JP5921337B2 - Receiving antenna device - Google Patents

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a receiving antenna device used in, for example, a radar device and a radio wave receiving system.

  In recent years, depletion of frequency resources has become a social problem, and the importance of techniques for improving frequency utilization efficiency and techniques for avoiding interference with other signals is increasing. In order to solve this problem, reception filters have been developed that take advantage of the characteristics of high-frequency resistance with low loss that high-temperature superconductors have. As a result, steep filter characteristics with low loss can be realized in the high frequency band, so that the frequency utilization efficiency can be improved and the frequency resources can be effectively used.

JP 2000-236206 A

  However, in the development of a high-sensitivity antenna device incorporating the reception filter as described above, a cooling means for cooling the reception filter to a temperature at which it becomes a superconducting state and a heat insulation for blocking heat intrusion from the outside Requires a container. In addition, as a configuration, an antenna element and a feed line connected to the antenna element are required, and a connector for connecting these to the receiving circuit needs to be installed in the heat insulating container. Furthermore, when a coaxial connector is used as the connector, it is necessary to adopt an airtight one. Due to such a configuration, the structure of the antenna device is complicated, large, and expensive.

  An object of the present embodiment is to provide a receiving antenna device capable of realizing simplification and downsizing of the device structure while improving reception sensitivity.

The receiving antenna device according to the present embodiment includes a waveguide antenna that receives radio waves with an open end of the waveguide as an opening surface, a receiving circuit that processes a reception signal input from the waveguide antenna, and the reception A cooling means for cooling the circuit; and a heat insulating container for accommodating the waveguide antenna and the receiving circuit so as to block heat intrusion from the outside . The waveguide antenna has a dielectric inside the waveguide. Filled with body .

The block diagram which shows the structure of the receiving antenna apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. Sectional drawing of the vacuum vessel of the receiving antenna apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows the structural example of the waveguide of the receiving antenna apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows the other structural example of the waveguide of the receiving antenna apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. Sectional drawing of the vacuum vessel of the receiving antenna apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. Sectional drawing of the vacuum vessel of the receiving antenna apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. Sectional drawing of the vacuum vessel of the receiving antenna apparatus which concerns on 4th Embodiment. Sectional drawing of the vacuum vessel of the receiving antenna apparatus which concerns on 5th Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the structure of the receiving antenna apparatus which concerns on 6th Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the structure of the receiving antenna apparatus which concerns on 7th Embodiment. Sectional drawing of the vacuum vessel of the receiving antenna apparatus which concerns on 7th Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, the receiving antenna apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a receiving antenna device according to the first embodiment.

  The receiving antenna device according to the first embodiment includes waveguide antennas 1-1 to 1-n, receiving filters 2-1 to 2-n, limiters 3-1 to 3-n, and a low noise amplifier (LNA). Amplifier) 4-1 to 4 -n, phase shifters 5-1 to 5 -n, and a combiner 10. Further, this receiving antenna device accommodates the waveguide antennas 1-1 to 1-n, the receiving filters 2-1 to 2-n, the limiters 3-1 to 3-n, and the LNAs 4-1 to 4-n. For example, a vacuum container 11 is provided as a heat insulating container for blocking heat intrusion from the outside.

  The reception signals input from the respective waveguide antennas 1-1 to 1-n are selected in a desired band by the reception filters 2-1 to 2-n, and the limiters 3-1 to 3-n. After the inflow of unnecessary energy radio waves is prevented, the signals are amplified by the LNAs 4-1 to 4-n. The phase shifters 5-1 to 5 -n control the received signals amplified by the LNAs 4-1 to 4 -n to a desired phase and input the signals to the combiner 10. The combiner 10 combines the signals from the phase shifters 5-1 to 5-n and outputs the combined signals as reception beams.

  In FIG. 1, when beam scanning is not performed, phase shifters 5-1 to 5-n are not included. Moreover, it is good also as a structure except the limiters 3-1 to 3-n, or having replaced the reception filters 2-1 to 2-n and the limiters 3-1 to 3-n. Furthermore, as n = 1 (when the antenna has one configuration), the phase shifters 5-1 to 5-n and the combiner 10 may not be included.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a vacuum vessel containing a waveguide antenna, a reception filter, a limiter, and an LNA. The feed line connecting the reception filters 2-1 to 2-n, the limiters 3-1 to 3-n and the LNAs 4-1 to 4-n in the vacuum vessel 11 and the reception filters 2-1 to 2-n are superconductive. These are made of a material, and are cooled to a cryogenic temperature that is in a superconducting state by a cooling means such as a refrigerator connected to the vacuum vessel 11. Note that the vacuum container 11 is a container for insulating the surroundings where the superconductive material is disposed in a vacuum state in order to efficiently maintain the temperature. Therefore, the vacuum vessel 11 has an airtight structure including an interface connector and the like.

