KR102512924B1 - Phase transformation unit and phase shifter having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a phase conversion unit. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the phase conversion unit includes: a first circuit board having a first circuit pattern; a second circuit board having a second circuit pattern partially overlapping the first circuit pattern to be electrically connected to the first circuit pattern; a moving member connected to the second circuit board to change the length of a portion in which the first and second circuit patterns overlap by moving the second circuit board; and a housing having a conductive shielding portion and covering at least a portion of the moving member, the first circuit pattern and the second circuit pattern. Therefore, a problem of signal interference between the phase conversion units is reduced, and isolation performance is improved.

Description

Phase conversion unit and phase shifter including the same {PHASE TRANSFORMATION UNIT AND PHASE SHIFTER HAVING THE SAME}

The present invention relates to a phase conversion unit, and more particularly, to a phase conversion unit capable of converting a phase of a transmitted signal and a phase shifter including the same.

Recently, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology is emerging as a newly expanded 5G service is introduced in a mobile communication system.

In general, a beamforming method is applied to MIMO antenna technology in 5G services. This beamforming method is a method of concentrating radio signals in a specific direction by changing a steering angle of a beam emitted from an antenna using a phase shifter. The phase shifter includes a plurality of phase conversion units that shift the phase of the transmitted signal, that is, convert the phase.

Meanwhile, base station equipment providing 5G service consists of 64 antennas, and the number of phase conversion units of the phase shifter is configured to correspond thereto. For example, in the case of a hybrid beamforming method (2 sub-array method) in which two antennas are connected to one transceiver, the number of phase conversion units may be 32.

In this way, when the number of phase conversion units increases, a problem in which phase conversion of a transmission signal is not stably performed may occur due to signal interference between phase conversion units.

KR 10-1586424 B1 (2016.01.12.) US 7253782 B2 (2007.08.07.) KR 10-1771240 B1 (2017.09.05.) KR 10-1567882 B1 (2015.11.04.)

An object of the present invention is to provide a phase conversion unit having improved isolation performance and a phase shifter including the same so as to stably convert the phase of a transmission signal.

The tasks of the present invention are not limited to the tasks mentioned above, and other tasks not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

In order to solve the above problems, a phase conversion unit according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first circuit board having a first circuit pattern; a second circuit board having a second circuit pattern electrically connected to the first circuit pattern and partially overlapping the first circuit pattern; a moving member connected to the second circuit board to change the length of a portion where the first and second circuit patterns overlap by moving the second circuit board; and a housing having a conductive shield and covering at least a portion of the movable member, the first circuit pattern, and the second circuit pattern.

The housing may include a non-conductive housing body, and the conductive shield may be supported by the housing body.

The conductive shielding part may be formed in the form of a thin film on the surface of the housing body.

A plurality of accommodating portions are formed in the housing, partition walls are provided between the plurality of accommodating portions, and at least a portion of the moving member, the first circuit pattern, and the second circuit pattern are accommodated in each of the plurality of accommodating portions. It can be.

The moving member may include a first moving unit on which the second circuit board is disposed; and a second moving unit extending from the first moving unit, wherein at least a portion thereof may be accommodated in the housing to press the second circuit board in a direction in which the first circuit board is located.

The movable member may include an elastic member supported by the first movable unit to press the second circuit board toward the first circuit board.

In order to solve the above problems, the phase shifter according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a support frame; and a plurality of phase conversion units disposed on the support frame, wherein the phase conversion units include: a first circuit board having a first circuit pattern; a second circuit board having a second circuit pattern electrically connected to the first circuit pattern and partially overlapping the first circuit pattern; a moving member connected to the second circuit board to change the length of a portion where the first and second circuit patterns overlap by moving the second circuit board; and a housing coupled to the support frame to cover at least a portion of the movable member, the first circuit pattern and the second circuit pattern, and including a conductive shield short-circuited from the support frame. .

The phase shifter according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a conductive coupling member that fixes the housing to the support frame and short-circuits the conductive shielding portion and the support frame.

The coupling member may fix the housing to the support frame in such a way that it is inserted into an insertion hole formed in the housing and coupled to the support frame.

The coupling member may be provided in the support frame to be inserted into an insertion hole formed in the housing.

