Reconfigurable feed source

Abstract

The invention discloses a reconfigurable feed source, and the feed source comprises four dual-polarized antennas which respectively output two polarized signals; the eight low-noise amplifiers are respectively connected with polarized signals of the dual-polarized antenna; the eight power dividers are connected with the output ends of the low-noise amplifiers; the sixteen attenuators are respectively connected with the output end of the power divider; the sixteen phase shifters are respectively connected with the output ends of the attenuators; the eight combiners are used for receiving the two paths of processed signals of the corresponding dual-polarized antennas and outputting one path of synthesized signal; the first synthesis network is used for receiving and synthesizing the signal output by the combiner and outputting a synthesized signal; and the second synthesis network is used for receiving and synthesizing the signal output by the combiner and outputting a synthesized signal. According to the invention, dual-polarized antenna signals are subjected to amplification, power division, attenuation, phase shift and synthesis to obtain two paths of signals, and each path of signals can independently realize amplitude weighting and phase shift synthesis of each antenna signal, so that feed source directional diagram reconstruction and polarization reconstruction are realized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of feed sources for reflector antennas, and particularly relates to a reconfigurable feed source. Background Art

[0002] The feed source is a core component of the antenna servo-feed systems for measurement and control, communication, and radar. Reconfigurable feed sources can be classified into frequency-reconfigurable feed sources, pattern-reconfigurable feed sources, polarization-reconfigurable feed sources, and hybrid-reconfigurable feed sources according to the controlled parameters. The reconfiguration of the feed source is mainly achieved through the following technical approaches: The first category is to use various microwave electronic devices to change the feeding structure of the feed antenna to achieve pattern or polarization reconfiguration; the second category is to use radio frequency switch devices to change the feeding structure of the feed network to achieve polarization switching; the third category is to use phase shifters, polarization rotators, etc. to adjust the signal phase to achieve polarization adjustment or tracking. The current feed source reconfiguration technology has poor flexibility, can only adjust a single parameter, and has a complex reconfiguration principle and a cumbersome structure, making it difficult to adapt to various application scenarios.

[0003] Systems such as measurement and control, communication, and radar antenna servo-feed require the feed source to be able to adapt to various polarization modes and reduce polarization mismatch losses, and be able to flexibly reconfigure the pattern to adapt to various tracking modes such as monopulse tracking, single-axis tracking, and conical scan tracking. Therefore, developing a feed source that can flexibly reconfigure the pattern and polarization has broad application value. With the development of microelectronics technology, components such as low-noise amplifiers, power dividers, attenuators, phase shifters, combiners, and synthesis networks can be integrated on a single chip or multiple chips, thereby further reducing the system design difficulty and application cost, and having good economic feasibility.

[0004] To solve the above problems, the present invention designs a reconfigurable feed source based on the phased array principle. The feed source amplifies, divides power, attenuates, shifts the phase, and synthesizes the dual-polarization antenna signals to obtain two signals. Each signal can independently achieve the amplitude weighting and phase-shift synthesis of each antenna signal, thereby realizing the pattern reconfiguration and polarization reconfiguration of the feed source. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a reconfigurable feed source, comprising:

[0006] Four dual-polarization antennas (E1, E2, E3, E4) for receiving free-space signals, wherein each dual-polarization antenna outputs two polarization signals (E_1A and E_1B, E_2A and E_2B, E_3A and E_3B, E_4A and E_4B);

[0007] Eight low-noise amplifiers (LAN_1A, LAN_1B, LAN_2A, LAN_2B, LAN_3A, LAN_3B, LAN_4A, LAN_4B), respectively connected to the polarization signals of the dual-polarization antennas, for amplifying the received polarization signals;

[0008] Eight power dividers (DIV_1A, DIV_1B, DIV_2A, DIV_2B, DIV_3A, DIV_3B, DIV_4A, DIV_4B), which are respectively connected to the output end of the low-noise amplifier, are used to divide the amplified signal into two paths;

[0009] Sixteen attenuators (AT_1AX, AT_1AY, AT_1BX, AT_1BY, AT_2AX, AT_2AY, AT_2BX, AT_2BY, AT_3AX, AT_3AY, AT_3BX, AT_3BY, AT_4AX, AT_4AY, AT_4BX, AT_4BY), which are respectively connected to the output end of the power divider, are used to adjust the amplitude of the signal;

[0010] Sixteen phase shifters (PH_1AX, PH_1AY, PH_1BX, PH_1BY, PH_2AX, PH_2AY, PH_2BX, PH_2BY, PH_3AX, PH_3AY, PH_3BX, PH_3BY, PH_4AX, PH_4AY, PH_4BX, PH_4BY), which are respectively connected to the output end of the attenuator, are used to adjust the phase of the signal;

[0011] Eight combiners (ADD_1X, ADD_1Y, ADD_2X, ADD_2Y, ADD_3X, ADD_3Y, ADD_4X, ADD_4Y), each combiner receives two differently polarized signals processed by the corresponding dual-polarized antenna and outputs a combined signal (S_1X, S_1Y, S_2X, S_2Y, S_3X, S_3Y, S_4X, S_4Y);

[0012] The first combining network (ADD_X) is used to receive and combine the signals (S_1X, S_2X, S_3X, S_4X) output by the combiner and output a combined signal (RX);

[0013] The second combining network (ADD_Y) is used to receive and combine the signals (S_1Y, S_2Y, S_3Y, S_4Y) output by the combiner and output a combined signal (RY).

