EP0312989A2 - Mikrowellenantenne - Google Patents

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Publication number
EP0312989A2
EP0312989A2 EP88117340A EP88117340A EP0312989A2 EP 0312989 A2 EP0312989 A2 EP 0312989A2 EP 88117340 A EP88117340 A EP 88117340A EP 88117340 A EP88117340 A EP 88117340A EP 0312989 A2 EP0312989 A2 EP 0312989A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
substrate
antenna
openings
rear cover
bottom plates
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP88117340A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0312989A3 (en
EP0312989B1 (de
Inventor
Takashi Otsuka
Junichi Kajikuri
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Sony Corp
Original Assignee
Sony Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from JP26315787A external-priority patent/JPH01106503A/ja
Priority claimed from JP62270757A external-priority patent/JP2638000B2/ja
Priority claimed from JP62299416A external-priority patent/JP2615705B2/ja
Priority claimed from JP62301917A external-priority patent/JP2596022B2/ja
Priority claimed from JP63199513A external-priority patent/JP2737939B2/ja
Application filed by Sony Corp filed Critical Sony Corp
Publication of EP0312989A2 publication Critical patent/EP0312989A2/de
Publication of EP0312989A3 publication Critical patent/EP0312989A3/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0312989B1 publication Critical patent/EP0312989B1/de
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q1/00—Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q21/00—Antenna arrays or systems
    • H01Q21/0006—Particular feeding systems
    • H01Q21/0075—Stripline fed arrays
    • H01Q21/0081—Stripline fed arrays using suspended striplines
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q1/00—Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
    • H01Q1/12—Supports; Mounting means
    • H01Q1/125—Means for positioning
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q21/00—Antenna arrays or systems
    • H01Q21/06—Arrays of individually energised antenna units similarly polarised and spaced apart
    • H01Q21/061—Two dimensional planar arrays
    • H01Q21/065—Patch antenna array

