EP4325665A1

EP4325665A1 - Multi-frequency fusion phase-shifting feed network and base station antenna

Info

Publication number: EP4325665A1
Application number: EP22918146.6A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Sheng Wang; Xionghui FAN; Yanming Sun; Wei Cheng; Jiang Zhou
Original assignee: CICT Mobile Communication Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: CICT Mobile Communication Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-01-04
Filing date: 2022-07-01
Publication date: 2024-02-21
Also published as: WO2023130690A1; CN114447611A

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of antennas, and provides a multi-frequency fusion phase-shifting feed network and a base station antenna. The multi-frequency fusion phase-shifting feed network comprises a plurality of phase-shifting assemblies, each phase-shifting assembly comprises a phase-shifting circuit board and a slider assembly rotatably connected to the phase-shifting circuit board, and a phase-shifting circuit is provided on each phase-shifting circuit board; the plurality of phase-shifting circuit boards are divided into a first phase-shifting circuit board and a second phase-shifting circuit board, a combination circuit is provided on the first phase-shifting circuit board, and phase-shifting output ports of the phase-shifting circuit on the first phase-shifting circuit board and the phase-shifting circuit on the second phase-shifting circuit board are respectively connected to combined input ports of the combination circuit. By means of the multi-frequency fusion phase-shifting feed network and the base station antenna provided by the present application, multi-frequency independent phase shifting and fusion output can be realized, a combiner does not need to be independently arranged, reduction of occupancy of an antenna space is facilitated, layout is simplified, and cable solder joints are reduced; the phase-shifting feed network has good phase change stability and good consistency, and is convenient to assemble.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 202210002185.4 filed on January 04, 2022 , entitled "Multi-frequency Fusion Phase-shifting Feed Network and Base Station Antenna", which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The present application relates to the field of antenna, in particular to a multiband integrated phase-shift feed network and a base station antenna.

BACKGROUND

With the development of mobile communication technologies, mobile users are increasingly more, requirements for communication quality are increasingly higher and capacity is increasingly larger. To meet the growing demand for mobile networks, operators have introduced various communication network standards. To reduce the site area of stations, save antenna and feeder resources, and cut operating costs, co-located multiband integrated antenna become preferred choices for networking.
To improve utilization rate and coverage of a base station, different bands of a base station antenna form different beam directions, and beam directions are adjusted for different users, user targets are accurately covered, and service quality and communication efficiency are greatly improved. In such case, a multiband integrated feed network with independent electrical adjustment for different frequency bands is required.
In solutions of the related art, a combiner is disposed below a radiation unit, and combining the signals of each frequency band after being electrically adjusted by a phase shifter, and then connecting to the radiation unit. Feed networks in the related art have problems such as large antenna space occupation, complex layout, multiple cable solder joints, high intermodulation risk and poor indicator consistency.

SUMMARY

The present application provides a multiband integrated phase-shift feed network and a base station antenna, to solve the problems of large space occupation, complex layout, multiple cable solder joints, high intermodulation risk, and poor indicator consistency in the existing technology of feed network antennas.
The present application provides a multiband integrated phase-shift feed network, including a plurality of phase-shift components, where each of the plurality of phase-shift component includes a phase-shift circuit board and a sliding sheet component rotatably connected to the phase-shift circuit board, a position of the phase-shift circuit board corresponding to the sliding sheet component is equipped with a phase-shift circuit, the plurality of phase-shift circuit boards are divided into a first phase-shift circuit board and a second phase-shift circuit board, the first phase-shift circuit board is equipped with a combiner, and a phase-shift output port of a phase-shift circuit on the first phase-shift circuit board and a phase-shift output port of a phase-shift circuit on the second phase-shift circuit board are respectively connected to a combiner input port of the combiner.
According to the multiband integrated phase-shift feed network provided in the present application, the combiner is connected to the phase-shift output port on the first phase-shift circuit board through a microstrip, and the combiner is connected to the phase-shift output port on the second phase-shift circuit board through a cable.
According to the multiband integrated phase-shift feed network provided in the present application, the combiner is disposed at two ends of the first phase-shift circuit board, and at any one end of the first phase-shift circuit board, the combiner input port and a combiner output port connected to the second phase-shift circuit board and the combiner are disposed at an end of the phase-shift circuit board.
