JP2001028507A - Power distributor and multiplexer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate matching and manufacture by faithfully realizing a conductive pattern on the basis of a design reference in the case of Wilkinson type, in which a distribution rate or synthetic rate is unequal rate. SOLUTION: In this Wilkinson-type power distributor/multiplexer, power distributing/combining rates in signal ports 22 and 24 are relatively large and are made to be different from each other by more than two times. Here, branching lines 32 and 34 of a distribution stage and a merging line 36 of a combining stage are provided in the conductive pattern 30 of a transmission line formed on a line substrate 1, the power feeding rate of each branching part of the lines 32, 34 and 36 is selected within the range of relatively small values 1.0:2.0 to 0.5, and consequently, it is possible to improve a matching characteristic and to realize simplification and facilitation of a manufacturing process.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a power divider and a power combiner for a feed signal, and more particularly to an improvement of a Wilkinson type divider or a Wilkinson type conbinary.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When it becomes necessary to distribute one high-frequency signal to two or more or to combine two or more high-frequency signals into one, a power divider or a conbinary is used. A Y-type three-resistor power divider known as a power divider has the advantages that it can be easily designed for a band of use from DC to about 1 GHz and can be realized by the size of a resistor. However, there are drawbacks such as difficulty in obtaining a signal and a large signal loss. In particular, the signal loss is unsuitable for a microwave band or a millimeter wave band.

As shown in FIG. 3, a Wilkinson power divider used in a microwave band or a millimeter wave band has an input terminal A and a plurality of distribution terminals B, C, and D and is connected in a star shape. Resistances R1, R2, R equal to impedance
It is disclosed that n and the transmission line T1, T2, Tn whose impedance is イ ン ピ ー ダ ン ス N times the impedance of the system. A specific Wilkinson power divider that distributes two in a 50Ω system is formed by forming a substantially U-shaped planar metal microstrip line on a substrate. The power conbiner, which is a power combiner, uses the output terminals of the signal ports B to D shown in FIG.
Is used as an output side.

By the way, a so-called unequal distributor in which a power distributor has a different distribution ratio of an output side signal port, as shown in FIG.
Wavelength branch lines Z2 and Z3 are provided. That is,
In order to output one Z0 input-side signal port A to two Z0 output-side signal ports B and C with different distribution ratios, a branch line section Z2 in which the pattern of a microstrip line formed therebetween is changed. , Z3 and Z′2, Z′3. Here, λ indicates the wavelength of the passing signal, and R indicates the absorption resistance, and the width of the branch line portion is set in advance according to the power distribution ratio. If the power distribution ratio of the output side ports B and C is 1: 1, the line width is also selected to be the same dimension width in the relation of 1: 1. The dimension widths of different branch lines are different. Generally, the relational expression for obtaining the width of the branch line portion is as follows when the power distribution ratio is 1: K ² , the following expression is applied, and the line widths of Z2, Z′2, Z3 and Z′3 shown in FIG. And the resistance value R can be determined.

[0005]

(Equation 1)

[0006]

In the above-mentioned Wilkinson power divider, when the distribution ratio is largely different, the design dimensions of the transmission lines are largely different from each other, and it is difficult to obtain the transmission line accurately and accurately in terms of manufacturing. Becomes In particular, as the distribution ratio increases, one line width becomes smaller and smaller than the other line width, so that the influence is large, and it becomes difficult to obtain a line with desired accuracy. For example, when forming a conductive pattern of a transmission line, if the distribution ratios are different from each other by two times or more, the width of the branch line becomes largely different, the actual size accuracy of the pattern formation is reduced, and it is difficult to realize the pattern according to the design standard. As a result, the line pattern on the thinner side is missing or defective in line width, and the voltage standing wave ratio (VSW) indicating the matching index is thereby reduced.
R) is deteriorated and the frequency characteristics fluctuate, resulting in a defective product that cannot be used practically or a product with large variations. If such a defective product is used as a power distributor for an antenna array device, not only the distribution ratio cannot be controlled to a predetermined value, but also poor matching characteristics and bad results for the transmission device.

Accordingly, the present invention has been proposed in view of the above problems, and has as its main object no problem in terms of actual production even when the power distribution ratio is large, and a power supply which can easily achieve desired matching characteristics. It is to provide a distributor. For example, in a Wilkinson structure, the distribution ratio is 2
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved power distributor capable of handling unequal ratios exceeding twice. Further, the power divider becomes a power combiner by exchanging the input and output, and therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a power divider and a combiner.

