CN106972267A - A kind of space multistory phase shifter applied to antenna for base station - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a spatial three-dimensional phase shifter applied to a base station antenna, comprising a conductor housing with a multi-layer conductor cavity inside, a feed network component disposed in the conductor cavity, and an insulating component insulated from the conductor housing; The spatial three-dimensional phase shifter also includes a transmission line used for connecting the feed network components between two adjacent layers and insulated from the conductor case. The lower feed network of the present invention includes a first input port and two first output ports, the upper feed network includes two four-port networks, and each four-port network includes three second output ports and a first output port A second input port connected by a transmission line, the four-port network is a metal conductor strip line provided with a slow wave line or a microstrip line printed circuit board provided with a slow wave line, and the phase shifter has a function when applied to a base station antenna Larger electrical downtilt angle, the angle is 0‑20°; the phase shifter has six radiators, the antenna length is about 0.7 meters, and the maximum gain is 16.5dBi.

Description

A Spatial Stereo Phase Shifter Applied to Base Station Antenna

technical field

The invention relates to the technical field of communication devices, in particular to a spatial three-dimensional phase shifter applied to base station antennas.

Background technique

At present, the base station electronically adjustable antenna realizes the beam downtilt adjustment of the base station antenna through the phase shifter in the beamforming network, which has the advantages of large adjustable range of downtilt angle, high precision, good pattern control, strong anti-interference ability, and easy control. Therefore, the phase shifter is a necessary component of the base station antenna. This device can adjust the downtilt angle of the antenna beam by changing the relative phase between the antenna elements, thereby facilitating the optimization of the communication network.

The beamforming network design of existing base station antennas uses cables to connect the sub-phase shifter units, or uses cables as part of the power divider, so that the entire feed network contains cables of various lengths, and must be guaranteed during processing. The length of each cable is accurate, and the workers must weld carefully according to the requirements when welding, otherwise, the consistency of the antenna pattern will not be guaranteed; secondly, the length processing, classification, management of different cables, and the installation of these cables during production are also difficult. It is extremely complicated, and there are too many solder joints. Each solder joint is an unstable factor for the whole machine. Too many solder joints will greatly increase the influencing factors of the third-order intermodulation of the antenna, increase the repair cost, and increase the production cost; in addition , the cables used in the existing antennas are all 141 cables. These cables have a large loss, especially in the high frequency band, and the gain of the antenna will be greatly reduced. This requires designing a longer and larger antenna to increase the gain, which increases the Not only that, but when there is a problem with one cable, it will cause all the results to be wrong, the probability of damage is high, and the repair cost is high.

To sum up, it is necessary to design a highly integrated phase shifter that does not use cables, especially for existing multi-frequency base station antennas such as 610-960MHz, 1420-2690MHz and 3300-3900MHz.

Contents of the invention

In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a spatial three-dimensional phase shifter applied to base station antennas. The spatial three-dimensional phase shifter has high reliability, high repeatability, low insertion loss and high gain. Because the design does not use cables , reducing the loss of the cable, the appearance of the spatial three-dimensional phase shifter makes the production of the antenna no longer rely on large-scale labor, doubles the production efficiency, and truly realizes the automation of the production of the antenna, changing the traditional antenna industry in the industry that requires a lot of labor. way of production. The antenna efficiency using this network will reach more than 90%; compared with the traditional antenna, the gain is increased by 1-2dBi.

In order to realize technical effect of the present invention, adopt following technical scheme to realize:

A spatial three-dimensional phase shifter applied to base station antennas, comprising a conductor case with upper and lower layers of conductor cavities inside and a feed network component disposed in each layer of conductor cavity, and a feed network component disposed in the lower layer of the feed network component The lower feed network includes a first input port and two first output ports; the upper feed network located on the upper feed network component includes two four-port networks, and each four-port network includes three second output ports and A second input port connected to a first output port through a transmission line; the four-port network is a metal conductor strip line with a slow wave line or a microstrip printed circuit board with a slow wave line.

As a further improvement, the feed network assembly includes a sub-phase shifter assembly for adjusting the beam direction of the base station antenna and an insulating assembly for supporting the sub-phase shifter assembly, and the sub-phase shifter assembly includes a The feeding network and the dielectric element assembly slidingly connected with the feeding network; the transmission line is arranged in the conductor housing; the lower feeding network is a metal conductor strip line or a printed circuit board with a microstrip line.

As a further improvement, each layer of conductor cavity is integrally formed, and both ends of each layer of conductor cavity are provided with a cavity for moving in or out of the feeder circuit assembly. The conductor housing is formed by stacking and combining multiple layers of conductor cavity It is composed of integrally formed metal conductor profiles.

As a further improvement, the insulating component is an insulating dielectric substrate, and the insulating dielectric substrate disposed in the conductor cavity of each layer is composed of an insulating dielectric substrate A and an insulating dielectric substrate B disposed in the conductor cavity of the layer. The insulating dielectric substrate A and the insulating dielectric substrate B in the conductor cavity of the layer are respectively arranged above and below the feed network provided in the conductor cavity of the layer.

As a further improvement, the dielectric element assembly arranged in the conductor cavity of one layer is also fixedly connected with a tie rod, and the insulating component arranged in the conductor cavity of the layer is fixedly connected with the feeder network arranged in the conductor cavity of the layer, and is arranged in the conductor cavity of the layer. The insulating component in the layer conductor cavity is fixedly connected with the conductor housing.

As a further improvement, the feed network provided in each layer of conductor cavity includes a metal conductor sheet and a plurality of ports connected to the metal conductor sheet.

As a further improvement, each first output port is connected to a second input port through a transmission line.

