Antenna housing for base station antenna and base station antenna

Abstract

The invention provides a radome for a base station antenna and the base station antenna. The radome comprises a radome body and a back cover, the antenna housing body forms a first accommodating space with an opening and is used for accommodating a passive antenna unit of a base station antenna; the back cover seals the opening and forms a second accommodating space for accommodating at least part of active antenna units of the base station antenna; at least one of the antenna housing body and the back housing is provided with at least one first periodic pattern conductive layer with electromagnetic wave reflection performance at the parts corresponding to the two sides of the active antenna unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of antenna technology, and in particular to a back cover and antenna cover for a base station antenna, and a base station antenna. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, as people's demand for wireless communication services continues to grow, operators need to deploy more 5G base stations that support larger data services. As the number of base station deployments increases, site resources become increasingly scarce. Therefore, low-cost solutions that support the expansion of existing sites have become the mainstream development direction.

[0003] Among them, 4G and 5G converged base stations support multi-band integration and active and passive integration, are small in size, and have low wind resistance, which is an important evolution direction for base station antennas. This type of active and passive integrated (A+P) antenna usually adopts an up-and-down stacking integration solution, with the passive (Passive, P) antenna on the top and the active (Active, A) antenna on the bottom. A frequency selective surface structure is added inside the P antenna to reduce interference between active and passive antennas with its frequency selective characteristics.

[0004] The stacking scheme of A+P antennas means that the electromagnetic waves received and transmitted by the A antenna below need to pass through the P antenna above. The antenna cover, back cover, feeding network, structural parts, and frequency selective surface of the P antenna will affect the amplitude and phase consistency of the A antenna, resulting in reduced shaping accuracy of the A antenna. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present application aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art, and proposes a radome for a base station antenna and a base station antenna, which can improve the antenna amplitude and phase consistency.

[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, an embodiment of the present application provides an antenna cover for a base station antenna, wherein the antenna cover includes a antenna cover body and a back cover; the antenna cover body is configured with a first accommodating space having an opening, for accommodating the passive antenna unit of the base station antenna; the back cover closes the opening and is configured with a second accommodating space, for accommodating at least part of the active antenna unit of the base station antenna; at least one of the antenna cover body and the back cover is provided with at least one layer of a first periodic pattern conductive layer having electromagnetic wave reflection performance in the portion corresponding to both sides of the active antenna unit.

[0007] As another technical solution, the base station antenna provided in the embodiment of the present application includes an active antenna unit and a passive antenna unit, and also includes: the above-mentioned antenna cover provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0008] Other objects and features of the present application will become clear by reading the specification, claims and drawings of the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present application will become apparent and easily understood from the description of the embodiments in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

[0010] Figure 1 It is a structural exploded diagram of the base station antenna provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0011] Figure 2 It is the directional diagram of an existing single-column active antenna.

[0012] Figure 3 It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a base station antenna provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0013] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of gain distribution at the edge position of a single-row active antenna when the first periodic pattern conductive layer is not provided on the outer side of the shell.

[0014] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of gain distribution at the edge of a single-row active antenna when a first periodic pattern conductive layer is provided on the outer side of the shell.

[0015] Figure 6 The directional diagram of a single-column active antenna using the radome provided by the present application is shown.

[0016] Figure 7 This is a partial structural diagram of the pattern of the first periodic pattern conductive layer.

[0017] Figure 8 It is a light path diagram of the electromagnetic wave when it passes through the first dielectric layer, the air layer and the second dielectric layer in sequence.

[0018] Fig. 9 A perspective view of a radome body provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present application.

[0019] Fig.10 This is a directional correspondence diagram between the back cover and the active antenna array used in the embodiment of the present application.

[0020] Description of main component symbols:

[0021] 100, base station antenna; 110, active antenna unit; 111, shell; 111a, side panel; 112, active antenna; 112', virtual active antenna; 113, second accommodating space; 120, passive antenna unit; 121, reflector; 122, wave-transmitting antenna unit; 130, antenna cover; 131, antenna cover body; 131a, first part; 131b, second part; 131c, first side; 131d, second side; 132, opening; 133, first accommodating space; 134, back cover; 134a, back panel; 134b, first side panel; 134c, second side panel; 135, second periodic pattern conductive layer; 136, first periodic pattern conductive layer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The embodiments of the present application are described in detail below, and examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present application, and cannot be understood as limiting the present application.

