JP7142347B2 - lens antenna device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a lens antenna device. More particularly, it relates to a lens antenna device in which losses due to wiring are improved.

Antennas are elements for transmitting and receiving radio waves, and conventionally, dipole antennas, Yagi antennas, and loop antennas have been used for radio broadcasting, television broadcasting, and wireless communication. In recent years, as electronic devices have become smaller and lower in power consumption, the importance of small antennas has increased. Under these circumstances, small antennas are used for radio-frequency identification (RFID), mobile terminals, sensors, etc., although their communication distance is limited due to their low power consumption.

Among these, a lens antenna is an antenna that improves communication sensitivity by utilizing the convergence of a lens. A dielectric lens is placed in front of and around the aperture of the antenna, and the electromagnetic wave becomes the focal point of the aperture of the antenna due to the convergence of the lens. This improves the directivity of the antenna, increases the communication distance in the case of a communication device, and improves the detection sensitivity in the case of a detector. Various types of lens antenna devices have been proposed because they are inexpensive.

For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a hemispherical lens antenna that converges radio beams with a hemispherical lens and a lens antenna device that mechanically controls the orientation of the hemispherical lens antenna. By mechanically controlling the orientation of the hemispherical lens antenna in this way, the angle of reflection with respect to the radio wave reflector can be adjusted. Further, Patent Document 2 proposes a velocity sensor equipped with a patch antenna and a lens antenna using a cannonball-shaped dielectric lens.

In the case of a lens antenna that requires high directivity, a waveguide is used to connect the lens antenna to a controller via a coaxial line or the like in order to improve the reception sensitivity of the lens antenna. For example, FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional lens antenna device 30 . In this example, lenses 31 and 32 are installed in front of (primary) radiators 33 and 34 , and the outputs of radiators 33 and 34 are connected to IC chip 35 via wires 36 and 37 .

Since the radiators 33 and 34 are installed at the focal points of the lenses 31 and 32, respectively, the electromagnetic waves input to the lenses 31 and 32 are efficiently incident on the radiators 33 and 34, or are emitted from the radiators 33 and 34. The oscillated electromagnetic waves pass through lenses 31 and 32 and have high directivity.

JP 2010-34754 A JP 2014-155134 A

However, in order to increase the gain in the lens antenna device 30 as shown in FIG. 2, the lenses 31 and 32 must be enlarged. If the lenses 31 and 32 are enlarged, the distance between the (primary) radiators 33 and 34 for transmission and reception is increased, and the wires 36 and 37 are lengthened, increasing the loss. 2. Description of the Related Art In communication, when wiring becomes long, signal loss increases and signal gain decreases due to wiring resistance, leakage of electromagnetic waves, and the like. There is a demand for a lens antenna device capable of achieving high gain even if the lens is enlarged. In particular, there is a demand for a lens antenna device in which the loss due to the wiring is improved.

The present invention was made based on the technical background as described above, and achieves the following objects.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a lens antenna device in which loss due to wiring is improved.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a lens antenna device capable of improving loss due to wiring even if the lens antenna is enlarged.

The present invention adopts the following means in order to achieve the above object.
In the lens antenna device of invention 1 of the present invention,
a first dielectric lens and a second dielectric lens,
a first radiation means and a second radiation means for transmission or reception respectively provided behind the first dielectric lens and the second dielectric lens; and
In a lens antenna device comprising a control section for controlling said first radiation means and said second radiation means, wherein said first radiation means, said second radiation means, said first radiation means and said second radiation means are respectively connected by first wiring and second wiring,
In order for the electromagnetic wave emitted from the first radiation means to be reflected and incident on the first dielectric lens, and for the electromagnetic wave transmitted through the first dielectric lens to be reflected and incident on the first radiation means, a first reflector disposed on the back of the first dielectric lens; and
In order for the electromagnetic wave emitted from the second radiation means to be reflected and incident on the second dielectric lens, and for the electromagnetic wave transmitted through the second dielectric lens to be reflected and incident on the second radiation means, a second reflector positioned behind the second dielectric lens ;
The first radiation means and the second radiation means are arranged adjacent to each other on a straight line in opposite directions.
It is characterized by

A lens antenna device according to invention 2 of the present invention is characterized in that, in invention 1, the first reflector and the second reflector are made of a conductor.

A lens antenna apparatus according to invention 3 of the present invention is characterized in that, in invention 1 or 2 , the control section is arranged adjacent to the first radiation means and the second radiation means.

According to the present invention, the following effects are exhibited. The lens antenna device of the present invention uses a lens and a reflector having a predetermined angle, and has a structure in which electromagnetic waves radiated from the radiator are incident on the lens, thereby shortening the wiring distance between the radiator and the IC chip. We were able to. As a result, the lens antenna device has a high gain and a compact structure.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an outline of a lens antenna device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a conventional lens antenna device.

An overview of a lens antenna device 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an overview of a lens antenna device 1 according to a first embodiment of the invention. The lens antenna device 1 includes a lens 2, a lens 3, a reflector 4, a reflector 5, a radiator 6, a radiator 7, a controller 8, and the like.

A lens antenna device 1 is a device comprising a radiation means and a reception means used for remote detection of an object, wireless communication, and the like. Here, the electromagnetic wave emitted from the emitting means and returned after being reflected by the object is detected by the receiving means, transmitted to the controller 8, and finally the signal is processed by the controller 8. Lenses 2 and 3 are lenses for converging (collecting) electromagnetic waves. In other words, lens 2 and lens 3 are for converging the radio beam.

The lenses 2 and 3 are, but not limited to, dielectric lenses (dielectric lenses). A dielectric lens is a dielectric lens processed from any of resin, organic material, glass, or inorganic material. good. The dielectric of the dielectric lens is non-conductive.

