JPS6117969A - Radar equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify the constitution to make an equipment small in size by shifting the phases of high frequency signals having prescribed frequencies, which are generated in time series, by a prescribed quantity and outputting these signals from plural corresponding output terminals and supplying them to antennas to form beams and shifting the phases of them by prescribed quantity to synthesize them. CONSTITUTION:Each of antenna units 20-1-20-n consists of a transmission module 8, transmission/reception separators 3-1-3-3, an antenna 4, phase shifters 11-1-11-3, etc., and the module 8 consists of a phase shifter 81, a switch 83, etc. High frequency pulse signals different in frequency are generated from an oscillator 21 in time series and are supplied to individual units 20-1-20-n by a power distributor 12-1. Output signals are inputted to antennas 4 from output terminals corresponding to individual frequencies of switches 83 after phase adjustment of microwaves in phase shifters 81 to form pencile beams, and they have phases shifted by phase shifters 11-1-11-3 after passing separators 3-1-3-3 and are synthesized by power synthesizers 12-1-12-4 and are inputted to a signal processor 6 through receivers 5-1-5-3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field] The present invention relates to an improvement in a radar device using a simultaneous multiple beam scanning system.

[Prior art] 2. Correct distance, direction, and altitude of the target such as three-dimensional radar, etc.
Accurate information is required! 7. In a radar with 7.7 and altitude information, the accuracy is highly dependent on the characteristics of the antenna.2. For this reason, the above mentioned 4 days? A pencil beam with a similar directional characteristic is suitable for , ann, and tena, and a method in which it scans a predetermined space at high speed is widely used. However, the single-beam scanning method in this case inherently requires a certain amount of time to scan a given space, which imposes restrictions on the update rate of target information, which is one of the important performance characteristics of radar. It turns out.

One method for solving the above constraints is a simultaneous multiple beam scanning method. This scanning method is a method in which a plurality of high-frequency pulse signals having different frequencies are transmitted and received almost simultaneously, and a plurality of beams are formed spatially almost simultaneously. Therefore, compared to the single beam scanning method, this method can increase the update speed of target information approximately in proportion to the number of simultaneously formed beams. A specific example of this method will be explained with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a first configuration example of a radar device using a conventional simultaneous multiple beam scanning method in a case where the number of simultaneously formed beams is three.

To explain its operation, first, during transmission, the exciters 21-1, 21-2 and 21-3 and the power amplifier 22
-1.3 transmitters 2 consisting of 22-2 and 22-3;
-1, 2-2 and 2-3 are controlled by the timing controller 1, and generate high frequency pulse signals of frequencies f□, f2 and f3, respectively, about tl simultaneously. These signals are sent to three transmitter/receiver separators 3-1, 3-2 and 3, respectively.
-3 to the feed terminals 41, 42 and 43 of the antenna 4;
is input. As shown in FIG. 2, the antenna 4 has three beams 10-1, 10-2 corresponding to the feed terminal.
and 10-3 are formed simultaneously.

That is, the high-frequency pulse signal of frequency f1 generated by the transmitter 2-IK is radiated into space by the beam 10-1, and at the same time, the high-frequency pulse signals generated by the transmitters 2-2 and 2-3 are respectively Beams 10-2 and 1
0-3 into space, for example, in different elevation angle directions.

Next, during reception, the reflected signals from the target etc. are simultaneously captured by each of the above beams, and each transmitter/receiver separator 3
-1.3-2 and 3-3, the beams are input to the receivers 5-1.5-2 and 5-3 corresponding to the respective beams, and are amplified and detected there.

The signal is sent to a display 7 through a signal processor 6 that performs signal processing necessary for displaying target acquisition 1 and is displayed.

With the configuration described above, it is possible to realize a simultaneous multiple beam scanning type radar. However, as shown in Figure 1, the conventional configuration requires a number of transmitters and receivers equal to the number of simultaneously formed beams, so a single beam scanning method that can be configured with one set of transmitters and receivers The disadvantage was that the configuration was more complex and the scale of the equipment was larger than that of the previous radar.

Next, FIG. 3 shows a second configuration example using the conventional simultaneous multiple beam scanning method, in which the drawbacks of the first configuration hook are improved and the number of transmitters is reduced. The case of books is shown.

