Disclosure of Invention
In order to solve the problems in the prior art, the invention provides an airborne short-wave folded dipole antenna.
The technical problem to be solved by the invention is realized by the following technical scheme:
an airborne shortwave folded dipole antenna, which is mounted in a hidden manner on an aircraft fuselage, the airborne shortwave folded dipole antenna comprising: two parallel folded vibrators; the two folded dipoles are respectively connected with feed signals with the phase difference of 180 degrees, and each folded dipole comprises: the device comprises a bending structure, a straight metal structure, two L-shaped branch loading structures and a metal transition structure; wherein,
the folding structure is formed by sequentially connecting a plurality of metal branches end to end and is used for prolonging a current path in the folded vibrator;
one end of the straight-bar metal structure is a feed point of the airborne short-wave folded dipole antenna, and the other end of the straight-bar metal structure is connected with the metal transition structure;
the two L-shaped branch knot loading structures are respectively positioned on two sides of the straight metal structure; the short edges of the two L-shaped branch knot loading frameworks are connected with one point on the straight metal structure together, and the long edges are parallel to the straight metal structure and extend towards the feeding advancing direction on the straight metal structure;
one end of the metal transition structure is connected with the straight strip metal structure, and the other end of the metal transition structure is connected with the bending structure, so that a metal loop with an open structure is formed together with the bending structure and the straight strip metal structure.
Optionally, the airborne shortwave folded dipole antenna further comprises: and the balun is used for balancing the current amplitude of the feed signals entering the two folded dipoles.
Optionally, the airborne shortwave folded dipole antenna further comprises: and the antenna tuner is used for matching the input impedance and the external impedance of the airborne short-wave folded dipole antenna.
Optionally, the antenna tuner is connected to an external transmitter via a radio frequency coaxial cable or a radio frequency coaxial connector.
Optionally, in the bending structure, the metal branches connected end to end are perpendicular to each other.
Optionally, the length of the folded dipole is 0.28 λ -0.4 λ, the width of the folded dipole is 0.001 λ -0.003 λ, the distance between the two folded dipoles is 0.13 m-0.18 m, and λ is the operating wavelength of the antenna.
Optionally, the plurality of metal branches, the straight metal structure, the L-shaped branch loading structure, and the metal transition structure are all composed of or formed of metal strips, and structurally contiguous metal strips are welded together.
Optionally, the width of the metal strips composing or forming the plurality of metal branches, the straight metal structure and the metal transition structure is 10mm to 26mm, and the thickness is 0.8mm to 1.2mm; the width of the metal strip forming the L-shaped branch loading structure is narrower than that of the metal strip forming the straight metal structure.
Optionally, the other end of the bent structure, which is not connected with the metal transition structure, is connected with an airplane structure ground.
In the airborne short-wave folded dipole antenna provided by the invention, the two folded dipoles are arranged in parallel, namely the two folded dipoles can be transversely arranged, so that the longitudinal height of the antenna can be obviously reduced, the airborne short-wave folded dipole antenna is suitable for being hidden and installed on an airplane body, and the aerodynamic performance of an airplane cannot be influenced. In addition, the two folded oscillators are respectively connected with feed signals with the phase difference of 180 degrees; thus, when the feeding signal input into the antenna excites currents with equal amplitude and reverse directions on the surfaces of the two folded dipoles, a radiation mode similar to a dipole can be generated. Each folded dipole comprises a bent structure for extending a current path in the antenna, so that the electrical length of the antenna is extended in a smaller size space, and the gain of the antenna is improved. In addition, each folded dipole is also provided with an L-shaped branch loading structure for improving the impedance characteristic of the antenna and further ensuring the high gain characteristic of the antenna. Therefore, the airborne short-wave folded dipole antenna provided by the invention has the characteristics of high-gain radiation performance and structure miniaturization, and is suitable for long-distance communication under an airborne hidden installation condition.
The present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Detailed Description
The present invention will be described in further detail with reference to specific examples, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.
In order to realize the miniaturization of an airborne short-wave antenna and ensure that the antenna has higher gain, the embodiment of the invention provides an airborne short-wave folded dipole antenna which can be hidden and installed on an airplane body, and as shown in a figure 1, the antenna comprises two parallel folded dipoles 1; the two folded dipoles 1 are respectively connected with feeding signals with phase difference of 180 degrees. Thus, when the feed signal input into the antenna excites currents with equal amplitude and reverse directions on the surfaces of the two folded dipoles 1, a radiation mode similar to a dipole can be generated, and the out-of-roundness of a directional diagram of the antenna is improved. It can be understood that the two folded dipoles 1 are arranged in parallel and can be arranged transversely relative to the aircraft body, so that the longitudinal height of the antenna is obviously reduced, and the folded dipole is more suitable for being hidden and installed on the aircraft body without affecting the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft.
As shown in fig. 2, each folded dipole 1 includes: the device comprises a bending structure 11, a straight metal structure 14, two L-shaped branch loading structures 12 and a metal transition structure 13.
