WO2020087933A1

WO2020087933A1 - Antenna unit, antenna module and large-scale array antenna

Info

Publication number: WO2020087933A1
Application number: PCT/CN2019/090785
Authority: WO
Inventors: 段红彬; 李明超; 潘荫杰
Original assignee: 京信通信技术(广州)有限公司
Priority date: 2018-10-31
Filing date: 2019-06-11
Publication date: 2020-05-07
Also published as: CN109286073A

Abstract

The present invention provides an antenna unit, comprising: a non-metallic base, which is integrally formed and comprises a base bottom plate and a partition plate provided on the top surface of the base bottom plate, the top surface of the base bottom plate being provided with a first metallic layer which at least partially serves as a feed network circuit layer, the bottom surface of the base bottom plate being provided with a second metallic layer, and at least one side surface of the partition plate being provided with a third metallic layer; first feed posts, which are provided on the top surface of the base bottom plate and are used for supporting a radiation unit and electrically connecting the radiation unit and the feed network circuit layer; and second feed posts, which are provided on the bottom surface of the base bottom plate and are used for electrically connecting a calibration network provided at the bottom of the base bottom plate. The first feed posts and the second feed posts are integrally formed with the non-metallic base by means of an integral forming process. The structure of the antenna unit is simple and compact, achieves lightweight and high integration, and also has good product consistency, facilitating improvement of the electrical performance of an antenna. The present invention further provides an antenna module comprising said antenna unit, and a large-scale array antenna.

Description

Antenna unit, antenna module and large-scale array antenna

Technical field

The invention relates to the technical field of mobile communication, and relates to an antenna unit, an antenna module and a large-scale array antenna.

Background technique

With the rapid development of mobile communication technology and applications, the fifth-generation mobile communication technology (abbreviated as 5G in foreign language) has entered the stage of commercial trial.

At present, in the 5G antenna solution proposed by the prior art, the antenna unit usually includes a metal base plate and a metal partition plate provided on the metal base plate. Among them, the metal base plate is often formed by metal die-casting or sheet metal technology, and the partition is usually formed by metal die-casting, aluminum extrusion pultrusion or sheet metal technology to meet the diverse layout space requirements of antennas based on 5G large-scale dense high-frequency arrays However, in engineering practice, such a structure has the following disadvantages: First, the antenna unit is heavy, which makes it difficult to achieve a lightweight design for the entire antenna system; Second, the size of the base plate of the 5G large-scale dense high-frequency array is often large. In the process of integrally forming the metal base plate, in order to improve the consistency of the product, the thickness of the metal base plate often needs to be thickened, which will further increase the weight of the antenna unit; third, the metal spacer can only be fixed to the metal base plate by screws Or use welding / metal die-casting process to fix the connection with the metal base plate. On the one hand, in the context of 5G high-frequency applications, it is difficult to meet the requirements of 5G high-band antennas for the radiation boundary gap on the other hand. In any of the connection methods, there is a high insertion loss and intermodulation of the 5G antenna Increased risk of poor consistency and assembly complex issues.

In addition, in the 5G antenna solution proposed in the prior art, the feed network is mostly in the form of PCB. The feed network is usually fixed and connected to the base plate of the substrate by a screw. The radiating unit usually uses metal die casting, sheet metal or PCB vibrator. The electrical networks are usually directly welded or connected by coaxial cable. Not only is the assembly complicated, the production cost is high, but also there are many solder joints. It is also difficult to meet the requirements of low insertion loss, low intermodulation and high consistency.

It can be seen that there are still many technical problems in the 5G antenna solution proposed by the existing technology. In the face of the acceleration of the global process of the 5G industry, how to achieve lightweight antennas, while simplifying the antenna structure and improving antenna performance indicators has become increasingly urgent.

Summary of the invention

Based on this, the present invention provides an antenna unit, an antenna module and a large-scale array antenna, aiming to realize the lightweight of the antenna, while simplifying the antenna structure and improving the antenna performance.

