Multi-antenna control method and system, and intelligent equipment

[0058] Example one

[0059] Such as figure 1 As shown, this embodiment provides an antenna control method, and the specific implementation method includes:

[0060] S101: According to the acquired motion parameters of the smart device and combined with the data information of the control terminal, determine the angle between the current position connection or the main direction of energy distribution of the smart device and the control terminal and the motion direction of the smart device;

[0061] The antenna control method provided by the embodiment of the present invention is applied to an unmanned aerial vehicle. The unmanned aerial vehicle is a multi-antenna unmanned aerial vehicle. Two or more antennas on the unmanned aerial vehicle are distributed at an angle and their working range covers unmanned aerial vehicles. The 360° whole body of the machine. The data information of the control terminal includes positioning coordinate data, sensor data, and antenna data of the control terminal. The motion parameters of the UAV include information such as positioning coordinates, motion direction, motion speed, and motion height of the UAV.

[0062] Specifically, the positioning coordinate data of the control terminal in the present invention is obtained by the GPS device carried by the control terminal, and then uploaded to the drone via wireless means or the coordinate value of the control terminal is stored on the drone in advance. The positioning coordinates of the drone are acquired by the GPS device on the drone. The information such as the direction, speed, and height of the drone is acquired by GPS or sensors on the drone. When the drone and control are acquired through GPS After the position coordinates of the terminal, calculate and determine the angle between the connection line between the control terminal and the current position coordinates of the drone and the direction of movement of the drone.

[0063] Or, determine the RF energy distribution around the drone through the strength of the radio frequency energy of the signal sent and received by the antenna on the drone, calculate the direction of the strongest electromagnetic wave energy sent and received, and combine the movement direction, speed, and height of the drone And other information, determine the angle between the direction of the strongest energy of the electromagnetic wave signal sent and received by the UAV antenna and the movement direction of the UAV.

[0064] S102: Determine the transmission direction of data transmitted by the antenna according to the included angle;

[0065] After obtaining the UAV position and the control terminal position connection or the direction of the strongest electromagnetic wave energy distribution emitted by the UAV antenna array, the determination of the included angle includes taking the UAV’s current position as the pole and the UAV moving direction A polar coordinate system is established for the polar axis, and the included angle is calculated in the polar coordinate system. Judge the transmission direction of the data transmitted by the antenna according to the included angle, and then turn on the corresponding target antenna or adjust the direction of the antenna to send and receive data according to the direction of data transmission, so that the drone communicates with the control terminal normally.

[0066] S103: If the current transmission direction of the antenna transmission data is not the target direction, switch to the target direction.

[0067] The target direction is the direction that the drone points to the control terminal. If the current antenna transmission data transmission direction is the target direction, the current antenna working state is maintained; if the current antenna transmission data direction is not the target direction, the antenna operation is switched The state corresponds to the target direction, and the working state of the switching antenna includes switching to the antenna corresponding to the target direction or adjusting the direction in which the antenna transmits and receives data.

[0068] For example: such as figure 2 As shown, when the current working antenna is the second antenna, since the transmission direction of the current antenna transmission data is not the direction that the drone points to the control terminal, the transmission direction of the current antenna transmission data should be switched to the target direction, that is, the third The data transmission direction covered by the antenna is switched to the third antenna to ensure that the transmission direction of the transmission data provided by the currently working antenna is the target direction.

[0069] Such as image 3 As shown, the current antenna on the drone transmits data in the upper half of the area where the first antenna is located. If it is detected that the strongest energy distribution of the electromagnetic wave sent and received by the antenna falls into the area where the second antenna is located, the current antenna transmits data in a different direction. The drone points in the direction of the control terminal, so the current transmission direction of the antenna transmission data should be switched to the target direction, that is, the phase of the antenna receiving and sending electromagnetic waves should be adjusted so that the antenna transmission data direction is the target direction.

