WO2020155723A1

WO2020155723A1 - Phase shift feed apparatus and base station antenna

Info

Publication number: WO2020155723A1
Application number: PCT/CN2019/115383
Authority: WO
Inventors: 李明超; 王宇; 苏国生
Original assignee: 京信通信技术(广州)有限公司
Priority date: 2019-01-30
Filing date: 2019-11-04
Publication date: 2020-08-06
Also published as: CN109659694A; CN109659694B

Abstract

The present invention relates to a phase shift feed apparatus, comprising a metal cavity, a phase shift circuit, and a feed network board. The metal cavity is attached to a base plate, and a common ground arrangement of the metal cavity and the feed network board is implemented by means of welding the side wall of the metal cavity to a grounding solder pad. Thus, the attachment of the metal cavity to the feed network board reduces thickness and does not require additional fasteners for connection. Signal terminals can be led out in a vertical direction from the inside by means of an avoidance window in order to electrically connect the phase shift circuit and the feed circuit, thereby avoiding wiring from the side face of the phase shift feed apparatus and making the layout of the phase shift feed apparatus more compact. The volume of the present phase shift feed apparatus is small and the structure is simplified, facilitating miniaturisation of the base station antenna. Also provided in the present invention is a base station antenna.

Description

Phase-shifting power feeding device and base station antenna

Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of wireless communication technology, in particular to a phase-shifting power feeding device and a base station antenna.

Background technique

With the development of antenna technology, miniaturized antennas have become the development trend of base station antennas. The phase-shifting feeder is the core element of the base station antenna. The electrical signal enters the corresponding antenna channel through the phase-shifting feeder for power division and phase-shift processing to achieve signal radiation.

At present, the phase shifting feeder is generally composed of two separate components, a phase shifter and a feed network board. Moreover, the phase shifter needs to be fed with the feeder circuit of the feeder network board through a feeder cable. Therefore, it is necessary to install a coaxial cable and perform joint welding when processing the phase-shifting power feeder, which will cause the phase-shifting power feeder to become larger in size and heavier in weight, which is not conducive to the miniaturization of the base station antenna.

Summary of the invention

Based on this, it is necessary to address the problem that the existing phase-shifting power feeder is not conducive to the miniaturization of base station antennas, and provide a phase-shifting power feeder that is conducive to the miniaturization of base station antennas.

A phase-shifting power feeding device includes:

A metal cavity, a part of its side wall is provided with an escape window communicating with the inside of the metal cavity;

A phase shift circuit housed in the metal cavity, the phase shift circuit having a plurality of signal terminals; and

The feed network board includes a substrate, a feed line formed on opposite sides of the substrate, and a ground layer, and one side of the substrate is also provided with a ground pad electrically connected to the ground layer;

Wherein, the side wall of the metal cavity provided with the escape window is attached to the surface of the substrate provided with the ground pad and welded to the ground pad, and the plurality of signal terminals pass through the escape window. The window is electrically connected with the feeder line.

In one of the embodiments, the outer surface of the side wall of the metal cavity provided with the escape window is flat.

In one of the embodiments, the substrate is provided with a plurality of feed holes penetrating the substrate, and the edge of each of the feed holes facing away from the metal cavity is provided with the feed line An electrically connected feed pad, and the signal terminal is electrically connected to the feed pad through the feed hole.

In one of the embodiments, a plurality of legs are formed at positions corresponding to the plurality of feed holes of the phase shifting circuit, the plurality of signal terminals are respectively located on the plurality of legs, and the legs pass through The avoidance window and the feed hole are welded to the feed pad.

In one of the embodiments, the phase-shifting feeder device further includes a feeder wire passing through the feeder hole, one end of the feeder wire is welded to the signal terminal, and the other end is welded to the feeder Disk welding.

In one of the embodiments, the phase shift circuit is a PCB or a metal three-dimensional structure, and the feeder wire is a metal conductor rod, a metal conductor sheet, or a PCB circuit board.

In one of the embodiments, a limit cap is formed at one end of the feed wire, a through hole is opened on the signal terminal, and the connecting wire passes through the through hole and makes the limit cap and the The edges of the through holes abut.

In one of the embodiments, the side wall of the metal cavity opposite to the escape window is provided with an operation hole communicating with the inside of the metal cavity.

