JPH08307136A - Automatic satellite tracking antenna system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To attain miniaturization, light weight and low cost without mounting an elevation angle direction tracking mechanism, a polarized wave front rotation tracking mechanism, and a high frequency circuit section to an antenna itself in the automatic linear polarized wave satellite tracking antenna system used while being mounted on a mobile body such as a vehicle. CONSTITUTION: The antenna system is provided with a antenna turning drive mechanism sets 25-27, 29, 30 driving a linear polarized wave plane antenna 11 having a preset wide beam on a disk shaped fixed base 13 mounted on a mobile body and reflecting plate rotation drive mechanism sets 14, 15, 21-23 driving a beam reflecting plate 16 reflecting the antenna beam of the plane antenna 11 in response to a direction of a satellite elevation angle on the base 13 mounted on the mobile body. Then each drive mechanism is driven in response to a level of a reception signal fed from the plane antenna 11 to a controller 19 via a high frequency rotary coupler 28 and a low noise block down-converter(LNB) 12.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a linearly polarized satellite automatic tracking antenna device used by being mounted on a moving body such as a vehicle or a ship.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a linearly polarized satellite automatic tracking antenna device mounted on a mobile body, radio waves arriving from a satellite are received and each tracking mechanism is controlled by using the received signal. .

As the linear polarization satellite automatic tracking antenna device, a horizontal rotation tracking mechanism for horizontally rotating the beam direction of the antenna as the moving body moves in the left-right direction, and a vertical rotating direction for the moving body. An elevation angle tracking mechanism that displaces the beam direction of the antenna in the elevation angle direction with inclination,
It is equipped with three types of tracking mechanisms, a polarization plane rotation tracking mechanism for making the polarization plane of the antenna the same as that of a satellite. The antenna itself has an elevation direction tracking mechanism, a polarization plane rotation tracking mechanism, and the frequency of the received signal. A low noise block down converter (LNB) for converting and extracting is mounted.

Particularly, in the 14/12 GHz band communication satellite, the frequencies of adjacent CHs (channels) overlap each other, and cross polarization components must be suppressed in order to reduce interference between adjacent CHs. I have to. Therefore, the polarization plane rotation tracking mechanism for matching the antenna polarization planes of the communication satellite and the satellite automatic tracking antenna device is required.

Therefore, a high-frequency rotary coupler and a power source for introducing the received signal from the low noise block down converter (LNB) to the fixed portion side between the movable body fixed portion side and the rotating portion side, and A DC coupler for transmitting control signals for elevation angle tracking, polarization plane rotation tracking, etc. to the rotating part side is required.

[0006]

That is, the above-mentioned conventional automatic tracking antenna device is a low noise block converter for extracting the antenna itself by tracking the elevation direction tracking mechanism, the polarization plane rotation tracking mechanism, and the received signal thereof by frequency conversion. Since the (LNB) is mounted, both the rotary system and the coupling system are complicated, heavy and large in size, and there is a problem that it is difficult to reduce the size, the weight and the price, which are generally popular.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a satellite automatic tracking antenna device that can be reduced in size, weight, and price without mounting an elevation angle tracking mechanism, a polarization plane rotation tracking mechanism, and a high-frequency circuit unit on the antenna itself.

[0008]

That is, a satellite automatic tracking antenna device according to claim 1 of the present invention is a linearly polarized antenna having a preset wide beam, and is perpendicular to the antenna plane of the linearly polarized antenna. Antenna rotation fixing means for rotatably arranging the antenna on the movable body fixing portion with respect to the axis, antenna rotation driving means for rotating the linear polarization antenna on the moving body fixing portion, and the linear polarization antenna Beam reflector for reflecting the antenna beam of the antenna in correspondence with the elevation angle of the satellite, reflector rotation fixing means for arranging the beam reflector in the horizontal direction so that the reflection direction of the beam reflector is rotatable, and the movable body. Reflector rotation driving means for rotating the beam reflector in the fixed portion,
It is characterized by comprising level-corresponding control means for controlling rotation of the antenna rotation driving means and the reflector rotation driving means in accordance with the level of the signal received from the antenna.

A satellite automatic tracking antenna device according to a second aspect of the present invention is the satellite automatic tracking antenna device according to the first aspect, further comprising a horizontal direction and an elevation angle direction of the moving body fixing portion, or the same. Displacement detecting means for detecting displacement in any one direction, and displacement corresponding control means for rotationally controlling the antenna rotation driving means and the reflection plate rotation driving means in accordance with the displacement of the movable body fixing portion by the displacement detection means. It is characterized by having done.

