Unmanned aerial vehicle comprising an antenna element panel
阅读说明:本技术 包括天线元件面板的无人驾驶的飞行器 (Unmanned aerial vehicle comprising an antenna element panel ) 是由 A·尼尔森 于 2018-03-06 设计创作,主要内容包括:本公开涉及一种无人驾驶的飞行器(200),其包括控制单元(201)、主体部件(202)和天线装置(100),该天线装置(100)包括天线元件面板(101)和至少一个天线端口(102、103),该天线端口适于提供至少一个天线波束(104、105),该天线波束可电动转向到至少两个不同的方向(104、104a、104b、104c、104d;D1-D25)。飞行器(200)还包括将天线元件面板(101)连接到主体部件(202)的方向单元(203),其中,方向单元(203)适于将天线元件面板(101)设置到相对于主体部件(202)的至少两个不同的位置。(The present disclosure relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle (200) comprising a control unit (201), a body part (202) and an antenna arrangement (100), the antenna arrangement (100) comprising an antenna element panel (101) and at least one antenna port (102, 103) adapted to provide at least one antenna beam (104, 105) which is electrically steerable into at least two different directions (104, 104a, 104b, 104c, 104D; D1-D25). The aircraft (200) further comprises a direction unit (203) connecting the antenna element panel (101) to the body part (202), wherein the direction unit (203) is adapted to set the antenna element panel (101) to at least two different positions relative to the body part (202).)
1. An unmanned aerial vehicle (200) comprising a control unit (201), a body part (202) and an antenna arrangement (100), the antenna arrangement (100) comprising an antenna element panel (101) and at least one antenna port (102, 103) adapted to provide at least one antenna beam (104, 105) which is electrically steerable into at least two different directions (104, 104a, 104b, 104c, 104D; D1-D25), wherein the vehicle (200) further comprises a direction unit (203) connecting the antenna element panel (101) to the body part (202), wherein the direction unit (203) is adapted to set the antenna element panel (101) into at least two different positions relative to the body part (202).
2. The aircraft (200) according to claim 1, characterized in that the antenna arrangement comprises a first antenna port (102) and a second antenna port (103), the first antenna port (102) being adapted to provide at least a first antenna beam (104) of a first polarization (P1), the second antenna port (103) being adapted to provide at least a second antenna beam (105) of a second polarization (P2) orthogonal to the first polarization (P1).
3. The aircraft (200) according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the direction unit (203) comprises a stepper motor assembly (204) connected to the antenna element panel (101), wherein the control unit (201) is adapted to control the stepper motor assembly (204) such that a desired position of the antenna element panel (101) is maintained.
4. The aircraft (200) of claim 3, characterized in that the stepper motor assembly (204) comprises two independently controllable stepper motors (204a, 204 b).
5. The aircraft (200) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the control unit (201) is adapted to steer each antenna beam (104, 105) into at least two different directions (D1-D25) and to determine in which direction (D20) each antenna port (102, 103) can receive the signal of the highest signal strength, and to set the antenna element panel (101) in place depending on the determined direction (D20).
6. The aircraft (200) according to claim 5, characterised in that the control unit (201) is adapted to set the antenna element panel (101) to a position such that each steerable beam (104, 105) has a minimized tilt angle relative to the antenna element panel in the direction (D13) receiving the signal of highest signal strength.
7. The aircraft (200) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that each antenna port (102, 103) is connected with a plurality of antenna ports (106, 107) by means of a respective phase changing device (108, 109) for each antenna element (106, 107), wherein the control unit (201) is adapted to control each phase changing device (108, 109).
8. The aircraft (200) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each antenna port (102, 103) is connected to a digital beam forming, DBF, network (110).
9. The aircraft (200) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised by an unmanned aircraft (200) arranged as a remote control, wherein the control unit (201) comprises a communication module (205), the communication module (205) being arranged to receive control commands from a remote transceiver (206).
10. The aircraft (200) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the aircraft (200) is configured at least in part for autonomous operation, wherein the control unit (201) is configured to autonomously generate control commands for controlling the aircraft (200).
11. A method for controlling an antenna element panel (101) in an unmanned aerial vehicle (200), the method comprising:
-directing (S1) at least one antenna beam (104, 105) of the antenna element panel in at least two different directions (104, 104a, 104b, 104c, 104D; D1-D25);
determining (S2) a direction (D20) resulting in a highest received signal strength for each antenna beam; and
orienting (S3) the antenna element panel (101) depending on the determined direction (D20).
12. The method of claim 11, wherein orienting (S3) the antenna element panel comprises: the antenna element panel is arranged (S31) in a position such that each steerable beam (104, 105) has a minimized tilt angle relative to the antenna element panel (101) in the direction (D13) in which the highest signal strength signal is received.
