JP3268955B2 - Antenna automatic tracking device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic antenna tracking apparatus applied to a communication apparatus for transmitting an image or the like using a radio wave having a high directivity in a remote control system for controlling a vehicle such as a construction machine from a long distance. It is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a vehicle such as a construction machine located at a long distance is remotely controlled by radio waves, images are indispensable.
Generally, a system is used in which a television camera is mounted on a vehicle, an image of the television camera is sent to a fixed operation room by radio waves, and the vehicle is operated while watching an image on a monitor television provided in the fixed operation room. At this time, in the transmission of video, radio waves that can be used are limited to microwaves according to the regulations of the Radio Law. Microwaves have a strong directivity of radio waves, so that the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna must always face each other. Hereinafter, a conventional video transmission system will be described.

FIG. 12 shows a conceptual diagram of a conventional remote control,
FIG. 13 shows a system configuration of the video transmission.

In FIG. 12, reference numeral 100 denotes a fixed operation room installed at a fixed position. An operation panel 101 is provided inside the operation room 100, and an operator 102 performs remote control. Above the fixed operation room 100, a receiving antenna positioning device 11
And a receiving antenna 10a integrated with the receiver 10. A television camera 12 is mounted on the receiver 10 for monitoring.

On the other hand, 200 is a hydraulic excavator, bulldozer,
It is a vehicle such as a loader or a dump truck, and a transmission antenna positioning device 31 is mounted on an upper portion of the vehicle, and a transmitter 30 and a transmission antenna 30a integrated with the transmitter 30 are provided by the positioning device 31. Also the vehicle
A television camera 32 for remote operation is provided on the upper part of 200, and its image is transmitted from the transmission antenna 30a to the reception antenna 10a on the fixed operation room 100.

FIG. 13 shows a system configuration of a video transfer.
The operation panel 101 has an operation device 13 and a control device 14 incorporated therein. The controller 14 receives a signal from the operating device 13 and outputs a drive signal to the positioning device 11 to control the receiver 10 and the receiving antenna 10a in the turning direction A and the tilting direction B.

On the operation panel 101, a receiving antenna 10a
A monitor television 15 for displaying an image taken by the monitoring television camera 12 installed above and a monitor television 16 for showing an image taken by the television camera 32 mounted on the vehicle 200 are respectively incorporated. .

The operation panel 101 has an operation device 33 for operating the transmitting antenna 30a on the vehicle side, an operation device 34 for inputting and processing the signal of the operation device 33, and a signal of the operation device 34. And an omni-directional transmitter 35 for transmitting the signal.

In contrast to the transmitter 35 on the operation room side, a non-directional receiver 36 for receiving radio waves from the transmitter 35 is provided on the vehicle side, and a positioning device 31 for a receiving antenna based on the signal of the receiver 36.
And a controller 37 for outputting a drive signal.

In such a configuration, an operator who remotely controls the vehicle 200 operates a remote control device for vehicle control (not shown) while watching the monitor television 16 to control the vehicle 20.
Driving 0 On the other hand, in order to transmit an image, an operator 102 for adjusting the direction of the antenna is required. The operator 102 of the antenna operation operates the operation device 13 and the operation device 33 while watching the monitor television 15 on which the image of the monitoring television camera 12 is projected, and the antenna 10 of the receiver 10 is operated.
a and the direction of the antenna 30a of the transmitter 30 are adjusted.

When the operating device 13 is operated, the signal is input to the controller 14, and the positioning device 11 is rotated by the controller 14 in the horizontal turning direction indicated by the arrow A and in the vertical tilt direction indicated by the arrow B. Can be directed toward the vehicle 200.

When the operation device 33 is operated, a control signal is sent to the control device 37 via the computing device 34, the transmitter 35 and the receiver 36, and the positioning device 31 is moved in the horizontal turning direction of the arrow A 'and the arrow A'. The transmitting antenna 30a can be directed in the direction of the fixed operation room 100 by being rotationally driven in the vertical inclination direction of B '.

[0013]

As described in the prior art, when transmitting an image or the like from a vehicle to a fixed station using microwaves, a specialist in antenna operation monitors a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna to face each other. While watching TV, I manually adjust the direction of the transmitting and receiving antennas. Therefore, the following problems have arisen.

It is necessary to adjust the directions of the transmitting and receiving antennas at the same time, and it is difficult to operate the antenna. In a vehicle moving at a low speed, the antenna can be tracked manually. However, in a vehicle moving at a high speed, the tracking is difficult and stable. Cannot communicate.

[0015] Antenna tracking requires a specialized operator, which is labor intensive and uneconomical.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna facing each other in a communication device for transmitting an image or the like from a moving vehicle to an operation room using radio waves having strong directivity. It is an object of the present invention to automate operations, reduce the burden on an operator in an operation room, and ensure stable communication with a moving vehicle.

