WO2014008797A1

WO2014008797A1 - Base station antenna and base station

Info

Publication number: WO2014008797A1
Application number: PCT/CN2013/077066
Authority: WO
Inventors: 吴旺军; 艾鸣; 李玉林; 肖伟宏
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2012-07-13
Filing date: 2013-06-09
Publication date: 2014-01-16
Also published as: CN102760975A; CN102760975B

Abstract

Disclosed are a base station antenna and a base station. The base station antenna comprises: N antenna ports, a multi-channel feeding network, an antenna array and a channel selection unit, N being a natural number greater than or equal to 4. The channel selection unit has N input ends and N output ends, each of the input ends being connected to one of the antenna ports, and each of the output ends being connected to one input end of the multi-channel feeding network. The channel selection unit is used to select one channel of the multi-channel feeding network for any one of the antenna ports, so that the signal coverage area corresponding to any one of the antenna ports can be adjusted dynamically, achieving the purpose of dynamically adjusting the signal coverage area of a base station antenna.

Description

Base station antenna and base station The present application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201210243854.3, entitled "A Base Station Antenna and Base Station", filed on July 13, 2012, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference. Combined in this application. The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a base station antenna and a base station. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION With the development of mobile communications, operators have placed increasing demands on the capacity of mobile communication systems. There are two main ways to improve the system capacity of a mobile communication network. One is to use more transmit and receive channels in each network sector, through Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technology. A method of dividing a transmission data into a plurality of data substreams by space-time coding to simultaneously transmit data substreams on a plurality of antennas obtains a diversity gain and increases system capacity. Another method is to divide the existing 3-sector network into more sectors, such as a 6-sector network, to improve the frequency reuse efficiency and increase the system capacity.

The inventors have found that when using the above two methods, the coverage of the base station antenna signal is fixed, and the signal coverage cannot be dynamically adjusted according to the geographical distribution or traffic volume of the user. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of this, an embodiment of the present invention provides a base station antenna and a base station, and dynamically adjusts a coverage range of a base station antenna signal by adding a channel selection unit to the base station antenna.

In a first aspect, a base station antenna is provided, including: N antenna ports, a multi-channel feed network, an antenna array, and a channel selection unit, where N is a natural number greater than or equal to 4;

The antenna array includes an array of M columns of antenna elements, each of the arrays of antenna elements includes at least one antenna unit, and M is a natural number greater than or equal to 4; One end of the antenna port is used for connecting a source, receiving a signal from a source, and the other end is for connecting the channel selection unit;

The channel selection unit has N input terminals and N output terminals, each of the input terminals is connected to one of the antenna ports, and each of the output terminals is connected to one input end of the multi-channel feed network. The channel selection unit is configured to select one channel of the multi-channel feed network for any one of the antenna ports;

The multi-channel feed network has N inputs and M outputs, each of the inputs corresponding to a channel, and each of the outputs is connected to a column of the array of antenna elements for Feeding.

In a first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the base station antenna further includes M phase shifting units, where each of the phase shifting units is configured to connect an output end of the multi-channel feed network and a column The antenna unit array is configured to phase-shift a signal output by the multi-channel feed network, so that a beam radiated by the antenna array is horizontally split.

With reference to the first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a second possible implementation manner, the N=4, M=4, the four phase shifting units are respectively the first phase shifting unit, and the second The phase shifting unit, the third phase shifting unit, and the fourth phase shifting unit are sequentially arranged, and the phase shift amounts are -15 degrees, +75 degrees, -90 degrees, and 0 degrees, respectively.

a second aspect, a base station is provided, including a source and a base station antenna, where

The source is connected to the base station antenna through an antenna port of at least one of the base station antennas, and is configured to send a signal to the base station antenna;

The base station antenna includes N antenna ports, a multi-channel feed network, an antenna array, and a channel selection unit, where N is a natural number greater than or equal to 4;

The antenna array includes an array of M columns of antenna elements, each of the arrays of antenna elements includes at least one antenna unit, and M is a natural number greater than or equal to 4;

One end of the antenna port is used for connecting a source, receiving a signal from a source, and the other end is for connecting the channel selection unit; The channel selection unit has N input terminals and N output terminals, each of the input terminals is connected to one of the antenna ports, and each of the output terminals is connected to one input end of the multi-channel feed network. The channel selection unit is configured to select one channel of the multi-channel feed network for any one of the antenna ports;

In a first possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the source is a base transceiver station BTS or a radio remote module RRU.