[0010]

That is, in the satellite automatic tracking antenna device according to the first aspect of the present invention, the linearly polarized antenna and the beam reflector are rotated by the antenna rotation drive mechanism and the reflector rotation drive mechanism arranged on the moving body fixing portion, respectively. Freely configured, antenna polarization angle 360 °, horizontal beam angle 360
Therefore, the low rotation noise block converter (LNB), the polarization plane tracking mechanism, the horizontal rotation tracking mechanism, and the plurality of rotary couplers have been conventionally required along with the antenna. The two horizontal tracking mechanisms and one high-frequency rotary coupler are simplified.

Since the antenna beam is not only set to be reflected by the beam reflector in correspondence with the satellite elevation angle but also has a wide beam, for example, when the vehicle body is displaced in the elevation angle direction due to a road gradient or the like. However, the decrease in level of the antenna beam in the elevation direction is suppressed to a minimum,
A practically sufficient reception signal level can be obtained without providing a beam tracking function in the elevation direction.

Further, in the satellite automatic tracking antenna device according to the second aspect, in the satellite automatic tracking antenna device according to the first aspect, displacement of the movable body fixing portion by the displacement detecting means in a horizontal direction or an elevation angle direction is performed. The antenna rotation drive mechanism and the reflector rotation drive mechanism are controlled accordingly, so that the satellite position relative to the antenna is always detected, and the satellite acquisition time associated with the initial acquisition of the satellite and the reacquisition of the satellite after retracing, etc. Will be shortened.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a satellite automatic tracking antenna device for reception according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

This automatic tracking antenna device is provided with a plane antenna 11 for linearly polarized waves. This plane antenna 1
1 is, for example, a radial line type planar antenna (R.
A. : Radial Antenna) and has a wide beam having a half-power half-value angle of, for example, 5 ° to 10 °, and a low noise block down converter (LNB) 12 is disposed in the center of the lower surface side of the planar antenna 11. It

A circular fixed base 1 fixedly installed on a moving body.
An annular antenna rotating frame 30 is provided on the inner peripheral portion of the antenna 3 through an antenna rotating mechanism 29 having a ball bearing built therein.
It is rotatably arranged with respect to the circular fixed base 13 by 0.

The low noise block down converter (LNB) 12 is arranged at the center of the circular fixed base 13 and is connected to the central portion on the lower surface side of the planar antenna 11 via a high frequency rotary coupler 28.

The low noise block down converter (LNB) 12 contains a high frequency circuit board (SHF) and an intermediate frequency circuit board (IF), and is derived from the planar antenna 11 via its feeding probe and the high frequency rotary coupler 28. The low-noise block down converter (LNB) 12 is mounted and fixed on the circular fixed base 13 fixed to the moving body. To be done.

An annular reflector rotating frame 15 is provided on the outer periphery of the circular fixed base 13 rising along the outer periphery of the planar antenna 11 via a reflector rotating mechanism portion 14 having a built-in ball bearing. One end of a planar beam reflector 16 which is sufficiently larger than the radiation plate surface of the planar antenna 11 is attached via an elevation angle adjusting mechanism 17 to an arbitrary position on the reflector rotating frame 15.

That is, the reflector rotating frame 15 is rotatably provided in parallel with the outer periphery of the planar antenna 11 and rotates the reflector 16 in the horizontal direction. Here, the reflector 16 is a planar antenna. The elevation angle adjustment mechanism 17 adjusts the elevation angle so that the antenna beam 11 is reflected in the elevation angle direction corresponding to the arrival direction of the satellite radio wave.

The received signal converted into the intermediate frequency band by the low noise block down converter (LNB) 12 is supplied to the input of the receiver through the distributor 18, and the other of the received signals is DC depending on the received signal level. It is converted into a signal and supplied to the controller 19.

Further, this automatic tracking antenna device is provided with a position sensor 20, which detects the position, inclination angle, and azimuth angle of the moving body according to the movement of the moving body, and supplies the detection signal to the controller 19. .

