Sum-difference signal operation device based on asynchronous sum-difference and angle measurement method

Abstract

The invention particularly relates to a sum and difference signal operation device based on asynchronous sum and difference and an angle measurement method. The device comprises an antenna array composed of a first sub-array, a second sub-array, a third sub-array and a fourth sub-array, a first combiner, a second combiner, a sum and difference device and a dual-channel digital transceiver. Different phases of the subarrays are configured at two moments, so that a sum signal and two difference signals are obtained at the two moments based on a basic sum-difference device, and the bottleneck of limiting the reduction of the hardware complexity and the reduction of the volume size of a sum-difference network is broken through; and a new technical support is provided for further reducing the volume size of the sum-difference network, reducing the hardware complexity of the sum-difference network and reducing the cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a phased array radar angle measurement technology, and in particular to a sum-difference signal operation device and an angle measurement method based on asynchronous sum-difference. Background Art

[0002] Single-pulse sum-difference amplitude-ratio angle measurement technology based on a phased array system can measure the angle of the detected target and has been widely used in various radars that require angle measurement capabilities. Measuring the spatial angle of the detected target requires obtaining angle information in the azimuth and elevation directions. Traditional single-pulse sum-difference amplitude-ratio angle measurement technology divides the antenna array into four sub-arrays and passes the signals received by the four sub-arrays through a sum-and-difference network composed of four summators to obtain a sum signal, an azimuth difference signal, and an elevation difference signal. Ultimately, the angle information in the azimuth and elevation directions is obtained based on the sum signal, the azimuth difference signal, and the elevation difference signal.

[0003] The document "Kong Yinghui et al. Ka-band Monopulse Sum-Difference Network Design. Modern Radar, 2015" and the invention patent application number CN201510336757.2 use waveguides to design sum-difference networks to generate sum, azimuth, and elevation difference signals. Waveguide-based sum-difference networks are large and difficult to integrate into systems. Therefore, the document "Yu Zhongwu et al. A Novel Dual-Planar Sum-Difference Network Design. Modern Radar, 2016" and the invention patent application number CN200910120697.5 use microstrip or stripline-based sum-difference networks to generate sum, azimuth, and elevation difference signals. These microstrip and stripline-based sum-difference networks reduce their size and achieve a planar design that facilitates system integration. The paper "Wang Hui et al. Design of a Miniaturized Sum and Difference Device Based on a 90° Bridge Chip. Journal of Terahertz Science and Electronic Information, 2022" uses a chip to design a sum-and-difference network to obtain sum, azimuth, and elevation signals. This further reduces the size of the device.

[0004] The aforementioned literature and patents employ different implementation methods to design a single basic sum / differential device, thereby achieving a smaller planar sum / differential network. However, the sum / differential networks in these studies all consist of four basic sum / differential devices, and their implementation methods based on microstrip, stripline, or chips have already reached the current limit of microwave circuit miniaturization.

[0005] However, with the increase in radar operating frequency, the emergence of emerging slow-speed detection targets and the reduction in the size of the entire radar system, the research on new low-hardware complexity and poor network topology structures and angle measurement methods that can further reduce the size has become extremely urgent.

[0006] It should be noted that the information disclosed in the above background technology section is only used to enhance the understanding of the background of the present invention, and therefore may include information that does not constitute prior art known to ordinary technicians in this field. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present invention provides a sum-difference signal calculation device and an angle measurement method based on asynchronous sum-difference, which are used to solve the defects of large size and high hardware complexity of the sum-difference network design scheme corresponding to the existing angle measurement method, thereby realizing a new sum-difference network design scheme that can further reduce the size of the sum-difference network and reduce the hardware complexity.

[0008] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, or may be learned in part by practice of the present invention.

[0009] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sum-and-difference signal operation device based on asynchronous sum-and-difference, the device comprising an antenna array consisting of a first sub-array, a second sub-array, a third sub-array, and a fourth sub-array, a first combiner, a second combiner, a sum-and-difference device, and a dual-channel digital transceiver;

[0010] The antenna array is used to transmit a directional beam and receive signals in a specific direction; wherein the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array, and the fourth sub-array have independent phase adjustment functions, and the acquisition of the sum signal, the first difference signal, and the second difference signal is achieved by configuring different phases for the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array, and the fourth sub-array at different times;

[0011] The first combiner is used to combine two sub-arrays of the four sub-arrays; the second combiner is used to combine the other two sub-arrays of the four sub-arrays;

[0012] The summator is used to perform sum and difference processing on the output signals of the two combiners, thereby obtaining the desired sum and difference signals;

[0013] The dual-channel digital transceiver is used to receive the sum and difference signals output by the sum and difference device.

