A lenslet array and satellite antenna

Abstract

The application provides a Luneberg lens array and a satellite antenna, which comprises a plurality of Luneberg lens sub-arrays, each of the Luneberg lens sub-arrays comprising a plurality of Luneberg spheres and a multi-in-one feed source; the multi-in-one feed source is in communication with a TR assembly; the multi-in-one feed source comprises a radiating antenna layer substrate, a feed network layer substrate and a plurality of radiating patches; the radiating antenna layer substrate and the feed network layer substrate are adhesively fixed, and the plurality of radiating patches are fixed on the radiating antenna layer substrate; and the feed network substrate is provided with a power divider feed network. Compared with the prior art, the microstrip power divider and the feed source are integrated together, the insertion loss is reduced through design, the lengths of the wires are consistent, and the phase consistency between the channels can be ensured; through such design, one TR assembly does not need to be arranged below each sphere, the number of TR assemblies can be greatly reduced, and the satellite can be aligned through mechanical + phased array electronic scanning.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The application relates to the technical field of satellite communication, in particular to a dragonbreath lens array and a satellite antenna. BACKGROUND

[0002] Satellite technology and its application is an industry with great development potential, but the main problem limiting its application at present is that the weight, size and power consumption of the ground receiving antenna are too large. The traditional satellite communication mobile communication antenna system adopts two-axis, three-axis or four-axis tracking technology to stably search and track satellites, but this structure has a high profile and is too heavy to be used in a vehicle-mounted mobile communication system. In particular, in a vehicle-mounted application scenario, the dynamic performance of the vehicle carrier is high, and the system inertia is large, which greatly reduces the dynamic performance of the system and greatly reduces the availability.

[0003] International research institutions are all looking for a more miniaturized and more intelligent solution. An electrically adjustable mobile communication antenna system based on phased array technology is an important direction. Using a phased array mobile communication system antenna will reduce the height and weight of the mobile communication antenna, greatly reduce the requirements and modification cost of the vehicle carrier, and the vehicle carrier can carry a larger diameter antenna to improve the performance of the mobile communication antenna and reduce power consumption. The electrically adjustable beam pointing is several orders of magnitude faster than the mechanical adjustment method, which improves the dynamic performance of the system.

[0004] However, the phased array antenna has some inherent problems. First, the coverage angle of the phased array is limited by the coverage angle of the single feed, resulting in limited scanning angle; second, the phased array with full array arrangement requires a spacing of 1 / 2 wavelength between the array elements, which results in a large number of channels for the Ku frequency band with small wavelength, increasing the cost compared with the traditional antenna. Finally, the phased array antenna with full array arrangement will cause the power loss of the transmission channel to cause the system to overheat, resulting in excessive system power consumption, and the heat will also cause the performance of the TR component to decrease.

[0005] The dragonbreath lens is a spherical gradient refractive index lens with the characteristics of focusing a plane wave incident along any direction to a point on its surface, or making the surface feed realize high directivity radiation. Placing the array antenna unit on the surface of the dragonbreath lens can be used for transmitting or receiving plane beams from all directions, and can ensure that the beams in all directions have the same shape and gain, so it can be used to realize large-angle beam scanning.

[0006] Using a large-diameter dragonbreath as an array element greatly reduces the number of channels and reduces the use of TR components, greatly reducing the cost. However, the scanning coverage range is limited.

[0007] Changing the original large ball into a small ball can increase the scanning angle, and selecting a small ball can also reduce the system profile and weight, which is crucial for a vehicle-mounted mobile communication system.

[0008] Because of using small ball, to achieve the same antenna aperture, the number of required Luneberg ball is required to be more, which will lead to the increase of the number of TR component channels used by the system, greatly increasing the cost of the system. Meanwhile, the whole machine design adopts the combination of mechanical scanning and electronic scanning to realize, the machine is responsible for the rotation in horizontal direction (machine scanning), and the electronic beam scanning in the elevation direction is realized by phased array (electric scanning), and the core subsystem for realizing the phased array scanning is the microwave TR component. However, the horizontal direction adopts the motor rotation to align the satellite in the system design, and the horizontal direction does not need the phased array electronic beam scanning, if the TR component is placed under each ball, unnecessary waste will be caused. SUMMARY

[0009] The technical problem to be solved by the present application is to provide a Luneberg lens array, which realizes the purposes of low cost, low weight and low power consumption.

