WO2022246773A1

WO2022246773A1 - Antenna array, wireless communication apparatus, and communication terminal

Info

Publication number: WO2022246773A1
Application number: PCT/CN2021/096561
Authority: WO
Inventors: 徐建矿; 张广志; 王立乾
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2021-05-27
Filing date: 2021-05-27
Publication date: 2022-12-01
Also published as: CN115699455A

Abstract

Provided in the present application are an antenna array, a wireless communication apparatus, and a communication terminal. The wireless communication apparatus comprises a signal processing module, a selection switch, and an antenna array; the antenna array comprises a plurality of antenna subarrays; the plurality of antenna subarrays are arranged in a single line, and radiation faces of antenna subarrays at two ends are perpendicular; and the included angle between radiation surfaces of two adjacent antenna subarrays along a direction of arrangement of the plurality of antenna subarrays is greater than 90 degrees; the signal processing module may be connected to at least two adjacent antenna subarrays in the antenna array by means of the selection switch; or the signal processing module may be connected to one antenna subarray in the antenna array by means of the selection switch. A higher gain can be acquired between two adjacent subarrays during operation by means of the included angle between the adjacent antenna subarrays being greater than 90 degrees; additionally, antenna subarrays at two ends among the plurality of antenna subarrays are perpendicular, which implements a 180 degree coverage area, and improves a communication effect of the antenna array.

Description

Antenna array, wireless communication device and communication terminal

technical field

The present application relates to the technical field of communication, and in particular to an antenna array, a wireless communication device and a communication terminal.

Background technique

With the improvement of communication protocols, terminal communication needs to support 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, and the supported specifications are getting higher and higher, such as 4G CA (Carrier Aggregation, carrier aggregation, LTE or NR combines multiple frequency bands into a large bandwidth transmission) , 5G SA (Standalone, 5G NR independent networking), 5G NSA (Non-Standalone, 5G non-independent networking, NR+LTE dual connection to the Internet) and other different specifications, and the number of frequency bands supported by the 3GPP protocol is increasing day by day. Flagship terminals support more frequency bands, not only need to support all domestic frequency bands, but also need to support roaming to foreign frequency bands, so correspondingly, the terminal RF front-end hardware circuit resources are also increasing.

According to the requirements of the 3GPP agreement, 5G NR-FR2 (frequency range 2) adopts the millimeter wave frequency band, which has the advantages of large bandwidth and high transmission rate; but it also has the disadvantages of large spatial attenuation and short propagation distance. The function and efficiency of traditional antennas can no longer meet the requirements of 5G millimeter wave systems; in order to make up for the above shortcomings, the millimeter wave frequency band adopts a phased array architecture, that is, multiple antennas and radio frequency channels form an antenna array to obtain higher antenna synthesis gain; By controlling the phase of each antenna, the synthetic beam is scanned in space according to certain rules.

Contents of the invention

The present application provides an antenna array, a wireless communication device and a communication terminal, which are used to improve the communication effect of the wireless communication device.

In a first aspect, an antenna array is provided, the antenna array is applied to a mobile terminal, and the antenna array includes a plurality of antenna sub-arrays. Among them, a plurality of antenna sub-arrays are arranged in a single row, and the radiation surfaces of the antenna sub-arrays at both ends are perpendicular to each other, and along the arrangement direction of the plurality of antenna sub-arrays, the gap between the radiation surfaces of two adjacent antenna sub-arrays Angle greater than ninety degrees. In the above technical solution, by adopting an angle greater than 90 degrees between adjacent antenna sub-arrays, a larger gain can be obtained between two adjacent antenna sub-arrays during operation. In addition, multiple antenna sub-arrays The antenna sub-arrays located at both ends of the array are perpendicular to each other, realizing a 180° coverage area and improving the communication effect of the antenna array.

In a specific implementation, among the plurality of antenna sub-arrays, the included angles between the radiation surfaces of any two adjacent antenna sub-arrays are equal.

In a specific implementation, the angle between the radiation surfaces of any two adjacent antenna sub-arrays is: 180°-90/(N-1)°; where N is the antenna sub-array the number of .

In a specific implementation, each antenna sub-array includes a plurality of antenna units, and the plurality of antenna units are arranged in at least one row; the arrangement direction of each row of antenna units is perpendicular to that of the plurality of antenna sub-arrays. alignment direction. Exemplarily, each antenna sub-array includes a row of antenna elements.

In a specific implementation, each antenna unit is a dual-polarized antenna or a single-polarized antenna. Different communication effects can be achieved.

