ANTENNA DIRECTION DETERMINATION DEVICE, ANTENNA DIRECTION DETERMINATION METHOD, AND ANTENNA DIRECTION DETERMINATION PROGRAM

Abstract

An antenna direction determination device according to one embodiment is characterized by comprising: an extraction unit that, when the installation direction of a directional antenna is changed sequentially and on the basis of signal data contributing to the error rate of a signal received by the antenna at each of antenna angles indicating installation directions, extracts one or more continuous angle ranges including only antenna angles at which the error rate of the signal received by the antenna is less than or equal to a threshold; and a determination unit that selects the widest angle range from the angle ranges extracted by the extraction unit and determines an antenna angle at which the antenna is to be installed within the selected angle range.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an antenna direction determining device, an antenna direction determining method, and an antenna direction determining program. [Background technology]

[0002] In order to perform wireless communication using a directional antenna, for example, the antenna needs to be installed facing in a direction in which the error rate of the received signal is equal to or lower than a reference value (threshold value).

[0003] One method for determining the direction in which an antenna is to be installed is to install the antenna in the direction in which the power of the received radio wave is maximized. For example, a technique is known in which a pointing error of the azimuth angle and elevation angle of the antenna is calculated based on the amount of deviation between the calculated time when the noise radio wave is received and the calculated time when the noise level peak is observed and the actual time when the noise radio wave is measured and the peak is measured, and when adjusting the pointing direction of the antenna to a target, the calculated pointing error is used to correct the azimuth angle and elevation angle of the antenna (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2007-243795 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in the actual environment in which an antenna is installed, the installation direction of the antenna may change due to physical reasons such as weather conditions such as wind, rain, or snow on the transmitting and receiving sides, the influence of plants and animals, or vibrations.

[0006] In addition, the received power of an antenna fluctuates due to external or internal factors such as temperature changes and chemical denaturation (rust). The degree of this fluctuation can be large even if the angle of the antenna pointed in the direction in which it can receive signals with maximum received power is slightly shifted.

[0007] In addition, when the antenna angle fluctuates, the characteristics may be degraded compared to when the antenna is pointed in another direction. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the installation direction of a directional antenna by taking into consideration the fluctuation of the direction and the resulting error.

[0008] The present invention aims to provide an antenna direction determination device, an antenna direction determination method, and an antenna direction determination program that can determine the installation direction of an antenna so as to suppress degradation of wireless communication quality even if the installation direction of a directional antenna changes after installation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] An antenna direction determination device according to one embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that it has an extraction unit that, when the installation direction of a directional antenna is changed sequentially, extracts one or more continuous angle ranges including only antenna angles at which the error rate of the signal received by the antenna is below a threshold value based on each signal data that contributes to the error rate of the signal received by the antenna for each antenna angle indicating the installation direction, and a determination unit that selects the widest range from among the angle ranges extracted by the extraction unit and determines the antenna angle at which the antenna should be installed within the selected angle range.

[0010] Moreover, an antenna direction determination device according to one aspect of the present invention is characterized in that it has an extraction unit that extracts a range of consecutive angles including only the antenna angles at which the error rate of the signal received by the antenna is most likely to be equal to or lower than each of a plurality of threshold values, based on each signal data that contributes to the error rate of the signal received by the antenna for each antenna angle indicating the installation direction when the installation direction of a directional antenna is changed sequentially, and a determination unit that determines the antenna angle at which the antenna should be installed within the range of angles extracted by the extraction unit.

[0011] Furthermore, an antenna direction determination method according to one embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that it includes an extraction step of extracting one or more continuous angle ranges including only antenna angles at which the error rate of signals received by the antenna is equal to or lower than a threshold value, based on each of the signal data contributing to the error rate of signals received by the antenna for each antenna angle indicating the installation direction, when the installation direction of a directional antenna is changed sequentially, and a determination step of selecting the widest angle range from each of the extracted angle ranges, and determining the antenna angle at which the antenna should be installed within the selected angle range.