[0017]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a receiving antenna provided in an operation room for remotely controlling a vehicle by radio waves, a turning angle of the receiving antenna in a horizontal direction, and a vertical direction. A receiving antenna positioning device that adjusts a tilt angle in a direction, a transmitting antenna provided in a vehicle, and a transmitting antenna positioning device that adjusts a horizontal turning angle and a vertical tilt angle of the transmitting antenna; In a communication device that transmits video and the like using a highly directional radio wave from the transmitting antenna to the receiving antenna in the operation room, the positions of the operation room and the vehicle, the turning angles of the receiving antenna and the transmitting antenna, the traveling direction and the traveling speed of the vehicle And the position of the vehicle relative to the operation room based on the positions of the operation room and the vehicle detected by these detectors. As well as operation, and correction operation of the position change of the vehicle by the traveling direction and the traveling speed of the vehicle,
A calculator for calculating the turning angles of the receiving antenna and the transmitting antenna, a controller for controlling the turning angles of the receiving antenna positioning device and the transmitting antenna positioning device based on the turning angles calculated by the calculator, an operation room and a vehicle And an omnidirectional two-way communication device capable of bidirectionally communicating a signal detected by the detector and a signal calculated by the calculator between the two devices.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a receiving antenna provided in an operation room for remotely controlling a vehicle by radio waves, a horizontal turning angle and a vertical tilt angle of the receiving antenna are adjusted. A receiving antenna positioning device, a transmitting antenna provided in a vehicle, and a transmitting antenna positioning device for adjusting a horizontal turning angle and a vertical tilt angle of the transmitting antenna. In a communication device for transmitting an image or the like using a radio wave having a strong directivity to a receiving antenna, a detector for detecting a tilt angle of each of a receiving antenna and a transmitting antenna, and a tilt angle of a receiving antenna while checking a reception level signal A control room that outputs a signal that gently shakes and calculates the tilt angle of the transmitting antenna so that the signs are opposite and the absolute values are equal. And a computing unit on the vehicle side, a controller that processes signals output from the computing unit to control the tilt angles of the receiving antenna positioning device and the transmitting antenna positioning device, and that is detected between the operation room and the vehicle. An antenna automatic tracking device having a configuration including an omnidirectional bidirectional communication device capable of bidirectionally communicating signals and calculated signals.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, as an arithmetic unit in the automatic antenna tracking device according to the first or second aspect,
A minute fluctuation generator for rotating the receiving antenna by a minute diameter;
An automatic antenna tracking apparatus having a configuration including correction operation means for correcting an error in the turning angle and the inclination angle based on a change in the reception level of the receiver caused by a small diameter rotation of the reception antenna.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the automatic antenna tracking apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein:
Computing means for calculating a turning angular velocity for correcting the azimuth of the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna based on the traveling azimuth angular velocity based on the traveling velocity and the traveling azimuth of the vehicle, and comparing the turning angular velocity for correcting the azimuth with the maximum turnable velocity of the positioning device. And a warning means for outputting a warning signal when the turning angular velocity for azimuth correction exceeds the maximum turnable speed of the positioning device.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the automatic antenna tracking apparatus according to the second aspect, the acceleration detector provided in the transmitting antenna positioning device on the vehicle side as the arithmetic unit on the vehicle side is detected. A calculating means for integrating the vertical acceleration of the positioning device with an integrator to obtain a speed signal, inverting the sign of the speed signal with a sign inverter to set a speed command, and a vertical device provided in the transmitting antenna positioning device. Calculating means for differentiating the position signal of the vertical angle detector for detecting the rotation angle of the direction with a differentiator to obtain a speed signal, and feeding back this speed signal to the output of the sign inverter by an adder. This is an antenna automatic tracking device having a configuration.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an antenna automatic tracking apparatus according to the first or second aspect, further comprising a receiving antenna operation device for manually operating a turning angle and an inclination angle of the receiving antenna. , A transmission antenna operating device for manually operating a turning angle and an inclination angle of a transmission antenna via a two-way communication device.

[0023]

The invention described in claim 1 relates to the setting of the antenna turning angle. The turning angle calculator provided on the operation room side includes not only a detection signal from a position detector or the like on the receiving side but also a detection signal. Along with the signals detected by the position detector, traveling direction detector, and traveling speed detector attached to the vehicle, the traveling direction angular velocity calculated from these detection signals is transmitted through both computing units, two-way communication devices, etc. The arithmetic unit calculates the relative position from the distance between the operation room and the vehicle, corrects the position change due to the heading and speed of the vehicle, and outputs it to the controller. By turning the device, the turning angle of the receiving antenna is controlled. on the other hand,
The control of the turning angle of the transmitting antenna includes, in the turning angle calculator, a traveling azimuth angle detected by the azimuth detector of the vehicle,
The turning angle of the transmitting antenna is calculated based on the turning angle and the correction angle obtained on the receiving side, and is output to the controller to turn the transmitting antenna positioning device, thereby controlling the turning angle of the transmitting antenna.

