CN115296045B - Sparse antenna array applied to low-orbit satellite Internet broadband terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

The application discloses a sparse antenna array applied to a low-orbit satellite Internet broadband terminal, which comprises a sparse array, wherein the sparse array comprises a plurality of array units, the array units comprise a plurality of subarrays, the types of the subarrays comprise 1-drive-2 subarrays and 1-drive-1 subarrays, the array units comprise a first subarray group, a second subarray group and a third subarray group, the first subarray group and the second subarray group comprise two subarrays, and the third subarray group comprises one subarray. The application mainly aims at low-rail static communication, adopts a 1-drive-2 mode for a sparse array, and shares one channel for two antennas, so that the number of channels is reduced under the condition of not increasing the size of the array, thereby reducing the layer cost, simultaneously not changing the boundary condition of the antenna array elements and not increasing the difficulty of test and calibration.

Description

Sparse antenna array applied to low-orbit satellite Internet broadband terminal

Technical Field

The application relates to the field of satellite communication antennas, in particular to a sparse antenna array applied to a low-orbit satellite Internet broadband terminal.

Background

The sparse array antenna means that antenna units are distributed on the same antenna aperture in a staggered and sparse way, a plurality of tactical functions which are originally finished by different antennas are finished simultaneously by sharing a pair of antenna apertures, a wideband terminal for low orbit satellite communication in the prior art generally adopts a phased array antenna, an array form of the antenna generally adopts a rectangular grid array or a triangular grid array, one antenna is connected with a T/R channel, the number of the antennas of the rectangular grid and the triangular grid is a determined value under the determined caliber size, and the number of the channels is the same as the number of the antennas. For sparse arrays, one antenna is also connected to one T/R channel.

The number of the antennas of the array can be reduced under the same equivalent caliber through optimization of an algorithm, so that the number of channels is reduced, but in order to compensate caliber efficiency loss caused by sparseness, the actual caliber size of the antennas is larger than the equivalent caliber size, and the traditional rectangular grid and triangular grid array can be seen from the prior art, the number of the antennas corresponds to the number of the channels one by one, and the number of the channels cannot be reduced. For phased arrays, the cost is mainly focused on the TR component, and the low rail Wei Tongjing in this way is difficult to reduce the cost of the phased array. The sparse array increases the size of the array, the algorithm is difficult to optimally design, the boundary conditions of all antennas are different, and the difficulty of test and calibration is increased.

Disclosure of Invention

The application aims to provide a sparse antenna array applied to a low-orbit satellite Internet broadband terminal, which aims to solve the technical problems that the number of channels cannot be reduced or the problems of increased array size, difficult design and complicated calibration are caused when the number of channels is reduced, and the two antennas share one channel by adopting a 1-drive-2 mode for the antenna array, so that the number of channels is reduced under the condition that the array size is not increased, the layer cost is reduced, the boundary condition of the antenna array elements is not changed, and the difficulty of test and calibration is not increased.

The application is realized by the following technical scheme:

A sparse antenna array for a low-orbit satellite internet broadband terminal, comprising a sparse array:

The sparse array comprises a plurality of array units, and the array units comprise a plurality of subarray groups;

The subarray group type comprises a 1-drive 2 subarray and a 1-drive 1 subarray;

The array unit specifically comprises a first subarray group, a second subarray group and a third subarray group, wherein the first subarray group and the second subarray group comprise two subarrays, and the third subarray group comprises one subarray.

The application mainly aims at low-rail static communication, comprises a plurality of array units by arranging a sparse array, wherein each array unit comprises a plurality of subarray groups, each subarray group comprises a 1-drive 2 subarray and a 1-drive 1 subarray, and two antennas share one channel by adopting a 1-drive 2 mode for the sparse array, so that the number of channels is reduced under the condition that the array size is not increased, the layer cost is reduced, the boundary condition of the antenna array elements is not changed, and the difficulty of test and calibration is not increased.