Its configuration includes a timing controller 1, one transmitter 2 consisting of an exciter 21, a power amplifier 22, and a switch 23, transmitting/receiving separators 3-1, 3-2 and 3-3, and multiple power feeders. An antenna 4 having terminals and the same number of corresponding multiple beam forming functions, and receivers 5-1, 5-2 and 5-
3, a signal processor 6, and a display 7 for displaying the target.

Its operation is as follows. First, during transmission, the exciter 21 is controlled by the timing controller IK.
A number of high-frequency pulse signals having different frequencies are generated almost simultaneously. In other words, the high-frequency pulse signal 1 synthesized is the high-frequency pulse signal 3 of the envelope line of the burst signal as shown in FIG.
As shown by 0, the part 301 of one frequency f1 and the frequency f
, consisting of a portion 302 of , and a portion 303 of frequency f3,
Each part is generated chronologically. High frequency pulse signal 30
is amplified by the power amplifier 22 and then input to the input terminal 230 of the switch 23. The switch 23 is controlled by the timing controller 1, and receives the high frequency pulse signal 300 frequency f1.
While the part 301 is being input, this is sent to the output terminal 23.
Similarly, the 1 frequency f2 portion 302 is output to the output terminal 232, and the 1 frequency f30 portion 303 is output to the output terminal 2.
33 and output. Strictly speaking, the signals of each frequency component are not generated at the same time, but since the intervals between their occurrences are short, it can be considered that they occur almost simultaneously. These output high frequency pulse signals 301, 302 and 303 are input to the feed terminals 41, 42 and 43 of the antenna 4 via the transmitter/receiver separators 3-1, 3-2 and 3-3, respectively, and are further input to the feed terminals 41, 42 and 43 of the antenna 4, and As shown in Figure 2, %3 beams 1o
-i, , to-2 and 10-3 and are radiated into space almost simultaneously.

During reception, reflected signals from targets etc. are simultaneously captured by each of the beams, respectively.

The beams are transmitted to receivers 5-1.5-2 and 5-3 corresponding to each beam through transmitting/receiving separators 3-1.3-2 and 3-3, where they are amplified and detected.

The signal is sent to the display 7 via the signal processor 6 and displayed.

As described above, in the second configuration example, the three transmitters required in the first configuration example are simplified to one in order to perform three simultaneous multiple beam scans.

However, since radar devices generally require high power transmission, the switch 23 in the second configuration example has high power durability. For example, a waveguide type ferrite switch or the like is required. FIG. 5 (A shows an example of the configuration of the waveguide type ferrite switch in a case where the number of output terminals is three).

In this configuration example, the switch 23 has two waveguide magic T2 units.
34-1 and 234-2, and four 909 waveguide ferrite phase shifters 235-1 to 235-4.

It is composed of two 90′ waveguide 3 dB couplers 236 - 1 and 236 - 2 and a phase shifter control circuit 237 .

The switching operation is performed by setting and controlling the amount of phase shift of the ferrite phase shifter as shown in FIG. 5(B).

Therefore, in order to realize a switching device with high power resistance, it is necessary to make the ferrite phase shifter particularly high in power resistance. A cooler etc. will be required.

That is, in the second configuration example of the prior art.

Although only one transmitter is required, there is a problem in that the switching device 230 becomes larger and becomes more complex.

[Purpose of the invention]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks and to provide a simultaneous multiple beam scanning radar apparatus that does not require a large-scale transmitter or switch.

[Structure of the invention]

The present invention includes a timing controller that generates a timing signal of a predetermined period, and an input terminal that sequentially receives an output of a high frequency signal of a predetermined frequency from a first phase shifter in a time series in response to the timing signal. a switching device having a plurality of output terminals and outputting each of the high frequency signals to one output terminal determined in response to each of the high frequency signals of the predetermined frequency in response to the timing signal; An antenna that is provided with a feeding terminal that receives high frequency signals from each of the plurality of output terminals, and that forms a beam corresponding to the high frequency signal that is supplied to the wire terminal; a second phase shifter that shifts the phase in response to the scanning control signal; and the plurality of antenna units for causing the formed beam to horizontally scan in response to the timing signal. a beam scanning controller that generates a scanning control signal that controls the first and second phase shifters of the antenna unit; and power that distributes and outputs the output from the exciter to the first phase shifter of each antenna unit. It includes a distributor and a plurality of power combiners that combine the outputs of the second phase shifters corresponding to the respective antenna units.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6 shows, as an embodiment of the radar apparatus according to the present invention, a phased array radar in which three beams simultaneously formed in a vertical plane are electronically scanned within a predetermined angle in a horizontal plane.

