The present disclosure relates to a reflector antenna device that includes a primary radiator and a reflector of a flat plate shape.
In recent years, as for antennas for wireless communication and radars, reflect arrays that adopt reflecting plates of flat shapes with simple structures have been developed.
For example, Patent Literature 1 describes a reflect array antenna that optimizes an arrangement interval of resonance elements aligned on the surface of a reflecting plate of a flat plate shape, and prevents occurrence of a grating lobe.
Furthermore, Patent Literature 2 describes a reflect array antenna that can broaden a band by determining positions of a reflecting plate and a primary radiator.
However, although Patent Literatures 1 and 2 propose broadening bands, residual aberration that occurs at other than a set frequency decreases a gain, and these reflect array antennas still have narrow band characteristics compared to a parabolic antenna that includes a primary radiator that is a horn antenna and a reflecting plate of a paraboloid shape opposing to each other, and are requested to further broaden a band.
The present disclosure has been made in light of the above point, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a reflector antenna device that has high aperture efficiency in a wide frequency band.
A reflector antenna device according to the present disclosure includes: a primary radiator to radiate a radio wave of a set frequency band; a primary reflector including a dielectric plate of a flat plate shape, and a plurality of resonance elements that are aligned on a surface of the dielectric plate that is a reflection surface for reflecting the radio wave, and each adjust a phase of a reflected wave of the incident radio wave; and a secondary reflector including a reflection surface on which the radio wave radiated from the primary radiator is incident and that reflects the incident radio wave toward the primary reflector, the reflection surface making a route length from the primary radiator to the reflection surface of the primary reflector of a radio wave of a high frequency in the frequency band radiated from the primary radiator longer than a route length from the primary radiator to the reflection surface of the primary reflector of a radio wave of a low frequency in the frequency band radiated from the primary radiator.
According to the present disclosure, the route length from the primary radiator to the reflection surface of the primary reflector is adjusted, so that it is possible to provide high aperture efficiency in a wide frequency band at frequencies other than a set frequency.
A reflector antenna device according to Embodiment 1 will be described with reference to
The reflector antenna device includes a primary radiator 1, a primary reflector 2, and a secondary reflector 3.
The reflector antenna device is a reflector antenna device in which center axes CA of the primary radiator 1, the primary reflector 2, and the secondary reflector 3 match as illustrated in
Note that the reflector antenna device is not limited to the center feed system, and may be a reflector antenna device of an offset mirror system in which the primary radiator 1 has such a positional relationship as to form an offset with respect to the primary reflector 2, or the primary radiator 1 and the secondary reflector 3 have such a positional relationship as to form an offset with respect to the primary reflector 2.
Furthermore, the reflector antenna device may further include a reflecting plate in addition to the primary reflector 2 and the secondary reflector 3.
The reflector antenna device of the center feed system will be described below.
The primary radiator 1 radiates a plurality of radio waves RW of different frequencies in a wide band from a low frequency fL to a high frequency fH toward the secondary reflector 3.
The low frequency fL indicates a frequency at a lower end of a set frequency band of a radio wave radiated from the primary radiator 1, and the high frequency fH indicates a frequency at an upper end of the set frequency band of the radio wave radiated from the primary radiator 1.
The primary radiator 1 radiates radio waves of horizontal and vertical polarizations. The primary radiator 1 is a horn antenna.
As illustrated in
The primary reflector 2 is a so-called reflect array that uses a reflecting plate of a flat plate shape.
The dielectric plate 21 has a circular flat plate shape as illustrated in
Each resonance element 22 adjusts the phase (hereinafter, referred to as a reflection phase) of a reflected wave of an incident radio wave.
Each resonance element 22 has a circular ring shape as illustrated in
Note that each resonance element 22 may have any shape such as a rectangular patch type as illustrated in
Furthermore, the plurality of resonance elements 22 are not limited to the resonance elements arranged on one layer of the same plane on the surface of the dielectric plate 21, and, as illustrated in
The reflection phase of the primary reflector 2 is determined on the basis of the shape and the size of each resonance element 22, intervals between the plurality of resonance elements 22, and the relative permittivity and the thickness of the dielectric plate 21.
The reflection phase of the primary reflector 2 depends on a route length that depends on the position on the surface of the dielectric plate 21 and that is from the primary radiator 1 to the reflection surface that is the surface of the dielectric plate 21, in other words, depends on a route length difference that is a length between a wavefront of a spherical wave incident on the primary reflector 2 and the surface of the dielectric plate 21.
