JPH04332204A - Array antenna - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To realize a compact, light weight, and low cost array antenna by extremely simplifying a feeding circuit and wiring for a local signal and monitor signal. CONSTITUTION:Plural antenna element modules 6a of active element type are arranged and phases of receiving signals of these antenna element modules 6a are controlled by an exciting condition changing circuit 3 to form a spatial beam having a desired directivity. This control signal is distributed and supplied from a control signal distributing circuit 12. A receiving signal of antenna element module 6a is converted into a predetermined intermediate frequency and is output, and further normal operation monitoring of antenna element module 6a is carried out using monitor signal. The local signal and monitor signal for forming an intermediate frequency are all supplied in a radio wave form from a radiator 16 to a radiant element 1. Outputs from antenna element modules 6a are synthesized by a power synthesizing circuit 7 and is output from a power distributor 8, and part of the output is detected by an exciting condition detecting circuit 9 for monitoring the exciting condition of antenna element module 6a. circuit 9, the difference between the detected value and a predetermined value is calculated by a correcting exciting condition calculating circuit 10, and a beam controller 11 corrects this difference.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an array antenna.
In particular, multiple antenna element modules that form a directional beam, convert and output received signals to intermediate frequencies are arranged, and signals necessary for the operation of these multiple antenna element modules are supplied from outside and the received signals are combined. Regarding array antennas.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Array antennas are well known in which a plurality of antenna element modules are arranged, operated by supplying necessary signals from the outside, and synthesized and output received signals.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional array antenna. In FIG. 3, the antenna element module 6 indicated by a broken line functions as a plurality of arrayed active elements, and the others have a configuration that provides functions of transmitting and receiving necessary signals and combining outputs with the antenna element module 6. be.

The configuration shown in FIG. 3 is for reception, and the antenna element module 6 includes a radiating element 1, a coupler 24 for coupling the monitor signal to the reception system, a phase shifter and a variable attenuation. The device includes an excitation condition changing circuit 3 having a receiver, etc., and a mixer 4 that converts a received signal to an intermediate frequency.

[0005] Also, a power combining circuit 7 that combines the outputs of the antenna element modules 6, a power divider 8 that outputs the combined output of the power combining circuit 7 as a received signal and sends out a monitor output of the antenna element module 6, A local signal generator 13, a local signal distribution circuit 25 that distributes the local signal to each antenna element module 6, a beam controller 11 that generates a control signal for forming a beam in an arbitrary direction, and a local signal distribution circuit 25 that distributes the local signal to each antenna element module 6; A control signal distribution circuit 12 that distributes to the antenna element modules 6, a monitor signal generator 14 that generates a monitor signal, and a monitor signal distributor 26 that distributes the monitor signal to each antenna element module 6 control the operation of the antenna element module 6. It will be installed as an external configuration necessary for

Next, the operation of the conventional example shown in FIG. 3 will be explained.

The signal received by the radiating element 1 is transmitted to the coupler 2
4 to the excitation condition changing circuit 3, and receives the amplitude or phase setting adjusted so that a directional beam is formed in an arbitrary azimuth direction in space, and the output of all antenna element modules is sent to the power combining circuit 7. The power is combined and output from the power divider 8 as a received signal.

On the other hand, a monitor signal for monitoring whether or not the antenna element module 6 is operating normally is
The signal is sent from the monitor signal generator 14 to each antenna element module 6 through the monitor signal distribution circuit 26, inserted into the receiving system through the coupler 24 in each antenna element module 6, output from the power combining circuit 7, and sent to the power divider 8. A part of it is taken out as a monitor signal.

A beam control signal for controlling the excitation condition changing circuit 3 for forming a directional beam in an arbitrary azimuth direction is generated by the beam controller 11, and a beam control signal distribution circuit 12 generates a beam control signal for controlling the excitation condition changing circuit 3 in each antenna element module 6. is supplied to the excitation condition changing circuit 3.

