CN110120582B - Antenna device - Google Patents

Antenna device Download PDF

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Publication number
CN110120582B
CN110120582B CN201910110306.5A CN201910110306A CN110120582B CN 110120582 B CN110120582 B CN 110120582B CN 201910110306 A CN201910110306 A CN 201910110306A CN 110120582 B CN110120582 B CN 110120582B
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China
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conductive
patches
transmission line
antenna device
substrate
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CN201910110306.5A
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Chinese (zh)
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CN110120582A (en
Inventor
李明鉴
S·石
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Delphi Technologies Inc
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Delphi Technologies Inc
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    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01QANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q1/00Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
    • H01Q1/27Adaptation for use in or on movable bodies
    • H01Q1/32Adaptation for use in or on road or rail vehicles
    • H01Q1/3208Adaptation for use in or on road or rail vehicles characterised by the application wherein the antenna is used
    • H01Q1/3233Adaptation for use in or on road or rail vehicles characterised by the application wherein the antenna is used particular used as part of a sensor or in a security system, e.g. for automotive radar, navigation systems
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01QANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q1/00Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
    • H01Q1/36Structural form of radiating elements, e.g. cone, spiral, umbrella; Particular materials used therewith
    • H01Q1/38Structural form of radiating elements, e.g. cone, spiral, umbrella; Particular materials used therewith formed by a conductive layer on an insulating support
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01QANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q1/00Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
    • H01Q1/50Structural association of antennas with earthing switches, lead-in devices or lightning protectors
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01QANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q1/00Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
    • H01Q1/52Means for reducing coupling between antennas; Means for reducing coupling between an antenna and another structure
    • H01Q1/521Means for reducing coupling between antennas; Means for reducing coupling between an antenna and another structure reducing the coupling between adjacent antennas

Abstract

An illustrative example antenna assembly (20) includes a substrate (22), a transmission line (24) supported on the substrate (22), and a plurality of conductive patches (26) supported on the substrate (22). Each conductive patch has a first end (28) coupled to the transmission line (24) and a second end (30) connected to ground. The plurality of conductive patches (26) are arranged in groups comprising two of the conductive patches (26) facing each other on opposite sides of the transmission line (24).

