CN113258271A

CN113258271A - AFU antenna structure

Info

Publication number: CN113258271A
Application number: CN202110558267.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 丁海; 陈安; 孟弼慧; 黄明达
Original assignee: Comba Telecom Technology Guangzhou Ltd; Jingxin RF Technology Guangzhou Co ltd
Current assignee: Comba Telecom Technology Guangzhou Ltd; Jingxin RF Technology Guangzhou Co ltd
Priority date: 2021-05-21
Filing date: 2021-05-21
Publication date: 2021-08-13
Also published as: WO2022242282A1

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an AFU antenna structure, including an antenna device and a filter; the filter comprises a housing and a resonator arranged in an inner cavity of the housing; the shell is a non-metal insulating shell, and the inner surface and the outer surface of the non-metal insulating shell are covered with conductive coatings; the antenna device comprises an antenna element and a power divider, wherein the power divider is electrically connected with the resonator, and the power divider is formed at the bottom of the shell by processing part of the outer surface of the bottom plate of the shell; the antenna array is located the outside of shell, the welding position has on the merit divides the ware, the antenna array welds on the welding position to AFU's weight has been alleviateed greatly, and makes its reliability promote.

Description

AFU antenna structure

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of antenna technology, and in particular, to an AFU antenna structure.

Background

Afu (antenna Filter units) is an antenna structure integrating an antenna and a Filter, i.e. it is composed of two parts, namely an AU (antenna) and an FU (Filter), and it is the mainstream product in the age of 5G communications.

The traditional wave filter in the AFU specifically is a metal cavity filter, the antenna is welded on the PCB through a metal array, the wave filter is connected with the PCB of the antenna through a fastening screw, a through hole is formed in the PCB, and the wave filter and the antenna are connected with the through hole of the PCB through a contact pin, so that the AFU is formed.

However, the existing AFU is to be improved in terms of weight reduction and reliability.

Disclosure of Invention

To solve the above technical problem or at least partially solve the above technical problem, the present disclosure provides an AFU antenna structure.

The present disclosure provides an AFU antenna structure, comprising an antenna device and a filter; the filter comprises a housing and a resonator arranged in an inner cavity of the housing; the shell is a non-metal insulating shell, and the inner surface and the outer surface of the non-metal insulating shell are covered with conductive coatings;

the antenna device comprises an antenna element and a power divider, wherein the power divider is electrically connected with the resonator, and the power divider is formed at the bottom of the shell by processing part of the outer surface of the bottom plate of the shell; the antenna array is located outside the shell, a welding position is arranged on the power divider, and the antenna array is welded on the welding position.

Optionally, a through hole penetrating through the bottom plate is formed in the bottom plate, a tap of the resonator can penetrate through the through hole, the tap and the inner surface of the bottom plate are arranged in an insulating manner, and the tap is electrically connected with the power divider through a conductive material plated in the through hole.

Optionally, a region of the inner surface of the bottom plate, which is close to the via hole, is formed as an isolation region;

the isolation region comprises a first region and a second region, the first region is arranged on the periphery of the via hole in a surrounding mode, the second region is arranged on the periphery of the first region in a surrounding mode, the first region is provided with the conductive plating layer, and the second region is formed into an insulating region so as to isolate the first region from the region on the periphery of the second region.

Optionally, the antenna device further includes a reflection plate, and the bottom plate is formed as the reflection plate of the antenna device.

Optionally, the power divider is formed by performing photolithography or laser etching on part of an outer surface of the bottom plate.

Optionally, the non-metal insulating housing is a plastic housing.

Optionally, the conductive plating layer is a metal plating layer.

Optionally, the conductive plating is a silver plating.

Optionally, the conductive plating layer is a copper plating layer.

Optionally, the housing includes a hollow bottom shell having an opening at the top and a cover plate covering the opening; the hollow bottom shell and the cover plate jointly enclose an inner cavity of the shell;

a wall of the hollow bottom case opposite to the cover plate is formed as the bottom plate; and the cover plate is provided with an adjusting screw rod corresponding to the resonator.

Optionally, an isolation structure is disposed on an outer surface of the bottom plate, and the power divider is located in a space surrounded by the isolation structure.

Optionally, the isolation structure comprises an isolation strip;

the power divider is characterized in that the number of the isolation strips is two, the two isolation strips extend from one end of the bottom plate to the other end of the bottom plate, and the two isolation strips are respectively arranged on two sides of the power divider.

