Phased array antenna motion control device and control method thereof

Abstract

The present invention discloses a phased array antenna motion control device and a control method thereof, wherein the phased array antenna motion control device comprises a phased array antenna body and a mechanical execution unit, wherein the phased array antenna body is mounted on the mechanical execution unit; the phased array antenna body comprises an antenna feed unit, a control unit and a first motion sensing unit; the mechanical execution unit comprises an antenna mounting structure and a base, wherein a second motion sensing unit is arranged on the base; and the phased array antenna body is mounted and fixed on the base via the antenna mounting structure. The present invention realizes blind-spot-free scanning by combining the mechanical adjustment of the mechanical execution unit with the phase adjustment of the phased array antenna body; the fast electrical scanning speed of the phased array antenna body ensures the tracking speed; the full airspace scanning method of signal capture and the multiple approximation scanning method of signal tracking ensure the real-time and accuracy of tracking.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a motion control device and a control method thereof, and in particular to a phased array antenna motion control device and a control method thereof. Background Art

[0002] Low-orbit communication satellites have the characteristics of short transmission delay, small path loss, and high communication rate. Low-orbit satellite communication has great advantages over geostationary satellite communication. However, low-orbit satellites are non-stationary relative to the ground and move at a high speed relative to the ground. The antennas of ground communication equipment need to have the ability to quickly and in real time track satellites. At the same time, in order to adapt to the needs of dynamic carriers such as vehicles, ships, and aircraft for satellite communication, ground communication equipment also needs to compensate for the changes in the carrier's attitude to ensure that the antenna remains aligned with the satellite. The current mobile communication antenna is generally a parabolic antenna based on a pitch-azimuth turntable. The turntable movement is a mechanical movement, which has the disadvantages of slow tracking speed and zenith blind spots. When the carrier attitude changes greatly, there may also be scanning blind spots. The phased array antenna can achieve antenna pointing tracking by adjusting the phase, and the speed is very fast. The pointing switching interval is in the microsecond to millisecond level, but the adjustment range of the phased array antenna is limited and is not suitable for tracking large-scale movement of low-orbit satellites. Therefore, the existing technology needs to be improved. Summary of the invention

[0003] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a phased array antenna motion control device and a control method thereof, which combine the mechanical motion of the phased array antenna and the traditional communication-in-motion antenna to achieve rapid tracking without scanning blind spots.

[0004] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve the above-mentioned technical problems is to provide a phased array antenna motion control device, including a phased array antenna main body and a mechanical execution unit, wherein the phased array antenna main body is installed on the mechanical execution unit; the phased array antenna main body includes an antenna feed unit, a control unit and a first motion sensing unit; the mechanical execution unit includes an antenna mounting structure and a base, and a second motion sensing unit is arranged on the base; the phased array antenna main body is installed and fixed on the base through the antenna mounting structure, and the base is arranged on a mobile carrier, and the mobile carrier is a vehicle, a ship or an airplane; the antenna feed unit, the first motion sensing unit, the second motion sensing unit, the mechanical execution unit and the control unit are electrically connected.

[0005] Furthermore, the antenna feed unit is used to transmit and receive electromagnetic waves for satellite communication. The control unit controls the mechanical actuator unit to adjust the posture and orientation of the phased array antenna body through the electromagnetic energy information received by the antenna feed unit, and controls the antenna feed unit to adjust the phase to further adjust the direction of the phased array antenna body; the first motion sensing unit and the second motion sensing unit feed back real-time status information of the phased array antenna body and the mobile carrier to the control unit.

[0006] Furthermore, the first motion sensing unit and the second motion sensing unit both include a three-axis accelerometer, a three-axis magnetometer and a three-axis gyroscope; the first motion sensing unit detects the real-time posture and orientation information of the phased array antenna body, and the second motion sensing unit detects the real-time posture and orientation information of the mobile carrier.

