JP4877192B2 - In-vehicle antenna device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle antenna device using an array antenna.

  In recent years, TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System), which is a system for monitoring tire air pressure, has become widespread in automobiles in order to improve safety. Specifically, a wireless communication device equipped with a pneumatic sensor is attached to each tire, the vehicle is also equipped with a wireless communication device, and the air pressure data inside the tire measured by the wireless communication device on each tire side is wirelessly communicated. It is a system that provides air pressure information for each tire by sending it to a wireless communication device on the vehicle side.

Conventionally, an antenna of a vehicle-side wireless communication device is provided in the vicinity of each tire, and the position of the tire and the air pressure received depending on which antenna on the vehicle-side the transmission signal from the tire-side wireless communication device is received. The data was matched.
JP 2005-55319 A

  However, in the conventional method, there are problems that installation properties are poor, for example, antennas must be installed as many as the number of tires of the vehicle, and wiring of cables for connecting the antenna and the transmission / reception circuit is necessary. .

  An object of the present invention is to provide an in-vehicle antenna device using an array antenna that can realize the position detection of a tire air pressure sensor with antennas arranged at two places.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an in-vehicle antenna device of the present invention is connected to an unbalanced power feeding means, divides power into a plurality of signals and outputs, and each signal connected to and input to the distributor. A weight control unit that independently controls the amplitude and phase of the output, a power supply circuit unit that is connected to the weight control unit, performs balance / unbalance conversion and impedance conversion of each input signal, and outputs the power supply circuit unit An in-vehicle antenna device comprising an array antenna unit connected to a circuit unit and arranged with a plurality of antenna elements made of conductors, wherein the array antenna unit is incorporated in left and right front door knobs of the vehicle, and the weight control The beam direction of the radio wave radiated from the array antenna unit is switched by controlling the amplitude and phase of each signal fed to the array antenna unit.

  As mentioned above, this invention can implement | achieve the vehicle-mounted antenna apparatus which can detect the position of a tire pressure sensor with the antenna arrange | positioned in two places.

The first invention is connected to the unbalanced power supply means, divides the power into a plurality of signals and outputs the signals, and is connected to the distributor and independently controls the amplitude and phase of each input signal. A weight control unit that outputs and a plurality of conductors that are connected to the weight control unit, perform balanced / unbalanced conversion and impedance conversion of each input signal, and are connected to the power feeding circuit unit and are made of conductors And an array antenna unit in which the antenna elements are arranged. The array antenna unit is built in left and right front door knobs of a vehicle, and feeds power to the array antenna unit by the weight control unit. This is an in-vehicle antenna device that switches the beam direction of radio waves radiated from the array antenna unit by controlling the amplitude and phase of each signal.

  With this configuration, an in-vehicle antenna device that can detect the position of the tire pressure sensor with two antennas can be realized.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the in-vehicle antenna device according to the first aspect, the array antenna unit is provided such that a loop surface to be formed is substantially perpendicular to a side surface of the vehicle, and is made of a loop-shaped conductor. This is an in-vehicle antenna device in which loop antenna elements are arranged.

  With this configuration, an in-vehicle antenna device that is not affected by antenna gain deterioration due to metal on the side of the vehicle can be realized.

  The best mode for carrying out the antenna of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
Details of Embodiment 1 of the in-vehicle antenna device of the present invention will be described below.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication system using a vehicle-mounted antenna device.

  In FIG. 1, a vehicle-mounted antenna device 100 is a vehicle-mounted antenna device that is mounted on a vehicle and performs wireless communication with a tire pressure sensor 303 described later. The position of a tire air pressure sensor 303 (described later) is detected by electronically scanning radio waves radiated from the array antenna unit 105 (described later).

  The control circuit 106 is a control circuit that controls the overall operation of the in-vehicle antenna device 100, and is radiated from the array antenna unit 105, which will be described later, by controlling transmission / reception operations of the transmission / reception circuit 101, which will be described later, exchange of transmission / reception data, and direction information signals. Control of the beam direction of radio waves, determination processing of the position of a tire air pressure sensor 303 described later, and the like are performed.

