CN111063997A

CN111063997A - Array antenna

Info

Publication number: CN111063997A
Application number: CN201911417972.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘培涛; 李明超; 陈礼涛; 王钦源; 游建军
Original assignee: Comba Telecom Technology Guangzhou Ltd
Current assignee: Comba Telecom Technology Guangzhou Ltd
Priority date: 2019-12-31
Filing date: 2019-12-31
Publication date: 2020-04-24
Also published as: WO2021135266A1; EP4087057A1; EP4087057A4

Abstract

The invention relates to an array antenna which comprises an antenna oscillator module, a shielding cavity and a dielectric filter module. The feed network circuit layer can be formed on the surface of the dielectric substrate in a coating mode and the like. Therefore, it is equivalent to integrate the feeding network and the radiating element in the conventional antenna on the dielectric substrate. During assembly, operations such as feed network welding, screw connection and the like are not needed, and the structure is simplified. Furthermore, the shielding cavity provides shielding effect for the dielectric filter module accommodated inside, so that the matching of the plurality of dielectric filter modules and the shielding cavity can be equivalent to the function of a plurality of traditional dielectric filters. Moreover, at least two dielectric filter modules are accommodated in each shielding cavity, so that the number of the shielding cavities can be far less than that of the dielectric filter modules. Compared with the traditional mode of directly installing the dielectric filter, more metal shielding cavities can be omitted. Therefore, the array antenna can be reduced in weight.

Description

Array antenna

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of mobile communication, in particular to an array antenna.

Background

The 5G mobile communication technology has been developed with a certain technical accumulation over several years. The 5G antenna generally adopts a large-scale array antenna with multiple signal channels, so the number of corresponding components, such as radio frequency components and radiating elements, is further increased. At present, the mainstream 5G large-scale array antenna mainly uses a metal plate, a die casting or a PCB oscillator as a radiation unit and is assisted by a PCB for feeding. In addition, additional radio frequency components such as filters are welded on the back of the antenna to achieve corresponding antenna indexes.

Several necessary components of the existing antenna are generally assembled separately and finally assembled into a whole machine through screws and rivets. Because of the numerous elements of the array antenna, the conventional antenna assembly method is not only complex in assembly, but also results in large volume and heavy weight of the whole antenna.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of this, it is necessary to provide an array antenna that can achieve weight reduction.

An array antenna, comprising:

the antenna oscillator module comprises a dielectric substrate, a feed network circuit layer formed on the surface of the dielectric substrate and a plurality of radiating units arranged on one side of the dielectric substrate and fed by the feed network circuit layer;

the shielding cavity is formed on one side, back to the radiation unit, of the medium substrate; and

the dielectric filter modules are arranged in the shielding cavity, at least two dielectric filter modules are accommodated in each shielding cavity, and the output end of each dielectric filter module is electrically connected with the feed network circuit layer.

In one embodiment, the dielectric substrate includes a feed substrate and a radiation substrate located on one side of the feed substrate and integrally formed with the feed substrate, the feed network circuit layer is formed on a surface of the feed substrate, and a metal layer is coated on a surface of the radiation substrate to form the radiation unit.

In one embodiment, the feed network circuit layer is positioned on the surface of the feed substrate, which faces away from the radiating element;

or, the feed network circuit layer is located on the surface of the feed substrate facing the radiation unit.

In one embodiment, the power supply further comprises a circuit board, a plurality of dielectric filter modules are integrated on the circuit board, and output ends of the plurality of dielectric filter modules are electrically connected with the feed network circuit layer through the circuit board.

In one embodiment, the two opposite sides of the circuit board are respectively provided with a radio frequency connector and a feed pin corresponding to the plurality of dielectric filter modules one to one, the feed network circuit layer is formed with a feed hole, and the feed pin is inserted into the feed hole to electrically connect the plurality of dielectric filter modules with the feed network circuit layer.

In one embodiment, the radiation unit further comprises a reflecting plate attached to one side of the medium substrate, which faces away from the radiation unit.

In one embodiment, the surface of the medium substrate facing the reflecting plate is formed with raised ribs, and the ribs are abutted with the reflecting plate.

In one embodiment, the antenna element module further comprises a shielding cover with an opening at one side, wherein the shielding cover is arranged on the surface of the reflection plate, which faces away from the antenna element module, and is matched with the reflection plate to form the shielding cavity.

