JP2011250108A - Diversity antenna - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a diversity antenna of a space diversity system which can achieve miniaturization while holding enough reception performance to reception electric waves from a required direction.SOLUTION: A diversity antenna of a space diversity system 10 has a dielectric material 13 positioned between a first antenna 11 and a second antenna 12. Each of the antennas 11 and 12 is a reverse F type antenna standing on a bottom board 14. Since the dielectric material 13 is positioned between each of the antennas 11 and 12, the effective length between each of the antennas 11 and 12 is longer than the actual distance due to a wave length shortening effect because of this dielectric material 13. Thus, connection between each of the antennas 11 and 12 can be restrained and directivity of each of the antennas 11 and 12 can be restrained from falling from the directivity (non-directivity) when they are separate. Therefore, it becomes possible to provide a diversity antenna 10 which is miniaturized enough while securing enough reception performance of a space diversity system.

Description

  The present invention relates to a diversity antenna used for receiving radio waves by a space diversity method.

  As an antenna mounted on a vehicle for vehicle-to-vehicle communication or road-to-vehicle communication, a diversity antenna is often used so that radio waves of a desired frequency can be satisfactorily received even in a multipath environment. A diversity antenna mounted on a vehicle is required to have good reception performance and to be downsized.

  As a technique for downsizing the diversity antenna, there is known a technique in which both horizontally polarized waves and vertically polarized waves can be received by crossing and combining two dipole elements. In other words, in view of increasing the size of a space diversity type diversity antenna, a polarization diversity type antenna is configured for simplification and miniaturization (see, for example, Patent Document 1). .)

JP 2009-200776 A

  However, since the technique described in Patent Document 1 is not intended to reduce the size of a space diversity antenna, it cannot be applied as a technique for reducing the size of a space diversity antenna. . As a vehicle-mounted diversity antenna, a space diversity system is often adopted, and therefore, a technique for miniaturizing a space diversity system antenna is desired.

  One of the simplest methods for reducing the size of a space diversity antenna is to bring a plurality of (for example, two) antennas constituting the diversity antenna close to each other.

  However, when the two antennas are brought close to each other, the closer the distance is, the more coupling occurs between the antennas. When coupling between antennas occurs, the directivity pattern of each antenna changes to make it difficult to receive radio waves from a desired direction (for example, in front of the vehicle), or the impedance of each antenna changes to deteriorate matching. Problem arises. Among these problems, the problem that the directivity pattern changes will be described more specifically with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 8 shows the horizontal plane directivity of each antenna when the distance between the antennas is changed with respect to a diversity antenna composed of two monopole antennas (first antenna and second antenna) vertically installed on the ground plane. It is shown. The upper part of FIG. 8 shows the directivity when the distance between the two antennas is λ / 2, and the lower part of the figure shows the directivity when the distance between the two antennas is λ / 8. Note that λ is the wavelength of the radio wave at the reception frequency.

  As shown in the upper part of FIG. 8, when the distance between the antennas is relatively far from λ / 2, the coupling between the antennas is weak, and the directivity (omnidirectionality) in the case where each exists independently is almost the same. The pattern is similar. For this reason, both the first antenna and the second antenna can satisfactorily receive radio waves from a desired direction (for example, forward; left direction in the figure).

  On the other hand, when the distance between the antennas is relatively close to λ / 8, the coupling between the antennas becomes strong, and the directivity of each antenna is lost as shown in the lower part of FIG. In other words, when they exist alone, each of them is omnidirectional, but has a biased directivity in which the gain is large only in a specific direction and the gain is small in other directions.

  Specifically, for the first antenna on the front side, the gain on the front side is maintained, but the gain on the rear side is reduced, and radio waves from the rear side cannot be received well. In contrast to this, with respect to the second antenna on the rear side, the gain on the rear side is maintained, but the gain on the front side is reduced, and radio waves from the front side cannot be satisfactorily received. For this reason, only the first antenna on the front side can receive radio waves from the front, and the performance of the spatial diversity antenna for satisfactorily receiving radio waves from the front is greatly deteriorated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to achieve a reduction in size while maintaining sufficiently the reception performance of the spatial diversity system with respect to received radio waves from a desired direction in the diversity antenna of the spatial diversity system. And

  The invention according to claim 1, which has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, is used for receiving radio waves by a spatial diversity method, and a plurality of antennas have a main polarization direction that is the same as each other. A diversity antenna which is arranged on the upper side in a direction parallel to the plate surface, and a combination of two adjacent antennas among a plurality of antennas is an antenna pair, and at least one antenna pair is A dielectric portion made of a dielectric material is provided between the first antenna and the second antenna which are the two antennas constituting the pair.

  In the diversity antenna configured as described above, since the dielectric portion is provided between the first antenna and the second antenna, the so-called wavelength shortening effect by the dielectric portion propagates between these antennas. The apparent distance (hereinafter also referred to as “effective length”) of the electromagnetic wave to be increased. That is, the effective length between the antennas is longer than the actual distance with respect to the received radio wave. How much the effective length is increased, that is, how much wavelength shortening effect is obtained depends on the relative dielectric constant of the dielectric portion between the antennas, and the higher the relative dielectric constant, the longer the effective length. And the longer the effective length, the smaller the coupling between the antennas.

  That is, even if the actual distance between the antennas is short, the coupling between the antennas can be reduced due to the wavelength shortening effect due to the presence of the dielectric portion between the antennas.