In one of the embodiments, the ground layer is located on the side of the substrate facing the metal cavity, the feeder line is located on the side of the substrate facing away from the metal cavity, and the ground pad Integrally formed with the ground layer;

Alternatively, the feeder line is located on the side of the substrate facing the metal cavity, the ground layer is located on the side of the substrate facing away from the metal cavity, and the ground layer is connected to the metal cavity through a metallized via. The ground pad is electrically connected.

In the above-mentioned phase-shifting power feeding device, the metal cavity is mounted on the substrate, and the metal cavity and the feeding network board are arranged in a common ground by welding the side wall of the metal cavity and the ground pad. Therefore, the metal cavity can be mounted on the feed network board to reduce the thickness, and no additional fasteners are required for connection. Moreover, the signal terminal can be drawn from the inside in the vertical direction through the avoiding window to electrically connect the phase shifting circuit and the feeder line, so avoiding the wiring from the side of the phase shifting feeder, and making the layout of the phase shifting feeder more compact. Therefore, the above-mentioned phase-shifting power feeding device has a reduced volume and a simplified structure, which is beneficial to the miniaturization of the base station antenna.

A base station antenna includes the phase-shifting feeder device according to any one of the above preferred embodiments.

Description of the drawings

Figure 1 is a transverse cross-sectional view of a phase-shifting power feeding device in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the metal cavity in the phase-shifting power feeding device shown in FIG. 1;

3 is a schematic diagram of the surface structure of the feeding network board in the phase-shifting feeding device shown in FIG. 1;

4 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a phase shifting power feeding device in another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the surface structure of the feeding network board in the phase-shifting feeding device shown in FIG. 4.

detailed description

In order to facilitate the understanding of the present invention, the present invention will be more fully described below with reference to the relevant drawings. The drawings show preferred embodiments of the present invention. However, the present invention can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. On the contrary, the purpose of providing these embodiments is to make the understanding of the disclosure of the present invention more thorough and comprehensive.

It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" another element, it can be directly on the other element or a central element may also exist. When an element is considered to be "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or an intermediate element may be present at the same time. The terms "vertical", "horizontal", "left", "right" and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the technical field of the present invention. The terms used in the specification of the present invention herein are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The term "and/or" as used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more related listed items.

The present invention provides a base station antenna and a phase-shifting power feeding device. The base station antenna includes the phase-shifting power feeding device. Moreover, the base station antenna generally also includes multiple radiating units, and multiple output ports of the phase-shifting feeder are communicatively connected with multiple radiating units to form multiple antenna channels. The phase-shifting feeder performs power division and phase-shifting on the electrical signal, so that signals of different phases are radiated by multiple radiation units respectively.

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the phase-shifting feeding device 100 in the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a metal cavity 110, a phase-shifting circuit 120 and a feeding network board 130.

The metal cavity 110 is a hollow cavity structure. The metal cavity 110 is generally elongated, and its cross section can be rectangular, triangular, circular, or the like. Wherein, a part of the side wall of the metal cavity 110 is provided with an escape window 111 communicating with the inside of the metal cavity 110. The avoidance window 111 may be a plurality of circular and rectangular through holes with a small area, separated from each other and arranged at intervals, or a bar-shaped through slot with a relatively large area.

The phase shift circuit 120 is installed in the metal cavity 110, and the phase shift circuit 120 has a plurality of signal terminals (not shown). The signal terminals are used to realize the input and output of electrical signals. According to different application scenarios, the number of signal terminals can be adjusted accordingly. The circuit form of the phase shift circuit 120 may be a PCB board structure, a metal three-dimensional structure, a strip line structure, or a microstrip line structure.

In one embodiment, the avoiding window 111 is a strip-shaped through slot, and the width of the strip-shaped through slot matches the width of the phase shift circuit 120. One end of the phase shift circuit 120 protrudes from the bar-shaped through slot and is clamped with the bar-shaped through slot to achieve a limit.

Specifically, in this embodiment, the circuit form of the phase shift circuit 120 is a PCB board structure or a metal three-dimensional structure fabricated by using existing technology. Moreover, in order to facilitate the installation and fixation of the phase shift circuit 120, a fixing slot 113 is opened on the side wall of the metal cavity 110 to clamp the phase shift circuit 120 tightly.