The housing includes a non-conductive housing body; and a housing protrusion protruding from the housing body so as to be inserted into the coupling hole of the support frame and fixing the housing body to the support frame, wherein the conductive shielding part is disposed on the surface of the housing body and the housing protrusion. It can be.

According to the present invention, since the housing of the phase conversion unit is provided with a conductive shield, the problem of signal interference between the phase conversion units is reduced and the isolation performance is improved, so that the phase of the transmission signal can be more stably converted.

In addition, the present invention has an effect of synchronizing the phases of each transmission signal converted by the plurality of phase conversion units by simultaneously operating the plurality of phase conversion units by the operating unit and the driving unit.

The various and advantageous advantages and effects of the present invention are not limited to the above, and more various effects are included in the present specification.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a phase shifter according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 shows a part of a phase shifter according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is an exploded view showing a part of a phase conversion unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is an exploded perspective view of a phase conversion unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 illustrates a first circuit board and a second circuit board of a phase conversion unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a cross-sectional view showing a portion of a phase shifter according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method for changing the length of an overlapping portion of a first circuit pattern and a second circuit pattern of a phase conversion unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 to 11 are cross-sectional views showing various modified examples of the phase shifter according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, a phase conversion unit and a phase shifter including the same according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a phase shifter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The phase shifter 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a device capable of changing the steering angle of a beam emitted from an antenna, and shifts the phase of a signal transmitted through a plurality of phase conversion units 120. , that is, the phase can be transformed.

As shown in the drawing, the phase shifter 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a support frame 110, a phase conversion unit 120, an operating unit 150, a driving unit 160, and a sliding member. (170).

A plurality of phase conversion units 120 are disposed on the support frame 110 . The support frame 110 is formed in a flat plate shape, and may be formed of a hard material capable of supporting the plurality of phase conversion units 120, for example, a metal material such as aluminum. The support frame 110 may have a rectangular shape so that the plurality of phase conversion units 120 may be disposed in an array form. However, the material and shape of the support frame 110 are not limited to the above examples. In addition, at least a portion of the support frame 110 may be made of a conductive material such as metal so that a portion of the phase conversion unit 120 may be short-circuited.

The plurality of phase conversion units 120 may be disposed on the support frame 110 in the form of a plurality of arrays. Specifically, on the support frame 110, a plurality of phase conversion units 120 are disposed in an array form spaced apart from each other along the second direction, and a plurality of such arrays of phase conversion units 120 are disposed along the first direction. It can be.

Although FIG. 1 shows that the pair of arrays AR1 and AR2 of the phase conversion unit 120 are spaced apart from each other in the first direction on the support frame 110, the arrangement structure of the phase conversion unit 120 is It is not limited to these. For example, the plurality of phase conversion units 120 may be disposed on the support frame 110 in an array of three or more.

The operating unit 150 is connected to the plurality of phase conversion units 120 to collectively operate the plurality of phase conversion units 120 . The operation unit 150 may synchronize the phases of the transmission signals respectively converted by the plurality of phase conversion units 120 by collectively operating the plurality of phase conversion units 120 . A detailed operation of the operating unit 150 will be described later.

The driving unit 160 may provide driving force for operating the operation unit 150 .

Hereinafter, each component of the phase shifter 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

2 to 5 , each phase conversion unit 120 includes a first circuit board 121, a second circuit board 124, a moving member 127 and a housing 138.

Depending on the embodiment, the first circuit board 121 and the second circuit board 124 may be formed of a printed circuit board (PCB). As shown in (a) of FIG. 5 , the first circuit board 121 may have the first circuit pattern 122 , and the second circuit board 124 may have the second circuit pattern 125 . . The first circuit pattern 122 and the second circuit pattern 125 may constitute a circuit pattern as a part of a transmission line that transmits a signal to an antenna. As shown in (b) of FIG. 5 , the second circuit board 124 has a surface having the second circuit pattern 125 so that the second circuit pattern 125 can be overlapped and connected to the first circuit pattern 122. It may be disposed to face the surface of the first circuit board 121 having the first circuit pattern 122 . Accordingly, a portion of the second circuit pattern 125 and the first circuit pattern 122 may be overlapped and connected.