As a further improvement, the top of the conductor housing is provided with a window communicating with the upper conductor cavity, the window includes one window A and two windows B, and each window B includes a four-port network for each second The first window directly above the two output ports and the second window located directly above the second input port of the four-port network; wherein, the second window of each window B is also located at the second input port of the four-port network A transmission line connected and directly above the first output port connected with the transmission line; the conductor housing also includes a conductor partition with openings arranged in each layer of conductor cavity, and a conductor partition provided in each layer of conductor cavity The conductor spacer divides the layer of conductor cavities into interconnected left conductor cavities and right conductor cavities; one side of the insulating medium substrate in each layer of conductor cavities is fixed with a boss, and the boss is clamped In the opening of the conductor partition in the conductor cavity of this layer; the metal conductor sheet of the feed network arranged in the conductor cavity of each layer is arranged in the left conductor cavity, and connected with the metal conductor sheet arranged in the conductor cavity of the layer The port passes through the left conductor cavity and extends into the right conductor cavity.

As a further improvement, the conductor spacer includes an upper conductor spacer disposed in the upper conductor cavity and a lower conductor spacer disposed in the lower conductor cavity, and the upper conductor spacer separates the upper conductor cavity into an upper left conductor cavity Body and the upper right conductor cavity, the lower conductor partition divides the lower conductor cavity into the left lower conductor cavity and the right lower conductor cavity; the top of the right lower conductor cavity is provided with a through hole, and one end of the transmission line is arranged in the right lower conductor cavity , and the other end extends into the upper right conductor cavity through the through hole.

As a further improvement, the lower conductor partition is provided with a first opening and two second openings, the upper conductor partition is provided with twelve third openings and two fourth openings, and the first input port starts from the lower left The conductor cavity extends into the right lower conductor cavity through the first opening, and each first output port extends from the left lower conductor cavity through a second opening into the right lower conductor cavity; a first output port of each four-port network Two output ports extend from the left upper layer conductor cavity body through a third opening into the right upper layer conductor cavity body, and the second input port of the four-port network extends from the left upper layer conductor cavity body through a fourth opening into the right upper layer conductor cavity body in vivo.

As a further improvement, projections in the horizontal direction of a first output port and a second input port connected by a transmission line are staggered, and the transmission line is respectively connected to the first output port and the second input port.

As a further improvement, the conductor housing also includes a guide boss fixedly arranged in the conductor cavity of each layer, and the pull rod arranged in the conductor cavity and the dielectric component assembly arranged in the conductor cavity form a Guide slots that match the bosses.

As a further improvement, there are two guide bosses arranged in the conductor cavity of each layer up and down, and the pull rods arranged in the conductor cavity of the layer are clamped between the two guide bosses and the left side wall and top of the conductor cavity. Inside the tank enclosed by the wall and the bottom plate.

As a further improvement, a bar-shaped window is also provided on the conductor housing, and an anchor is fixedly connected to the pull rod in the conductor cavity, and the anchor in the conductor cavity passes through the bar-shaped window and can go back and forth along the bar-shaped window move, the anchor is arranged in the upper conductor cavity, and the anchor arranged in the upper conductor cavity and the pull rod arranged in the lower conductor cavity are connected through a first connecting part; or the anchor is arranged in the lower conductor cavity , the anchor arranged in the lower conductor cavity and the tie rod arranged in the upper conductor cavity are connected through a first connecting part; It is connected with the anchor provided in the conductor cavity of the lower layer through a first connection part.

As a further improvement, the dielectric element assembly disposed in each layer of conductor cavity includes at least one dielectric element, and each dielectric element disposed in the layer of conductor cavity is respectively fixedly connected with a tie rod disposed in the layer of conductor cavity, each The dielectric element is provided with at least two gaps for adjusting the contact area between the feed network and the dielectric element; each dielectric element is integrally formed by mold injection.

As a further improvement, the dielectric constant value of the dielectric element assembly arranged in each layer of cavity is set to the phase of the feed network arranged in each layer of cavity when the dielectric element assembly arranged in each layer of conductor cavity is moved synchronously Ability to synchronize changes.

As a further improvement, the dielectric element assembly arranged in each layer of conductor cavity is arranged on the left side of the feed network assembly, and the insulating dielectric substrate and dielectric element assembly arranged in each layer of conductor cavity are arranged in the left conductor cavity.

As a further improvement, the insulating dielectric substrate is made of one or more materials selected from polypropylene, polyethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, and poly-4-methylpentene-1.

As a further improvement, the insulating dielectric substrate is made of foam material.

As a further improvement, the upper and lower feeder network components can exchange positions with each other.

The present invention also provides a spatial three-dimensional phase shifter assembly. The phase shifter assembly includes two spatial three-dimensional phase shifters connected to each other according to any one of the above items, and the two spatial three-dimensional phase shifters are arranged in left and right mirror images.

As a further improvement, the phase shifter assembly further includes a second connecting portion fixedly connected to the anchors on the upper parts of the two spatial three-dimensional phase shifters.

Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the beneficial effects as follows:

1) In the present invention, the feeding network components are placed in the conductor cavities of each layer, and the feeding network components arranged in the adjacent two layers of conductor cavities are connected with transmission lines to form a three-dimensional spatial feeding network. The feeding network is divided into two parts, which are placed in a plurality of identical conductor cavities superimposed on each other, so that the width of the entire phase shifter is reduced. When the conductor cavity is two layers, the width of the entire phase shifter is reduced by nearly 50%, and the thickness of the phase shifter is only increased by 7mm. When using the spatial three-dimensional phase shifter for the base station antenna, we have double the space , so that we can have space to integrate cables in the feed network, use striplines, etc. instead of cables, and design a highly integrated beamforming network without cables. This highly integrated beamforming network will enable our antenna to have the smallest The solder joints improve the efficiency and consistency of antenna production, and reduce the volume of the antenna by nearly 50%, saving materials and reducing costs, and are also convenient for transportation and flexible network deployment.

2) The highly integrated metal stripline (or printed circuit board with microstrip line) feed network manufactured as a whole, when applied to the base station antenna, only needs to weld its main input and input ports, the vibrator and the feeder Therefore, the number of solder joints of antennas using this technology will be much smaller than that of competitors' antennas, which reduces the probability of intermodulation during production and improves the intermodulation pass-through rate during antenna production. And the consistency of the standing wave is also very good.