[0014] In some exemplary embodiments, the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array, and the fourth sub-array are arranged in a grid pattern, and two of the sub-arrays may be combined horizontally, vertically, or crosswise.

[0015] In some exemplary embodiments, the summator and differencer are waveguide-type summator and differencer, microstrip-type summator and differencer, stripline-type summator and differencer, or bridge chip-type summator and differencer.

[0016] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an angle measurement method based on asynchronous sum difference, the method comprising:

[0017] Configure the phases of the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array, and the fourth sub-array at the first moment, and obtain the sum and difference calculation results at the first moment;

[0018] configuring the phases of the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array, and the fourth sub-array at the second moment, and obtaining the sum and difference calculation results at the second moment;

[0019] The azimuth angle and the elevation angle are acquired based on the sum-difference calculation result at the first moment and the sum-difference calculation result at the second moment.

[0020] The phases of the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array at the first moment are configured so that the incoming wave signals received by the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array are s(1), s(2), s(3) and s(4) respectively;

[0021] Input s(1) and s(2) into the first combiner, and input s(3) and s(4) into the second combiner;

[0022] The summator performs sum and difference operations on the output results of the first combiner and the second combiner to obtain a sum signal (s(1)+s(2))+(s(3)+s(4)) and a first difference signal (s(1)+s(2))-(s(3)+s(4));

[0023] The phases of the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array at the second moment are configured so that the incoming wave signals received by the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array are s(1), -s(2), s(3) and -s(4) respectively;

[0024] Input s(1) and -s(2) to the first combiner, and input s(3) and -s(4) to the second combiner;

[0025] The sum-subtractor performs sum-subtraction operation on the output results of the first combiner and the second combiner to obtain a second difference signal (s(1)-s(2))+(s(3)-s(4));

[0026] An azimuth angle and an elevation angle are acquired based on the sum signal, the first difference signal, and the second difference signal.

[0027] In some exemplary embodiments, when the first sub-array and the third sub-array of the sum-difference signal operation device based on asynchronous sum-difference are connected to a first combiner, and the second sub-array and the fourth sub-array are connected to a second combiner, the method is specifically as follows:

[0028] When the first sub-array and the third sub-array of the sum-difference signal operation device based on asynchronous sum-difference are connected to the first combiner, and the second sub-array and the fourth sub-array are connected to the second combiner; the method is specifically as follows:

[0029] The phases of the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array at the first moment are configured so that the incoming wave signals received by the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array are s(1), s(2), s(3) and s(4) respectively;

[0030] Input s(1) and s(3) to the first combiner, and input s(2) and s(4) to the second combiner;

[0031] The summator performs sum and difference operations on the output results of the first combiner and the second combiner to obtain a sum signal (s(1)+s(2))+(s(3)+s(4)) and a second difference signal (s(1)+s(3))-(s(2)+s(4));

[0032] The phases of the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array at the second moment are configured so that the incoming wave signals received by the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array are s(1), s(2), -s(3) and -s(4) respectively;

[0033] Input s(1) and -s(3) to the first combiner, and input s(2) and -s(4) to the second combiner;

[0034] The sum-subtractor performs sum-subtraction operation on the output results of the first combiner and the second combiner to obtain a first difference signal (s(1)-s(3))+(s(2)-s(4));

[0035] An azimuth angle and an elevation angle are acquired based on the sum signal, the first difference signal, and the second difference signal.

[0036] In some exemplary embodiments, when the first sub-array and the fourth sub-array of the sum-difference signal operation device based on asynchronous sum-difference are connected to a first combiner, and the second sub-array and the third sub-array are connected to a second combiner, the method is specifically as follows:

[0037] The phases of the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array at the first moment are configured so that the incoming wave signals received by the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array are s(1), s(2), s(3) and s(4) respectively;

[0038] Input s(1) and s(4) to the first combiner, and input s(2) and s(3) to the second combiner;

[0039] The summator performs sum and difference operations on the output results of the first combiner and the second combiner to obtain a sum signal (s(1)+s(2))+(s(3)+s(4));

[0040] The phases of the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array at the second moment are configured so that the incoming wave signals received by the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array are s(1), s(2), -s(3) and -s(4) respectively;

[0041] Input s(1) and -s(4) to the first combiner, and input s(2) and -s(3) to the second combiner;

[0042] The sum-subtractor performs sum and difference operations on the output results of the first combiner and the second combiner to obtain a first difference signal (s(1)-s(4))+(s(2)-s(3)) and a second difference signal (s(1)-s(4))-(s(2)-s(3));

[0043] An azimuth angle and an elevation angle are acquired based on the sum signal, the first difference signal, and the second difference signal.