Further, the array unit specifically comprises a first subarray group, a second subarray group and a third subarray group, wherein the first subarray group and the second subarray group comprise two subarrays, and the third subarray group comprises one subarray.

Further, the first subarray group and the second subarray group are 1-drive-2 subarrays, the third subarray group is 1-drive-1 subarray, and each array unit comprises three first subarray groups, two second subarray groups and two third subarray groups.

Further, the array units are arranged in a way that the number of rows in the y direction is 3, the number of columns in the x direction is 4, and 3 x 4 arrangement modes are formed.

Further, each row of the array units comprises a first subarray group, and the first subarray group of each row is shifted backwards in the y direction from the first column by one unit interval, wherein the unit interval is the position occupied by one subarray.

Further, the first column and the fourth column of each array unit in the x direction are provided with a second subarray group.

Further, the first row and the third row of each array unit in the x direction are provided with a third subarray group:

The third subarray group of the first row is arranged in a third column;

A third sub-array of a third row is disposed in the second column.

Further, the device also comprises a multilayer printed board and a motor:

the sparse array is etched and pressed on the multilayer printed board;

the multilayer printed board is connected to the motor.

Further, the two subarrays of the first subarray group and the two subarrays of the second subarray group are connected through a 1-to-2 power dividing/combining circuit breaker;

The common ends of the two subarrays of the first subarray group and the two subarrays of the second subarray group are connected with the T/R assembly;

and the subarrays of the third subarray group are connected with the T/R assembly through a transmission line.

Further, the antenna array is printed on the multilayer printed board, an antenna cover is arranged on the other side of the antenna array, which is connected with the multilayer printed board, the motor is connected with the whole antenna structure, and the whole antenna structure controls the motor to mechanically rotate to change the direction of an antenna beam. The motor deflects the antenna in an electromechanical scanning manner, and the scanning angle is increased in a manner similar to that of a fan swinging head. The aperture of the antenna can be effectively reduced, and the bottom layer cost is realized. In the scanning process, as the beam scanning angle of the antenna becomes larger, the gain of the antenna can be reduced, the beam can be widened, and when the array scale is determined, the gain of the antenna at the maximum angle needs to be ensured to meet the communication requirement. Through motor scanning, the electric scanning angle of the antenna can be reduced, the gain is lower, the required array scale is smaller, the caliber of the corresponding antenna is smaller, and the antenna array is periodically and sparsely expanded into a whole array, so that modularization can be realized, the array unit with the minimum period is taken as a module, repeated expansion is realized, the design difficulty can be reduced, and the modularization of product design is realized.

Compared with the prior art, the application has the following advantages and beneficial effects:

1. according to the application, the antenna array is in a 1-drive-2 mode, two antennas share one channel, and the number of the channels is reduced under the condition that the size of the array is not increased, so that the layer cost is reduced, meanwhile, the boundary condition of the antenna array element is not changed, and the difficulty of test and calibration is not increased;

2. the application adopts an electromechanical scanning mode, can effectively reduce the caliber of an antenna and realize the bottom layer cost;

3. According to the application, the array units are 1-drive-2 subarrays in the x direction, 1-drive-2 subarrays in the y direction and 1-drive-1 subarrays are adopted to form the array units, and a plurality of array units are expanded into an integral array, so that 58 percent of sparseness of channels can be realized, meanwhile, scanning of an antenna azimuth angle phi=0-360 degrees and a vertical axis angle theta=0-40 degrees can be realized, electromechanical hybrid scanning is realized by combining phased array electric scanning and mechanical scanning, the scanning of the whole azimuth angle phi=0-360 degrees and the scanning of the vertical axis angle theta=0-70 degrees is realized, and the advantages of the traditional 1-drive-2 array mode scanning performance are realized.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the exemplary embodiments of the present application, the drawings that are needed in the examples will be briefly described below, it being understood that the following drawings only illustrate some examples of the present application and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope, and that other related drawings may be obtained from these drawings without inventive effort for a person skilled in the art. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an antenna array surface arrangement of an antenna array channel sparseness mode applied to a low-orbit satellite Internet broadband terminal;

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of an antenna 1-2 in a sparse mode of an antenna array channel applied to a low-orbit satellite internet broadband terminal;

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a connection mode between a motor and an antenna in a sparse mode of an antenna array channel applied to a low-orbit satellite internet broadband terminal.

