JP2001284902A - Phase shifter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a phase shifter in a simple configuration, having stable high frequency characteristics. SOLUTION: A rotating coupling conductor 13 is press-contacted to the side of a substrate 17 with a press-contact 43 of a pressure member so that the rotating coupling conductor 13 and a fixed conductor can be coupled and the rotating coupling conductor 13 and a central conductor 16 can be coupled electrostatically respectively in stable state. By rotationally driving press-contact members 43-45 in electrostatic coupling, the rotary coupling conductor 13 is rotated and a phase shift quantity can be changed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an array antenna for setting a main beam direction by adjusting a phase difference between antenna elements, thereby setting a communication area and suppressing interference between base stations. Related to the phase shifter used.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An array antenna 1 has a plurality of antenna elements 2 as shown in FIG. The beam direction θ can be set. In a conventional phase shifter, an arc-shaped strip conductor is fitted on a fixed substrate, and a rotary coupling conductor such as a clock hand is brought into contact with the strip conductor via an insulating film to rotate the rotary coupling conductor. In some cases, the phase shift amount is changed continuously (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-13103).
The reason for the interposition of the insulating film is that, when metals are brought into direct contact with each other, intermodulation wave distortion occurs and a communication failure occurs.

[0003]

However, in the phase shifter, since the rotary coupling conductor rotates, in order to supply an input signal thereto, a member (rotary) capable of maintaining electrical coupling while rotating is provided. Joint) is required. In the phase shifter described in the above publication, an axis serving as an input terminal is formed at the center of the rotary coupling conductor, and a rotary joint is coupled to the axis.

However, when a shaft is formed on a rotation coupling conductor,
When a rotary joint is used, the configuration of the phase shifter becomes complicated, and the shaft and the rotary joint become antennas for radiating radio waves, causing disturbance in the high-frequency characteristics of the phase shifter. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to realize a phase shifter having a simple configuration and having stable high-frequency characteristics.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided a phase shifter provided with an arc-shaped or annular fixed conductor provided on a substrate and a center position of the arc or ring on the same substrate. A center conductor, a rotation coupling conductor that couples the center conductor and the fixed conductor through an insulating film, a pressure contact member that presses the rotation coupling conductor against the substrate, and a rotation driving unit that rotates the pressure contact member. It is provided with.

According to the above-described structure, the rotary coupling conductor is pressed against the substrate by the pressing member. Thereby, the rotation coupling conductor and the fixed conductor, and the rotation coupling conductor and the center conductor can be electrostatically coupled to each other via the insulating film in a stable state. Then, by rotating the pressure contact member by the driving means in the state of being electrostatically coupled, the rotation coupling conductor can be rotated to change the amount of phase shift. Since the rotation coupling conductor does not have an axis protruding toward the substrate as in the related art, unnecessary radiation can be eliminated, and the high-frequency characteristics of the phase shifter can be improved.

[0007] A through hole is formed in each of a rotation center portion of the rotation coupling conductor and a center portion of the insulating film, and a hole is formed in the center conductor. The press-contact member penetrates these through holes. It is preferable to have a projection fitted into the hole. According to this configuration, since the projection serves as the center of rotation, the pressing member can be smoothly rotated when the driving member is driven to rotate.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of an array antenna incorporating a phase shifter. This array antenna includes a + 45-degree polarized antenna element 8a and-
This is a polarization diversity array antenna in which 45 ° polarized antenna elements 8b are arranged vertically. Antenna elements 8a, 8b
The three groups following the vertical line form one feed unit, and the five feed units form an array antenna. These power supply units are represented by reference numerals 2a to 2e. The array antenna includes phase shifters 3a and 3b with variable phase shift angles.

The feed signal to the array antenna is distributed by the distributor 5, and the + 45 ° fixed phase shifter 6a and-
It is supplied to a 45 ° fixed phase shifter 6b. Output signals from the fixed phase shifters 6a and 6b are distributed by distributors 7a and 7b, respectively, and one of the distributed signals is directly supplied to the power supply unit 2c. On the other hand, a phase difference is given by the phase shifters 3a and 3b, and the feed units 2a and 2b;
Power is supplied to d and 2e. The phase shifters 3a and 3b (indicated by 3 when collectively referred to) have the same structure, and are connected to each other by connecting rods (not shown) so that the rotations are linked.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of a phase shifter that changes the phase shift. The phase shifter 3 is provided on a fixed ground plate (not shown) made of metal (copper, aluminum, or the like).
An insulating substrate 17 in which an arc-shaped strip conductor (fixed conductor) 15 and a cylindrical central conductor 16 are fitted, a rotating rod 12 for supporting a rotating coupling conductor 13, and an insulating film 14 made of an insulator such as polytetrafluoroethylene. It has. An adhesive is applied to the lower surface of the insulating film 14.

