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JP-7857463-B2 - Low-elevation antenna system for reducing scanning loss when communicating with satellites

JP7857463B2JP 7857463 B2JP7857463 B2JP 7857463B2JP-7857463-B2

Inventors

  • レダ，アミン
  • エバディ，シマック
  • オソリオ，アンドレス フェリペ
  • ツルコフスキ，ステファン ウィリアム

Assignees

  • ファーキャスト コーポレーション

Dates

Publication Date
20260512
Application Date
20250324
Priority Date
20201120

Claims (13)

  1. It is an antenna system, The system comprises two or more user terminal panels (UTPs), and each of the UTPs is: It includes one or more user terminal modules (UTMs), and each of the one or more UTMs is: It includes two or more user terminal elements (UTEs), and the two or more UTEs are One or more antennas, each configured to generate an incoming analog signal in response to incident radio waves received from a first satellite, or to transmit an outgoing analog signal toward the first satellite, It includes two or more active circuits configured to process the incoming analog signal and the outgoing analog signal, The aforementioned UTPs are, One or more sensors configured to measure the connection signal strength of the one or more UTMs to the first satellite, A control circuit, In order to change one or more characteristics of the incoming analog signal and the outgoing analog signal, a digital control signal is transmitted to the two or more active circuits of the UTE, which is routed along the daisy-chain of the two or more active circuits of the UTE. Switch the connection of at least one of the aforementioned UTPs from the first satellite to the second satellite. The control circuit includes one or more UTMs, which are configured to turn off the power to the active circuit of a UTE that does not meet the connection signal strength threshold for satellite connection, Each of the two or more UTEs has a surface region formed by a part of the UTE, and each of the UTPs is oriented in a different direction from the others. Antenna system.
  2. The antenna system according to claim 1, wherein the first UTP and the second UTP among the two or more UTPs are configured in a fixed-dimension shape with the first UTP and the second UTP rotated at different angles from each other.
  3. The antenna system according to claim 2, wherein the first UTP and the second UTP are directed at an elevation angle between 0 and 90 degrees with respect to the Earth's horizon.
  4. The antenna system according to claim 2, wherein the control circuit is further configured to electromechanically adjust the orientation of the first UTP and the second UTP in the azimuth plane.
  5. The antenna system according to claim 1, further comprising a user interface configured to provide feedback reflecting the connection signal strength of the two or more UTEs.
  6. A method for connecting an antenna system to a satellite, An antenna system including two or more user terminal panels (UTPs) is placed at a certain location, and each of the UTPs is: It includes one or more user terminal modules (UTMs), and each of the one or more UTMs is: It includes two or more user terminal elements (UTEs), and the two or more UTEs are One or more antennas, each configured to generate an incoming analog signal in response to incident radio waves received from a first satellite, or to transmit an outgoing analog signal toward the first satellite, It includes two or more active circuits configured to process the incoming analog signal and the outgoing analog signal, The aforementioned UTPs are, The system includes one or more sensors configured to measure the connection signal strength of the one or more UTMs to the first satellite, Each of the two or more UTEs has a surface region formed by a part of the UTE, and each of the UTPs is oriented in a different direction from the others. In order to change one or more characteristics of the incoming analog signal and the outgoing analog signal, a digital control signal is transmitted to the two or more active circuits of the UTE via a control circuit, which is routed along the daisy-chain of the two or more active circuits of the UTE. Switch the connection of at least one of the aforementioned UTPs from the first satellite to the second satellite. The connection signal strength of the connection to the first satellite is determined via the one or more sensors. If the determined connection signal strength does not meet the connection signal strength threshold for satellite connection, the power to the two or more UTEs that do not meet the connection signal strength threshold for satellite connection is turned off. method.
  7. The method according to claim 6 , further comprising coupling the arriving analog signals from two or more UTMs to increase the gain of the arriving analog signals.
  8. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the two or more UTPs include a main UTP and a side UTP.
  9. The method according to claim 6 , wherein the first UTP and the second UTP among the two or more UTPs are configured to have fixed dimensions, with the first UTP and the second UTP rotated at different angles from each other.
  10. The method according to claim 9 , wherein the first UTP and the second UTP are directed at an elevation angle between 0 and 90 degrees with respect to the Earth's horizon.
  11. Furthermore, the method according to claim 9 , wherein the orientations of the first UTP and the second UTP are electromechanically adjusted in the azimuthal plane.
  12. The method according to claim 6 , wherein the antenna system further comprises a user interface configured to provide feedback reflecting the connection signal strength of the one or more UTEs.
  13. The antenna system according to claim 1, wherein the control circuit is further configured to control the power supplied to the two or more active circuits of the UTE, and the power is routed along the daisy-chain of the two or more active circuits of the UTE.