  In FIG. 2, signals received by the opening surfaces 21-1 to 21-n of the waveguide antenna propagate through the waveguide portions 22-1 to 22-n, and receive filters 2-1 to 2-n. Are input to receiving circuits 23-1 to 23-n including limiters 3-1 to 3-n and LNAs 4-1 to 4-n. Thereafter, the received signals are transferred to the phase shifters 5-1 to 5-n outside the vacuum vessel 11 via the output-side waveguides 24-1 to 24-n and the coaxial waveguide converters 25-1 to 25-n. Is output.

  Among the above components, the reception circuits 23-1 to 23-n including the reception filters 2-1 to 2-n, the limiters 3-1 to 3-n, and the LNAs 4-1 to 4-n are provided in the vacuum container 11. Yes, it is cooled to a very low temperature by the cooling plate 12. The loss can be minimized by using superconducting power supply lines and reception filters 2-1 to 2-n to be used. Furthermore, by cooling the LNAs 4-1 to 4-n to an extremely low temperature, noise generated inside the LNA can be reduced, and a highly sensitive receiving system can be configured.

  At this time, the upper surface of the waveguide antenna protrudes to the surface of the vacuum vessel 11 or outside, receives radio waves in the space as the opening surfaces 21-1 to 21-n, and receives the waveguide portions 22-1 to 22- n has a function of propagating the received signal to the receiving circuits 23-1 to 23-n. As shown in FIG. 3, the waveguide portions 22-1 to 22-n can be a general hollow type airtight structure using a vacuum window or the like. As the window material, a material that does not allow air or the like to pass therethrough but can introduce a vacuum of radio waves is selected. Further, when a plurality of circuits are arranged in the same vacuum vessel as shown in FIG. 2 to form an integrated structure, a dielectric is provided inside the waveguide portions 22-1 to 22-n as shown in FIG. A dielectric loaded waveguide filled with can be used. Such a configuration is effective in miniaturizing the waveguide and maintaining hermeticity by utilizing the wavelength shortening rate of the dielectric. In addition, a plate-like dielectric may be disposed at the open end of the waveguide to form an airtight structure.

  A waveguide antenna has a simple structure including a waveguide, and is a structure that is easy to design and manufacture. According to the first embodiment, by using this waveguide antenna, it is not necessary to install an antenna element, a feed line connected to the antenna element, and a connector for connecting them to the receiving circuit. The simplification of the structure of the receiving antenna device contributes to the thinning, space saving, weight saving, and cost reduction of the structure. In addition, by applying a waveguide antenna, a wider band can be achieved as compared with a patch antenna or the like.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, in the receiving antenna device that minimizes the feeding loss from the antenna to the low noise amplifier, reduces the internal noise of the low noise amplifier, and increases the sensitivity of the receiving system, By using the tube antenna, the antenna element and the feed line connected to the antenna element are integrated as a waveguide antenna, so that the antenna element and the feed line can be simplified. Therefore, there is no need to install an antenna element, a feed line connected to the antenna element, and a connector for connecting them to the receiving circuit, and the structure of the device is simplified, thinned, widened, space-saving, and reduced in weight. Contributes to cost reduction.

(Second Embodiment)
Maintaining the cryogenic temperature by minimizing the influence of heat intrusion and heat radiation from the outside of the vacuum vessel leads to a reduction in the scale of the cooling means such as a refrigerator. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the waveguide portion of the waveguide antenna is a non-contact type waveguide antenna having a non-contact structure with the room temperature portion.

  FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the vacuum container of the receiving antenna device according to the second embodiment. In the first embodiment, the waveguide portions 22-1 to 22-n of the waveguide antenna of FIG. 2 are the waveguide portions 31-1 to 31-n of the non-contact type waveguide antenna, and output is similarly performed. The side waveguides 24-1 to 24-n are also non-contact type waveguides 32-1 to 32-n having a non-contact structure. 5, the same parts as those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  By using the waveguide portions 31-1 to 31-n and the non-contact waveguides 32-1 to 32-n of the non-contact type waveguide antenna, there is no direct contact with the normal temperature part, Thermal intrusion can be greatly reduced, and the scale of the cooling means can be reduced. For the non-contact portion, a choke structure or the like can be adopted as a means for reducing loss.