In one embodiment, the end face of the opening of the shielding case is coated with conductive adhesive.

In one embodiment, the inner wall of the shielding case is provided with conductive foam abutted with the dielectric filter module.

In the array antenna, the feed network circuit layer can be formed on the surface of the dielectric substrate in a coating mode and the like. Therefore, it is equivalent to integrate the feeding network and the radiating element in the conventional antenna on the dielectric substrate. During assembly, operations such as feed network welding, screw connection and the like are not needed, and the structure is simplified. Furthermore, the shielding cavity provides shielding effect for the dielectric filter module accommodated inside, so that the matching of the plurality of dielectric filter modules and the shielding cavity can be equivalent to the function of a plurality of traditional dielectric filters. Moreover, at least two dielectric filter modules are accommodated in each shielding cavity, so that the number of the shielding cavities can be far less than that of the dielectric filter modules. Compared with the traditional mode of directly installing the dielectric filter, more metal shielding cavities can be omitted. Therefore, the array antenna can be reduced in weight.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an array antenna according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of one of the angles of the array antenna of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the array antenna of FIG. 1 at another angle;

fig. 4 is a schematic view of the structure of one of the surfaces of an antenna element module according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic structural view of another surface of the antenna element module shown in fig. 4;

fig. 6 is a schematic view of the structure of one of the surfaces of an antenna element module according to another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a shielding case in the array antenna shown in fig. 1.

Detailed Description

To facilitate an understanding of the invention, the invention will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown in the drawings. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "secured to" another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. When an element is referred to as being "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or intervening elements may also be present. The terms "vertical," "horizontal," "left," "right," and the like as used herein are for illustrative purposes only.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The terminology used in the description of the invention herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

Referring to fig. 1, 2 and 3, the array antenna 10 in the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes an antenna element module 100, a shielding cavity 200 and a dielectric filter module 300.

Referring to fig. 4 and 5, the antenna element module 100 includes a dielectric substrate 110, a feeding network circuit layer 120, and a radiation unit 130. The antenna element module 100 generally has a plurality of signal paths. For example, 32 channels, 64 channels are common. Each signal path contains at least one radiating element 130. As shown in fig. 2 and fig. 3, in the present embodiment, the number of the radiation units 130 is 96, and each signal channel includes 3 radiation units 130. Thus, the array antenna 10 is a 32-channel antenna.

The dielectric substrate 110 is an integrally formed structure, and the material thereof may be plastic, resin, or the like. Typically, the dielectric substrate 110 is integrally formed by injection molding. The feeding network circuit layer 120 is formed on the surface of the dielectric substrate 110. The feed network circuit layer 120 may integrate functional circuits such as a power dividing circuit and a filter circuit, and may be used to feed the radiation unit 120, so that it is equivalent to a conventional feed network. Specifically, the feeding network circuit layer 120 may be formed on the surface of the dielectric substrate 110 by surface metal forming such as selective plating and LDS (laser direct structuring), and the material thereof may be a good conductor such as copper and silver.

The radiation unit 130 is used for receiving and radiating electromagnetic wave signals, and generally adopts a dual-polarized radiation unit. The radiation unit 130 is disposed on one side of the dielectric substrate 110 and is fed by the feeding network circuit layer 120. The feeding network circuit layer 120 may directly feed the radiation unit 130, or may couple the radiation unit to feed the radiation unit. Specifically, when the feeding network circuit layer 120 is formed, the feeding structure circuit layer 140 may also be formed on the dielectric substrate 110, and the feeding structure circuit layer 140 is supported by the dielectric substrate 110 and is equivalent to a conventional feeding balun and a feeding post.

Each array antenna 10 may only include one antenna element module 100, i.e., a plurality of radiating elements 130 are disposed on the same dielectric substrate 110; a plurality of antenna element modules 100 may also be included, that is, a plurality of radiating elements 130 are disposed on different dielectric substrates 110 and then spliced together. As shown in fig. 2 and fig. 3, in the present embodiment, each array antenna 10 includes 8 antenna element modules 100, and each dielectric substrate 110 is provided with 12 radiating elements 130. The 8 dielectric substrates 110 are spliced together to form the antenna element module 100 having 96 radiating elements 130.