In FIG. 2, the insulating film 14 is a disc-shaped sheet that covers the entire strip conductor 15, but the insulating film 14 is formed into a shape matching the surface of the center conductor 16 and the surface of the strip conductor 15, respectively. An adhesive may be applied and attached, or an adhesive may be applied and attached to the surface of the rotary coupling conductor 13. The center hole C of the center conductor 16, the insulating film 14, and the rotating rod 12
a, 14a, and 12a are provided, and the center conductor 16,
In a state where the insulating film 14 and the rotary rod 12 are in contact with each other, an insertion protrusion 43a described later
It penetrates 14a and 12a. The rotating rod 12 is driven to rotate about the rotating hole 12a.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the entire phase shifter including the rotating mechanism, and FIG. 4 is a plan view. The phase shifter rotation mechanism is
The entire mounting plate 33 has four rotation axes A to D provided so as not to move up and down. The rotation shaft A is a rotation shaft of the electric motor 21 and has a gear 22 mounted thereon. The rotating shaft B is provided with a gear 23 meshing with the gear 22. Further, an engagement protrusion 2 for feeding the gear 28 is provided on the rotation shaft B.
6 are formed. The rotating shaft B is provided with a rotating plate 31 having a scale. The rotation of the rotating plate 31
The light is magnetically or optically detected by the detector 32.

The rotating shaft C is connected to a pressing member 4 described later, and has a semicircular gear 28 mounted thereon. Since the pin 27 that resiliently moves is inserted into the teeth of the gear 28, the gear 28 can push the pin 27 away and rotate one tooth at a time. The pin 27 has a rotation axis D
Is fixed to one end of an L-shaped bracket 25 rotatably mounted on the bracket. The other end of the metal fitting 25 is pulled in the direction of arrow E in FIG.
Therefore, the pin 27 is always urged in the direction of biting the teeth of the gear 28.

Further, a rotating plate 29 is mounted on the rotating shaft C. The rotating plate 29 is provided with a plurality of holes 29a functioning as encoders. By detecting the position of the holes 29a by the detector 30, the rotation angle of the rotating shaft C can be detected. The phase shifter 3 includes a support plate 18 a for supporting a metal fixed ground plate 18, an insulating substrate 17, an insulating film 14 (not shown in FIG. 3), a rotating rod 12, and a pressure contact member 4 for pressing the rotating rod 12 ( And a support member 46 that receives the reaction force of the press contact member 4 and rotates integrally with the rotation axis C. The support member 46 and the press contact member 4 can rotate together without slipping. The reference numeral 16b on the bottom surface of the support plate 18a
Indicates a power supply end of the center conductor 16.

FIG. 5 is a plan view for explaining the rotation operation of the phase shifter rotation mechanism. By rotating the electric motor 21 to rotate the rotating shaft B about one turn in the direction of arrow F as shown in FIG. 5 (a), the engagement protrusion 26 formed on the rotating shaft B
Moves the teeth of the gear 28 in the direction of arrow G. At this time,
As described above, the teeth 2 of the gear 28
Since the gear 7 is inserted, the gear 28 can rotate by one tooth in the direction of arrow G by pushing away the pin 27.

Further, as shown in FIG.
After about one rotation in the direction, the engagement protrusion 26 formed on the rotation axis B advances the teeth of the gear 28 in the direction of arrow I. Also at this time, as described above, the gear 28 can rotate by one tooth in the direction of the arrow I by pushing the pin 27 away. The engagement protrusion 26 may advance the tooth of the gear 28 by one tooth in the direction of arrow G or I, and even if the engagement protrusion 26 rotates further, the rotation angle is changed to the next tooth. Does not contribute to the rotation of the gear 28 unless the angle to advance For this reason, there is an advantage that the rotation angle accuracy of the engagement protrusion 26, that is, the rotation axis B is not required to be as strict as when the rotational motion is generated by the motor and the linear motion is changed using the cam.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing the pressing member 4 which rotates together with the rotating rod 12 of the phase shifter 3 and presses the rotating rod 12 against the insulating substrate 17. The press-contact member 4 is mounted on a support member 46 and includes a support tube 44 and a press-contact body 43 that press the rotary rod 12 at a central portion, and a support tube 42 and a press-contact member 41 that press the rotary rod 12 at both ends. Support cylinder 42,
44, pressing members 41 and 43, and an insertion protrusion 43a to be described later.
Are all made of resin (phenol resin, polycarbonate resin, etc.).