[0014] In an optional manner, the combiner ADD_1X combines the outputs of the phase shifters PH_1AX and PH_1BX;

[0015] The combiner ADD_1Y combines the outputs of the phase shifters PH_1AY and PH_1BY;

[0016] The combiner ADD_2X combines the outputs of the phase shifters PH_2AX and PH_2BX;

[0017] The combiner ADD_2Y combines the outputs of the phase shifters PH_2AY and PH_2BY;

[0018] The combiner ADD_3X combines the outputs of the phase shifters PH_3AX and PH_3BX;

[0019] The combiner ADD_3Y combines the outputs of the phase shifters PH_3AY and PH_3BY;

[0020] The combiner ADD_4X combines the outputs of the phase shifters PH_4AX and PH_4BX;

[0021] The combiner ADD_4Y combines the outputs of the phase shifters PH_4AY and PH_4BY.

[0022] In an alternative approach, the feed forms a coordinate plane XOY with its normal direction as the reference, and the four dual-polarized antennas (E1, E2, E3, and E4) of the feed are arranged in the four quadrants of the plane XOY;

[0023] The dual-polarized antennas (E1, E2, E3, E4) are all receiving antennas and are used in conjunction with the transmitting antenna.

[0024] In an alternative approach, the low-noise amplifiers (LAN_1A, LAN_1B, LAN_2A, LAN_2B, LAN_3A, LAN_3B, LAN_4A, LAN_4B) are respectively connected to the polarization signals (E_1A, E_1B, E_2A, E_2B, E_3A, E_3B, E_4A, E_4B) of the corresponding dual-polarized antennas to amplify the received polarization signals.

[0025] In an alternative approach, the positions of the attenuator and the phase shifter in the signal transmission path can be interchanged, and the attenuator can be placed after the phase shifter.

[0026] In an alternative approach, the low-noise amplifier is implemented by one or more stages of low-noise amplifiers;

[0027] The phase shifter is implemented by one or more stages of phase shifters;

[0028] The attenuator is implemented by one or more stages of attenuators.

[0029] In an alternative manner, the signals (S_1X, S_1Y, S_2X, S_2Y, S_3X, S_3Y, S_4X, S_4Y) are formed by combining any two of the different polarization signals (E_1A, E_1B, E_2A, E_2B, E_3A, E_3B, E_4A, E_4B) by adjusting the values of the attenuator and the phase shifter, so as to achieve adjustable polarization.

[0030] In an alternative manner, the low-noise amplifier, power splitter, attenuator, phase shifter, combiner and synthesis network are implemented by discrete devices or integrated devices.

[0031] In an alternative manner, the feed is reconstructed by configuring the values of each attenuator and phase shifter, including any polarization feed, monopulse feed and conical scan feed;

[0032] Among them, the reconstruction of the feed beam further includes:

[0033] According to the target beam shape and polarization requirements, calculate the adjustment values required for the attenuators (AT_1AX to AT_4BY) and phase shifters (PH_1AX to PH_4BY) corresponding to each dual-polarization antenna;

[0034] Adjust the settings of each attenuator and phase shifter according to the adjustment values to change the amplitude and phase on each signal path;

[0035] Until the required beam shape and polarization state are reached, realizing the dynamic reconstruction of the feed.

[0036] In an alternative manner, the any polarization feed includes linear polarization, circular polarization and elliptical polarization, and the polarization direction is adjustable.

[0037] According to the solution provided by the present invention, it includes: four dual-polarized antennas (E1, E2, E3, E4) for receiving free-space signals, where each dual-polarized antenna outputs two polarized signals (E_1A and E_1B, E_2A and E_2B, E_3A and E_3B, E_4A and E_4B); eight low-noise amplifiers (LAN_1A, LAN_1B, LAN_2A, LAN_2B, LAN_3A, LAN_3B, LAN_4A, LAN_4B), respectively connected to the polarized signals of the dual-polarized antennas for amplifying the received polarized signals; eight power dividers (DIV_1A, DIV_1B, DIV_2A, DIV_2B, DIV_3A, DIV_3B, DIV_4A, DIV_4B), respectively connected to the output ends of the low-noise amplifiers for dividing the amplified signals into two paths; sixteen attenuators (AT_1AX, AT_1AY, AT_1BX, AT_1BY, AT_2AX, AT_2AY, AT_2BX, AT_2BY, AT_3AX, AT_3AY, AT_3BX, AT_3BY, AT_4AX, AT_4AY, AT_4BX, AT_4BY), respectively connected to the output ends of the power dividers for adjusting the amplitude of the signals; sixteen phase shifters (PH_1AX, PH_1AY, PH_1BX, PH_1BY, PH_2AX, PH_2AY, PH_2BX, PH_2BY, PH_3AX, PH_3AY, PH_3BX, PH_3BY, PH_4AX, PH_4AY, PH_4BX, PH_4BY), respectively connected to the output ends of the attenuators for adjusting the phase of the signals; eight combiners (ADD_1X, ADD_1Y, ADD_2X, ADD_2Y, ADD_3X, ADD_3Y, ADD_4X, ADD_4Y), each combiner receives the two processed signals of the corresponding dual-polarized antenna and outputs a combined signal (S_1X, S_1Y, S_2X, S_2Y, S_3X, S_3Y, S_4X, S_4Y); a first combining network (ADD_X) for receiving and combining the signals (S_1X, S_2X, S_3X, S_4X) output by the combiners and outputting a combined signal (RX); a second combining network (ADD_Y) for receiving and combining the signals (S_1Y, S_2Y, S_3Y, S_4Y) output by the combiners and outputting a combined signal (RY). The present invention obtains two signals by amplifying, power dividing, attenuating, phase shifting, and combining the dual-polarized antenna signals. Each signal can independently achieve the amplitude weighting and phase shifting synthesis of the signals of each antenna, thereby realizing the reconfiguration of the feed pattern and polarization reconfiguration.