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to a planar array type microwave antenna for use in, receiving, for example, a satellite broadcast and more particularly to a microwave antenna structure.
  • a circular polarized wave planar array antenna has been previously proposed, namely, a suspended line feed type planar antenna in which a substrate is sandwiched between metal or metallized plastic plates having a number of spaced openings forming a part of radiation elements, a pair of resonance probes which are perpendicular to each other and the number of which corresponds to a number of spaced openings are formed on a common plane and signals fed to the pair of resonance probes are mixed in phase within the suspended line (in our co-pending U.S. patent applications Serial No. 888,117 filed on July 22, 1986 and Serial No. 058,286 filed on June 4, 1987).
  • planar antenna be reduce in thickness as compared with the existing one, and also its mechanical configuration can be simplified. Further, it is desirable to use an inexpensive substrate readily available on the market for high frequency use, achieving antenna gain equal to or larger than that of the previous planar antenna which uses an expensive microstrip line substrate.
  • the suspended line can achieve such advantages that it forms a low loss line as a circuit for feeding the planar antenna and also that it can be formed on an inexpensive film-shaped substrate. Further, since this conventional planar antenna utilizes a circular or rectangular waveguide opening element as a radiation element, it is possible to construct an array antenna which has small gain deviation over a relatively wide frequency range.
  • this patch type microstrip line antenna is proposed in order to reduce the thickness of the planar array antenna. Also, this patch type microstrip line antenna can be made high in efficiency, wide in band width by effective use of the advantages of the suspended line and the thin radiation element, and it can be reduced in thickness and in weight at the same time as is disclosed in our co-pending U.S. patent application Serial No. 223,781, filed July 25, 1988.
  • the resonance type printed patch radiators are formed on the substrate at positions corresponding to slots formed through one of the metal or metallized plastic plates to thereby form the planar antenna.
  • a suspended line feed type planar antenna which comprises a substrate sandwiched between a top plate and a bottom plate, the top plate having a plurality of spaced openings defining radiation elements, a corresponding plurality of radiators formed on the substrate in alignment with the openings respectively, and feeding means for feeding the radiators, characterized in that, firstly, the top and bottom plates are each formed of a flat plate with substantially no protrusions and, secondly, protrusions are formed at a corresponding plurality of positions between the top plate and the substrate and between the bottom plate and the substrate by deforming the top and bottom plates, so that the substrate is supported by the protrusions.
  • a suspended line feed type planar antenna which comprises a substrate sandwiched between a top plate and a bottom plate, the top plate having a plurality of spaced openings defining radiation elements, a corresponding plurality of radiators formed on the substrate in alignment with the openings respectively, and means for feeding the radiators, characterized by an input wave-guide provided at the position of the feeding means, an output wave-guide also provided at the position of the feeding means, and supporting means having a bolt which passes through the top and bottom plates and the substrate for supporting the input and output wave-guides.
  • a suspended line feed type planar antenna which comprises a substrate sandwiched between a top plate and a bottom plate, the top plate having a plurality of spaced openings defining radiation elements, a corresponding plurality of radiators formed on the substrate in alignment with the openings respectively, means for feeding the radiators, and a radome and a rear cover for enclosing the top and bottom plates, characterized in that a plurality of supporting members are formed on the inner surface of the rear cover, and a corresponding plurality of openings are formed through the top and bottom plates and the substrate at the corresponding positions of the supporting members, whereby the top and bottom plates and the substrate are held by the supporting embers by means of the corresponding plurality of openings.
  • a suspended line feed type planar array antenna which comprises a substrate sandwiched between a top plate and a bottom plate, the top plate having a plurality of spaced openings defining radiation elements, a corresponding plurality of radiators formed on the substrate in alignment with the openings respectively, and means for feeding the radiators, characterized by a pole having a curved top portion, a first through-hole provided at the upper side of the curved top portion and a second through-­hole provided at the lower side of the curved top portion, mounting means including a first bolt passing through the first through-hole for mounting the rear cover on the pole and adjusting means including a second bolt passing through the second through-hole for adjusting the elevation-angle of the rear cover.
  • a suspended line feed type planar antenna which comprises a substrate sandwiched between a top plate and a bottom plate, the top plate having a plurality of spaced openings defining radiation elements, a corresponding plurality of radiators formed on the substrate in alignment with the openings respectively, and means for feeding the radiators, characterized by a first spacer having a corresponding plurality of spaced openings inserted between the top plate and the substrate and the bottom plate.
  • a microwave antenna which comprises an antenna portion, a pole supporting the antenna portion, coarse adjusting means for coarse adjusting the elevation-angle of the antenna portion relative to the pole, and fine adjusting means for fine adjusting the elevation-­angle of the antenna portion relative to the pole, characterized in that the fine adjusting means includes a bolt pushing the antenna portion away from the pole.
  • FIGs. 4A and 4B illustrate an arrangement of a circular polarized wave radiation element according to the present invention, wherein Fig. 4A is a top view and Fig. 4B is a cross-sectional view taken through the line I-I in Fig. 4A.
  • reference number 1 designates a lower plate or a first metal plate (or metallized plastic plate), 2 an upper plate or a second metal (or metallized plastic plate) and 3 a substrate made of a thin film (film-shaped flexible substrate) sandwiched between the first and second metal plates 1 and 2.
  • the first metal plate 1 has a convex-shaped protrusion 30 (see Figs. 1 and 2) for supporting the substrate 3 thereon.
  • the second metal plate 2 has an opening of, for example, a circular opening of 14 mm in diameter, as shown in Fig. 4A, i.e., a so-called slot 5 and a convex-shaped protrusion 31 (see Fig. 2) formed at its position near the slot 5 for supporting the substrate 3.
