JP4453874B2 - Receive array antenna device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a receiving array antenna device, and more particularly to a receiving array antenna device including an array antenna that enables reception of different frequencies.

JP-A-5-29831

  Conventionally, a receiving array antenna apparatus having a plurality of receiving antennas and an array antenna capable of switching the receiving antennas for signals (radio waves) of different frequencies by a switching function such as a diode provided at a feeding point is known. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  In addition, various receiving functions such as a diversity function, an adaptive function, and a MIMO function are becoming widespread in order to enable diversification of reception (transmission) devices in recent years and more reliable reception of radio waves, thereby realizing these reception functions. Array antennas are used for this purpose.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of a receiving array antenna apparatus having such an array antenna. An array antenna is configured by a plurality of antenna elements 1, 2, 3 set to the same reception frequency. , 3 are connected to RF down converters 4, 5, 6 and receiving circuits 7, 8, 9 comprising A / D converters, and the received signals output from the receiving circuits 7, 8, 9 are baseband. After being demodulated by the demodulation units 10, 11 and 12, the signal is controlled by the control unit 13.

  The control unit 13 implements various reception functions such as a diversity function, an adaptive function, and a MIMO function according to the function of the reception apparatus main body.

  By the way, in the receiving array antenna device configured as described above, the RF down converters 4, 5, 6 and the receiving circuits 7, 8, 9 and the baseband demodulating unit 10, Since it is necessary to provide 11 and 12, not only the cost of parts increases with the increase in the number of parts, but also the problem arises that the whole antenna device becomes large.

  Therefore, it has been difficult to mount such an antenna device on a small receiving (transmitting) device, for example, a portable terminal such as a cellular phone device having various functions in recent years.

  In order to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a receiving array antenna apparatus that can be mounted on a small receiving apparatus while having an inexpensive and simple configuration.

In order to achieve the object, the receiving array antenna device of the present invention is a receiving array antenna device comprising one antenna element and at least one composite antenna element.
The composite non-linear element and the local transmitter to a feeding point of the antenna element is connected,
The RF signal received by the composite antenna element and the local signal from the local transmitter are mixed,
Both the mixed signal is re-radiated from the composite antenna elements,
The antenna element receives and uses the mixed signal .

Receiving array antenna apparatus of the present invention, and one antenna element, the receiving array antenna apparatus comprising a different at least one composite antenna elements and said one antenna element,
The composite non-linear element and the local transmitter to a feeding point of the antenna element is connected,
The RF signal received by the composite antenna element and the local signal from the local transmitter are mixed,
The mixed signal is re-radiated from the composite antenna element ;
Characterized in that it comprises a single reception control circuit unit that controls shared by the previous SL one of A signal antenna element is the mixing was received of the one antenna element and said composite antenna elements .

Receiving array antenna apparatus of the present invention, the reception control circuit includes an RF downconverter for converting the radio frequency signal received by the one antenna element to an intermediate frequency, the analog signal converted by the RF downconverter A receiving circuit that converts the digital signal output from the receiving circuit into a baseband signal, a baseband demodulating unit that demodulates the digital signal output from the receiving circuit, and a signal demodulated by the baseband demodulating unit into a receiving mode. And a control unit that performs corresponding control.

Receiving array antenna apparatus of the present invention, and one antenna element, the receiving array antenna apparatus comprising a different at least one composite antenna elements and said one antenna element,
The composite non-linear element and the local transmitter to a feeding point of the antenna element is connected,
The RF signal received by the composite antenna element and the local signal from the local transmitter are mixed,
One reception controlling shared by the previous SL single antenna element or pre Kifuku if antenna A of the one received signal in either element antenna element and said at least one composite antenna elements And a control circuit unit.

The receiving array antenna apparatus of the present invention, the reception control circuit unit converts the radio frequency signal received at one of the one antenna element or said at least one composite antenna elements into an intermediate frequency RF A down converter, a receiving circuit for converting the analog signal converted by the RF down converter into a digital signal having an appropriate sampling frequency, a baseband demodulating unit for demodulating the digital signal output from the receiving circuit into a baseband signal, And a control unit that controls the signal demodulated by the baseband demodulation unit in accordance with the reception mode.

  In the receiving array antenna apparatus of the present invention, the nonlinear element is an element having a mixing function.

  In the receiving array antenna apparatus of the present invention, the nonlinear element is a diode.

  In the receiving array antenna apparatus of the present invention, the nonlinear element is a transistor.

In the receiving array antenna device of the present invention, the antenna element and / or the composite antenna element is a dipole antenna.

The receiving array antenna device of the present invention is a monopole antenna in which the antenna element and / or the composite antenna element share one ground.

