JP2012112738A - Tracking device and tracking method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To determine a control mode from a fluctuation value of relative position posture relation between a tracking antenna loaded on a flight vehicle and a ground antenna and mutual position relation, to generate a tracking antenna target value, and to execute tracking antenna control to an unmanned machine and the ground station which mutually move on a space.SOLUTION: A flight vehicle includes: flight vehicle antenna control mode determination means for generating a flight vehicle antenna control mode signal based on a flight vehicle position estimation signal and a ground station information prediction signal; and flight vehicle antenna target value generation means for generating a flight vehicle antenna target value signal based on the flight vehicle position estimation signal, the ground station information estimation signal, and the flight vehicle antenna control mode signal, and the ground station includes: ground station antenna control mode determination means for generating a ground station antenna control mode signal based on a ground station position estimation signal and a flight vehicle information prediction signal; and ground station antenna target value generation means for generating a ground station antenna target value signal based on the ground station position estimation signal, the flight vehicle information prediction signal, and the ground station antenna control mode signal.

Description

  The present invention relates to a tracking device and a tracking method for tracking communication between communication devices, and in particular, in a moving body such as an unmanned aerial vehicle, movement of the moving body itself and a change in position and posture of the moving body caused by an external factor that the moving body suffers. The present invention relates to a tracking device and a tracking method for tracking wireless communication between a mobile body and a ground station regardless of the above.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a tracking antenna control apparatus according to a related technique described in Patent Document 1. A photographing machine equipped with the information transmission device 1001 transmits photographing data acquired by the photographing device 1101 to a ground station (not shown) via a relay device (not shown). The photographing machine exchanges photographing machine data sa and relaying machine data sb with the relaying machine. sa is photographing machine data representing the flight state of the photographing machine. sb is repeater data representing the flight state of the repeater. The information transmission device 1001 includes an imaging device 1101, a transmission unit 1102, an antenna 1103, an airframe information acquisition unit 1104, a GPS receiver 1105 (global positioning system), an antenna 1106, a data radio unit 1107, a calculation unit 1108, and a drive. Part 1109. The calculation unit 1108 includes a ROM 1108b and a CPU 1108a.

  As shown in FIG. 7, transmission data sd is transmitted from the information transmission apparatus 1001 of the photographing machine as a radio signal wd via the antenna 1103. The transmission data sd is received by the relay transmission device of the repeater via the antenna and transmitted to the ground station. In the information transmitting apparatus 1001, the directivity characteristic of the antenna 1103, the modulation method and the output level of the transmission data sd are controlled based on the photographing machine data sa and the relay machine data sb. For example, when the half angle of the antenna 1103 is widened, a decrease in the reception level of the transmission data sd is predicted. At this time, the modulation method and output level of the transmission data sd are controlled by the transmission unit 1102.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a radio relay air base that detects a distance and a direction by receiving a reflected laser beam with respect to a laser beam emitted by a laser range finder apparatus.

  Patent Document 3 discloses a radio wave relay system in which an airborne station generates a carrier wave signal based on a carrier of a data link signal received from a reference earth station and transmits the carrier wave signal to the earth station.

  Patent Document 4 discloses a wireless communication system that controls the transmission capacity of a cell in a service area by a transmission band assigned to a cell arranged for a beam antenna array of a ground antenna.

  Patent Document 5 discloses an antenna control device for tracking a satellite antenna that compensates for an estimation error of the absolute posture and absolute azimuth of a moving body by posture azimuth estimation means and tracks a satellite by antenna direction control.

  Patent Document 6 discloses a satellite tracking antenna control device that corrects an attitude error due to a distortion of a fuselage or a response delay by estimating an attitude of an antenna mount mounted on an aircraft using an attitude estimation filter.

  Patent Document 7 discloses an antenna drive control device that determines the priority of communication with respect to a ground station based on the position and orientation of a moving body, the received radio wave intensity, and the position of the ground station, and controls antenna switching and directivity.

JP 2009-239758 A (page 14, FIG. 2) Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-96528 (page 3, FIGS. 1 and 2) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-259952 (page 5, FIG. 1) Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-31881 (6th page, FIG. 2) JP 2002-158525 A JP 2005-181149 A JP 2007-235649 A

  However, in the related art described in Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. 7, the calculation unit 1108 predicts the flight motion according to the aircraft attitude of the flying object and the reception level of the transmission data. Directional characteristic control for controlling the directivity of the directional antenna 1103 is executed simultaneously with output level control of transmission data and modulation method selection processing. For this reason, it is difficult to reduce the pointing direction error while quantitatively evaluating the pointing accuracy of the pointing antenna 1103. Therefore, the technique described in Patent Document 1 has a problem that it is unstable with respect to an increasing directional error and cannot continuously transmit a video signal stably.