  • the first and second metal plates 1 and 2 sandwich the substrate 3 therebetween, the first and second metal plates 1 and 2 are positioned such that their supporting portions 30 and 31 coincide and lie opposite each other.
  • the thickness of each of the first and second metal plates 1 and 2 at that time is reduced very much and it becomes, for example, about 2 mm.
  • a cavity portion 7 that communicates with the slot 5 when the substrate 3 is sandwiched between the first and second metal plates 1 and 2.
  • a conductive foil 8 is deposited on the substrate 3 so as to correspond to and be concentric with the slot 5 of the second metal plate 2, as shown in Fig. 4A, and to form a so-­called resonance type printed patch radiator.
  • This conductive foil 8 is coupled through the cavity portion 7 to form a suspended line.
  • the conductive foil 8 of the substantially circular-shape is arranged to have such a diameter that it can resonate at a predetermined frequency.
  • the conductive foil 8 is provided with slits 8a and 8b (Fig. 4a) diametrically opposed to each other at angular positions relative to the direction of the suspended line by a predetermined angle, for example, 45° in order to receive and transmit a circular polarized wave. As shown in Fig.
  • the left slit 8a is positioned at -45° from the horizontal and the slit 8b is positioned at +45° from the horizontal.
  • the antenna of the invention can transmit or receive a clockwise circular polarized wave.
  • the slits 8a and 8b have to be formed on the conductive foil 8 at 45° relative to the direction suspended line, and on the opposite side to those for the clockwise circular polarized wave, viz, with slits 8a and 8b position at +45° and -45°, respectively.
  • Fig. 5 is a cross-­sectional view taken through the line II-II in Fig. 4B.
  • the conductive foil 8 is formed by etching, i.e., removing the unwanted foil portions, a conductive film coated on the substrate 3 of, for example, 25 to 100 ⁇ m thick.
  • the suspended line 8 is surrounded by the first and second metal plates 1 and 2 to form a hollow-shaped coaxial line.
  • the substrate 3 is thin and acts only as the supporting member, it forms a feeding line which has a small transmission loss, even though it is not a low loss substrate.
  • the suspended line of the present invention While the transmission loss of an open strip line made of, for example, Teflon (registered trademark) glass substrate falls in a range of 4 to 6 dB/m at 12 GHz, the suspended line of the present invention, made of a film-shaped substrate of 25 ⁇ m thick, has a transmission loss in the range of about 2.5 to 3 dB/m at 12 GHz. Since the film-shaped flexible substrate is inexpensive as compared with the Teflon glass substrate, the former can bring about many advantages also from a structure (characteristic) standpoint.
  • Fig. 6 illustrates the loss vs. frequency characteristic of the circular polarized radiation element of the present invention. From Fig. 6, it is thus apparent that this circular polarized radiation element of the invention has an excellent minimum return loss of -30 dB in the 12 GHz band and that the single element has return loss less than -14 dB (voltage standing wave ratio, VSWR ⁇ 1.5) over a bandwidth of about 900 MHz, thus bringing about a relatively wide gain.
  • the reason for this is that while the height h from the surface of the first metal plate 1 to the surface of the substrate 3 (refer to Fig. 4) is about 1 mm, the equivalent relative dielectric constant ⁇ is a function of the relative dielectric constant of the air between the first metal plate 1 and the substrate 3, and the relative dielectric constant of the substrate 3 can be selected to be as small as about 1.05.
  • Fig. 7 illustrates an example of the measured axial ration of the circular polarized wave in the present invention.
  • a curve a indicates a measured axial ratio where the antenna of the invention has a single circular polarized radiation element
  • a curve b indicates a measured axial ratio where the antenna of the invention has four circular polarized radiation elements.
  • the tolerance range is about 1dB at frequency of 12 GHz, and as shown in Fig. 7, the circular patch-slot planar array antenna of the present invention sufficiently satisfies this tolerance range.
  • Fig. 1 illustrates a circuit arrangement of a co-phase feeding circuit in which a plurality of the circular polarized radiation elements shown in Figs. 4A and 4B are provided, and the suspended line is used to effect the co-­phase feeding, thus forming a planar array antenna.
  • the solid-line portion in Fig. 2 illustrates a portion cut through the line III-III in Fig. 1.
  • the broken line portion of Fig. 2 illustrates the second metal plate 2 (not shown in Fig. 1), which covers the top of the apparatus of Fig. 1.
  • a plurality of the protrusions 30 are formed on the first metal plate 1 between the conductive foils 8 and the suspended lines, in order to support the substrate 3.
  • the protrusion 30 is further provided on the first metal plate 1 around the outer peripheral portion of the planar array antenna, as shown.
  • Other portions of the first metal plate 1 form the cavity portions 7. Therefore, there is a risk that the outputs from the plurality of conductive foils 8 may be delivered through the same cavity portion 7 and hence the above-­ mentioned outputs will be coupled with each other. If, however, the spacing between the neighboring conductive foils 8 and the spacing between the upper and lower walls of the cavity portion 7 are properly selected, necessary isolation can be established, thus eliminating the above-­mentioned risk of the mutual coupling. Since the electric lines of force are concentrated on the upper and lower walls of each cavity portion 7, the electric field along the substrate 3 supporting the conductive foil 8 is substantially removed, thus lowering the dielectric loss. As a result, the transmission loss of the line is reduced.
  • the protrusions 31 and the cavity portions 7 are also formed on the second metal plate 2 in correspondence with those of the first metal plate 1. Specifically, the protrusion 31 are formed on the second metal plate 2 around the slots 5, and around the periphery of the feeding portion positions between the conductive foils 8 and the suspended lines to support the substrate 3, while other portions between the protrusions form the cavity portions 7 (see Fig. 2).
  • the substrate 3 Since the substrate 3 is uniformly supported by the protrusions 30, 31 provided as described above, it can be prevented from being warped downwardly.
  • the top and bottom metal plates 1 and 2 are brought in face-­to-face contact with the substrate 3 around the respective radiation elements, the feeding portions and so on, similarly to the prior art, it is possible to prevent any resonance at a particular frequency and so on from being caused.
  • 16 radiation elements are arranged in groups of four, to provide 4 radiation element groups G1 to G4.
