Shipborne transportable fast-assembly antenna

Abstract

The invention discloses a shipborne transportable fast-assembly antenna, and relates to the technical field of antennas. The antenna comprises a base, a seat frame and a reflecting surface. The base is quickly fixed with the ship body through the vacuum chuck without welding; the seat frame is of an A-E-C three-axis full turntable structure and is used for driving the reflecting surface to move; and the reflecting surface is formed by splicing a central reflecting surface and a plurality of side reflecting surfaces through lock catches. The servo control system of the antenna integrates the functions of initialization self-checking, automatic pointing, searching and automatic tracking, and can automatically align and track a satellite according to navigation and attitude information. A self-adaptive tracking strategy combining conical scanning and stepping tracking is innovatively adopted, conical scanning can be intelligently started and stopped according to the signal intensity, the tracking precision is ensured, meanwhile, mechanical abrasion of a transmission structure is remarkably reduced, and the service life of equipment is prolonged. The whole system has the advantages of being rapid in deployment, convenient to disassemble and assemble, reliable in tracking, high in adaptability and the like, and is particularly suitable for communication scenes needing maneuvering layout such as ships and warships.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The application relates to the technical field of antennas, in particular to a shipborne movable antenna which is high in maneuverability, convenient to arrange, and high in reliability BACKGROUND

[0002] Currently, shipborne antennas have various tasks, and the installation mode of the antennas is mainly welding installation bases on ship bodies, which is not applicable to the situation that the antennas need to be quickly removed and withdrawn after short task periods. The application provides an antenna design scheme which can be quickly arranged, removed and withdrawn, and the scheme provides a novel fixing mode, which can guarantee normal work of the antenna and safety of equipment. In addition, the application provides a novel tracking scheme, which avoids the problem of serious wear of a transmission structure during tracking, and improves equipment life and reliability. SUMMARY

[0003] The application aims to provide a shipborne movable quick-mounting antenna which is easy to arrange and convenient to disassemble and assemble, and is especially suitable for arrangement and use on a ship.

[0004] To achieve the above object, the application adopts the following technical scheme: A shipborne movable quick-mounting antenna comprises a base, a seat frame and a reflecting surface; the base is composed of a box body, a supporting leg and a vacuum suction cup; one end of the supporting leg is hingedly connected to the box body, and the other end is hingedly connected to the vacuum suction cup; a vacuum suction pump is arranged in the box body and connected to the vacuum suction cup; The seat frame is arranged on the box body of the base, and is an A-E-C three-axis type full rotation antenna seat frame; the reflecting surface is arranged on a moving end of the antenna seat frame, and is capable of realizing azimuth, elevation and cross rotation; the reflecting surface comprises a central reflecting surface and side reflecting surfaces; the central reflecting surface and the side reflecting surfaces are connected through corresponding buckles. A servo center realizes movement of the reflecting surface according to an instruction and a corresponding control signal issued to the seat frame according to a control strategy; the control strategy comprises initialization self-checking, automatic pointing, automatic tracking, one-way rotation, automatic storage and fault detection, and the servo center reports collected states to a monitoring device.

[0005] Further, the automatic pointing process is as follows: the servo center automatically collects longitude and latitude, heading, antenna posture information, and calculates a pointing satellite according to input satellite longitude and beacon frequency, or rotates to a target position according to input azimuth and elevation. The automatic tracking process is as follows: the servo center collects longitude and latitude, heading, antenna posture information, calculates a pointing satellite according to input satellite longitude and beacon frequency, and searches and tracks the satellite. The automatic storage process is as follows: the antenna elevation axis is turned to 90 degrees towards the sky, the intersection axis is turned to 0 degrees, and the azimuth axis remains unchanged at the current angle, thereby completing the transition from the working position to the storage state.