The invention described in claim 2 relates to the setting of the antenna inclination angle, and it is difficult for the position angle detector to accurately detect the height of the receiving antenna and the height of the transmitting antenna. Therefore, when starting the remote control operation, the tilt angle of the receiving antenna is gently swung while confirming the receiving level signal by the receiving antenna, and the tilt angle of the transmitting antenna is controlled in the opposite direction in conjunction with the tilting, thereby controlling the receiving level. Enters the normal tracking control from the best position.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a required turning angle is corrected in relation to the detection accuracy of the position detector. Based on the level signal and the signals of the turning angle detector and the tilt angle detector provided in the positioning device, the maximum and minimum positions of the reception level are detected, and the most of the radio waves estimated to be on those straight lines are detected. Correct the antenna direction by setting the correction value of the turning angle and the tilt angle by calculation so that the antenna is oriented to a strong position and direction, and when the difference between the minimum value and the maximum value of the reception level reaches a value within the specified range , So that the output from the turning angle correction calculator is set to zero. The same correction based on the reception level is also performed for the inclination angle, and the correction angle based on the reception level is added to the set angle to update the inclination angle set value.

The invention described in claim 4 relates to the limitation of the vehicle speed due to the turning ability of the positioning device on the receiving side or the transmitting side, for tracking the vehicle obtained from the speed component of the vehicle and the distance to the vehicle. At least one of the turning angular velocity of the positioning device on the operation room side and the turning angular velocity of the positioning device on the vehicle side obtained from the turning angular velocity of the receiving antenna on the operation room side and the traveling azimuth angular velocity on the vehicle side are required. If the maximum turning speed is exceeded, a warning signal is output. When this warning signal is output, the direction of the transmitting antenna or the receiving antenna is adjusted by a manual operation of the operator, or the traveling speed of the vehicle is limited to return to the automatic control.

The invention described in claim 5 relates to the setting of the inclination angle of the transmitting antenna. The vertical acceleration of the positioning device detected by the acceleration detector is integrated by an integrator to obtain the speed. The speed command is set by inverting the sign of the speed with a sign inverter. On the other hand, the position signal of the vertical angle detector is differentiated by a differentiator to obtain a speed signal, and the result is fed back to the output of the sign inverter by an adder. The output of the adder is used as a control signal for correcting the amount of tilt of the transmitting antenna due to shaking of the vehicle body.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, even when a communication system for automatically controlling the directions of a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna stops operating, the directions of the antennas are adjusted by manual operation using an operating device. can do.

[0029]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in FIGS. The same parts as those in the conventional system shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

I. First, the configuration of the present embodiment will be described. In the description, the azimuth angle indicates an angle formed by the installation orientation of the positioning device or the traveling azimuth of the vehicle with respect to a fixed reference direction (for example, east). It represents the amount of operation (angle) of the turning operation.

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an automatic antenna tracking apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, the following devices are added to the conventional system of FIG. 13 for automatic tracking of an antenna.

On the receiving side of the fixed operating room 100 where the operator is located, an azimuth detector 18 for detecting the installation azimuth of the receiving antenna positioning device 11 and an inclination angle detecting for detecting the inclination angle of the receiver 10 are provided. A device 19 and a position detector 20 for measuring a reception position using radio waves of an artificial satellite are provided.

The control arithmetic unit 17 for processing the signals from the detectors 18, 19, 20 includes, in addition to the signals from the detectors 18, 19, 20, a signal from the reception operating unit 13 and a reception signal. Level signal output from the device 10 and a signal processor described later
A control operation is performed based on the data sent from the controller 38, and a control signal for setting the direction (horizontal turning angle and vertical tilt angle) of the receiving antenna 10a to the controller 14 is output. It sends data to 39.

The controller 14 sends a drive signal for controlling the turning angle of the positioning device 11 and a drive signal for controlling the tilt angle to the positioning device 11 based on the signal calculated by the control calculator 17. Output.

The signal processor 38 is a two-way signal processor, and receives a signal from the transmission operation unit 33 and the control arithmetic unit 17.
And a process for inputting the data sent from the vehicle side to the control computing unit 17.

The display 39 displays the position and speed of the vehicle and a warning issued by a buzzer when the vehicle speed exceeds the automatic tracking capability, together with a warning content. This warning function will be described later.

One bidirectional communication device 40 is connected to the signal processor 38 on the operation room side, and the other bidirectional communication device 41 is provided on the vehicle side. These two-way communication devices 40 and 41 are omni-directional two-way communication devices that enable two-way communication by alternately switching between transmission and reception at high speed.

A control computing unit 43 is connected to a two-way communication device 41 on the vehicle side via a signal processor 42 serving as an interface.

On the input side of the control arithmetic unit 43, a speed detector 44 for detecting the speed of the vehicle, a position detector 45 for detecting the position of the vehicle using radio waves of artificial satellites, a transmitter 30 and a transmitter An inclination angle detector 46 for detecting the inclination angle of the antenna 30a, an acceleration detector 47 attached to the turning section of the transmitting antenna positioning device 31 for detecting vertical acceleration, and detecting a traveling direction of the vehicle. Vehicle heading detector
And 48 respectively.

