KR20190076695A - Multibeam anttena device and multibeam generating method - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a multi-beam antenna apparatus. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the multi-beam antenna apparatus comprises: a main divider for transmitting an input signal to a controller and a plurality of main beamformers, separately; a controller for transmitting a control signal for controlling the main beamformers, generated using the input signal to the main beamformers; a plurality of main beamformers for converting the input signal into an output signal on the basis of the control signal; and antennas corresponding to each of the main beamformers.

Description

[0001] MULTIBEAM ANTTENA DEVICE AND MULTIBEAM GENERATING METHOD [0002]

The present invention relates to a multi-beam antenna apparatus, and more particularly, to a multi-beam antenna apparatus that automatically calibrates the amplitude and phase of a signal using a controller.

Multibeam antenna devices capable of providing narrow beams with high antenna gain within the service coverage have been used in many of the payloads of communications and broadcast satellites. In a multi-beam antenna apparatus, a structure including a unit beam former and a divider capable of controlling the phase and amplitude of an output signal according to operating conditions is widely used.

However, due to the nonlinearity of the amplifier, when the phase of the output signal has a different value depending on the magnitude of the input signal, or when the components are not fabricated in the same size and shape, there is a problem that the magnitude and phase of the signal are changed. When the magnitude and phase of the components included in the multi-beam antenna apparatus are generated, the phase and amplitude error between the signals distributed to the antenna through the beam formation are generated to reduce the size of the synthesized output radiation pattern, A problem may arise in which the side lobe characteristic deteriorates or the symmetry does not occur.

Conventionally, in order to solve such a problem, an analog type control system has been used. However, even in this case, when the performance of the components of the multi-beam antenna apparatus changes due to a change in environmental conditions such as degradation in component performance or temperature change The performance of the multi-beam antenna apparatus can not be maintained in an optimal state.

Accordingly, a multi-beam antenna apparatus capable of controlling the size and phase of an output signal and maintaining the performance in an optimal state even when environmental conditions change is required.

By controlling the setting of the phase shifter, the attenuator, and the polarizer of the main beam formers by using the control signal generated by the controller according to an exemplary embodiment, An antenna apparatus and a multi-beam generating method are provided.

A multi-beam antenna apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment includes a main distributor for transmitting an input signal to a controller and a plurality of main beam formers, respectively; A controller for generating a control signal for controlling the main beam formers using the input signal and transmitting the control signal to the plurality of main beam formers; A plurality of main beam formers for converting the input signal into an output signal based on the control signal; And antennas corresponding to each of the main beam formers.

The main beam shaper according to an exemplary embodiment includes a phase shifter for shifting a phase of the input signal based on the control signal; An attenuator for attenuating the amplitude of the input signal based on the control signal; A polarizer for polarizing the input signal based on the control signal; And an amplifier for amplifying the input signal.

The controller according to an exemplary embodiment includes a sub-distributor for transmitting an input signal received from the main distributor to each of a calibrator and a sub-beam former; A sub-beam former for converting the input signal into a sub-signal; And a calibrator for generating the control signal using the input signal and the subsignal.

The sub-beam former according to an embodiment includes a phase shifter for shifting a phase of the input signal by a predetermined amount; An attenuator for attenuating the amplitude of the input signal by a predetermined amount; A polarizer for polarizing the input signal by a predetermined amount; And an amplifier for amplifying the input signal.

The calibrator according to an exemplary embodiment includes: a demodulator that demodulates the input signal and the sub signal; And a processor for generating a control signal based on the demodulated input signal and the demodulated sub-signal.

The processor according to an embodiment may be configured to detect the phase and amplitude of the demodulated input signal and the phase and amplitude of the demodulated input signal and determine the phase and amplitude of the demodulated input signal and the phase and amplitude Can be compared with the phase shifter setting, the attenuator setting, and the polarizer setting of the main beam formers to generate the control signal.

The multi-beam generating method according to an exemplary embodiment includes: transmitting an input signal to a controller and a plurality of main beam formers, respectively, in a main distributor; Generating, by the controller, a control signal generated using the input signal, the control signal controlling the main beam formers; Transmitting the control signal to the main beam formers; Converting the input signal to an output signal based on the control signal in the main beam formers; And transmitting the output signal to the antennas corresponding to each of the main beam formers.