  The transmission / reception circuit 101 is controlled by the control circuit 106, generates and outputs a transmission signal from transmission data input from the control circuit 106, measures the power of the input reception signal, and processes the input reception signal This is a transmission / reception circuit that generates reception data and outputs it to the control circuit 106. The transmission / reception signal input / output from the transmission / reception circuit 101 is an unbalanced signal, and the transmission / reception circuit 101 is an unbalanced power supply means. The transmission / reception circuit 101 may be only a transmission circuit or only a reception circuit.

  The distributor 102 divides the transmission signal output from the transmission / reception circuit 101 into a plurality of signals, outputs the signals to a weight control unit 103 described later, and outputs a plurality of signals input from the weight control unit 103 described later as power. It is a distributor that synthesizes and outputs to the transmission / reception circuit 101. Further, when it is not necessary to supply power to all antenna elements constituting the array antenna unit 105 to be described later, the distributor 102 uses a plurality of components constituting the weight control unit 103 to be described later based on the direction information designated by the control circuit 106. Some weight control circuits are selected, and power is exchanged with the selected weight control circuit. Power is supplied only to the antenna element corresponding to the selected weight control circuit. As a result, the antenna element to be fed is selected from among a plurality of antenna elements constituting the array antenna unit 105 described later.

  The weight control unit 103 performs weight control for independently controlling the amplitude and phase for each of a plurality of signals input from the distributor 102 or a power feeding circuit unit 104 described later based on the azimuth information specified by the control circuit 106. Part. The weight control unit 103 includes weight control circuits 611, 612, 613, and 614 that control the phase of the signal input from the distributor 102, and corresponds to loop antenna elements 411, 412, 413, and 414, which will be described later.

  The power feeding circuit unit 104 is a power feeding circuit unit that performs balance-unbalance conversion, impedance matching, and the like between the weight control unit 103 and the array antenna unit 105 in order to feed power to the array antenna unit 105 described later. The power feeding circuit unit 104 includes power feeding circuits 711, 712, 713, and 714 that perform balance-unbalance conversion and impedance matching corresponding to loop antenna elements 411, 412, 413, and 414 described later.

  The array antenna unit 105 is an array antenna unit in which a plurality of antenna elements made of conductors are arranged on front door knobs 309a and 309b, which will be described later. Since the surroundings of the front door knobs 309a and 309b described later are conductors, the antenna element is composed of an antenna element whose gain is not greatly deteriorated even when the conductors are close to each other, such as a loop antenna, a patch antenna, a slot antenna, a monopole antenna, etc. . The case where the antenna element is a loop antenna will be described as an example, and the array antenna unit 105 includes loop antenna elements 411, 412, 413, and 414 described later.

  The tire pressure sensor 303 is a tire pressure sensor installed in each tire that measures the tire pressure of the vehicle and outputs data measured by wireless communication. The tire pressure sensor 303 generates and outputs an antenna, a transmission signal, measures the power of the input reception signal, controls the operation of the tire pressure sensor 303 as a whole, and processes the input reception signal. A control circuit for measuring the pressure of the tire and a pneumatic sensor for measuring the pressure of the tire. Note that the transmission / reception circuit may be only the transmission circuit or only the reception circuit.

  Next, the arrangement locations of the antenna elements constituting the array antenna unit 105 will be described.

  FIG. 2 a is an XY plan view showing each part of the vehicle.

  FIG. 2b is a ZX plan view showing each part of the vehicle.

  FIG. 2c is a YZ plan view showing each part of the vehicle.

  X, Y, and Z denote the respective coordinate axes. The vehicle 300 is a four-wheeled vehicle, and includes four tires 301a, 301b, 301c, and 301d, four wheels 302 on which the tires are mounted, and tire pressure sensors 303a and 303b installed on the four tires, respectively. 303c and 303d, front pillars 304a and 304b which are components of the vehicle body, center pillars 305a and 305b, rear pillars 306a and 306b, a ceiling 307 made of a conductor, a bottom face 308 made of a conductor, and front door knobs 309a and 309b.

