WO2018191965A1 - Antenna alignment method and ground control terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses an antenna alignment method for controlling a ground control terminal having a directional antenna so as to allow the directional antenna align with a drone. The antenna alignment method comprises: obtaining location information of the drone; obtaining position and posture information of the ground control terminal; and controlling the communication direction of the directional antenna to align with the drone according to the location information and the position and posture information. The invention also discloses a ground control terminal. The antenna alignment method and the ground control terminal of the embodiment of the present invention adjust the communication direction of the directional antenna, so that the communication direction of the directional antenna is always aligned with the drone, thereby ensuring that the ground control terminal and the drone are always in an optimal receiving and transmitting state, and the stability of communication between the ground control terminal and the drone is improved.

Description

Antenna alignment method and ground control terminal Technical field

The present invention relates to communication technologies, and in particular, to an antenna alignment method and a ground control terminal.

Background technique

The remote control of the existing drone generally uses a directional antenna to enhance the signal strength in the target direction, so the remote controller needs to be manually operated to align the directional antenna with the drone. However, when the drone exceeds the line of sight, it is difficult to achieve alignment, resulting in poor communication quality.

Summary of the invention

The present invention aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. To this end, the present invention provides an antenna alignment method and a ground control terminal.

An antenna alignment method according to an embodiment of the present invention is for controlling a ground control terminal having a directional antenna to align the directional antenna with a drone, and the antenna alignment method includes the following steps:

Obtaining location information of the drone;

Obtaining position and posture information of the ground control end; and

And controlling the communication direction of the directional antenna to be aligned with the drone according to the position information and the position and posture information.

The ground control end of the embodiment of the present invention includes a directional antenna, the ground control end is configured to control the directional antenna to be aligned with the drone, and the ground control end further includes a first processor, where the first processor is used by :

Obtaining location information of the drone;

Obtaining position and posture information of the ground control end; and

And controlling the communication direction of the directional antenna to be aligned with the drone according to the position information and the position and posture information.

The antenna alignment method and the ground control end of the embodiment of the present invention adjust the communication direction of the directional antenna so that the communication direction of the directional antenna is always aligned with the drone, and the ground control end and the drone are always in an optimal receiving and transmitting state. Improve the stability of communication between the ground control terminal and the drone.

The additional aspects and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows.

DRAWINGS

The above and/or additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and readily understood from

1 is a flow chart of an antenna alignment method according to some embodiments of the present invention.

2 is a block diagram of a ground control end of some embodiments of the present invention.

3 is a schematic diagram of a state of an antenna alignment method according to some embodiments of the present invention.

4 is a flow diagram of an antenna alignment method in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic flow chart of an antenna alignment method according to some embodiments of the present invention.

6 is a flow diagram of an antenna alignment method in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

7 is a flow chart of an antenna alignment method according to some embodiments of the present invention.

8 is a block diagram of a ground control end of some embodiments of the present invention.

9 is a flow diagram of an antenna alignment method in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

10 is a flow diagram of an antenna alignment method in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

detailed description

The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, and the examples of the embodiments are illustrated in the drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals indicate the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the drawings are intended to be illustrative of the invention and are not to be construed as limiting.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3 together, an antenna alignment method according to an embodiment of the present invention is for controlling a ground control terminal 100 having a directional antenna 21 to align the directional antenna 21 with the drone 200. The antenna alignment method includes the following steps:

S11: Obtain location information of the drone 200;

S13: acquiring position and posture information of the ground control terminal 100; and

S15: The communication direction of the directional antenna 21 is controlled to be aligned with the drone 200 based on the position information and the position and posture information.

The antenna alignment method of the embodiment of the present invention can be implemented by the ground control terminal 100 of the embodiment of the present invention. The ground control end 100 of an embodiment of the present invention includes a directional antenna 21. The ground control terminal 100 is used to control the alignment of the directional antenna 21 with the drone 200. The ground control terminal 100 includes a first processor 23. Step S11, step S13, and step S15 may each be implemented by the first processor 23.

That is to say, the first processor 23 is used to:

Obtaining location information of the drone 200;

Obtaining position and posture information of the ground control terminal 100; and

The communication direction of the directional antenna 21 is controlled to be aligned with the drone 200 based on the position information and the position and posture information.

It can be understood that the existing ground control terminal 100 communicating with the drone 200 can perform wireless signal reception and transmission using an omnidirectional antenna or a directional antenna. When the ground control terminal 100 adopts an omnidirectional antenna, the omnidirectional antenna can achieve relatively good The horizontal direction covers, but the antenna gain zero is usually formed directly above the ground control end 100, resulting in the flying height of the drone 200 above the ground control end 100 is not high. In addition, the use of an omnidirectional antenna may receive interference signals from other directions, resulting in poor communication quality between the drone 200 and the ground control terminal 100. When the ground control terminal 10 uses the directional antenna, it is necessary to manually align the orientation of the directional antenna with the antenna of the drone 200. When the drone 200 is out of line of sight, precise alignment cannot be achieved.