[0044] In some exemplary embodiments, acquiring the azimuth angle and the elevation angle based on the sum signal, the first difference signal, and the second difference signal includes:

[0045] When the first difference signal is an azimuth difference signal;

[0046] taking the ratio of the first difference signal to the sum signal as the difference-sum ratio in the azimuth direction;

[0047] The azimuth angle of the detected target is obtained by comparing the difference and ratio of the azimuth directions with the difference and ratio-angle curve obtained in advance;

[0048] taking the ratio of the second difference signal to the sum signal as the difference-sum ratio in the pitch direction;

[0049] The pitch angle of the detected target is obtained by comparing the difference and ratio in the pitch direction with the pre-acquired difference and ratio-angle curve.

[0050] In some exemplary embodiments, acquiring the azimuth angle and the elevation angle based on the sum signal, the first difference signal, and the second difference signal includes:

[0051] When the first difference signal is a pitch difference signal;

[0052] taking the ratio of the first difference signal to the sum signal as the difference-sum ratio in the pitch direction;

[0053] The pitch angle of the detected target is obtained by comparing the difference and ratio of the azimuth directions with the difference and ratio-angle curve obtained in advance;

[0054] taking the ratio of the second difference signal to the sum signal as the difference-sum ratio in the azimuth direction;

[0055] The pitch angle of the detected target is obtained by comparing the difference and ratio of the azimuth directions with the pre-acquired difference and ratio-angle curve.

[0056] The embodiments of the present invention provide a low-hardware-complexity sum-difference signal operation device and angle measurement method based on asynchronous sum-difference. By configuring different phases of the subarrays at two moments, a sum signal and two difference signals are obtained at two moments based on a basic sum-differentiator. This breaks through the bottleneck that limits the reduction of hardware complexity and size of the sum-difference network, and provides new technical support for further reducing the size of the sum-difference network, reducing the hardware complexity of the sum-difference network, and reducing costs.

[0057] It is to be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0058] The accompanying drawings are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present invention. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention, and it is clear that those skilled in the art can derive other drawings based on these drawings without inventive effort.

[0059] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the working mechanism of the sum-difference signal calculation device of exemplary embodiment 1 of the present invention: (a) obtaining a sum signal and a first difference signal at a first moment; (b) obtaining a second difference signal at a second moment;

[0060] Figure 2 This is a flow chart of the angle measurement method based on asynchronous sum difference according to the present invention;

[0061] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the working mechanism of the sum-difference signal calculation device of exemplary embodiment 2 of the present invention: (a) obtaining the sum signal and the second difference signal at the first moment; (b) obtaining the first difference signal at the second moment;

[0062] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the working mechanism of the sum-difference signal operation device of exemplary embodiment 3 of the present invention: (a) obtaining the sum signal at the first moment; (b) obtaining the first difference signal and the second difference signal at the second moment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0063] Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, example embodiments can be embodied in many forms and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the concepts of the example embodiments to those skilled in the art. The described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0064] In addition, the accompanying drawings are merely schematic illustrations of the present invention and are not necessarily drawn to scale. Identical reference numerals in the figures denote identical or similar parts, and thus repetitive descriptions thereof will be omitted. Some of the blocks shown in the accompanying drawings are functional entities that do not necessarily correspond to physically or logically separate entities. These functional entities may be implemented in software, in one or more hardware modules or integrated circuits, or in different networks and / or processor devices and / or microcontroller devices.

[0065] In the existing technology, the sum-and-difference network composed of four basic sum-and-differentiators has the problems of high hardware complexity and difficulty in further reducing the volume size for sum-and-difference operations. Inspired by the sum-and-difference operation and the principle of vector signal superposition, a new asynchronous sum-and-difference operation mechanism is proposed. Based on the asynchronous sum-and-difference, a low hardware complexity sum-and-difference signal operation device and an angle measurement method are proposed.

[0066] In response to the shortcomings and deficiencies of the prior art, this example embodiment provides a low-hardware-complexity sum-and-difference signal operation device based on asynchronous sum-and-difference, including an antenna array consisting of a first sub-array, a second sub-array, a third sub-array, and a fourth sub-array, a first combiner, a second combiner, a basic sum-and-difference device, and a dual-channel digital transceiver.

[0067] Among them, the antenna array composed of four sub-arrays is used to transmit directional beams and receive signals in a specific direction.

[0068] Preferably, the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array have independent phase modulation functions, and the acquisition of the sum signal and the first difference signal and the acquisition of the second difference signal are achieved by configuring different phases for the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array at different times.

[0069] The first combiner is used to combine two sub-arrays out of the four sub-arrays;

[0070] The second combiner is used to combine the other two sub-arrays of the four sub-arrays;

[0071] The basic sum-differential device is used to perform sum and difference processing on the output signals of the two combiners to obtain the desired sum and difference signals;

[0072] The dual-channel digital transceiver is used to receive the sum and difference signals output by the basic sum and difference device.