[0010] The present application solves the above technical problems through the following technical solutions:

[0011] A Luneberg lens array comprises a plurality of Luneberg lens sub-arrays, each of which comprises a plurality of Luneberg balls and a multi-in-one feed source; the multi-in-one feed source communicates with a TR component; the multi-in-one feed source comprises a radiation antenna layer substrate, a feed network layer substrate and a plurality of radiation patches, the radiation antenna layer substrate is fixedly bonded with the feed network layer substrate, and the plurality of radiation patches are fixed on the radiation antenna layer substrate; and the feed network substrate is written with a power divider feed network.

[0012] Preferably, the multi-in-one feed source is a four-in-one feed source, four radiation patches, and the received signals of the four radiation patches are combined into one received signal through the feed network, or one transmitted signal is divided into four through the feed network and transmitted through the four radiation patches.

[0013] Preferably, the diameter of the Luneberg ball is 120 mm.

[0014] The present application also provides a Ku-band vehicle-mounted moving channel low-profile satellite antenna of Luneberg lens, which realizes the purposes of low profile and large elevation angle coverage; and comprises the above-mentioned Luneberg lens array, a Luneberg ball support plate, an angle adjusting device, an antenna upper cover, an antenna cover base and a rotating tray.

[0015] The antenna cover and the antenna cover base are fixedly matched to form a cavity for accommodating the rotating tray, the angle adjusting device, the Luneberg ball support plate and the Luneberg ball; the rotating tray is horizontally rotated and fixed on the antenna cover base, the angle adjusting device is fixed on the rotating tray, and the Luneberg ball support plate is fixed on the rotating tray.

[0016] A plurality of clamping holes are formed in the Luneberg ball support plate, and each Luneberg ball is placed in and fixed in the clamping hole.

[0017] The angle adjusting device comprises a fixing plate, an adjusting track group, the multi-in-one feed source is fixed on the fixing plate, the two ends of the fixing plate are matched with the adjusting track group through sliding blocks, the pitch angle of the multi-in-one feed source is adjusted between 0°-75°, and the plurality of feed centers of the multi-in-one feed source are all directed to the corresponding Luneburg sphere center.

[0018] Preferably, the adaptive distance between the feed center and the corresponding Luneburg sphere surface is 15-30mm.

[0019] Preferably, the adaptive distance between the feed center and the corresponding Luneburg sphere surface is 25mm.

[0020] Preferably, the inner ring of the clamping hole is provided with a plurality of clamping claws extending to the center of the clamping hole, and the circular cavity surrounded by the plurality of clamping claws has a diameter smaller than the diameter of the Luneburg sphere.

[0021] Preferably, the adjusting track group comprises two first sliding blocks fixed at the two ends of the fixing plate and a first track in sliding cooperation with the first sliding blocks; the first track comprises a horizontal plate and a vertical plate, the horizontal plate and the vertical plate form an L-shaped structure in cross section, the horizontal plate is fixed on the rotating tray, and a slide is horizontally arranged on the vertical plate; the first sliding block comprises an end fixed at the end of the fixing plate, a screw rod penetrating through the slide at the other end, and a nut in cooperation with the screw rod penetrating end; the vertical plate is limited between the end of the fixing plate and the nut by screwing the nut.

[0022] Preferably, a scale is arranged on the vertical plate.

[0023] Preferably, the adjusting track group further comprises at least one second track and a second sliding block corresponding in number to the second track, the second track is fixed between the two first tracks, and the second sliding block is fixed between the two first sliding blocks; the second sliding block is fixed on the lower surface of the fixing plate, and a sliding groove is arranged on the second sliding block; the second track is fixed on the rotating tray and is provided with a sliding key in sliding cooperation with the sliding groove.