The step of converting to the output signal according to an exemplary embodiment may include: shifting a phase of the input signal based on the control signal; Attenuating the amplitude of the input signal based on the control signal; Polarizing the input signal based on the control signal; And amplifying the input signal.

The generating of the control signal according to an exemplary embodiment may include transmitting the input signal received from the main distributor to each of the calibrator and the sub-beam former in the sub-distributor; Converting an input signal into a sub signal in the sub-beam former; And generating the control signal using the input signal and the subsignal in the calibrator.

The step of converting into the sub signal according to an exemplary embodiment may include: shifting a phase of the input signal by a predetermined amount; Attenuating the amplitude of the input signal by a predetermined amount; Polarizing the input signal by a predetermined amount; And amplifying the input signal.

The step of generating the control signal using the input signal and the sub signal according to an exemplary embodiment may include: demodulating the input signal and the sub signal; And generating a control signal based on the demodulated input signal and the demodulated sub-signal.

The step of generating a control signal based on the demodulated input signal and the demodulated sub-signal according to an embodiment may include detecting phase and amplitude of the demodulated input signal and phase and amplitude of the demodulated sub- ; And generating a control signal by comparing the phase and amplitude of the demodulated input signal and the phase and amplitude of the demodulated sub-signal with the phase shifting setting, the amplitude attenuation setting, and the polarization setting of the main formers.

According to one embodiment, by controlling the phase shifter, the attenuator, and the polarizer of the main beam formers by using the control signal generated by the controller, it is possible to achieve optimal performance even when the performance of the components of the multi- .

1 is a view illustrating a multi-beam antenna apparatus according to an embodiment.
2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an actual implementation of a multi-beam antenna apparatus according to an embodiment.
3 is a diagram illustrating a main beamformer and a sub-beam former according to an embodiment.
4 is a view of a calibrator according to one embodiment.
5 is a diagram illustrating a processor in accordance with one embodiment.
6 is a flowchart of a multi-beam generating method according to an embodiment.

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

The present invention proposes a multi-beam antenna device including a calibrator for setting a phase / amplitude adjustment value in a multi-input / output amplifier and a multi-input / output amplifier having an auto-calibration function.

1 is a view illustrating a multi-beam antenna apparatus according to an embodiment.

The multi-beam antenna apparatus according to an embodiment includes a main distributor 100, a controller 101, a plurality of main beam formers 102, and antennas 103 that correspond to a plurality of main beam formers 102 on a one- . ≪ / RTI >

Here, the main distributor 100 may distribute input signals input to the multi-beam antenna apparatus to the controller 101 and the plurality of main beam formers 102. [

The controller 101 may generate a control signal for controlling the plurality of main beam formers 102 using the input signal received from the main distributor 100. [ The plurality of main beam formers 102 convert an input signal received from the main distributor 100 into an output signal based on the control signal received from the controller 101 and output the output signal to corresponding antennas 103).

2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an actual implementation of a multi-beam antenna apparatus according to an embodiment.

The multi-beam antenna apparatus of FIG. 1 may be implemented in hardware form as shown in FIG. The main distributor 100 may correspond to the Power Divider Block 201 of FIG. The controller 101 corresponds to the controller 202 of FIG. 2 and may include a sub-distributor 205, a sub-beam former, and a calibrator 204.

The sub-beam former includes a phase shifter 206 (PS) to which P _c is input, an attenuator 207 (ATTN) to which Ac is input, a phase shifter 208 to which P _cc is input, and an amplifier PA .

The plurality of main beamformers of FIG. 1 may be connected to the respective antennas O ₁ to O _n . The main beam former includes a phase shifter 206 (PS) to which P ₁ to P _n are input, an attenuator 207 (ATTN) to which A ₁ to A _n are input, a phase shifter (P ₁₁ to P _nn ) 208 and an amplifier PA.

Braces 204 may generate control signals for controlling the controller 101 and the main beam former 102 using the C _IN2 output from the C _IN1 and the sub-beam former output from the sub-divider (205) .

3 is a diagram illustrating a main beamformer or a sub-beam former according to an embodiment.

The main beam former 102 or the sub beam former 202 according to an embodiment includes a phase shifter 300, an attenuator 301, a polarizer 302, and an amplifier And a main beam former 102 or a sub beam former 202 is connected to the input signal 302 using a phase shifter 300, an attenuator 301, a polarizer 302 and an amplifier 303, To an output signal or a sub signal.

