JPH0754354B2 - Radar equipment for ships - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a ship radar device, and more particularly to a ship radar device equipped with two radar antennas for detecting a target.

[Conventional technology]

Generally, in a marine radar device, a prop such as a radar mast is arranged at a predetermined position of the hull (for example, a stern part),
There is often used a system in which a radar antenna mechanism including a radar antenna and an antenna driving unit for driving the radar antenna is provided at a predetermined height position of the column.

In this method, while the antenna is rotated at a predetermined speed by the antenna driving unit, a radar wave is transmitted and received by a separately equipped transceiver through the antenna, and the target detection is performed on a display such as a cathode ray tube. It is designed to display images.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional technique, the vertical beam width of the transmitted wave of the radar is set relatively wide (for example, 25 °) in consideration of rolling of the hull and the like. Structures (eg tanker tanks,
Cranes, bridges, etc.) detect a target in a direction unrelated to the measurement detection direction, and this reflected wave detects a target in a direction not originally to be detected, and whether the target exists in the measurement detection direction. It is often pointed out that the so-called false image displayed as shown on the display is displayed on the display, so that the operator mistakenly recognizes the false image as a true target and the reliability of the radar image is significantly reduced. It had been.

For the above-mentioned inconvenience, it may be possible to equip the antenna mechanism with a higher height, but in this case, it is difficult to secure the visibility in the short range of the hull. There was a situation where it was limited.

Further, in order to solve the above-mentioned inconvenience, a method of attaching a radio wave absorber to a structure to prevent reflection and scattering of radar radio waves has been proposed, but in this method, the radio wave absorber itself is expensive. Therefore, there is a disadvantage that it is not practical because a large ship which has the above-mentioned inconvenience becomes more expensive, and the absorption efficiency for radio waves other than vertically incident waves is significantly reduced.

[Object of the Invention]

The present invention improves the disadvantages of the prior art, in particular, almost completely eliminates false images caused by the structures on the ship, and eliminates noise and the like due to mixing of unnecessary radio waves, thereby improving the radar image. It is an object of the present invention to provide a marine radar device capable of improving the accuracy of the ship.

[Means for solving problems]

According to the present invention, the first radar antenna mechanism for detecting the target in front of the bow, the second radar antenna mechanism for detecting the target in the rear of the stern, and the radar antennas of these radar antenna mechanisms always have the same azimuth. An antenna synchronization control unit that controls to rotate synchronously in a state of facing
First to second individually mounted to the radar antenna mechanism of
And a single image display unit for displaying the received signal sent from the first and second transceivers in synchronization with the rotation operation of the radar antenna of the first radar antenna mechanism. The first radar antenna mechanism and the first radar antenna mechanism are provided with image signal switching means for switching and inputting received signals of the first and second transceivers to the image display unit at a predetermined timing.
Radiation control means for switching and setting the first or second radar antenna mechanism to the target detection state or the rest state between the second transceiver antenna mechanism and the second transceiver antenna mechanism. Individually equipped, between each of the radiation control means, always set one of the radar antenna mechanism through the respective radiation control means to the target detection state at all times,
Equipped with a switching control means for outputting a switching signal to each radar antenna mechanism for switching to a target detection state or a resting state at a predetermined timing, and this switching control means sets a reference value for arbitrarily setting the switching signal output timing. It is equipped with a container. This aims to achieve the above-mentioned object.

[Action]

The first and second azimuth ranges are assigned to the first and second radar antenna mechanisms for target detection, respectively, and the first radar antenna mechanism mounted on the bow portion is located in front of the bow. The first azimuth range and the second stern equipped with
The radar antenna mechanisms of 1) and 2) each have a second azimuth angle range behind the stern. Moreover, these first and second radar antenna mechanisms rotate in synchronization with each other by the synchronization control unit.

Then, in the case of target detection in the first azimuth angle range, the detection operation on the second radar antenna mechanism side is stopped by the action of the radiation control means and the switching control means. Therefore, the detection operation on the side of the first radar antenna mechanism becomes effective, and the image display section can obtain the radar image in the first azimuth angle range related to the first radar antenna mechanism.

Further, when the rotation of the first and second radar antenna mechanisms progresses and the target detection in the second azimuth angle range is performed, the radiation control means and the switching control means act in reverse, and as a result, the first The detection operation on the radar antenna mechanism side is stopped, and the detection operation on the second radar antenna mechanism side becomes effective. Therefore, in the image display unit, a radar image in the second azimuth range related to the second radar antenna mechanism is obtained this time.