[0024] The advantages of the present application are as follows:

[0025] The microstrip power divider and the feed source are integrated together, the insertion loss is reduced through design, the lengths of the wires are consistent, and the phase consistency between the channels can be ensured; through such design, one TR component does not need to be arranged under each sphere, the number of the TR components can be greatly reduced, and the alignment of the satellite can be realized through mechanical + electronic scanning of the phased array;

[0026] The design adopts a dragon ball with a diameter of 120 mm. Using the dragon ball with the size, the scanning angle of the single feed source can reach + / - 15 degrees, which is more than one time of + / - 7 degrees of the 160 mm dragon ball. Moreover, the selection of the small ball can reduce the system profile and the system weight, which is crucial for the vehicle-mounted mobile communication system; in order to further reduce the profile height of the system, the satellite antenna provided by the application horizontally places all the dragon balls, and the rotating tray and the dragon ball support plate are horizontally arranged, so that the profile of the system is reduced, and the complexity of the system is also greatly reduced, and the system is mass-produced and assembled; considering the wider coverage of the elevation angle, an angle adjusting device is arranged on the structure, and the sliding rail is used to realize the adjustment of the elevation angle of the multi-in-one feed source, the central symmetry of the dragon ball is used to realize the selection of the coverage angle, and the coverage range of the elevation scanning angle is increased.

[0027] In the case of a large scanning angle, the influence of the dragon ball support plate on the performance of the dragon ball is considered, the fixing block for fixing the support plate to the dragon ball is expanded, and simulation shows that when the angle is greater than 40 degrees, the gain is obviously improved (more than 2 db). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0028] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a dragon lens subarray in an embodiment of the application;

[0029] Figure 2 FIG. 3 is a structural schematic diagram of a four-in-one feed source in embodiment 1 of the application;

[0030] Figure 3 FIG. 5 is a structural schematic diagram of one side of the four-in-one feed source in embodiment 1 of the application;

[0031] Figure 4 FIG. 7 is a structural schematic diagram of the feed network on the other side of the four-in-one feed source in embodiment 1 of the application;

[0032] Figure 5 FIG. 9 is an S parameter diagram of the transmitting port of the power divider of the four-in-one feed source in embodiment 1 of the application;

[0033] Figure 6 FIG. 11 is an S parameter diagram of the transmitting port of the power divider of the four-in-one feed source in embodiment 1 of the application;

[0034] Figure 7 FIG. 13 is an overall S parameter diagram of the four-in-one feed source in embodiment 1 of the application;

[0035] Figure 8 FIG. 15 is a transmitting directional diagram in the simulation test of embodiment 1 of the application;

[0036] Figure 9The receiving pattern in the simulation test in embodiment 1 of the application;

[0037] Figure 10 The exploded structural schematic diagram of the satellite antenna in embodiment 2 of the application;

[0038] Figure 11 The structural schematic diagram of the Luneberg ball supporting plate in embodiment 2 of the application;

[0039] Figure 12 The assembly structural schematic diagram of the rotating tray and the angle adjusting device in embodiment 2 of the application;

[0040] Figure 13 The Figure 12 The structural schematic diagram of the enlarged detail of A part in the middle. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] In order to have further understanding and recognition of the structural features and the achieved effects of the application, the following detailed description is provided in combination with the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings:

[0042] Embodiment 1

[0043] As shown in Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3 , Figure 4 A Luneberg lens array includes a plurality of Luneberg lens sub-arrays, and the Luneberg lens array in the embodiment includes 16 Luneberg lens sub-arrays. Each Luneberg lens sub-array includes a plurality of Luneberg balls 1 and a multi-in-one feed source 2; the Luneberg balls 1 in the embodiment are small-size Luneberg balls with a diameter of 120 mm. The multi-in-one feed source 2 in the embodiment is a four-in-one feed source corresponding to 4 Luneberg balls 1, and a total of 16 four-in-one feed sources are used.

