CN113036436B - Miniaturized reconfigurable beam forming network architecture - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of wireless communication, in particular to a miniaturized and reconfigurable beam forming network architecture. The technical solution includes a first-level electric bridge and a second-level electric bridge. It includes a second electric bridge and a third electric bridge that are the same as the first electric bridge. The left two ports of the second electric bridge and the third electric bridge are respectively connected with a first phase shifter and a second phase shifter. The two ports on the right side of the first bridge are respectively connected to the first phase shifter and the second phase shifter through the first SPDT switch and the second SPDT switch; the first bridge is the output The phase difference adjustable bridge, the first phase shifter and the second phase shifter are adjustable differential phase shifters, using the reconfigurable characteristics of the adjustable bridge and the adjustable phase shifter, it is one of the output ports. The phase difference between them can be adjusted arbitrarily, and only three bridges need to be used, which reduces the size of the network architecture on the one hand, and simplifies the complexity of the network architecture on the other hand.

Description

A Miniaturized Reconfigurable Beamforming Network Architecture

technical field

The invention belongs to the field of wireless communication, and in particular relates to a miniaturized reconfigurable beam forming network architecture.

Background technique

The multi-beam antenna is mainly composed of an antenna array and a beam-forming network. The beam-forming network is a key component for antenna beam scanning. The traditional beam-forming network includes Butler Matrix, Nolen Matrix, lens antenna, etc., which have the characteristics of simple structure and low cost. , but the traditional passive beamforming network can only generate a few fixed output phase differences, the corresponding array antenna beams are fixed and can only be switched between a limited number of antenna beams, and the antenna beams cannot be continuously scanned.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a miniaturized reconfigurable beamforming network architecture to solve the above problems, including a first-level bridge and a second-level bridge, the first-level bridge includes a first bridge, and the second-level bridge includes The second electric bridge and the third electric bridge are the same as the first electric bridge, and the left two ports of the second electric bridge and the third electric bridge are respectively connected with a first phase shifter and a second phase shifter , the two ports on the right side of the first bridge are respectively connected with the first phase shifter and the second phase shifter through the first SPDT switch and the second SPDT switch; the first bridge is The output phase difference adjustable bridge, the first phase shifter and the second phase shifter are adjustable differential phase shifters.

Preferably, the moving terminal of the first SPDT switch is connected to the upper port on the right side of the first electric bridge, and the non-moving terminal of the first SPDT switch is respectively connected to the two ports on the left side of the second electric bridge.

Preferably, the movable end of the second SPDT switch is connected to the lower port on the right side of the first electric bridge, and the stationary end of the second SPDT switch is respectively connected to the two ports on the left side of the third electric bridge.

Preferably, the upper left port of the second electric bridge and the lower left port of the third electric bridge are respectively connected with a first phase shifter.

Preferably, the lower left port of the second electric bridge and the upper left port of the third electric bridge are respectively connected with second phase shifters.

Preferably, the first bridge is a single-band adjustable output phase difference bridge, and the first phase shifter and the second phase shifter are single-band adjustable differential phase shifters.

Preferably, the first bridge is a dual-band output phase difference adjustable bridge, and the first phase shifter and the second phase shifter are dual-band adjustable differential phase shifters.

Preferably, the first SPDT switch and the second SPDT switch are both electronic SPDT switches.

The invention has the following beneficial effects: providing a miniaturized reconfigurable beamforming network architecture, utilizing the reconfigurable characteristics of an adjustable bridge and an adjustable phase shifter, so that the phase difference between the output ports can be adjusted arbitrarily, Only three bridges need to be used, which reduces the size of the network architecture on the one hand, and simplifies the complexity of the network architecture on the other hand.

Description of drawings

1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture in an embodiment of the present invention;

1-first bridge; 2-second bridge; 3-third bridge; 4-first SPDT switch; 5-second SPDT switch.

Detailed ways

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, but not all of the embodiments. Unless otherwise specified, the technical means used in the examples are conventional means well known to those skilled in the art.

