A compact dual-polarized solar antenna unit and array

Abstract

The present invention discloses a compact dual-polarization solar antenna unit and array in the field of antenna technology and solar cell application. The antenna unit includes a solar antenna layer, a supporting medium, an antenna base and a coaxial radio frequency connector arranged in sequence. The solar antenna layer includes a dielectric substrate, a dual-polarization antenna vibrator printed on the upper surface of the dielectric substrate, a solar cell arranged on the upper surface of the dual-polarization antenna vibrator through an insulating isolation layer, and the dual-polarization antenna vibrator is connected to the antenna base and the coaxial radio frequency connector through a metal column feeding structure; the dual-polarization antenna vibrator is composed of a first polarization vibrator and a second polarization vibrator, and the first polarization vibrator and the second polarization vibrator are arranged orthogonally in a "T" shape. The antenna structure of the present invention is compact, the working frequency band is wide, the profile height is low, the production is convenient, and it has a dual-polarization two-dimensional large-angle scanning capability; at the same time, the solar cell is 100% exposed; it not only ensures the electromagnetic performance of the antenna, but also ensures the power generation efficiency of the solar cell.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to antenna technology and solar cell application fields, and in particular to a compact dual-polarization solar antenna unit and array. Background Art

[0002] With the development of wireless technology in personal communication and military applications, the design requirements for antennas in communication systems with limited spectrum resources are becoming increasingly higher. Dual-polarized antennas are widely used in wireless communication systems due to their advantages such as enhancing channel capacity, improving spectrum utilization, and combating multipath fading. The design of dual-polarized antennas mainly focuses on two aspects: 1) broadband capability: reducing the number of antennas in a specific working frequency band; 2) miniaturization: reducing the space occupied by the antenna, making it easier to integrate with the carrier. In addition to the compact design of the antenna, the integrated design of solar cells and antennas can also effectively improve the space utilization of the communication system.

[0003] However, in the reports of dual-polarized antennas of the prior art, it is difficult to take into account the impedance bandwidth, the complexity of the feeding structure, the profile height and the compactness of the structure at the same time, and the integration with the solar cell is rarely considered. In view of the above defects, the inventors of the present invention finally obtained the present invention after a long period of research and practice. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a compact dual-polarization solar antenna unit and array to solve the problems existing in the background technology.

[0005] The present invention achieves the above-mentioned purpose through the following technical solutions:

[0006] A compact dual-polarization solar antenna unit, the antenna unit comprising a solar antenna layer, a supporting medium, an antenna base and a coaxial radio frequency connector arranged in sequence from top to bottom, the solar antenna layer comprising a dielectric substrate, and a dual-polarization antenna element printed on the upper surface of the dielectric substrate, and a solar cell arranged on the upper surface of the dual-polarization antenna element through an insulating isolation layer, the dual-polarization antenna element being connected to the antenna base and the coaxial radio frequency connector through a metal column feeding structure;

[0007] The dual-polarized antenna element is composed of a first polarized element and a second polarized element, and the first polarized element and the second polarized element are orthogonally arranged in a "T" shape.

[0008] A further improvement is that the first polarizer and the second polarizer are arranged orthogonally in a "T" shape at ±45°.

[0009] A further improvement is that the first polarization dipole and the second polarization dipole are both in a "bow tie" shape, and are both composed of two dipole parts that are not connected to each other, and the two dipole parts are symmetrically arranged about the center of the metal column feeding structure.

[0010] A further improvement is that the size of the solar cell does not exceed the size of the dual-polarization antenna element.

[0011] A further improvement is that the solar antenna layer further includes a parasitic metal open ring printed on the lower surface of the dielectric substrate, and the parasitic metal open ring is located at a peripheral position of the metal column feeding structure.

[0012] A further improvement is that the parasitic metal open ring is composed of two metal half rings, and the two metal half rings are symmetrically arranged about the center of the metal column feeding structure.

[0013] A further improvement is that the metal column feeding structure includes a grounding metal column and a feeding metal column perpendicular to the dielectric substrate, one end of the grounding metal column passes through the dielectric substrate to be connected to the dual-polarized antenna element, and the other end passes through the supporting medium to be connected to the antenna base, one end of the feeding metal column passes through the dielectric substrate to be connected to the dual-polarized antenna element, and the other end passes through the supporting medium and the air feeding hole on the antenna base to be connected to the positive pole of the coaxial RF connector.

