TWI819386B - Antenna unit and array antenna - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an antenna unit and an array antenna. The antenna unit comprises a radiating layer, a first dielectric layer, a first grounding layer, a second dielectric layer, a second grounding layer and a plurality of conductive pillars. The first dielectric layer, the first grounding layer, the second dielectric layer and the second grounding layer are stacked in turn. The radiating layer is arranged on the side of the first dielectric layer away from the first grounding layer. The radiating layer is provided with a feeding point to feed the antenna unit. The first grounding layer is provided with a slot corresponding to the radiating layer. The conductive pillar is arranged along the peripheral edge of the slot and penetrate the second dielectric layer, so that its two ends are connected with the first grounding layer and the second grounding layer respectively. The antenna unit provided by this invention has good directivity and high antenna gain.

Description

Antenna unit and array antenna

The present invention relates to the field of antennas, and in particular, to an antenna unit and an array antenna.

Low-orbit satellite communications can increase wireless communications coverage in remote areas. However, due to the extremely fast speed of low-orbit satellites in space, the switching process between conventional antennas and low-orbit satellites is prone to errors, resulting in poor communication results and even possible disconnections.

In view of the above, it is necessary to provide an antenna unit and an array antenna to achieve communication with low-orbit satellites.

On the one hand, this application provides an antenna unit for use in wireless communication devices. The antenna unit includes a radiation layer, a first dielectric layer, a first ground layer, a second dielectric layer, a second ground layer and a plurality of guide posts. The first dielectric layer, the first ground layer, the second dielectric layer, and the Two ground layers are stacked in sequence, and the radiation layer is provided on a surface of the first dielectric layer away from the first ground layer. The radiation layer is provided with a feed point for feeding power to the antenna unit. A ground layer is provided with a slot corresponding to the radiation layer, and the guide post is provided along the periphery of the slot and penetrates the second dielectric layer, so that its two ends are respectively connected to the first ground layer and the The second ground layer.

Another aspect of the present application also provides an array antenna, including a plurality of the above-mentioned antenna units.

The antenna unit and array antenna provided by the present invention have good directivity and antenna gain, and can realize fast beam switching, thereby improving the antenna performance when communicating with low-orbit satellites.

100:Array antenna

101: First antenna unit group

102:Second antenna unit group

103: The third antenna unit group

104: The fourth antenna unit group

10:Antenna unit

11: Radiation layer

111: Feed point

112: First feed point

113: Second feed point

114:Connection part

F1: First equivalent current path

F2: Second equivalent current path

12: First dielectric layer

13: First ground layer

131:Slot

14: Second dielectric layer

15:Second ground layer

16: Guide pillar

20: Phase control module

21:Control unit

22: Transceiver circuit

22a: First transceiver circuit

22b: Second transceiver circuit

22c: The third transceiver circuit

22d: The fourth transceiver circuit

200:Wireless communication device

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of communication between a wireless communication device and a low-orbit satellite provided by an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 2 is a schematic three-dimensional view of an antenna unit provided by an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the antenna unit shown in FIG. 2 from another angle.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the radiation layer in the antenna unit shown in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the current path generated by the radiation layer in the antenna unit shown in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of circularly polarized electromagnetic waves generated by the antenna unit shown in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram of a radiation layer provided by another embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram of a radiation layer provided by another embodiment of the present application.

Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a slot provided by another embodiment of the present application.

Figure 9 is a structural block diagram of an array antenna in an embodiment of the present application.

Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of an array antenna provided by an embodiment of the present application.

Figure 11 is a connection block diagram of an antenna unit and a phase control module provided by an embodiment of the present application.

Figure 12 is a radiation field pattern diagram of the array antenna shown in Figure 10.

FIG. 13A is a schematic diagram of an array antenna provided by another embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 13B is a schematic diagram of an array antenna provided by another embodiment of the present application.

In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments These are part of the embodiments of this application, not all of them.

It will be understood that when an element is said to be "electrically connected" to another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. When one component is said to be "electrically connected" to another A component, it can be connected by contact, for example, by wire connection, or it can be connected by non-contact, for example, by non-contact coupling.

It can be understood that "at least one" in the embodiments of this application refers to one or more, and multiple refers to two or more. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. The terms used in the description of this application are only for describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit this application.

