JPH09148801A - Phase shift device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate the cause of the generation of noise due to a connection defective and to easily and stepwisely change a phase. SOLUTION: This device 11 is composed hybrid coupler 2 having a 90 deg. phase difference and two phase converters 12 connected with output terminals 2c and 2d, respectively. Further, the device 11 is composed of the dielectric substrate 14 in which a circuit is formed, a switching member 15 and an insulated plate 16. On the surface of the dielectric substrate 14, a capacity coupling is performed for the first circuit 17 for which the capacity coupling with the one end of the switching member 15 is performed and other end of the switching member 15 by the switching of the switching member 15 via the insulated plate 16, and plural second circuits 21,... 24 in which each strip length is different are formed. The switching members 15 of the two phase converters 12 are simultaneously switched to the circuits in which the strip lengths are the same of the plural second circuits 21,<24 and the phases are stepwisely changed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a phase shifter capable of changing the phase of a high frequency signal in a stepwise manner.
The present invention relates to a phase shifter suitable for use when changing stepwise by 1 °, 1 °, 2 °.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is, for example, one shown in FIG. 7 as a phase shift device of this type for changing the phase of a high frequency signal. In the figure, a phase shifter 1 includes two input terminals 2a and 2b, and two output coaxial lines 3 respectively connected to output sides 2c and 2d of a hybrid coupler 2 having a 90-degree phase difference. 3, the short circuit stub 6 operated from the external screw mechanism 4 via the connecting plate 5;
6, the phase corresponding to twice the line length of the coaxial lines 3 and 3 is changed. Here, the two output coaxial lines 3 and 3 and the short-circuit stubs 6 and 6 form two phase shifters 7 and 7. 3a and 3a are grooves of the output coaxial lines 3 and 3, and 8 is a knob.

[0003]

However, in order to adjust the line lengths of the coaxial lines 3 and 3 of the phase shifters 7 and 7,
Since the short-circuit stubs 6, 6 are mechanically operated, there is a problem that noise and intermodulation are caused due to poor contact. There is also a problem in that the screw mechanism 4 for adjusting the line lengths of the coaxial lines 3 and 3 while continuously changing them becomes complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to solve the problems of noise generation and intermodulation due to the contact failure, and to easily and stepwise change the phase. To provide.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a phase shifter suitable for use when the beam tilt angle of the array antenna is changed stepwise.

[0006]

The structure of the present invention for achieving the above object comprises a hybrid coupler having two input terminals and two output terminals and having a 90-degree phase difference,
The phase shifter including the two phase shifters respectively connected to the two output terminals is as follows.

(1) The phase shifter comprises a dielectric substrate having circuits formed by metal foils on both sides, a switching member made of a conductor, and an insulating plate made of a dielectric. On one side, one end is connected to the output terminal,
A first circuit, the other end of which is capacitively coupled to one end of the switching member via the insulating plate, and the other end of the switching member via the insulating plate by switching the switching member. A plurality of second circuits each having one end coupled to each other and having different strip lengths are formed, and a ground circuit is formed on the other surface of the dielectric substrate. The switching member of the phaser is simultaneously operated by a common switching operation member made of a dielectric, and at the same time, a circuit having the same strip length among the plurality of second circuits is simultaneously switched, and the phase is gradually changed. It is characterized by being changed to.

(2) In the above (1), in the ground circuit formed on the other surface of the dielectric substrate, the switching member is capacitively coupled to the first circuit and the second circuit. It is characterized in that a ground circuit is not formed in a portion facing the portion.

(3) In the above (1), the switching operation member is fixed to one end of each of the switching members of the two phase shifters, and the switching member is centered on the one end of the switching member. Are switched by the rotation of the switching operation member.

(4) In the above (3), a plurality of the phase shifters are arranged in parallel, the respective switching operation members are made common, and the common switching operation members are respectively arranged at the same rotation position. The phase difference of the phase shifter is set by deviating by a constant phase angle, to each radiating element that constitutes an array antenna from each of the plurality of phase shifters,
A high-frequency signal shifted by a constant phase angle is supplied, and the beam tilt angle of the array antenna is changed stepwise.

