Curved surface phased array multi-beam activation area conflict resolution method and system

Abstract

The invention discloses a curved surface phased array multi-beam activation area conflict resolution method and system, and belongs to the field of aircraft measurement and control, and the method comprises the steps: obtaining the related information of a simultaneous multi-beam activation array surface conflict condition; distributing the conflicting array elements again, judging whether a beam forming condition is met or not after distribution, and if so, correspondingly updating the condition of activating the array elements by each beam; if not, next judgment is carried out; after the conflict array elements are distributed, supplementing by using the non-activated array elements to form corresponding wave beams; under the condition, judging whether a beam forming condition is met or not, and if the beam forming condition is met, correspondingly updating each beam activation array element condition; if not, the conflict cannot be resolved. According to the invention, the array resource utilization efficiency and the multi-target simultaneous measurement and control capability of the curved surface phased array antenna can be effectively improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of aircraft measurement and control, and more specifically, to a method and system for resolving conflicts in multi-beam activation areas of a curved phased array. Background Art

[0002] With the increase in the number of satellites, unmanned platforms and other aircraft, the demand for measurement and control will become higher and higher. The curved phased array antenna, due to its array configuration, conformal array antenna and multi-beam forming technology, can achieve simultaneous tracking and measurement of multiple targets with a single phased array antenna. Curved phased array antennas are usually composed of array surfaces of single or combined configurations such as spheres and cylinders. When forming a beam, only part of the array participates in the synthesis, which is called the active array surface, and the remaining array elements that do not participate in the synthesis are called inactive array surfaces. Taking the typical representative of curved phased array antennas - the full airspace phased array antenna as an example, the antenna is composed of a sphere and a cylinder. According to the beam pointing and activation angle, active array surfaces and inactive array surfaces are formed, such as Figure 1 Since the flight trajectory of the target is constantly changing, in order to meet the requirement of continuous tracking of the target, the spherical array beam pointing will change the array surface activation elements through the "window sliding" method to achieve control of the beam pointing, such as Figure 2 .

[0003] In the traditional beam scheduling based on curved phased array antennas, a phased array antenna with N beam synthesis channels is equivalent to N antennas for independent scheduling, and the system measurement and control capacity scalability is low. On this basis, a multi-target beam scheduling method proposes to use unactivated array elements to form more beams when only local antenna elements are activated and participate in beam synthesis when the beam points to a certain direction, thereby improving the array resource utilization and the system measurement and control capacity. However, in the process of tracking different targets with multiple beams generated simultaneously, there is a problem of overlapping activated arrays due to the intersection of motion trajectories, resulting in conflicts in activated arrays, making it impossible to perform beam synthesis, and related tasks cannot be completed. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art and provide a method and system for resolving conflicts in multi-beam activation areas of a curved phased array, so as to effectively improve the array resource utilization efficiency and multi-target simultaneous measurement and control capability of the curved phased array antenna.

[0005] The object of the present invention is achieved through the following solutions:

[0006] A method for resolving conflicts in a curved phased array multi-beam activation area comprises the following steps:

[0007] Obtain information related to the conflict situation of simultaneous multi-beam activation fronts;

[0008] Re-allocate the conflicting array elements, and after allocation, determine whether the beamforming conditions are met. If so, update the activation array element status of each beam accordingly; if not, proceed to the next step of determination;

[0009] After the conflicting array elements are allocated, the inactivated array elements are used to supplement and form the corresponding beams. In this case, it is determined whether the beam forming conditions are met. If so, the activation array element status of each beam is updated accordingly. If not, the conflict cannot be resolved.

[0010] Furthermore, the obtaining of information related to conflict situations of simultaneous multi-beam activated fronts specifically includes obtaining specific conflicting beams, specific activated fronts of each beam, conflicting array elements between different beams, and beam direction information.