In the drawings, the reference numerals and corresponding part names:

1. The antenna comprises an antenna array, an array unit, a first subarray group, a second subarray group, a third subarray group, a 14, T/R assembly, a 15, 1-to-2 power dividing/combining device, a multi-layer printed board, a 3, a motor, a 4 and an antenna housing.

Detailed Description

For the purpose of making apparent the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application, the present application will be further described in detail with reference to the following examples and the accompanying drawings, wherein the exemplary embodiments of the present application and the descriptions thereof are for illustrating the present application only and are not to be construed as limiting the present application.

It should be appreciated that the terms "first," "second," and the like are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defining "a first" or "a second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more such feature. In the description of the present invention, the meaning of "a number" is two or more, unless explicitly defined otherwise.

In the prior art, a broadband terminal for low-orbit satellite communication generally adopts a phased array antenna, an array form of the antenna generally adopts rectangular grid array or triangular grid array, and one antenna is connected with one T/R channel.

The rectangular grid arrangement interval needs to satisfy:

Wherein, the、In order for the scan angle to be a scan angle,Is the number of array elements on the azimuth plane,The number of array elements on the nodding surface.

The triangular grid array interval needs to satisfy:

Wherein, the,、In order for the scan angle to be a scan angle,Is the number of array elements on the azimuth plane,The number of array elements on the nodding surface.

It can be seen that at a certain caliber size, the number of antennas of the rectangular grid and the triangular grid is a certain value, and the number of channels and the number of antennas are the same.

Example 1

As shown in fig. 1, the present embodiment provides a sparse antenna array applied to a low-orbit satellite internet broadband terminal, including a sparse array 1:

the sparse array 1 comprises a plurality of array units 10, wherein the array units 10 comprise a plurality of subarray groups;

The subarray group type comprises a 1-drive 2 subarray and a 1-drive 1 subarray;

The array unit specifically comprises a first subarray group 11, a second subarray group 12 and a third subarray group 13, wherein the first subarray group 11 and the second subarray group 12 comprise two subarrays, and the third subarray group 13 comprises one subarray.

The sparse array 1 comprises a plurality of array units 10, wherein each array unit 10 comprises a plurality of subarrays, and the subarray group comprises 1-drive-2 subarrays and 1-drive-1 subarrays. Mainly for low-rail static communication, through adopting 1 to drive 2 forms to sparse array 1, two antennas share a passageway, under the condition that does not increase array size, reduce the passageway quantity to reduce the layer cost, do not change the boundary condition of antenna array element simultaneously, can not increase the degree of difficulty of test calibration.

As shown in fig. 2, one T/R channel connects two antenna elements, feeding them. The antenna subarray type is commonly adopted in the prior art as 1 drive 1, namely one antenna array element is connected with one T/R channel, because in the traditional case, the array scale is the same as the number of channels, namely the number of the antenna array elements is the same as the number of the channels, for example, in an m multiplied by n planar array, the number of the channels in the planar array is m multiplied by n

According to the application, the antenna subarrays adopt a 1-drive-2 mode, 2 antennas share one channel, and through reasonable antenna arrangement, grating lobe influence can be reduced, and the grating lobe occupies radiation energy, so that the antenna gain is reduced. The object seen from the grating lobes is easily confused with the object seen from the main lobe, resulting in a blurred position of the object. The ingress of interfering signals from the grating lobes into the receiver will affect the proper operation of the communication system. Therefore, the array element spacing of the antenna should be reasonably selected to avoid grating lobes, and in the limit, the number of channels is (m×n)/2 for an m×n planar array, so that the number of channels is relatively reduced without reducing the number of antennas.