  The antenna elements of the array antenna unit 105 are disposed in two locations of the front door knobs 309a and 309b located substantially at the center of each tire.

  Next, the configuration of a weight control circuit that is a component of the weight control unit 103 will be described.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the weight control circuit. Based on the input azimuth information, the amplitude and phase are varied by switching between a phase shifter having a plurality of different phase shift amounts and an amplitude variable unit having a different attenuation amount or amplification amount.

  If the amplitude and phase are fixed and do not need to be changed, only one amplitude variable device and phase shifter are required, and the input azimuth information signal and switch can be omitted.

  If the amplitude is fixed and does not need to be changed, a single amplitude variable device may be provided on the input side or output side of the weight control circuit.

  If the phase is fixed and does not need to be changed, a single phase shifter may be provided on the input side or output side of the weight control circuit.

  If the amplitude is fixed and does not need to be changed, it can be realized by omitting the amplitude variable device and setting the distribution ratio so that the distributor 102 can obtain a predetermined amplitude.

  Next, a configuration of a power feeding circuit that is a component of the power feeding circuit unit 104 will be described.

  FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a power feeding circuit in the case of balanced power feeding to an antenna element.

  An input unbalanced signal is converted into a balanced signal by a balanced / unbalanced conversion circuit, impedance matching is performed by a matching circuit, and output.

  FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a power feeding circuit when unbalanced power feeding is performed to the antenna element.

  The input unbalanced signal is impedance-matched by a matching circuit and output.

  Next, the array antenna unit 105 will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the arrangement of antenna elements in the array antenna unit 105 and the radiation pattern of the array antenna unit 105 in the case of detecting the position of each tire. In the in-vehicle antenna device 100, components other than the array antenna unit 105 are omitted and not shown.

  The loop antenna elements 411, 412, 413, and 414 are provided such that a loop surface to be formed is substantially perpendicular to the XZ plane, and two power supply ends are connected to each power supply circuit of the power supply circuit unit 104 to form a loop shape. It is a loop antenna element which consists of a conductor. The number of windings of the loop is one, but any number may be used. Moreover, the shape of the loop may not be rectangular. By using a loop antenna element in which the loop surface to be formed is substantially perpendicular to the XZ plane, that is, the side surface of the vehicle body, the antenna gain is not lowered even when the loop surface is arranged on a vehicle body made of a conductor. Since the loop surface to be formed may be substantially perpendicular to the XZ plane, the axial direction of the loop may be in the XZ plane.

  The loop antenna elements 411 and 412 are disposed in the front door knob 309a.

  The loop antenna elements 413 and 414 are disposed in the front door knob 309b.

  By arranging a plurality of antenna elements in the X-axis direction in each front door knob as shown in the figure, it is possible to swing the beam in the X-axis direction of each front door knob.

Although the case where two loop antenna elements constituting the array antenna unit 105 are incorporated in each front door knob is described, any number of loop antenna elements may be used as long as the number is two or more.

  The operation | movement is demonstrated about the vehicle-mounted antenna apparatus 100 comprised as mentioned above.

  In the case of transmission, the control circuit 106 outputs to the distributor 102 and the weight control unit 103 azimuth information indicating the direction in which radio waves are desired to be emitted, that is, the direction of the transmission beam. The transmission signal output from the transmission / reception circuit 101 is power-divided into a plurality of signals by the distributor 102 based on the input azimuth information, and the amplitude and phase of each signal by the weight control unit 103 based on the input azimuth information. Is changed, balanced and unbalanced and impedance-converted by the power feeding circuit unit 104, and output to the tire pressure sensor 303 as a transmission radio wave by the array antenna unit 105.

  In the case of reception, the control circuit 106 outputs to the distributor 102 and the weight control unit 103 azimuth information indicating the direction in which the radio wave is desired, that is, the direction of the received beam. The radio wave received from the tire pressure sensor 303 is converted into an electrical signal by the array antenna unit 105, balanced / unbalanced and impedance converted by the power feeding circuit unit 104, and each signal is output by the weight control unit 103 based on the input azimuth information. Are divided into a single signal by the distributor 102 based on the input azimuth information and input to the transmission / reception circuit 101 as a reception signal.