3) When the spatial three-dimensional phase shifter is used for the base station antenna, since the components are modularized, the assembly of this antenna will be very simple. Compared with the antenna in the prior art, fewer assembly workers are needed, because there are no Cables are needed. Compared with the existing technology, there is no need to cut many cables of different lengths, it is not necessary to ensure that the length of each cable is accurate, and it is not necessary to supervise whether the workers weld the cables in the correct position during production, reducing the number of QC personnel to inspect the welding the quality of.

4) The traditional adjustable phase-shifting device of the array antenna is an independent conductor cavity supported by a support column on the back of the reflector, and the phase-shifting device is installed in the conductor cavity, and the elements of the traditional array antenna are connected by cables of. The U-shaped reflector and the cavity of the phase shifter are integrally formed. The reflector (the surface of the conductor housing) and the conductor cavity of the phase shifter share the same surface. The two are not independent of each other. In the existing design, the reflector and the phase shifter The phase shifters are all independent components, the phase shifter is supported on the reflector, and the transmission mechanism of the phase shifter is also higher than the cavity of the phase shifter, thus increasing the height of the antenna. The phase shifter and the stripline in this design are directly installed in the conductor cavity, and the transmission mechanism is buried in the reflector (the surface of the conductor shell) and the phase shifter cavity, which can well reduce the overall size of the antenna This design will make our antenna thinner than any competitor's antenna, so that the size and volume of the entire antenna will be reduced, the wind resistance will be reduced, and the operator's site construction cost will be reduced accordingly.

5) Since the feed network of the electric adjustable antenna is very complicated, the antenna design of the base station antenna enterprise now uses a large number of coaxial cables, which makes the antenna have too many welding points and the wiring is very complicated. Therefore, the production process of the base station antenna requires a lot of workers, it is very difficult to automate. Due to the highly integrated features of this design, the products designed using this technology can be fully automated in the production process, and all welding and assembly will be completely realized by robots. As a result, the production efficiency of the antenna will increase. It is 5-8 times that of traditional antenna companies. Due to the high integration characteristics, the consistency of the produced antennas will be greatly improved and the defective rate will be reduced. The phase shifter has a simple structure, is easy to install and maintain, and can significantly improve production efficiency.

6) The lower feeder network of the present invention includes a first input port and two first output ports; the upper feeder network includes two four-port networks, each four-port network includes three second output ports and a first The output port is connected to a second input port by a transmission line. The number of transmission lines connecting the upper and lower feeder networks is two. After the upper and lower feeder networks are integrated, the entire network will form a network divided into six, that is, one input and six output ports. Since there are only two transmission lines, correspondingly, only two windows are processed on the cavity for accommodating the transmission lines, which can reduce the amount of CNC processing and reduce the processing cost.

7) The present invention adopts the transmission line connection, the welding points will be correspondingly reduced, the unstable factors of welding will be correspondingly reduced, and the maintenance cost will be reduced.

8) Since the top-layer stripline adopts a one-to-three scheme (that is, the four-port network is divided into three second output ports and a second input port connected to a first output port through a transmission line), the number of parts is reduced accordingly, The length of the underlying stripline will be reduced accordingly. For example, a base station antenna designed based on a feed network with one input and six output ports has six radiators, and its top stripline has only two independent four-port networks and a lower feed network. For a base station antenna with six radiators, its length must be at least 2.5 meters. If the top stripline is divided into three schemes, the length of the bottom stripline will be reduced, which will help reduce processing difficulty and reduce stripline manufacturing. cost. When working, it is beneficial to reduce the leakage of electromagnetic waves, reduce coupling, improve S parameters, and improve performance. The antenna length is 0.7 meters and the highest gain is 16.5dBi; the four-port network is a metal conductor strip with slow wave lines line or a microstrip line printed circuit board with a slow wave line, the phase shifter has a larger electrical downtilt angle when applied to a base station antenna, and the angle is 0-20°.

Description of drawings

Figure 1-1 is a schematic diagram of a partial three-dimensional structure of a spatial three-dimensional phase shifter;

Figure 1-2 is an enlarged schematic diagram of part of the structure in Figure 1-1;

Figure 2-1 is a schematic diagram of a partial structure of a spatial three-dimensional phase shifter;

Figure 2-2 is an enlarged schematic diagram of part of the structure in Figure 2-1;

Figure 3-1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the dielectric element assembly and the tie rod located in the upper conductor cavity;

Figure 3-2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the dielectric element assembly located in the lower conductor cavity;

Figure 4-1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the feed network components;

Figure 4-2 is an enlarged schematic diagram of part of the structure in Figure 4-1;

Figure 4-3 is a schematic structural diagram of the transmission line in Figure 4-1;

Figure 5-1 is a schematic structural diagram of the phase shifter assembly of the present invention;

Figure 5-2 is an enlarged schematic diagram of part of the structure in Figure 5-1;

Figure 5-3 is a vertical plane pattern when the present invention is applied to a base station antenna when the electrical downtilt is 0 degrees;

Fig. 5-4 is a vertical plane pattern when the present invention is applied to a base station antenna when the electrical downtilt is 20 degrees.

detailed description

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Example 1

As shown in the figure, a spatial three-dimensional phase shifter applied to base station antennas includes a conductor housing 100 with two layers of conductor cavities inside and a feed network component disposed in each layer of conductor cavities. The feed network The assembly includes a sub-phase shifter assembly for adjusting the beam direction of the base station antenna and an insulating assembly for supporting the sub-phase shifter assembly; the spatial three-dimensional phase shifter also includes a The transmission line connected to the phase shifter assembly respectively; the sub-phase shifter assembly includes the feed network connected with the feed network and the dielectric element assembly slidably connected with the feed network, and the dielectric element assembly arranged in a layer of conductor cavity passes through relative to the The feed network in the conductor cavity slides back and forth to change the contact area between the dielectric component assembly and the feed network; the two layers of conductor cavity are respectively the upper conductor cavity 109 and the lower conductor cavity 110, which are located in the upper conductor cavity The feed network in 109 is the upper feed network, the feed network set in the lower conductor cavity 110 is the lower feed network, and the lower feed network includes a first input port 205 and two first output ports 206; The upper feeder network includes two four-port networks 410, each four-port network includes three second output ports (201, 203, 204) and a second input port 202 connected to a first output port 206 through a transmission line 210 The four-port network is a metal conductor strip line with a slow wave line 430 or a microstrip printed circuit board with a slow wave line 430 .