[0006] Further, the workflow includes initialization, initial acquisition, search, and automatic tracking in sequence; Wherein, the initialization: the azimuth axis is provided with a proximity switch, and the elevation and intersection axes are respectively provided with two proximity switches. After the system is powered on, the azimuth axis is rotated clockwise, the elevation axis is rotated upward, and the intersection axis is rotated clockwise. When each axis senses the respective proximity switch, the axis angle calibration of the corresponding axis is completed, and the initialization is completed. The initial acquisition: the servo center collects the heading, positioning, and attitude information output by the navigation module, and waits for system commands. After receiving the automatic tracking command, the star position is calculated according to the target star information specified by the user. The calculation output is a command deck angle, which is an absolute position command. The command is taken as input to output a speed command through a PI controller and sent to the drive module to drive the rotation of each axis motor. Finally, the antenna is driven to the calculated azimuth and elevation theoretical angle. The search: mainly consists of small-range search, large-range search, main and auxiliary lobe identification, and heading correction. The small-range search refers to the antenna searching within 10 degrees on both sides of the azimuth theoretical angle. If the receiver can be continuously locked within 200 ms, it will enter the main and auxiliary lobe identification, otherwise it will enter the large-range search. The large-range search refers to the antenna searching within 360 degrees of the azimuth axis. If the receiver can be continuously locked within 200 ms, it will enter the main and auxiliary lobe identification, otherwise the task search will fail. During the main and auxiliary lobe identification process, the antenna real-time collects and records the signal strength information at each angle. After the main and auxiliary lobe identification is completed, the antenna is guided to the corresponding pointing angle where the signal strength is the largest, and enters the heading correction. The heading correction is to correct the heading angle by combining the azimuth angle and the elevation angle after accurately aligning the satellite with the local latitude and longitude information, to shorten the time and improve the accuracy of the next star alignment. The automatic tracking: after entering the tracking process, the servo center controls the antenna main surface to perform conical scanning tracking or step tracking, reads the signal strength value reported by the receiver to perform error demodulation, and then converts the geographic angle to the deck angle coordinate system in combination with the current ship heading and attitude, outputs the position command to the PI controller to output the speed command, and drives each axis to rotate through the drive module, to realize real-time and accurate pointing to the target and achieve automatic tracking.

[0007] Further, when the antenna continuously and stably tracks for 15 minutes during the conical scanning tracking, the antenna stops the main surface circular scanning and only maintains the geographic pointing of the target position, without further circular scanning correction. When the signal signal-to-noise ratio is detected to decrease by 1 dB, the antenna restarts the main surface circular scanning to ensure that the signal continuously has a large intensity.

[0008] Further, according to the ship shaking condition, step tracking or conical scanning tracking is selected, an inertial sensor for sensing the ship body shaking rate is installed on the antenna, when the ship shaking rate is identified to be less than a threshold value, the antenna performs step tracking, and when the ship shaking rate is identified to be greater than the threshold value, the antenna performs conical scanning tracking.

[0009] Compared with the prior art, the advantages of the application are that: Compared with the prior art, the ship-mounted movable quick-mount antenna has the following advantages. First, the antenna has high mobility and rapid deployment capability. The base is formed by vacuum suction cups and articulated legs, and permanent fixation such as welding on the ship body is not required, so that the antenna can be quickly installed, firmly adsorbed and conveniently removed, and the antenna perfectly adapts to application scenarios with short task cycles and frequent movement. Meanwhile, the antenna reflector is designed in a modular assembly mode, is connected by a lock buckle and is matched with a rapidly deployable A-E-C three-axis pedestal, so that the entire antenna system can be efficiently erected and removed by two people, and the operation efficiency and the sea adaptability of the equipment are greatly improved.

[0010] Secondly, the antenna has high-precision intelligent tracking and stable pointing performance. The antenna pedestal adopts a three-axis stabilization and two-axis tracking system, and is combined with a full-digital servo control system, so that independent movement of azimuth, elevation and cross is realized, and blind area tracking of a target satellite in all sea areas and complex sea conditions is ensured. The system integrates a series of automatic processes such as automatic initialization, initial acquisition, intelligent search (including small-range / large-range search and main lobe identification) and automatic tracking, and continuously optimizes system accuracy through heading correction technology, so that fast, accurate and reliable signal acquisition and continuous stable tracking are realized.