  Therefore, according to the diversity antenna of the first aspect, it is possible to provide a sufficiently small diversity antenna while sufficiently maintaining the reception performance of the spatial diversity method with respect to the received radio wave from a desired direction. Become.

  Which antenna is used as each of the first antenna and the second antenna can be appropriately determined. For example, as described in claim 2, each of the antennas is a monopole antenna standing on a ground plane. can do.

  According to the diversity antenna according to claim 2 configured as described above, since each antenna is a monopole antenna, each antenna can be simply configured, and as a result, the configuration of the diversity antenna as a whole can be simplified. Become.

  Note that the monopole antenna here includes a linear or plate-like monopole antenna that stands vertically on the ground plane, and of course, a monopole antenna deformation pattern, for example, a mono This includes all types of antennas that have a structure in which a pole antenna is bent at a right angle, such as a so-called inverted L-shaped antenna or a helical antenna, that is erected on a ground plane and fed between an antenna element (conductor element) and the ground plane.

  Next, the invention according to claim 3 is the diversity antenna according to claim 2, wherein each of the first antenna and the second antenna is at least a part of a conductor element constituting each antenna. All are formed on the surface of the dielectric portion.

  How to arrange the first antenna and the second antenna with respect to the dielectric portion can be determined as appropriate. For example, each antenna may be arranged independently of the dielectric portion, If at least a part is formed on the surface of the dielectric part, each antenna can be easily formed and each antenna can be easily held by the dielectric part.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the diversity antenna according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the first antenna and the second antenna is an inverted F antenna or an inverted L antenna.

  Thus, by using an inverted F antenna or an inverted L antenna as each antenna, the diversity antenna can be further reduced in size (particularly, the height in the direction perpendicular to the ground plane can be reduced).

  In addition, the first antenna and the second antenna may be composed of only the conductor elements that constitute the antenna. However, for example, as described in claim 5, the first antenna and the second antenna At least one of the two antennas may be fixed to an insulating holding member and configured as one antenna structure together with the holding member. And it is good to comprise the antenna structure as what was fixed to the side surface of the dielectric part.

According to the diversity antenna according to claim 5 configured as described above, each antenna can be reliably held regardless of its shape or the like.
If the dielectric is used as the holding member as described in claim 6, the above-described wavelength shortening effect can be further enhanced.

  Next, the invention according to claim 7 is the diversity antenna according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the diversity antenna receives at least radio waves coming from the front of the vehicle. Provided in the vehicle. The first antenna and the second antenna are arranged such that the feeding point of each antenna is separated by a predetermined distance in the vehicle front-rear direction.

  Thus, if the diversity antenna according to any one of claims 2 to 6 is used as a diversity antenna for receiving radio waves from the front of the vehicle mounted on the vehicle, the entire antenna can be downsized. On the other hand, radio waves from the front of the vehicle can be satisfactorily received by both the first antenna and the second antenna constituting the diversity antenna. Therefore, it is possible to provide a small and high-performance space diversity diversity antenna as a vehicle-mounted antenna for receiving radio waves from the front of the vehicle.

  In addition, in order to make the effective length of the first antenna and the second antenna longer, not only a predetermined distance in the front-rear direction but also a feeding point of each antenna is provided on the left and right sides of the vehicle. It may be arranged so as to have a positional relationship that is a predetermined distance away in the direction as well. In this way, the distance between the antennas becomes longer, and the coupling between the antennas can be further weakened.

  In order to further weaken the coupling between the first antenna and the second antenna, for example, as described in claim 9, the first antenna and the second antenna are perpendicular to the vehicle front-rear direction. It is preferable that the surfaces are erected so that the erection directions from the feeding point are not parallel to each other.

  For example, if the antennas are arranged parallel to each other, such as a configuration in which each antenna is erected vertically from the ground plane, the direction of the current flowing through each antenna will be the same, and the coupling will be made accordingly. It becomes easy. On the other hand, if the antennas are erected so as not to be parallel, the directions of currents flowing through the antennas are different, so that the coupling between the antennas can be weakened.

  Next, the invention according to claim 10 is the diversity antenna according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the distance between the feeding points of the first antenna and the second antenna is The wavelength corresponding to a predetermined frequency within the frequency band of the received radio wave of the diversity antenna (hereinafter also referred to as “received wavelength”) is ¼ or less.

  If the distance between the antennas is simply made ¼ or less of the reception wavelength in order to reduce the size of the diversity antenna, as described above, the coupling between the antennas becomes strong and the function of the spatial diversity system is impaired. Therefore, when the present invention (Claims 1 to 9) is applied in such a configuration in which the distance between the antennas is as short as ¼ or less of the reception wavelength, the coupling between the antennas can be suppressed by the wavelength shortening effect by the dielectric portion. Each antenna can maintain its directivity independently (that is, it can suppress the collapse of directivity due to coupling), which is more effective.

  Next, the invention according to claim 11 is the diversity antenna according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the dielectric portion is formed from the first antenna to the second antenna on the ground plane. 1 is formed of one dielectric material having a predetermined dielectric constant.

  That is, there are various ways of configuring the dielectric portion. For example, a multilayer structure in which a plurality of types of dielectric materials having different dielectric constants are laminated in the distance direction of each antenna may be configured. In addition, for example, it may be configured so as to include an air layer inside, but if it is configured by one dielectric material having a predetermined dielectric constant, the dielectric portion can be configured simply and at low cost. be able to.

