JPH02174403A - Variable beam tilt type array antenna for wall face mount - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a wall mount antenna able to cope with lain snow and capable of tilting its beam by moving a distributer corresponding to the same beam tilt variable direction in the same direction in interlocking with an operation knob. CONSTITUTION:A circularly polarized wave from a satellite reaches radiation elements 4L, 4R having a degeneration separation part 11 and a converted linearly polarized wave is sent to a transmission line 10 via a coupling hole 5. After each polarized wave is mixed by a matching section 6 of an elevating angle adjustment section 2 and a distributer section, the polarized wave is mixed with a polarized wave from other matching section at a matching section 8 of an azimuth angle adjustment section 8 and a distribution section 9. The matching section 6 and the distribution section 7 are moved in a direction (b) and the matching section 8 and the distribution section 9 are moved in a direction (c) along with the length of the transmission line 10 by an external knob together. The elevating angle adjustment section 2 and the azimuth angle adjustment section 3 are moved to the radiation element section 1 to make the phase of the linearly polarized wave led or lag independently corresponding to the directions b,c respectively. The space of the transmission line acts like a waveguide and the radiation elements are connected in parallel. Through the constitution above, the antenna mounted perpendicularly to the wall face of a building, coping with lain snow and whose beam is tilted is obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (A) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a wall-mounted satellite broadcast receiving array antenna that can be mounted on a wall and direct its pointing direction toward a broadcasting satellite.

(b) Prior Art Beam tilt array antennas used for receiving or transmitting satellite broadcasts have been studied for some time. for example,
JP-A-60-200603 discloses a structure in which a plurality of radiating elements are arranged in a matrix in the first and second directions, and the radiation beam is set at a constant angle α with respect to the surface of the radiating element.
In the beam tilt planar antenna which is tilted in the first direction by 1, the spacing between the radiating elements in each stage in the first direction is set to l/cosα times the spacing between the radiating elements in the second direction. A beam tilt planar antenna is disclosed, which is configured in an array arrangement and is characterized in that the radiating elements at each stage in the direction of the whistling sound are fed with a phase difference. Also,
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-24305, a plurality of antenna elements consisting of a traveling wave type one-dimensional array antenna in which a base element is formed by bending a strip conductor at an appropriate period are arranged in rows on an insulating substrate having a ground conductor on the back surface. established,
In a microwave planar antenna in which a feeder circuit is provided on one side of an insulated substrate to feed power to one end of each antenna element using a strip line branched into a tree shape, the strip line from the main feed end to the feed end of each antenna element is A planar antenna for microwaves is disclosed in which feeding circuits are formed to have sequentially different lengths so that the main beam direction is tilted within a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the antenna element by 4 degrees.

All of the above antennas have a structure in which the radiation beam is tilted at a certain angle with respect to the surface of the antenna, so if it is designed to tilt the beam in the elevation direction, it can be installed almost vertically. This is preferable as a countermeasure against snow accumulation.

(c) Problems to be solved by the invention However, since the beam tilt angle of these conventional beam tilt type antennas is a fixed beam tilt angle set at the time of design, when these antennas are used in regions with different elevation angles. When installing the antenna, it was necessary to adjust the metal fittings to correct the antenna beam direction.

If you attach metal fittings to the back of the antenna to correct the beam direction, the antenna will become bulky, and if you attach it to the wall of a building, the antenna will protrude from the wall and become bulky. It may damage the appearance. Conventional satellite broadcasting antennas are attached tightly to the wall, and the direction of the antenna cannot be adjusted by adjusting the antenna itself, making it difficult to match the antenna itself with the building. .

The present invention was made in order to solve such problems, and it is possible to direct a beam in the direction of a broadcasting satellite while remaining tightly attached to the wall of a building so as not to spoil the appearance of the building. The present invention provides a beam delta variable array antenna for wall installation.

(d) Means and effects for solving the problems The present invention provides: (1) A variable beam tilt array antenna for wall installation in which a large number of radiating elements arranged in a substantially matrix form are fed in parallel using a waveguide. is characterized in that each distributor corresponding to the same beam tilt variable direction is configured to change two adjacent output points by moving in the same direction in conjunction with the movement of the corresponding operation knob. Beam tilt variable array antenna for wall installation, (
2) A claim characterized in that the beam tilt direction is variable in two substantially orthogonal directions! (3) Each distributor corresponding to one beam tilt variable direction is integrally molded in a state connected to a connecting plate, Wall beam tilt variable array antenna (4) Claim characterized in that the operation knob is attached to the front or side of the antenna body! A variable beam tilt array antenna for wall installation as described above, (5) Claim characterized in that a distributor is provided in the transmission line! (6) The beam tilt variable array antenna for wall installation according to claim 1, characterized in that a corrugated structure is formed on the inner wall of the transmission line and/or on the surface of the distribution section. Variable Type A Most conventional planar antennas feed power to the radiating element using a microstrip line.