With reference to the first possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in a second possible implementation manner, the base station antenna further includes M phase shifting units, where each of the phase shifting units is configured to connect the multi-channel feed An output of the electrical network and a column of the array of antenna elements are used to phase shift signals output by the multi-channel feed network such that the beam radiated by the antenna array is horizontally split.

With reference to the second possible implementation of the second aspect, in a third possible implementation manner, the N=4, M=4, the four phase shifting units are respectively the first phase shifting unit, and the second a phase shifting unit, a third phase shifting unit, and a fourth phase shifting unit, wherein the four phase shifting units are sequentially arranged, and the phase shift amounts are -15 degrees, +75 degrees, -90 degrees, and 0 degrees, respectively; The array of four columns of antenna elements is respectively a first antenna element array, a second antenna element array, a third antenna element array, and a fourth antenna element array, wherein the four antenna element arrays are sequentially arranged, and the first phase shifting unit is connected. The fourth antenna unit array, the second phase shifting unit is connected to the first antenna unit array, the third phase shifting unit is connected to the second antenna unit array, and the fourth phase shifting unit is connected to the A third antenna element array.

Through the above solution, by adding a channel selection unit to the base station antenna, one channel of the multi-channel feed network can be selected for any one of the antenna ports, so that the signal coverage range corresponding to any one of the antenna ports can be dynamically adjusted to dynamically adjust the base station antenna signal. The purpose of coverage. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE 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 or the description of the prior art will be briefly described below, and obviously, in the following description The drawings are only some of the embodiments of the present invention, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without any creative work.

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a base station antenna according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

2 is a schematic structural diagram of another base station antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of another base station antenna according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a base station according to an embodiment of the present invention. The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are clearly and completely described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. It is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. example. All other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts are within the scope of the present invention.

The embodiment of the present invention provides a base station antenna 100. As shown in FIG. 1, the system includes: N antenna ports 101, a multi-channel feed network 102, an antenna array 103, and a channel selection unit 104, where N is a natural number greater than or equal to 4.

The antenna array 103 includes an M-column antenna element array 1031, each column antenna element array 1031 includes at least one antenna unit, and M is a natural number greater than or equal to 4; the antenna port 101-end is used to connect a source, and receives a signal from a source. The other end is used to connect the channel selection unit 104; the channel selection unit 104 has N inputs and N outputs, each of which is connected to an antenna port 101, each of the outputs and the multi-channel One input of the feed network 102 is connected, and the channel selection unit 104 is configured to select a multi-channel feed for any one of the antenna ports 101. One channel of the electrical network 102; the multi-channel feed network 102 has N inputs and M outputs, each input corresponding to one channel, and each of the outputs is connected to a column of antenna element arrays 1031 for the antenna unit Array 1031 feeds.

For the antenna array, when the feeding amplitude and phase of each antenna element array are determined, the radiation pattern of the antenna is uniquely determined; and when the feeding amplitude and phase of the antenna arrays are changed, the radiation pattern of the antenna will correspondingly change. A multi-channel feed network, also referred to as a multi-channel hybrid network or a multi-channel shaped network, is used to feed an antenna array. Usually, there are multiple input terminals, one input channel for each input end, and different channel corresponding antenna array radiation. One beam, the beams corresponding to different channels can be independent of each other, and different beams can cover different ranges. A more common multi-channel feed network is a Butler matrix, usually consisting of a phase adjustment device and a switching device. I won't go into details here.

In the embodiment of the present invention, by adding a channel selection unit to the base station antenna, one channel of the multi-channel feed network can be selected for any one of the antenna ports, that is, the connection relationship between the antenna port and the input end of the multi-channel feed network is dynamically changed, so that The signal coverage corresponding to an antenna port can be dynamically adjusted to dynamically adjust the coverage of the base station antenna signal.