In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical solutions adopted by the antenna unit of the present invention are:

An antenna unit, including:

An integrally formed non-metallic substrate, the non-metallic substrate includes a substrate bottom plate and a partition plate provided on the top surface of the substrate bottom plate, the top surface of the substrate bottom plate is provided with a first metal layer, and the first metal layer is at least partially As a feeding network circuit layer, the bottom surface of the base substrate is provided with a second metal layer that enables the base substrate to serve as a reflective plate, and at least one side surface of the separator is provided with a substrate that enables the separator to serve as a radiation boundary Third metal layer;

A first feeding column, the first feeding column is disposed on the top surface of the base plate, the first feeding column is used to support the radiating unit and electrically connect the radiating unit and the feeding network circuit Floor;

A second feeding post, the second feeding post is provided on the bottom surface of the base plate and used for electrically connecting a calibration network provided on the bottom of the base plate;

The first power feeding column, the second power feeding column and the non-metallic substrate form an integral body through an integral molding process.

Further, the first feeding pillar and / or the second feeding pillar include a non-metallic pillar and a fourth metal layer provided on the outer surface of the non-metallic pillar, the radiating unit and the feeding network The circuit layers are electrically connected by the fourth metal layer, and the non-metal pillar and the non-metal matrix are integrally injection-molded.

Further, the first feeding post and / or the second feeding post are metal posts, and the non-metallic substrate and the metal posts are integrally formed through an injection molding process and fixedly connected to each other.

Further, the second feeding column includes a first column for electrically connecting to the circuit layer of the calibration network and a second column for connecting to the ground layer of the calibration network, the first The cylinder is spaced from the second cylinder.

Further, the radiation unit includes a non-metal substrate and a fifth metal layer provided on the surface of the non-metal substrate. The radiation unit is electrically connected to the first feed post through the fifth metal layer.

Further, the radiation unit is made of metal material or PCB board.

Further, there are at least two radiating units, and at least two first feeding columns, and each of the radiating units is provided on a different first feeding column;

The feeding network circuit layer includes a power division circuit, and at least two of the radiation units are connected by the power division circuit to form a sub-array.

Further, the radiation unit is provided with a mounting positioning hole, and a top of the first feeding column is provided with a positioning column smaller in size than the first feeding column and capable of cooperating with the mounting positioning hole.

The technical solutions adopted by the antenna module provided by the present invention are:

An antenna module includes a plurality of the above antenna units, a plurality of non-metallic substrates of the antenna units are integrally formed, and the plurality of antenna units are distributed in an array.

The technical solution adopted by the large-scale array antenna provided by the present invention is:

A large-scale array antenna includes the above antenna module.

Based on the above technical solutions, the antenna unit, antenna module and large-scale array antenna of the present invention have at least the following beneficial effects compared to the prior art:

The antenna unit, the antenna module and the large-scale array antenna of the present invention adopt the non-metallic base body integrally formed by the base plate and the partition plate, and make the first and second feeding posts and the non-metallic base The base body is formed into a whole through an integrated molding process, which can achieve a high degree of integration of the reflector, the radiation boundary and the feed network, which greatly reduces the weight of the antenna, and can greatly simplify the processing and assembly process, reduce production costs, and the overall structure is simple The compactness and good product consistency are conducive to reaching the high standard of 5G high-band antennas for product accuracy, reducing insertion loss, and reducing the potential for intermodulation, so that the electrical performance of the entire antenna system is significantly improved; in addition, the base plate can also be used as The dielectric layer of the feed network, the integrated first feed column and the second feed column conveniently realize the feed connection between the radiating unit and the calibration network, compared with the traditional structure using balun and feed ring It is also conducive to achieving a low-profile design, meeting the higher requirements of 5G antennas for miniaturization, and suitable for large-scale commercial use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

1 is a schematic diagram of an exploded front view of an antenna unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an exploded back view of the antenna unit shown in FIG. 1;

3 is a schematic diagram of a partial structure of an antenna module to which the antenna unit shown in FIG. 1 is applied;

4 is a schematic diagram of an exploded front view of an antenna module to which the antenna unit shown in FIG. 1 is applied;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a back-view exploded structure of the antenna module shown in FIG. 4;

6 is an isometric view of the antenna module shown in FIGS. 4 and 5;

Description of reference signs:

100-radiation unit; 101-installation positioning hole; 200-non-metallic substrate; 210-substrate bottom plate; 220-separator; 310-first feeding column; 311-positioning column; 320-second feeding column; 320a- First cylinder; 320b-second cylinder; 400-feed network circuit layer; 500-calibration network; 501-first pad; 502-second pad.

detailed description

In order to make the technical problems, technical solutions and beneficial effects to be solved by the present invention more clear, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention.