  Further, the technique described in Patent Document 1 assumes high capture accuracy for control processing. However, high capture accuracy is not always achieved in actual operation, and the technique described in Patent Document 1 is applied only under limited conditions.

  The technique described in Patent Document 2 performs control by continuously receiving reflected light with respect to laser light emitted from a laser ranging azimuth device. For this reason, when the reflected laser beam cannot be received due to an increase in the relative position error caused by the initial acquisition (search) required in the initial stage of operation or the influence of disturbance, the radio wave relay cannot be continued.

  The technique described in Patent Document 3 uses an earth station whose position is fixed as a reference station. For this reason, the service area changing process is restricted by the positions of these earth stations. Therefore, the expandability of the system is limited.

  The technique described in Patent Document 4 cannot cope with the change in the area covered by the unmanned aircraft only by adjusting the transmission capacity and the transmission band.

  In the technique described in Patent Document 5, the satellite azimuth is calculated by the satellite relative direction calculating means, and the satellite direction is searched by using the reception level of the signal transmitted from the satellite by the satellite relative direction searching means. The pointing is controlled by superimposing the satellite relative direction obtained from the satellite relative direction searching means on the satellite relative direction obtained from the satellite relative direction calculating means. Therefore, it is not possible to cope with a communication disconnection during a sudden behavior.

  In the technique described in Patent Document 6, an angular velocity sensor is added to an inertial reference unit that measures the position and posture of an aircraft to correct changes in the posture of the aircraft. Therefore, tracking cannot be continued when the received signal from the satellite is interrupted due to a cause other than a change in the behavior of the aircraft.

  Since the technique described in Patent Document 7 is based on the pre-captured state, it is necessary to apply a separate appropriate search method in order to realize capture again if communication is interrupted when the antenna is switched.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a tracking control device and a tracking control method for selecting a control mode based on a position, an attitude, and a received signal, and tracking according to the control mode.

  The tracking antenna control device of the present invention is a tracking antenna control device that controls the antenna of a flying object and the antenna of the ground station in an information transmission system that performs wireless communication between the flying object and the ground station. A ground station information prediction signal based on a vehicle position estimation means for generating a signal, a level fluctuation value of a signal received by the antenna of the aircraft, a beam width information of a radio wave from the antenna of the ground station, and a position information of the ground station A ground station information generating means for generating a flying object antenna control mode determining means for generating a flying object antenna control mode signal based on the flying object position estimation signal and the ground station information prediction signal; a flying object position estimation signal; Aircraft antenna target value generation means for generating a vehicle antenna target value signal based on the information prediction signal and the airframe antenna control mode signal is provided, Is based on the ground station position estimation means for generating the ground station position estimation signal, the level fluctuation value of the signal received by the antenna of the ground station, the beam width information of the radio wave from the antenna of the flying object, and the position information of the flying object Aircraft information generation means for generating a vehicle information prediction signal, ground station antenna control mode determination means for generating a ground station antenna control mode signal based on the ground station position estimation signal and the aircraft information prediction signal, and ground station position Ground station antenna target value generating means for generating a ground station antenna target value signal based on the estimated signal, the flying object information prediction signal, and the ground station antenna control mode signal is provided.

  A tracking antenna control method according to the present invention is a tracking antenna control method for controlling an antenna of a flying object and an antenna of a ground station in an information transmission system for wireless communication between the flying object and a ground station. Generating a ground station information prediction signal based on the level fluctuation value of the signal received by the antenna of the flying object, the beam width information of the radio wave from the antenna of the ground station, and the position information of the ground station; Generating a flying object antenna control mode signal based on the flying object position estimation signal and the ground station information prediction signal; and flying object based on the flying object position estimation signal, the ground station information prediction signal, and the flying object antenna control mode signal. Generating an antenna target value signal; generating a ground station position estimation signal; and a level of a signal received by the ground station antenna. Generating a flying object information prediction signal based on the dynamic value, the beam width information of the radio wave from the antenna of the flying object, and the position information of the flying object, and the ground based on the ground station position estimation signal and the flying object information prediction signal. Generating a station antenna control mode signal, and generating a ground station antenna target value signal based on the ground station position estimation signal, the aircraft information prediction signal, and the ground station antenna control mode signal.