In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "portrait", "horizontal", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", The orientation or positional relationship indicated by "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and is only for the convenience of describing the present invention, rather than indicating or It is implied that the device or element referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operate in a particular orientation, and therefore should not be construed as limiting the invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, a miniaturized reconfigurable beamforming network architecture includes a first-level bridge and a second-level bridge, the first-level bridge includes a first bridge 1, and the second-level bridge includes a 1 The same second bridge 2, third bridge 3, the left two ports of the second bridge 2 and the third bridge 3 are respectively connected with a first phase shifter and a second phase shifter. The two ports on the right side of the bridge 1 are respectively connected to the first phase shifter and the second phase shifter through the first SPDT switch 4 and the second SPDT switch 5; the first bridge 1 is an output phase difference adjustable power supply The bridge, the first phase shifter and the second phase shifter are adjustable differential phase shifters, wherein the phase difference adjustable bridge and the adjustable differential phase shifter adopt the prior art, which will not be described in detail.

The description about the orientation of each electric bridge is defined according to the structure shown in the figure. The first electric bridge 1 is located on the left side, the second electric bridge 2 and the third electric bridge 3 are located on the right side, and the corresponding upper and lower definitions are also based on this. For each bridge, it includes input port, isolation port, through port and coupling port, wherein the input port and isolation port are defined based on the signal input, for example, the signal is input from the upper left port of the first bridge 1, Then the lower port on the left side of the first electric bridge 1 is the isolation port, the upper port on the right side of the first electric bridge 1 is the straight-through port, and the lower port on the right side of the first electric bridge 1 is the coupling port, that is to say, the first electric bridge 1 is the coupling port. 1 The two ports on the left can be used as input ports, while the two ports on the right are output ports, which can be directly connected to the antenna. When using, add a matching load to the isolation port and ground the SPDT switch to reduce noise. .

Define the two upper and lower ports on the right side of the second bridge 2 as the first output port and the second output port respectively, and the two upper and lower ports on the right side of the third bridge 3 as the third output port and the fourth output port respectively; The first phase shifter and the second phase shifter are used as two paths to form a differential phase shifter, and the second phase shifter is used as a reference of the first phase shifter.

As a preferred solution, the moving end of the first SPDT switch 4 is connected to the upper port on the right side of the first bridge 1 , and the stationary end of the first SPDT switch 4 is connected to the two left ports of the second bridge 2 respectively.

As a preferred solution, the moving end of the second SPDT switch 5 is connected to the lower right port of the first bridge 1 , and the stationary end of the second SPDT switch 5 is connected to the left two ports of the third bridge 3 respectively.

As a preferred solution, the upper left port of the second electric bridge 2 and the lower left port of the third electric bridge 3 are respectively connected with the first phase shifter.

As a preferred solution, the lower left port of the second electric bridge 2 and the upper left port of the third electric bridge 3 are respectively connected with second phase shifters.

In the above beamforming network architecture, the output phase difference of the first bridge 1 is φ, the first phase shifter and the second phase shifter can generate the phase difference of the θ output, when the signal is input from the upper left port of the first bridge 1 , the first SPDT switch 4 and the second SPDT switch 5 are connected upward, that is, they are connected to the first phase shifter and the second phase shifter respectively, and the signal is divided into two channels after passing through the first bridge 1. The phase difference generated by the moving terminals of the single-pole double-throw switches is φ, and the phase difference between the two signals is φ+θ after passing through the first phase shifter and the second phase shifter, respectively, passing through the second bridge 2 and the third bridge 3 respectively. Then, output at the output terminals on the right side of the two bridges, and the relative phase difference of the output is 0, φ, φ+θ, 2φ+θ. At this time, as long as the output difference of the two differential phase shifters is θ=φ, Then a phase difference of -φ can be generated between the output signals of the four output ports; in the same way, when the signal is input from the lower port on the left side of the first bridge 1, the two SPDT switches are turned on downward. A matching load is connected to the upper port on the left side of a bridge 1, then a phase difference of φ is generated between the output signals of the four output ports.