Description

Related applications This application claims the interests of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/964,376, filed on 22 January 2020, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. This application also claims the interests of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/019,228, filed on 1 May 2020, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Furthermore, this application claims the interests of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/060,101, filed on 2 August 2020, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Aspects of this disclosure relate to beam scanning antenna systems, low scanning loss at low elevation angles, and particularly to flat panel antennas for communicating with satellites at arbitrary elevation angles. background The global market for space station equipment is growing at a remarkable pace, and according to a GlobeNewswire report dated January 24, 2020, titled "Global Space Station Equipment Market to 2024: Focusing on Equipment, End Users, Applications, and Satellite Communication Services," it is projected to reach a market value of $119.78 billion by 2024. Parabolic reflector antennas are the most prevalent in the market today. However, parabolic reflector antennas include a parabolic reflector, which can be expensive to manufacture, and can be bulky and heavy in relation to the required supply system and support structure. In some respects, parabolic reflector antennas are becoming increasingly impractical. For example, the shape and form factor of parabolic reflector antennas make shipping and transportation to different regions of the world more difficult. overview One or more embodiments described herein, among other advantages, solve one or more of the aforementioned problems or other problems in the art by providing systems, apparatus, and methods for providing inexpensive, reusable (or interchangeable) antenna elements that can be configured for a variety of commercial and civilian beam scanning communications applications and incorporated into high-performance modular electronically scanned array antenna systems capable of communicating with satellites located at elevation angles from 0 to 90 degrees. In one embodiment, a flat panel array (FPA) antenna includes P user terminal panels (UTPs). Each UTP includes N user terminal modules (UTMs) and M user terminal elements (UTEs). Each M UTE includes M antennas and M active circuits. The antennas generate incoming signals in response to incident radio waves received from the satellite, or transmit outgoing signals toward the satellite. The active circuits process the incoming and outgoing signals. The FPA antenna further includes control circuits for controlling the signal processing performed by the M active circuits. Advantageously, N and M can be adjusted to control the effective antenna area visible to the satellite and the corresponding throughput of the connection in order to maintain connectivity. The satellite is positioned at an elevation angle between zero and 90 degrees. In other embodiments, the satellite antenna system includes M application agnostic user terminal elements (UTEs), each containing an antenna for generating an incoming signal in response to incoming satellite radio waves, or for transmitting an outgoing signal to a receiver such as a satellite or ground unit. Each UTE further includes an active circuit for processing the incoming and outgoing signals. The UTE active circuits are controlled by a control circuit that controls the processing performed by the M active circuits. In one embodiment, the M UTEs are distributed among N user terminal modules (UTMs), each containing a daisy-chain of O of the M active circuits. An example of such a system is shown and described with respect to Figure 9. Figure 9 shows a satellite antenna system where M is equal to 256 and N and O are equal to 16. To address potential quality degradation and signal attenuation that may occur along the daisy-chain stages, each UTM further includes buffers placed after each of the P active circuits to compensate for amplitude degradation occurring within the daisy-chain. In other words, buffers can be placed after each of the P active circuits to compensate for degraded signal characteristics as the signal traverses the daisy-chain. An example of such a UTM is shown in Figure 10. Figure 10 shows a UTM with 16 UTEs, and buffers placed between each of the 16 UTEs. The advantage of systems like those disclosed herein lies in their modular design, which allows for adjustment of M to match the total antenna area available and the corresponding signal throughput for a given application. For example, a satellite antenna system intended for automotive applications can have M set lower than that for more demanding applications such as buses, aircraft, or cruise ships. NRE costs are minimized in such systems, provided that the UTEs (Upper Telescopes) have been designed in the past and are being r