  According to the present invention, since the control mode is selected based on the position, the attitude, and the received signal, and tracking is performed according to the control mode, the data link system between the mobile unit and the ground station is not established. However, the communication by the tracking antenna is established reliably and with high accuracy.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the unmanned aircraft of embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the ground station of embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the acquisition sequence target locus | trajectory by the spiral sequence in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the acquisition sequence target locus | trajectory by the square sequence in embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram for demonstrating a related technique.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a tracking antenna control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The tracking antenna control system 1 includes a drone 101 and a ground station 201 that transmits a radio signal to the drone 101 and receives a radio signal from the drone 101.

  2 and 3 are block diagrams of the drone 101 and the ground station 201 according to the embodiment of the present invention, respectively.

  In FIG. 2, the drone 101 includes an on-board antenna 111.

  The drone 101 further includes an onboard acceleration sensor 102, an onboard GPS receiver 103, and an unmanned aircraft position estimator 104 connected to the onboard acceleration sensor 102 and the onboard GPS receiver 103. The drone position estimator 104 receives the drone acceleration detection signal 11 from the onboard acceleration sensor 102. The drone position estimator 104 receives the drone position update signal 12 from the onboard GPS receiver 103. The drone position estimator 104 generates the drone position estimation signal 16 based on the drone acceleration detection signal 11 and the drone position update signal 12.

  The drone 101 further includes an onboard antenna AGC level detector 105, a ground station position information acquisition unit 106, and a ground station information generator connected to the onboard antenna AGC level detector 105 and the ground station position information acquisition unit 106. 107 is included. The ground station information generator 107 receives the unmanned aircraft AGC level detection signal 14 from the onboard antenna AGC level detector 105. The ground station information generator 107 receives the ground station information acquisition signal 15 from the ground station position information acquisition unit 106. The ground station position information acquisition unit 106 receives the ground station position beam width information signal 13 from the ground station 201. The ground station position information acquisition unit 106 generates a ground station information acquisition signal 15 based on the ground station position beam width information signal 13. The ground station information generator 107 generates a ground station information prediction signal 17 based on the drone AGC level detection signal 14 and the ground station information acquisition signal 15.

  The drone 101 further includes an onboard antenna control mode determination unit 108 connected to the drone position estimator 104 and the ground station information generator 107. The onboard antenna control mode determination unit 108 receives the unmanned aircraft position estimation signal 16 from the unmanned aircraft position estimator 104. The onboard antenna control mode determination unit 108 receives the ground station information prediction signal 17 from the ground station information generator 107. The onboard antenna control mode determination unit 108 generates an onboard antenna control mode signal 18 based on the drone position estimation signal 16 and the ground station information prediction signal 17. The onboard antenna control mode signal 18 is a result of determining whether to perform capture control or tracking control on the onboard antenna 111.

  The drone 101 further includes an onboard antenna target value generator 109 connected to the unmanned airplane position estimator 104, the ground station information generator 107, and the onboard antenna control mode determiner 108. The onboard antenna target value generator 109 receives the drone position estimation signal 16 from the drone position estimator 104. The onboard antenna target value generator 109 receives the ground station information estimation signal 17 from the ground station information generator. The onboard antenna target value generator 109 receives the onboard antenna control mode signal 18 from the onboard antenna control mode determiner 108. The onboard antenna target value generator 109 generates an onboard antenna target value signal 19 based on the unmanned aircraft position estimation signal 16, the ground station information estimation signal 17, and the onboard antenna control mode signal 18. The onboard antenna target value generator 109 determines the control mode (capture control or tracking control) for the onboard antenna 111 and generates the onboard antenna target value signal 19.

  The drone 101 further includes an onboard antenna target value generator 109 and an onboard antenna controller 110 connected to the onboard antenna 111. The onboard antenna controller 110 receives the onboard antenna target value signal 19 from the onboard antenna target value generator 109. The onboard antenna controller 110 generates an onboard antenna control signal 20 based on the onboard antenna target value signal 19. The onboard antenna controller 110 transmits the onboard antenna control signal 20 to the onboard antenna 111. The onboard antenna controller 110 receives the onboard antenna directivity angle signal 21 from the onboard antenna 111.

  In FIG. 3, the ground station 201 includes a ground antenna 211.