In this way, a 2×4 beamforming network with continuously adjustable output phase difference is established. The adjustment range of the output phase difference is limited by the adjustable bridge and the adjustable differential phase shifter. If both have an adjustment range of 0°-180° , then the output phase difference can realize the full-phase continuously adjustable function of -180°-180°. Compared with the traditional passive beamforming network, it has more powerful functions and has a wider range of applications, which is conducive to promoting the development of the wireless communication field.

As a preferred solution, the first bridge 1 is a single-band output phase difference adjustable bridge, and the first phase shifter and the second phase shifter are single-band adjustable differential phase shifters.

As a preferred solution, the first bridge 1 is a dual-band output phase difference adjustable bridge, the first phase shifter and the second phase shifter are dual-band adjustable differential phase shifters, and a low-pass filter phase shifter can be used and high-pass filtering in the form of a phase shifter.

As a preferred solution, the first SPDT switch 4 and the second SPDT switch 5 are both electronic SPDT switches.

The network architecture can be built by single-band and dual-band output phase-difference bridges, only need to use the corresponding phase shifter, and the use of electronic SPDT switches simplifies the control process and has the advantage of automatic operation, which can be customized according to specific conditions. The controller can be installed in different usage scenarios to control the electric single-pole double-throw switch according to different needs.

As an extended implementation, a three-level bridge can also be added, and the output ports of the second bridge 2 and the third bridge 3 are used as the input terminals of the third-level bridge, and the third-level bridge is connected in the same way. , at the same time, the phase difference of the first-stage differential phase shifter is set to be twice the phase difference of the adjustable bridge output, and the phase difference of the second-stage differential phase shifter is set to be equal to the phase difference of the adjustable bridge output, forming 8 output ports. To connect the antenna array to enhance the antenna beam scanning capability. By analogy, a 2 × 2 ⁿ network can be used to feed the antenna array, but as the number of network stages increases, the phase shift of the differential phase shifter is required to be greater.

The above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. For those skilled in the art, the present invention may have various modifications and changes. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims (4)

1. A miniaturized reconfigurable beamforming network architecture characterized by: the single-pole double-throw phase shifter comprises a first-pole bridge and a second-pole bridge, wherein the first-pole bridge comprises a first bridge, the second-pole bridge comprises a second bridge and a third bridge which are the same as the first bridge, a first phase shifter and a second phase shifter are respectively connected to two left ports of the second bridge and the third bridge, and two right ports of the first bridge are respectively connected with the first phase shifter and the second phase shifter through a first single-pole double-throw switch and a second single-pole double-throw switch; the first bridge is an output phase difference adjustable bridge, and the first phase shifter and the second phase shifter are adjustable differential phase shifters;

the movable end of the first single-pole double-throw switch is connected with the upper port on the right side of the first electric bridge, and the fixed end of the first single-pole double-throw switch is respectively connected with two ports on the left side of the second electric bridge;

the movable end of the second single-pole double-throw switch is connected with the port below the right side of the first electric bridge, and the immovable end of the second single-pole double-throw switch is respectively connected with the two ports on the left side of the third electric bridge;

the left upper port of the second electric bridge and the left lower port of the third electric bridge are respectively connected with a first phase shifter;

and the lower port on the left side of the second electric bridge and the upper port on the left side of the third electric bridge are respectively connected with a second phase shifter.

2. The miniaturized reconfigurable beamforming network architecture of claim 1, wherein: the first bridge is a single-frequency-band output phase difference adjustable bridge, and the first phase shifter and the second phase shifter are single-frequency-band adjustable differential phase shifters.

3. The miniaturized reconfigurable beamforming network architecture of claim 1, wherein: the first bridge is a double-frequency-band output phase difference adjustable bridge, and the first phase shifter and the second phase shifter are double-frequency-band adjustable differential phase shifters.

4. The miniaturized reconfigurable beamforming network architecture of claim 1, wherein: the first single-pole double-throw switch and the second single-pole double-throw switch are both electronic single-pole double-throw switches.

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