[0011] Furthermore, the acquisition of information related to the conflict situation of simultaneous multi-beam activation arrays also includes a sub-step: determining the minimum activated array elements and the maximum activatable range of beam synthesis that meet the measurement and control requirements based on the relative distance and position between the target and the ground station and in combination with link budget constraints.

[0012] Furthermore, the reallocation of the conflicting array elements specifically adopts a hard resolution method to reallocate the conflicting array elements.

[0013] Furthermore, the hard resolution method is used to reallocate conflicting array elements, which specifically includes the following sub-steps:

[0014] Step 1: All conflicting array elements are assigned to the same beam, and the conflicting array elements of other beams are not activated; it is determined whether each beam can guarantee normal function. If so, the hard elimination is successful, otherwise proceed to the next step;

[0015] Step 2: Redistribute the conflicting array elements according to the setting rules, and allocate certain array elements to each beam; after the allocation is completed, determine whether the functions of each beam are normal in this case. If so, the hard resolution is successful, otherwise the hard resolution fails.

[0016] Furthermore, after the conflicting array elements are allocated, inactivated array elements are used for supplementation to form corresponding beams, which is specifically implemented by a soft resolution method.

[0017] Furthermore, the soft digestion method specifically comprises the following sub-steps:

[0018] Step 1: Shift the conflicting beams away from the conflicting array element area until there is no conflict between the beams. If the respective shifted areas do not exceed their maximum activatable ranges and the beam functions normally and there is no loss in the gain in the target direction, the soft elimination is successful, otherwise proceed to the next step;

[0019] Step 2: When some beams remain unchanged, the conflicting array elements of the other beams are not activated. For the beams with inactivated conflicting array elements, their peripheries are expanded. If the expanded beams meet the beamforming index requirements, the soft elimination is successful, otherwise proceed to the next step.

[0020] Step 3: After allocating conflicting array elements to conflicting beams according to the activation ratio, expand the periphery of each beam. If each beam meets the beamforming index requirements after expansion, the soft cancellation is successful, otherwise it fails.

[0021] Furthermore, the beamforming index requirement includes gain.

[0022] A curved phased array multi-beam activation area conflict resolution system comprises a computer device, a computer program is stored in the memory of the computer device, and when the computer program is loaded by the processor of the computer device, any of the above methods is executed.

[0023] The beneficial effects of the present invention include:

[0024] The present invention aims at the conflict situation of simultaneous multi-beam activation arrays, utilizes the characteristic that array resources can be freely allocated when forming beams, realizes more efficient use of array resources, further increases the number of beams formed, and can serve more targets. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] 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 labor.

[0026] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the activation array;

[0027] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of “empty window sliding”;

[0028] Figure 3 A flow chart of the steps of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the activation array;

[0030] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of hard digestion in step B1;

[0031] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the hard digestion method 1 of step B2;

[0032] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the second hard digestion method of step B2;

[0033] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the third offset elimination method;

[0034] Fig. 9 This is a schematic diagram of the first offset elimination method;

[0035] Fig.10 This is a schematic diagram of the second offset elimination method;

[0036] Fig.11 Schematic diagram of array element arrangement;

[0037] Fig.12 This is a schematic diagram of the digestion of step C1;

[0038] Fig.13 Schematic diagram of the digestion of step C2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] All features disclosed in all embodiments in this specification, or steps in all methods or processes implicitly disclosed, except for mutually exclusive features and / or steps, can be combined and / or expanded or replaced in any manner.

[0040] The present invention aims to solve the following technical problem: when multiple beams are generated simultaneously to track different targets, there is an overlap of activation fronts due to the intersection of motion trajectories, resulting in activation front conflicts, inability to perform beam synthesis, and inability to complete related tasks. Further, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the specific implementation process is as follows:

[0041] Step A, obtaining information related to the conflict of simultaneous multi-beam activated fronts;

[0042] Step B: Use the hard resolution method, that is, reallocate the conflicting array elements. After the allocation, determine whether the beamforming conditions are met. If so, update the activation array element status of each beam accordingly; if not, proceed to the next step. The hard resolution method includes the following sub-steps:

[0043] Step B1: Allocate all conflicting array elements to the same beam, and do not activate the conflicting array elements in other beams. Determine whether each beam can guarantee normal function. If so, the hard resolution is successful, otherwise proceed to the next step;

[0044] Step B2: reallocate conflicting array elements according to certain rules, and allocate certain array elements to each beam. After the allocation is completed, determine whether the functions of each beam are normal in this case. If so, the hard resolution is successful, otherwise the hard resolution fails.