[0007] Furthermore, the antenna mounting structure of the mechanical execution unit includes a small pitch-azimuth turntable, and the antenna mounting structure drives the phased array antenna body to perform pitch movement and horizontal azimuth rotation movement relative to the base and the mobile carrier; the pitch movement angle range of the phased array antenna body is 0-90°, and the horizontal azimuth rotation angle range of the phased array antenna body is 0-360°.

[0008] Another technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve the above-mentioned technical problems is to provide a control method for a phased array antenna motion control device, comprising the following steps: S1: scanning the entire airspace to search for satellite signals, and recording the azimuth with the strongest signal energy, which is the azimuth of the satellite; S2: the control unit controls the mechanical execution unit to adjust the posture and azimuth of the phased array antenna body so that the strongest azimuth falls within the electronic scanning range of the phased array antenna; S3: the control unit performs phase control on the antenna feed system so that the antenna beam is aligned with the azimuth of the satellite to achieve satellite signal capture; S4: as the satellite and the mobile carrier move, multiple approach scans are used to scan the airspace near the satellite azimuth at the previous moment, and the mechanical execution unit or antenna phase is coordinated and controlled so that the phased array antenna beam always points to the azimuth of the signal with the strongest electromagnetic energy to achieve satellite signal tracking and locking.

[0009] Furthermore, the full airspace scan in step S1 includes the following steps: S11: dividing the sky airspace into a plurality of grid partitions; S12: electronically scanning the grid partitions within the electronic scanning area of ​​the phased array antenna; S13: for the grid partitions outside the electronic scanning area of ​​the phased array antenna, the control unit controls the mechanical execution unit to adjust the pitch angle and the azimuth angle for mechanical scanning, so that the grid partitions originally outside the electronic scanning area of ​​the phased array antenna are transformed into grid partitions within the electronic scanning area of ​​the phased array antenna; S14: repeating steps S32-S33 until the scanning of all grid partitions in the nearby airspace is completed; S15: the control unit compares the electromagnetic energy obtained by the scan, and the grid with the largest energy value is the grid with the strongest signal, that is, the azimuth of the satellite.

[0010] Furthermore, the electronic scanning refers to the scanning of the electromagnetic energy of each square partition of the electronic scanning area by the antenna feed unit by changing the direction of the antenna beam by adjusting the phase; the mechanical scanning refers to the mechanical execution unit changing the posture of the antenna body by adjusting the pitch angle and the azimuth angle, and then changing the electronic scanning area; the range of the electronic scanning of the antenna feed unit is a conical airspace of ±60°, the electronic scanning area is a circular area projected from the conical airspace to the airspace, and the electronic scanning area is the range of transmitting or receiving electromagnetic wave beams.

[0011] Furthermore, the electric scanning scans the electromagnetic energy of each square grid partition of the electric scanning area in a traversal manner, and the traversal manner is a manner of rotating outward from a center point, or a serpentine manner of row by row and column by column.

[0012] Furthermore, the multiple approach scans in step S4 specifically include: S41: as the satellite and the mobile carrier move, in order to continuously track the satellite signal, the nearby airspace with the satellite position at the previous moment as the center point is electronically scanned, and the size of the range of the nearby airspace is determined according to the satellite movement speed and the carrier movement speed; S42: the circular area determined by the nearby airspace is electronically scanned once in each of the four directions of up, down, left and right; S43: the control unit compares the electromagnetic energy obtained by the scan, confirms the azimuth with the largest energy value, and takes the azimuth as the new center point, and electronically scans the nearby airspace; S44: when the nearby airspace exceeds the electronic scanning range, the mechanical execution unit adjusts the pitch angle and azimuth angle to change the posture of the phased array antenna body, so that the nearby airspace falls entirely within the electronic scanning range; S45: repeat steps S42-S44 until the azimuth with the largest energy is found, which is the azimuth at the current moment of the satellite.

