KR102112569B1 - Side lobe level controlling method for improving angular resolution and antenna apparatus therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an auxiliary device level control method for improving proximity object separation and an antenna device therefor, more specifically, in beam scanning using a planar array antenna, to improve resolution for adjacent objects, that is, resolution In order to do so, it relates to a method of controlling a side leaf level through variable gain control for each radiating element and an antenna device performing the method.
According to the present invention, the method for controlling the side level of a side object for improving the degree of separation of adjacent objects to detect the separation of two adjacent objects more sensitively by temporarily adjusting the side level as needed and adjusting the beam width accordingly, and An antenna device for this is provided.

Description

Side lobe level controlling method for improving angular resolution and antenna apparatus therefor}

The present invention relates to an auxiliary device level control method for improving proximity object separation and an antenna device therefor, more specifically, in beam scanning using a planar array antenna, to improve resolution for adjacent objects, that is, resolution In order to do so, it relates to a method of controlling a side leaf level through variable gain control for each radiating element and an antenna device performing the method.

FIG. 1 is a view showing a shape of a main lobe level and a side lobe level of a signal emitted from each radiating element 10 during beam scanning using a planar array antenna.

In order to be able to recognize two adjacent objects 11 and 12 as two objects through such beam scanning, due to the existence of the space 13 between the two objects, objects in the beam scanning process of the antenna ( 11, 12) The point at which the received signal input to the radar is significantly reduced should be observed.

In beam scanning using the planar array antenna of FIG. 1 (a), when a signal of the same size is applied to all radiating elements 10, the level of the first side lobe 22 in FIG. 1 (b) is the main lobe ( 21) It is about 13dB smaller than the level. At this time, since the level of the first lobe 22 as well as the level of the main lobe 21 has a certain size, the level of the main lobe 21 passes through between two objects, even if the reflected signal input to the radar is small, the first side lobe (22) Due to the signal of the level being reflected on the objects 11 and 12 and input to the radar, there is a problem in that it is not determined that the two objects are clearly separated.

In addition, in order to solve this, as shown in Figure 1 (c), the level of the side lobe 32 must be reduced, but when the level of the side lobe 32 is reduced, the beam width of the level of the main lobe 31 increases, and also two objects 11 and 12 ) Due to the reflection and input without passing through, there is also a problem in that separation detection capability for two objects, that is, separation or resolution is deteriorated.

KR 10-2017-0078512 A

The present invention has been devised to solve this problem, and adjacent object separation is made to more sensitively detect the separation of two adjacent objects by temporarily adjusting the side lobe level as necessary and adjusting the beam width accordingly. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for controlling a side leaf level for improving the degree and an antenna device therefor.

In order to achieve the above object, a method of controlling a side lobe level to improve the degree of separation of adjacent objects according to the present invention includes: (a) starting a beam scanning by a radiating element; (b) adjusting the level of the side lobe of the beam to less than a predetermined level (hereinafter referred to as 'a first reference value of the side level'); (c) determining whether the received signal level at which the emitted beam is reflected is equal to or greater than a predetermined predetermined level value (hereinafter referred to as a 'first object recognition reference value'); (d) If the received signal level is less than the object recognition reference value, the beam emission angle is increased to adjust the beam direction, and then scanning of the beam is continued. Determining whether a received signal level is greater than or equal to the object recognition reference value after adjusting a beam direction by increasing a radiation angle; And (e) if the received object level received after adjusting the beam direction is judged to be recognized as the first object, the beam emission angle is increased to adjust the beam direction when the received signal level is less than the first object recognition reference value. And determining that a second object is recognized when the object recognition reference value is greater than or equal to, and determining whether the first object and the second object are the same object.

In the step (e), the process of determining whether the first object and the second object are the same object, (e1) upward adjustment of the side lobe level to a certain level or more (hereinafter referred to as the 'second reference value of the side lobe)' To do; (e2) If the received signal level after adjusting the level of the side lobe is lower than a predetermined predetermined level value (hereinafter referred to as a 'second object recognition reference value'), the second object is determined to be an object different from the first object The method may include determining that the second object is the same object as the first object when the second object recognition reference value is greater than or equal to.