[0044] The four-in-one feed source 2 includes a radiating antenna layer substrate 21, a feed network layer substrate 22, and 4 radiating patches 23. The radiating antenna layer substrate 21 and the feed network layer substrate 22 are bonded by a curing sheet 24. The dielectric constant of the radiating antenna layer substrate 21 and the feed network layer substrate 22 is 2.2, and the loss tangent is 0.1%. The dielectric constant of the curing sheet 24 is 3.52, and the loss tangent is 0.4%. The 4 radiating patches 23 are fixed on the radiating antenna layer substrate 21. The feed network 25 of the power divider is written on the feed network layer substrate 22, thereby forming the four-in-one feed source. The signals received by the 4 radiating patches 23 are combined into one receiving signal through the feed network 25, or one transmitting signal is divided into 4 paths through the feed network 25 and transmitted through the 4 radiating patches 23. The original structure of the 4 feed sources combined by an additional power divider is changed into the integrated structure of the four-in-one feed source in the embodiment, which reduces the insertion loss, and at the same time, the cable length of the four-in-one feed source and the T / R module is designed to be consistent, which can ensure the consistency of the phases among the channels.

[0045] Four balls are reasonably arranged by a passive scheme, further reducing the use amount of TR components, and the heat generation of the sparse antenna can be effectively controlled, thereby controlling the power consumption and reliability of the system.

[0046] In the embodiment, the gain drop caused by the blocking between the Luneberg balls 1 at a large scanning angle is considered, so in the layout of the phased array elements, if there is blocking in the direction of the incoming wave, it will cause the gain performance to drop, and when aiming at the satellite, from the perspective of the satellite incoming wave angle, the blocking between the left and right balls does not occur, and only the blocking of the front and rear balls needs to be considered, so the spacing between each row is pulled apart by a certain distance, the blocking of the front and rear rows is reduced, and the system performance is effectively improved without being reduced at a large angle scanning.

[0047] The four-in-one feed is simulated, and the results are shown in Figure 5 、 Figure 6 , Figure 5 is a transmission four-in-one feed power divider transmission port S parameter diagram, Figure 6 is a receiving four-in-one feed power divider receiving port S parameter diagram, as shown in the figure, the loss of the power divider in the receiving frequency band is 0.2-0.5dB, and the loss of the power divider in the transmitting frequency band is 0.2-0.5dB.

[0048] As shown in Figure 7 , the in-band reflection coefficient is less than -14dB, and the isolation is less than -20dB in the 12.25-12.75GHz and 14.0-14.5GHz bands.

[0049] As shown in Figure 8 、 Figure 9 , the transmission gain is about 24.46dBi, and the receiving gain is about 23.79dBi.

[0050] Embodiment 2

[0051] As shown in Figure 10 , a Ku-band vehicle-mounted moving channel low-profile satellite antenna of a Luneberg lens includes the Luneberg lens array 3, the Luneberg ball support plate 4, the angle adjusting device 5, the antenna upper cover 6, the antenna cover base 7, and the rotating tray 8 in the embodiment 1.

[0052] The radome and the radome base 7 are fixedly connected to form a cavity accommodating the rotating tray 8, the angle adjusting device 5, the Luneberg ball support plate 4 and the Luneberg ball 1; the rotating tray 8 is horizontally fixed on the radome base 7, the angle adjusting device 5 is fixed on the rotating tray 8, and the Luneberg ball support plate 4 is fixed on the rotating tray 8. The above fixing structures are conventional structures, which will not be described in detail here. In order to further reduce the profile height of the system, all the Luneberg balls 1 are horizontally placed, which reduces the profile of the system and also greatly reduces the complexity of the system, which is beneficial to mass industrial production and assembly. Therefore, in the embodiment, the rotating tray 8 and the Luneberg ball support plate 4 are parallel and in a horizontal state, and the angle of the four-in-one feed is adjusted by the angle adjusting device 5, so as to realize the adjustment of the pitch angle.

[0053] As shown in Figure 11 , the Luneberg ball support plate 4 is provided with a plurality of clamping holes 41, and the inner circle of the clamping hole 41 is provided with a plurality of clamping claws 42 extending to the center of the clamping hole 41. The circular cavity surrounded by the plurality of clamping claws 42 has a diameter smaller than the diameter of the Luneberg ball 1, so as to clamp and fix the Luneberg ball 1. Due to the design of the clamping claw 42, the size of the clamping hole 41 can be greater than the maximum size of the Luneberg ball 1, and the diameter of the hole is greater than the diameter of the ball by more than 10 mm, which basically eliminates the influence of the clamping hole on the gain, that is, the gain is obviously improved. Simulation shows that the pitch angle of the four-in-one feed is greater than 40°, and the gain is obviously improved (more than 2db). The embodiment is provided with four clamping claws 42, which are uniformly distributed around the clamping hole 41.