[0013] Furthermore, in the full-airspace scan for capturing the initial satellite signal and the multiple approach scans for tracking and locking the satellite signal, when the mobile carrier shakes, changes its motion direction or posture, the second motion sensing unit transmits the measured real-time posture and azimuth information of the mobile carrier to the control unit, and the control unit calculates the attitude angle and azimuth angle that need to be compensated for the phased array antenna body, and compensates for the phased array beam pointing by performing phase adjustment through the antenna feed unit. When the compensated attitude angle and azimuth angle calculated by the control unit exceed the electronic scanning range, the mechanical actuator unit adjusts the pitch angle and azimuth angle to compensate for the excess.

[0014] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: the phased array antenna motion control device and control method provided by the present invention realize blind-spot scanning through mechanical adjustment of a mechanical actuator unit combined with phase adjustment of a phased array antenna body; the fast electrical scanning speed of the phased array antenna body ensures tracking speed; the pitch angle and azimuth angle of the phased array antenna body are fed back by a first motion sensing unit to realize closed-loop control of mechanical adjustment; the real-time attitude and azimuth information of the measured mobile carrier is used to perform attitude compensation of the phased array antenna body through a second motion sensing unit to ensure tracking accuracy; the full-space scanning method for signal capture and the multiple approximation scanning method for signal tracking ensure real-time and accuracy of tracking. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 This is a diagram showing the structure of a phased array antenna motion control device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0016] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of airspace division and scanning range in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of rotating traversal electrical scanning in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of serpentine row-by-row traversal electrical scanning in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of multiple approximation scanning in an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0021] Figure 1 4 is a diagram showing the structure of a phased array antenna motion control device in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] See also Figure 1 The phased array antenna motion control device of the embodiment of the present invention comprises a phased array antenna body and a mechanical execution unit, wherein the phased array antenna body is mounted on the mechanical execution unit; the phased array antenna body comprises an antenna feed unit, a control unit and a first motion sensing unit; the mechanical execution unit comprises an antenna mounting structure and a base, wherein a second motion sensing unit is arranged on the base; the phased array antenna body is mounted and fixed on the base through the antenna mounting structure, and the base is arranged on a mobile carrier, and the mobile carrier is a vehicle, a ship or an airplane; the antenna feed unit, the first motion sensing unit, the second motion sensing unit and the mechanical execution unit are electrically connected to the control unit.

[0023] Specifically, in the phased array antenna motion control device of the embodiment of the present invention, the antenna feed unit is used to transmit and receive electromagnetic waves for satellite communication, and the control unit controls the mechanical execution unit to adjust the posture and orientation of the phased array antenna body through the electromagnetic energy information received by the antenna feed unit, and at the same time controls the antenna feed unit to adjust the phase, and further adjusts the direction of the phased array antenna body; the first motion sensing unit and the second motion sensing unit feed back real-time status information of the phased array antenna body and the mobile carrier to the control unit; the first motion sensing unit and the second motion sensing unit both include a three-axis accelerometer, a three-axis magnetometer and a three-axis gyroscope; the first motion sensing unit detects the real-time posture and orientation information of the phased array antenna body, and the second motion sensing unit detects the real-time posture and orientation information of the mobile carrier.

[0024] Preferably, in the phased array antenna motion control device of an embodiment of the present invention, the antenna mounting structure of the mechanical actuator unit includes a small pitch-azimuth turntable, and the antenna mounting structure drives the phased array antenna body to perform pitch motion and horizontal azimuth rotation motion relative to the base and the mobile carrier; the pitch motion angle range of the phased array antenna body is 0-90°, and the horizontal azimuth rotation motion angle range of the phased array antenna body is 0-360°.

[0025] The control method of the phased array antenna motion control device according to the embodiment of the present invention comprises the following steps:

[0026] S1: Scan the entire airspace to search for satellite signals and record the direction with the strongest signal energy, which is the direction of the satellite;

[0027] S2: The control unit controls the mechanical execution unit to adjust the posture and orientation of the phased array antenna body so that the strongest orientation falls within the electronic scanning range of the phased array antenna;

[0028] S3: The control unit performs phase control on the antenna feed system to align the antenna beam with the satellite’s position to achieve satellite signal capture;

[0029] S4: As the satellite and mobile carrier move, multiple close scans are used to scan the airspace near the satellite position at the previous moment, and the mechanical actuator or antenna phase is coordinated and controlled so that the phased array antenna beam always points to the signal position with the strongest electromagnetic energy, thereby achieving satellite signal tracking and locking.