Description

Antenna device
Cross Reference to Related Applications
This application claims priority from U.S. provisional application No. 62/626961, filed on 6.2.2018, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Technical Field
The present invention relates to an antenna device.
Background
More and more technology is being included on motor vehicles. Radar and lidar sensing devices provide the ability to detect objects near or in the path of a vehicle. Many such devices include a radiating antenna that emits radiation for detection of objects.
While different antenna types have proven useful, they are not without drawbacks or drawbacks. For example, some antennas for short or medium range detection have the ability to cover a wide field of view, but suffer from high losses when the electromagnetic waves radiated from the antenna pass through the dashboard of the vehicle. Such high losses are typically associated with the vertical polarization of the antenna. One attempt to address this problem is to incorporate horizontal polarization. However, a difficulty associated with horizontal polarization is that the impedance bandwidth is typically too narrow to meet production requirements. One method of increasing the impedance bandwidth includes increasing the thickness of the antenna substrate material. A disadvantage associated with this approach is that it increases cost.
Another difficulty associated with some known radar antenna configurations is the occurrence of high frequency ripples due to radiation scattering from nearby antennas, electronic components on the vehicle, and other metallic or dielectric materials in close proximity to the antennas. More complicated is that the ripples in the radiation pattern of each antenna appear at different angles and affect the uniformity of the radiation patterns of all antennas used for radar. The non-uniform radiation pattern significantly reduces the angular search accuracy of the radar system.
Disclosure of Invention
An illustrative example antenna arrangement includes a substrate, a transmission line supported on the substrate, and a plurality of conductive patches (patches) supported on the substrate. Each conductive patch has a first end coupled to the transmission line and a second end coupled to ground. The plurality of conductive patches are arranged in groups comprising two of the conductive patches facing each other on opposite sides of the transmission line.
In example embodiments having one or more features of the antenna arrangement of the preceding paragraph, the conductive patches each have a distance between the first and second ends, and the operating frequency of the antenna arrangement is based on the distance.
In example embodiments having one or more features of the antenna apparatus of the preceding paragraph, the conductive patches each have a first width near the first end, and the radiated power of the conductive patches is each based on the width.
In an example embodiment having one or more features of the antenna device of any of the preceding paragraphs, the conductive patches each have a second width near the second end, and the second width is different from the first width.
In an example embodiment having one or more features of the antenna device of any of the preceding paragraphs, the first width of two of the conductive patches is different from the first width of the other two of the conductive patches.
In an example embodiment having one or more features of the antenna arrangement of any of the preceding paragraphs, two of the conductive patches are closer to the first end of the transmission line; the other two of the conductive patches are closer to the second opposite end of the transmission line; and the first end of the transmission line is coupled to a radiation source.
In example embodiments having one or more features of the antenna device of any of the preceding paragraphs, the radiated power of the conductive patches is based on the second width, respectively.
In an example embodiment having one or more features of the antenna device of any of the preceding paragraphs, the conductive patches are located on one side of the substrate, the substrate includes a ground layer spaced from the one side of the substrate, and the conductive patches each include a plurality of conductive vias coupled to the ground layer.
In an example embodiment having one or more features of the antenna arrangement of any of the preceding paragraphs, a length between the second ends of the conductive patches in each group corresponds to one-half wavelength in a substrate of radiation radiated by the conductive patches.
An example embodiment having one or more features of the antenna device of any of the preceding paragraphs includes a conductive layer proximate the conductive patch and a plurality of conductive vias coupled between the conductive layer and ground.
In an example embodiment having one or more features of the antenna device of any of the preceding paragraphs, the conductive layer includes a plurality of parasitic conductive elements, and each of the parasitic conductive elements is coupled with one of the conductive vias.
In an example embodiment having one or more features of the antenna device of any of the preceding paragraphs, each of the conductive vias is located at a position relative to an edge of one of the coupled parasitic conductive elements and the positions of some of the vias are different from the positions of other vias.
In an example embodiment having one or more features of the antenna device of any of the preceding paragraphs, the parasitic conductive elements coupled to some of the vias are closer to the conductive patch than the parasitic conductive elements coupled to other vias, and respective locations of other vias are closer to a center of the respective coupled parasitic conductive elements than locations of some of the vias.
In an example embodiment having one or more features of the antenna device of any of the preceding paragraphs, the conductive layer is coupled to the second end of the conductive patch, and the conductive layer has a dimension parallel to the transmission line that is at least as long as the transmission line.
In an example embodiment having one or more features of the antenna arrangement of any of the preceding paragraphs, the conductive patch is on one surface of the substrate and the conductive layer is on the one surface of the substrate.
In an example embodiment having one or more features of the antenna arrangement of any of the preceding paragraphs, the transmission line comprises a differential twin line (differential twin line).
An example embodiment having one or more features of the antenna apparatus of any of the preceding paragraphs includes a radiation source providing an unbalanced signal and a transducer coupling the radiation source to the transmission line. The converter balances the unbalanced signal before it propagates along the transmission line.
In an example embodiment having one or more features of the antenna apparatus of any of the preceding paragraphs, the radiation source comprises a substrate-integrated waveguide and the converter comprises a balun.
In an example embodiment having one or more features of the antenna device of any of the preceding paragraphs, the conductive patches each have a geometric configuration and the geometric configurations of the two conductive patches in each group are the same.
Various features and advantages of at least one disclosed example embodiment will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description. The drawings that accompany the detailed description can be briefly described as follows.
Drawings
Figure 1 schematically illustrates an example antenna designed according to an embodiment of this invention.
Figure 2 illustrates selected features of the embodiment of figure 1.
Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 in fig. 2.
Figure 4 schematically illustrates another example antenna configuration designed according to an embodiment of this invention.
Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 in fig. 4.
Figure 6 schematically illustrates another example antenna configuration designed according to an embodiment of this invention.
Detailed Description
Embodiments of the present invention provide an antenna that includes a transmission line and a plurality of conductive patches coupled to the transmission line. With embodiments of the present invention, a wider operating bandwidth and a wider radiation beam width can be achieved in a cost-effective manner, while avoiding undesirable ripple effects.
Fig. 1 shows an antenna arrangement 20 that includes a substrate 22 and a transmission line 24 supported on the substrate 22. A plurality of conductive patches 26 are supported on the substrate 22. Each conductive patch 26 has a first end 28 coupled to transmission line 24 and a second end 30 grounded through a conductive via 32.
In the example shown, transmission line 24 comprises a differential two-wire line, and conductive patches 26 are arranged in groups comprising two conductive patches 26 facing each other on opposite sides of transmission line 24. Each of the plurality of sets 26A-26G includes two of the conductive patches 26 facing each other along the length of the transmission line 24. The conductive patch 26 is a resonator for emitting radiation. The illustrated example includes a radiation source 34 such as a substrate integrated waveguide or microstrip line. This embodiment includes a converter 36, such as a balun, that couples the radiation source 34 to the transmission line 24. The converter 36 balances the unbalanced signal from the radiation source 34 before the signal propagates along the transmission line 24.
As shown in fig. 2, each conductive patch has a first width W1 at the first end 28 and a second width W2 at the second end 30. For each example conductive patch 26, the first width W1 is less than the second width W2. In other embodiments, widths W1 and W2 are equal. In the embodiment of fig. 1, the first width W1 of at least one of the sets of patches 26 is different than the first width W1' of at least another of the sets of conductive patches 26. As shown in fig. 1, this example embodiment includes a different first width W1 for each set of conductive patches 26. In this example, the first width W1 becomes progressively larger as the groups 26A-26G are spaced further from the radiation source 34.
The different first widths W1 provide different resonant powers for different sets of conductive patches. The conductive patch sets 26C, 26D, 26E, 26F and 26G have a first width W1 that gradually increases to provide power along the cone of radiation of the antenna arrangement 20.
Each conductive patch 26 includes a distance D between a first end 28 and a second end 30. The distance D determines or controls the operating frequency of the antenna device. Those skilled in the art who have the benefit of this description will be able to select an appropriate distance D to achieve an operating frequency that meets their particular needs.
The length L between the second ends 30 of each set of conductive patches 26 corresponds to about one-half wavelength of radiation in the substrate radiated by the conductive patches 26.
In the illustrated example, the particular shape and arrangement of the conductive patches 26 achieves the desired antenna performance for a radar detection system useful, for example, on an automotive vehicle. Other conductive patch shapes and arrangements are possible and those skilled in the art who have the benefit of this description will understand how to construct multiple conductive patches having similar characteristics as those of the example conductive patch to achieve the desired antenna performance that will meet their particular needs.
As shown in fig. 3, conductive vias 32 couple second ends 30 of conductive patches 26 to ground layer 40 on the opposite side of substrate 22 as compared to the side of substrate 22 supporting conductive patches 26.
Fig. 4 shows an example embodiment that includes a conductive layer 42 on the same side of the substrate 22 as the conductive patch 26. In this example, the conductive layer 42 includes a plurality of parasitic conductive elements 44 supported on the substrate 22. Parasitic conductive element 44 is disposed along substrate 22 such that conductive layer 42 extends along the entire length of transmission line 24. The parasitic conductive element 44 serves to suppress ripples that would otherwise be associated with radiation from the conductive patch 26.
The conductive layer 42 created by the conductive parasitic element 44 radiates signal energy away from the substrate to avoid further propagation of such energy along the substrate in a manner that would otherwise cause interference with other antennas. The conductive parasitic element 44 effectively eliminates energy radiated through the substrate 22, which reduces or avoids ripple and interference between multiple antennas located near each other.
Each parasitic element 44 includes a respective conductive via 46 that couples the parasitic element 44 to the ground plane 40. Fig. 5 illustrates how the conductive vias 46 are located within or along the respective coupled parasitic conductive elements 44. As can be appreciated from fig. 4 and 5, conductive parasitic element 44A is closer to conductive patch 26G than conductive parasitic elements 44B, 44C, and 44D. The location of the respective conductive via 46 varies depending on the distance between the conductive patch 26 and the corresponding parasitic conductive element 44.
Conductive via 46A associated with conductive parasitic element 44A is closer to one edge 50A of conductive parasitic element 44A than its opposite edge 52A. As the conductive parasitic element 44 is located progressively further away from the conductive patch 26, the corresponding via 46 is located closer to the center of the coupled parasitic conductive element 44. In this example, conductive via 46D is approximately centered between edges 50D and 52D of conductive parasitic element 44D. The different conductive via locations relative to the coupled parasitic conductive element 44 account for the fact that power is attenuated as it moves along the substrate 22 in a direction away from the conductive patch 26. In the example of fig. 5, conductive parasitic element 44D experiences lower radiated power than conductive parasitic elements 44A and 44B, with respective conductive vias 46A and 46B of conductive parasitic elements 44A and 44B being closer to edge 50 facing conductive patch 26G.
Fig. 6 illustrates another example embodiment, in which the conductive layer 42 is a continuous layer of conductive material supported on the same side of the substrate 22 that supports the conductive patch 26.
For any of the exemplary embodiments, the radiated power of the antenna assembly 20 may be controlled by selecting the widths W1 and W2 of the conductive patch 26. The use of different widths along the transmission line 24 allows for control of the power distribution along the antenna arrangement 20. The inclusion of the conductive layer 42 reduces or avoids moire effects. For any of the example embodiments, it is possible to achieve a wider operating bandwidth and radiation beamwidth while using a relatively thin substrate layer, which provides a cost-effective and efficient antenna.
Although different embodiments having visually different features are illustrated, the features are not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed above. Other combinations of these features enable other embodiments.
The preceding description is illustrative rather than limiting in nature. Variations and modifications to the disclosed example embodiments may become apparent to those skilled in the art that do not necessarily depart from the essence of this invention. The scope of legal protection given to this invention can only be determined by studying the following claims.