A complete spatial three-dimensional feed network is formed by connecting feed network components in two adjacent layers of conductor cavities.

In the present invention, the feeding network components are put into the conductor cavities of each layer, and the feeding network components arranged in two adjacent layers of conductor cavities are connected by transmission lines to form a three-dimensional spatial feeding network, which greatly reduces the volume of the feeding network , thereby greatly reducing the volume of the phase shifter. When the phase shifter assembly is used for a base station antenna, the volume of the antenna can be greatly reduced, which is convenient for transportation and use.

The sub-phase shifter assembly includes a feed network connected to the transmission line and a dielectric element assembly slidably connected to the feed network. The dielectric element assembly arranged in a layer of conductor cavity passes back and forth relative to the feed network arranged in the conductor cavity. sliding to change the contact area of the dielectric element assembly and the feed network. Furthermore, when the spatial three-dimensional phase shifter is used for a base station antenna, the contact area between the dielectric element component and the feed network component is changed by sliding the dielectric component component back and forth relative to the feed network component, thereby adjusting the base station The beam direction of the antenna.

Preferably, the lower feed network is a metal conductor strip line or a printed circuit board provided with a microstrip line.

With this setting, the use of cables can be completely avoided. Compared with the use of cables in the prior art, it is necessary to ensure that the length of each cable is accurate, the cable management is difficult, the installation of the cables to the mover is complicated, the repair cost is high, the loss is high, and the cost of raw materials is high. The application not only has low cost of raw materials and is convenient for production and installation, but also can reduce rework cost and further reduce production cost thoroughly.

In addition, the phase-shifting mechanism has a simple structure, is easy to install, and can significantly improve production efficiency.

Preferably, the said arrangement in the conductor housing connects the feed networks provided in the conductor cavities of two adjacent layers, so that the feed networks between adjacent layers and the transmission lines together form an integral spatial three-dimensional feed network. The transmission line 210 is not in direct contact with the conductor housing 100 , that is, there is a gap between the transmission line 210 and the conductor housing 100 to achieve insulation without short circuit. It may be that one end of the transmission line 210 is disposed in a conductor cavity of one layer, and the other end passes through the conductor cavity of the layer and extends into another conductor cavity adjacent to the cavity of the layer. The transmission line 210 is disposed in the conductor housing 100 to avoid leakage of electromagnetic waves. It can transmit more signals to the antenna element.

Preferably, each layer of conductor cavities is integrally formed, and both ends of each layer of conductor cavities are provided with openings for moving in or out of the feeder circuit assembly. The conductor housing 100 is formed by stacking and combining multiple layers of conductor cavities or The metal conductor profile is integrally formed. During installation, various parts of the feed network component can be assembled first, and then the feed network component can be inserted into the conductor cavity from the cavity, thereby greatly saving installation time. Compared with the prior art, each cable needs to be welded to the phase shifter, and there are many welding spots (hundreds to thousands of welding spots), which greatly saves installation time.

At the same time, when the feeder network component is damaged, it can be repaired only by removing the feeder circuit component from the cavity, and the maintenance is very convenient.

Preferably, the insulating component is an insulating dielectric substrate, and the insulating dielectric substrate disposed in the conductor cavity of each layer is composed of an insulating dielectric substrate A and an insulating dielectric substrate B disposed in the conductor cavity of the layer, and the insulating dielectric substrate disposed in the conductor cavity of the layer consists of an insulating dielectric substrate A and an insulating dielectric substrate B. The insulating dielectric substrate A and the insulating dielectric substrate B in the layer conductor cavity are respectively arranged above and below the feed network provided in the layer conductor cavity. That is to say, an insulating dielectric substrate A is provided on the feeder circuit in the conductor cavity, and an insulating dielectric substrate B is provided under the feeder circuit in the conductor cavity.

Preferably, the dielectric element assembly disposed in the conductor cavity of one layer is also fixedly connected with a pull rod 213, the insulating component disposed in the conductor cavity of the layer is fixedly connected with the feed network disposed in the conductor cavity of the layer, and the The insulating component in the conductor cavity is fixedly connected with the conductor housing. Pulling the pull rod 213 can make the dielectric component assembly move back and forth relative to the feed network, which is convenient for phase shifting.

Preferably, the feed network provided in each layer of conductor cavity includes a metal conductor sheet and a plurality of ports connected to the metal conductor sheet. The metal conductor sheet of each feeding network component and the multiple ports connected to the metal conductor sheet can be integrally formed. A metal conductor stripline may consist of a metal conductor piece and a plurality of ports connected to the metal conductor piece.

Preferably, each first output port is connected to a second input port via a transmission line.

Preferably, the top of the conductor housing 100 is provided with a window communicating with the upper conductor cavity 109, the window includes a window A105 and two windows B, and each window B includes each of the four-port network. The first window directly above the two output ports and the second window 102 located directly above the second input port 202 of the four-port network; wherein, the second window 102 of each window B is also located on the second window 102 of the four-port network. Directly above a transmission line 210 connected to the two input ports 202 and the first output port 206 connected to the transmission line 210; the conductor casing 100 also includes a conductor compartment with an opening arranged in the conductor cavity 100 of each layer Plate 114, the conductor spacer 114 that is arranged in each layer of conductor cavity divides this layer of conductor cavity into the left conductor cavity and the right conductor cavity that communicate with each other; The boss 411 is fixed, and the boss 411 is clamped in the opening of the conductor partition 114 in the conductor cavity of this layer; the metal conductor sheet of the feed network arranged in the conductor cavity of each layer is arranged in the left conductor cavity In the body, the port connected with the metal conductor sheet arranged in the conductor cavity of this layer extends into the right conductor cavity through the left conductor cavity. This is convenient for the antenna element to be connected to each port through the window. It is preferable that the horizontal projection of the window directly above each port is larger than the horizontal projection of the port, so that the antenna element and the port can be installed together more easily. The first window set in a four-port network includes a first window 101 , a first window 103 , and a first window 104 .