However, although the microstrip line has the advantage of being thin, it has a large transmission loss, so waveguides have long been used as feed lines for applications that require low loss. In the present invention, since the effective area decreases depending on the beam tilt angle, a waveguide with low loss is suitable as the feed line.

The term beam tilt is used to refer to tilting the directivity of an antenna downward in the vertical plane, but in the present invention, beam tilt can also be used to tilt the directivity of the antenna upward, horizontally to the left, or to the right. I'm calling.

Variable beam tilt in the present invention does not mean adjusting the pointing direction of the antenna with a metal fitting as in conventional satellite broadcast receiving antennas. As mentioned above, when adjusting the pointing direction of the antenna using metal fittings, the antenna protrudes from the wall surface, which may impair the appearance of the building. The variable beam tilt in the present invention refers to a ferrite phase shifter, such as a beam scanning antenna for radar,
It also does not use a phase shifter such as a PIN diode phase shifter to perform high-speed steering. High speed steering types of antennas require the implementation of a large number of discrete components and are therefore very expensive and unsuitable for this application.

Variable beam tilt in the present invention refers to the beam tilt angle of the antenna that can be adjusted by adjusting the position of the distribution group provided inside the antenna by operating the operation knob provided on the front or side of the antenna body during antenna design. This means that it is possible to adjust. This beam tilt angle is changed during adjustment, and is fixed during normal use.

In the present invention, the antenna body is mounted tightly on the wall and the pointing direction is directed toward the broadcasting satellite, so the beam tilt angle that needs to be adjusted is approximately orthogonal to the elevation angle and the azimuth angle. Adjustment is easy if angles in two directions are selected.

The viewing angle of the broadcasting satellite from the wall of each building is determined by the latitude and longitude of the building and the angle of the constructed wall. It is virtually unusable when the device is tightly attached to the device.

What is generally called an array antenna is an entire antenna that arranges and excites a large number of radiating elements, and the radiating elements that are arranged are linear antennas, slot antennas,
Loop antenna, henocal antenna, horn antenna,
and aperture antennas.

Power feeding systems for array antennas can be broadly divided into series feeding types and parallel feeding types. The power feeding system is described in the March 1986 issue of the Journal of the Institute of Electronics and Communication Engineers, pages 218 to 225. A series-fed type array antenna becomes a traveling wave antenna by connecting a matching load to its terminal end, and a standing wave antenna can be constructed by opening or shorting the terminal end. Although the series feeding type feeding circuit is simple, it has the drawbacks that the loss of the transmission line increases as the radiating element is farther away from the feeding point, and the direction of directivity changes depending on the frequency.

On the other hand, the parallel feeding type has the advantage that the frequency characteristics of the feeding circuit are excellent when the feeding length from the feeding point to each radiating element is equal, and is therefore suitable as the feeding method used in the present invention.

When arranging the radiating elements, it is preferable to arrange the radiating elements at intervals of one wavelength or less so as not to increase the influence of the grating lobe, but if the beam tilt adjustment range is to be increased, the intervals may be set at intervals of one wavelength or more. There is also. When the spacing between the radiating elements is one wavelength or more, it is particularly preferable to use a radiating element with a high gain in order to reduce the influence of grating lobes. Alternatively, the radiating elements may be spaced non-linearly to reduce the effect of grating lobes, but this complicates the antenna design.

The feeding power that excites each radiating element is sent from the distributor via the transmission line. At this time, if the lengths of the transmission lines from the distributor are different, the excitation phase of each radiating element will be different, so the direction of the combined beam can be tilted according to the difference in the excitation phase of each radiating element.

Since reception and transmission are reversible, in the case of reception, the divider is a mixer that combines the two powers sent from the radiating element (receiving element) or the divider (mixer) via the transmission line. It's about the vessel.

Similarly, the output point is a human power point in the case of reception, and is a connection point between the output side of a radiating element (receiving element) or a distributor (mixer) and a transmission line.

In the convex radiating element, two adjacent radiating elements are connected as a pair to one distributor. Similarly, two distributors are connected to one distributor at the next stage.