According to the first aspect of the invention, the high frequency signal input from the input terminal 2a of the hybrid coupler having a 90-degree phase difference is divided into two, and the output terminals 2c and 2d have a 90-degree phase difference. Appear in. Each output signal is capacitively coupled (electrostatically coupled) to one end of the switching member via the first circuit formed on the dielectric substrate of each phase shifter and the insulating plate, and further, the switching is performed. It is capacitively coupled (electrostatically coupled) with the other end of the member and is transmitted to one of the plurality of second circuits having different strip lengths.

Since the tips of the plurality of second circuits having different lengths are released, the high frequency signal is totally reflected there, and returns to the 90-degree hybrid combiner, and the input of the hybrid combiner. A high frequency output does not appear in the terminal 2a in the opposite phase, but appears in the same phase in the input terminal 2b.

The phase difference is relatively determined by different strip lengths of the plurality of second circuits, and stepwise by selecting one of the plurality of second circuits by switching the switching member. Since the phase can be switched to, even a large phase difference can be switched instantaneously.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the capacitance of the portion where the switching member is capacitively coupled to the first circuit and the second circuit is increased, and a switching circuit with low loss is formed. Can be configured.

According to the structure of claim 3, the second
An arbitrary phase can be set by arbitrarily selecting the strip length of the circuit.

Therefore, according to the structure of claim 4, when a phase shift device having a plurality of different phase differences for changing the beam tilt angle of the array antenna is required, a plurality of phase shifters are required. The switching operation member (for example, the switching operation shaft) of the phase device can be shared, and the switching members of the plurality of phase shifting devices can be switched by one rotation operation. For this reason,
The beam tilt angle of the array antenna can be easily set.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be exemplarily described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 are views showing an embodiment of the phase shifter of the present invention.
2 is a perspective view thereof, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the dielectric substrate in one phase shifter of FIG. 1 taken along the center line of the switching member.

In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, this phase shifter 1
1 is two input terminals 2a, 2b and two output terminals 2
and a hybrid coupler 2 having a phase difference of 90 degrees, and two phase shifters 12 and 12 connected to the two output terminals 2c and 2d by coaxial connectors 13 and 13, respectively. Has become. The two phase shifters 12,
Since the reference numerals 12 are symmetrical to each other and have the same configuration and the same function, only one of the phase shifters 12 will be described.

The phase shifter 12 is a dielectric substrate 14 having a circuit formed of metal foil on both surfaces, a switch circuit switching member 15 made of a conductor, a circular shape made of a dielectric, and having a thickness. It is composed of a relatively thin insulating plate 16. Like the contact of a rotary switch, the switching member 15 is rotated about its one end 15a,
The other end 15b is slid to switch the circuits to be coupled.

On one surface of the dielectric substrate 14, one end of the hybrid coupler 2 having the 90 ° phase difference is connected to the output terminal 2c (or, via the coaxial connector 13).
2d), and the other end (referred to as the first coupling portion 17a)
Is a circular shape, and is capacitively coupled (electrostatically coupled) to one end 15a of the switching member 15 via the insulating plate 16.
Circuit 17 is formed. Then, the switching member 1
5 is switched to the other end 15b of the switching member 15 via the insulating plate 16 so as to be capacitively coupled (electrostatically coupled) to each circular end (second coupling portion 21).
a, 22a, 23a, 24a) and different strip lengths L1, L2, L3, L4, respectively, are formed from a plurality of second circuits 21, 22, 23, 24. Further, a ground circuit 25 is formed in a planar shape on the other surface of the dielectric substrate 14.

Then, at the center of one ends 15a, 15a of the switching members 15, 15 of the two phase shifters 12, 12, one common switching operation shaft 18 made of a dielectric material is fixed, and The switching members 15 and 15 are switched like a rotary switch by rotating the switching operation shaft 18 around the ends 15a and 15a. At the same time
Each of the plurality of second circuits 2 of the phase shifters 12, 12.
Of 1, 22, 23, 24 and 21, 22, 23, 24, circuits having the same strip length can be simultaneously switched.

Of the ground circuit 25 formed on the other surface of the dielectric substrate 14, the switching member 15, the circular other end of the first circuit 17, and the second circuit 21,
22, 23 and 24 are respectively capacitively coupled with circular one ends, that is, circular portions facing the first coupling portion 17a and the second coupling portions 21a, 22a, 23a and 24a, As shown in FIG. 2, the ground circuit is not formed (or the metal foil is removed) to increase the capacitance of the coupling portion and form a low-loss switching circuit.

