High gain shortwave smart antenna equipment

Abstract

The present application relates to a high-gain shortwave intelligent antenna device, which includes: an exciter for generating an excitation signal; an antenna array, the antenna array includes two or more antenna units, and each antenna unit is arranged in a vertical fan array; a parameter adjustment device, connecting the exciter and the antenna array, the parameter adjustment device is used to obtain the adjustment parameters of each antenna unit, and adjust the excitation signal according to the adjustment parameters, and send the adjusted excitation signal to the corresponding antenna unit in the antenna array. By adjusting the amplitude and phase of the excitation signal, changing the beam direction and shape, the shortwave communication effect is improved, and the shortwave signal gain is increased by vertical fan array.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of smart antennas, and in particular to a high-gain shortwave smart antenna device. Background Art

[0002] Existing shortwave long-distance communications are mainly carried out using ionospheric reflection. Since the ionosphere is affected by solar radiation and cosmic rays, it changes with day and night, seasons, years, and sunspot cycles. At the same time, the ionosphere exhibits complex spatial changes with latitude and longitude. Therefore, shortwave skywave long-distance communication is a communication method with poor quality, narrow bandwidth, and very low call success rate.

[0003] The time-varying characteristics of the ionosphere and the electromagnetic environment at the receiving end cause the optimal communication frequency to change in different time periods. The transmission mode and absorption loss of the ionosphere to each frequency in the shortwave band are significantly different. In order to meet the requirements of long-distance shortwave communication, in addition to selecting the appropriate frequency, a suitable beam azimuth and elevation are also required. An inappropriate elevation angle will make long-distance shortwave communication impossible due to excessive absorption loss of the ionosphere or deviation from the ionosphere. After the traditional shortwave antenna is erected, its elevation angle is fixed and the direction of the beam cannot be adjusted in real time, so its communication effect is relatively poor. Summary of the invention

[0004] Based on this, it is necessary to provide a high-gain shortwave intelligent antenna device to address the problem of poor shortwave communication effect.

[0005] A high-gain shortwave intelligent antenna device, the device comprises: an exciter, the exciter is connected to a parameter adjustment device, the exciter is used to generate an excitation signal; an antenna array, the antenna array comprises a plurality of antenna units, each antenna unit is arranged according to a preset array mode to form an antenna array, and each antenna unit is respectively connected to a parameter adjustment device, wherein the preset array mode is a vertical fan array; a parameter adjustment device, the parameter adjustment device is used to obtain adjustment parameters of each antenna unit, and adjust the excitation signal according to the adjustment parameters, and send the adjusted excitation signal to each antenna unit in the antenna array.

[0006] The above-mentioned device adjusts the amplitude and phase of the excitation signal through the parameter adjustment device, so that the beam direction and beam shape of the antenna array can be changed, so that when performing long-distance shortwave communication, the maximum beam direction of the antenna array has the smallest loss on the ionospheric transmission channel, thereby improving the shortwave communication effect. At the same time, with the change of the beam direction and beam shape, the signal radiation to the area where the shortwave signal is not needed is greatly reduced, thereby ensuring the security of information transmission and reducing interference with other users. In addition, by forming a vertical fan array with two or more antenna units, the superimposed field strength in the air is greatly improved, the beam after the array is more concentrated, and the shortwave signal gain is improved.

[0007] In one embodiment, the adjustment parameters include amplitude parameters and phase parameters.

[0008] In one embodiment, the parameter adjustment device includes a power distributor and a phase shifter. The power distributor is connected to the exciter. The power distributor is connected to each antenna unit through the phase shifter. The power distributor is used to adjust the amplitude of the excitation signal according to the amplitude parameter, and the phase shifter is used to adjust the phase of the excitation signal according to the phase parameter.

[0009] In one of the embodiments, an excitation controller is also included, which is connected to the phase shifter and the power distributor. The excitation controller is used to collect communication parameters of the antenna array and calculate adjustment parameters based on the communication parameters. The communication parameters include communication azimuth parameters and elevation parameters of the antenna unit.

[0010] In one of the embodiments, a signal processing device is also included, which is connected to the parameter adjustment device and each antenna unit. The exciter is also used to generate a digital signal. The signal processing device is used to receive the digital signal, process the digital signal, and send it to the antenna unit.

