Antenna combining method with stable power output

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of multi-working combining, in particular to an antenna combining method with stable power output, which adopts a multi-channel combiner, the multi-channel combiner comprises two or more channel units, a combining unit and a combining detector, each channel unit corresponds to one radio station, all channel units are connected with the combining unit, and then connected with the combining detector and output to the antenna, the radio station power amplifier module is separated out and designed in one body with the antenna combiner, so that the cable insertion loss between the original radio station and the antenna combiner is avoided, and the size of the radio station is reduced; meanwhile, the two-time detection and the attenuator are cooperated, so that the output power of the antenna port of the antenna combiner is stable, the overall output power stability of the radio station is improved, and the problem of shortening of communication distance caused by the insertion loss of the antenna combiner is solved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of multi-working combining, in particular to an antenna combining method with stable power output. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the development of informationization of military weapon platform, the communication systems and electronic devices of vehicle-mounted, airborne and shipboard are increasing, which makes the electromagnetic environment extremely complex and severe, and even greatly affects the normal communication distance and quality. For various types of communication bearing platforms, multiple antennas are installed on the carriers, due to the size limitation of the carriers, mutual interference, crosstalk and even local radio burning are caused between multiple radios. The use of antenna combiner can greatly reduce the number of antennas and improve the electromagnetic compatibility environment, which not only guarantees the communication quality, but also reduces the target identification characteristics, and guarantees the safety of important communication nodes, weapons and combat personnel.

[0003] The antenna combiner is an important electromagnetic compatibility device, simply speaking, it is an intermediate device for multiple electronic devices to share one antenna, and is an indispensable equipment for wireless integration. The advantages of this type of product mainly include:

[0004] a) providing selective filtering to improve the frequency domain anti-interference ability of wireless devices and improve the electromagnetic compatibility performance;

[0005] b) making full use of modern wideband antenna technology to save antenna, transmission line and equipment installation cost;

[0006] c) reducing mutual interference between antennas and effectively improving the co-site working ability of radios.

[0007] Although the antenna combiner has many advantages, it also has the disadvantage of large channel insertion loss. The existing antenna combiner is composed of radio frequency switches and filter banks inside, and each channel has an insertion loss of about 2-3 dB, which causes a loss of nearly half of the radio frequency signal of the radio. When actually used in vehicles, the connection cable between the radio and the antenna combiner will also cause a loss of the radio signal.

[0008] In order to reduce the insertion loss of the antenna combiner, the Q value of the filter needs to be improved. The use of superconducting materials or increasing the volume of the filter can improve the Q value of the filter, but it will lead to complex structure and large volume of the manufactured antenna combiner device, which cannot meet the requirements of vehicle-mounted communication. After the radio signal passes through the antenna combiner, the output signal is attenuated due to the unavoidable loss of the antenna combiner, which weakens the received signal and affects normal communication. SUMMARY

[0009] The application aims to provide an antenna combining method with stable power output, which realizes the same power signal output of each radio station at the antenna port, makes up the insertion loss of traditional antenna combiner and the insertion loss of connection cable between radio station and antenna combiner, improves the performance of radio station, increases the communication distance, and meanwhile, the power amplifier module of radio station is stripped, and the size of radio station is reduced.

[0010] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the application provides an antenna combining method with stable power output, which adopts a multi-channel combiner, the multi-channel combiner comprises a plurality of channel units, a combining unit and a combining detector, the plurality of channel units are connected with the combining unit respectively, the output of the combining unit is connected with the combining detector, and the number of the channel units is greater than or equal to two.

[0011] The channel unit comprises a detector, an attenuator, an amplifier and a filter, the detector, the attenuator, the amplifier and the filter are sequentially connected in order, the circuit and structure in each channel unit are the same, but the working state is different, the filter is a frequency hopping filter, and the working frequencies of the filters in different channel units are ensured to have a certain interval.