The overlapping length of the second circuit pattern 125 with the first circuit pattern 122 may be changed according to the driving of the operation unit 150 . Specifically, the second circuit board 124 may be connected to the movable member 127, and as the movable member 127 connected to the operation unit 150 moves in the first direction, the first circuit pattern 122 and The length of the portion where the second circuit pattern 125 overlaps, that is, the length of the circuit pattern may be changed. For example, since the second circuit board 124 moves along with the moving member 127 in the first direction while the first circuit board 121 is stationary, the second circuit board 124 moves in the first direction. The length of the circuit pattern may be changed as much as it is moved along .

The phase conversion unit 120 may omit one or more of the first circuit board 121 and the second circuit board 124 in order to reduce parts and manufacturing man-hours. For example, the first circuit board 121 may be omitted and the first circuit pattern 122 may be formed on the housing 138 . That is, the first circuit pattern 122 may be formed on a lower surface of the housing 138, that is, a surface facing the moving member 127. Also, the second circuit board 124 may be omitted and the second circuit pattern 125 may be formed on the movable member 127 .

3 and 4, the movable member 127 moves the second circuit board 124 to change the length of the overlapping portion of the first circuit pattern 122 and the second circuit pattern 125. do. The moving member 127 includes a first moving unit 128 connected to the second circuit board 124 and a second moving unit 130 extending from the first moving unit 128 and connected to the operation unit 150. and an elastic member 134 supported by the first moving unit 128. As shown, the protruding part of the second moving unit 130 is inserted into the hole formed in the operating bar 151 of the operating unit 150 so that the second moving unit 130 can be combined with the operating bar 151. there is.

The first moving part 128 is provided with a support part 131 . As shown, a plurality of support units 131 may be spaced apart from one another in a hemispherical shape on the upper surface of the first moving unit 128 . As shown in FIG. 6 , the first moving part 128 can be tightly embedded in the housing 138 by contacting the inner surface of the housing 138 with the supporting part 131 . Accordingly, the first moving unit 128 can move stably without lifting in the third direction in the housing 138 .

Although not shown in the drawing, the support part may be provided on the first moving part 128 so as to come into contact with the second circuit board 124 . The support portion in contact with the second circuit board 124 may prevent the first moving unit 128 from being lifted from the housing 138 in the third direction.

As shown in FIG. 3, the first moving part 128 is provided with a slit 132 extending in the longitudinal direction of the moving member 127 and a contact part 133 that can contact the inner surface of the housing 138. . The contact parts 133 may be disposed at both edges of the first moving part 128 and come into contact with the inner surface of the housing 138 . A plurality of slits 132 may be provided between the pair of contact portions 133 . When the first moving part 128 is located in the housing 138, the contact part 133 may contact the inner surface of the housing 138 and elastically deform in the second direction. Therefore, the first moving part 128 can move stably without distortion while the pair of contact parts 133 are stably in contact with the inner surface of the housing 138 .

The elastic member 134 may be disposed on the first moving unit 128 to apply an elastic force to the second circuit board 124 in a direction in contact with the first circuit board 121 . The elastic member 134 may be made of a material having elasticity such as rubber or silicon. The elastic member 134 includes an elastic member body 135 in contact with the first moving unit 128 and a plurality of legs 136 elastically deformably connected to the elastic member body 135 . As shown in FIG. 6 , the plurality of legs 136 may be in contact with one surface of the second circuit board 124 to apply elastic force to the second circuit board 124 . As such, the elastic member 134 is supported by the first movable unit 128 and applies an elastic force to the second circuit board 124, so that the first circuit board 124 moves while the movable member 127 moves the second circuit board 124. The first circuit pattern 122 of the substrate 121 and the second circuit pattern 125 of the second circuit substrate 124 may maintain a stable contact state.

As such, the movable member 127 of the phase conversion unit 120 according to an embodiment of the present invention presses the second circuit board 124 toward the first circuit board 121 without shaking or twisting in the vertical and horizontal directions. It can stably and linearly move along with the second circuit board 124 . Therefore, the movable member 127 has the first circuit pattern 122 and the second circuit pattern 125 overlapped in a state where the first circuit pattern 122 and the second circuit pattern 125 are overlapped. You can adjust the length.

The elastic member 134 of the movable member 127 may be changed into various other configurations capable of applying elastic force toward the first circuit board 121 with respect to the second circuit board 124 other than the illustrated configuration.