Optionally, the base station antenna in this embodiment may also be used for sector splitting. As shown in FIG. 2, the base station antenna further includes M phase shifting units 105, and each of the phase shifting units is configured to connect multiple channels. An output of the feed network and an array of antenna elements are used to phase shift signals output by the multi-channel feed network to cause the beam of the antenna array to split horizontally.

In the above embodiment, by adding a phase shifting unit to the base station antenna, the beam of the base station antenna can be split horizontally, and the capacity of the base station antenna is increased. In addition, the channel selection unit's selection of channels can be adjusted by remote control, which does not require manual adjustments after towering, which simplifies the process of sector splitting.

Referring to FIG. 3, the base station antenna can split each sector into two sectors, N=4, M=4, that is, the base station antenna receives the signal to send four signals, and when the antenna array includes four columns of antenna element arrays, four The phase shifting unit 105 is respectively recorded as a first phase shifting unit, a second phase shifting unit, a third phase shifting unit, and a fourth phase shifting unit, and the four phase shifting units are sequentially arranged, and the phase shift amounts are respectively -15 degrees, + 75 degrees, -90 degrees, 0 degrees; the four columns of antenna element arrays of the antenna array are respectively recorded as a first antenna element array, a second antenna element array, a third antenna element array, and a fourth antenna element array, and the above four antenna elements The arrays are sequentially arranged, the first phase shifting unit is connected to the fourth antenna element array, the second phase shifting unit is connected to the first antenna unit array, the third phase shifting unit is connected to the second antenna unit array, and the fourth phase shifting unit is connected to the third antenna unit. Array.

In this embodiment, the base station antenna utilizes fewer phase shifting units and antenna element arrays to achieve splitting of the sector and improve the capacity of the base station antenna.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present invention, the structure and working process of each component are described by taking the transmitting signal of the base station antenna as an example, and the above base station antenna can also be used for receiving signals.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a base station, as shown in FIG. 4, including a source 200 and a base station antenna 100 in the foregoing embodiment.

The source 200 is connected to the base station antenna 100 through an antenna port 101 of at least one base station antenna for transmitting a signal to the base station antenna.

The base station antenna 100 includes N antenna ports 101, a multi-channel feed network 102, an antenna array 103, and a channel selection unit 104, where N is a natural number greater than or equal to four. The antenna array 103 includes an M-column antenna element array 1031, each column antenna element array 1031 includes at least one antenna unit, and M is a natural number greater than or equal to 4; the antenna port 101-end is used to connect a source, and receives a signal from a source. The other end is used to connect the channel selection unit 104; the channel selection unit 104 has N inputs and N outputs, each of which is connected to an antenna port 101, each of the outputs and the multi-channel One input of the feed network 102 is connected, and the channel selection unit 104 is configured to select one channel of the multi-channel feed network 102 for any one of the antenna ports 101; the multi-channel feed network 102 has N inputs and M outputs. Each input end corresponds to one channel, and each of the output terminals is connected to a column of antenna element arrays 1031 for feeding the antenna element array 1031. The source 200 is used for receiving or transmitting a signal. In this embodiment, it may be a base transceiver station (BTS, Base Transceiver Station) or a radio remote unit (RRU). Not limited.

It should be noted that the source may have one or more output terminals connected to the base station antenna through the antenna port, and the actual application may be flexibly configured according to the specific number of the source channel and the specific needs of the communication system. For example, when the source has only one or two channels, only one or two antenna ports can be used for each source. Multiple sources can be used simultaneously to make full use of the channels of the above base station antennas. When using a channel, you can also use only a part of the antenna port.

In this embodiment, the base station antenna 100 may be the base station antenna in the foregoing embodiment, and the coverage of the signal of the base station may be dynamically adjusted by adding a channel selection unit to flexibly select the channel of the signal transmission of the base station.