  The ground station 201 further includes a ground station acceleration sensor 202, a ground station GPS receiver 203, and a ground station position estimator 204 connected to the ground station acceleration sensor 202 and the ground station GPS receiver 203. The ground station position estimator 204 receives the ground station acceleration detection signal 31 from the ground station acceleration sensor 202. The ground station position estimator 204 receives the ground station position update signal 32 from the ground station GPS receiver 203. The ground station position estimator 204 generates a ground station position estimation signal 36 based on the ground station acceleration detection signal 31 and the ground station position update signal 32.

  The ground station 201 further includes a ground antenna AGC level detector 205, an unmanned vehicle position information acquisition unit 206, and an unmanned aircraft information generator 207 connected to the ground antenna AGC level detector 205 and the unmanned vehicle position information acquisition unit 206. Including. The drone information generator 207 receives the ground station AGC level detection signal 34 from the ground antenna AGC level detector 205. The drone information generator 207 receives the drone information acquisition signal 35 from the drone position information acquirer 206. The drone position information acquisition unit 206 receives the drone position beam width information signal 33 from the drone 101. The drone position information acquisition unit 206 generates the drone information acquisition signal 35 based on the drone position beam width information signal 33. The unmanned aircraft information generator 207 generates an unmanned aircraft information prediction signal 37 based on the ground station AGC level detection signal 34 and the unmanned aircraft information acquisition signal 35.

  The ground station 201 further includes a ground antenna control mode determination unit 208 connected to the ground station position estimator 204 and the unmanned aircraft information generator 207. The ground antenna control mode determiner 208 receives the ground station position estimation signal 36 from the ground station position estimator 204. The ground antenna control mode determination unit 208 receives the unmanned aircraft information prediction signal 37 from the unmanned aircraft information generator 207. The ground antenna control mode determination unit 208 generates a ground antenna control mode signal 38 based on the ground station position estimation signal 36 and the unmanned aircraft information prediction signal 37. The ground antenna control mode signal 38 is a result of determining whether to perform capture control or tracking control for the ground antenna 211.

  The ground station 201 further includes a ground antenna target value generator 209 connected to the ground station position estimator 204, the unmanned aircraft information generator 207, and the ground antenna control mode determiner 208. The ground antenna target value generator 209 receives the ground station position estimation signal 36 from the ground station position estimator 204. The ground antenna target value generator 209 receives the drone information estimation signal 37 from the drone information generator. The ground antenna target value generator 209 receives the ground antenna control mode signal 38 from the ground antenna control mode determiner 208. The ground antenna target value generator 209 generates a ground antenna target value signal 39 based on the ground station position estimation signal 36, the unmanned aircraft information estimation signal 37, and the ground antenna control mode signal 38. The ground antenna target value generator 209 determines the control mode (capture control or tracking control) for the ground antenna 211 and then generates the ground antenna target value signal 39.

  The ground station 201 further includes a ground antenna target value generator 209 and a ground antenna controller 210 connected to the ground antenna 211. The ground antenna controller 210 receives the ground antenna target value signal 39 from the ground antenna target value generator 209. The ground antenna controller 210 generates a ground antenna control signal 40 based on the ground antenna target value signal 39. The ground antenna controller 210 transmits the ground antenna control signal 40 to the ground antenna 211. The ground antenna controller 210 receives the ground antenna directivity angle signal 41 from the ground antenna 211.

  Next, an example of a data communication system including an unmanned helicopter equipped with an on-board antenna 111 as shown in FIG. 4 and a ground antenna 211 fixed on the ground as a ground station for the operation of this embodiment shown in FIGS. Will be described. In addition, this invention is not limited to a present Example. That is, the ground station may move on the ground.

  The drone acceleration detection signal 11 detected by the onboard acceleration sensor 102 with respect to the position estimated value in the drone position estimator 104 is input to the drone position estimator 104. For example, a position prediction value is obtained according to a state space model such as a linear probability system.

  At this time, if the drone position update signal 12 is not updated by the onboard GPS receiver 103, the position prediction value is not updated and is output as the drone position estimation signal 16.

  On the other hand, when the drone position update signal 12 is updated, an update process such as a Kalman filter process for the drone position update signal 12 is performed. The result of the update process is output as the drone position estimation signal 16.

  In addition, a ground station acceleration detection signal detected by the ground station acceleration sensor 202 is input to the system state quantity in the ground station position estimator 204. For example, a predicted system state quantity is obtained according to a state space model such as a linear stochastic system. At this time, it is considered that the position of the ground station is fixed to the ground.