[0070] In the embodiment of the present invention, the drone periodically obtains the position information of the drone and the remote control terminal at a fixed time interval, or the direction of the maximum distribution of electromagnetic wave energy transmitted and received by the drone antenna; according to the obtained drone and remote control terminal The position information or the maximum direction of electromagnetic wave energy distribution of the UAV antenna to determine the direction of the antenna that needs to be switched. The fixed time interval can be 0.5 second, 1 second, 2 seconds, etc. The time interval is relatively small, which can avoid signal transmission failures due to the lack of antenna coverage. When the interval is relatively large , Can avoid the problem of real-time acquisition of the location information that affects the signal transmission efficiency.

[0071] In this embodiment, the antenna is used for wireless communication with the control terminal.

[0072] Example two

[0073] This embodiment is an antenna control method, and 4 antennas are provided on the drone.

[0074] S1: Determine the angle between the current position connection of the drone and the control terminal and the heading of the drone according to the acquired motion parameters of the drone, combined with the data information of the control terminal;

[0075] S2: Determine the transmission direction of data transmitted by the antenna on the drone according to the included angle;

[0076] S3: If the data transmission direction of the current antenna is not the target direction, start the antenna in the target direction and turn off the current working antenna.

[0077] The movement parameters of the drone include the positioning coordinates, heading, movement speed, and movement height of the drone; the positioning coordinates are obtained by the GPS device on the drone, and the current heading of the drone is obtained by a magnetic compass. The movement speed is obtained by a GPS device or a speed sensor, and the movement height is obtained by a height sensor.

[0078] The data information of the control terminal includes positioning coordinate data, sensor data, and antenna data of the control terminal; the positioning coordinate data is obtained through a GPS device on the control terminal.

[0079] In this embodiment, a polar coordinate system is established with the drone's heading as the polar axis and the drone's current coordinates as the pole, and the angle between the line between the current coordinate position of the control terminal and the drone's current coordinate position and the heading axis is determined.

[0080] Preferably, a map containing the current location of the drone and the current location of the control terminal is saved in the drone. The drone can determine the connection between the drone and the control terminal on the map, and obtain the current heading through the magnetic compass , Determine the angle formed by the line and the current heading on the map. The angle can be the angle from the line to the current heading, or the angle from the current heading to the line, or The included angle formed by the selected connection line and the current heading is not greater than 180°, etc., as long as it can be ensured that the included angle is determined in a uniform manner.

[0081] In this embodiment, the four antennas of the UAV may be evenly distributed or unevenly distributed around the UAV. Therefore, the included angle range covered by each antenna may be the same or different. Preferably, in order to improve signal transmission efficiency and balance the load of each antenna, the angle range covered by each antenna is the same, and all antennas can cover the angle range of the UAV 360.

[0082] Reference Figure 4 As shown, the UAV is a UAV with 4 uniformly distributed antennas. The working status of the 4 antennas is controlled by the multi-antenna switch. When one of the antennas is required to work, turn on the antenna and work. Turn off other antennas. The angle range θ corresponding to antenna A is greater than or equal to 0° and less than 90°, the angle range θ corresponding to antenna B is greater than or equal to 90° and less than 180°, and the angle range θ corresponding to antenna C is greater than or equal to 180°. Less than 270°, the angle range θ corresponding to antenna D is greater than or equal to 270° and less than 360°. The specific implementation process is as follows:

[0083] if(θ≥0&&θ <90)switch to A

[0084] else if(θ≥90&&θ <180)switch to B

[0085] else if(θ≥180&&θ <270)switch to C

[0086] else if(θ≥270&&θ <360)switch to D

[0087] end if

[0088] When the angle formed by the connection between the current drone and the control terminal and the current heading is 65 degrees, the angle is in the range of 0° to 90°, and the corresponding antenna is antenna A, so it can be determined that the target antenna is antenna A.

[0089] In order to increase the utilization rate of the drone's antenna and save the precious electric energy on the drone, when the target antenna corresponding to the angle of the drone is activated, the currently working antenna needs to be turned off. For example, the current working antenna of the UAV is the A antenna, and the target antenna is the B antenna. After starting the B antenna, turn off the A antenna.

