JPH11274830A - Airframe integrated antenna - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To decrease air resistance, reduce icing and antenna weight and moreover reduce the possibility of radar detection by integrating the airframe body and an antenna. SOLUTION: An antenna element 13 formed corresponding to the shape of a airframe body outer plate 11 is mounted on the surface of the airframe body outer plate 11 formed of a dielectric. A first conductor plate 14 formed corresponding to the shape of the airframe body outer plate 11 is mounted on the inside surface of the airframe body outer plate 11. Besides, a planar second conductor plate 15 and a circuit board 16 are arranged while being laminated at the position corresponding to an antenna constitutive area 12 inside the airframe body outer plate 11. An electronic circuit composed of an electronic component 17 and a microstrip line 18 is mounted on the surface of this circuit board 16, and power is fed from its power feeding point through a connecting pin 19 into a hole 20 formed through the circuit formation board 16, second conductor plate 15 and outer machine body plate 11. Then, an electronic circuit protective casing 21 is provided on the lower side of the electronic circuit.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an integrated antenna having a fuselage structure in which a body outer plate of an aircraft, a flying object, a space device, or the like is integrated with an antenna.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an antenna mounted on, for example, an aircraft, a flying object, a space device, or the like is configured as shown in FIG. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a metal body skin, which shows a body body structure of a conventionally used aircraft or the like. The main body of the blade antenna 2 is mounted on the body outer panel 1 via an antenna mount 3. That is, conventionally, the blade antenna 2 is manufactured as an antenna unit independent of the body outer panel 1, and it is attached to the surface of the body outer panel 1 also manufactured separately. Therefore, the antenna is not integrally manufactured as a fuselage,
Appears as a protrusion on the surface of the fuselage skin 1.

[0003]

As described above, the conventional antenna mounted on an aircraft or the like appears as a protruding structure on the surface of the body outer panel 1, so that the air resistance increases and ice is easily formed, In addition, there is a problem that the weight increases.

Further, the reflection of radio waves caused by the projection of the antenna increases the cross-sectional area of the radar with respect to radar waves (electromagnetic waves). As a result, the possibility of radar detection increases, and the position confidentiality of the aircraft body increases. It becomes a big problem when required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and can integrate an airframe and an antenna, reduce air resistance, reduce icing, and reduce weight, and can reduce radar cutoff. It is an object of the present invention to provide an airframe structure integrated antenna capable of reducing the area and reducing the possibility of radar detection.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an integrated antenna having a fuselage structure provided on one surface of a body outer panel,
An antenna element formed in a shape conforming to the shape of the fuselage outer panel; an electronic circuit unit provided inside the fuselage outer panel and attached to the fuselage outer panel; and the electronic circuit unit supplies power to the antenna element. Power supply means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the antenna of the first aspect of the present invention, an electronic circuit portion is formed on a substrate attached to a body outer panel separate from the antenna element.
The present invention is characterized in that a feed pin of the electronic circuit section and the antenna element are connected by a connection pin.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the antenna of the first aspect of the present invention, an electronic circuit portion is formed on a board attached to a body outer panel separate from the antenna element.
The feeding point of the electronic circuit section and the antenna element are connected by slot feeding.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a body structure integrated antenna according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing each element of the antenna in FIG.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 11 denotes an airframe outer panel formed by using, for example, a dielectric material.
It has the strength and environmental resistance as an airframe of a flying object, space equipment, etc., and plays a role in maintaining the entire structure in terms of strength. A part of an outer surface of the body outer panel 11, that is, an antenna configuration area 12, is mounted with, for example, a circularly shaped antenna element 13 which is formed in accordance with the curved shape of the body outer panel 11. In this case, the curved shaped antenna element 13
Is mounted on one side of the antenna configuration area 12 with a deviation. The curved-shaped antenna element 13 is an element for radiating an electromagnetic wave (for example, an electromagnetic wave in a microwave band) outside the body or receiving an electromagnetic wave from outside the body. And
A first conductor plate 14 is mounted on the inner surface of the body outer panel 11 so as to correspond to the antenna configuration area 12. The first conductor plate 14 is formed in a curved shape in accordance with the inner surface shape of the body outer panel 11, and acts as a ground conductor for the curved-shaped antenna element 13.