Here, the phase shifter 300 can shift the phase of the received input signal, and the attenuator 301 can attenuate the amplitude of the input signal. Then, the polarizer 302 polarizes the input signal, and the amplifier 303 amplifies the magnitude of the input signal.

4 is a view of a calibrator according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates the on-board calibration hardware 204 shown in FIG.

Calibrator 204 receives the output from the C _IN2 CIN1 and the sub-beam former output from the sub-divider 205 via a QPSK demodulator 400. C _IN2 may be phase shifted by the phase shifter 401 before being transmitted to the QPSK demodulator 400.

QPSK demodulator 400 may output the I signal and Q signal by using the C _IN1, and _IN2 C. The I signal and the Q signal are transmitted to a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) The DSP 402 is embodied in FIG.

Here, C _IN1 and C _IN2 can be specified by the following equation (1).

는 서브 분배기(205)를 통해 입력된 C_IN1이고,

는 서브빔 형성기를 통해 입력된 C_IN2이다. ∑는 2개 이상의 신호에 대한 합을 의미한다. 그리고, el은 elevation angle을 의미한다. △는 2개 이상의 신호에 대한 차를 의미한다. θ와 φ는 위상 변이된 결과를 나타낸다. 그리고, A는 임의의 진폭을 의미한다.

_Lt ; / RTI > input through subdivider 205,

Is a C _IN2 input via the sub-beam former. Σ denotes the sum of two or more signals. And el means elevation angle. Denotes the difference between two or more signals. θ and φ represent the results of phase shifting. And, A means an arbitrary amplitude.

Equation (2) represents the I signal and the Q signal outputted through the QPSK demodulator 400. [

는 QPSK 복조기(400)를 통해 출력된 I 신호를 나타내고,

는 QPSK 복조기(400)를 통해 출력된 Q 신호를 나타낸다. I 신호와 Q 신호는 RF 신호가 baseband 신호로 변경된 결과를 나타낸다.

Represents the I signal output through the QPSK demodulator 400,

Represents the Q signal output through the QPSK demodulator 400. [ The I and Q signals represent the result of the RF signal being changed to a baseband signal.

The DSP 402 can output the amplitude and phase of the I signal and the Q signal using the I signal and the Q signal. The amplitude and phase determined through the DSP 402 can be expressed by Equation (3).

The signals C _IN1 and C _IN2 input to the calibrator 204 can be determined by the QPSK demodulator 400 and the DSP 402 as the relative values of phase and amplitude between C _IN1 and C _IN2 . The phase shifter included in the main beam former 102 and the value input to the attenuator can be changed based on the relative value.

4, P ₁ to P _n are values output through the DAC 403 and the amplifier 404 and input to the phase shifter 206 of the main beam former 102. Pc is a value input to the DAC 403 and the amplifier 404 and input to the phase shifter 206 of the sub-beam former.

A ₁ to A _n are values outputted through the DAC 403 and the amplifier 404 and inputted to the attenuator 207 of the main beam former 102 and Ac is a value inputted to the DAC 403 and the amplifier 404 And is input to the attenuator 207 of the sub-beam former.

P ₁₁ to P _nn are values output through the DAC 403 and the amplifier 404 and input to the phase shifter 209 of the main beam former 102 and P _cc is a value input to the DAC 403 and the amplifier 404 and input to the phase shifter 209 of the sub-beam former.

The calibrator 201 according to one embodiment may include a demodulator 400, a processor 401, a digital to analog converter (DAC) 402, and an amplifier 403. In one example, the demodulator according to one embodiment may be a QPSK demodulator. The calibrator 201 receives the input signal received from the sub-distributor 200 and the received signal from the sub-beam former 202 using the demodulator 400, the processor 401, the DAC 402 and the amplifier 403, It is possible to detect the phase and amplitude of the signal and generate a control signal for controlling the main beam former 102 based on the detected phase and amplitude.

Here, the demodulator 400 can demodulate an analog input signal received from the distributor into a digital input signal. Then, the processor 401 can detect the phase and amplitude of the digital input signal demodulated by the demodulator 400, and generate a digital control signal based on the detected phase and amplitude. Also, the DAC 402 converts the generated control signal back to an analog control signal, and the amplifier 403 can amplify the converted control signal.

