JP2022120321A - antenna device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an antenna device capable of easily maintaining the horizontality of a device without requiring work for adjusting the leg length and an adjuster.SOLUTION: An antenna device includes an antenna, a base 20 that supports the antenna, a base container 41, and a floating base 42 provided inside the base container 41. The base container 41 has a spherical inner surface, an opening 41a at the top, and a buffer solution 50 filled therein. The floating base 42 has a smaller specific gravity than the buffer solution 50, and has a circular shape with a radius approximately equal to the maximum radius of the inner spherical surface of the base container 41, and is in contact with the inner surface of the base container 41, and has the base 20 installed thereon.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to an antenna device.

2. Description of the Related Art When installing an antenna device, in order to correctly control the direction of the antenna, the antenna device is installed so as to keep it horizontal.

In Patent Document 1, when setting the main body of the antenna hoisting device to a predetermined position for testing on a mounting surface such as a road surface, a worker watches a spirit level placed on a pedestal and makes necessary adjustments. A configuration is described in which the base is horizontally adjusted in a state of three-point support by rotating the supporting member to extend and retract it.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-290121

When the antenna device is installed horizontally, it is not easy to adjust the length of the legs and adjusters while checking whether the antenna device is horizontal using a spirit level.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an antenna device capable of maintaining the horizontality of the device more easily than a configuration in which leg lengths and adjusters are adjusted.

The present invention for achieving the above objects comprises an antenna, a base for supporting the antenna, a base container having a spherical inner surface with an opening at the top and filled with a liquid, and a container having a specific gravity higher than that of the liquid. The antenna device is characterized by comprising: a small float having a circular shape with a radius substantially equal to the maximum radius of the spherical surface of the base container, which is in contact with the inner surface of the base container, and on which a base is installed.
More preferably, a flow path through which liquid can enter and exit may be formed along the edge of the float.
More preferably, a structure further comprising a cushioning part that reduces the movement of the floating table between the upper surface of the floating table on which the base is installed and the edge provided with the opening at the top of the base container may be provided. good.
Also, more specifically, the buffer portion may be provided so as to block the gap between the upper side surface of the float and the edge of the base container.
More preferably, a configuration may be adopted in which a supporting portion that rises from the inner surface of the base container and supports the float is further provided.

According to the present invention, it is possible to easily maintain the horizontality of the antenna device without requiring work for adjusting the length of the leg or the adjuster.

It is a figure showing the whole antenna device composition by this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the external appearance of a base. FIG. 4 is a view showing a cross-section along a circular plane passing through the maximum radius of the inner surface of the pedestal; It is the figure which looked at the floating platform from upper direction. It is a figure which shows the state of the base at the time of installing in an inclined installation place.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
<Device configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an antenna device according to this embodiment. The antenna device 1 includes an antenna 10 , a base 20 , a base 40 and a radome 80 . In FIG. 1, the radome 80 is indicated by a dashed line, and the antenna 10 and the base 20 covered by the radome 80 are indicated.

Antenna 10 is a directional antenna that exhibits strong sensitivity in a specific direction. As an example, in the example shown in FIG. 1, a planar antenna is used. For example, in order to install a base station such as a 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), when searching for a radio wave source that overlaps the frequency band used by the system, the quasi-millimeter wave band, which is the frequency band used by the system An antenna 10 capable of receiving radio waves in the millimeter wave band is used.

The base 20 is a support member that supports the antenna 10 . Base 20 includes a drive mechanism 30 that dynamically controls the orientation of antenna 10 . The driving mechanism 30 is a biaxial rotating mechanism having a first shaft 31 and a second shaft 32 in a crossed or twisted positional relationship. By rotating the driving mechanism 30 around the respective axes 31 and 32 under the control of a control device (not shown), the antenna 10 can be swung left and right and up and down to point in various directions in three-dimensional space. As an example, the drive mechanism 30 can swing the orientation of the antenna 10 from about 30 degrees downward to 90 degrees upward in the vertical direction (pitch angle direction) based on the rotation around the first axis 31 . It may be possible to swing 360 degrees in the left-right direction (yaw angle direction) based on the rotation around. A motor (not shown) for operating the drive mechanism 30 under the control of the control device is incorporated inside the base 20 . A control device is implemented by, for example, a processor of an embedded system.