The radiating element 130 may be in the form of a metal resonator structure, a PCB resonator structure, a plastic metalized resonator, a metal laminate structure, and the like. Referring to fig. 4 and 5 again, in an embodiment, the dielectric substrate 110 includes a feeding substrate 111 and a radiating substrate 113 located at one side of the feeding substrate 111 and integrally formed with the feeding substrate 111. The feeding network circuit layer 120 is formed on the surface of the feeding substrate 111, and a metal layer (not shown) is coated on the surface of the radiating substrate 113 to form the radiating element 130.

Specifically, the metal layer can be formed by selectively plating, LDS (laser direct structuring) or other surface metal forming methods. The radiation substrate 113 supports the metal layer and constitutes the radiation unit 130 together with the metal layer. In this case, the radiation unit 130 and the dielectric substrate 110 are integrated. That is, the conventional radiating element and the feeding network can be integrated on the dielectric substrate 110, so that the structure of the antenna element module 100 can be simplified, and the volume and mass thereof can be significantly reduced.

The radiation substrate 113 may be a hollow columnar protrusion formed by a partial depression of the feed substrate 111. The metal layer forming the radiation unit 130 is attached to the outer surface of the stud bump. In particular, the hollow cylindrical protrusion may be cubic or cylindrical, i.e. it has a rectangular or circular cross-section. The feeding structure circuit layer 140 may be supported by an inner wall of the stud bump, and extend along the inner wall toward the radiating element 130. The supporting structure of the radiation unit 130 is formed by making a local recess on the feeding substrate 111, so that the structure of the dielectric substrate 110 is more reasonable, and the injection molding yield is better.

Further, the feeding network circuit layer 120 may be located on the same side of the dielectric substrate 110 as the radiating unit 130, or may be located on two different sides. As shown in fig. 4 and 5, in one embodiment, the feeding network circuit layer 120 is located on a surface of the feeding substrate 111 facing away from the radiating element 130. At this time, the feeding network line layer 120 may be integrally formed with the feeding structure line layer 140.

As shown in fig. 6, in another embodiment, the feeding network circuit layer 120 is located on the surface of the feeding substrate 111 facing the radiating element 130. At this time, the feed network circuit layer 120 and the feed structure circuit layer 140 may be electrically connected by forming a metalized via.

Referring to fig. 1 to 3 again, the shielding cavity 200 is formed on a side of the dielectric substrate 110 opposite to the radiation unit 130. The shielding cavity 200 may be a closed cavity structure installed on one side of the dielectric substrate 110 by welding, screwing, or the like; or a cavity structure with shielding function, which is formed integrally with the dielectric substrate 110 and is obtained by surface metallization; or may be a semi-enclosed structure that forms an enclosed cavity by cooperating with the dielectric substrate 110. The shielding cavity 200 can function as an electrostatic shield, and is equivalent to a metal shielding cavity of a conventional dielectric filter.

In this embodiment, the array antenna 10 further includes a reflective plate 500, and the reflective plate 500 is attached to a side of the dielectric substrate 110 facing away from the radiation unit 130.

Specifically, the reflective plate 500 is generally a metal reflective plate, and can reflect the electromagnetic wave signal for multiple times, so as to enhance the efficiency of transmitting and receiving the signal by the radiation unit 130. The surface profile of the reflective plate 500 is generally substantially the same as the surface profile of the dielectric substrate 110, and the surfaces of the two are disposed opposite to each other. The reflection plate 500 may be installed with the dielectric substrate 110 by screwing, welding, or the like.

Referring to fig. 6 again, in one embodiment, the surface of the dielectric substrate 110 facing the reflective plate 500 is formed with a protruding rib 1112, and the rib 1112 is abutted against the reflective plate 500.

Specifically, the rib 1112 is formed on the feed substrate 111. The ribs 1112 may be annularly distributed on the surface of the feed substrate 111, or may extend linearly on the surface of the feed substrate 111. In one aspect, the ribs 1112 can serve to reinforce the mechanical strength of the feed substrate 111. On the other hand, the ribs 1112 may support the reflection plate 500, thereby maintaining a stable gap between the reflection plate 500 and the feed substrate 111. When the feeding network circuit layer 120 is located on the side of the feeding substrate 111 facing away from the radiating element 130, the feeding network circuit layer 120 can be ensured to be isolated from the reflecting plate 500.