Preferably, the conductor spacer includes an upper conductor spacer disposed in the upper conductor cavity and a lower conductor spacer disposed in the lower conductor cavity, and the upper conductor spacer separates the upper conductor cavity into an upper left conductor cavity 116 and the upper right conductor cavity 113, the lower conductor partition divides the lower conductor cavity into the left lower conductor cavity 115 and the right lower conductor cavity 112; the top of the right lower conductor cavity is provided with a through hole, and one end of each transmission line 210 is located at In the lower right conductor cavity, the other end passes through the through hole and extends into the upper right conductor cavity.

Preferably, the lower conductor partition is provided with one first opening and two second openings, the upper conductor partition is provided with six third openings and two fourth openings, and the first input port 205 is opened from the left lower conductor chamber. body through the first opening into the lower right conductor cavity 112, and each first output port extends from the lower left conductor cavity 115 through a second opening into the lower right conductor cavity 112; each four-port network A second output port of the four-port network extends from the upper left conductor cavity 116 through a third opening into the upper right conductor cavity 113, and the second input port of the four-port network passes through a fourth opening from the upper left conductor cavity 116. The opening extends into the upper right conductor cavity 113 .

Preferably, projections in the horizontal direction of a first output port and a second input port connected by a transmission line are staggered, and the transmission line is respectively connected to the first output port and the second input port, preferably by welding. That is, the first output line and the second input line arranged directly under a window are staggered through projection in the horizontal direction, thereby facilitating welding.

Preferably, the conductor housing 100 also includes a guide boss 117 fixedly arranged in each layer of conductor cavity, and the pull rod 213 arranged in the conductor cavity and the dielectric element assembly arranged in the conductor cavity form a The guide groove 212 matched with the guide boss 117 . The matching of the guide boss 117 with the guide groove 212 means that the guide groove 212 can just be sleeved outside the guide boss 117 and the pull rod 213 and the dielectric element assembly can slide back and forth along the guide boss 117 through the guide groove 212, thereby pulling the device The pull rod in the cavity can make the pull rod 213 in the cavity and the dielectric element in the cavity move back and forth along the guide boss 117 , making it easier to move back and forth. Further, the pull rod can only move back and forth along the guide boss 117, but not left and right, so that the beam direction of the base station antenna can be adjusted more accurately.

Preferably, there are two guide bosses 117 arranged in the conductor cavity of each layer, and the pull rod 213 arranged in the conductor cavity of the layer is clamped between the two guide bosses and the left side wall and the top of the conductor cavity. In the groove body 118 that wall and bottom plate surround. Further, the pull rod can only move back and forth along the guide boss 117, but not left and right, so that the beam direction of the base station antenna can be adjusted more accurately.

Preferably, a strip window 111 is provided on the conductor housing 100, and an anchor 211 is fixedly connected to the pull rod 213 disposed in the upper conductor cavity, and the anchor 211 disposed in the upper conductor cavity penetrates (or passes through) through) the strip-shaped window and can move back and forth along the strip-shaped window; the anchor arranged in the upper conductor cavity and the pull rod arranged in the lower conductor cavity are connected through a first connection part.

Giving the anchor 211 a forward or backward force can make the anchor 211 move back and forth along the strip window 111, so that the upper layer dielectric element assembly 310 and the lower layer dielectric element assembly 320 move back and forth, thereby changing the contact between the dielectric element assembly and the feed network area. The tie rods disposed in the lower conductor cavity 110 may also be provided with anchors, and the first connectors are respectively fixedly connected to the anchors disposed in the lower cavity and the anchors disposed in the upper cavity.

Preferably, the dielectric element assembly disposed in each layer of conductor cavity includes at least one dielectric element, and each dielectric element disposed in the layer of conductor cavity is respectively fixedly connected with a tie rod disposed in the layer of conductor cavity, and each dielectric element There are at least two gaps for adjusting the contact area between the feed network in the layer conductor cavity and the dielectric element; each dielectric element is integrally formed by mold injection, which can widen the bandwidth.

Preferably, the dielectric element is fixedly connected to the tie rod by heat riveting or close fit, and the dielectric element assembly arranged in each layer of conductor cavity includes a plurality of dielectric elements respectively connected to the tie rod arranged in the conductor cavity; The pull rod is a fiberglass pull rod. The upper dielectric element assembly includes two elongated dielectric elements 301 . Both the dielectric element and the anchor are provided with elongated slots.

Preferably, each feeding network is fixedly connected to an insulating assembly (the insulating assembly is also used to insulate the feeding network from the conductor cavity), preferably by an insulating dielectric rod passing through the insulating assembly and the feeding network. FIG. 4-1 shows a schematic structural diagram of the spatial three-dimensional phase shifter of the present application. The conductor housing contains an upper feed network, a lower feed network, an upper dielectric component assembly 310 , a lower dielectric component assembly 320 and two transmission lines 210 .

Wherein, the insulating medium substrates 404, 403 arranged on the upper and lower layers of the upper feeding network are made of plastic foam material, and the upper feeding network and the insulating dielectric substrates 404, 403 pass through the upper feeding network and the insulating dielectric lining. At least one insulating dielectric rod (rod body made of insulating material) of the bottom 404, 403 is fixedly connected. It may be that both the insulating dielectric substrates 404 and 403 are provided with bosses 411, and each boss 411 is provided with a positioning hole 412, and each boss 411 is clamped in an opening, and the bosses 411 cooperate with the conductor housing 100 , play the role of fixing the upper feed network, each port of the upper feed network is provided with a through hole, each insulating dielectric rod 405 passes through a positioning hole and is located under the positioning hole (preferably directly below) A through hole positions and fixes the upper feed network and the insulating dielectric substrate 404, 403 together, and then the insulating dielectric rod 405 is respectively connected to the insulating dielectric substrate 404, the insulating dielectric substrate 403, and the upper feeding layer through a thermoplastic riveting process. The network is closely connected, so that the insulating dielectric substrate 404, the insulating dielectric substrate 403, and the upper layer feed network are tightly fixed together, that is, the two four-port networks 410 are fixedly connected to the insulating dielectric substrate 404, 403 respectively, and the insulating dielectric rod 405 can be a plastic rod.

