CN217485706U - Antenna assembly and base station antenna - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an antenna assembly, comprising: a feed board; an array of radiating elements mounted on a feed board; a plurality of metal tubes mounted to extend forward from the feed panel, wherein at least a portion of the radiating elements in the array of radiating elements are each surrounded by at least four metal tubes spaced apart by a distance. Furthermore, the present disclosure also relates to a base station antenna comprising the antenna assembly. Thereby, cross-polarization performance of the base station antenna can be effectively improved and radiation margin of the base station antenna can be improved.

Description

Antenna assembly and base station antenna

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to radio communications, and more particularly to an antenna assembly and a base station antenna.

Background

In some conventional base station antennas, a spacer may be provided around the radiating element to improve isolation. A fence refers to a metal or metalized wall extending forward from the reflector of the base station antenna, positioned to increase the isolation between the radiating elements of the base station antenna. For example, the barriers may be mounted directly on the reflector or on one or more feed plates on the front surface of the reflector. However, mounting the partition to extend forward from the reflector may also undesirably increase the cost and/or weight of the base station antenna.

In addition, with the development of communication systems, cross-polarization performance of base station antennas may be highly required.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

It is therefore an object of the present disclosure to provide an antenna assembly and a base station antenna that overcome at least one of the deficiencies of the prior art.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an antenna assembly comprising

A feed board;

an array of radiating elements mounted on the feed panel;

a plurality of metal tubes mounted to extend forward from the feed panel, wherein at least some of the radiating elements in the array of radiating elements are each surrounded by at least four metal tubes spaced apart by a distance.

In some embodiments, the four metal tubes surrounding the respective radiating element form a profile that is greater than the profile of the respective radiating element.

In some embodiments, four metal tubes surrounding a respective radiating element form a rectangular profile.

In some embodiments, four metal tubes surrounding the respective radiating element are at four corners of the respective radiating element, such that a first metal tube and a second metal tube of the four metal tubes are arranged longitudinally spaced apart from each other on a first side of the respective radiating element, and a third metal tube and a fourth metal tube are arranged longitudinally spaced apart from each other on a second side of the respective radiating element opposite the first side.

In some embodiments, four metal tubes surrounding a respective radiating element are configured for tuning the radiating boundary of the respective radiating element.

In some embodiments, a column of metal tubes is shared between a first column of radiating elements and a second column of radiating elements in the array of radiating elements.

In some embodiments, two metal tubes are shared between every two radiating elements in the first column of radiating elements and two metal tubes are shared between every two radiating elements in the second column of radiating elements.

In some embodiments, the array of radiating elements is configured as an array of patch radiating elements.

In some embodiments, at least a portion of the metal tube extends forward as far as the radiating element from the feed panel.

In some embodiments, at least a portion of the metal tube extends further forward from the feed panel than the radiating element.

In some embodiments, at least a portion of the metal tubes are mounted to extend forward from the feed panel 1/6 to 1/8 wavelengths corresponding to a center frequency of an operating band of the respective array of radiating elements.

In some embodiments, each metal tube is configured as a hollow metal conductor.

In some embodiments, each metal tube is axisymmetric about the longitudinal and/or horizontal direction.

In some embodiments, at least a portion of the metal tube is formed by extrusion or stamping.

In some embodiments, at least a portion of the metal tube is formed by coiling a metal sheet into a shape.

In some embodiments, at least a portion of the metal tube is configured to be cylindrical, frustoconical, prismatic, or prismoid.

In some embodiments, a tuning strip is configured on at least a portion of the metal tube, the tuning strip extending outwardly a predetermined distance from the peripheral wall of the respective metal tube.

In some embodiments, the tuning strips are configured at the respective metal tube front ends.

In some embodiments, a first tuning strip is configured on the respective metal tube, the first tuning strip extending a predetermined distance longitudinally outward from the outer peripheral wall of the metal tube; and/or a second tuning strip is configured on the corresponding metal tube, and the second tuning strip extends outwards from the outer peripheral wall of the metal tube along the horizontal direction for a preset distance.

In some embodiments, the outer diameter of each metal tube is configured to have a wavelength of 1/10 to 1/20, the wavelength corresponding to a center frequency of an operating band of the respective array of radiating elements.

In some embodiments, at least a portion of the metal tube is electrically connected to the feed plate.

In some embodiments, each metal tube and each radiating element is mounted to the feed plate by means of surface mount technology.