13. The method according to any one of claims 11 or 12, characterized in that it comprises: at least a first antenna beam (104) of a first polarization (P1) and a second antenna beam (105) of a second polarization (P2) orthogonal to the first polarization (P1) are provided.
14. The method of any of claims 11 to 13, wherein orienting (S3) the antenna element panel (101) comprises: the stepper motor assembly (204) is controlled (S32) such that a desired position of the antenna element panel is maintained.
15. A computer program (703) for controlling an antenna element panel (101) in an unmanned aerial vehicle (200), the computer program comprising computer code which, when run on processing circuitry (702) comprised in a control unit (201), causes the control unit (201) to:
-directing at least one antenna beam (104, 105) of the antenna element panel in at least two different directions (104, 104a, 104b, 104c, 104D; D1-D25);
determining a direction (D20) resulting in a highest received signal strength for each antenna beam; and
the antenna element panel (101) is oriented depending on the determined direction (D20).
Technical Field
The invention relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle comprising a control unit, a body part and an antenna arrangement comprising an antenna element panel.
Background
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), hereinafter referred to as drones, are becoming increasingly popular in society. Some use cases for drones are, for example, aviation surveillance, professional aviation measurements, commercial and cinematic filming, news gathering for news work, observation by police forces, search and rescue actions, scientific research, disaster relief, passenger transport, freight transport, etc.
For security and performance reasons, future drones are expected to connect to wireless networks, and so 3GPP has begun to carry out drone-related standardization work for LTE (long term evolution). It is expected that similar standardization work will be done for NR (new radio). However, there is also a risk that restrictions/regulations in different countries/regions may prohibit future use of the drone due to potential problems.
One of the main concerns relates to the fact that connected drones may cause too much interference in the network, resulting in reduced functionality of ordinary cell phone services. The drone will generate interference because it will typically fly relatively high in the air and then experience line-of-sight channels to multiple base stations simultaneously. Thus, each time a drone transmits a signal through an attached antenna arrangement, significant interference is generated to all neighbouring base stations.
One approach to mitigate the interference problems created by drones while improving coverage is to utilize beamforming (beamforming) on the drone's antenna device, which includes an antenna panel. The antenna panel may generate a narrow high gain beam to the serving base station and in this way concentrate the energy in that direction. However, producing narrow beams generally requires a large antenna aperture relative to wavelength, which makes it difficult to actually implement such antenna panels for lower frequencies. However, for higher frequencies, the antenna aperture can be made small even for high gain antennas. Therefore, it is expected that future drones will connect to the network at relatively high frequencies (typically above 6GHz) using NR.
Designing a beamforming architecture suitable for generating beams in any direction, which is necessary for such antenna panels, is difficult because the base station can be located in substantially any direction, and the typical angular coverage is not sufficient. The use of multiple antenna panels pointing in different directions on a drone is undesirable because it is important to keep both cost and weight as low as possible.
Disclosure of Invention
It is an object of the present disclosure to provide an unmanned aerial vehicle that does not generate undesirable interference signals when communicating with another object, such as a base station, through an antenna element panel.
The object is achieved by an unmanned aerial vehicle comprising a control unit, a main body part and an antenna arrangement comprising an antenna element panel and at least one antenna port adapted to provide at least one antenna beam which is electrically steerable into at least two different directions. The aircraft also includes a directional unit connecting the antenna element panel to the body member. The orientation unit is adapted to position the antenna element panel to at least two different positions relative to the body part.
This confers the following advantages, which are related to: the aircraft can be brought into contact with another object via the antenna element panel included in the aircraft even if the beamforming capability of the antenna element panel is insufficient.
According to some aspects, an antenna apparatus comprises: a first antenna port adapted to provide at least a first antenna beam of a first polarization; and a second antenna port adapted to provide at least a second antenna beam of a second polarization orthogonal to the first polarization.
This gives the advantage of providing communication by orthogonal polarizations.
According to some aspects, the direction unit comprises a stepper motor assembly connected to the antenna element panel, wherein the control unit is adapted to control the stepper motor assembly such that a desired position of the antenna element panel is maintained.
This gives an advantage of being able to control the position of the antenna element panel stably and accurately.
According to some aspects, the stepper motor assembly includes two independently controllable stepper motors.
This gives an advantage of being able to stably and accurately control the position of the antenna element panel in two dimensions.
According to some aspects, the control unit is adapted to steer each antenna beam to at least two different directions and to determine in which direction each antenna port is enabled to receive the signal of highest signal strength. The control unit is further adapted to set the antenna element panel to an appropriate position depending on the determined direction.
According to some aspects, the control unit is adapted to set the antenna element panel to a position such that each steerable beam has a minimized tilt angle relative to the antenna element panel in a direction receiving the highest signal strength signal.
