Patent Grant
12143160
This application is a 35 U.S.C. § 371 National Phase Entry Application from PCT/EP2018/085621, filed Dec. 18, 2018, designating the United States, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present disclosure relates to a system for alignment measurement of an array antenna system.
Active Antenna Systems (AAS) is an important part of LTE (Long Term Evolution) and an essential part of 5G. AAS is a generic term that is often used to describe base stations that incorporate a large number of separate transmitters, receivers and antenna elements that can be used for MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) and beamforming as an integrated product. This will be one of the key aspects of 5G as the industry moves higher up in frequency and more complex array antenna geometries are needed to achieve the desired link budget.
At present, AAS:s are starting to be deployed out in the field by many operators, and early indications show that they will be deployed in big numbers. For example hard winds and/or mechanical impact can change the orientation of an AAS, thereby impacting specific AASs coverage areas, hence changing what was intended when doing the cell-planning. This will most likely degrade system performance and possibly disturb other systems.
Up until now, manual visual inspection or monitoring with advanced GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) based electronic sensors have been carried out to detect if orientation of an antenna has changed. Monitoring with electronic sensors typically use multiple GNSS receivers with separated antennas together with phase shifter and some other equipment, using phase difference between the GNSS receivers to calculate orientation. Both solutions can be very costly, since the antennas are numerous and often located in remote and/or hard to reach places and GNSS based solution have a high manufacturing cost. GNSS based systems are furthermore susceptible for interference from the base stations operating at neighboring frequencies.
There can also be demands on alignment accuracy, which demands are provided and controlled by authorities.
Other systems can be based on mechanical sensors as well as on accelerometers and gyros.
There is thus a need to have a cost efficient and easy to use system and method to measure the orientation of an AAS or another array antenna system used for wireless communication, enabling the system to run optimally while avoiding disturbance of other systems.
It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a system and method for measurement of antenna alignment of an array antenna system used for wireless communication.
Said object is obtained by means of a system for measurement of antenna alignment of an array antenna system used for wireless communication. The array antenna system has an antenna position relative a first coordinate system and comprises a control unit and an array antenna having an antenna aperture plane, a certain coverage and an initial array antenna orientation. The array antenna further comprises a plurality of antenna elements and at least two antenna ports, each antenna port being connected to a corresponding subarray, each subarray comprising at least one antenna element. The system comprises the array antenna system and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) arranged to be deployed in the coverage and comprising a UAV antenna arrangement and a positioning module that is adapted to provide UAV position information relative the first coordinate system. In at least one UAV position, the UAV is adapted to transmit a UAV signal to the array antenna by means of the UAV antenna arrangement, the UAV signal comprising the UAV position information. The control unit is adapted to detect signals corresponding to the received UAV signal at the antenna ports, and to determine a determined array antenna orientation by means of determined phase differences between the detected signals, the antenna position, the initial array antenna orientation and the UAV position information.
Having knowledge of the array antenna orientation makes it possible to enable a communication network, in which the array antenna system is a part, to operate as it was optimized for during an initial cell planning process. Furthermore, disturbance of other systems located in the vicinity of the array antenna system is avoided.
According to some aspects, the control unit is adapted to determine a transformed first vector and a second vector, both vectors being defined relative a second coordinate system that is associated with the array antenna system. The transformed first vector indicates an expected pointing direction from the antenna aperture plane towards the UAV position, and the second vector indicates a determined pointing direction from the antenna aperture plane towards the UAV position. The control unit is adapted to determine an error angle between the vectors.
In this way, an error angle is obtained, indicating whether there is a deviation from the expected pointing direction.
According to some aspects, the control unit is adapted to determine the transformed first vector by means of a transformation of a first vector in the first coordinate system to the second coordinate system. The first vector indicates a determined pointing direction from the antenna aperture plane towards the UAV position in the first coordinate system and is determined by means of the antenna position and the UAV position information. The transformation is performed by means of the initial array antenna orientation and the antenna position.