The second object recognition reference value may be set to be equal to or greater than the first object recognition reference value.

The level of the side leaf may be adjusted by adjusting the size of a signal input to the radiating element.

The magnitude of the signal input to the radiating element can be achieved by applying weighting to the signal of each radiating element.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an antenna device for improving proximity object separation through side-level control includes: a plurality of radiating elements emitting a beam; A phase shifter that adjusts the phase of the signal input to each radiating element; An amplification / attenuation unit for each radiating element applying a gain of a signal input to each radiating element; And a variable gain control unit for controlling a variable gain to be applied to a signal inputted to each radiation element through amplification / attenuation units for each radiation element, wherein the variable gain control unit detects an object at a continuous beam emission angle. In order to improve the separation of two adjacent objects by reducing the beam width, it serves to temporarily control to increase the level of the side lobe, and the level of the side lobe is adjusted by adjusting the size of a signal input to the radiating element. The size of the signal input to the radiating element is adjusted by applying weighting to the signal of each radiating element.

delete

delete

delete

The amplification / attenuation unit for each radiating element may include a variable gain amplifier.

The amplification / attenuation unit for each radiating element may include a variable attenuator.

The amplification / attenuation unit for each radiating element includes a fixed gain amplifier; And a variable attenuator.

According to the present invention, the method for controlling the level of the side-lobe for improving the degree of separation of adjacent objects to make the separation of two adjacent objects more sensitive by temporarily adjusting the side-lobe level as necessary and adjusting the beam width accordingly, and There is an effect of providing an antenna device for this.

1 is a view showing the shape of a main lobe level and a side lobe level during beam scanning using a planar array antenna.
2 is a view for explaining the adjustment of the beam (beam) direction in the antenna device of the present invention.
3 is a view for explaining the adjustment of the size of the side lobe level in the antenna device of the present invention.
Figure 4 is a flow chart for performing a side-level control method for improving the proximity object separation in the antenna device of the present invention.
5 is a view for illustrating a state in which the object separation degree is improved by adjusting the size of the side lobe in the antenna device of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Prior to this, the terms or words used in the present specification and claims should not be construed as being limited to ordinary or lexical meanings, and the inventor appropriately explains the concept of terms in order to explain his or her invention in the best way. Based on the principle that it can be defined, it should be interpreted as meanings and concepts consistent with the technical spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the configuration shown in the embodiments and drawings described in this specification is only one of the most preferred embodiments of the present invention and does not represent all of the technical spirit of the present invention, and thus can replace them at the time of application. It should be understood that there may be equivalents and variations.

2 is a view for explaining the adjustment of the beam (beam) direction in the antenna device of the present invention.

로 표시하였다. 도 2에서 d는 각 방사소자(110) 간 거리를 의미한다.In FIG. 2, l ₁ to l ₅ represent beams emitted from each radiating element, that is, the antenna 110, and the direction of the beam will be described below as an angle formed with a vertical line as shown in FIG. In Figure 2,

It was denoted as. In FIG. 2, d denotes a distance between each radiating element 110.

When the phase of the signal input to each radiating element 110 is changed, the direction of the beam can be adjusted. In FIG. 2, the phase of the signal input to each radiating element 110 is indicated by θ to θ + β ₅ . The phase control of the signal input to each of the radiating elements 110 is performed by a phase shifter.

In this case, the phase of the signal input to each radiating element 110,

Determined by, the phase difference,

It can be represented by.

3 is a view for explaining the adjustment of the size of the side lobe level in the antenna device 100 of the present invention.

The antenna device 100 of the present invention shown in Figure 3 (a), a radiating element or antenna 110 for radiating a beam, a phase shifting unit 120 for adjusting the phase of the signal input to each radiating element, each Variable for controlling the variable gain to be applied through the amplification / attenuation unit 130 for each radiating element applying the gain of the signal input to the radiating element, and the amplification / attenuation portion for each radiating element for each signal input to the radiating element A gain control unit 140 is provided.

