Phased array antenna with adaptive beam pointing function

Abstract

The invention discloses a phased-array antenna with a self-adaptive beam pointing function, and relates to the technical field of phased-array antennae, and the phased-array antenna comprises a phased-array antenna body and a beam pointing control module. The beam pointing control module is used for obtaining the position information of a carrier platform where the phased-array antenna body is located; comparing a beam direction corresponding to the position information with a target beam direction, and obtaining pointing information according to a comparison result; and adjusting the current beam direction through the pointing information, so that the current beam direction points to the target beam direction. According to the invention, the position and angle information of the platform where the phased-array antenna is located at the current moment can be sensed, and the position information of the platform is monitored in real time. And obtaining a position difference value between the beam direction corresponding to the current moment and the target beam direction, and obtaining pointing information based on the position difference. According to the invention, the efficiency of beam alignment and beam tracking of the phased-array antenna is greatly improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of phased array antennas, and in particular to a phased array antenna with an adaptive beam pointing function. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous development of phased array technology, it is increasingly being used in applications such as aircraft satellite communications, system detection, and telemetry and remote sensing. Through the beamforming function of the phased array, high-gain far-field beams and precise beam pointing can be achieved.

[0003] Currently, after the phased array antenna is powered on for the first time, it takes a long time to align the beam. Generally speaking, after the first power-on, the phased array antenna needs to traverse the beam within its scannable range until the calibration is completed. If the carrier platform of the phased array antenna is displaced during operation, especially after angular displacement such as roll and pitch, the beam cannot be aligned in time, affecting the mission performance of the phased array. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present invention provides a phased array antenna with an adaptive beam pointing function, which solves the problem that if the carrier platform of the existing phased array antenna is displaced during operation, the beam cannot be aligned in time, thus affecting the mission performance of the phased array.

[0005] In a first aspect, the present invention provides a phased array antenna with an adaptive beam pointing function, comprising a phased array antenna body and a beam pointing control module: The beam pointing control module is used to obtain the position information of the carrier platform where the phased array antenna body is located, compare the beam direction corresponding to the position information with the target beam direction, and obtain the pointing information according to the comparison result; the phased array antenna body adjusts the current beam direction according to the pointing information so that the current beam direction points to the target beam direction; The obtaining of the position information of the carrier platform where the phased array antenna body is located, comparing the beam direction corresponding to the position information with the target beam direction, and obtaining the pointing information according to the comparison result, includes: Obtaining the first position of the carrier platform at the last moment and the second position at the current moment; wherein the beam direction corresponding to the first position points to the target beam direction; If the second position is different from the first position, the aperture surface phase distribution of the phased array antenna body at the last moment is obtained according to the target beam direction; at the same time, the position difference between the beam direction corresponding to the current moment and the target beam direction is obtained, and the corresponding phase gradient is obtained based on the position difference; The phase gradient is superimposed on the aperture plane phase distribution at the previous moment to obtain the aperture plane phase distribution at the current moment, and the pointing information is obtained through the aperture plane phase distribution at the current moment.

[0006] Preferably, the position difference includes a pitch angle difference and an azimuth angle difference.

[0007] Preferably, the corresponding phase gradient is obtained based on the position difference, as shown below: ; In the formula, is the phase gradient distribution, i is the target beam number, m is the horizontal serial number of the antenna element, n is the vertical serial number of the antenna element, is the operating wavelength of the phased array, is the beam elevation angle, is the azimuth of the beam, and is the relative coordinate of the antenna element in the phased array.

[0008] Preferably, the beam pointing control module includes a micro gyroscope and a corresponding control circuit. The micro gyroscope is used to sense the position information of the carrier platform. The control circuit thereof is integrated with a beam control algorithm for comparing the beam direction corresponding to the position information with the target beam direction, and obtaining the pointing information according to the comparison result.

[0009] Preferably, the phased array antenna body comprises: A feed network module, used for distributing the total RF input signal fed into the phased array antenna to multiple array element channels; The amplitude and phase control component is electrically connected to the feed network module and is used to perform arbitrary phase control and amplitude control on the RF signal of each array element channel of the phased array antenna within the range of 0 degrees to 360 degrees; The amplitude-phase control module is electrically connected to the amplitude-phase regulation component and is used for providing direct current bias power supply and signal bus control to the amplitude-phase regulation component.

[0010] Preferably, the amplitude and phase control component is implemented by a discrete microwave circuit or a lumped radio frequency amplitude and phase control chip; When the amplitude and phase control components are implemented with discrete microwave circuits, DC bias voltage control is adopted; When the amplitude and phase control component is implemented with a radio frequency amplitude and phase control chip, signal bus control is adopted.

[0011] Preferably, the amplitude and phase control module and the beam pointing control module are integrated with or separately designed with the phased array.

[0012] Preferably, the amplitude and phase control component is integrated with the feed network module through a printed circuit board, low temperature co-fired ceramics or micro-assembly process.