[0011] In one of the embodiments, the signal processing device further includes a digital-to-analog converter, which is connected to the parameter adjustment device and each antenna unit, and is used to convert the digital signal into an analog signal.

[0012] In one of the embodiments, the signal processing device further includes a power amplifier, which is connected to the digital-to-analog converter and each antenna unit, and is used to amplify the analog signal.

[0013] In one of the embodiments, a feeding network is further included, and the power amplifier is connected to each antenna unit respectively through the feeding network.

[0014] In one embodiment, each antenna unit is connected to a corresponding feeding network, each feeding network is connected to a corresponding power amplifier, and each power amplifier is connected to a corresponding digital-to-analog converter.

[0015] In one embodiment, the angle between each antenna unit and the horizontal plane ranges from -6 degrees to 6 degrees. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 This is a diagram of an application scenario of a high-gain shortwave smart antenna in an embodiment;

[0017] Figure 2 A system framework diagram of a high-gain shortwave smart antenna in one embodiment;

[0018] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a log-periodic antenna network model in an embodiment;

[0019] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the structure of a high-gain shortwave smart antenna in one embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present application more clearly understood, the present application is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present application and are not used to limit the present application.

[0021] like Figure 1 As shown, an application scenario diagram of a high-gain shortwave smart antenna is provided, wherein the antenna device 101 has an antenna array, which is composed of multiple antenna units in a certain array manner, each antenna unit is equivalent to an array element, and the antenna unit can be a logarithmic periodic antenna. The shortwave signal is transmitted through the antenna device 101 and reflected to the terminal 103 through the ionosphere 102. When the position of the terminal 103 changes, the signal beam angle and direction emitted by the antenna device need to be adjusted accordingly to effectively ensure the communication effect of shortwave communication over long distances.

[0022] In one embodiment, if Figure 2 As shown, a high-gain short-wave smart antenna device is provided, and the device is applied to Figure 1For example, the device includes an exciter 100, an antenna array 200 and a parameter adjustment device 300. The exciter 100 can be used as a signal source to generate an excitation signal. The antenna array 200 includes two or more antenna units 201, and each antenna unit 201 is arranged in a vertical fan-shaped array; the parameter adjustment device 300 connects the exciter 100 and the antenna array 200, and the parameter adjustment device 300 obtains the adjustment parameters of each antenna unit 201, and adjusts the excitation signal generated by the exciter 100 according to the adjustment parameters of each antenna unit 201. After adjusting the excitation signal, the parameter adjustment device 300 transmits the adjusted excitation signal to the corresponding antenna unit 201 in the antenna array 200.

[0023] Among them, vertical fan array means that each antenna unit is on the same vertical plane and arranged on the vertical plane to form a fan. When the array element angle is smaller than the structural angle, the directional pattern of the high-frequency end of the array is significantly affected, and a larger side lobe appears; when the array element angle is larger than the structural angle, the low-frequency end is more seriously affected, and the main lobe becomes significantly wider. This is because when the array element angle is smaller than the structural angle, the spacing between the corresponding long oscillators of the two array elements is smaller, while the spacing between the corresponding short oscillators is larger. Therefore, the array has larger side lobes at high frequencies, and the broadband characteristics of the array radiation pattern deteriorate. When the array element angle is larger than the structural angle, the spacing between the corresponding short oscillators of the two array elements is smaller, while the spacing between the corresponding long oscillators is larger. Therefore, the main lobe of the radiation pattern of the array at low frequencies is significantly wider, and the broadband characteristics of the array deteriorate. The impedance of the array antenna can be kept consistent throughout the frequency band through fan array. Taking four antenna units as an example, the four antenna units are located on the same vertical plane from top to bottom, with the horizontal line as the axis of symmetry, two antenna units are set at the top and two antenna units are set at the bottom. The angle between the top antenna unit and the bottom antenna unit is 12 degrees. The length of each antenna unit is 20 meters. The antenna units are arranged in a fan shape with a front end interval of 3.5 meters and a rear end interval of 4.9 meters.

[0024] The exciter 100 is used as a signal source to provide corresponding signals, such as generating excitation signals. Correspondingly, in addition, the exciter 100 can also provide digital signals of various other shortwave service types, such as single sideband signals, constant amplitude alarm signals and amplitude modulation signals. The excitation signal generated by the exciter 100 is used to adjust the antenna unit 201 so that the beam of the antenna unit 201 points to the corresponding direction (such as the direction of the user). However, when the excitation signal generated by the exciter 100 is transmitted to the antenna unit 201, the parameter data of the excitation signal will be adjusted by the parameter adjustment device 300 to achieve the optimal excitation of the antenna unit 201 and ensure the best communication effect of shortwave communication.