This operation is repeated at a predetermined timing as the first and second radar antenna mechanisms rotate, and the radar images in the first azimuth range and the second azimuth range are continuously displayed on the image display unit. Is displayed.

Therefore, even if there is a structure or the like on the ship that reflects the radio waves for detecting the target and generates a false image between the bow and the stern, the structure that obstructs this structure By appropriately setting the first and second azimuth angle ranges so as to avoid the above, it is possible to almost completely eliminate the false image on the radar image due to the structure or the like, and The reliability can be increased.

On the other hand, in the case of target detection in the first azimuth range, the detection operation on the second radar antenna mechanism side is performed, and in the case of target detection in the second azimuth range, the first radar antenna mechanism side is performed. Each of the detection operations is stopped to eliminate indirect false images, noises and the like caused by unnecessary transmission and reception of microwaves as much as possible, thereby improving the accuracy of radar images.

Example of Invention

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

First, in the marine radar device shown in FIG. 1, a first azimuth angle range θ in front of the bow is installed at a predetermined position on the bow portion.
_A first radar antenna mechanism 2A for detecting a target (see FIG. 2 (1)) and a second azimuth angle range θ _B provided at a predetermined position on the stern portion and behind the stern (FIG. 2 (1) 2) consisting of the second radar antenna mechanism 2B for detecting the target
Equipped with individual antenna mechanism. Also, these first,
An antenna synchronization control unit 4 is provided for synchronizing the rotational driving of the second radar antenna mechanisms 2A and 2B with each other.

In addition, the first radar antenna mechanism 2A has a first
When the target detection operation in the azimuth angle range θ _A of the second radar antenna mechanism 2B is stopped, the detection operation on the second radar antenna mechanism 2B side is stopped.
_When performing the detection operation of _B , the first radar antenna mechanism
A detection switching control mechanism 6 for stopping the detection operation on the 2A side is provided. In addition, via the detection switching control mechanism 6, first and second transceivers 8A and 8B for transmitting and receiving microwaves to and from the first and second radar antenna mechanisms 2A and 2B, respectively, and transmission / reception 8A thereof. An image display unit 10 for displaying a radar image based on the target detection information output from 8B is provided.

This will be described more specifically.

The first radar antenna mechanism 2A includes a first radar antenna 12A that transmits and receives microwaves while rotating, and a first radar antenna 12A
And a first radar antenna drive section 14A for rotating the radar antenna 12A. The first radar antenna drive 14A is further composed of a first motor 16A for rotating the first radar antenna 12A and a first synchro oscillator 18A which operates in conjunction with the first motor 16A. ing.

Then, the first synchro oscillator 18A constantly detects the rotation angle of the first radar antenna 12A, and at the same time, outputs the analog angle signal R corresponding to the rotation angle of the radar antenna 12A.
_A is output to the antenna synchronization control unit 4, the detection switching control mechanism 6 and the image display unit 10, respectively.

Further, the second radar antenna mechanism 2B also includes the second radar antenna 12B and the second radar antenna drive unit 14B in the same manner as described above. Further, the second radar antenna driving section 14B is composed of a second motor 16B and a second synchro oscillator 18B. Then, the second synchro oscillator 18B is configured to output an analog amount of the angle signal R _B corresponding to the rotational angle of the second radar antenna 12B to the antenna synchronization control unit 4.

Further, the antenna synchronization control unit 4 controls the angle signals output from the first and second synchro oscillators 18A and 18B, respectively.
_A synchro control transformer 20 that compares R _A and R _B with each other and outputs a correction control signal depending on the result.
And a servo amplifier 22 that amplifies the control signal output from the synchro control transformer 20 to control the rotation of the second motor 16B synchronously with the first motor 16A.

Specifically, the synchro control transformer 20 has a function of comparing both angle signals R _A and R _B, and only when they do not match, output the difference to the servo amplifier 22 as a correction control signal (voltage). ing. And this servo amplifier 22
Is configured to amplify the input voltage and apply it to the rotation speed control means of the second motor 16B. Therefore, the second motor 16B increases or decreases its speed by an amount commensurate with the input voltage amount, and rotates in a predetermined direction in synchronization with the first motor 16A within an extremely short time.

That is, the comparison control described above is repeated at a predetermined timing until the rotations of the first motor 16A and the second motor 16B are substantially completely synchronized and the output of the servo amplifier 22 becomes zero.

On the other hand, transmission and reception of microwaves for target detection are configured to be performed by the first and second transceivers 8A and 8B, the detection switching control mechanism 6, and the first and second radar antennas 12A and 12B. There is.