It can be understood that in the embodiments of this application, words such as "first" and "second" are only used for the purpose of distinguishing descriptions, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance, nor can they be understood as indicating or implying order. Features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the stated features. In the description of the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to represent examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "such as" in the embodiments of the present application is not to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, use of the words "exemplary" or "such as" is intended to present the concepts in a specific manner.

It can be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the term "height" refers to the projected length in a direction perpendicular to the reference stratum. The terms "center", "top", "bottom", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", The orientation or positional relationship indicated by "outside" is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings. It is only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and does not indicate or imply that the device or component referred to must have a specific orientation. It is constructed and operated in a specific orientation and therefore cannot be construed as a limitation on this application.

Referring to FIG. 1 , an embodiment of the present application provides an antenna unit 10 . A plurality of antenna units 10 are arranged in an array to form an array antenna 100 . It can be understood that the antenna unit 10 or the array antenna 100 can be applied to mobile phones, tablet computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), Customer Premise Equipment (CPE), TV and other wireless communication devices 200 that need to be equipped with antennas are used to transmit and receive radio waves to transmit and exchange wireless signals.

It can be understood that the wireless communication device 200 can adopt one or more of the following communication technologies: Bluetooth (BT) communication technology, global positioning system (GPS) communication technology, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) ) communication technology, global system for mobile communications (GSM) communication technology, wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) communication technology, long term evolution (LTE) communication technology, 5G Communication technology, SUB-6G communication technology, low-orbit satellite communication and other future communication technologies, etc.

Please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 together. The antenna unit 10 includes a radiation layer 11 , a first dielectric layer 12 , a first ground layer 13 , a second dielectric layer 14 , a second ground layer 15 and a plurality of guide pillars 16 . Wherein, the first dielectric layer 12, the first ground layer 13, the second dielectric layer 14 and the second ground layer 15 are stacked in sequence. The radiation layer 11 is disposed on a side of the first dielectric layer 12 away from the first ground layer 13 .

Please continue to refer to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 . The radiation layer 11 is provided with a feed point 111 for feeding power to the antenna unit 10 . The radiation layer 11 is made of conductive material. For example, the radiation layer 11 may be made of metal material. In this embodiment, the radiation layer 11 is a substantially polygonal radiation patch, which can be obtained by cutting off one of the corners of a square radiation patch along the diagonal a.

In this embodiment, the feed point 111 includes a first feed point 112 and a second feed point 113 . Wherein, the first feed point 112 and the second feed point 113 are both disposed on the other diagonal b of the radiation layer 11 , and the first feed point 112 and the second feed point 113 are located at the center of the radiation layer 11 O is distributed symmetrically on the diagonal b.

It can be understood that circular polarization means that when the electric field of an electromagnetic wave remains constant in magnitude and changes in direction with time, the trajectory of the end of the electric field vector is a circle when projected on a plane perpendicular to the propagation direction. Therefore, in order to receive and/or emit circularly polarized electromagnetic waves, the current flowing in the radiation layer 11 is rotated over time. Extremely important. In order to rotate the current flowing in the radiation layer 11, the current needs to flow in an orthogonal direction and generate excitation with a phase difference of 90 degrees.

Please refer to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 together. It can be understood that in this embodiment, the first feed point 112 and the second feed point 113 can generate orthogonal first-level signals on the radiation layer 11 respectively. The effective current path F1 and the second equivalent current path F2. And since the radiation layer 11 cuts off the opposite corner along the diagonal a, the first equivalent current path F1 and the second equivalent current path F2 can be adjusted by adjusting the area of the cut off opposite corner. The phase difference of the radiation signal.

In this embodiment, the first feeding point 112 feeds current into the radiation layer 11 of the antenna unit 10, so that the radiation layer 11 generates both left-hand circularly polarized electromagnetic waves or right-hand circularly polarized electromagnetic waves. One of those. The second feeding point 113 feeds current into the radiation layer 11 of the antenna unit 10 so that the radiation layer 11 generates the other one of left-hand circularly polarized electromagnetic waves or right-hand circularly polarized electromagnetic waves.

It can be understood that in some embodiments, the first feed point 112 and the second feed point 113 feed current into the radiation layer 11 at the same time, so that the radiation layer 11 simultaneously generates left-hand circularly polarized electromagnetic waves. Right-handed circularly polarized electromagnetic waves. In some embodiments, only one of the first feed point 112 and the second feed point 113 feeds current to the radiation layer 11 , so that the radiation layer 11 alone Generate left-hand circularly polarized electromagnetic waves or independently generate right-hand circularly polarized electromagnetic waves.