The main function of the phase shift circuit 120 is to realize the phase change of the electrical signal, and cooperate with the metal cavity 110 to form a phase shifter module. According to the different principles of phase shifting, it can be divided into dielectric sliding phase shifter and conductor sliding phase shifter. Since the medium sliding phase shifter has the advantages of compact structure and low intermodulation interference, in this embodiment, the medium sliding method is also adopted to realize the phase shift. Therefore, the phase-shifting power feeding device 100 further includes a phase-shifting dielectric plate 140. The phase shifting medium plate 140 is slidably received in the metal cavity 110 and disposed opposite to the phase shifting circuit 120. By sliding the phase shifting dielectric plate 140, the electrical length in the phase shifting circuit 120 can be changed, so that the output phase difference of each signal terminal can be realized.

Please also refer to FIG. 3, the feeding network board 130 includes a substrate 131, a ground layer 133 and a feeding line 135. The substrate 131 is generally formed of a material with a high dielectric constant; the ground layer 133 can be a metal layer formed on the surface of the substrate 131 by means of coating, printing, etc.; the feed line 135 can be a strip line or a microstrip line structure, or The PCB circuit structure integrated with the substrate 131; the feeder circuit 135 is generally composed of a power dividing circuit and a filter circuit. The ground layer 133 and the feeder line 135 are formed on opposite sides of the substrate 131. Furthermore, the ground layer 133 is insulated from the feeder line 135, and the ground layer 133 constitutes the bottom layer of the feeder line 135.

Furthermore, one side of the substrate 131 is also provided with a ground pad 1332 electrically connected to the ground layer 133. The side wall of the metal cavity 110 with the escape window 111 is attached to the surface of the substrate 131 where the ground pad 1332 is provided, and is welded to the ground pad 1332.

In other words, the ground pad 1332 will abut the sidewall of the metal cavity 110. Specifically, processes such as SMT (Surface Mount Technology), reflow soldering, etc. may be used to solder the metal cavity 110 and the ground pad 1332, so as to realize the integration of the phase shifter module and the feed network board 130. The metal cavity 110 and the grounding pad 1332 are welded, so that the metal cavity 110 and the feed network board 130 can be provided with a common ground. Moreover, welding can also play a role of fixing, so there is no need to use additional fasteners to connect the metal cavity 110 and the feed network board 130, which is beneficial to reduce the volume and weight. Moreover, the phase shifter module and the feed network board 130 are integrated in a stacked manner, making the layout compact.

In this embodiment, the outer surface of the side wall of the metal cavity 110 with the escape window 111 is flat. At this time, the sidewall of the metal cavity 110 can be more tightly attached to the surface of the substrate 131, so as to prevent the reliability of the connection between the metal cavity 110 and the ground pad 1332 from being loosened after being attached. Moreover, a gap between the metal cavity 110 and the substrate 131 can also be prevented, so that the structure of the phase-shifting power feeding device 100 is more compact.

It should be pointed out that, according to the difference in the complexity of the base station antenna integration, each feed network board 130 may correspond to multiple phase shifter modules. That is, multiple phase shift circuits 120 and multiple metal cavities 110 can be integrated on one feed network board 130. Among them, a phase shift circuit 120 and a metal cavity 110 constitute a pair of phase shifter modules, and the installation relationship between each phase shifter module and the feed network board 130 is the same.

In addition, a plurality of signal terminals are electrically connected to the feeder line 135 through the avoiding window 111. Specifically, the signal terminal and the feeder line 135 may be electrically connected by welding, wire connection, plug-in connection, and the like. The signal terminal can extend out of the avoidance window 111, and can also be led out by a wire passing through the avoidance window 111. Therefore, the signal terminal can be drawn from the inside in the vertical direction through the avoiding window 111 to realize the electrical connection between the phase shifting circuit 120 and the feeder line 135, thereby avoiding wiring from the side of the phase shifting feeder 100 to advance The layout of the phase feeder 100 is more compact.

Among them, since the metal cavity 110 and the feed network board 130 are provided in the same ground, and the signal terminal is electrically connected to the feed line 135, it functions as a traditional coaxial feeder. Therefore, the phase-shifting feeder 100 does not need to use a coaxial feeder, and the feeder line 135 can feed the phase-shifting circuit 120, thereby further contributing to the miniaturization of the base station antenna.

Compared with the existing phase shifter, it is unnecessary to use a coaxial feeder to realize the electrical connection between the phase shifting circuit 120 and the feeder line 135. Therefore, the outer wall of the metal cavity 110 does not need to be provided with a wiring groove for installing the coaxial feeder, and at the same time, it avoids the low welding efficiency and poor welding quality that generally exist because the coaxial feeder needs to be welded to the wiring groove on the outer wall of the metal cavity 110 The problem is beneficial to improve the electrical performance of the phase-shifting feeder 100.