Of these, the first and second transceivers 8A and 8B are each composed of a transmitting unit that forms and outputs a microwave for detecting a target and a receiving unit that receives a reflected wave from the target. ing.
Then, in the present embodiment, the transmitter of the first transceiver 8A outputs the trigger signal TP for each transmission to the image display unit 10 configured to display an image by the PPI method, and each transceiver The receivers of 8A and 8B have a function of processing a received wave and outputting an image signal VD _A or VD _B.

Further, the detection switching control mechanism 6 includes the first radar antenna 12
First radiation control means 24A for controlling stop of microwave radiation performed via A at a predetermined timing as necessary.
And a second radiation control means 24B for stopping and controlling the microwave radiation performed via the second radar antenna 12B as necessary, and switching between these first and second radiation stopping means 24A, 24B. The switching control means 26 for controlling, and the image signal V from the first and second transceivers 8A, 8B which are energized by the switching control means 26.
The image signal switching means 28 outputs the image signal to the image display unit 10 while switching D _A and V D _B as necessary.

More specifically, the switching control means 26 sets the reference value setting device 30 for setting the reference values of the first and second azimuth angle ranges θ _A and θ _B.
And the output value from this reference value setting device 30 and the angle signal R _A (=
R _B ).
In this embodiment, θ _A and θ _B in the reference value setting device 30 are set to 180 ° (see FIGS. 2 (1) and 2). That is, the first and second azimuth angle ranges θ _A and θ _B are
As shown in FIG. (1), when there are structures 34, ..., 34 on the hull that interfere with the microwaves involved in the target detection and that reflect the microwaves in directions other than the target, these structures 34 is stipulated to avoid each other.

Further, the first radiation control means 24A includes a circulator 36A,
A power supply circuit section 38A that performs inversion switching control of the circulation path of the circulator 36A, and a dummy load 40A that absorbs unnecessary microwaves circulated from the circulator 36A without reflection.
It consists of and.

Specifically, the transmitter and receiver of the first transceiver 8A are separately connected and equipped to the opening end of the circulator 36A, and the opening end is the first radar antenna 12A and the opening end is a dummy. Load up to 40A. An exciting current from the power supply circuit section 38A flows through the exciting coil 36Aa of the circulator 36A, and the power supply circuit section 38A is controlled by a control signal from the comparison circuit section 32.

On the other hand, the second radiation control means 24B is also constituted and connected by a circulator section 36B, a power supply circuit section 38B, a dummy load 40B, etc., similarly to the above-mentioned first radiation control means 24A. However, the open end of the circulator 36B is configured to reach the dummy load 40B, and the open end thereof is configured to reach the second radar antenna 12B.

Further, the switching control of the image signal switching means 28 for the image signals VD _A and VD _B is performed by being biased by the comparison circuit section 32.
That is, in the case of target detection in the first azimuth range θ _A , the switching path is on the side of the first transceiver 8A, and in the case of the second azimuth range θ _B , the second transceiver 8B. Made to be switchable to the side.

Therefore, in the comparison circuit unit 32, the angle signal R _A (= R _B ) from the first synchro oscillator and the first and second azimuth angle ranges θ _A and θ _B from the reference value setting unit 30 are used. Setting signal θ based on
_S (θ _{11 to} θ ₁₂ ) is constantly compared. If the angle signal R _A is within the setting signal θ _S (that is, within θ _A ),
In this embodiment, a predetermined "low" level control signal S _C is output to each power supply circuit section 38A, 38B. As a result, here, the exciting current I is applied to each exciting coil 36Aa, 36Ba of each circulator 36A, 36B in the direction shown by the solid line in the figure.
_{As S} flows, microwaves can circulate in the circulators 36A and 36B in the direction of [→→→→].

That is, in the above case, the first radiation control means 24
A is in a state capable of microwave radiation, and the second radiation control means 24B is in a non-radiative state. More specifically, the microwave from the transmitter of the first transceiver 8A circulates through the open end of the circulator 36A, propagates to the first radar antenna 12A, and is radiated into the atmosphere. On the contrary, the first
The received radio wave applied to the radar antenna 12A passes through the opening end → of the circulator 36A and is guided to the receiving section of the first transceiver 8A for use in the target detecting operation (see the solid line A in FIG. 1).

Then, the image signal VD _A from the receiver of the first transceiver 8A
Is transmitted to the image display section 10 via the image signal switching means 28, and the image display section 10 uses the signals TP and _RA to target the first radar antenna 12A in the first azimuth range θ _A. The detected image is displayed by the PPI method.

