Antenna device, feed system, feed device, and feed method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12444994-B2
Application number	US-202218570371-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 25, 2022
Priority date	Jun 16, 2021
Publication date	Oct 14, 2025
Grant date	Oct 14, 2025

Abstract

An antenna device includes an array antenna; a phase adjuster; and circuitry configured to acquire, based on a second position, an elevation angle of a projected position that is obtained by projecting a first position of a marker included in an image onto a second plane including a first axis and a third axis, the elevation angle being relative to the third axis of the second plane. The circuitry is configured to control the phase adjuster such that a direction of a beam, emitted by the array antenna based on retrieved phase data, defines the elevation angle for the second plane, the phase data relating to elevation angles that are within a predetermined included angle range.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An antenna device comprising:
an array antenna including multiple antenna elements that are bidimensionally arranged along a first axis and a second axis;
a phase adjuster configured to adjust phases of transmission power signals that are respectively supplied by the multiple antenna elements, with respect to a first axis direction;
an image acquiring device configured to acquire an image through a fisheye lens;
circuitry configured to
convert a first position of a marker that is included in the image acquired by the image acquiring device, into a second position of polar coordinates on a first plane that includes the first axis and the second axis, the first position being used in the image acquiring device, and
acquire, based on the second position, an elevation angle of a projected position that is obtained by projecting the first position onto a second plane including the first axis and a third axis, the elevation angle being relative to the third axis of the second plane; and

a storage that stores multiple sets of phase data for respective elevation angles, the phase data indicating phases in which the transmission power signals are transmitted by the respective antenna elements to a power receiver that is situated at a position of the marker, the phases being adjusted such that the adjusted phases of the transmission power signals that are received by the antenna elements are matched,
wherein the circuitry is configured to
retrieve, from the storage, the phase data in association with the acquired elevation angle, and
control the phase adjuster such that a direction of a beam, emitted by the array antenna based on the retrieved phase data, defines the elevation angle for the second plane, and

wherein the phase data is phase data relating to the elevation angles that are within a predetermined included angle range.

2. The antenna device according to claim 1 , wherein the storage stores the multiple sets of phase data for the elevation angles, and stores power data indicating transmitted power of the transmission power signals,
wherein the circuitry is configured to
control the phase adjuster based on the phase data, and
control the transmitted power of the transmission power signals in accordance with retrieved power data, and

wherein the power data indicates the transmitted power of predetermined power or smaller that is obtained by adding a limitation under a constraint on received power of a device other than the power receiver, the transmitted power being configured to be obtained at a space at which the marker, disposed on a wall, is present.

3. The antenna device according to claim 1 , wherein the predetermined included angle range is an angle range that covers a direction defining the elevation angle of 0 degrees relative to the third axis, the angle range having an extension of a predetermined included angle.

4. The antenna device according to claim 3 , wherein in the predetermined included angle range, a first angle range of a first side with respect to the direction that defines the elevation angle of 0 degrees relative to the third axis is equal to a second angle range of a second side with respect to the direction that defines the elevation angle of 0 degrees with respect to the third axis, in the predetermined included angle range.

5. The antenna device according to claim 1 , wherein the power receiver includes multiple power receiving antennas provided along the first axis and configured to receive the power of the transmission power signals,
wherein the marker is provided for each of the multiple power receiving antennas,
wherein the antenna device is configured to move relative to the multiple power receiving antennas, along the first axis, and
wherein the circuitry is configured to control, based on the phase data, the phase adjuster a plurality of times, taking into account the multiple power receiving antennas.

6. The antenna device according to claim 5 , wherein the multiple power receiving antennas are arranged to be movable along the first axis such that the beam is continuously emitted over the predetermined included angle range a plurality of times.

7. The antenna device according to claim 5 , wherein the power receiver includes multiple power receiving antennas provided along the first axis and configured to receive the power of the transmission power signals,
wherein the marker is provided for each of the multiple power receiving antennas, and
wherein an interval between given power receiving antennas of the multiple power receiving antennas, a travel speed of the antenna device, and the predetermined included angle range are set such that the circuitry is configured to continuously control the phase adjuster a plurality of times based on the phase data, taking into account the multiple power receiving antennas.

8. The antenna device according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is configured to estimate a distance from the image acquiring device to the marker, based on the acquired image, in a case where the acquired elevation angle is 0 degrees,
wherein the storage stores the multiple sets of phase data for respective multiple distances each of which is from the image acquiring device to the marker, and
wherein the circuitry is configured to
retrieve, from the storage, the phase data based on the estimated distance and the acquired elevation angle, and
control the phase adjuster based on the retrieved phase data.

9. The antenna device according to claim 8 , wherein the circuitry is configured to
detect a positional deviation between the image acquiring device and the marker in a second axis direction, based on a position of a center of gravity of the marker included in the acquired image, and
estimate the distance from the image acquiring device to the marker, based on the image that is obtained by making a correction in accordance with a degree of the detected positional deviation.

10. The antenna device according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is configured to determine, as the elevation angle, a value that is obtained by dividing coordinates of a mapped position, which is obtained by mapping the second position onto the first axis, by a focal length of the fisheye lens.

11. The antenna device according to claim 10 , wherein the coordinates of the mapped position are indicated by a value that is obtained by multiplying a radius vector used for the polar coordinates by a cosine of an argument.

12. The antenna device according to claim 1 , wherein the multiple antenna elements are grouped into multiple subarrays each of which extends along a second axis direction, and
wherein the phase adjuster includes multiple phase shifters coupled to the respective subarrays and configured to adjust phases of given transmission power signals, for each of the subarrays.

13. The antenna device according to claim 1 , wherein the transmission power signals supplied by the multiple antenna elements are configured to be weighted to provide low sidelobes of the beam emitted by the array antenna.

14. The antenna device according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is configured to
set a region of the image in which the marker is to be detected, to be within the predetermined included angle range, and
track the marker in the region by region of interest (ROI) control.

15. A feed system comprising:
the antenna device according to claim 1 ;
a radio wave generator configured to supply the transmission power signals to the multiple antenna elements;
the power receiver;
the marker attached to the power receiver; and
a radio wave abs

Assignees

• Minebea Mitsumi Inc

Inventors

• Fujii Masaaki
• Tsuji Naoki

Classifications

• H01Q3/36

  with variable phase-shifters · CPC title

• G06T2207/30244

  Camera pose · CPC title

• G06T2207/30204

  Marker · CPC title

• H02J50/402

  the two or more transmitting or the two or more receiving devices being integrated in the same unit, e.g. power mats with several coils or antennas with several sub-antennas · CPC title

• G06T7/73

  using feature-based methods · CPC title