WO2009076878A1

WO2009076878A1 - Antenna and base station system

Info

Publication number: WO2009076878A1
Application number: PCT/CN2008/073388
Authority: WO
Inventors: Guotian Ma; Qing Li
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2007-12-10
Filing date: 2008-12-09
Publication date: 2009-06-25
Also published as: CN101197468A; CN101197468B

Abstract

An antenna and a base station system are disclosed, wherein the antenna comprises a first antenna radiation unit, a first signal amplification unit, a motor, a first control signal conversion unit and a control unit, wherein the first antenna radiation unit is used to receive uplink signals and transmit downlink signals, the first signal amplification unit electrically coupled between the first antenna radiation unit and a first antenna interface is used to amplify the uplink signals from the first antenna radiation unit and/or transmit the downlink signals from the first antenna interface, the control unit respectively connected with the motor, the first control signal conversion unit and the first signal amplification unit is used to control the motor, adjust the parameter of the first signal amplification unit and to receive and transmit signals through the first control signal conversion unit.

Description

An antenna and a base station system. The present application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 200710124927.6, entitled "An Antenna and a Base Station System", which is filed on Dec. 10, 2007. The entire contents are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to an antenna and a base station system.

Background technique

In the optimization of the radio base station network and the adjustment of the cell coverage, it is necessary to adjust the coverage of the antenna radiation of the base station. At present, the quicker method is to configure the eNodeB system for the base station, and control the direction map of the antenna by the remote base station to adjust the coverage of the cell. purpose. At this time, the base station antenna system is equipped with a remote control unit (RCU) and a smart bias (SBT, Smart BiasTee) for transmitting motor control signals. When the network construction coverage of the base station needs to be enhanced, it needs to be in the uplink channel. TMA (Tower Mounted Amplifier) is used to improve the sensitivity of the base station system, thereby expanding the coverage of the base station and reducing the number of base stations.

In the prior art, the antenna only has signal transmitting and receiving functions. When the coverage is to be increased, the tower needs to be configured. As shown in FIG. 1a, the tower 102 is connected as a separate module to the antenna 101 and the feeder. Between; due to being placed outdoors, the tower 102 needs to have all the environmental adaptability of the outdoor antenna module. When the downtilt angle of the antenna is to be adjusted, the ESC antenna control unit 104 needs to be configured. As shown in FIG. 1b, since the RCU 104 is placed outdoors, it needs to have all the environmental adaptability of the outdoor model module. In addition, the SBT 103 for transmitting and converting the ESC antenna control signal is also independently connected to the antenna feeder system as an antenna feeder module with outdoor environment adaptability.

In the process of implementing the present invention, the inventors have found that at least the following problems exist in the prior art solutions: When a base station antenna feeder system is built using an antenna in the prior art, a tower feed module, a RCU, an SBT, and the like are required to be made. Independent modules, connected in the antenna feeder system, each module needs to consider the outdoor application environment with independent outdoor environment adaptability, high manufacturing cost per module, system installation cost High, complicated installation process, etc.

Summary of the invention

Embodiments of the present invention provide an antenna, a base station system to reduce the cost of the base station antenna system and simplify the installation of the antenna feeder system.

An embodiment of the present invention provides an antenna, including:

a first antenna radiating unit, a first signal amplifying unit, a motor, a first control signal converting unit, and a control unit, wherein:

a first antenna radiating unit, configured to receive an uplink signal and send a downlink signal;

a first signal amplifying unit electrically coupled between the first antenna radiating unit and the first antenna interface for amplifying an uplink signal from the first antenna radiating unit and/or transmitting a downlink signal from the first antenna interface;

a control unit, respectively connected to the motor, the first control signal conversion unit, and the first signal amplifying unit, configured to control the motor, adjust the parameters of the first signal amplifying unit, and send and receive signals through the first control signal converting unit;

a first control signal conversion unit electrically coupled between the control unit and the first antenna interface for modulating a signal from the control unit to demodulate a signal from the first antenna interface;

The motor is coupled to the control unit for adjusting the downtilt angle of the antenna based on a control signal from the control unit.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a base station system, including:

a base station, and an antenna as described above;

The antenna is connected to a base station.