At this time, in the second radiation control means 24B,
The microwave from the second transceiver 8B is used as a circulator.
The microwave is not emitted from the second radar antenna 12B by being guided to the dummy load 40B via the opening end → of 36B (see the solid line B in FIG. 1). Further, in this case, the noise radio wave or the like applied to the second radar antenna 12B is guided to the second transceiver 8B via the opening end → of the circulator 36B. In this case, the image signal switching means is used.
Since the route of 28 is switched to the side of the first transceiver 8A, it does not participate in the image display at all.

On the other hand, the rotation of the first and second radar antennas 12A and 12B progresses, and the angle signal R _A is outside the setting signal θ _S (that is, within θ _B ).
If so, the comparison circuit section 32 outputs a predetermined “high” level control signal S _C. As a result, the power supply circuit sections 38A, 38B apply the exciting current I _S to the exciting coils 36Aa, 36Ba in the opposite direction (see the dotted line in the figure), and the circulators 36A, 36B.
Reverse the circulation path of B, and each [→ → → →
]] At the same time, the path of the image signal switching means 28 is the second
It can be switched to the transceiver 8B side.

In other words, when the above-described inversion switching control is performed, this time is completely opposite to the case described above, the first radiation control means 24A is in the non-radiating state, and the second radiation control means 24B is in the radiable state. (See dotted lines A'and B'in FIG. 1). Therefore, in this state, the image display unit 10 is configured to obtain a radar image of the second azimuth angle range θ _B of the second radar antenna 12B in substantially real time.

Next, the overall operation of this embodiment will be described.

First, when the device is driven, the rotation of the first and second radar antennas 12A and 12B is started, and as described above, the antenna synchronization control unit 4 causes the first and second radar antennas 12A and 12B to rotate. A synchronous operation for rotation is performed.
This action is performed immediately and automatically even when the antennas are out of synchronization due to weather conditions, etc. As a result, the radar antennas 12A and 12B rotate in synchronization at a predetermined speed while maintaining an almost stable state. It will be.

Then, when the first and second radar antennas 12A and 12B are rotating within the first azimuth angle range θ _A (0 ° to 180 °) in front of the bow, for example, the detection switching control is performed as described above. Mechanism 6
By this action, the target detection operation is performed only by the first transceiver 8A and the first radar antenna 12A (the third
As shown in FIG. 2B, a radar image based on the PPI method is displayed on the image display unit 10 in substantially real time.

In addition, the rotation of the first and second radar antennas 12A and 12B progresses, and the target detection direction is the second azimuth range θ behind the stern.
_{When B} (180 ° to 360 °) is entered, the detection switching control mechanism reverses automatically and in an instant, as described above. Then, this time, the target detection operation is performed only by the second transceiver 8B and the second radar antenna 12B (see FIG. 3 (3)), and a radar image is obtained. Such operation is
It is performed for each rotation of the first and second radar antennas 12A and 12B.

As described above, in this embodiment, the first and second radar antennas 12A and 12B provided separately at the bow and the stern are provided with the first and second directions which are not affected by the structures 34, ..., 34 on the own ship. Since the angular ranges θ _A and θ _B are shared, the radar antennas 12A and 12B do not have to detect the azimuth range in which the microwaves are obstructed by the structures 34. In 10, the false image caused by each structure 34 is almost completely eliminated. Therefore, the reliability of the radar image can be significantly improved. Further, in the prior art, the radar radio wave may cause a blind spot that cannot be detected in the opposite direction due to the radar mast or the like, but in the present embodiment, such a blind spot can also be excluded.

Further, in the present embodiment, in the azimuth range other than the coverage of each radar antenna 12A, 12B, the microwave is not radiated into the atmosphere by the matched dummy load, and the received wave is the radar image. The microwave source for target detection is always the minimum required one. For this reason, after the microwave radiated from the first radar antenna 12A is reflected by the target, the second radar antenna 12B also receives the radio waves and the noise radio waves which are indirectly influenced by the false image and are mixed as much as possible. In addition to the above-described direct false image elimination, there is an advantage that the accuracy of an image and the reliability of the image can be significantly increased.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the microwave generation means such as the magnetron of the transmitter of the transceiver is not turned on / off by the rotation angle of the radar antenna, but is kept operating.
As described above, it is configured such that the number of microwave sources is always one. For this reason, there is an advantage that it is possible to reduce the load involved in turning on / off the microwave generation means, increase its durability, and stabilize its operation.