[0023] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise" and the like indicate positions or positional relationships based on the positions or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present application. In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are only used for descriptive purposes, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more features. In the description of the present application, the meaning of "multiple" is two or more, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0024] In the description of this application, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection, an electrical connection, or mutual communication; it can be a direct connection, or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0025] The disclosure below provides many different embodiments or examples to realize the different structures of the present application. In order to simplify the disclosure of the present application, the parts and settings of specific examples are described below. Of course, they are only examples, and the purpose is not to limit the present application. In addition, the present application can repeat reference numbers and / or reference letters in different examples, and this repetition is for the purpose of simplification and clarity, which itself does not indicate the relationship between the various embodiments and / or settings discussed. In addition, the various specific processes and material examples provided by the present application, but those of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate the application of other processes and / or the use of other materials.

[0026] In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "certain embodiments", "illustrative embodiments", "examples", "specific examples", or "some examples" means that the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiments or examples are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present application. In this specification, the schematic representation of the above terms does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner.

[0027] Embodiments of the present application provide a radome for a base station antenna and a base station antenna.

[0028] See also Figure 1 , the base station antenna 100 is, for example, an "A+P (active + passive)" base station antenna that combines the active antenna unit 110 (Active Antenna Unit, AAU) of the 5G base station system with the passive antenna unit 120 (Passive Antenna Unit, PAU) of the 4G base station system. Specifically, it may include: an active antenna unit 110 and a passive antenna unit 120 located above it and having overlapping projections on a horizontal plane (parallel to the plane where the X-axis-Y-axis is located), and a radome 130 for accommodating the passive antenna unit 120 and at least part of the active antenna unit 110. The radome 130 is at least used to protect the passive antenna unit 120 so that the passive antenna unit 120 is protected from the influence of air, moisture or dust in the external environment. Specifically, the body material of the radome 130 includes, for example, plastic. The overall shape of the radome 130 is, for example, a cylindrical shell, and the cross-sectional shape in the radial direction includes, for example, a rectangle with rounded corners. Since the structures and functions of the active antenna unit 110 and the passive antenna unit 120 (including but not limited to the reflector 121 and the wave-transmitting antenna unit 122 ) belong to the well-known technologies, they are not described in detail here.

[0029] The active antenna unit 110 includes but is not limited to a housing 111 and an active antenna array disposed inside the housing 111. Fig.10 As shown, the active antenna array is, for example, a rectangular array composed of a plurality of active antennas 112 arranged in a first predetermined direction (for example, parallel to Figure 1 and Fig.10 and a second preset direction (e.g., parallel to the X-axis in Figure 1 and Fig.10 The active antennas 112 are arranged along the Y axis of the first preset direction, where the active antennas 112 arranged along the first preset direction are rows and the active antennas 112 arranged along the second preset direction are columns. For example, the gain of the active antennas 112 may be different between the active antennas 112 in the middle column and the active antennas 112 in the edge column due to the asymmetric environment, thereby causing the antenna amplitude consistency to deteriorate. For example, Figure 2 The directional pattern of the existing edge column active antenna 112 is shown, as shown in FIG. Figure 2 As shown, the ordinate represents the gain (Gain, in dB) of the active antenna 112; the abscissa represents the azimuth angle of the active antenna 112 in the edge column. Ideally, the directional pattern is symmetrical within the beam range (the azimuth angle of the active antenna 112 is in the ±60° direction). However, Figure 2 It can be seen from the curve shown that the directional patterns of the active antennas 112 in the edge columns are asymmetric within the beam range (the azimuth angles of the active antennas 112 are in the ±60° direction), that is, there is a directional pattern distortion phenomenon.