[0012] The antenna combining method with stable power output comprises the following steps:

[0013] Step 1: during production and debugging, a standard power source is used to simulate the radio signal of the channel unit, the attenuator of the corresponding channel unit is set to the straight-through state, the 0 dB attenuation gear is selected, the detection voltage of the combining detector is detected, when the output power of the combining detector is higher than the predetermined power, the attenuation gear of the channel unit attenuator is adjusted until the output voltage of the combining detector is equal to the predetermined power;

[0014] Step 2: during normal use, firstly, a self-checking program is started, the channel unit radio station transmits the full-band signal in order, and the corresponding channel unit detector is used to detect the radio station transmission power, when the radio station transmission power is higher than the standard power source level, the gear of the channel unit attenuator is increased, when the radio station transmission power is lower than the standard power source level, the gear of the channel unit attenuator is reduced, the output power of the combining detector is ensured to be stable, and after all the adjustments are completed, the control unit records all the attenuation gears;

[0015] Step 3: the radio stations of the remaining channels perform the same operation, and the attenuation gears of the corresponding attenuators are also stored in the control unit, until all the radio stations obtain stable power output at the output end of the combining detector;

[0016] Step 4: the receiving process of each radio station is the inverse process of the transmission, during the receiving, the attenuators are all set to the 0 dB attenuation gear.

[0017] The amplifiers in different channel units are designed uniformly, and the working states are kept uniform, and the attenuation amount of the attenuator is determined by the detection voltages of the detector of each channel unit and the detection voltage of the combining detector.

[0018] The detector of each channel unit and the combining detector feed back the detection voltages to the external control unit, and the attenuator, the amplifier and the filter are controlled by the control unit.

[0019] The attenuation amount of the attenuator is determined according to the detection voltages before and after the detector of each channel unit and the combining detector to ensure uniform combining output power.

[0020] The input end of each channel unit is connected with a radio station, different channel units are connected with different radio stations, and the output end of the combining detector is connected with an antenna.

[0021] The starting process of the antenna combiner with stable power output is that: firstly, a self-checking program is started, the detector of each channel unit completes detection of the input signal of the radio station, the combining detector completes power detection after combining, and the attenuator gear of the corresponding channel unit is adjusted according to the two detection results.

[0022] The self-checking of each channel unit is sequentially performed, and the attenuator gear is designed in two levels to ensure the need for coarse adjustment and fine adjustment of the power level, and the attenuator gear after self-checking of each channel unit is stored in the external control unit.

[0023] The application provides an antenna combining method with stable power output, which adopts a multi-channel combiner, the multi-channel combiner includes two or more channel units, a combining unit and a combining detector, each radio station corresponds to a channel unit, all the channel units are connected with the combining unit, and then connected with the combining detector and output to an antenna, a radio station power amplifier module is separated out and designed in one body with the antenna combiner, cable insertion loss between the original radio station and the antenna combiner is avoided, and the size of the radio station is reduced, twice detection and attenuator cooperation are adopted to ensure stable output power at the antenna port of the antenna combiner, improve the overall output power stability of the radio station, and solve the problem of shortened communication distance caused by the insertion loss of the antenna combiner. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0024] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments or the prior art description. Obviously, the drawings in the following description only some embodiments of the present application, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained without creative labor on the basis of these drawings.

[0025] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the principle structure of an existing antenna combiner.

[0026] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the principle structure of an antenna combining method with stable power output according to the present application.

[0027] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the principle structure of a channel unit 1 according to the present application.

[0028] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the principle structure of an attenuator according to the present application.

[0029] 1 - protection switch, 2 - filter, 3 - combining unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] Embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings, which show by way of example, embodiments in which the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions are denoted by the same reference numbers throughout the drawings. The embodiments described below with reference to the drawings are exemplary and are intended to explain the present application, and are not to be understood as limiting the present application.

[0031] The principle structure of an antenna combiner widely used at present is shown in Figure 1 A radio station is connected to a protection switch 1, the protection switch 1 is connected to a frequency hopping filter 2, then connected to a combining unit 3, and finally connected to an antenna. Multiple signals generated by multiple radio stations enter the combining unit to be combined into one signal through the corresponding multiple frequency hopping filters, and are transmitted outward from the same antenna. Since the frequency hopping filters and the combining unit of the antenna combiner have large losses, in order to reduce the insertion loss of the antenna combiner, generally, the Q value of the frequency hopping filter is increased, for which superconducting materials or the size of the frequency hopping filter is increased, which leads to a complex structure. The antenna combiner device manufactured in this way is bulky and cannot meet the requirements of vehicle-mounted communication. After the radio station signal passes through the antenna combiner, the output signal is attenuated due to the unavoidable losses of the antenna combiner, the received signal is weakened, and normal communication is affected.