The control arithmetic unit 43 includes the detectors 44, 45,
Based on the signals detected at 46, 47, and 48 and the data sent from the control operation unit 17 on the operation room side through the signal processor 38, the two-way communication devices 40 and 41, and the signal processor 42, transmission is performed. The attitude of the transmitting antenna positioning device 31 for adjusting the direction of the antenna 30a (horizontal turning angle and vertical tilt angle) to face the receiving antenna 10a is calculated, and
A control signal is output to 37, and data necessary for the control operation unit 17 on the operation room side is calculated and output to the signal processor 42.

The positioning device 11 on the operation room side is
It has a receiving antenna turning angle detector 11a (FIG. 2) for detecting the turning angle of the receiving antenna 10a, and a receiving antenna vertical angle detector (not shown) for detecting the turning angle of the receiving antenna 10a in the vertical direction. The vehicle-side positioning device 31 includes a transmitting antenna turning angle detector (not shown) for detecting the turning angle of the transmitting antenna 30a, and a transmitting antenna vertical angle for detecting the vertical turning angle of the transmitting antenna 30a. Detector 31b (Fig. 1
1) and built-in. While the tilt angle detector 46 is an angle detector with respect to a reference plane (for example, a horizontal plane),
The vertical angle detector 31b is an angle detector that detects the amount of vertical rotation of the positioning device 31.

As shown in FIG. 2, the control operation unit 17 on the operation room side mainly comprises a turning angle operation unit 60, a turning angle correction operation unit 61, and a minute fluctuation generator 62.

The azimuth detector 18 and the position detector 20 are respectively connected to the input side of the turning angle calculator 60, and the vehicle-side position detector 45, the speed detector 44, and the azimuth detector 48 and a traveling azimuth angular velocity calculator 49 for computing a traveling azimuth angular velocity which is a changing speed of the vehicle traveling azimuth.
Are connected via the two-way communication devices 40 and 41, respectively.

The input side of the turning angle correction calculator 61 is connected to the input lines of the turning level detector 11a, the tilt angle detector 19 and the reception level signal of the receiver 10 of the receiving side positioning device 11, respectively. .

On the other hand, the display 39 and the adder 63 are connected to the output side of the turning angle calculator 60, respectively. The adder 63 adds the turning angle signal output from the turning angle calculator 60 and the turning angle correction signal Δβ output from the turning angle correction calculator 61, and an adder connected to the adder 63. It outputs to 64 and the adder 65, respectively.

[0046] The adder 64, the adder turning angle signal from 63 and adds the turning angle component signals beta _s output from the slight change generator 62, connected to the control to the adder 64 Output to the container 14.

The adder 65 adds the turning angle signal from the adder 63 and the azimuth signal from the azimuth detector 18,
The signal is output to the signal processor 38 connected to the adder 65.

The output Δα of the turning angle correction calculator 61 is input to the inclination angle calculator 66 shown in FIG. The tilt angle component signal α _s of the minute fluctuation generator 62 is input to the adder 68 shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram for setting and calculating the tilt angle on the receiving side. The receiving level signal S from the receiver 10 is shown in FIG.
_L and the tilt angle correction signal Δα output through the turning angle correction calculator 61 are input to a tilt angle calculator 66, and an adder 68 of the control calculator 17 is added to the tilt angle output signal α of the tilt angle calculator 66.
By adding the inclination component signal alpha _s of the micro fluctuation generator 62 at outputs to the controller 14. The output signal α of the tilt angle calculator 66 is also output to the signal processor 38.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a control operation block for controlling the turning angle of the vehicle-side transmitting antenna 30a. The signal processor 42 and the azimuth detector 48 are connected to the input side of the turning angle calculator 69, and the turning angle calculator is connected. The controller 37 is connected to the output side of 69.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the operation of controlling the inclination of the transmitting antenna 30a by the control calculator 43 on the vehicle side. The signal processor 42 is connected to an adder 71 via a sign inverter 70. The tilt angle detector 46 is connected to the (−) side of the adder 71. The output terminal of the adder 71 is connected to a compensator 72 such as a controller having a proportional / integral element (hereinafter referred to as a PI controller) to obtain a control signal.

On the other hand, an integrator 73 is connected to the acceleration detector 47, and an adder 76 is connected via a sign inverter 74. On the (-) side of the adder 76, a vertical angle detector of the transmitting antenna 30a is provided.
A signal line from 31b through a differentiator 75 is connected. A compensator 79 such as a PI controller is connected to the adder 76. And
The compensator 72 and the compensator 79 are connected to the adder 80, and further connected to the controller 37.

II. Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

In the present system, the directions of the receiving antenna 10a and the transmitting antenna 30a can be adjusted manually by operating the operation device 13 for reception and the operation device 33 for transmission. Also, the receiving antenna 10 is automatically
By controlling the direction between the transmission antenna 30a and the transmission antenna 30a, stable communication can always be performed.

1) Direction Control of Receiver FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control operation block for the turning angle (arrow A in FIG. 1) of the positioning device 11, and FIG. 3 is a turning angle calculator shown in FIG.
The control calculation flow of 60 is shown. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the turning angle calculation, FIG. 5 is a calculation flowchart of the turning angle correction calculator, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a control calculation block diagram of the inclination angle (arrow B in FIG. 1). FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram relating to arithmetic control of the antenna tilt angle.

