JPH06188802A - Beam antenna follow-up controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a compact and light beam antenna follow-up controller whose constitution can be attained at a low cost, which can be mounted even on a miniature airplane without any trouble. CONSTITUTION:At a moving station, the three-dimensional position of its own station is detected by a three-dimensional position detecting part 1, and transmitted through a transmitting part 2 from a non-directivity antenna 3. At a fixed station, the three-dimensional position information of the moving station is received by a non-directivity antenna 4 and a receiving part 5, and applied to a beam antenna azimuth and elevation angle arithmetic part 6. Then, the already known fixed station three-dimensional position is inputted from a fixed station three-dimensional position information inputting part 7 to the arithmetic part 6. The arithmetic part 6 computes the azimuth and elevation angle of the moving station by using the position of the fixed station as a reference based on the three-dimensional position information of the moving station and the fixed station, and applies it to a beam antenna azimuth and elevation angle control part 8. As the result, a beam antenna 9 is controlled so that a beam direction can be faced to the moving station.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a beam antenna tracking control device for always directing the beam directions of the beam antennas of an aircraft as a mobile station and a fixed station respectively to the direction of the partner station.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A monopulse tracking method is widely used as a beam antenna tracking method. This monopulse tracking method receives the radio waves coming from the other station by a plurality of receiving antennas physically separated and a receiver set correspondingly, and compares the phase and amplitude of the output signal of each receiver. However, this is a method of calculating an error between the arrival direction of the radio wave and the beam direction of the beam antenna, and performing tracking while performing closed loop control in a direction in which the error amount is canceled.

[0003]

By the way, in order to transmit not only voice information but also moving image information from an aircraft which is a mobile station, a beam antenna is set in the aircraft,
It is necessary to perform wideband transmission between an aircraft and a fixed station on the ground, and in that case, how to configure the beam antenna tracking method is a problem.

That is, since the monopulse tracking system is provided with a plurality of receiving systems, the device becomes large and the weight increases. Moreover, since the phases and amplitudes of the outputs of the receiving systems are compared, the parts used are inevitably expensive. Therefore, when trying to track a fixed station by applying this method to a mobile station, it becomes difficult to install if the mobile station is a small aircraft such as a helicopter, and if it is forcibly installed, the number of passengers must be reduced. There is a problem that it does not occur, and it is also a problem that it is expensive.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a beam antenna tracking control device which can be inexpensively constructed and can be mounted on a small aircraft without trouble.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the beam antenna tracking controller of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, the beam antenna tracking control device of the first invention is a beam antenna tracking control device including a mobile station and a fixed station; the mobile station is an omnidirectional antenna; and the three-dimensional position of the mobile station is A means for detecting; a means for transmitting the detected three-dimensional position information of the mobile station from the omnidirectional antenna, wherein the fixed station has an omnidirectional antenna; and the movement received by the omnidirectional antenna. Means for receiving and processing the three-dimensional position information of the station; means for inputting the three-dimensional position of the fixed station; beam antenna; and three-dimensional position information of the mobile station subjected to the reception processing and three of the fixed station input Means for calculating the azimuth and elevation of the antenna necessary to direct the beam direction of the beam antenna to the three-dimensional position of the mobile station based on the dimensional position information; It is characterized in further comprising a; serial and means for controlling the beam direction of the beam antenna.

The beam antenna tracking control device of the second invention is a beam antenna tracking control device set in a mobile station; means for detecting the three-dimensional position of the mobile station; and a nose of the mobile station. Means for detecting the azimuth and tilt respectively; means for inputting the three-dimensional position of the fixed station; beam antenna; three-dimensional position information of the mobile station, heading and tilt, and three-dimensional position information of the fixed station Means for calculating the azimuth angle and elevation angle of the antenna necessary for directing the beam direction of the beam antenna to the three-dimensional position of the fixed station; and controlling the beam direction of the beam antenna according to the calculated azimuth angle and elevation angle. It is characterized by having means and ;.