[0013] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: The present invention proposes a beam pointing control module, which can sense the position and angle information of the carrier platform where the phased array antenna is currently located, and monitor the position information of the carrier platform in real time. If the position changes, the position difference between the beam direction corresponding to the current moment and the target beam direction is obtained, and the corresponding phase gradient is obtained based on the position difference, and it is superimposed with the aperture plane phase distribution at the previous moment to obtain the aperture plane phase distribution at the current moment. The pointing information is obtained through the aperture plane phase distribution at the current moment, and the current beam direction is adjusted through the pointing information, so that the beam can be aligned in real time. The present invention greatly improves the efficiency of beam alignment and beam tracking of phased array antennas. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0015] Figure 1 is a structural diagram of a feed network module of the present invention; Figure 2 It is a structural diagram of the amplitude and phase control component of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a physical diagram of the amplitude and phase control module of the present invention; Figure 4 is a structural diagram of a beam pointing control module of the present invention; Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the feeding network module of the present invention on different carriers; Figure 6 The flowchart of the present invention is to obtain the pointing information.

[0016] In the figure: 101 - amplitude and phase control component, 102 - feeding network module, 103 - amplitude and phase control module, 104 - beam pointing control module. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0018] Reference Figure 5For example, in drones or remote sensing, the carrier platform often moves, especially after angular displacements such as roll and pitch, the existing phased array antenna cannot align the beam in time. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a phased array antenna with adaptive beam pointing function. By introducing a beam pointing control module with adaptive beam pointing function composed of a micro gyroscope and a corresponding control circuit, the position information and angle information of the platform where the phased array antenna is located can be sensed, and the direction of the radiation beam can be adaptively adjusted.

[0019] The phased array antenna of the present invention includes an amplitude and phase control component 101, a feed network module 102, an amplitude and phase control module 103, and a beam pointing control module 104. By introducing the beam pointing control module 104 composed of a micro gyroscope and a corresponding control circuit, the position and angle information of the platform where the phased array antenna is located can be sensed. The beam control algorithm integrated in the control circuit realizes the solution of the beam pointing, thereby realizing a phased array antenna with adaptive beam pointing function. Figure 1-Figure 4 The feed network module 102 is the largest part in terms of area and volume, and is also the part of the system that is exposed to the outside. The amplitude and phase control component 101 is distributed on the back of the feed network module 102, and the two are integrated. The amplitude and phase control module 103 and the beam pointing control module 104 can be integrated with the amplitude and phase control component 101, or they can be separated and connected by cables.

[0020] The amplitude and phase control component 101 is responsible for performing arbitrary phase control and amplitude control on the RF signal of each phased array antenna channel within the range of 0 degrees to 360 degrees, so as to realize arbitrary amplitude and phase distribution synthesis of the phased array antenna array surface, thereby realizing functions such as beam scanning and low sidelobe beam synthesis. The channel here refers to the RF channel at the back end of the phased array antenna. The phased array antenna is composed of a large number of identical antenna elements, and each antenna element has a series of RF circuits at the back end to form a channel.

[0021] In this embodiment, according to the system index requirements of the phased array, the amplitude and phase control component 101 can be implemented by using a discrete microwave circuit or a lumped RF amplitude and phase control chip, etc. The discrete microwave circuit is specifically a microwave phase shift circuit.

[0022] The feed network module 102 is responsible for reasonably distributing the total power fed into the phased array antenna and ultimately completing far-field radiation through the antenna structure.

[0023] The amplitude and phase control module 103 is responsible for performing voltage-variable DC bias control and bus control on the amplitude and phase control component 101, thereby realizing arbitrary amplitude and phase distribution synthesis and switching of the phased array antenna surface. The control methods include DC bias voltage control and signal bus control.

[0024] When the amplitude and phase control component 101 is implemented as a discrete microwave circuit, a DC bias voltage control is adopted. In this case, an independent DC bias voltage is applied to the amplitude and phase control component 101 corresponding to each antenna array element.

[0025] When the amplitude and phase control component 101 is implemented with a radio frequency amplitude and phase control chip, signal bus control is adopted. In this case, all the radio frequency amplitude and phase control chips in the amplitude and phase control component 101 are controlled through bus protocols such as SPI (Serial Peripheral interface) / LVDS (Low-Voltag Differential Signal).

[0026] The beam pointing control module 104 is responsible for sensing the position information of the platform where the phased array antenna is located, and by comparing it with the target beam direction, it calculates the required phased array beam pointing information to realize a phased array antenna with adaptive beam pointing function. The position information of the platform refers to the pitch, roll and azimuth angle information of the antenna carrier platform.

[0027] First, the system will have a target beam pointing direction, which can be achieved by solving the beamforming algorithm to obtain a suitable antenna aperture surface phase distribution.

[0028] When the platform on which the antenna is located is displaced, the beam pointing control module 104 with adaptive beam pointing function first senses the difference between the actual beam and the target beam direction, and then runs the beam forming algorithm again to obtain a new antenna aperture plane phase distribution and point the beam to the correct position again.

[0029] Reference Figure 6 , the specific algorithm from position difference to phase distribution is: First, the difference between the actual position difference and the target beam in pitch and azimuth is calculated.