It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed" or "provided on" another element, it may be directly on the other element or there may be a center element at the same time. When an element is said to "connect" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be a center element at the same time.

In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms “first” and “second” are used for description purposes only, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present invention, the meaning of "plurality" is two or more, unless otherwise specifically limited.

It should also be noted that the terms of orientation such as top, bottom, top, bottom, and side in the following embodiments are only relative concepts or refer to the normal use status of the product, and should not be considered as limiting of.

1 and 2, an embodiment of the present invention provides an antenna unit, including: an integrally formed non-metallic substrate 200, the non-metallic substrate 200 includes a substrate bottom plate 210 and a spacer 220 provided on the top surface of the substrate bottom plate 210, The top surface of the base substrate 210 is provided with at least part of the first metal layer as the feed network circuit layer 400, the bottom surface of the base substrate 210 is provided with a second metal layer that enables the base substrate 210 to serve as a reflective plate, and at least one of the separators 220 The side is provided with a third metal layer that enables the separator 220 to serve as a radiation boundary; a first feeding post 310 is provided on the top surface of the base plate 210, and the first feeding post 310 is used to support radiation The unit 100 is electrically connected to the radiating unit 100 and the feeding network circuit layer 400; a second feeding post 320 is provided on the bottom surface of the base substrate 210 and is used to electrically connect the one provided on the bottom of the base substrate 210 Calibration network 500; the first feed post 310 and the second feed post 320 and the non-metallic substrate 200 form an integral body through an integral molding process.

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 6, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an antenna module, including a plurality of the above antenna units, a non-metallic base 200 of the plurality of antenna units is integrally formed, and the plurality of antenna units are distributed in an array.

The above-mentioned antenna unit and antenna module are formed by integrally forming the non-metallic substrate 200 of the base plate 210 and the separator 220, and forming the first and

second feeding posts

310 and 320 and the non-metallic substrate 200 through an integral molding process Overall, it can achieve a high degree of integration of the reflector, the radiation boundary and the feed network, which greatly reduces the weight of the antenna, and can greatly simplify the manufacturing and assembly process, reduce production costs, the overall structure is simple and compact, and the product consistency is good. It is beneficial to achieve the high standard of 5G high-band antenna for product accuracy, reduce insertion loss, and reduce the potential for intermodulation, so that the electrical performance of the entire antenna system is significantly improved; in addition, the base plate 210 can also be used as the dielectric layer of the feed network , The integrated first feed post 310 and second feed post 320 conveniently realize the feed connection between the radiating unit 100 and the calibration network 500. Compared with the traditional structure using baluns and feed loops, It is beneficial to achieve a low-profile design, meet the higher requirements of 5G antennas for miniaturization, and suitable for large-scale commercial use.

Referring to FIG. 2, in actual application, the second feed post 320 includes a first post 320 a for electrically connecting with the circuit layer of the calibration network 500 and a second post for ground connection with the calibration network 500 320b, the first column 320a and the second column 320b are spaced apart. Both the first pillar 320a and the second pillar 320b may be integrated with the base plate 210 to form a whole, to further improve integration. Correspondingly, the calibration network 500 is provided with a first pad 501 for connecting the first pillar 320a for feeding and a second pad 502 for grounding. Specifically in this embodiment, there are two second pillars 320b, and two second pads 502 are provided on the calibration network 500, and each second pad 502 corresponds to each second pillar 320b in one-to-one relationship.