[0030] To solve the above problems, see Figure 3 , and combined with Figure 1 The antenna cover 130 for the base station antenna 100 provided in the embodiment of the present application includes an antenna cover body 131 and a back cover 134. The antenna cover body 131 is configured with a first accommodation space 133 having an opening 132, which is used to accommodate the passive antenna unit 120 of the base station antenna 100, including but not limited to a reflector 121 and a wave-transmitting antenna unit 122. The opening 132 is, for example, downwardly facing, and is arranged opposite to the active antenna unit 110 in a direction parallel to the Z axis; the back cover 134 closes the opening 132 and is configured with a second accommodation space 113, which is used to accommodate at least part of the active antenna unit 110. For example, a recessed portion is formed on the side of the back cover 134 away from the first accommodation space 133, and the recessed portion is used as the second accommodation space 113, and the upper part of the active antenna unit 110 is located in the recessed portion. The back cover 134, for example, adopts a plate-like structure formed with the above-mentioned recessed portion.

[0031] At least one of the radome body 131 and the back cover 134 is provided with at least one first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 having electromagnetic wave reflection performance at the portion corresponding to both sides of the active antenna unit 110. The first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 can reflect a portion of the electromagnetic wave. The portion of at least one of the radome body 131 and the back cover 134 provided with at least one first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 can be located on both sides of the active antenna array along the first preset direction, that is, on the side where the edge column of the active antenna array of the active antenna unit 110 is located. Fig.10 As shown, taking the back cover 134 provided with at least one first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 disposed on the side where the edge column of the active antenna array of the active antenna unit 110 is located as an example, the shell 111 of the active antenna unit 110 is a rectangular shell, which has two sides along the second preset direction (for example, parallel to Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Fig.10 The side panels 111a extend along the Y-axis in the middle, and the two side panels 111a are respectively located on both sides of the active antenna 112 of the edge column. In this case, the back cover 134 is provided with at least one layer of the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136, that is, the portion located on the outside of the two side panels 111a away from the edge column.

[0032] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of gain distribution of the active antenna 112 in the edge row when the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 is not disposed on the outer side of the housing 111; Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the gain distribution of the active antenna 112 in the edge row when the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 is disposed on the outer side of the housing 111. Figure 4 and Figure 5 It can be seen that Figure 4 The gain distribution of the active antennas 112 in the edge columns shown has a directional pattern distortion phenomenon. Figure 5 The gain distribution of the active antenna 112 in the edge column shown can improve the distortion of the directional pattern. This is because: when the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 is not provided on the outer side of the shell 111, the electromagnetic environment where the active antenna 112 in the edge column is located is asymmetric, and by providing the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 on the outer side of the shell 111, since the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 can maintain the reflection performance in the working frequency band of the active antenna, when the reflection coefficient of the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 to the electromagnetic wave satisfies that the reflection wave is equivalent to the reflection wave effect generated by the virtual unit (including the virtual active antenna 112'), as shown in FIG. Figure 5 As shown, the asymmetry of the electromagnetic environment where the active antennas 112 in the edge columns are located can be eliminated, making it close to the electromagnetic environment where the active antennas 112 in the middle columns are located, thereby reducing or even eliminating the difference in gain of the active antennas 112 between the middle columns and the edge columns, thereby improving the antenna amplitude consistency.

[0033] Figure 6 The directional diagram of the active antenna 112 of the edge column of the base station antenna using the antenna cover 130 provided by the present application is shown. Figure 6 As shown, the ordinate represents the gain (in dB) of the active antenna 112; the abscissa represents the azimuth of the active antenna 112 in the edge column. In the case where the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 is disposed on the portions of the back cover 134 corresponding to both sides of the active antenna unit 110, Figure 6 As shown in the curve, the active antenna 112 of the edge column of the base station antenna using the antenna cover 130 provided by the present application is compared with Figure 2 In the prior art shown, the symmetry of the directional pattern of the active antenna 112 in the edge column within the beam range (the azimuth angle of the active antenna 112 is in the ±60° direction) is significantly improved, that is, the directional pattern distortion phenomenon is improved.