A. Turning Angle Setting Calculation In FIG. 2, data of the position detector 20 and the azimuth detector 18 provided on the fixed operation room 100 side are input to the turning angle calculator 60. The data of the position detector 45, the speed detector 44, the direction detector 48 attached to the vehicle side, and the direction detector
The traveling azimuth angular velocity calculated from the signal of 48 is input to the control calculator 17 via the control calculator 43, the signal processor 42, the two-way communication device 41, the two-way communication device 40, and the signal processor 38. . The control computing unit 17 performs the following computation to
Control the orientation of 10a.

The calculation contents of the turning angle calculator 60 will be described based on the calculation flow shown in FIG. 3 and the explanatory diagram of the turning angle calculation shown in FIG. The fixed coordinates X and Y are set as shown in FIG. Actually, for example, Y is set to be north and X is set to be east.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the vehicle 200 moves from point a to point c via point b. The installation orientation φ ₀ of the positioning device 11 attached to the fixed operation room 100,
(X ₀ , Y ₀ ), the position (X _m , Y _m ) of the vehicle 200 at the point b, the traveling direction φ _{m of} the vehicle with respect to the X axis, the traveling speed V _m of the vehicle, and the changing speed of the traveling direction of the vehicle. That is, the traveling azimuth angular velocity d (φ _m ) / dt is read (step 1 in FIG. 3).

An arithmetic expression will be derived for the point b. The distance L between the fixed operation room 100 and the vehicle 200 is obtained by the following equation (step 2).

L = {(X _m −X ₀ ) ² + (Y _m −Y ₀ ) ² } ^1/2 (1) Next, the point o of the fixed operation room and the vehicle 200 Point b
Is determined by the following equation (step 3).

Θ = sin ⁻¹ {(Y _m −Y ₀ ) / L} (2) Since the installation orientation of the positioning device 11 attached to the fixed operation room 100 is φ ₀ , the turning of the positioning device 11 is performed. The angle β ₀ becomes β ₀ = θ−φ ₀ (3) (step 4).

The turning angle β ₀ of the positioning device 11 can be obtained by the above equation. In practice, it takes several seconds to detect the position.
Since the vehicle 200 moves during that time, it is difficult to track the vehicle 200 at the turning angle β ₀ described above. Therefore, the turning angle β ₀ is compensated by the following calculation.

[0063] When the rate of progress V _m of the vehicle, fixed control room 10
Vehicle speed component V perpendicular to line ob connecting vehicle 0 and vehicle 200
_{s is obtained} by the following equation (step 5).

V _s = V _m · sin ｛θ−φ _m 4 (4) Next, the turning angular velocity of the positioning device 11 required to track the vehicle 200 is obtained from the velocity component V _s and the distance L. (Step 6).

Dθ / dt = V _s / L (5) Assuming that the detection delay time of the position detectors 20 and 45 is t _s , the correction value Δθ of the turning angle due to vehicle movement during the detection delay is given by the following equation. Is obtained (step 7).

[0066] Δθ = Therefore _{(dθ / dt) · t s} ...... (6), turning angle β becomes _{β = β 0 + Δθ ...... (} 7) ( step 8).

B. Correction by Received Signal Level Since the detection accuracy error of the position detectors 20 and 45 is about 10 m, if the distance between the vehicle 200 and the fixed operation room 100 is short only with the turning angle β in the above item a, the communication is always stable. Is difficult to secure. Therefore, based on the reception level signal indicating the reception state of the receiver 10, the angle is corrected in the direction in which the reception state becomes the best by the following method. FIG. 5 shows the calculation flow.

The turning level and the tilt angle are read by the reception level of the receiver 10 and the turning angle detector 11a and the tilt angle detector 19 of the positioning device 11 (step 9 in FIG. 5).

The turning angle β _s and the inclination angle α _s are synchronously changed by the minute fluctuation generator 62 shown in FIG. 6 so that the center of the receiving antenna 10a draws a minute circle as shown in FIG. 6 (step 10). ). The turning angle correction calculator 61 calculates the reception level based on the reception level signal output from the receiver 10 and the signals of the turning angle detector 11a (FIG. 2) and the inclination angle detector 19 built in the positioning device 11. A maximum position Smax and a minimum position Smin are detected (step 11).

As shown in FIG. 6, the strongest radio wave position x
Is estimated to be on the straight line of the angle ε connecting the minimum position Smin and the maximum position Smax of the reception level. Then, it is determined whether or not the difference between the minimum position Smin and the maximum position Smax of the reception level is within a predetermined value (step 12). If the difference is not within the predetermined value, the direction of the strongest position x of the radio wave is determined. Turn angle β and tilt angle α so that the antenna 10a faces
Is set (step 13).

The difference between the maximum reception level and the minimum reception level is obtained.

