JPH0915324A - Radar target wave simulation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To perform a highly accurate angle simulation for radar target wave. CONSTITUTION: Transmitted signals from a transmission signal generating part 14 is distributed through a signal distributing part 12 and they are supplied to a plurality of transmitting antennas 151 and 152 through a phase control part 13 and a power control part 14. The parts 13 and 14 control the phase and power of the transmission signals of respective systems in a manner that the phase and amplitude of radiated waves from a plurality of transmitting antennas become equal at the reception point respectively by means of phase/ amplitude equaling control parts 161 and 17 to 20. Further, angle detection parts 162, 163, 21 and 22 detect an arrival angle of a single space radiated wave at the reception point at the time when the designated angle data is converted into power control data by an angle-power conversion part 25 and it is given to the power control part for controlling the power. An angle error detection part 23 compares the detected angle with the designated angle data so as to obtain an angle error and an angle error correction part 24 corrects the designated angle data according to the obtained angle error.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a radar / target wave simulator having various angle simulation functions.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, a radar / target wave simulating apparatus transmits a radar / target wave from a transmitting apparatus to a test radar located at a receiving point, so that a target radar can be transmitted from a target to a test radar. This is to test the various characteristics by receiving the reflected signal in a simulated manner. In particular, the transmission system of the radar / target wave simulator that simulates various angles is configured as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a signal distributor for distributing a transmission signal A. 2 is the angle at which the angle data B to be simulated is converted into power control data C using the principle of Glint /
It is a power conversion unit.

[0004] Reference numeral 3 denotes a power control unit, which is a variable attenuator 31,
32, performs power control on the transmission signal transmitted from the signal distribution unit 1 according to the power control data C generated by the angle / power conversion unit 2, and transmits the transmission signal D and the transmission signal E
Generate A transmission antenna unit 4 includes transmission antennas 41 and 42 and radiates the transmission signal D and the transmission signal E generated by the power control unit 3 to form a single spatial radiation wave.

In the above configuration, the principle of glint will be briefly described. As shown in FIG.
1 and 42 are directed to observation points (reception points) at the same distance from each other, and transmission signals D, 42 having the same wavelength, the same phase, and the same power (that is, the same amplitude) are respectively transmitted from the transmission antennas 41 and 42.
E at the same time, the transmitting antenna 41,
There appears to be a wave source in the direction of the midpoint of 42.

From this state, when the power of the system of one transmitting antenna (41 in the figure) is reduced and the power of the system of the other transmitting antenna (42 in the figure) is increased, the magnetic field strength vectors H1, H2 and electric field strength vectors E1, E
2 changes as shown in the figure. Therefore, at the observation point,
The apparent wave source moves in a direction orthogonal to the composite vector H1 + H2. This phenomenon is generally called the glint principle.

The simulator having the above configuration utilizes the above-described glint principle. The angle / power converter 2 converts the angle data B into power control data C based on the glint principle.
The power control data C controls the attenuation of the variable attenuators 31 and 32 of the power control unit 3. Thereby, a radar target wave can be transmitted to the test radar from an arbitrary angle.

However, in the conventional radar / target wave simulator having the above configuration, the condition is that the phase and the amplitude due to the path error of each system from the distribution point of the signal distribution unit to the reception point are equivalent. .

For this reason, conventionally, as preprocessing, the distance from the distribution point of the signal distribution unit 1 to each of the transmission antennas 41 and 42 is adjusted so as to be equal to each other, and the distance from each of the transmission antennas 41 and 42 to the reception point is adjusted. Are adjusted so as to be equal to each other, and the phases of the transmission signals of the respective systems are adjusted. Also, the distribution ratio of the signal distribution unit 1 and the attenuation characteristics of the variable attenuators 31 and 32 are adjusted so as to be equal to each other, so that the amplitude of the transmission signal of each system is adjusted.

[0010] By the way, with the improvement of the accuracy of the radar technology, the simulation device has also been required to improve the accuracy.
Strict phase and amplitude adjustments are required. However, in the above-described conventional configuration, not only the adjustment work is complicated, but also because the frequency characteristics and the temperature characteristics of each component are not taken into account, it is difficult to improve the adjustment accuracy.