According to the multiband integrated phase-shift feed network provided in the present application, the first phase-shift circuit board is connected to a first support plate, two ends of the first support plate are equipped with a cable grip, and the cable grip is equipped with a cable lock slot.
According to the multiband integrated phase-shift feed network provided in the present application, an end of the first support plate is equipped with a step portion, and the cable grip is disposed at the step portion.
According to the multiband integrated phase-shift feed network provided in the present application, the plurality of phase-shift circuit boards are stacked in an upward-downward direction, and two adjacent phase-shift circuit boards are connected through a support member.
According to the multiband integrated phase-shift feed network provided in the present application, the sliding sheet component includes a coupling sliding sheet and a rotating shaft, the rotating shaft sequentially passes through an end of the coupling sliding sheet and the phase-shift circuit board, a fastener is detachably connected to an end of the rotating shaft passing through the phase-shift circuit board, the coupling sliding sheet is rotatably connected to the rotating shaft, and the rotating shaft is integrally and fixedly connected to the phase-shift circuit board through the fastener.
According to the multiband integrated phase-shift feed network provided in the present application, the fastener is a fastening nut, a portion of the rotating shaft passing through the phase-shift circuit board is equipped with an external thread matched with the fastening nut, and a side of the fastening nut facing the phase-shift circuit board is equipped with an elastic arm.
According to the multiband integrated phase-shift feed network provided in the present application, a positioning structure is equipped between the fastening nut and the phase-shift circuit board, and the positioning structure includes a bump disposed at a side of the fastening nut facing the phase-shift circuit board and a positioning hole matched with the bump and disposed at the first support plate.
The present application further provides a base station antenna, the base station antenna including the above-mentioned multiband integrated phase-shift feed network, and further includes a plurality of radiation units, where the radiation units are connected to the combined output ports of a plurality of combiners in one-to-one correspondence.
The present application provides a multiband integrated phase-shift feed network and a base station antenna. A plurality of phase-shift components are provided to achieve independent phase-shift of signals of different frequency bands, and the phase-shift output ports of a plurality of phase-shift components are connected to the combiner of the first phase-shift circuit board, and the signals of each frequency band are combined through the combiner to achieve independent phase-shift of different frequency bands and combined output. The combiner is integrated on the first phase-shift circuit board, without requiring a separate combiner. This is convenient to be connected, antenna space occupation is reduced, layout is simplified, and cable solder joints is decreased. The phase-shift component includes the phase-shift circuit board and the sliding sheet component, which has a simple structure and facilitates reducing installation space. The phase-shift feed network has good phase change stability, good consistency, and is easy to assemble.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To provide a clearer description of the solution in the present application or prior art, a brief introduction will be given to the accompanying drawings required in the description of embodiments or prior art. It is evident that the accompanying drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present application. For those ordinarily skilled in the art, other accompanying drawings may be obtained based on these drawings without any creative effort.

FIG. 1 is an overall exploded schematic diagram of a multiband integrated phase-shift feed network according to the present application;
FIG. 2 is an exploded schematic diagram of a first phase-shift circuit board according to the present application;
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a first phase-shift circuit board according to the present application;
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a second phase-shift circuit board according to the present application;
FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a first support plate according to the present application;
FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a cable grip according to the present application;
FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a support member according to the present application;
FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a rotating shaft according to the present application;
FIG. 9 is a first schematic diagram of a fastening nut according to the present application;
FIG. 10 is a second schematic diagram of a fastening nut according to the present application; and
FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of the fixing clamp according to the present application.

Reference numerals:

101:	first phase-shift circuit board;	102:	second phase-shift circuit board;
201:	first support plate;	202:	second support plate;
2011:	step portion;	2012:	installation lock slot;
2013:	opening;	2014:	assembly hole;
2015:	positioning hole;	3:	sliding sheet component;
301:	coupling sliding sheet;	302:	rotating shaft;
303:	fastening nut;	304:	fixing clamp;
3021:	blocking step;	3022:	section;
3023:	external thread;	3031:	threaded hole;
3032:	elastic arm;	3033:	bump;
3041:	circular hole;	3042:	elastic component;
4:	phase-shift circuit;	5:	combiner;
501:	combiner input port;	502:	combiner output port;
503:	pad;	6:	support member;
601:	installation hole;	602:	positioning column;
7:	cable grip;	701:	cable lock slot; and
702:	installation buckle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

To make the purpose, solution, and advantage of the present application clearer, the following provides a clear and complete description of the solution in the present application in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of them. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those ordinarily skilled in the art without creative effort fall within the scope of protection in the present application.