Radome 80 is a dome that covers antenna 10 and base 20 . The radome 80 is composed of, for example, a lower radome and an upper radome. The lower portion of the radome is made of resin having a thickness of about 3 mm, for example. The upper part of the radome is made of resin having a thickness of about 1 to 2 mm, for example. With the radome lower part attached to the base 20 , the radome upper part covers the radome lower part so that the entire antenna 10 and the base 20 are housed inside the radome 80 .

The pedestal 40 is a base on which the base 20 is attached. The antenna device 1 is installed at an installation location with the pedestal 40 attached to the base 20 . The pedestal 40 is configured so that even if the pedestal 40 itself is tilted within a certain range, the mounting location of the base 20 is kept horizontal. As a result, even if the installation location is inclined, the antenna device 1 can be maintained horizontally as long as the inclination angle is within a certain range.

<Configuration of Pedestal 40>
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the appearance of the pedestal 40. As shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a cross section along a circular plane passing through the maximum radius of the inner surface of the pedestal 40. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the pedestal 40 includes a pedestal container 41 , a float 42 , a support portion 46 and leg portions 47 .

The base container 41 is a container whose inner surface forms a part of a spherical surface. More specifically, the inner surface of the base container 41 is a spherical surface with a circular opening 41a provided at the top. More preferably, the inner surface of the pedestal container 41 includes a horizontal surface including the maximum radius when the pedestal 40 is placed on a horizontal surface among spherical surfaces including this inner surface, and an opening 41a is provided above the horizontal surface. be done. In the example shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the opening 41a at the top of the base container 41 is formed with an annular rim 41b directed toward the inside of the opening. The base container 41 is made of metal or resin, for example. In the example shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the outer side of the base container 41 is also spherical, but the shape of the outer side is not limited to a sphere.

The float 42 is a plate-like member provided inside the base container 41 . The float 42 is a disc having a radius approximately equal to the maximum radius of the spherical surface forming the inner surface of the pedestal container 41 . Thereby, the float 42 is provided on a plane including the maximum radius of the spherical surface forming the inner surface of the base container 41 . An O-ring 44 is attached to the periphery of the float 42 to adjust the friction with the inner surface of the pedestal container 41 . The circular peripheral edge of the float 42 is in contact with the inner surface of the pedestal container 41 via the O-ring 44 at the circumference including this maximum radius. The float 42 is made of resin, for example. The O-ring 44 is made of, for example, oil-resistant silicone rubber.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the base 20 is installed on the float 42 . Hereinafter, the upper surface of the float 42 will be referred to as the "front surface" and the lower surface will be referred to as the "rear surface". In FIG. 3 , the base 20 is installed on the surface of the float 42 . In addition, in FIG. 3, only the lower part of the base 20 is illustrated. The base 20 installed on the float 42 protrudes upward from the opening 41a. As will be described later, in the pedestal 40, the pontoon 42 is configured to remain horizontal even if the pedestal 40 itself is tilted, as long as the tilt angle is within a certain range. As a result, the base 20 installed on the pontoon 42 can be horizontally leveled without the need to adjust the length of the legs or the adjusters even when the antenna device 1 is installed in an inclined place due to ups and downs. can be maintained and the orientation of the antenna 10 can be properly controlled.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the inside of the base container 41 is filled with a liquid 50 . This liquid is hereinafter referred to as the "buffer". The float 42 has a smaller specific gravity than the buffer 50 and is given buoyancy by the buffer 50 . Here, when the pedestal container 41 is tilted, the buffer solution 50 inside the pedestal container 41 moves so as to keep the liquid surface horizontal. Therefore, the float 42 floating on the buffer solution 50 is also kept horizontal. The horizontality of the base 20 installed on the float 42 is also maintained. As the buffer solution 50, for example, oil having moderate viscosity is used.