Although the shape of the dielectric lenses of the lenses 2 and 3 is not limited, an elliptical shape, a hemispherical lens, or the like can be used. In the example of FIG. 1, a hemispherical lens is used. Radiator 6 and radiator 7 are basically directional antennas. An antenna having the same structure can be used as a radiating means for radiating electromagnetic waves and as a receiving means for receiving electromagnetic waves. Therefore, in this example, regardless of whether the electromagnetic waves are transmitted or received, the term "radiator" is used. .

Radiator 6 and radiator 7 are preferably horn antennas widely used as directional antennas, but patch antennas or the like can also be used. The radiators 6 and 7 are small radiators used for short-range remote detection, wireless communication, and the like. Reflector plate 4 and reflector plate 5 reflect electromagnetic waves radiated from radiators 6 and 7 to lenses 2 and 3, or reflect electromagnetic waves that have passed through lenses 2 and 3 to radiator 6. and incident on the radiator 7.

In the figure, the outline of the electromagnetic wave is illustrated by a dashed line. The controller 8 is connected to the radiator 6 and the radiator 7 by wiring 9 and wiring 10, and transmits a signal to the radiator 6 and the radiator 7 or receives a reception signal from the radiator 6 and the radiator 7. do. A reflector 4 and a reflector 5 are installed in front of the radiators 6 and 7 in the radiation direction and behind (back) the lenses 2 and 3, respectively. The lenses 2 and 3 face the same direction, in other words, the lenses 2 and 3 are installed so that the electromagnetic waves are incident and transmitted in parallel.

As shown in FIG. 1, the radiators 6 and 7 are arranged adjacent to each other in a straight line, and their radiation openings are arranged in opposite directions. Therefore, radiator 6 and radiator 7 radiate electromagnetic waves in opposite directions. Since the radiator 6 radiates electromagnetic waves and the radiator 7 receives electromagnetic waves, the direction of propagation of the electromagnetic waves transmitted by the radiator 6 is opposite to the direction of propagation of the electromagnetic waves received by the radiator 7 . A radiation means of the lens antenna device 1 is composed of a lens 2 , a reflector 4 and a radiator 6 . The receiving means of the lens antenna device 1 consists of a lens 3 , a reflector 5 and a radiator 7 .

The controller 8 sends a signal to the radiating means, in other words to the radiator 6, to radiate via the wiring 9. FIG. Lenses 2 and 3 have basically the same structure and can be used for both transmission and reception. Similarly, reflectors 4 and 5 and radiators 6 and 7 have the same structure and can be used for both transmission and reception. In the above example, the electromagnetic waves emitted by the controller 8 are emitted via the radiator 6, the reflector 4, and the lens 2, and the electromagnetic waves from the outside are emitted via the lens 3, the reflector 5, and the radiator 7. It is received and input to controller 8 .

As described above, since the components of the lens antenna device 1 are a pair of components having the same structure except for the controller 8, the radiator 6, the reflector 4 and the lens 2, which have been used as transmitting means, can be used as receiving means. can. Similarly, the lens 3, the reflector 5, and the radiator 7 used as receiving means can be used as transmitting means.

By using the reflectors 4 and 5 in this manner, the antennas 4 and 5 can be made larger, and the wires 9 and 10 connecting the radiators 6 and 7 to the controller 8 can be shortened. Therefore, the lens antenna device 1 can achieve high gain. In other words, even if the size of the lens is increased, the loss due to wiring can be reduced, and the gain of the antenna lens device 1 can be increased.

At least the reflecting surfaces of the reflecting plates 4 and 5 are made of a conductor. For example, the reflectors 4 and 5 are made of metal such as aluminum, plastic whose surface is covered with metal, or the like. Although the radiation frequency of radiator 6 (or radiator 7) is not limited to this, a millimeter wave frequency band can be used.

The horn antenna used as radiator 6 (or radiator 7) preferably has an opening with a substantially rectangular or circular cross section. Moreover, radiator 6 (or radiator 7) can utilize a dielectric rod antenna in which a dielectric rod is attached to a waveguide.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention may be used in fields using small antennas, such as wireless communication and remote detection.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Lens antenna apparatus 2, 3, 31, 32... Lens 4, 5... Reflector 6, 7, 33, 34... Radiator 8... Controller 9, 10, 36, 37... Wiring 35... IC chip

Claims (3)

a first dielectric lens and a second dielectric lens,
a first radiation means and a second radiation means for transmission or reception respectively provided behind the first dielectric lens and the second dielectric lens; and
In a lens antenna device comprising a control section for controlling said first radiation means and said second radiation means, wherein said first radiation means, said second radiation means, said first radiation means and said second radiation means are respectively connected by first wiring and second wiring,
In order for the electromagnetic wave emitted from the first radiation means to be reflected and incident on the first dielectric lens, and for the electromagnetic wave transmitted through the first dielectric lens to be reflected and incident on the first radiation means, a first reflector disposed on the back of the first dielectric lens; and
In order for the electromagnetic wave emitted from the second radiation means to be reflected and incident on the second dielectric lens, and for the electromagnetic wave transmitted through the second dielectric lens to be reflected and incident on the second radiation means, a second reflector positioned behind the second dielectric lens ;
The first radiation means and the second radiation means are arranged adjacent to each other on a straight line in opposite directions.
A lens antenna device characterized by: In the lens antenna device according to claim 1,
The lens antenna device, wherein the first reflector and the second reflector are made of a conductor. In the lens antenna device according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The lens antenna device, wherein the control section is arranged adjacent to the first radiation means and the second radiation means.

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