That is, the antenna device 100 of the present invention, under the control of the variable gain control unit 140, the gain of the signal input to each radiating element by the amplification / attenuation unit 130 for each radiating element connected to each radiating element It can be adjusted, thereby reducing or increasing the size of the side lobe (22,32) level.

The weighting for adjusting the gain with respect to the signal size input to each radiating element can be input in various forms such as binomial polynomial or Dolph-Chebyshev polynomial.

The signal size of each radiating element may be the same, but if the signal size of each radiating element follows a binomial polynomial, the weighting is

When input in the form, and the signal size is to follow the Dolph-Chebyshev polynomial, weighting is

It is entered in the form.

The control method of the variable gain is the amplification / attenuation unit 130 for each radiation element mentioned above, 1) a method using a variable gain amplifier, 2) a method using a variable attenuator, 3) a fixed gain amplifier and a variable attenuator There is a way to use it.

1) Method of using variable gain amplifier as amplification / attenuation unit 130 for each radiation element

As a form in which an amplifier is positioned on a signal entering an individual radiating element and the gain of the amplifier is varied by digital / analog control of the variable gain controlling unit 140, the variable gain controlling unit 140 sets the level entering the individual radiating element. Set according to the polynomial value for side lobe control.

2) Method of using variable attenuator as amplification / attenuation unit 130 for each radiation element

A variable attenuator is positioned on a signal entering an individual radiating element, and the attenuation value is varied by digital / analog control of the variable gain controlling unit 140. The variable gain controlling unit 140 sets the level entering the individual radiating element. Set according to the polynomial value for side lobe control.

3) Method of using fixed gain amplifier and variable attenuator as amplification / attenuation unit 130 for each radiation element

The signal entering the individual radiating element is set to be at the same level as a fixed gain amplifier, and the variable attenuator is positioned before and after it, and the attenuation value is varied by digital / analog control of the variable gain control unit 140, which is variable. The gain control unit 140 sets the level entering the individual radiating element according to the polynomial value for controlling the side lobe.

In the antenna device 100, the level of the side lobe 32 is basically lowered as shown in FIG. 3 (c). The reason is that when the level of the side lobe 22 is high, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), the reflected signal input to the radar is detected by the main lobe 21, but also by the side lobe 22. This is because it is sensed at a certain level. This causes the following problems.

That is, when the main lobe 21 is radiated into the space 13 between the two objects 11 and 12, there is almost no reflected signal input to the radar, so it is normal to determine that the two objects are separated, that is, different objects. , When the level of the side lobe 22 is large, the reflected signal by the side lobe 22 is reflected from the objects 11 and 12, and thus it is determined that there is an object, and accordingly, the space 13 between the two objects 11 and 12 Since this detection is not performed, a problem occurs that is detected as one object rather than two objects 11 and 12.

Therefore, as described above, the antenna device 100 of the present invention basically lowers the level of the side lobe 32 as shown in FIG. 3 (c) to prevent the confusion caused by the reflection signal of the side lobe to accurately detect the object separation space. do.

However, when the level of the side leaf 32 is lowered, there is a problem in that the beam width of the main leaf 31 is widened. Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the method for controlling the side leaf level of the present invention for solving this problem will be described in detail.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a side-lobe level for improving proximity separation in the antenna device of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a diagram for illustrating a state in which object separation is improved by adjusting the side-floor level.

에서

으로 변경되었을 때, 빔의 방향이

인 경우에는 제1 물체(11)에 의한, 빔의 레이더로의 입력 반사신호에 의해 제1 물체(11)가 감지된다. 빔의 방향이

으로 더 기울어져 변경되었을 때, 주엽(41)이 두 물체(11,12) 사이 공간(13)을 통과하여 레이더로 입력되는 반사신호가 약해져, 두 물체가 분리되어 있는 2개의 물체로 인식되는 것이 정상이다. 그러나 전술한 바와 같이 부엽(42) 레벨을 낮출 경우에는 주엽(41)의 빔 폭이 넓어지게 되어, 주엽(41)이 두 물체 사이 공간(13)을 통과하는 경우에도 좌측 또는 우측의 물체에 닿게 되어 반사신호가 형성되고, 이로 인하여 여전히 물체로 인식됨으로 말미암아, 2개의 물체가 아닌 1개의 물체로 인식되는 문제점이 있게 되는 것이다. 즉, 물체의 분리도(분해능)이 떨어지게 된다.As described above with reference to FIG. 3, when the side leaf level is lowered, the beam width of the main leaf is widened. Referring to Figure 5 (a), the direction of the beam