A flat second conductor plate 15 and a circuit board 16 are laminated inside the body outer panel 11 at a position corresponding to the antenna configuration area 12.
The circuit board 16 is a high-frequency board made of a dielectric material, and a high-frequency electronic circuit including an electronic component 17 and a microstrip line 18 is mounted on the surface of the circuit board 16. The high-frequency electronic circuit processes a desired high-frequency signal, and supplies power to the curved-shaped antenna element 13 through a connection pin 19 from a power supply point. That is, a through hole 20 is provided in the circuit forming board 16, the second conductor plate 15, and the body outer plate 11 at a position below the curved surface forming antenna element 13, and the connection pin 19 is inserted into the through hole 20. The feeding point of the high-frequency electronic circuit is connected to the curved-shaped antenna element 13. In this case, as described above, the curved shaped antenna element 13 is connected to the antenna configuration region 1
2 is formed so as to be deflected to one side of the connection pin 1.
9 is made shorter so that the power feeding operation is performed reliably.

The second conductive plate 15 is formed on the circuit board 1.
6 acts as a ground conductor for the high-frequency electronic circuit formed on the surface. Further, an electronic circuit protection housing 21 is provided below the electronic circuit to electromagnetically and mechanically protect the electronic circuit.

In the above-described configuration, the curved-surface-formed antenna element 13 includes the body outer panel (dielectric) 11 and the first conductor plate 14.
Are stacked to form a three-layer antenna, and the circuit board 1
The power is supplied from the high-frequency electronic circuit formed in 6 through the connection pin 19. Therefore, a signal transmitted from the high-frequency electronic circuit to the outside of the body is sent to the curved-shaped antenna element 13 via the microstrip line 18 and the connection pin 19, and is radiated from the curved-shaped antenna element 13 to the outside of the body as an electromagnetic wave. .

An electromagnetic wave sent from the outside of the body is received by the curved shaped antenna element 13 and is connected to the connection pin 1.
9 to the high-frequency electronic circuit formed on the circuit board 16 for processing.

With the above configuration, the body outer panel 11 formed into an aerodynamically appropriate shape becomes a part of the antenna structure, so that the air resistance can be reduced and the harm of icing can be reduced. . Further, since the body outer panel 11 has a structure integrated with the antenna, the weight of the antenna can be reduced as compared with the case where the system is configured by individual devices. Further, since the antenna does not become a protrusion on the body outer panel 11, the radar cross-sectional area can be reduced and the possibility of radar detection can be reduced.

Further, a curved shaped antenna element 13 is formed on the surface of the body outer panel 11, and the high-frequency electronic circuit is arranged on the circuit board 16 attached to the body outer panel 11 inside the body outer panel 11. A conventional design method can be applied to this electronic circuit, and even if a curved surface of an outer plate is changed in accordance with a change in a body attachment portion or a change in a body shape, there is no need to change the design of the high-frequency circuit. In the case where both the antenna element 13 and the feed circuit are integrated with the body as described above, since the feed circuit is formed on the circuit board 16 provided separately from the antenna element 13, You can design freely.

In the first embodiment, the case where the curved-surface-shaped antenna element 13 is formed in a circular shape is shown. However, the antenna may be formed in a rectangular shape. There is no.

In the first embodiment, the body outer panel 1
Although the case where 1 is made of a dielectric material is shown, the body outer panel 11 may be made of metal. When the body outer panel 11 is made of metal as described above, the body outer panel 11
The initial object can be achieved by mounting the curved surface forming antenna element 13 on the outer surface of the device via an insulator.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 3 is an external structural view of an airframe structure integrated antenna according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
Is a sectional view of the antenna.

In FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, reference numeral 31 denotes a radome formed of a dielectric material as an airframe outer plate, which has strength and environmental resistance as an airframe outer plate of, for example, an aircraft, a flying object, and space equipment. It has electromagnetic wave transmission characteristics. The radome 31 is provided, for example, so as to close an antenna mounting portion provided by opening a part of a metal body outer panel.

The radome 31 is provided with an array of a plurality of curved surface-shaped antenna elements 32 formed on the inner surface thereof in accordance with the curved surface shape of the radome 31. The curved-shaped antenna element 31 is an element for radiating an electromagnetic wave (for example, an electromagnetic wave in a microwave band) outside the body or receiving an electromagnetic wave from outside the body. Are located. The curved shaped antenna element 32 is provided inside the radome 31.
The flat conductor plate 33 and the circuit board 16 are stacked and disposed at a position close to the above. A plurality of feed slots 34 are provided in the flat conductor plate 33 so as to correspond to the respective curved surface antenna elements 32, and each feed slot 34 is electromagnetically coupled to the curved surface antenna element 32.

The circuit board 16 is a high-frequency board made of a dielectric material, and a high-frequency electronic circuit composed of an electronic component 17 and a microstrip line 18 is mounted on the surface thereof. The high-frequency electronic circuit processes a desired high-frequency signal, and excites the curved-shaped antenna element 31 from a feed point through a feed slot 34 formed in the conductor plate 33. That is, the high-frequency electronic circuit on which the circuit board 16 is formed supplies power to the curved-shaped antenna element 32 using an electromagnetic coupling type power supply system. In this case, the conductor plate 33 acts as a ground conductor for the curved surface forming antenna element 32 and the high-frequency electronic circuit. The high-frequency electronic circuit includes, for example, beam shaping as signal processing, and performs phase / amplitude control of a signal.
Steering of the curved surface forming antenna elements 32 arranged in an array can be performed. Further, below the electronic circuit, an electronic circuit protection housing (not shown) for electromagnetically and mechanically protecting the electronic circuit is provided as necessary.

In the above configuration, each of the curved shaped antenna elements 32 provided in an array on the inner surface of the radome 31
Is electromagnetically coupled to each of the power supply slots 34 formed in the conductor plate 33, and is supplied with power from the high-frequency electronic circuit formed on the circuit board 16 via the microstrip line 18 and the power supply slot 34. Therefore, a signal transmitted from the high-frequency electronic circuit to the outside of the body is supplied to the curved shaped antenna element 32 via the microstrip line 18 and the feeding slot 34, and is radiated from the curved shaped antenna element 32 to the outside of the body as an electromagnetic wave. .

Electromagnetic waves sent from the outside of the body are received by each curved-shaped antenna element 32, sent to a high-frequency electronic circuit via a feed slot 34 and a microstrip line 18, and processed.

With the above configuration, the radome 31 constituting the body outer panel formed into an aerodynamically appropriate shape is provided.
The antenna itself becomes a part of the antenna structure, which can reduce air resistance and harm of icing. Further, since the radome 31 has a structure integrated with the antenna, the weight of the antenna can be reduced as compared with the case where the system is configured by individual devices. Further, since the antenna does not become a protrusion on the outer plate, the radar cross-sectional area can be reduced, and the possibility of radar detection can be reduced.

Since the curved shaped antenna element 32 is formed on the curved surface of the radome 31 and the electronic circuit is arranged on the plane inside the radome 31, a conventional design method can be applied to the electronic circuit, and the portion of the body mounting portion can be used. It is not necessary to change the design of the high-frequency circuit even if the outer curved surface changes according to the change.

In the case where both the curved surface forming antenna element 32 and the feed circuit are integrated with the body as described above, the circuit board 16 provided separately from the antenna element 32
Since the power supply circuit is formed thereon, it is possible to freely design the power supply circuit.