Further, even if the adjustment is complete, it is not possible to avoid an error or the like when converting the angle data into the power control data, and whether the actual angle at the receiving point is a desired angle. Each time the angle data is changed, the actual angle must be measured, and power adjustment or angle data correction must be performed.

[0012]

As described above, in the conventional radar / target wave simulator having an angle simulation function, it is complicated and difficult to adjust the phase, amplitude and angle error with high accuracy. The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and can easily make the phase and the amplitude due to the path difference equal, and easily take into account the frequency characteristics and the temperature characteristics of each component. An object of the present invention is to provide a radar / target wave simulator capable of correcting an angle error.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention radiates the same transmission signal from a plurality of transmitting antennas equidistant from the receiving point toward the receiving point, and radiates a single space. By controlling the transmission power ratios of the plurality of transmitting antennas according to the designated angle data while forming a wave, a single spatial radiation wave from the designated angle to the test radar arranged at the reception point In a radar / target wave simulation device having an angle simulation function for giving a target wave, a transmission signal generation unit that generates a transmission signal that serves as a reference for angle correction and a transmission signal generated by this transmission signal generation unit are distributed. Based on the phase control data, the signal distributor that supplies the plurality of transmitting antennas and the phases of the transmission signals that are distributed and supplied from the signal distributor to the plurality of transmitting antennas. A phase control unit for controlling, a power control unit for controlling respective powers of transmission signals distributed and supplied from the signal distribution unit to the plurality of transmission antennas based on power control data, and the plurality of transmissions at the reception point. Phase / amplitude equivalent control means for detecting the phase and amplitude of the radiated wave of each antenna and controlling the phase and power of the transmission signal of each system through the phase control part and the power control part so as to be equivalent to each other; An angle / power conversion unit that converts angle data into power control data and sends the power control data to the power control unit, and detects the arrival angle of a single spatial radiation wave at the reception point when power control is performed based on the designated angle data. Angle detecting means for determining the angle error by comparing the detected angle of the means with the specified angle data, and the angle error detecting means based on the angle error obtained by the means. There characterized by comprising the angle correction means for correcting the power control data.

[0014]

In the radar target wave simulation apparatus having the above-described structure, after controlling the transmission power and the phase of the plurality of antennas so that the phase and the amplitude at the receiving point become equivalent,
The arrival angle of the single space radiation wave at the receiving point when the specified angle is given is detected, the angle error from the specified angle is obtained, and the power control data is corrected so that this angle error is eliminated.

[0015]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a radar / target wave simulation apparatus according to the present invention. Reference numeral 11 denotes a transmission signal generation unit that generates a transmission signal serving as a reference for angle correction. The transmission signal a generated by the transmission signal generation unit 11 is input to the signal distribution unit 12 and distributed to two systems. The divided transmission signals a1 and a2 are input to variable phase shifters 131 and 132 which constitute the phase control unit 13, respectively.

The phase control unit 13 controls each phase shift amount of the variable phase shifters 131 and 132 according to the phase control data. The transmission signals b1 and b2 output from each of the variable phase shifters 131 and 132 are Each is input to the variable attenuators 141 and 142 constituting the power control unit 14.

The power control unit 14 controls the attenuation of the variable attenuators 141 and 142 according to the power control data.
Transmission signal c output from each variable attenuator 141, 142
1 and c2 are input to transmission antennas 151 and 152 constituting the transmission antenna unit 15, respectively.

The transmitting antennas 151 and 152 have the same configuration and the same characteristics as each other, are arranged at the same distance from the receiving point X, are directed to the receiving point X, and direct an input transmission signal to the receiving point X. Radiate.

At the receiving point X, the receiving antenna 161 of the receiving antenna unit 16 is arranged toward the intermediate point between the transmitting antennas 151 and 152. The receiving antenna unit 16 further includes a pair of receiving antennas 162 and 163. These receiving antennas 162 and 163 have the same configuration and the same characteristics as each other.
On a straight line parallel to the straight line connecting 2, the antenna is arranged at a position equidistant from the receiving point X in a direction parallel to the receiving antenna 161.

The receiving antenna 161 is connected to the transmitting antenna 15
1 and 152 are received independently and transmitted to the phase / amplitude measurement unit 17. The phase / amplitude measurement unit 17 performs phase measurement and amplitude measurement on each reception signal from the transmission antennas 151 and 152. Each measurement result is sent to the phase / amplitude equivalent calculation unit 18.