On the other hand, unlike the conventional example, it is not necessary to attach an expensive electromagnetic wave absorber to the structure on the ship, and it is possible to eliminate an increase in equipment cost and the like.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, since the transceiver is provided for each radar antenna mechanism, the microwave waveguide for antenna input / output can be remarkably shortened. Therefore, even on a large ship, the equipment onboard There is an advantage that the time and effort required can be remarkably reduced, and at the same time, the signal received by the radar antenna can be sent to the image display section with high sensitivity.

In the above embodiment, the first and second azimuth angle ranges θ _A
And theta have been respectively 180 ° and _B, the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto, by convenience and the like of the structure of a ship, another azimuth sharing (e.g. theta _{A =} 280 °, theta _{B =} 80
°) may be used as the, also, theta _A from the outside against the reference value setting unit 30 may be a convenience to the adjusted theta _B as variable configurable. In addition, the image display unit 10 may be configured to obtain a radar image by a raster scan method by adding a memory unit or the like for storing an image signal. In addition, in the embodiment, the first radar antenna driving unit 14A,
Although the second radar antenna drive unit 14B is supposed to be synchronized, the synchronization control may be performed in the opposite manner. Furthermore, it is possible to further improve the image quality by equipping the radar antennas 12A and 12B with radomes in consideration of the influence of the wind and performing the synchronized rotation more precisely. Furthermore,
The connection and control method of each circulator are not necessarily limited to those described above.

On the other hand, in the embodiment, the first and second radar antennas 12
Although the installation positions of A and 12B are the bow and stern parts, they may be at other suitable positions on the hull, and a configuration in which, for example, three radar antennas are simultaneously used is also possible.

Further, the above-described embodiments are applicable not only to ships but also to land such as port radars. For example, it is assumed that a false increase occurs due to the reflection of radar radio waves on a bridge such as the Honshu Bridge that connects Honshu and Shikoku. In such a case, the prescribed 2 on both sides of this bridge
It is also possible to apply the present invention determined by K. Co., Ltd., transmit an image from a land to a ship passing under the bridge, and obtain a radar image of both sides of the bridge without disguise on the ship.

〔The invention's effect〕

Since the present invention is constructed and functions as described above, according to this, in the case where there is a structure on the own ship between the bow and the stern that interferes with radar radio waves having a predetermined vertical beam width. However, by appropriately setting the first and second azimuth ranges so as to avoid the structure, it is possible to almost completely prevent the false increase due to the structure, and Since the radar antenna mechanism and the micro radiation source which are installed in two units and are involved in the target detection operation are always limited to one system, the transceiver can be set near the radar antenna even if equipped on a large ship. The microwave circuit part can be remarkably shortened, which simplifies equipment and maintenance, and can significantly reduce unnecessary microwave radiation and reception. It is possible to suppress the contamination of the effective, which makes it possible to provide a superior marine radar system unprecedented of higher radar image reliability with improved reception accuracy can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 1A is an explanatory diagram showing the positional relationship between the first and second radar antennas, etc., FIG. 2B is an explanatory diagram illustrating the first and second azimuth angle ranges, and FIG. 3A. (2) and (3) are timing charts showing the state of the target detection operation, respectively. 2A ... first radar antenna mechanism, 2B ... second radar antenna mechanism, 4 ... antenna synchronization control unit, 6 ... detection switching control mechanism, 8A ... first transceiver, 8B ... second Transmitter / receiver, 10 ... Image display unit, 24A ... First radiation control means, 24B ... Second radiation control means, 26 ... Switching control means, 30 ... Reference value setting device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A first radar antenna mechanism for detecting a target in front of a bow, a second radar antenna mechanism for detecting a target in the rear of a stern, and each radar antenna of these radar antenna mechanisms are always the same. An antenna synchronization control unit for controlling to rotate synchronously in the azimuth direction, first to second transceivers individually provided to the first to second radar antenna mechanisms, and first to second transceivers. A single image display unit for displaying the received signal sent from the second transceiver in synchronization with the rotation operation of the radar antenna of the first radar antenna mechanism. An image signal switching unit for switching and inputting a received signal to the image display unit at a predetermined timing is provided, and between the first radar antenna mechanism and the first transceiver, and the second radar antenna. Between the antenna mechanism and the second transceiver, radiation control means for individually setting the first or second radar antenna mechanism to be switched to a target detection state or a rest state is provided, and the radiation control means are mutually connected. In the meantime, one of the radar antenna mechanisms is always set to the target detection state via the radiation control means, and a switching signal to the target detection state or the rest state for each radar antenna mechanism is set at a predetermined timing. And a switching control means for outputting the switching signal, and the switching control means includes a reference value setting device for arbitrarily setting the output timing of the switching signal.