Further, since the curved surface forming antenna elements 32 are arranged in an array, beam shaping can be performed by signal processing. Further, since the antenna element 32 is provided on the inner surface of the radome 31, no special protection such as painting is required for the antenna element 32 itself, so that maintenance and other costs can be significantly reduced.

Further, in the second embodiment, the case where the radome 31 having the electromagnetic wave transmission characteristic is formed as the body outer plate and the antenna is formed in the radome 31 portion has been described, but the entire body outer plate is made of a dielectric material. Also in the case of configuring, it can be implemented in the same manner as in the above embodiment.

In the first and second embodiments, a case has been described in which a single-layer circuit forming substrate 16 is provided as a substrate for forming an electronic circuit separately from the antenna element.
By using this circuit forming substrate as a multi-layer substrate, other circuits can be formed on the same substrate.

[0031]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, in an antenna mounted on an aircraft, a flying object, a space device, or the like, the antenna element is formed into a shape conforming to the shape of the body outer panel. Attached to the outer panel, an electronic circuit section is formed on a board attached to the outer panel separately from the antenna element inside the outer panel, and a gap between the electronic circuit section and the antenna element is provided. Since the connection is made by connecting pins or by slot feeding, the aerodynamically shaped body outer panel itself becomes a part of the antenna structure, which can reduce air resistance and reduce the damage of icing. be able to. Further, since the body outer panel has a structure integrated with the antenna, the weight of the antenna can be reduced as compared with a case where the system is configured by individual devices. Further, since the antenna does not become a protrusion on the body outer panel, the return reflected wave in the direction of radio wave arrival inside the antenna structure is reduced, and as a result, the radar cross-sectional area is reduced, thereby reducing the possibility of radar detection. be able to. In the case where both the antenna element and the power supply circuit are integrally formed with the body as described above, since the antenna element and the power supply circuit are provided separately, the power supply circuit can be freely designed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a body structure integrated antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the antenna element in the embodiment in an exploded manner.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an external configuration of an antenna having a body structure integrated according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary sectional view showing a basic structure according to the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the configuration of an antenna mounted on a conventional aircraft or the like.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Body outer plate 12 Antenna constituent area 13 Curved shaped antenna element 14 First conductor plate 15 Second conductor plate 16 Circuit board 17 Electronic component 18 Microstrip line 19 Connection pin 20 Through hole 21 Electronic circuit protection housing 31 Radome 32 Curved surface antenna element 33 Conductor plate 34 Feed slot

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Takaaki Hirose 1-1-1, Koyokita, Itami-shi, Itami-shi, Hyogo Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. Itami Works (72) Inventor Toru Iwai 1-3-1, Shimaya, Konohana-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka No. Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. Osaka Works (72) Inventor Tetsuo Kishimoto 1-3-1, Shimaya, Konohana-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. Osaka Works (72) Inventor Koichi Murakami Minato-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi Prefecture 10 Oecho Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., Nagoya Aerospace Systems Works

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An antenna element provided on one surface of an airframe outer panel and formed in a shape conforming to the shape of the airframe outer panel; and an antenna element provided inside the airframe outer panel and attached to the airframe outer panel. An integrated antenna having a body structure, comprising: an electronic circuit unit; and a feeding unit that feeds the antenna element from the electronic circuit unit. 2. The antenna according to claim 1, wherein an electronic circuit portion is formed on a board attached to a body outer plate separate from the antenna element, and a feed point of the electronic circuit portion and the antenna are provided. An integrated antenna having a body structure, wherein the antenna is connected to a device by a connection pin. 3. The integrated body structure antenna according to claim 1, wherein an electronic circuit portion is formed on a substrate attached to a body outer plate separate from the antenna element, and a feed point of the electronic circuit portion and the antenna are provided. An integrated antenna having a body structure, wherein the antenna is connected to an element by slot feeding.