Direction estimating apparatus, directivity controlling antenna apparatus, and direction estimating method

• US 6,333,713 B1
• Filed: 08/17/2000
• Issued: 12/25/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Fukagawa, Takashi, Mimura, Masahiro, Kishigami, Takaaki, Hasegawa, Makoto, Nakagawa, Youichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Phan, Dao
• Application Number:
  US09/639,996
• Time in Patent Office: 495 Days
• Field of Search: 34/147, 34/152, 34/417, 34/418, 34/457
• US Class Current: 342/418
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 3/74 Multi-channel systems specially adapted for direction-finding, i.e. having a single antenna system capable of giving simultaneous indications of the directions of different signals systems in which the directions of different signals are determined sequentially and displayed simultaneously G01S3/04, G01S3/14
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/26 varying the relative phase or relative amplitude of energisation between two or more active radiating elements; varying the distribution of energy across a radiating aperture H01Q3/12, H01Q3/22, H01Q3/24 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/2605 Array of radiating elements provided with a feedback control over the element weights, e.g. adaptive arrays

Abstract

Array elements 111-1 to 111-n of array antenna 101 are arranged at respective different heights from a ground so as not to overlap to each other in a vertical direction. Received frequency conversion section 102 converts a radio frequency signal received at each of the array elements 111-1 to 111-n of array antenna 101 into an intermediate frequency signal or baseband signal. A/D conversion section 103 converts an analog signal output from received frequency conversion section 102 into a digital signal using a proper sampling frequency. Direction estimating section 105 estimates directions of an arrival radio signal in a horizontal plane and vertical plane using received digital signals obtained in A/D conversion section 103. It is thereby possible to suppress increases in the number of array elements and computation amount, and to improve estimation accuracy in the vertical direction and resolution at the time a plurality of signals arrive.

Claims

1. A direction estimating apparatus comprising:

an array antenna comprising a plurality of antennas as array elements, the array elements being arranged at respective different heights such that the array elements do not overlap in a vertical direction;

a received frequency conversion system that converts a radio frequency signal of an arriving radio signal received at each of the array elements into an analog output signal, the analog output signal comprising one of an intermediate frequency signal and a baseband signal;

an A/D conversion system that converts the analog output signal from the received frequency conversion system into a digital signal; and

a direction estimating system that estimates a horizontal direction and a vertical direction of the arriving radio signal based on the digital signal output from the A/D conversion system.

2. The direction estimating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the array elements of the array antenna is arranged on a helix.

3. The direction estimating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein each of the array elements of the array antenna is arranged so that neighboring array elements are arranged at equal intervals on a horizontal plane.

4. The direction estimating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein each of the array elements of the array antenna is arranged so that intervals between neighboring array elements are ununiform on a horizontal plane.

5. The direction estimating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a position calculating system that calculates a position of a transmission source of the arriving radio signal based on the horizontal direction and the vertical direction of the arriving radio signal estimated in the direction estimating system.

6. A directivity controlling antenna apparatus comprising:

a first array antenna comprising a plurality of antennas as array elements, the array elements being arranged at respective different heights from a ground so as not to overlap each other in a vertical direction;

a received frequency conversion system that converts a radio frequency signal of an arriving radio signal received at each of the array elements into an analog output signal, the analog output signal comprising one of an intermediate frequency signal and a baseband signal;

an A/D conversion system that converts the analog output signal from the received frequency conversion system into a digital signal;

a direction estimating system that estimates a horizontal direction and a vertical direction of the arriving radio signal using the digital signal output from the A/D conversion system;

a reception weight calculating system that obtains a reception weight based on the digital signal and on the horizontal direction and the vertical direction of the arriving radio signal estimated in the direction estimating system.

7. The directivity controlling antenna apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising:

a transmission weight calculating system that obtains a transmission weight based on the digital signal and on the horizontal direction and the vertical direction of the arriving radio signal;

a transmission beam forming system that performs weighting on a transmission digital signal using the transmission weight obtained in the transmission weight calculating system;

a D/A conversion system that converts the weighted transmission digital signal into an analog signal; and

a transmission frequency conversion system that converts one of an intermediate frequency signal and a baseband signal output from the D/A conversion system into a radio frequency signal to transmit.