3, 4 and 6, the housing 138 is disposed on the first circuit board 121 and includes a part of the moving member 127, a part of the first circuit board 121, and a second The circuit board 124 may be covered. The first moving part 128 of the moving member 127, the first circuit pattern 122 of the first circuit board 121, and the second circuit pattern 125 of the second circuit board 124 are the housing ( 138) can be accommodated. The housing 138 includes a housing body 139 fixed to the support frame 110 and a conductive shield 144 supported by the housing body 139 .

The housing body 139 may be formed of a non-conductive material so as not to distort signals transmitted through the first circuit pattern 122 and the second circuit pattern 125 . A pair of accommodating parts 140 each accommodating the moving member 127 are formed in the housing body 139 , and a partition wall 141 is provided between the pair of accommodating parts 140 . At least a portion of the movable member 127 , the first circuit pattern 122 , and the second circuit pattern 125 may be accommodated in each of the pair of accommodation units 140 .

In addition, the housing body 139 includes an insertion hole 142 . The insertion hole 142 may be formed to pass through the housing body 139 and the conductive shield 144 .

The number of accommodating parts 140, partition walls 141, and insertion holes 142 provided in the housing body 139 may be variously changed.

The conductive shield 144 is coupled to the housing body 139 . The conductive shield 144 has a shielding function to block interference signals outside the housing 138 . Due to the action of the conductive shield 144, the problem of signal interference with other phase conversion units 120 is reduced, and the isolation performance of the phase conversion unit 120 is improved. Through this, the phase conversion unit 120 ) can more stably convert the phase of the transmission signal to the set phase. The conductive shield 144 may be formed in the form of a thin film on the surface of the housing body 139 . In addition, the conductive shield 144 may be formed to partially cover the top surface of the housing body 139 to be spaced apart from the first circuit board 121 . The conductive shield 144 may be electrically connected to the support frame 110 by being short-circuited to the support frame 110 , and may form a shielding structure for interference signals together with the support frame 110 .

The conductive shielding unit 144 may be formed by electrolytic plating of a plastic electric plating (PEP) method, electroless plating method of a laser manufacturing antenna (LMA) method, electroless plating method of a laser direct structuring (LDS) method, or other methods of patterning a metal layer on plastic. It may be formed to a thickness of 1 μm to several tens of μm, or other thickness through a plating method or various other methods.

The housing 138 may be fixed to the support frame 110 through a coupling member 146 . The coupling member 146 is inserted into the insertion hole 142 of the housing 138 and its end is inserted into the coupling hole 111 of the support frame 110 to fix the housing 138 to the support frame 110. there is. The coupling member 146 may be made of a conductive material. As shown in FIG. 6 , a part of the coupling member 146 is in contact with the conductive shielding part 144 and the other part is in contact with the support frame 110, thereby shorting the conductive shielding part 144 to the support frame 110. can Since the conductive shield 144 is short-circuited to the support frame 110 through the coupling member 146, the conductive shield 144 can stably shield interference signals, and the isolation performance of the phase conversion unit 120 is improved. can be further improved.

In the drawing, two coupling members 146 are shown to fix the housing 138 to the support frame 110 and short the conductive shield 144 to the support frame 110, but the coupling member 146 The number can be variously changed.

Referring back to FIG. 1 , the operating unit 150 is connected to the plurality of phase conversion units 120 so as to collectively operate the plurality of phase conversion units 120 . The operation unit 150 includes a plurality of operation bars 151 connected to each of the moving members 127 of the plurality of phase conversion units 120 arranged in an array, and one or more operation bars 151 connecting the plurality of operation bars 151. A guide bar 154 is included. Depending on the embodiment, the plurality of operation bars 151 may be arranged according to the number of arrays of the plurality of phase conversion units 120 . For example, as shown in the drawing, a pair of operation bars 151 may be arranged to correspond to a pair of arrays AR1 and AR2.

The guide bar 154 may respectively connect both sides of the plurality of operation bars 151 . As shown, a pair of guide bars 154 may be provided to connect a plurality of operation bars 151 . Since the guide bar 154 connects the plurality of operation bars 151 , the plurality of operation bars 151 may simultaneously move along the first direction. In addition, as the plurality of operation bars 151 are simultaneously moved by the guide bar 154, all the phase conversion units 120 forming the arrays AR1 and AR2 of the phase conversion units 120 are collectively operated so as to transmit the transmission signal. Phases can be converted in batches.