[0011] Finally, the antenna effectively prolongs the service life of the equipment and improves the reliability through an intelligent tracking strategy. The servo system can adaptively switch between the conical scanning tracking with fast dynamic response and the step tracking with small mechanical wear according to the real-time sensed ship body shaking rate, so that the optimal balance between tracking performance and mechanical wear is realized. In particular, in the conical scanning tracking, a criterion based on signal strength is innovatively introduced: the main surface scanning is automatically paused after continuous stable tracking for a period of time, and is restarted only when the signal decays. This intermittent conical scanning mechanism greatly reduces the invalid wear of the transmission structure, thereby significantly prolonging the service life of the antenna and reducing the maintenance cost. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0012] Figure 1 is a schematic view of an antenna base of the application; Figure 2 is a schematic view of an antenna pedestal of the application; Figure 3 is a schematic view of an antenna reflector of the application; Figure 4is the automatic tracking processing flowchart of the present application; Figure 5 is the search process processing flowchart of the present application Figure 6 is the circular scanning tracking processing flowchart of the present application; Figure 7 is the step tracking processing flowchart of the present application.

[0013] In the figure: 1, box, 2, leg, 3, lifting ring, 4, suction cup, 5, network sleeve, 6, counterweight, 7, azimuth motor, 8, seat frame body, 9, drive control box (servo center), 10, elevation motor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] The present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0015] Referring to Figures 1 to 7 , the antenna of the embodiment is composed of an antenna base, an antenna seat frame and an antenna reflector.

[0016] The antenna base is composed of a box, legs and a lifting ring. The antenna seat frame is installed on the top of the base. The base is connected to the ship body effectively and reliably through four vacuum suction cups. A vacuum suction pump is installed inside the base box. Four legs are installed around the base box. The vacuum suction cups are installed at the ends of the legs.

[0017] The antenna seat frame is composed of a seat frame body, a motor, a drive control box (containing a driver module), a network sleeve and a counterweight.

[0018] The antenna reflector is composed of one middle reflector and eight side reflectors. The middle reflector is made of high-strength aluminum material and is machined and formed. The assembly surface has high precision and serves as the assembly reference of the side reflectors. The side reflectors are made of carbon fiber composite material / Nomex honeycomb sandwich structure. The side reflectors are formed on a mold during processing. The upper and lower skins are made of high-strength carbon fiber material, which ensures the strength and rigidity of the antenna. Metal embedded parts with locks are pre-embedded and installed inside the antenna, and are bonded with high-strength structural adhesive, which ensures that the locks and the antenna reflector have sufficient connection strength.

[0019] The antenna adopts a ring focus form antenna reflector and an A-E-C three-axis type full turntable antenna seat frame. During transportation, the antenna reflector and the seat frame are disassembled and packed. Two people can quickly expand the antenna seat frame and assemble the antenna reflector during work, and the positioning pins are used for accurate positioning. The antenna station and attitude data can be provided autonomously through the built-in navigation module. The drive control box adjusts the azimuth, elevation and cross rotation of the antenna to realize the transmission and tracking of the target satellite signal. In terms of antenna structure, the antenna can be quickly disassembled and assembled, moved and carried, etc.

[0020] The antenna uses the following operation work flow: a, open box erection, antenna erection steps: open box - box assembly - install antenna seat - assemble antenna reflector - erection complete; b, cable connection: connect antenna power line and control line; c, system power on, start antenna control software; d, automatic tracking, automatic tracking process: device self-checking is completed - satellite parameter setting - execution tracking instruction - capture - search - tracking.