In the second aspect, a wireless communication device is provided. The wireless communication device includes a signal processing module, a selection switch, and the antenna array described in any one of the above; wherein, the signal processing module communicates with the antenna through the selection switch At least two adjacent antenna sub-arrays in the array are connected, or the signal processing module is connected to one antenna sub-array in the antenna array through the selection switch. In the above technical solution, by using the angle between adjacent antenna sub-arrays greater than 90 degrees, a larger gain can be obtained between two adjacent antenna sub-arrays during operation. In addition, multiple antenna sub-arrays The antenna sub-arrays located at both ends are perpendicular to each other, realizing a 180° coverage area and improving the communication effect of the antenna array.

In a specific implementation, the signal processing module includes a radio frequency intermediate frequency chip, and at least two millimeter wave chips connected to the radio frequency intermediate frequency chip; the at least two millimeter wave chips communicate with the radio frequency intermediate frequency chip through the selection switch The at least two adjacent antenna sub-arrays are correspondingly connected. The millimeter-wave chip is connected to the antenna sub-array correspondingly to select different adjacent antenna sub-arrays to work.

In a specific implementation, the number of millimeter-wave chips is two, and the two millimeter-wave chips can select any two adjacent antenna sub-arrays to work through a selection switch.

In a specific implementation, when the antenna units in the antenna sub-array are dual-polarized antenna units; each antenna unit includes a first polarization dipole and a second polarization dipole; each millimeter wave The chip has a first radio frequency channel for transmitting signals of the first polarization direction, and a second radio frequency channel for transmitting signals of the second polarization direction; the selection switch includes a first selection switch and a second selection switch; each The first radio frequency channel is connected to the first polarization direction elements of the plurality of antenna elements in the corresponding antenna sub-array through the first selection switch; each second radio frequency channel is connected to the corresponding antenna sub-array through the second selection switch The dipoles of the second polarization direction of the plurality of antenna units in the array are connected. Communication of bipolar signals is achieved via two selector switches.

In a specific implementation, the signal processing module is also used to compare the performance of the antenna units in the multiple antenna sub-arrays, and determine the two adjacent antenna elements with the best performance among the multiple antenna sub-arrays. antenna sub-arrays; and controlling the selection switch to select the two adjacent antenna sub-arrays with the best performance. The performance of the antenna sub-arrays is compared by the signal processing module to select two antenna sub-arrays with better performance to work.

In a third aspect, a communication terminal is provided, and the communication terminal includes the antenna array described in any one of the foregoing, or the wireless communication device described in any one of the foregoing.

In a specific implementation, the communication terminal further includes a housing, the antenna array is arranged in the housing, and the antenna sub-arrays are arranged along the arc of the housing. In order to rationally utilize the space in the casing, it is convenient to arrange the antenna array.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario of a wireless communication device;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an antenna array provided by an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the antenna array provided by the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a first antenna subarray provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a structural block diagram of a wireless communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a fan diagram of the working area of the wireless communication device provided by the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of selecting an antenna sub-array of a wireless communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

8 is a gain coverage pattern of the antenna array of the present application and the antenna array of the prior art;

FIG. 9 is an EIRP coverage pattern of the antenna array of the present application and the antenna array of the prior art;

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a wireless communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

For the convenience of understanding, the application scenario of the wireless communication device provided by the embodiment of the present application is first described. The wireless communication device provided by the embodiment of the present application is applied to wireless communication, such as a terminal and a base station as shown in FIG. 1 , and the communication between the terminal and the base station can be through an antenna. The wireless communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application is applicable to terminals, such as wireless mobile communication terminal equipment including but not limited to mobile phones, tablets, CPEs, laptops, and the like.

It should be understood that the wireless communication device may comply with the wireless communication standard of the third generation partnership project (third generation partnership project, 3GPP), and may also comply with other wireless communication standards, such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, IEEE ) of the 802 series (such as 802.11, 802.15, or 802.20) for wireless communication standards. Although only one base station and one terminal are shown in FIG. 1 , the wireless communication device may also include other numbers of terminals and base stations. In addition, the wireless communication device may also include other network equipment, such as core network equipment.

The terminal and the base station should know the predefined configuration of the wireless communication device, including the radio access technology (radio access technology, RAT) supported by the system and the wireless resource configuration specified by the system, such as the basic configuration of the radio frequency band and carrier. These system predefined configurations can be part of the standard protocol of the wireless communication device, or determined through interaction between the terminal and the base station. The content of relevant standard protocols may be pre-stored in the memory of the terminal and the base station, or embodied as hardware circuits or software codes of the terminal and the base station.

Base stations are usually owned by operators or infrastructure providers and are operated or maintained by these vendors. A base station can provide communication coverage for a specific geographic area through integrated or external antennas. One or more terminals within the communication coverage of the base station can access the base station. The base station can also be called a wireless access point (access point, AP), or a transmission reception point (transmission reception point, TRP). Specifically, the base station may be a general node B (generation Node B, gNB) in a 5G new radio (new radio, NR) system, or an evolved node B (evolutional Node B, eNB) in a 4G long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) system. )Wait.