[0032] Referring to Figures 2 to 4 , the present application proposes an antenna combining method with stable power output. The antenna combining method with stable power output uses a multi-channel combiner, which includes a plurality of channel units, a combining unit and a combining detector. The plurality of channel units are connected to the combining unit, the output of the combining unit is connected to the combining detector, and the number of channel units is greater than or equal to two.

[0033] The channel unit comprises a detector, an attenuator, an amplifier and a filter, which are sequentially connected in order, the circuit in each channel unit is the same in structure but different in working state, the filter is a frequency hopping filter, and the working frequencies of the filters in different channel units are ensured to have a certain interval. The amplifiers are designed to be consistent and have the same working state. The attenuation of the attenuator is determined by the detection voltage of each channel detector and the detection voltage of the combining detector.

[0034] The application will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments:

[0035] Specifically, as shown in the drawings, Figure 2 The application comprises a combining unit and a combining detector, and further comprises detectors 1-n, attenuators 1-n, amplifiers 1-n, filters 1-n and an external control unit (not shown in the drawings) of two or more channel units. The detectors 1-n are connected with radios 1-n to complete the detection of the radio signals. The combining detector completes the detection of the combining output signals, and controls the corresponding attenuator according to the detection voltages before and after detection, so as to realize the stable output of the channel power level.

[0036] The radio 1 is connected with the input end of the detector 1, the output end of the detector 1 is connected with the input end of the attenuator 1, the output end of the attenuator 1 is connected with the input end of the amplifier 1, the output end of the amplifier 1 is connected with the input end of the filter 1, the output end of the filter 1 is connected with the input end of the combining unit, the output end of the combiner unit is connected with the input end of the combining detector, and the output end of the combining detector is connected with the antenna.

[0037] The radio 2 is connected with the input end of the detector 2, the output end of the detector 2 is connected with the input end of the attenuator 2, the output end of the attenuator 2 is connected with the input end of the amplifier 2, the output end of the amplifier 2 is connected with the input end of the filter 2, the output end of the filter 2 is connected with the input end of the combining unit, the output end of the combiner unit is connected with the input end of the combining detector, and the output end of the combining detector is connected with the antenna.

[0038] In this way, each channel is connected with the combining unit and the combining detector. The detection voltages of the detector of each channel and the combining detector are fed back to the control unit (not shown), and the attenuator, the amplifier and the filter are controlled by the control unit.

[0039] The working process of the application is as follows:

[0040] For details, Figure 2 When the radio 1 transmits a signal, the radio 1 signal is detected by the detector 1, and then sequentially passes through the attenuator 1, the amplifier 1, the filter 1, the combining unit and the combining detector. During the production and debugging of the antenna combiner, a standard power source is first used to simulate the radio 1 signal (the power level of the power source should be lower than that of the radio 1 signal), and the attenuator 1 is set to be in a straight-through state (for example, the attenuation of the attenuator 1 is set to be 0 dB).Figure 4 As shown in FIG. 1, the detection voltage of the detection detector is detected, and when the output power of the detection detector is higher than the predetermined power, the attenuation position of the attenuator 1 is adjusted until the output voltage of the detection detector is equal to the predetermined power. In the connection station and normal use, the antenna detection device first starts the self-checking program, and the station 1 transmits the full frequency signal in sequence, and the detection detector 1 is used to detect the station transmitting power. When the station transmitting power is higher than the standard power source level, the position of the attenuator 1 is increased, and when the station transmitting power is lower than the standard power source level, the position of the attenuator 1 is decreased, so as to ensure that the output power of the detection detector is stable. After the adjustment is completed, the control unit records all the attenuation positions (such as Figure 3 As shown in FIG. 1).

[0041] When the station 2 transmits the signal, the working process is similar to that of the station 1, and finally the attenuation position of the attenuator 2 is also stored in the control unit.

[0042] By analogy, all stations can obtain stable power output at the output end of the detection detector.

[0043] The receiving process of each station is the inverse process of the transmitting process. When receiving, all attenuators are set to 0dB attenuation position.

[0044] The above-mentioned attenuators, amplifiers and filters are controlled by the control unit to realize the switching of the attenuation position and the working frequency.

[0045] The above-mentioned detectors 1-n and the detection detector feed back the detection voltage to the control unit, and the control unit judges the size of the corresponding channel radio frequency power according to the detection voltage.