in

When changed to, the direction of the beam

In the case of, the first object 11 is detected by the first object 11 and the input reflection signal from the beam to the radar. The direction of the beam

When it is further tilted and changed, the reflection signal input to the radar is weakened as the main lobe 41 passes through the space 13 between the two objects 11 and 12, so that the two objects are recognized as two separate objects. It is normal. However, when the level of the side lobe 42 is lowered as described above, the beam width of the main lobe 41 is widened, so that even when the main lobe 41 passes through the space 13 between the two objects, it touches the left or right object. As a result, a reflection signal is formed, and as a result, it is still recognized as an object, and thus there is a problem that it is recognized as one object rather than two objects. That is, the degree of separation (resolution) of the object is reduced.

As a method for solving this, the present invention proposes a method for controlling the side leaf level of FIG. 4. To explain the gist, when an object is recognized at a continuous beam emission angle in a beam scanning process that radiates while changing the emission angle, the beam width is reduced by temporarily controlling the level of the side lobe to rise. The variable gain control unit 140 described above may perform such control.

-->

로 방사 각도가 변경되어도 계속 물체가 인식될 경우에는, i) 실제로 하나의 물체가 감지된 것이거나, 또는 ii) 도 5(a)의 경우와 같이 빔 폭이 크기 때문에 두 물체 사이 공간(13)을 인식하지 못한 것이거나 둘 중의 하나이다. ii)의 경우를 해결하기 위해, 도 5(b)와 같이 부엽레벨을 일시적으로 올려, 주엽의 빔 폭을 줄임으로써 두 물체 사이 공간(13)에서 주엽에 의한 반사신호를 없애고, 이로써 수신신호가 현격하게 줄어드는 지점이 감지되어 2개의 물체(11,12)가 존재한다는 것을 감지하게 되는 것이고, 이를 통해 인접한 두 물체의 분리도(분해능)을 향상시킬 수 있게 되는 것이다.That is, in a continuous angle, for example in FIG. 5

->

If the object continues to be recognized even when the radiation angle is changed, i) the object is actually detected, or ii) the space between the two objects because the beam width is large as in the case of Fig. 5 (a) 13 It is either not recognized or is either. In order to solve the case of ii), as shown in Fig. 5 (b), by temporarily raising the side lobe level and reducing the beam width of the main lobe, the reflected signal by the main lobe is eliminated in the space 13 between the two objects, whereby the received signal The sharply reduced point is sensed to detect the existence of two objects 11 and 12, thereby improving the separation (resolution) of two adjacent objects.

Hereinafter, the description with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4 describes such a process in detail,

Referring to the flowchart, first, the antenna device 100 of the present invention performs beam scanning by the antenna 110 (S110). In this case, the beam direction is rotated while increasing the beam direction by a certain angle. As described above, basically, in order to prevent confusion about the main lobe level reflection signal, the side lobe level is adjusted to be less than a certain level (hereinafter referred to as 'the first reference value of the side lobe level') (S120). Here, the term 'constant level' may be a preset reference value.

It detects whether the received signal is above a certain level (hereinafter referred to as the 'first object recognition reference value') (S130), and if it is below a certain level, it is determined that there is no object (S141), and continuously adjusts the beam direction by increasing the beam angle. (S142) to continue beam scanning.