The terminal has a closer relationship with the user, and is also called user equipment (user equipment, UE), or subscriber unit (subscriber unit, SU), or customer-premise equipment (CPE). Compared with the base station usually placed in a fixed location, the terminal often moves with the user, and is sometimes called a mobile station (mobile station, MS). In addition, some network devices, such as relay nodes (relay nodes, RNs), can sometimes be regarded as terminals because they have UE identities or belong to users. Specifically, the terminal can be a mobile phone (mobile phone), tablet computer (tablet computer), laptop computer (laptop computer), wearable devices (such as watches, bracelets, helmets and glasses), and other devices with wireless access Capable devices, such as cars, mobile wireless routers, and various Internet of Things (IOT) devices, including various smart home devices (such as electricity meters and home appliances) and smart city devices (such as surveillance cameras and street lights).

According to the requirements of the 3GPP protocol, 5G NR-FR2 uses the millimeter wave frequency band, which has the advantages of large bandwidth and high transmission rate; but it also has the disadvantages of large spatial attenuation and short propagation distance. The function and efficiency of traditional antennas can no longer meet the requirements of 5G millimeter wave systems; in order to make up for the above shortcomings, the millimeter wave frequency band adopts a phased array architecture, that is, multiple antennas and radio frequency channels form an antenna array to obtain higher antenna synthesis gain; By controlling the phase of each antenna, the synthetic beam is scanned in space according to certain rules.

As shown in FIG. 2 , FIG. 2 shows the structure of the antenna array provided by the embodiment of the present application. The antenna array 100 is applied to a mobile terminal, and the antenna array 100 includes multiple antenna sub-arrays. A plurality of antenna sub-arrays are arranged in a single row, and the radiation surfaces of the antenna sub-arrays at both ends are perpendicular to each other, and along the arrangement direction of the multiple antenna sub-arrays, the angle between the radiation surfaces of two adjacent antenna sub-arrays is greater than Ninety degrees. Exemplarily, the antenna array 100 uses N antenna sub-arrays to form an antenna array 100, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 3.

In order to describe the arrangement of the antenna sub-arrays in the antenna array 100 conveniently, an XYZ coordinate system is established, wherein the X direction, the Y direction and the Z direction are perpendicular to each other. Taking four antenna sub-arrays as an example, they are respectively the first antenna sub-array 10, the second antenna sub-array 20, the third antenna sub-array 30 and the fourth antenna sub-array 40, wherein the radiation surface of the first antenna sub-array 10 (referring to the surface of the antenna element transmitting signal of the antenna sub-array) parallel to the plane where the X direction and the Z direction are located, the radiation surface of the fourth antenna sub-array 40 is parallel to the plane where the Y direction and the Z direction are located, and the second antenna sub-array 20 and the plane where the Z direction is located. The third antenna sub-array 30 is located between the first antenna sub-array 10 and the fourth antenna sub-array 40 .

During the arrangement of multiple antenna sub-arrays, the angle between the radiation surfaces of any two adjacent antenna sub-arrays is less than 180° and greater than 90°. When such an arrangement is adopted, the following cases exist.

1) The included angles between the radiation surfaces of any two adjacent antenna sub-arrays may be equal. Exemplarily, as shown in FIG. 3, the angle between the radiation surfaces of any two adjacent antenna sub-arrays is: 180°-90/(N-1)°; where N is the antenna The number of subarrays. When the number of sub-arrays in the antenna array 100 is N=4, when N=4, the angle between the radiation surfaces of adjacent antenna sub-arrays is 150°. Exemplarily, the angle between the radiation surfaces of the first antenna sub-array 10 and the second antenna sub-array 20 is 150°, the angle between the radiation surfaces of the second antenna sub-array 20 and the third antenna sub-array 30 is The angle between the radiation surfaces of the third antenna sub-array 30 and the fourth antenna sub-array 40 is 150°.