  According to the second embodiment, by making the waveguide non-contact, there is no direct connection with the room temperature portion, heat penetration can be greatly reduced, and the scale of the cooling means can be reduced. Become. This contributes to further simplification, thinning, space saving, weight reduction, and cost reduction of the structure of the antenna device.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the vacuum container of the receiving antenna device according to the third embodiment. In the third embodiment, the vacuum vessel 11 in the first embodiment is divided into vacuum vessels 11-1 to 11-n for each circuit corresponding to the antenna element. 6, the same parts as those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. Moreover, the division | segmentation number of a vacuum vessel is good not only for every circuit, but it is good also as a structure by which two or more circuits are accommodated in one vacuum vessel 11-1.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the same operation as that of the first embodiment can be obtained by the configuration of the third embodiment. In general, when the inside of the vacuum vessel is depressurized compared to the outside, the vacuum vessel is pressed by the atmospheric pressure difference from the outside, and the vacuum vessel needs to be strong enough to withstand the atmospheric pressure difference. In 3rd Embodiment, since the area of the vacuum vessel which the space of the pressure reduction (vacuum) per vacuum vessel contacts decreases, the intensity | strength calculated | required of a vacuum vessel reduces. When it is easy to manufacture a vacuum container that satisfies this strength, it is advantageous to use the third embodiment.

(Fourth embodiment)
FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of the vacuum container of the receiving antenna device according to the fourth embodiment. In the fourth embodiment, the output-side waveguides 24-1 to 24-n in the first embodiment are changed to airtight coaxial connectors 41-1 to 41-n. In FIG. 7, the same parts as those of FIG.

  Since the system noise temperature is dominated by the loss from the antenna to the LNA and the internal noise of the LNA, even if the loss due to the means for transmitting the received signal amplified by the LNA to the room temperature part increases, there is no effect Few. For this reason, it is possible to reduce the heat intrusion from the outside of the vacuum vessel 11 by using a coaxial cable having a small diameter for the wiring portions of the airtight coaxial connectors 41-1 to 41-n.

  Compared to the coaxial waveguide converters 25-1 to 25-n of the first embodiment and the non-contact waveguides 32-1 to 32-n of the second embodiment, hermetic coaxial connectors 41-1 to 41- When using n contributes to space saving and ease of design and manufacturing, it is advantageous to use the configuration of the fourth embodiment.

(Fifth embodiment)
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the vacuum container of the receiving antenna device according to the fifth embodiment. In the fifth embodiment, the coaxial waveguide converters 25-1 to 25-n in the first embodiment are eliminated, and the phase shifters 5-1 to 5-n to which the converter is connected and beyond. A room temperature circuit board 13 in which a circuit such as a synthesizer 10 connected to the circuit board is formed on a printed board is installed outside the vacuum vessel 11. In FIG. 8, the same parts as those of FIG.

  In FIG. 8, the received beam output output from the combiner 10 is output from the connector 14. At this time, since the output side waveguides 24-1 to 24-n are directly connected to the room temperature circuit board 13, the number of connectors can be reduced.

  Therefore, according to the fifth embodiment, when the non-contact type waveguides 27-1 to 27-n can be easily connected directly to the room temperature circuit board 13, the structure is made thinner, space-saving, lighter, Contributes to cost reduction.

(Sixth embodiment)
FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a receiving antenna device according to the sixth embodiment. In the sixth embodiment, the phase shifters 5-1 to 5-n provided outside the vacuum vessel 11 in the first embodiment are provided inside the vacuum vessel 11. 9, the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  For example, in FIG. 2, the phase shifters 5-1 to 5-n are included in the circuits of the receiving circuits 23-1 to 23-n. Thereby, the thermal noise which generate | occur | produces in the phase shifters 5-1 to 5-n can be reduced, and a more highly sensitive receiving system can be comprised.

  Therefore, according to the sixth embodiment, when the phase shifter can be easily accommodated in the vacuum vessel, the thermal noise generated in the phase shifter can be reduced, and a more sensitive receiving system is configured. It becomes possible.