In some possible embodiments, the array unit 10 specifically comprises a first sub-array group 11, a second sub-array group 12 and a third sub-array group 13, wherein the first sub-array group 11 and the second sub-array group each comprise two sub-arrays and the third sub-array group 13 comprises one sub-array.

In some possible embodiments, the first sub-array group 11 and the second sub-array group 12 are each 1-drive-2 sub-arrays, and the third sub-array group 13 is a 1-drive-1 sub-array, and each array unit 10 includes three first sub-array groups 11, two second sub-array groups 12, and two third sub-array groups 13.

In some possible embodiments, the array unit 10 is arranged in a3 x 4 arrangement with 3 y rows and 4 x columns.

In some possible embodiments, each row of array elements 10 includes a first sub-array group 11, the first sub-array group 11 of each row being displaced from the first column back in the y-direction by an element pitch, which is the position occupied by one sub-array.

In some possible embodiments, each of the array units 10 is provided with one second sub-array group 12 in the first and fourth columns in the x-direction.

In some possible embodiments, the first and third rows of each array unit 10 in the x-direction are provided with a third sub-array group 13:

the third subarray group 13 of the first row is arranged in a third column;

A third sub-array group 13 of a third row is arranged in the second column.

In some possible embodiments, both the two sub-arrays of the first sub-array 11 and the two sub-arrays of the second sub-array 12 are connected by a 1-to-2 power splitter/combiner 15;

The common ends of the two subarrays of the first subarray group 11 and the two subarrays of the second subarray group 12 are connected with the T/R assembly 14;

The subarrays of the third subarray group 13 are connected to the T/R-assembly 14 by transmission lines.

In some possible embodiments, the common end of the first sub-array group 11 of the first row in the y-direction is connected to the T/R-module 14 towards the second row, the common end of the first sub-array group 11 of the second row in the y-direction is connected to the T/R-module 14 towards the first column, and the common end of the first sub-array group 11 of the third row in the y-direction is connected to the T/R-module 14 towards the second row;

The common end of the second subarray group 12 in the first column in the x direction in the array unit 10 is connected to the T/R assembly 14 toward the second column, and the common end of the second subarray group 12 in the fourth column in the x direction is connected to the T/R assembly 14 toward the third column;

The third sub-group 13 of the first row in the y-direction in the array unit 10 is connected to the T/R-module 14 toward the second column, and the third sub-group 13 of the first row in the y-direction is connected to the T/R-module 14 toward the second column.

As shown in FIG. 3, the antenna also comprises a multilayer printed board 2 and a motor 3, wherein the sparse array 1 is etched and pressed on the multilayer printed board 2, the multilayer printed board 2 is connected to the motor 3, and the antenna housing 4 is arranged on the other surface of the sparse array 1, which is connected with the multilayer printed board 2.

In some possible embodiments, the motor 3 is connected to an antenna assembly which controls the mechanical rotation of the motor 3 to change the direction of the antenna beam. And an electromechanical scanning mode is adopted, so that the aperture of the antenna can be effectively reduced, and the bottom layer book is realized.

The key point of the technology is that the array unit 10 is formed by adopting the 1-drive-2 subarrays in the x direction, the array unit 10 is formed by adopting the 1-drive-2 subarrays in the y direction and the 1-drive-1 subarrays, and a plurality of array units 10 are expanded into a whole array, so that 58 percent sparseness of channels can be realized, and the channel cost can be effectively reduced.

Meanwhile, the antenna azimuth phi=0-360 degrees can be realized, the vertical shaft angle theta=0-40 degrees is scanned, the phased array electric scanning and the mechanical scanning are combined to realize electromechanical hybrid scanning, the whole machine azimuth phi=0-360 degrees is realized, the vertical shaft angle theta=0-70 degrees is scanned, and the scanning performance advantage of the traditional 1-drive-2 array mode is realized. The array x-direction one-drive-2 subarrays, the array y-direction one-drive-2 subarrays and the 1-drive-1 subarrays form a periodic unit.