[0073] Exemplarily, the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array are arranged in a field shape, and two of the sub-arrays are selected for combining in a manner of combining the two sub-arrays horizontally, combining the two sub-arrays vertically, or combining the two sub-arrays crosswise.

[0074] Exemplarily, the basic summator and differencer adopts a waveguide type summator and differencer, a microstrip line type summator and differencer, a stripline type summator and differencer, or a bridge chip type summator and differencer.

[0075] In view of the above-mentioned low hardware complexity sum difference signal operation device based on asynchronous sum difference, the present invention proposes an angle measurement method based on asynchronous sum difference, such as Figure 2 Shown, including:

[0076] Configure the phases of the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array, and the fourth sub-array at the first moment, and obtain the sum and difference calculation results at the first moment;

[0077] configuring the phases of the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array, and the fourth sub-array at the second moment, and obtaining the sum and difference calculation results at the second moment;

[0078] The azimuth angle and the elevation angle are acquired based on the sum-difference calculation result at the first moment and the sum-difference calculation result at the second moment.

[0079] Exemplarily, the sum signal and the first difference signal can be obtained at the first moment, and the second difference signal can be obtained at the second moment, or the sum signal and the second difference signal can be obtained at the first moment, and the first difference signal can be obtained at the second moment, or the sum signal can be obtained at the first moment, and the first difference signal and the second difference signal can be obtained at the second moment.

[0080] Exemplarily, the sub-array phase configuration and the obtained signal at the first moment and the array phase configuration and the obtained signal at the second moment can be interchanged.

[0081] Illustratively, the sum signal, the first difference signal, and the second difference signal may be obtained at two moments, or the sum signal and the first difference signal may be obtained at only one moment, or the sum signal and the second difference signal may be obtained at only one moment.

[0082] Below, each step in this exemplary implementation will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0083] Example 1:

[0084] like Figure 1As shown, when the first and second sub-arrays of the sum-difference signal calculation device based on asynchronous sum-difference are connected to the first combiner, and the third and fourth sub-arrays are connected to the second combiner. Based on the sum-difference signal calculation device based on asynchronous sum-difference as shown in Figure 1, the proposed angle measurement method based on asynchronous sum-difference includes the following steps:

[0085] S1. Configure the sub-array phase at the first moment

[0086] Set the target detection angle at this time to The pitch angle is According to the azimuth angle The pitch angle is The target direction and array calibration data are used to obtain the phase setting values corresponding to the first sub-array 1, the second sub-array 2, the third sub-array 3 and the fourth sub-array 4 when the antenna array points to the target direction. and Based on the above four phase vectors, the phases of the four sub-arrays are configured respectively. At the first moment after the phase configuration is completed, the incoming signals received by the first sub-array 1, the second sub-array 2, the third sub-array 3 and the fourth sub-array 4 are s(1), s(2), s(3) and s(4) respectively.

[0087] Where n1, n2, n3, and n4 represent the number of active channels of the first sub-array 1, the second sub-array 2, the third sub-array 3, and the fourth sub-array 4, respectively.

[0088] S2. Get the sum and difference calculation results at the first moment

[0089] After the first moment of phase configuration, the first sub-array 1 and the second sub-array 2 are combined by the first combiner 1 to obtain the received signal s(1)+s(2); after the first moment of phase configuration, the third sub-array 3 and the fourth sub-array 4 are combined by the second combiner 2 to obtain the received signal s(3)+s(4); after the first moment of phase configuration, the output signals of the first combiner 1 and the second combiner 2 are summed and differed in the basic sum-and-differentiator, and the dual-channel digital transceiver collects the summation result (s(1)+s(2))+(s(3)+s(4)) and the difference result (s(1)+s(2))-(s(3)+s(4)) output by the basic sum-and-differentiator at the first moment. The summation result (s(1)+s(2))+(s(3)+s(4)) at the first moment is the sum signal: s ∑ , the difference operation result at the first moment: (s(1)+s(2))-(s(3)+s(4)) is the first difference signal: s Δ1 .

[0090] S3. Configure the sub-array phase at the second moment

[0091] According to the characteristics of sum-difference operation and the topological structure of the sum-difference signal operation device based on asynchronous sum-difference, the phase setting values of the first sub-array 1, the second sub-array 2, the third sub-array 3 and the fourth sub-array 4 at the second moment are calculated. and The phases of the four sub-arrays are configured based on the above four phase vectors. At the second moment after the phase configuration is completed, the incoming signals received by the first sub-array 1, the second sub-array 2, the third sub-array 3, and the fourth sub-array 4 are s(1), -s(2), s(3), and -s(4), respectively.