Here, the position of the moving body in the position sensor 20 is measured by, for example, a GPS device, the tilt angle is measured by an inclinometer, and the azimuth angle is measured by an azimuth meter. On the other hand, an antenna rotation frame 30 for horizontally rotating the planar antenna 11 is rotated by an antenna motor (M) 25 via an antenna roller 26. The antenna motor 25 responds to an antenna motor drive signal from the controller 19. Driven by the antenna motor driver 27.

A reflector rotating frame 15 for horizontally rotating the beam reflector 16 is rotated by a reflector motor (M) 21 via a reflector roller 22, and the reflector motor 21 controls the controller 19. It is driven by the reflector motor driver 23 in accordance with the reflector motor drive control signal from.

Then, for example, a vehicle-mounted DC power supply signal is input to the power supply 24 and distributed and supplied to each part of the control system and the drive system. The controller 19 is a program-controlled CPU
A reflector having a (macro processor), which detects the intermediate frequency signal of the reception signal supplied from the distributor 18 and maximizes the reception signal level of the desired polarization and minimizes the reception signal level of the crossed polarizations. The control signals are output to the reflector motor driver 23 and the antenna motor driver 27, respectively, so that the rotation angle and the antenna rotation angle are obtained.

Next, the operation of the satellite automatic tracking antenna device having the above configuration will be described. When the device power supply 24 is turned on, the direction of the receiving satellite with respect to this antenna device is captured based on the position, tilt angle, and azimuth angle of the moving body supplied from the position sensor 20 to the controller 19, and the beam reflector 1
The motor drive control signal from the controller 19 is supplied to the reflector motor driver 23 so that the reflector 6 can be set by directing its reflected beam in the direction of the receiving satellite. The rotation of the beam reflector 16 is controlled via the plate rotating frame 15.

Here, when the controller 19 determines that the received signal level of the desired polarization supplied from the planar antenna 11 via the distributor 18 is below a predetermined level Lth, initial acquisition control (wiper) is performed. Mode) is started,
First, a motor drive control signal is output to the reflector motor driver 23 to drive the reflector motor 21, and the beam reflector 16 is rotated to the right or left via the reflector roller 22 and the reflector rotating frame 15. It

At this time, if the antenna beam reflected by the beam reflector 16 coincides with the direction of the incoming radio wave from the satellite, the received signal level becomes the maximum level. Therefore, the beam reflection is performed so as to obtain this maximum received signal level. Board 1
6 is rotationally controlled in the left-right direction.

When the level of the received signal supplied to the controller 19 is maximized by the horizontal rotation control of the beam reflector 16, the output of the motor drive control signal to the reflector motor 21 is stopped and the beam reflector 16 is stopped. Is in a state where its reflected beam is set to match the direction of the incoming radio wave from the satellite.

At the same time, a motor drive control signal is output to the antenna motor driver 27 to drive the antenna motor 25, so that the planar antenna 11 becomes the antenna roller 2.
It is rotated rightward or leftward via 6 and the antenna rotation frame 30.

At this time, if the plane of polarization of the plane antenna 11 coincides with the plane of polarization of the desired polarization from the satellite, the received signal level of the desired polarization becomes maximum and the received signal level of cross polarization becomes minimum. Therefore, the planar antenna 11 is rotationally controlled in the left-right direction so that the maximum reception signal level can be obtained with the desired polarization and the minimum reception signal level can be obtained with the cross polarization.

Then, when the polarization plane tracking control of the plane antenna 11 maximizes the reception signal level of the desired polarization supplied to the controller 19 and minimizes the reception signal level of the cross polarization, the antenna motor 25 is operated. The output of the motor drive control signal is stopped, and the plane antenna 11 is in a state where its plane of polarization is set to match the desired plane of polarization of the satellite radio wave.

Then, in the controller 19, the control mode is switched from the initial capture control (wiper mode) to the displacement control (continuous tracking mode). That is, when the maximum received signal level is obtained in the desired polarization plane, that is, when the displacement control (continuous tracking mode) is switched to, the azimuth signal supplied from the position sensor 20 is used as a reference, and thereafter Based on the change in the azimuth signal supplied with the azimuth displacement of the vehicle body, a motor drive control signal corresponding to the azimuth change is output to the reflector motor driver 23 and the antenna motor driver 27. The direction of the antenna beam reflected by the beam reflector 16 from the antenna 11 and the plane of polarization of the plane antenna 11 are controlled so that the maximum received signal level of the desired plane of polarization is maintained.