  • a junction P1 in the suspended line seeking each group is displaced from the center point of the group by a length of ⁇ g/2 ( ⁇ g represents the line wavelength at the center frequency).
  • Junctions P2 and P3 in the suspended lines feeding two radiation elements in each group are connected with a displacement of each of ⁇ g/4 from the center point between these two.
  • the lower-right-hand radiation element is displaced in phase from the upper-right-hand radiation element by 90°
  • the lower-left-hand radiation element is displaced therefrom by 180°
  • the upper-left-­hand radiation element is displaced therefrom by 270°, respectively, which results in the axial ratio being improved.
  • the axial ratio can be improved to be wide by varying the spatial phase and the phase of the feeding line.
  • any two of vertically or horizontally neighboring patch radiators have slit directions 90° apart from each other.
  • junction P1 in each group and the junctions P4 to P6 in the suspended lines feeding the respective groups are coupled to one another in such a fashion that they are distant from the feeding point 10 of a feeding portion 9 by an equal distance.
  • the feeding phase is changed by varying the distances from the feeding point 10 to the junction P1, and to the junctions P4 to P6, and the amplitude is varied by varying the impedance ration by increasing or decreasing the thickness of the lines forming the various branches of the suspended line, whereby the directivity characteristics can be varied in a wide variety.
  • Fig. 3 illustrates a process in which the protrusions 31 and the slots 5 are formed on the second metal plate 2, for example, by a press-process of press-treatment, wherein the flat metal plate 2 is prepared as shown in Fig. 3A, the protrusion 31 is formed through the press-treatment (drawing-treatment) using a metal mold (not shown) as shown in Fig. 3B, and the slot 5 is formed by the press-treatment (punch-out process) as shown in Fig. 3C.
  • the process of Fig. 3B that is, the process for forming the protrusion 30 may be sufficient.
  • the protrusions 30 and 31 for supporting the substrate 3 are formed by the simple press-process and a cutting-treatment is not necessary, so that the antenna of the invention can be mass-­produced at high efficiency and at a low cast.
  • the supporting portion just like the flange has to be positioned around the slots 5 for the radiation elements with high accuracy.
  • the protrusions 30 and 31 of this embodiment do not require high accuracy in manufacturing process so long as they are spaced from and thus do not hinder the conductive foil 8 which forms the radiation element and the suspended line.
  • the antenna made of metal according to the invention weighs about 1.1 kg (a square of 40 cm x 40 cm) or the antenna made of metallized plastic material according to the invention weighs 0.3 to 0.5 kg (also a square of 40 cm x 40 cm), thus the antenna of the present invention being reduced both in weight and thickness. Furthermore, since both the first and second metal plates used to form the antenna of the present invention are very thin, the antenna made of metal can be manufactured by the press-treatment and can be mass-produced efficiently.
  • the antenna of the invention Being light-weight and reduced in thickness, the antenna of the invention can be produced at low cost and can be made attractive as a product from a marketability standpoint. Since the equivalent relative dielectric constant ⁇ of the present invention can be reduced to 1.5, high antenna gain over a wide bandwidth can be achieved.
  • the suspended line is employed as a feeding line
  • the opening 5 bored through the second metal plate 2 is formed as a slot and the diameter of this slot is selected to be as small as about 14 mm, the distance between the adjacent radiation elements can be made wide with the result that the width of the feeding line can be increased, thus reducing the transmission loss in the line.
  • antenna gain over a wide bandwidth can be obtained, and the transmission loss can be lowered, the gain (efficiency) of the antenna can be improved.
  • the radiation element is mainly described in the aforesaid embodiment, it is needless to say that owing to reciprocity theorem of the antenna, the radiation element (or antenna formed of radiation element array) can act as a receiving element (reception antenna) without any change in its characteristics.
  • the shape of the resonance type printed radiator is not limited to the above but it can take other desired shapes.
  • the antenna of this embodiment is used for the frequency band of 12 GHz, it can be similarly applied to other frequency bands by varying the size of the radiation element.
  • the antenna of the present invention can be mass-produced more efficiently and the manufacturing cost thereof can be reduced.
  • Fig. 8A is its rear view
  • Fig. 8B is a cross-sectional view taken through the line IV-IV in Fig. 8A
  • Fig. 8C is a cross sectional view taken along the line V-V in Fig. 8A.
  • FIGs. 8A and 8B there are shown an input wave-guide 40 and an output wave-guide 41, respectively.
  • the input wave-guide 40 has a flange 42 formed therearound, and the flange 42 has a plurality of mounting screw bores 43 bored therethrough.
  • the input wave-guide 40 is mounted on the top portion of a converter 44 by, for example, soldering or the like.
  • the converter 44 has flanges 45 on both sides which are extended therefrom in the lateral direction in Fig. 8a, and these flanges 45 have mounting screw bores 46 bored therethrough, respectively.
  • the converter 44 has an output connector 47 mounted on the side wall of its lower portion to be connected with a cable (not shown).
  • the converter 44 has a rear cover 48 extended therefrom toward the lower side and the peripheries thereof.
  • the output wave-guide 41 has mounting screw bores 49 bored through its flange at the positions corresponding to the screw bores 43 of the input wave-guide 40.
  • the metal plates 1 and 2 and the substrate 3 each have a plurality of bores 50, 51 and 52, respectively.
  • the projected portion of the output wave-guide 41 is pushed into an opening 53 bored through the second metal plate 2.
  • the output wave-guide 41 is opposed to the input wave-guide 40, screws 54 are inserted into the screw bores 43, 50, 52, 49 and 51 and then their protruded end are respectively engaged with self-locking nuts 55, thus mounting the input and output wave-guides 40, 41 as one body together with the metal plates 1, 2 and the substrate 3.
  • the converter 44 is, after its flanges 45 are respectively made coincident with bosses 56 formed on the rear cover 48 (refer to Fig. 8C), secured to the rear cover 48 by screws 57.
  • the first metal plate 1 has an opening 58 formed therethrough such that the input and output wave-guides 40 and 41 can be communicated with each other through the opening 58.
  • the input wave-guide 40 has an opening 60 bored through its side wall so that a conversion probe 59 connected with a circuit (not shown) provided inside the converter 44 may be projected therethrough into the inside of the input wave-guide 40.
