JPH11317685A - Method and device for adjusting antenna direction - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accurately perform antenna direction adjustment according to the change of a musical interval of an audio sound generated from a sound emitting part, even under any temperature condition. SOLUTION: A voltage value measured in a temperature measuring part 15 and a voltage value that corresponds to a receive input level outputted from an amplifying part 9 through a detecting part 8 are converted into digital data by A/D converting parts 16 and 14 respectively and inputted to a ROM 17. The ROM 17 calculates an accurate receiving level, based on the digital data and further calculates a digitally represented voltage value by considering even a temperature characteristic of a low frequency oscillating part 10 which is known in advance. The digitally represented voltage value is converted into an analog voltage in a D/A converting part 20, and the part 10 outputs a frequency corresponding to the analog voltage to a sound emitting part 13. The part 13 generates an audio sound of a musical interval, in accordance with a frequency that is not changed by the temperature from the part 10.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an antenna direction adjusting method and apparatus, and more particularly to an antenna direction adjusting method for adjusting an antenna direction when a wireless transmitting / receiving apparatus such as a portable satellite earth station is used in an outdoor environment. And its equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the antenna direction adjustment of a radio transmitting / receiving apparatus, for example, a portable small satellite earth station, has been disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application No. 58-58.
As described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 625 and No. 116241/1985, a method of detecting a reception level of a reception signal and changing an audible sound according to the detection signal has been used.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a receiving system of a portable satellite earth station described in the above-mentioned publication, which will be described below.

A high-frequency signal received by the parabolic antenna 1 is amplified by an RF receiving amplifier 3 in an outdoor unit (ODU) 2 having a function of transmitting and receiving a high-frequency signal, and the high-frequency signal is combined with a local signal from a local oscillator 4. The frequency is converted by the mixer 5 to obtain an intermediate frequency band signal.
Then, the intermediate frequency band signal is amplified by the intermediate frequency amplifier 6 and output from the ODU 2 to the indoor unit (IDU) 7.

[0005] The reception signal of the intermediate frequency band from the ODU 2 is received by a reception level detector 8 in an indoor unit (IDU) 7.
And outputs a DC voltage corresponding to the reception level. This DC voltage is amplified by the amplifier 9 and then input to the low-frequency oscillator 10 in the audio frequency band. The low frequency oscillating unit 10 is configured by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), and the oscillating frequency is controlled according to the input voltage.

For example, when the reception input level decreases, the low-frequency oscillating unit 10 gradually lowers the oscillating frequency because the input voltage of the low-frequency oscillating unit 10 decreases, and the low-frequency oscillation unit 14 (usually a speaker or the like is used). A progressively lower sound will be emitted. On the other hand, when the reception input level increases, the low-frequency oscillating unit 10 gradually increases the oscillating frequency because the input voltage increases, and the low-frequency oscillating unit 14 emits a gradually high sound.

A method of adjusting the antenna direction using the satellite earth station having such a configuration will be described. First, in order to accurately capture a required geostationary satellite, the antenna direction angle and the antenna elevation angle of the parabolic antenna 1 are adjusted to predetermined angles. There is a need to.
In this case, the antenna adjuster adjusts the elevation direction and the azimuth direction of the parabolic antenna 1 in a direction in which the audible sound changes to a high frequency while listening to the audible sound.

[0008]

As described above, when the wireless transmitting / receiving device is installed in an area where the ambient temperature is largely different from the normal temperature, if the temperature characteristic of the detecting unit output voltage in the IDU is large, the detecting unit is turned off. In some cases, a difference between the voltage amplified by the through-amplifying unit and the reception level is hardly obtained as compared with that at the normal temperature. In this case, there is a problem that the change in the pitch of the audible sound generated from the sound generator through the low frequency oscillating unit in the audible frequency band is reduced, and it is difficult to adjust the antenna direction.

Further, even when a voltage change similar to that at normal temperature is applied to the low-frequency oscillator, the difference in oscillation frequency does not occur as much as at normal temperature due to the temperature characteristics of the low-frequency oscillator itself, and the audible sound generated from the sound generator is not generated. In some cases, the change in pitch was reduced.

[0010] Therefore, it is difficult to accurately adjust the direction of the antenna, and after all, it is necessary to adjust the direction by checking the level of the received wave using a spectrum analyzer or the like. Had become.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION As described above, the object of the present invention is to provide a simple structure for accurately adjusting the antenna direction in accordance with a change in the pitch of an audible sound generated from a sound generator under any temperature conditions. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus for adjusting the direction of an antenna which can be adjusted.