The lower feeder network includes a three-port feeder network, the three-port feeder network 420 and the insulating dielectric substrates 401, 402 are fixed by at least one insulating dielectric rod passing through the three-port feeder network 420 and the insulating dielectric substrates 401, 402 connect. It may be that the insulating dielectric substrate 401 and the insulating dielectric substrate 402 are provided with bosses 411, and each boss 411 is provided with a positioning hole 412, and each boss 411 is clamped in an opening of the lower conductor cavity, and the bosses 411 and the conductor housing 100 cooperate with each other to fix the lower feeder network. There are through holes near each port of the lower feeder network, and each insulating dielectric rod 405 in the lower conductor cavity passes through a positioning The hole 412 and a through hole located under the positioning hole 412 (preferably directly below) fix the three-port feed network 420 and the insulating dielectric substrate 401, 402 to each other, and then make the insulating medium The rods 405 are tightly connected to the insulating dielectric substrate 401, the insulating dielectric substrate 402, and the lower feeder network, so that the insulating dielectric substrate 401, the insulating dielectric substrate 402, and the lower feeder network are tightly fixed together, even if the three-port The feed network 420 is fixedly connected to the insulating dielectric substrates 401, 402, and the insulating dielectric rod 405 is also made of plastic rod.

The lower dielectric element assembly includes an elongated dielectric element 302 . Wherein, the long dielectric element 302 and the feeding network form a bidirectional phase shifter, therefore, the phase shifter assembly disposed in the lower conductor cavity includes two sub-phase shifters. The transmission line 210 is used to connect the upper and lower feeder networks. For example, the pin 407 of a transmission line 210 is inserted into a hole 409 of a second input port of the upper feeder network, and the pin 408 of the transmission line is inserted into a second input port of the lower feeder network. In the hole 406 of the first output port, a second input port and a first output port are connected through a transmission line 210 . Similarly, another transmission line 210 is correspondingly connected to the upper and lower feeder networks, so that the second input ports of the two four-port networks on the upper layer are connected to the two first output ports on the lower layer to form a whole network. The feed network includes a main input port, six second output ports, the sub-phase shifter assembly in the upper conductor cavity contains four sub-phase shifters, and the sub-phase shifter assembly in the lower conductor cavity Contains two sub-phase shifters, and the spatial stereo phase shifter has six sub-phase shifters in total.

Preferably, the dielectric constant value of the dielectric element assembly disposed in each layer of cavity is set so that when the dielectric element assembly disposed in each layer of conductor cavity is moved synchronously, the phase of the feed network disposed in each layer of cavity can be synchronized Variety. The anchor 211 disposed in the upper conductor cavity is connected to the anchor 211 disposed in the lower conductor cavity through a first connection part, and the first connection part may be a rod-shaped component. As long as a back-and-forth force is given to the rod-shaped part or the anchor 211, the dielectric element assembly disposed in the upper conductor cavity and the dielectric element assembly disposed in the lower conductor cavity can move back and forth synchronously. Therefore, only one transmission device is needed to realize the synchronous movement of the upper layer dielectric element assembly and the lower layer dielectric element assembly, so that the phases of the sub-phase shifter assemblies arranged in the conductor cavities of each layer are changed synchronously, which greatly simplifies the transmission system. The six second output terminals can be connected with six antenna elements.

Preferably, each dielectric element arranged in each layer of conductor cavity is the same dielectric material with the same dielectric constant, and the dielectric constant value of the material used for the dielectric element assembly in the upper conductor cavity is between 2.0-2.8 (for example : Polypropylene or polystyrene-based plastics or polytetrafluoroethylene or TPX (poly-4-methylpentene-1) or PPE), the dielectric constant value of the material used in the dielectric component assembly in the conductor cavity of the lower conductor is 3.0 Between -5.0 (such as ceramic materials, modified PPE materials), the dielectric constants of the dielectric element materials in different conductor conductor cavity layers are different, and there is a difference Δ between the dielectric constants. When the synchronous movement is set at When the dielectric elements in the conductor cavities of each layer are assembled, the phases of the feed network arranged in the conductor cavities of each layer can be changed synchronously, which simplifies the transmission system of the electric adjustable antenna.

Preferably, the dielectric element assembly arranged in each layer of conductor cavity is arranged on the left side of the feed network assembly, and the insulating dielectric substrate and dielectric element assembly arranged in each layer of conductor cavity are arranged in the left conductor cavity.

Preferably, a part of the feed network provided in any one of the conductor cavities protrudes into the insulating dielectric substrate, and the other part is exposed outside the insulating dielectric substrate.

Preferably, the dielectric element assembly arranged in each layer of conductor cavity is arranged on the left side of the feed network, and the insulating dielectric substrate and dielectric element assembly arranged in each layer of conductor cavity are arranged in the left conductor cavity. The tie rods, dielectric element components, and insulating dielectric substrates in the body cavity are arranged in sequence from left to right.

Preferably, the insulating dielectric substrate is made of low dielectric constant and low loss material. Low dielectric constant, low loss material can be one or more of polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), TPX (poly-4-methylpentene-1) . Furthermore, the gain of the antenna can be increased.

Preferably, the insulating dielectric substrate is made of foam material. The foam material is used, which is convenient for transportation and can also increase the gain of the antenna.