According to some aspects, the second vector is comprised in the determined array antenna orientation, where the control unit is adapted to issue an alert signal when the comparison results in a discrepancy exceeding a certain threshold, where the discrepancy comprises the error angle.
In this way, a deviation from an expected orientation is indicated.
According to some aspects, the determined array antenna orientation comprises at least one angle and the initial array antenna orientation comprises at least one angle.
According to some aspects, the antenna system is an active antenna system (AAS).
According to some aspects, the system further comprises a network monitoring system.
This object is also obtained by means of methods that are associate with the above advantages.
The present disclosure will now be described more in detail with reference to the appended drawings, where:
Aspects of the present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. The different devices, systems, computer programs and methods disclosed herein can, however, be realized in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the aspects set forth herein. Like numbers in the drawings refer to like elements throughout.
The terminology used herein is for describing aspects of the disclosure only and is not intended to limit the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
With reference to
The array antenna system has an antenna position {right arrow over (r)}AAS relative a first coordinate system 18 and an initial array antenna orientation {right arrow over (Ω)}AAS(0). According to some aspects, in this example, the first coordinate system 18 is an earth fixed coordinate system. According to some aspects, the antenna position {right arrow over (r)}AAS is referring to a point in the middle of the antenna aperture plane 19.
According to the present disclosure there is a system 1 for measuring antenna alignment of the array antenna system, where the system 1 comprises the array antenna system 2 and an unmanned aerial vehicle 15 (UAV) arranged to be deployed in the coverage 5. The UAV 15 comprises a UAV antenna arrangement 16, a UAV control unit 21, a positioning module 17 that is adapted to provide UAV position information {right arrow over (r)}UAV relative the first coordinate system 18. For this purpose, according to some aspects, the positioning module 17 comprises at least one of a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) module and an inertia detecting module which in turn for example can comprise at least one of an accelerometer and a gyro.
As shown in
The control unit 3 is further adapted to determine a determined array antenna orientation {right arrow over (Ω)}AAS by means of:
The determined array antenna orientation {right arrow over (Ω)}AAS comprises information regarding the array antenna orientation, where the accuracy of this information depends on how many the number of measurements that are made. According to some aspects, the determined array antenna orientation {right arrow over (Ω)}AAS comprises angles, where each measurement provides a new angle. According to some aspects, the determined array antenna orientation {right arrow over (Ω)}AAS comprises at least one angle and the initial array antenna orientation {right arrow over (Ω)}AAS(0) comprises at least one angle. For example, the determined array antenna orientation {right arrow over (Ω)}AAS comprises an elevation angle θtilt and azimuth angle φaz, which constitutes complete information about the array antenna orientation.
This means that in a second UAV position that is comprised in the UAV position information, the UAV 15 is adapted to transmit a second UAV signal comprising a second test signal and so on.
According to some aspects, the antenna position {right arrow over (r)}AAS is either independently measured by a positioning system of the base station or assumed unchanged since previous measurement, and therefore taken to be equal to a value previously known from site deployment or previous measurement, the initial array antenna orientation {right arrow over (Ω)}AAS(0) is previously known from deployment or from an earlier orientation measurement, and the UAV position information comprising the UAV position {right arrow over (r)}UAV is provided by the positioning module 17.
This means that the UAV antenna arrangement 16, having the UAV position {right arrow over (r)}UAV in the first coordinate system 18, is illuminating the array antenna 4 with a test signal. The array antenna system 2 measures the direction to the test signal in a second coordinate system 20 that is associated with the array antenna system 2, and calculates the present determined array antenna orientation {right arrow over (Ω)}AAS and extracts the deviation compared to the initial array antenna orientation {right arrow over (Ω)}AAS(0). The new values will be stored and reported to a network monitoring function. A threshold is defined for possible deviation, If there is a too large deviation, an alarm signal is activated. This alarm signal indicates that the orientation of the antenna aperture plane 19 is not correct according to previously stored orientation.