5 is a diagram illustrating a processor in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a specific example of the operation of the DSP 401 of FIG. The I signal and the Q signal input to the DSP 401 are input to a root mean square (RMS) detector 501 through a switch 500. The amplitude of Equation (3) is determined via the RMS detector (501). The phase of Equation (3) is determined through the PC 502 and the MCU 503.

6 is a flowchart of a multi-beam generating method according to an embodiment.

In step 600, the main distributor 100 may distribute input signals input to the multi-beam antenna apparatus to the controller 101 and the plurality of main beam formers 102. [ The sub-distributor 200 of the controller 101 may distribute the input signal received from the main distributor 100 to the calibrator 201 and the sub-beam former 202.

In step 601, the sub-beam former 202 may convert an input signal received from the sub-distributor 200 into a sub-signal used for generating a control signal.

More specifically, the sub-beam former 202 moves the phase of the input signal based on a predetermined value of the phase shifter 300, and attenuates the amplitude of the input signal based on a predetermined value of the attenuator 301 . Then, the sub-beam former 202 may bias the input signal based on a predetermined value of the polarizer 302 and amplify the input signal using the amplifier 303. [ The sub-beam former 202 may transmit the converted sub-signal from the input signal to the calibrator.

The calibrator 201 may generate a control signal used for control of the main beam formers 102 based on the input signal received from the sub-distributor 200 and the sub-signal received from the sub-beam former 202.

In step 602, the main beam formers 102 may convert the input signal received from the main distributor 100 into an output signal.

More specifically, the main beam formers 102 can set the phase shifter 300, the attenuator 301, and the polarizer 302 based on the control signals received from the controller 101, respectively. The main beam formers 102 can shift the phase of the input signal received from the main distributor 100 using the phase shifter 300 and attenuate the amplitude of the input signal using the attenuator 301 have. In addition, the main beam formers 102 can polarize the input signal using the polarizer 302 and amplify the input signal using the amplifier 303.

In step 603, the main beam formers 102 convert the output signals converted from the input signals through the phase shifter 300, the attenuator 301, the polarizer 302 and the amplifiers into the main beam formers 102, It can be transmitted to the corresponding antenna.

Meanwhile, the method according to the present invention may be embodied as a program that can be executed by a computer, and may be embodied as various recording media such as a magnetic storage medium, an optical reading medium, and a digital storage medium.

Implementations of the various techniques described herein may be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or combinations thereof. Implementations may be implemented in a computer program product, such as an information carrier, e.g., a machine readable storage device, such as a computer readable storage medium, for example, for processing by a data processing apparatus, Apparatus (computer readable medium) or as a computer program tangibly embodied in a propagation signal. A computer program, such as the computer program (s) described above, may be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and may be stored as a stand-alone program or in a module, component, subroutine, As other units suitable for use in the present invention. A computer program may be deployed to be processed on one computer or multiple computers at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communications network.

Processors suitable for processing a computer program include, by way of example, both general purpose and special purpose microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random access memory or both. The elements of a computer may include at least one processor for executing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer may include one or more mass storage devices for storing data, such as magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks, or may receive data from them, transmit data to them, . ≪ / RTI > Information carriers suitable for embodying computer program instructions and data include, for example, semiconductor memory devices, for example, magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tape, compact disk read only memory A magneto-optical medium such as a floppy disk, an optical disk such as a DVD (Digital Video Disk), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM , Random Access Memory), a flash memory, an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), and the like. The processor and memory may be supplemented or included by special purpose logic circuitry.

In addition, the computer-readable medium can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer, and can include both computer storage media and transmission media.

While the specification contains a number of specific implementation details, it should be understood that they are not to be construed as limitations on the scope of any invention or claim, but rather on the description of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment of a particular invention Should be understood. Certain features described herein in the context of separate embodiments may be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments, either individually or in any suitable subcombination. Further, although the features may operate in a particular combination and may be initially described as so claimed, one or more features from the claimed combination may in some cases be excluded from the combination, Or a variant of a subcombination.