The distributor group is arranged corresponding to two beam tilt directions that are substantially perpendicular to each other, and each distributor corresponding to each beam tilt direction is mechanically connected by a connecting plate and is integrally formed. The integrated distributor can be moved by operating the operating knob corresponding to the beam tilt direction. There are one operation knob corresponding to the beam tilt direction, and each operation knob is provided on the front or side surface of the antenna body. The integrated distributor group and connection plate can be manufactured, for example, by integrally molding a plastic resin and machining it, or by pressing and punching a single metal plate.

As a distributor group corresponding to two directions, for example, a distributor group that enables beam tilt in the elevation angle and a distributor group that enables beam tilt in the azimuth angle are movable independently. and azimuth are independently adjustable.

Depending on the type of signal to be received, a corrugated structure (periodic groove) can be provided on the inner wall of the cavity resonator, transmission line, and/or distributor to generate hybrid modes over a wide frequency range and improve the frequency characteristics. Improve.

(e) Examples Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 is an external perspective view showing the antenna assembly according to the present invention installed on a wall, Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the antenna assembly shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is the same as that of Fig. 2. It is a sectional view taken along the line A-A. In these drawings, the antenna assembly Z is attached to a wall surface W.
It is installed closely along the Further, the radiating element part, the elevation angle adjusting part 2, and the azimuth angle adjusting part 3 have a substantially planar shape with holes and uneven parts, and the concave part of the radiating element part l and the 1rlj angle! ! The convex parts of the elevation adjustment part 2 and the azimuth adjustment part 3 are inserted into the holes of the adjustment part 2 and overlapped with each other.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the radiating element part l, and FIG. 5 is a front view of the radiating element part 1.
6 is a front view of the elevation adjustment section 2, and FIG. 7 is a front view of the azimuth adjustment section 3. 2 and 3, a matching portion 6 (convex portion) and a distribution portion protruding into the elevation adjustment portion 2 are shown in the transmission line 10 (groove-shaped recess) formed on the back surface of the radiating element portion 1. 7 (convex part) is inserted, and furthermore, the alignment part 8 (convex part) and the distribution part 9 (convex part) that protrude into the azimuth adjustment part 3 are inserted through the hole I2 bored in the elevation adjustment part 2. The current state is shown.

The circularly polarized waves sent from the broadcasting satellite are sent to a radiating element 4L equipped with a degenerate separation section 11 for separating the circularly polarized waves into orthogonal modes.
, 4R and the converted linearly polarized waves are sent to the transmission line 10 via the coupling hole 5. Eight pairs of radiating elements 4L and 4R are shown in FIG.
Each pair of is connected in parallel by a transmission line ■0.

The linearly polarized waves sent from adjacent radiating elements 4L, 4) 1 connected by transmission lines are mixed in the matching section 6 and distribution section 7 formed in the elevation adjustment section 2, and then sent to the next azimuth adjustment section. At the matching section 8 and distribution section 9 formed in 3, it is mixed with directly polarized waves sent from other matching sections.

In this way, the radiating elements 4L, 4R or the distribution section 7.9
The linearly polarized waves sent from the BS converter are mixed one after another, and the output of the final distribution section (not shown) is sent to the BS converter (not shown). The matching section 6 and the distributing section 7, and the matching section 8 and the distributing section 9 are paired, respectively, and are structured to be movable in the line length direction of the transmission line 10. For example, in FIG. 3, the distributor (-set of matching section 6 and distributing section 7) can be moved in the direction of the arrow. Also the corresponding distribution in other directions? 5 (-set of matching section 8 and distributing section 9) can be moved in the direction of arrow C.

The linearly polarized waves sent from the adjacent radiating elements 4L and 4R are
When the distribution section 7 is located at a position where the line lengths from each radiating element 4L, 4R to the distribution section 7 are the same, the signals are mixed in phase. In FIG. 3, when the position of the distribution section 7 moves to the left or right from this position, the ratio of the line lengths from the adjacent radiating elements 4L, 411 to the distribution section 7 changes, so the linear deviations that are mixed are changed. The phase relationship of the waves changes.

As shown in FIG. 6, each matching section 6 and each distribution section 7 formed in the elevation adjustment section 2 are integrated, so that all the matching sections 6 and distribution section 7 are aligned in the line length direction of the transmission line. They can be moved simultaneously, so that the phase relationships of the linearly polarized waves corresponding to the directions of the arrows can be changed simultaneously.

Similarly, each alignment section 8 and distribution section 9 formed in the azimuth adjustment section 3 are also integrated as shown in FIG.
The phase relationships of each linearly polarized wave corresponding to the direction of arrow C can all be changed simultaneously.