In the following, a more detailed example of the above procedure will be presented.
According to some aspects, the control unit is adapted to determine a transformed first vector {circumflex over (ρ)}TT(0) and a second vector {circumflex over (ρ)}TT, both vectors {circumflex over (ρ)}TT(0), {circumflex over (ρ)}TT being defined relative the second coordinate system 20. The transformed first vector {circumflex over (ρ)}TT(0) indicates an expected pointing direction from the antenna aperture plane 19 towards the UAV position {right arrow over (r)}UAV as seen from the array antenna 4, and the second vector {circumflex over (ρ)}TT indicates a determined pointing direction from the antenna aperture plane 19 towards the UAV position {right arrow over (r)}UAV. The control unit 3 is adapted to determine an error angle βe between the vectors {circumflex over (ρ)}TT(0), {circumflex over (ρ)}TT. According to some aspects, the possible deviation mentioned above, and the corresponding threshold, is related to the error angle βe.
The control unit 3 is according to some aspects adapted to determine the transformed first vector {circumflex over (ρ)}TT(0) by means of a transformation of a first vector {right arrow over (r)}TT in the first coordinate system 18 to the second coordinate system 20. The first vector {circumflex over (r)}TT indicates a determined pointing direction from the antenna aperture plane 19 towards the UAV position {right arrow over (r)}UAV in the first coordinate system 18 and is determined by means of the antenna position {circumflex over (r)}AAS and the UAV position {circumflex over (r)}UAV.
According to some aspects, the first vector {circumflex over (r)}TT is a vector of unit length, pointing from the antenna aperture plane 19 towards the UAV position {right arrow over (r)}UAV, and is determined from the antenna position FAAS and the UAV position {right arrow over (r)}UAV as:
{circumflex over (r)}TT=({right arrow over (r)}UAV−{right arrow over (r)}AAS)/|{right arrow over (r)}UAV−{right arrow over (r)}AAS|.
The transformation is performed by means of the initial array antenna orientation {right arrow over (Ω)}AAS(0) and the antenna position {right arrow over (r)}AAS.
The control unit 3 is according to some aspects adapted to determine the second vector {circumflex over (ρ)}TT by estimating an angle of arrival for the transmitted UAV signal, which is accomplished by determining phase differences between the detected signals. Phase differences at the antenna ports 7, 8, 9, 10 are thus used for determining the angle of arrival for the transmitted UAV signal. The second vector PTT is thus an actual measured direction vector to the UAV position {right arrow over (r)}UAV in the second coordinate system 20.
The error angle βe between the measured pointing direction, the second vector PTT, and the expected pointing direction, the transformed first vector {circumflex over (ρ)}TT(0), is according to some aspects calculated using the scalar product, between the vectors {circumflex over (ρ)}TT(0), {circumflex over (ρ)}TT as:
βe=cos−1({circumflex over (ρ)}TT·{circumflex over (ρ)}TT(0))
As mentioned previously, if the error angle βe exceeds a predefined threshold, an alarm signal is set to inform that the antenna aperture normal have changed. It is also conceivable that an automatic alignment procedure can be initialized, for example by means of servo motors that control the orientation of the array antenna 4, or by means of an UAV that is equipped to control the orientation of the array antenna 4. According to some aspects, an electrical alignment by adapting phase and amplitude fed to each antenna subarray to point antenna beams in desired direction.
Based on the error angle βe, the control unit 3 is according to some aspects adapted to further calculate the determined array antenna orientation {right arrow over (Ω)}AAS. According to some aspects, the second vector {circumflex over (ρ)}TT is comprised in the determined array antenna orientation {right arrow over (Ω)}AAS.