[0030] The scanning methods of the phased array antenna body include electronic scanning and mechanical scanning. Electronic scanning refers to the scanning of the electromagnetic energy in the electronic scanning area by the antenna feed unit by adjusting the phase to change the antenna pointing; the mechanical scanning refers to the scanning of the nearby airspace by the mechanical actuator unit by adjusting the pitch angle and azimuth angle to change the antenna pointing; the range of the electronic scanning of the antenna feed unit is a conical airspace of ±60°, and the electronic scanning area is a circular area projected from the conical airspace to the nearby airspace. The electronic scanning area is the range covered by an electromagnetic wave beam, and its range size is determined by the beam width of the phased array antenna body. In the electronic scanning blind area, the mechanical actuator outputs additional pitch angles and azimuth angles for adjustment, so as to perform full airspace scanning.

[0031] The whole airspace scan is to divide the airspace into multiple grid partitions, where the large circle represents the nearby airspace and the small circle represents the electronic scanning area. The whole airspace scan specifically includes: electronically scanning the grid partitions located in the electronic scanning area in the nearby airspace; mechanically scanning by adjusting the pitch angle and azimuth angle of the mechanical actuator; Figure 2 In the small solid circle, each square is directly electronically scanned; in the electronic scanning blind area Figure 2 Outside the small and medium circles, the mechanical execution unit first outputs an attitude angle and azimuth angle to make the blind area enter the electronic scanning range, such as Figure 2 The small dotted circle in the middle, and then each square in the range is electronically scanned. After the mechanical execution unit outputs an attitude angle and an azimuth angle, the original blind area becomes the reachable range of the electronic scan; repeat the electronic scan and mechanical scan until all the square partitions of the nearby airspace are scanned. The control unit compares the electromagnetic energy obtained by the scan. The square with the largest energy value has the strongest signal, which is the direction of the satellite, and the signal capture is completed.

[0032] When mechanical scanning is combined with electric scanning to traverse each square in the nearby airspace, the traversal method is to rotate outward from the center point, or to traverse in a serpentine column / row manner, such as Figure 3 or Figure 4 The directed line direction.

[0033] During the signal capture phase, when the mobile carrier shakes, changes its direction of movement or changes its posture, the phased array antenna body is subjected to posture compensation during the full airspace scanning process. The second motion sensing unit transmits the measured real-time posture and azimuth information of the mobile carrier to the control unit. The control unit calculates the attitude angle and azimuth angle that need to be compensated for the phased array antenna body, and compensates for the pointing direction of the phased array body by performing phase adjustment through the antenna feed unit. When the compensated attitude angle and azimuth angle calculated by the control unit exceed the electronic scanning range, the mechanical actuator unit adjusts the pitch angle and azimuth angle to compensate for the excess.

[0034] After capturing the signal, due to the movement of the carrier and the satellite, the beam of the phased array antenna body still remains in the direction of the satellite at the previous moment, thus deviating from the actual satellite. The phased array antenna body then performs multiple approach scans of the nearby airspace and points to the signal maximum value to achieve signal tracking.

[0035] See also Figure 5 , the control method of the phased array antenna motion control device of the embodiment of the present invention, the solid line large circle represents the nearby airspace, the dashed line small circle represents the beam coverage of the phased array antenna body, the dashed line five-pointed star represents the satellite at the previous moment, and the solid line five-pointed star represents the satellite at the current moment. The phased array antenna body will perform an electronic scan in the nearby airspace, for example, Figure 5 The signal energy is detected in the order of top, bottom, left and right, and the detected electromagnetic energy is sent to the control unit for judgment, which can further lock the satellite's position, such as Figure 5 By performing multiple electronic scans in this way, the range can be gradually narrowed and the direction of the satellite at the current moment can be obtained.