[0092] S4. Obtain the sum and difference calculation results at the second moment

[0093] After the phase is configured at the second moment, the first sub-array 1 and the second sub-array 2 are combined by the first combiner 1 to obtain the received signal s(1)-s(2); after the phase is configured at the second moment, the third sub-array 3 and the fourth sub-array 4 are combined by the second combiner 2 to obtain the received signal s(3)-s(4); after the output signals of the first combiner 1 and the second combiner 2 at the second moment are summed and differed in the basic sum-differentiator, the dual-channel digital transceiver collects the summation result: (s(1)-s(2))+(s(3)-s(4)) and the difference operation result: (s(1)-s(2))-(s(3)-s(4)) output by the basic sum-differentiator at the second moment. The summation result: (s(1)-s(2))+(s(3)-s(4)) output at the second moment is the second difference signal: s Δ2 .

[0094] S5. Get azimuth and elevation angles

[0095] If you set s Δ1 is the azimuth difference signal, s Δ2 is the pitch difference signal, then the difference and ratio in the azimuth direction is

[0096] ε a =s Δ1 ÷s ∑

[0097] The detected target azimuth angle is obtained by comparing with the pre-acquired "difference and ratio-angle" curve The difference and ratio in the pitch direction is

[0098] ε e =s Δ2 ÷s ∑

[0099] The pitch angle of the detected target is obtained by comparing it with the pre-acquired "difference and ratio-angle" curve

[0100] If you set s Δ1 is the pitch difference signal, sΔ2 is the azimuth difference signal, then the difference and ratio of the azimuth directions are

[0101] ε a =s Δ2 ÷s ∑

[0102] The detected target azimuth angle is obtained by comparing with the pre-acquired "difference and ratio-angle" curve The difference and ratio in the pitch direction is

[0103] ε e =s Δ1 ÷s ∑

[0104] The pitch angle of the detected target is obtained by comparing it with the pre-acquired "difference and ratio-angle" curve

[0105] Example 2:

[0106] like Figure 3 As shown in FIG3 , when the first and third sub-arrays of the sum-difference signal calculation device based on asynchronous sum-difference are connected to the first combiner, and the second and fourth sub-arrays are connected to the second combiner, the proposed angle measurement method based on asynchronous sum-difference includes the following steps:

[0107] S1. Configure the sub-array phase at the first moment

[0108] Set the target detection angle at this time to The pitch angle is According to the azimuth angle The pitch angle is The target direction and array calibration data are used to obtain the phase setting values corresponding to the first sub-array 1, the second sub-array 2, the third sub-array 3 and the fourth sub-array 4 when the antenna array points to the target direction. Based on the above four phase vectors, the phases of the four sub-arrays are configured respectively. At the first moment after the phase configuration is completed, the incoming signals received by the first sub-array 1, the second sub-array 2, the third sub-array 3 and the fourth sub-array 4 are s(1), s(2), s(3) and s(4) respectively.

[0109] Where n1, n2, n3, and n4 represent the number of active channels of the first sub-array 1, the second sub-array 2, the third sub-array 3, and the fourth sub-array 4, respectively.

[0110] S2. Get the sum and difference calculation results at the first moment

[0111] After the first moment of phase configuration, the first sub-array 1 and the third sub-array 3 are combined by the first combiner 1 to obtain the received signal s(1)+s(3); after the first moment of phase configuration, the second sub-array 2 and the fourth sub-array 4 are combined by the second combiner 2 to obtain the received signal s(2)+s(4); after the output signals of the first combiner 1 and the second combiner 2 at the first moment are summed and differed in the basic sum-and-differentiator, the dual-channel digital transceiver collects the summation result: (s(1)+s(3))+(s(2)+s(4)) and the difference operation result: (s(1)+s(3))-(s(2)+s(4)) output by the basic sum-and-differentiator at the first moment. The summation result: (s(1)+s(3))+(s(2)+s(4)) at the first moment is the sum signal: s ∑ , the difference calculation result at the first moment: (s(1)+s(3))-(s(2)+s(4)) is the second difference signal: s Δ2 .

[0112] S3. Configure the sub-array phase at the second moment

[0113] According to the characteristics of sum-difference operation and the topological structure of the sum-difference signal operation device based on asynchronous sum-difference, the phase setting values of the first sub-array 1, the second sub-array 2, the third sub-array 3 and the fourth sub-array 4 at the second moment are calculated. and The phases of the four sub-arrays are configured based on the above four phase vectors. At the second moment after the phase configuration is completed, the incoming signals received by the first sub-array 1, the second sub-array 2, the third sub-array 3, and the fourth sub-array 4 are s(1), s(2), -s(3), and -s(4), respectively.

