Unmanned aerial vehicle countermeasure device and method with switchable polarization of radiation signals

Abstract

The application provides a UAV countermeasure device and method with switchable radiation signal polarization, comprising: at least two polarization antennas, the polarization directions of different polarization antennas being different; a power amplifier unit connected with a signal source; a power division unit arranged between the at least two polarization antennas and the power amplifier unit, used for realizing the combination of the at least two polarization antennas; and a polarization switching unit, one polarization switching unit corresponding to one polarization antenna, arranged between the power division unit and the corresponding polarization antenna, used for switching the polarization direction of the combination of the at least two polarization antennas. The UAV countermeasure device and method with switchable radiation signal polarization realize the multi-polarization effect under one power amplifier unit, and have better countermeasure effect, lower cost and lighter weight.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) countermeasures, and more particularly to a UAV countermeasure device and method with switchable radiation signal polarization. Background Technology

[0002] Traditional countermeasures against drones often employ single-channel, single-polarization schemes to jam and counter drones, such as... Figure 1 As shown, however, with the continuous updating and iteration of drone technology, the polarization methods of drones have become more diverse.

[0003] Depend on Figure 2 As shown in the coverage diagram of a single-channel, single-polarization system, when the UAV's communication polarization is in the vertical direction, the 100W interference signal strength of the countermeasures device can be fully utilized. However, if the UAV's communication polarization deflects, the signal strength of the countermeasures device will gradually decrease. In extreme cases, when the UAV's communication polarization is in the horizontal direction, the interference signal strength of the countermeasures device will be almost zero, which significantly affects the effectiveness of countering UAVs.

[0004] To enhance the countermeasure effect and reduce the polarization blind zone, it is usually necessary to add an additional channel and repeatedly switch polarization to perform interference and countermeasures, i.e., dual-channel dual-polarization, such as... Figure 2 As shown. Figure 4 The diagram shows the coverage effect of the dual-channel dual-polarization scheme, which is significantly improved compared to the single-channel scheme. In extreme cases, even when the UAV's communication polarization is within ±45°, the interference signal strength of the countermeasures device is still 50%, indicating a significant improvement in countermeasures effectiveness.

[0005] However, to achieve dual-channel dual-polarization, conventional solutions such as Figure 2 The setup requires two 100W amplifiers, which not only increases the cost but also the weight of the equipment. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This invention provides a UAV countermeasure device and method with switchable radiation signal polarization to solve the problems of poor UAV countermeasure effect of single-channel polarization and high cost and heavy weight of dual-channel polarization in the prior art.

[0007] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention is achieved through the following technical solution: According to a first aspect of the present invention, a UAV countermeasure device with switchable radiation signal polarization is provided, comprising: At least two polarized antennas, with different polarization directions for the different polarized antennas; The power amplifier unit is connected to the signal source; A power divider unit is disposed between at least two of the polarized antennas and the power amplifier unit, for the purpose of combining at least two of the polarized antennas; A polarization switching unit, one polarization switching unit corresponding to one polarization antenna, is disposed between the power divider unit and the corresponding polarization antenna, and is used to switch the polarization direction synthesized by at least two polarization antennas.

[0008] Optionally, one of the polarization switching units includes: Multiple radio frequency transmission lines, each with a different length; Two radio frequency (RF) switches are provided. One RF switch is connected between the power divider unit and one end of the RF transmission line, and the other RF switch is connected between the other end of the RF transmission line and the polarized antenna. The two RF switches are used to switch between multiple RF transmission lines so that the power divider unit and the polarized antenna are connected through one of the RF transmission lines.

[0009] Optionally, the phase switching range of the polarization switching unit is greater than 180 degrees.

[0010] Optionally, the number of radio frequency transmission lines is four, and the phase difference between the four radio frequency transmission lines is sequentially spaced at 90°.

[0011] Optionally, the four radio frequency transmission lines are used to achieve four phase difference levels: -90°, 0°, +90°, and +180°.

[0012] Optionally, the radio frequency transmission line can be any one of microstrip line, stripline, coaxial line, or waveguide.

[0013] Optionally, the power distribution unit has equal power allocation.

[0014] Optionally, the power divider unit can be any one of a microstrip power divider, a cavity power divider, or a filter.

[0015] Optionally, the polarized antenna is an array antenna, an omnidirectional antenna, or a directional antenna.

[0016] Optionally, when the number of polarized antennas is two, the polarization directions of the two polarized antennas are perpendicular to each other.

[0017] Optionally, the phase centers of the multiple polarized antennas coincide and their center points intersect.

[0018] According to a second aspect of the present invention, a method for countering unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with switchable radiation signal polarization is provided, comprising: The signal source is divided into multiple paths by a power divider unit, and each path corresponds to at most one polarized antenna. At least one of the signals is phase-switched to switch the polarization direction of the multi-polarized antenna synthesis. The UAV countermeasure device and method with switchable radiated signal polarization provided by this invention combines at least two polarized antennas through a power divider unit and adds a polarization switching unit to the front end of one or more polarized antennas, realizing an antenna scheme where the polarization direction of at least two polarized antennas can be switched. This achieves a multi-polarization effect with a single power amplifier unit. Compared to the traditional scheme that requires two power amplifiers to achieve dual-polarization, this method achieves better countermeasure performance while being lower in cost and lighter in weight.