An example of its configuration is phase shifter 81. A transmission module 8 consisting of a power amplifier 82 and a switch 83, and a transmission/reception separator 3-1
．． 3-2 and 3-3, and a plurality of power supply terminals 41, 42.
43 and a corresponding simultaneous multiple beam forming function, and low noise amplifiers 3-1, 3-2 and 3-
3, and n antenna units 20-1, 20-2, and phase shifters 11-1, 11-2 and 11-3.
...20-n, power divider 12, and power combiner 13
-1.13-2 and 13-3 and timing controller 1
, exciter 2, beam scanning controller 14 and receiver 5-
1.5-2 and 5-3, a signal processor 6, and a display 7 for displaying targets and the like.

Its operation is as follows. First, during transmission, the exciter 21 is controlled by the timing controller 1.
A plurality of high-frequency pulse signals with different frequencies are generated almost simultaneously. In other words, one combined high-frequency pulse signal is
As shown in FIG. 4, the signal consists of a frequency f0 portion 301, a frequency f2 portion 302, and a frequency f3 portion 303, and each portion is generated in time series. The high frequency pulse signal 30 is transmitted to n antenna units 20-1, 20-2, . . . 2°-n by a power distributor/synthesizer 12-1.
distributed to. Now, since the operation of each of the n antenna units is the same, here, the antenna unit) 20-1
The explanation will focus on the operation in . antenna unit) 2
The high frequency pulse signal 30 divided into 0-HC is sent to a phase shifter 81.
The microwave phase is adjusted by the power amplifier 82, and after being amplified by the power amplifier 82, it is input to the input terminal 830 of the switch 830.

The switch 83 is controlled by the timing controller 1, and outputs the frequency f□ portion 301 of the high-frequency pulse signal to the output terminal 831 by the same operation as shown in the second configuration example of the prior art, and the same goes for the following. part 3 of frequency f2
02 is switched to the output terminal 832, and the frequency f3 part 303 is switched to the output terminal 833 and output. These output high frequency pulse signals 301, 302 and 303 are sent to the transmitter/receiver separator 3-1. -3-2 and 3-3, and are input to the feed terminals 41, 42 and 43 of the antenna 4.

Since the antenna units 20-1, 20-2, . are synthesized in space, and as a result, three pencil beams 10-1, 10-2 and 10-3 are formed almost simultaneously, as shown in FIG.

At the time of reception, the reflected signal from the target etc. is sent to the low noise amplifier 9-i corresponding to each beam by the transmitter/receiver separator.
transmitted to 9-2 and 9-3.

After being amplified, phase shifters 11-1, 11-2 and 11-
3, the microwave phase is adjusted, and the power divider/synthesizer 12
-2.12-3 and 12-4 are combined and input to receivers 5-1.5-2 and 5-3. In the receiver, the received signal is frequency-converted, amplified and detected, and further sent to a display 7 via a signal processor 6 for display.

Antenna unit 20-1.20-2. ...20-n
As mentioned above, the transmitting system and the receiving system each have a phase shifter 81.
11-1, 11-2 and 11-3 are provided, by controlling these phase shifters with the beam scanning controller 13, the three pencil beams formed in the vertical plane are shifted to the horizontal plane. A phased array radar that searches a predetermined space by electronically scanning the space is realized.

As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, the required transmission power is obtained by spatially combining the outputs of n transmitting modules, so the required output power per transmitting module is 1/n compared to the conventional method. good. Therefore, even if a plurality of antenna units are used, a large-scale transmitter is not necessary because 61 antenna units, such as small and lightweight semiconductor amplifiers, are sufficient as the transmitting module for each antenna unit.

Furthermore, since the switching device 83 also requires less power to handle, small and lightweight hardware such as a PIN diode switch can be used.

FIG. 7 (Al shows a configuration example of a P, IN diode switch having three output terminals. In this configuration example, the switch 83 is a power divider 834.