  At this time, if the ground station position update signal 32 is not updated by the ground station GPS receiver 203, the state quantity predicted value is not updated and is output as the ground station position estimation signal 36.

  On the other hand, when the ground station position update signal 32 is updated, an update process such as a Kalman filter process is performed on the ground station position update signal 32. The result of the update process is output as a ground station position estimation signal 36.

  The ground station position information acquisition unit 106 receives the ground station position beam width information signal 13. The ground station position information acquisition unit 106 combines the ground station position information at the specified time with the beam width information generated by the ground antenna 211 based on the ground station position beam width information signal 13 to generate the ground station information acquisition signal 15. . The onboard antenna AGC level detector 105 generates the unmanned aircraft AGC level detection signal 14 based on the time series information of the pointing angle error between the onboard antenna directivity angle and the ground antenna directivity angle detected at each designated time. The ground station information generator 107 generates a ground station information prediction signal 17 using the ground station information acquisition signal 15 and the unmanned aircraft AGC level detection signal 14. However, since the ground station is fixed on the ground, the ground station position information included in the ground station information acquisition signal 15 does not vary with time and always takes a fixed value. If the onboard antenna 111 cannot capture the ground antenna 211 of the ground station, the onboard antenna 111 cannot detect the AGC level. At this time, the value of the drone AGC level detection signal generated by the onboard antenna AGC level detector 105 is zero.

  The drone position information acquisition unit 206 receives the drone position beam width information signal 33. The drone position information acquisition unit 206 generates the drone information acquisition signal 35 by combining the drone position information at the specified time and the beam width information generated by the onboard antenna 111 based on the drone position beam width information signal 33. To do. The ground antenna AGC level detector 205 generates the ground station AGC level detection signal 34 based on the time series information of the directivity angle error between the ground antenna directivity angle and the onboard antenna directivity angle detected at each designated time. The drone information generator 207 generates the drone information prediction signal 37 using the drone information acquisition signal 35 and the ground station AGC level detection signal 34. If the ground antenna 211 cannot capture the on-board antenna 111 mounted on the drone, the ground antenna 211 cannot detect the AGC level. At this time, the value of the ground station AGC level detection signal 34 generated by the ground antenna AGC level detector 205 is zero.

  The onboard antenna control mode determination unit 108 estimates the relative positional relationship between the unmanned aircraft and the ground station based on the unmanned aircraft position estimation signal 16 and the ground station information prediction signal 17. The onboard antenna control mode determiner 108 determines whether the onboard antenna 111 can capture or track the ground station based on the positional relationship. The onboard antenna control mode determination unit 108 generates the determination result as the onboard antenna control mode signal 18.

  The ground antenna control mode determination unit 208 estimates the relative positional relationship between the ground station and the drone based on the ground station position estimation signal 36 and the unmanned aircraft information prediction signal 37. The ground antenna control mode determiner 208 determines whether the ground antenna 211 can capture or track the unmanned aircraft based on the positional relationship. The terrestrial antenna control mode determination unit 208 generates the determination result as the terrestrial antenna control mode signal 38.

  The onboard antenna target generator 109 receives the onboard antenna control mode signal 18. The onboard antenna target generator 109 determines whether the onboard antenna 111 should be controlled as the acquisition mode or the tracking mode based on the onboard antenna control mode signal 18. When the on-board antenna target generator 109 selects the tracking mode, the position difference value between the ground station 201 and the unmanned aircraft 101 is obtained from the on-board antenna target value signal based on the ground station information prediction signal 17 and the unmanned aircraft position estimation signal 16. 19 is generated. The onboard antenna control mode signal 18 includes the beam width information of the onboard antenna 111. When the onboard antenna target generator 109 selects the acquisition mode, the onboard antenna target generator 109 selects an appropriate acquisition sequence and search profile according to the position difference value and the beam width information. The onboard antenna target generator generates the acquisition sequence and search profile as an onboard antenna target value signal 19.

  The ground antenna target generator 209 receives the ground antenna control mode signal 38. The ground antenna target generator 209 determines whether the ground antenna 211 should be controlled as the acquisition mode or the tracking mode based on the ground antenna control mode signal 38. When the ground antenna target generator 209 selects the tracking mode, the position difference value between the ground station 201 and the drone 101 is set as the ground antenna target value signal 39 based on the unmanned aircraft information prediction signal 37 and the ground station position estimation signal 36. Generate. The ground antenna control mode signal 38 includes the beam width information of the ground antenna 211. When the terrestrial antenna target generator 209 selects the acquisition mode, the terrestrial antenna target generator 209 selects an appropriate acquisition sequence and search profile according to the position difference value and the beam width information. The terrestrial antenna target generator generates the acquisition sequence and the search profile as a terrestrial antenna target value signal 39.