[0012] Furthermore, an antenna direction determination method according to one aspect of the present invention is characterized in that it includes an extraction step of extracting a range of consecutive angles including only antenna angles at which the probability that the error rate of the signal received by the antenna will be equal to or lower than each of a plurality of threshold values ​​is highest, based on each signal data that contributes to the error rate of the signal received by the antenna for each antenna angle indicating the installation direction, when the installation direction of a directional antenna is changed sequentially, and a determination step of determining an antenna angle at which the antenna should be installed within the extracted angle range. Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to the present invention, even if the installation direction of a directional antenna changes after installation, the installation direction of the antenna can be determined so as to suppress deterioration of wireless communication quality. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating functions of an antenna direction determining device according to an embodiment; FIG. [Diagram 2] 11 is a graph showing a schematic process of an extracting unit extracting a continuous range of antenna angles in which the error rate of a signal received by the antenna is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold value. [Diagram 3] 5 is a flowchart showing a first operation example of the antenna direction determining device. [Figure 4] 11A to 11C are diagrams illustrating features of a second operation example of the antenna direction determining device. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of a processing unit. [Figure 6] 1A is a graph illustrating the result of determining the antenna direction for a receiving device of a comparative example, and FIG. 1B is a graph illustrating the range in which the antenna direction of the receiving device of the comparative example is shifted due to external influences, etc. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] First, the background of the invention will be described. Fig. 6 is a graph illustrating the relationship between the angle indicating the adjustable antenna direction of a receiving device equipped with a directional antenna and the received power at that angle. Fig. 6(a) is a graph illustrating the result of determining the antenna direction (angle) for a receiving device of a comparative example. Fig. 6(b) is a graph illustrating the range in which the antenna direction (angle) of the receiving device of the comparative example shifts due to external influences, etc.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 6(a), the receiving device of the comparative example obtains received power equal to or greater than a threshold A indicating a required communication quality, and determines angle B at which the received power is the largest as the installation direction of the antenna.

[0017] Here, threshold A is a reference value indicating the minimum required communication quality. For example, if the received power is equal to or greater than threshold A, the error rate of the signal received by the antenna is equal to or less than the reference value indicating the minimum required communication quality.

[0018] 6(b), in the receiving device of the comparative example, the antenna direction (angle) may fluctuate, for example, within range C, due to external influences, etc. In this case, when angle B is determined as the antenna direction, the receiving device of the comparative example may have a received power less than threshold A within range C. In other words, in the receiving device of the comparative example, the error rate may become larger than a reference value indicating the minimum required communication quality due to fluctuations in the antenna direction.

[0019] Therefore, an antenna direction determination device according to one embodiment is configured to determine an antenna installation direction so as to suppress deterioration of wireless communication quality even if the antenna installation direction changes after installation.

[0020] An embodiment of an antenna direction determination device will be described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating functions of an antenna direction determination device 1 according to an embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the antenna direction determination device 1 includes, for example, an antenna 2 and a processing unit 3.

[0021] The antenna 2 is a directional antenna in a low frequency band such as the VHF band, and is provided so that an operator can manually change the installation direction. The antenna 2 may be provided with a mechanism for changing the direction by an operational input, or may be configured to change the direction dynamically.

[0022] The antenna 2 may be configured to change direction within a range of 360 degrees, or may be configured to change direction within a predetermined range. The antenna 2 may be provided so as to be oriented in any three-dimensional direction.

[0023] The processing unit 3 includes a receiving unit 30, an acquiring unit 31, a first storage unit 32, an extracting unit 33, a second storage unit 34, a deciding unit 35, an output unit 36, and a third storage unit 37.

[0024] The receiving unit 30 receives a signal transmitted by a transmitting device (not shown) via the antenna 2 , and outputs the received signal to the acquiring unit 31 .

[0025] When the installation direction of the antenna 2 is changed sequentially, the acquisition unit 31 acquires signal data contributing to the error rate of the signal received by the antenna 2 for each antenna angle indicating the installation direction of the antenna 2, and outputs the signal data to the first memory unit 32.