This gives the advantage that an automatically controlled contacting is made possible by the antenna element panel.
According to some aspects, each antenna port is connected to a plurality of antenna elements via a respective phase changing device for each antenna element. The control unit is adapted to control each phase-changing device.
According to some aspects, each antenna port is connected to a Digital Beamforming (DBF) network.
This gives the advantage of making digital beamforming possible.
Methods and computer programs related to the above advantages are also disclosed herein.
Drawings
The present disclosure will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
fig. 1A schematically shows a front view of an antenna arrangement;
fig. 1B schematically shows a first perspective view of the antenna arrangement;
fig. 1C schematically shows a second perspective view of the antenna arrangement;
FIG. 2A schematically illustrates an unmanned aerial vehicle in which the antenna element panel has a first position relative to a main body component of the vehicle;
FIG. 2B schematically illustrates an unmanned aerial vehicle in which the antenna element panel has a second position relative to a main body component of the vehicle;
FIG. 2C schematically illustrates an unmanned aerial vehicle in which the antenna element panel has a third position relative to a main body component of the vehicle;
FIG. 2D schematically illustrates an unmanned aerial vehicle in which the antenna element panel has a fourth position relative to a main body component of the vehicle;
fig. 3A schematically shows a first view of a possible fixed beam direction beam grid;
fig. 3B schematically shows a second view of a possible fixed beam direction beam grid;
FIG. 4 schematically illustrates an unmanned aerial vehicle in which a narrow antenna beam is directed toward a serving base station of a plurality of base stations;
FIG. 5 schematically illustrates another example of an unmanned aerial vehicle;
FIG. 6 shows a flow chart of a method according to the invention; and
fig. 7 schematically shows an example of a control unit.
Detailed Description
In the following, reference is made to fig. 1A showing a front view of the antenna device 100, fig. 1B showing a first perspective view of the antenna device 100, fig. 1C showing a second perspective view of the antenna device 100, and fig. 2A showing the unmanned
The
To enable such steering, each antenna port 102, 103 is connected to a plurality of antenna elements 106, 107 (only one of each polarization is denoted by a reference numeral for clarity) via a respective phase changing device 108, 109 for each antenna element 106, 107 (for clarity only two antenna elements are denoted by reference numerals). The
According to some aspects, each antenna port 102, 103 is connected to a Digital Beamforming (DBF) network 110.
According to the present disclosure, the
To this end, the
According to some aspects, as shown in fig. 2A, the
In this way, as shown in fig. 4,
The
In fig. 3A and 3B, examples of the
According to some aspects, the
This process is repeated as the
In practice, referring also to fig. 4, this means that the steering of the mechanical tilt of the
By continuously adjusting the position of the
Typically, the
Narrow beam transmission and reception schemes will be required at higher frequencies to compensate for the high propagation losses. The task of finding and maintaining a suitable so-called beam pair link is called beam management.
The disclosure is not limited to the above examples but may be varied freely within the scope of the appended claims. For example, the
According to some aspects, referring to fig. 5, the aircraft 200' comprises an
According to some aspects, referring to fig. 2A, the aircraft is arranged as a remotely controlled
Generally, the antenna arrangement 100 comprises an
According to some aspects, the
These illustrations are merely schematic, for example, the dimensions of the
Referring to fig. 6, the present disclosure also relates to a method for controlling an
In at least two
determining S2 a direction D20 resulting in the highest received signal strength for each antenna beam; and
the
According to some aspects, orienting S3 the antenna element panel comprises setting S31 the antenna element panel such that each
According to some aspects, the method comprises providing at least a
According to some aspects, orienting S3 the
Fig. 7 shows an example of a
When run on the processing circuitry 702 of the
in at least two
determining a direction D20 resulting in the highest received signal strength for each antenna beam; and
the
The computer-readable storage medium 701 is suitably implemented as a memory, such as a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM); and more particularly as a non-volatile storage medium of the device in an external memory, such as a USB (universal serial bus) memory, or a flash memory, such as a compact flash.
The
In general, the present disclosure also relates to an unmanned
According to some aspects, the antenna arrangement comprises a first antenna port 102 and a second antenna port 103, the first antenna port 102 being adapted to provide at least a
According to some aspects, the
According to some aspects, the
According to some aspects, the
According to some aspects, the
According to some aspects, each antenna port 102, 103 is connected to a plurality of antenna elements 106, 107 via a corresponding phase changing device 108, 109 for each antenna element 106, 107, wherein the
According to some aspects, each antenna port 102, 103 is connected to a Digital Beamforming (DBF) network 110.
- 上一篇:一种医用注射器针头装配设备
- 下一篇:天线选择的方法及相关装置