Typical acquisition sequences and search profiles include spiral sequences and square sequences. In the spiral sequence, an arbitrary point is set as a starting point, and the position of the target antenna serving as a tracking target is searched by rotating the antenna directing direction spirally around that point. The square sequence drives the antenna acquisition that reciprocates with a constant amplitude in the direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the target antenna simultaneously with the driving corresponding to the movement of the target antenna.
A square sequence is a search in a rectangular area.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the trajectory of the acquisition sequence target by the spiral sequence when the beam width value is given. FIG. 6 shows an example of the trajectory of the acquisition sequence target by the square sequence when the beam width value is given. The trajectory shown in FIG. 5 and the trajectory shown in FIG. 6 both start capturing from the point indicated as the start point. The acquisition search area is determined by the beam width value. This region is indicated by a dashed rectangle in the figure. The direction indicated as “movement direction” in FIG. 5 is the movement direction of the target antenna as the tracking target.

  Note that the spiral sequence shown in FIG. 5 is a capture sequence suitable for a case where the tracking target is moving at a relatively low speed or is stationary. On the other hand, the square sequence shown in FIG. 6 is a sequence suitable for the case where the tracking target constantly moves. These sequences are selected according to the situation.

  The onboard antenna target generator 109 selects either the acquisition mode or the tracking mode based on the onboard antenna control mode signal 18. When the acquisition mode is selected, the sequence shown in FIG. 5 or 6 is followed. The profile to be executed is determined by the beam width value information included in the onboard antenna control mode signal 18. The range of the sequence is derived from the position difference value between the ground station 201 and the drone 101 based on the ground station information prediction signal 17 and the drone position estimation signal 16 and is generated as the onboard antenna target value signal 19. On the other hand, when the tracking mode is selected, the position difference value is generated as the onboard antenna target value signal 19.

  The ground antenna target generator 209 selects either the acquisition mode or the tracking mode based on the ground antenna control mode signal 38. When the acquisition mode is selected, the sequence shown in FIG. 5 or 6 is followed. The profile to be executed is determined by the beam width value information included in the ground antenna control mode signal 38. The range of the sequence is derived from the position difference value between the ground station 201 and the drone 101 based on the unmanned aircraft information prediction signal 37 and the ground station position estimation signal 36 and is generated as a ground antenna target value signal 39. On the other hand, when the tracking mode is selected, the position difference value is generated as the ground antenna target value signal 39.

  The onboard antenna controller 110 receives the onboard antenna directivity angle signal 21 from the onboard antenna 111. The onboard antenna controller 110 generates an onboard antenna control signal 20 based on the generated onboard antenna target value signal 19 and the onboard antenna directivity angle signal 21. Thereby, the directivity direction of the onboard antenna 111 is controlled.

  The ground antenna controller 210 receives the ground antenna directivity angle signal 41 from the ground antenna 211. The ground antenna controller 210 generates a ground antenna control signal 40 based on the generated ground antenna target value signal 39 and the ground antenna directivity angle signal 41. Thereby, the directivity direction of the ground antenna 211 is controlled.

  According to the present embodiment, the ground station information generator 107 estimates the mutual position information of the unmanned aircraft and the ground station on the unmanned aircraft side. The onboard antenna control mode determination unit 108 determines either the acquisition mode or the tracking mode. The onboard antenna target value generator 109 generates the onboard antenna target value signal 19 according to the determination result. On the ground station side, the drone information generator 207 estimates the position information of the drone and the ground station. The ground antenna control mode determination unit 208 determines either the acquisition mode or the tracking mode. The ground antenna target value generator 209 generates the ground antenna target value signal 39 according to the determination result. By the above processing, the transition from capture control to tracking control is smoothly performed between the onboard antenna 111 and the ground antenna 211.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the combination of the drone position estimator 104, the ground station information generator 107, the ground station position estimator 204, and the drone information generator 207 is used to improve the accuracy of the estimated values of the drone position and the ground station position. Will improve. In the construction of an information transmission system with a ground station using an unmanned aerial vehicle, selection between a capture control mode and a tracking control mode and a transition between control modes are problems.
However, in this embodiment, it is easy to select an appropriate control mode. In addition, high accuracy of the generated antenna target value is ensured. This realizes a stable data link between the drone and the ground station by the tracking antenna.