The phase / amplitude equivalent calculation unit 18 calculates the phase equivalent data and the amplitude equivalent data for equalizing the phase and amplitude of each of the transmission waves from the transmission antennas 151 and 152 at the reception point X based on the above measurement results. Calculate. The phase equivalent data is sent to the phase equivalent control unit 19, and the amplitude equivalent data is sent to the amplitude equivalent control unit 20.

The phase equivalent control section 19 generates phase control data for controlling the respective phase shift amounts of the variable phase shifters 131 and 132 based on the phase equivalent data. 13 and stored in the internal memory 191 at the same time.

The amplitude equivalent control section 20 generates power control data for controlling the respective attenuation amounts of the variable attenuators 141 and 142 based on the amplitude equivalent data, and the generated power control data is transmitted to the power control section 14. And is stored in the internal memory 201 at the same time.

On the other hand, the receiving antennas 162 and 163 receive the single spatial radiation waves simultaneously sent from the transmitting antennas 151 and 152 and send them to the phase measuring section 21. The phase measurement unit 21 measures the phase of each of the reception signals from the reception antennas 162 and 163. This measurement result is sent to the radio wave arrival angle calculation unit 22.

The radio wave arrival angle calculator 22 calculates the radio wave arrival angle based on the principle of an interferometer described later, and sends the calculation result (hereinafter referred to as observation angle data) to the angle error detector 23. Can be

The angle error detector 23 compares the observed angle data with the designated angle data, and detects the angle error of the observed angle data from the difference. The detection result is sent to the angle error corrector 24. Can be

The angle error correction section 24 calculates a correction value of the angle error for a plurality of angle data in advance and stores it in the internal memory 241. When the angle data is designated, the correction value corresponding to the angle data is read out and corrected. I do. The corrected angle data is sent to the angle / power conversion unit 25.

The angle / power conversion unit 25 converts the input angle data into the corresponding power control data. The converted power control data is sent to the adder 26, and the power control data from the amplitude equivalent control unit 20 is transmitted. Is sent to the power control unit 14 as true power control data.

In the above configuration, the principle of the above interferometer will be described first with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, in a state where the receiving antennas AT1 and AT2 are arranged at a distance D and a radio wave having a wavelength λ is given from the illustrated direction, the phase of each receiving signal of each of the receiving antennas AT1 and AT2 becomes φ1. , Φ2. The radio wave arrival angle θ in this case can be obtained from the following equation.

Θ = sin ^-1 {φ1-φ2} λ / (360 °
× D)｝ [Degree] This angle measurement method is generally called the principle of an interferometer. In the above embodiment, the antennas 162, 1
The phase of each of the 63 received signals is obtained by the phase measurement unit 21 and the radio wave arrival angle calculation unit 22 calculates the arrival angle of the radio wave by applying the above equation to the received signal.

The operation of the radar / target wave simulator having the above configuration will be described. First, calibration work is performed.
First, the transmission signal supplied to the transmission antenna 152 is cut off, the transmission signal is transmitted only from the transmission antenna 151, the reception signal is received by the reception antenna 161, and the reception signal is transmitted to the phase / amplitude measurement unit 17. Measure the phase and amplitude at X.

Next, the transmission signal supplied to the transmission antenna 151 is cut off, the transmission signal is transmitted only from the transmission antenna 152, the reception signal is received by the reception antenna 161, and the reception signal is transmitted to the phase / amplitude measurement unit 17. Send and measure the phase and amplitude at the receiving point X.

Based on the measurement result of the phase / amplitude measuring section 17, the phase / amplitude equivalent calculating section 18 calculates phase equivalent data and amplitude equivalent data at which the phase and amplitude of both radio waves are equivalent at the receiving point X. The phase equivalent data is stored in the phase equivalent control unit 1
9, the amplitude equivalent data is sent to the amplitude equivalent control unit 20,
These are converted into phase control data and power control data, respectively.

The phase equivalence control unit 19 sends the phase control data to the phase control unit 13, and controls the phase amounts of the variable phase shifters 131 and 132 so that the phases at the reception points X are the same. Further, the amplitude equivalent control unit 20 adds the power control data to the adder 26.
And controls the attenuation of the variable attenuators 141 and 142 so that the amplitude at the receiving point X becomes the same.