[0021] The servo control device is an important part of the antenna. Its main function is to realize accurate pointing by driving and controlling the antenna to meet the needs of accurate tracking. The servo control device of the antenna adopts a fully digital control architecture, realizes control logic and control algorithm through software, and realizes transmission of control signals and control commands through a digital communication bus. The device has complete safety control protection logic and state detection function, which greatly improves the reliability of the system. Its main task is to control the movement of the antenna according to the instructions and corresponding signals, quickly, accurately, stably and reliably pointing to the target. It has the functions of initialization self-checking, automatic pointing, automatic tracking, one-way rotation, automatic storage and fault detection, and reports the collected state to the monitoring device.

[0022] In the automatic pointing mode, the servo adopts a guided pointing mode, which corrects the antenna pointing according to the tracking receiver power information; in the one-way rotation mode, the antenna rotation can be controlled through the manual position function.

[0023] The servo control software completes the monitoring and scheduling of the task antenna, and the specific functions include self-checking, automatic pointing, automatic tracking, one-way rotation, automatic storage, fault detection, etc. The details are as follows: a, initialization self-checking: complete device initialization with self-checking function (CAN bus self-checking, fault alarm, limit indication, etc.); b, automatic pointing: automatically collect latitude, longitude, heading, antenna attitude information, and calculate the pointing satellite according to the input satellite longitude and beacon frequency, or automatically rotate to the target position according to the input azimuth and pitch angle; c, automatic tracking: automatically collect latitude, longitude, heading, antenna attitude information, and calculate the pointing satellite according to the input satellite longitude and beacon frequency, and search and track; d, one-way rotation: can realize azimuth forward / reverse rotation and pitch up / down rotation functions independently.

[0024] e, automatic storage: turn the antenna from the working position to the storage and disassembly state.

[0025] f, fault detection: the motor of the antenna, shaft angle, tracking receiver, compass, inertial navigation, limit information, control box temperature, real-time detection, fault alarm and data recording.

[0026] According to the working characteristics of the equipment in all sea areas, a three-axis system is adopted, and the servo system is designed in the form of three-axis stabilization and two-axis tracking. This system can meet the specific working requirements of all sea areas and no blind area, and each shaft system is relatively independent, which is convenient for control.

[0027] After the system is powered on, the antenna working process is "initialization", "initial acquisition", "search", "automatic tracking" in turn.

[0028] Initialization: The azimuth axis is installed with a proximity switch, and the elevation and cross axes are respectively installed with two proximity switches. After the system is powered on, the azimuth axis rotates clockwise, the elevation axis rotates upward, and the cross axis rotates clockwise. When each axis senses its own proximity switch, the corresponding shaft angle calibration is completed, and the initialization is completed.

[0029] Initial acquisition: The drive box automatically collects the heading, positioning and attitude information output by the navigation module, and waits for system commands. After receiving the automatic tracking command, the star position is calculated according to the user-specified target star information (star longitude, polarization, etc.). The calculation output is a command deck angle, which is an absolute position command. This command is used as input to the PI controller to output a speed command, which is sent to the drive module to drive the rotation of each shaft motor. Finally, the antenna is driven to the calculated azimuth and elevation theoretical angle.

[0030]

[0031]

[0032] Among them, A: Azimuth theoretical angle; : Elevation theoretical angle; : Latitude of the working sea area of the ship; : Longitude of the target satellite; : Longitude of the working sea area of the ship; : Earth radius; : Distance from the ground height of the target satellite.