In this embodiment, the substrate 131 is provided with a plurality of feeding holes 1313 penetrating through the substrate 131, and the edge of each feeding hole 1313 facing away from the metal cavity 110 is provided with a feeding solder electrically connected to the feeding line 135. In the disk 1315, the signal terminal is electrically connected to the feeding pad 1315 through the feeding hole 1313.

Specifically, the feed hole 1313 may be a through hole or a metalized hole. The feed pad 1315 may be a part of the feed line 135, or may be formed by a metal patch. The signal terminal can be led to the side of the substrate 131 facing away from the metal cavity 110 through the feed hole 1313. At this time, no matter what method is used to electrically connect the signal terminal and the feed pad 1315, since the metal cavity 110 and the phase shift circuit 120 can be formed to avoid positions, the operation is convenient.

Further, in this embodiment, the phase-shifting power feeding device 100 further includes a feeding wire 150 passing through the feeding hole 1313. One end of the feeding wire 150 is welded to the signal terminal, and the other end is welded to the feeding pad 1315.

Specifically, the feeding wire 150 may be bent or twisted when passing through the feeding hole 1313. Therefore, even if the multiple signal terminals are not aligned with the multiple feed holes 1313 one by one, the electrical connection can be finally achieved through the feed wires 150. In other words, the requirements for the assembly accuracy of the phase shift circuit 120 and the opening accuracy of the substrate 131 are relatively low, which is beneficial to improve the product yield.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, a limit cap 151 is formed at one end of the feed wire 150, a through hole (not shown in the figure) is opened on the signal terminal, and the feed wire 150 penetrates through the through hole and makes the limit cap 151 Abut the edge of the through hole.

The diameter of the limiting cap 151 is relatively large, so that the longitudinal cross section of the feeding wire 150 is T-shaped. When welding the feeding wire 150, the end away from the limiting cap 151 can be inserted into the through hole of the signal terminal. The feeding wire 150 can be prevented from sliding out under the blocking of the limiting cap 151, thereby facilitating assembly. Specifically, in this embodiment, the feeding wire 150 is a metal conductor rod, a metal conductor sheet, or a PCB circuit board.

In this embodiment, the sidewall of the metal cavity 110 opposite to the escape window 111 is provided with an operation hole 115 communicating with the inside of the metal cavity 110. Specifically, the operation hole 115 corresponds to the position of the avoidance window 111, and the phase shift circuit 120 and the feeder line 135 can be easily connected through the operation hole 115. For example, the feeding wire 150 may be inserted through the operation hole 115, and the feeding wire 150 and the signal terminal may be welded through the operation hole 115, so that the operation is convenient.

It should be pointed out that the phase shift circuit 120 and the feeder line 135 can also be electrically connected in other ways. for example:

In another embodiment, a plurality of legs (not shown) are formed at positions corresponding to the plurality of feed holes 1313 of the phase shift circuit 120, and the plurality of signal terminals are respectively located on the plurality of legs, and the legs pass through the avoiding window 111 and The feed hole 1313 is soldered to the feed pad 1315.

Specifically, the legs 123 cooperate with the feed holes 1313 to realize rapid positioning of the signal terminals and the feed lines 135. Moreover, the signal terminals are led out through the legs 123, so only one soldering operation is required at the feed pad 1315, thereby reducing the number of soldering. In addition, due to the position limiting effect of the feeding hole 1313, the supporting leg 123 is not easy to fall off, so that the reliability of the electrical connection between the phase shift circuit 120 and the feeding line 135 can also be improved.

Please refer to FIGS. 1 to 3 again. In this embodiment, the ground layer 133 is located on the side of the substrate 131 facing the metal cavity 110, and the feed line 135 is located on the side of the substrate 131 facing away from the metal cavity 110, and the ground pad 1332 and the ground layer 133 are integrally formed.

Specifically, a trench (not shown in the figure) can be formed between the ground pad 1332 and the feed hole 1313, so as to prevent the ground layer 133 from being shorted to the feed line 135. At this time, the feed hole 1313 may be a through hole. Since the ground layer 113 is directly in contact with the sidewall of the metal cavity 110, it can better cover the avoidance window 111, so that the metal cavity 110 is more sealed and helps to improve the shielding effect of the metal cavity 110.