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the supporting cylinder 44 (JJ in FIG. 6).
FIG. The pressure contact body 43 is inserted into the support cylinder 44 so as to be movable in the up-down direction. Inside the support cylinder 44,
A compression spring 45 is arranged, and this compression spring 45 pushes down the press contact body 43 downward. An insertion protrusion 43 is formed at the tip of the pressure contact body 43.
Is inserted into the hole 16 a of the center conductor 16 through the hole of the rotating rod 12 and the hole of the insulating film 14. The rotating rod 12 is pressed by the bottom surface 43 a of the pressure contact body 43, thereby realizing stable electrostatic coupling between the rotating coupling conductor 13 arranged in a layer on the lower surface of the rotating rod 12 and the center conductor 16. .

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the support cylinder 42 (KK of FIG. 6).
FIG. The press contact body 41 is inserted into the support cylinder 42 so as to be movable in the up-down direction. Inside the support cylinder 42,
A compression spring 45 is arranged, and the compression spring 45 pushes down the press contact body 41 in a downward direction. Therefore, the pressure contact body 4
1 can hold down the rotating rod 12 with the bottom surface 41a,
Rotary coupling conductor 13 arranged in layers below rotating bar 12
Then, stable electrostatic coupling with the arc-shaped strip conductor 15 can be achieved.

Since the pressure contact body 41 is fitted into a concave portion provided on the upper surface of the rotary rod 12, when the pressure contact body 41 rotates, the rotary rod 12 also rotates accordingly. With the structure of the rotating rod 12 and the pressing member 4 as described above, when the rotating shaft C rotates, the supporting member 46 and the pressing member 4
Rotates with it, causing the rotating rod 12 to rotate. In this case, as described above, the electrostatic coupling between the rotation coupling conductor 13 formed on the lower surface of the rotating rod 12, the center conductor 16 and the arc-shaped strip conductor 15 is maintained, so that an electrically stable transfer is achieved. Phase characteristics can be realized.

The implementation of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention. For example, two phase shifters 3 are provided because they are used for diversity array antennas, but only one phase shifter 3 is used for non-diversity array antennas.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, unnecessary radiation can be eliminated with a simple configuration, so that a phase shifter having stable high-frequency characteristics can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of an array antenna incorporating a phase shifter.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a main part showing a part of the phase shifter 3 that changes a phase shift.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the entire phase shifter including a rotation mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the entire phase shifter including a rotation mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a plan view for explaining a rotation driving operation of the phase shifter rotation mechanism.

6 is a front view showing a pressing member 4 for pressing the rotating rod 12 against an insulating substrate 17 while rotating together with the rotating rod 12 of the phase shifter 3. FIG.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view (a JJ cross-section in FIG. 6) of the support cylinder 44;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view (cross-section taken along the line KK in FIG. 6) of the support cylinder 42;

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a state in which a radio wave is emitted from the array antenna 1 in the main beam direction θ.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A to D rotation axes 1 Array antenna 2 Antenna element 3 Phase shifter 4 Pressure contact member 12 Rotating rod 14 Insulating film 15 Strip conductor 16 Center conductor 16a Rotating hole 17 Insulating substrate 21 Electric motor 26 Engagement projection 27 Pin 28 Gear 29 Rotating plate 29a hole 30 detector 41 pressure contact body 42 support cylinder 43 pressure contact body 43a insertion projection 44 support cylinder 46 support member

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued from the front page (72) Takashi Koizumi, Inventor 1-3-12 Moto-Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo F-term in Shim Design Technology Co., Ltd. (Reference) 5J012 GA14 5J021 AA05 AA07 AA11 DB03 EA06 GA02 HA05

Claims (2)

[Claims] An arc-shaped or annular fixed conductor provided on a substrate; a center conductor provided at a center position of the arc or ring on the same substrate; and the center conductor and the fixed conductor. And a rotation connecting conductor that couples the rotation bonding conductor through an insulating film; a pressure contact member that presses the rotation coupling conductor against the substrate side; and a rotation driving unit that rotates the pressure contact member. vessel. 2. A through hole is formed in each of a rotation center portion of the rotary coupling conductor and a center portion of the insulating film, and a hole is formed in the center conductor. 2. The phase shifter according to claim 1, further comprising a projection that penetrates through the hole and fits into the hole.