ΔS = Smax−Smin (8) The larger the deviation from the strongest position of the radio wave, the larger the difference ΔS in the reception level. Therefore, the correction angle η is represented by a function of the difference ΔS in the reception level. .

Accordingly, the correction angle η is obtained based on the difference ΔS between the reception levels.

Η = f (ΔS) (9) The correction value Δβ of the turning angle and the correction value Δα of the inclination angle are obtained from the positions of the maximum reception level and the minimum reception level. From FIG. 6, Δβ = η · cos (ε) (10) Δα = η · sin (ε) (11) When the transmitting antenna 30a and the receiving antenna 10a face each other on a straight line, a small fluctuation occurs. Since the reception levels on the trajectory circle are substantially equal, when the difference between the minimum value Smin and the maximum value Smax of the reception level has reached a specified value or less, the correction output from the turning angle correction calculator 61 is set to zero (step 14). ).

The output of the turning angle calculator 61 is added to the output of the turning angle calculator 60 by an adder 63. The output β _s of the minute fluctuation generator 62 is added to the output of the adder 63 by the adder 64 and output to the controller 14 to control the turning angle of the positioning device 11.

C. Restriction of vehicle speed by turning capability of positioning device If the speed of the vehicle is faster than the maximum turning speed of positioning devices 11 and 31, tracking becomes difficult. Therefore, the turning angle calculator 60
In the following calculation, the required turning speeds of the fixed operation room 100 and the positioning devices 11 and 31 on the vehicle 200 side are obtained, and when the speed is higher than the maximum turning speed of the positioning devices 11 and 31, the display 39 is displayed. Output a warning signal such as an alarm.

The turning angular velocity dθ / dt of the receiving antenna 10a on the fixed operation room 100 side and the traveling azimuth angular velocity d of the vehicle 200
From (φ _m ) / dt, the angular velocity dγ / dt of the turning angle γ of the positioning device 31 on the transmission side is obtained by the following equation (step 15 in FIG. 3).

Dγ / dt = dθ / dt−d (φ _m ) / dt (12) The positioning device 11 on the fixed operation room 100 side obtained by the above equation (5)
It is determined whether at least one of the turning angular velocity dθ / dt of the vehicle and the turning angular velocity dγ / dt of the positioning device 31 on the vehicle side obtained by the equation (12) becomes larger than the maximum turnable speed of the positioning devices 11 and 31. (Step 16 in FIG. 3), and when it becomes larger, a warning signal such as a warning is output to the display 39 (Step 1).
7). If this warning signal is output, the receiving antenna 10a or the transmitting antenna
Adjust the orientation of 30a or limit the speed of the vehicle,
Return to automatic control.

D. Calculation for setting the tilt angle The calculation for setting the tilt angle on the receiving side will be described with reference to the block diagram shown in FIG.

Since it is difficult for the position detectors 20 and 45 to accurately detect the height of the receiving antenna 10a and the height of the transmitting antenna 30a on the vehicle side, the inclination angle α is controlled by the following method.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the receiving antenna 10a and the transmitting antenna 30a face each other, the inclination angles of the transmitting antenna 30a and the receiving antenna 10a have the same absolute value and opposite signs.

Therefore, the inclination angle calculator 66 shown in FIG.
As shown in the calculation flow of FIG. 7, while checking the reception level signal of the receiver 10 at the start of operation (step 18),
Slowly tilt the tilt angle of the receiving antenna 10a (Step 1
9). In conjunction therewith, the inclination angle of the transmitting antenna 30a is driven so that the signs are opposite and the absolute values are equal. The normal tracking control is started when the position having the best reception level is found.

As shown in FIG. 7, during tracking control, the inclination angle set value is updated by adding the correction angle Δα based on the reception level of equation (11) to the set angle α of the inclination angle calculator 66 (step 2).
0). The output of the arithmetic unit 66 is an adder 68 and a signal processor 38.
Is output to In the adder 68, the signal α _{s from the} minute fluctuation generator 62 is added and output to the controller 14 on the receiving side. On the other hand, the output of the tilt angle calculator 66 input to the signal processor 38 is transmitted to the control calculator 43 of the vehicle via the two-way communication devices 40 and 41 and the like.
Is transmitted to

2) Transmitter Direction Control a. Calculation of Turning Angle FIG. 10 shows a turning angle control block diagram of the transmitting antenna 30a. 10, the traveling azimuth angle φ _m of the azimuth detector 48 of the vehicle and the angle θ ₁ obtained by the adder 65 of FIG. You. The turning angle calculator 69 calculates the turning angle γ of the transmitting antenna 30a based on the input data, and outputs the result to the controller 37. The turning angle γ is obtained from FIG.

Γ = π + (θ ₁ −φ _m) (14) Here, θ ₁ is expressed by the following equation.