[0008]

Next, the operation of the beam antenna tracking control device of the present invention constructed as described above will be described. In the first invention,
The mobile station detects its own three-dimensional position information and transmits it from the omnidirectional antenna. The fixed station controls the beam direction of the beam antenna toward the mobile station based on the three-dimensional position information of the mobile station received by the omnidirectional antenna and the three-dimensional position information of the own station.

In the second invention, the mobile station determines the beam direction of the beam antenna from the detected three-dimensional position information of the own station, the heading and inclination of the head station and the known three-dimensional position information of the fixed station. Control to the direction of.

As described above, according to the present invention, the equipment to be mounted on the mobile station can be made compact and lightweight and inexpensive, so that it is possible to provide a beam antenna tracking control device which can be mounted on a small aircraft without trouble. .

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a beam antenna tracking control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The tracking control device according to the first embodiment is
It is composed of a mobile station (a) and a fixed station (b).

As shown in FIG. 1A, the mobile station basically comprises a three-dimensional position detecting section 1, a transmitting section 2 and an omnidirectional antenna 3 to omnidirectionally transmit its own three-dimensional position information. The wireless antenna 3 wirelessly transmits to the space in all directions.

Specifically, the three-dimensional position detecting section 1 uses the GP
A radio navigation device such as an S (Global Positioning System) receiver, which uses a GPS receiver to display latitude, longitude, and altitude.
The dimensional position information is updated and acquired at a rate of about 1 second.

Then, the transmitting section 2 puts the acquired three-dimensional position information on a radio frequency and transmits it from the omnidirectional antenna 3, but the three-dimensional position information updated at a rate of about 1 second is the information of the voice band. Since sufficient transmission is possible if there is a transmission capacity, a device having a performance equivalent to that of a VHF band voice transmission transmitter is specifically used.

On the other hand, the fixed station includes an omnidirectional antenna 4, a receiving section 5, a beam antenna azimuth / elevation angle calculation section 6, a fixed station three-dimensional position information input section 7, a beam antenna azimuth / elevation angle control section 8 and a beam antenna 9. Is basically provided to obtain the three-dimensional position information of the mobile station and direct the beam antenna 9 toward the corresponding mobile station.
Is oriented.

That is, in the fixed station, the radio wave including the three-dimensional position information of the mobile station is received by the omnidirectional antenna 4, the three-dimensional position information of the mobile station is extracted by the receiving section 5, and the beam antenna direction is received. The angle is input to the elevation / angle calculation unit 6. In short, a fixed station is a mobile station regardless of the positional relationship between the mobile station and the fixed station.
The dimensional position information can be received.

Since the known three-dimensional position information of the fixed station is keyed in from the fixed station three-dimensional position information input unit 7 and given to the beam antenna azimuth angle elevation angle calculation unit 6,
The beam antenna azimuth angle elevation angle calculation unit 6 calculates the azimuth angle and elevation angle of the mobile station with the position of the fixed station as a reference point based on the three-dimensional position information of each of the mobile station and the fixed station. This is given to the elevation control unit 8.

As a result, the beam antenna 9 is controlled under the control of the beam antenna azimuth / elevation angle control unit 8 so that the beam direction is directed to the three-dimensional position of the mobile station.

The beam antenna azimuth / elevation angle calculator 6
Then, if the velocity is calculated from the change in the three-dimensional position of the mobile station and the position can be predicted and tracked based on it,
Even when the communication condition between the mobile station and the fixed station deteriorates, the pointing direction control of the beam antenna 9 can be continued.

Further, in the three-dimensional position detecting section 1 of the mobile station,
If the velocity information of the mobile station is included in the three-dimensional position information and transmitted, it becomes possible to more accurately predict and track the position of the mobile station, which is performed by the beam antenna azimuth / elevation angle calculation unit 6. .

Next, FIG. 2 shows a beam antenna tracking controller according to another embodiment of the present invention. The tracking control device according to the second embodiment is installed in a mobile station, and in addition to the three-dimensional position detecting section 1, an azimuth detecting section 10, an inclination detecting section 11, a fixed station three-dimensional position information input section 12 and a beam. Antenna azimuth / elevation angle calculation unit 13 and beam antenna azimuth / elevation angle control unit 14
The beam antenna 15 is basically provided, and the beam antenna 15 is directed toward the fixed station.