[0038] The above description is only an overview of the technical solution of the present invention. In order to understand the technical means of the present invention more clearly, it can be implemented according to the content of the specification. And in order to make the above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and understandable, the following specifically illustrates the specific embodiments of the present invention. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0039] By reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, various other advantages and benefits will become clear to those of ordinary skill in the art. The drawings are only for the purpose of showing the preferred embodiments and are not considered to be a limitation of the present invention. And throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to represent the same components. In the drawings:

[0040] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the feed antenna layout of an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0041] Figure 2 A schematic block diagram of the reconfigurable feed of an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments

[0042] The exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the drawings. Although the exemplary embodiments of the present invention are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present invention can be implemented in various forms and should not be limited by the embodiments described herein. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided to enable a more thorough understanding of the present invention and to fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art.

[0043] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the feed antenna layout of an embodiment of the present invention is shown, Figure 2 A schematic block diagram of the reconfigurable feed of an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Specifically, as Figure 1 , Figure 2 shown, it includes:

[0044] Four dual-polarized antennas (E1, E2, E3, E4) for receiving free-space signals. Among them, each dual-polarized antenna outputs two polarized signals (E_1A and E_1B, E_2A and E_2B, E_3A and E_3B, E_4A and E_4B);

[0045] Eight low-noise amplifiers (LAN_1A, LAN_1B, LAN_2A, LAN_2B, LAN_3A, LAN_3B, LAN_4A, LAN_4B), which are respectively connected to the polarized signals of the dual-polarized antennas for amplifying the received polarized signals;

[0046] Eight power dividers (DIV_1A, DIV_1B, DIV_2A, DIV_2B, DIV_3A, DIV_3B, DIV_4A, DIV_4B), which are respectively connected to the output end of the low-noise amplifier and are used to divide the amplified signal into two paths;

[0047] Sixteen attenuators (AT_1AX, AT_1AY, AT_1BX, AT_1BY, AT_2AX, AT_2AY, AT_2BX, AT_2BY, AT_3AX, AT_3AY, AT_3BX, AT_3BY, AT_4AX, AT_4AY, AT_4BX, AT_4BY), which are respectively connected to the output end of the power divider and are used to adjust the amplitude of the signal;

[0048] Sixteen phase shifters (PH_1AX, PH_1AY, PH_1BX, PH_1BY, PH_2AX, PH_2AY, PH_2BX, PH_2BY, PH_3AX, PH_3AY, PH_3BX, PH_3BY, PH_4AX, PH_4AY, PH_4BX, PH_4BY), which are respectively connected to the output end of the attenuator and are used to adjust the phase of the signal;

[0049] Eight combiners (ADD_1X, ADD_1Y, ADD_2X, ADD_2Y, ADD_3X, ADD_3Y, ADD_4X, ADD_4Y), each combiner receives two processed signals from the corresponding dual-polarized antenna and outputs a combined signal (S_1X, S_1Y, S_2X, S_2Y, S_3X, S_3Y, S_4X, S_4Y);

[0050] The first combining network (ADD_X), which is used to receive and combine the signals (S_1X, S_2X, S_3X, S_4X) output by the combiner and outputs a combined signal (RX);

[0051] The second combining network (ADD_Y), which is used to receive and combine the signals (S_1Y, S_2Y, S_3Y, S_4Y) output by the combiner and outputs a combined signal (RY).

[0052] In this embodiment, by independently controlling the attenuators and phase shifters of each signal path, the polarization state of the finally synthesized signal can be flexibly adjusted. For example, a circularly polarized wave generates a horizontally polarized or vertically polarized beam, and a linearly polarized wave generates a left-handed circularly polarized or right-handed circularly polarized beam. The polarization direction can be dynamically changed to follow the polarization change of the target signal. By changing the value of the attenuator, the beam is scanned in space, and specific-shaped beams (such as narrow beams and wide beams) are achieved by controlling the attenuators and phase shifters. Since both the polarization and the beam can be reconfigured, this feed can perform multiple tasks. For example, radar (realizing polarization resolution and beam scanning), communication (realizing the best polarization matching and improving communication quality), remote sensing (realizing remote sensing data in different polarization states and obtaining more information), etc.

[0053] Specifically, the dual-polarized antennas (E1 to E4) can be selected from dual-polarized antennas such as patch antennas, horn antennas, and crossed dipole antennas. The four dual-polarized antennas are evenly distributed in the four quadrants of the plane XOY with the coordinate origin at the center to ensure coverage of the required angular range. The two polarization directions of each dual-polarized antenna are usually orthogonal, such as horizontal polarization and vertical polarization.