In some embodiments, in order to further simplify the process, the above first feed pillar 310 may include a non-metal pillar and a fourth metal layer provided on the outer surface of the non-metal pillar, the radiation unit 100 and the feed network circuit layer 400 pass between The fourth metal layer of the first feed post 310 is electrically connected, and the non-metal post and the non-metal base 200 are integrally injection molded. Similarly, the second feeding post 320 may also include a non-metallic post and a fourth metal layer provided on the outer surface of the non-metallic post. Specifically, in this embodiment, the first post 320a serving as the second feeding post 320 and Each of the second pillars 320b may include a non-metal pillar and a fourth metal layer provided on the outer surface of the non-metal pillar, so that the fourth metal layer passing through the first pillar 320a between the radiation unit 100 and the circuit layer of the calibration network 500 Electrical connection, the ground layer of the calibration network 500 and the second metal layer are electrically connected by the fourth metal layer of the second pillar 320b, and the non-metal pillar and the non-metal matrix 200 are integrally injection molded; in this case, it should be understood In order to achieve the electrical connection between the feed network circuit layer 400 and the calibration network 500 in the first metal layer, the base plate 210 is also preferably provided with metalized vias to realize the feed network circuit layer 400 and the first The fourth metal layer of the pillar 320a is electrically connected.

In some embodiments, the first feeding post 310 may also be a metal post, and the non-metallic base 200 and the metal post are integrally formed through an injection molding process and fixedly connected to each other. Similarly, the second feeding post 320 may also be a metal post, and the non-metallic substrate 200 is integrally formed on the bottom of the metal post through an injection molding process and fixedly connected to each other. For example, in the injection molding process, the metal post as the first feed post 310 and the metal post as the second feed post 320 may be placed in an injection mold, so that the non-metallic substrate 200 is fixed to the metal post after injection molding Into a whole. With this structure, the manufacturing process flow is simple, and it is easy to mass-produce. Not only can the connection strength between the first and second feeding posts 310 and 320 and the non-metallic substrate 200 be better, but it can also be easily achieved. The assembly accuracy is good. In some embodiments, the above-mentioned base plate 210 can also be fixedly connected to the metal post through a hot-melt process; making full use of the non-metallic plasticity, the reliable connection between the metal post and the base plate 210 can also be conveniently achieved.

In some embodiments, the above radiating unit 100 may be made of a metal radiating sheet formed by die-casting a metal material or integrally formed with sheet metal or using a PCB board.

In some embodiments, the radiation unit 100 includes a non-metal substrate and a fifth metal layer disposed on the surface of the non-metal substrate. The radiation unit 100 is electrically connected to the first feed post 310 through the fifth metal layer. In this way, the weight of the radiation unit 100 can be reduced, the accuracy of the radiation unit 100 can be improved, the structure of the radiation unit 100 can be simplified, the processing can be facilitated, and it has a better effect for further achieving the weight reduction of the antenna.

The non-metallic substrate 200 and the non-metallic substrate of the radiation unit 100 are preferably integrally injection-molded. Specifically, non-metallic materials such as resin and plastic may be integrally molded by an injection process. The first metal layer, the second metal layer, the third metal layer, the fourth metal layer and the fifth metal layer can be realized by surface plating, LDS (laser direct forming) process, printing and other metallization processes; the material of each metal layer Both are preferably copper.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 3, 4 and 6, in some embodiments, the antenna unit may include at least two radiating units 100 and at least two first feeding posts 310, and each radiating unit 100 is provided on a different On the first feeding post 310; the feeding network circuit layer 400 includes a power dividing circuit, and a plurality of radiating units 100 are connected through the power dividing circuit to form a sub-array. Specifically in this embodiment, each sub-array may include two, three, four, or six equal numbers of radiation units 100, and it should be understood that the radiation units 100 of each sub-array are arranged at intervals. Combine multiple radiation units 100 into a sub-array through the power division circuit, which can reduce the number of joints and reduce costs. The spatial layout structure of the radiation unit 100 and the feed network is more compact. In the 5G large-scale array antenna array space is limited Under the premise, it can greatly reduce the difficulty of actual deployment.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, specifically in this embodiment, each radiating unit 100 is preferably supported by four first feeding posts 310, and the four first feeding posts 310 are evenly distributed on the bottom of the radiating unit 100 The radiation unit 100 is beneficial to improve the stability and reliability of the antenna unit structure.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 3, 4 and 6, as a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the radiation unit 100 is provided with a mounting positioning hole 101, and the top of the first feed post 310 is provided with a size smaller than the first feed The post 310 is also capable of cooperating with the positioning post 311 of the installation positioning hole 101. In this way, not only the reliable installation of the radiation unit 100 can be conveniently achieved, but also the assembly accuracy can be improved, and the consistency of the antenna can be better. When the first feeding post 310 is integrally injection-molded with a non-metallic post and a non-metallic base 200, the positioning post 311 is also preferably integrally injection-molded with a non-metallic post and the non-metallic base 200.