The bending structure 11 is formed by sequentially connecting a plurality of metal branches end to end, and is used for extending a current path in the folded vibrator 1. The lengths of the metal branches may all be equal or not all may be equal as shown in fig. 2. Preferably, the metal branches connected end to end are perpendicular to each other, so that a better matching performance can be obtained, and certainly, the effect of prolonging the current path can be achieved as the metal branches connected end to end are not perpendicular to each other.
One end of the straight strip metal structure 14 is a feed point 15 of the short wave folded dipole antenna, and the other end is connected with the metal transition structure 13.
The two L-shaped branch loading structures 12 are respectively positioned at two sides of the straight metal structure 14, the short sides of the two L-shaped branch loading structures 12 are connected with one point on the straight metal structure 14 together, and the long sides are parallel to the straight metal structure 14 and extend towards the feeding advancing direction on the straight metal structure 14;
and the metal transition structure 13 is connected with the straight metal structure 14 at one end and connected with the bent structure 11 at the other end so as to form a metal loop with an open structure together with the bent structure 11 and the straight metal structure 14. It will be appreciated that the end of the meander structure 11 connected to the metal transition structure 13 is its own feed input, and the other end is connectable to a structural ground of the aircraft in the actual installation scenario, for example to a metal structure of the fuselage body of the aircraft or to a tail leading edge spar (see fig. 3), thereby reducing the likelihood of performance degradation or loss of function of the antenna due to lightning strikes.
In practice, the metal branches, the straight metal structures 14, the L-shaped branch loading structures 12, and the metal transition structures 13 in the bending structures 11 are all formed or composed of metal strips. Preferably, the width of the metal bars composing or forming the metal branches of the bent structure 11, the straight metal structure 14 and the metal transition structure 13 may be 10mm to 26mm, and the thickness may be 0.8mm to 1.2mm, and the width of the metal bars constituting the L-shaped branch loading structure 12 is narrower than the width of the metal bars forming the straight metal structure 14, and the metal bars are preferably copper or gold. Thus, the folded dipole 1 can bear large transmitting power, and the weight of the antenna is not too high. Therefore, the airborne short-wave folded dipole 1 antenna provided by the embodiment of the invention is simple in structure and convenient to process, and the metal strips can be printed on the skin of an airplane in a printing mode and are very suitable for being conformal with the antenna, so that the installation requirement of the antenna under the limited size of an airborne platform is met. In addition, in order to ensure the structural stability of the antenna, the folded array 1 may further be fixed in position by using an insulating material in the embodiment of the present invention.
In the embodiment of the invention, each folded dipole 1 comprises the bending structure 11, so that the current path in the antenna can be prolonged, the electrical length of the antenna is prolonged under a smaller physical size, the size of the antenna is effectively reduced, and the gain of the antenna is improved. Moreover, each folded dipole 1 is also provided with an L-shaped branch loading structure 12, so that the impedance characteristic of the antenna can be improved, and the high gain characteristic of the antenna is further ensured. Therefore, the airborne short-wave folded dipole 1 antenna provided by the embodiment of the invention has the characteristics of high gain radiation performance and structure miniaturization, and is suitable for long-distance communication under an airborne hidden installation condition.
Preferably, referring to fig. 4, the folded dipole 1 in the embodiment of the present invention has a length of 0.28 λ to 0.4 λ and a width of 0.001 λ to 0.003 λ, where λ is an operating wavelength of the antenna. The distance between the two folded dipoles 1 is preferably 0.13-0.18 m. It will be understood that the length direction of the folded dipole 1 is parallel to the direction of the straight metal structures 14, and correspondingly, the width direction of the folded dipole 1 is the direction in which the metal transition structures 13 extend to both ends of the folded dipole 1.
In an optional embodiment, the airborne folded short-wave dipole 1 antenna provided in the embodiment of the present invention may further include: balun 2 for balancing the current amplitude of the feed signal into the two folded dipoles 1.
Referring to fig. 5, in this embodiment, a single end of the balun 2 inputs a radio frequency signal, and two differential output ends output two feeding signals, which are respectively sent to the two folded dipoles 1. In practice, balun 2 may also be called a balun, and is mainly used to make the phase difference of the two feeding signals closer to the ideal 180 °.
Based on the embodiment shown in fig. 5, in an optional implementation manner, the airborne shortwave folded dipole 1 antenna provided in the embodiment of the present invention may further include: and the antenna tuner 3 is used for matching the input impedance and the external impedance of the airborne short-wave folded dipole 1 antenna.
Referring to fig. 6, the antenna tuner 3 has an input terminal connected to an external impedance and an output terminal connected to an input terminal of the balun 2. The external impedance may be an output impedance of an external transmitter, or an output impedance of an external radio frequency circuit, or the like. The antenna tuner 3 can be externally connected with a transmitter through a radio frequency coaxial line 4 or a radio frequency coaxial connector; of course, the manner in which the antenna tuner 3 is externally connected to the transmitter is not necessarily so.