  Further, in this embodiment, the system state quantity predicted value is obtained on the assumption that the position of the ground station is fixed to the ground, but the application to the case where the ground station moves is easy. In this case, it is easy to apply the present invention to a system in which an unmanned aircraft and a ground station move relative to each other by partially changing a relational expression in necessary processing.

  The onboard antenna control mode determiner 108 and the terrestrial antenna control mode determiner 208 shown in the present embodiment are not only the position information of the unmanned aircraft and the ground station, but also the time change thereof and the information of the beam width value selected by each antenna. Is used. The onboard antenna control mode determiner 108 and the terrestrial antenna control mode determiner 208 are unique techniques for simultaneously generating the antenna control mode and the target value profile based on the information on the time change and the beam width value. Therefore, this embodiment cannot be easily inferred by a combination of related technologies such as Patent Document 1.

  In addition, the present invention controls capturing and tracking of a directional antenna based on an unmanned vehicle position estimation processing method that combines a GPS receiver and an acceleration sensor. In the present embodiment, the control mode is determined based on the relative position and orientation relationship between the antenna mounted on the drone and the ground antenna and the received signal level fluctuation value. The control mode and the target value generation function for the tracking antenna are used together to communicate between the drone in the space and the ground station. This configuration is clearly different from the techniques described in Patent Documents 3 to 5.

  As described above, according to the present invention, even when the data link system between the drone and the ground station is not established, the position estimation accuracy of the communication partner is improved while improving the position estimation accuracy of each of the drone and the ground station. To do. Furthermore, a target profile suitable for acquisition or tracking control is generated. Thereby, the control performance of the tracking antenna is ensured. The present invention is characterized by a stable data link between the drone and the ground station by a tracking antenna.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be easily applied as a tracking antenna control device installed in various mobile objects such as spacecraft, flying objects, unmanned aircraft, and unmanned automatic vehicles. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Tracking antenna control system 11 Unmanned vehicle acceleration detection signal 12 Unmanned vehicle position update signal 13 Ground station position beam width information signal 14 Unmanned vehicle AGC level detection signal 15 Ground station information acquisition signal 16 Unmanned vehicle position estimation signal 17 Ground station information prediction signal 18 On-board antenna control mode signal 19 On-board antenna target value signal 20 On-board antenna control signal 21 On-board antenna directivity angle signal 31 Ground station acceleration detection signal 32 Ground station position update signal 33 Unmanned vehicle position beam width information signal 34 Ground station AGC level detection signal 35 Unmanned aircraft information acquisition signal 36 Ground station position estimation signal 37 Unmanned aircraft information prediction signal 38 Ground antenna control mode signal 39 Ground antenna target value signal 40 Ground antenna control signal 41 Ground antenna directivity angle signal 101 Unmanned aircraft 102 aircraft Upper acceleration sensor 103 Onboard GPS Faith machine 104 Unmanned aircraft position estimator 105 Onboard antenna AGC level detector 106 Ground station position information acquirer 107 Ground station information generator 108 Onboard antenna control mode determiner 109 Onboard antenna target value generator 110 Onboard antenna control Unit 111 Onboard antenna 201 Ground station 202 Ground station acceleration sensor 203 Ground station GPS receiver 204 Ground station position estimator 205 Ground antenna AGC level detector 206 Unmanned vehicle position information acquisition unit 207 Unmanned vehicle information generator 208 Ground antenna control mode Determinator 209 Ground antenna target value generator 210 Ground antenna controller 211 Ground antenna 1001 Information transmitting device 1101 Imaging device 1102 Transmitting unit 1103 Aerial 1104 Airframe information acquiring unit 1105 GPS receiver 1106 Aerial 1107 Data radio unit 108 computing unit 1108a CPU
1108b ROM
1109 Drive unit

Claims (10)

