JP5747442B2 - TRACKING DEVICE, TRACKING METHOD, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a tracking device, a tracking method, and a computer program that receive a response signal transmitted from a transponder of a flying object such as an aircraft and track the antenna angle of the flying object based on the radio field intensity.

  When controlling an aircraft, etc., a flying object is equipped with a transponder, a question signal is transmitted from the ground antenna to the flying object, a response signal transmitted from the flying object's transponder is received, and the radio wave intensity is In addition, a deviation angle (error angle) between the direction of the directional antenna on the ground and the direction of the flying object is calculated, and the antenna angle is tracked by the flying object (for example, Patent Document 1).

  6 and 7 are explanatory diagrams of the outline of such a tracking control system. In FIG. 6, a response signal is transmitted from the transponder of the flying object 102 in response to the interrogation signal from the directional antenna 101 on the ground. This response signal is received by the antenna 101.

  As shown in FIG. 7, a receiver 105 is provided on the ground. The receiver 105 determines the direct distance between the antenna 101 and the flying object 102, the altitude of the flying object 102, the straight line connecting the antenna 101 and the flying object 102, and the actual antenna 101 from the received signal from the flying object 102. An error angle indicating a deviation from the direction is acquired. The error angle includes an AZ (azimuth angle) error angle and an EL (elevation angle) error angle. The AZ error angle is the sum of the radio field intensity of the upper left area A and the radio field intensity of the lower left area C (A + C) in the antenna area divided into four in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction, and the upper right area B. This signal is based on the difference ((A + C) − (B + D)) between the radio wave intensity and the sum (B + D) of the radio wave intensity in the lower right region D. The EL error angle is the sum of the radio field intensity of the upper left area A and the radio field intensity of the upper right area B (A + B), the radio field intensity of the lower left area C, and the radio field intensity of the lower right area D. It is a signal based on the difference ((A + B) − (C + D)) from the sum (C + D).

  The error angle acquired by the receiver 105 is supplied to the control device 106. Based on the error angle, the control device 106 controls the position of the antenna 101 so as to follow the position of the flying object 102 by PID (Proportional Integral Difference) control.

JP-A-4-236387

  As described above, in the example shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the direction of the antenna 101 is tracked by the flying object 102 from the error angle from the receiver 105 by PID control. However, in this case, if the sampling rate of the error angle is low, the control band is not stable unless it is set to about 1/2 to 1/10 thereof. Further, if the error angle includes a lot of noise components, it is necessary to secure a stable region by reducing the band by that amount. For this reason, there are cases where it is not possible to track a flying object or the like passing through the vicinity at high speed. In addition, in order to increase the sampling rate of the entire system, it is necessary to perform high-speed processing for each component, which may increase the price.

  In view of the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a tracking device, a tracking method, and a computer program capable of high-precision tracking without increasing the sampling rate.

In order to solve the above-described problem, a tracking device according to the present invention is a tracking device having an antenna that tracks a flying object, and a receiver that receives a response signal transmitted from a transponder of the flying object; A position estimator that estimates the position of the flying object after a predetermined time using the current position of the flying object based on the response signal received by the receiver; and the estimated value after the predetermined time has elapsed. An angle calculator that sets a target value of the angle of the antenna based on the position of the flying object, and a control filter having a faster time constant as the linear distance is shorter with respect to the output of the angle calculator. And a predictive compensator that provides compensation characteristics using control filters corresponding to the control direction and the horizontal control direction, respectively .

The tracking method according to the present invention includes a step in which a tracking device having an antenna that tracks a flying object receives a response signal transmitted from a transponder of the flying object, and the response signal received by the receiver Estimating the position of the flying object after a predetermined time using the current position of the flying object, and a target value of the antenna angle based on the estimated position of the flying object after the predetermined time has elapsed Among the control filters having different time constants with respect to the output of the angle calculator, the control filter having a faster time constant as the linear distance is shorter, and the vertical control direction and the horizontal control direction of the antenna. Selecting a control filter corresponding to each of them and providing a compensation characteristic using the control filter.