According to the receiving array antenna apparatus of the present invention, a non-linear element and a local transmitter connects to the feeding point of the antenna element, mixes the RF signal and a local signal received by the antenna elements, re-emit the mixed signals A composite antenna element (= modulated scattering element) that can be configured and an array antenna using a plurality of composite antenna elements, and each composite antenna element mixes a received RF signal and a local signal However, by using the mixed signal, the frequency of the modulated wave received or re-radiated by each composite antenna element is different from each other, and the signal received by each composite antenna element can be separated by the receiving circuit. Various controls can be performed on the received signal.

  In addition, a dedicated RF down converter and a receiving circuit are not required for a plurality of composite antenna elements, and it is possible to reduce the number of parts and reduce the size.

  At this time, even if signals received by a plurality of composite antenna elements are output directly to an RF down converter that is shared without going through one antenna element, the same effect can be obtained.

  Further, an easy and small composite antenna element can be configured by connecting a local oscillator in parallel to an inexpensive non-linear element such as a diode or a transistor.

  Furthermore, the antenna element itself that constitutes the composite antenna element can also be a pair of rods or flats, and versatility can be improved.

  Next, the receiving array antenna apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  1 and 2 show a receiving array antenna apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the receiving array antenna apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of the receiving array antenna apparatus of the present invention. .

  In FIG. 1, a receiving array antenna apparatus 20 of the present invention comprises an array antenna 24 with one antenna element 21 and a plurality of composite antenna elements 22 and 23 that are dipole antennas, and signals received by the antenna element 21. Are provided with an RF down-converter 25, a receiving circuit 26 comprising an A / D converter, a baseband demodulator 27, and a controller 28.

  The antenna element 21 includes, for example, a pair of rod-like antenna bodies 21a and 21b, and outputs a reception signal from the feeding point to the RF down converter 25. The rod-shaped antenna bodies 21a and 21b are made of known materials and sizes (thickness / length).

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the composite antenna element 22 includes a pair of rod-shaped antenna bodies 22a and 22b, a nonlinear element 22c such as a diode connected to a feeding point of the rod-shaped antenna bodies 22a and 22b, and a nonlinear element 22c. And a local oscillator (transmission frequency f _L1 ) 22d such as a crystal oscillator connected in parallel.

Nonlinear element 22c serves for mixing the RF signal and the local signal _{f L1} having a frequency _{f 0.}

The composite antenna element 23 is connected in parallel to, for example, a pair of rod-shaped antenna bodies 23a and 23b, a nonlinear element 23c such as a diode connected to a feeding point of the rod-shaped antenna bodies 23a and 23b, and the nonlinear element 23c. A local oscillator (transmission frequency f _L2 ) 23 d such as a crystal oscillator having a resonance frequency different from that of the local oscillator 22 d of the composite antenna element 22 is provided.

Nonlinear element 23c serves for mixing the RF signal and the local signal _{f L2} having a frequency _{f 0.}

  Therefore, the antenna element 21 can separate signals received by the antenna elements 21, 22, and 23 as shown in FIG.

  The RF down converter 25 converts (detects) the radio frequency signal received by the array antenna 24 into an intermediate frequency.

  The receiving circuit 26 converts the analog signal converted by the RF down converter 25 into an appropriate sampling frequency digital signal.

  The baseband demodulator 27 demodulates the digital signal output from the receiving circuit 26 into a baseband signal.

  The control unit 28 controls the signals of the antenna elements 21, 22, and 23 demodulated by the baseband demodulation unit 27 as a diversity function, an adaptive function, a MIMO function, and the like, thereby realizing a reception system having a high S / N ratio. To do.

  FIG. 4 is a graph of the reception probability when the selective diversity control using the two-element (modulated scattering element-dipole antenna element) array antenna is performed, and the reception probability when the single element shown in the figure is used. Compared with the graph, it can be seen that the reception performance is improved.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a modification of the receiving array antenna apparatus of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the composite antenna elements 22 and 23 may be connected to the RF down converter 25 so that signals received by the composite antenna elements 22 and 23 may be directly taken into the reception circuit 26.

  FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a main part of the receiving array antenna apparatus showing an application example of the receiving array antenna apparatus of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, a chip antenna 31 having substantially the same function as the antenna element 21 and a composite antenna element 32 having substantially the same function as the pair of rod-shaped antenna bodies 22a, 22b, 23a, and 23b. , 33, 34, a thin plate antenna ground 35, and a feeder line 36, a monopole array antenna is formed.

  Each of the composite antenna elements 32, 33, and 34 includes a chip antenna 32a, 33a, and 34a, and nonlinear elements (diodes) 32b, 33b, and 34b connected to the feeding points (soldered) of the chip antennas 32a, 33a, and 34a. And local oscillators 32c, 33c, 34c connected in parallel to the nonlinear elements 32b, 33b, 34b.