The antenna alignment method of the embodiment of the present invention can automatically adjust the communication direction of the alignment antenna 21 by the position information of the drone 200 and the position and attitude information of the ground control terminal 100, thereby ensuring that the ground control terminal 100 is always in the drone 200. The optimal receiving and transmitting state improves the stability of communication between the ground control terminal 100 and the drone 200.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, the alignment antenna 21 can employ a high gain directional antenna. The high-gain directional antenna has a higher antenna gain, and the wireless signal has a longer transmission distance, which can improve the transmission quality of the wireless signal between the drone 200 and the ground control terminal 100. At the same time, the strong directivity of the high-gain directional antenna causes the directional antenna 21 to form a gain zero in other communication directions, which can effectively reduce interference signals in other directions. In addition, the high-gain directional antenna according to the embodiment of the present invention can automatically adjust the communication direction according to the position information of the drone 200 and the position and attitude information of the ground control terminal 100, and can realize 360° and height in the horizontal direction by adjusting the communication direction. The omnidirectional coverage of the signal in the direction [-25°, 90°] causes the communication direction of the high gain directional antenna to always be aligned with the drone 200. The communication direction of the directional antenna 21 refers to the radiation direction of the alignment antenna 21, that is, the wireless signal reception direction and the wireless signal transmission direction.

Referring to FIG. 2 to FIG. 4 together, in some embodiments, the antenna alignment method of the embodiment of the present invention includes the following steps:

S14: The ground control terminal 100 is controlled to analyze the position information and the position and posture information.

In some embodiments, the ground console 100 also includes a second processor 32. Step S14 can be implemented by the second processor 32. That is to say, the second processor 32 is further configured to control the ground control terminal 100 to parse the position information and the position and posture information.

It can be understood that the drone 200 modulates its own position information and transmits it to the ground control terminal 100 through the antenna of the drone 200 itself in the form of electromagnetic waves, and the alignment antenna 21 of the ground control terminal 100 receives the position information. The ground control terminal 100 also has its own position and attitude information. The ground control terminal 100 obtains the positional valued position information and the position and posture information by analyzing the position information and the position and posture information, thereby adjusting the communication direction of the directional antenna 100 based on the positional valued position information and the position and posture information.

Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 together, in some embodiments, the ground control terminal 100 includes a tracking antenna device 20 and a remote controller 30, wherein the tracking antenna device 20 includes a directional antenna 21, a remote controller 30 and a tracking antenna. The device 20 communicates, and the step of controlling the ground control terminal 100 to analyze the position information and the position and posture information in step S14 comprises the following steps:

S141: The control tracking antenna device 20 receives the location information sent by the drone 200;

S142: Control the tracking antenna device 20 to forward the location information to the remote controller 30;

S143: The control remote controller 30 analyzes the position information forwarded by the tracking antenna device 20 to obtain the resolved position information; and

S144: The control remote controller 30 transmits the resolution position information to the tracking antenna device 20.

In some embodiments, step S141 and step S142 can be implemented by the first processor 23, and step S143 and step S144 can be implemented by the second processor 32.

That is to say, the first processor 23 is also used to:

Controlling the tracking antenna device 20 to receive the location information transmitted by the drone 200; and

Controlling the tracking antenna device 20 to forward the position information to the remote controller 30;

The second processor 32 is configured to:

The control remote controller 30 analyzes the position information forwarded by the tracking antenna device 20 to obtain the resolved position information; and

The control remote controller 30 transmits the resolution position information to the tracking antenna device 20.

Specifically, the first processor 23 is disposed in the tracking antenna device 20, and the second processor 32 is disposed in the remote controller 30. The position information of the drone 200 is received by the tracking antenna device 20 and forwarded to the remote controller 30. The remote controller 30 analyzes the position information to obtain the analysis position information. The position information is analyzed as position information of the figurative numerically-defined drone 200. The remote controller 30 transmits the analysis position information to the tracking antenna device 20, and the tracking antenna device 20 performs the communication direction adjustment of the directional antenna 21 based on the analysis position information and the position state information. As described above, by analyzing the position information by the remote controller 30, the data processing load of the tracking antenna device 20 can be reduced. It should be noted that, in other embodiments, step S14 may also be implemented by the first processor 23 directly in the tracking antenna device 20.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, remote control 30 is coupled to tracking antenna assembly 20 via a radio frequency coaxial. In controlling the flight of the drone 200, the position of the tracking antenna device 20 may be fixed or mobile. For example, the tracking antenna device 20 can be placed on a tripod and fixed. The RF coaxial line connecting the remote controller 30 and the tracking antenna device 20 has a certain length. When the flying hand control drone 200 is flying, the remote controller 30 can be moved to facilitate observation of the flight condition of the drone 200. The length of the radio frequency coaxial line may be 5 meters, 10 meters, 15 meters or even more than 15 meters, and no limitation is imposed here. The tracking antenna device 20 can also be placed on the car to accommodate scenarios in which the drone 200 is controlled to fly during vehicle movement.

Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG. 6, in some embodiments, the position information of the drone 200 includes the latitude and longitude of the drone 200, and the position and posture information of the ground control end 100 includes the latitude and longitude of the directional antenna 21. The communication direction of the directional antenna 21 includes a horizontal direction parameter. Step S15: The step of controlling the communication direction of the directional antenna 21 to align the drone 200 based on the position information and the position and posture information includes the following steps:

S1511: Calculate the horizontal direction parameter according to the latitude and longitude of the drone 200 and the latitude and longitude of the directional antenna 21.

In some embodiments, step S1511 can be implemented by the first processor 23.

That is, the first processor 23 is further configured to calculate the horizontal direction parameter based on the latitude and longitude of the drone 200 and the latitude and longitude of the directional antenna 21.

In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the drone 200 is provided with a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver, and the latitude and longitude information of the drone 200 can be acquired by the GNSS receiver. The ground control terminal 100 is also provided with a GNSS receiver for acquiring the latitude and longitude of the directional antenna 21. Among them, the GNSS receiver includes the US Global Positioning System receiver, the China Beidou satellite navigation system receiver, the Russian GLONASS satellite navigation system receiver or the European Galileo satellite navigation system receiver, and is not limited herein. The horizontal direction parameter of the communication direction refers to the connection of the origin of the drone 200 to the geodetic coordinate system and the connection of the directional antenna 21 to the origin of the geodetic coordinate system in the horizontal direction or on the longitude-latitude plane of the geodetic coordinate system. The angle of the. The horizontal direction parameter can be used to determine the relative position in the horizontal direction between the drone 200 and the directional antenna 21. The ground control terminal 100 performs the horizontal direction rotation of the directional antenna 21 in accordance with the relative position in the horizontal direction described above to achieve alignment of the directional antenna 21 with the drone 200.

Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG. 6, in some embodiments, the position information of the drone 200 includes the height of the drone 200, and the position and posture information of the ground control end 100 includes the height of the directional antenna 21. The communication direction of the directional antenna 21 includes a height direction parameter. Step S15: The step of controlling the communication direction of the directional antenna 21 to align the drone 200 based on the position information and the position and posture information includes the following steps:

S1512: Calculate the height direction parameter according to the height of the drone 200 and the height of the directional antenna 21.

In some embodiments, step S1512 can be implemented by the first processor 23.

That is, the first processor 23 is further configured to calculate the height direction parameter based on the height of the drone 200 and the height of the directional antenna 21.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, the drone 200 is also provided with a barometer, the height of which can be measured jointly by the GNSS receiver and the barometer. Specifically, the GNSS receiver can perform 3D positioning of the drone to obtain the height of the drone 200, and the barometer can perform height measurement by detecting the air pressure around the drone 200. The fusion processing of the heights of the drones 200 measured by the GNSS receiver and the barometer respectively can make the height of the drone 200 more accurate. Similarly, the ground control terminal 100 also has a GNSS receiver and a barometer. The height of the directional antenna 21 can be measured jointly by the GNSS and the barometer. The height direction parameter refers to the relative position of the drone 200 and the directional antenna 21 in the height direction. After the height direction parameter is calculated by the height of the drone 200 and the height of the directional antenna 21, the rotation of the directional antenna 21 in the height direction or the pitch angle direction can be performed according to the height direction parameter to implement the directional antenna 21 and the drone 200. Alignment.

Referring again to FIGS. 2, 3, and 6, in some embodiments, the tracking antenna assembly 20 includes a platform 22 for rotating the directional antenna 21, the direction of communication of the directional antenna 21 including the target orientation of the directional antenna 21. The angular parameter, the position and attitude information includes the current azimuth parameter of the directional antenna 21. Step S15: The step of controlling the communication direction of the directional antenna 21 to align the drone 200 based on the position information and the position and posture information includes the following steps:

S1513: Control the PTZ 22 so that the difference between the current azimuth parameter and the target azimuth parameter is less than the first predetermined range Wai.

In some embodiments, step S1513 can be implemented by the first processor 23.

That is to say, the first processor 23 is further configured to control the pan/tilt head 22 such that the difference between the current azimuth parameter and the target azimuth parameter is less than the first predetermined range.