The computer program according to the present invention includes a process of receiving a response signal transmitted from a transponder of the flying object in a tracking device having an antenna that tracks the flying object, and the response signal received by the receiver. A process for estimating the position of the flying object after the elapse of a predetermined time using the current position of the flying object, and a target value of the antenna angle based on the estimated position of the flying object after the elapse of the predetermined time Among the control filters having different time constants with respect to the output of the angle calculator, the control filter having a faster time constant as the linear distance is shorter, and the vertical control direction and the horizontal control direction of the antenna. The control filter corresponding to each is selected, and the process which provides a compensation characteristic using the said control filter is performed.

  According to the present invention, the position of the flying object at the next time is estimated, the AZ angle and EL angle of the antenna at the next time are calculated from the position of the flying object at the next time, and the direction of the antenna is controlled. Yes. For this reason, high-accuracy tracking can be performed without increasing the sampling rate. Further, according to the present invention, since it is not necessary to set the system timing to a high band in order to improve the response characteristics, it is possible to construct an inexpensive system.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a control block diagram of the 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing of calculation of Z coordinate. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the outline | summary of a tracking control system. It is explanatory drawing of the outline | summary of a tracking control system.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, a receiver 11 receives a response signal transmitted from a flying object transponder, and acquires aircraft information, direct distance, and error angle (AZ error angle and EL error angle) of the flying object.

  The control device 21 includes a coordinate calculator 22, a position estimator 23, an angle calculator 24, a prediction compensator 25, and a direct distance adaptive control compensation selector 26. The coordinate calculator 22 calculates the position coordinates of the flying object at the current time from the straight distance acquired from the receiver 11, the error angle, and the machine information.

  The position estimator 23 estimates the position coordinates of the flying object at the next time from the position coordinates of the flying object at the current time calculated by the coordinate calculator 22. The position estimation is estimated based on the state equation in consideration of the position coordinates of the flying object at the current time, the movement of the flying object, and the behavior of the antenna.

  The angle calculator 24 calculates the target value of the antenna angle at the next time based on the position coordinates of the flying object at the next time calculated by the position estimator 23. The output of the angle calculator 24 is supplied to the actuator of the antenna 31 after compensating the response characteristic via the prediction compensator 25.

  The predictive compensator 25 is provided with a plurality of types of characteristics. The direct distance adaptive control compensation selector 26 selects the characteristics of the prediction compensator 25 based on the direct distance acquired from the receiver 11. That is, the direct distance adaptive control compensation selector 26 selects a high-band control filter at a short distance where the antenna angular velocity is required to speed up response characteristics, and selects a low-band control filter at a long distance. To stabilize the response characteristics.

  Thus, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the coordinate calculator 22 of the control device 21 calculates the position coordinates of the flying object at the current time, and the position estimator 23 calculates the position coordinates of the flying object at the next time. The angle calculator 24 calculates an estimated value of the antenna angle at the next time. Then, the direction of the antenna 31 is controlled using the estimated angle of the antenna at the next time as a target value. Thus, in the first embodiment of the present invention, since the position of the flying object at the next time is estimated and the direction of the antenna 31 is controlled, high-accuracy tracking can be performed without increasing the sampling rate. It becomes possible.

  FIG. 2 shows a control block diagram of the first embodiment of the present invention. The calculation of each part of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the control block diagram of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the coordinate calculator 22 calculates the position coordinates of the flying object at the current time, and the position estimator 23 calculates the position coordinates of the flying object at the next time. The angle calculator 24 calculates the estimated value of the antenna angle at the next time based on the position coordinates of the flying object at the next time.

  In FIG. 2, a calculation block 52 is a calculation block for realizing the coordinate calculator 22 in FIG. The calculation block 51 calculates the position coordinates of the flying object at the current time in the fixed earth coordinate system by inputting the information on the direct distance, the AZ error angle, and the altitude by the following calculation formula.

In the equation (1), the position coordinates of the flying object are (x _mono , y _mono , z _mono ), and the position coordinates of the antenna are the origin (x ₀ , y ₀ , z ₀ ). rng (k) is the direct distance from the antenna to the flying object at the current time k. ψ is the AZ angle of the antenna, and θ is the EL angle of the antenna. The AZ angle ψ (k) at time k is calculated by adding the value AZerr (k) of the AZ error angle at time k from the receiver 11 and the current value of the AZ angle of the antenna by the adder 51 in FIG. (AZ angle: ψ = AZerr (k) + AZ). The installation angle correction value is a fixed value. The EL angle θ (k) at time k is calculated from the coordinate z (k) and the direct distance rng (k) as follows.