[0054] The low-noise amplifiers (LAN_1A to LAN_4B) use discrete low-noise amplifier chips or integrated amplifier modules to amplify the received weak signals, select appropriate gains according to the system link budget, and improve the system signal-to-noise ratio by choosing amplifiers with low noise coefficients.

[0055] The power dividers (DIV_1A to DIV_4B) are selected from resistive power dividers, microstrip power dividers, or Wilkinson power dividers to evenly divide the input signal into two paths, ensuring that the phase and amplitude of each path signal are basically the same.

[0056] The attenuators (AT_1AX to AT_4BY) are selected from digital attenuators, variable attenuators, or step attenuators to adjust the signal amplitude to achieve weight control.

[0057] The phase shifters (PH_1AX to PH_4BY) are selected from digital phase shifters, analog phase shifters, or ferrite phase shifters to adjust the signal phase to achieve signal phase shift.

[0058] The combiners (ADD_1X to ADD_4Y) use Wilkinson combiners, microstrip combiners, or hybrid couplers to vectorially combine the two paths of signals (after attenuation and phase shift) from the same dual-polarized antenna to form a single-polarized signal.

[0059] The synthesis network (ADD_X and ADD_Y) adopts a tree-shaped combining network or a series-parallel combination network to vectorially combine the signals from different antenna elements to form the final output signals RX and RY.

[0060] In this embodiment, taking polarization scanning radar as an example, the feed source is used as the receiving antenna of the radar. The dual-polarization antenna (E1 to E4) outputs vertical polarization signals and horizontal polarization signals. The attenuator and phase shifter are calibrated to make the signals reaching the combiner (ADD_1X to ADD_4Y) equal in amplitude and phase.

[0061] In order to detect the polarization characteristics of the target, the values ​​of the phase shifter and attenuator are adjusted in time so that the received signal is alternately in the following polarization states:

[0062] Vertical polarization: Only the vertical polarization channels (E_1A, E_2A, E_3A, E_4A) of each antenna are activated, and the rest of the channels are turned off.

[0063] Horizontal polarization: Only the horizontal polarization channels (E_1B, E_2B, E_3B, E_4B) of each antenna are activated, and the rest of the channels are turned off.

[0064] Left-hand circular polarization: The vertical polarization and horizontal polarization channels of the antenna are synthesized, and the phase shifter is adjusted to make the vertical polarization channel have a 90-degree phase difference with the horizontal polarization channel.

[0065] Right-hand circular polarization: The vertical polarization and horizontal polarization channels of the antenna are synthesized, and the phase shifter is adjusted so that the vertical polarization channel has a -90 degree phase difference with the horizontal polarization channel.

[0066] Polarization scanning: Adjust the value of the phase shifter to synthesize the tilted polarization signal, thereby tracking the polarization direction of the target signal.

[0067] The received data of different polarization states and different scanning directions are processed to obtain the polarization characteristics and position information of the target.

[0068] Set the attenuation values of the attenuators AT_1AY, AT_1BY, AT_2AY, AT_2BY, AT_3AY, AT_3BY, AT_4AY, and AT_4BY to the maximum or turn off the power supply of the attenuators to completely close the corresponding signal paths. Set the attenuation values of the attenuators AT_1AX, AT_1BX, AT_2AX, AT_2BX, AT_3AX, AT_3BX, AT_4AX, and AT_4BX to the calibration values to ensure that the amplitudes of the output signals of each attenuator are the same. Adjust the phase shift values of the phase shifters PH_1AX, PH_2AX, PH_3AX, and PH_4AX to 0 degrees, and adjust the phase shift values of the phase shifters PH_1BY, PH_2BY, PH_3BY, and PH_4BY to 90 degrees to obtain a left-handed circularly polarized signal. Adjust the phase shift values of the phase shifters PH_1AY, PH_2AY, PH_3AY, and PH_4AY to 90 degrees, and adjust the phase shift values of the phase shifters PH_1BY, PH_2BY, PH_3BY, and PH_4BY to 0 degrees to obtain a right-handed circularly polarized signal. Adjust the phase shift values of the phase shifters PH_1AY, PH_2AY, PH_3AY, and PH_4AY to other angular values to obtain a left-handed or right-handed elliptically polarized signal. Through the above method, the feed realizes polarization scanning, so as to obtain target information more comprehensively.

[0069] In an alternative embodiment, the combiner ADD_1X combines the outputs of the phase shifters PH_1AX and PH_1BX;

[0070] The combiner ADD_1Y combines the outputs of the phase shifters PH_1AY and PH_1BY;

[0071] The combiner ADD_2X combines the outputs of the phase shifters PH_2AX and PH_2BX;

[0072] The combiner ADD_2Y combines the outputs of the phase shifters PH_2AY and PH_2BY;

[0073] The combiner ADD_3X combines the outputs of the phase shifters PH_3AX and PH_3BX;

[0074] The combiner ADD_3Y combines the outputs of the phase shifters PH_3AY and PH_3BY;

[0075] The combiner ADD_4X combines the outputs of the phase shifters PH_4AX and PH_4BX;

[0076] The combiner ADD_4Y combines the outputs of the phase shifters PH_4AY and PH_4BY.