Specifically, the target azimuth parameter refers to the maximum gain direction of the communication direction of the directional antenna 21 and the connection of the drone 200 and the directional antenna 21 on the latitude axis in the horizontal direction or on the longitude-latitude plane. The azimuth angle of the directional antenna 21 at this time when the projection directions coincide. The current azimuth refers to the azimuth of the current directional antenna 21. In a particular embodiment of the invention, the azimuth of the directional antenna 21 can be measured by a compass. In other embodiments, the azimuth angle of the directional antenna 21 can also be measured by other measurement methods, for example, using the carrier phase difference technology RTK for measurement, etc., and is not limited herein. In step S1511, the horizontal direction parameter, that is, the relative position in the horizontal direction between the drone 200 and the directional antenna 21 is calculated, and the angle in the horizontal direction is required to be calculated according to the relative position in the horizontal direction, thereby controlling the pan/tilt head 22 to perform the above. The rotation of the angle. When the pan-tilt 22 is rotated such that the difference between the current azimuth parameter and the target azimuth parameter is less than the first predetermined range, the communication direction of the directional antenna 21 can be aligned with the drone 200. Wherein, the first predetermined range indicates that the maximum gain direction of the communication direction of the directional antenna 21 does not necessarily need to completely coincide with the projection direction of the line connecting the drone 200 and the directional antenna 21 on the latitude axis. Since the electromagnetic wave in the communication direction of the directional antenna 21 has a certain beam width, there is a certain radiation angle. Therefore, even if the maximum gain direction of the communication direction of the directional antenna 21 does not completely coincide with the projection direction of the line connecting the drone 200 and the directional antenna 21 on the latitude axis, as long as the maximum gain direction is secured with the drone 200 and the directional antenna 21 The difference in the angle of the projection direction of the connection on the latitude axis is smaller than the first predetermined range, and the communication transmission between the drone 200 and the ground control terminal 100 can also be ensured.

Referring again to FIGS. 2, 3, and 6, in some embodiments, the pan/tilt head 22 can also adjust the pitch angle of the directional antenna 21. The communication direction of the directional antenna 21 includes a target pitch angle parameter of the directional antenna, and the position and attitude information includes a current pitch angle parameter. Step S15: The step of controlling the communication direction of the directional antenna 21 to align the drone 200 based on the position information and the position and posture information includes the following steps:

S1514: The pan/tilt head 22 is controlled such that the difference between the current pitch angle parameter and the target pitch angle parameter is less than a second predetermined range.

In some embodiments, step S1514 can be implemented by the first processor 23.

That is, the first processor 23 is further configured to control the pan/tilt head 22 such that the difference between the current pitch angle parameter and the target pitch angle parameter is less than the second predetermined range.

Specifically, the target pitch angle parameter refers to the directional antenna 21 when the maximum gain direction of the communication direction of the directional antenna 21 coincides with the projection direction of the line connecting the drone 200 and the directional antenna 21 on the height axis in the height direction. The pitch angle of the time. The current pitch angle parameter refers to the pitch angle of the current directional antenna 21. In step S1512, the height direction parameter, that is, the relative position in the height direction between the drone 200 and the directional antenna 21 is calculated, and the relative position according to the height direction is calculated. The angle at which the rotation in the height direction is required is calculated, thereby controlling the rotation of the gimbal 22 according to the angle of the desired rotation in the above-described height direction. When the pan-tilt 22 is rotated such that the difference between the current pitch angle parameter and the target pitch angle parameter is less than the second predetermined range, the communication direction of the directional antenna 21 can be aligned with the drone 200. Wherein, the second predetermined range indicates that the maximum gain direction of the communication direction of the directional antenna 21 does not have to completely coincide with the projection direction of the line connecting the drone 200 and the directional antenna 21 on the height axis. The electromagnetic wave in the communication direction of the alignment antenna 21 has a certain beam width, that is, a radiation angle, and therefore, even if the maximum gain direction of the communication direction of the directional antenna 21 is not connected to the line of the drone 200 and the directional antenna 21 on the height axis The projection directions are completely coincident, and the drone 200 and the ground control end can be ensured as long as the difference between the angle of the maximum gain direction and the projection direction of the line connecting the drone 200 and the directional antenna 21 on the height axis is smaller than the second predetermined range. A stable communication transmission between 100. It should be noted that, in other embodiments, step S15 may also be implemented by the second processor 32 in the remote controller 30.

Referring to FIGS. 7-8 together, in some embodiments, the directional antenna 21 includes a phased array antenna including a plurality of directional radiation units, each of which corresponds to a radiation direction. The communication direction of the directional antenna 21 includes the target azimuth parameter of the directional antenna 21 and the target pitch angle parameter of the directional antenna 21. Step S15: The step of controlling the communication direction of the directional antenna 21 to align the drone 200 based on the position information and the position and posture information includes the following steps:

S1521: Control the phased array antenna to selectively activate the radiation unit and make the difference between the radiation direction of the activated radiation unit and the target azimuth parameter less than a third predetermined range.

S1522: Control the phased array antenna to selectively activate the radiation unit and make the difference between the radiation direction of the activated radiation unit and the target pitch angle parameter smaller than a fourth predetermined range.

In some embodiments, step S1521 and step S1522 can be implemented by the first processor 23.

