description, among the currently operating power supply circuits (first, third, and fourth power supply circuits 107a, 107c, and 107d) that are operating normally, the power supply circuit having the smallest output power (the first power supply circuit). The power supply circuit 107a) is used in place of the failed power supply circuit (second power supply circuit 107b), but the present invention is not limited to this. It goes without saying that the influence on the radiation pattern can also be suppressed by selecting a power feeding circuit to be used instead of the failed power feeding circuit in accordance with the contribution to the radiation pattern.
[0037]
As apparent from FIG. 2B, when the second power supply circuit 107b fails, the switch 201b connected to the second horn 101b becomes a cross, and the output of the failed second power supply circuit 107b is It is terminated by a termination resistor 202f. At the same time, the first horn 101a determined to have the lowest output power is disconnected from the first power supply circuit 107a, and the switch 203d connects the second horn 101b from the cross to the first power supply circuit 107a. Operate. At this time, the input of the first horn 101a is terminated by the termination resistor 202a. As a result, as the phased array antenna, the first feeding circuit 107a is connected to the second horn 101b, the third feeding circuit 107c is connected to the third horn 101c, and the fourth feeding circuit 107d is connected to the fourth horn 101d. Each is connected to recreate the radiation pattern.
[0038]
Thus, when the second power supply circuit 107b fails from the state shown in FIG. 2A (a state where all the power supply circuits are operating normally), the failed second power supply circuit 107b is The first horn 101a is disconnected from the power supply circuit, for example, the first power supply circuit 107a, which is disconnected from the second horn 101b and supplies the excitation power to the horn having the smallest output power. The feeding circuit 107a is controlled to be connected to the second horn 101b. Then, in order to set the set value set in the second feed circuit 107b in the first feed circuit 107a, the set value of the beam forming circuit (not shown) is updated, and the second horn 101b is damaged. Excitation power having the same output as the excitation power supplied by the second power supply circuit 107b is supplied.
[0039]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be further described.
For example, in the satellite-mounted phased array antenna shown in FIG. 8, when the radiation pattern covering the service area is formed, the excitation power distribution of the horn array 801 decreases in a tapered manner from the array center to the periphery. The radiating elements arranged in (1) have a larger contribution to the radiation pattern formation. In addition, the horn arranged in the peripheral portion of the horn array 801 generally contributes to suppression of the side rope level in the radiation pattern.
[0040]
FIG. 3 shows the excitation power distribution of the feeding horn array when the radiant power of only the rainfall area 701 (here, Tokyo, see FIG. 7) is increased while irradiating the clear sky area of the service area (Japan) with uniform radiated power. It is. The number of feeding horns is 173, the horn with the highest power value is shown in red, and the power values are shown in orange, yellow, green, and blue as the power value decreases. In addition, although color is not displayed in FIG. 3 attached to this specification, in the original of FIG. 3, many red horns are distributed in the central part, and many blue horns are distributed in the peripheral part ( The same applies to FIGS. 5B and 6B described later). It can be seen from FIG. 3 that the excitation power of the feeding horn array is larger for the radiating element at the center of the array and contributes greatly to the radiation pattern formation. In addition, the radiating elements in the periphery of the array contribute to the suppression of the side rope while the power level is small. For example, when the rain region 701 in FIG. 7 moves from Tokyo to other regions, according to the movement, It is also conceivable that the power of a specific radiating element in the peripheral portion increases by about 5 dB. However, most of the radiating elements in the central part of the array are yellow to red and contribute to the formation of the radiation pattern, whereas all the radiating elements in the peripheral part do not contribute to the formation of the radiation pattern. FIG. 4 shows an example in which a radiation pattern is formed using a 10-meter reflector with the excitation power distribution shown in FIG. A target radiation pattern (a clear sky region 401, a rain region 402) is formed along the shape of Japan. Since the design method of the radiation pattern here is described in detail in Non-Patent Document 2, it is omitted here.