[0045] Step C: If the hard resolution fails, soft resolution is further performed, that is, after the conflicting array elements are allocated, the unactivated array elements are used to supplement and form the corresponding beam. In this case, it is determined whether the beamforming conditions can be met. If so, the activation array element status of each beam is updated accordingly; if not, the conflict cannot be resolved. The soft resolution method includes the following sub-steps:

[0046] Step C1: offset the conflicting beams away from the conflicting array element area until there is no conflict between the beams. If the offset areas do not exceed their maximum activation ranges and the beam functions are normal and there is no loss in the gain in the target direction, the soft elimination is successful, otherwise proceed to the next step;

[0047] Step C2: When some beams remain unchanged, the conflicting array elements of the other beams are not activated. For the beams with inactivated conflicting array elements, their peripheries are expanded. If the expanded beams meet the requirements of beamforming indicators such as gain, the soft elimination is successful, otherwise proceed to the next step.

[0048] Step C3: After allocating conflicting array elements to the conflicting beams according to the activation ratio, the periphery of each beam is expanded. If each beam meets the beamforming index requirements after expansion, the soft cancellation is successful, otherwise it fails.

[0049] like Figure 3 As shown, the information related to the conflict of the activated arrays in step A involves all the information required for subsequent resolution and judgment, including but not limited to specific conflicting beams, specific activated arrays of each beam, conflicting array elements between different beams, beam directions, etc. At the same time, according to the relative distance and position between the target and the ground station, combined with constraints such as link budget, the minimum activated array elements and the maximum activatable range of beam synthesis that meet the measurement and control requirements can be obtained.

[0050] The hard elimination method in step B is mainly to reasonably allocate the activated conflicting array elements, reduce the array elements forming the beams of some or all conflicting beams, and determine whether the beam forming conditions are met after allocation. The specific elimination methods of B1 to B2 are as follows.

[0051] Step B1 assigns all conflicting array elements to the same beam, and the conflicting array elements of the other beams are not activated, that is, for the conflicting beams, some beams are guaranteed to remain unchanged, and the number of activated array elements of the other beams is reduced. Figure 4 As shown, beam 1 conflicts with beam 2, and all conflicting array elements are allocated to beam 1, reducing the gain of beam 2 to ensure the integrity of beam 1.

[0052] Step B2: for conflicting beams, the conflicting array elements are reallocated according to certain rules, and each beam is allocated certain array elements. There are two ways to allocate conflicting array elements:

[0053] Method 1 allocates the conflicting array elements to the closer beam, that is, the array elements are preferentially allocated to the beams to which the adjacent or close non-conflicting array elements belong. Take the conflict between two beams as an example. Figure 6 As shown, the conflicting array element is divided according to the boundary line formed by the intersection point of the two beam boundaries to form a conflicting part a and a conflicting part b. The conflicting part a is assigned to beam 1, and the conflicting part b is assigned to beam 2. Both beam 1 and beam 2 reduce part of their gain.

[0054] Method 2 is to distribute conflicting array elements to each beam, that is, to ensure that the range of activated array elements of each beam remains unchanged as much as possible. Figure 7 As shown in the figure, when selecting array elements, the conflicting array elements are sequentially assigned to the two beams according to a certain order. For example, the array elements are sorted from small to large, and the first array element after sorting is assigned to beam 1, the second array element is assigned to beam 2, the third array element is assigned to beam 1, and so on. Different from method 2, this division method tries to ensure the size of the activation range of beam 1 and beam 2, and does not change the overall activation range.