Compared with the prior art solution, the embodiment of the present invention integrates the functions of the tower and the electric adjustable antenna into the antenna, thereby having the following beneficial effects:

1) Improve the integration and reliability of the antenna feeder system and reduce the cost of the antenna feeder system;

2) Simplified installation of the base station antenna feeder system, reducing installation difficulty and cost.

DRAWINGS In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings to be used in the embodiments will be briefly described below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some of the present invention. For the embodiments, those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings according to the drawings without any creative work.

Figure la is a schematic structural diagram of a base station system equipped with a tower in the prior art;

Figure lb is a schematic structural diagram of a base station system equipped with an electric adjustable antenna in the prior art;

2 is a schematic structural view of an antenna according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

3 is a schematic structural view of an antenna according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

4 is a schematic structural view of an antenna according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a base station system according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

detailed description

Embodiments of the present invention provide an antenna, a base station system, which reduces the cost of the base station antenna system and facilitates the installation of the antenna feeder system. In order to make the technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more clear, the embodiments of the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Embodiment 1 of the present invention relates to an antenna 200, as shown in FIG. 2:

The method includes: an antenna radiating unit 210, a signal amplifying unit 220, a motor 250, a control signal converting unit 240, and a control unit 230, wherein:

The antenna radiating unit 210 is configured to receive an uplink signal and send a downlink signal.

The signal amplifying unit 220 is electrically coupled between the antenna radiating unit 210 and the antenna interface 280 for amplifying the uplink signal from the antenna radiating unit 210 and/or transmitting the downlink signal from the antenna interface 280;

The control unit 230 is connected to the motor 250, the control signal conversion unit 240, and the signal amplifying unit 220, respectively, for controlling the motor, adjusting the signal amplifying unit parameters, and transmitting and receiving signals through the control signal converting unit 240. Control unit 230 can be implemented using a CPU, FPGA or application specific integrated circuit.

The control signal conversion unit 240 is electrically coupled between the control unit 230 and the antenna interface 280 for modulating a signal from the control unit to demodulate a signal from the antenna interface 280; The switching unit 240 is used for communication between the antenna and the remote console (here, the remote console may be a base station or a remote control module connected to the base station or having a communication connection), and the communication carrier is OOK (On-off). Keying, on-off keying) modulation or other carrier modulation method that can realize communication. The carrier frequency can preferentially use the 2.176MHz carrier signal specified by the AISG (Antenna Interface Standards Group) protocol, or other carrier frequencies can be used. signal. The implementation of the control signal conversion unit can be an SBT, or other signal conversion circuit.

a motor 250, coupled to the control unit, for adjusting a downtilt angle of the antenna according to a control signal from the control unit 230;

In addition, a capacitor 260 can be disposed between the antenna interface 280 and the signal amplifying unit 220 to isolate the DC signal. This capacitor can be used with distributed parameter capacitors or other capacitors.

The antenna provided in the first embodiment of the present invention is integrally formed by a control unit, a signal amplifying unit, a motor, an antenna radiating unit and the like, and shares a radome having an outdoor environment adaptability, thereby reducing the adaptability to each module environment. The requirements save costs. The antenna can perform the antenna pointing adjustment function of the tuned antenna, the function of signal amplification, and the radiation and receiving functions of the antenna. All the functions of the original antenna, tower, and ESC can be completed with only one antenna, which simplifies the connection between the antenna system and the base station. The reliability of the entire system is improved due to the reduced components. In addition, a control unit is used to realize the functions realized by the control unit and the motor control unit of the existing smart tower, and the manufacturing cost of the antenna feeder system is also reduced.