FIG. 4 is a view of the float 42 viewed from above. As shown in FIG. 4 , a plurality of flow rate adjusting holes 43 are provided along the circular periphery of the float 42 . The flow rate adjustment hole 43 is a through hole that extends from the surface of the float 42 (the surface facing the front side of the paper surface in FIG. 4) to the back surface (the surface facing the back side of the paper surface in FIG. 4). When the base container 41 moves, the buffer solution 50 inside the base container 41 also shakes. At this time, the buffer solution 50 flows out to some extent from the back side of the floating table 42 to the front side through the flow rate adjusting holes 43 provided in the floating table 42 . When the pedestal container 41 stands still, the buffer solution 50 that has flowed out to the surface side of the float 42 gradually returns to the back side of the float 42 through the flow rate adjusting holes 43 . With such a configuration, when the buffer solution 50 sways according to the movement of the pedestal container 41, the float 42 is restrained from immediately following and moving, and the movement of the float 42 is slowed down. can be done.

Here, specific aspects such as the shape, size, number, and spacing of the flow rate adjusting holes 43 are determined by the required degree of sluggishness of the movement of the float 42, in other words, when the pedestal vessel 41 moves, It is set according to how much the movement of the base 42 is suppressed. Further, the buffer solution 50 having an appropriate viscosity may be selected according to the specific aspect of the flow rate adjusting hole 43 and the required degree of sluggishness of the movement of the pontoon 42 . It should be noted that means for providing a channel for the buffer solution 50 for suppressing the movement of the float 42 when the pedestal container 41 moves is not limited to the flow rate adjusting hole 43 as shown in FIG. For example, the edge of the float 42 may be notched so that a channel is formed when the float 42 is installed on the base container 41 so that the buffer solution 50 can flow.

Inside the pedestal container 41 , a support portion 46 rising from the bottom portion of the inner surface of the pedestal container 41 is provided. In the example shown in FIG. 3 , the support portion 46 is a columnar member that rises from the bottom portion of the inner surface of the base container 41 and has a length that reaches the back surface of the float 42 . The support portion 46 supports the float 42 by abutting its tip against the back surface of the float 42 . Further, in the example shown in FIG. 3, a recess is formed in the center of the rear surface of the float 42 , and the support portion 46 is positioned by this recess and supports the center of the float 42 . In the illustrated example, the tip of the support portion 46 is simply abutted against the float 42. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the support portion 46 is formed by using a joint component such as a universal joint whose joint angle can be freely changed. and the float 42 may be connected.

As described above, the float 42 receives buoyancy from the buffer solution 50, and the circular peripheral edge of the float 42 contacts the inner surface of the base container 41 at the circumferential portion including the maximum radius. Therefore, it can be positioned inside the base container 41 without providing the support portion 46 . However, by providing the support portion 46, even if an object having a certain weight is placed on the float 42, it is possible to prevent the float 42 from sinking or bending. Note that the support portion 46 may have any structure as long as it supports the float 42, and is not limited to a columnar member as in the example shown in FIG.

A cushioning part 45 is provided on the surface of the float 42 to connect the float 42 and the base container 41 and relax the movement of the float 42 . In the example shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the cushioning portion 45 connects the surface of the float 42 and the edge portion 41 b provided at the opening 41 a of the base container 41 . Moreover, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the cushioning portion 45 is continuously provided along a circle whose center overlaps with the shape of the pontoon 42 . In the example shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the mounting position 45a of the buffer portion 45 is shown on the surface of the float 42. As shown in FIG. With such a configuration, the gap between the surface of the float 42 and the edge portion 41b of the base container 41 is closed when the buffer portion 45 is attached.

The cushioning portion 45 has a certain degree of elasticity and moderates the movement of the float 42 with respect to the base container 41 . As described above, when the pedestal container 41 moves, the float 42 of the pedestal 40 also swings accordingly. In this case, since the movement of the base container 41 and the float 42 are not synchronized, the float 42 also moves relative to the base container 41 . The cushioning part 45 suppresses the movement of the float 42 with respect to the pedestal container 41 by connecting the pedestal container 41 and the float 42 with an elastic member. The cushioning portion 45 may be configured by, for example, a tube formed into a bellows shape by stretching a rubber film over an annular frame made of a metal wire.