A tracking antenna control apparatus for controlling an antenna of the flying object and an antenna of the ground station in an information transmission system for wireless communication between the flying object and a ground station,
The aircraft is
A vehicle position estimation means for generating a vehicle position estimation signal;
Ground station information generation means for generating a ground station information prediction signal based on a level fluctuation value of a signal received by the antenna of the flying object, beam width information of a radio wave from the antenna of the ground station, and position information of the ground station When,
Aircraft antenna control mode determination means for generating a vehicle antenna control mode signal based on the aircraft position estimation signal and the ground station information prediction signal;
A vehicle antenna target value generating means for generating a vehicle antenna target value signal based on the vehicle position estimation signal, the ground station information prediction signal, and the aircraft antenna control mode signal;
The ground station is
Ground station position estimation means for generating a ground station position estimation signal;
Aircraft information generating means for generating a vehicle information prediction signal based on a level fluctuation value of a signal received by the ground station antenna, radio wave beam width information from the aircraft antenna, and position information of the aircraft When,
Ground station antenna control mode determination means for generating a ground station antenna control mode signal based on the ground station position estimation signal and the flying object information prediction signal;
A tracking antenna comprising ground station antenna target value generation means for generating a ground station antenna target value signal based on the ground station position estimation signal, the flying object information prediction signal, and the ground station antenna control mode signal Control device. The flying object antenna control mode determination means selects either the capture control mode or the tracking control mode,
The flying object target value generation means generates a position difference value between the flying object and the ground station based on the ground station information prediction signal and the flying object position estimation signal when the tracking control mode is selected. The tracking antenna control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein tracking of the antenna of the ground station is controlled according to the position difference value.   When the acquisition control mode is selected, the air vehicle antenna target value generation means is configured to acquire an acquisition sequence based on the difference value and beam width information of radio waves from the antenna of the ground station included in the air vehicle antenna control mode signal. The tracking antenna control device according to claim 2, further comprising: selecting a search profile and generating the air vehicle antenna target value signal. The ground station antenna control mode determination means selects either the capture control mode or the tracking control mode,
The ground station antenna target value generating means generates a position difference value between the flying object and the ground station based on the flying object information prediction signal and the ground station position estimation signal when the tracking control mode is selected. The tracking antenna control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein tracking of the antenna of the ground station is controlled according to the position difference value.   When the acquisition control mode is selected, the ground station antenna target value generation means is configured to acquire an acquisition sequence based on the difference value and beam width information of radio waves from the antenna of the flying object included in the ground station antenna control mode signal. The tracking antenna control device according to claim 4, further comprising: selecting a search profile and generating the ground station antenna target value signal. A tracking antenna control method for controlling an antenna of the flying object and an antenna of the ground station in an information transmission system for wireless communication between the flying object and a ground station,
Generating a vehicle position estimation signal;
Generating a ground station information prediction signal based on a level fluctuation value of a signal received by the antenna of the flying object, beam width information of a radio wave from the antenna of the ground station, and position information of the ground station;
Generating a flying object antenna control mode signal based on the flying object position estimation signal and the ground station information prediction signal;
Generating a flying object target value signal based on the flying object position estimation signal, the ground station information prediction signal, and the flying object antenna control mode signal;
Generating a ground station position estimation signal;
Generating a flying object information prediction signal based on a level fluctuation value of a signal received by the antenna of the ground station, beam width information of a radio wave from the antenna of the flying object, and position information of the flying object;
Generating a ground station antenna control mode signal based on the ground station position estimation signal and the aircraft information prediction signal;
A tracking antenna control method comprising: generating a ground station antenna target value signal based on the ground station position estimation signal, the flying object information prediction signal, and the ground station antenna control mode signal. The aircraft antenna control mode signal includes one of a capture control mode and a tracking control mode,
When the tracking control mode is selected, a position difference value between the flying object and the ground station is generated based on the ground station information prediction signal and the flying object position estimation signal, and the ground station is generated according to the position difference value. The tracking antenna control method according to claim 6, further comprising a step of controlling tracking of the antenna.   When the acquisition control mode is selected, the acquisition sequence and the search profile are selected based on the difference value and the beam width information of the radio wave from the antenna of the ground station included in the aircraft antenna control mode signal, and the flight The tracking antenna control method according to claim 7, further comprising a step of generating a body antenna target value signal. The ground station antenna control mode signal includes one of a capture control mode and a tracking control mode,
When the tracking control mode is selected, a position difference value between the flying object and the ground station is generated based on the flying object information prediction signal and the ground station position estimation signal, and the ground station is generated according to the position difference value. The tracking antenna control method according to claim 6, further comprising a step of controlling tracking of the antenna.   When the acquisition control mode is selected, the acquisition sequence and the search profile are selected based on the difference value and the beam width information of the radio wave from the airframe antenna included in the ground station antenna control mode signal, and the ground The tracking antenna control method according to claim 9, further comprising a step of generating a station antenna target value signal.

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