[0030] Then the phase gradient required for phase distribution in elevation and azimuth is calculated by the gradient algorithm. The specific expression is: ; In the formula, is the phase gradient distribution, i is the target beam number, m is the horizontal serial number of the antenna element, n is the vertical serial number of the antenna element, is the operating wavelength of the phased array, is the beam elevation angle, is the azimuth of the beam, and is the relative coordinate of the antenna element in the phased array.

[0031] Finally, by superimposing the calculated phase gradient on the basis of the original phase distribution, adaptive beam pointing can be obtained while minimizing the amount of calculation.

[0032] The amplitude and phase control component 101 and the feed network module 102 are integrated through processes such as printed circuit boards, low temperature co-fired ceramics or micro-assembly, thereby realizing miniaturization and highly integrated design of the phased array antenna.

[0033] The amplitude and phase control module 103 and the beam pointing control module 104 with adaptive beam pointing function can be integrated with or separately designed from the phased array according to the requirements of the carrier platform on the overall size, weight and cost of the system.

[0034] The amplitude and phase control component 101 can be implemented in any manner, such as discrete microwave circuits, lumped RF amplitude and phase control chips, etc., according to the system index requirements of the phased array.

[0035] The phased array antenna is not limited by the working frequency band, design form, appearance size and technical approach, and can be well integrated with the beam pointing control module 104 with adaptive beam pointing function to realize a phased array antenna with adaptive beam pointing function. The present invention greatly improves the efficiency of beam alignment and beam tracking of the phased array antenna and has broad application prospects.

[0036] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, those skilled in the art may make additional changes and modifications to these embodiments once they have learned the basic creative concept. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to be interpreted as including the preferred embodiments and all changes and modifications that fall within the scope of the present invention.

[0037] Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A phased array antenna with adaptive beam pointing function, characterized in that: It includes a phased array antenna body and a beam pointing control module (104): The beam pointing control module (104) is used to obtain the position information of the carrier platform where the phased array antenna body is located, compare the beam direction corresponding to the position information with the target beam direction, and obtain the pointing information according to the comparison result; the phased array antenna body adjusts the current beam direction according to the pointing information so that the current beam direction points to the target beam direction; The obtaining of the position information of the carrier platform where the phased array antenna body is located, comparing the beam direction corresponding to the position information with the target beam direction, and obtaining the pointing information according to the comparison result, includes: Obtaining the first position of the carrier platform at the last moment and the second position at the current moment; wherein the beam direction corresponding to the first position points to the target beam direction; If the second position is different from the first position, the aperture surface phase distribution of the phased array antenna body at the last moment is obtained according to the target beam direction; at the same time, the position difference between the beam direction corresponding to the current moment and the target beam direction is obtained, and the corresponding phase gradient is obtained based on the position difference; The phase gradient is superimposed on the aperture plane phase distribution at the previous moment to obtain the aperture plane phase distribution at the current moment, and the pointing information is obtained through the aperture plane phase distribution at the current moment.

2. A phased array antenna with adaptive beam pointing function as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The position difference includes a pitch angle difference and an azimuth angle difference.

3. A phased array antenna with adaptive beam pointing function as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that: The method of obtaining the corresponding phase gradient based on the position difference is specifically as follows: ； In the formula, is the phase gradient distribution, i is the target beam number, m is the horizontal serial number of the antenna element, n is the vertical serial number of the antenna element, is the operating wavelength of the phased array, is the beam elevation angle, is the azimuth of the beam, and is the relative coordinate of the antenna element in the phased array.

4. The phased array antenna with adaptive beam pointing function according to claim 1, characterized in that: The beam pointing control module (104) comprises a micro gyroscope and a corresponding control circuit. The micro gyroscope is used to sense the position information of the carrier platform. The control circuit is integrated with a beam control algorithm for comparing the beam direction corresponding to the position information with the target beam direction, and obtaining pointing information according to the comparison result.

5. The phased array antenna with adaptive beam pointing function as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The phased array antenna body comprises: A feed network module (102), used for distributing a total radio frequency input signal fed into the phased array antenna to a plurality of array element channels; An amplitude and phase control component (101) is electrically connected to the feed network module (102) and is used to perform arbitrary phase control and amplitude control on the radio frequency signal of each array element channel of the phased array antenna within a range of 0 degrees to 360 degrees; The amplitude-phase control module (103) is electrically connected to the amplitude-phase regulation component (101) and is used for providing direct current bias power supply and signal bus control to the amplitude-phase regulation component (101).

6. The phased array antenna with adaptive beam pointing function as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that: The amplitude and phase control component (101) is implemented by a discrete microwave circuit or a lumped radio frequency amplitude and phase control chip; When the amplitude and phase control component (101) is implemented as a discrete microwave circuit, a DC bias voltage control is adopted; When the amplitude and phase control component (101) is implemented as a radio frequency amplitude and phase control chip, signal bus control is adopted.

7. The phased array antenna with adaptive beam pointing function as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that: The amplitude and phase control module (103) and the beam pointing control module (104) are integrated with or separately designed with the phased array.

8. The phased array antenna with adaptive beam pointing function as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that: The amplitude and phase control component (101) and the feed network module (102) are integrated via a printed circuit board, low temperature co-fired ceramics or micro-assembly process.

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