In some embodiments, a ground pad for the at least a portion of the metal tubes is printed on the feed board, and the respective metal tubes are soldered to the ground pad.

In some embodiments, the ground pad is electrically connected to the ground plane of the feed plate via a metalized via or a conductor.

In some embodiments, each metal tube is configured as a tin-plated hollow aluminum conductor or a tin-plated hollow copper conductor.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an antenna assembly comprising

A feed board;

an array of radiating elements mounted on a feed board, the array of radiating elements comprising a first column of radiating elements and a second column of radiating elements;

an array of metal tubes mounted to extend forward from the feed panel, the array of metal tubes including a first column of metal tubes disposed between a first column of radiating elements and a second column of radiating elements.

In some embodiments, the array of metal tubes includes a second column of metal tubes and a third column of metal tubes mounted to extend forward from the feed plate.

In some embodiments, the first and second columns of metal tubes are arranged on either side of the first column of radiating elements, and the first and third columns of metal tubes are arranged on either side of the second column of radiating elements.

In some embodiments, at least a portion of the radiating elements in the array of radiating elements are each surrounded by four metal tubes that are spaced apart by a distance.

In some embodiments, the array of metal tubes is further configured to tune the radiating boundaries of the array of radiating elements and/or to improve cross-polarization discrimination of the radiation patterns of the beams of the array of radiating elements.

In some embodiments, the array of radiating elements is configured as an array of patch radiating elements.

In some embodiments, the array of metal tubes extends further forward from the feed plate than the array of radiating elements.

In some embodiments, the array of metal tubes and/or the array of radiating elements are mounted to the feed panel by means of surface mount technology.

In some embodiments, the array of metal tubes is electrically connected to a feed plate.

In some embodiments, an array of ground pads for an array of metal tubes is printed on the feed board, with respective metal tubes soldered to the ground pads.

In some embodiments, the ground pad is electrically connected to the ground plane of the feed plate via a metalized via or a conductor.

In some embodiments, the operating frequency band of the array of radiating elements is at least a portion of the frequency band of 3500 to 5000 MHz.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a base station antenna, characterized in that it comprises a reflector and an antenna assembly according to some embodiments of the present disclosure mounted in front of the reflector.

In some embodiments, the base station antennas are configured as Massive MIMO antennas, i.e., Massive multiple input multiple output antennas.

Some embodiments according to the present disclosure may effectively reduce the weight and/or cost of a base station antenna. Some embodiments according to the present disclosure may effectively improve cross-polarization performance, such as cross-polarization discrimination, of a base station antenna. Some embodiments according to the present disclosure may effectively improve the radiation boundary of a base station antenna.

Drawings

The disclosure is explained in more detail below with the aid of specific embodiments with reference to the drawings. The schematic drawings are briefly described as follows:

fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a base station antenna with a radome removed in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of one antenna assembly of the base station antenna of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic front view of the antenna assembly of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic end view of the antenna assembly of FIG. 2;

fig. 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 5E, 5F are each exemplary variations of metal tubes, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

The present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate several embodiments of the disclosure. It should be understood, however, that the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, the embodiments described below are intended to provide a more complete disclosure of the present disclosure, and to fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. It is also to be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein can be combined in various ways to provide further additional embodiments.

It is understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. All terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the meaning commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art unless otherwise defined. Well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail for brevity and/or clarity.

When an element is referred to herein as being "on," attached to, "" connected to, "coupled to," or "contacting" another element, etc., it can be directly on, attached to, connected to, coupled to or contacting the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly on," "directly attached to," directly connected to, "directly coupled to," or "directly contacting" another element, there are no intervening elements present. In this context, one feature being disposed "adjacent" another feature may refer to one feature having a portion that overlaps or is above or below the adjacent feature.

In this document, spatial relationship terms such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "front", "back", "high", "low", and the like may describe one feature's relationship to another feature in the drawings. It will be understood that the terms "spatially relative" encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, features originally described as "below" other features may be described as "above" other features when the device in the figures is inverted. The device may also be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the relative spatial relationships may be interpreted accordingly.

Herein, the term "a or B" includes "a and B" and "a or B" rather than exclusively including only "a" or only "B" unless otherwise specifically stated.

In this document, the terms "schematic" or "exemplary" mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration," and not as a "model" that is to be reproduced accurately. Any implementation exemplarily described herein is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. Furthermore, the disclosure is not limited by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, utility model content, or detailed description.