The guide bar 154 may be supported by a plurality of guide rollers 156 installed on the support frame 110 . The guide roller 156 is installed in contact with the guide bar 154 to guide the guide bar 154 so that the guide bar 154 can stably move without lifting from the support frame 110 . The number or installation position of the guide roller 156 is not limited to that shown and can be variously changed.

The driving unit 160 is disposed on the support frame 110 and provides driving force capable of driving the operation unit 150 . The driving unit 160 may be connected to at least one of the plurality of operation bars 151 . The plurality of operation bars 151 may reciprocate along the first direction by the driving force provided by the driving unit 160 . The driving unit 160 may include a motor 161 and a plurality of gears 163 . The plurality of gears 163 may be connected to a screw shaft (not shown) connected to the operation bar 151 . Accordingly, the rotational force of the motor 161 is transmitted to the screw shaft through the plurality of gears 163 so that the operation bar 151 can linearly move. In addition, as the driving force of the driving unit 160 is transmitted to each phase conversion unit 120 through the operation unit 150, the first circuit pattern 122 and the second circuit pattern 125 of each phase conversion unit 120 The nested length can be changed.

Specifically, as shown in (a) and (b) of FIG. 7 , the first circuit pattern 122 and the second circuit pattern 125 are formed by the moving member 127 receiving driving force from the driving unit 160 and moving. The nested length of can be changed. In FIG. 7 , a hatched portion represents a region where the first circuit pattern 122 and the second circuit pattern 125 overlap. As the length of the portion where the first circuit pattern 122 and the second circuit pattern 125 overlap each other increases, the length of the circuit pattern formed by the first circuit pattern 122 and the second circuit pattern 125 decreases. Conversely, as the length of the overlapping portion of the first circuit pattern 122 and the second circuit pattern 125 decreases, the length of the circuit pattern formed by the first circuit pattern 122 and the second circuit pattern 125 increases. lose The phase of the transmission signal may be changed according to the length difference value D of the circuit patterns formed by the first circuit pattern 122 and the second circuit pattern 125 .

The movement range of the operating bar 151 and the moving member 127 by the driver 160 may be set according to the range of overlapping regions of the first circuit pattern 122 and the second circuit pattern 125 . For example, the movement range of the operating bar 151 and the moving member 127 may be 0 mm to 14 mm, and the range of overlapping regions of the first circuit pattern 122 and the second circuit pattern 125 may be 0 mm to 14 mm. can

The driving unit 160 may be changed into various other forms capable of providing a driving force for moving the operation bar 151 .

Referring to FIGS. 2, 8 and 9 , the sliding member 170 is installed on the support frame 110 to guide the operating bar 151. That is, a part of the sliding member 170 is inserted into the sliding groove 152 extending in the first direction of the operating bar 151 to limit the movement of the operating bar 151, and the operating bar 151 is a support frame. The operation bar 151 may be guided so as to stably move linearly from the 110 without being lifted or shaken.

In addition, the phase shifter 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a controller (not shown). The control unit may provide operation commands such as electrical signals for operating the plurality of phase conversion units 120 to the driving unit 160 . Operation commands of the control unit may be implemented through a program executable by a processor.

Depending on the embodiment, the control unit may store attribute values of the motor 161 and the gear 163 of the driving unit 160 so as to control the operation of the driving unit 160 . For example, the control unit may store the number of teeth of each gear 163, the rotation ratio of each gear 163, and the like.

Depending on the embodiment, the control unit may control the driving unit 160 based on the value input from the manager as follows.

First, the controller may obtain an input value corresponding to a phase to be converted. As an example of an input value, the control unit may obtain a phase shift value of the phase shifter 100 as an input value. Here, the phase conversion value may be 0° to 12° Tilt, but is not limited thereto.

As another embodiment of the input value, the control unit obtains the length value of the overlapping region of the circuit pattern formed by the first circuit pattern 122 and the second circuit pattern 125 or the movement range value of the operation unit 150 as an input value. can do. Here, the length value of the overlapping region of the circuit pattern and the movement range value of the operation unit 150 may be 0 mm to 14 mm, but are not limited thereto.