  Note that, similarly to the AZ angle, the EL angle is also based on the sum of the EL error angle value ELerr (k) at time k and the current value of the EL angle of the antenna (EL angle: θ = ELerr (k) + EL). You may get it.

  R is the radius of the earth (R = 6,378,136m), h is the altitude of the flying object, r is the position of the plane coordinate system

It is.

  The Z coordinate is calculated in consideration of an error caused by the roundness of the earth. FIG. 3 illustrates the calculation of the Z coordinate. Thereby, the Z coordinate is obtained as follows.

  In FIG. 2, a calculation block 53 corresponds to the position estimator 23 in FIG. 1, and the position of the flying object at the next time (k + 1) is calculated from the position coordinates of the flying object at the time k by the following calculation. Predict and estimate coordinates.

  That is, the position coordinates of the flying object at time k are P (k), the velocity of the flying object at time k is V (k), and the acceleration of the flying object at time k is A (k) as follows: Let's express.

  From the position coordinates P (k) of the flying object at the time k, the velocity V (k) of the flying object at the time k, and the acceleration A (k) of the flying object at the time k are defined as follows.

この場合、現時刻からΔＴ後の時刻（ｋ＋１）での飛翔体の位置（ｘ（ｋ＋１），ｙ（ｋ＋１），ｚ（ｋ＋１））及び速度（ｖ_ｘ（ｋ＋１），ｖ_ｙ（ｋ＋１），ｖ_ｚ（ｋ＋１））は、以下のような運動方程式で表現することができる。ここで、飛翔体の運動による速度と、アンテナの挙動による速度とが含まれる。

In this case, the position (x (k + 1), y (k + 1), z (k + 1)) and speed (v _x (k + 1), v _y (k + 1), v _z (k + 1)) can be expressed by the following equation of motion. Here, the velocity due to the movement of the flying object and the velocity due to the behavior of the antenna are included.

  When the state equation and the observation equation at the next time (k + 1) are created based on the above information, the equation (2) is obtained.

  In equation (2), the matrix D, matrix F, matrix G, and matrix H are expressed as follows. Wk and Vk are noises.

  As described above, the position of the flying object at the next time (k + 1) can be predicted and estimated using Expression (2).

  The calculation block 54 corresponds to the angle calculator 24 in FIG. 1, and calculates the AZ angle ψ and the EL angle θ of the antenna from the position coordinates of the flying object at the estimated next time (k + 1). The AZ angle ψ and the EL angle θ can be calculated by the equation (3).

  The control filter 55 corresponds to the prediction compensator 25 in FIG. As the control filter 55, there are a filter for AZ and a filter for EL, and a filter for short distance and a filter for long distance, respectively. For short distances, the stability is small but the response is fast. For long distance use, the response is slow but the stability is good. In the examples for AZ and EL, a primary filter as shown in Equation (4) is used.

  The determination block 56 corresponds to the direct distance adaptive control compensation selector 26 in FIG. 1, and determines the characteristics of the control filter 55 from the direct distance rng (k). That is, when the direct distance is short, the determination block 56 uses a high-band characteristic as the control filter 55 to speed up the response, and when the direct distance is long, the control filter 55 has a low-band characteristic. Use things to improve stability.

  The gimbal motor 57 corresponds to an actuator that rotates the antenna in the AZ direction and the EL direction. The AZ angle ψ and the EL angle θ of the antenna at the next time (k + 1) obtained by the calculation block 54 are supplied to the gimbal motor 57 via the control filter 55, and are used as target values for the AZ direction and EL of the antenna. The position of the direction is controlled.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4, the control device 21 inputs information on the direct distance, the AZ error angle, and the altitude (step S1). When the information on the direct distance, the AZ error angle, and the altitude is input, the control device 21 performs the monopulse estimation process (steps S2 to S7) and the compensator selection process (steps S8 to S10) in parallel. Do it.

  That is, in the monopulse estimation process, the control device 21 performs the abnormal value process (step S2), and then performs the calculation shown in the equation (1) based on the input direct distance, the AZ error angle, and the altitude. The position coordinates of the flying object at time k are obtained (step S3).