Embodiment 2 of the present invention relates to an antenna 300, as shown in FIG.

The method includes: an antenna radiating unit 310, a signal amplifying unit 320, a motor 350, a control signal converting unit 340, and a control unit 330, wherein:

The antenna radiating unit 310 is configured to receive an uplink signal and send a downlink signal.

The signal amplifying unit 320 is electrically coupled between the antenna radiating unit 310 and the antenna interface 380 for amplifying an uplink signal from the antenna radiating unit and/or transmitting a downlink signal from the antenna interface 380. The unit may further include: downlink signal filtering. The first uplink signal filter 322, the second uplink signal filter 324, the signal amplifier 321, wherein: the first end of the signal amplifying unit 320 The port is used to connect the antenna radiating unit 310, and the second port of the signal amplifying unit 320 is used to connect the antenna interface 380.

The downlink signal filter 323 is electrically coupled between the first port and the second port of the signal amplifying unit 320 for transmitting a downlink signal and isolating the uplink signal;

The first uplink signal filter 322 is electrically coupled between the first port and the signal amplifier 321 for transmitting an uplink signal and isolating the downlink signal;

The second uplink signal filter 324 is electrically coupled between the second port and the signal amplifier 321 for transmitting an uplink signal and isolating the downlink signal;

The signal amplifier 321 is electrically coupled between the first upstream signal filter 322 and the second upstream signal filter 324 for amplifying the upstream signal.

The signal amplifier 321 can be a low noise amplifier signal amplifier, and the low noise amplifier can be used with a fixed gain type or a gain value adjustable type. The base station transmits the control signal to the control unit 330 through the feeder and control signal conversion unit 340. When the low noise amplifier signal amplifier is of the gain value adjustable type, the control unit 330 sets the gain value of the low noise amplifier according to the needs of the base station system. In a suitable gain range.

In addition, in a specific implementation, in order to adapt to the internal space of the antenna, the cavity of the filter in the signal amplification unit 320 may be arranged in a strip shape to facilitate the internal layout of the antenna.

The control unit 330 is connected to the motor 350, the control signal conversion unit 340, and the signal amplifying unit 320, respectively, for controlling the parameters of the motor 350, adjusting the signal amplifying unit 320, and communicating with the remote console through the control signal conversion unit 340. Control unit 330 can be implemented using a CPU, FPGA, or application specific integrated circuit.

The control signal conversion unit 340 is electrically coupled between the control unit 330 and the antenna interface 380 for modulating the signal from the control unit 330 to demodulate the signal from the remote console; the control signal conversion unit 340 can be used for the antenna and The communication link of the base station, the communication carrier is OOK modulation or other carrier modulation mode that can realize communication, and the carrier frequency can preferentially use the 2.176 MHz carrier signal specified by the AISG protocol, and other carrier frequency signals can also be used. Control signal conversion unit The implementation can be SBT, or other signal conversion circuitry.

The motor 350 is configured to adjust the downtilt angle of the antenna according to the control signal from the control unit 330. In addition, the fault monitoring unit 370 is further connected to the control unit 330 for monitoring various components in the antenna 300. The working status sends the working status information to the control unit 330 or the antenna interface 380. The working status information can be divided into two types: alarm information and working parameter information.

When the fault monitoring unit 370 detects that a certain component in the antenna 300 is faulty, the alarm information is sent to the control unit 330 or the antenna interface 380. The types of the alarm may include: a signal amplifying unit fault alarm, a motor fault alarm, and a control unit. Fault alarm, antenna radiation unit fault alarm, etc. The form of the alarm information may be in the form of a communication form and an antenna current abnormality information. When the communication form is used for alarm, the fault monitoring unit 370 sends the detected fault information to the control unit 330, and the control unit 330 passes the control signal conversion unit 340. The antenna interface 380 and the feeder transmit the alarm information to the remote console, and the communication mode complies with an existing communication protocol, such as the AISG protocol, or may be another customized communication protocol. When the alarm is generated in the form of current abnormality information, the fault monitoring unit 370 directly transmits a current signal to the remote console through its connection with the antenna interface 380, and the remote control station acquires the alarm information by detecting the current signal. When monitoring the active antenna's alarm condition by current detection, the current detection rule can be customized; the working state and alarm condition of each component of the active antenna are determined by rules. For example: The custom current detection rule can be defined as the current magnitude, waveform and other characteristics corresponding to different fault types. Of course, the base station can also directly determine whether the antenna channel is faulty by detecting the current change on each antenna channel.

