Multi-Panel Array Antenna Beam Shaping for Secondary Lobe Suppression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current array antennas are inflexible in terms of size and performance, requiring the manufacture of new, larger antennas to improve gain or accuracy, which is time-consuming and costly, and pose challenges in transportation and deployment due to their size.
Innovation Solution
An array antenna composed of mechanically disjoint radiating panels, where complex shaping coefficients are applied to radio frequency signals to dynamically adjust the antenna's size and performance by orienting the maximum gain and compensating for secondary lobes caused by panel gaps, allowing for easy adaptation and deployment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the antenna size is increased to improve gain and angular resolution, then the performance is improved, but the transportation and deployment difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The antenna is divided into multiple independent radiating panels that can be mechanically separated for transportation and then assembled into different configurations for operation. Each panel contains radiating elements and can be independently controlled, allowing the antenna to be transported in compact form while achieving large effective aperture when deployed.
2Power
If a new larger antenna is manufactured to improve performance, then the gain and angular resolution are improved, but the development time and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The antenna system employs dynamic reconfigurability where the effective aperture and radiation characteristics can be changed in real-time by adjusting which panels are active and how they are phased. This allows the same physical antenna to adapt to different operational requirements without requiring manufacturing changes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes operational parameters such as the number of active panels, their spatial arrangement, and phase relationships to achieve different gain and beamwidth characteristics. This allows performance optimization without physical modification of the antenna structure.
3Power
If the antenna size is increased to improve performance, then the gain is improved, but the complexity of transportation and deployment increases
Solution Approach 1:
The antenna is divided into multiple independent radiating panels that can be mechanically separated for transportation and then assembled into different configurations for operation. Each panel contains radiating elements and can be independently controlled, allowing the antenna to be transported in compact form while achieving large effective aperture when deployed.
4Ease of operation
If mechanically disjoint panels are used to simplify transportation, then the ease of deployment is improved, but secondary lobes are generated due to panel gaps
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-calculates and applies phase compensation to the radiating elements to counteract the interference effects that will be generated by the panel gaps. By adjusting the phase of signals from elements near panel edges, the secondary lobes caused by discontinuities are suppressed before they can form.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes operational parameters such as the number of active panels, their spatial arrangement, and phase relationships to achieve different gain and beamwidth characteristics. This allows performance optimization without physical modification of the antenna structure.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables dynamic adjustment of antenna size and performance, reduces secondary lobes, and simplifies transportation and deployment by using independent panels with centralized management, improving angular resolution and gain while minimizing interference effects.
Implementation Method 1
each radiating panel comprising a plurality of radiating elements
Implementation Method 2
By modifying the phase of the signal transmitted or received by each radiating element, it is possible to direct the antenna's maximum gain in a given direction
Implementation Method 3
The radiation pattern consists of a main lobe, or beam, and sidelobes
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 1c~1d
Figure 2
AI summary
The invention relates to an array antenna comprising a plurality of mechanically separate radiating panels (300-1, 300-N) disposed side by side, means (351-1, 35M-1, 351 -N, 35M-N) for applying a shaping to the signals transmitted by the radiating elements of the panels, and a device (361) for managing the shaping of the signals, wherein the shaping coefficients correspond to a sum of at least: a shaping coefficient (W co ) making it possible to orient the maximum gain of the antenna in a given direction, and at least the opposite of a shaping coefficient (W c ) making it possible to orient the maximum gain of the antenna in the direction of a secondary lobe resulting from differences between the radiating panels of the array antenna. The invention also relates to the corresponding transmission/reception method.