Θ ₁ = θ + Δθ + Δβ (15) θ: turning angle on the receiver side based on the data of the position detectors 20 and 45 Δθ: turning angle correction value of the receiver based on the vehicle speed Δβ: Turning angle correction value b. Control Calculation of Tilt Angle of Transmitter As shown in the tilt angle control calculation block diagram of the transmitting antenna 30a in FIG. 11, the control calculator 43 on the vehicle side calculates the tilt angle α of the receiving antenna 10a by the two-way communication devices 40 and 41. The signal is inverted through a sign inverter 70 to set a tilt angle command value of the transmitting antenna 30a, and the tilt angle detector 46
The inclination angle of the transmitting antenna 30a detected by the
Give feedback in. The output of the adder 71 is input to a compensator 72 such as a PI controller to obtain a control signal.

The operation line shown on the upper side of FIG. 11 corresponds to the inclination angle control shown in FIGS.
The calculation line shown in the lower part of FIG. 11 corrects the angle of the transmitting antenna 30a equally in the reverse direction by the amount that the transmitting antenna 30a is tilted in the vertical direction when the vehicle shakes as shown in FIG. Is what you do.

That is, the vertical acceleration of the turning section of the positioning device 31 detected by the acceleration detector 47 is calculated by an integrator.
The speed is obtained by integrating at 73, and the sign of the same speed is sign inverted 74.
Reverse to set the speed command.

On the other hand, the position signal of the vertical angle detector 31b, which is built in the positioning device 31 and detects the vertical correction angle of the transmitting antenna 30a, is differentiated by a differentiator 75 to obtain a speed signal. The speed command value output from the sign inverter 74 is fed back.

The output of the adder 76 is used as a compensator 79 such as a PI controller.
The control signal of the compensator 72 and the compensator 79 is added by the adder 80 to obtain the control signal of the inclination angle, and the positioning device 31 is driven.

With the above-described control, a change in the inclination angle of the transmitting antenna 30a due to the shaking of the vehicle 200 can be prevented, and the inclination of the transmitting antenna 30a can be stably controlled.

The positioning device 11 of the receiving antenna 10a
If the azimuth detector 18 is set to a predetermined azimuth, the azimuth detector 18 may be omitted.However, if the azimuth detector 18 is provided, the operation room 100 on the receiving side does not necessarily have to be fixed, and the It is also possible to move the operation room 100 while remotely controlling the control room.

[0093]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained by automating the operation of facing the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna using the automatic antenna tracking device.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the conventional technique, when a video or the like is transmitted from a vehicle to an operation room using a highly directional radio wave such as a microwave, a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna are connected. It is difficult to adjust them simultaneously because they face each other. Particularly, it is difficult to track a vehicle moving at high speed. However, the invention of claim 1 relates to a vehicle based on the operation room based on the operation room and the position of the vehicle. The relative position of the vehicle is calculated, and the position change of the vehicle is corrected and calculated based on the traveling direction and the traveling speed of the vehicle, and the turning angles of the receiving antenna and the transmitting antenna are calculated and controlled. During this time, stable communication can be always ensured. In addition, a specialized operator is not required for antenna tracking, and running costs such as labor costs can be reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the control is started by easily setting both the inclination angles to the optimum state without detecting the individual height levels of the receiving antenna and the transmitting antenna. be able to.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the distance between the operation room and the vehicle is reduced by detecting a change in the reception level by a small change within a range that does not affect the reception image of the reception antenna. Even in a short case, it is possible to correct an error in the turning angle or the inclination angle and secure stable communication.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the vehicle is to be driven faster than the tracking ability of the automatic antenna tracking device, the condition can be alerted to the operator, so that the operator can always be notified. Stable communication can be secured.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent a change in the inclination angle of the transmitting antenna due to the shaking of the vehicle,
Stable tilt control of the transmitting antenna can be performed.

According to the invention described in claim 6, even in the event that automatic tracking cannot be performed, the direction of the antenna can be controlled by switching to the manual operation using the operating device. It is possible to prevent work from being interrupted due to equipment failure.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration example of an automatic antenna tracking device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram relating to a turning angle calculation of a receiving antenna according to the tracking device.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart relating to turning angle calculation and speed limitation of the tracking device.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram regarding calculation of a turning angle according to the tracking device.

FIG. 5 is a calculation flowchart of a turning angle correction calculator according to the tracking device.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a small fluctuation trajectory of the antenna according to the tracking device.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram relating to a tilt angle calculation of a receiving antenna according to the tracking device.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram regarding an inclination angle calculation of the antenna according to the tracking device.