Next, after obtaining the input value, the control unit may generate a result value for enabling the plurality of phase conversion units 120 to identically convert the phase using the input value and the previously stored reference value. Specifically, the reference value may include an arithmetic expression or comparison data. For example, the arithmetic expression may be an operation for generating a resultant value for an input value, and the comparison data may be data in which a plurality of input values and resultant values are pre-calculated and stored. That is, the pre-stored comparison data includes a result value according to an input value, and the control unit may match the result value based on the input value.

As an example of the reference value, the pre-stored reference value may include an arithmetic expression or comparison data generated based on the conversion range of the input value and the movement range of the operation unit 150 . Here, the conversion range of the input value may be the phase conversion range (eg, 0° to 12° Tilt) of the phase conversion unit 120, and the movement range of the operation unit 150 is the length of the overlapping region of the circuit pattern. It may mean a change range of (eg, 0 mm to 14 mm). More specifically, the arithmetic expression may be an arithmetic expression for whether the operation unit 150 should move Ymm in order for the phase to change by X°. For example, when the control unit inputs the inclination angle of the beam (eg, tilting the direction of the beam by 6°) into the calculation formula in which the reference value is reflected, the moving length (eg, 7mm) of the operation unit 150 is calculated. It can be obtained as an output value.

As another embodiment of the reference value, the reference value stored in the control unit may include a gear ratio calculation formula or comparison data generated based on the plurality of gears 163 . Here, the gear ratio calculation formula may be data obtained from the number of teeth of the gear 163. The control unit may store the gear ratio calculation formula (eg, the number of teeth of the driven gear/the number of teeth of the driving gear) of each gear 163 and use the gear ratio calculation formula in a calculation process of generating a resultant value for the input value.

Next, after generating the result value, the control unit may convert the phase of the transmission signal through the plurality of phase conversion units 120 by controlling the driving unit 160 based on the result value.

Depending on the embodiment, the control unit may control the operation unit 150 to be operated through the driving unit 160 based on the generated result value, but may control the moving speed of the operation unit 150 according to whether or not there is a load. . Specifically, the resulting value may include a continuous value for moving the operation unit 150 at a low speed or high speed through the driving unit 160, and based on the continuous value, the operation unit 150 moves through the driving unit 160. can be moved at low or high speed.

The control unit may move the operation unit 150 at a low speed through the driving unit 160 within a preset range according to the resultant value. When moving at a low speed, when no load is applied to the driving unit 160 while moving within a preset range, the control unit may move the operation unit 150 at a high speed through the driving unit 160 . At this time, 'load' may refer to a state in which the operation unit 150 is caught on an obstacle and does not move.

In this way, the controller moves the operation unit 150 at a low speed within a preset range through the driving unit 160 and then moves it at a high speed, thereby preventing the operation unit 150 from being damaged by an obstacle while moving at a high speed.

In addition, the operation of the operating unit 150 and the driving unit 160 may be performed continuously without stopping according to a change in driving speed.

As described above, in the phase shifter 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of phase conversion units 120 are simultaneously operated by the operation unit 150 and the driving unit 160, thereby providing a plurality of phase conversion units. (120) has the effect of synchronizing the phase of each transmission signal converted.

In addition, in the phase shifter 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, since the conductive shield 144 is provided in the housing 138 of the phase conversion unit 120, there is less signal interference between the phase conversion units 120. , the isolation performance is improved, so that the phase of the transmission signal can be converted more stably.

Table 1 below shows comparative test results of the isolation performance of a conventional phase shifter including a housing without a conductive shield and the isolation performance of a phase shifter according to the present invention including a housing with a conductive shield . As shown in Table 1 below, as a result of comparing the isolation of the conventional phase shifter and the phase shifter according to the present invention, it was confirmed that the isolation performance of the phase shifter according to the present invention is improved compared to the prior art. .

<Table 1>

In the embodiments shown in the drawing, it is shown that the conductive shielding part for improving the isolation performance of the phase conversion unit is disposed on the entire upper surface of the housing body or on a part of the upper surface of the housing body, but the location or shape of the conductive shielding unit is different. It can be changed in various ways. As another exemplary embodiment, the conductive shielding part may be formed to extend from an upper surface of the housing body to a side surface of the housing body, or may be formed on a side surface of the housing body.

Also, in the embodiments shown in the drawings, the conductive shield is shown as being short-circuited to the support frame, but the conductive shield may be disposed without being short-circuited to the support frame.