Consequently, the primary reflector 2 can control a value of the reflection phase by arranging the resonance elements 22 having the different shapes and sizes on the surface of the dielectric plate 21 depending on the position on the surface of the dielectric plate 21. The primary the reflector 2 determines the shapes and the sizes of resonance elements 22 and converts the spherical wave into a plane wave on an opening surface of the primary reflector 2 to reflect, in such a way as to make the spherical wave incident on the surface of the primary reflector 2 become the plane wave on the opening surface of the primary reflector 2.
In Embodiment 1, in such a way as to make the spherical wave incident on the primary reflector 2 after a radio wave RWM of an intermediate frequency fM radiated from the primary radiator 1 is reflected by the secondary reflector 3 become the plane wave on the opening surface of the primary reflector 2, the shape and the size of each of the plurality of resonance elements 22 of the primary reflector 2 are determined depending on the position on the surface of the dielectric plate 21, and the plurality of resonance elements 22 are arranged on the surface of the dielectric plate 21.
The intermediate frequency fM is an intermediate value of the high frequency fH and the low frequency fL radiated from the primary radiator 1.
The secondary reflector 3 constitutes a radio wave route length adjuster that adjusts the route length from the primary radiator 1 to the reflection surface of the primary reflector 2 depending on the frequency of the radio wave radiated from the primary radiator 1.
The secondary reflector 3 includes a reflection surface that reflects the radio wave radiated from the primary radiator 1.
The reflection surface of the secondary reflector 3 makes a route length from the primary radiator 1 to the reflection surface of the primary reflector 2 of a radio wave RWH of the high frequency fH radiated from the primary radiator 1 longer than a route length from the primary radiator 1 to the reflection surface of the primary reflector 2 of a radio wave RWL of the low frequency fL radiated from the primary radiator 1.
The reflection surface of the secondary reflector 3 has a function of adjusting the route length differences that are lengths between the wavefronts of the spherical waves of the radio waves RWL, RWM, and RWH incident on the primary reflector 2, and the surface of the dielectric plate 21 to satisfy the following equation (1), in a case where the radio waves RWL, RWM, and RWH of the low frequency fL, the intermediate frequency fM, and the high frequency fH are radiated from the primary radiator 1 and the radiated radio waves RWL, RWM, and RWH are incident on the reflection surface.
In the equation (1), ΔL, ΔM, and ΔH represent wavelengths of the radio waves RWL, RWM, and RWH of the low frequency fL, the intermediate frequency fM, and the high frequency fH, and dL, dM, and de represent route length differences between the wavefronts of the spherical waves of the radio waves RWL, RWM, and RWH of the low frequency fL, the intermediate frequency fM, and the high frequency fH, and the surface of the dielectric plate 21.
That is, to equalize a rate ΔL/dL of the wavelength λL of the radio wave RWL of the low frequency fL and the route length difference di of the radio wave RW of the low frequency fL, a rate λML/dM of the wavelength λM of the radio wave RWM of the intermediate frequency fM and the route length difference dM of the radio wave RWM of the intermediate frequency fM, and a rate λH/dH of the wavelength λH of the radio wave RWH of the high frequency fH and the route length difference du of the radio wave RWH of the high frequency fH, the secondary reflector 3 adjusts the route lengths from the primary radiator 1 to the surface of the dielectric plate 21 of the radio waves RWL, RWM, and RWH of the low frequency fL, the intermediate frequency fM, and the high frequency fH.
The secondary reflector 3 includes a plurality of reflection holes 31 in the reflection surface as illustrated in
As illustrated in
Note that the shape of the reflection hole 31 is not limited to the truncated cone, is only required to have a shape whose hole diameter narrows from the opening surface of the opening of the one end to the surface of the bottom, and may have a shape whose area of the opening surface is wider than the area of the bottom surface, a shape that becomes smaller from the opening to the bottom surface stepwise, and a shape that becomes smaller in a curved shape from the opening to the bottom surface.
Furthermore, the shape of the cross section of the shape of the reflection hole 31 parallel to the opening surface is not limited to a circular shape, and may be an elliptical shape or a quadrangular shape that is a rectangular shape or a square shape. The hole diameter in a case of the quadrangular shape is the length of one of sides of the quadrangular shape in Embodiment 1.
Hereinafter, although the shape of the reflection hole 31 will be described as the truncated cone, the same applies to the other shapes and description thereof will be omitted.
As illustrated in
When the radio wave RWL of the low frequency fL is incident on the reflection surface of the secondary reflector 3, the radio wave RWL of the low frequency fL is cut off at the position 31L, and then the radio wave RWL of the low frequency fL is reflected at the position 31L.