[0034] In an embodiment where the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 is disposed on portions of the back cover 134 corresponding to both sides of the active antenna unit 110, as shown in FIG. Figure 1 and Figure 3 As shown, the back cover 134 includes a back plate 134a, a first side plate 134b and a second side plate 134c; the back plate 134a is used to be located between the passive antenna unit 120 and the active antenna unit 110, and the back plate 134a is correspondingly arranged at the opening 132 of the antenna cover body 131, and the projection at least completely covers the upper surface of the active antenna unit 110. The first side plate 134b and the second side plate 134c are relatively arranged on both sides of the back plate 134a in the direction parallel to the X axis, and together with the back plate 134a, they form the second accommodating space 113. The first side plate 134b and the second side plate 134c are, for example, respectively located on the outside of the above-mentioned two side plates 111a of the shell 111 of the active antenna unit 110, and the first side plate 134b and the second side plate 134c overlap with the projections of the above-mentioned two side plates 111a of the shell 111 on the plane where the side plates 111a are located (for example, parallel to the plane where the Y-axis-Z-axis are located).

[0035] Moreover, the first side plate 134b and the second side plate 134c are both provided with at least one layer of the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136. The electromagnetic wave reflection effect of the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 can act on the active antenna 112 located in the edge column on the inner side of the corresponding side plate 111a, so as to improve or even eliminate the distortion phenomenon of the directional pattern and improve the amplitude and phase consistency of the antenna. In practical applications, according to specific needs (for example, according to different processing methods), the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 can be one layer, two layers or more layers, and the patterns of the first periodic pattern conductive layers 136 of more than two layers can be the same or different. In the case where the patterns of the first periodic pattern conductive layers 136 of more than two layers are the same, the positions of the first periodic pattern conductive layers 136 of more than two layers can be arranged to overlap or be arranged to be staggered.

[0036] The present application has no limitation on the pattern of the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 as long as it has electromagnetic wave reflection performance. For example, Figure 7 In addition, by designing different patterns, the reflection coefficient of the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 can be adjusted to meet the requirement that the reflection wave of the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 is equivalent to the reflection wave effect generated by the virtual unit (including the virtual active antenna).

[0037] In some embodiments, the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 disposed on the first side plate 134b may be located on the surface of the first side plate 134b facing the second accommodating space 113 (i.e., the inner surface), and / or the surface away from the second accommodating space 113 (i.e., the outer surface); similarly, the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 disposed on the second side plate 134c is located on the surface of the second side plate 134c facing the second accommodating space 113 (i.e., the inner surface), and / or the surface away from the second accommodating space 113 (i.e., the outer surface). For example, Figure 3 An embodiment in which the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 is disposed on the outer surface of the first side plate 134b or the second side plate 134c is shown. The first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 is disposed on the outer surface and / or inner surface of the first side plate 134b or the second side plate 134c, which makes it easier to process the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136. Of course, in practical applications, according to specific needs, the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 can also be embedded in the first side plate 134b or the second side plate 134c.

[0038] There can be many ways to make the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136. In order to facilitate the production of the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 of a conductive material (usually metal) on the surface of the first side plate 134b or the second side plate 134c of a non-metallic material (such as plastic), in some embodiments, the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 can be set on the first side plate 134b or the second side plate 134c by etching, printing or pasting.

[0039] Since the electromagnetic environment in which the active antenna unit 110 is located is very complex, there are multiple finite medium and air mixed layers above the active antenna unit 110. The electromagnetic waves radiated by the active antenna unit 110 will experience multiple reflections and refractions after emission. Finally, the emission waves after passing through the passive antenna unit 120 are the superposition results of multiple waves in time and space. Figure 8 As shown, electromagnetic waves Taking oblique incidence and passing through the first medium layer, air layer and second medium layer in sequence as an example, due to the boundary conditions of different medium interfaces, the electromagnetic wave will experience multiple refraction and reflection phenomena at the medium interface, generating outgoing electromagnetic waves of different amplitudes. Due to the differences in propagation paths, these outgoing electromagnetic waves have different phase differences. By superposition, the total outgoing wave expression can be obtained as follows:

[0040]

[0041] When the propagation direction of the incident wave is determined, the outgoing wave can be determined For lossless media, when the thickness or number of layers of the medium increases, there will be a more obvious absolute phase difference between the outgoing waves with different reflection times. The difference between the amplitude of the outgoing wave after vector superposition and the incident wave In addition, within a certain scanning angle range, as the incident angle of the incident wave increases, the fluctuations caused by this superposition phenomenon will also intensify, causing ripples to appear in the area where the antenna pattern deviates from the normal. For electromagnetic waves of different frequencies, the path length from incident to emitted is also different, which will lead to a deterioration in channel consistency between different frequencies. Therefore, reducing the relative dielectric constant, thickness, and number of layers of the dielectric layer will help improve the antenna amplitude consistency.