[0019] In one optional embodiment of the present invention, the polarization switching unit is implemented through multiple radio frequency transmission lines and radio frequency switches. The phase switching range is not limited, and a wide range of phase shifts can be achieved to meet the needs of more polarization switching. In addition, the radio frequency switches can achieve millisecond-level fast switching, which can cope with the rapid flight mode switching of UAVs in the air and can be quickly detected and countered.

[0020] In one optional embodiment of the present invention, the polarization switching unit is provided with four phase difference positions, which can switch between vertical polarization, horizontal polarization, left-hand circular polarization and right-hand circular polarization. When the UAV switches flight modes in the air, the communication polarization changes constantly. Through the above-mentioned multiple polarization switching, it can be ensured that the UAV can be detected and countered no matter what flight mode it is in. Attached Figure Description

[0021] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an existing single-polarization scheme; Figure 2 This is a diagram showing the antenna coverage effect of an existing single-polarization scheme; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of an existing dual-polarization scheme; Figure 4 This is a diagram illustrating the antenna coverage effect of an existing dual-polarization scheme. Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a UAV countermeasure device with switchable radiation signal polarization according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the polarization switchable principle of a drone countermeasure device according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of a drone countermeasure device according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 8 This is an antenna coverage effect diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention; Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures: 1-Polarized antenna; 11-First polarization antenna; 12 - Second polarization antenna; 2-Power Amplifier Unit; 3-Power Division Unit; 4-Polarization switching unit; 41-RF transmission line; 42 - A radio frequency switch; 43 - Another RF switch. Detailed Implementation

[0023] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0024] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "upper part", "lower part", "upper end", "lower end", "lower surface", "upper surface", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of the invention.

[0025] In the description of this invention, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature.

[0026] In the description of this invention, "a plurality of" means multiple, such as two, three, four, etc., unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0027] In the description of this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the term "connection" and other such terms should be interpreted broadly. For example, it can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can refer to a mechanical connection, an electrical connection, or a connection that allows communication between the components; it can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; it can refer to the internal communication between two components or the interaction between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention according to the specific circumstances.

[0028] The technical solution of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments. These specific embodiments can be combined with each other, and the same or similar concepts or processes may not be described again in some embodiments.

[0029] In one embodiment, a UAV countermeasure device with switchable radiation signal polarization is provided, comprising: at least two polarized antennas 1, a power amplifier unit 2, a power divider unit 3, and a polarization switching unit 4. Please refer to [reference needed]. Figure 5 The polarization directions of the antennas with different polarizations are different. Power amplifier unit 2 is connected to the signal source. Power divider unit 3 is located between at least two polarized antennas 1 and power amplifier unit 2, used to combine the signals of at least two polarized antennas 1. The power divider unit is a one-to-many splitter, and its number of paths can be the same as the number of polarized antennas. A polarization switching unit 4 corresponds to one polarized antenna 1 and is located between power divider unit 3 and the corresponding polarized antenna 1, used to switch the polarization direction combined by the at least two polarized antennas.

[0030] In the above embodiments, at least two polarized antennas are combined by a power divider unit 2, and then the phase of the signal of the corresponding polarized antenna is switched by a polarization switching unit, thereby switching the polarization direction of the combined signal of at least two polarized antennas. This allows the signal passing through the same power amplifier unit to obtain multiple polarization directions. Compared with the traditional solution that requires two power amplifiers to achieve dual polarization, the above embodiments of the present invention achieve multi-polarization under the same power amplifier, thereby achieving better coverage and countermeasures while further reducing equipment costs and weight.

[0031] In one embodiment, the number of polarized antennas is two, such as... Figure 5 As shown, the polarization directions of the two polarized antennas can be perpendicular to each other, such as ±45° or ±90°. Figure 5 Taking ±45° as an example.

[0032] Preferably, the phase centers of the two polarized antennas coincide, and from a structural perspective, the center points of the two polarized antennas intersect.

[0033] In different embodiments, the polarization direction of the bipolarized antenna can also be two arbitrary angles. For example... Figure 6The above embodiment illustrates the principle of polarization switching. The first polarized antenna 11 and the second polarized antenna 12 are two antennas with polarization directions perpendicular to each other, and both antennas are fed with equal signal amplitudes. Then, when the polarization switching unit is adjusted to the 0° position, the antenna will form a polarization pattern as shown in the diagram. Figure 6 The first polarization direction A; when the polarization switching unit is adjusted to the 180° position, the antenna will form as shown in the image. Figure 6 The second polarization direction B in the equation.

[0034] Based on the above principles, antenna polarization can be switched by controlling the position of the polarization switching unit. A block diagram illustrating this implementation is shown below. Figure 5 As shown, the power-dividing unit has equal power distribution. The polarization switching unit can achieve bilinear polarization by setting two positions: 0° and 180°. If more polarization forms emerge as drones develop, the polarization switching unit can be equipped with additional positions, such as a 90° position for circular polarization.