The azimuth detecting section 10 detects which direction the mobile station is facing, and is composed of, for example, a gyro compass. Further, the tilt detector 11 detects how much the mobile station is tilted from the vertical direction.
For example, it is composed of a vertical gyro. Furthermore, known three-dimensional position information of a fixed station is keyed in from the fixed station three-dimensional position information input unit 12.

Then, the beam antenna azimuth / elevation angle calculation unit 13 determines the fixed station with the position of the mobile station as a reference point based on the flight direction and inclination of the mobile station and the three-dimensional position information of each of the mobile station and the fixed station. The azimuth angle and the elevation angle are calculated and given to the beam antenna azimuth angle elevation angle control unit 14.

As a result, under the control of the beam antenna azimuth / elevation angle controller 14, the beam antenna 15 is controlled so that the beam direction is directed to the three-dimensional position of the fixed station. In addition,
The beam antenna 15 is as large as a satellite dish receiving parabolic antenna.

Next, FIG. 3 shows an application example of the beam antenna tracking control device of the present invention. That is, an omnidirectional antenna and a beam antenna are set in both the helicopter as a mobile station and the fixed station, and the beam directions of both beam antennas are made to coincide with each other by tracking by either the first embodiment or the second embodiment. , It is possible to stably perform wideband transmission at frequencies above the UHF band. Specifically, moving image information can be stably transmitted from the helicopter one by one.

[0026]

As described above, according to the beam antenna tracking control device of the present invention, the fixed station identifies the mobile station based on the three-dimensional position information of each of the mobile station and the fixed station.
(Invention) or the mobile station can track the fixed station (second invention), so the equipment installed in the mobile station is small and lightweight,
Moreover, there is an effect that it is possible to provide a beam antenna tracking control device that can be configured with a low cost and can be mounted on a small aircraft without trouble.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a beam antenna tracking control device according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a configuration block diagram of a mobile station,
(B) is a configuration block diagram of a fixed station.

FIG. 2 is a configuration block diagram of a beam antenna tracking control device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing an application example of a beam antenna tracking control device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 3D position detection unit 2 Transmission unit 3 Omnidirectional antenna 4 Omnidirectional antenna 5 Reception unit 6 Beam antenna Azimuth angle elevation angle calculation unit 7 Fixed station 3D position information input unit 8 Beam antenna Azimuth angle elevation angle control unit 9 Beam antenna 12 fixed station three-dimensional position information input unit 13 beam antenna azimuth / elevation angle calculation unit 14 beam antenna azimuth / elevation angle control unit 15 beam antenna

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A beam antenna tracking control device comprising a mobile station and a fixed station; a mobile station, an omnidirectional antenna; means for detecting a three-dimensional position of the mobile station; Means for transmitting three-dimensional position information of a mobile station from the omnidirectional antenna; a fixed station having an omnidirectional antenna; and receiving three-dimensional position information of the mobile station received by the omnidirectional antenna. Means for processing; means for inputting the three-dimensional position of the fixed station; beam antenna; and the beam antenna based on the three-dimensional position information of the mobile station that has undergone the reception processing and the three-dimensional position information of the fixed station input Means for calculating the azimuth angle and elevation angle of the antenna necessary for directing the beam direction of the beam to the three-dimensional position of the mobile station; and controlling the beam direction of the beam antenna according to the calculated azimuth angle and elevation angle. Means to control;
A beam antenna tracking control device comprising: 2. A beam antenna tracking control device set in a mobile station; means for detecting a three-dimensional position of the mobile station; means for detecting a heading and a tilt of the mobile station, respectively. Means for inputting the three-dimensional position of the fixed station; beam antenna; beam direction of the beam antenna of the fixed station based on the three-dimensional position information of the mobile station, heading and tilt, and three-dimensional position information of the fixed station A means for calculating an azimuth angle and an elevation angle of the antenna necessary for directing to a three-dimensional position; a means for controlling a beam direction of the beam antenna according to the calculated azimuth angle and elevation angle; Beam antenna tracking controller.