Compared with the prior art, the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure has the following advantages:

according to the AFU antenna structure, the shell of the filter is set to be the non-metal insulation shell, and the inner surface and the outer surface of the non-metal insulation shell are covered with the conductive coatings, so that compared with a metal filter in the prior art, the AFU antenna structure greatly reduces the weight of the filter while ensuring the performance of the filter, and enables the AFU to be improved in light weight; meanwhile, a power divider is formed by processing part of the outer surface of the bottom plate of the shell, and a welding position for welding an antenna array is formed on the power divider, namely, the power divider is integrated at the bottom of the shell of the filter, so that the antenna and the filter are better combined, the reliability of the AFU is improved, and the volume of the AFU is reduced; in addition, with antenna array beading on the welding position of ware is divided to the merit, compare with prior art, saved antenna PCB board, reduced AFU material kind, further reduced AFU's weight and volume, replace traditional screw fixation antenna through the welding, further promoted AFU's intermodulation and stability, and reduced AFU's the assembly degree of difficulty and assembly process.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments or technical solutions in the prior art of the present disclosure, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or prior art will be briefly described below, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art that other drawings can be obtained according to the drawings without inventive exercise.

Fig. 1 is an exploded schematic view (front side) of an AFU antenna structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the structure at I in FIG. 1;

fig. 3 is an exploded schematic view (bottom) of an AFU antenna structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the structure at I in fig. 3.

Wherein, 1, a shell; 11. a hollow bottom shell; 111. a base plate; 112. a via hole; 113. a first region; 114. a second region; 12. a cover plate; 121. adjusting the screw rod; 13. a resonator; 131. tapping; 14. a spacer bar; 2. an antenna device; 21. an antenna array; 22. a power divider; 221. and (7) welding positions.

Detailed Description

In order that the above objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure may be more clearly understood, aspects of the present disclosure will be further described below. It should be noted that the embodiments and features of the embodiments of the present disclosure may be combined with each other without conflict.

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure, but the present disclosure may be practiced in other ways than those described herein; it is to be understood that the embodiments disclosed in the specification are only a few embodiments of the present disclosure, and not all embodiments.

Afu (antenna Filter units) is an antenna structure with an antenna and a Filter integrated together, i.e. it is composed of two parts, namely AU (antenna) and FU (Filter), and it is the mainstream product in the age of 5G communications.

The filter can allow useful signals to pass through a signal link to the maximum extent and can suppress useless signals to the maximum extent; the antenna has the functions of radiating radio frequency signals to a specific direction in space and receiving electromagnetic waves from the specific direction in space.

In order to improve the AFU in terms of light weight and reliability, the present disclosure provides an AFU antenna structure, which is described in detail by specific embodiments below:

referring to fig. 1 to 4, the present embodiment provides an AFU antenna structure including an antenna device 2 and a filter.

The filter specifically includes: a housing 1 and a resonator 13 arranged in the inner cavity of the housing 1. Specifically, the number of the resonators 13 may be multiple, the housing 1 has an adjusting screw 121 corresponding to the resonator 13, the adjusting screw 121 is disposed through the wall of the housing 1, and the adjusting screw 121 on the housing 1 is adjusted to adjust the resonant frequency of the AFU filter.

The housing 1 is a non-metal insulating housing, and the inner surface and the outer surface of the non-metal insulating housing are both covered with a conductive plating layer. By arranging the housing 1 in this way, not only is the performance of the filter ensured, but also the weight of the filter is greatly reduced compared to prior art metal filters.

In a specific implementation, the housing 1 may be made of a plastic material, for example, the housing 1 is formed by injection molding of a plastic, and the inner surface and the outer surface of the plastic housing 1 are covered with a conductive plating layer. Of course, the housing 1 may be made of other non-metallic materials, and may be made of any insulating material having a weight smaller than that of metal, and the present embodiment is not limited thereto.

The conductive plating layer may be a metal plating layer. The conductive plating is preferably silver plating. Of course, in some embodiments, the conductive plating layer may also be other metal plating layers such as copper plating.

The antenna device 2 includes an antenna element 21 and a power divider 22. The power divider 22 is electrically connected to the resonator 13. The power divider 22 is formed on the bottom of the housing 1 by processing a part of the outer surface of the bottom plate 111 of the housing 1. The antenna element 21 is located outside the housing 1, the power divider 22 is provided with a welding position 221, and the antenna element 21 is welded on the welding position 221.

In this embodiment, the bonding sites 221 on the power divider 22 are specifically antenna element pads. Of course, in other implementations, the welding position 221 may be a welding point as long as the antenna element 21 can be effectively welded to the power divider 22.

The power divider 22 may be a microstrip power divider. Of course, the power divider 22 may also be another type of power divider, and the embodiment is not limited thereto.