Next, the operation of the phase shifter 11 will be described. The high frequency signal input from the input terminal 2a is split into two by the 90 degree hybrid coupler 2 and appears at the output terminals 2c and 2d with a phase difference of 90 degrees. Then, through the first circuit 17 formed on the dielectric substrate 14, the first coupling portion 17a capacitively couples to the switching member 15 via the insulating plate 16.
Further, the second coupling portions 21a, 22a, 23a, 2
A plurality of second circuits 21, 22 having different strip lengths via the insulating plate 16 by any one of 4a,
It is transmitted to one of the circuits 23 and 24. The second circuit 2
Since the tips of 1, 22, 23, and 24 are released, they are totally reflected here and return to the 90-degree hybrid coupler 2.

Therefore, the high frequency output does not appear at the input terminal 2a of the 90-degree hybrid coupler 2, but appears at the input terminal 2b in the same phase. The phase difference is the second
Of the second circuits 21, 22, 23, 24 connected to the coupling portions 21a, 22a, 23a, 24a of, the strip lengths are relatively determined by different circuits. The phase can be switched stepwise by rotating the knob 19 of the switching operation member 18.

The equivalent circuit of FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. According to FIG. 3, one of the second circuits 21, 22, 23 and 24 is equivalently provided at the output terminal 2c or 2d of the 90-degree hybrid coupler 2 by two capacitors C1 and C2. The circuit is connected. The capacitors C1 and C2
Is the first coupling portion 17a and the second coupling portions 21a, 22.
The capacitance is determined by each of the circular areas of a, 23a, and 24a, and the dielectric constant and thickness of the insulating plate 16. The circular area of the first and second coupling portions is 80 mm. ² , dielectric constant ε of insulating plate 16 = 2.5, thickness =
A capacitance of about 20 pF can be obtained at 0.15 mm. Even when two capacitors C1 and C2 are connected in series, a high frequency signal can be transmitted with low loss at a frequency of 1 GHz or higher.

FIG. 4 is a reflection loss (reflection attenuation amount) with respect to frequency of the phase shifter 11, and FIG.
The insertion loss with respect to frequency is shown. In this case, the characteristic when the ground circuit 25 is not present in the circular portion of the dielectric substrate 14 facing the first coupling portion 17a and the second coupling portion 21a, 22a, 23a, 24a is the ground circuit. 25
It has been improved compared to the characteristics when there is, especially 1G
Sufficient characteristics are obtained in the range of Hz to 2 GHz.

Further, a plurality of the phase shifters 11 of the above-mentioned embodiment are arranged in parallel, and each of the switching operation members 18 is provided.
By making one common switching operation member 30,
The phases of the plurality of phase shifters 11 can be switched by one rotation operation.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the phase shifter of the present invention, in which two phase shifters 31, 32 are used to gradually change the beam tilt angle of the three-element array antenna 33.
In the applied diagram, the phase of the phase shifter 31 is θ1 at the same rotational position of each common switching operation member 30,
By setting θ3 and the phase of the phase shifter 32 to change to θ2 and θ4, the beam tilt angle of the array antenna 33 is set to 2 by one rotation operation of the common switching operation member 30. It can be easily set so that it can be changed stepwise by 4 °. That is, the two phase shifters 3
Radiating elements 33a, 33b (of which one radiating element 3
3c supplies a high-frequency signal shifted by a constant phase angle to the 3 element array antenna 33 without passing through the phase shifter.
The beam tilt angle of can be changed stepwise.
Incidentally, 34 is a branch cable, and 35 is a three-way distributor.

Note that the technique of the present invention is not limited to the technique in the above-described embodiment, and may be implemented by means of another mode that achieves the same function, and the technique of the present invention can be variously modified within the scope of the above configuration. Can be changed or added.

[0030]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the phase shifter of the present invention, according to claims 1 to 3, the phase shifter in the device has a circuit formed by metal foils on both sides. A dielectric substrate, a switching member made of a conductor, and an insulating plate made of a dielectric. One surface of the dielectric substrate has one end connected to the output terminal and the other end having the insulating plate. A first electrode that is electrostatically coupled to one end of the switching member via
And a plurality of second circuits each having one end electrostatically coupled to the other end of the switching member via the insulating plate by switching the switching member and having different strip lengths. And a ground circuit is formed on the other surface of the dielectric substrate.
The switching members of the phase shifters are simultaneously operated by a common switching operation member made of a dielectric material, and at the same time, the circuits having the same strip length among the plurality of second circuits are switched, Since there is no mechanical contact, there is no problem of noise or intermodulation due to poor contact, and the phase can be changed easily and stepwise.