The fault monitoring unit 370 can be used to sample the operating states of the components in the antenna 300 and feed back to the remote console through the antenna interface 380 or the control unit 330, such as the gain of the signal amplifier 321 and the rotational speed of the motor 350. And feed this parameter back to the base station. Here, the fault monitoring unit 370 can be set separately or as a functional module of the control unit 300, integrated in the control unit.

A capacitor 360 can also be disposed between the antenna interface 380 and the signal amplifying unit to isolate the DC signal. This capacitor can use a distributed parameter capacitor. In order to adapt to the changing atmosphere outside Like the environment, to prevent lightning strikes, a lightning protection circuit unit can be installed inside the antenna. The working principle of the antenna 300 is as follows:

The downlink signal transmitted by the base station is input from the antenna interface 380, passes through the DC blocking capacitor 360 to the downlink signal filter 323, reaches the antenna radiating unit 310, and is radiated into the space.

The uplink signal received by the antenna radiating unit 310 passes through the first uplink signal filter 322 and reaches the signal amplifier 321 . The amplified uplink signal enters the second uplink signal filter 324 and passes through the DC blocking capacitor 360 and is transmitted through the antenna interface 380. The feeder is reached to the base station.

In addition to the uplink and downlink signals, a control signal is also transmitted between the base station and the antenna, and the control signal may include a motor control signal, a signal amplifying unit control signal, and the like:

The motor control signal enters the antenna 300 through the antenna interface 380, wherein the control signal conversion unit 340 converts the carrier modulation signal into a data signal that can be recognized by the control unit 330, and then transmits the data to the control unit 330, and the control unit 330 transmits the data. After the signal is processed, the control information is sent to the motor 350, thereby controlling the operation of the motor 350 to complete the adjustment of the antenna downtilt angle.

The signal amplifying unit control signal sent by the base station enters the antenna 300 from the antenna interface 380, wherein the control signal conversion unit 340 converts the carrier modulation signal into a data signal that can be recognized by the control unit 330, and then transmits the data signal to the control unit 330 for control. After the unit 330 performs a certain processing on the data signal, the control information is sent to the signal amplifying unit 320. The parameter adjustment of the signal amplifying unit 320, such as the adjustment of the gain parameter, is completed, and the control unit 330 can also automatically preset the parameters of the amplifying unit 320.

The signal amplifier 321, the motor 350, the control signal conversion unit 340, the control unit 330, the fault monitoring unit 370, the lightning protection circuit unit, and the like can be disposed on a circuit board, and the protective paint can be sprayed on the outside of the circuit board to ensure reliable operation of the PCB. Instead of using the enclosure for environmental protection, the enclosure of the antenna is used as the module enclosure. A separate electromagnetic shield can be used for the low noise amplifier unit to ensure electromagnetic compatibility.

Embodiment 3 of the present invention relates to an antenna 400, as shown in FIG.

The method includes: an antenna radiating unit 410, an antenna radiating unit 411, a signal amplifying unit 420, and a signal placing The large unit 421, the motor 450, the control signal conversion unit 440, the control signal conversion unit 441, and the control unit 430.

In addition, a fault monitoring unit 470, a capacitor 460 for isolating the DC signal, a capacitor 461, and a lightning protection circuit unit are also included.