Referring to fig. 3, the antenna apparatus 2 may specifically include three antenna elements 21, and accordingly, the power divider 22 has three welding positions 221, and one antenna element 21 corresponds to one welding position 221. Of course, for one AFU antenna structure, the number of the antenna elements 21 on the AFU antenna structure may also be less than three, or greater than three, that is, the number of the antenna arrays is not limited, and may be specifically set according to actual requirements.

Taking fig. 1 as an example, the bottom plate 111 of the housing 1 is a plate located at the bottom of the housing 1. Since the specific assembly angle of the AFU antenna structure is not limited to the viewing angles of fig. 1 to 4 when the AFU antenna structure is used, it can be understood that the board on which the power divider 22 is located is the bottom board 111 of the housing 1.

In a specific implementation, the power divider 22 may be formed by performing photolithography on part of the outer surface of the bottom plate 111 of the housing 1. Specifically, by etching away the conductive plating layer in a partial region of the bottom plate 111 of the case 1, a part of the non-etched region is formed as the power divider 22. In other implementations, the power divider 22 may be formed on the outer bottom surface of the bottom plate 111 of the housing 1 by laser etching.

According to the AFU antenna structure provided by the embodiment, the housing 1 of the filter is set to be the non-metal insulating housing 1, and the inner surface and the outer surface of the non-metal insulating housing 1 are covered with the conductive coatings, so that compared with a metal filter in the prior art, the AFU antenna structure greatly reduces the weight of the filter while ensuring the performance of the filter, and enables the AFU to be improved in light weight; meanwhile, the power divider 22 is formed by processing part of the outer surface of the bottom plate 111 of the housing 1, and the welding position 221 for welding the antenna array 21 is formed on the power divider 22, that is, the power divider 22 is integrated at the bottom of the housing 1 of the filter, so that the antenna and the filter are better combined, the reliability of the AFU is improved, and the volume of the AFU is reduced; in addition, the antenna array 21 is directly welded on the welding position 221 of the power divider 22, compared with the prior art, an antenna PCB is omitted, the material types and assembly procedures of the AFU are reduced, the weight and volume of the AFU are further reduced, and the cost is saved; replace traditional screw fixation antenna through the welding, further promoted AFU's intermodulation and stability, and reduced AFU's the assembly degree of difficulty and assembly process.

In particular, the housing 1 may specifically include: a hollow bottom shell 11 and a cover plate 12. The hollow bottom case 11 has an opening at the top thereof, and a cover plate 12 is covered over the opening. The hollow bottom shell 11 and the cover plate 12 together enclose an inner cavity of the housing 1. In particular, the cover 12 seals the opening of the hollow bottom shell 11 to improve the shielding ability of the housing 1. A wall of the hollow bottom case 11 opposite to the cover plate 12 is formed as a bottom plate 111. The cover plate 12 is provided with an adjustment screw 121 corresponding to the resonator 13.

It can be understood that the hollow bottom case 11 is made of a non-metal insulating material, and the inner surface and the outer surface of the hollow bottom case 11 are covered with conductive plating layers; the cover plate 12 is also made of a non-metallic insulating material, and the inner surface and the outer surface of the cover plate 12 are covered with conductive coatings. The hollow bottom shell 11 and the cover plate 12 can be connected by fastening screws, etc., and the specific connection manner of the hollow bottom shell 11 and the cover plate 12 is not particularly limited in this embodiment.

With continued reference to fig. 2 and 4, in some embodiments, the bottom plate 111 is provided with a via 112 penetrating through the bottom plate 111, the tap 131 of the resonator 13 may penetrate through the via 112, and the tap 131 is insulated from the inner surface of the bottom plate 111, and the tap 131 is electrically connected to the power divider 22 through a conductive material plated in the via 112.

In a specific implementation, the tap 131 may be, for example, a conductive silver wire, and the conductive material may be, for example, a conductive silver paste, but may also be other conductive materials. During assembly, one end of the tap 131 penetrates out of the via 112, then conductive silver paste is plated in the via 112, and the tap 131 is connected with the power divider 22 through the conductive silver paste, that is, the resonator 13 is connected with the power divider 22.

Specifically, referring to fig. 2, a region of the inner surface of the base plate 111 near the via 112 is formed as an isolation region. The isolation region includes a first region 113 provided around the outer circumferential direction of the via hole 112 and a second region 114 provided around the outer circumferential direction of the first region 113. Wherein the first region 113 has a conductive plating layer thereon, and the second region 114 is formed as an insulating region to isolate the first region 113 from a region around the second region 114.

It can be understood that the first region 113 and the peripheral region of the second region 114 (i.e. the peripheral portion of the second region 114 far from the first region 113) have conductive coatings, and the conductive coatings on the second region 114 are removed, i.e. the second region 114 has no conductive coatings, such as a plastic layer, so that the short circuit phenomenon caused by the connection between the taps 131 and the conductive coatings on the inner surface of the bottom plate 111 can be effectively avoided.