8. The directivity controlling antenna apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising:

a reception beam forming system that performs weighting on a transmission digital signal using a reception weight;

a D/A conversion system that converts the weighted transmission digital signal into an analog signal; and

a transmission frequency conversion system that converts an intermediate frequency signal and a baseband signal output from the D/A conversion system into a radio frequency signal transmit.

9. The directivity controlling antenna apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising:

a second array antenna comprising array elements, a number of which is larger than a number of array elements of the first array antenna;

wherein the transmission frequency conversion system transmits the radio frequency signal from the second array antenna.

10. A direction estimating apparatus comprising:

an array antenna comprising a plurality of antennas as array elements, the array elements being arranged at respective different heights from a ground such that the array elements do not overlap in a vertical direction;

a received frequency conversion system that converts a radio frequency signal of an arriving radio signal received at each of the array elements into an analog output signal, the analog output signal comprising one of an intermediate frequency signal and a baseband signal;

an A/D conversion system that converts the analog output signal from the received frequency conversion system into a digital signal; and

an IQ generating system that generates an in-phase component signal and a quadrature component signal intermittently and aperiodically from the digital signal output from the A/D conversion system; and

a direction estimating system that estimates a horizontal direction and a vertical direction of the arriving radio signal based on the in-phase component signal and the quadrature component signal output from the IQ generating system.

11. The direction estimating apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the A/D conversion system converts the analog signal output from the received frequency conversion system into the digital signal using a sampling frequency 4N times an intermediate frequency, where N is a natural number, and the IQ generating system sets two successive sampled signals at sampling intervals of (N−

1) to be the in-phase component signal and the quadrature component signal.

12. The direction estimating apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the A/D conversion system converts the analog signal output from the received frequency conversion system into the digital signal using a sampling frequency 4N/3 times an intermediate frequency, where N is a natural number, and the IQ generating system sets two successive sampled signals at sampling intervals of (N−

1) to be the in-phase component signal and a polarity-inverted quadrature component signal.

13. The direction estimating apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the direction estimating system updates estimated results of the horizontal direction and the vertical direction of the arriving radio signal every time the IQ generating system generates a pair of the in-phase component signal and the quadrature component signal.

14. The direction estimating apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising:

a propagation environment analysis system that measures respective levels of the in-phase component signal and the quadrature component signal, and based on variations in the respective levels, analyzes a propagation environment; and

an estimation method selecting system that selects an optimal direction of arrival estimating algorithm corresponding to the propagation environment analyzed in the propagation environment analysis system;

wherein the direction estimating system estimates the horizontal direction and the vertical direction of the arriving radio signal using the direction of an arrival estimating algorithm selected in the estimation method selecting system.

15. A directivity controlling antenna apparatus comprising:

a third array antenna comprising a plurality of antennas as array elements;

a received frequency conversion system that converts a radio frequency signal received at each of the array elements into one of an intermediate frequency signal and a baseband signal;

an A/D conversion system that converts an analog signal output from the received frequency conversion system into a digital signal;

an IQ generating system that generates an in-phase component signal and a quadrature component signal intermittently and aperiodically from the digital signal output from A/D conversion system;

a direction estimating system that estimates a horizontal direction and a vertical direction of an arriving radio signal using the in-phase component signal and the quadrature component signal output from the IQ generating system;

a reception weight calculating system that obtains a reception weight based on the horizontal direction and the vertical direction of the arriving radio signal estimated in the direction estimating system and the digital signal; and

a reception beam forming system that performs directional combining for the third array antenna using the reception weight obtained in the reception weight calculating system.

16. A direction estimating method, comprising:

arranging a plurality of antennas of an array antenna at respective different heights from a ground so as not to overlap to each other in a vertical direction; and

estimating a horizontal direction and a vertical direction of an arriving radio signal using a signal received at each of the plurality of antennas.

17. A direction estimating apparatus comprising:

an array antenna using a plurality of antennas as array elements;

a received frequency conversion system that converts a radio frequency signal received at each of the array elements into one of an intermediate frequency signal and a baseband signal;

an A/D conversion system that converts an analog output signal output from the received frequency conversion system into a digital signal;

an IQ generating system that generates an in-phase component signal and a quadrature component signal intermittently and aperiodically from the digital signal output from the A/D conversion system; and

a direction estimating system that estimates a horizontal direction and a vertical direction of an arriving radio signal using the in-phase component signal and the quadrature component signal output from the IQ generating system.