Likewise, although the operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, it should be understood that such operations must be performed in that particular order or sequential order shown to achieve the desired result, or that all illustrated operations should be performed. In certain cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Also, the separation of the various device components of the above-described embodiments should not be understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and the described program components and devices will generally be integrated together into a single software product or packaged into multiple software products It should be understood.

It should be noted that the embodiments of the present invention disclosed in the present specification and drawings are only illustrative of specific examples for the purpose of understanding and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other modifications based on the technical idea of the present invention are possible in addition to the embodiments disclosed herein.

100: main distributor 101: controller
102: main beam former 103: antenna
200: subdistributor 201: calibrator
202: sub beam forming machine
300: phase shifter 301: attenuator
302: polarizer 303: amplifier
400 demodulator 401 processor
402: DAC 403: Amplifier

Claims (12)

A main distributor for transmitting an input signal to a controller and a plurality of main beam formers, respectively;
A controller for generating a control signal for controlling the main beam formers using the input signal and transmitting the control signal to the plurality of main beam formers;
A plurality of main beam formers for converting the input signal into an output signal based on the control signal; And
The antennas corresponding to each of the main beam formers
/ RTI >
The method according to claim 1,
The main beam formers include:
A phase shifter for shifting the phase of the input signal based on the control signal;
An attenuator for attenuating the amplitude of the input signal based on the control signal;
A polarizer for polarizing the input signal based on the control signal; And
An amplifier for amplifying the input signal;
/ RTI >
The method according to claim 1,
The controller comprising:
A sub-distributor for transmitting an input signal received from the main distributor to each of a calibrator and a sub-beam former;
A sub-beam former for converting the input signal into a sub-signal; And
And generating a control signal by using the input signal and the sub-
/ RTI >
The method of claim 3,
The sub-
A phase shifter for shifting a phase of the input signal based on a preset value;
An attenuator for attenuating an amplitude of the input signal based on a preset value;
A polarizer for polarizing the input signal based on a preset value; And
An amplifier for amplifying the input signal;
/ RTI >
The method of claim 3,
The calibrator includes:
A demodulator for demodulating the input signal and the sub signal; And
A demodulated input signal, and a demodulated sub-
/ RTI >
6. The method of claim 5,
The processor comprising:
Detecting the phase and amplitude of the demodulated input signal and the phase and amplitude of the demodulated sub-
The phase and amplitude of the demodulated input signal and the phase and amplitude of the demodulated sub-signal are compared with the phase shifter setting, the attenuator setting and the polarizer setting of the main beam formers to generate a control signal
A multi-beam antenna apparatus.
Transmitting an input signal to a controller and a plurality of main beam formers, respectively, in a main distributor;
Generating, by the controller, a control signal generated using the input signal, the control signal controlling the main beam formers;
Transmitting the control signal to the main beam formers;
Converting the input signal to an output signal based on the control signal in the main beam formers; And
Transmitting the output signal to the main beam formers corresponding to each of the main beam formers
≪ / RTI >
8. The method of claim 7,
The step of converting into the output signal comprises:
Shifting the phase of the input signal based on the control signal;
Attenuating the amplitude of the input signal based on the control signal;
Polarizing the input signal based on the control signal; And
Amplifying the input signal
≪ / RTI >
8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the step of generating the control signal comprises:
Transmitting an input signal received from the main distributor to each of a calibrator and a sub-beam former in a sub-distributor;
Converting an input signal into a sub signal in the sub-beam former; And
Generating the control signal using the input signal and the subsignal in the calibrator;
≪ / RTI >
10. The method of claim 9,
The step of converting into the sub-
Shifting the phase of the input signal based on a preset value;
Attenuating the amplitude of the input signal based on a preset value;
Biasing the input signal based on a preset value; And
Amplifying the input signal
≪ / RTI >
10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the generating the control signal using the input signal and the sub-
Demodulating the input signal and the subsignal; And
Generating a control signal based on the demodulated input signal and the demodulated sub-
≪ / RTI >
12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the step of generating a control signal based on the demodulated input signal and the demodulated sub-
Detecting phase and amplitude of the demodulated input signal and phase and amplitude of the demodulated sub-signal; And
Generating a control signal by comparing the phase and amplitude of the demodulated input signal and the phase and amplitude of the demodulated sub-signal with a phase shift setting, an amplitude attenuation setting and a polarization setting of the main formers
≪ / RTI >

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