[0025] In the process that the parameter adjustment device 300 adjusts the excitation signal by adjusting the parameters, the adjustment parameters may refer to amplitude parameters and phase parameters. The excitation signal is equivalent to an electrical signal. Taking the user as an example, when the user moves, for example, the original position of the user is in the north relative to the antenna device. After the user moves, the user's position is in the south relative to the antenna device. At this time, the beam direction and shape of the shortwave communication need to be adaptively adjusted to follow the user, from the original beam concentration facing north to the beam concentration facing south. The parameter adjustment device 300 adjusts the amplitude and phase of the excitation signal by obtaining the adjustment parameters, and then the adjusted excitation signal is input into each antenna unit 201, thereby realizing the adjustment of the beam direction and shape of the antenna unit 201.

[0026] It should be noted that the adjustment parameters can be calculated by the corresponding calculation unit. For example, when it is detected that the direction of the user's incoming wave changes, the calculation software can calculate the adjustment parameters according to the direction of the incoming wave and feed it back to the parameter adjustment device 300. Specifically, this article takes the logarithmic periodic antenna as an example to illustrate the calculation of the adjustment parameters. For the unit logarithmic periodic antenna, since it has multiple cross-fed oscillators, the moment method is generally used in combination with the equivalent transmission matrix in the microwave network theory to process, such as Figure 3 As shown, Figure 3 The logarithmic periodic antenna network model is shown. The unit logarithmic periodic antenna can be regarded as two parts: the dipole network and the collective line network. The moment method is used to calculate the mutual impedance between the dipole network ports. The impedance or admittance matrix of the collective line network is calculated using the microwave network theory. The dipole network and the collective line network are combined by using the relationship that the voltages of the two network ports are equal, and then the current distribution on the antenna is obtained. For short-wave antenna arrays with a height less than one wavelength, the impact of the ground on the antenna is not only the superposition of reflected signals, but also includes the mutual impedance between the array elements. The impact of the ground can be solved by the Green's function of the layered medium. The spectral domain Green's function in the layered medium is obtained by using the equivalent transmission line network, and then the spatial domain form can be obtained by inverse transformation. Then the reaction between the sub-modes is calculated to obtain the impedance matrix. According to the impedance matrix, the current distribution on the antenna can be obtained. According to the current distribution on the antenna, the radiation field can be further solved to obtain the far-field pattern of the antenna array. According to the beam direction and ground effect, the optimal excitation is calculated (the optimal excitation includes the amplitude and phase of each antenna excitation signal (current)). Then, the calculated optimal excitation can be used as an adjustment parameter to adjust the amplitude and phase of the excitation signal generated by the exciter 100 and then transmitted to each antenna unit 201.

[0027] The above-mentioned device adjusts the amplitude and phase of the excitation signal through the parameter adjustment device 300, so that the beam direction and beam shape of the antenna array 200 can be changed, so that when performing long-distance shortwave communication, the maximum beam direction of the antenna array 200 has the smallest loss on the ionospheric transmission channel, thereby improving the shortwave communication effect. At the same time, with the change of the beam direction and beam shape, the signal radiation to the area where the shortwave signal is not needed is greatly reduced, thereby ensuring the security of information transmission and reducing interference with other users. In addition, by forming a vertical fan array with two or more antenna units 201, the superimposed field strength in the air is greatly improved, the beam after the array is more concentrated, and the shortwave signal gain is improved.

[0028] In one embodiment, if Figure 4 As shown, the parameter adjustment device 300 includes a power distributor 301 and a phase shifter 302. The power distributor 301 is connected to the exciter 100. The power distributor 301 is connected to each antenna unit 201 through the phase shifter 302. The power distributor 301 is used to adjust the amplitude of the excitation signal according to the amplitude parameter, and the phase shifter 302 is used to adjust the phase of the excitation signal according to the phase parameter.