In this document, the term "substantially" is intended to encompass any minor variations due to design or manufacturing imperfections, tolerances of the devices or components, environmental influences and/or other factors.

In this context, the term "at least a portion" may be a portion of any proportion. For example, it may be greater than 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or even 100%, i.e., all.

In addition, "first," "second," and like terms may also be used herein for reference purposes only, and thus are not intended to be limiting. For example, the terms "first," "second," and other such numerical terms referring to structures or elements do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context.

It will be further understood that the terms "comprises/comprising," "includes" and/or "including," when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, and/or groups thereof.

In some base station antennas, a spacer may be installed between different radiating elements. The barriers are typically used in base station antennas that contain multi-column arrays of radiating elements. The partitions may include vertically extending partitions that extend parallel to the longitudinal axis of the base station antenna, and may also include horizontally extending partitions. The dividers may be designed to improve isolation between adjacent columns of radiating elements and/or may be designed to adjust the radiating boundaries of the array of radiating elements (e.g., the dividers may be designed to reduce the azimuth beamwidth and/or the elevation beamwidth of an antenna beam produced by a multi-column array of radiating elements included in the antenna). However, mounting these barriers on the reflector or feed plate may also undesirably increase the cost and/or weight of the base station antenna. Furthermore, the barriers may also make routing of the feed traces of the radiating elements on the feed board more difficult, since the barriers typically span multiple radiating elements and thus have a longer extension.

Furthermore, with the development of communication systems, cross-polarization performance, such as cross-polarization isolation, of base station antennas may have higher requirements. Cross-polarization isolation refers to the degree of isolation of radio frequency energy radiated by a radiating element of a base station antenna having a first polarization from a radiating element having a second (orthogonal) polarization. The cross-polarization performance of an array of radiating elements of a base station antenna may differ due to the angle of electrical scanning of the antenna beam that it produces (i.e., the angle at which the antenna beam is electrically scanned from the "boresight" pointing direction of the radiating elements, which is typically an axis extending through the center of the radiating element, perpendicular to the reflector on which the radiating element is mounted). It is desirable that the base station antenna can maintain good cross-polarization performance over a wide scan angle range.

The present disclosure presents a base station antenna, such as a Massive MIMO antenna, that may include one or more feed plates, a multi-column Massive MIMO array of radiating elements mounted on the feed plates, and a plurality of metal tubes (e.g., an array of metal tubes) mounted to extend forward from the feed plates. At least a portion of the radiating elements or all of the radiating elements in the array of radiating elements may be surrounded by four metal tubes, respectively, spaced apart by a distance. The four metal tubes surrounding the respective radiating element may be configured for tuning the radiating boundary of the respective radiating element.

Furthermore, each metal pipe or metal pipe array may be configured to improve cross polarization performance of the base station antenna, such as cross polarization discrimination of a Massive MIMO array. The cross-polarization discrimination may be a ratio of a main polarization field strength to a cross-polarization field strength in a maximum radiation direction. In some embodiments, each metal tube or array of metal tubes may be configured for: the peak cross-polarization discrimination is improved by at least 2dB or 3dB at horizontal scan angles greater than the first angle and/or less than the second angle.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to fig. 1, fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a base station antenna 100 with the radome removed, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

The base station antenna 100 may be mounted on a raised structure, such as an antenna tower, a utility pole, a building, a water tower, etc., such that its longitudinal axis may extend substantially perpendicular to the ground.

The base station antenna 100 is typically mounted within a radome (not shown) that provides environmental protection. The base station antenna 100 may comprise a reflector 10, which reflector 10 may comprise a metal surface providing a ground plane and reflecting, e.g. redirecting forward propagation, of electromagnetic waves arriving thereto.

The base station antenna 100 may include one or more antenna assemblies 200 arranged on the front side of the reflector 10, and each antenna assembly 200 may include a feeding board 20 and one or more arrays (arrays) of radiating elements 30 mounted on the feeding board 20. Each array of radiating elements 30 may include a plurality of columns (a plurality of) of radiating elements 30 arranged along the longitudinal direction V. The longitudinal direction V may be the direction of the longitudinal axis of the base station antenna 100 or parallel to the longitudinal axis. The longitudinal direction V is perpendicular to the horizontal direction H and the forward direction F. Each radiating element is mounted to extend forwardly (in the forward direction F) from the reflector plate 10.