In addition, in the embodiments shown in the drawings, the conductive shielding portion is shown to be formed in the form of a thin film on the surface of the housing body, but the conductive shielding portion may be formed in various other shapes such as a plate shape or a block shape with metal or other conductive material.

In addition, the conductive shielding part may be disposed on the surface of the housing body or embedded through insert injection or various coupling methods in addition to the plating method.

Meanwhile, FIGS. 8 to 11 are cross-sectional views showing various modified examples of the phase shifter according to the present invention.

First, in the phase shifter shown in FIG. 8 , the conductive shield 244 provided in the housing 238 of the phase conversion unit 220 covers the entire upper surface of the housing body 139 . The conductive shielding portion 244 may be formed on the surface of the housing body 139 through a plating method of patterning a metal layer on plastic or various other methods. The conductive shield 244 is short-circuited to the support frame 110 through the coupling member 146 , thereby improving isolation performance of the phase conversion unit 220 .

In the phase shifter shown in FIG. 9 , a coupling member 346 for fixing the housing 338 of the phase conversion unit 320 to the support frame 310 is provided on the support frame 310 . The coupling member 346 may be provided on the support frame 310 so as to be erected vertically on the upper surface of the support frame 310 .

The housing 338 includes a housing body 339 in which an insertion hole 342 is formed and a conductive shield 344 formed on a surface of the housing body 339 . The housing 338 may be fixed to the support frame 310 by inserting the coupling member 346 into the insertion hole 342 . The coupling member 346 is made of a conductive material and can short-circuit the conductive shield 344 of the housing 338 to the support frame 310 . The conductive shield 344 may improve isolation performance of the phase conversion unit 320 by being shorted to the support frame 310 .

In the phase shifter shown in FIG. 10 , the coupling member 446 is provided in the housing 438 of the phase conversion unit 420 . The housing 438 includes a housing body 439 and a conductive shield 444 formed on a surface of the housing body 439 . The coupling member 446 may be coupled to the housing 438 through various methods such as an interference fit method or an insert injection method.

The housing 438 may be fixed to the support frame 110 in such a way that the coupling member 446 is inserted into the coupling hole 111 of the support frame 110 . The coupling member 446 is made of a conductive material and can short-circuit the conductive shield 444 of the housing 438 to the support frame 110 . The conductive shield 444 may improve isolation performance of the phase conversion unit 420 by being shorted to the support frame 110 .

In the phase shifter shown in FIG. 11 , the housing 538 of the phase conversion unit 520 includes a housing protrusion 548 inserted into the coupling hole 511 of the support frame 510 . The housing 538 includes a housing body 539 and a conductive shield 544 supported by the housing body 539 . The housing protrusion 548 may be integrally formed with the housing body 539 to protrude from a surface facing the support frame 510 of the housing body 539 . A housing hole 547 is formed in the housing body 539 to extend to the end of the housing protrusion 548 . The housing protrusion 548 may have a hollow tube shape.

An engagement groove 549 into which the engagement protrusion 512 of the support frame 510 is inserted is formed in the housing protrusion 548 . A plurality of engagement protrusions 512 may be spaced apart along the circumference of the coupling hole 511 , and the engagement grooves 549 may be provided in numbers and shapes corresponding to the plurality of engagement protrusions 512 . The conductive shielding portion 544 may be disposed on an upper surface of the housing body 539 , around the housing hole 547 , and inside the engaging protrusion 512 . The conductive shield 544 may be short-circuited to the support frame 510 by contacting the engagement protrusion 512 of the support frame 510 . The conductive shield 544 may improve isolation performance of the phase conversion unit 520 by being shorted to the support frame 510 .

In addition, the housing may be coupled to the support frame in various ways, such as a mechanical coupling method using a different type of coupling member, another mechanical coupling method, a bonding method, or an adhesive method.

Additionally, the housing's conductive shield can be shorted to the support frame in a variety of other ways. For example, the conductive shield may be formed to extend to the lower end of the housing body and directly contact the support frame without using a separate coupling member.

Although the preferred examples of the present invention have been described above, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the forms described and illustrated above.

For example, the number of phase conversion units disposed on the support frame may be variously changed.