Preferably, each layer of conductor cavity is a rectangular parallelepiped conductor cavity with openings at both ends, each four-port network is arranged in sequence from front to back, and the tie rods and guide bosses are parallel to the long sides of the rectangular parallelepiped conductor cavity. Certainly, each port of the feed network arranged in the cavity of the lower layer is also arranged sequentially from front to back. Preferably, the first input port is arranged in the middle of each second input port, which is convenient for the strip line of the feed network assembly. Arrangement can save more raw materials. Of course, the first output port and the second input port connected by a transmission line 210 are preferably adjacent to each other, which is convenient for installation. The pull rod 213 is parallel to the guide boss 117, so that the insulating dielectric substrate moves back and forth relative to the feeder network assembly.

Preferably, the insulating dielectric substrate and the conductor housing are fixedly connected by rivets. For example, by rivet connections through the insulating dielectric substrate and the conductor housing.

During installation, the feeder network components can be installed first, and then each feeder network component is inserted into the cavity from the opening of the first layer cavity, and then each first output port is connected to each second input port through a transmission line Finally, the insulating dielectric substrate and the conductor housing 100 can be fixedly connected by rivets. The installation is very convenient, and the installation can be completed within 10 minutes, which greatly improves the production efficiency. Two cavity openings are set up to save more raw materials.

It is also possible to insert the feed network assembly into the left cavity from the mouth of the left cavity of each layer of cavity, and then move the feed network assembly to the right so that each port extends through the opening into the right cavity of the layer of cavity Among them, the boss 411 is stuck in the opening, and then the insulating dielectric substrate and the conductor housing 100 are fixedly connected by rivets, and finally each first output port is connected to each second input port by a transmission line.

Preferably, the upper and lower feeder network components can exchange positions with each other.

To sum up, the feed network is divided into upper and lower layers, and the upper and lower feed networks are combined into a whole through the transmission line, and then a spatial three-dimensional phase shifter is formed, which includes a main input port, six output ports, upper and lower Layers use dielectric elements made of materials with different permittivity, which simplifies the drive train and gives us the opportunity to design the best possible phase shifter.

When the phase shifter of the present invention is used for an antenna, the signal is input from the first input port to each first output port, and the signal transmitted from each first output port is transmitted to the first output port through the transmission line connected with the first output port. The transmission line is connected to a second input port, and then the signals are respectively transmitted to three second output ports belonging to the same four-port feed network as the second input port, and then transmitted to each second output port. antenna vibrator.

Example 2

The present invention also provides a spatial three-dimensional phase shifter assembly applied to base station antennas, the spatial three-dimensional phase shifter assembly includes the two interconnected spatial three-dimensional phase shifter assemblies described in Embodiment 1, and the two The device components are mirrored left and right. This phase shifter is made up of left space three-dimensional phase shifter 523 and the right space three-dimensional phase shifter 524 that is arranged on the right side of left space three-dimensional phase shifter, before left space three-dimensional phase shifter 523 and right space three-dimensional phase shifter 524, Back, top and bottom flush.

Preferably, the conductor casings of the two spatial shifters are integrally formed and connected to form the shell 521 of the phase shifter assembly.

Preferably, the phase shifter assembly further includes a second connecting portion 525 fixedly connected to the anchors on the upper parts of the two spatial three-dimensional phase shifters. The second connection part 525 can be provided on the conductor housing 521, and the second connection part 525 is a drag board or a drag bar. A guide groove 528 can be provided on the housing 521, and a guide protrusion matching the guide groove 528 can be provided on the second connecting portion 525. When the force is backward, the second connecting portion 525 can be moved back and forth along the guide groove 528. Of course, the guide groove, the pull rod, and the guide protrusion are preferably arranged in parallel. The pull rod is also preferably parallel to the elongated slots of each dielectric element of the dielectric element assembly for easy pulling.

Fig. 5 has shown the structural diagram of the phase shifter of the present application, and it comprises an integrally formed conductor shell 521, is provided with 8 conductor cavities 501,502,504,505,507,508,509, in this conductor shell 521, 510, wherein, 501 and 510 arranged on the left form a pair, the conductor cavity 501 and the conductor cavity 502 jointly form the lower conductor cavity of the left spatial three-dimensional phase shifter, and the conductor cavity 510 and the conductor cavity 509 jointly form the left The upper conductor cavity of the spatial three-dimensional phase shifter; the conductor cavity 504 and the conductor cavity 505 jointly form the lower conductor cavity of the right spatial three-dimensional phase shifter, and the conductor cavity 508 and the conductor cavity 507 jointly form the right spatial three-dimensional phase shifter The upper conductor cavity of the device; the vertical metal wall 503 separates the feed network placed in the left space stereo phase shifter and the feed network placed in the right space stereo phase shifter, this design effectively improves the For the isolation of the system, the horizontal metal wall 506 isolates the upper-layer feed network components from the lower-layer feed network components. Small windows 511, 515 and 517 are three windows located directly above a four-port network of the left spatial stereo phase shifter, and windows 512, 516 and 518 are three windows located directly above a four-port network of the right spatial stereo phase shifter. There are six output ports on the left and right sides of the phaser. The insulating dielectric substrate disposed in the upper conductor cavity can be fixed to the shell by using the explosive rivet penetrating into the fixing hole, and the lower insulating dielectric substrate can also be fixed to the metal shell 521 by the same method. The long window 513 and the long window 514 are respectively the second windows of the left spatial stereo phase shifter and the right spatial stereo phase shifter, and the windows 519 and 520 are respectively the windows A of the left spatial stereo phase shifter and the right spatial stereo phase shifter , the main input port is located in the middle of the upper part of the shell, and the push-pull carriage can slide back and forth along the slender strip windows 526, 527 and the guide groove 528, and then drive the dielectric element assembly arranged in each conductor cavity relative to the ones arranged in the conductor cavity The feed network slides back and forth to change the contact area between the dielectric component assembly and the feed network, thereby adjusting the beam direction.