The functions of the components in the antenna 400 are the same as those of the antenna 300 described in the second embodiment. The difference is that the antenna 400 has two sets of antenna radiating elements, two sets of signal amplifying units, and two sets of control signal converting units, so that two antennas can be used for transmitting On/off signal.

Its specific structure and principle are as follows:

The antenna radiating unit 410 and the antenna radiating unit 411 are configured to receive an uplink signal and send a downlink signal.

The signal amplifying unit 420 is electrically coupled between the antenna radiating unit 410 and the antenna interface 480 for amplifying the uplink signal from the antenna radiating unit 410 and/or transmitting the downlink signal from the antenna interface 480;

The signal amplifying unit 421 is electrically coupled between the antenna radiating unit 411 and the antenna interface 481 for amplifying the uplink signal from the antenna radiating unit 411 and/or transmitting the downlink signal from the antenna interface 481;

The signal amplifying unit 420 and the signal amplifying unit 421 can employ the same configuration as the signal amplifying unit 330 of the second embodiment.

The control unit 430 is respectively connected to the signal amplifying unit 420, the signal amplifying unit 421, the motor 450, the control signal converting unit 440, and the control signal converting unit 441 for controlling the motor, adjusting the parameters of the signal amplifying unit 420, and the signal amplifying unit 421. And the control signal conversion unit 441 transmits and receives signals through the control signal conversion unit 440;

Control signal conversion unit 440 is electrically coupled between control unit 430 and antenna interface 480 for modulating signals from control unit 430 to demodulate signals from antenna interface 480;

The control signal conversion unit 441 is electrically coupled between the control unit 430 and the antenna interface 481 for modulating a signal from the control unit 430 to demodulate a signal from the antenna interface 481; The motor is coupled to the control unit 430 for adjusting the downtilt angle of the antenna based on a control signal from the control unit.

The capacitor 460 is electrically coupled between the antenna interface 480 and the signal amplifying unit 420, and the capacitor 461 is electrically coupled between the antenna interface 481 and the signal amplifying unit 421. Their role is to isolate the DC signal.

The fault monitoring unit 470 is connected to the control unit 430 for monitoring the working state of each component in the antenna, and transmits the working state information to the control unit or the antenna interface 480 or the antenna interface 481.

The above components can be packaged in a radome.

For specific requirements, the antenna in the embodiment can also design multiple sets of antenna radiating units, multiple sets of signal amplifying units, and multiple sets of control signal converting units to meet the requirements of transmitting multi-path/downlink signals, and the control unit 430 can simultaneously The signal amplifying unit and the motor perform parameter adjustment and setting; the fault monitoring unit 470 can perform state monitoring and fault reporting on multiple sets of signal amplifying units, motors, and antenna radiating units at the same time, and the working principle and connection mode between the modules and the antenna 400 similar.

In this embodiment, only one control signal conversion unit may be provided, and the interaction signal between the antenna and the remote console may be modulated and demodulated by a conversion unit and transmitted through a feeder. In order to improve system reliability and ease of installation, multiple control signal conversion units can also be provided. For example, a control signal conversion unit is provided for each antenna interface. When working, only one of them can be selected for communication, and can also be utilized. A plurality of control signal conversion units cooperatively communicate to increase the data transmission rate or reduce the bit error rate.

FIG. 5 is a structural diagram of a base station system using an antenna 400. The base station 480 and the antenna 400 are connected by a feeder. The base station 480 can perform signal detection, parameter adjustment, and control on the antenna 400 through the feeder, in addition to transmitting and receiving signals through the antenna 400. The parameter adjustment includes: antenna downtilt adjustment, gain coefficient adjustment, and the like. When the remote console is located outside the base station, the remote console can use the base station to forward signals through the communication connection with the base station to implement interaction with the antenna.