The following describes a multiband integrated phase-shift feed network and a base station antenna of the present application in conjunction with FIG. 1 to FIG. 11.
Referring to FIG. 1, the present embodiment provides a multiband integrated phase-shift feed network, which includes a plurality of phase-shift components. Each of the plurality of phase-shift component includes a phase-shift circuit board and a sliding sheet component 3 rotatably connected to the phase-shift circuit board. A position of the phase-shift circuit board corresponding to the sliding sheet component 3 is equipped with a phase-shift circuit 4. The sliding sheet component 3 is rotatable relative to the phase-shift circuit board, and the phase-shift circuit 4 may be provided within a rotation range of the sliding sheet component 3. The phase-shift component causes a phase difference of each port to change through rotating the sliding sheet component 3 relative to the phase-shift circuit board, thereby achieving the downward tilt of the base station antenna beam.
The plurality of phase-shift circuit boards are divided into a first phase-shift circuit board 101 and a second phase-shift circuit board 102. The first phase-shift circuit board 101 is equipped with a combiner 5, and phase-shift output ports of the phase-shift circuit 4 on the first phase-shift circuit board 101 and phase-shift output ports of the phase-shift circuit 4 on the second phase-shift circuit board 102 are connected to a combiner input port 501 of the combiner 5, respectively.
In the present embodiment, phase-shift circuit boards equipped with the combiner 5 are referred to as the first phase-shift circuit board 101, and phase-shift circuit boards without the combiner 5 are referred to as the second phase-shift circuit board 102. In the present embodiment, the combiner 5 is integrated and provided on the first phase-shift circuit board 101. By connecting the phase-shift output ports of a plurality of phase-shift circuit boards to the combiner input port 501 of the combiner 5, antenna signals are output after being combined through the combiner 5. A plurality of phase-shift circuit boards may correspond to antenna signals in a plurality of frequency bands, thus achieving multiband combined output through the combiner 5.
In the multiband integrated phase-shift feed network provided by the present embodiment, a plurality of phase-shift components are provided to achieve independent phase-shift of signals of different frequency bands, and the phase-shift output ports of a plurality of phase-shift components are connected to the combiner 5 of the first phase-shift circuit board 101. The signals of each frequency band are combined through the combiner 5 to achieve independent phase-shift of different frequency bands and combined output. The combiner 5 is integrated on the first phase-shift circuit board 101, without requiring a separate combiner. This is convenient to be connected, antenna space occupation is reduced, layout is simplified, and cable solder joints is decreased. The phase-shift component includes the phase-shift circuit board and the sliding sheet component, which has a simple structure and facilitates in reducing installation space. The phase-shift feed network has good phase change stability, good consistency, and is easy to be assembled.
Specifically, the number of phase-shift output ports on each phase-shift circuit board is the same, and the number is the same as that of combiner 5, and the number of combiner input ports 501 on each combiner 5 is the same as the number of phase-shift circuit boards. Each combiner 5 is equipped with a combiner output port 502. The corresponding phase-shift output ports on a plurality of phase-shift circuit boards are connected to a plurality of combiner input ports 501 of the combiner 5 one by one, and the output is achieved after being combined.
For example, referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, one first phase-shift circuit board 101 and one second phase-shift circuit board 102 are equipped. The first phase-shift circuit board 101 has one phase-shift input port and seven phase-shift output ports, and the second phase-shift circuit board 102 has one phase-shift input port and seven phase-shift output ports. The first phase-shift circuit board 101 is equipped with combiners 5 corresponding to the seven phase-shift output ports, i.e., the first phase-shift circuit board 101 is equipped with the seven combiners 5. Each combiner 5 has two combiner input ports 501 and one combiner output port 502. One of the two combiner input ports 501 of each combiner 5 is connected to the phase-shift output port on the first phase-shift circuit board 101, and the other of the two combiner input ports 501 of each combiner 5 is connected to the corresponding phase-shift output port on the second phase-shift circuit board 102. A set of phase-shift output ports corresponding to the first phase-shift circuit board 101 and the second phase-shift circuit board 102 are connected to one combiner 5, and the output is achieved after being combined.
