JPH0490605A - Phased array antenna - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To communicate even at the time of switching a beam by transferring a phase control signal transmitted from a phase control circuit to each antenna block while supplying respectively different delays. CONSTITUTION:The phase control signal transmitted from a phase control circuit 7 is transferred to each antenna block 6 while respectively different delays are supplied in each control signal delay circuit 8 with time deviation, resets the set value of the amount of phase to a new value by controlling each phase device 5 in the antenna block 6. Therefore, the amount of phase in each phase device 5 is switched in order for each antenna block 6 from the old set value to the new set value. Since the direction of beam is successively switched as the amount of phase of each this phase device 5 is switched, the extreme deterioration of antenna gain does not occur even during the transition time of this beam switching. Thus, the communication can be performed even at the time of switching beam.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a phased array antenna, and particularly to switching of a phase shifter thereof.

[Conventional technology]

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a conventional phased array antenna disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 172411/1982. In the figure, 1 is a plurality of excitation elements. Reference numeral 2 denotes a first phase shifter connected to each of the driving elements 1, and a digitally variable type phase shifter using the on/off action of a PIN diode or a field effect transistor is generally used. 3 is a second phase shifter prepared for each of the plurality of first phase shifters 2; 4 is connected to each of these second phase shifters 3, and is used for inputting or outputting microwave output; This is the power supply terminal. Next, the operation will be explained. First, a predetermined amount of phase shift is set in advance for each of the first phase shifters 2 and the second phase shifters 3. Here, when a microwave signal is input to the power supply terminal 4, the input microwave signal is transferred to the second phase shifter 3.
The phase is shifted by the phase shift amount set by the first phase shifter 2, and different phase shift amounts are added by the combined phase shift of the second phase shifter 3 and the first phase shifter 2. Excitation element l
is supplied to At this time, the required beam direction is obtained by appropriately setting the distribution of the amount of phase shift in each excitation element 1.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

Since the conventional phased array antenna is configured as described above, no consideration is given to switching the beam direction, and during the transition time of beam switching, the first phase shifter 2 and the second phase shifter The amount of phase shift of each device 3 is not determined, making it impossible to form an appropriate beam and making it impossible to transmit (receive) microwave signals. When used as an aircraft antenna, etc., there were problems such as the need for a beam switching speed higher than that required for target tracking. The inventions set forth in claims (1) to (3) have been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object thereof is to obtain a phased array antenna that enables communication even when beams are switched.

[Means to solve the problem]

The phased array antenna according to the invention described in claim (1) is prepared to correspond to an antenna block composed of one or more excitation elements and a phase shifter, and is provided with a phase shift antenna sent from a phase shift control circuit. A plurality of control signal delay circuits are provided for transmitting control signals to the corresponding antenna block shifters at different delay times. Further, the phased array antenna according to the invention described in claim (2) sequentially sends out a phase shift control signal to each of the antenna blocks constituted by one or more excitation elements and phase shifters. A control signal sequential circuit is provided within the phase shift control circuit. Further, in the phased array antenna according to the invention as set forth in claim (3), a serial interface is provided in the phase shift control circuit to send a phase shift control signal to each of the phase shifters in the form of a serial signal.

[Effect]

Each control signal delay circuit in the invention described in claim (1) transmits the phase shift control signal sent out from the phase shift control circuit to each antenna block with a different delay. To achieve a phased array antenna that allows communication even when beams are switched, by creating a difference in control time. Further, the phase shift control circuit in the invention described in claim (2) causes a difference in the control time of the phase shifter by sequentially sending out the phase shift control signal to each antenna block by the built-in control signal sequential circuit. This realizes a phased array antenna that can communicate even when beams are switched. Furthermore, the phase shift control circuit in the invention according to claim (3) sends a phase shift control signal in the form of a serial signal to each phase shifter through a built-in serial interface, thereby making a difference in the control time of the phase shifters. To realize a phased array antenna that can communicate even when switching beams. Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1st
The figure is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the invention as set forth in claim (1). In the figure, 1 is an excitation element, 4 is a power supply terminal,
These are the same or equivalent parts as those in the prior art, which are denoted by the same reference numerals in FIG. 5 is a phase shifter connected to each of the excitation elements 1;
is an antenna block composed of one or more excitation elements 1 and a phase shifter 5. 7 is a phase shift control circuit that generates a phase shift control signal for controlling the phase shift of each phase shifter 5; 8 is prepared corresponding to each antenna block 6; This is a control signal delay circuit that transmits a phase shift control signal to each phase shifter 5 of the associated antenna block 6 with different delay times. Next, the operation will be explained. The microwave signal input from the power supply terminal 4 is added with a preset phase shift amount to each phase shifter 5, and then transferred to the associated excitation element 1.
radiated into space. At this time, the required beam direction can be obtained by appropriately setting the distribution of the amount of phase shift in each excitation element 1. Therefore, when switching this beam direction, it is necessary to reset the phase shift amount of each phase shifter 5, and the reset of the phase shift amount of this phase shifter 5 is performed by phase shift control from the phase shift control circuit 7. It is done by a signal. The phase shift control signal sent out from the phase shift control circuit 7 is given a different delay in each control signal delay circuit 8, and is sent to each antenna block with a time lag, and is sent to each antenna block within the antenna block 6. The phase shifter 5 is controlled to reset the set value of the phase shift amount to a new value. Therefore, the phase shift amount of each phase shifter 5 is sequentially switched from the old set value to the new set value for each antenna block 6. As the phase shift amount of each phase shifter 5 is switched, the beam direction is also gradually switched, so there is no extreme drop in antenna gain even during the transition time of beam switching, and instantaneous signal interruption is prevented. be able to. In this case, the distribution of the overall phase shift amount of the phase shifter 5 during the transition time of beam switching is not necessarily appropriate, but by appropriately setting the scale of the antenna block 6, the beam direction can be adjusted. If the width of change at one time is appropriately selected with respect to the antenna beam width, the antenna gain will not decrease significantly. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the invention as set forth in claim (2), and the same parts as in FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals to avoid redundant explanation. In the figure, reference numeral 9 denotes a control signal sequential circuit built in the phase shift control circuit 7, which sequentially sends a phase shifter control signal generated by the phase shift control circuit 7 to each of the antenna blocks 6. Instead of making a difference in the control time of each phase shifter 5 using the control signal delay circuit, the control signal sequential circuit 9 sequentially controls the phase shifter 5 for each antenna block 6, and the phase shifter 5 is controlled sequentially for each antenna block 6. The amount may be reset. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the invention as set forth in claim (3), and the same parts as in FIGS. 1 and 2 are given the same reference numerals to avoid redundant explanation. In the figure, lO is a serial interface built in the phase shift control circuit 7 and transmits the phase shift control signal to each of the phase shifters 5 in the form of a serial signal. In this case, if the response speed of each phase shifter 5 is made sufficiently faster than the signal speed of this serial signal, the phase shift amount can be changed in order from the phase shifter 5 that receives the phase shift control signal from the serial signal. Resetting is performed, and it becomes possible to switch the beam direction without extreme reduction in antenna gain.