[0090] In the embodiment of the present invention, in order to avoid the ping-pong effect, that is, to avoid frequent switching between the two antennas of the UAV, a critical value can be set for the two adjacent antennas. Therefore, when the currently working antenna is When the target antennas are different, the target antenna can be activated only when the absolute value of the difference between the determined included angle and the corresponding critical value is greater than the set threshold. The threshold can be 3°, 5°, etc., as long as the ping-pong effect can be avoided.

[0091] Continuing with the description shown in the above figure, the critical value set for antenna A and antenna B is 90°, the critical value set for antenna B and antenna C is 180°, and the critical value set for antenna C and antenna D is 270° , The critical value set for antenna D and antenna A is 360° or 0°. Since the angle jump is relatively large when switching between antenna A and antenna D, in order to further increase reliability, in the embodiment of the present invention, the range of the included angle can be determined first, and then the corresponding critical value can be determined. Specifically, for the switch between antenna A and antenna D, when the determined included angle is a large angle, that is, when the angle is greater than 270°, the selected critical value is 360°. When the determined included angle is a small angle, That is, when the angle is less than 90°, the selected critical value is 0°. For example: when the determined included angle is 93°, the set threshold is 5°, the currently working antenna is A antenna, and the determined target antenna is B antenna, and the critical value set for A and B antennas is 90°. The absolute value of the difference between 90° and 93° is less than 5°, so continue to use antenna A without antenna switching; when the determined angle is 6°, the set threshold is 5°, and the currently working antenna is D antenna, The determined target antenna is the A antenna, and the critical value set for the D antenna and the A antenna is 360° or 0°. Because the included angle is 6° as a small angle, the selected critical values ​​are 0°, 6° and 0° The absolute value of the difference is greater than 5°, so switch to the A antenna.

[0092] In this embodiment, if the angle between the connection and the polar axis cannot be calculated and determined, all antennas are turned on, and the target direction is determined by the main direction of the energy distribution of the antenna receiving and sending data; the wireless module connected to each antenna can The strength of the signal received by this antenna is detected. By comparing the strength of the signal received by multiple antennas, the target direction of the antenna transmission data can be determined; for example, the wireless module connected to the antenna A detects the strength of the signal received by the antenna A Q1, the wireless module connected to the B antenna detects the signal strength of the B antenna as Q2, the wireless module connected to the C antenna detects the signal strength of the C antenna as Q3, and the wireless module connected to the D antenna detects the D antenna The strength of the received signal is Q4, and Q1> Q2, Q1> Q3, Q1> Q4, it can be judged that the directional area corresponding to the A antenna is the target area.

[0093] It should be noted that in this embodiment, the working state of the four antennas can also be switched and controlled by a phase shift switch. The four antennas work continuously during the operation of the phase shift switch, and the phase shift switch The switch changes the direction of data transmission by adjusting the electromagnetic wave radiation phase of the four antennas, specifically by adjusting the electromagnetic wave radiation phase of each antenna to enhance data transmission in the target direction, and at the same time weaken or cancel antenna data transmission in other directions.

[0094] Example three

[0095] This embodiment is another antenna control method, such as Figure 5 As shown, there are two antennas on the drone.

[0096] S1: Determine the angle between the current position of the drone and the control terminal and the drone's heading based on the acquired motion parameters of the drone, combined with the data information of the control terminal;

[0097] S2: Determine the transmission direction of the antenna to transmit data according to the included angle;

[0098] S3: If the current transmission direction of the data transmitted by the antenna is not the target direction, switch the electromagnetic wave phase of the antenna to the target direction.

[0099] The movement parameters of the drone include the positioning coordinates, heading, movement speed, and movement height of the drone; the positioning coordinates are obtained by the GPS device on the drone, and the current heading of the drone is obtained by a magnetic compass. The movement speed is obtained by a GPS device or a speed sensor, and the movement height is obtained by a height sensor.