[0042] Based on the above principle, in order to reduce the number and thickness of the dielectric layer, in some embodiments, such as Figure 1 and Figure 3As shown, the back plate 134a is provided with at least one layer of a second periodic pattern conductive layer 135 for forming a frequency selective surface. The frequency selective surface is used to realize the frequency selection function. Compared with the prior art that requires a separate dielectric plate to form a frequency selective surface, the embodiment of the present application is provided with at least one layer of a second periodic pattern conductive layer 135 on the back plate 134a, and there is no need to set up a dielectric plate separately. This is not only more economical and environmentally friendly, but also simplifies the difficulty of assembly, and can reduce the number and thickness of dielectric layers on the electromagnetic wave propagation path, thereby contributing to further improvement of the antenna amplitude consistency. In addition, saving a dielectric plate can also avoid the introduction of insertion loss, thereby avoiding the problem of reduced gain of high-frequency active antennas due to insertion loss.

[0043] Further, in some embodiments, for ease of processing, the pattern of the second periodic pattern conductive layer 135 is the same as the pattern of the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136. It is easy to understand that although the patterns are the same, due to the different locations of the two, their respective functions and the effects produced are also different. Specifically, the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 utilizes its electromagnetic wave reflection function, and by being arranged on the parts on both sides of the active antenna unit 110 corresponding to at least one of the antenna cover body 131 and the back cover 134, it can make its reflected wave equivalent to the reflected wave effect generated by the virtual unit (including the virtual active antenna) to improve the pattern distortion phenomenon. Different from this, the second periodic pattern conductive layer 135 is arranged on the back plate 134a of the back cover 134 to form a frequency selective surface, so as to save a dielectric plate, reduce the number and thickness of dielectric layers on the electromagnetic wave propagation path, avoid the introduction of insertion loss, and be more economical and environmentally friendly. However, the arrangement of the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 and the second periodic pattern conductive layer 135 ultimately contributes to the improvement of the antenna amplitude consistency. Of course, according to specific needs, the pattern of the second periodic pattern conductive layer 135 and the pattern of the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 may also be different.

[0044] In practical applications, according to specific needs (for example, according to different processing methods), the second periodic pattern conductive layer 135 can be one layer, two layers or more layers, and the patterns of the two or more layers of the second periodic pattern conductive layer 135 can be the same or different. When the patterns of the two or more layers of the second periodic pattern conductive layer 135 are the same, the positions of the two or more layers of the second periodic pattern conductive layer 135 can be overlapped or staggered.

[0045] In some embodiments, for ease of processing, the second periodic pattern conductive layer 135 is located on the surface of the back plate 134a facing the second accommodating space 113 (ie, the inner surface) and / or the surface away from the second accommodating space 113 (ie, the outer surface). Figure 3The embodiment in which the second periodic pattern conductive layer 135 is located on the outer surface of the back plate 134a is shown. Of course, in practical applications, the second periodic pattern conductive layer 135 can also be embedded in the back plate 134a according to specific needs.

[0046] There are many ways to make the second periodic pattern conductive layer 135. In order to facilitate the production of the second periodic pattern conductive layer 135 of conductive material (usually metal) on the surface of the non-metallic (such as plastic) backplane 134a, in some embodiments, the second periodic pattern conductive layer 135 can be set on the backplane 134a by etching, printing or pasting.