  In addition, the number of a plurality of antennas constituting the diversity antenna can be determined as appropriate. For example, the antenna can be composed of three or more antennas. If the antenna is configured, the diversity antenna as a whole can be further reduced in size, weight, and cost.

It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the outline | summary of the diversity antenna mounted in the vehicle, and its transmission / reception circuit. It is a perspective view showing the schematic structure of the diversity antenna of a 1st embodiment. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the performance of the diversity antenna of 1st Embodiment, (a) represents the directivity by the antenna single-piece | unit, (b) is the case where two antennas are arrange | positioned close to the distance of (lambda) / 8 (C) represents the directivity of each antenna when a dielectric material is disposed between the two antennas. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the performance of the diversity antenna of 1st Embodiment, (a) is explanatory drawing showing the outline of the measurement system of the received power in a multipath environment, (b) is the received power by the presence or absence of a dielectric material. It is explanatory drawing showing the difference in (receivability rate). It is a perspective view showing schematic structure of the diversity antenna of a 2nd embodiment. It is a perspective view showing schematic structure of the diversity antenna of 3rd Embodiment. It is a perspective view showing schematic structure of the diversity antenna of a 4th embodiment. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the relationship between the distance of each antenna, and the directivity of each antenna in the diversity antenna of a space diversity system.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
As shown in FIG. 1, the diversity antenna 10 of the present embodiment is fixedly installed on the roof of the vehicle 100, and the first antenna 11 and the second antennas arranged at a predetermined distance in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 100. The antenna 12 has two antennas. Each antenna 11, 12 is connected to a control device 1 provided at a predetermined position inside the vehicle 100 by a coaxial cable for feeding. The diversity antenna 10 of the present embodiment is a diversity antenna based on a spatial diversity method.

  With such a configuration, radio waves received by the diversity antenna 10, that is, received signals by the antennas 11 and 12, are input to the control device 1, and various processes are performed by the control device 1. The diversity antenna 10 is also used for transmission. At the time of transmission, a desired transmission signal is transmitted from the control circuit to, for example, the first antenna 11 and radiated from the first antenna 11 to the front of the vehicle as a radio wave.

  The control device 1 combines the received signals received by the respective antennas 11 and 12 of the diversity antenna 10 by the maximum ratio combining method and the maximum ratio combining receiving circuit 2. A function of demodulating the reception signal and outputting the demodulated reception data to the control circuit 4; and a function of modulating the transmission data input from the control circuit 4 and outputting the modulated transmission signal to the transmission circuit 5. The modulation / demodulation circuit 3 includes a transmission circuit 5 that outputs a transmission signal from the modulation / demodulation circuit 3 to the diversity antenna 10, and a control circuit 4 that generates a transmission signal and processes a reception signal.

  That is, the control device 1 itself has a generally well-known configuration for realizing spatial diversity by the maximum ratio combining method. The maximum ratio combining method is weighted combining by controlling the phase of each received signal from the two antennas 11 and 12 so as to maximize the reception level and also controlling the amplitude of each received signal. It is well known as one of the methods for concretely realizing the space diversity system.

  The diversity antenna 10 is used for vehicle-to-vehicle communication in a collision prevention system in order to prevent the vehicles 100 from colliding with each other in advance at, for example, an intersection with poor visibility.

  Therefore, the arrival direction of the radio wave to be received is in front of the vehicle 100, and the diversity antenna 10 is configured so that the radio waves arriving from the front of the vehicle can be satisfactorily received by both the antennas 11 and 12. Then, the control device 1 detects the presence or the like of another vehicle approaching the host vehicle based on the received signals from the antennas 11 and 12, and uses the detection result to control the drive of the vehicle 100. Output to. Note that applying the present invention to a diversity antenna for vehicle-to-vehicle communication in a collision prevention system is merely an example.

  Next, a more specific configuration of the diversity antenna 10 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the diversity antenna 10 of the present embodiment is configured to be able to receive radio waves arriving mainly from the front of the vehicle by a spatial diversity method, and a ground plane 14 and its plate surface on the ground plane 14. The first antenna 11 and the second antenna 12 are arranged apart from each other in a direction parallel to the antenna 11, and the dielectric material 13 is arranged between the antennas 11 and 12. These are configured to be covered with a resin cover 17. FIG. 2 shows the diversity antenna 10 in a state in which the resin cover 17 is removed upward and the inside is exposed. Diversity antenna 10 is installed on the roof of vehicle 100 such that the plate surface of base plate 14 and the roof surface are substantially parallel. Therefore, the ground plane 14 of the diversity antenna 14 is substantially parallel to the road surface (ground) on which the vehicle 100 travels.

  The first antenna 11 and the second antenna 12 are both monopole antennas that stand on the ground plane 14 and have the ground plane 14 as a ground, and more specifically, are configured as inverted F-type antennas. That is, the two antennas 11 and 12 constituting the diversity antenna 10 of the present embodiment are erected on the ground plane 14 so that the main polarization directions are the same. Since the ground plane 14 is substantially parallel to the ground as described above, the antennas 11 and 12 both have vertically polarized radio waves arriving from the front of the vehicle. It is configured to receive well.