[0008]

According to the present invention, a transmission line for a high-frequency power supply signal is composed of a plurality of stages including a distribution stage and a synthesis stage, and is composed of power dividers and synthesizers having different distribution ratios or synthesis ratios. Therefore, it is suitable when the distribution ratio or the combination ratio is different from each other by two times or more, and adopts a stripline or microstripline structure for the transmission line for the feed signal, and at the same time, if necessary, improves the phase adjustment means and the isolation improvement. Means are provided, and a new and improved power splitter and a combiner for improving matching characteristics and improving efficiency by simplifying manufacturing are provided. Here, the distribution stage is a branch line, and the synthesis stage is a merge line. The power supply ratios of the respective stages are relatively small, specifically 1: 2 to 1: 0.5 which are within 2.0. It is characterized by being selected within the range.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a shield case in which a connector as a plurality of ports is mounted houses a line board having a transmission line provided on an insulating board, and a shield cover is formed by using an appropriate grounding member. Wherein the grounding member is a laminated member of an earth substrate, an earth foil and a rubber plate of a pressing elastic material. The microstrip line structure using the insulating space is completed by storing the line board in a shield case. Here, the transmission line is composed of a distribution stage having a shunt line set to a predetermined shunt power supply ratio and a combining stage having a shunt line set to a predetermined shunt power supply ratio. Disclosed is a power splitter or a combiner that is greatly different. More specifically, the individual feed ratios of the branching or merging lines are selected to be relatively small, less than 2.0, in other words in the range of 1: 2 to 0.5, and the power distribution ratio or power combining ratio of the signal ports Is relatively large 2.0
As described above, in other words, the difference is made to be not less than 1: 2 or not more than 0.5. The power divider / combiner is characterized in that the branch line and the merging line of the transmission line are formed by a conductive pattern with a strip line or microstrip line structure as a line substrate, and a phase adjusting means and an isolation improving means are additionally provided. Is disclosed.

[0010] According to the above-described structure, the split line section and the merge line section of the distribution stage and the synthesis stage in the strip line or the microstrip line of the transmission line have a power supply ratio in the range of 1: 2 to 0.5 ( 2.0 or less), there is no large difference in the branch line width, so that the variation in the line width can be reduced and the fabrication is facilitated. In other words, when the power supply ratio is greater than 1: 2 or less than 1: 0.5, and is a large value that is twice or more, the narrow side of the conductive pattern due to the large and small difference in line width. Disconnection and large variation occur in the pattern of the shunt line, which causes a failure of the transmission line and a defect in characteristics.

Further, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems,
The present invention proposes to add a phase adjusting means to the configuration of the above Wilkinson power divider / combiner. The phase adjusting means is a meandering conductive pattern for adjusting the entire length of the strip line or microstrip line, and thereby corrects the phase of each signal port distributed or combined. is there. For example, such an adjusting means makes the power supply to each antenna uniform when used in an antenna array device as a power distributor. The addition of the absorption resistor suppresses a decrease in isolation as a reverse coupling of the distributed output signal to the input terminal, and is useful for preventing abnormal oscillation.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention resides in a method of designing a pattern shape of a transmission line on a line board housed in a sealed case and a circuit configuration accompanying the method.
The main point is that the conductive pattern as a transmission line is formed in a specific shape including the branch lines 32 and 34 of the distribution stage and the synthesis line 36 of the synthesis stage as shown in FIG. Specifically, there are two structures, a microstrip line structure in which the conductive pattern of the line board in the shield case is insulated by the space, and a strip line structure in which an insulating base member is interposed. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the power of a strip structure in which the insulating member side of the ground substrate 15 is closely attached to the pattern side of the line substrate 12 on which the conductive pattern is formed and is housed in the shield case 10 to cover and fix the shield cover 18 is provided. There are distributors or synthesizers.

An embodiment of the strip line structure according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The object of the present invention may be a power splitter or a power combiner, It is determined by which connector 26 of the signal ports is used as an input or an output. In the following, the description of the embodiment will be made with respect to a power divider. However, it should be understood that the terms "distribution" and "synthesis" and "input" and "output" are interchanged in order to form a power combiner.