Please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 5 together. The area of the first dielectric layer 12 is larger than the area of the radiation layer 11 , and the height of the first dielectric layer 12 is smaller than the height of the radiation layer 11 . In some embodiments, the first dielectric layer 12 may be made of dielectric materials such as metal materials, ceramic materials, or organic materials. In this embodiment, the first dielectric layer 12 is substantially square. And the material of the first dielectric layer 12 is glass fiber material in the organic substrate, that is, the first dielectric layer 12 is an FR-4 board.

The first ground layer 13 is disposed on the surface of the first dielectric layer 12 away from the radiation layer 11 . It can be understood that the first ground layer 13 is made of conductive material, such as metal material. Yu Benshi In this embodiment, the first ground layer 13 is also substantially square, and its area is substantially equal to the area of the first dielectric layer 12 .

The first dielectric layer 12 and the first ground layer 13 also have slots 131 corresponding to the radiation layer 11 . In the stacking direction of the antenna unit 10 (ie, the Z direction), the projected area of the slot 131 covers the projected area of the radiation layer 11 . In this embodiment, the slot 131 is substantially circular.

In this embodiment, the slot hole 131 is approximately opened in the center of the first dielectric layer 12 and the first ground layer 13 . In this way, the radiation layer 11 is disposed approximately at the center of the first dielectric layer 12 and the first ground layer 13 .

The second dielectric layer 14 is disposed on a side of the first ground layer 13 away from the first dielectric layer 12 and is spaced apart from the first ground layer 13 . The second dielectric layer 14 is generally square in shape. It can be understood that the second dielectric layer 14 can also be made of metal materials, ceramic materials or organic materials. In this embodiment, the composition materials and areas of the second dielectric layer 14 and the first dielectric layer 12 are the same, and will not be described again here.

The second ground layer 15 is disposed on the surface of the second dielectric layer 14 away from the first ground layer 13 . In the stacking direction of the antenna unit 10 , the projected area of the second ground layer 15 at least partially coincides with the projected area of the first ground layer 13 . It can be understood that the second ground layer 15 is also made of conductive material.

A plurality of the guide pillars 16 are spaced apart along the periphery of the slot hole 131 and penetrate the second dielectric layer 14 so that both ends thereof are connected to the first ground layer 13 and the second ground layer 15 respectively. In this way, the plurality of guide pillars 16 , the first ground layer 13 and the second ground layer 15 together form a cavity, so that the radiation direction of the radiation layer 11 is more concentrated, thereby enhancing the radiation of the antenna unit 10 . gain value.

It can be understood that the antenna unit 10 further includes a feeding source (not shown) for electrically connecting to the first feeding point 112 and the second feeding point 113 to feed current into the radiation layer 11 . Please refer to FIG. 3 again. In this embodiment, the antenna unit 10 is also provided with two connecting parts 114 . The feed source is disposed on a side of the second ground layer 15 away from the second dielectric layer 14 . Both connection portions 114 pass through the second ground layer 15 , the second dielectric layer 14 and the slot hole 131 . One end of one of the connecting portions 114 is connected to the feed source, and the other end is electrically connected to the first feed point 112 . One end of the other connecting portion 114 is connected to the feed source, and the other end is electrically connected to the second feed point 113 . In this way, the feed source is electrically connected to the first feed point 112 and the second feed point 113 respectively through the two connecting parts 114 for feeding current into the radiation layer 11 .

It can be understood that the radiating layer 11 is not limited to the shape shown in FIG. 2. In other embodiments, the radiating layer 11 can also be in other polygonal shapes, so that the first feed point 112 and the third When the two feeding points 113 feed current, current paths of different lengths are generated in the radiation layer 11 . For example, please refer to Figure 7A. The radiating layer 11 can also be formed by adding extensions 132 to the two corners of the diagonal line of the square radiating patch points; please refer to 7B, the radiating layer 11 can also be petal-shaped, consisting of square The radiation patch is formed by digging a distance along the center line of each side.

It is understood that in other embodiments, the slot 131 can also have other shapes. For example, please refer to FIG. 8 , the slot 131 may also be in a square shape.