That is to say, the first processor 23 is also used to:

The phased array antenna is controlled to selectively activate the radiating element and to make the difference between the radiated direction of the activated radiating element and the target azimuth parameter less than a third predetermined range.

The phased array antenna is controlled to selectively activate the radiating element and to make the difference between the radiated direction of the activated radiating element and the target pitch angle parameter less than a fourth predetermined range.

Specifically, the phased array antenna realizes a directional antenna in which the antenna beam is directed to move or scan in space by phase change. A plurality of radiating elements are disposed in the phased array antenna. The radiating element may be a single waveguide horn antenna, a dipole antenna, a patch antenna, or the like. When the phased array antenna is in operation, one or more of the plurality of radiating elements can be controlled for wireless signal directed transmission and reception. In a particular embodiment of the invention, the phased array antenna is shaped as a 180° hemisphere. The radiating elements are evenly distributed on the hemisphere. The target azimuth parameter refers to the radiation direction of the phased array antenna when the radiation direction of the radiation unit selectively activated by the phased array antenna coincides with the projection direction of the line connecting the drone 200 and the directional antenna 21 on the latitude axis. The azimuth of the relative latitude axis. The target pitch angle refers to the phase control when the radiation direction of the radiation unit selectively activated by the phased array antenna coincides with the projection direction of the line connecting the drone 200 and the directional antenna 21 on the height axis. The radiation direction of the array antenna is now at a pitch angle relative to the height axis. At this time, the tracking antenna device 20 does not need to provide the pan/tilt head 22. The first processor 23 calculates relative position information of the drone 200 and the phased array antenna 20 based on the latitude and longitude and altitude information of the drone 200, the latitude and longitude and height information of the phased array antenna 21, and selectively activates according to the relative position information. The one or more radiating elements are such that the difference between the radiation direction of the radiating element and the target azimuth parameter is less than a third predetermined range, while the degree of difference between the radiating direction of the radiating element and the target pitch angle parameter is less than a fourth predetermined range. Wherein, in the process of starting one or more radiating elements, the first processor 23 can control the phased array antenna to perform the adjustment of the selection of the radiating elements. The first processor 23 selects the corresponding activated radiating element when the RSSI maximum value received by the phased array antenna is adjusted as the final communication direction. Similarly, after the phased array antenna selectively activates the radiating element, the radiation direction of the radiating element still has a certain radiation angle, and the difference between the final communication direction and the target azimuth is less than the third predetermined range, and the target pitch angle parameter The degree of difference is less than the fourth predetermined range, and stable communication transmission between the drone 200 and the ground control terminal 100 can be ensured at this time.

It should be noted that when the phased array antenna is used, the tracking antenna device 20 may be integrally packaged with the remote controller 30, or may be independently provided. When the tracking antenna device 20 is integrally packaged with the remote controller 30, the first processor 23 and the second processor 32 may be replaced with one processor in common to perform the functions of the first processor 23 and the second processor 32. When the tracking antenna device is independently set with the remote controller 30, the tracking antenna device 20 and the remote controller 30 each have their own processor to facilitate data processing.

Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG. 9, in some embodiments, the step S15 of controlling the communication direction of the directional antenna 21 according to the position information and the position and posture information to align the drone 200 includes the following steps:

S1531: determining whether a change value of the communication direction is smaller than a first preset threshold;

S1532: Control the ground control end 100 to change the azimuth angle of the directional antenna 21 to a plurality of scanning azimuths when the change value is less than the first preset threshold;

S1533: Acquire a communication strength between the drone 200 and the directional antenna 21 when the directional antenna 21 is located at a plurality of scanning azimuths; and

S1534: The target azimuth of the directional antenna 21 is re-determined according to the communication strength, and the target azimuth is the scanning azimuth with the largest communication strength.

In some embodiments, step S1531, step S1532, step S1533, and step S1534 can be implemented by the first processor 23.

That is to say, the first processor 23 is further used to:

Determining whether the change value of the communication direction is smaller than a first preset threshold;

Controlling the ground control end 100 to change the azimuth angle of the directional antenna 21 to a plurality of scanning azimuths when the change value is less than the first preset threshold;

Obtaining a communication strength between the drone 200 and the directional antenna 21 when the directional antenna 21 is located at a plurality of scanning azimuth angles; with

The target azimuth of the directional antenna 21 is re-determined according to the communication strength, and the target azimuth is the scanning azimuth with the largest communication strength.

Specifically, when the change value of the communication strength before the drone 200 and the directional antenna 21 is less than the first preset threshold, that is, when the relative position of the drone 200 and the directional antenna 21 does not change greatly, first according to At this time, the position information of the drone 200 and the position and posture information of the directional antenna 21 calculate the relative position information of the drone 200 and the directional antenna 21, and the relative position information indicates the azimuth of the current direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle 200 and the timing antenna 21. Difference. Then, the ground control terminal 100 does not need to acquire its own azimuth, only needs to change the azimuth according to the relative position information, and compare and judge the received signal strength RSSI received by the directional antenna 21 after each azimuth change, thereby determining the RSSI. The maximum azimuth corresponding to the maximum communication strength is the target azimuth.

Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG. 10, in some embodiments, the remote controller 30 includes an omnidirectional antenna 31. The antenna alignment method of the embodiment of the present invention further includes the following steps:

S161: determining whether the communication strength between the directional antenna 21 and the drone 200 is less than a second preset threshold; and

S162: Control the omnidirectional antenna 31 to communicate with the drone 200 when the communication strength is less than the second preset threshold.

In some embodiments, step S161 can be implemented by first processor 23, which can be implemented by second processor 32.

That is to say, the first processor 23 is also used to:

Determining whether the communication strength between the directional antenna 21 and the drone 200 is less than a second preset threshold;

The second processor 32 is also used to:

The omnidirectional antenna 31 is controlled to communicate with the drone 200 when the communication strength is less than the second predetermined threshold.

It can be understood that although the directional antenna 21 of the embodiment of the present invention can align the drone 200 by adjusting the communication direction, in some special cases, for example, when the flying hand controls the drone 200 to fly to the back of the giant building. At this time, even if the directional antenna 21 is aligned with the drone 200, the occlusion of the mega-building may cause the drone 200 to lose contact with the ground control terminal 100. When the unconnected time of the drone 200 and the ground control terminal 100 exceeds a predetermined time, for example, 10 seconds, the unmanned aircraft automatically returns, and the position of the drone 200 may fall at the gain zero point of the directional antenna 21 during the return flight. Therefore, when it is determined that the communication strength between the directional antenna 21 and the drone 200 is less than the second predetermined threshold, the position of the drone 200 can be scanned by the omnidirectional antenna 31 provided on the remote controller 30 to implement the drone 200. A communication connection with the ground control terminal 100. In this way, the drone 200 can continue to communicate with the ground control terminal 100 for a certain period of time even after the disconnection, thereby ensuring the safety of the drone 200.

In summary, the antenna alignment method and the ground control terminal 100 of the embodiment of the present invention adjust the communication direction of the directional antenna 21 so that the communication direction of the directional antenna 21 is always aligned with the drone 200, and the ground control terminal 100 is guaranteed. The man machine 200 is always in an optimal receiving and transmitting state, improving the stability of communication between the ground control terminal 100 and the drone 200.

In the description of the present specification, the description with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "illustrative embodiment", "example", "specific example", or "some examples", etc. Particular features, structures, materials or features described in the embodiments or examples are included in at least one embodiment or example of the invention. In the present specification, the schematic representation of the above terms does not necessarily mean the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in a suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

Any process or method description in the flowcharts or otherwise described herein may be understood to represent a module, segment or portion of code that includes one or more executable instructions for performing the steps of a particular logical function or process. And the scope of the preferred embodiments of the invention includes additional implementations, which may be performed in a substantially simultaneous manner or in the reverse order, depending on the functions involved, in the order shown or discussed, which should It will be understood by those skilled in the art to which the embodiments of the present invention pertain.

The logic and/or steps represented in the flowchart or otherwise described herein, for example, may be considered as an ordered list of executable instructions for performing logical functions, and may be embodied in any computer readable medium, Used in conjunction with, or in conjunction with, an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device (eg, a computer-based system, a system including a processor, or other system that can fetch instructions and execute instructions from an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device) Or use with equipment. For the purposes of this specification, a "computer-readable medium" can be any apparatus that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use in an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, or in conjunction with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. More specific examples (non-exhaustive list) of computer readable media include the following: electrical connections (electronic devices) having one or more wires, portable computer disk cartridges (magnetic devices), random access memory (RAM), Read only memory (ROM), erasable editable read only memory (EPROM or flash memory), fiber optic devices, and portable compact disk read only memory (CDROM). In addition, the computer readable medium may even be a paper or other suitable medium on which the program can be printed, as it may be optically scanned, for example by paper or other medium, followed by editing, interpretation or, if appropriate, other suitable The method is processed to obtain the program electronically and then stored in computer memory.

It should be understood that portions of the invention may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware or a combination thereof. In the above-described embodiments, multiple steps or methods may be performed by software or firmware stored in a memory and executed by a suitable instruction execution system. For example, if executed in hardware, as in another embodiment, it can be performed by any one of the following techniques or combinations thereof known in the art: having logic gates for performing logic functions on data signals Discrete logic circuits, application specific integrated circuits with suitable combinational logic gates, programmable gate arrays (PGAs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), etc.

Those skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the steps carried in carrying out the above implementation method can be completed by a program to instruct related hardware, and the program can be stored in a computer readable storage medium, and the program is executed. Including one or a combination of the steps of the method embodiments.

In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present invention may be integrated into one processing module, or may be each Units exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one module. The above integrated modules can be executed in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. The integrated modules, if executed in the form of software functional modules and sold or used as separate products, may also be stored in a computer readable storage medium.