In this embodiment, when the base station antenna uses the base station antenna shown in Fig. 2 or Fig. 3, sector splitting can be implemented, and the capacity of the base station antenna is improved. When the base station antenna shown in Fig. 3 is used, the source is connected to the base station antenna through four antenna ports.

It should be noted that the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention can be applied to various wireless communication systems, such as current 2G, 3G communication systems, and next generation communication systems, such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), codes. CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) system, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (WDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA, Frequency) Division Multiple Addressing System, Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) System, Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) System, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) System, Long Term Evolution (LTE, Long Term Evolution) systems, and other such communication systems.

In summary, the above description is only a preferred embodiment of the technical solution of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Any modifications made, within the spirit and principles of the present invention, Equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

Rights request

1. A base station antenna, including: N antenna ports, a multi-channel feed network, an antenna array and a channel selection unit, where N is a natural number greater than or equal to 4;

Wherein, the antenna array includes M columns of antenna unit arrays, each column of the antenna unit array includes at least one antenna unit, and M is a natural number greater than or equal to 4;

One end of the antenna port is used to connect to the source and receive signals from the source, and the other end is used to connect to the channel selection unit;

The channel selection unit has N input terminals and N output terminals, each of the input terminals is connected to one of the antenna ports, and each of the output terminals is connected to an input terminal of the multi-channel feed network, The channel selection unit is used to select a channel of the multi-channel feed network for any one of the antenna ports;

The multi-channel feed network has N input terminals and M output terminals, each of the input terminals corresponds to a channel, and each of the output terminals is connected to a column of the antenna element array for feeding the antenna element array. Feed.

2. The base station antenna according to claim 1, further comprising M phase-shifting units, each phase-shifting unit being used to connect an output end of the multi-channel feed network and a column of the antenna unit array, with Phase shifting is performed on the signal output by the multi-channel feed network, so that the beam radiated by the antenna array is horizontally split.

3. The base station antenna according to claim 2, said N=4, M=4, and the four phase-shifting units are respectively a first phase-shifting unit, a second phase-shifting unit, a third phase-shifting unit, and a third phase-shifting unit. Four phase-shifting units, the four phase-shifting units are arranged in sequence, and the phase shifts are -15 degrees, +75 degrees, -90 degrees, and 0 degrees respectively; the four-column antenna unit array of the antenna array is the first antenna respectively element array, a second antenna element array, a third antenna element array, a fourth antenna element array, the four antenna element arrays are arranged in sequence, the first phase shifting unit is connected to the fourth antenna element array, and the The two phase-shifting units are connected to the first antenna unit array, the third phase-shifting unit is connected to the second antenna unit array, and the fourth phase-shifting unit is connected to the third antenna unit array.

4. A base station, including a signal source and a base station antenna, where,

The information source is connected to the base station antenna through at least one antenna port of the base station antenna, and is used for sending signals to the base station antenna;

The base station antenna includes N antenna ports, a multi-channel feed network, an antenna array and a channel selection unit, where N is a natural number greater than or equal to 4;

5. The base station according to claim 4, the information source is a base transceiver station BTS or a radio frequency remote module RRU.

6. The base station according to claim 5, the base station antenna further includes M phase shifting units, each of the phase shifting units is used to connect an output end of the multi-channel feed network and a column of the antenna units. The array is configured to phase shift the signal output by the multi-channel feed network so that the beam radiated by the antenna array is horizontally split.

7. The base station according to claim 6, said N=4, M=4, and the four phase-shifting units are respectively a first phase-shifting unit, a second phase-shifting unit, a third phase-shifting unit, and a fourth phase-shifting unit. Phase shifting unit, the four phase shifting units are arranged in sequence, the phase shift amounts are -15 degrees, +75 degrees, -90 degrees, 0 degrees respectively; the four columns of antenna element arrays of the antenna array are respectively the first antenna unit array, second day Line element array, third antenna element array, fourth antenna element array, the four antenna element arrays are arranged in sequence, the first phase shift unit is connected to the fourth antenna element array, the second phase shift unit is connected to The first antenna element array, the third phase shift unit is connected to the second antenna element array, and the fourth phase shift unit is connected to the third antenna element array.