[0014] A further improvement is that one end of the grounding metal column and the feeding metal column passing through the dielectric substrate both extends to form a welding pin portion for welding.

[0015] The present invention also provides a compact dual-polarization solar antenna array, which includes a plurality of antenna units located on the same plane coordinate system and distributed along a first direction and a second direction, respectively, wherein the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other, and the solar cells in each antenna unit are connected in series or in parallel.

[0016] A further improvement is that the solar cells in each antenna unit are connected in series or in parallel via an inductor element and a metal strip.

[0017] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0018] (1) The present invention adopts the first polarization oscillator and the first polarization oscillator "T"-shaped ±45° orthogonal setting, which not only makes the antenna structure more compact, but also allows one polarized dipole to work with the other dipole perpendicular to it as its parasitic unit when one polarization dipole is working, thereby introducing additional resonant frequencies and expanding the bandwidth.

[0019] (2) The antenna of the invention has a compact structure, a wide operating frequency band, and a low profile height. The antenna array composed of antenna units has a wide-band dual-polarization large-angle phased scanning capability under a suitable unit spacing arrangement. In addition, a solar cell is placed on the dipole of each unit in the array through an isolation layer to achieve 100% illumination. Each solar cell can be arbitrarily connected in series or in parallel, which expands the operating voltage range of the solar cell. This not only ensures the performance of the antenna, but also ensures the power generation efficiency of the solar cell, and has a high engineering application value.

[0020] (3) The parasitic metal open ring used effectively improves the scanning standing wave of the antenna array and the port isolation between dipoles of different polarizations.

[0021] (4) The dual-polarized solar cell antenna used can generate electricity from solar cells for use by the antenna. This compact, wide-band dual-polarized solar cell phased array antenna is scalable and has good application prospects in green wireless communication systems. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 It is a structural stereogram of a compact dual-polarized solar antenna unit;

[0023] Figure 2 An exploded view of the solar antenna layer of a compact dual-polarized solar antenna unit;

[0024] Figure 3 A top view of the solar antenna layer of the compact dual-polarized solar antenna unit without solar cells and an isolation layer;

[0025] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the oscillator part of the compact dual-polarization solar antenna unit;

[0026] Figure 5 A bottom view of a solar antenna layer of a compact dual-polarized solar antenna unit;

[0027] Figure 6 is a side view of a compact dual-polarized solar antenna unit;

[0028] Figure 7 The standing wave ratio diagram of the vertically polarized oscillator and the horizontally polarized oscillator of the compact dual-polarized solar antenna unit;

[0029] Figure 8 This is the isolation diagram of the vertically polarized oscillator and the horizontally polarized oscillator of the compact dual-polarized solar antenna unit;

[0030] Fig. 9 It is a structural stereogram of a compact dual-polarized solar antenna array;

[0031] Fig.10A top view of the structure of a compact dual-polarized solar antenna array;

[0032] Fig.11 This is the E-plane radiation pattern of the horizontally polarized oscillator of the compact dual-polarized solar antenna array at 1.8GHz;

[0033] Fig.12 This is the H-plane radiation pattern of the horizontally polarized oscillator of the compact dual-polarized solar antenna array at 1.8GHz;

[0034] Fig.13 This is the E-plane radiation pattern of the vertically polarized oscillator of the compact dual-polarized solar antenna array at 1.8GHz;

[0035] Fig.14 This is the H-plane radiation pattern of the vertically polarized oscillator of the compact dual-polarized solar antenna array at 1.8GHz;

[0036] In the figure: 1. Solar antenna layer; 11. Solar cell; 12. Insulation isolation layer; 13. Dual-polarization antenna element; 131. Horizontal polarization element; 132. Vertical polarization element; 14. Dielectric substrate; 15. Metal open ring; 2. Support medium; 3. Grounding metal column; 4. Feeding metal column; 5. Antenna base; 6. Air feeding hole; 7. Inductor element; 8. Metal strip. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The present application is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is necessary to point out here that the following specific implementation methods are only used to further illustrate the present application and cannot be understood as limiting the scope of protection of the present application. Technical personnel in this field can make some non-essential improvements and adjustments to the present application based on the above application content.

[0038] like Figure 1 As shown, a compact dual-polarization solar antenna unit has a side length of 34.71 mm and includes a solar antenna layer 1, a supporting medium 2, an antenna base 5 and a coaxial RF connector arranged in sequence from top to bottom (the specific structure is the prior art, which is not shown in the figure).