  The abnormal value process in step S2 is a process in the case of a value that is impossible for the position of the flying object or a value that is significantly different from the previous value. In this case, pre-hold and interpolation processing are performed.

  Next, the control device 21 estimates the position of the flying object at the next time (k + 1) based on the state equation shown in the equation (2) (step S4). Then, the control device 21 outputs the position coordinates of the flying object at the next time (k + 1) (step S5).

  Next, the control device 21 estimates the AZ angle ψ and EL angle θ of the antenna at the next time (k + 1) from the position of the flying object at the next time (k + 1) by the calculation shown in the equation (3) ( Step S6). Then, the control device 21 outputs the AZ angle ψ and the EL angle θ of the antenna at the next time (k + 1) (step S7).

  In parallel with the processing of step S2 to step S7, the control device 21 determines whether the direct distance is equal to or greater than a predetermined value after step S1 (step S8). The control device 21 selects the long-distance filter characteristic when the direct distance is equal to or greater than the predetermined value (step S9), and selects the short-distance filter characteristic when the direct distance is less than the predetermined value. Select (step S10). The filter characteristic is, for example, a characteristic as shown in the equation (4). Here, two types of characteristics are selected depending on whether or not the direct distance is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. However, the determination of the direct distance is branched into a plurality of conditions so that the filter characteristics can be further selected. good.

  When the filter characteristics are set in step S9 and step S10, the control device 21 applies the filter characteristics set in step S9 and step S10 to the AZ angle ψ and EL angle θ of the antenna output in step S7. (Step S11), the AZ angle ψ (k + 1) and the EL angle θ (k + 1) of the antenna subjected to the filter processing are output as target angles (Step S12). The antenna actuator sets the AZ angle and EL angle of the antenna using this as a target value.

  As described above, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the position of the flying object at the next time is estimated, and the AZ angle ψ and EL angle of the antenna at the next time are calculated from the position of the flying object at the next time. θ is calculated and the antenna position is controlled. In the first embodiment of the present invention, the filter characteristics are set according to the direct distance to the flying object. For this reason, high-accuracy tracking can be performed without increasing the sampling rate. In the above description, the position of the flying object at one time ahead is estimated and controlled. However, the position of the flying object at two times ahead or further is estimated and controlled. You may make it do.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing of the second embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is a combination of the above-described monopulse estimation processing based on the next time estimated value and processing based on the next time estimated value based on GPS (Global Positioning System).

  That is, as described above, the position of the flying object can be obtained from the straight distance obtained from the receiver 11, the error angle, and the machine information, and can be obtained by GPS.

  In FIG. 5, the control device 21 confirms the previous algorithm (step S101). Here, the algorithm is to determine the position of the flying object at the current time from the direct distance acquired from the receiver 11, the error angle, and the aircraft information, and estimate the position of the flying object at the next time, An algorithm for estimating the AZ angle ψ and EL angle θ of the antenna at the next time (hereinafter referred to as a monopulse estimation algorithm) and the position of the flying object at the current time are obtained from the GPS, and the position of the flying object at the next time is estimated. And an algorithm for estimating the AZ angle ψ and the EL angle θ of the antenna at the next time (hereinafter, a GPS estimation algorithm).

  Next, the control device 21 determines whether or not an estimated value has been output by the same algorithm at least a predetermined number of times (step S102). If the output of the estimated value in the same algorithm is less than the predetermined number of times, the control device 21 performs estimation using the same algorithm as the previous time (step S103) and designates the AZ angle ψ (k + 1) and EL angle θ (k + 1) of the antenna. It outputs as an angle (step S104).

  If the output of the estimated value in the same algorithm is equal to or greater than the predetermined number in step S102, the control device 21 checks the AGC (Automatic Gain Control) level and the GPS index (step S105), and determines whether the AGC level is equal to or higher than the predetermined level. Is determined (step S106).

  If the AGC level is equal to or higher than the predetermined level in step S106, the estimated values of the AZ angle ψ (k + 1) and EL angle θ (k + 1) of the antenna are obtained by the monopulse estimation algorithm (step S107). The filter characteristics for EL are adaptively selected (step S108), and the AZ angle ψ (k + 1) and EL angle θ (k + 1) of the antenna are output as specified angles (step S104).