  Next, the position detection procedure will be described.

  The control circuit 106 in the in-vehicle antenna 100 receives a transmission signal from the tire pressure sensor 303 while switching the direction of the reception beam covering the respective areas of the four tires 301a, 301b, 301c, and 301d. Position determination is performed by setting the tire in the region covered by the reception beam when the received power is the highest to the position where the communicating tire pressure sensor 303 exists.

  Alternatively, the control circuit 106 in the in-vehicle antenna device 100 transmits while switching the direction of the transmission beam, and communicates the tire in the region covered by the transmission beam when the received power received by the tire pressure sensor 303 is the highest. The position is determined by setting the position where the tire pressure sensor 303 is present.

  As described above, by controlling the amplitude and phase of power feeding to the array antenna unit 105, the beam directions of radio waves transmitted and received by the array antenna unit 105 disposed on the front door knob 309a and the front door knob 309b are switched, and the antennas are disposed at two locations. An in-vehicle antenna device that can detect the positions of the plurality of tire pressure sensors 303 with an antenna can be realized.

  The vehicle-mounted antenna device of the present invention can detect the position of a wireless communication device near the vehicle. Therefore, the vehicle-mounted antenna device of the present invention can be applied as a tire pressure monitoring system.

The figure which shows the structure of the communication system using the vehicle-mounted antenna apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention. XY top view which shows each part of the vehicle in Embodiment 1 of this invention ZX plan view showing each part of the vehicle in the first embodiment of the present invention YZ plan view showing each part of the vehicle in the first embodiment of the present invention The figure which shows the structural example of the weight control circuit in Embodiment 1 of this invention. (A) The figure which shows the structural example of the electric power feeding circuit in the case of carrying out balanced electric power feeding to the antenna element in Embodiment 1 of this invention (b) of the electric power feeding circuit in the case of carrying out unbalanced electric power feeding to the antenna element in Embodiment 1 of this invention Diagram showing an example configuration The figure which showed the radiation pattern of the array antenna part 105 in the case of detecting the arrangement | positioning of each antenna element and the position of each tire in the array antenna part 105 in Embodiment 1 of this invention

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Vehicle-mounted antenna apparatus 101 Transmission / reception circuit 102 Divider 103 Weight control part 104 Feeding circuit part 105 Array antenna part 106 Control circuit 303 Tire pressure sensor 300 Vehicle 301a, 301b, 301c, 301d Tire 302 Wheel 303a, 303b, 303c, 303d Tire pressure Sensor 304a, 304b Front pillar 305a, 305b Center pillar 306a, 306b Rear pillar 307 Ceiling 308 Bottom 309a, 309b Front door knob 411, 412, 413, 414 Loop antenna element 611, 612, 613, 614 Weight control circuit 711, 712, 713, 714 Feed circuit

Claims (2)

A distributor connected to the unbalanced power supply means for dividing the power into a plurality of signals and outputting;
A weight controller connected to the distributor and independently controlling and outputting the amplitude and phase of each input signal;
A power feeding circuit unit connected to the weight control unit, performing balanced / unbalanced conversion and impedance conversion of each input signal, and outputting;
An array antenna unit connected to the feeder circuit unit and arranged with a plurality of antenna elements made of conductors;
An in-vehicle antenna device comprising:
The array antenna unit is incorporated in the left and right front door knobs of the vehicle, and the weight control unit controls the amplitude and phase of each signal that is fed to the array antenna unit, thereby radiating the radio wave from the array antenna unit. -Mounted antenna device that switches the beam direction. The array antenna section is
The in-vehicle antenna device according to claim 1, wherein the loop surface to be formed is provided so as to be substantially perpendicular to a side surface of the vehicle, and loop antenna elements made of a loop-shaped conductor are arranged.

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