0010

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The above-mentioned conventional antenna has a circuit configuration that combines a transmission line and a coupler to distribute the necessary signals, so the circuit configuration becomes complicated and is particularly difficult to configure as a planar array antenna. In some cases, it is necessary to distribute signals in a planar manner, which makes it extremely complicated and increases manufacturing costs.In addition, in array antennas, the gaps in which the radiating elements are arranged are oriented in such a way that the frequency of the radiated signal and the directional direction of the radiated beam can be varied. Since the signal distributor is placed in a narrow and limited space, which is restricted by the size of the angle, it is necessary to reduce the size and weight, and it is inevitable that this will interfere with the weight limit and lead to higher costs. There was a problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an array antenna that eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks and can be significantly reduced in size, weight, and cost.

0012

[Means for Solving the Problems] The array antenna of the present invention has a radiating element and can set and change excitation conditions corresponding to desired directional beam formation by a control signal supplied from the outside. a plurality of antenna element modules that convert the received signal into a predetermined intermediate frequency using a local signal supplied from the antenna element module, and further transmit a monitor output in response to an external monitor signal for monitoring the normality of the setting of the excitation conditions. An array antenna for controlling the operation of a plurality of antenna element modules arranged in an array from the outside includes means for supplying the local signal and the monitor signal by radio wave transmission to the radiating element.

Furthermore, the array antenna of the present invention has a configuration in which the local signal and the monitor signal are sent out from one common radiator via a duplexer and transmitted as radio waves to the antenna element module.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a first embodiment of the present invention. The embodiment of FIG. 1 takes as an example the case where the antenna element module has a receiving function, and the radiating element 1 and
A plurality of antenna element modules 6a including a duplexer 2, an excitation condition changing circuit 3, a mixer 4, and a limiter amplifier 5; and a plurality of antenna element modules 6a.
a power combining circuit 7 that combines the received signals, a power divider 8 that combines and outputs the received signals and extracts a part of the received signal, and an excitation state detection circuit that detects the excitation state from the extracted part of the received signal. 9, and an adjusted excitation condition calculation circuit 1 that calculates the difference between the detected excitation state and the required excitation state.
0, a beam controller 11 that controls excitation conditions and forms a radiation beam in a required azimuth direction, a control signal distribution circuit 12 that distributes excitation condition control signals to each antenna element module 6, and generates local signals. A local signal generator 13, a monitor signal generator 14 that generates a monitor signal, a branching filter 15 for transmitting the local signal or monitor signal to the same radiator 16, and a branching filter 15 for transmitting the local signal or monitor signal to the same radiator 16; It is configured to include a radiator 16 that converts a signal or a monitor signal into radio waves and irradiates the radio waves.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be explained.

The high frequency signal received by the radiating element 1 of each antenna element module 6a is mixed with a local signal in the mixer 4 and converted into an intermediate frequency signal. The local signal is generated by the local signal generator 13, passes through the splitter 15, becomes a radio wave from the radiator 16, inputs it to the radiating element 1 of the antenna element module 6a, is branched out by the splitter 2, and is sent to the limiter amplifier. 5, the signal is amplified to the required power and is mixed with the received high frequency signal in a format that is supplied to the mixer 4.

Since the frequency of the local signal is selected as the sum or difference between the received high frequency signal and the desired intermediate frequency,
Frequency separation using a duplexer becomes possible.

On the other hand, in order to monitor whether the antenna element module 6a is operating normally, a monitor signal generator 14 generates a monitor signal having the same frequency as the received high frequency signal under the control of the beam controller 11. Then, the antenna element module 6a is irradiated from the radiator 16 through the demultiplexer 15, and the output of the antenna element module 6a resulting from this irradiation is combined and outputted by the power combiner 7, and then a part of it is further sent to the power divider 8. The excitation state including extraction, excitation, and phase is detected by an excitation state detection circuit 9, and the error obtained by comparing this with a required value is used as a correction amount and a corrected excitation condition calculation circuit 10.
is calculated and sent to the beam controller 11 as a correction amount.

The beam controller 11 uses this correction amount to supply a control signal to the excitation condition changing circuit 3 of each antenna element module 6a through the control signal distribution circuit 12 so that the correct excitation state is achieved.

The beam controller 11 also controls the monitor signal generator 1 so that the monitor signal is generated only during the desired period of time.
Control 4.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a second embodiment of the present invention.