  If the AGC level is lower than the predetermined level in step S106, the control device 21 determines whether the GPS index is reliable (step S109). If the GPS index is reliable, the estimated values of the AZ angle ψ (k + 1) and EL angle θ (k + 1) of the antenna are obtained by the GPS estimation algorithm (step S110), and the AZ angle ψ (k + 1) and EL angle θ (k + 1) of the antenna are obtained. Is output as the designated angle (step S104).

  If the GPS index is not reliable in step S109, the control device 21 performs an automatic search process after a predetermined time result (step S111). At this time, the control device 21 sets the target value from the AZ angle and the EL angle calculated last to the maximum angle where the flying object may exist, and searches for the position of the flying object.

  As described above, in the second embodiment of the present invention, when the reception state of the signal from the flying object is good, the current distance from the receiver 11, the error angle, and the body information are obtained. The position of the flying object at the time is obtained, the position of the flying object at the next time is estimated, and the AZ angle ψ and EL angle θ of the antenna at the next time are calculated. The position of the flying object at the current time is acquired, the position of the flying object at the next time is estimated, and the AZ angle ψ and EL angle θ of the antenna at the next time are calculated. Thereby, even when the reception state of the signal from the flying object is not good, the antenna can be tracked by the flying object.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and applications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

11: Receiver 21: Controller 22: Coordinate calculator 23: Position estimator 24: Angle calculator 25: Predictive compensator 26: Direct distance adaptive control compensation selector 31: Antenna

Claims (6)

A tracking device having an antenna for tracking a flying object,
A receiver for receiving a response signal transmitted from the flying object transponder;
A position estimator that estimates the position of the flying object after a predetermined time using the current position of the flying object based on the response signal received by the receiver;
An angle calculator that sets a target value of the angle of the antenna based on the position of the flying object after the estimated predetermined time has elapsed;
A control filter having a faster time constant as the linear distance between the flying object and the antenna based on the response signal is shorter with respect to the output of the angle calculator, and corresponds to the vertical control direction and the horizontal control direction of the antenna, respectively. A predictive compensator that provides compensation characteristics using a control filter ;
A tracking device comprising: 2. The selector according to claim 1, further comprising: a selector that selects one of the control filters having different time constants depending on the linear distance and having a faster time constant as the linear distance is shorter. Tracking device. The position estimator further acquires the position coordinates of the flying object at the current time by GPS,
The position of the flying object after elapse of the predetermined time is estimated using the current position coordinates of the flying object acquired by the GPS when the reception state of the response signal is not equal to or greater than a predetermined value. Item 3. The tracking device according to Item 2. The position estimator is
Estimating the position of the flying object after a predetermined time using the current position of the flying object based on the response signal;
Estimation of the position of the flying object after the predetermined time has elapsed using the current position coordinates of the flying object acquired by the GPS;
4. The tracking device according to claim 3, wherein it is determined whether any of the above estimations has been performed in the previous process, and the reception state of the response signal is determined when the estimation is performed a predetermined number of times or more. A tracking device having an antenna for tracking a flying object
Receiving a response signal transmitted from the flying object transponder;
Estimating the position of the flying object after a predetermined time using the current position of the flying object based on the response signal received by the receiver;
Setting a target value of the antenna angle based on the estimated position of the flying object after the elapse of the predetermined time;
Wherein among the time constant to the output of the angle calculator is different control filter, the vertical of the a control filter time constant linear distance is earlier shorter of the said flying object based on the response signal antenna antenna Selecting a control filter corresponding to each of the control direction and the horizontal control direction, and providing a compensation characteristic using the control filter;
A tracking method characterized by comprising: To the tracking device with the antenna that tracks the flying object,
A process of receiving a response signal transmitted from the projectile transponder;
A process of estimating the position of the flying object after a predetermined time using the current position of the flying object based on the response signal received by the receiver;
A process of setting a target value of the antenna angle based on the position of the flying object after the estimated predetermined time has elapsed;
Wherein among the time constant to the output of the angle calculator is different control filter, the vertical of the a control filter time constant linear distance is earlier shorter of the said flying object based on the response signal antenna antenna A process of selecting a control filter corresponding to each of the control direction and the horizontal control direction and providing a compensation characteristic using the control filter;
A computer program that executes

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