[0029] There may be multiple phase shifters 302, and the number of the phase shifters 302 may be the number of antenna units 201, so that the corresponding phase adjustment of the excitation signal transmitted to different antenna units 201 can be satisfied. Taking the number of antenna units 201 as 4 as an example, each antenna unit 201 corresponds to a phase shifter 302, and all the phase shifters 302 are connected to a power distributor 301. After the power distributor 301 adjusts the amplitude of the excitation signal according to the amplitude parameter, each phase shifter 302 adjusts the phase of the excitation signal according to the phase parameter. After different phase shifters 302 adjust the phase of the excitation signal, excitation signals with different phases can be obtained. The excitation signal with adjusted amplitude and phase is transmitted to the corresponding antenna unit 201, thereby adjusting the beam direction and shape of the shortwave communication.

[0030] By dividing the parameter adjustment device 300 into a power distributor 301 and a plurality of phase shifters 302, the amplitude and phase of the excitation signal are adjusted independently, thereby improving the efficiency of data processing.

[0031] In one embodiment, Figure 4 As shown, it also includes an excitation controller 600, which is connected to the phase shifter 302 and the power distributor 301. The excitation controller 600 is used to collect communication parameters of the antenna array 200 and calculate adjustment parameters based on the communication parameters. The communication parameters include the communication azimuth parameters and elevation parameters of the antenna unit 201.

[0032] When the antenna unit 201 performs shortwave communication, the antenna unit 201 has a corresponding communication azimuth and elevation angle. For example, the elevation angle parameters of the antenna unit 201 can be obtained through existing shortwave communication prediction software, and then the excitation controller 600 can calculate the adjustment parameters (i.e., phase parameters and amplitude parameters) according to the acquired elevation angle parameters. At the same time, the excitation controller 600 will send the calculated phase parameters to the four phase shifters 302, and send the calculated amplitude parameters to the power distributor 301. In one embodiment, the excitation controller 600 can use a single-chip microcomputer chip or a DSP chip.

[0033] By using a separate excitation controller 600 to calculate the adjustment parameters, the efficiency of data processing is guaranteed, so that the phase shifter 302 and the power divider 301 can effectively adjust the phase or amplitude of the excitation signal in real time, so that the beam direction and beam shape of the antenna unit 201 can be adjusted in real time to ensure that the maximum beam points to the user or terminal, thereby ensuring the real-time communication effect of shortwave communication.

[0034] In one embodiment, if Figure 4 As shown, the shortwave intelligent antenna device also includes a signal processing device 400, which is connected to the parameter adjustment device 300 and each antenna unit 201. The exciter 100 is also used to generate a digital signal, and the signal processing device 400 is used to receive the digital signal, process the digital signal, and send it to the antenna unit 201.

[0035] The exciter 100 can also generate digital signals of various shortwave service types, such as single sideband signals, constant amplitude alarm signals and amplitude modulation signals, etc. After the signal processing device 400 processes these digital signals, they are transmitted through the antenna unit 201. By setting the signal processing device 400, the exciter 100 as a signal source can not only generate excitation signals, but also generate digital signals of other shortwave service types, so that the entire antenna device can generate more different types of signals, reduce the manufacturing cost of the antenna device, and make the antenna device more applicable.

[0036] Further, in one embodiment, if Figure 4 As shown, the signal processing device 400 may include a digital-to-analog converter 401, which converts the digital signal generated by the exciter 100 into an analog signal and then transmits it to different antenna units 201. Accordingly, the signal processing device 400 may also include a power amplifier 402. When the digital-to-analog converter 401 converts the digital signal into an analog signal, the power amplifier 402 may be used to amplify the analog signal to facilitate the antenna unit 201 to transmit the signal.

[0037] In one embodiment, Figure 4 As shown, the shortwave smart antenna device further includes a feeding network 500, and the power amplifier 402 is connected to each antenna unit 201 through the feeding network 500. Specifically, each antenna unit 201 is connected to a corresponding feeding network 500, each feeding network 500 is connected to a corresponding power amplifier 402, and each power amplifier 402 is connected to a corresponding digital-to-analog converter 401.

[0038] By setting a plurality of feed networks 500, a corresponding feed network 500 is allocated to each antenna unit 201. For example, when there are four antenna units 201, four feed networks 500 can be set, and each antenna unit 201 is individually allocated a feed network 500. The four feed networks 500 are independent of each other. At the same time, each feed network 500 is respectively connected to a power amplifier 402 and a corresponding digital-to-analog converter 401, so that each antenna unit 201 has an independent signal processing channel, which provides effective guarantee for normal signal transmission. Correspondingly, each independent signal processing channel can also be respectively connected to a phase shifter 302 and a power divider 301, so that each antenna unit 201 can be further guaranteed to have an independent parameter adjustment channel, so that the excitation signals transmitted to each antenna unit 201 are different, which is convenient for flexible adjustment of the beam and beam shape of each antenna unit 201.