Further, a plurality of second electrodes formed on the dielectric substrate
It is possible to set an arbitrary phase difference by the strip length of the circuit, and it is possible to switch to a large phase difference in a short time.

Therefore, according to the phase shifter of the present invention, in claim 4, a plurality of the phase shifters are arranged in parallel, and the respective switching operation members are common, and the common switching operation is performed. The phase difference of each of the phase shifters at the same rotation position of the member is set by shifting by a constant phase angle, and each of the plurality of phase shifters transfers a constant phase angle to each of the radiating elements constituting the array antenna. Since the shifted high frequency signal is supplied and the beam tilt angle of the array antenna is changed stepwise, the phase shift device can be easily used when changing the beam tilt angle of the array antenna stepwise.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a phase shift device of the present invention.

2 is a cross-sectional view of the dielectric substrate in the one phase shifter of FIG. 1 taken along the center line of the switching member.

FIG. 3 is an equivalent circuit diagram of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a characteristic diagram showing reflection loss (reflection attenuation amount) with respect to frequency of the phase shifter according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a characteristic diagram showing the insertion loss with respect to frequency of the phase shifter according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a view showing another embodiment of the phase shifter of the present invention, in which two phase shifters are applied when the beam tilt angle of the three-element array antenna is changed stepwise.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a conventional phase shifter.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 11, 31, 41 Phase shift device 2 90 degree hybrid coupler 2a, 2b Input terminal 2c, 2d Output terminal 7, 12 Phase shifter 14 Dielectric substrate 15 Switching member 16 Insulation plate 17 First circuit 17a 1st Coupling part 18, 30 switching operation shaft 21, 22, 23, 24 second circuit 21a, 22b, 23c, 24d second coupling part 25 ground circuit 33 array antenna 33a, 33b, 33c radiating element

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hirokazu Kakuda 4-15-4 Midori, Minamikawachi-cho, Kawachi-gun, Tochigi Prefecture (72) Inventor Masayoshi Serizawa 27, Kobodai, Kanuma-shi, Tochigi Prefecture Yoshio Ebine Port of Tokyo 2-10-1 Toranomon-ku, NTT Mobile Communication Network Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A hybrid coupler having two input terminals and two output terminals and having a 90-degree phase difference, and two phase shifters respectively connected to the two output terminals. In the phase shifter, the phase shifter includes a dielectric substrate having a circuit formed of metal foil on both surfaces, a switching member made of a conductor, and an insulating plate made of a dielectric. On one surface, one end is connected to the output terminal and the other end is capacitively coupled to one end of the switching member via the insulating plate; A plurality of second circuits each having one end capacitively coupled to the other end of the switching member via the insulating plate and having different strip lengths are formed, and the other second circuit of the dielectric substrate is formed. On the surface,
A ground circuit is formed, and the switching members of the two phase shifters are simultaneously operated by a common switching operation member made of a dielectric, and
Among the plurality of second circuits, the phase shift device is characterized in that the strip length is switched to the same circuit at the same time and the phase is changed stepwise. 2. A portion of a ground circuit formed on the other surface of the dielectric substrate, the portion facing the switching member and the portion where the first circuit and the second circuit are capacitively coupled, 2. The ground circuit is not formed.
The phase shifter described in. 3. The switching operation member is fixed to one end of each of the switching members of the two phase shifters, and the switching member rotates around the one end of the switching member. The phase shifter according to claim 1, wherein the phase shifter is switched by movement. 4. A plurality of the phase shifters are arranged side by side, the respective switching operation members are made common, and the phase difference between the respective phase shifters at the same rotation position of the common switching operation member. It is set by deviating by a certain phase angle,
A high-frequency signal deviated by a constant phase angle is supplied from each of the plurality of phase shifters to each radiating element that constitutes an array antenna, and the beam tilt angle of the array antenna is changed stepwise. The phase shift device according to claim 3.