In addition, the first circuit board may be provided in a number corresponding to the number of phase conversion units or less than the number of phase conversion units. When the first circuit board is provided with a smaller number than the number of phase conversion units, two or more first circuit patterns constituting a plurality of phase conversion units may be provided on one first circuit board.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not necessarily limited to these embodiments, and may be variously modified without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present invention, but to explain, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The protection scope of the present invention should be construed according to the claims below, and all technical ideas within the equivalent range should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention.

100: phase shifter 110, 310: support frame
120, 220, 320, 420, 520: phase conversion unit
121: first circuit board 122: first circuit pattern
124: second circuit board 125: second circuit pattern
127: moving member 128: first moving unit
130: second moving part 131: support part
132: slit 133: contact portion
134: elastic member 135: elastic member body
136: legs 138, 238, 338, 438, 538: housing
139, 339, 439, 539: housing body
140: accommodation part 141: bulkhead
144, 244, 344, 444, 544: conductive shield
146: coupling member
150: operation unit 151: operation bar
154: guide bar 156: guide roller
160: driving unit 161: motor
163: gear 170: sliding member
512: engagement protrusion 548: housing protrusion
549: engagement groove

Claims (11)

a first circuit board having a first circuit pattern;
a second circuit board having a second circuit pattern electrically connected to the first circuit pattern and partially overlapping the first circuit pattern;
a moving member connected to the second circuit board to change the length of a portion where the first and second circuit patterns overlap by moving the second circuit board; and
A housing having a conductive shield and covering at least a portion of the moving member, the first circuit pattern, and the second circuit pattern;
the housing,
A non-conductive housing body; includes,
The conductive shield is formed in the form of a thin film on the surface of the housing body,
A plurality of accommodating portions are formed in the housing, and partition walls are provided between the plurality of accommodating portions,
The phase conversion unit, characterized in that at least a part of the moving member, the first circuit pattern and the second circuit pattern are accommodated in each of the plurality of accommodating units.
delete delete delete a first circuit board having a first circuit pattern;
a second circuit board having a second circuit pattern electrically connected to the first circuit pattern and partially overlapping the first circuit pattern;
a moving member connected to the second circuit board to change the length of a portion where the first and second circuit patterns overlap by moving the second circuit board; and
A housing having a conductive shield and covering at least a portion of the moving member, the first circuit pattern, and the second circuit pattern;
the housing,
A non-conductive housing body; includes,
The conductive shield is formed in the form of a thin film on the surface of the housing body,
The moving member,
a first moving unit on which the second circuit board is disposed; and
A second moving unit extending from the first moving unit; includes,
and at least a part of the housing is accommodated to press the second circuit board in a direction in which the first circuit board is located.
According to claim 5,
The moving member,
and an elastic member supported by the first moving part to press the second circuit board toward the first circuit board.
support frame; and
A plurality of phase conversion units disposed on the support frame; includes,
The phase conversion unit,
a first circuit board having a first circuit pattern;
a second circuit board having a second circuit pattern electrically connected to the first circuit pattern and partially overlapping the first circuit pattern;
a moving member connected to the second circuit board to change the length of a portion where the first and second circuit patterns overlap by moving the second circuit board; and
A housing coupled to the support frame to cover at least a portion of the movable member, the first circuit pattern and the second circuit pattern, and having a conductive shield short-circuited from the support frame;
the housing,
A non-conductive housing body; includes,
The conductive shield is formed in the form of a thin film on the surface of the housing body,
A plurality of accommodating portions are formed in the housing, and partition walls are provided between the plurality of accommodating portions,
The phase shifter characterized in that at least a part of the moving member, the first circuit pattern, and the second circuit pattern are accommodated in each of the plurality of accommodating units.
According to claim 7,
and a conductive coupling member fixing the housing to the support frame and short-circuiting the conductive shield and the support frame.
According to claim 8,
The phase shifter of claim 1 , wherein the coupling member fixes the housing to the support frame by being inserted into an insertion hole formed in the housing and coupled to the support frame.
According to claim 8,
The phase shifter of claim 1, wherein the coupling member is provided on the support frame to be inserted into an insertion hole formed in the housing.
According to claim 7,
the housing,
A housing protrusion protruding from the housing body to be inserted into the coupling hole of the support frame and fixing the housing body to the support frame; includes,
The phase shifter according to claim 1, wherein the conductive shield is disposed on a surface of the housing body and on the housing protrusion.

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