In the illustrated embodiment, the base station antenna 100 may include a plurality (illustratively 4) of antenna assemblies 200, each antenna assembly 200 may include a feed board 20 and an array of patch radiating elements 30 mounted on the feed board 20. It should be understood that the patch radiating elements 30 can be various forms of radiating elements, such as middle band (1427-2690 MHz or sub-band thereof) radiating elements or high band (3.1-4.2 GHz or sub-band thereof) radiating elements of low band (617-960MHz or sub-band thereof) radiating elements, and so on, which are not limited herein. It should also be understood that the patch radiating element 30 may be replaced with some other type of radiating element, such as a cross dipole radiating element in other embodiments.

The base station antenna 100 may further comprise mechanical and electronic components (not shown), such as connectors, cables, phase shifters, remote electronic tilt units, duplexers, etc., which are typically arranged at the rear side of the reflector 10.

Referring next to fig. 2-4, an antenna assembly 200 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure is described in detail. Fig. 2 is a schematic perspective view of an antenna assembly 200 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; fig. 3 is a schematic front view of the antenna assembly 200 of fig. 2; fig. 4 is a schematic end view of the antenna assembly 200 in fig. 2.

As shown in fig. 2-4, the antenna assembly 200 may include a feed panel 20, an array of radiating elements 30 mounted on the feed panel 20, and an array of metallic tubes 40 mounted to extend forward F from the feed panel 20. The feed plate 20 may, for example, comprise a printed circuit board. In the illustrated embodiment, the array of radiating elements of each antenna assembly 200 may include a plurality of rows and columns (3 rows and 8 columns in the figure) of radiating elements 30, wherein the radiating elements arranged along the horizontal direction H are defined as rows and the radiating elements arranged along the vertical direction V are defined as columns. A plurality of antenna elements 200 are combined to form an array of radiating elements 30 for the entire base station antenna 100. It should be understood that in other embodiments, the number of antenna assemblies 200 and the arrangement of the array of radiating elements 30 within each antenna assembly 200 may be flexibly adjusted.

At least some of the radiating elements 30 or all of the radiating elements 30 in the array of radiating elements 30 may be surrounded by a plurality of metal tubes 40, respectively. In the illustrated embodiment, each radiating element 30 may be surrounded by four metal tubes 40, respectively. The four metal tubes 40 may form a profile, for example a rectangular profile, which is larger than the profile of the corresponding radiating element 30. The four metal tubes 40 surrounding the respective radiant element 30 may be at four corners of the respective radiant element 30 such that a first metal tube 40 and a second metal tube 40 of the four metal tubes 40 are arranged spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction on a first side of the respective radiant element 30, and a third metal tube 40 and a fourth metal tube 40 are arranged spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction on a second side of the respective radiant element 30 opposite to the first side.

As shown in fig. 2, two rows of metal tubes 40 are assigned to each row of radiating elements (each row of radiating elements) in the array of radiating elements 30, and the two rows of metal tubes 40 may be located on both sides of the corresponding row of radiating elements 30 in the horizontal direction H. Advantageously, one column of metal tubes 40 may be shared between the first column of radiating elements 30 and the second column of radiating elements 30, and two metal tubes 40 may be shared between every two radiating elements 30 in each column of radiating elements 30. In some embodiments, the array of metal tubes 40 may include a first column of metal tubes 40, a second column of metal tubes 40, and a third column of metal tubes 40. The first metal tube 40 column may be arranged as a common column between the first and second radiating element 30 columns, for example, the first and second columns of metal tubes 40, 40 may be arranged on both sides of the first radiating element 30 column, and the first and third columns of metal tubes 40, 40 may be arranged on both sides of the second radiating element 30 column.

It should be understood that the number, configuration and/or arrangement of the metal tubes in each column of metal tubes 40 may be flexibly adjusted. In some embodiments, when the metal tube 40 may interfere with other functional devices within the base station antenna 100, such as a radome, a commissioning structure, and/or a mechanical support structure, the respective metal tube 40 may also be removed at a particular location. In some embodiments, the respective metal tubes 40 may also be provided for only a portion of the radiating elements 30 in the column of radiating elements 30.