[0100] The data information of the control terminal includes positioning coordinate data, sensor data, and antenna data of the control terminal; the positioning coordinate data is obtained through a GPS device on the control terminal.

[0101] In this embodiment, a polar coordinate system is established with the drone's heading as the polar axis and the drone's current coordinates as the pole, and the angle between the line between the current coordinate position of the control terminal and the drone's current coordinate position and the heading axis is determined.

[0102] Preferably, a map containing the current location of the drone and the current location of the control terminal is saved in the drone. The drone can determine the connection between the drone and the control terminal on the map, and obtain the current heading through the magnetic compass , Determine the angle formed by the line and the current heading on the map. The angle can be the angle from the line to the current heading, or the angle from the current heading to the line, or The included angle formed by the selected connection line and the current heading is not greater than 180°, etc., as long as it can be ensured that the included angle is determined in a uniform manner.

[0103] In this embodiment, the drone body is provided with two antennas, and the two antennas work continuously and uninterruptedly when switching the target direction of data transmission. Refer to Figure 5 As shown, the antennas A and B are set on the fuselage of the UAV, and the working range of the two antennas can completely cover the whole UAV 360 degrees.

[0104] In this embodiment, determining the angle between the connection between the control terminal and the drone and the drone's heading determines the direction in which the drone antenna transmits data; as shown in the figure, the angle range corresponding to antenna A is 90 degrees To 270 degrees, the angle range corresponding to antenna B is -90 degrees to 90 degrees; when the angle between the connection and the polar axis is greater than 90 degrees and less than 270 degrees, the two antennas A and B are changed by the phase shift switch The electromagnetic wave radiation phase strengthens the electromagnetic wave transmission in the range of 90 degrees to 270 degrees, and weakens the electromagnetic wave transmission in the range of -90 degrees to 90 degrees; when the angle between the connection and the polar axis is greater than -90 degrees and less than 90 degrees, Change the electromagnetic wave radiation phase of the two antennas A and B through the phase shift switch, strengthen the electromagnetic wave transmission in the range of -90 degrees to 90 degrees, and weaken the electromagnetic wave transmission in the range of 90 degrees to 270 degrees to achieve the purpose of switching the antenna transmission direction. .

[0105] In this embodiment, in order to prevent frequent switching of the antenna transmission direction and avoid the occurrence of the ping-pong effect, the critical value and threshold value as described in the third embodiment are also set.

[0106] In this embodiment, if the angle between the connection and the polar axis direction cannot be calculated and determined, the target direction can also be determined by the main direction of the energy distribution of the antenna receiving and sending data; the wireless module connected to each antenna can detect this. The strength of the signal received by the antenna can be determined by comparing the strength of the signal received by multiple antennas to determine the target direction of the antenna transmission data; for example, the wireless module connected to the antenna A detects that the strength of the signal received by the antenna A is Q1, and The wireless module connected to antenna B detects that the strength of the signal received by antenna B is Q2, and Q1> Q2, it can be judged that the directional area corresponding to the A antenna is the target area.

[0107] It should be noted that in this embodiment, according to needs, the antenna transmission data can also be changed to other directions through the phase shift switch, such as changing the antenna transmission to a direction with an angle of 90 degrees from the polar axis in the polar coordinate system; this embodiment In an example, the antenna may also be multiple, such as 3 antennas or 4 antennas.

[0108] It should be noted that in this embodiment, the working state of the two antennas can also be controlled by the multi-antenna switch. When antenna A is required to work, antenna A is turned on and antenna B is turned off. When antenna B is required to work, antenna B is turned on. The antenna works and turns off the A antenna.

[0109] The solution of this embodiment reduces the number of antennas, reduces the weight of the drone itself, simplifies the structure of the drone, and increases the endurance of the drone without reducing the communication coverage of the drone. To a certain extent, the load of the drone has been increased, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost of the drone. The larger the distance between the array elements, the mutual coupling between the array elements and the amplitude and phase errors have less influence on the performance of the antenna array, which improves the performance of the antenna.