As described above, by providing the buffer portion 45 so as to close the gap between the float 42 and the base container 41, the buffer solution 50 that has flowed out from the flow rate adjustment hole 43 to the surface side of the float 42 will flow into the float. It is possible to prevent the water from flowing to the vicinity of the center of the surface of 42 . In other words, the buffer part 45 configured in this way functions as a liquid stopper, and prevents the buffer solution 50 flowing out onto the surface of the float 42 from adhering to the base 20 installed on the float 42 .

The leg portion 47 is a member for installing the pedestal 40 at an installation location. In the example shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, since the outer shape of the base container 41 is spherical, legs 47 are provided for installation on a flat installation site. As described above regarding the shape of the base container 41, the outer shape of the base container 41 is not limited to a spherical shape. Therefore, for example, if the outer shape of the base container 41 has a flat bottom surface, it is not necessary to provide the legs 47 separately from the base container 41 .

<Action of Pedestal 40 on Inclination>
In the pedestal 40 configured as described above, the float 42 is attached to the pedestal container 41 within a range limited based on the shape of the opening 41 a and the edge 41 b of the pedestal container 41 and the cushioning portion 45 . You can take a relatively leaning posture. Since the floating table 42 floats on the buffer solution 50 filled in the base container 41, it can be kept horizontal even if the base container 41 is tilted.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the state of the pedestal 40 when installed in an inclined installation location. As shown in FIG. 5, even if the pedestal 40 is installed in an inclined state, the pontoon 42 is kept horizontal. Therefore, even if the antenna device 1 is installed in an inclined place, the floating platform can be installed within the range of the angle limited based on the shape of the opening 41a and the edge 41b of the base container 41 and the cushioning portion 45. The horizontality of the base 20 provided at 42 can be maintained.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, in the above embodiment, the shape of the inner surface of the base container 41 is a sphere with an opening 41a at the top. Here, the float 42 is inclined relative to the base container 41 only within an angle range limited based on the shape of the opening 41 a and the edge 41 b of the base container 41 and the cushioning portion 45 . I was able to Therefore, the inner surface of the pedestal container 41 must be spherical except for the position where the O-ring 44 provided on the peripheral edge of the float 42 comes into contact until the float 42 is tilted to the maximum with respect to the pedestal container 41 . no. For example, the bottom of the inner surface of the base container 41 may be flat.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the circular opening 41a is provided in the upper portion of the base container 41, and the annular edge 41b is formed. Here, the opening 41a of the pedestal container 41 may be any one that allows the base 20 installed on the float 42 to protrude above the pedestal 40, and may have a shape other than a circle, such as a square. good. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the antenna 10 and the base 20 are covered with the radome 80, but the base 40 may also be covered with the radome. In addition, the present invention includes various modifications and alternative configurations that do not depart from the scope of the technical idea of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Antenna apparatus, 10... Antenna, 20... Base, 30... Drive mechanism, 31... First axis, 32... Second axis, 40... Base, 41... Base container, 41a... Opening, 41b... Edge, 42... Float, 43... Flow rate adjusting hole, 44... O-ring, 45... Buffer part, 46... Support part, 47... Leg part, 50... Buffer solution, 80... Radome

Claims (5)

an antenna;
a base supporting the antenna;
a pedestal container having a spherical inner surface with an opening at the top and filled with a liquid;
a float having a specific gravity smaller than that of the liquid, having a circular shape with a radius substantially equal to the maximum radius of the spherical surface of the base container, contacting the inner surface of the base container, and on which the base is installed;
An antenna device comprising: 2. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein a channel through which said liquid can enter and exit is formed along the edge of said float. It further comprises a cushioning part for reducing the movement of the float between the upper surface of the float on which the base is installed and the edge of the top of the pedestal container where the opening is provided. Antenna device according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that. 4. The antenna device according to claim 3, wherein the buffer portion is provided so as to block a gap between the upper side surface of the float and the edge portion of the base container. 2. The antenna device according to claim 1, further comprising a supporting portion that rises from the inner surface of said base container and supports said float.

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