[0055] The soft elimination method of array elements in step C is mainly to reasonably select unused array elements within the maximum activatable range to form corresponding beams and ensure the target direction gain and other index requirements. The specific elimination methods of C1 to C3 are as follows.

[0056] Step C1: The conflicting beams are shifted away from the conflicting array element area until there is no conflict between the beams. For example, two beams are used. Figure 8 As shown, the conflicting array elements are not divided, and the activation ranges of beam 1 and beam 2 are directly offset until there is no conflict.

[0057] In step C2, when some beams remain unchanged, the conflicting array elements of the other beams are not activated. For the beams with inactivated conflicting array elements, their peripheries are expanded and supplemented by expanding array elements around their activated beams. Take the conflict between two beams as an example. Fig. 9 As shown, since the number of activated array elements of beam 2 is reduced, expansion is performed around beam 2.

[0058] Step C3 is to distribute conflicting array elements to conflicting beams according to the activation ratio, expand the periphery of each beam, and supplement the activated array elements of each beam. Fig.10 As shown, after the conflicting array elements are allocated, the activated array elements of beam 1 and beam 2 are reduced, and are correspondingly expanded at their peripheries.

[0059] In other preferred embodiments of the present invention, for the convenience of description, fewer array elements are used to illustrate the embodiments. Assume that the array elements are arranged as follows Fig.11As shown in the figure, it is assumed that beam 1 needs to activate at least 5 array elements and beam 2 needs to activate at least 7 array elements. In the current conflict situation, beam 1 needs to activate array elements 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, and 16, and beam 2 needs to activate array elements 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 12, and 13, among which array elements 1, 2, and 6 form a conflict. According to the above resolution scheme, the specific resolution is as follows.

[0060] Step 1. According to step B1, if beam 1 activates elements 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, and 16, and beam 2 activates elements 3, 4, 5, 12, and 13, the beam 2 formation requirement cannot be met; if beam 1 activates elements 7, 8, and 16, and beam 2 activates elements 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 12, and 13, the beam 1 formation requirement cannot be met. Therefore, proceed to the next step;

[0061] Step 2, go to step B2, allocate conflicting array elements in proportion, allocate 1 array element to beam 1 and 2 array elements to beam 2 for the three conflicting array elements, then beam 1 activates 4 array elements and beam 2 activates 7 array elements, which cannot meet the formation requirement of beam 1, so the method fails and proceeds to the next step;

[0062] Step 3: According to step C1, the two beams are offset, as shown in the figure: Fig.11 As shown in the figure, when there is no conflict, although it has not left the maximum activatable range, beam 1 can only activate 4 array elements, which cannot meet the beamforming requirements. The method fails to resolve the problem and proceeds to the next step.

[0063] Step 4: According to step C2, all conflicting array elements are assigned to beam 1, as shown in the following figure: Fig.12 As shown, array elements are supplemented within the activatable range of beam 2. The array elements that can be supplemented for beam 2 are 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, and 27, which can meet the requirements for forming beam 2. This method can achieve elimination, and the elimination is successful, and step C3 is no longer performed.

[0064] Finally, two beams are formed. Beam 1 activates array elements 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, and 16. Beam 2 can activate array elements 3, 4, 5, 11, 12, 13, and 14 according to the minimum requirements for beam formation. Fig.13 shown.

[0065] The units involved in the embodiments of the present invention may be implemented by software or hardware, and the units described may also be arranged in a processor. The names of these units do not, in some cases, limit the units themselves.

[0066] According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, a computer program product or a computer program is provided, the computer program product or the computer program includes a computer instruction, and the computer instruction is stored in a computer-readable storage medium. A processor of a computer device reads the computer instruction from the computer-readable storage medium, and the processor executes the computer instruction, so that the computer device executes the method provided in the above various optional implementations.