In addition, each of the antennas 11 and 12 has a configuration in which a conductor element constituting the antenna is deposited on the surface of a holding dielectric.
That is, the first antenna 11 is formed by vapor deposition on the surface of the rectangular parallelepiped first holding dielectric 11a. Specifically, among the first antenna 11 as an inverted F-type antenna, a thin plate-like conductor extending in a direction perpendicular to the plate surface of the ground plane 14 from the first feeding point 15 that is the feeding point of the first antenna 11. An element portion (hereinafter also referred to as “vertical conductor element portion”) is formed on the side surface of the first holding dielectric 11a on the front side of the vehicle by vapor deposition, and the conductor element portion parallel to the plate surface of the ground plane 14 of the first antenna 11 is formed. (Hereinafter also referred to as “horizontal conductor element portion”) is formed on the upper surface of the first holding dielectric 11a by vapor deposition, and short-circuits between the one end of the horizontal conductor element portion of the first antenna 11 and the ground plane 14. Is deposited on the right side surface of the first holding dielectric 11a.

  Similarly, the second antenna 12 is also vapor-deposited on the surface of the rectangular parallelepiped second holding dielectric 12a. Specifically, among the second antenna 12 as an inverted F-type antenna, a thin plate-like conductor element portion (vertical conductor element portion) extending in the vertical direction from the second feed point 16 that is the feed point of the second antenna 12. Is formed on the side surface of the second holding dielectric 12a on the vehicle rear side, and the conductor element portion (horizontal conductor element portion) parallel to the plate surface of the ground plane 14 of the second antenna 12 is the second holding dielectric. A short-circuit portion that is short-circuited between one end of the horizontal conductor element portion of the second antenna 12 and the ground plane 14 is formed on the left side surface of the second holding dielectric 12a. .

  The rear side surface of the first holding dielectric 11a is bonded and fixed to the side surface of the dielectric material 13 formed in a rectangular parallelepiped on the front side of the vehicle. That is, the 1st antenna 11 is being fixed to the front side surface of the dielectric material 13 as one antenna structure with the 1st dielectric material 11a for hold | maintaining this.

  Further, the front side surface of the second holding dielectric 12 a is bonded and fixed to the side surface of the dielectric material 13 on the vehicle rear side. That is, the second antenna 12 is fixed to the rear side surface of the dielectric material 13 as one antenna structure together with the second holding dielectric 12a for holding the second antenna 12.

  The antennas 11 and 12 are in a positional relationship such that the first antenna 11 is located in front of the vehicle when viewed from the second antenna 12. The antennas 11 and 12 are arranged so as to be separated by a predetermined inter-antenna front-rear direction distance dx in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 100, and between the predetermined antennas in the left-right direction of the vehicle 100 (a direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction). They are arranged so as to be separated by a lateral distance dy. The distances dx and dy referred to here indicate distances between the feeding points 15 and 16 with reference to the feeding points 15 and 16 of the antennas 11 and 12, respectively. In the present embodiment, the longitudinal distance dx between the antennas is configured to be ¼ of the wavelength (reception wavelength) λ corresponding to a predetermined frequency (for example, the center frequency) within the frequency band of the received radio wave. Yes.

The dielectric material 13 provided between the antennas 11 and 12 is composed of one dielectric (dielectric material) having a predetermined relative dielectric constant εr.
With such a configuration, the phase difference in the received power of each of the antennas 11 and 12 is not only the phase difference corresponding to the actual distance between the first antenna 11 and the second antenna 12 but also the radio wave propagates in the dielectric material 13. The phase difference determined by the wavelength shortening rate at that time is added, and the relationship is farther from the actual distance.

  In other words, since the dielectric material 13 is provided between the first antenna 11 and the second antenna 12, due to the wavelength shortening effect of the dielectric material 13, the apparent radio waves propagating between the antennas 11 and 12 are apparent. The distance (effective length) becomes longer. That is, the effective length between the antennas 11 and 12 with respect to the received radio wave is longer than the actual distance. How much the effective length is increased, that is, how much wavelength shortening effect is obtained depends on the relative permittivity εr of the dielectric material 13 between the antennas 11 and 12, and the effective length increases as the relative permittivity εr increases. become longer.

  In addition, since the wavelength shortening rate by a dielectric material is well known, although detailed description is abbreviate | omitted, it is as follows when it outlines. That is, when a radio wave (electromagnetic wave) propagates in a dielectric, its propagation speed decreases according to the dielectric constant εr of the dielectric, and specifically decreases to 1 / √εr (however, The relative permeability is assumed to be 1). Therefore, the wavelength of the radio wave propagating in the dielectric is 1 / √εr times the wavelength in vacuum. Therefore, when a dielectric having a relative dielectric constant εr is arranged between two antennas, the effective length between the antennas is √εr times the actual distance.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the distance dx between the front and rear antennas is set to λ / 4. However, in general, when a diversity antenna of a spatial diversity system is configured, the distance between the two antennas is λ / 4. Then, the coupling between the antennas becomes strong, the directivity of each antenna is lost, and the function as a diversity antenna is impaired. Therefore, in general, when configuring a spatial diversity antenna, it is necessary to maintain a certain distance, such as the distance dx between the antennas in the front-rear direction is more than λ / 4 (for example, λ / 2 or more). .

  On the other hand, the diversity antenna 10 of the present embodiment has the antennas 11 and 12 so that the function of the space diversity system can be maintained satisfactorily while keeping the distance dx between the antennas in the longitudinal direction as close as possible (λ / 4 in this example). A dielectric material 13 is provided between the two. The effective length is longer than the actual distance due to the wavelength shortening effect of the dielectric material 13, thereby weakening the coupling between the antennas 11 and 12, and sufficiently functioning as a spatial diversity antenna. It is to be retained.

