Antenna pointing method and device

• US 20030227409A1
• Filed: 12/09/2002
• Published: 12/11/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Thales SA
• Original Assignee: Thales SA
• Inventors: Auger, Gerard
• Application Number:
  US10/314,413
• Publication Number:
  US 20030227409A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 342/359
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 3/44 the adjustment being varied periodically or continuously until it is halted automatically when the desired condition is attained
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/125 Means for positioning

Abstract

Method and antenna system used to point at least an antenna with respect to one or more other antennas, one of the antennas being a transmission antenna with an opening beam θ_e associated with a rotation speed R_e, to cover an angular sector S_e transmitting a signal every T_b seconds and another antenna being a reception antenna with an opening beam θ_r associated with a rotation speed R_r to cover an angular sector S_r, comprising at least the following steps

select the parameters

θ_r/R_r>T_b,

θ_e/R_e>T_b,

R_r greater than R_e or R_e greater than R_r

determine the maximum power representative of the best antenna reception for various positions of the transmission antenna or of the reception antenna, and

deduce the optimum positioning angular value of the transmission antenna with respect to the reception antenna.

FIG. 5 to be published

Claims

1. - Method to point at least an antenna with respect to one or more other antennas, one of the antennas being a transmission antenna A_E with an opening beam θ

_e associated with a rotation speed R_e, to cover an angular sector S_e transmitting a signal every T_b seconds and another antenna being a reception antenna A_R with an opening beam θ

_r associated with a rotation speed R_r to cover an angular sector S_r, wherein it comprises at least the following steps

select the parameters θ

_e, θ

_r, R_r, R_e, such that;

θ

_r/R_r≧

T_b, θ

_e/R_e≧

T_b,

R_r greater than R_e or R_e greater than R_r

determine at least a parameter representative of the best antenna reception for various positions of the transmission antenna or of the reception antenna, and

deduce the optimum positioning value of the reception antenna with respect to the transmission antenna or of the transmission antenna with respect to the reception antenna.

2. - method according to claim 1, wherein the parameter representative of the best reception is the received power, preferably the maximum power.

3. - Method according to claim 1, wherein the following is chosen:

θ

_r/R_r≧

S_e/R_e.

4. - Method according to claim 1, wherein the following is chosen:

θ

_e/R_e≧

S_r/R_r

5. - Method according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the beacon signal transmitted includes a parameter used to identify a station equipped with the transmission antenna.

6. - Method according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the transmission and reception antenna(s) are separate and their beams pointed mechanically.

7. - Method according to claim 6, wherein the beams are rotated alternately in the forward direction and in the backward direction.

8. - Method according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the transmission and reception antenna(s) are combined and their beams pointed electronically.

9. - Method according to one of claims 1 to 8, wherein it comprises a sector scanning step, scanning synchronized on a time frame, the synchronization referring to a different pair of angular positions of the reception and transmission antenna beams.

10. - Method according to one of claims 1 to 9, wherein it comprises a step to align the transmission antenna beam on the best position determined using the reception antenna.

11. - Method according to one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the transmission frequency is greater than 1 GHz, preferably within the 4.4-5 GHz band, or in the 40 GHz band.

12. - Method according to one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the data transmission rate lies between 10 and 50 Mbits/s.

13. - System to position an antenna with respect to another antenna comprising at least a transmission antenna with an opening beam θ

_e associated with a rotation speed R_e, to cover an angular sector S_e, the transmission antenna transmitting a signal every T_b seconds and a reception antenna with an opening beam θ

_r associated with a rotation speed R_r to cover an angular sector S_r, said antennas being linked with a device designed to vary the beam rotation speeds, wherein it comprises at least;

a device connected to the transmission antenna and designed to generate a transmission signal,

a device designed to acquire the various signals received by the reception antenna and to process the data to deduce the optimum positioning coordinates of the two antennas with respect to each other,

a device to manage the rotation speed parameters of the beams, such that;

θ

_r/R_r≧

T_b, θ

_e/R_e≧

T_b,

R_r is greater than R_e or R_e is greater than R_r.

14. - System according to claim 13, wherein the transmission and reception antennas are connected to mechanical means used to point the beams.

15. - System according to claim 13, wherein the transmission and reception antennas are electronically-scanned antennas and wherein it comprises a device to point the beams electronically.

16. - System according to claim 13, wherein the transmission and reception antennas are located in the same station and wherein it comprises a device to align the two antennas.