In fig. 6, the specific working flow of the airborne shortwave folded dipole 1 antenna is as follows: the radio frequency signal enters the antenna tuner 3 through the radio frequency coaxial line 4, the radio frequency signal with maximum efficiency radiation energy is obtained through impedance matching, the matched radio frequency signal then enters the balun 2, and then is respectively sent to the folded vibrators 1 at the upper layer and the lower layer through the feeder line to be radiated to the external space.
After the antenna tuner 3 is additionally arranged, under the adaptation of the antenna tuner 3, the airborne short-wave folded dipole 1 antenna provided by the embodiment of the invention can realize impedance matching in a broadband, thereby having higher transmitting efficiency under the broadband working condition and being suitable for frequency hopping spread spectrum communication.
In a preferred embodiment, the width W of the folded dipole 1, see figure 7 1 Is 0.018m, has a thickness of 1mm and has a spacing of 0.15m between the two folded dipoles 1. The bending structure 11 comprises 6 sections of first metal branches, 3 sections of second metal branches and 8 sections of third metal branches; wherein the length L of the first metal branch 1 Is 0.16m, the length L of the second metal branch 2 0.7m, length L of the third metal branch 3 Is 0.15m. Length L of metal transition structure 13 4 Is 0.29m. Length L of straight strip metal structure 14 5 And was 2.87m. The length L from the feed point to the connection point of the short side of the L-shaped branch loading structure 12 and the straight metal structure 14 6 =0.5m, length L of long side of L-shaped branch knot loading structure 12 7 =2.22m, length of short side L 8 =0.04m, the lengthWidth W of edge and short edge 2 Are all 0.006m.
The antenna is simulated based on the embodiment to evaluate the performance of the airborne short wave folded dipole antenna provided by the embodiment of the invention under the airborne condition. In the simulation process, the size of the airplane platform is set to 40m in length, 58m in wingspan and 4.5m in height, and the antenna is installed on the front edge of the tail wing of the airplane. The airborne short-wave folded dipole antenna united airplane is simulated by using electromagnetic field full-wave simulation software ANSYS HFSS 19.0, and the simulation result is as follows:
fig. 8 (a), 8 (b) and 8 (c) show horizontal plane pattern contrast curves at 8MHz, 15MHz and 24MHz, respectively, for an antenna provided by an embodiment of the present invention before and after loading an aircraft. The longitude coordinate of the polar coordinate curve is an angle in a range of 0-360 degrees, and the latitude coordinate is an antenna gain in a range of-20 dBi-5dBi.
As can be seen from comparison, when the airplane is not loaded, the airborne short-wave folded dipole antenna provided by the embodiment of the invention has good horizontal omnidirectional radiation characteristics at different frequency points in a frequency band, and the out-of-roundness of a directional diagram is smaller than 1dBi. After the airplane is loaded, due to the influence of the airplane, the roundness of a horizontal directional diagram of the antenna slightly changes, the horizontal directional diagram can still keep a good horizontal omnidirectional radiation characteristic in the horizontal direction, and gains in the horizontal direction are all larger than-5 dBi, which shows that the antenna provided by the embodiment of the invention is less influenced by the airplane body and still has high gains and omnidirectional radiation characteristics after the airplane body is loaded.
Fig. 9 shows simulation results of peak gain variation with frequency for an airborne shortwave folded dipole antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the abscissa is frequency in MHz, ranging from 5-25MHz, and the ordinate is decibel value of maximum gain amplitude in dBi, ranging from-4 dBi-8dBi.
As can be seen from fig. 9, after the aircraft is loaded with the airborne short-wave folded dipole antenna provided in the embodiment of the present invention, the gain is continuously increased along with the frequency increase in the frequency band of 5MHz to 25MHz, the peak gain of the full-band antenna is higher than-5 dBi, the average gain is about 1.5dBi, the maximum gain reaches 4.4dBi, and the peak gain is greater than 0dBi when the frequency is higher than 10 MHz. Compared with the traditional pull rod type airborne short-wave antenna, the airborne short-wave folded dipole antenna provided by the embodiment of the invention has the advantages that on the basis of a simple structure, the gain characteristic is good, the full-band peak gain is larger than-5 dBi, the horizontal directional diagram is good in non-roundness, the high gain and the omnidirectional radiation of the airborne short-wave antenna are realized, and the communication distance of an airborne short-wave system can be increased.
In the description of the present specification, the terms "first", "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implying any number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more features. In the description of the present invention, "a plurality" means two or more unless specifically defined otherwise.
In the description of the specification, references to descriptions of the terms "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "an example," "a specific example," or "some examples" or the like are intended to mean that a particular feature or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the invention. In this specification, the schematic representations of the terms used above are not necessarily intended to refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples. Furthermore, various embodiments or examples described in this specification can be combined and combined by those skilled in the art.
While the present application has been described in connection with various embodiments, other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed application, from a review of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims.
The foregoing is a more detailed description of the invention in connection with specific preferred embodiments and it is not intended that the invention be limited to these specific details. For those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains, several simple deductions or substitutions can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and all shall be considered as belonging to the protection scope of the invention.