With reference to
The method comprises deploying S1 an unmanned aerial vehicle 15 (UAV) in the coverage 5 and transmitting S2, in at least one UAV position {right arrow over (r)}UAV and via a UAV antenna, a UAV signal to the array antenna 4, the UAV signal comprising UAV position {right arrow over (r)}UAV information in a first coordinate system 18. The method further comprises detecting S3 signals corresponding to the received UAV signal at the antenna ports 7, 8, 9, 10, and determining S4 a determined array antenna orientation {circumflex over (Ω)}AAS by means of determined phase differences between the detected signals, the antenna position {right arrow over (r)}AAS, the initial array antenna orientation {right arrow over (Ω)}AAS(0) and the UAV position information {right arrow over (r)}UAV.
According to some aspects, the method comprises determining S41 a transformed first vector {circumflex over (ρ)}TT(0) and a second vector {circumflex over (ρ)}TT, both vectors {circumflex over (ρ)}TT(0), {circumflex over (ρ)}TT being defined relative a second coordinate system 20 that is associated with the array antenna system 2. The transformed first vector {circumflex over (ρ)}TT(0) indicates an expected pointing direction from the antenna aperture plane 19 towards the UAV position {right arrow over (r)}UAV, and the second vector {circumflex over (ρ)}TT indicates a determined pointing direction from the antenna aperture plane 19 towards the UAV position {right arrow over (r)}UAV. The method further comprises determining S42 an error angle βe between the vectors {circumflex over (ρ)}TT(0), {circumflex over (ρ)}TT.
According to some aspects, the method comprises determining the transformed first vector pry by means of a transformation of a first vector {right arrow over (r)}TT in the first coordinate system 28 to the second coordinate system 20, where the first vector {right arrow over (r)}TT indicates a determined pointing direction from the antenna aperture plane 19 towards the UAV position {right arrow over (r)}UAV in the first coordinate system 18 and is determined by means of the antenna position {right arrow over (r)}AAS and the UAV position information {right arrow over (r)}UAV, and where the transformation is performed using the initial array antenna orientation {right arrow over (Ω)}AAS(0) and the antenna position {right arrow over (r)}AAS.
According to some aspects, the second vector {circumflex over (ρ)}TT is comprised in the determined array antenna orientation {right arrow over (Ω)}AAS, where the control unit 3 is adapted to issue an alert signal when the comparison results in a discrepancy exceeding a certain threshold, where the discrepancy comprises the error angle βe.
According to some aspects, the determined array antenna orientation {right arrow over (Ω)}AAS comprises at least one angle and where the initial array antenna orientation {right arrow over (Ω)}AAS(0) comprises at least one angle.
Processing circuitry 510 is provided using any combination of one or more of a suitable central processing unit (CPU), multiprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor (DSP), etc., capable of executing software instructions stored in a computer program product, e.g. in the form of a storage medium 530. The processing circuitry 510 may further be provided as at least one application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or field programmable gate array (FPGA).
Particularly, the processing circuitry 510 is configured to cause the control unit 3 to perform a set of operations, or steps. For example, the storage medium 530 may store the set of operations, and the processing circuitry 510 may be configured to retrieve the set of operations from the storage medium 530 to cause the classification unit to perform the set of operations. The set of operations may be provided as a set of executable instructions. Thus, the processing circuitry 510 is thereby arranged to execute methods as herein disclosed.
The storage medium 530 may also comprise persistent storage, which, for example, can be any single one or combination of magnetic memory, optical memory, solid state memory or even remotely mounted memory.
The control unit 120 may further comprise a communications interface 520 for communications with at least one external device such as an external network monitoring system 540. As such the communication interface 520 may comprise one or more transmitters and receivers, comprising analogue and digital components and a suitable number ports for wireline or wireless communication.
The processing circuitry 510 controls the general operation of the control unit 3, e.g. by sending data and control signals to the communication interface 520 and the storage medium 530, by receiving data and reports from the communication interface 520, and by retrieving data and instructions from the storage medium 530. Other components, as well as the related functionality, of the unit are omitted in order not to obscure the concepts presented herein.