[0039] In one embodiment, the angle between each antenna unit 201 and the horizontal plane ranges from -6 degrees to 6 degrees.

[0040] Considering that the actual transmitted signal needs to have an elevation angle, and the antenna beam in free space is horizontal, when the two beams are superimposed due to ground reflection when erected close to the ground, the synthetic beam is upturned, so the free space radiation pattern of the antenna array selected in this example is horizontal. From the above analysis, it can be seen that when the array element angle is greater than the structural angle, the radiation characteristics of the four-element double-layer log-periodic antenna fan array are the best, but vertical array erection will bring great trouble, because the shortwave antenna is very large in size to take into account the gain and standing wave of the low frequency band. When the height of the erection close to the ground is too low, the vibrator working in the low frequency band is too close to the ground, which will cause a sharp decrease in efficiency and a rapid decline in antenna performance. In this embodiment, taking four antenna units as an example, the four antenna units 201 are arranged in a vertical fan-shaped array, the angle between the top antenna and the horizontal plane is 6 degrees, the angle between the bottom antenna and the horizontal plane is -6 degrees, and the angles between the two middle antennas and the horizontal plane are -2 degrees and 2 degrees respectively. With this antenna installation method, the performance will not be significantly reduced compared to the optimal array element angle and the angle structure is easy to install.

[0041] The technical features of the above embodiments may be combined arbitrarily. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0042] The above embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present application, and the descriptions thereof are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the invention patent. It should be pointed out that, for a person of ordinary skill in the art, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present application, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent of the present application shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. A high-gain shortwave smart antenna device, characterized in that: The device comprises: An exciter, for generating an excitation signal; An antenna array, wherein the antenna array comprises two or more antenna units, with the horizontal line as the axis of symmetry, and the antenna units are arranged in a vertical fan-shaped array; A parameter adjustment device, connected to the exciter and the antenna array, the parameter adjustment device is used to obtain adjustment parameters of each antenna unit, and adjust the excitation signal according to the adjustment parameters, and send the adjusted excitation signal to the corresponding antenna unit in the antenna array, the adjustment parameters include amplitude parameters and phase parameters; Wherein, the parameter adjustment device includes a power distributor and a phase shifter, the power distributor is connected to the exciter, the power distributor is connected to each antenna unit through the phase shifter, the power distributor is used to adjust the amplitude of the excitation signal according to the amplitude parameter, and the phase shifter is used to adjust the phase of the excitation signal according to the phase parameter; An excitation controller, wherein the excitation controller is connected to the phase shifter and the power distributor, and is used to collect communication parameters of the antenna array and calculate the adjustment parameters based on the communication parameters, wherein the communication parameters include communication azimuth parameters and elevation parameters of the antenna unit.

2. The antenna device according to claim 1, characterized in that It also includes a signal processing device, which is connected to the parameter adjustment device and each antenna unit. The exciter is also used to generate a digital signal. The signal processing device is used to receive the digital signal and send the digital signal to the antenna unit after processing.

3. The antenna device according to claim 2, characterized in that The signal processing device comprises a digital-to-analog converter, which is connected to the parameter adjustment device and each antenna unit. The digital-to-analog converter is used to convert the digital signal into an analog signal and then send it to the antenna unit. 4 . The antenna device according to claim 3 , wherein the signal processing device further comprises a power amplifier, wherein the power amplifier is connected to the digital-to-analog converter and each antenna unit, and wherein the power amplifier is used to amplify the analog signal.

5. The antenna device according to claim 4, characterized in that A feeding network is also included, and the power amplifier is connected to each antenna unit respectively through the feeding network.

6. The antenna device according to claim 5, characterized in that Each antenna unit is connected to a corresponding feeding network, each feeding network is connected to a corresponding power amplifier, and each power amplifier is connected to a corresponding digital-to-analog converter.

7. The antenna device according to claim 1, characterized in that The angle between each antenna unit and the horizontal plane ranges from -6 degrees to 6 degrees.

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