【Effect of the invention】

As described above, according to the invention set forth in claim (1), since the phase shift control signal from the phase shift control circuit is configured to be transmitted to each antenna block with a different delay, the phase shift control signal is transmitted to each antenna block. The beam direction is controlled sequentially for each antenna block, making it possible to switch the beam direction without drastically reducing the antenna gain, preventing momentary signal interruptions during switching transitions, and enabling high-speed data transmission. The switching speed of each phase shifter also has the effect of being required only from the tracking speed, regardless of the data speed. Further, according to the invention described in claim (2), since the phase shift control signal is configured to be sequentially sent to each antenna block by the control signal sequential circuit built in the phase shift control circuit, the phase shift control circuit is controlled in order for each antenna program,
High-speed data transmission is possible without momentary signal interruption during beam direction switching, and the switching speed of each phase shifter is relaxed to the speed required only from the tracking speed, simplifying the hardware. This has the effect of providing a phased array antenna that saves power. Furthermore, according to the invention set forth in claim (3), since the serial interface built in the phase shift control circuit is configured to send a phase shift control signal in the form of a serial signal to each phase shifter, the phase shifter are controlled in order, and high-speed data transmission is possible without causing instantaneous signal interruption when switching beam directions.In addition, the switching speed of each phase shifter is relaxed to the speed required only from the tracking speed. Hardware simplification. This has the effect of providing a phased antenna that saves power.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a phased array antenna according to an embodiment of the invention as set forth in claim (1), FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the invention as set forth in claim (2), and FIG. The figure is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the invention according to claim (3),
FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a conventional phased array antenna. 1 is an excitation element, 4 is a feeding terminal, 5 is a phase shifter, 6 is an antenna block, 7 is a phase shift control circuit, 8 is a control signal delay circuit, 9 is a control signal sequential circuit, and 1o is a serial interface. In addition, in the figures, the same reference numerals indicate the same or equivalent parts.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A plurality of excitation elements, a phase shifter connected to each of the excitation elements, a power supply terminal for inputting a microwave signal to each of the phase shifters, and a power supply terminal for transmitting a phase shift control signal to shift the phase shifter. A phase shift control circuit that performs phase shift control of a phase shifter, and one or more of the excitation elements and the phase shifter are prepared for each antenna block, and the phase shift control circuit that is sent out from the phase shift control circuit is provided. A phased array antenna comprising a plurality of control signal delay circuits that transmit phase control signals to phase shifters of the associated antenna blocks at different delay times. (2) A plurality of excitation elements, a phase shifter connected to each of the excitation elements, a power supply terminal for inputting a microwave signal to each of the phase shifters, and a power supply terminal for transmitting a phase shift control signal to shift the phase shifter. A phase shift control circuit that performs phase shift control of a phase shifter, and an antenna block built in the phase shift control circuit and constituted by one or more of the excitation elements and the phase shifter, A phased array antenna comprising a control signal sequential circuit that transmits a phase shift control signal. (3) A plurality of excitation elements, a phase shifter connected to each of the excitation elements, a power supply terminal for inputting a microwave signal to each of the phase shifters, and a power supply terminal for transmitting a phase shift control signal to shift the phase shifter. A phased array antenna comprising a phase shift control circuit that performs phase shift control of a phase shifter, and a serial interface that is built in the phase shift control circuit and that transmits the phase shift control signal as a serial signal to each of the phase shifters. .