Further, in this embodiment, the array antenna 10 further includes a shielding cover 600 with an opening on one side, and the shielding cover 600 is disposed on a surface of the reflection plate 500 facing away from the antenna element module 100 and cooperates with the reflection plate 500 to form the shielding cavity 200.

Specifically, the shield case 600 may have a cubic shape with one side opened, a hemispherical shape, a semi-cylindrical shape, or the like. The shield can 600 may be directly molded from a metal material; or the surface of the dielectric material can be metalized after the dielectric material is molded. The shield case 600 is fastened to the reflection plate 500 by a screw. At this time, the reflective plate 500 serves as one sidewall of the shield cavity 200. Therefore, the shielding case 600 can omit a side wall compared with the conventional metal shielding cavity, so that the weight can be further reduced.

Referring to fig. 7, in the present embodiment, an end surface of the opening of the shielding can 600 is covered with a conductive adhesive 610. The conductive paste 610 may make the edge of the opening of the shield can 600 contact well, thereby ensuring the shielding effect of the shielding cavity 200.

The dielectric filter module 300 is equivalent to a filter body structure of a conventional dielectric filter with a metal shielding cavity omitted. The number of the dielectric filter modules 300 is plural, and an output terminal of each dielectric filter module 300 is electrically connected to the feed network circuit layer 120. The dielectric filter module 300 is used for filtering the electromagnetic wave signal received or radiated by each radiation unit 130. Accordingly, the dielectric filter module 300 corresponds to the number of signal channels of the array antenna 10. For example, if the array antenna 10 shown in fig. 1 has 32 signal channels, the number of the dielectric filter modules 300 is 32.

Further, a plurality of dielectric filter modules 300 are disposed in the shielding cavity 200, and at least two dielectric filter modules 300 are accommodated in each shielding cavity 200. One or more shielded cavities 200 may be included in each array antenna 10, depending on the size of the antenna. For example, the array antenna 10 shown in fig. 1 includes two shielded cavities 200, and each shielded cavity 200 accommodates 16 filter modules 300 therein.

That is, one shielding cavity 200 may provide electrostatic shielding effect to a plurality of dielectric filter modules 300, so the number of shielding cavities 200 may be much smaller than the number of dielectric filter modules 300. In the conventional technology, 32 filters are required to be installed for a 32-channel antenna, and each filter has a metal shielding cavity. In the present embodiment, only two shielding cavities 200 need to be provided for the 32-channel array antenna 10. Therefore, the array antenna 100 can omit more metal shielding cavities compared with the conventional manner, thereby simplifying the installation operation and reducing the mass.

Referring to fig. 7 again, in the present embodiment, the inner wall of the shielding can 600 is provided with a conductive foam 620 abutting against the dielectric filter module 300.

The conductive foam 620 may extend along the length of the shield can 600 to cover all of the dielectric filter modules 300 within the shielded cavity 200. Therefore, the conductive foam 620 can connect the shield case 600 to the surface of each dielectric filter module 300, and make each dielectric filter module 300 well grounded, thereby suppressing high-frequency noise caused by surface current radiation.

In this embodiment, the array antenna 10 further includes a circuit board 400, the plurality of dielectric filter modules 300 are integrated on the circuit board 400, and the output ends of the plurality of dielectric filter modules 300 are electrically connected to the feeding network circuit layer 120 through the circuit board 400.

The plurality of dielectric filter modules 300 may be positioned and soldered on the circuit board 400, and then the circuit board 400 integrated with the dielectric filter modules 300 is connected to the feed network circuit layer 120 as a whole. Therefore, it is only necessary to align the entire circuit board 400 with the feeder network circuit layer 12, and it is not necessary to repeatedly reposition each dielectric filter module 300, so that the assembly is more convenient. The number of the circuit boards 400 may be the same as that of the shielding cavities 200, and all the dielectric filter modules 300 may also be integrated on the same circuit board 400.

The array antenna 10 shown in fig. 1 to 3 is provided with 2 circuit boards 400, and 16 dielectric filter modules 300 are integrated on each circuit board 400. The shielding cavities 200 press the corresponding circuit board 400 against the reflection plate 500.

Further, in the present embodiment, two opposite sides of the circuit board 400 are respectively provided with the rf connector 410 and the feeding pin 420, and the rf connector 410 and the feeding pin 420 correspond to the plurality of dielectric filter modules 300 one to one. The feeding network line layer 120 is formed with a feeding hole (not shown) into which the feeding pin 420 is inserted to electrically connect the plurality of dielectric filter modules 300 with the feeding network line layer 120.