[0039] like Figure 2 As shown, the solar antenna layer 1 includes a dielectric substrate 14, a dual-polarized antenna vibrator 13 printed on the upper surface of the dielectric substrate 14, and a solar cell 11 arranged on the upper surface of the dual-polarized antenna vibrator 13 through an insulating isolation layer 12. The solar cell 11 has a side length of 12 mm. The insulating isolation layer 12 is made of insulating material and can be directly covered with green oil on a printed circuit board, which is convenient for processing and installation. The dual-polarized antenna vibrator 13 is connected to the antenna base 5 and the coaxial RF connector through a metal column feeding structure.

[0040] Among them, Figure 3 As shown, the dual-polarized antenna element 13 is composed of a first polarized element and a second polarized element, namely a horizontal polarized element 131 and a vertical polarized element 132 in the figure, and the horizontal polarized element 131 and the vertical polarized element 132 are orthogonally arranged in a "T" shape, preferably at ±45° orthogonally arranged.

[0041] Specifically, the horizontal polarization vibrator 131 and the vertical polarization vibrator 132 are both in a "bow tie" shape, and are both composed of two non-interconnected vibrator parts, and the two vibrator parts are symmetrically arranged about the center of the metal column feeding structure. Figure 4 As shown, each oscillator part is cut from a square with a side length of 16.175 mm and a circle with a radius of 6.86 mm and a radius of 6.5 mm, and a small metal pattern is set at the position close to the two oscillator parts for connecting the metal column feeding structure. In addition, the size of the solar cell 11 does not exceed the size of the dual-polarized antenna oscillator 13.

[0042] like Figure 5 As shown, the solar antenna layer 1 also includes a parasitic metal open ring 15 printed on the lower surface of the dielectric substrate 14, and the parasitic metal open ring 15 is located at the periphery of the metal column feeding structure. The parasitic metal open ring 15 is composed of two metal half rings, and the two metal half rings are symmetrically arranged about the center of the metal column feeding structure, or in other words, the parasitic metal open ring 15 is composed of a metal ring minus a rectangle along the E-plane direction of the oscillator part, and the inner radius of the metal ring is 1.79mm, the outer radius is 2.5mm, and the rectangle is 1.59mm wide. The setting of the parasitic metal open ring 15 improves the scanning standing wave of the antenna and the isolation between dipoles of different polarizations.

[0043] like Figure 6 As shown, the metal column feeding structure includes a grounding metal column 3 and a feeding metal column 4 perpendicular to the dielectric substrate 14. The grounding metal column 3 is composed of a metal column with a radius of 1.1mm and a height of 11.47mm and a metal column with a radius of 0.3mm and a height of 2.81mm. The metal column with a radius of 0.3mm passes through the dielectric substrate 14 and is connected to the dual-polarized antenna vibrator 13, and the metal column with a radius of 1.1mm passes through the supporting medium 2 with a radius of 3mm and a height of 12.98mm and is connected to the antenna base 5 with a height of 6mm; the feeding metal column 4 has a radius of 0.435mm and a height of 20.28mm. One end of the feeding metal column 4 passes through the dielectric substrate 14 and is connected to the dual-polarized antenna vibrator 13, and the other end passes through the supporting medium 2 and the air feeding hole 6 with a radius of 1mm on the antenna base 5 and is connected to the positive pole of the coaxial RF connector. Preferably, the grounding metal column 3 can be set as a cylinder or a cuboid, and the feeding metal column 4 can be a cylinder.

[0044] In addition, the ends of the grounding metal column 3 and the feeding metal column 4 passing through the dielectric substrate 14 are extended to form welding needles for welding. The diameter of the welding needle of the feeding metal column 4 is not greater than the diameter of the feeding metal column 4, the diameter of the welding needle of the grounding metal column 3 is less than the side length or diameter of the grounding metal column 3, and the height of the welding needle is greater than the thickness of the dielectric substrate 14.

[0045] like Figure 7 and Figure 8 As shown, Figure 7 The standing wave ratio diagram of the vertically polarized oscillator and the horizontally polarized oscillator of the compact dual-polarized solar antenna shows that the standing wave ratios of the two pairs of oscillators are basically the same, and are both less than 3 within the range of 1.1-2.5; Figure 8 This is a diagram of the isolation between the vertically polarized oscillator and the horizontally polarized oscillator of the compact dual-polarized solar antenna. It can be seen that within the working frequency band, the isolation between the vertically polarized oscillator and the horizontally polarized oscillator is less than -15db.