It should be understood that the metal tube 40 of the present disclosure may be constructed as or include a hollow metal conductor elongated along the direction F. The hollow configuration of the metal tube 40 not only contributes to a reduction in manufacturing cost, but also can reduce the weight of the base station antenna 100. The metal tube 40 according to the present disclosure may be formed by extrusion molding or press molding. In some embodiments, the metal tube 40 may be formed by winding a metal sheet into a shape. In some embodiments, the metal tube 40 may be configured as a tin-plated hollow aluminum conductor or a tin-plated hollow copper conductor for ground connection to the feed board. In some embodiments, the metal tube 40 may be configured as a cylindrical hollow metal conductor (as shown in fig. 2). In other exemplary embodiments, the metal tube 40 can have a plurality of variants, for example can be designed as a round-truncated-cone, prismatic, truncated-pyramid or vase-shaped hollow metal conductor. Advantageously, the metal tube 40 can be designed as an axially symmetrical structure, since the symmetry of the metal tube 40 is favorable for the symmetry of the electromagnetic environment. In some embodiments, the metal tube 40 may be axisymmetric with respect to the vertical direction and/or the horizontal direction.

As shown in fig. 4, the metal tube 40 may extend farther forward from the feed plate 20 than the patch radiating element 30. In some embodiments, the extended length of the metal tube 40 may be associated with the operating frequency band of the corresponding array of radiating elements 30. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the metal tubes 40 may be mounted to extend forwardly from the feed panel 20 by 1/5-1/10 or 1/6-1/8 wavelengths corresponding to the center frequency of the operating band of the respective array of radiating elements 30. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the metal tube 40 may extend forward substantially as far or slightly as the radiating element 30 from the feed panel 20. In some applications, when the metal tube 40 does not extend as far forward as the patch radiating element 30, the metal tube 40 may negatively impact the radiating performance of the radiating element 30.

Furthermore, the outer diameter of the metal tube 40 may be considered as a critical parameter. In some embodiments, the outer diameter of each metal tube 40 may be associated with the operating frequency band of the corresponding array of radiating elements 30. In some embodiments, the outer diameter of each metal tube 40 may be configured to have between 1/5-1/25, 1/10-1/20 wavelengths corresponding to the center frequency of the operating band of the respective array of radiating elements 30.

Furthermore, the size of each metal tube 40 is significantly reduced compared to conventional barriers extending adjacent to a plurality of radiating elements 30. The extension of one radiating element 30 in the vertical direction V may be significantly larger than the extension of one metal tube 40 in the vertical direction V, for example more than 1.5 times, 2 times, or even 3 times. The extension of one radiating element 30 in the horizontal direction H may be significantly larger than the extension of one metal tube 40 in the horizontal direction H, for example larger than 1.5 times, 2 times, or even 3 times.

Thus, replacing the conventional barriers with an array of metal tubes 40 may reduce the weight and/or cost of the base station antenna 100, and may also reduce the wiring difficulty of the feed lines. As shown in fig. 2, the metal tube 40 may be installed in a space between the feeder lines of the radiation elements 30 of the adjacent columns, so that the feeder lines may be at least partially prevented from additionally detouring in order to escape the metal tube 40. In some embodiments, to balance weight and/or cost, only some of the radiating elements 30 in the array of radiating elements 30 may be surrounded by four metal tubes 40. In some embodiments, a reduced number of metal tubes 40 may be provided for a portion of the radiating element 30, for example, a portion of the radiating element 30 may be surrounded by three or two metal tubes 40.

Furthermore, the above arrangement of the array of metal tubes 40 also maintains good isolation between adjacent columns of radiating elements 30. Thus, the antenna assembly 200 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure may eliminate some, or even all, of the barriers installed in conventional designs, while maintaining good isolation performance. In some embodiments, the array of metal tubes 40 may be configured to: the peak cross-polarization discrimination is improved by at least 2dB, 3dB at horizontal scan angles greater than a first angle (e.g., 30 ° to 60 ° or 40 ° to 55 °), and/or by at least 2dB, 3dB at horizontal scan angles less than a second angle (e.g., 0 ° to 15 °).

With further reference to fig. 2 and 3, the method of mounting the metal tube 40 on the panel feed 20 will be described in detail. The base station antenna 100 sometimes comprises an electrically suspended tuning element, e.g. a tuning pin substantially parallel to the reflector 10, which may be mounted in front of the reflector 10 for fine tuning the shape of the antenna beam generated by the base station antenna 100. However, such electrically suspended tuning elements cannot be used to form the radiating boundary of the array of radiating elements 30 of the base station antenna 100. In contrast, an array of metal tubes 40 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure may be electrically connected to feed board 20 and/or reflector 10 for tuning the radiation boundaries. A ground pad 60 for the corresponding metal tube 40 may be printed on the feeding board 20. The ground pads 60 may be electrically connected to the ground plane on the backside of the feed plate 20 via metallized vias or other electrical conductors. Furthermore, in order to efficiently and reliably assemble the antenna assembly 200, each metal tube 40 and each radiating element 30 may be mounted to the feeding board 20 by means of surface mount technology.