[0036] Multiple approach scans specifically include:

[0037] S41: As the satellite and the mobile carrier move, in order to continuously track the satellite signal, the airspace near the satellite position at the previous moment as the center point is electronically scanned, and the size of the airspace near the center point is determined according to the satellite movement speed and the carrier movement speed;

[0038] S42: electronically scan the circular area determined by the nearby airspace in four directions, namely, up, down, left, and right.

[0039] S43: The control unit compares the electromagnetic energy obtained by scanning, determines the direction with the maximum energy value, takes the direction as the new center point, and performs an electrical scan on the airspace near the direction;

[0040] S44: When the nearby airspace exceeds the electronic scanning range, the mechanical execution unit adjusts the pitch angle and the azimuth angle to change the posture of the phased array antenna body so that the nearby airspace falls into the electronic scanning range;

[0041] S45: Repeat steps S42-S44 until the direction with the maximum energy is found, which is the direction where the satellite is at the current moment.

[0042] In summary, the phased array antenna motion control device and control method of the embodiment of the present invention realize blind-spot scanning through the mechanical adjustment of the mechanical actuator unit combined with the phase adjustment of the phased array antenna body; the electrical scanning speed of the phased array antenna body is fast to ensure the tracking speed; the pitch angle and azimuth angle of the phased array antenna body are fed back by the first motion sensing unit to realize closed-loop control of the mechanical adjustment; the real-time posture and azimuth information of the measured mobile carrier is used to perform posture compensation of the phased array antenna body through the second motion sensing unit; the tracking accuracy is guaranteed; the full-space scanning method of signal capture and the multiple approximation scanning method of signal tracking ensure the real-time and accuracy of tracking.

[0043] Although the present invention has been disclosed as above with preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art may make some modifications and improvements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention shall be based on the definition of the claims.

Claims

1. A control method for a phased array antenna motion control device, characterized in that: The phased array antenna motion control device comprises a phased array antenna body and a mechanical execution unit, wherein the phased array antenna body is mounted on the mechanical execution unit; the phased array antenna body comprises an antenna feed unit, a control unit and a first motion sensing unit; the mechanical execution unit comprises an antenna mounting structure and a base, wherein a second motion sensing unit is arranged on the base; the phased array antenna body is mounted and fixed on the base through the antenna mounting structure, and the base is arranged on a mobile carrier, wherein the mobile carrier is a vehicle, a ship or an airplane; the antenna feed unit, the first motion sensing unit, the second motion sensing unit and the mechanical execution unit are electrically connected to the control unit; The control method comprises the following steps: S1: Scan the entire airspace to search for satellite signals and record the direction with the strongest signal energy, which is the direction of the satellite; S2: The control unit controls the mechanical execution unit to adjust the posture and orientation of the phased array antenna body so that the strongest orientation falls within the electronic scanning range of the phased array antenna; S3: The control unit performs phase control on the antenna feed system to align the antenna beam with the satellite’s position to achieve satellite signal capture; S4: As the satellite and mobile carrier move, multiple close scans are used to scan the airspace near the satellite position at the previous moment, and the mechanical actuator or antenna phase is coordinated and controlled so that the phased array antenna beam always points to the position with the strongest electromagnetic energy signal, thus achieving satellite signal tracking and locking; The full airspace scanning in step S1 includes the following steps: S11: Divide the sky space into multiple grid partitions; S12: electronically scanning the square grid partitions located in the electronic scanning area of ​​the phased array antenna; S13: For the square partition located outside the electronic scanning area of ​​the phased array antenna, the control unit controls the mechanical execution unit to adjust the pitch angle and the azimuth angle to perform mechanical scanning, so that the square partition originally located outside the electronic scanning area of ​​the phased array antenna is transformed into the square partition within the electronic scanning area of ​​the phased array antenna; S14: Repeat steps S32-S33 until all grid partitions in the nearby airspace are scanned; S15: The control unit compares the electromagnetic energy obtained by scanning, and the square with the largest energy value is the square with the strongest signal, that is, the position of the satellite.