  Here, it is more concrete using FIG. 3 that the directivity is lost due to the coupling when the two antennas are close to each other, and the collapse of the directivity can be suppressed by providing a dielectric material between the antennas to weaken the coupling. Explained.

  First, FIG. 3A shows the directivity of the first antenna 11 alone. That is, the directivity on the right side of FIG. 3A represents the directivity in the configuration in which the first antenna 11 is erected independently on the ground plane 19 as shown on the left side of FIG. As shown to Fig.3 (a), when the 1st antenna 11 exists independently, the directivity becomes substantially non-directional.

  In contrast, FIG. 3B shows the directivity of the diversity antenna including the two antennas 11 and 12. That is, the directivity on the right side of FIG. 3B represents the directivity of the diversity antenna composed of the two antennas 11 and 12 erected on the ground plane 14 as shown on the left side of the figure. The distance between the antennas 11 and 12 (the distance corresponding to the inter-antenna longitudinal distance dx in FIG. 2) is set to a distance close to λ / 8.

  Since the antennas 11 and 12 are arranged close to each other in this way, coupling occurs between the antennas 11 and 12, and as a result, the directivity of each antenna 11 and 12 is as shown in FIG. The directivity (non-directivity) shown in FIG. 1 is greatly lost, the gain in a specific direction is large, and the gains in other specific directions are very small.

  Among these, for the first antenna 11, the gain on the right side of the front is a sufficient value, and although the directivity is lost, the radio waves from the front can be received temporarily. However, since the directivity is biased to the front right side, the reception sensitivity of radio waves from the front left side deteriorates. On the other hand, for the second antenna 12, the gain on the left rear side is a sufficient value, but the gain on the front side is small. Therefore, it is difficult to satisfactorily receive radio waves from the front by the second antenna 12. Thus, when the two antennas 11 and 12 are arranged close to each other, the directivity of each antenna is lost due to the coupling between the antennas, and the function as a spatial diversity antenna is impaired. In the example shown in FIG. 3B, only the first antenna 11 can receive radio waves coming from the front. Moreover, although the first antenna 11 can also receive radio waves from the front, since the directivity is biased as shown in FIG. 3B, the radio wave reception sensitivity is lower than that of a single antenna. To do.

  On the other hand, FIG. 3C shows a configuration in which the dielectric material 13 is arranged between the two antennas 11 and 12 with respect to the configuration of FIG. 3B, that is, the diversity of the present embodiment shown in FIG. This is the antenna 10. As shown in FIG. 3C, by disposing the dielectric material 13 between the two antennas 11 and 12, the directivity of each antenna 11 and 12 is largely prevented from being lost, and is substantially non-directional. It may be treated that the state of sex is maintained.

  Therefore, both antennas 11 and 12 can receive radio waves from the front well, and the function as a space diversity antenna is sufficiently maintained. As described above, the omnidirectional state is maintained even though the distance between the antennas 11 and 12 is the same (λ / 8) as in FIG. This is because the effective length between the antennas 11 and 12 is increased by this, and thereby the coupling between the antennas 11 and 12 is suppressed.

  Measurement results of received power when the reception is actually performed in a multipath environment with the configuration of FIG. 3B (configuration without a dielectric material) and the configuration of FIG. 3C (configuration with a dielectric material). Is shown in FIG. FIG. 4A shows an outline of a received power measurement system. As shown in the figure, this measurement system is a model in which road intersections are schematically reproduced, and is a model in which roads with a width of 1.5 m intersect. Then, a transmission antenna is provided at a position 3 m away from the intersection on the right side in the figure, and transmission power is output from the network analyzer to the transmission antenna, thereby transmitting a measurement radio wave from the transmission antenna.

  On the other hand, a 1 m square reception area is set from the intersection to the lower side in the figure. In this reception area, the diversity antenna to be measured is sequentially moved to a plurality of measurement points, and the reception power of the transmission radio wave from the transmission antenna is measured for each measurement point with a network analyzer. Note that the direction of the diversity antenna at the time of measurement is such that the front thereof faces the intersection.

  Based on the measurement result, a reception power map indicating the distribution of reception power in the reception area is created. Specifically, the maximum value of the received power from the two antennas is plotted for each measurement point. Then, the probability that there is a measurement point whose received power is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value (for example, −85 dbm) among all the measurement points is calculated as a receivable rate.

In such a measurement system, the result of calculating the receivability of each diversity antenna of the configuration without the dielectric in FIG. 3B and the configuration with the dielectric in FIG. 3C is shown in FIG. Shown in
As shown in FIG. 4B, in the case of a configuration without a dielectric, the directivity of each antenna is greatly collapsed as shown on the right side of FIG. The overall receivable rate including the second antenna 12 is as low as 45.6%, which is very low as 15.6%.

  On the other hand, when there is a dielectric, as shown in the right side of FIG. 3 (c), the directivity of each antenna is almost unchanged due to the wavelength shortening effect by the dielectric material 13, so the receivability rate by the first antenna 11 is It is as high as 44.9%. In addition to this, the receivable rate by the second antenna 12 is lower than that of the first antenna 11, but is larger than that in the case of no dielectric. Therefore, the overall receivable rate including the second antenna 12 is a large value of 52.7%. That is, the receivable rate is improved by about 37% when the dielectric is present compared to the case without the dielectric.