  By adopting such a configuration, application to a mobile phone or the like is further facilitated.

  By the way, although the case where a diode was used as the nonlinear elements 22c and 23c or the nonlinear elements 32b, 33b and 34b was shown in the above embodiment, an element having a mixing function, such as a transistor, may be used. .

It is a block diagram which shows the receiving array antenna apparatus of this invention. It is a perspective view of the principal part of the receiving array antenna apparatus of this invention. It is a graph which shows isolation | separation of the signal received with the receiving array antenna apparatus of this invention. It is a graph of the reception probability when the receiving array antenna apparatus of the present invention is shown and a modulated scattering element-dipole antenna element or a single element is used. It is a block diagram of the modification of the receiving array antenna apparatus of this invention. It is a perspective view of the principal part of the antenna apparatus of the application example of the receiving array antenna apparatus of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the conventional receiving array antenna apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Reception array antenna apparatus 21 ... Antenna element 21a ... Rod-shaped antenna body 21b ... Rod-shaped antenna body 22 ... Composite antenna element 22a ... Rod-shaped antenna body 22b ... Rod-shaped antenna body 22c ... Nonlinear element 22d ... Local transmitter 23 ... Composite antenna element 23a ... Rod antenna body 23b ... Rod antenna body 23c ... Non-linear element 23d ... Local transmitter 24 ... Array antenna 25 ... RF down converter 26 ... Receiver circuit 27 ... Baseband demodulator 28 ... Controller 31 ... Chip antenna 32 ... Composite antenna element 32a ... Chip antenna 32b ... Nonlinear element 32c ... Local transmitter 33 ... Composite antenna element 33a ... Chip antenna 33b ... Nonlinear element 33c ... Local transmitter 34 ... Composite antenna element 34a ... Chip antenna 34b ... Nonlinear element 34c ... local oscillator 35 ... thin plate-like antenna ground

Claims (10)

In a receiving array antenna device comprising one antenna element and at least one composite antenna element,
The composite non-linear element and the local transmitter to a feeding point of the antenna element is connected,
The RF signal received by the composite antenna element and the local signal from the local transmitter are mixed,
Both the mixed signal is re-radiated from the composite antenna elements,
The receiving array antenna apparatus, wherein the antenna element receives and uses the mixed signal . And one antenna element, the receiving array antenna apparatus comprising a different at least one composite antenna elements and said one antenna element,
The composite non-linear element and the local transmitter to a feeding point of the antenna element is connected,
The RF signal received by the composite antenna element and the local signal from the local transmitter are mixed,
The mixed signal is re-radiated from the composite antenna element ;
Characterized in that it comprises a single reception control circuit unit that controls shared by the previous SL one of A signal antenna element is the mixing was received of the one antenna element and said composite antenna elements Receive array antenna device. Said reception control circuit unit, converts the radio frequency signal received by the one antenna element and RF downconverter for converting an intermediate frequency, the analog signal converted by the RF downconverter to a suitable sampling frequency digital signal A receiving circuit, a baseband demodulating unit that demodulates a digital signal output from the receiving circuit into a baseband signal, and a control unit that controls the signal demodulated by the baseband demodulating unit in accordance with a receiving mode. The receiving array antenna apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the receiving array antenna apparatus is provided. And one antenna element, the receiving array antenna apparatus comprising a different at least one composite antenna elements and said one antenna element,
The composite non-linear element and the local transmitter to a feeding point of the antenna element is connected,
The RF signal received by the composite antenna element and the local signal from the local transmitter are mixed,
One reception controlling shared by the previous SL single antenna element or pre Kifuku if antenna A of the one received signal in either element antenna element and said at least one composite antenna elements A receiving array antenna device comprising: a control circuit unit. The reception control circuit includes an RF downconverter for converting the radio frequency signal received at one of the one antenna element or said at least one composite antenna elements into an intermediate frequency, in the RF downconverter A receiving circuit that converts the converted analog signal into an appropriate sampling frequency digital signal, a baseband demodulating unit that demodulates the digital signal output from the receiving circuit into a baseband signal, and a signal demodulated by the baseband demodulating unit The reception array antenna apparatus according to claim 4 , further comprising: a control unit that performs control according to a reception mode.   6. The receiving array antenna apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the nonlinear element is an element having a mixing function.   The receiving array antenna apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the nonlinear element is a diode.   The receiving array antenna apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the nonlinear element is a transistor. 9. The receiving array antenna apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the antenna element and / or the composite antenna element is a dipole antenna. 9. The receiving array antenna device according to claim 1, wherein the antenna element and / or the composite antenna element is a monopole antenna sharing one ground.

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