It can be understood that the antenna unit 10 provided in the present application can radiate left-handed circularly polarized electromagnetic waves and/or right-handed circularly polarized electromagnetic waves by cutting off two opposite corners on the radiation layer 11 and setting the first feed point 112 and the second feed point 113. Polarize electromagnetic waves to reduce the impact of the atmospheric ionosphere on radiation signals, thereby better receiving satellite signals. Furthermore, since conventional satellite transmitting antennas can generate left-hand circularly polarized electromagnetic waves or right-hand circularly polarized electromagnetic waves, the antenna unit 10 provided by the present application can be applied to a variety of satellite types and has broad application scenarios. Furthermore, the antenna unit 10 also constructs a first ground layer 13 and a second ground layer 15 arranged at intervals, and the first ground layer 13 and the second ground layer 15 are connected by a plurality of the guide pillars 16, so as to achieve A cavity is formed on one side of the radiation layer 11 so that the radiation direction of the radiation layer 11 is more concentrated, thereby effectively increasing the gain of the antenna unit 10 .

Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 9 together. This application also provides an array antenna 100 that can communicate with low-orbit satellites. The array antenna 100 includes a plurality of antenna units 10 and phase control modules 20 . It can be understood that a plurality of the antenna units 10 are arranged in an array to form an antenna array. The phase control module 20 is electrically connected to a plurality of the antenna arrays and is used to control the beam direction of the array antenna 100 .

In the array antenna 100, each antenna unit 10 is spaced equidistantly from another antenna unit 10 or is in contact with each other. In this embodiment, a plurality of antenna units 10 are arranged to form a substantially square antenna array.

In this embodiment, the phase control module 20 is disposed on a side of the second ground layer 15 away from the second dielectric layer 14 . The phase control module 20 includes a complex control unit 21 . Each of the control units 21 is electrically connected to a plurality of the antenna units 10 respectively, and is used to control the antenna units 10 in groups to excite electromagnetic waves in different frequency bands and/or different phases. It can be understood that in some embodiments, the control unit 21 may be a phase control chip for controlling the phase of the current fed into the radiation layer 11 .

It can be understood that the phase control module 20 of the array antenna 100 further includes a complex transceiver circuit 22 . The control unit 21 is electrically connected to the transceiver circuit 22 , and the transceiver circuit 22 is electrically connected to the feed point 111 of the antenna unit 10 through the connection part 114 . The control unit 21 controls the phase of the array antenna 100 by controlling the phase of the current fed into the antenna unit 10 . It can be understood that the transceiver circuit 22 may include some radio frequency components, such as amplifiers, combiners, etc.

Please continue to refer to FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 to describe the working process of the array antenna 100 .

It can be understood that in one embodiment, the antenna array composed of the plurality of antenna units 10 can be further divided into a first antenna unit group 101, a second antenna unit group 102, a third antenna unit group 103 and a fourth antenna. Unit group 104. The plurality of transceiver circuits 22 in the array antenna 100 include a first transceiver circuit 22a, a second transceiver circuit 22b, a third transceiver circuit 22c and a fourth transceiver circuit 22d. The mentioned An antenna unit group 101, the second antenna unit group 102, the third antenna unit group 103 and the fourth antenna unit group 104 are respectively connected with the first transceiver circuit 22a and the second transceiver circuit 22b. , the third transceiver circuit 22c and the fourth transceiver circuit 22d are connected in a one-to-one correspondence.

In some embodiments, the control unit 21 controls the first antenna unit group 101 to radiate the electromagnetic wave with the first phase in the first frequency band by controlling the first transceiver circuit 22a to feed the corresponding current; The control unit 21 controls the second antenna unit group 102 to radiate the electromagnetic wave with the second phase in the first frequency band by controlling the second transceiver circuit 22b to feed the corresponding current. The third transceiver circuit 22c is controlled to feed the corresponding current to control the third antenna unit group 103 to radiate electromagnetic waves with a third phase in the second frequency band; the control unit 21 controls the fourth transceiver by controlling the fourth transceiver circuit 22c. The circuit 22d feeds a corresponding current to control the fourth antenna unit group 104 to radiate electromagnetic waves with a fourth phase in the second frequency band. In this way, the array antenna 100 can rotate the radiation direction under the control of the control unit 21 , thereby facilitating the array antenna 100 to perform beam tracking and beam switching flexibly and quickly.