[0033] Search: Due to the navigation module heading drift and the axis angle calibration error, the antenna can not accurately point to the target when it first captures the position, at this time, it is necessary to search for accurate alignment of the target. The search process mainly consists of "small range search", "large range search", "main and side lobe identification", "heading correction". "Small range search" refers to the antenna within the range of 10 degrees left and right of the theoretical angle. If the receiver can be continuously locked within 200ms, it will enter "main and side lobe identification", otherwise it will enter "large range search". "Large range search" refers to the antenna rotating 360 degrees to search for the target. If the receiver can be continuously locked within 200ms, it will enter "main and side lobe identification", otherwise the task search fails. "Main and side lobe identification" is a more detailed search process to prevent the antenna from pointing to the side lobe of the target. In this process, the antenna collects and records the signal strength information at each angle in real time. After the main and side lobe identification is completed, the antenna is guided back to the corresponding pointing angle with the maximum signal strength, and enters "heading correction". "Heading correction" refers to correcting the heading angle by combining the azimuth and elevation angles after accurate alignment of the satellite with the local latitude and longitude information, shortening the time of the next star alignment and improving the accuracy of the next star alignment.

[0034] Automatic tracking: After entering the tracking process, the drive box controls the antenna main surface to perform conical scanning, reads the signal strength value reported by the receiver for error demodulation, and then converts the geographic angle to the deck angle coordinate system in combination with the current ship heading and attitude, outputs the position command, and then outputs the speed command through the PI controller operation. The driving module drives each shaft to rotate, and realizes automatic tracking by real-time accurate pointing to the target.

[0035] The embodiment proposes an improved method of circular scanning tracking, and introduces a step tracking method in tracking, reduces the mechanical wear of the transmission mechanism, and prolongs the service life of the equipment.

[0036] Simple circular scanning tracking requires the antenna surface to draw a circle near the theoretical pointing direction, which will reduce the service life of the mechanical equipment. In order to prolong the service life of the equipment, under the premise of ensuring reliable business execution, the application proposes to use signal strength as the basis for judgment to determine when to exit the main surface circular scanning and when to restart the main surface circular scanning. Specifically as follows: in the circular scanning tracking state, when the antenna continuously and stably tracks for 15 minutes, the antenna stops the main surface circular scanning, only maintains the geographic pointing of the target position, and no longer performs circular scanning correction. When the signal signal-to-noise ratio is detected to decrease by 1dB, the antenna will restart the main surface circular scanning to ensure that the signal remains at a relatively large intensity.

[0037] The application determines when to perform step tracking and when to perform circular scanning tracking according to the ship rocking condition. The antenna is provided with an inertial sensor that can sense the ship rocking rate. When the ship rocking rate is identified to be small, the antenna will perform step tracking. When the ship rocking rate is identified to be large, the antenna will perform circular scanning tracking.

[0038] The antenna uses a main surface scanning mode in tracking to correct system pointing error and control the antenna to aim at the target in real time.

[0039] The antenna uses a step tracking mode to correct system pointing error and control the antenna to aim at the target in real time. Compared with the circular scanning tracking, the step tracking has a slower dynamic response speed, and accordingly, the step tracking has a smaller wear on the antenna transmission device. Therefore, the step tracking is suitable for the case that the ship shaking speed is small, and the circular scanning tracking is suitable for the case that the ship shaking speed is large.

[0040] The above is only one embodiment of the present application. It should be noted that the modifications, changes and the like made without departing from the principles and concepts of the present application shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A ship-borne transportable quick-mount antenna, characterized in that It comprises a base, a pedestal and a reflecting surface; the base is composed of a box, a supporting leg and a vacuum chuck; the supporting leg is hinged at one end to the box and at the other end to the vacuum chuck; a vacuum suction pump is arranged in the box and connected to the vacuum chuck; The pedestal is mounted on the box of the base and is an A-E-C three-axis full rotation antenna pedestal; the reflecting surface is mounted on the moving end of the antenna pedestal to realize the rotation in azimuth, elevation and cross direction; the reflecting surface comprises a central reflecting surface and side reflecting surfaces; The central reflecting surface and the side reflecting surfaces are connected by corresponding locks; The servo center sends instructions and corresponding control signals to the pedestal according to a control strategy to realize the movement of the reflecting surface; the control strategy comprises initialization self-checking, automatic pointing, automatic tracking, one-way rotation, automatic storage and fault detection, and the collected state is reported to a monitoring device.