2) In the process of arranging multiple antenna sub-arrays, the included angles between the radiation surfaces of two adjacent antenna sub-arrays may also be unequal.

a) The included angles between the radiation surfaces of all adjacent antenna sub-arrays are not equal. Exemplarily, the angle between the first antenna sub-array 10 and the second antenna sub-array 20 is 130°, the angle between the second antenna sub-array 20 and the third antenna sub-array 30 is 150°, and the third antenna sub-array 20 is 150°. The angle between the antenna sub-array 30 and the fourth antenna sub-array 40 is 170°. Or, the angle between the first antenna sub-array 10 and the second antenna sub-array 20 is 140°, the angle between the second antenna sub-array 20 and the third antenna sub-array 30 is 160°, and the third antenna sub-array The angle between the array 30 and the fourth antenna sub-array 40 is 150°.

b) The included angles between the radiation surfaces of some adjacent antenna sub-arrays are equal. Exemplarily, the angle between the first antenna sub-array 10 and the second antenna sub-array 20 is 130°, the angle between the second antenna sub-array 20 and the third antenna sub-array 30 is 160°, and the third antenna sub-array 20 is 160°. The angle between the antenna sub-array 30 and the fourth antenna sub-array 40 is 160°; or, the angle between the first antenna sub-array 10 and the second antenna sub-array 20 is 165°, and the second antenna sub-array 20 The angle between the third antenna sub-array 30 and the third antenna sub-array 30 is 120°, and the angle between the third antenna sub-array 30 and the fourth antenna sub-array 40 is 165°.

When the antenna array 100 is assembled in the terminal, the antenna array 100 can be placed at the side corner of the housing of the terminal, and the antenna sub-arrays at both ends of the antenna array 100 (the first antenna sub-array 10 and the second antenna sub-array 40) The angle between the planes is 90° so that they can be parallel to two vertical surfaces inside the housing, and the second antenna sub-array 20 and the third antenna sub-array 30 can be arranged along the corner formed between the two surfaces of the housing.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the above-mentioned antenna sub-arrays each include a plurality of antenna units, wherein the plurality of antenna units in each antenna sub-array are arranged in at least one row. Taking the first antenna sub-array 10 as an example, the antenna units 11 in the first antenna sub-array 10 are arranged in rows along the Z direction. Combined with FIG. 2 , the curves when the radiation surfaces of multiple antenna sub-arrays are arranged are located in the plane where the X direction and Y direction are located, so that the arrangement direction of each row of antenna elements 11 is perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the plurality of antenna sub-arrays. It should be understood that although it is illustrated in FIG. 4 that the first antenna sub-array 10 includes a row of antenna units 11, the number of rows of the first antenna sub-array 10 is not limited in this application, and the first antenna sub-array 10 may include There are antenna units 11 with different numbers of rows, such as one row, two rows, three rows, etc. Different antenna sub-arrays may contain the same number of rows of antenna units, or different numbers of rows of antenna units.

Exemplarily, each antenna unit 11 is arranged in a straight line at equal intervals (along the Z direction), or in a manner of unequal intervals, which may be determined according to actual requirements.

As an optional solution, each antenna unit 11 is a dual-polarization antenna, that is, each antenna unit 11 supports dual polarizations V and H, wherein the V polarization and the H polarization are orthogonal to each other. The first antenna sub-array 10 also includes an H-polarized feed point A and a V-polarized feed point B corresponding to each antenna unit 11 . When working, feed the vibrator in the H polarization direction through the H polarization feed A, and feed the vibrator in the V polarization direction through the V polarization feed B to ensure that the vibrators in both polarization directions can work .

It should be understood that, in addition to being a dual-polarized antenna, the above-mentioned antenna unit 11 may also be a single-polarized antenna, and in this case, each antenna unit 11 has only one polarization direction.

Referring to FIG. 5, FIG. 5 shows a wireless communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. The wireless communication device includes a signal processing module, a selection switch, and any antenna array 100 described above; wherein, the signal processing module passes the selection switch It is connected to at least two adjacent antenna sub-arrays in the antenna array 100 . The structures shown in FIG. 5 will be described respectively below.

First, the signal processing module is described. The signal processing module includes a baseband processor 200, a radio frequency intermediate frequency chip 300, and a millimeter wave chip. The baseband processor 200 is responsible for processing digital signals and system functions such as communication and driving. In addition, the baseband processor 200 also serves as a codebook control unit, configured to control the millimeter wave chip through the codebook.

The radio frequency intermediate frequency chip 300 and the baseband processor 200 perform signal transmission, and are responsible for receiving and transmitting intermediate frequency radio frequency signals. The frequency range of the intermediate frequency radio frequency signal is generally 6G-8GHz, and the typical value is about 7GHz. The millimeter wave chip is responsible for receiving the intermediate frequency radio frequency signal, and up-converting it to the required millimeter wave signal, such as 28G or 39G signal, and sending the millimeter wave signal to the selection switch and the antenna array 100 . Or receive the millimeter wave signal from the antenna array 100 , and down-convert the signal to an intermediate frequency radio frequency signal to the radio frequency intermediate frequency chip 300 . Both the millimeter wave chip and the radio frequency intermediate frequency chip 300 support dual radio frequency channels. For example, the millimeter wave chip has a first radio frequency channel for transmitting the first polarization signal (polarization signal 1), and a second radio frequency channel for transmitting the second polarization direction signal. (Polarized signal 2) for the second RF channel. Each radio frequency channel in the millimeter-wave chip contains an independently controllable phase shifter. The required codebook is generated by the phase shifter, and the millimeter-wave phase of each antenna unit is adjusted to realize the Beam beam of the antenna array 100. control.