The metal shell 521 is provided with round holes, and the insulating dielectric substrate is provided with fixing holes corresponding to the round holes, and the insulating dielectric substrate and the conductor casing are fixed together by exploding rivets passing through the round holes and the fixing holes. There can be multiple round holes, and there can also be multiple fixing holes corresponding to each round hole.

In summary, the present invention places the phase shifter feed network in two layers of metal conductor cavities respectively, and then connects the two layers of feed circuits into a whole through a transmission line, and then uses them in different conductor cavity layers Dielectric components with different dielectric constants, so that we can use a transmission system to simultaneously drag the upper and lower dielectric components to move together, thus simplifying the transmission system, otherwise, we need two transmission systems to drive the upper and lower layers separately Dielectric components.

Therefore, the present invention expands phase shifter to three-dimensional structure, has formed a kind of spatial three-dimensional phase shifter, and this phase shifter can reduce 50% of original planar phase shifter width, and the result is that the present invention enables us to Design smaller size electronically tunable antennas, these antennas will no longer use cables, and if this antenna has M radiators, then the beamforming network will have M-1 sub-phase shifters, so we will be able to design high quality antenna pattern.

A second output port of the left spatial stereo phase shifter and a second output port of the right spatial stereo phase shifter are respectively connected to an antenna element.

In addition to the mouth of the shell and the shell, it is better not to have openings in other places to prevent electromagnetic waves from leaking. The horizontal metal wall 506 and the vertical metal wall 503 are also preferably not provided with openings to prevent leakage of electromagnetic waves.

Figure 5-3 and Figure 5-4 are the vertical plane pattern diagrams when the present invention is applied to the base station antenna when the electrical downtilt is 0 degrees and 20 degrees respectively.

The phase shifter is suitable for all frequency bands, especially for the fourth-generation mobile base station antennas in 610-960MHz, 1420-2690MHz and 3300-3900MHz multi-frequency base station antennas and future fifth-generation mobile communication antennas.

The conductor described in the present invention can be made of metal aluminum, aluminum alloy and other materials. A plurality refers to two or more.

In addition, it should be noted that the upper and lower feeding networks of the phase shifter are only relative. In fact, the upper and lower feeding networks can be reversed. Of course, the upper and lower feeding networks of each phase shifter that make up the phase shifter assembly The network is also relative, that is, the upper and lower feed networks of each phase shifter that make up the phase shifter assembly can also be reversed.

But the above-mentioned ones are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and should not limit the scope of the present invention, that is, all simple equivalent changes and Modifications still fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention. In addition, the abstract and the title are only used to assist the search of patent documents, and are not used to limit the scope of rights of the present invention.

Claims (10)

1. A spatial three-dimensional phase shifter applied to base station antennas, characterized in that, it comprises a conductor casing with upper and lower layers of conductor cavities and a feed network assembly located in each layer of conductor cavities, located at The lower-level feed network of the lower-level feed network component includes a first input port and two first output ports; the upper-level feed network of the upper-level feed network component includes two four-port networks, and each four-port network includes three A second output port and a second input port connected to a first output port by a transmission line; the four-port network is a metal conductor strip line provided with a slow wave line or a microstrip line printed with a slow wave line circuit board. 2. The spatial three-dimensional phase shifter according to claim 1, wherein each layer of conductor cavity is integrally formed, and both ends of each layer of conductor cavity are provided with a cavity for allowing the feeder circuit assembly to move in or out, The conductor housing is composed of multilayer conductor cavities or integrally formed of metal conductor profiles; the lower layer feed network is a metal conductor stripline or a printed circuit board with a microstrip line. 3. The spatial three-dimensional phase shifter as claimed in claim 1, wherein the feed network assembly includes a sub-phase shifter assembly for adjusting the beam direction of the base station antenna and a sub-phase shifter assembly for supporting the sub-phase shifter assembly. Insulation assembly, the sub-phase shifter assembly includes a feed network connected to the transmission line and a dielectric element assembly slidingly connected to the feed network; the insulation assembly is an insulating dielectric substrate, and the insulating medium disposed in each layer of conductor cavity The substrate is composed of an insulating dielectric substrate A and an insulating dielectric substrate B arranged in the conductor cavity of the layer, and the insulating dielectric substrate A and the insulating dielectric substrate B arranged in the conductor cavity of the layer are respectively arranged in the layer Above and below the feed network in the conductor cavity. 4. spatial three-dimensional phase shifter as claimed in claim 3, is characterized in that, described insulating medium substrate is made of polypropylene, polyethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, a kind of in poly-4-methylpentene-1 or multiple materials. 5. The spatial three-dimensional phase shifter according to claim 3, wherein the insulating dielectric substrate is made of foam material. 6. The spatial three-dimensional phase shifter according to claim 1, wherein the top of the conductor housing is provided with a window communicating with the upper conductor cavity, and the window includes a window A and two windows B, Each window B includes a first window directly above each second output port of a four-port network and a second window directly above the second input port of the four-port network; wherein, the second window of each window B The window is also located directly above a transmission line connected to the second input port of the four-port network and a first output port connected to the transmission line. 7. The spatial three-dimensional phase shifter as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conductor casing also includes a conductor partition that is provided with an opening in each layer of the conductor cavity, and the conductor partition includes a The upper conductor spacer in the upper conductor cavity and the lower conductor spacer in the lower conductor cavity, the lower conductor spacer is provided with a first opening and two second openings, and the upper conductor spacer is provided with six second openings Three openings and two fourth openings. 8. The spatial three-dimensional phase shifter according to claim 1, wherein the upper and lower feed network components can exchange positions with each other. 9. A phase shifter assembly for a base station antenna, characterized in that the phase shifter assembly comprises two space stereo phase shifters connected to each other according to any one of claims 1-8, and the two space Stereo phase shifters are mirrored left and right. 10. phase shifter assembly as claimed in claim 9, is characterized in that, described spatial three-dimensional phase shifter is the spatial three-dimensional phase shifter described in claim 9, and described phase shifter assembly also comprises respectively and two The anchor on the upper part of the spatial three-dimensional phase shifter is fixedly connected to the second connection part.