[0046] Example 2

[0047] like Fig. 9 and Fig.10 As shown, the present invention also provides a compact dual-polarization solar antenna array, the antenna array includes a plurality of antenna units located on the same plane coordinate system and distributed along a first direction and a second direction, respectively, the first direction and the second direction being perpendicular to each other. Specifically, the antenna array is formed by vertically arranging a plurality of antenna units in a square grid, and then cutting off the four corners to reform a square array, forming an array containing 18 horizontally polarized vibrators and 17 vertically polarized vibrators, which can achieve two-dimensional ±45° phase scanning in the 1.1-2.5GHz frequency band. In order to reduce the influence of the connection on the radiation performance of the antenna, the solar cells 11 in each antenna unit are connected in series or in parallel with each other through an inductor element 7 and a metal strip 8, and the metal strip 8 does not exceed the edge of the vibrator. Fig.10 A connection method is given.

[0048] like Figure 11-14 As shown, Fig.11 and Fig.12 It is divided into E-plane and H-plane radiation patterns of the horizontally polarized oscillator of the compact dual-polarized solar antenna array at 1.8 GHz; Fig.13 and Fig.14 The E-plane and H-plane radiation patterns of the vertically polarized oscillator of the compact dual-polarized solar antenna array at 1.8 GHz. From the figure, it can be seen that the dual-polarized antenna array has good radiation performance, and the beam scanning angle can cover ±45°.

[0049] The above-mentioned embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present invention, and the description thereof is relatively specific and detailed, but it cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the present invention. It should be pointed out that, for ordinary technicians in this field, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present invention, which all belong to the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A compact dual-polarized solar antenna unit, characterized in that: The antenna unit comprises a solar antenna layer, a supporting medium, an antenna base and a coaxial RF connector which are arranged in sequence from top to bottom, the solar antenna layer comprises a dielectric substrate, and a dual-polarized antenna element printed on the upper surface of the dielectric substrate, and a solar cell arranged on the upper surface of the dual-polarized antenna element through an insulating isolation layer, and the dual-polarized antenna element is connected to the antenna base and the coaxial RF connector through a metal column feeding structure; The dual-polarized antenna element is composed of a first polarized element and a second polarized element, and the first polarized element and the second polarized element are arranged orthogonally in a "T" shape, so that when one of the polarized elements works, the other polarized element works together as its parasitic unit, thereby introducing an additional resonant frequency and expanding the bandwidth; The solar antenna layer also includes a parasitic metal open ring printed on the lower surface of the dielectric substrate, and the parasitic metal open ring is located at the periphery of the metal column feeding structure.

2. A compact dual-polarization solar antenna unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first polarization vibrator and the second polarization vibrator are arranged orthogonally in a "T" shape at ±45°.

3. A compact dual-polarization solar antenna unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first polarization dipole and the second polarization dipole are both in a "bow-tie" shape, and are both composed of two dipole parts that are not connected to each other, and the two dipole parts are symmetrically arranged about the center of the metal column feeding structure.

4. A compact dual-polarization solar antenna unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The size of the solar cell does not exceed the size of the dual-polarization antenna element.

5. A compact dual-polarization solar antenna unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The parasitic metal open ring is composed of two metal half rings, and the two metal half rings are symmetrically arranged about the center of the metal column feeding structure.

6. A compact dual-polarization solar antenna unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The metal column feeding structure includes a grounding metal column and a feeding metal column perpendicular to the dielectric substrate, one end of the grounding metal column passes through the dielectric substrate to be connected to the dual-polarized antenna element, and the other end passes through the supporting medium to be connected to the antenna base, one end of the feeding metal column passes through the dielectric substrate to be connected to the dual-polarized antenna element, and the other end passes through the supporting medium and the air feeding hole on the antenna base to be connected to the positive pole of the coaxial RF connector.

7. A compact dual-polarization solar antenna unit according to claim 6, characterized in that: The grounding metal column and the feeding metal column both extend through one end of the dielectric substrate to form a welding pin portion for welding.

8. A compact dual-polarized solar antenna array, characterized in that: The antenna array comprises a plurality of antenna units as described in any one of claims 1 to 7, which are located on the same plane coordinate system and distributed along a first direction and a second direction, respectively. The first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other, and the solar cells in each antenna unit are connected in series or in parallel.

9. A compact dual-polarization solar antenna array according to claim 8, characterized in that: The solar cells in each antenna unit are connected in series or in parallel via an inductor element and a metal strip.

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