[0041]
In such a satellite-mounted phased array antenna system, if an active element (active system) such as an amplifier (power amplifier) connected to the horn at the center of the array fails, it affects the formation of the radiation pattern and causes a clear sky. Effects such as inability to irradiate the service area with uniform radiant power. For example, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), when a feeding circuit connected to the radiating element indicated by a white circle ○ 502 out of the feeding circuits that feeds excitation power to the radiating element in the center, As shown in FIG. 5A, a level drop occurs in the clear sky region 501 indicated by the dotted line, and it becomes difficult to irradiate with uniform power. In particular, when a failure of the power feeding circuit component occurs in a power feeding circuit connected to a radiation element that greatly contributes to radiation pattern formation, the radiation pattern quality is significantly degraded. In order to solve this, according to the prior art, a method of duplicating the feeding circuit can be considered, but it is necessary to prepare an enormous number of redundant systems, and the array antenna has a radiating element spacing of about the wavelength. Since the radiating elements are arranged, it is difficult to mount the feeding system. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, a redundant system can be configured compactly by using a matrix switch.
[0042]
FIG. 6A is an example of the radiation pattern according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6B is an example of the excitation power distribution of the feeding horn according to the embodiment of the present invention.
[0043]
In the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6B is a radiating element that contributes little to the radiation pattern when a power supply circuit that supplies excitation power to the central radiating element indicated by 502 in FIG. ) Is used to supply the excitation power to the central radiation element indicated by 502 in FIG. 6B. As a result, a radiation pattern is formed without using the radiation element indicated by the white circle 602 in FIG. Since the radiation pattern indicated by the white circle 602 is not used, the radiation pattern is expected to deteriorate. However, a power supply circuit that supplies excitation power to the radiation element indicated by the white circle 602 that is the peripheral radiation element having the lowest power level is used as a redundant system. Since it is used, as shown in FIG. 6A, the side lobe indicated by 601 is only slightly disturbed, and the radiation pattern hardly deteriorates. That is, among the horns that contribute to the formation of the radiation pattern, the output of the peripheral horn with the lowest power level is only stopped, so that the radiation pattern hardly deteriorates.
[0044]
As described above, the embodiment of the present invention is a power supply circuit that is connected to a radiation element that has a relatively small contribution to the formation of a radiation pattern when a power supply circuit for the radiation element that has a large contribution to the formation of the radiation pattern has failed. Is switched to a radiation element having a large contribution to the radiation pattern shaping using a microwave matrix switch, thereby preventing a significant deterioration of the radiation pattern. Here, the distinction between “large contribution” and “small contribution” to the radiation pattern can be determined only by the locational difference between the central portion and the peripheral portion of the horn array 801, but in order to make a more accurate determination. In addition, the output of a directional coupler incorporated in the output section of an amplifier (power amplifier) in each feed line is monitored by an output level sensor or the like. Note that the microwave matrix switch can be constituted by a component generally used in a microwave circuit or the like.
[0045]
In the phased array antenna system according to the embodiment of the present invention, the switching circuit between the faulty and redundant power supply circuit outputs is configured by a matrix circuit composed of microwave switches, and the matrix circuit has a faulty power supply circuit output. Both the input of the horn connected to the faulty power supply circuit and the termination resistor are terminated simultaneously with the switching operation.
[0046]
Further, in the phased array antenna system according to the embodiment of the present invention, even when a failure occurs in a plurality of power feeding circuits, the power feeding circuit connected to the radiating element of the phased array antenna is sequentially output from the power feeding circuit with the smallest output. By making a redundant system at the time of failure, a separate standby power supply circuit is not required.
[0047]
According to the present embodiment described above, even when a failure occurs in the power feeding circuit connected to the horn that greatly contributes to the formation of the radiation pattern, it is possible to prevent the deterioration of the radiation pattern quality.
[0048]
Further, in the present embodiment, since the active power feeding circuit is used for the redundant power feeding circuit, a special redundant power feeding circuit is not required, so the scale of the power feeding unit can be reduced. Thus, the cost of the array antenna system can be reduced.
[0049]
Furthermore, since a special redundant power supply circuit is not required, the scale of the power supply unit can be reduced, and an increase in weight, which is an important element of the satellite-mounted array antenna system, can be suppressed.
[0050]
In addition, in the array antenna system of this Embodiment, although the case of the phased array antenna was demonstrated, it is not limited to this.