[0054] As shown in Figure 12 , Figure 13 , the angle adjusting device 5 includes a fixed plate 51 and an adjusting track group, the four-in-one feed 2 is fixed on the fixed plate 51, the two ends of the fixed plate 51 are connected with the adjusting track group through the sliding block, the pitch angle of the four-in-one feed 2 is adjusted between 30°-47°, and the plurality of feed centers of the four-in-one feed 2 are all directed to the center of the corresponding Luneberg ball 1. The adaptive distance between the feed center and the surface of the corresponding Luneberg ball 1 is 15-30mm. The adaptive distance between the feed center and the surface of the corresponding Luneberg ball 1 given in the embodiment is 25mm, and the gain is maximum.

[0055] The adjusting track group comprises a first slider 52 fixed at two ends of the fixed plate 51 respectively and a first track 53 in sliding cooperation with the first slider 52; the first track 53 comprises a horizontal plate 531 and a vertical plate 532, the horizontal plate 531 and the vertical plate 532 form an L-shaped structure in cross section, a screw hole is formed in the horizontal plate 531, and the horizontal plate 531 is fixed on the rotating tray 8 through a screw passing through the screw hole, and an arc-shaped slide 533 is horizontally formed in the vertical plate 532; the first slider 52 comprises a screw rod 511 fixed at one end of the fixed plate 51 at the lower surface of the end and the other end passing through the slide 533, and a nut 512 in cooperation with the screw rod 511 passing through the end; the fixed plate 51 is stabilized in position by tightening the nuts 512 on the two sides of the fixed plate 51. However, in order to ensure that the fixed plate 51 does not move horizontally and ensure that the center of the radiation patch 23 is aligned with the ball center, a limiting block (not shown in the figure) is fixed at the lower surface of each end of the fixed plate 51 in the embodiment, the two limiting blocks abut against the inner walls of the vertical plates 532 respectively, and the screw rod 511 can be welded on the side of the limiting block 513 facing the vertical plate 532. Under the limiting action of the two limiting blocks, the fixed plate can only be adjusted in pitch angle and cannot move horizontally, so as to ensure that the patch center always points to the ball center. The movement track of the patch center point is an arc concentric with the dragon ball 1, so as to ensure that the patch center point always points to the ball center. In order to facilitate accurate adjustment of the angle, a scale 534 is further arranged on the vertical plate 532.

[0056] The adjusting track group further comprises at least one second track 54 and a second slider 55 corresponding in number to the second track 54, the second track 54 is fixed between the two first tracks 53, and the second slider 55 is fixed between the two first sliders 52; the second slider 55 is fixed on the lower surface of the fixed plate 51, the second slider 55 is an L-shaped plate in cross section, one side plate is fixed on the lower surface of the fixed plate 51, and an arc-shaped slide groove 551 is formed in the side surface of the other side plate; the second track 54 is a vertical plate, has a mounting skirt at the bottom, is fixed on the rotating tray 8 through a screw, and is provided with an arc-shaped slide key 541 in sliding cooperation with the arc-shaped slide groove 551 on the side opposite to the arc-shaped slide groove 551 at the top.

[0057] The TR assembly is placed below the rotating tray 8 in the embodiment, which is beneficial to reduce the profile height of the system, and the rotating tray 8 is also beneficial to heat dissipation of the T assembly, thereby improving the reliability of the system. The high-frequency signal line is led out through the high-frequency slip ring, the satellite communication modem is placed outside the antenna cover, the weight of the antenna is reduced, the usability of the system is improved, and different satellite communication modems can be adapted.

