JPH0438001A - Planar array antenna - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the carrying performance while having a required gain by forming several unit antenna blocks each having at least one radiation element on a plane in combination in a planar array antenna. CONSTITUTION:For example, four antenna blocks 10-10D are linked in a square form and antenna elements are arranged at an equal interval to form a planar array antenna of 4X4 elements as a whole. In order to energize the antenna blocks 10D-10D, a main distributer 23 and four feeders 24A-24D of equal length are provided. Then the feeders 24A-24D are contained in a junction box 33 able to be disassembled. Moreover, a coaxial jack 25 and a coaxial plug 26 are connected respectively and the main distributer 23 energizes distributers 21A-21D with equal amplitude and in phase. Thus, all of 16 antenna elements are energized with equal amplitude and in phase and a circular-polarized wave radiates in a front direction of the antenna.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application fields] The present invention relates to a portable planar array antenna.

[Summary of the Invention j This invention provides a planar array antenna that is configured by combining a plurality of unit antenna blocks each having at least one radiating element on a plane, thereby improving portability while providing a required gain. This is what I did.

[Prior Art 1] For example, there are fields such as satellite communication systems that require high-gain antennas.

A high-gain antenna, typified by a so-called parabolic antenna, has a large aperture area and sharp directivity at -C.

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention 1] Incidentally, even in the communication field as described above, there are cases where an antenna with excellent portability that is easy to handle during transportation is required.

However, does the parabolic antenna mentioned above rotate with the primary radiator? l! Since it is composed of a reflector with a llff plane, it has a large area and volume, and has a problem of poor portability.

On the other hand, as a high-gain antenna, there is a planar array antenna that arranges multiple radiating elements on a plane and feeds power to each element appropriately, but it requires a large number of radiating elements to obtain the required gain. Although the section it occupies is small, it takes up a large area, and there is still the problem of poor portability.

In view of this, an object of the present invention is to provide a planar array antenna that has a required gain and has improved portability.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides at least one planar antenna element (ll
It is a planar array antenna in which a) to (lid) are unit blocks and a plurality of unit blocks (IOA) to (100) are combined on a plane.

[Operation] According to such a configuration, portability is improved while providing the required gain.

[Embodiment] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the planar array antenna according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

The configuration of essential parts of an embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the overall configuration is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

In FIG. 1, (IOA) is a unit antenna block, and in this embodiment, four circular microstrip antennas (lla
) to (lid). Each antenna (lla)
The radiating elements (12a) to (12d) of ~(lid) each have a pair of notches (13a) to (12d) on their circumferences.
i3d) are provided at angular intervals of 180°, and feed points (14a) are provided at angular intervals of 45° with respect to the notches (13a) to (13d), appropriately offset from the center.
~(14d) are provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, the radiating elements (12a) to (12d)
is formed by etching, for example, on a dielectric substrate (15) with low loss and low dielectric constant, such as a fluororesin, and a ground conductor (16) is in contact with the other surface of the substrate (15). There is. The radiating element (1
2a) On the opposite side to (12d), distributor (21) and 4
Equal length power supply line (microstrip line) (2
2a) to (22d) are attached, each antenna (l
From the back of la) to (lid), each power feeding point (14a)
-(14d) are supplied with the same phase and equal amplitude.

The surfaces of the antennas (lla) to (lid) are covered with a radome (31) made of low-loss resin such as polycarbonate, and the side edges of the outer casing (32) are covered with
Grooves (32g) or protrusions (32j) are provided.

As a result, as shown in Fig. 3, for example, four antenna blocks (IOA) to (100) are combined into a rectangle, and as shown in Fig. 4, each antenna element is arranged at equal intervals, and the entire A planar array antenna of 4×4 elements is constructed.

In order to feed power to each antenna block (IOA) to (100), a main distributor (23) and four equal length feed lines (24
A) to (24D) are provided. In this example, the third
As shown in the figure, each feeder line (24A) to (24D) is housed in a disassembleable connection casing (33), and each antenna block (IOA) to (100) has a distributor (21A) to (100).
The coaxial jack (25) (see Fig. 2) provided in the connector housing (21D) and the coaxial plug (26) provided in the connection housing (33) are connected to each other, and each distributor (21A) to (210
) are supplied with the same phase and equal amplitude from the main distributor (23).

As a result, all 16 antenna elements are fed with the same phase and amplitude, and circularly polarized waves are radiated in the front direction of the antenna.

For example, if the frequency is 1.5 GHz, each radiating element (1
The radius r and the distance d in 2) are as follows.

r = 36 mm; d = 100 mm In this case, the external dimensions of each antenna block (IOA) to (IOD) are approximately 250 mta x 250 mm x 40 mm, making it a 4 x 4 element thousand-sided array antenna with an undivided configuration. It is much easier to handle during transportation.

Also, the maximum gain Cm of the planar array antenna is On =
It is about 18 dBi, which fully satisfies the required value.

In the above embodiment, four 4×4 element thousand-sided array antennas are used.
Although the antenna is divided into broncs, the number of antenna elements in the whole and in each block can be appropriately selected depending on the frequency used and the required gain.

Further, the specific structure of electrical connection and mechanical coupling is not limited to this embodiment.

[Effects of the Invention 1] As detailed above, according to the present invention, a plurality of unit antenna blocks each having at least one radiating element are combined on a plane, so that while providing the required gain, A planar array antenna with improved portability can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIGS. 1 and 2 are a plan view and a sectional view showing the configuration of essential parts of an embodiment of a planar array antenna according to the present invention, and FIGS.
The figure is a perspective view showing the overall structure of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a route diagram showing the electrical structure of the embodiment of the invention. (108) to (100) are unit antenna blocks, (
lla) to (lid) are microstrip antennas,
(12a) to (12d) are radiating elements, (21), (
23) is a distributor. OA ni^ IQS

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim] A planar array antenna characterized in that at least one planar antenna element is used as a unit block, and a plurality of the unit blocks are combined on a plane.