Specifically, the rf connector 410 and the feeding pin 420 are respectively connected to the input end and the output end of the corresponding dielectric filter module 300. The feed holes on the feed network line layer 120 may be metalized vias, which may be conductive. Also, the position of the feeding hole corresponds to the position of the feeding pin 420. The reflection plate 500 is provided with a position-avoiding hole (not shown) for avoiding the position of the feeding pin 420. During assembly, the feeding pins 420 are inserted into the corresponding feeding holes, so that the positioning and installation of the circuit board 400 can be rapidly realized, and the assembly is more convenient.

The rf connector 410 may be mated with a coaxial feeder jack to facilitate the physical connection of the dielectric filter module 300 to a signal transceiver of a base station. The rf connector 410 generally extends out of the shielding cavity 200, and a through hole 210 is formed in a sidewall of the shielding cavity 200 for the rf connector 410 to pass through.

In the array antenna 10, the feeding network circuit layer 120 may be formed on the surface of the dielectric substrate 110 by plating. Therefore, it is equivalent to integrate the feeding network and the radiating element 130 in the conventional antenna on the dielectric substrate 110. During assembly, operations such as feed network welding, screw connection and the like are not needed, and the structure is simplified. Further, the shielding cavity 200 provides shielding function for the dielectric filter modules 300 accommodated inside, so that the plurality of dielectric filter modules 300 and the shielding cavity 200 can be functionally equivalent to a plurality of conventional dielectric filters. Furthermore, at least two dielectric filter modules 300 are accommodated in each shielding cavity 200, so the number of shielding cavities 200 can be much smaller than the number of dielectric filter modules 300. Compared with the traditional mode of directly installing the dielectric filter, more metal shielding cavities can be omitted. Therefore, the array antenna 10 can be reduced in weight.

The technical features of the embodiments described above may be arbitrarily combined, and for the sake of brevity, all possible combinations of the technical features in the embodiments described above are not described, but should be considered as being within the scope of the present specification as long as there is no contradiction between the combinations of the technical features.

The above-mentioned embodiments only express several embodiments of the present invention, and the description thereof is more specific and detailed, but not construed as limiting the scope of the invention. It should be noted that, for a person skilled in the art, several variations and modifications can be made without departing from the inventive concept, which falls within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present patent shall be subject to the appended claims.

Claims

1. An array antenna, comprising:

2. The array antenna of claim 1, wherein the dielectric substrate includes a feeding substrate and a radiating substrate located at one side of the feeding substrate and integrally formed with the feeding substrate, the feeding network circuit layer is formed on a surface of the feeding substrate, and a metal layer is coated on a surface of the radiating substrate to form the radiating element.

3. The array antenna of claim 2, wherein the feed network circuit layer is located on a surface of the feed substrate facing away from the radiating element;

4. The array antenna of claim 1, further comprising a circuit board, wherein a plurality of the dielectric filter modules are integrated on the circuit board, and wherein output terminals of the plurality of the dielectric filter modules are electrically connected to the feed network circuit layer through the circuit board.

5. The array antenna of claim 4, wherein the circuit board is provided with a radio frequency connector and a feeding pin on opposite sides thereof, the radio frequency connector and the feeding pin corresponding to the plurality of dielectric filter modules one to one, the feeding network circuit layer is formed with a feeding hole, and the feeding pin is inserted into the feeding hole to electrically connect the plurality of dielectric filter modules and the feeding network circuit layer.

6. The array antenna of claim 1, further comprising a reflector plate attached to a side of the dielectric substrate facing away from the radiating element.

7. The array antenna of claim 6, wherein the surface of the dielectric substrate facing the reflector plate is formed with raised ribs, and the ribs abut against the reflector plate.

8. The array antenna of claim 6, further comprising a shielding cover with an opening at one side, wherein the shielding cover is disposed on a surface of the reflection plate facing away from the antenna element module and cooperates with the reflection plate to form the shielding cavity.

9. The array antenna of claim 8, wherein the end face of the shield opening is coated with a conductive adhesive.

10. The array antenna of claim 8, wherein the inner wall of the shield is provided with a conductive foam abutting the dielectric filter module.