PIN diodes 835-1 to 835-3 and high frequency channels 836-1 to 836. -3 and PC cut 837
-1 to 837-3 and a control circuit 838. The switching operation is as shown in FIG. 7 (Bl).

This is done by controlling the polarity and amplitude of the DC voltages ■□, ■2, and ■3 applied to each PIN diode.

In addition, the antenna 4 in this embodiment is a brass antenna.
Matrix arrays and Butler matrix arrays (details of these can be found in R, C. Hansen, ed.'Mlcro
Wave Scanning Antennas,”V
Ql, IILP247~P258, Academy
cPress.

1966. ),or.

Rotman's Alley (Details: W, Rotman
.

' Wide-Angle Mlcrowave Le
ns for -Line 5source Appl
cations”, IEEE-TranIL, AP
, Nov. 1963. P623 to P632) etc. can be applied. FIG. 8 shows an example of the Bl&887) IJ Fuchsley in the case where the number of simultaneously formed beams is three. This array includes a plurality of directional couplers 44
, a plurality of radiating element antennas 45, and a plurality of non-reflection terminators 46, and three input terminals 41, 42 and 4.
The three beams 10-1.1 shown in FIG.
0-2 and 10-3.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the case where the number of simultaneously formed beams is three is shown, but it goes without saying that the present invention is also effective for any number of simultaneously formed beams other than the above. In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, an electronic scanning method using a phase shifter is shown as the beam scanning method in the horizontal plane.
The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned scanning method; for example, the above-mentioned phase shifter may be omitted and antenna units) 20-1~
Of course, it is also applicable to an in-horizontal mechanical beam scanning system in which the power distributor/synthesizer 20-n and the power distributor/synthesizer 12 are mechanically rotated horizontally as a unit.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the present invention enables the transmission system to operate independently of the number of simultaneously formed beams in a simultaneous multiple beam scanning radar using multiple feed terminals and corresponding antennas having the same number of multiple beam forming functions. This has the effect of making it smaller and lighter.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a first configuration example of a simultaneous multiple beam scanning radar according to the prior art, Fig. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing simultaneous beam formation by an antenna, and Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a simultaneous multiple beam scanning radar according to the prior art. FIG. 4 is a transmission pulse waveform diagram according to the configuration example shown in FIG. 3,
5(A) and 5(B) are diagrams showing an example of the configuration of the switch shown in FIG. 3 and a diagram showing its control details; FIG. 6 is the configuration of the simultaneous multiple beam scanning radar according to the present invention. FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams showing an example of the switching device shown in FIG. 6 and its control contents, and FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an antenna. 1... Timing controller, 2... Transmitter, 21... Exciter, 22... Power amplifier, 23... Switcher , 3...Transmission/reception separator, 4...Antenna, 5...Receiver, 6...Signal processor, 7...Display vessel,
8...Transmission module, 81...Phase shifter, 82...Power amplifier, 83...Switcher, 9...・Low fiber amplifier, 10...
Antenna, beam, 11... Phase shifter, 12...
...Power distributor/synthesizer, 13...Beam scanning controller, 20...Antenna unit, 30.
...Transmission pulse. Figure 1! Kaya 2 Zuzo 4th 7th YMCA) 7th Group (,B) 3rd

Claims (1)

[Claims] a timing controller that generates a timing signal with a predetermined period; an exciter that generates a high-frequency signal of a predetermined frequency in a time-series manner in response to the timing signal; a first phase shifter for quantitatively shifting the phase; an input terminal for receiving an output from the first phase shifter; and a plurality of output terminals; A switching device that outputs each of the high frequency signals to one output terminal determined corresponding to each high frequency signal, and a power supply terminal that receives the high frequency signals from the plurality of output terminals of this switch, and supplies the power to the power supply terminal. a plurality of antenna units each having an antenna that forms a beam corresponding to a high frequency signal to be transmitted, and a second phase shifter that shifts the phase of a received signal from each feed terminal of the antenna in response to the scanning control signal. and a beam scanning controller that generates, in response to the timing signal, a scanning control signal that controls the first and second phase shifters of the plurality of antenna units to cause the formed beam to horizontally scan. ,
a power divider that distributes and outputs the output from the front exciter to the first phase shifter of each of the antenna units; and a plurality of power dividers that combine the output of the second phase shifter corresponding to each of the antenna units. A radar device comprising a power combiner.