At this time, the phase equivalent control section 19 and the amplitude equivalent control section 20 store the phase control data and the power control data in the internal memories 191 and 201, respectively, and thereafter store the stored data in the phase control section 13 and the power control To the unit 14. At this point, the transmission path from the phase / amplitude equivalent calculation unit 18 is disconnected.

Subsequently, arbitrary angle data is given to the angle error correction unit 24 and the angle error detection unit 23, and the transmission antenna 1
The transmission signals are transmitted simultaneously from 51 and 152. At this time, the angle data is sent to the angle / power conversion unit 25 via the angle error correction unit 24, and is converted into power control data.
The adder 26 adds the power control data to the power control data from the amplitude equivalent control unit 20. Therefore, the power control unit 14 controls the attenuation of the variable attenuators 141 and 142 by an amount corresponding to the designated angle from the state where the amplitude at the reception point X is set to be equal.

However, it is extremely difficult to make the attenuation characteristics of the variable attenuators 141 and 142 and the conversion characteristics of the angle / power conversion unit 25 linear with high accuracy. Occurs.

Therefore, the receiving antennas 162 and 163 receive the single spatial radiation waves from the transmitting antennas 151 and 152, the phase measuring section 21 measures the phase of each received signal, and the radio wave arrival angle calculating section 22 described above. The angle of arrival of the radio wave is detected based on the principle of the interferometer, the error of the observed angle data with respect to the designated angle data is obtained by the angle error detector, and the angle error is sent to the angle error corrector 24.

The angle error correction unit 24 calculates an angle correction value for the specified angle data, corrects the specified angle data and sends it to the angle / power conversion unit 25, and the variable attenuators 141 and 142 of the power control unit 14 through the adder 26. Control the amount of attenuation. This corrects the angle error.

At this time, the angle error correction unit 24 stores the angle correction value in the internal memory 241. Similarly,
The designated angle data is changed in a predetermined step, and the angle error correction unit 24 is caused to obtain each angle correction value, and is stored in the internal memory 241. When this operation is completed, the transmission path from the angle error detection unit 23 is disconnected, and the receiving antenna unit 16 and thereafter are removed to complete the calibration operation.

When the above calibration work is completed, the test radar is arranged at the receiving point X, and an arbitrary transmission signal simulating the target reflected signal is given, thereby performing the angle simulation of the test radar with high accuracy. be able to.

That is, the phase control data for the phase equalization and the power control data for the amplitude equalization stored in the internal memories 191 and 201 from the phase equalization control unit 19 and the amplitude equalization control unit 20, respectively, are output from the phase control unit 13 and The signal is sent to the power control unit 14, and the offset due to the system difference is completely removed.

In this state, when arbitrary angle data is given to the angle error correction unit 24, the corresponding angle correction value is read out from the internal memory 241, and the given angle data is corrected to correct the angle / power conversion unit 25. And converts it into power control data and adds it to the power control data from the amplitude equivalent control unit 20, so that a radiation wave can be given to the test radar at a specified angle with high accuracy.

Therefore, the radar / target wave simulator having the above configuration can easily equalize the phase and the amplitude due to the path difference in the calibration work, and also take into account the frequency characteristics and temperature characteristics of each component. Thus, the angle error can be easily corrected, and the phase and amplitude equivalent states can be maintained and the angle error can be corrected even during the test radar test.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the transmission system has a two-dimensional configuration has been described. In the above embodiment, the designated angle data is corrected based on the angle error.
The same effect can be obtained by correcting the conversion characteristics of the angle / power conversion unit based on the angle error. In addition, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be similarly implemented by various modifications without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0046]