[0114] S4. Obtain the sum and difference calculation results at the second moment

[0115] After the phase is configured at the second moment, the first sub-array 1 and the third sub-array 3 are combined by the first combiner 1 to obtain the received signal s(1)-s(3); after the phase is configured at the second moment, the second sub-array 2 and the fourth sub-array 4 are combined by the second combiner 2 to obtain the received signal s(2)-s(4); after the output signals of the first combiner 1 and the second combiner 2 at the second moment are summed and differed in the basic summator, the dual-channel digital transceiver collects the summation result outputted by the basic summator at the moment 2: (s(1)-s(3))+(s(2)-s(4)) and the difference operation result: (s(1)-s(3))-(s(2)-s(4)). The summation result outputted at the second moment: (s(1)-s(3))+(s(2)-s(4)) is the first difference signal: s Δ1 .

[0116] S5. Get azimuth and elevation angles

[0117] If you set s Δ1 is the azimuth difference signal, s Δ2 is the pitch difference signal, then the difference and ratio in the azimuth direction is

[0118] ε a =s Δ1 ÷s ∑

[0119] The detected target azimuth angle is obtained by comparing with the pre-acquired "difference and ratio-angle" curve The difference and ratio in the pitch direction is

[0120] ε e =s Δ2 ÷s ∑

[0121] The pitch angle of the detected target is obtained by comparing it with the pre-acquired "difference and ratio-angle" curve

[0122] If you set s Δ1 is the pitch difference signal, s Δ2 is the azimuth difference signal, then the difference and ratio of the azimuth directions are

[0123] ε a =s Δ2 ÷s ∑

[0124] The detected target azimuth angle is obtained by comparing with the pre-acquired "difference and ratio-angle" curve The difference and ratio in the pitch direction is

[0125] ε e =s Δ1 ÷s ∑

[0126] The pitch angle of the detected target is obtained by comparing it with the pre-acquired "difference and ratio-angle" curve

[0127] Example 3:

[0128] like Figure 4 As shown in FIG4 , when the first and fourth sub-arrays of the sum-difference signal calculation device based on asynchronous sum-difference are connected to the first combiner, and the second and third sub-arrays are connected to the second combiner. Based on the sum-difference signal calculation device based on asynchronous sum-difference as shown in FIG4 , the proposed angle measurement method based on asynchronous sum-difference includes the following steps:

[0129] S1. Configure the sub-array phase at the first moment

[0130] Set the target detection angle at this time to The pitch angle is According to the azimuth angle The pitch angle is The target direction and array calibration data are used to obtain the phase setting values corresponding to the first sub-array 1, the second sub-array 2, the third sub-array 3 and the fourth sub-array 4 when the antenna array points to the target direction. and Based on the above four phase vectors, the phases of the four sub-arrays are configured respectively. At the first moment after the phase configuration is completed, the incoming signals received by the first sub-array 1, the second sub-array 2, the third sub-array 3 and the fourth sub-array 4 are s(1), s(2), s(3) and s(4) respectively.

[0131] Where n1, n2, n3, and n4 represent the number of active channels of the first sub-array 1, the second sub-array 2, the third sub-array 3, and the fourth sub-array 4, respectively.

[0132] S2. Get the sum and difference calculation results at the first moment

[0133] After the first moment of phase configuration, the first sub-array 1 and the fourth sub-array 4 are combined by the first combiner 1 to obtain the received signal s(1)+s(4); after the first moment of phase configuration, the second sub-array 2 and the third sub-array 3 are combined by the second combiner 2 to obtain the received signal s(2)+s(3); after the output signals of the first combiner 1 and the second combiner 2 at the first moment are summed and differed in the basic sum-and-differentiator, the dual-channel digital transceiver collects the summation result: (s(1)+s(4))+(s(2)+s(3)) and the difference operation result: (s(1)+s(4))-(s(2)+s(3)) output by the basic sum-and-differentiator at the first moment. The summation result: (s(1)+s(4))+(s(2)+s(3)) at the first moment is the sum signal: s ∑ .

[0134] S3. Configure the sub-array phase at the second moment

[0135] According to the characteristics of sum-difference operation and the topological structure of the sum-difference signal operation device based on asynchronous sum-difference, the phase setting values of the first sub-array 1, the second sub-array 2, the third sub-array 3 and the fourth sub-array 4 at the second moment are calculated. and The phases of the four sub-arrays are configured based on the above four phase vectors. At time 2, after the phase configuration is completed, the incoming signals received by the first sub-array 1, the second sub-array 2, the third sub-array 3, and the fourth sub-array 4 are s(1), s(2), -s(3), and -s(4), respectively.