[0058] The above shows and describes the basic principles, main features and advantages of the present application. Those skilled in the art should understand that the present application is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and the above-mentioned embodiments and descriptions in the specification are only the principles of the present application. Various changes and improvements can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application, and these changes and improvements all fall within the scope of the claimed present application. The scope of protection of the present application is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A Ku-band low profile vehicle mounted transportable satellite antenna of a Luneberg lens, characterized in that: The lens array comprises a plurality of Luneberg lens sub-arrays, each of which comprises a plurality of Luneberg spheres and a multi-in-one feed source; the multi-in-one feed source is in communication with a TR assembly; The multi-in-one feed source comprises a radiation antenna layer substrate, a feed network layer substrate, and a plurality of radiation patches; the radiation antenna layer substrate is fixedly bonded to the feed network layer substrate, and the plurality of radiation patches are fixed to the radiation antenna layer substrate; the feed network layer substrate has a power divider feed network written thereon; The antenna cover is fixedly matched with the antenna cover base to form a cavity for accommodating the rotating tray, the angle adjusting device, the Luneberg sphere support plate, and the Luneberg spheres; the rotating tray is horizontally fixed to the antenna cover base, the angle adjusting device is fixed to the rotating tray, and the Luneberg sphere support plate is fixed to the rotating tray; the rotating tray and the Luneberg sphere support plate are parallel and in a horizontal state; a plurality of clamping holes are formed in the Luneberg sphere support plate, a plurality of clamping claws extending towards the center of the clamping holes are arranged in the inner ring of the clamping holes, and the circular cavity surrounded by the plurality of clamping claws has a diameter smaller than that of the Luneberg spheres; each Luneberg sphere is placed in a clamping hole and fixed therein; the angle adjusting device comprises a fixed plate and an adjusting track group; the multi-in-one feed source is fixed to the fixed plate, the two ends of the fixed plate are matched with the adjusting track group through sliding blocks, the pitch angle of the multi-in-one feed source is adjusted between 0° and 75°, and the plurality of feed centers of the multi-in-one feed source are all directed to the centers of the corresponding Luneberg spheres.

2. The low-profile Ku-band vehicle-mounted transportable satellite antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that: The multi-in-one feed source is a four-in-one feed source, four radiation patches, and the received signals of the four radiation patches are combined into one received signal through the feed network, or one transmitted signal is divided into four through the feed network and transmitted through the four radiation patches.

3. The low-profile Ku-band vehicle-mounted transportable satellite antenna according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The diameter of the Luneberg sphere is 120 mm.

4. The low profile Ku-band vehicle-mounted transportable satellite antenna according to claim 1, wherein: The adaptive distance between the feed center and the surface of the corresponding Luneberg sphere is 15-30 mm.

5. The low profile Ku-band vehicle-mounted transportable satellite antenna according to claim 1, wherein: The adaptive distance between the feed center and the surface of the corresponding Luneberg sphere is 25 mm.

6. The low-profile Ku-band vehicle-mounted transportable satellite antenna according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The adjusting track group comprises two first sliding blocks fixed to the two ends of the fixed plate and a first track in sliding cooperation with the first sliding blocks; the first track comprises a horizontal plate and a vertical plate, the horizontal plate and the vertical plate form an L-shaped structure, the horizontal plate is fixed to the rotating tray, and a sliding channel is horizontally formed in the vertical plate; the first sliding block comprises an end fixed to the end of the fixed plate, a screw rod penetrating through the sliding channel at the other end, and a nut in cooperation with the penetrating end of the screw rod; the vertical plate is positioned between the end of the fixed plate and the nut by screwing the nut; the movement track of the center point of the radiation patch is an arc concentric with the Luneberg sphere.

7. The low profile Ku-band vehicle-mounted transportable satellite antenna according to claim 6, wherein: A scale is arranged on the vertical plate.

8. The low profile Ku-band vehicle-mounted transportable satellite antenna according to claim 5, wherein: The adjusting track group further comprises at least one second track and a second sliding block corresponding in number to the second track; the second track is fixed between the two first tracks, and the second sliding block is fixed between the two first sliding blocks; the second sliding block is fixed to the lower surface of the fixed plate, and a sliding groove is formed in the second sliding block; the second track is fixed to the rotating tray and is provided with a sliding key in sliding cooperation with the sliding groove.

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