As shown in FIG. 1, the Wilkinson type power distributor according to the present invention has a line substrate 12 in which a conductive pattern of a transmission line is formed on an insulating substrate and is housed in a shield case 10 via a grounding means 14. It is composed. The grounding member 14 has a laminated structure of an earth substrate 15, an earth foil 16, and an elastic pressing rubber plate 17, and after these are housed in a shield case, the shield cover 18 is covered and tightened by screws 27 to be electrically connected. . The shield case 10 has three signal ports 20, 22,
24 are provided, and a connector 26 is attached to each of them to serve as input and output terminals. The shield cover 18 fixed to the shield case 10 by a plurality of screws 27 secures a mechanical connection by a rubber plate 17 that effectively exerts a grounding function, and at the same time, a ground land and a shield of the ground foil 16 and the ground substrate 15. The case 10 is electrically connected. Further, an isolation improving chip resistor 28 is mounted on a predetermined position of a conductive pattern described later on the line board 12, and a pin 29 is provided for each port at the end of the conductive pattern. Configure the electrodes.

As shown in FIG. 2, the line board 12 has first to third signal ports 20, 22, and 24, an input signal is supplied to the first signal port 20, and the second and third signal ports are supplied to the first and second signal ports. Signals distributed at a desired power distribution ratio are output from the signal ports 22 and 24. In the line substrate 12, a conductive pattern 30 as a transmission line is formed on a Teflon insulating substrate according to design criteria. The feature of the present invention lies in this pattern shape, and a distribution stage of a plurality of shunt lines 32 and 34 set at a predetermined shunt power supply ratio;
And a synthesizing stage of the merging line 36 set to a predetermined merging power supply ratio. The embodiment shows a case where the power distribution ratio at the output side signal ports 22 and 24 is 5.7 times (1: 5.7), and the pattern design standard at that time matches the problem in pattern production. This was done to avoid the difficulty of taking the characteristics. That is, with respect to the first and second branch lines 32 and 34 of the distribution stage and the branch line 36 of the merge stage, the branch and merge power supply ratio of each branch is selected to be within a relatively small value of 2.0. And set the pattern layout. Next, the transmission line λ
The / 4 wavelength and the line width were set by the above-mentioned formulas, and the conductive land on the insulating substrate was etched to form a conductive pattern 30 having predetermined dimensions including the above-mentioned diverging and merging lines. The conductive pattern 30 of the line substrate 12 completed in this manner had no problem in production or alignment, and obtained satisfactory results in practical use.

Each branch line 32 of the distribution stage shown in the embodiment,
34 selects the other at 1.2 and 2.0 when one of the split power supply ratios is set to 1, and the merging line 36 of the synthesis stage sets the other at 1 when the merge power supply ratio is set to 1. The power supply ratio was set to be relatively small within 2.0 in each case. As a result of experimental trial and error,
The feed ratio at these branching or merging branches is preferably such that one should be selected to be 1 and the other should be selected within a range of 2 to 0.5, in other words a relatively small ratio of 2.0 or less. It was found and confirmed as a practical range.
In other words, if the power supply ratio is selected to exceed 2.0 such that the power supply ratio exceeds 1: 2 or becomes less than 1: 0.5, the thickness difference of the line width of the conductive pattern 30 increases, It has been found that a problem of disconnection or large variation is caused in the branch channel or the composite road on the thin line side, and this causes a reduction in matching characteristics. Therefore, the applicable range of the present invention is a large value in which the power distribution ratio of the output signal at the signal ports 22 and 24 is 1: 2 or more or 1: 0.5 or less and the distribution ratio is twice or more each other. Is the case.

Hereinafter, a specific ratio of the power distributor shown in FIG. 2 will be calculated. First, if a shunt power supply ratio of A: B = 1.2: 1.0 is selected for the first shunt line 32 of the distribution stage, it will be 55% on the A side and 45% on the B side, and the second shunt of the distribution stage will be described. If a shunt power supply ratio of C: D = 2.0: 1.0 is selected for the line 34, it becomes 30% to the C side and 15% to the D side.
Next, regarding each part of the merging line 36 of the synthesis stage, E: F =
A 1.8: 1.0 merge power supply ratio was selected, and 3
0% and 55% from the A side are synthesized. As a result, the output side signal port 22 has 85% and the signal port 24 has 15%.
% And the power distribution ratio between the two output ports is 5.7:
A 1.0 power divider is provided. Therefore, a power distributor having an unequal distribution ratio of 5.7 can be realized without difficulty in manufacturing accuracy.