In FIG. 5 , two millimeter wave chips connected to the radio frequency intermediate frequency chip 300 are illustrated, and the two millimeter wave chips are a first millimeter wave chip 401 and a second millimeter wave chip 402 respectively. Correspondingly, there are also two selection switches, which are respectively a first selection switch and a second selection switch. The two millimeter-wave chips are connected to two adjacent antenna sub-arrays in the antenna sub-arrays in a one-to-one correspondence through a selection switch. When the antenna units in the antenna sub-array are dual-polarized antenna units, each antenna unit includes a first polarization dipole and a second polarization dipole. The first radio frequency channel of the first millimeter-wave chip 401 and the second millimeter-wave chip 402 is connected to the first polarization direction oscillator in each antenna unit of each antenna sub-array through the first selection switch, so that the polarization signal 1 Different antenna sub-arrays can be selected for connection through the first selection switch; the second radio frequency channel of the first millimeter wave chip 401 and the second millimeter wave chip 402 is connected with each antenna unit of each antenna sub-array through the second selection switch The dipoles in the second polarization direction are connected, so that the polarization signal 2 can be connected to different antenna sub-arrays through the second selection switch.

The selection switches (the first selection switch and the second selection switch) are used to transfer the millimeter wave radio frequency signals (polarization signal 1 and polarization signal 2) from the millimeter wave chip (the first millimeter wave chip 401 and the second millimeter wave chip 402) ) is connected to each antenna sub-array of the antenna array 100. When there are two millimeter wave chips, there are also two corresponding selection switches. The first radio frequency channel of each millimeter wave chip is connected to the first polarization direction oscillators of the plurality of antenna elements in the corresponding antenna sub-array through the first selection switch 501; the second radio frequency channel of each millimeter wave chip is connected through the second The selection switch 502 is connected to the second polarization dipoles of the plurality of antenna elements of the corresponding antenna sub-array. At the same moment, the first selection switch and the second selection switch can connect the polarization signal 1 and the polarization signal 2 to two adjacent antenna sub-arrays.

The antenna array 100 uses N antenna sub-arrays to form an array, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 3. Referring to the schematic diagram of the antenna array 100 in FIG. 1, the angle between the planes of the antenna subarrays at both ends of the antenna array 100 is 90°, and the angle between adjacent radiation surfaces is 180°-90/(N-1)° , the beam steering codebook of each antenna subarray can be independently controllable, and supports two mutually orthogonal polarization signals V and polarization signals H at the same time, and also supports a single polarization signal V or polarization signal H. Or the antenna array 100 also supports the transmission and reception of signals of a single polarization, and the other polarization does not work. One polarization signal V of each antenna sub-array is connected to the millimeter wave radio frequency signal (polarization signal 1), and the polarization signal H is connected to the millimeter wave radio frequency signal (polarization signal 2).

When in use, both the first millimeter-wave chip 401 and the second millimeter-wave chip 402 can transmit or receive polarization signal 1 and polarization signal 2, and both polarization signal 1 and polarization signal 2 include two independent physical channels (p. The first radio frequency channel and the second radio frequency channel in the millimeter wave chip 401 and the first radio frequency channel and the second radio frequency channel in the second millimeter wave chip 402), each physical channel can be independently controllable, and each physical Each channel contains a phase shifter circuit, which can perform phase modulation control on the phase of the microwave polarization signal of each physical channel. The first selection switch 501 and the second selection switch 502 are respectively 4P2NT switches, and the first selection switch 501 and the second selection switch 502 can respectively connect the polarization signal 1 and the polarization signal 2 to the adjacent antenna sub-array M and Antenna sub-array M+1, wherein M is a positive integer, the range of which can be selected is 1 to N. Each of the two polarization feed points A of the adjacent antenna sub-arrays M and M+1 are respectively connected to the two polarization signal 1 channels of the first millimeter wave chip 401 and the second millimeter wave chip 402 through the first selection switch 501 Each of the two polarization feed points B of the antenna sub-arrays M and M+1 are respectively connected to the two polarization signal 2 channels of the first millimeter wave chip 401 and the second millimeter wave chip 402 through the second selection switch 502 in sequence. When only one antenna sub-array is required to work, the polarization feed point A and the polarization feed point B of the antenna sub-array can be connected to the first millimeter wave chip 401 through the first selection switch 501 and the second selection switch 502 respectively, Or connect to the second millimeter wave chip 402 .