[0035] Preferably, the phase switching range of the polarization switching unit is >180°.

[0036] In one embodiment, the polarization switching unit includes: multiple radio frequency transmission lines 41 and two radio frequency switches 42 and 43, please refer to Figure 7 The different RF transmission lines 41 have different lengths; one RF switch 42 is connected between the power divider unit 3 and one end of the RF transmission line 41, and another RF switch 43 is connected between the other end of the RF transmission line 41 and the polarized antenna 1. The two RF switches are used to switch between multiple RF transmission lines 41 so that the power divider unit 3 and the polarized antenna 1 are connected through one of the RF transmission lines 41. That is, when RF switches 42 and 43 are switched to the same RF transmission line 41, the power divider unit 2 and the polarized antenna 1 are connected through this RF transmission line 41.

[0037] like Figure 7 In this example, the number of radio frequency transmission lines 41 is four.

[0038] Preferably, the phase difference between the four radio frequency transmission lines 41 is spaced 90° apart; it can be used to achieve four phase difference levels: -90°, 0°, +90°, and +180°, and can switch between vertical polarization, horizontal polarization, left-hand circular polarization, and right-hand circular polarization.

[0039] In different embodiments, the number of radio frequency transmission lines is not necessarily four, but can be other numbers.

[0040] In one embodiment, the radio frequency transmission line can be any one of microstrip line, stripline, coaxial line, or waveguide.

[0041] like Figure 8As shown, the polarization-switchable antenna scheme in the above embodiment achieves the same coverage effect as the dual-channel dual-polarization scheme.

[0042] In one embodiment, the polarization switching unit 4 can be one or more. For example, taking a bipolar antenna as an example, a polarization switching unit can be added to one of the polarized antennas. Figure 5 Taking the addition of a polarization switching unit 4 to one of the polarized antennas 1 as an example, polarization switching units can also be added to both polarized antennas to obtain more diverse polarization directions. Furthermore, the polarization direction of the signal source can be freely set, resulting in a wider range of applications and better countermeasures.

[0043] In one embodiment, the power divider unit can be a microstrip power divider, a cavity power divider, or it can be integrated into other RF devices (such as filters) at the front end of the system to realize the power distribution function. There is no limitation on the type of power divider unit.

[0044] In one embodiment, the polarized antenna can be an array antenna, an omnidirectional antenna, or a directional antenna; there is no limitation on the type of polarized antenna.

[0045] In one embodiment, a method for countering unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with switchable radiation signal polarization is also provided, comprising: S11: The signal source is divided into multiple paths by a power divider unit, and each path corresponds to at most one polarized antenna. S12: Perform phase switching on at least one of the signals to switch the polarization direction of the multi-polarized antenna synthesis.

[0046] In the description of this specification, the references to terms such as "an embodiment," "an example," "a specific implementation process," and "an example" indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

[0047] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and not to limit them; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some or all of the technical features; and these modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A UAV countermeasure device with switchable radiation signal polarization, characterized in that, include: At least two polarized antennas, with different polarization directions for the different polarized antennas; The power amplifier unit is connected to the signal source; A power divider unit is disposed between at least two of the polarized antennas and the power amplifier unit, for the purpose of combining at least two of the polarized antennas; A polarization switching unit, one polarization switching unit corresponding to one polarization antenna, is disposed between the power divider unit and the corresponding polarization antenna, and is used to switch the polarization direction synthesized by at least two polarization antennas.

2. The anti-drone device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The polarization switching unit includes: Multiple radio frequency transmission lines, each with a different length; Two radio frequency (RF) switches are provided. One RF switch is connected between the power divider unit and one end of the RF transmission line, and the other RF switch is connected between the other end of the RF transmission line and the polarized antenna. The two RF switches are used to switch between multiple RF transmission lines so that the power divider unit and the polarized antenna are connected through one of the RF transmission lines.

3. The anti-drone device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The phase switching range of the polarization switching unit is greater than 180 degrees.

4. The anti-drone device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The number of radio frequency transmission lines is four, and the phase difference between the four radio frequency transmission lines is 90° apart.

5. The anti-drone device according to claim 4, characterized in that, The four radio frequency transmission lines are used to achieve four phase difference levels: -90°, 0°, +90°, and +180°.

6. The anti-drone device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The radio frequency transmission line can be any one of microstrip line, stripline, coaxial line, or waveguide.

7. The anti-drone device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The power distribution unit has equal power allocation.

8. The anti-drone device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, When the number of polarized antennas is two, the polarization directions of the two polarized antennas are perpendicular to each other.

9. The anti-drone device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The phase centers of the multiple polarized antennas coincide, and their center points intersect.

10. A method for countering unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with switchable radiation signal polarization, characterized in that, include: The signal source is divided into multiple paths by a power divider unit, and each path corresponds to at most one polarized antenna. Phase switching is performed on at least one of the signals to switch the polarization direction of the multi-polarized antenna synthesis.

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