Next, with reference to fig. 5A to 5F, exemplary variations of the metal tube 40 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure are described.

As shown in fig. 5A, rather than the metal tube 40 extending forward substantially perpendicular to the feed plate 20, the metal tube 40 may extend obliquely forward from the feed plate 20. In some embodiments, the longitudinal axis of the metal tube 40 and the feed plate 20 may form an acute angle, for example, an angle between 60 and 90 degrees.

As shown in fig. 5B and 5C, the metal tube 40 may have a non-uniform cross section, unlike a uniform cross section of the metal tube 40 at different positions. In some embodiments, the cross-section of the metal tube 40 may gradually increase from back to front (as in fig. 5B). In some embodiments, the cross-section of the metal tube 40 may taper from back to front (as in fig. 5C).

As shown in fig. 5D and 5E, tuning bars 70 may be configured on the metal tubes 40, and the tuning bars 70 may extend outward from the outer peripheral wall of the corresponding metal tube 40 by a predetermined distance. In some embodiments, the tuning bars 70 may be configured at the front end of the respective metal tube 40. In some embodiments, the respective tuning bars 70 may extend a predetermined distance longitudinally outward from the outer peripheral wall of the metal tube 40. In some embodiments, the respective tuning bars 70 may extend outward from the outer peripheral wall of the metal tube 40 in a horizontal direction by a predetermined distance.

As shown in fig. 5F, a first tuning strip 70-1 and a second tuning strip 70-2 may be configured on the respective metal tube 40, the first tuning strip 70-1 extending a predetermined distance outward in a longitudinal direction from the outer circumferential wall of the metal tube 40, and the second tuning strip 70-2 extending a predetermined distance outward in a horizontal direction from the outer circumferential wall of the metal tube 40.

The metal tube 40 with tuning strips 70 may provide additional horizontal and/or vertical tuning components for balancing the horizontal and vertical components of the antenna beam at some scan angles, thereby improving the cross-polarization performance of the base station antenna 100. In some embodiments, the first tuning bar 70-1 may extend a length different from (e.g., greater than or less than) the second tuning bar 70-2.

In some embodiments, the metal tube 40 and the tuning bar 70 may be a unitary structure.

In some embodiments, the metal tube 40 and the tuning bar 70 may also be a split structure, that is, the tuning bar 70 may be connected, plugged into each other, welded, threaded, or adhered to the metal tube 40.

In some embodiments, the metal tube 40 and the tuning strip 70 may be mounted on the feed plate 20 separately from each other, thereby forming separate tuning elements.

Although exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure have been described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure without substantially departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, all changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure as defined in the appended claims. The disclosure is defined by the following claims, with equivalents of the claims to be included therein.

Claims (39)

1. An antenna assembly, comprising:

a feed board;

an array of radiating elements mounted on a feed board;

a plurality of metal tubes mounted to extend forward from the feed panel, wherein at least some of the radiating elements in the array of radiating elements are each surrounded by at least four metal tubes spaced apart by a distance.

2. The antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein the four metallic tubes surrounding the respective radiating element form a profile that is greater than a profile of the respective radiating element.

3. The antenna assembly of claim 2, wherein the four metal tubes surrounding the respective radiating element form a rectangular profile.

4. The antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein four metal tubes surrounding the respective radiating element are at four corners of the respective radiating element, such that a first metal tube and a second metal tube of the four metal tubes are arranged spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction on a first side of the respective radiating element, and a third metal tube and a fourth metal tube are arranged spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction on a second side of the respective radiating element opposite the first side.

5. The antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein four metal tubes surrounding respective radiating elements are configured for tuning a radiating boundary of the respective radiating elements.

6. The antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein a column of metal tubes is shared between a first column of radiating elements and a second column of radiating elements in the array of radiating elements.

7. The antenna assembly of claim 6, wherein two metal tubes are shared between every two radiating elements in the first column of radiating elements and two metal tubes are shared between every two radiating elements in the second column of radiating elements.

8. The antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein the array of radiating elements is configured as an array of patch radiating elements.