When only one polarization direction is required to work, it can only work through one selection switch. For example, the polarization signal 1 of the first millimeter wave chip 401 and the second millimeter wave chip 402 passes through the first selection switch 501 and the antenna sub-array Or, the polarization signal 2 of the first millimeter wave chip 401 and the second millimeter wave chip 402 is connected to the second polarization direction oscillator of the antenna sub-array through the second selection switch 502 .

It can be seen from the above description that when the first antenna sub-array and the fourth antenna sub-array are arranged at 90°, the second antenna sub-array and the third antenna sub-array are located between the first antenna sub-array and the fourth antenna sub-array. When arraying, the antenna array 100 not only supports each antenna sub-array to work independently, but also supports beamforming of any two adjacent antenna sub-arrays, which is flexible in engineering use.

It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the number of antenna sub-arrays working at the same time is not specifically limited, and the situation where two antenna sub-arrays work at the same time as shown in Figure 5 can be selected, or three adjacent antenna sub-arrays can be selected. The antenna sub-arrays work simultaneously. Exemplarily, when three antenna sub-arrays work simultaneously, the number of corresponding millimeter wave chips is three, and the number of selection switches is two. The polarization signals 1 of the three millimeter wave chips are connected to the first selection switch 501 , and the polarization signals 2 of the three millimeter wave chips are connected to the second selection switch 502 . During operation, the first selection switch 501 connects the three polarization signals 1 of the three millimeter-wave chips to the polarization feed points A of the three adjacent antenna subarrays; the second selection switch 502 is selected to connect the three polarization signals 1 of the three millimeter-wave chips The three polarization signals 02 of the chip are connected to the polarization feeding points B of the three adjacent antenna sub-arrays.

To sum up, the RF intermediate frequency chip provided by the embodiment of the present application can be connected to at least two millimeter-wave chips, and at least two millimeter-wave chips are connected to at least two adjacent antenna sub-arrays in the antenna array 100 through a selection switch, so that the Different numbers of adjacent antenna sub-arrays work simultaneously.

When the above wireless communication device is used, in order to achieve the function of gain enhancement within the range of 180 degrees, it is also necessary to improve the control codebook of the antenna Beam beamforming in the software process.

Referring to Figure 6, the codebook of the Beam beam first divides the scanning angle of 180° into N sectors at most, such as sector 1, sector 2, sector 3...sector N in the example shown in Figure 6, where N is positive integer. Wherein, the angle of each sector may not be required to be equal, and each adjacent sector is also allowed to have partial angle overlap, so as to avoid the ping-pong effect. When working in the required sector, the wireless communication device supports two adjacent antenna sub-arrays to form a gain-enhanced Beam beam, transmit millimeter wave signals in the required sector, and use the best Beam beam codebook to achieve Optimal Communication Purposes.

Each sector can have several beams, and each beam is responsible for a certain range of communication angles, and the combination of these several beams is responsible for communication within a complete sector. Each Beam beam corresponds to an index of a codebook control unit. Gain-enhanced Beam beams emitted by two adjacent antenna sub-arrays are responsible for communication within a sector. For example, when the relative angle between the terminal and the base station changes, the working sector needs to be switched, and the wireless communication device needs to switch the corresponding codebook control unit index, and use the corresponding two adjacent antenna subarrays to transmit the optimal beam.

Exemplarily, when selecting the antenna sub-array, the signal processing module is also used to compare the performance of the antenna elements in the multiple antenna sub-arrays, and determine two adjacent antenna sub-arrays with the best performance among the multiple antenna sub-arrays ; and control the selection switch to select two adjacent antenna sub-arrays with the best performance. Exemplarily, if in sector 1, the signal strength of the first antenna sub-array and the second antenna sub-array is the strongest, then the selection switch selects the first antenna sub-array and the second antenna sub-array to work; if in sector 1 Among them, the signal strength of the second antenna sub-array and the third antenna sub-array is the strongest, and the selection switch selects the second antenna sub-array and the third antenna sub-array to work simultaneously. When the relative angle between the terminal and the base station changes, resulting in sector switching, such as switching from sector 1 to sector 2, the selection switch corresponds to switching to the two antenna subarrays with signal strength in sector 2.

With reference to Fig. 7, Fig. 7 has shown the selection method of antenna subarray, and this method comprises the following steps:

Step 001: Periodically measure the optimal beam of the beam.