(Seventh embodiment)
The seventh embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a receiving antenna device according to the seventh embodiment, and FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a vacuum container of the receiving antenna device. In the seventh embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the phase shifters 5-1 to 50 n and the synthesizer 10 provided outside the vacuum vessel 11 in the first embodiment are provided inside the vacuum vessel 11. It is. 10 and 11, the same parts as those in FIGS. 1 and 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 11, reception filters 2-1 to 2-n, limiters 3-1 to 3-n, LNAs 4-1 to 4-n, phase shifters 5-1 to 5-n, and a combiner 10 are included. The receiving circuit 23 is configured as an integrated circuit board. The output from the receiving circuit 23 is output to the outside of the vacuum vessel 11 through the output side waveguide 24 and the coaxial waveguide converter 25.

  With this configuration, thermal noise generated in the phase shifters 5-1 to 5-n and the combiner 10 can be reduced, and a highly sensitive reception system can be configured. Furthermore, the number of waveguides and connectors on the output side can be reduced.

  As described above, according to the seventh embodiment, when the phase shifter and the synthesizer can be easily accommodated in the vacuum vessel, the thermal noise generated in the phase shifter and the synthesizer can be reduced. A sensitive receiving system can be configured. Furthermore, the number of waveguides and connectors on the output side can be reduced.

(Modification)
Each of the above embodiments can be implemented by combining the respective features. The receiving antenna apparatus includes a receiving antenna apparatus (passive array or active array) in which antenna elements are arrayed, an antenna apparatus having only one antenna element, a phased array antenna having a phase shifter for each antenna element or subarray, This can be applied to each of the mechanical rotary antennas that do not use a phase shifter.

  Although several embodiments have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

  1-1 to 1-n ... waveguide antenna, 2-1 to 2-n ... reception filter, 3-1 to 3-n ... limiter, 4-1 to 4-n ... LNA, 5-1 to 5- n: phase shifter, 10: synthesizer, 11, 11-1 to 11-n, vacuum vessel, 21-1 to 21-n, opening surface of waveguide antenna, 22-1 to 22-n, wave guide Waveguide portion of tube antenna, 23-1 to 23-n, 23... Receiving circuit, 24-1 to 24-n, 24... Output side waveguide, 25-1 to 25-n, 25. Tube converter, 12, 12-1 to 12-n ... cooling plate, 31-1 to 31-n ... waveguide portion of non-contact type waveguide antenna, 32-1 to 32-n ... non-contact type conduction Wave tube, 41-1 to 41-n, hermetic coaxial connector, 13 ... normal temperature circuit board, 14 ... connector.

Claims (10)

A waveguide antenna that receives radio waves using the open end of the waveguide as an opening surface;
A receiving circuit for processing a received signal input from the waveguide antenna;
Cooling means for cooling the receiving circuit;
A heat insulating container for accommodating the waveguide antenna and the receiving circuit so as to block heat intrusion from outside ;
2. The receiving antenna device according to claim 1, wherein the waveguide antenna is formed by filling the waveguide with a dielectric .   The receiving antenna device according to claim 1, wherein the receiving circuit includes at least a low noise amplifier and a receiving filter made of a superconductive material.   The receiving antenna apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an output-side waveguide that outputs an output signal from the receiving circuit to the outside from the heat insulating container.   The receiving antenna device according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the heat insulating container is in a vacuum state, and vacuum introduction of the radio wave from the opening surface is possible.   2. The receiving antenna device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the waveguide antenna and the output-side waveguide is a non-contact type waveguide.   5. The receiving antenna device according to claim 4, wherein the heat insulating container has an airtight coaxial connector, and further outputs an output signal from the receiving circuit to the outside through a coaxial cable. The said heat insulation container is divided | segmented for every receiving circuit corresponding to these waveguide antennas, when the said waveguide antenna is provided with two or more, The any one of Claim 1 thru | or 6 characterized by the above-mentioned. The receiving antenna device according to 1. In the case where a plurality of the waveguide antennas are provided, the circuit board further comprises a circuit board for synthesizing output signals from receiving circuits corresponding to the plurality of waveguide antennas outside the heat insulating container. The receiving antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 . It said receiving circuit, the receiving antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that it comprises a phase shifter for controlling the phase of the received signal. When the plurality of waveguide antennas are provided, the reception circuit is configured by an integrated circuit board that processes and synthesizes reception signals input from the plurality of waveguide antennas. Item 7. The receiving antenna device according to any one of Items 1 to 6 .

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