As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 3 and FIG. 6, on the front projection surface of the base plate 210, the radiation unit 100 is included in the installation range of the partition 220. In practical applications, a partition 220 may be provided around each sub-array. For 5G high-band antennas, it can play a better isolation effect, reduce the mutual coupling between each antenna sub-array, and the electrical performance is more excellent.

An embodiment of the present invention also provides a large-scale array antenna, including the above antenna module. It should be understood that a large-scale array antenna may include a plurality of separately manufactured antenna modules. The multiple antenna modules may be assembled in a radome by splicing and distributed in an array to further improve the convenience of assembly and reduce the difficulty of manufacturing .

The above-mentioned large-scale array antenna is based on the same concept as the above-mentioned antenna unit and antenna module embodiments, and its technical effects are the same as those of the antenna unit and antenna module embodiments of the present invention. The description in the example will not be repeated here.

It should be noted that the above antenna unit and antenna module are not limited to large-scale array antennas used for 5G mobile communication, but can also be used in antennas for 2G, 3G, and 4G mobile communication.

The above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any modification, equivalent replacement and improvement made within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention Inside.

Claims

An antenna unit, characterized in that it includes:

An integrally formed non-metallic substrate, the non-metallic substrate includes a substrate bottom plate and a partition plate provided on the top surface of the substrate bottom plate, the top surface of the substrate bottom plate is provided with a first metal layer, and the first metal layer is at least partially As a feeding network circuit layer, the bottom surface of the base substrate is provided with a second metal layer that enables the base substrate to serve as a reflective plate, and at least one side surface of the separator is provided with a substrate that enables the separator to serve as a radiation boundary Third metal layer;

A first feeding column, the first feeding column is disposed on the top surface of the base plate, the first feeding column is used to support the radiating unit and electrically connect the radiating unit and the feeding network circuit Floor;

A second feeding post, the second feeding post is provided on the bottom surface of the base plate and used for electrically connecting a calibration network provided on the bottom of the base plate;

The first power feeding column, the second power feeding column and the non-metallic substrate form an integral body through an integral molding process.
The antenna unit according to claim 1, wherein the first feeding post and / or the second feeding post include a non-metallic post and a fourth metal layer provided on the outer surface of the non-metallic post , The radiation unit and the circuit layer of the feeding network are electrically connected by the fourth metal layer, and the non-metallic post and the non-metallic base are integrally injection molded.
The antenna unit according to claim 1, wherein the first feeding post and / or the second feeding post are metal posts, and the non-metallic substrate and the metal posts are integrally formed by an injection molding process And fixedly connected to each other.
The antenna unit according to claim 1, wherein the second feeding post includes a first post for electrically connecting with a circuit layer of the calibration network and a ground layer for connecting with the calibration network A second pillar connected to the ground, the first pillar is spaced from the second pillar.
The antenna unit according to claim 1, wherein the radiation unit comprises a non-metallic substrate and a fifth metal layer provided on the surface of the non-metallic substrate, and the radiation unit passes through the fifth metal layer and the The first feed post is electrically connected.
The antenna unit according to claim 1, wherein the radiation unit is made of a metal material or a PCB board.
The antenna unit according to claim 1, wherein:

There are at least two radiating units, and at least two first feeding columns, and each of the radiating units is provided on a different first feeding column;

The feeding network circuit layer includes a power division circuit, and at least two of the radiation units are connected by the power division circuit to form a sub-array.
The antenna unit according to claim 1, wherein the radiating unit is provided with an installation positioning hole, and the top of the first feeding post is provided with a size smaller than the first feeding post and can be connected with the Install the positioning posts that fit the positioning holes.
An antenna module, characterized by comprising a plurality of antenna units according to any one of claims 1 to 8, a non-metal matrix of the plurality of antenna units is integrally formed, and the plurality of antenna units are distributed in an array .
A large-scale array antenna is characterized by comprising the antenna module according to claim 9.