In other embodiments, the number of phase-shift output ports on each phase-shift circuit board may be other values; and the corresponding number of the combiners 5 may also be other values, without specific limitations. The number of phase-shift circuit boards may also be three or more to achieve more combined outputs of different frequency bands, without specific limitations.
On the basis of above embodiments, further referring to FIG. 1, the combiner 5 is connected to the phase-shift output port on the first phase-shift circuit board 101 through a microstrip. The combiner 5 is provided on the first phase-shift circuit board 101, and the microstrip may be directly connected to the phase-shift output port and the combiner input port 501 on the first phase-shift circuit board 101, both cable settings and solder joints are reduced and the connection is facilitated. The combiner 5 is connected to the phase-shift output port on the second phase-shift circuit board 102 through a cable. For example, it can be connected through soldering with cables.
On the basis of above embodiments, further referring to FIG. 3, the combiner 5 is disposed at two ends of the first phase-shift circuit board 101, and at any one end of the first phase-shift circuit board 101, the combiner input port 501 and the combiner output port 502 connected to the second phase-shift circuit board 102 and the combiner 5 are disposed at an end of the phase-shift circuit board. In the present embodiment, the combiner 5 is distributed at two ends of the first phase-shift circuit board 101, which facilitates distribution of connection ports of the combiner 5 at an end of the first phase-shift circuit board 101, and facilitates the connection setting of the combiner 5. The phase-shift circuit is disposed at the middle of the first phase-shift circuit board 101, which facilitates the setting of the sliding sheet component.
Specifically, the combiner input port 501 and the combiner output port 502 of the combiner 5 connecting the second phase-shift circuit board 102 are arranged in a row, and the ports are arranged in an orderly manner, which facilitates ordered connections and cable settings. Furthermore, respective connection ports of the phase-shift circuit on the second phase-shift circuit board 102 may also be distributed at two ends, to connect in an orderly manner.
Furthermore, referring to FIG. 3, pads 503 are disposed at the combiner input port 501 and the combiner output port 502 of the combiner 5 connecting the second phase-shift circuit board 102 and the pads 503 are used for soldering with cables. The pads 503 at any one end of the first phase-shift circuit board 101 may be provided in a row, which facilitates ordered connections and soldering. Referring to FIG. 4, the pads 503 may also be provided at each connection port of the phase-shift circuit 4 on the second phase-shift circuit board 102 for soldering with cables.
On the basis of above embodiments, further referring to FIG. 2, the first phase-shift circuit board 101 is connected to a first support plate 201. The first support plate 201 may play supporting and fixing roles on the first phase-shift circuit board 101, which facilitates the support and installation of the first phase-shift circuit board 101. Two ends of the first support plate 201 are further equipped with cable grips 7 respectively, and the cable grip 7 is equipped with a cable lock slot 701. At two ends of the first phase-shift circuit board 101, a cable connected to the connection port of the combiner 5 may be fixed and supported through the cable slot 701 on the cable grip 7, which may achieve orderly cable layout.
Furthermore, the first phase-shift circuit board 101 and the first support plate 201 may be fixedly connected through a rivet, or through other connection means, without specific limitations. Referring to FIG. 1, the second phase-shift circuit board 102 is connected to the second support plate 202. The second support plate 202 may play supporting and fixing roles on the second phase-shift circuit board 102, which facilitates the support and installation of the second phase-shift circuit board 102. Furthermore, two ends of the second support plate 202 may further be provided with the cable grip 7 respectively for fixing the cable. The specific setting and structure may be similar to the setting of the first support plate 201 and the cable grip 7, and the description would be omitted.
On the basis of above embodiments, further referring to FIG. 5, an end of the first support plate 201 is equipped with a step portion 2011, the cable grip 7 is disposed at the step portion 2011 and the surface of the cable grip 7 is flush with a lower surface of the first phase-shift circuit board 101. An end of the first support plate 201 may be integrally bent to form the step portion 2011, and a surface of the end is lower than a surface of the middle. Therefore, when the cable grip 7 is installed on the step portion 2011, an upper surface of the cable grip 7 may be flush with a surface of the first phase-shift circuit board 101, which facilitates fixing a cable on the cable grip 7.
Referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, an upper surface and a lower surface of the cable grip 7 are equipped with a cable lock slot 701 respectively, and an opening 2013 is disposed on the first support plate 201 corresponding to the cable lock slot 701 on a lower surface of the cable grip 7. The cable lock slot 701 corresponding to the lower surface of the cable grip 7 passes through the opening 2013 on the first support plate 201 and the cable lock slot 701 is used to fix a cable. A lower surface of the cable grip 7 is equipped with an installation buckle 702, and the first support plate 201 is equipped with an installation lock slot 2012 matched with the installation buckle 702. The installation buckle 702 on the cable grip 7 is matched and connected with the installation lock slot 2012 on the first support plate 201 to connect fixedly the cable grip 7 with the first support plate 201. FIG. 5 only illustrates the structural setting of the opening 2013 and the installation lock slot 2012, and no limitation is made to the specific setting position and number of the opening 2013 and the installation lock slot 2012.
On the basis of above embodiments, further referring to FIG. 1, a plurality of phase-shift circuit boards are stacked in an upward-downward direction, and two adjacent phase-shift circuit boards are connected through a support member 6. In the present embodiment, the phase-shift component are stacked, which is convenient for cable setting and connection, facilitating reducing installation space.
Furthermore, referring to FIG. 7, a top and a bottom of the support member 6 are respectively equipped with an installation hole 601, and the phase-shift circuit board is detachably connected to the support member 6 at the installation hole 601, for example, through a screw, etc. A positioning structure matched with the support member 6 is also disposed between the support member 6 and the phase-shift circuit board. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the support member 6 may be in an I-shape; the upper surface and a lower surface of the support member 6 are used to connect with adjacent phase-shift circuit boards; and the support member 6 may also have other structures, without specific limitations. A top and a bottom of the support member 6 may be respectively provided with a positioning column 602, and the phase-shift circuit board may be correspondingly provided with a through hole matched with the positioning column 602. Positioning is achieved through the insertion and connection between the positioning column 602 and the through hole, which is convenient for installation.
On the basis of the above embodiment, further referring to FIG. 2, the sliding sheet component 3 includes a coupling sliding sheet 301 and a rotating shaft 302. The rotating shaft302 sequentially passes through an end of the coupling sliding sheet 301 and the phase-shift circuit board. A fastener is detachably connected to an end of the rotating shaft 302 passing through the phase-shift circuit board. The coupling sliding sheet 301 is rotatably connected to the rotating shaft 302. The rotating shaft 302 is integrally and fixedly connected to the phase-shift circuit board through the fastener. An end of the rotating shaft 302 passing through the phase-shift circuit board is connected to the fastener to be integrally connected with the phase-shift circuit board, i.e., the rotating shaft 302 is non-rotatable relative to the phase-shift circuit board. The coupling sliding sheet 301 is equipped with a coupling circuit, and the coupling sliding sheet 301 is rotatable relative to the rotating shaft 302, and phase-shift regulation is implemented through the rotation of the coupling sliding sheet 301.
Furthermore, the phase-shift circuit board is equipped with an assembly hole 2014 for the rotating shaft 302 to pass through. The assembly hole 2014 is a non-circular hole, and a part of the rotating shaft 302 corresponding to the phase-shift circuit board matches the non-circular hole. Referring to FIG. 8, a section 3022 may be provided on a side wall of the rotating shaft 302 a local part of the rotating shaft 302 has a non-circular cross-section used to match the assembly hole 2014 on the phase-shift circuit board and the rotating shaft 302 is non-rotatable relative to the phase-shift circuit board. Furthermore, a part corresponding to the rotating shaft 302 on the support plate (including the first support plate 201 or the second support plate 202) may also be provided with the assembly hole 2014. The assembly hole 2014 is a non-circular hole 3041 used to match the rotating shaft 302 to implement non-rotatable connection between the rotating shaft 302 and the support plate. The assembly hole 2014 may be a D-shaped hole.
Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 8, an end of the rotating shaft 302 passing through the coupling sliding sheet 301 is equipped with a blocking step 3021, and a cross-sectional size of the blocking step 3021 is larger than a cross-sectional size of the rotating shaft 302. An end of the rotating shaft 302 is equipped with the blocking step 3021, and the other end of the rotating shaft 302 is connected to the fastener after sequentially passing through the coupling sliding sheet 301 and the phase-shift circuit board. The blocking step 3021 is used to block the rotating shaft 302 from sliding out and falling off the coupling sliding sheet 301 and the phase-shift circuit board. The blocking step 3021 is equipped with a mistake-proofing structure. The mistake-proofing structure is used to identify a correct matching position between the rotating shaft 302 and the assembly hole 2014, which facilitates that the rotating shaft 302 smoothly passes through the assembly hole 2014 and is smoothly connected with the phase-shift circuit board. Specifically, the mistake-proofing structure may be identified by the shape of the blocking step 3021, i.e., the blocking step 3021 may be provided as a non-center-symmetric structure to indicate the assembly direction. The mistake-proofing structure may also be in other forms, without specific limitations.
On the basis of above embodiments, further referring to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the fastener is a fastening nut 303. The fastening nut 303 has a threaded hole 3031. A part of the rotating shaft 302 passing through the phase-shift circuit board is equipped with an external thread 3023 matched with the fastening nut 303. The rotating shaft 302 and the fastening nut 303 may be connected through a thread. A side of the fastening nut 303 facing the phase-shift circuit board is equipped with an elastic arm 3032, and the elastic arm 3032 is an elastic structure. When the fastening nut 303 is connected to the rotating shaft 302, the elastic arm 3032 may be abutted with the phase-shift circuit board or the support plate to achieve a fastened connection of the rotating shaft 302.
Specifically, referring to FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, in the present embodiment, a plurality of elastic arms 3032 may be provided circumferentially on the fastening nut 303, and the specific number of elastic arms 3032 is not limited.
On the basis of above embodiments, a positioning structure is disposed between the fastening nut 303 and the phase-shift circuit board. Referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 9, the positioning structure includes a bump 3033 disposed at a side of the fastening nut 303 facing the phase-shift circuit board, and a positioning hole 2015 matched with the bump 3033 and disposed at the first support plate 201. When the rotating shaft 302 and the fastening nut 303 are totally connected, the bump 3033 on the fastening nut 303 may be correspondingly inserted into the positioning hole 2015 on the first support plate 201 to limit the position of the fastening nut 303 and ensure a firm connection.
Furthermore, referring to FIG. 5, a plurality of positioning holes 2015 are equipped and are distributed in a circular shape. The fastening nut 303 have a plurality of positioning positions along the circumference, which improves installation flexibility and applicability. Furthermore, a connection between the fastening nut 303 and the second support plate 202 is similar to a connection between the fastening nut 303 and the first support plate 201 and the description thereof is therefore omitted.
Referring to FIG. 2, the sliding sheet component 3 further includes a fixing clamp 304, and a side of the coupling sliding sheet 301 away from the phase-shift circuit board is equipped with the fixing clamp 304. The fixing clamp 304 is rotatably connected to the rotating shaft 302 at a first end, and a slot through which the coupling sliding sheet 301 passes is disposed at a second end. The coupling sliding sheet 301 passes through the slot to be integrally and rotatably connected with the fixing clamp 304. The first end of the fixing clamp 304 may be equipped with a circular hole 3041 for the rotation of the rotating shaft 302 to achieve rotational connection with the rotating shaft 302. A support structure is disposed between the fixing clamp 304 and the coupling sliding sheet 301 and is used to apply a support force towards the phase-shift circuit board to the coupling sliding sheet 301, so as to maintain a stable gap between the coupling sliding sheet 301 and the phase-shift circuit board, and improves phase-shift stability.
Furthermore, referring to FIG. 11, the support structure includes an elastic component 3042 provided on the fixing clamp 304, the elastic component 3042 is disposed at a side of the fixing clamp 304 facing the coupling sliding sheet 301, used to be abutted against the fixing clamp 304 and the coupling sliding sheet 301, and applies an elastic support force to the coupling sliding sheet 301. The elastic component 3042 has elasticity and may be structures such as an elastic block, an elastic piece, or an elastic protrusion, without specific limitations. FIG. 2 and FIG. 11 mainly show the setting form of the circular hole 3041, the slot, and the support structure on the fixing clamp 304, and do not limit other structures.