[0012] The antenna direction adjusting method of the present invention can be used in an area where the ambient temperature is different from normal temperature, such as a portable station used outdoors.
At a satellite communication earth station in which a DU is installed, an antenna device having means for adjusting the direction of the antenna, RF amplification means for amplifying a high-frequency signal received by the antenna, and output of the high-frequency signal from local oscillation means An outdoor device having frequency conversion means for mixing with a local signal to convert the signal to an intermediate frequency signal, and an intermediate frequency amplifying means for amplifying the intermediate frequency signal; Detecting means for outputting a voltage, amplifying means for amplifying the voltage, first A / D converting means for converting the amplified voltage into a digital value, and temperature measuring means for generating a voltage according to the ambient temperature And second A / D conversion means for converting a voltage output from the temperature measurement means into a digital value; and taking in digital data from the first and second A / D conversion means. Data comprising: reception input level calculation means for calculating an accurate reception input level; and control voltage generation means for calculating a voltage in consideration of a temperature characteristic of a known low-frequency oscillator based on the accurate reception input level. An indoor apparatus comprising: a conversion unit; a D / A conversion unit that converts a digitally expressed voltage value output from the data conversion unit to an analog voltage; and a low-frequency oscillation unit that outputs a frequency corresponding to the analog voltage. The sound generator generates an audible sound having a pitch corresponding to the frequency output from the low frequency oscillating means, and the antenna adjuster adjusts the direction of the antenna while listening to the audible sound from the sound generator.

According to the present invention, the voltage value measured by the temperature measuring means and the voltage value according to the reception input level output from the amplifying means through the detecting means are A / D converted, and the digital data is input to the data converting means. I do. The data conversion means calculates an accurate reception level based on the digital data, and further calculates and outputs a voltage in consideration of the temperature characteristics of the low-frequency oscillation means known in advance. For this reason, even if the temperature changes, it is possible to always input a voltage level to the low-frequency oscillating means in the audible frequency band such that an accurate oscillation frequency corresponding to the reception input level can be obtained. Since an uncomfortable operation feeling can be obtained, the direction of the antenna can be accurately adjusted.

[0014]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a high-frequency signal received by a parabolic antenna 1 is amplified by an RF amplifier 3 in an ODU 2 and the high-frequency signal is Are mixed by the mixer 5 and converted into an intermediate frequency signal, and the intermediate frequency signal is amplified by the intermediate frequency amplifier 6.

The intermediate frequency signal from ODU2 is IDU7
After demodulation by the demodulation unit 11, baseband signal processing is performed by the signal processing unit 12.

The intermediate frequency signal is input to a detector 8 in the IDU 7, and the detector 8 detects the level of the input intermediate frequency band signal and outputs a DC voltage corresponding to the level to the amplifier 9. .

The amplifying unit 9 amplifies the DC voltage to obtain an A / A
The signal is output to the D conversion unit 14 to obtain a predetermined digital signal. Further, the temperature measuring unit 15 detects the temperature in the IDU 7 and outputs a DC voltage value corresponding to the temperature to the A / D converter 16 to obtain a predetermined digital signal.

The digital outputs of the A / D converters 14 and 16 are supplied to a reception input level calculator 18 which is a component of the ROM 17.
And a temperature-compensated reception level corresponding to the temperature inside the device is calculated.

The control voltage generator 19, which is a component of the ROM 17, calculates and outputs a voltage in consideration of the temperature characteristics of the low-frequency oscillator 10 known in advance based on the temperature-compensated reception input level.

The D / A converter 20 converts the digitally expressed voltage value output from the ROM 17 into an analog voltage.

The low-frequency oscillating unit 10 is a voltage-controlled oscillator as described in the background art, and the D / A converting unit 2
The audible frequency is output according to the voltage input from 0, and the sound generator 13 generates an audible sound having a pitch corresponding to the frequency output from the low-frequency oscillator 10.

When adjusting the direction of the antenna, the direction of the parabolic antenna 1 is adjusted while listening to the audible sound.

Next, the operation of FIG. 1 will be described with reference to the drawings.

As in the prior art, a high-frequency signal received by the parabolic antenna 1 is amplified by the RF amplifier 3 in the ODU 2, and the high-frequency signal is mixed with a local signal from the local oscillator 4 by the mixer 5 for intermediate processing. The signal is converted into a frequency signal, and the intermediate frequency signal is amplified by the intermediate frequency amplifier 6.

The intermediate frequency signal from ODU2 is
After being demodulated by the demodulation unit 11, signal processing is performed by the signal processing unit 12.

The intermediate frequency signal is input to the detector 8 in the IDU 7, and the detector 8 detects the level of the input intermediate frequency signal and outputs a voltage corresponding to the level to the amplifier 9.

At this time, the voltage according to the level of the intermediate frequency signal detected by the detector 8 is not generally the same even at the same input level due to the temperature characteristics of the detector.

However, since the temperature characteristic of the detector has a certain tendency depending on its configuration, if the ambient temperature is known, the correction can be performed relatively easily. In the present embodiment, this temperature information is obtained from the voltage according to the temperature from the temperature measuring unit 15, and the A / D converters 16 and 14 respectively together with the voltage according to the input level information amplified by the amplifier 9. Converted to digital data, ROM
It is input to a reception input level calculation unit 18 which is a component of the 17.