[0026] For example, the signal data acquired by the acquisition unit 31 is the reception strength of a signal received by the reception unit 30 via the antenna 2. Note that the signal data contributing to the error rate of the signal received by the antenna 2 may be the difference (C / N) between a state in which a transmitting device (not shown) transmits a signal and a state in which the transmission is stopped, or other indexes.

[0027] The first storage unit 32 stores the signal data acquired by the acquisition unit 31 for each antenna angle, and outputs the data in response to an access from the extraction unit 33.

[0028] Based on the signal data and antenna angle read from the first memory unit 32, the extraction unit 33 extracts one or more continuous angle ranges that include only antenna angles at which the error rate of the signal received by the antenna 2 is below a predetermined threshold, and outputs data (data series) indicating the extracted angle range to the second memory unit 34.

[0029] FIG. 2 is a graph showing a schematic process of the extraction unit 33 extracting a continuous angle range including only antenna angles at which the error rate of the signal received by the antenna 2 is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold value.

[0030] 2, the extraction unit 33 extracts ranges D and F where the received power is equal to or greater than the threshold A. As described above, the threshold A is a reference value indicating the minimum required communication quality. In other words, if the received power is equal to or greater than the threshold A, the error rate of the signal received by the antenna 2 is equal to or less than the reference value indicating the minimum required communication quality.

[0031] In addition, the extraction unit 33 may be configured to extract a continuous angle range including only the antenna angles at which the error rate of the signal received by the antenna 2 is most likely to be equal to or lower than each of a plurality of thresholds (described later using Figure 5) based on the signal data and antenna angle read from the first memory unit 32, and to output data indicating the extracted angle range to the second memory unit 34.

[0032] In addition, when the characteristics of the fluctuation in the installation direction of antenna 2 are estimated, extraction unit 33 may extract a range that maximizes the time or amount of data that can comply with the minimum quality of wireless communication when antenna 2 fluctuates in accordance with the characteristics.

[0033] Furthermore, the extraction unit 33 may extract each of the above-mentioned angle ranges based on the signal data and antenna angle pre-stored in the third storage unit 37 described later, without reading out the signal data and antenna angle from the first storage unit 32.

[0034] The antenna angle data may be, for example, a discrete value, and the correspondence between the signal data and the antenna angle may be expressed by a mathematical formula.

[0035] The second storage unit 34 (FIG. 1) stores data indicating the angle range extracted by the extraction unit 33, and outputs the data in response to an access from the determination unit 35.

[0036] The determination unit 35 selects the widest angle range from each of the angle ranges read out from the second memory unit 34, determines the antenna angle at which the antenna 2 should be installed within the selected angle range, and outputs the determined result to the output unit 36.

[0037] For example, the determination unit 35 selects range F, which is the widest range, from ranges D and F shown in Fig. 2, and determines the antenna angle at which the antenna 2 should be installed within range F. For example, when the determination unit 35 determines angle E as the antenna angle, even if the direction (angle) of the antenna 2 fluctuates within range C due to external influences or the like, the antenna direction determination device 1 can always receive signals with a receiving power equal to or higher than threshold A. In other words, the antenna direction determination device 1 can keep the signal error rate below a reference value indicating the minimum required communication quality.

[0038] Furthermore, the determination unit 35 may determine the center of the widest angle range extracted by the extraction unit 33 as the antenna angle at which the antenna 2 should be installed.

[0039] Furthermore, when the extraction unit 33 extracts a continuous angle range including only antenna angles at which the error rate of the signal received by the antenna 2 is most likely to be equal to or lower than each of the multiple thresholds, the determination unit 35 determines an antenna angle at which the antenna 2 should be installed within the angle range extracted by the extraction unit 33 (described later with reference to FIG. 5). At this time, the determination unit 35 determines, for example, the center of the angle range extracted by the extraction unit 33 as the antenna angle at which the antenna 2 should be installed.

[0040] The output unit 36 ​​outputs the result determined by the determination unit 35, for example by displaying it, and presents to the worker the antenna angle at which the antenna 2 should be set.