Specifically, the strength of the signal received by the antenna unit is continuously measured to determine the two adjacent antenna sub-arrays with the strongest beam, and the determined two adjacent antenna sub-arrays are selected by the first selection switch and the second selection switch Works as a transmitting antenna. Exemplarily, taking the first antenna sub-array and the second antenna sub-array as an example, when the baseband processor judges the performance of the first antenna sub-array and the second antenna sub-array, it uses the first antenna sub-array and the second antenna sub-array When used as receiving antennas, the received signal strengths of the first antenna sub-array and the second antenna sub-array determine the best antenna sub-array. Specifically, by comparing the received signal strength between the first antenna sub-array and the second antenna sub-array, the greater the received signal strength, the better the performance of the antenna. The radio frequency transceiver chip judges the antenna sub-array with the best performance by judging the received signal strength of the first antenna sub-array and the second antenna sub-array. The received signal strength can be characterized by different parameters, and the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) will be taken as an example to illustrate in the following.

Step 002: Use the optimal beam of the current optimal sector.

Specifically, the determined two adjacent antenna subarrays work as transmitting antennas, and record the current optimal beam as RSSI1.

Step 003: Periodically measure the optimal beam of the beam.

Specifically, continue to periodically measure the optimal beam of the beam of each antenna sub-array, and obtain the maximum measured RSSI, compare RSSI and RSSI1, when RSSI>RSSI1, switch to the two antenna sub-arrays corresponding to the RSSI as the transmitting antenna; when When RSSI≤RSSI1, keep the current two adjacent antenna sub-arrays as transmitting antennas.

It can be seen from the above description that the wireless communication device applied in the present invention can achieve wide coverage and gain enhancement of 180° at the same time through the specific arrangement of antenna array sub-arrays and beam control, and solve the problem of millimeter wave wide coverage and gain enhancement. core needs. In addition, when the wireless communication device is arranged in the terminal, the natural edge right-angle space of the terminal equipment can be utilized, which has the feature of saving PCB area.

In addition, the above wireless communication device supports the formation of any two adjacent antenna sub-arrays, realizing the beamforming capability of two adjacent sub-arrays. The beam control is increased from one-dimensional scanning to two-dimensional scanning (dual-polarized antennas), increasing The coverage of the beam is improved to achieve 180° coverage; at the same time, the gain enhancement is realized. In the range of 180°, the antenna gain increases by more than 2.5dB, and the equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) increases by more than 5dB . At the same time, in the whole scanning range, the antenna gain curve is smoother, which avoids the deterioration phenomenon of 1.7dB magnitude in the existing antenna gain curve. In order to facilitate the understanding of the effect of the wireless communication device provided by the embodiment of the present application, the communication effect of the antenna array of the present application and the communication effect of the antenna array in the prior art are simulated.

Referring first to FIG. 8 , FIG. 8 is a gain coverage pattern diagram of the antenna array of the present application and the antenna array of the prior art. The antenna array of the present application uses two adjacent antenna sub-arrays to work simultaneously, while the antenna array in the prior art uses a single antenna sub-array to work. From Figure 8, it can be seen that m1 is the maximum point of scanning after array formation, m5 is the maximum gain point of a single sub-array, and the maximum gain difference between the two curves is 2.2dB.

Referring to FIG. 9, FIG. 9 is an EIRP coverage pattern of the antenna array of the present application and the antenna array of the prior art. It can be seen from FIG. 9 that in the entire coverage area, the coverage curve after the formation of the array is higher than the curve of a single sub-array , the maximum gain difference is 10dB.

It can be seen from FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 above that the antenna array provided by the embodiment of the present application is improved in terms of gain and angular coverage after passing through two groups of arrays.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a communication terminal, and the communication terminal includes the antenna array described in any one of the foregoing, or the wireless communication device described in any one of the foregoing. Wherein, the communication terminal further includes a casing, the antenna array is arranged in the casing, and the antenna sub-arrays are arranged along the arc of the casing. In order to rationally utilize the space in the casing, it is convenient to arrange the antenna array.

Referring to FIG. 10 , in an example, the signal processing module 1000 is used to implement the functions of the modules in the above method, and the signal processing module 1000 may be a network device or a device in the network device. The signal processing module 1000 includes at least one processor 1001, configured to implement the functions of the modules in the above methods. For example, the processor 1001 may be used to judge the performance of the first antenna and the second antenna. For details, refer to the detailed description in the method, which will not be described here again.

In some embodiments, the signal processing module 1000 may also include at least one memory 1002 for storing program instructions and/or data. The memory 1002 is coupled to the processor 1001. The coupling in the embodiments of the present application is an interval coupling or a communication connection between devices, units or modules, which may be in electrical, mechanical or other forms, and is used for information exchange between devices, units or modules. As another implementation, the memory 1002 may also be located outside the signal processing module 1000 . The processor 1001 can cooperate with the memory 1002 . Processor 1001 may execute program instructions stored in memory 1002 . At least one of the at least one memory may be included in the processor.