  • the rear cover 48 has a stepped-up or protruded portion around the periphery of the converter 44, and a cover 61 (see Figs. 10A and 10B) for the converter 44 is mounted on the above portion independently of the rear cover 48.
  • the self-locking nuts 55 are respectively embedded and then secured on the second metal plate 2 so as to coincide with the screw bores 51 bored through the second metal plate 2. Then, the projected portion of the output wave-guide 41 is pushed into the opening 53 of the second metal plate 2. At that time, the screw bores 49 bored through the flange of the output wave-­guide 41 at its both sides are respectively made coincident with the screw bores 51 of the second metal plate 2.
  • the first metal plate 1 is placed on the rear cover 48 and the substrate 3 is pinched by the first and second metal plates 1 and 2.
  • the screw bores 49, 52 and 50 are made coincident with one another.
  • the screw bores 43 of the input wave-guide 40 fixed to the converter 44 are respectively made coincident with the screw bores 50 of the first metal plate 1 which are seen from the cut-away portion of the rear cover 48.
  • the screws 54 are then inserted into the screw bores 43, 50, 52, 49 and 51, engaged with the self-locking nuts 55 and then fastened so that the input and output wave-guides 40, 41 are mounted as one body together with the metal plates 1, 2 and the substrate 3.
  • the feeding point 10 of the feed portion of the substrate 3 is opposed to the input and output wave-guides 40 and 41.
  • Figs. 10A and 10B illustrate an arrangement in which the rear cover 48 and a radome 62 are mounted on the planar array antenna with the converter 44.
  • Fig. 10A is a cross-­sectional side view and Fig. 10B a rear view thereof.
  • the rear cover 48 is made of a plastic material such as a reinforced plastic material or the like having an excellent weather-proof property
  • the radome 62 is made of a plastic material which hardly attenuates, for example, a high frequency signal and which has an excellent weather-­proof property.
  • the input and output wave-guides 40 and 41 can be secured as one body by using the screws 54 easily and positively. Further, since the self-locking nuts 55 are substantially embedded or fixed to the second metal plate 2 in advance, the input and output wave-guides 40, 41 can be easily formed as one body, together with the first and second metal plates 1, 2 and the substrate 3, only by screwing the screws 54 into the nuts 55.
  • Fig. 11 shows an example of a structure by which the main body of antenna is fixed to the rear cover 48.
  • the rear cover 48 has a plurality of bolts 65 with bolt head portions embedded therein at predetermined positions in advance.
  • the bolts 65 are sequentially engaged with the bottom plate 1, the substrate 3 and the top plate 2 forming the main body of antenna, and then the protruded end portions of the bolts 65 are engaged with plain washers 66 and spring washers 67. Thereafter they are fastened by nuts 68. It is needless to say that the bottom plate 1, the substrate 3 and the top plate 2 have openings bored therethrough to be engaged with the plurality of bolts 65 in advance.
  • the number of bolts 65 is pre-determined, for example, 23 so that as typically shown in Fig. 12, the bottom plate 1 has 23 openings 69 bored therethrough in correspondence with the number of bolts 65.
  • the substrate 3 and the top plate 2 have similar openings bored therethrough.
  • Figs. 13A and 13B shown another example of a structure which enables the main body of antenna to be mounted on the rear cover 48.
  • the rear cover 48 has a plurality of bosses 71 integrally formed thereon.
  • the number of the bosses 71 is, for example, 23, similarly as described above.
  • the bottom plate 1, the substrate 3 and the top plate 2 forming the main body of antenna have a plurality of openings formed therethrough at their positions corresponding to these bosses 71.
  • the bosses 71 of the rear cover 48 are respectively engaged into the openings of the bottom plate 1, the substrate 3 and the bottom plate 2 forming the main body of antenna with the result that these bosses 71 are projected from the main body of the antenna.
  • a plate holder 72 made of, for example, spring stainless steel as shown in Fig. 13B is employed and placed on each of the bosses 71.
  • a tapping screw 73 is inserted into the boss 71 from above the plate holder 72 and then fastened together, thus the main body of antenna being secured to the rear cover 48.
  • the plate holder 72 may be a holder made of a plastic material which is press-inserted into the boss 71. If the plate holder 72 is made of a plastic material, the plastic material is not a conductive material so that directivity of the antenna can be fully protected from being influence by the holder 72.
  • the radome 62 encloses the rear cover 48 incorporating the main body of antenna, thus completing the planar array antenna (see Fig. 10A).
  • the bosses 71 are formed on the rear cover 48, it is possible to increase the production efficiency of the rear cover 48. Further, since in place of the nuts, the washers and so on, the tapping screws 73 are used, the workability of the assembly steps can be improved. Furthermore, since the height of the boss 71 is made high enough, using the plate holder 72, the use of the tapping screw 73 becomes possible, thus reducing the number of assembly parts. In addition, the self tapping screw may have a Phillips type socket head, so that the production efficiency on the production line can be increased.
  • Fig.14 is an exploded perspective view of a structure by which the rear cover 48 is secured on a pole 80.
  • the rear cover 48 has a number of bolts 81 embedded in advance into its rear wall. These bolts 81 are engaged with openings 83 of a movable pedestal 82 and fastened by nuts 84, thus securing the movable pedestal 82 to the rear cover 48.
  • the movable pedestal 82 has a pair of projected portions 82a projected rearwards from its upper portion and a pair of projected portions 82b projected rearwards from it slower portion which are slightly larger than the former.
  • the projected portions 82a respectively have openings 85 bored therethrough and the projected portions 82b respectively have slots 86 formed therethrough.
  • the pole 80 to which the moving pedestal 82 is attached has a pair of pole supporting members 88 and 89 formed thereon at its positions corresponding to the projected portions 82a and 82b of the movable pedestal 82.
  • These supporting members 88 and 89 have through-holes 88′ and 89′ bored therethrough and also through the pole 80 at their positions corresponding to the openings 85 of the projected portion 82a and the slots 86 of he projected portion 82b. Then, the openings 85 and the through-holes 88′ are made coincident, and the openings 86 and the through-holes 89′ are made coincident through which bolts 90 and 91 are inserted and then fastened by nuts 92, 93, thus mounting the movable pedestal 82 on the pole 80.
  • the movable pedestal 82 When the movable pedestal 82 is moved under the condition that the nuts 92, 93 are unlocked, the movable pedestal 82 can be rotated around the bolt 90 within a range of the slots 86, thus the angle of elevation of the antenna can be coarsely adjusted.