2. The control method of the phased array antenna motion control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The antenna feed unit is used to transmit and receive electromagnetic waves for satellite communication. The control unit controls the mechanical actuator unit to adjust the posture and orientation of the phased array antenna body through the electromagnetic energy information received by the antenna feed unit, and controls the antenna feed unit to adjust the phase to further adjust the direction of the phased array antenna body. The first motion sensing unit and the second motion sensing unit feed back real-time status information of the phased array antenna body and the mobile carrier to the control unit.

3. The control method of the phased array antenna motion control device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first motion sensing unit and the second motion sensing unit both include a three-axis accelerometer, a three-axis magnetometer and a three-axis gyroscope; the first motion sensing unit detects the real-time posture and orientation information of the phased array antenna body, and the second motion sensing unit detects the real-time posture and orientation information of the mobile carrier.

4. The control method of the phased array antenna motion control device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The antenna mounting structure of the mechanical execution unit includes a small pitch-azimuth turntable, and the antenna mounting structure drives the phased array antenna body to perform pitch movement and horizontal azimuth rotation movement relative to the base and the mobile carrier; the pitch movement angle range of the phased array antenna body is 0-90°, and the horizontal azimuth rotation angle range of the phased array antenna body is 0-360°.

5. The control method of the phased array antenna motion control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The electronic scanning refers to the scanning of the electromagnetic energy of each square partition of the electronic scanning area by the antenna feed unit by changing the direction of the antenna beam by adjusting the phase; the mechanical scanning refers to the mechanical execution unit changing the posture of the antenna body by adjusting the pitch angle and azimuth angle, and then changing the electronic scanning area; the range of the electronic scanning of the antenna feed unit is a conical airspace of ±60°, the electronic scanning area is the circular area projected from the conical airspace to the airspace, and the electronic scanning area is the range of transmitting or receiving electromagnetic wave beams.

6. The control method of the phased array antenna motion control device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The electric scanning scans the electromagnetic energy of each square grid partition of the electric scanning area in a traversal manner, and the traversal manner is a manner of rotating outward from a center point, or a serpentine manner of column by column / row by row.

7. The control method of the phased array antenna motion control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The multiple approach scans in step S4 specifically include: S41: As the satellite and the mobile carrier move, in order to continuously track the satellite signal, the airspace near the satellite position at the previous moment as the center point is electronically scanned, and the size of the airspace near the center point is determined according to the satellite movement speed and the carrier movement speed; S42: electronically scan the circular area determined by the nearby airspace in four directions, namely, up, down, left, and right. S43: The control unit compares the electromagnetic energy obtained by scanning, determines the direction with the maximum energy value, takes the direction as the new center point, and performs an electrical scan on the airspace near the direction; S44: When the nearby airspace exceeds the electronic scanning range, the mechanical execution unit adjusts the pitch angle and the azimuth angle to change the posture of the phased array antenna body so that the nearby airspace falls into the electronic scanning range; S45: Repeat steps S42-S44 until the direction with the maximum energy is found, which is the direction where the satellite is at the current moment.

8. The control method of the phased array antenna motion control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: During the full-airspace scan for capturing the initial satellite signal and the multiple approach scans for tracking and locking the satellite signal, when the mobile carrier shakes, changes its direction of motion or changes its attitude, the second motion sensing unit transmits the measured real-time attitude and azimuth information of the mobile carrier to the control unit, and the control unit calculates the attitude angle and azimuth angle that need to be compensated for the phased array antenna body, and compensates for the phased array beam pointing by performing phase adjustment through the antenna feed unit. When the compensated attitude angle and azimuth angle calculated by the control unit exceed the electronic scanning range, the mechanical actuator unit adjusts the pitch angle and azimuth angle to compensate for the excess.

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