After that, due to the accumulated error due to the displacement control, the antenna beam of the planar antenna 11 deviates from the arrival direction of the satellite radio wave or deviates from the desired polarization plane, and the received signal level supplied to the controller 19 reaches a predetermined level. When it falls below Lth, the control mode is switched to the initial capture control (wiper mode) again.

In this case, the position sensor 20 measures the position, tilt angle, and azimuth angle of the moving body to capture the direction of the receiving satellite with respect to this antenna device, and the direction of the antenna beam in the direction of the captured receiving satellite. Since the rotation is controlled in advance, the acquisition time associated with the initial acquisition of the satellite and the reacquisition of the satellite after the tunnel is moved can be shortened.

Moreover, when a GPS device is used to measure the position of the moving body, it depends on whether or not GPS satellites are received.
Since it is determined that the vehicle is passing through a place where satellites cannot be received, such as a tunnel, it is possible to eliminate useless satellite acquisition control operation in this place where satellites cannot be received.

On the other hand, the antenna beam of the planar antenna 11 is not only set to be reflected by the beam reflector 16 in correspondence with the satellite elevation angle, but also has a half-power angle of 5 °, for example.
Since the beam is a wide beam of -10 °, even if the vehicle body is slightly displaced in the elevation direction due to a road gradient or the like, the level reduction of the antenna beam in the elevation direction can be suppressed to 1 to 2 dB or less, and the beam in the elevation direction can be suppressed. Even if the tracking function is not provided, a practically sufficient received signal level can be obtained.

Therefore, according to the satellite automatic tracking antenna device having the above-mentioned configuration, the linearly polarized plane antenna 11 having a preset wide beam is rotatably mounted on the circular fixed base 13 installed on the moving body. Antenna rotation drive mechanism 25, 26, 27, 29, 3 which is arranged and rotationally driven
0 and a beam reflector 16 for reflecting the antenna beam of the planar antenna 11 in correspondence with the direction of satellite elevation angle are rotatably arranged and rotatably arranged on a circular fixed base 13 installed on the moving body. Reflector rotation drive mechanism 14,
15, 21, 22, 23 are provided, and the planar antenna 1
The rotation of the antenna rotation drive mechanism and the reflection plate rotation drive mechanism is controlled according to the received signal level supplied from 1 to the controller 19 via the high frequency rotary coupler 28 and the low noise block down converter (LNB) 12. ,
Even without providing a horizontal direction tracking mechanism, a polarization plane tracking mechanism, and an elevation angle tracking mechanism on the plane antenna 11 side itself, good satellite automatic tracking can be performed, and it is easy to mount on a mobile body and is easy to be popularized. Light weight and low price can be realized.

Further, according to the satellite automatic tracking antenna device having the above structure, the position sensor 20 measures the position, tilt angle, and azimuth of the moving body to capture the direction of the receiving satellite, and based on this, the horizontal rotation tracking is performed. And polarization plane tracking, so
The acquisition time can be greatly shortened in the initial acquisition and the re-acquisition after the start of reception.

In the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1,
Although the satellite automatic tracking antenna device dedicated to reception has been described, it may be configured as a satellite automatic tracking antenna device for transmission and reception, as shown in, for example, the second embodiment in FIG.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the structure of a satellite automatic tracking antenna device for transmission / reception according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
In the satellite automatic tracking antenna device for transmission / reception in FIG. 2, by adding a transmission up-converter 41, a transmission amplifier 42, and a duplexer 43 to the satellite automatic tracking antenna device for reception in FIG. Both are configured to perform satellite automatic tracking.

In this case, in particular, at the time of transmission, interference of adjacent CHs interferes with other communications, so that it is necessary to suppress cross polarization components more than the above-mentioned receiving device. Therefore, for example, the cross polarization reception signal level using the demodulation signal level in the tuner or the like is input to the controller 19 as the cross polarization identification signal, or the cross polarization associated with the transmission of this transmission / reception device is transmitted. The transmission signal level may be received as data from the base station that is a communication partner, demodulated by the tuner, and then input to the controller 19 as a cross polarization identification signal.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the structure of a satellite automatic tracking antenna device capable of sharing orthogonal polarizations according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The satellite automatic tracking antenna apparatus capable of sharing orthogonal polarizations in FIG. 3 is different from the satellite automatic tracking antenna apparatus for reception in FIG.
1. A low noise block down converter (V.LNB) 53, (H.LNB) 54 corresponding to each polarization while using a high-frequency rotary coupler 52 for dual orthogonal polarization
By using, the satellite automatic tracking antenna that can share two orthogonal polarizations is configured.