  • the pole 80 has a through-hole 94 bored therethrough at the position between its supporting members 88 and 89. Also, the pole 80 has a nut 95 fixed thereto by welding or the like at its one side opposite to the through-hole 94.
  • An elevation-angle fine adjusting bolt 96 is inserted into the nut 95 from above through the through-hole 94 and engaged with the nut 95.
  • the top of the bolt 96 comes in contact with the movable pedestal 82.
  • the movable pedestal 82 is moved away from the pole 80 against the pressure of the bolt 96.
  • the pole 80 is curved or inclined near at least its antenna mounting portion, for example, near the supporting member 89 by a predetermined angle, e.g., 20°. Accordingly, the movable pedestal 82 does not have to be rotated much in order to obtain a predetermined elevation-angle of the antenna and also, the slots 86 may be short, thus making it possible to make the metal fittings of the movable pedestal 82 small in size.
  • a cover 97 is attached to the movable pedestal 82 so as to cover the top portion of the pole 80.
  • the cover 97 has a cut-away portion 97a formed therethrough at its under side to pass the pole 80 therethrough and engaging portions 97b formed at both sides of the cut-away portion 97a to be engaged with a converter casing 102.
  • the rear cover 48 has a pair of bosses 98 and bosses of a predetermined number, for example, 4 bosses 99 formed on its rear wall.
  • a converter 100 is secured to the pair of bosses 98 by screws not shown.
  • a packing 101 is provided around the converter 100 and then the converter housing 102 is mounted to the bosses 99 by screws not shown. At that time, the top portion of the converter housing 102 is engaged with the engaging portions 97b of the cover 97.
  • Fig. 15 shows the overall construction of the thus assembled antenna apparatus of the present invention as viewed from its rear side.
  • the main body of antenna is deviated from the vertical direction by a predetermined angle, for example, 10°.
  • the pole 80 is curved as described above, the main body of antenna and the pole 80 are deviated from each other by 20°.
  • the elevation-angle fine adjusting bolt 96 it is possible to vary the elevation-angle of the antenna in a range of 30° to 46°. It is needless to say that this elevation-angle of the antenna can be determined freely in response to the receiving condition for radio waves at respective areas.
  • Fig. 16 shows how the elevation-angle of the antenna is varied by the elevation-angle fine adjusting bolt 96.
  • the solid line shows the condition that the bolt 96 is loosed fully and the two-dot chain line shows the condition that the bolt 96 is screwed fully.
  • the pole 80 is temporarily secured, the nuts 92, 93 are lossenly fixed and the movable pedestal 82 is coarse moved so as to select the elevation-angle of the antenna near the angle corresponding to that of the area, toward a satellite in geosynchronous orbit, for example, about 38° in Tokyo, Japan, and about 31° in Sapporo, Japan.
  • the elevation-angle fine adjusting bolt 96 the elevation-angle of the antenna can be set to the value corresponding to that of the area substantially precisely.
  • the pole 80 is rotated to direct the antenna in the south west (in the case of Japan), thus coarse adjusting the azimuth angle of the antenna.
  • a desired radio wave is received and the bolt 96 is again adjusted to finally decide the elevation-angle of the antenna.
  • the movable pedestal 82 is secured to the pole 80.
  • the pole 80 is slightly rotated to finally determine the azimuth angle of the antenna and the pole 80 is fixed.
  • the predetermined radio waves can be received positively.
  • Fig. 17 illustrates an example of how to install the pole 80.
  • the pole 80 is installed on a fence 106 of, for example, a veranda facing the south by using fixing plates 107, U-shaped bolts 108 and nuts 109. It is needless to say that the installing method of the pole 80 is not limited to the above-mentioned method.
  • the pole serving as the mounting pedestal is used to form the main body of the antenna and the pole as one body, the number of assembly parts of the antenna mounting structure can be reduced and the construction thereof can be made small. Further, since the fine adjusting mechanism is made of only one bolt, the number of assembly parts thereof can be reduced and the adjustment can be performed with ease. In addition, since the pole is curved or inclined at its intermediate position, the space occupied by the elevation-­angle adjusting mechanism itself can be reduced.
  • Fig. 18 shows another example of the present invention in which between the bottom plate 1 and the substrate 3 and between the substrate 3 and the top plate 2, there are respectively located spacers 110 and 111 for supporting the substrate 3 and making the spacings between the substrate 3 and the bottom and top plates 1, 2 uniform.
  • Each of the spacers 110, 111 may be made of a high foaming dielectric material such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrol or the like of low relative dielectric constant and low transmission loss.
  • Fig. 19 is a cross-sectional view of an example in which the spacer 110 is sandwiched between the bottom plate 1 and the substrate 3 and the spacer 111 is sandwiched between the substrate 3 and the top plate 2.
  • the substrate 3 can be positively held between the top and bottom plates 2 and 1 with a uniform spacing therebetween so that the substrate 3 can be prevented from being partly displaced in the up and down direction.
  • the spacers 110 and 111 have openings 112, 113 bored therethrough at their portions corresponding to the radiation elements, i.e., printed elements 8.
  • Fig. 20 shows in detail a construction of the spacer 110 which is typically represented from the spacers 110 and 111.
  • the spacer 111 is formed exactly the same as the spacer 110.
  • FIG. 20 there are shown an opening 114 which allows the input wave-guide 40 (see Fig. 8B) communicated to the converter 44 to pass therethrough, openings 114 for positioning the openings 116 which allow the bosses 71 (see Fig. 13A) for securing the entire construction to pass therethrough.
  • An opening 117 passes each of the protrusions 30 (see Fig. 19). Regardless of the existence of the protrusions 30, the openings 117 are formed through the whole portion of the spacer 110 in order to improve the mass-production efficiency of the spacer 110. In practice, about 30% of these openings 117 are used to pass the protrusions 30.
  • the substrate can be positively supported at the intermediate position between the top and bottom plates with a uniform spacing therebetween as compared with the example of Fig. 2.
  • the substrate can be positively supported at the intermediate position between the top and bottom plates with a uniform spacing therebetween as compared with the example of Fig. 2.
  • the number of the protrusions 30, 31 projected from the top and bottom plates can be considerably reduced, the plates can be produced with ease and the mass-production efficiency can be improved.