[0046] The above-mentioned attenuator is set to two-stage attenuation, and the two-stage combination can combine more attenuation positions, such as Figure 4 As shown in FIG. 1. The present application Figure 4 0dB-7.5dB (step 0.5dB), 8dB-21dB (step 1dB) can be combined. Therefore, the output power can be controlled and adjusted with 0.5dB accuracy when 0dB-7.5dB (step 0.5dB), and the power positions such as large power and small power (generally, the power positions are different by 10dB) can be set.

[0047] In summary, each station signal is transmitted through the antenna after being appropriately attenuated, amplified and filtered. Since the attenuation amount of the attenuator is determined according to the detection voltage before and after, the stability of the detection output power can be ensured.

[0048] The application has the advantages that the radio power amplifier module is separated from the antenna combiner, the cable insertion loss between the original radio and the antenna combiner is avoided, and the size of the radio is reduced. The twice detection and the attenuator are cooperated to ensure the stable output power of the antenna port of the antenna combiner, improve the overall output power stability of the radio, and solve the problem of the shortened communication distance caused by the insertion loss of the antenna combiner.

[0049] The above only discloses one preferred embodiment of the application, and of course cannot limit the scope of the application. Those skilled in the art can understand that the implementation of all or part of the above-mentioned embodiments, and the equivalent changes made according to the claims of the application, still belong to the scope covered by the application.

Claims

1. An antenna combining method with stable power output, using a multi-channel combiner, characterized in that, the multi-channel combiner comprises a plurality of channel units, a combining unit and a combining detector, the plurality of channel units are connected with the combining unit respectively, the output of the combining unit is connected with the combining detector, and the number of the channel units is greater than or equal to two; the channel unit comprises a detector, an attenuator, an amplifier and a filter, the detector, the attenuator, the amplifier and the filter are sequentially connected in order, the circuit and structure in each channel unit are the same, but the working state is different, the filter is a frequency hopping filter, and the working frequencies of the filters in different channel units are ensured to have a certain interval; the amplifiers in different channel units are designed to be consistent, and the working states are also kept consistent, and the attenuation amount of the attenuator is determined by the detector voltage of each channel unit and the detector voltage of the combining detector; the self-check of each channel is sequentially performed in order, and the attenuator gear is designed in two levels, which can be combined to 0dB-7.5dB and 8dB-21dB gears, and the steps are 0.5dB and 1dB respectively, so that the coarse adjustment and fine adjustment needs of the power level are ensured, and the attenuation gears of each channel unit are stored on the external control unit respectively; the input end of each channel unit is connected with a radio station, different channel units are connected with different radio stations, and the output end of the combining detector is connected with an antenna; the antenna combining method with stable power output comprises the following steps: step 1: during production and debugging, a standard power source is used to simulate the channel unit radio station signal, the corresponding channel unit attenuator is set to a straight-through state, the 0dB attenuation gear is selected, the detector voltage of the combining detector is detected, when the output power of the combining detector is higher than the predetermined power, the attenuation gear of the channel unit attenuator is adjusted until the output voltage of the combining detector is equal to the predetermined power; step 2: during normal use, the self-check program is started first, the channel unit radio station transmits full-band signals in order, and the radio station transmission power is detected by using the corresponding channel unit detector, when the radio station transmission power is higher than the standard power source level, the gear of the channel unit attenuator is increased, when the radio station transmission power is lower than the standard power source level, the gear of the channel unit attenuator is decreased, so that the output power of the combining detector is ensured to be stable, and after the adjustment is completed, the control unit records all the attenuation gears; step 3: the radio stations of the remaining channels perform the same operation, and the attenuation gears of the corresponding attenuators are also stored in the control unit, until all the radio stations obtain stable power output at the output end of the combining detector; step 4: the receiving process of each radio station is the inverse process of the transmission, and when receiving, the attenuators are all set to the 0dB attenuation gear.

2. The antenna combining method with stable power output according to claim 1, characterized in that, the detector of each channel unit and the combining detector all feed back the detector voltage to the external control unit, and the attenuator, the amplifier and the filter are all controlled by the control unit.

3. The antenna combining method with stable power output according to claim 2, characterized in that, The starting process of the antenna combiner with stable power output comprises the following steps: firstly, starting a self-checking program; a detector of each channel unit detects a radio input signal; a combiner detector completes combiner detection; and according to the two detection results, the attenuator gear position of the corresponding channel unit is adjusted.

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