[0077] In this embodiment, each combiner only combines two processed different polarization signals from the same dual-polarized antenna, rather than combining signals from different antennas as described before. The polarization control of each dual-polarized antenna is more refined. Each combiner (ADD_1X, ADD_1Y, etc.) independently synthesizes the two polarization signals of the corresponding antenna (E1, E2, etc.), and independently controls the final polarization state of each antenna at the antenna level.

[0078] In an alternative manner, the feed forms a coordinate plane XOY with its normal direction as the reference. The four dual-polarized antennas (E1, E2, E3, and E4) of the feed are arranged in the four quadrants of the plane XOY.

[0079] The dual-polarized antennas (E1, E2, E3, E4) are all receiving antennas and are used in cooperation with the transmitting antenna.

[0080] In this embodiment, in order to synthesize the difference pattern, the four antennas are evenly distributed in the four quadrants. Each antenna is dual-polarized, which helps to improve the integrity of the received signal and reduce the signal loss caused by polarization mismatch. The feed can be a flat plate structure, and its normal direction is defined as the Z-axis direction. Four dual-polarized antenna elements are etched or installed on the flat plate, and connectors and a feeding network are designed on the back of the flat plate. The four dual-polarized antennas are part of the feed, and the output ends of the antenna elements are connected to the power divider inside the feed.

[0081] In an alternative manner, the low-noise amplifiers (LAN_1A, LAN_1B, LAN_2A, LAN_2B, LAN_3A, LAN_3B, LAN_4A, LAN_4B) are respectively connected to the polarization signals (E_1A, E_1B, E_2A, E_2B, E_3A, E_3B, E_4A, E_4B) of the corresponding dual-polarized antennas for amplifying the received polarization signals.

[0082] In this embodiment, the low-noise amplifier (LNA) can effectively amplify the received weak signals, independently amplify each polarization signal, and adapt to different application scenarios and environmental conditions. For example, in the radar receiving front end, dual-polarized reflection signals from the target can be received and amplified through independent LNAs.

[0083] In an alternative manner, the positions of the attenuator and the phase shifter in the signal transmission path can be interchanged, and the attenuator can be placed after the phase shifter.

[0084] In this embodiment, the attenuator is placed before the phase shifter to prevent excessive power signals from directly entering the phase shifter, reducing the risk of damage to the phase shifter. Placing the attenuator before the phase shifter reduces the signal power entering the subsequent circuit, thereby reducing or compensating for the non-linear effects of the phase shifter at high power, and at the same time simplifies the circuit design and layout.

[0085] In an alternative embodiment, the low-noise amplifier is implemented by one or more stages of low-noise amplifiers;

[0086] The phase shifter is implemented by one or more stages of phase shifters;

[0087] The attenuator is implemented by one or more stages of attenuators.

[0088] In this embodiment, the multi-stage low-noise amplifier (LNA) obtains a higher total gain through multi-stage amplification, thereby amplifying weaker signals. The phase shifter reduces the non-linear effects brought by a single-stage phase shifter through the cascading of multiple phase shifters. The multi-stage attenuator provides a larger attenuation range, thereby adapting to a wider range of signal intensity.

[0089] In an alternative embodiment, the signals (S_1X, S_1Y, S_2X, S_2Y, S_3X, S_3Y, S_4X, S_4Y) are composed of the combination of any two of the polarization signals (E_1A, E_1B, E_2A, E_2B, E_3A, E_3B, E_4A, E_4B) by adjusting the values of the attenuator and the phase shifter, so as to achieve polarization adjustment.

[0090] In this embodiment, by adjusting the attenuator and the phase shifter, the amplitude and phase of each polarization signal can be precisely controlled, so as to flexibly generate various desired polarization states and switch between multiple polarization states without replacing hardware.

[0091] In an alternative embodiment, the low-noise amplifier, power splitter, attenuator, phase shifter, combiner and synthesis network are implemented by discrete devices or integrated devices.

[0092] In this embodiment, the discrete devices select the best devices according to specific requirements, so as to achieve the highest performance. For example, select the low-noise amplifier with the lowest noise, the power splitter with the highest power, etc. The integrated devices have a small volume and are suitable for applications with limited space.

[0093] In this embodiment, the feed beam is reconstructed by continuously configuring the values of each attenuator and phase shifter, including any polarization feed, monopulse feed and conical scan feed;

[0094] Among them, the reconstruction of the feed beam further includes:

[0095] According to the target beam shape and polarization requirements, calculate the adjustment values required for the attenuators (AT_1AX to AT_4BY) and phase shifters (PH_1AX to PH_4BY) corresponding to each dual-polarized antenna;

[0096] Adjust the settings of each attenuator and phase shifter according to the adjustment values to change the amplitude and phase of each signal;

[0097] Until the required beam shape and polarization state are achieved, realizing the dynamic reconstruction of the feed beam.

[0098] Among them, the arbitrary polarization feed includes linear polarization, circular polarization and elliptical polarization, and the polarization direction is adjustable. The monopulse feed configures the feed to output sum and difference signals by adjusting the attenuator and phase shifter. Among them, the sum signal is used to receive the target energy, and the difference signal is used to indicate the deviation angle between the target and the feed normal. The conical scan feed periodically changes the settings of the attenuator and phase shifter, causing the beam to perform conical scanning in space to achieve the search and tracking of the target.

[0099] For the convenience of understanding the above embodiments of the present invention, the following assumptions are made:

[0100] 1. The X-axis is the azimuth direction, and the Y-axis is the elevation direction.