Claims (15)

1. An antenna arrangement (20) comprising:
a substrate (22);
a transmission line (24), the transmission line (24) supported on the substrate (22);
a plurality of conductive patches (26) supported on the substrate (22), each conductive patch having a first end (28) coupled to the transmission line (24) and a second end (30) connected to ground, the plurality of conductive patches (26) arranged in groups including two conductive patches (26) facing each other on opposite sides of the transmission line (24),
a conductive layer (42), the conductive layer (42) being in proximity to the conductive patch (26), the conductive layer (42) including a plurality of parasitic conductive elements (44); and
a plurality of conductive vias (46), the plurality of conductive vias (46) coupled between the conductive layer (42) and ground, each of the parasitic conductive elements (44) coupled with one of the conductive vias (46);
wherein the conductive patches (26) each have a first width (W1) near the first ends (28);
the conductive patches (26) each having a second width (W2) near the second ends (30);
the second width (W2) is different from the first width (W1); and
the radiated power of the conductive patches (26) being based at least in part on the first widths (W1), respectively,
each of the conductive vias is located relative to an edge of one of the coupled parasitic conductive elements (44); and
the locations of some of the conductive vias are different from the locations of other of the conductive vias.
2. The antenna device (20) of claim 1,
the conductive patches (26) each having a distance between the first end (28) and the second end (30); and
the operating frequency of the antenna arrangement (20) is based on the distance.
3. The antenna device (20) of claim 1, wherein the first width of two of the conductive patches (26) is different from the first width of the other two of the conductive patches (26).
4. The antenna device (20) of claim 3,
the two of the conductive patches (26) being closer to a first end (28) of the transmission line (24);
the other two of the conductive patches (26) being closer to second opposite ends of the transmission line (24); and
the first end (28) of the transmission line (24) is coupled to a radiation source (34).
5. The antenna device (20) of claim 1, wherein the radiated power of the conductive patches (26) is based on the second widths, respectively.
6. The antenna device (20) of claim 1,
the conductive patch (26) is located on one side of the substrate (22);
said substrate (22) including a ground plane (40) spaced from said one side of said substrate (22); and
the conductive patches (26) each include a plurality of conductive vias (46) coupled to the ground layer (40).
7. The antenna device (20) of claim 1, wherein the length between the second ends (30) of the conductive patches (26) in each group corresponds to the 1/2 wavelength radiated in the substrate (22) by the conductive patches (26).
8. The antenna device (20) of claim 1,
the parasitic conductive element (44) coupled to some of the conductive vias is closer to the conductive patch (26) than the parasitic conductive element (44) coupled to other of the conductive vias; and
the corresponding locations of the other of the conductive vias are closer to the center of the corresponding coupled parasitic conductive element (44) than the locations of the some of the conductive vias.
9. The antenna device (20) of claim 1,
the conductive layer (42) is coupled to the second end (30) of the conductive patch (26); and
the conductive layer (42) has a dimension parallel to the transmission line (24) that is at least as long as the transmission line (24).
10. The antenna device (20) of claim 1,
said conductive patch (26) being on one surface of said substrate (22); and
the conductive layer (42) is on the one surface of the substrate (22).
11. The antenna device (20) of claim 1, wherein the conductive layer (42) comprises a continuous layer of conductive material.
12. The antenna device (20) according to claim 1, wherein the transmission line (24) comprises a differential twin line.
13. The antenna device (20) of claim 1, comprising
A radiation source (34), the radiation source (34) providing an unbalanced signal; and
a converter (36), the converter (36) coupling the radiation source to the transmission line (24), the converter (36) balancing the unbalanced signal before the signal propagates along the transmission line (24).
14. The antenna device (20) of claim 13,
the radiation source (34) comprises a substrate (22) integrated waveguide; and
the converter (36) comprises a balun.
15. The antenna device (20) of claim 1,
the conductive patches (26) each have a geometric configuration; and
the geometric configurations of the two conductive patches (26) in each set are identical.
CN201910110306.5A 2018-02-06 2019-02-11 Antenna device Active CN110120582B (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US201862626961P 2018-02-06 2018-02-06
US62/626,961 2018-02-06

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CN110120582A CN110120582A (en) 2019-08-13
CN110120582B true CN110120582B (en) 2022-03-11

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