[0136] S4. Obtain the sum and difference calculation results at the second moment

[0137] After the phase is configured at the second moment, the first sub-array 1 and the fourth sub-array 4 are combined by the first combiner 1 to obtain the received signal s(1)-s(4); after the phase is configured at the second moment, the second sub-array 2 and the third sub-array 3 are combined by the second combiner 2 to obtain the received signal s(2)-s(3); after the output signals of the first combiner 1 and the second combiner 2 at the second moment are summed and differed in the basic summator, the dual-channel digital transceiver collects the summation result: (s(1)-s(4))+(s(2)-s(3)) and the difference operation result: (s(1)-s(4))-(s(2)-s(3)) output by the basic summator at the second moment. The summation result: (s(1)-s(4))+(s(2)-s(3)) output at the second moment is the first difference signal: s Δ1 , the difference calculation result at the second moment: (s(1)-s(4))-(s(2)-s(3)) is the second difference signal: s Δ2 .

[0138] S5. Get azimuth and elevation angles

[0139] If you set s Δ1 is the azimuth difference signal, s Δ2 is the pitch difference signal, then the difference and ratio in the azimuth direction is

[0140] ε a =s Δ1 ÷s ∑

[0141] The detected target azimuth angle is obtained by comparing with the pre-acquired "difference and ratio-angle" curve The difference and ratio in the pitch direction is

[0142] ε e =s Δ2 ÷s ∑

[0143] The pitch angle of the detected target is obtained by comparing it with the pre-acquired "difference and ratio-angle" curve

[0144] If you set s Δ1 is the pitch difference signal, s Δ2 is the azimuth difference signal, then the difference and ratio of the azimuth directions are

[0145] ε a =s Δ2 ÷s ∑

[0146] The detected target azimuth angle is obtained by comparing with the pre-acquired "difference and ratio-angle" curve The difference and ratio in the pitch direction is

[0147] ε e =s Δ1 ÷s ∑

[0148] The pitch angle of the detected target is obtained by comparing it with the pre-acquired "difference and ratio-angle" curve

[0149] The present invention presents an asynchronous sum-and-difference-based, low-hardware-complexity sum-and-difference signal calculation device and angle measurement method. The device comprises an antenna array consisting of a first subarray 1, a second subarray 2, a third subarray 3, and a fourth subarray 4; a first combiner 1, a second combiner 2, a basic sum-and-difference device; and a dual-channel digital transceiver. By configuring the subarrays at different phases at two times, a sum signal and two difference signals can be obtained at two times using a single basic sum-and-difference device. This overcomes the bottleneck that has limited the reduction of hardware complexity and size of sum-and-difference networks, providing new technical support for further reducing the size, hardware complexity, and cost of sum-and-difference networks.

[0150] Other embodiments of the present invention will readily occur to those skilled in the art after considering the specification and practicing the invention herein. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the present invention that follow the general principles of the invention and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art not disclosed herein. The description and examples are to be considered as exemplary only, with the true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the claims.

[0151] It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the exact construction described above and shown in the drawings and that various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope thereof, which is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A sum-difference signal operation device based on asynchronous sum-difference, characterized in that: The device includes an antenna array consisting of a first sub-array, a second sub-array, a third sub-array and a fourth sub-array, a first combiner, a second combiner, a summator and a dual-channel digital transceiver; The antenna array is used to transmit a directional beam and receive signals in a specific direction; wherein the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array, and the fourth sub-array have independent phase adjustment functions, and the acquisition of the sum signal, the first difference signal, and the second difference signal is achieved by configuring different phases for the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array, and the fourth sub-array at different times; The first combiner is used to combine two sub-arrays of the four sub-arrays; the second combiner is used to combine the other two sub-arrays of the four sub-arrays; The summator is used to perform sum and difference processing on the output signals of the two combiners, thereby obtaining the desired sum and difference signals; The dual-channel digital transceiver is used to receive the sum and difference signals output by the sum and difference device.

2. The sum-difference signal calculation device according to claim 1, wherein: The first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array are arranged in a field shape, and a method of selecting two of the sub-arrays for combining can be combining the two sub-arrays horizontally, combining the two sub-arrays vertically, or combining the two sub-arrays crosswise.

3. The sum-difference signal calculation device according to claim 1, wherein: The summator and differencer are waveguide type summator and differencer, microstrip line type summator and differencer, strip line type summator and differencer, or bridge chip type summator and differencer.