  In the present embodiment, the distance between the antennas 11 and 12 (the distance dx between the antennas in the front-rear direction) is λ / 4. However, this is an example, and the distance may be longer than this. It may be shortened. However, if it is longer than λ / 4, even if there is no dielectric material 13, the coupling between the antennas is weakened according to the distance, so it is not always necessary to provide the dielectric material 13 depending on the distance. On the contrary, when the wavelength is shorter than λ / 4, the coupling between the antennas becomes stronger. Therefore, the shorter the distance, the longer the effective length between the antennas using the dielectric material 13 having a higher wavelength shortening rate. desirable.

  As described above, according to the diversity antenna 10 of the present embodiment, since the dielectric material 13 is disposed between the antennas 11 and 12, the coupling between the antennas 11 and 12 can be achieved by the wavelength shortening effect. It can be made small, and it can suppress that the directivity of each antenna 11 and 12 collapses from the directivity (non-directivity) in the case of being independent. Therefore, it is possible to provide diversity antenna 10 that is sufficiently miniaturized while sufficiently retaining the reception performance of the spatial diversity system for radio waves from a desired direction (in the present embodiment, in front of the vehicle).

Further, as each of the antennas 11 and 12, inverted F type antennas are used. Therefore, the diversity antenna 10 can be further downsized (particularly, the height in the vertical direction can be reduced).
Further, each of the antennas 11 and 12 is formed as a structure in which a conductor element (element) constituting the antenna is deposited on the surface of the holding dielectric and integrated with the holding dielectric. Therefore, the antennas 11 and 12 can be securely held, and the coupling between the antennas 11 and 12 can be further weakened by adding a wavelength shortening effect by the holding dielectric.

  By using diversity antenna 10 configured in this manner, vehicle 100 can receive radio waves from the front in a favorable manner. That is, it is possible to provide a small and high-performance space diversity diversity antenna as an in-vehicle antenna for receiving radio waves from the front of the vehicle.

  Moreover, since the dielectric material 13 is comprised by one dielectric material which has the predetermined dielectric constant (epsilon) r, the dielectric material 13 can be comprised simply and at low cost. In addition, since the diversity antenna 10 is composed of the two antennas 11 and 12, the diversity antenna 10 as a whole can be reduced in size, weight, and cost as compared with the case where it is composed of three or more antennas. Has been.

  Here, the correspondence between the components of the present embodiment and the components of the present invention will be clarified. In the present embodiment, the first antenna 11 corresponds to the first antenna of the present invention, the second antenna 12 corresponds to the second antenna of the present invention, and the dielectric material 13 corresponds to the dielectric portion of the present invention. The first holding dielectric 11a and the second holding dielectric 12a correspond to the holding member of the present invention.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 5 shows a schematic configuration of the diversity antenna 20 of the second embodiment. Diversity antenna 20 of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 5 is mounted on vehicle 100 and used as a spatial diversity antenna, similarly to diversity antenna 10 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. There are two antennas, a first antenna 21 and a second antenna 22, which are arranged at a predetermined distance in the front-rear direction.

  More specifically, the ground plane 24, the first antenna 21 and the second antenna 22 that are spaced apart from each other in the horizontal direction (direction substantially parallel to the surface of the ground plane 24) on the ground plane 24, and each of these antennas. And a dielectric material 23 disposed between 21 and 22. These are configured to be covered with a resin cover 27.

  Each of the first antenna 21 and the second antenna 22 is a monopole antenna standing on the ground plane 24 in the vertical direction from the feeding points 25 and 26 and having the ground plane 24 as the ground. That is, the two antennas 21 and 22 constituting the diversity antenna 20 of the present embodiment have the same main polarization direction, and more specifically, vertical polarization is the main polarization component. is there.

  Each antenna 21, 22 is arranged so as to be separated by a predetermined distance dx between the antennas in the front-rear direction of vehicle 100. The distance dx between the front and rear antennas in this embodiment is λ / 4 as in the first embodiment, but this is only an example. In addition, the dielectric material 23 provided between the antennas 21 and 22 is configured by one dielectric (dielectric material) having a predetermined relative permittivity εr, like the dielectric material 13 of the first embodiment. ing.

  In the present embodiment, the antennas 21 and 22 are directly deposited on the side surfaces of the dielectric material 23. Specifically, the first antenna 21 has a conductor element portion formed on the front side surface of the dielectric material 23 by vapor deposition over the entire length. Further, the second antenna 22 is formed by vapor deposition on the rear side surface of the dielectric material 23 with the conductor element portion extending over the entire length.

  Also in the diversity antenna 20 of the present embodiment configured as described above, since the dielectric material 23 is disposed between the antennas 21 and 22, the effective length between the antennas 21 and 22 is obtained due to the wavelength shortening effect. Can be lengthened. Thereby, the coupling | bonding between each antenna 21 and 22 can be suppressed, and it can suppress that the directivity of each antenna 21 and 22 collapses from the directivity (non-directivity) in the case of being independent. Therefore, it is possible to provide a sufficiently miniaturized diversity antenna 20 while sufficiently maintaining the reception performance of the spatial diversity method with respect to radio waves from a desired direction (front of the vehicle).

  In addition, since each antenna 21 and 22 is directly deposited on the side surface of the dielectric material 23, each antenna 21 and 22 can be easily formed, and each antenna 21 and 22 can be easily formed by the dielectric material 23. Can be held.