FIG. 9 is a calculation flowchart of an inclination angle calculator according to the tracking device.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram relating to a turning angle calculation of a transmitting antenna according to the tracking device.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram relating to a tilt angle calculation of a transmission antenna according to the tracking device.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a conventional remote control system.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a video transmission system in a conventional remote control.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Receiver 10a Receiving antenna 11 Positioning device 11a Slewing angle detector 12 Television camera 13 Operator 14 Controller 15, 16 Monitor TV 17 Control calculator 18 Azimuth detector 19 Tilt angle detector 20 Position detector 30 Transmitter 30a Transmitting antenna 31 Positioning device 31b Vertical angle detector 32 Television camera 33 Operator 34 Operator 35 Transmitter 36 Receiver 37 Controller 38 Signal processor 39 Display 40, 41 Two-way communication device 42 Signal processor 43 Control operation Sensor 44 Speed detector 45 Position detector 46 Tilt angle detector 47 Acceleration detector 48 Azimuth detector 60 Turning angle calculator 61 Turning angle correction calculator 62 Small fluctuation generator 63 Adder 64, 65 Adder 66 Tilt angle calculation Unit 68 Adder 69 Turning angle calculator 70 Sign inverter 71 Adder 72 Compensator 73 Integrator 74 Sign inverter 75 Differentiator 76 Adder 79 Compensator 80 Adder 100 Fixed operation room 101 Operation panel 102 Operator 200 Vehicle

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-7-283642 (JP, A) JP-A-7-221530 (JP, A) JP-A-7-321517 (JP, A) JP-A-5-226920 (JP) JP-A-63-153925 (JP, A) JP-A-62-26904 (JP, A) JP-A-3-101501 (JP, A) JP-A-7-50513 (JP, A) (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01Q 3/08 G01S 3/42 G05D 1/08 H04B 7/26 H04N 7/18

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A receiving antenna provided in an operation room for remotely controlling a vehicle by radio waves, a receiving antenna positioning device for adjusting a horizontal turning angle and a vertical inclination angle of the receiving antenna, and a vehicle. And a transmitting antenna positioning device that adjusts the horizontal turning angle and the vertical tilt angle of the transmitting antenna, and has strong directivity from the transmitting antenna of the vehicle to the receiving antenna in the operation room. In a communication device that transmits images and the like using radio waves, a detector that detects the positions of an operation room and a vehicle, a turning angle of a receiving antenna and a transmitting antenna, a traveling direction and a traveling speed of a vehicle, and a detector that detects these. The relative position of the vehicle with respect to the operation room is calculated from the positions of the operation room and the vehicle, and the heading and the heading of the vehicle are calculated. A computing unit for compensating for a change in the position of the vehicle due to the speed and computing the turning angles of the receiving antenna and the transmitting antenna, and turning the receiving antenna positioning device and the transmitting antenna positioning device based on the turning angles computed by the computing device A controller for controlling an angle, and a non-directional two-way communication device capable of bidirectionally communicating a signal detected by the detector and a signal calculated by the calculator between an operation room and a vehicle. An automatic antenna tracking device comprising: 2. A receiving antenna provided in an operation room for remotely controlling a vehicle by radio waves, a receiving antenna positioning device for adjusting a horizontal turning angle and a vertical inclination angle of the receiving antenna, and a vehicle. And a transmitting antenna positioning device that adjusts the horizontal turning angle and the vertical tilt angle of the transmitting antenna, and has strong directivity from the transmitting antenna of the vehicle to the receiving antenna in the operation room. In a communication device that transmits images and the like using radio waves, a detector that detects the inclination angle of each of a reception antenna and a transmission antenna, and outputs a signal that slowly shakes the inclination angle of the reception antenna while checking a reception level signal A computing unit on the operation room side and on the vehicle side that calculates the inclination angle of the transmitting antenna such that the signs are opposite and the absolute values are equal, A controller that processes the signals output from the arithmetic unit to control the tilt angles of the receiving antenna positioning device and the transmitting antenna positioning device; and outputs both the signal detected between the operation room and the vehicle and the calculated signal. An automatic antenna tracking device, comprising: an omnidirectional two-way communication device capable of communicating in two directions. 3. An arithmetic unit includes: a minute fluctuation generator for rotating a receiving antenna at a small diameter; and a turning angle and a tilt angle error based on a change in a receiving level of the receiver caused by the small diameter rotation of the receiving antenna. 3. The automatic antenna tracking device according to claim 1, further comprising a correction operation unit that performs correction. 4. An operation room for calculating a turning angular velocity for correcting the azimuth of the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna based on the traveling azimuth angular velocity based on the traveling velocity and the traveling azimuth of the vehicle; 2. The warning device according to claim 1, further comprising: a warning unit that outputs a warning signal when a turning angular velocity for correcting an azimuth exceeds a maximum turning speed of the positioning device by comparing with a maximum turning speed of the positioning device. Antenna automatic tracking device. 5. An arithmetic unit on the vehicle side obtains a speed signal by integrating an acceleration in a vertical direction of the positioning device detected by an acceleration detector provided in the transmitting antenna positioning device on the vehicle side with an integrator. Calculating means for inverting the sign of the speed signal with a sign inverter to set a speed command; and a differentiator for differentiating a position signal of a vertical angle detector provided in the transmitting antenna positioning device for detecting a vertical rotation angle. 3. An automatic antenna tracking apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a calculating means for differentiating the speed signal to obtain a speed signal and feeding back the speed signal to an output of the sign inverter by an adder. 6. An operation device for a reception antenna for manually operating a turning angle and an inclination angle of the reception antenna in an operation room,
The antenna automatic tracking device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a transmission antenna operating device for manually operating a turning angle and an inclination angle of the transmission antenna via a two-way communication device.