[0101] 2. Antennas E1, E2, E3, and E4 are dual-linear polarization antennas. Signals E_1A, E_2A, E_3A, and E_4A are horizontal polarization signals, and signals E_1B, E_2B, E_3B, and E_4B are vertical polarization signals.

[0102] 3. The calibration values have been written for each path of the reconfigurable feed. That is, when equal-amplitude and in-phase signals are input to antennas E1, E2, E3, and E4, signals A_1AX, A_1AY, A_2AX, A_2AY, A_3AX, A_3AY, A_4AX, and A_4AY are equal-amplitude and in-phase signals, signals A_1BX, A_1BY, A_2BX, A_2BY, A_3BX, A_3BY, A_4BX, and A_4BY are equal-amplitude and in-phase signals, and the phase difference between signal A_1AX and signal A_1BX is 90°.

[0103] Embodiment 1

[0104] Reconstruct the feed into an arbitrary polarization feed: UAVs usually use vertically polarized antennas to achieve ground communication. During flight, changes in the attitude of the drone will cause polarization mismatch of the tracking antenna, resulting in polarization loss of the received signal. Polarization matching is usually achieved through polarization tracking to eliminate polarization loss. To this end, the feed needs to be able to synthesize polarization-adjustable antenna signals for back-end processing. There are currently mechanical and electronic polarization adjustment methods. The mechanical polarization adjustment method is to adjust the antenna polarization angle through a servo mechanism. The electronic polarization adjustment method is to electronically adjust the polarization angles of the two polarization signals output by the same antenna and synthesize them into one signal. This reconfigurable feed can achieve electronic polarization adjustment. The following describes the polarization tracking method using the E1 antenna as an example:

[0105] 1. Polarization detection: Turn off the power supply of the phase shifters PH_1AY and PH_1BX at the back end of the E1 antenna, then the signal S_1X only contains the signal A_1AX, and the signal S_1Y output by the feed source only contains the signal A_1BY. Configure the back end circuits of antennas E2, E3 and E4 in the same way, then the two signals output by the feed source are the original polarization components. The processing circuit at the back end of the feed source can detect the signals S_X and S_Y simultaneously or in time-sharing to solve the polarization direction of the target signal.

[0106] 2. Synthesize any polarization signal: By adjusting the values ​​of the attenuator and phase shifter according to the results of polarization detection, any polarization signal can be synthesized in the feed output signal. S_1X can be configured to the desired polarization mode according to the configuration method shown in Table 1. The configuration methods of other groups of signals such as signal S_1Y are similar and will not be repeated here. Please note that the synthesizable polarization signals listed in Table 1 are a limited number of examples, and professionals in this field can obtain their desired arbitrary polarization signals by configuring different attenuation values ​​and phase shift values.

[0107] Table 1 Synthesize arbitrary polarization signal configuration table

[0108]

[0109] Example 2

[0110] Reconstruct the feed into a vertically polarized four-horn single-pulse feed: The single-pulse radar antenna is required to generate a sum beam, an azimuth difference beam and an elevation difference beam. The function of the sum beam is to detect the distance of the target and perform distance tracking; the function of the difference beam is to detect the azimuth error angle and elevation error angle information of the target and perform angle tracking. In this way, the spatial position of the target can be determined. The reconfigurable feed described in the present invention can form two beams at the same time, so it can simultaneously form a sum beam and an azimuth difference beam, or a sum beam and an elevation difference beam, that is, two sets of sum and difference beams are formed in time-sharing, thereby realizing the detection and tracking of the target. The specific method is as follows:

[0111] 1. Synthesize the vertically polarized signals S_1X, S_1Y, S_2X, S_2Y, S_3X, S_3Y, S_4X, and S_4Y according to the method described in Embodiment 1.

[0112] 2. Synthesize the sum beam signal: If the devices in the front stage of signal S_X are configured according to Step 1 of this embodiment, then signal S_X = S_1X + S_2X + S_3X + S_4X, which is the vertically polarized sum signal.

[0113] 3. Synthesize the azimuth difference beam signal: If the devices in the front stage of signal S_Y are configured according to Step 1 of this embodiment, and then add a 180° phase shift value based on the calibration values of phase shifters A_2BY and A_4BY, then signal S_Y = (S_1Y + S_4Y) - (S_2Y + S_3Y), which is the vertically polarized azimuth difference signal.

[0114] 4. Synthesize the elevation difference beam signal: If the devices in the front stage of signal S_Y are configured according to Step 1 of this embodiment, and then add a 180° phase shift value based on the calibration values of phase shifters A_3BY and A_4BY, then signal S_Y = (S_1Y + S_2Y) - (S_3Y + S_4Y), which is the vertically polarized elevation difference signal.

[0115] Embodiment 3

[0116] Reconstruct the feed into a left-handed conical scanning feed: Conical scanning tracking extracts the angular error information of the target by generating a continuously rotating scanning beam, thereby determining the spatial position of the target. The reconfigurable feed described in the present invention can achieve beam scanning by time-division gating of 4 antenna elements, that is, configure the parameters of each channel of the feed in the order of outputting the signals of antenna E1, E3, E2, and E4, thereby achieving beam scanning. The specific method is as follows:

[0117] 1. Synthesize the left-handed circularly polarized signals S_1X, S_1Y, S_2X, S_2Y, S_3X, S_3Y, S_4X, and S_4Y according to the method described in Embodiment 1.