Landscapes

  • Variable-Direction Aerials And Aerial Arrays (AREA)
  • Waveguide Aerials (AREA)
EP88117340A 1987-10-19 1988-10-18 Mikrowellenantenne Expired - Lifetime EP0312989B1 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (10)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP26315787A JPH01106503A (ja) 1987-10-19 1987-10-19 平面アレイアンテナ
JP263157/87 1987-10-19
JP62270757A JP2638000B2 (ja) 1987-10-27 1987-10-27 平面アレイアンテナ
JP270757/87 1987-10-27
JP299416/87 1987-11-27
JP62299416A JP2615705B2 (ja) 1987-11-27 1987-11-27 平面アンテナ
JP62301917A JP2596022B2 (ja) 1987-11-30 1987-11-30 アンテナ装置
JP301917/87 1987-11-30
JP199513/88 1988-08-10
JP63199513A JP2737939B2 (ja) 1988-08-10 1988-08-10 平面アレイアンテナ

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0312989A2 true EP0312989A2 (de) 1989-04-26
EP0312989A3 EP0312989A3 (en) 1990-07-04
EP0312989B1 EP0312989B1 (de) 1994-04-13

Family

ID=27529213

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP88117340A Expired - Lifetime EP0312989B1 (de) 1987-10-19 1988-10-18 Mikrowellenantenne

Country Status (5)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0312989B1 (de)
KR (1) KR970002728B1 (de)
CN (1) CN1018875B (de)
AU (1) AU624342B2 (de)
DE (1) DE3889061T2 (de)

Cited By (11)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0383597A2 (de) * 1989-02-15 1990-08-22 Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Ebene Antenne
EP0445453A1 (de) * 1990-03-07 1991-09-11 Stc Plc Antenne
EP0447018A1 (de) * 1990-03-14 1991-09-18 Nortel Networks Corporation Antenne
EP0521377A2 (de) * 1991-07-03 1993-01-07 Ball Corporation Mikrostreifenleitungsantenne
EP0543519A1 (de) * 1991-11-20 1993-05-26 Nortel Networks Corporation Ebene Plattenantenne
DE4139245A1 (de) * 1991-11-26 1993-05-27 Ekkehard Dr Ing Richter Mikrowellenschlitzantennen
WO1995032528A1 (en) * 1994-05-23 1995-11-30 Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Company Modular electronic sign system
GB2299213A (en) * 1995-03-20 1996-09-25 Era Patents Ltd Antenna array
EP0807324A1 (de) * 1995-05-19 1997-11-19 Allen Telecom, Inc Antennenbefestigungsvorrichtung für zellular- und personenkommunikationssysteme
WO1998037595A1 (en) * 1997-02-22 1998-08-27 Fortel Technology Limited Microwave antennas
GB2535216A (en) * 2015-02-13 2016-08-17 Cambium Networks Ltd Antenna array assembly and method of construction thereof

Families Citing this family (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPH01143506A (ja) * 1987-11-30 1989-06-06 Sony Corp 平面アンテナ
KR20000018177A (ko) * 2000-01-17 2000-04-06 김두만 물레방아 포기장치
KR101338787B1 (ko) * 2012-02-09 2013-12-06 주식회사 에이스테크놀로지 레이더 배열 안테나

Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0112205A1 (de) * 1982-11-23 1984-06-27 Thomson-Brandt Halterung für eine Fernsehantenne für Satellitenempfang und Einheit bestehend aus einer solchen Halterung und ihrer Antenne
FR2552273A1 (fr) * 1983-09-21 1985-03-22 Labo Electronique Physique Antenne hyperfrequence omnidirectionnelle
JPS6090403A (ja) * 1983-10-24 1985-05-21 Maspro Denkoh Corp パラボラアンテナ反射鏡の支持装置
US4626864A (en) * 1984-03-12 1986-12-02 Polarmax Corporation Motorized antenna mount for satellite dish
EP0228742A1 (de) * 1985-12-20 1987-07-15 Philips Composants Ebene Mikrowellenantenne mit Leitergruppe mit getragenem Substrat und Herstellungsverfahren
EP0252779A1 (de) * 1986-06-05 1988-01-13 Emmanuel Rammos Antennenelement mit einem Streifen, der zwischen zwei selbsttragenden und mit untereinanderliegenden strahlenden Schlitzen vorgesehenen Grundplatten hängt und Verfahren zur Herstellung desselben
EP0301580A2 (de) * 1987-07-30 1989-02-01 Sony Corporation Mikrowellenantenne

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CA1266325A (en) * 1985-07-23 1990-02-27 Fumihiro Ito Microwave antenna
AU603103B2 (en) * 1986-06-05 1990-11-08 Sony Corporation Microwave antenna

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0112205A1 (de) * 1982-11-23 1984-06-27 Thomson-Brandt Halterung für eine Fernsehantenne für Satellitenempfang und Einheit bestehend aus einer solchen Halterung und ihrer Antenne
FR2552273A1 (fr) * 1983-09-21 1985-03-22 Labo Electronique Physique Antenne hyperfrequence omnidirectionnelle
JPS6090403A (ja) * 1983-10-24 1985-05-21 Maspro Denkoh Corp パラボラアンテナ反射鏡の支持装置
US4626864A (en) * 1984-03-12 1986-12-02 Polarmax Corporation Motorized antenna mount for satellite dish
EP0228742A1 (de) * 1985-12-20 1987-07-15 Philips Composants Ebene Mikrowellenantenne mit Leitergruppe mit getragenem Substrat und Herstellungsverfahren
EP0252779A1 (de) * 1986-06-05 1988-01-13 Emmanuel Rammos Antennenelement mit einem Streifen, der zwischen zwei selbsttragenden und mit untereinanderliegenden strahlenden Schlitzen vorgesehenen Grundplatten hängt und Verfahren zur Herstellung desselben
EP0301580A2 (de) * 1987-07-30 1989-02-01 Sony Corporation Mikrowellenantenne

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PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN, vol. 9, no. 240 (E-345)[1963], 26th September 1985; & JP-A-60 090 403 (MASPRO DENKO) *

Cited By (18)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0383597A2 (de) * 1989-02-15 1990-08-22 Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Ebene Antenne
EP0383597A3 (de) * 1989-02-15 1991-01-02 Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Ebene Antenne
EP0445453A1 (de) * 1990-03-07 1991-09-11 Stc Plc Antenne
EP0447018A1 (de) * 1990-03-14 1991-09-18 Nortel Networks Corporation Antenne
EP0521377A2 (de) * 1991-07-03 1993-01-07 Ball Corporation Mikrostreifenleitungsantenne
EP0521377A3 (en) * 1991-07-03 1993-12-01 Ball Corp Microstrip patch antenna structure
EP0543519A1 (de) * 1991-11-20 1993-05-26 Nortel Networks Corporation Ebene Plattenantenne
DE4139245A1 (de) * 1991-11-26 1993-05-27 Ekkehard Dr Ing Richter Mikrowellenschlitzantennen
WO1995032528A1 (en) * 1994-05-23 1995-11-30 Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Company Modular electronic sign system
AU681525B2 (en) * 1994-05-23 1997-08-28 Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Company Modular electronic sign system
GB2299213A (en) * 1995-03-20 1996-09-25 Era Patents Ltd Antenna array
EP0807324A1 (de) * 1995-05-19 1997-11-19 Allen Telecom, Inc Antennenbefestigungsvorrichtung für zellular- und personenkommunikationssysteme
EP0807324A4 (de) * 1995-05-19 1999-06-16 Allen Telecom Inc Antennenbefestigungsvorrichtung für zellular- und personenkommunikationssysteme
WO1998037595A1 (en) * 1997-02-22 1998-08-27 Fortel Technology Limited Microwave antennas
US6225960B1 (en) 1997-02-22 2001-05-01 John Louis Frederick Charles Collins Microwave antennas
GB2535216A (en) * 2015-02-13 2016-08-17 Cambium Networks Ltd Antenna array assembly and method of construction thereof
GB2535216B (en) * 2015-02-13 2019-04-24 Cambium Networks Ltd Antenna array assembly using a dielectric film and a ground plate with a contoured surface
US10431904B2 (en) 2015-02-13 2019-10-01 Cambium Networks Ltd Antenna array assembly and method of construction thereof

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
KR890007450A (ko) 1989-06-19
AU624342B2 (en) 1992-06-11
AU2361988A (en) 1989-04-20
EP0312989A3 (en) 1990-07-04
DE3889061D1 (de) 1994-05-19
DE3889061T2 (de) 1994-07-21
EP0312989B1 (de) 1994-04-13
CN1018875B (zh) 1992-10-28
KR970002728B1 (ko) 1997-03-08
CN1034096A (zh) 1989-07-19

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