4. An angle measurement method implemented by the asynchronous sum-difference based sum-difference signal operation device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The method comprises: Configure the phases of the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array, and the fourth sub-array at the first moment, and obtain the sum and difference calculation results at the first moment; configuring the phases of the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array, and the fourth sub-array at the second moment, and obtaining the sum and difference calculation results at the second moment; The azimuth angle and the elevation angle are acquired based on the sum-difference calculation result at the first moment and the sum-difference calculation result at the second moment.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that When the first sub-array and the second sub-array of the sum-difference signal operation device based on asynchronous sum-difference are connected to the first combiner, and the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array are connected to the second combiner; the method is specifically as follows: The phases of the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array at the first moment are configured so that the incoming wave signals received by the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array are s(1), s(2), s(3) and s(4) respectively; Input s(1) and s(2) into the first combiner, and input s(3) and s(4) into the second combiner; The summator performs sum and difference operations on the output results of the first combiner and the second combiner to obtain a sum signal (s(1)+s(2))+(s(3)+s(4)) and a first difference signal (s(1)+s(2))-(s(3)+s(4)); The phases of the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array at the second moment are configured so that the incoming wave signals received by the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array are s(1), -s(2), s(3) and -s(4) respectively; Input s(1) and -s(2) to the first combiner, and input s(3) and -s(4) to the second combiner; The sum-subtractor performs sum-subtraction operation on the output results of the first combiner and the second combiner to obtain a second difference signal (s(1)-s(2))+(s(3)-s(4)); An azimuth angle and an elevation angle are acquired based on the sum signal, the first difference signal, and the second difference signal.

6. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that When the first sub-array and the third sub-array of the sum-difference signal operation device based on asynchronous sum-difference are connected to the first combiner, and the second sub-array and the fourth sub-array are connected to the second combiner; the method is specifically as follows: The phases of the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array at the first moment are configured so that the incoming wave signals received by the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array are s(1), s(2), s(3) and s(4) respectively; Input s(1) and s(3) to the first combiner, and input s(2) and s(4) to the second combiner; The summator performs sum and difference operations on the output results of the first combiner and the second combiner to obtain a sum signal (s(1)+s(2))+(s(3)+s(4)) and a second difference signal (s(1)+s(3))-(s(2)+s(4)); The phases of the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array at the second moment are configured so that the incoming wave signals received by the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array are s(1), s(2), -s(3) and -s(4) respectively; Input s(1) and -s(3) to the first combiner, and input s(2) and -s(4) to the second combiner; The sum-subtractor performs sum-subtraction operation on the output results of the first combiner and the second combiner to obtain a first difference signal (s(1)-s(3))+(s(2)-s(4)); An azimuth angle and an elevation angle are acquired based on the sum signal, the first difference signal, and the second difference signal.

7. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that When the first sub-array and the fourth sub-array of the sum-difference signal operation device based on asynchronous sum-difference are connected to the first combiner, and the second sub-array and the third sub-array are connected to the second combiner; the method is specifically as follows: The phases of the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array at the first moment are configured so that the incoming wave signals received by the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array are s(1), s(2), s(3) and s(4) respectively; Input s(1) and s(4) to the first combiner, and input s(2) and s(3) to the second combiner; The summator performs sum and difference operations on the output results of the first combiner and the second combiner to obtain a sum signal (s(1)+s(2))+(s(3)+s(4)); The phases of the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array at the second moment are configured so that the incoming wave signals received by the first sub-array, the second sub-array, the third sub-array and the fourth sub-array are s(1), s(2), -s(3) and -s(4) respectively; Input s(1) and -s(4) to the first combiner, and input s(2) and -s(3) to the second combiner; The sum-subtractor performs sum and difference operations on the output results of the first combiner and the second combiner to obtain a first difference signal (s(1)-s(4))+(s(2)-s(3)) and a second difference signal (s(1)-s(4))-(s(2)-s(3)); An azimuth angle and an elevation angle are acquired based on the sum signal, the first difference signal, and the second difference signal.

8. The method according to any one of claims 5, 6 or 7, wherein: The acquiring the azimuth angle and the elevation angle based on the sum signal, the first difference signal and the second difference signal comprises: When the first difference signal is an azimuth difference signal; taking the ratio of the first difference signal to the sum signal as the difference-sum ratio in the azimuth direction; The azimuth angle of the detected target is obtained by comparing the difference and ratio of the azimuth directions with the difference and ratio-angle curve obtained in advance; taking the ratio of the second difference signal to the sum signal as the difference-sum ratio in the pitch direction; The pitch angle of the detected target is obtained by comparing the difference and ratio in the pitch direction with the pre-acquired difference and ratio-angle curve.

9. The method according to any one of claims 5, 6 or 7, wherein: The acquiring the azimuth angle and the elevation angle based on the sum signal, the first difference signal and the second difference signal comprises: When the first difference signal is a pitch difference signal; taking the ratio of the first difference signal to the sum signal as the difference-sum ratio in the pitch direction; The pitch angle of the detected target is obtained by comparing the difference and ratio of the azimuth directions with the difference and ratio-angle curve obtained in advance; taking the ratio of the second difference signal to the sum signal as the difference-sum ratio in the azimuth direction; The pitch angle of the detected target is obtained by comparing the difference and ratio of the azimuth directions with the pre-acquired difference and ratio-angle curve.

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