[0118] 2. Synthesize the sum beam signal: If the devices in the front stage of signal S_X are configured according to Step 1 of this embodiment, then signal S_X = S_1X + S_2X + S_3X + S_4X, which is the left-handed circularly polarized sum signal.

[0119] 3. Synthesize the scanning beam signal: If the phase shifters in the front stage of signal S_X are configured according to Step 1 of this embodiment, and then configure the attenuators in the front stage of S_Y in sequence as shown in Table 2 to select the output signal sources respectively to achieve beam scanning.

[0120] Table 2 Configuration Table for Synthesizing Scanning Beam Signals

[0121] Attenuator Output E1 signal Output E2 signal Output E3 signal Output E4 signal AT_1AY Turn on Turn off Turn off Turn off AT_1BY Turn on Turn off Turn off Turn off AT_2AY Turn off Turn on Turn off Turn off AT_2BY Turn off Turn on Turn off Turn off AT_3AY Turn off Turn off Turn on Turn off AT_3BY Turn off Turn off Turn on Turn off AT_4AY Turn off Turn off Turn off Turn on AT_4BY Turn off Turn off Turn off Turn on

[0122] The solution provided by the present invention includes: four dual-polarized antennas (E1, E2, E3, E4) for receiving free-space signals, wherein each dual-polarized antenna outputs two polarized signals (E_1A and E_1B, E_2A and E_2B, E_3A and E_3B, E_4A and E_4B); eight low-noise amplifiers (LAN_1A, LAN_1B, LAN_2A, LAN_2B, LAN_3A, LAN_3B, LAN_4A, LAN_4B), respectively connected to the polarized signals of the dual-polarized antennas for amplifying the received polarized signals; eight power dividers (DIV_1A, DIV_1B, DIV_2A, DIV_2B, DIV_3A, DIV_3B, DIV_4A, DIV_4B), respectively connected to the output ends of the low-noise amplifiers for dividing the amplified signals into two paths; sixteen attenuators (AT_1AX, AT_1AY, AT_1BX, AT_1BY, AT_2AX, AT_2AY, AT_2BX, AT_2BY, AT_3AX, AT_3AY, AT_3BX, AT_3BY, AT_4AX, AT_4AY, AT_4BX, AT_4BY), respectively connected to the output ends of the power dividers for adjusting the amplitude of the signals; sixteen phase shifters (PH_1AX, PH_1AY, PH_1BX, PH_1BY, PH_2AX, PH_2AY, PH_2BX, PH_2BY, PH_3AX, PH_3AY, PH_3BX, PH_3BY, PH_4AX, PH_4AY, PH_4BX, PH_4BY), respectively connected to the output ends of the attenuators for adjusting the phase of the signals; eight combiners (ADD_1X, ADD_1Y, ADD_2X, ADD_2Y, ADD_3X, ADD_3Y, ADD_4X, ADD_4Y), each combiner receiving the two processed signals of the corresponding dual-polarized antenna and outputting a combined signal (S_1X, S_1Y, S_2X, S_2Y, S_3X, S_3Y, S_4X, S_4Y); a first combining network (ADD_X) for receiving and combining the signals (S_1X, S_2X, S_3X, S_4X) output by the combiners and outputting a combined signal (RX); a second combining network (ADD_Y) for receiving and combining the signals (S_1Y, S_2Y, S_3Y, S_4Y) output by the combiners and outputting a combined signal (RY). The present invention obtains two groups of beams by amplifying, power dividing, attenuating, phase shifting, and combining the dual-polarized antenna signals. Each group of beams can independently achieve amplitude weighting and phase shifting synthesis of the signals of each antenna, thereby realizing pattern reconstruction and polarization reconstruction.

[0123] Those skilled in the art can understand that the modules in the devices in the embodiments can be adaptively changed and arranged in one or more devices different from the embodiments. The modules or units or components in the embodiments can be combined into one module or unit or component, and in addition, they can be divided into multiple sub-modules or sub-units or sub-components. Except that at least some of such features and / or processes or units are mutually exclusive, any combination can be adopted to combine all the features disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) and all the processes or units of any method or device so disclosed. Unless otherwise explicitly stated, each feature disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) can be replaced by an alternative feature providing the same, equivalent or similar purpose. In addition, those skilled in the art can understand that although some of the embodiments herein include certain features included in other embodiments rather than other features, the combination of the features of different embodiments means that it is within the scope of the present invention and forms different embodiments. For example, in the following claims, any one of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination. The present invention can be implemented by means of hardware including several different elements and by means of a properly programmed computer. In the unit claims listing several devices, several of these devices can be embodied by the same hardware item. The steps in the above embodiments, unless otherwise specified, should not be construed as a limitation on the execution order.