4 and 5, in another embodiment, the feeder line 135 is located on the side of the substrate 131 facing the metal cavity 110, and the ground layer 133 is located on the side of the substrate 131 facing away from the metal cavity 110, and the ground layer 133 is electrically connected to the ground pad 1332 through the metalized via 1334.

Specifically, the feeder line 135 and the phase shift circuit 120 are located on the same side of the substrate 131. At this time, the inner wall of the feed hole 1313 is metalized, thereby electrically connecting the feed line 135 and the feed pad 1315.

Moreover, in order to avoid the feeder line 135, the edge of the side wall of the metal cavity 110 is also provided with a avoidance notch 101.

In the above-mentioned phase-shifting power feeding device 100, the metal cavity 110 is mounted on the substrate 131, and the metal cavity 110 and the feeding network board 130 are arranged in a common ground by welding the side wall of the metal cavity 110 and the ground pad 1332 . Therefore, the metal cavity 110 and the feed network board 130 are attached to reduce the thickness, and no additional fasteners are required for connection. Moreover, the signal terminals can be drawn from the inside in the vertical direction through the avoiding window 111 to electrically connect the phase shifting circuit 120 and the feeder line 135, thus avoiding wiring from the side of the phase shifting feeder 100 to advance the phase shifting feeder The layout of the electric device 100 is more compact. Therefore, the above-mentioned phase-shifting power feeding device 100 has a reduced volume and simplified structure, which is beneficial to the miniaturization of base station antennas.

The technical features of the above-mentioned embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. In order to make the description concise, all possible combinations of the various technical features in the above-mentioned embodiments are not described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, All should be considered as the scope of this specification.

The above-mentioned embodiments only express several embodiments of the present invention, and the descriptions are more specific and detailed, but they should not be interpreted as a limitation on the scope of the invention patent. It should be pointed out that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the concept of the present invention, several modifications and improvements can be made, and these all fall within the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent of the present invention should be subject to the appended claims.

Claims

A phase-shifting power feeding device, characterized in that it comprises:

A metal cavity, a part of its side wall is provided with an escape window communicating with the inside of the metal cavity;

A phase shift circuit housed in the metal cavity, the phase shift circuit having a plurality of signal terminals; and

The feed network board includes a substrate, a feed line formed on opposite sides of the substrate, and a ground layer, and one side of the substrate is also provided with a ground pad electrically connected to the ground layer;

Wherein, the side wall of the metal cavity provided with the escape window is attached to the surface of the substrate provided with the ground pad and welded to the ground pad, and the plurality of signal terminals pass through the escape window. The window is electrically connected with the feeder line.
The phase-shifting power feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the outer surface of the side wall of the metal cavity provided with the avoiding window is flat.
The phase-shifting power feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is provided with a plurality of feeding holes penetrating the substrate, and each of the feeding holes faces away from the side of the metal cavity A feed pad electrically connected to the feed line is provided on the edge of the feeder, and the signal terminal is electrically connected to the feed pad through the feed hole.
The phase-shifting power feeding device according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of legs are formed at positions corresponding to the plurality of feeding holes of the phase-shifting circuit, and the plurality of signal terminals are respectively located in the plurality of On each leg, the leg penetrates the escape window and the feed hole and is welded to the feed pad.
The phase-shifting power feeding device according to claim 3, wherein the phase-shifting power feeding device further comprises a feeding wire passing through the feeding hole, and one end of the feeding wire is connected to the signal The terminal is welded, and the other end is welded to the feed pad.
The phase-shifting power feeding device according to claim 5, wherein the phase-shifting circuit is a PCB or a metal three-dimensional structure, and the feeding wire is a metal conductor rod, a metal conductor sheet, or a PCB circuit board.
The phase-shifting power feeding device according to claim 5, wherein one end of the feeding wire forms a limit cap, a through hole is opened on the signal terminal, and the connecting wire passes through the through hole And make the limit cap abut the edge of the through hole.
The phase-shifting power feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the side wall of the metal cavity opposite to the escape window is provided with an operation hole communicating with the inside of the metal cavity.
The phase-shifting feeder device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the ground layer is located on the side of the substrate facing the metal cavity, and the feeder line is located on the back of the substrate. To one side of the metal cavity, the ground pad and the ground layer are integrally formed;

Alternatively, the feeder line is located on the side of the substrate facing the metal cavity, the ground layer is located on the side of the substrate facing away from the metal cavity, and the ground layer is connected to the metal cavity through a metallized via. The ground pad is electrically connected.
A base station antenna, characterized by comprising the phase-shifting power feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.