[Third Embodiment]
FIG. 6 shows a schematic configuration of the diversity antenna 30 of the third embodiment. The diversity antenna 30 of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is separated from the ground plane 34 by a predetermined distance dx between the antennas on the ground plane 34 on the ground plane 34 in the same manner as the diversity antenna 20 of the second embodiment shown in FIG. A first antenna 31 and a second antenna 32 are provided, and a dielectric material 33 is provided between the antennas 31 and 32. These are configured to be covered with a resin cover 37.

  Each of the first antenna 31 and the second antenna 32 is a monopole antenna that stands on the ground plane 34 in the vertical direction from the feed points 35 and 36 and has the ground plane 34 as the ground. That is, the two antennas 31 and 32 constituting the diversity antenna 30 of the present embodiment have the same main polarization direction, and more specifically, the vertical polarization is the main polarization component. is there.

  The diversity antenna 30 of the present embodiment is different from the diversity antenna 20 of the second embodiment in the configuration of the antennas 31 and 32. That is, as is clear by comparing FIG. 6 (this embodiment) and FIG. 5 (second embodiment), the antennas 31 and 32 of this embodiment are the lengths of the antennas 21 and 22 of the second embodiment. The length is longer, and the longer portion is also deposited on the upper surface of the dielectric material. That is, each of the antennas 31 and 32 of the present embodiment has a conductive element portion formed by vapor deposition from the side surface to the upper surface of the dielectric material 33, and can therefore be regarded as a kind of inverted L-type antenna.

Even with the diversity antenna 30 configured as described above, the same effect as that of the diversity antenna 20 of the second embodiment can be obtained.
In addition, in the present embodiment, the entire antennas 31 and 32 having a long conductor element portion are continuously vapor deposited from the side surface to the upper surface of the dielectric material 33, so that each antenna has a low reception frequency, for example. Even when it is necessary to increase the length of the antennas 31 and 32, or when it is necessary to reduce the height of the entire diversity antenna, the diversity antenna 30 can be reduced in size while maintaining the effect of spatial diversity. It becomes possible.

[Fourth Embodiment]
FIG. 7 shows a schematic configuration of the diversity antenna 40 of the fourth embodiment. The diversity antenna 40 of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 7 is also disposed between the ground plane 44, the first antenna 41 and the second antenna 42 that are disposed at a predetermined distance on the ground plane 44, and the antennas 41 and 42. The dielectric material 43 is provided. These are configured to be covered with a resin cover 47.

  Each of the first antenna 41 and the second antenna 42 is a monopole antenna that is erected on the ground plane 44 so as to be inclined at a predetermined angle from the feeding points 45 and 46, respectively, with the ground plane 44 as a ground.

  That is, the diversity antenna 40 of this embodiment has the same configuration as that of the diversity antenna 20 (see FIG. 5) of the second embodiment in that it is vapor-deposited on the side surface of the dielectric material 43. The feeding points 45 and 46 are respectively arranged at opposite ends of the diagonal line on the bottom surface of the dielectric material 43. That is, the feed points 45 and 46 are separated by a predetermined inter-antenna front-rear direction distance dx in the front-rear direction, and are separated by a predetermined inter-antenna left-right direction distance dy in the left-right direction.

  The first antenna 41 formed on the front side surface of the dielectric material 43 is directed from the first feed point 45 at the front left end on the bottom surface of the dielectric material 43 toward the upper right side on the front side surface (that is, with respect to the ground plane 44). It is erected at a predetermined angle.

  Further, the second antenna 42 formed on the rear side surface of the dielectric material 43 is directed from the second feeding point 46 at the rear right end on the bottom surface of the dielectric material 43 toward the upper left side on the rear side surface (that is, with respect to the ground plane 44). It is erected at a predetermined angle. The front side surface and the rear side surface of the dielectric material 43 are both surfaces perpendicular to the front-rear direction.

That is, the first antenna 41 and the second antenna 42 are erected so that their erection directions from the feeding point are not parallel to each other on a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
The antennas 41 and 42 are erected with an inclination rather than perpendicular to the ground plane 44, but the main polarization component is vertical polarization. Conversely, the inclination angles of the antennas 41 and 42 are both set to an angle within a range in which the antennas 41 and 42 can have a vertically polarized wave as a main polarized wave component.

  Therefore, also in the diversity antenna 40 of the present embodiment configured as described above, since the dielectric material 43 is disposed between the antennas 41 and 42, due to the wavelength shortening effect, between the antennas 41 and 42. The effective length can be increased, the coupling between the antennas 41 and 42 can be suppressed, and the directivity of the antennas 41 and 42 can be suppressed from collapsing from the directivity (non-directivity) in the case of a single antenna. Therefore, it is possible to provide a sufficiently miniaturized diversity antenna 40 while sufficiently maintaining the reception performance of the spatial diversity system for radio waves from a desired direction (front of the vehicle).

  In addition, in the present embodiment, since the antennas 41 and 42 are erected so as not to be parallel, the directions of currents flowing through the antennas 41 and 42 are also different. Therefore, the coupling between the antennas 41 and 42 can be further weakened.

[Modification]
Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can take various forms as long as they belong to the technical scope of the present invention. Needless to say.

  For example, in the diversity antenna 20 (FIG. 5) of the second embodiment, the standing angles of the antennas 21 and 22 are inclined as shown in the diversity antenna 40 (FIG. 7) of the fourth embodiment and are parallel to each other. It may not be.