In other implementation manners, the taps 131 may not be provided, but a conductive material may be directly plated in the vias 112, and the power divider 22 and the resonator 13 respectively disposed on two sides of the bottom plate 111 are in contact with the conductive material, so as to achieve electrical connection between the resonator 13 and the power divider 22.

Wherein the antenna device 2 further comprises a reflector plate, in this embodiment the bottom plate 111 of the housing 1 is directly formed as the reflector plate of the antenna device 2. That is to say, need not to set up the reflecting plate in addition again, not only improved AFU's integrated level, reduced AFU's material type, reduced the assembly process, and saved the cost.

Further, an isolation structure is disposed on an outer surface of the bottom plate 111, and the power divider 22 is located in a space surrounded by the isolation structure.

By providing the isolation structure, not only can the power divider 22 be effectively protected, but also the interference rejection of the entire AFU can be improved.

Referring to fig. 3 and 4, the spacer structure may particularly comprise spacer bars 14. Illustratively, there are two isolation bars 14, two isolation bars 14 extend from one end of the bottom plate 111 to the other end of the bottom plate 111, and two isolation bars 14 are respectively disposed at two sides of the power divider 22. For example, two spacers 14 are arranged in parallel, and the power divider 22 is located in the space defined between the two spacers 14.

In particular, the isolation strip 14 may be integrally formed with the housing 1, or may be separately formed and then assembled to the bottom of the housing 1.

In other embodiments, the isolation structure may be in other shapes such as an isolation ring disposed on the outer bottom surface of the bottom plate 111.

In addition, the specific height of the isolation bars 14 can be set according to actual requirements, and this embodiment does not specifically limit this.

Compared with the prior art, the AFU antenna structure provided by the embodiment has the following advantages:

1. the mode of combining the non-metallic insulating material and the conductive coating is adopted to replace the traditional metal, so that the weight of the filter is greatly reduced, namely, the weight of the AFU is reduced;

2. the power divider is integrated at the bottom of the cavity of the filter by a photoetching or laser etching method, so that the consistency and reliability of the AFU are further improved;

3. the antenna oscillator is directly welded on a welding position at the bottom of the filter, so that an antenna PCB is omitted, and the material types of AFU are reduced;

4. the bottom plate of the filter is used as a reflecting plate of the antenna, and the antenna isolating strip is integrated at the bottom of the filter, so that the integration level of the AFU is further improved;

5. compared with the traditional AFU, the antenna PCB is omitted, the welding mode is used for replacing a screw to fix the antenna, and intermodulation and stability of the AFU are further improved;

6. electroplating the via hole, can save the contact pin, pass through via hole lug connection with antenna and filter tap, when having reduced AFU material kind, reduced AFU's the assembly degree of difficulty and assembly process.

It is noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second," and the like, may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. Also, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising an … …" does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

The foregoing are merely exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, which enable those skilled in the art to understand or practice the present disclosure. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. An AFU antenna structure is characterized by comprising an antenna device and a filter; the filter comprises a housing and a resonator arranged in an inner cavity of the housing; the shell is a non-metal insulating shell, and the inner surface and the outer surface of the non-metal insulating shell are covered with conductive coatings;

2. An AFU antenna structure according to claim 1, wherein the bottom plate has a via hole formed therethrough, the resonator has a tap extending through the via hole, the tap is insulated from the inner surface of the bottom plate, and the tap is electrically connected to the power divider by a conductive material plated through the via hole.

3. An AFU antenna structure according to claim 2 wherein the area of the backplane inner surface proximate the via is formed as an isolation area;

4. An AFU antenna structure according to claim 1, wherein the antenna assembly further comprises a reflector plate, the chassis being formed as the reflector plate of the antenna assembly.

5. An AFU antenna structure according to claim 1, wherein the power divider is formed by photolithography or laser etching of a portion of the outer surface of the backplane.

6. An AFU antenna structure according to claim 1, wherein the non-metallic dielectric housing is a plastic housing.

7. An AFU antenna structure according to claim 1, wherein the conductive plating is silver plating.

8. An AFU antenna structure according to any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the housing comprises a hollow bottom shell having an opening at the top and a cover plate covering the opening, the hollow bottom shell and the cover plate together enclosing an interior cavity of the housing;

9. An AFU antenna structure according to any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the outer surface of the base plate is provided with an isolation structure, and the power divider is located in a space enclosed by the isolation structure.

10. An AFU antenna structure according to claim 9, wherein the isolation structure comprises a spacer bar;