2. A ship-borne transportable quick-mount antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that The automatic pointing process is as follows: the servo center automatically collects longitude, latitude, heading and antenna attitude information, and calculates the pointing satellite according to the input satellite longitude and beacon frequency, or rotates to the target position according to the input azimuth and elevation angles; The automatic tracking process is as follows: the servo center collects longitude, latitude, heading and antenna attitude information, and calculates the pointing satellite according to the input satellite longitude and beacon frequency, and searches and tracks the satellite; The automatic storage process is as follows: the antenna elevation shaft is turned to 90 degrees upward, the cross shaft is turned to 0 degrees, and the azimuth shaft remains at the current angle, thereby completing the transition from the working position to the storage state.

3. A ship-borne transportable quick-mount antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that The working process comprises initialization, initial acquisition, search and automatic tracking in sequence; In the initialization, a proximity switch is installed on the azimuth shaft, and two proximity switches are installed on the elevation and cross shafts respectively; after the system is powered on, the azimuth shaft is rotated clockwise, the elevation shaft is rotated upward, and the cross shaft is rotated clockwise; when each shaft senses the respective proximity switch, the shaft angle calibration of the corresponding shaft is completed, and the initialization is completed; In the initial acquisition, the servo center collects the heading, positioning and attitude information output by the navigation module, and waits for the system command; after receiving the automatic tracking command, the star position is calculated according to the target star information specified by the user; the calculation output is a command deck angle, which is an absolute position command; the command is taken as the input of the PI controller to output a speed instruction, which is sent to the drive module to realize the rotation of the shaft motor, and finally drives the antenna to the calculated azimuth and elevation theoretical angle; Search: Mainly composed of small range search, large range search, main lobe and side lobe identification, heading correction. Small range search refers to the antenna within 10 degrees of the azimuth of the theoretical angle, if the receiver is locked within 200 ms, it will enter the main lobe and side lobe identification, otherwise it will enter the large range search; Large range search refers to the antenna rotating 360 degrees in the azimuth axis to search for the target, if the receiver can be continuously locked within 200 ms, it will enter the main lobe and side lobe identification, otherwise the task search will fail; During the main lobe and side lobe identification process, the antenna collects and records the signal strength information of each angle in real time, after the main lobe and side lobe identification is completed, the antenna is guided back to the corresponding pointing angle with the maximum signal strength, and enters the heading correction; The heading correction is to correct the heading angle by combining the azimuth angle and the elevation angle after accurately aiming at the satellite with the local latitude and longitude information, to shorten the time of the next satellite aiming and improve the accuracy of the next satellite aiming. Automatic tracking: After entering the tracking process, the servo center controls the antenna main surface to perform conical scanning tracking or step tracking, reads the signal strength value reported by the receiver to perform error demodulation, and then converts the geographic angle to the deck angle coordinate system according to the current ship heading and attitude, outputs the position command, and then outputs the speed command through the PI controller operation, and drives each axis to rotate through the drive module, to realize automatic tracking by pointing to the target in real time and accurately.

4. A ship-borne transportable quick-mount antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that When conical scanning tracking is performed, when the antenna continuously and stably tracks for 15 minutes, the antenna stops the main surface circular scanning, only maintains the geographic pointing of the target position, and no longer performs circular scanning correction, when the signal signal-to-noise ratio is detected to decrease by 1 dB, the antenna restarts the main surface circular scanning to ensure that the signal continuously has a large intensity.

5. A ship-borne transportable quick-mount antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that According to the ship shaking condition, step tracking or conical scanning tracking is selected, the inertial sensor for sensing the ship shaking rate is installed on the antenna, when the ship shaking rate is identified to be less than the threshold value, the antenna performs step tracking, and when the ship shaking rate is identified to be greater than the threshold value, the antenna performs conical scanning tracking.

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