The radiating element section 1, the elevation angle adjustment section 2, and the azimuth angle adjustment section 3 are superimposed on each other, but they are not fixed to each other. ) can be moved independently. The direction of arrow S and the direction of arrow C are substantially orthogonal.

By moving the elevation adjustment section 2 and/or azimuth adjustment section 3 with respect to the radiating element section 1, a straight line is sent from each of the parallel-connected radiating elements 4L and 4R to an I3S converter (not shown). The phase relationship of polarized waves can be advanced independently in the direction of arrow C or in the direction of arrow C,
Since the antenna assembly can be delayed, the orthogonal components of the pointing direction of the antenna assembly can be changed independently. In this example, the n1 angle and the azimuth angle are selected as the components orthogonal to the pointing direction (beam angle variable direction).

Radiation element part! , the elevation adjustment section 2, and the azimuth adjustment section 3 have conductive layers formed on their surfaces, so that the surfaces in contact with each other are electrically connected.

Therefore, the space of the transmission line formed by the radiating element section 1, the elevation adjustment section 2, and the azimuth adjustment section 3 functions as a waveguide, and connects the radiating element group in parallel.

In FIG. 2, the radiating element section 1, the elevation angle adjustment section 2, and the azimuth angle adjustment section 3 are overlapped in contact with each other (they are not fixed to each other). The convex part of the azimuth adjustment part 3 (distribution part 9
) are inserted into the four parts (transmission line 10) of the radiating element part l by passing through the hole 12 for moving the azimuth angle distribution part made in the elevation adjustment part 2.

The distribution section 9 is movable in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper while being inserted into the transmission line 10 and the hole 12 for moving the azimuthal distribution section. The space formed by the radiation element section 1, the elevation angle adjustment section 2, and the azimuth angle adjustment section 3 functions as a waveguide.

In FIG. 4, the population of the radiating elements 4L and 4R, which are cavity resonators bored on the surface of the radiating element part l, includes a pawn 15.
is shaped like a trumpet. A degenerate separation section 11 is provided from the horn 15 to the inside of the cavity resonator.

In FIG. 5, the groove-shaped recess formed on the back surface of the radiating element portion l is a transmission line! 0, and this cavity is connected to the radiating element 4 of FIG. In this example, the entire surface of the molded body made of plastic resin is coated with copper conductors. ! The radiating element part 1 is formed by forming a layer, and the copper conductive part is formed on the surface of the radiating element 4, the horn 5, the degenerate separation part 11, the transmission line IO, and the surface of the surrounding area. It may be formed in a limited manner.

In FIG. 6, the elevation adjustment section 2 consists of a convex portion (distributor consisting of an alignment section 6 and a distribution section 7) protruding from one side of the connection plate 13, and a hole for moving the azimuth angle distribution section drilled in the connection plate I3. It is equipped with I2. The connecting plate 13 transmits the force for moving the distributor and acts as part of the wall of the waveguide. In this embodiment, the elevation adjustment section 2 is formed by forming a conductive layer of copper on the entire surface of a molded body made of plastic resin.

In FIG. 7, the azimuth adjustment part 3 is formed by protruding a convex part (a distributor consisting of an alignment part 8 and a distribution part 9) from one side of the connection plate 14.

In this embodiment, the azimuth adjustment section 3 is formed by forming a conductive layer of copper on the entire surface of a molded body integrally molded with plastic resin.

FIGS. 8(A) to 8(C) are cross-sectional views conceptually illustrating how the ratio of transmission line lengths changes as the distributor moves within the transmission line. In Figure 8 (Δ),
Since the distributor consisting of the matching section 6 and the matching section 7 is located in the transmission line 10 connecting the radiating elements 4L and 4R, in a position moved to the left side of the figure, the distance from the radiating element 4R to the distributor is The line length is longer than the line length from the radiating element 4L to the distributor. Therefore, since the phase of the linearly polarized wave that reaches the distributor from the radiating element 4R is delayed than that of the linearly polarized wave that reaches the distributor from the radiating element 4L, the directional direction synthesized by the radiating element 4L and the radiating element 4R is Tilt from vertically upward to the upper left of the page.

Conversely, in Figure 7(B), the distributor is located in the transmission line at a position that has moved towards the right side of the paper, so the combined directivity direction is from vertically upward to the upper right of the paper. Lean. In FIG. 8(C), the distributor is located at a position equidistant from the distribution sections 7a and 7b in the transmission line, so the combined direction is vertically upward in the plane of the paper. As in the case described above, when the distributor is moved within the transmission line, the directivity direction is tilted in the vertical direction of the paper.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view conceptually explaining a mechanism for driving the azimuth adjustment section 3. FIG. In FIG. 9, the front surface of the radiating element portion l is fixed to the inner surface of the electromagnetic wave transparent storage container 16. Radiation element part! , elevation adjustment section 2, and azimuth adjustment section 3
and are slidably superimposed on each other (not fixed).