The reception input level calculation section 18 has a table for inputting temperature information and input level information before temperature correction and outputting accurate input level information after temperature correction. However, it is possible to always output accurate input level information without fluctuation.

The low-frequency oscillating unit 10, which is generally a voltage-controlled oscillator, also has temperature characteristics. If the ambient temperature changes even when a constant control voltage is applied, the oscillation frequency is not constant. It will change. However, the oscillation frequency of the low-frequency oscillation unit, like the detection unit, has a constant temperature characteristic depending on its configuration. Therefore, if the ambient temperature is known, the correction can be performed relatively easily. .

In this embodiment, the control voltage generator 19 receives the temperature information from the temperature measuring unit 15 and the accurate input level information after the temperature correction output from the reception input level calculator 18 as inputs. There is a table that outputs the control voltage, and this correction is performed. At this time, the control voltage after the temperature correction is determined so that the voltage is intentionally changed with respect to a change in temperature so that the output frequency is constant even if the temperature changes in the low-frequency oscillator. .

In FIG. 1, the reception input level calculation section 18 and the control voltage generation section 19 are separately illustrated in order to clarify the individual functions, but the temperature information and the temperature correction from the temperature measurement section 15 are of course If a table is prepared in which the previous input level information is input and the control voltage after temperature correction is output, it is easy to realize this with one ROM.

The D / A converter 20 converts the digitally expressed voltage value output from the ROM 17 into an analog voltage. The low-frequency oscillating unit 10 outputs a frequency according to the voltage input from the D / A converter 20.

Since the voltage input from the D / A converter 20 is determined so that the oscillation frequency of the low-frequency oscillator is constant irrespective of the temperature change, the sound generator 13 outputs the signal from the low-frequency oscillator 10. Generates an audible sound with a pitch corresponding to the frequency that does not change with temperature. The antenna adjuster can adjust the direction of the parabolic antenna 1 with the same operability under any temperature conditions while listening to the audible sound.

[0036]

As described above, according to the antenna direction adjusting method of the present invention, the input level detector and the low-frequency oscillator whose characteristics tend to fluctuate due to temperature fluctuations due to the general analog configuration. By digitally correcting the temperature characteristics of the unit, there is an excellent effect that accurate antenna direction adjustment can be performed while listening to audible sound under any temperature condition.

In the above embodiment, ODU2 and ID
Although described separately for U7, it goes without saying that the effects of the present invention do not change at all even in an apparatus configuration in which these are integrated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an example of a conventional block diagram.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Parabolic antenna 2 ODU 3 RF amplifier 4 Local oscillator 5 Mixer 6 Intermediate frequency amplifier 7 IDU 8 Detection part 9 Amplification part 10 Low frequency oscillation part 11 Demodulation part 12 Signal processing part 13 Sounding part 14, 16 A / D conversion part 15 Temperature measurement unit 17 ROM 18 Reception input level calculation unit 19 Control voltage generation unit 20 D / A conversion unit

Claims (5)

[Claims] Detecting a received signal level, converting the detected output into a first digital signal, converting a voltage based on an ambient temperature into a second digital signal, converting the first and second digital signals; A third digital signal whose input signal is compensated for the received signal level based on the previously measured temperature characteristic of the detection is output, and the third digital signal is oscillated by the low frequency oscillator measured in advance with the second digital signal. Generating a fourth digital signal in which the change in the ambient temperature is corrected based on the temperature characteristic of frequency; and using the change in the pitch of a sound generator driven by the low-frequency oscillator based on the fourth digital signal, to generate an antenna signal. An antenna direction adjusting method, comprising: adjusting a direction. 2. A detecting means for detecting a received signal level, a first converting means for converting the detected output into a first digital signal, and a second converting means for converting a voltage based on an ambient temperature into a second digital signal. Conversion means for inputting the first and second digital signals and outputting a third digital signal in which the received signal level is compensated based on the previously measured temperature characteristic of the detection; and Generating means for generating a fourth digital signal in which the digital signal is corrected for the ambient temperature change based on the second digital signal and the temperature characteristics of the oscillation frequency of the low-frequency oscillator measured in advance; An antenna direction adjusting device, comprising: an antenna direction adjusting unit that adjusts the direction of an antenna based on a change in a pitch of a sound generator driven by the low-frequency oscillator. 3. The antenna direction adjusting device according to claim 2, wherein said output means and said generating means are constituted by a ROM. 4. The antenna according to claim 1, wherein a parabolic antenna is used, and an azimuth and an elevation are adjusted in a predetermined direction according to a direction of a sounding frequency of the sounding unit.
The described antenna direction adjustment method. 5. The antenna according to claim 2, wherein a parabolic antenna is used, and an azimuth and an elevation are adjusted in a predetermined direction according to a direction of a sound frequency of the sound generator.
An antenna direction adjusting device as described in the above.