With reference to
With reference to
The orientation determination process is activated in the array antenna system, allowing the UAV signal, comprising a test signal and AAS position, to be detected and used in the orientation determination process 29 in order to calculate the antenna system orientation. The determined array antenna position and orientation {circumflex over (Ω)}AAS are according to some aspects stored 30 in the array antenna system and/or in a network monitoring system 540 as shown in
Suitably, the UAV 15 is moved to several positions within the coverage 5 and the procedure mentioned above is repeated, such that a more accurate result is obtained. This will be discussed more below.
According to some aspects, the orientation of the second coordinate system 20 relative to the first coordinate system 18 can be described by three rotations; Rz(φaz), Rη(θtilt), and Rξ(αroll). Here R is a rotation matrix and its index denotes the axis of the rotation. It is here assumed that the z-axis points towards zenith.
By repeating the above procedure three times, i.e. moving the UAV 15 to three positions within the coverage 5 and determine the transformed first vector {circumflex over (ρ)}TT(0) and the second vector {circumflex over (ρ)}TT at each position, and require that the three rotation angles θtilt, φaz, αroll should make the expected directions agree with the measured ones, the following equation system is obtained:
{circumflex over (ρ)}TT,1=Rι(αroll)Rη(θtilt)Rz(φaz){circumflex over (r)}TT,1
{circumflex over (ρ)}TT,2=Rξ(αroll)Rη(θtilt)Rz(φaz)êTT,2
{circumflex over (ρ)}TT,3=Rξ(αroll)Rη(θtilt)Rz(φaz){circumflex over (r)}TT,3
From this equation system, the determined array antenna orientation {right arrow over (Ω)}AAS=(φaz, θtilt, αroll) can be determined.
Here, the UAV position information ({right arrow over (r)}UAV) thus comprises information regarding the UAV position for these three positions. More or less UAV positions may of course be used depending on required accuracy and available resources.
The present disclosure is not limited to the above, but may vary freely within the scope of the appended claims. For example, there can be any number of antenna ports and subarrays, there is however at least two antenna ports, where each subarray comprises at least one antenna element.
The system 1 further comprises:
A deploying unit X1 configured to deploy an unmanned aerial vehicle 15 (UAV) in the coverage 5.
A transmitting unit X2 configured to transmit in at least one UAV position {right arrow over (r)}UAV and via a UAV antenna, a UAV signal to the array antenna 4, the UAV signal comprising UAV position {right arrow over (r)}UAV information in a first coordinate system 18.
A detecting unit X3 configured to detect signals corresponding to the received UAV signal at the antenna ports 7, 8, 9, 10.
A first determining unit X4 configured to determine a determined array antenna orientation {circumflex over (Ω)}AAS by means of determined phase differences between the detected signals, the antenna position {right arrow over (r)}AAS, the initial array antenna orientation {right arrow over (Ω)}AAS(0) and the UAV position information {right arrow over (r)}UAV.
According to some aspects, the system 1 further comprises:
A second determining unit X41 configured to determine a transformed first vector {right arrow over (ρ)}TT(0) and a second vector {circumflex over (ρ)}TT, both vectors {circumflex over (ρ)}TT(0), {circumflex over (ρ)}TT being defined relative a second coordinate system 20 that is associated with the array antenna system 2. The transformed first vector {circumflex over (ρ)}TT(0) indicates an expected pointing direction from the antenna aperture plane 19 towards the UAV position {right arrow over (r)}UAV, and the second vector {circumflex over (ρ)}TT indicates a determined pointing direction from the antenna aperture plane 19 towards the UAV position {right arrow over (r)}UAV.
A second determining unit X42 configured to determine an error angle βe between the vectors {circumflex over (ρ)}TT(0), {circumflex over (ρ)}TT.