The above mentioned storage medium may be a read only memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk or the like. Although the embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it is understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. The embodiments are subject to variations, modifications, substitutions and variations.

Claims (22)

1. An antenna alignment method for controlling a ground control terminal having a directional antenna to align the directional antenna with a drone, wherein the antenna alignment method comprises the following steps:

   Obtaining location information of the drone;

   Obtaining position and posture information of the ground control end; and

   And controlling the communication direction of the directional antenna to be aligned with the drone according to the position information and the position and posture information.
2. The antenna alignment method according to claim 1, wherein the position information includes a latitude and longitude of the drone, the position and posture information includes a latitude and longitude of the directional antenna, and the communication direction includes a horizontal direction parameter. And the step of controlling the communication direction of the directional antenna to be aligned with the drone according to the position information and the position and posture information comprises the following steps:

   The horizontal direction parameter is calculated according to the latitude and longitude of the drone and the latitude and longitude of the directional antenna.
3. The antenna alignment method according to claim 1, wherein the position information includes a height of the drone, the position and posture information includes a height of the directional antenna, and the communication direction includes a height direction parameter. And the step of controlling the communication direction of the directional antenna to be aligned with the drone according to the position information and the position and posture information comprises the following steps:

   The height direction parameter is calculated according to the height of the drone and the height of the directional antenna.
4. The antenna alignment method according to claim 1, wherein said ground control terminal comprises a tracking antenna device, said tracking antenna device comprising a pan/tilt for horizontally rotating said directional antenna, said communication direction comprising said a target azimuth parameter of the directional antenna, the position and attitude information including a current azimuth parameter of the directional antenna; the controlling a communication direction of the directional antenna according to the position information and the position and posture information The steps of the drone include:

   The pan/tilt is controlled to rotate horizontally such that the difference between the current azimuth parameter and the target azimuth parameter is less than a first predetermined range.
5. The antenna alignment method according to claim 1, wherein said ground control terminal comprises a tracking antenna device, said tracking antenna device comprising a pan/tilt for adjusting said directional antenna pitch, said communication direction comprising said a target pitch angle parameter of the directional antenna, the position and attitude information including a current pitch angle parameter; and the step of controlling the communication direction of the directional antenna to be aligned with the drone according to the position information and the position and posture information Including the following steps Step:

   The pan/tilt is controlled such that the difference between the current pitch angle parameter and the target pitch angle parameter is less than a second predetermined range.
6. The antenna alignment method according to claim 1, wherein the directional antenna comprises a phased array antenna, and the phased array antenna comprises a plurality of directional radiation units, each of the radiation units corresponding to a radiation direction, The communication direction includes a target azimuth parameter of the directional antenna; and the step of controlling the communication direction of the directional antenna to be aligned with the drone according to the position information and the position and posture information comprises the following steps:

   The phased array antenna is controlled to selectively activate the radiating element and cause a difference in the radiation direction of the activated radiating element from the target azimuth parameter to be less than a third predetermined range.
7. The antenna alignment method according to claim 1, wherein the directional antenna comprises a phased array antenna, and the phased array antenna comprises a plurality of directional radiation units, each of the radiation units corresponding to a radiation direction, The communication direction includes a target pitch angle parameter of the directional antenna; and the step of controlling the communication direction of the directional antenna to be aligned with the drone according to the position information and the position and posture information comprises the following steps:

   The phased array antenna is controlled to selectively activate the radiating element and cause a difference in the radiation direction of the activated radiating element from the target pitch angle parameter to be less than a fourth predetermined range.
8. The antenna alignment method according to claim 1, wherein the step of controlling the communication direction of the directional antenna to align the drone according to the position information and the position and posture information comprises the following steps:

   Determining whether the change value of the communication direction is smaller than a first preset threshold;

   Controlling, by the ground control end, that the ground control end changes an azimuth of the directional antenna to a plurality of scanning azimuths when the change value is less than the first preset threshold;

   Obtaining a communication strength between the drone and the directional antenna when the directional antenna is located at the plurality of scanning azimuths; and

   Redetermining a target azimuth of the directional antenna according to the communication strength, the target azimuth being the scanning azimuth with the highest communication strength.
9. The antenna alignment method according to claim 1, wherein the antenna alignment method comprises the following steps:

   Controlling the ground control end to parse the position information and the position and posture information.
10. The antenna alignment method according to claim 9, wherein said ground control terminal comprises a tracking antenna device and a remote controller communicating with said tracking antenna device, said controlling said ground control terminal to resolve said position information And the step of position and posture information includes the following steps:

    Controlling, by the tracking antenna device, the location information sent by the drone;

    Controlling the tracking antenna device to forward the location information to the remote controller;

    Controlling the remote controller to parse the location information to obtain parsed location information; and