On the basis of above embodiments, further, the present embodiment provides a base station antenna, including the multiband integrated phase-shift feed network as described in any one of above embodiments, and further including a plurality of radiation units. The radiation units are connected to the combiner output ports 502 of a plurality of combiners 5 in one-to-one correspondence.
On the basis of above embodiments, the present embodiment further provides a multiband integrated independent phase-shift feed network which integrates the phase-shift circuit and the combiner 5, for solving the problems that, in the related art, the phase shifter and combiner are independently placed inside the base station antenna, occupies a large amount of space inside the base station antenna with a complex layout, and the problem that a plurality of frequency bands are connected to each other through a cable terminal with multiple solder joints, high intermodulation risk, and poor indicator consistency. The phase-shift feed network includes: a phase-shift circuit, a combiner 5, a coupling circuit, a supporting and fixing structure, and a rotating structure. The rotation of the rotating structure drives the coupling circuit to rotate around the rotating shaft 302 tightly attached to the phase-shift circuit, which achieves independent phase-shift in different frequency bands. Different frequency bands are integrated through a cable connection to achieve phase-shift and combined output, which achieves multiband independent phase-shift and integrated output. The present embodiment has good phase change stability, and has an advantage of simple structure, low cost, good consistency, and easy assembly.
Specifically, the phase-shift circuit, the combiner 5, and the coupling circuit include: the phase-shift circuit board (i.e., a PCB) is fixed to a sheet-metal support plate; the combiner 5 is integrated on a phase-shift circuit board; and the coupling circuit is provided on the coupling sliding sheet 301. The supporting and fixing structure and the rotating structure include a fixing clamp 304, a first support plate 201, a second support plate 202, a high-temperature-resistant stop rivet, a cable grip 7, a rotating shaft 302, the rotating shaft 302, a fixing screw and a fastening nut 303. The sliding sheet is tightly attached to the PCB under a limitation of the fixing clamp 304 and the fixing screw. The fixing screw passes through the fixing clamp 304, the sliding plate, the PCB and the sheet-metal support plate. It has a limiting feature and can be fixed with the sheet-metal support plate and matched with the fastening nut 303 through the thread. The fixing clamp 304 and the sliding plate are rotatably connected to the fixing screw.
The fastening nut 303 has a standard feature of a nut, i.e., a threaded hole 3031. It may be automatically assembled by means of a torque tooling. The fastening nut 303 has a nut tightly-jacking position, i.e., the bump 3033, and the fastening nut 303 may be tightly jacked after being fixed with the above-mentioned fixing screw. The fastening nut 303 has an elastic arm 3032. When the fastening nut 303 is matched with the above-mentioned fixing screw, the elastic arm 3032 may provide a suitable compression force, which ensures that a sliding PCB and the PCB between the fastening nut 303 and the fixing screw are tightly attached. The sheet-metal support plate has a positioning hole 2015 for the fastening nut 303, the positioning hole 2015 may ensure that the nut is fixed and clamped into the positioning hole 2015 to prevent loosening. The sheet-metal support plate has a bending feature and a fixed hole for the cable grip 7. The bending feature is consistent with a thickness of cable grip 7, ensuring that an upper surface of the cable grip 7 is in flush with a lower surface of a main PCB substrate after fixation.
A first PCB and a second PCB are both equipped with several uniformly distributed arc-shaped slow wave microstrip structures, i.e., the phase-shift circuits, and the arc-shaped slow wave microstrip structures have a same center of a circle. The first PCB is equipped with the combiner 5, and two ends of the arc-shaped slow wave microstrip structure are connected to the combiner 5 through a microstrip circuit. The first PCB is connected to the second PCB through several coaxial cables.
A first phase-shift network is formed by enabling the sliding PCB to be tightly attached to the first PCB under an action of the fixing clamp 304 and rotate with an axis of the fixed screw. A signal is transmitted through the sliding PCB and the arc-shaped slow wave microstrip structure to achieve specific power distribution and phase change. A second phase-shift network is formed by enabling the sliding PCB to be tightly attached to the second PCB under an action of the fixing clamp 304, achieving independent phase-shift in a same way as the first phase-shift network. The first phase-shift network is connected to a combiner network through a microstrip on a same main PCB; the second phase-shift network is connected to the combiner network through a cable, and an output is achieved through the cable to achieve an independent phase-shift network that integrates different frequencies.