[0043]

As described above, according to the satellite automatic tracking antenna device in accordance with the first aspect of the present invention, the linearly polarized antenna and the beam reflector are arranged in the movable body fixing portion, and the antenna rotation drive mechanism is provided. It is configured to be rotatable by a reflector rotation driving mechanism, and tracking of an antenna polarization angle of 360 ° and a horizontal beam angle of 360 ° is performed. Therefore, conventionally, a low noise block converter (LNB) and a polarization converter have been used in association with an antenna. Wavefront tracking mechanism, Horizontal rotation tracking mechanism,
The need for a plurality of rotary couplers is simplified to two horizontally rotating tracking mechanisms having a common rotation axis and one high-frequency rotary coupler. The antenna beam is not only reflected by the beam reflector in accordance with the elevation angle of the satellite, but also has a wide beam, so that even if the vehicle body is slightly displaced in the elevation direction due to, for example, a road gradient, The level drop of the antenna beam in the elevation direction can be suppressed to a minimum, and a practically sufficient reception signal level can be obtained without providing a beam tracking function in the elevation direction.

According to the satellite automatic tracking antenna device of the second aspect of the present invention, in the satellite automatic tracking antenna device of the first aspect, the horizontal direction and the elevation angle direction of the moving body fixing portion by the displacement detecting means. The rotation of the antenna rotation drive mechanism and the reflector rotation drive mechanism is controlled in accordance with the displacement of the satellite, so that the satellite position relative to the antenna is always detected, and the satellite is initially captured or re-acquired after moving in a tunnel. The satellite acquisition time will be shortened.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the automatic satellite tracking that enables downsizing, weight reduction and cost reduction without mounting the elevation direction tracking mechanism, the polarization plane rotation tracking mechanism and the high frequency circuit section on the antenna itself. An antenna device can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a satellite automatic tracking antenna device for reception according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a satellite automatic tracking antenna device for transmission / reception according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a satellite automatic tracking antenna device capable of sharing orthogonal polarizations according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 ... Linearly polarized plane antenna, 12 ... Low noise block down converter (LNB), 13 ... Circular fixed base, 14 ... Reflector rotation mechanism part, 15 ... Reflector rotation frame, 1
6 ... Beam reflector, 17 ... Elevation angle adjusting mechanism, 18 ... Distributor, 19 ... Controller, 20 ... Position sensor, 21 ... Reflector motor, 22 ... Reflector roller, 23 ... Reflector motor driver, 24 ... Power supply , 25 ... Antenna motor, 26 ... Antenna roller, 27 ... Antenna motor driver, 28 ... High frequency rotary coupler, 29 ... Antenna rotation mechanism section, 30 ... Antenna rotation frame, 41 ... Transmission up-converter, 42 ... Transmission amplifier (AMP), 43 ... Duplexer, 51 ... Orthogonal polarization shared antenna, 52 ... Orthogonal polarization shared high frequency rotary coupler, 5
3 ... Vertical polarization low noise block down converter (V.LNB), 54 ... Horizontal polarization low noise block down converter (H.LNB).

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A linearly polarized wave antenna having a preset wide beam, and an antenna rotation for arranging the linearly polarized wave antenna on a movable body fixing portion so that the antenna can be rotated about an axis perpendicular to an antenna surface of the linearly polarized wave antenna. Fixing means, antenna rotation driving means for rotatably driving the linearly polarized antenna at the movable body fixing portion, a beam reflector for reflecting the antenna beam of the linearly polarized antenna in correspondence with the direction of satellite elevation angle, and this beam The reflector rotation fixing means for arranging the reflecting direction of the reflector in the horizontal direction in the movable body fixing portion, the reflecting plate rotation driving means for rotating the beam reflecting plate in the movable body fixing portion, and the antenna And a level-corresponding control means for controlling rotation of the antenna rotation driving means and the reflector rotation driving means in accordance with the received signal level. A satellite automatic tracking antenna device. 2. A displacement detecting means for detecting a displacement of the moving body fixing portion in a horizontal direction and / or an elevation angle direction, and the antenna according to the displacement of the moving body fixing portion by the displacement detecting means. 2. The satellite automatic tracking antenna device according to claim 1, further comprising: displacement-corresponding control means for rotationally controlling the rotation driving means and the reflector rotation driving means.