  In the diversity antenna 30 of the third embodiment, the antennas 31 and 32 are extended from the front and rear side surfaces to the upper surface of the dielectric material 33, but are extended to other surfaces different from the upper surface. You may do it. That is, for example, the first antenna 31 may extend from the front side surface of the dielectric material 33 to either the left or right side surface.

Further, the antennas 41 and 42 of the fourth embodiment may be erected vertically with respect to the ground plane 44 with the positions of the feeding points 45 and 46 being left as they are.
In the above embodiment, the diversity antenna 30 having vertical polarization as the main polarization component has been described as an example. However, the main polarization component (main polarization direction) is a vertical polarization only as an example. is there. For example, a diversity antenna including a plurality of antennas whose horizontal polarization is the main polarization direction may be configured so that the horizontal polarization can be received satisfactorily. It can also be used as an antenna for circularly polarized wave reception.

  That is, two antennas are arranged on the ground plane at a predetermined interval, the main polarization directions of the antennas are the same, and a dielectric material is arranged between the antennas, so that the wavelength shortening effect is achieved. Any form of diversity antenna can be configured as long as the configuration is obtained.

  Various types of antennas that make up the diversity antenna are also conceivable. For example, any antenna such as an inverted L antenna, a linear antenna, a helical antenna, and a folded monopole antenna can be used.

In addition, each antenna does not necessarily have to be the same type and shape, and each antenna may be a different antenna.
Further, in each of the above embodiments, the dielectric material disposed between the antennas is made of one dielectric material having a predetermined relative dielectric constant εr. However, this is only an example, for example, different dielectric materials. The dielectric material may be a dielectric material in which a dielectric material having a ratio is arranged in the front-rear direction, or may be a dielectric material in which an air layer exists, resulting in a wavelength shortening effect between the antennas. As long as it is possible, it is possible to appropriately determine what shape and configuration of dielectric material is used.

  In each of the above embodiments, the description has been given by taking the diversity antenna including two antennas as an example. However, a diversity antenna including three or more antennas may be configured. In that case, a dielectric material may be disposed between the antennas for all the combinations of two adjacent antennas (antenna pairs), or a dielectric material may be disposed only for some of the antenna pairs. Good.

  In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the spatial diversity scheme diversity antenna using the maximum ratio combining method is shown. However, this maximum ratio combining method is merely an example, and other examples such as a selection method are also available. Spatial diversity by the above method may be used.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Control apparatus, 2 ... Maximum ratio synthetic | combination receiving circuit, 3 ... Modulation / demodulation circuit, 4 ... Control circuit, 5 ... Transmission circuit, 10, 20, 30, 40 ... Diversity antenna 11, 21, 21, 31, 41 ... 1st antenna 11a, first holding dielectric, 12, 22, 32, 41 ... second antenna, 12a ... second holding dielectric, 13, 23, 33, 43 ... dielectric material, 14, 24, 34, 44 ... Ground plate, 15, 25, 35, 45 ... first feeding point, 16, 26, 36, 46 ... second feeding point, 17, 27, 37, 47 ... resin cover, 100 ... vehicle

Claims (12)

Diversity used to receive radio waves in the space diversity system, where multiple antennas are spaced apart in the direction parallel to the plate surface on the ground plane so that the main polarization directions are the same. An antenna,
A combination of two adjacent antennas among the plurality of antennas is an antenna pair, and at least one of the antenna pairs is between a first antenna and a second antenna that are two antennas constituting the antenna pair. A diversity antenna comprising a dielectric portion made of a dielectric material. The diversity antenna according to claim 1,
The first antenna and the second antenna are both monopole antennas standing on the ground plane. A diversity antenna. The diversity antenna according to claim 2,
Each of the first antenna and the second antenna is a diversity antenna characterized in that at least a part or all of the conductor elements constituting each antenna are formed on the surface of the dielectric part. The diversity antenna according to claim 2,
At least one of the first antenna and the second antenna is an inverted F-type antenna or an inverted L-type antenna. The diversity antenna according to claim 3 or 4, wherein
At least one of the first antenna and the second antenna is fixed to an insulating holding member and configured as one antenna structure together with the holding member, and the antenna structure is a side surface of the dielectric portion. A diversity antenna characterized by being fixed to. The diversity antenna according to claim 5,
The diversity antenna according to claim 1, wherein the holding member is a dielectric. The diversity antenna according to any one of claims 2 to 6,
The diversity antenna is provided in the vehicle in order to receive radio waves coming from at least the front of the vehicle,
The diversity antenna, wherein the first antenna and the second antenna are arranged such that a feeding point of each antenna is separated by a predetermined distance in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. The diversity antenna according to claim 7,
The diversity antenna, wherein the first antenna and the second antenna are arranged such that a feeding point of each antenna is separated by a predetermined distance in the left-right direction of the vehicle. The diversity antenna according to claim 7 or 8, wherein
Diversity characterized in that the first antenna and the second antenna are erected so that their erection directions from a feeding point are not parallel to each other in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. antenna. The diversity antenna according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
The distance between each feeding point of the first antenna and the second antenna is ¼ or less of a wavelength corresponding to a predetermined frequency in the frequency band of the received radio wave of the diversity antenna. Diversity antenna. The diversity antenna according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
The dielectric part is composed of one dielectric material having a predetermined dielectric constant, which is continuously formed on the ground plane from the first antenna to the second antenna. Diversity antenna. The diversity antenna according to any one of claims 1 to 11,
The diversity antenna is characterized in that the number of the antennas constituting the diversity antenna is two.