The periodic unit is formed by adopting an array x-direction one-drive 2 subarrays, an array y-direction one-drive 2 subarrays and a 1-drive 1 subarray, and the specific arrangement mode is the mode shown in fig. 1. Under the arrangement mode, the theoretically calculated antenna pattern can realize scanning of azimuth angles phi=0-360 degrees and vertical shaft angles theta=0-40 degrees, and then the motor 3 is used for deflecting the antenna on the basis, and the scanning angle is increased in a mode similar to a fan oscillating mode.

In the scanning process, as the beam scanning angle of the antenna becomes larger, the gain of the antenna can be reduced, the beam can be widened, and when the array scale is determined, the gain of the antenna at the maximum angle needs to be ensured to meet the communication requirement. Through the scanning of the motor 3, the electric scanning angle of the antenna can be reduced, the gain is lower, the required array scale is smaller, the caliber of the corresponding antenna is smaller, the sparse array 1 is periodically and sparsely expanded into a whole array, modularization can be realized, the array unit 10 with the minimum period is taken as a module, repeated expansion is realized, the design difficulty can be reduced, and the modularization of product design is realized.

The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the application, and is not meant to limit the scope of the application, but to limit the application to the particular embodiments, and any modifications, equivalents, improvements, etc. that fall within the spirit and principles of the application are intended to be included within the scope of the application.

Claims (5)

1. The sparse antenna array applied to the low-orbit satellite Internet broadband terminal is characterized by comprising a sparse array (1):

The sparse array (1) comprises a plurality of array units (10), and the array units (10) comprise a plurality of subarray groups;

The subarray group type comprises a 1-drive 2 subarray and a 1-drive 1 subarray;

The array unit (10) specifically comprises a first subarray group (11), a second subarray group (12) and a third subarray group (13), wherein the first subarray group (11) and the second subarray group comprise two subarrays, and the third subarray group (13) comprises one subarray;

the first subarray group (11) and the second subarray group (12) are 1-drive 2 subarrays;

The third subarray group (13) is a 1-drive 1 subarray;

Each array unit (10) comprises three first subarray groups (11), two second subarray groups (12) and two third subarray groups (13);

The array units (10) are arranged in a 3X 4 periodic arrangement mode, wherein the number of rows in the y direction is 3, and the number of columns in the x direction is 4;

Each row of the array units (10) comprises a first subarray group (11), and the first subarray group (11) of each row is staggered backwards in the y direction by one unit interval from a first column, wherein the unit interval is the position occupied by one subarray;

each array unit (10) is provided with a second subarray group (12) in a first column and a fourth column in the x direction;

The first row and the third row of each array unit (10) in the x direction are provided with a third subarray group (13):

A third sub-array (13) of the first row is arranged in a third column;

A third sub-array (13) of a third row is arranged in the second column.

2. Sparse antenna array for application to low-orbit satellite internet broadband terminals according to claim 1, characterized in that the two sub-arrays of the first sub-array (11) and the two sub-arrays of the second sub-array (12) are connected by a 1-to-2 power-splitting/combining device (15);

The common ends of the two subarrays of the first subarray group (11) and the two subarrays of the second subarray group (12) are connected with the T/R assembly (14);

The subarrays of the third subarray group (13) are connected with a T/R assembly (14) through transmission lines.

3. The sparse antenna array for application to a low-orbit satellite internet broadband terminal according to claim 1, further comprising a multilayer printed board (2) and a motor (3):

The sparse array (1) is etched and pressed on the multilayer printed board (2);

the multilayer printed board (2) is connected to the motor (3).

4. The sparse antenna array applied to the low-orbit satellite internet broadband terminal according to claim 3, wherein an antenna housing (4) is arranged on the other side of the sparse array (1) connected with the multilayer printed board (2).

5. The sparse antenna array for use in a low orbit satellite internet broadband terminal according to claim 4, wherein the motor (3) is connected to an antenna structure which controls the mechanical rotation of the motor (3) to change the orientation of the antenna beam.