    Controlling the remote controller to transmit the parsing location information to the tracking antenna device.
11. The antenna alignment method according to claim 1, wherein the ground control terminal comprises a remote controller, the remote controller comprises an omnidirectional antenna, and the antenna alignment method further comprises the following steps:

    Determining whether the communication strength between the directional antenna and the drone is less than a second preset threshold; and

    And controlling the omnidirectional antenna to communicate with the drone when the communication strength is less than the second preset threshold.
12. A ground control end, the ground control end includes a directional antenna, and the ground control end is configured to control the alignment antenna to be aligned with the drone, wherein the ground control end further includes a first processor The first processor is configured to:

    Obtaining location information of the drone;

    Obtaining position and posture information of the ground control end; and

    And controlling the communication direction of the directional antenna to be aligned with the drone according to the position information and the position and posture information.
13. The ground control terminal according to claim 12, wherein the position information comprises a latitude and longitude of the drone, the position and posture information comprises a latitude and longitude of the directional antenna, and the communication direction comprises a horizontal direction parameter; The first processor is further configured to:

    The horizontal direction parameter is calculated according to the latitude and longitude of the drone and the latitude and longitude of the directional antenna.
14. The ground control terminal according to claim 12, wherein the position information comprises a height of the drone, the position and posture information comprises a height of the directional antenna, and the communication direction comprises a height direction parameter; The first processor is further configured to:

    The height direction parameter is calculated according to the height of the drone and the height of the directional antenna.
15. The ground control terminal according to claim 12, wherein said ground control terminal comprises a tracking antenna Apparatus, the tracking antenna device comprising a pan/tilt for horizontally rotating the directional antenna, the communication direction comprising a target azimuth parameter of the directional antenna, the position and attitude information comprising a current azimuth parameter of the directional antenna The first processor is further configured to:

    The pan/tilt is controlled such that the difference between the current azimuth parameter and the target azimuth parameter is less than a first predetermined range.
16. The ground control terminal according to claim 12, wherein said ground control terminal comprises a tracking antenna device, said tracking antenna device comprising a pan/tilt for adjusting said directional antenna pitch, said communication direction comprising said a target pitch angle parameter of the directional antenna, the position and attitude information including a current pitch angle parameter; the first processor is further configured to:

    The pan/tilt is controlled such that the difference between the current pitch angle parameter and the target pitch angle parameter is less than a second predetermined range.
17. The ground control terminal according to claim 12, wherein the directional antenna comprises a phased array antenna, the phased array antenna comprises a plurality of directional radiation units, each of the radiation units corresponding to a radiation direction, The communication direction includes a target azimuth parameter of the directional antenna; the first processor is further configured to:

    The degree of difference between the radiation direction of the radiation unit and the target azimuth parameter controlled by the phased array antenna to selectively activate the radiation unit is less than a third predetermined range.
18. The ground control terminal according to claim 12, wherein the directional antenna comprises a phased array antenna, the phased array antenna comprises a plurality of directional radiation units, each of the radiation units corresponding to a radiation direction, The communication direction includes a target pitch angle parameter of the directional antenna; the communication direction includes a target pitch angle parameter of the directional antenna, and the first processor is further configured to:

    The phased array antenna is controlled to selectively activate the radiating element and cause a difference in the radiation direction of the activated radiating element from the target pitch angle parameter to be less than a fourth predetermined range.
19. The ground control terminal according to claim 12, wherein the first processor is further configured to:

    Determining whether the change value of the communication direction is less than a preset threshold;

    Controlling, by the ground control end, that the ground control end changes an azimuth of the directional antenna to a plurality of scanning azimuths when the change value is less than the preset threshold;

    Obtaining a communication strength between the drone and the directional antenna when the directional antenna is located at the plurality of scanning azimuths; and

    Redetermining the target azimuth angle to the antenna according to the communication strength, the target azimuth being the scanning azimuth with the highest communication strength.
20. The ground control terminal according to claim 12, wherein the ground control terminal further comprises a second processor, wherein the second processor is configured to:

    Controlling the ground control end to parse the position information and the position and posture information.
21. The ground control terminal according to claim 20, wherein the ground control terminal comprises a tracking antenna device and a remote controller in communication with the tracking antenna device, the first processor further configured to:

    Controlling the tracking antenna device to receive the location information sent by the drone; and

    Controlling the tracking antenna device to forward the location information to the remote controller;

    The second processor is further configured to:

    Controlling the remote controller to parse the location information to obtain parsed location information; and

    Controlling the remote controller to transmit the parsing location information to the tracking antenna device.
22. The ground control terminal according to claim 12, wherein the ground control terminal comprises a remote controller, the remote controller comprises an omnidirectional antenna and a second processor, and the first processor is further configured to:

    Determining whether the communication strength between the directional antenna and the drone is less than a second preset threshold; and

    The second processor is further configured to:

    And controlling the omnidirectional antenna to communicate with the drone when the communication strength is less than the second preset threshold.

Images