The cable grip 7 has a feature of a buckle and is fixed on the above-mentioned sheet-metal support plate. After being fixed, the cable grip 7 may support at a solder joint of the PCB substrate, ensuring that no stress is enforced between a cable and the PCB after soldering. The first phase-shift network and the second phase-shift network are fixedly supported by a plurality of I-shaped support members 6.
The present embodiment integrates a phase-shift and combiner network on the first PCB, which greatly improves the integration of the feed network, reduce the size of the entire feed network, and bettering performance consistency. An independent phase shift is achieved and the communication efficiency is improved while a volume of a communication base station is decreased.
Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the solution of the present application, not to limit it. Although the present application is described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those ordinarily skilled in the art should understand that the solution recorded in the aforementioned embodiments may still be modified, or some of the features may be replaced. these modifications or replacements do not separate the essence of the corresponding solution from the solution of the various embodiments of the present application.

Claims

A multiband integrated phase-shift feed network, comprising a plurality of phase-shift components, wherein each of the plurality of phase-shift components comprises a phase-shift circuit board and a sliding sheet component rotatably connected to the phase-shift circuit board, a position of the phase-shift circuit board corresponding to the sliding sheet component is equipped with a phase-shift circuit, the plurality of phase-shift circuit boards are divided into a first phase-shift circuit board and a second phase-shift circuit board, the first phase-shift circuit board is equipped with a combiner, and a phase-shift output port of a phase-shift circuit on the first phase-shift circuit board and a phase-shift output port of a phase-shift circuit on the second phase-shift circuit board are connected to a combiner input port of the combiner, respectively.
The multiband integrated phase-shift feed network of claim 1, wherein the combiner is connected to the phase-shift output port on the first phase-shift circuit board through a microstrip, and the combiner is connected to the phase-shift output port on the second phase-shift circuit board through a cable.
The multiband integrated phase-shift feed network of claim 1, wherein the combiner is disposed at two ends of the first phase-shift circuit board, and at any one end of the first phase-shift circuit board, the combiner input port and a combiner output port connected to the second phase-shift circuit board and the combiner are disposed at an end of the phase-shift circuit board.
The multiband integrated phase-shift feed network in any one of claims 1-3, wherein the first phase-shift circuit board is connected to a first support plate, two ends of the first support plate are equipped with a cable grip, and the cable grip is equipped with a cable lock slot.
The multiband integrated phase-shift feed network of claim 4, wherein an end of the first support plate is equipped with a step portion, and the cable grip is disposed at the step portion.
The multiband integrated phase-shift feed network in any one of claims 1-3, wherein the plurality of phase-shift circuit boards are stacked in an upward-downward direction, and two adjacent phase-shift circuit boards are connected through a support member.
The multiband integrated phase-shift feed network of claim 4, wherein the sliding sheet component comprises a coupling sliding sheet and a rotating shaft, the rotating shaft sequentially passes through an end of the coupling sliding sheet and the phase-shift circuit board, a fastener is detachably connected to an end of the rotating shaft passing through the phase-shift circuit board, the coupling sliding sheet is rotatably connected to the rotating shaft, and the rotating shaft is integrally and fixedly connected to the phase-shift circuit board through the fastener.
The multiband integrated phase-shift feed network of claim 7, wherein the fastener is a fastening nut, a portion of the rotating shaft passing through the phase-shift circuit board is equipped with an external thread matching the fastening nut, and a side of the fastening nut facing the phase-shift circuit board is equipped with an elastic arm.
The multiband integrated phase-shift feed network of claim 8, wherein a positioning structure is equipped between the fastening nut and the phase-shift circuit board, and the positioning structure comprises a bump disposed at a side of the fastening nut facing the phase-shift circuit board and a positioning hole matched with the bump and disposed at the first support plate.
A base station antenna, comprising the multiband integrated phase-shift feed network in any one of claims 1-9, and further comprising a plurality of radiation units, wherein the radiation units are connected to the combined output ports of a plurality of combiners in one-to-one correspondence.