9. An antenna assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that at least a part of the metal tube extends forward as far as the radiating element from the feed panel.

10. The antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the metal tube extends further forward from the feed panel than the radiating element.

11. An antenna assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that at least a part of the metal tubes are mounted to extend forward from the feed board 1/6 to 1/8 wavelengths corresponding to the center frequencies of the operating bands of the respective arrays of radiating elements.

12. The antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein each metal tube is configured as a hollow metal conductor.

13. The antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein each metal tube is axisymmetric with respect to a longitudinal and/or horizontal direction.

14. The antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the metal tube is formed by extrusion or stamping.

15. The antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the metal tube is formed by winding a metal sheet into a shape.

16. The antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the metal tube is configured to be cylindrical, frustoconical, prismatic, or prismoid.

17. The antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein tuning strips are configured on at least a portion of the metal tubes, the tuning strips extending outwardly from a peripheral wall of the respective metal tube a predetermined distance.

18. The antenna assembly of claim 17, wherein the tuning strips are configured at respective metal tube leading ends.

19. The antenna assembly of claim 17,

configuring a first tuning strip on the respective metal tube, the first tuning strip extending a predetermined distance outward from a peripheral wall of the metal tube in a longitudinal direction; and/or

Second tuning strips are configured on the respective metal tubes, the second tuning strips extending outward from the outer peripheral wall of the metal tubes by a predetermined distance in the horizontal direction.

20. The antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein an outer diameter of each metal tube is configured to have a wavelength of 1/10-1/20 corresponding to a wavelength corresponding to a center frequency of an operating band of the respective array of radiating elements.

21. The antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the metal tube is electrically connected to the feed board.

22. The antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein each metal tube and each radiating element are mounted to the feed panel by surface mount technology.

23. An antenna assembly according to claim 21, characterized in that a ground pad for the at least one portion of metal tube is printed on the feed board, the respective metal tube being soldered to the ground pad.

24. The antenna assembly of claim 23, wherein the ground pad is electrically connected to the ground layer of the feed board via a metalized via or a conductor.

25. The antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein each metal tube is configured as a tin-plated hollow aluminum conductor or a tin-plated hollow copper conductor.

26. An antenna assembly, comprising:

a feed board;

an array of radiating elements mounted on a feed board, the array of radiating elements comprising a first column of radiating elements and a second column of radiating elements;

an array of metal tubes mounted to extend forward from the feed panel, the array of metal tubes including a first column of metal tubes disposed between a first column of radiating elements and a second column of radiating elements.

27. The antenna assembly of claim 26, wherein the array of metal tubes comprises a second column of metal tubes and a third column of metal tubes mounted to extend forward from a feed panel.

28. The antenna assembly of claim 27, wherein the first and second columns of metal tubes are disposed on either side of the first column of radiating elements, and the first and third columns of metal tubes are disposed on either side of the second column of radiating elements.

29. The antenna assembly of claim 26, wherein at least a portion of the radiating elements in the array of radiating elements are each surrounded by four metal tubes that are spaced apart by a distance.

30. The antenna assembly of claim 26, wherein the array of metal tubes is further configured to tune a radiating boundary of the array of radiating elements and/or to improve cross-polarization discrimination of a radiation pattern of a beam of the array of radiating elements.

31. The antenna assembly of claim 26, wherein the array of radiating elements is configured as an array of patch radiating elements.

32. The antenna assembly of claim 26, wherein the array of metal tubes extends farther forward from the feed panel than the array of radiating elements.

33. An antenna assembly according to claim 26, wherein the array of metal tubes and/or the array of radiating elements are mounted to a feed board by means of surface mount technology.

34. The antenna assembly of claim 26, wherein the array of metallic tubes is electrically connected to a feed board.

35. An antenna assembly according to claim 34, characterized in that an array of ground pads for the array of metal tubes is printed on the feed board, the respective metal tubes being soldered to the ground pads.

36. The antenna assembly of claim 35, wherein the ground pad is electrically connected to the ground layer of the feed board via a metalized via or a conductor.

37. The antenna assembly of claim 26, wherein the array of radiating elements operates in at least a portion of a frequency band of 3500 to 5000 MHz.

38. Base station antenna, characterized in that it comprises a reflector and an antenna assembly according to one of claims 1 to 37 mounted in front of the reflector.

39. The base station antenna of claim 38, wherein the base station antenna is configured as a massive multiple input multiple output antenna.

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