A screw 19 is formed at one end of the connecting plate 14 of the azimuth adjustment unit 3, and when the knob 18 of the driving unit t7 is turned by hand, the rotational movement of the driving unit I7 is transmitted to the connecting plate 14 as a linear movement, The azimuth adjustment section 3 moves in the direction of arrow j. This movement allows the distribution section 9 on the connection plate 14 to move in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 3 within the transmission line amount 0, thereby changing the beam tilt angle. Similarly, the elevation adjustment section 2 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3 by turning the knob 23 shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the drive section is provided on the side surface of the container 16, but the location of the drive section can easily be changed to the front surface 22 of the container.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view illustrating the corrugated structure. In Fig. 10, the transmission line lO formed in the radiating element part
Corrugated portions (periodic tooth-shaped structures) 20a and 20c are formed on the wall surface of.

A corrugated portion 20b is also formed on the wall surface of the distribution portion 7. By forming periodic grooves on the inner wall, hybrid modes are generated in a wide frequency range within the transmission line to improve frequency characteristics.

In general, antennas are reversible in reception and transmission, so the above explanation also shows that reception and transmission are reversible. Further, it goes without saying that the design can be changed within the scope of the present invention.

(f) Effects of the Invention According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a variable beam tilt array antenna for wall installation in which the beam tilt direction can be changed by manual operation from outside the antenna main body. Furthermore, since it has become possible to vary the beam tilt angle in two substantially orthogonal directions, it is possible to directly and tightly attach the antenna body to the wall surface of a building. Further, according to the present invention, each distributor that enables the beam tilt angle of the antenna can be integrally molded while being connected to the connection plate, and manufacturing is very easy. Furthermore, the antenna operation knob is attached to the front or side of the antenna, making it very easy to adjust the pointing direction when installing the antenna. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a distributor in the transmission line and adjust the beam tilt angles in two orthogonal directions completely independently.

Furthermore, the present invention provides a beam tilt variable array antenna for wall installation in which a corrugated structure is formed on the inner wall of the transmission line and the surface of the distribution section to generate a mixed mode in a wide frequency range within the transmission line, thereby improving frequency characteristics. It is also possible.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
The figure is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A in Fig. 2, and Figs. 4 to 7 are detailed explanations of main parts of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1. 8(A) to 8(C) are explanatory diagrams showing the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. The figure is an explanatory diagram of the main part configuration showing another embodiment of the present invention. ...screw, 20a, 20b 20c...corrugate part. ...Radiation element section, 2...Elevation angle adjustment section,...
...Azimuth adjustment part, L, 411...Radiation element, ...Coupling hole, 6...Matching part 1.7
a, 7b...Distribution section,...Matching section, 9...Distribution section, 0
......Transmission line, 11...Degenerate separation section,
2... Hole for moving the azimuth adjustment section, 3, ■4...
...Connection board, 5...Horn, ! 6...Storage container, 7...--Drive unit, 18.23...
Knob, Figure 4, Figure 5, Figure 7, Figure 6, Figure 8 (A) (B) Figure 8 (C) Figure 9, Figure 10

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a wall-mounted beam tilt variable array antenna in which a large number of radiating elements arranged in a substantially matrix are fed in parallel using a waveguide, each distribution corresponds to the same beam tilt variable direction. The device is configured so that the ratio of the transmission line length between two adjacent output points and the distributor connected thereto changes by moving the device in the same direction in conjunction with the movement of the corresponding operation knob. A variable beam tilt array antenna for wall installation, which is characterized by: 2. The variable beam tilt array antenna for wall installation according to claim 1, wherein the beam tilt direction is variable in two substantially orthogonal directions. 3. The variable beam tilt array antenna for wall installation according to claim 1, wherein each distributor corresponding to one variable beam tilt direction is integrally molded while being connected to the connection plate. 4. The variable beam tilt array antenna for wall installation according to claim 1, wherein the operation knob is attached to the front or side surface of the satellite broadcast receiving array antenna for wall installation. 5. The variable beam tilt array antenna for wall installation according to claim 1, wherein the distributor is provided in the transmission line. 6. Claim 1, wherein the transmission line has a corrugated structure formed on its inner wall and/or on the surface of the distribution section.
Beam tilt variable array antenna for wall installation as described.