[0051]
Further, in the array antenna system of the present embodiment, a configuration is used in which excitation power is supplied to the horn connected to the failed power supply circuit using another active power supply circuit whose output is smaller than that of the failed power supply circuit. However, it goes without saying that the radiation pattern may need to be redesigned when the number of failed power supply circuits increases.
[0052]
Furthermore, the array antenna system according to the present embodiment is configured to include a microwave matrix switch that can arbitrarily set a combination of a feeding circuit and a horn. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. Reduce the circuit scale of the microwave matrix switch by limiting the combination of the circuit and the horn, and replacing the failed power supply circuit with the current power supply circuit in this limited combination. Can do.
[0053]
The invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiment of the invention, but the invention is not limited to the embodiment of the invention and does not depart from the gist of the invention. Of course, various changes can be made.
[0054]
【The invention's effect】
The effects obtained by the representative ones of the inventions disclosed in the present application will be briefly described as follows.
[0055]
It is not necessary to provide a separate redundant system in addition to the active system, and a redundant system can be formed with a simple configuration in an array antenna where it is difficult to install a standby power supply circuit such as multiplexing of power supply systems. Reliability can be improved.
[0056]
Further, since the redundant system is not required, the scale of the power feeding circuit is reduced, and the cost can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of an array antenna system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a microwave matrix switch according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a photograph of a simulation result showing an example of an excitation power distribution of the primary power supply array when the radiated power only in a rainy region is increased.
4 is a diagram of a radiation pattern in the excitation power distribution shown in FIG.
FIG. 5 is a photograph of a simulation result for explaining a radiation pattern and an excitation power distribution when a power feeding circuit fails.
FIG. 6 is a photograph of a simulation result for explaining a radiation pattern and an excitation power distribution when a failed feeder circuit is applied by applying the present invention to another active feeder circuit.
FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of rain attenuation compensation by a satellite-mounted phased array antenna covering Japan.
FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of a reflector type phased array antenna mounted on a broadcasting satellite.
[Explanation of symbols]
101a to 101d ... 1st to 4th horn
102a-102c ... 1st-3rd track | line
103a to 103b ... first to third directional couplers
104a to 104c ... first to third amplifiers
105a to 105c: first to third phase / amplitude controllers
106a to 106c: first to third output level sensors
107a to 107d ... 1st to 4th power supply circuits
108: Matrix switch control circuit
109 ... Microwave matrix switch
201a-201d, 203a-203l ... switch
202a to 202h ... Terminal resistance
801 ... Horn array
802 ... Reflector

Claims (4)

A plurality of power supply circuits for supplying excitation power to each of the plurality of radiating elements;
And switching means for switching the connection of the plurality pieces of radiating elements and the plurality pieces of the feeder circuit,
When an arbitrary power supply circuit of the plurality of power supply circuits fails, the failed power supply circuit is disconnected from the radiating element and used instead of the failed power supply circuit selected from the plurality of power supply circuits. Control means for controlling the switch means to connect a feed circuit to the disconnected radiating element;
Equipped with a,
An array antenna power supply apparatus , wherein a power supply circuit having an output smaller than that of the failed power supply circuit is selected as a power supply circuit used in place of the failed power supply circuit . 2. The array antenna feeding device according to claim 1, wherein after the feeding circuit is switched, the phase and / or amplitude of feeding to the radiating element is controlled so that the radiating element radiates a desired radiation pattern. A featured array antenna feeder. 3. The array antenna power supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the switch means is a microwave matrix switch. A plurality of radiating elements;
A plurality of power supply circuits for supplying excitation power to each of the plurality of radiating elements;
And switching means for switching the connection of the plurality pieces of radiating elements and the plurality pieces of the feeder circuit,
When an arbitrary power supply circuit of the plurality of power supply circuits fails, the failed power supply circuit is disconnected from the radiating element and used instead of the failed power supply circuit selected from the plurality of power supply circuits. Control means for controlling the switch means to connect a feed circuit to the disconnected radiating element;
Equipped with a,
An array antenna system , wherein a power feeding circuit having an output smaller than that of the faulty power feeding circuit is selected as a power feeding circuit used in place of the faulty power feeding circuit .

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