Direction detection device, method of acquiring intensity difference table, direction detection method, and computer-readable storage medium

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11796624-B2
Application number	US-202217693742-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 14, 2022
Priority date	Apr 20, 2021
Publication date	Oct 24, 2023
Grant date	Oct 24, 2023

Abstract

A direction detection device includes: antennas that receive a received wave; an intensity difference imparting unit that imparts intensity differences different depending on the received-wave arrival direction to intensities of the received wave; a storage unit that stores an intensity difference table in which the intensity difference between two of the antennas is associated with the received-wave arrival direction, for each combination of any two of the antennas; a detector that detects an intensity difference between the two antennas and a phase difference between the two antennas, of the received wave; an extractor that extracts, from the table, a received-wave arrival direction corresponding to the detected intensity difference, for each combination; a calculation unit that calculates a received-wave arrival direction corresponding to the detected phase difference; and a comparator that compares the extracted received-wave arrival direction with the calculated received-wave arrival direction to acquire a matched received-wave arrival direction.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A direction detection device for detecting a received-wave arrival direction of a received wave, the direction detection device comprising:
a plurality of antennas that receive the received wave;
an intensity difference imparting unit that imparts intensity differences different depending on the received-wave arrival direction to intensities of the received wave to be received at the antennas;
a storage unit that stores an intensity difference table in which the intensity difference between two of the antennas is associated with the received-wave arrival direction, for each combination of any two of the antennas;
a detector that detects an intensity difference between the two antennas and a phase difference between the two antennas, of the received wave to be received at the antennas;
an extractor that extracts, from the intensity difference table stored in the storage unit, a received-wave arrival direction corresponding to the intensity difference detected by the detector, for each combination of any two of the antennas;
a calculation unit that calculates a received-wave arrival direction corresponding to the phase difference detected by the detector; and
a comparator that compares the received-wave arrival direction extracted by the extractor with the received-wave arrival direction calculated by the calculation unit to acquire a matched received-wave arrival direction as a detection result.

2. The direction detection device according to claim 1 , wherein
the intensity difference table is stored for each frequency or for each polarization of the received wave,
the detector detects the frequency or the polarization of the received wave, and
the extractor acquires the intensity difference table corresponding to the frequency or the polarization by using the frequency or the polarization detected by the detector, and extracts, from the acquired intensity difference table, a received-wave arrival direction corresponding to the intensity difference detected by the detector.

3. The direction detection device according to claim 1 , wherein
the intensity difference imparting unit includes a radome that houses the antennas, and
the radome has a non-uniform shape or a non-uniform structure in three-dimensional space.

4. The direction detection device according to claim 1 , wherein the intensity difference imparting unit is disposed in a radome that houses the antennas, and has a material that changes an electrical characteristic of the received wave.

5. The direction detection device according to claim 1 , wherein the intensity difference imparting unit is implemented as elements of the antennas having gains which are spatially non-uniform.

6. The direction detection device according to claim 1 , wherein
the extractor extracts a plurality of received-wave arrival directions corresponding to an intensity difference width obtained by imparting a first adjustment width to the intensity difference detected by the detector, and
the comparator, when there is no match between candidates for the received-wave arrival direction corresponding to the intensity difference width and candidates for the received-wave arrival direction corresponding to the phase difference, widens the first adjustment width, and when there are a plurality of matches between candidates for the received-wave arrival direction corresponding to the intensity difference width and candidates for the received-wave arrival direction corresponding to the phase difference, narrows the first adjustment width.

7. The direction detection device according to claim 1 , wherein
the received-wave arrival direction is defined by an AZ angle, which is an angle in an azimuthal direction, and an EL angle, which is an angle in an elevation direction orthogonal to the azimuthal direction, and
the intensity difference table has a plurality of cells each identified by an AZ angle and an EL angle, and in the intensity difference table, an intensity difference is set in each cell, and intensity differences are interpolated between the cells.

8. The direction detection device according to claim 1 , wherein
when the intensity difference table is prepared for each frequency or each polarization of the received wave,
in the intensity difference table, intensity differences are interpolated between the frequencies or between the polarizations.

9. The direction detection device according to claim 1 , wherein the calculation unit is an operation unit that calculates the received-wave arrival direction from a predetermined calculation expression based on the phase difference, the frequency of the received wave, and a distance between the two antennas.

10. The direction detection device according to claim 1 , wherein
the storage unit further stores, for each combination of any two of the antennas, a phase difference table in which a phase difference between the two antennas is associated with the received-wave arrival direction, and
the calculation unit extracts is the extractor that extracts, from the phase difference table stored in the storage unit, a received-wave arrival direction corresponding to the phase difference detected by the detector, for each combination of any two of the antennas.

11. The direction detection device according to claim 10 , wherein
the phase difference table is stored for each frequency or for each polarization of the received wave,
the detector detects the frequency or the polarization of the received wave, and
the extractor acquires the phase difference table corresponding to the frequency or the polarization by using the frequency or the polarization detected by the detector, and extracts, from the acquired phase difference table, a received-wave arrival direction corresponding to the phase difference detected by the detector.

12. The direction detection device according to claim 10 , wherein
the extractor extracts a plurality of received-wave arrival directions corresponding to a phase difference width obtained by imparting a second adjustment width to the phase difference detected by the detector, and
the comparator, when there is no match between candidates for the received-wave arrival direction corresponding to the phase difference width and candidates for the received-wave arrival direction corresponding to the intensity difference, widens the second adjustment width, whereas when there are a plurality of matches between candidates for the received-wave arrival direction corresponding to the phase difference width and candidates for the received-wave arrival direction corresponding to the intensity difference, narrows the second adjustment width.

13. The direction detection device according to claim 10 , wherein
the received-wave arrival direction is defined by an AZ angle, which is an angle in an azimuthal direction, and an EL angle, which is an angle in an elevation direction orthogonal to the azimuthal direction, and
the phase difference table has a plurality of cells each identified by an AZ angle and an EL angle, and in the phase difference table, a phase difference is set in each cell, and phase differences are interpolated between the cells.

14. The direction detection device according to claim 10 , wherein
when the phase difference table is prepared for each frequency or each polarization of the received wave,
in the phase difference table, phase differences are interpolated between the frequencies or between the polarizations.

15. A method of acquiring the intensity difference table used in the direction detection device according to claim 1 , the method comprising:
setting u

Assignees

• Mitsubishi Heavy Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Kato Noriyasu

Classifications

• G01S3/06 Primary

  Means for increasing effective directivity, e.g. by combining signals having differently oriented directivity characteristics or by sharpening the envelope waveform of the signal derived from a rotating or oscillating beam antenna (comparing amplitude of signals having differently oriented directivity characteristics to determine direction G01S3/16, G01S3/28) · CPC title

• G01S3/043 Primary

  Receivers · CPC title

• G01S3/146

  by comparing linear polarisation components · CPC title

• G01S3/28

  using amplitude comparison of signals derived simultaneously from receiving antennas or antenna systems having differently-oriented directivity characteristics · CPC title

• G01S3/48

  the waves arriving at the antennas being continuous or intermittent and the phase difference of signals derived therefrom being measured · CPC title