In some embodiments, the signal processing module 1000 may further include a communication interface 1003 for communicating with other devices through a transmission medium, so that the devices used in the signal processing module 1000 can communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface 1003 may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module or other type of communication interface, and the other device may be a network device or other terminal device. The processor 1001 uses the communication interface 1003 to send and receive data, and is used to implement the methods in the foregoing embodiments. Exemplarily, the communication interface 1003 may send a subchannel indication, a resource pool indication, and the like.

In this embodiment of the present application, the connection medium among the communication interface 1003, the processor 1001, and the memory 1002 is not limited. For example, in the embodiment of the present application, the memory 1002, the processor 1001, and the communication interface 1003 in FIG.

In this embodiment of the application, the processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, and may implement or Execute the methods, steps and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor or the like. The steps of the methods disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented by a hardware processor, or implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.

In the embodiment of the present application, the memory may be a non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk (hard disk drive, HDD) or a solid-state drive (solid-state drive, SSD), etc., and may also be a volatile memory (volatile memory), such as Random-access memory (RAM). A memory is, but is not limited to, any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. The memory in the embodiment of the present application may also be a circuit or any other device capable of implementing a storage function, and is used for storing program instructions and/or data.

The methods provided in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on the computer, all or part of the processes or functions according to the embodiments of the present invention will be generated. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, network equipment, user equipment or other programmable devices. The computer instructions may be stored in or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a website, computer, server or data center Transmission to another website site, computer, server or data center by wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer, or a data storage device such as a server or a data center integrated with one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape), an optical medium (for example, a digital video disc (digital video disc, DVD for short)), or a semiconductor medium (for example, SSD).

Apparently, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to this application without departing from the protection scope of this application. In this way, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalent technologies, the present application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

An antenna array, characterized in that it includes a plurality of antenna sub-arrays; the plurality of antenna sub-arrays are arranged in a single row, wherein the radiation surfaces of the antenna sub-arrays located at both ends of the plurality of antenna sub-arrays are perpendicular to each other, so The included angle between the radiation surfaces of any two adjacent antenna sub-arrays in the plurality of antenna sub-arrays is greater than 90 degrees.
The antenna array according to claim 1, wherein, among the plurality of antenna sub-arrays, angles between radiation surfaces of any two adjacent antenna sub-arrays are equal.
The antenna array according to claim 2, wherein the angle between the radiation surfaces of any adjacent two antenna sub-arrays is: 180°-90/(N-1)°; where N is The number of antenna subarrays.
The antenna array according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that,

Each antenna sub-array in the plurality of antenna sub-arrays includes a plurality of antenna units, and the plurality of antenna units are arranged in at least one row; the arrangement direction of each row of antenna units is perpendicular to the arrangement of the plurality of antenna sub-arrays direction.
The antenna array according to claim 2, wherein each antenna unit in the plurality of antenna sub-arrays is a dual-polarization antenna or a single-polarization antenna.
A wireless communication device, characterized by comprising a signal processing module, a selection switch, and the antenna array according to any one of claims 1-5; wherein,

The signal processing module is connected to an antenna sub-array in the antenna array through the selection switch; or,

The signal processing module is connected to at least two adjacent antenna sub-arrays in the antenna array through the selection switch.
The wireless communication device according to claim 6, wherein the signal processing module includes a radio frequency intermediate frequency chip, and at least two millimeter wave chips connected to the radio frequency intermediate frequency chip;

The at least two millimeter wave chips are correspondingly connected to the at least two adjacent antenna sub-arrays through the selection switch.
The wireless communication device according to claim 7, wherein when the antenna units in the antenna sub-array are dual-polarized antenna units; each antenna unit includes a first polarization direction vibrator and a second polarization direction Vibrator;

Each millimeter wave chip has a first radio frequency channel for transmitting signals in a first polarization direction, and a second radio frequency channel for transmitting signals in a second polarization direction;

The selection switch includes a first selection switch and a second selection switch;

Each first radio frequency channel is connected to the first polarization direction elements of the plurality of antenna elements in the corresponding antenna sub-array through the first selection switch;

Each second radio frequency channel is connected to the second polarization direction elements of the plurality of antenna elements of the corresponding antenna sub-array through the second selection switch.
The wireless communication device according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the signal processing module is further configured to compare the performance of the antenna units in the multiple antenna sub-arrays, and determine the performance of the multiple antenna sub-arrays Two adjacent antenna subarrays with the best performance in the subarrays; and controlling the selection switch to select the two adjacent antenna subarrays with the best performance.
A communication terminal, characterized by comprising the antenna array according to any one of claims 1-5, or comprising the wireless communication device according to any one of claims 6-9.