[0067] As another aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable medium, which may be included in the electronic device described in the above embodiment; or may exist independently without being assembled into the electronic device. The above computer-readable medium carries one or more programs, and when the above one or more programs are executed by an electronic device, the electronic device implements the method described in the above embodiment.

Claims

1. A method for resolving conflicts in multi-beam activation areas of a curved phased array, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: Obtain information related to the conflict situation of simultaneous multi-beam activation fronts; Re-allocate the conflicting array elements, and after allocation, determine whether the beamforming conditions are met. If so, update the activation array element status of each beam accordingly; if not, proceed to the next step of determination; After the conflicting array elements are allocated, the inactivated array elements are used to supplement and form the corresponding beams. In this case, it is determined whether the beam forming conditions are met. If so, the activation array element status of each beam is updated accordingly. If not, the conflict cannot be resolved.

2. The method for resolving conflicts in the multi-beam activation area of ​​a curved phased array according to claim 1, characterized in that: The obtaining of information related to the conflict of simultaneous multi-beam activated fronts specifically includes obtaining specific conflicting beams, specific activated fronts of each beam, conflicting array elements between different beams, and beam direction information.

3. The method for resolving conflicts in the multi-beam activation area of ​​a curved phased array according to claim 2, characterized in that: The method of obtaining information related to the conflict of simultaneous multi-beam activation arrays also includes the sub-step of determining the minimum activated array elements and the maximum activatable range of beam synthesis that meet the measurement and control requirements based on the relative distance and position between the target and the ground station and in combination with link budget constraints.

4. The method for resolving conflicts in the multi-beam activation area of ​​a curved phased array according to claim 1, characterized in that: The reallocation of the conflicting array elements specifically adopts a hard resolution method to reallocate the conflicting array elements.

5. The method for resolving conflicts in the multi-beam activation area of ​​a curved phased array according to claim 4, characterized in that: The hard resolution method is used to reallocate conflicting array elements, which specifically includes the following sub-steps: Step 1: All conflicting array elements are assigned to the same beam, and the conflicting array elements of other beams are not activated; it is determined whether each beam can guarantee normal function. If so, the hard elimination is successful, otherwise proceed to the next step; Step 2: Redistribute the conflicting array elements according to the setting rules, and allocate certain array elements to each beam; after the allocation is completed, determine whether the functions of each beam are normal in this case. If so, the hard resolution is successful, otherwise the hard resolution fails.

6. The method for resolving conflicts in the multi-beam activation area of ​​a curved phased array according to claim 4, characterized in that: After the conflicting array elements are allocated, inactivated array elements are used for supplementation to form corresponding beams, which is specifically implemented by a soft resolution method.

7. The method for resolving conflicts in the multi-beam activation area of ​​a curved phased array according to claim 6, characterized in that: The soft digestion method specifically comprises the following sub-steps: Step 1: Shift the conflicting beams away from the conflicting array element area until there is no conflict between the beams. If the respective shifted areas do not exceed their maximum activatable ranges and the beam functions normally and there is no loss in the gain in the target direction, the soft elimination is successful, otherwise proceed to the next step; Step 2: When some beams remain unchanged, the conflicting array elements of the other beams are not activated. For the beams with inactivated conflicting array elements, their peripheries are expanded. If the expanded beams meet the beamforming index requirements, the soft elimination is successful, otherwise proceed to the next step. Step 3: After allocating conflicting array elements to conflicting beams according to the activation ratio, expand the periphery of each beam. If each beam meets the beamforming index requirements after expansion, the soft cancellation is successful, otherwise it fails.

8. The method for resolving conflicts in the multi-beam activation area of ​​a curved phased array according to claim 7, characterized in that: The beamforming index requirement includes gain.

9. A curved phased array multi-beam activation area conflict resolution system, comprising a computer device, characterized in that: A computer program is stored in the memory of the computer device, and when the computer program is loaded by the processor of the computer device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 is executed.

Images