참조). 단계 S152에서의 '일정 레벨' 역시 '제1 물체 인식 기준값'일 수 있다.If the received signal is greater than or equal to the first object recognition reference value (S130), if it is greater than or equal to the first object recognition reference value, it is determined that the first object 11 is recognized, and the beam angle is adjusted by continuously increasing the beam angle. (S151). At this angle (the angle adjusted in S151), if the received signal is below a certain level, the beam direction is adjusted by increasing the beam angle to continue scanning after the first object is recognized (S158), but this angle (Adjusted in S151) Also, if the received signal is above a certain level (S152), it is determined that the second object is recognized (S153, in FIG. 5 (a)).

Reference). The 'constant level' in step S152 may also be a 'first object recognition reference value'.

Thereafter, as described above, it is determined whether the first object and the second object are the same object or different objects. Therefore, in order to reduce the beam width, the sub-lobe level is adjusted upward to a certain level or more (hereinafter referred to as the 'second reference value of the sub-lobe') (see S153, FIG. 5 (b)). The second reference value of the side leaf level may be the same as the first reference value of the side leaf level, but the second reference value of the side leaf level may be set to a larger value than the first reference value of the side leaf level.

참조), 이것은 결국 도 5(b)와 같이 2개의 물체가 있었던 것, 즉, 제1 물체와 제2 물체는 다른 물체인 것으로 판단하고(S156), 이후 다시 부엽레벨을 일정 수준(부엽레벨 제1 기준값) 미만으로 원상복구한 후(S157), 빔 방향을 조정하여(S158) 스캐닝을 계속한다. 상기 제2 물체 인식 기준값은, 상기 제1 물체 인식 기준값과 동일하게 설정할 수도 있지만, 상기 제1 물체 인식 기준값보다 큰 값으로 설정할 수도 있다. 상기 제1 물체 인식 기준값보다 큰 값으로 설정하는 것이 가능한 이유는, 일반적으로 물체가 없는 경우의 수신신호와, 도 5의 두 물체(11,12) 사이 공간(13)으로의 빔에 대한 수신신호를 비교했을 때, 두 물체(11,12)로부터의 약간의 반사가 있을 수 있다는 이유 때문에, 도 5의 두 물체(11,12) 사이 공간(13)으로의 빔에 대한 수신신호가 더 크게 되기가 쉽기 때문이다. 즉, 일반적인 물체 없는 공간으로의 빔에 대한 반사 수신신호보다는 도 5의 두 물체(11,12) 사이 공간(13)으로의 빔에 대한 수신신호가 더 클 수 있다는 것을 감안한 것이다. 물론 물체로부터 반사되어 수신되는 수신신호의 레벨은, 제2 물체 인식 기준값보다도 높게 된다.In this case, when the beam width is reduced by upwardly adjusting the side leaf level, if the received signal is less than a certain level (hereinafter referred to as a 'second object recognition reference value') (S154, FIG. 5 (b)),

As shown in FIG. 5 (b), it is determined that there were two objects, that is, the first object and the second object are different objects (S156), and then the sub-lobe level is again set to a certain level (the sub-lobe level is eliminated). After recovering the original to less than 1 reference value (S157), the beam direction is adjusted (S158) to continue scanning. The second object recognition reference value may be set to be the same as the first object recognition reference value, but may be set to a value larger than the first object recognition reference value. The reason why it is possible to set a value larger than the reference value for the first object recognition is generally that the received signal when there is no object and the received signal for the beam into the space 13 between the two objects 11 and 12 in FIG. 5. When compared to, because of the reason that there may be some reflection from the two objects (11,12), the received signal for the beam into the space (13) between the two objects (11,12) in Figure 5 becomes larger Because it is easy. That is, it is considered that the received signal for the beam into the space 13 between the two objects 11 and 12 in FIG. 5 may be larger than the reflected received signal for the beam into the general object-free space. Of course, the level of the received signal reflected and received from the object is higher than the second object recognition reference value.

Even when the beam width is reduced by adjusting the side-floor level upward, if the received signal is still maintained above a certain level (the second object recognition reference value) (S154), this means that one object was continuously detected, that is, the first object and The second object is judged to be the same object (S155), and the side lobe level is restored to a level below a certain level (the first reference value of the side lobe level) (S157), and the beam direction is adjusted (S158) to continue scanning.