[0041] The third storage unit 37 prestores data corresponding to the signal data for each antenna angle stored in the first storage unit 32, and outputs the data in response to an access from the extraction unit 33.

[0042] More specifically, when the installation direction of antenna 2 is changed sequentially, the third memory unit 37 stores signal data for each antenna angle that contributes to the error rate of the signal received by antenna 2 for each antenna angle indicating the installation direction.

[0043] For example, the third memory unit 37 stores signal data for each antenna angle that has been measured in advance, signal data for each antenna angle that has been calculated in advance from the characteristics of the antenna 2, or data equivalent to the signal data for each antenna angle that has been processed for easy handling.

[0044] In other words, the extraction unit 33 may extract one or more continuous angle ranges that include only antenna angles at which the error rate of the signal received by the antenna 2 is below a threshold value, based solely on the data stored in the third memory unit 37.

[0045] At this time, the determination unit 35 selects the widest angle range from among the angle ranges extracted by the extraction unit 33, and determines the antenna angle at which the antenna 2 should be installed within the selected angle range.

[0046] In addition, the extraction unit 33 may extract a range of continuous angles including only the antenna angles at which the error rate of the signal received by the antenna 2 is most likely to be equal to or lower than each of the multiple thresholds, based only on the data stored in the third memory unit 37.

[0047] At this time, the determination unit 35 determines the antenna angle at which the antenna 2 should be installed within the range of angles extracted by the extraction unit 33 .

[0048] Next, a description will be given of a first operation example of the antenna direction determining device 1. Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing the first operation example of the antenna direction determining device 1.

[0049] In step 100 (S100), the acquisition unit 31 of the antenna direction determining device 1 acquires the received power via the antenna 2 for each antenna angle.

[0050] In step 102 (S102), the extraction unit 33 of the antenna direction determining device 1 extracts one or more continuous angle ranges that include only antenna angles that satisfy the required reception power.

[0051] In step 104 (S104), the antenna direction determining device 1 selects the maximum range from among the angle ranges extracted by the extraction unit 33, and determines the antenna angle at which the antenna 2 should be installed within the selected angle range.

[0052] In step 106 (S106), the antenna direction determining device 1 displays (outputs) the antenna angle determined by the determination unit 35 via the output unit 36 ​​to present it to the operator.

[0053] Next, there will be described a second operation example of the antenna direction determining device 1. Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating the characteristics of the second operation example of the antenna direction determining device 1.

[0054] As described above, the extraction unit 33 of the antenna direction determination device 1 extracts a range of continuous angles that includes only the antenna angles at which the error rate of the signal received by the antenna 2 is most likely to be equal to or lower than each of multiple thresholds (e.g., thresholds abc).

[0055] 4, for example, the probability of threshold a is 0.3, the probability of threshold b is 0.4, and the probability of threshold c is 0.3. In this case, the probabilities of satisfying the required quality in angle range X of antenna 2 are 0.5, 0.6, and 0.7, respectively. Also, the probabilities of satisfying the required quality in angle range Y of antenna 2 are 0.4, 0.55, and 0.9, respectively.

[0056] When the required quality varies with the above-mentioned probability such as thresholds a, b, and c, the probability that the required quality is satisfied in range X is 0.6, and the probability that the required quality is satisfied in range Y is 0.61. Therefore, in this case, the extraction unit 33 extracts range Y as the angle range of the antenna 2.

[0057] In this way, the antenna direction determination device 1 in one embodiment determines the antenna angle at which the antenna 2 should be installed within the widest angle range or within the angle range extracted by the extraction unit 33, so that even if the installation direction of the directional antenna 2 changes after installation, it is possible to determine the installation direction of the antenna 2 so as to suppress deterioration of wireless communication quality.

[0058] Each function of the processing unit 3 may be partially or completely configured by hardware such as a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or may be configured as a program executed by a processor such as a CPU.