When the radio wave RWM of the intermediate frequency fM is incident on the reflection surface of the secondary reflector 3, the radio wave RW of the intermediate frequency fM is cut off at the position 31M, and then the radio wave RWM of the intermediate frequency fM is reflected at the position 31M.
When the radio wave RWH of the high frequency fH is incident on the reflection surface of the secondary reflector 3, the radio wave RWH of the high frequency fH is cut off at the position 31H, and then the radio wave RWH of the high frequency fH is reflected at the position 31H.
The secondary reflector 3 changes a reflection position of the radio wave in the reflection hole 31 depending on the frequency of the radio wave radiated from the primary radiator 1, and adjusts the route length from the primary radiator 1 to the surface of the dielectric plate 21 of the primary reflector 2 depending on the frequency of the radio wave radiated from the primary radiator 1.
That is, the secondary reflector 3 makes the route length of the radio wave RWM of the intermediate frequency fM longer than the route length of the radio wave RWL of the low frequency fL, and makes the route length of the radio wave RWH of the high frequency fH much longer.
Note that the intermediate frequency fM has been typically described as the intermediate frequency between the low frequency fL and the high frequency fH, is not limited to one intermediate frequency, and may include a plurality of intermediate frequencies.
Furthermore, since the secondary reflector 3 adjusts the route length from the primary radiator 1 to the surface of the dielectric plate 21 of the primary reflector 2 depending on the frequency of the radio wave radiated from the primary radiator 1, a position of a virtual image of the primary radiator 1 with respect to the primary reflector 2 produced by the secondary reflector 3 also changes depending on the frequency.
That is, as illustrated in
A curvature CL of the wavefront of the spherical wave of the radio wave RWL radiated by the primary radiator 1 from the position 1L of the virtual image that is closest to the primary reflector 2 is large as illustrated in
A curvature CH of the wavefront of the spherical wave of the radio wave RWH radiated by the primary radiator 1 from the position 1H of the virtual image that is the most distant from the primary reflector 2 is small, and the route length difference dH is short.
A curvature CM of the wavefront of the spherical wave of the radio wave RWM radiated by the primary radiator 1 from the position 1H of the virtual image between the position 11 of the virtual image and the position 1H of the virtual image is an intermediate curvature between the curvature CL and the curvature CH, and the route length difference dM is an intermediate route length difference between the route length difference di and the route length difference dx.
Consequently, by adjusting the route length differences dM, dL, and dH to satisfy the above equation (1), it is possible to reduce a phase error caused when the frequency of the radio wave RW radiated from the primary radiator 1 changes, and widen the band of the reflector antenna device.
That is, in such a way as to reflect the spherical wave incident on the primary reflector 2 after the radio wave RWM of the intermediate frequency fM radiated from the primary radiator 1 is reflected by the secondary reflector 3 to form the plane wave on the opening surface of the primary reflector 2, the shape and the size of each of the plurality of resonance elements 22 of the primary reflector 2 are determined depending on the position on the surface of the dielectric plate 21, and the resonance elements 22 are arranged on the surface of the dielectric plate 21.
Hence, according to the reflector antenna device according to Embodiment 1, the secondary reflector 3 adjusts the route lengths of the radio waves that reach the primary reflector 2 to satisfy the above equation (1), so that the spherical wave incident on the primary reflector 2 after each of the radio wave RWL of the low frequency fL and the radio wave RWH of the high frequency fH radiated from the primary radiator 1 is reflected by the secondary reflector 3 is also reflected in such a way as to be converted into the plane wave on the opening surface of the primary reflector 2.
Next, an operation of the reflector antenna device according to Embodiment 1 will be described.
First, a case where the radio wave RWM of the intermediate frequency fM is radiated from the primary radiator 1 will be described.
The radio wave RWM of the intermediate frequency fM from the primary radiator 1 is incident on the reflection surface of the secondary reflector 3. The radio wave RWM of the intermediate frequency fM incident on the reflection surface of the secondary reflector 3 is cut off at the position 31M of the reflection hole 31 formed in the reflection surface of the secondary reflector 3, and therefore is reflected at the position 31M of the reflection hole 31.
The radio wave RWM of the intermediate frequency fM reflected at the position 31M of the reflection hole 31 is incident on the primary reflector 2, the reflection phase of the radio wave RWM of the intermediate frequency fM incident on the primary reflector 2 is adjusted by the plurality of resonance elements 22 of the primary reflector 2, and the primary reflector 2 converts the spherical wave of the radio wave RWM of the intermediate frequency fM into the plane wave on the opening surface of the primary reflector 2 to reflect.