As described above, according to the present invention, the phase and the amplitude due to the path difference can be easily made equal, and the frequency and temperature characteristics of each component can be easily taken into consideration. A radar / target wave simulator capable of correcting an angle error can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a radar / target wave simulator according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the principle of an interferometer used in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional radar / target wave simulation device having an angle simulation function.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the principle of glint used for an angle simulation function of the radar / target wave simulator.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Signal distribution part, 2 ... Angle / power conversion part, 3 ... Power control part, 31, 32 ... Variable attenuator, 4 ... Transmission antenna part, 4
1, 42 transmission antenna, 11 transmission signal generator, 12
... Signal distribution unit, 13 ... Phase control unit, 131,132 ... Variable phase shifter, 14 ... Power control unit, 141,142 ... Variable attenuator, 15 ... Transmission antenna unit, 151,52 ... Transmission antenna, 16 ... Reception Antenna unit, 161 to 163 receiving antenna, 17 phase / amplitude measuring unit, 18 phase / amplitude equivalent calculation unit, 19 phase equivalent control unit, 191 internal memory, 20 amplitude equivalent control unit, 201 internal memory , 21
... A phase measuring unit, 22 a radio wave arrival angle calculating unit, 23 an angle error detecting unit, 24 an angle error correcting unit, 241 an internal memory, 25 an angle / power converting unit, and 26 an adder.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Eikichi Umekawa No. 1 Komukai Toshiba-cho, Kouki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Stock company Toshiba Komukai factory

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A transmission power ratio of the plurality of transmission antennas while radiating the same transmission signal from the plurality of transmission antennas equidistant from the reception point toward the reception point to form a single spatial radiation wave. Control according to the specified angle data, the radar target wave simulation having an angle simulation function for giving a single spatial radiation wave as a radar target wave from the specified angle to the radar under test located at the reception point. In the device, a transmission signal generation unit that generates a transmission signal that serves as a reference for angle correction, a signal distribution unit that distributes the transmission signal generated by the transmission signal generation unit and supplies the transmission signal to the plurality of transmission antennas, A phase control unit that controls the respective phases of the transmission signals distributed and supplied from the distribution unit to the plurality of transmission antennas based on phase control data; A power control unit that controls the power of each of the transmission signals distributed and supplied to the transmission antennas based on power control data, and the phases and amplitudes of the radiated waves of each of the plurality of transmission antennas are detected at the reception point and are equivalent to each other. Phase / amplitude equivalent control means for controlling the phase and power of the transmission signal of each system through the phase control section and the power control section, and the specified angle data is converted into power control data to the power control section. An angle / power converter for transmitting, an angle detection unit for detecting an arrival angle of a single spatial radiation wave at the reception point when power control is performed based on the specified angle data, and a detection angle of this unit is the specified angle. Angle error detecting means for obtaining an angle error by comparing with the data, and angle correcting means for correcting the power control data based on the angle error obtained by this means. Radar target wave simulation apparatus characterized by comprising a. 2. The phase / amplitude equalization control means causes the plurality of transmission antennas to radiate the transmission signals separately, and the phase / amplitude measurement means for measuring the phase and the amplitude of each radiation wave at the reception point. A phase / amplitude equivalent calculation unit for calculating phase equivalent data and amplitude equivalent data for matching the phases and amplitudes of the systems of the plurality of transmitting antennas at the receiving point based on the measurement result of this means; Based on the amplitude equivalent data obtained by the phase / amplitude equivalent calculation unit, and the phase equivalent control unit for generating and transmitting phase control data for controlling the phase of each system to the phase control unit based on the phase equivalent data obtained by the phase 2. The radar target according to claim 1, further comprising: an amplitude equalization control unit for generating and transmitting power control data for controlling the power of each system to the power control unit. Tsu door wave simulator. 3. The phase equivalence control unit and the amplitude equivalence control unit each include a storage device therein, store the generated phase control data and power control data in the storage device, and control from the storage device during operation. 3. The radar / target wave simulation device according to claim 2, wherein the data is read out and sent to the phase control unit and the power control unit. 4. The angle detecting means is arranged at the same distance from the receiving point as a center, and receives a pair of receiving antennas for receiving the single spatial radiation wave. A phase measuring unit that measures the phase at the receiving point, and an angle calculating unit that calculates the arrival angle of the single spatial radiation wave from the measurement result of the phase measuring unit, the wavelength of the transmission signal, and the distance between the receiving antennas. The radar target wave simulation device according to claim 1, further comprising: 5. The radar target wave simulation device according to claim 1, wherein the angle correction means corrects the designated angle data based on the angle error. 6. The angle correction means includes a storage device therein, and stores correction values corresponding to a plurality of angles during calibration,
6. The radar target wave simulation device according to claim 5, wherein a correction value corresponding to the designated angle data is read out from the storage device during operation to perform correction processing. 7. The radar target wave simulating device according to claim 1, wherein the angle correcting means corrects the angle / power conversion characteristic based on the angle error.