The conductive pattern 30 of the line substrate 12 is
Line pattern meanders 41 and 42 were provided for phase adjustment, and were adjusted so as to match the phase in the synthesis stage. Such a phase adjusting means can be easily implemented by pattern design, and is determined by the degree of distribution and combination. In addition, in the case of equal phase, it is advantageous to provide a link for phase adjustment. Further, an absorption resistor is inserted between the shunt lines as an isolation improving means (see FIG. 1). Normally, in the case of a 50Ω characteristic impedance, a chip resistor of about 100Ω is interposed between the shunt lines, and a problem of reverse coupling attenuation between input and output and abnormal oscillation trouble caused when only a U-shaped line is formed. Useful for eliminating problems such as.

Although the embodiment shows a two-branch power distributor having a strip line structure, the present invention can be applied to a multi-branch distributor such as a three-branch or a four-branch, or a microstrip line structure. . In addition, as an application example, there is a use as an unequal distributor that distributes and supplies power to a large number of antennas, particularly when used in an antenna array device. As a specific characteristic improvement, matching was easily achieved, and transmission at a desired power was facilitated according to the direction of each antenna. Further, a combiner for combining a plurality of input signals can be realized by reversing the input and output of the distributor of the above-described embodiment.

[0020]

As shown in the above embodiment, the present invention is a Wilkinson power divider / combiner in which the distribution / combination ratios at the signal ports 22 and 24 are different from each other by at least two times. Line conductive pattern 30
Provided with a distribution stage having the branch lines 32 and 34 and a synthesis stage having the merge line 36, and each feed ratio of the branch line and the synthesis line is set to a relatively small value, from 1.0: 2.0 to
It is characterized by being selected within the range of 0.5, thereby achieving an improvement in matching characteristics and an improvement and simplification in the manufacturing process. That is, when the power distribution / combination ratio is relatively largely different and the values are more than twice apart, a multi-stage distribution stage and a combination stage are provided in the line pattern of the transmission line. Under these conditions, desired characteristics can be exhibited, and at the same time, simplification of the manufacturing surface is aimed at.
In particular, it is possible to provide a product with stable characteristics that is easy to match while accurately maintaining a desired distribution ratio or synthesis ratio, and to achieve high quality with a simplified manufacturing process and high accuracy to reduce variation, resulting in product quality and work efficiency. It has industrial and practical effects, such as helping to improve

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of components of a power distributor according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a line board which is a main part of the power distributor shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram illustrating a conventional Wilkinson power divider;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a conventional power distributor having different distribution ratios.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: shield case 12: line board 14: grounding member (earth board 15, earth foil 16,
Elastic rubber plate 17) 18: shield cover 20, 22, 24: signal port 28: chip resistance (isolation improvement means) 30: conductive pattern (transmission line) 32, 34: branch line (distribution stage) 36: junction line (Synthesis stage) 41, 42: meandering part (phase adjusting means)

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A power supply signal transmission line having a plurality of output or input signal ports and including a distribution stage by a shunt line and a synthesis stage by a merging line is provided. A power divider or a combiner for setting a combining ratio. 2. The transmission line is a strip line comprising a conductive pattern interposed between an insulating substrate and a ground member,
The power distributor or the combiner according to claim 1, wherein the power distributor or the combiner is housed in a shield case. 3. The transmission line according to claim 1, wherein the transmission line is a microstrip line comprising a conductive pattern disposed on an insulating substrate, and the transmission line is accommodated in a shield case.
3. The power distributor or combiner according to claim 1. 4. The diverting line and the merging line have a power supply ratio of each line selected within a relatively small value of 2.0,
2. The power distribution ratio / combination ratio between the signal ports is varied by a relatively large value of 2.0 or more.
4. The power distributor or the combiner according to any one of items 3 to 3. 5. The power splitter or combiner according to claim 4, wherein said transmission line includes phase adjusting means. 6. The power divider or combiner according to claim 4, wherein said transmission line comprises a conductive pattern phase adjusting means and an isolation improving means. 7. A Wilkinson-type power distributor in which a line board provided with a transmission line for a power supply signal on an insulating board is housed in a shield case provided with a plurality of output signal ports, and wherein the transmission line is provided in a predetermined manner. And a synthesizing stage composed of merged lines having a predetermined merged power supply ratio, and the power supply ratio of each line is selected to be relatively small within 2.0 and the output is selected. A power distributor characterized in that the power distribution ratios of the signal ports are varied over a relatively large value of 2.0. 8. A Wilkinson power combiner in which a line board having a transmission line for a power supply signal provided on an insulating board is housed in a shield case provided with a plurality of input signal ports, and wherein the circuit is configured. And a distribution stage consisting of shunting lines having a predetermined shunting power supply ratio. A power combiner wherein the power combiner ratios of the signal ports are made different from each other over a relatively large value of 2.0.