It can be understood that this application is not limited to the number of antenna unit groups and transceiver circuits in the array antenna 100 . Moreover, the division method of the antenna element groups in the array antenna 100 is not limited to the division method shown in FIG. 10 . It can be understood that the number of each antenna unit group may be the same or different. Those skilled in the art can determine the division of antenna unit groups and the number of antenna unit groups and corresponding transceiver circuits according to actual needs.

Please continue to refer to FIG. 12 , which is a 2D radiation pattern diagram of the array antenna 100 in an embodiment. As can be seen from FIG. 12 , the beam direction of the array antenna 100 is relatively concentrated, which is beneficial to improving the antenna gain of the array antenna 100 .

It can be understood that in other embodiments, the control unit 21 can control the array antenna 100 to radiate radiation signals in the 28GHz-39Ghz frequency band. That is, the control unit 21 can control 100 radials of the array antenna. radiates radiation signals in the Ku frequency band to communicate with low-orbit satellites. It can be understood that in other embodiments, the control unit 21 can also control the array antenna 100 to radiate signals in other millimeter wave frequency bands.

It is understood that in other embodiments, the array antenna 100 may also have other shapes. For example, please refer to FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B. In other embodiments, the array antenna 100 may also be in a polygonal or rhombic shape.

It can be understood that the array antenna 100 provided by the present application can be applied to the wireless communication device 200. The array antenna 100 includes an antenna array formed by a plurality of antenna units 10. By controlling the array antenna 100 by the phase control module 20, the array antenna 100 can quickly adjust the direction of the signal beam, thereby facilitating the communication process with low-orbit satellites. Rapid beam direction switching is achieved to improve the communication effect between the wireless communication device 200 and low-orbit satellites.

Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and are not limiting. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, those with ordinary skill in the art will understand that the technical solutions of the present invention can be modified. or equivalent substitutions without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solution of the present invention.

10:Antenna unit

11: Radiation layer

12: First dielectric layer

13: First ground layer

131:Slot

14: Second dielectric layer

15:Second ground layer

16: Guide pillar

Claims (9)

An antenna unit applied to a wireless communication device, wherein the antenna unit includes a radiation layer, a first dielectric layer, a first ground layer, a second dielectric layer, a second ground layer and a plurality of guide pillars, and the first dielectric layer , the first ground layer, the second dielectric layer, and the second ground layer are stacked in sequence, the radiation layer is provided on a side of the first dielectric layer away from the first ground layer, and the radiation layer is provided with a feed point , used to feed the antenna unit, the feed point includes a first feed point and a second feed point, the first feed point is used to feed the antenna unit, so that the antenna unit generates a left-handed circular pole The second feed point is used to feed the antenna unit so that the antenna unit generates both left-hand circularly polarized electromagnetic waves or right-hand circularly polarized electromagnetic waves. In another one, the first ground layer and the first dielectric layer are provided with slots corresponding to the radiation layer, and the guide posts are provided along the periphery of the slots and penetrate the second medium. layer, and both ends of the guide pillar are respectively connected to the first ground layer and the second ground layer. The antenna unit according to claim 1, wherein the radiation layer is polygonal and made of conductive material, and current is fed into the radiation through the first feed point and the second feed point. Two different current paths are formed on the layer. The antenna unit according to claim 1, wherein in the stacking direction of the antenna unit, the projected area of the slot covers the projected area of the radiation layer. The antenna unit according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of guide pillars, the first ground layer and the second ground layer jointly form a cavity. An array antenna, wherein the array antenna includes a plurality of antenna units as described in any one of claims 1-4. The array antenna according to claim 5, wherein the array antenna further includes a phase control module, and the phase control module is disposed on one of the second ground layers away from the second dielectric layer. On one side, the phase control module is electrically connected to the antenna unit and used to control the beam directions of a plurality of the antenna units. The array antenna according to claim 6, wherein the phase control module includes a plurality of control units, each of the control units is electrically connected to a plurality of the antenna units for group control of the antenna units to excite different frequency bands and /or electromagnetic waves of different phases. The array antenna according to claim 7, wherein the array antenna further includes a transceiver circuit, the control unit is electrically connected to the transceiver circuit, the transceiver circuit is electrically connected to the feed point of the antenna unit, and the The control unit controls the phase of the array antenna by controlling the phase of the current fed into the antenna unit. The array antenna according to claim 5, wherein each of the antenna units is equidistant from another antenna unit or is in contact with each other.

Images