Claims

1. A reconfigurable feed source, characterized in that: include: Four dual-polarized antennas (E1, E2, E3, E4), for receiving free-space signals, wherein each dual-polarized antenna outputs two polarized signals (E_1A and E_1B, E_2A and E_2B, E_3A and E_3B, E_4A and E_4B); Eight low noise amplifiers (LAN_1A, LAN_1B, LAN_2A, LAN_2B, LAN_3A, LAN_3B, LAN_4A, LAN_4B), respectively connected to the polarized signals of the dual-polarized antennas, for amplifying the received polarized signals; Eight power dividers (DIV_1A, DIV_1B, DIV_2A, DIV_2B, DIV_3A, DIV_3B, DIV_4A, DIV_4B), respectively connected to the output end of the low noise amplifier, for dividing the amplified signal into two paths; Sixteen attenuators (AT_1AX, AT_1AY, AT_1BX, AT_1BY, AT_2AX, AT_2AY, AT_2BX, AT_2BY, AT_3AX, AT_3AY, AT_3BX, AT_3BY, AT_4AX, AT_4AY, AT_4BX, AT_4BY), respectively connected to the output end of the power divider, for adjusting the amplitude of the signal; Sixteen phase shifters (PH_1AX, PH_1AY, PH_1BX, PH_1BY, PH_2AX, PH_2AY, PH_2BX, PH_2BY, PH_3AX, PH_3AY, PH_3BX, PH_3BY, PH_4AX, PH_4AY, PH_4BX, PH_4BY), respectively connected to the output end of the attenuator, for adjusting the phase of the signal; Eight combiners (ADD_1X, ADD_1Y, ADD_2X, ADD_2Y, ADD_3X, ADD_3Y, ADD_4X, ADD_4Y), each combiner receives two different polarization signals processed by the corresponding dual-polarization antenna, and outputs a synthesized signal (S_1X, S_1Y, S_2X, S_2Y, S_3X, S_3Y, S_4X, S_4Y); A first synthesis network (ADD_X), used for receiving and synthesizing the signals (S_1X, S_2X, S_3X, S_4X) output by the combiner, and outputting a synthesized signal (RX); The second synthesis network (ADD_Y) is used to receive and synthesize the signals (S_1Y, S_2Y, S_3Y, S_4Y) output by the combiner, and output a synthesized signal (RY).

2. The reconfigurable feed according to claim 1, characterized in that: The combiner ADD_1X combines the outputs of the phase shifters PH_1AX and PH_1BX; The combiner ADD_1Y combines the outputs of the phase shifters PH_1AY and PH_1BY; The combiner ADD_2X combines the outputs of the phase shifters PH_2AX and PH_2BX; The combiner ADD_2Y combines the outputs of the phase shifters PH_2AY and PH_2BY; The combiner ADD_3X combines the outputs of the phase shifters PH_3AX and PH_3BX; The combiner ADD_3Y combines the outputs of the phase shifters PH_3AY and PH_3BY; The combiner ADD_4X combines the outputs of the phase shifters PH_4AX and PH_4BX; The combiner ADD_4Y combines the outputs of the phase shifters PH_4AY and PH_4BY.

3. The reconfigurable feed according to claim 1, characterized in that: The feed source establishes a coordinate plane XOY based on its normal direction, and the four dual-polarized antennas (E1, E2, E3 and E4) of the feed source are arranged in four quadrants of the plane XOY; The dual-polarized antennas (E1, E2, E3, E4) are all receiving antennas and are used in conjunction with the transmitting antenna.

4. The reconfigurable feed according to claim 1, characterized in that: The low noise amplifiers (LAN_1A, LAN_1B, LAN_2A, LAN_2B, LAN_3A, LAN_3B, LAN_4A, LAN_4B) are respectively connected to the polarization signals (E_1A, E_1B, E_2A, E_2B, E_3A, E_3B, E_4A, E_4B) of the corresponding dual-polarization antennas for amplifying the received polarization signals.

5. The reconfigurable feed according to claim 1, characterized in that: The positions of the attenuator and the phase shifter in the signal transmission path may be interchangeable, and the attenuator may be placed after the phase shifter.

6. The reconfigurable feed according to claim 1, characterized in that: The low noise amplifier is implemented by one or more stages of low noise amplifiers; The phase shifter is implemented by one or more stages of phase shifters; The attenuator is implemented by a single-stage or multi-stage attenuator.

7. The reconfigurable feed according to claim 1, characterized in that: The signals (S_1X, S_1Y, S_2X, S_2Y, S_3X, S_3Y, S_4X, S_4Y) are composed of any two of the different polarization signals (E_1A, E_1B, E_2A, E_2B, E_3A, E_3B, E_4A, E_4B) by adjusting the values ​​of the attenuator and the phase shifter to achieve adjustable polarization.

8. The reconfigurable feed according to claim 1, characterized in that: The low noise amplifier, power divider, attenuator, phase shifter, combiner and synthesis network are implemented by discrete devices or integrated devices.

9. The reconfigurable feed according to claim 1, characterized in that: The feed source is reconstructed by configuring the values ​​of each attenuator and phase shifter, including arbitrary polarization feed source, single pulse feed source and conical scanning feed source; The reconstructing of the feed further includes: Calculate the required adjustment values ​​of the attenuator (AT_1AX to AT_4BY) and phase shifter (PH_1AX to PH_4BY) for each dual-polarized antenna based on the target beam shape and polarization requirements; adjusting the settings of each attenuator and phase shifter according to the adjustment value to change the amplitude and phase on each signal path; Until the required beam shape and polarization state are achieved, dynamic reconstruction of the feed source is achieved.

10. The reconfigurable feed source according to claim 9, characterized in that: The arbitrary polarization feed includes linear polarization, circular polarization and elliptical polarization, and the polarization direction is adjustable.

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