[0059] For example, the antenna direction determining device 1 according to the present invention can be realized using a computer and a program, and the program can be recorded on a storage medium or provided via a network.

[0060] Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the processing unit 3. As shown in Fig. 5, for example, the processing unit 3 has an input unit 50, an output unit 51, a communication unit 52, a CPU 53, a memory 54, and a HDD 55 connected via a bus 56, and has a function as a computer. In addition, the processing unit 3 is configured to input and output data to and from a computer-readable storage medium 57.

[0061] The input unit 50 is, for example, a keyboard and a mouse, etc. The output unit 51 is, for example, a display device such as a display, and corresponds to the above-mentioned output unit 36. The communication unit 52 is, for example, a wired or wireless network interface.

[0062] The CPU 53 controls each unit constituting the processing unit 3 and performs predetermined processing, etc. The memory 54 and the HDD 55 correspond to the above-mentioned first storage unit 32 and second storage unit 34 that store data, etc. The storage medium 57 is capable of storing programs, etc. that cause the processing unit 3 to execute functions. Note that the architecture constituting the processing unit 3 is not limited to the example shown in FIG. [Explanation of symbols]

[0063] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 antenna direction determination device, 2 antenna, 3 processing unit, 30 receiving unit, 31 acquiring unit, 32 first memory unit, 33 extracting unit, 34 second memory unit, 35 determining unit, 36 output unit, 37 third memory unit, 50 input unit, 51 output unit, 52 communication unit, 53 CPU, 54 memory, 55 HDD, 56 bus, 57 storage medium

Claims

1. an extracting unit that extracts one or more continuous angle ranges including only antenna angles at which the error rate of the signal received by the antenna is equal to or lower than a threshold value, based on each signal data that contributes to the error rate of the signal received by the antenna for each antenna angle indicating the installation direction when the installation direction of the directional antenna is changed sequentially; a determination unit that selects the widest angle range from among the angle ranges extracted by the extraction unit and determines an antenna angle at which the antenna should be installed within the selected angle range; 1. An antenna direction determining device comprising:

2. The determination unit is determining the center of the widest angle range extracted by the extraction unit as the antenna angle at which the antenna should be installed; 2. The antenna direction determining device according to claim 1,

3. an extracting unit that extracts a continuous angle range including only the antenna angles at which the probability that the error rate of the signal received by the antenna is equal to or lower than each of a plurality of threshold values ​​is highest, based on each signal data that contributes to the error rate of the signal received by the antenna for each antenna angle indicating the installation direction when the installation direction of the directional antenna is sequentially changed; a determination unit that determines an antenna angle at which the antenna should be installed within the range of angles extracted by the extraction unit; 1. An antenna direction determining device comprising:

4. The determination unit is determining the center of the range of angles extracted by the extraction unit as the antenna angle at which the antenna should be installed; 4. The antenna direction determining device according to claim 3, wherein:

5. an extraction step of extracting one or more continuous angle ranges including only antenna angles at which the error rate of the signal received by the antenna is equal to or lower than a threshold value, based on each signal data that contributes to the error rate of the signal received by the antenna for each antenna angle indicating the installation direction when the installation direction of the directional antenna is sequentially changed; a determination step of selecting the widest range from each of the extracted angle ranges and determining an antenna angle at which the antenna should be installed within the selected angle range; 13. A method for determining an antenna direction comprising:

6. In the determining step, determining the center of the widest angle range extracted as the antenna angle at which the antenna should be installed; 6. The method for determining an antenna direction according to claim 5, further comprising:

7. an extraction step of extracting a range of continuous angles including only antenna angles at which the probability that the error rate of the signal received by the antenna will be equal to or lower than each of a plurality of thresholds is highest, based on each signal data that contributes to the error rate of the signal received by the antenna for each antenna angle indicating the installation direction when the installation direction of the directional antenna is sequentially changed; a determination step of determining an antenna angle at which the antenna should be installed within the extracted angle range; 13. A method for determining an antenna direction comprising:

8. An antenna direction determining program for causing a computer to function as each unit of the antenna direction determining device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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