Since the technical solution provided by the embodiment only needs one antenna, the functions of the original smart tower and the electric adjustable antenna can be realized, which not only saves the manufacturing cost of the antenna feeder system, but also decreases with the assembly components. The installation of the base station system is simplified, which not only reduces the cost of establishing the station, but also improves the reliability of the base station system.

The above disclosure is only a few specific embodiments of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and any changes that can be considered by those skilled in the art should fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

Claim

An antenna characterized by comprising:

a first antenna radiating unit, a first signal amplifying unit, a motor, a first control signal converting unit, a control unit, and a first antenna interface, wherein:

The first antenna radiating unit is configured to receive an uplink signal and send a downlink signal;

The first signal amplifying unit is electrically coupled between the first antenna radiating unit and the first antenna interface for amplifying an uplink signal from the first antenna radiating unit and/or transmitting from the first a downlink signal of an antenna interface;

The control unit is connected to the motor, the first control signal conversion unit, and the first signal amplifying unit, respectively, for controlling the motor, adjusting the first signal amplifying unit parameter, and The first control signal conversion unit transmits and receives signals;

The first control signal conversion unit is electrically coupled between the control unit and the first antenna interface, for modulating a signal from the control unit, and demodulating a signal from the first antenna interface; The motor is coupled to the control unit for adjusting a downtilt angle of the antenna based on a control signal from the control unit.

The antenna according to claim 1, wherein the first signal amplifying unit further comprises: a downlink signal filter, a first uplink signal filter, a second uplink signal filter, a signal amplifier, and a first signal. a first port of the amplifying unit, a second port of the first signal amplifying unit, wherein: the first port of the first signal amplifying unit is configured to connect the first antenna radiating unit, and the first signal amplifying unit Two ports are used to connect the first antenna interface;

The downlink signal filter is electrically coupled between the first port of the first signal amplifying unit and the second port of the first signal amplifying unit, for transmitting a downlink signal, and isolating the uplink signal;

The first uplink signal filter is electrically coupled between the first port of the first signal amplifying unit and the signal amplifier for transmitting an uplink signal and isolating the downlink signal;

The second uplink signal filter is electrically coupled to the second port of the first signal amplifying unit Between the signal amplifiers, used for transmitting uplink signals and isolating downlink signals;

The signal amplifier is electrically coupled between the first uplink signal filter and the second uplink signal filter for amplifying an uplink signal.

The antenna according to claim 2, further comprising:

a second antenna radiating unit, a second signal amplifying unit, and a second antenna interface;

The second antenna radiating unit is configured to receive an uplink signal and send a downlink signal;

The second signal amplifying unit is electrically coupled between the second antenna radiating unit and the second antenna interface for amplifying an uplink signal from the second antenna radiating unit and/or transmitting from the Downlink signal of the two antenna interfaces;

The control unit is connected to the second signal amplifying unit and configured to adjust the second signal amplifying unit parameter.

The antenna according to claim 3, further comprising:

a second control signal conversion unit electrically coupled between the control unit and the second antenna interface for modulating a signal from the control unit to demodulate a signal from the second antenna interface.

The antenna according to claim 4, further comprising:

The first capacitor is electrically coupled between the first antenna interface and the first signal amplifying unit; and the second capacitor is electrically coupled between the second antenna interface and the second signal amplifying unit.

The antenna according to claim 5, further comprising:

And a fault monitoring unit, configured to be connected to the control unit, configured to monitor an operating state of each component in the antenna, and send the working state information to the control unit or the first antenna interface or the second antenna interface.

7. The antenna of claim 6 wherein:

The first antenna radiating unit, the second antenna radiating unit, the first signal amplifying unit, the second signal amplifying unit, the motor, the capacitor, the first control signal converting unit, the second control signal converting unit, and the control unit are encapsulated in one antenna In the hood.

The antenna according to claim 1, further comprising: The first capacitor is electrically coupled between the first antenna interface and the first signal amplifying unit.

A base station system, comprising:

a base station, and the antenna of any of claims 1-8;

The antenna is connected to a base station.