Antenna apparatus for vehicle and controlling method therefor

1 . An antenna apparatus of a vehicle comprising:

an array antenna comprising a plurality of antenna elements that output a plurality of beams to form at least one beam pattern; and

at least one processor configured to perform at least one instruction,

wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

obtain speed information of the vehicle,

group the plurality of antenna elements into at least one group based on the speed information of the vehicle, each of the at least one group being for forming a beam pattern, and

control the at least one group of the plurality of antenna elements to output the plurality of beams forming the at least one beam pattern,

wherein a number of antenna elements included in each of the at least one group increases according to increase of a speed of the vehicle, and

wherein the at least one processor is further configured to control the at least one group of the plurality of antenna elements such that a beam width of the at least one beam pattern when a speed of the vehicle corresponds to a first speed value is narrower than the beam width of the at least one beam pattern when the speed of the vehicle corresponds to a second speed value that is greater than the first speed value.

2 . The antenna apparatus of claim 1 ,

wherein the at least one group comprises a plurality of groups for forming a plurality of beam patterns,

wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

select at least one beam from among the plurality of beam patterns based on first information, and

control the at least one group of the plurality of antenna elements to output the selected at least one beam pattern,

wherein the first information comprises information about radiated power of the array antenna.

3 . The antenna apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the first information is information about equivalent isotropic radiated power (EIRP) of the array antenna.

4 . The antenna apparatus of claim 2 , wherein, to control the at least one group of the plurality of antenna elements to output the selected at least one beam, the at least one processor is further configured to adjust at least one of a phase and a signal strength applied to each of the plurality of antenna elements grouped into the at least one group, such that at least one beam pattern from among a plurality of beam patterns is selectively output.

5 . The antenna apparatus of claim 1 ,

wherein each of the at least one group comprises at least one adjacent antenna element.

6 . The antenna apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

classify a speed section of the vehicle into a first speed section and a second speed section, which includes values greater than values included in the first speed section,

upon a speed of the vehicle being within the first speed section, group the plurality of antenna elements such that n antenna elements are included in each of the at least one group, and

upon the speed of the vehicle being within the second speed section, group the plurality of antenna elements such that m antenna elements are included in each of the at least one group, wherein m is greater than n.

7 . The antenna apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

classify a speed section of the vehicle into a first speed section, a second speed section, which includes values greater than values included in the first speed section, and a third speed section, which includes values greater than the values included in the second speed section,

upon a speed of the vehicle being within the first speed section, group the plurality of antenna elements such that 1 antenna elements are included in each of the at least one group,

upon the speed of the vehicle being within the second speed section, group the plurality of antenna elements such that m antenna elements are included in each of the at least one group, wherein m is greater than n, and

upon the speed of the vehicle being within the third speed section, group the plurality of antenna elements such that n antenna elements are included in each of the at least one group, wherein n is greater than m.

8 . A method performed by an antenna apparatus of a vehicle comprising an array antenna comprising a plurality of antenna elements that output a plurality of beams to form at least one beam pattern, the method comprising:

obtaining, by the antenna apparatus, speed information of the vehicle;

grouping the plurality of antenna elements into at least one group based on the speed information of the vehicle, each of the at least one group being for forming a beam pattern; and

controlling, by the antenna apparatus, the at least one group of the plurality of antenna elements to output the plurality of beams forming the at least one beam pattern,

wherein a number of antenna elements included in each of the at least one group increases according to increase of a speed of the vehicle, and

wherein the controlling the at least one group of the plurality of antenna elements comprises controlling the at least one group such that a beam width of the at least one beam pattern when a speed of the vehicle corresponds to a first speed value is narrower than the beam width of the at least one beam pattern when the speed of the vehicle corresponds to a second speed value that is greater than the first speed value.

9 . The method of claim 8 ,

wherein the at least one group comprises a plurality of groups for forming a plurality of beam patterns, and

wherein the method further comprises selecting at least one beam pattern from among the plurality of beam patterns based on first information, which is information about radiated power of the array antenna, such that a shape of the at least one beam pattern formed by the at least one group of the plurality of antenna elements is changed according to the speed information.

10 . The method of claim 8 , wherein a plurality of beam patterns corresponds to a plurality of beam IDs, respectively.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein, when output directions of at least one beam pattern output from a first antenna element and at least one beam pattern output from a second antenna element are the same as or similar to each other, the at least one beam pattern output from the first antenna element and the at least one beam pattern output from the second antenna element may be represented by a same beam ID value.

12 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising controlling the plurality of antenna elements to output a certain beam pattern by using a beam codebook that defines an antenna element optimized for outputting the certain beam pattern and phase and amplitude values corresponding thereto.

13 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media storing one or more computer programs including computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an antenna apparatus individually or collectively, cause the antenna apparatus to perform operations, the antenna apparatus being disposed in a vehicle and comprising an array antenna comprising a plurality of antenna elements that output a plurality of beams to form at least one beam pattern, the operations comprising:

obtaining, by the antenna apparatus, speed information of the vehicle;

grouping the plurality of antenna elements into at least one group based on the speed information of the vehicle, each of the at least one group being for forming a beam pattern; and

controlling, by the antenna apparatus, the at least one group of the plurality of antenna elements to output the plurality of beams forming the at least one beam pattern,

wherein a number of antenna elements included in each of the at least one group increases and a beam width of the at least one group narrows according to increase of a speed of the vehicle, and

wherein the controlling the at least one group of the plurality of antenna elements comprises controlling the at least one group such that a beam width of the at least one beam pattern when a speed of the vehicle corresponds to a first speed value is narrower than the beam width of the at least one beam pattern when the speed of the vehicle corresponds to a second speed value that is greater than the first speed value.