Generally, the present disclosure relates to a system 1 for measurement of antenna alignment of an array antenna system 2 used for wireless communication, the array antenna system 2 having an antenna position {right arrow over (r)}AAS elative a first coordinate system 18 and comprising a control unit 3 and an array antenna 4 having an antenna aperture plane 19, a certain coverage 5 and an initial array antenna orientation {circumflex over (Ω)}AAS(0). The array antenna 4 further comprises a plurality of antenna elements 6 and at least two antenna ports 7, 8, 9, 10, each antenna port 7, 8, 9, 10 being connected to a corresponding subarray 11, 12, 13, 14, each subarray 11, 12, 13, 14 comprising at least one antenna element 6. The system 1 comprises the array antenna system 2 and an unmanned aerial vehicle 15 (UAV) arranged to be deployed in the coverage 5 and comprising a UAV antenna arrangement 16 and a positioning module 17 that is adapted to provide UAV position information {right arrow over (r)}UAV relative the first coordinate system 18. In at least one UAV position {right arrow over (r)}UAV, the UAV 15 is adapted to transmit a UAV signal to the array antenna 4 by means of the UAV antenna arrangement 16, the UAV signal comprising the UAV position information {right arrow over (r)}UAV. The control unit 3 is adapted to detect signals corresponding to the received UAV signal at the antenna ports 7, 8, 9, 10, and to determine a determined array antenna orientation {right arrow over (Ω)}AAS by means of determined phase differences between the detected signals, the antenna position {right arrow over (r)}AAS, the initial array antenna orientation {right arrow over (Ω)}AAS(0) and the UAV position information {right arrow over (r)}UAV.
According to some aspects, the control unit is adapted to determine a transformed first vector {circumflex over (ρ)}TT(0) and a second vector {circumflex over (ρ)}TT, both vectors {circumflex over (ρ)}TT(0), {circumflex over (ρ)}TT being defined relative a second coordinate system 20 that is associated with the array antenna system 2. The transformed first vector {circumflex over (ρ)}TT(0) indicates an expected pointing direction from the antenna aperture plane 19 towards the UAV position {right arrow over (r)}UAV, and the second vector {circumflex over (ρ)}TT indicates a determined pointing direction from the antenna aperture plane 19 towards the UAV position {right arrow over (r)}UAV. The control unit 3 is adapted to determine an error angle βe between the vectors {circumflex over (ρ)}TT(0), {circumflex over (ρ)}TT.
According to some aspects, the control unit 3 is adapted to determine the transformed first vector {circumflex over (ρ)}TT(0) by means of a transformation of a first vector {right arrow over (r)}TT in the first coordinate system 28 to the second coordinate system 20. The first vector {circumflex over (r)}TT indicates a determined pointing direction from the antenna aperture plane 19 towards the UAV position {right arrow over (r)}UAV in the first coordinate system 18 and is determined by means of the antenna position {right arrow over (r)}AAS and the UAV position information {right arrow over (r)}UAV. The transformation is performed by means of the initial array antenna orientation {right arrow over (Ω)}AAS(0) and the antenna position {right arrow over (r)}AAS.
According to some aspects, the second vector {circumflex over (ρ)}TT is comprised in the determined array antenna orientation {right arrow over (Ω)}AAS, where the control unit 3 is adapted to issue an alert signal when the comparison results in a discrepancy exceeding a certain threshold, where the discrepancy comprises the error angle βe.
According to some aspects, the determined array antenna orientation {right arrow over (Ω)}AAS comprises at least one angle and where the initial array antenna orientation {right arrow over (Ω)}AAS(0) comprises at least one angle.
According to some aspects, the antenna system 2 is an active antenna system (AAS).
According to some aspects, the system further comprises a network monitoring system 540.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2018/085621 | 12/18/2018 | WO |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2020/125958 | 6/25/2020 | WO | A |
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| Number | Date | Country |
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| 105572487 | May 2016 | CN |
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| Entry |
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| International Search Report and the Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority, issued in corresponding International Application No. PCT/EP2018/085621, dated Aug. 26, 2019, 10 pages. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20220077939 A1 | Mar 2022 | US |