The second embodiment takes as an example the case where the antenna element module 6b is provided with both transmitting and receiving functions.
radiating element 1, duplexer 2, and transmission/reception switching devices 17a, b,
A low noise amplifier 18 as a reception system, a mixer 4, a variable attenuator 19 for adjusting amplitude, a power amplifier 22 as a transmission system, a mixer 23 for converting an intermediate frequency into a high frequency signal, and excitation conditions. It comprises a phase shifter 20 for changing the signal, a limiter amplifier 5 for receiving a local signal and a monitor signal, and a power divider 21.

Further, the second embodiment shown in FIG. 2 includes a power distribution and synthesis circuit 7a, the same power divider 8 as the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, an excitation state detection circuit 9, and a corrected excitation condition. Calculation circuit 10, beam control circuit 11, control signal distribution circuit 12, local signal generator 13, and monitor signal generator 14
This embodiment includes a duplexer 15 and a radiator 16, but the components having the same symbols as those in the first embodiment have the same contents, and a detailed explanation regarding these same contents will be omitted.

In the second embodiment, the received signal is guided to the low-noise amplifier 18 via the radiating element 1, the duplexer 2, and the transmit/receive switch 17a, and then converted to an intermediate frequency by the mixer 4, and then After receiving the level setting at the attenuator 19, the signal is further supplied from the phase shifter 20 to the power distribution/synthesis circuit 7a via the transmission/reception switch 17b. In this case, the local signal necessary for the mixer 4 is provided by the output of the local signal generator 13, which is sent out as a radio wave from the radiator 16, through the radiating element 1, the splitter 2, the limiter amplifier 5, and the power divider 21. Ru.

On the other hand, the transmission signal is sent to the power distribution/synthesis circuit 7a.
is distributed as an intermediate frequency from the phase shifter 20, transmission/reception switch 17b, mixer 23, power amplifier 22, transmission/reception switch 1.
7a, the beam is sent out from the radiation element 1 via the demultiplexer 2, and a radiation beam having a desired spatial direction is formed based on the excitation conditions by the phase shifter 20. Mixer 23 obtains the same local signal as mixer 4 and converts the input into a predetermined high frequency signal.

In the second embodiment, only the received signal is monitored, but by adding a transmitting/receiving switch such as a circulator between the monitor signal generator 14 and the duplexer 15, the transmitted signal can be It is clear that the monitoring of

[0028]

As explained above, according to the present invention, the local signal for obtaining an intermediate frequency and the monitor signal of the transmitted signal are distributed by spatially feeding radio waves from the radiator without using a priority transmission line. By making it possible to feed each antenna element module with one radiator, it is possible to realize an array antenna in which the feeding system for local signals and monitor signals is significantly smaller, lighter, and lower in cost.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a conventional array antenna.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Radiating element 2 Demultiplexer 3 Excitation condition changing circuit 4 Mixer 5 Limiter amplifier 6, 6a, 6b Antenna element module 7
Power combining circuit 7a Power distribution combining circuit 8 Power divider 9 Excitation state detection circuit 10 Correction excitation condition calculation circuit 11 Beam controller 12 Control signal distribution circuit 13 Local signal generator 14 Monitor signal generator 15 Brancher 16 Radiator 17a , 17b Transmission/reception switch 18 Low noise amplifier 19 Variable attenuator 20 Phase shifter 21 Power divider 21 Power amplifier 23 Mixer 24 Combiner 25 Local signal distribution circuit 26 Monitor signal distribution circuit

Claims (2)

[Claims] Claim 1: It has a radiating element, and excitation conditions corresponding to desired directional beam formation can be set and changed by a control signal supplied from the outside, and a received signal can be adjusted to a predetermined level by a local signal supplied from the outside. A plurality of antenna element modules are arranged that convert the frequency to an intermediate frequency, and further receive a monitor signal for externally monitoring the normality of the setting of the excitation conditions and send out a monitor output, and the operation of the plurality of antenna element modules is performed. What is claimed is: 1. An array antenna for controlling externally, comprising means for supplying the local signal and the monitor signal by radio wave transmission to the radiating element. 2. The array antenna according to claim 1, wherein the local signal and the monitor signal are sent out from a common radiator via a duplexer and transmitted as radio waves to the antenna element module.