Furthermore, when the radio wave RWL of the low frequency fL is radiated from the primary radiator 1, the radio wave RWL of the low frequency fL from the primary radiator 1 is incident on the reflection surface of secondary reflector 3. The radio wave RWL of the low frequency fL incident on the reflection surface of the secondary reflector 3 is cut off at the position 311 of the reflection hole 31 formed in the reflection surface of the secondary reflector 3, and therefore is reflected at the position 311 of the reflection hole 31.
The radio wave RWL of the low frequency fL reflected at the position 311 of the reflection hole 31 is incident on the primary reflector 2. The rate λL/dL of the wavelength λL of the radio wave RWL of the low frequency fL and the route length difference di satisfies the above equation (1), so that the reflection phase of the radio wave RWL of the low frequency fL incident on the primary reflector 2 is adjusted by the plurality of resonance elements 22 of the primary reflector 2, and the spherical wave of the radio wave RWL of the low frequency fL is converted into the plane wave on the opening surface of the primary reflector 2 and reflected.
Furthermore, when the radio wave RWH of the high frequency f is radiated from the primary radiator 1, the radio wave RWH of the high frequency fH from the primary radiator 1 is incident on the reflection surface of secondary reflector 3. The radio wave RWH of the high frequency fH incident on the reflection surface of the secondary reflector 3 is cut off at the position 31: of the reflection hole 31 formed in the reflection surface of the secondary reflector 3, and therefore is reflected at the position 31: of the reflection hole 31.
The radio wave RWH of the high frequency fH reflected at the position 31H of the reflection hole 31 is incident on the primary reflector 2. The rate ΔH/dH of the wavelength λH of the radio wave RWH of the high frequency fH and the route length difference dx satisfies the above equation (1), so that the reflection phase of the radio wave RWH of the high frequency fH incident on the primary reflector 2 is adjusted by the plurality of resonance elements 22 of the primary reflector 2, and the spherical wave of the radio wave RWH of the high frequency fH is converted into the plane wave on the opening surface of the primary reflector 2 and reflected.
As described above, the secondary reflector 3 that makes the route length from the primary radiator 1 to the reflection surface of the primary reflector 2 of the radio wave RWH of the high frequency fH radiated from the primary radiator 1 longer than the route length from the primary radiator 1 to the reflection surface of the primary reflector 2 of the radio wave RWL of the low frequency fL radiated from the primary radiator 1 is disposed between the primary radiator 1 and the primary reflector 2, so that the reflector antenna device according to Embodiment 1 can have high aperture efficiency in a wide frequency band.
Furthermore, the secondary reflector 3 that equalizes the rate λL/dL of the wavelength λL of the radio wave RWL of the low frequency fL radiated from the primary radiator 1, and the route length difference di that is the length between the wavefront of the spherical wave of the radio wave RWL of the low frequency fL incident on the primary reflector 2, and the surface of the dielectric plate 21 of the primary reflector 2, and the rate λH/dH of the wavelength λH of the radio wave RWH of the high frequency fH radiated from the primary radiator 1, and the route length difference dx that is the length between the wavefront of the spherical wave of the radio wave RWH of the high frequency fH incident on the primary reflector 2, and the surface of the dielectric plate 21 is disposed between the primary radiator 1 and the primary reflector 2, so that the reflector antenna device according to Embodiment 1 can have high aperture efficiency in a wide frequency band.
Furthermore, the secondary reflector 3 includes the plurality of reflection holes that each have the one end that is the opening and the other end that is the bottom in the reflection surface to adjust the route lengths of the radio waves, so that it is possible to configure the secondary reflector 3 by a simple configuration.
Note that any components in the embodiment can be modified, or any components in the embodiment can be omitted.
The reflector antenna device according to the present disclosure is suitable for a reflect array antenna that includes a primary radiator and a reflector of a flat plate shape.
1: primary radiator, 2: primary reflector, 21: dielectric plate, 22: resonance element, 23: metal plate, 3: secondary reflector, 31: reflection hole, fL, fM, fH: frequency, Δ, ΔL, ΔM, ΔH: wavelength, dL, dM, dH: route length difference
This application is a Continuation of PCT International Application No. PCT/JP2022/010463, filed on Mar. 10, 2022, which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference into the present application.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/JP2022/010463 | Mar 2022 | WO |
Child | 18801927 | US |