10: radiating element (antenna)
11: first object
12: second object
13: space between the first object and the second object
21,31,41,51: main lobe
22,32,42,52: side lobe
100: antenna device for improving proximity separation
110: radiating element (antenna)
120: phase shifting unit
130: amplification / attenuation unit for each radiation element
140: variable gain control

Claims (12)

As a method of controlling the side lobe level to improve the proximity object separation,
(a) starting a beam scanning by the radiating element;
(b) adjusting the level of the side lobe of the beam to less than a predetermined level (hereinafter referred to as 'a first reference value of the side level');
(c) determining whether the received signal level at which the emitted beam is reflected is equal to or greater than a predetermined predetermined level value (hereinafter referred to as a 'first object recognition reference value');
(d) If the received signal level is less than the object recognition reference value, the beam emission angle is increased to adjust the beam direction, and then scanning of the beam is continued. Determining whether a received signal level is greater than or equal to the object recognition reference value after adjusting a beam direction by increasing a radiation angle; And
(e) If the received signal level received after adjusting the beam direction is determined to be recognized as the first object, the beam emission angle is increased to adjust the beam direction when the received signal level is less than the first object recognition reference value, and beam scanning is continued; Determining that a second object is recognized when the object recognition reference value is greater than or equal to, and determining whether the first object and the second object are the same object
Method for controlling the side-floor level for improving the degree of separation of adjacent objects, including. The method according to claim 1,
In step (e), the process of determining whether the first object and the second object are the same object,
(e1) adjusting the side lobe level upward to a predetermined level (hereinafter referred to as a 'second reference value of the side lobe');
(e2) If the received signal level after adjusting the level of the side lobe is lower than a predetermined predetermined level value (hereinafter referred to as a 'second object recognition reference value'), the second object is determined to be an object different from the first object , Determining that the second object is the same object as the first object when the second object recognition reference value is greater than or equal to
A method of controlling a side leaf level for improving the degree of separation of adjacent objects, comprising a. The method according to claim 2,
The second object recognition reference value,
It is set to a value equal to or greater than the first object recognition reference value.
A method of controlling the side lobe level for improving the degree of separation of adjacent objects. The method according to claim 1 or claim 2,
Adjustment of the side leaf level,
By adjusting the magnitude of the signal input to the radiating element
A method of controlling the side lobe level for improving the degree of separation of adjacent objects. The method according to claim 4,
The magnitude of the signal input to the radiating element,
By applying weighting to the signal of each radiating element
A method of controlling the side lobe level for improving the degree of separation of adjacent objects. An antenna device that improves the degree of separation of adjacent objects through side-level control,
A plurality of radiating elements emitting a beam;
A phase shifter that adjusts the phase of the signal input to each radiating element;
An amplification / attenuation unit for each radiating element applying a gain of a signal input to each radiating element; And
Variable gain control unit for controlling the variable gain to be applied through the amplification / attenuation unit for each radiation element for the signal input to each of the radiation elements
Including,
The variable gain control unit,
When an object is recognized at a continuous beam emission angle, in order to improve the separation between two adjacent objects by reducing the beam width, it serves to temporarily control the level of the side lobe to rise,
Adjustment of the side leaf level,
It is made by adjusting the size of the signal input to the radiating element,
The magnitude of the signal input to the radiating element,
By applying weighting to the signal of each radiating element,
Antenna device to improve the separation of nearby objects.


delete delete delete The method according to claim 6,
The amplification / attenuation unit for each radiation element,
With variable gain amplifier
Antenna device for improving the separation of adjacent objects, characterized in that. The method according to claim 6,
The amplification / attenuation unit for each radiation element,
With variable attenuator
Antenna device for improving the separation of adjacent objects, characterized in that. The method according to claim 6,
The amplification / attenuation unit for each radiation element,
Fixed gain amplifier; And
Variable attenuator
Antenna device for improving the separation of adjacent objects, characterized in that it comprises a.

Images