[0047] In the embodiment of the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 disposed on the portions of the radome body 131 corresponding to the two sides of the active antenna unit 110, see Fig. 9 , and combined with Figure 3 The structure of the antenna cover body 131, the parts of the antenna cover body 131 corresponding to the two sides of the active antenna unit 110 are respectively the first side portion 131c and the second side portion 131d; the first side portion 131c and the second side portion 131d are located on the outside of the back cover 134 away from the second accommodating space 113, and are provided with at least one first periodic pattern conductive layer 136. Specifically, as Fig. 9 As shown, the overall shape of the antenna cover body 131 is, for example, a cylindrical shell, and the cross-sectional shape in the radial direction includes, for example, a rectangle with rounded corners. The antenna cover body 131 is divided into a first part 131a with an opening 132 and a second part 131b without an opening 132 along its axial direction, wherein the first accommodating space 133 accommodates the reflector 121 in the passive antenna unit 120 at a position corresponding to the first part 131a; the first accommodating space 133 accommodates the wave-transmitting antenna unit 122 at positions corresponding to the first part 131a and the second part 131b, and of course, other components of the passive antenna unit 120 that are not shown in the figure can also be accommodated. On this basis, the above-mentioned first part 131a of the antenna cover body 131 is provided with a first side portion 131c and a second side portion 131d (as shown in FIG. 1 ). Figure 3 As shown), the two are, for example, respectively arranged on the outside of the first side plate 134b and the second side plate 134c of the back cover 134 (i.e., away from the side of the second accommodating space 113), and the projection on the plane where the first side plate 134b or the second side plate 134c is located (e.g., parallel to the plane where the Y-axis-Z-axis is located) overlaps with the first side plate 134b and the second side plate 134c, that is, the two side plates 111a of the housing 111 of the active antenna unit 110 are located away from the outside of the active antenna 112 of the edge column. In this case, at least one first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 arranged on the first side portion 131c and the second side portion 131d can also utilize its electromagnetic wave reflection function to improve the pattern distortion phenomenon.

[0048] In practical applications, according to specific needs (for example, according to different processing methods), the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 disposed on the first side portion 131c or the second side portion 131d may be one layer, two layers or more layers, and the patterns of the first periodic pattern conductive layers 136 of more than two layers may be the same or different. When the patterns of the first periodic pattern conductive layers 136 of more than two layers are the same, the positions of the first periodic pattern conductive layers 136 of more than two layers may be overlapped or staggered.

[0049] It should be noted that in the embodiment where the first side portion 131c and the second side portion 131d of the antenna cover body 131, and the first side plate 134b and the second side plate 134c of the back cover 134 are both provided with the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136, the pattern of the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 arranged on the first side portion 131c and the second side portion 131d and the pattern of the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 arranged on the first side plate 134b and the second side plate 134c can be the same or different, and the positions can be arranged to overlap or be staggered.

[0050] In some embodiments, for the convenience of processing, the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 disposed on the first side portion 131c is located on the surface of the first side portion 131c facing the first accommodation space 133 (i.e., the inner surface), and / or the surface away from the first accommodation space 133 (i.e., the outer surface); the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 disposed on the second side portion 131d is located on the surface of the second side portion 131d facing the first accommodation space 133 (i.e., the inner surface), and / or the surface away from the first accommodation space 133 (i.e., the outer surface). Of course, in practical applications, according to specific needs, the second periodic pattern conductive layer 135 can also be embedded in the first side portion 131c or the second side portion 131d.

[0051] There are many ways to make the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136. In order to facilitate the production of the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 of a conductive material (usually metal) on the surface of the first side portion 131c or the second side portion 131d of a non-metal (such as plastic), in some embodiments, the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 can be set on the first side portion 131c or the second side portion 131d by etching, printing or pasting.

[0052] In summary, the antenna cover 130 provided in the embodiment of the present application can improve the distortion of the pattern by using its partial reflection function of electromagnetic waves, thereby improving the amplitude and phase consistency of the antenna, by setting a first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 on the part of at least one of the antenna cover body 131 and the back cover 134 corresponding to both sides of the active antenna unit 110. Furthermore, by setting a second periodic pattern conductive layer 135 on the back plate 134a of the back cover 134 to form a frequency selective surface, it is possible to save a dielectric plate, reduce the number and thickness of dielectric layers on the electromagnetic wave propagation path, avoid the introduction of insertion loss, and be more economical and environmentally friendly, which ultimately helps to improve the amplitude and phase consistency of the antenna.

[0053] As another technical solution, an embodiment of the present application further provides a base station antenna 100, which includes an active antenna unit 110 and a passive antenna unit 120, and also includes the above-mentioned antenna cover 130 provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0054] The base station antenna 100 provided in the embodiment of the present application, by adopting the above-mentioned antenna cover 130 provided in the embodiment of the present application, can not only improve the radiation pattern distortion phenomenon and improve the antenna amplitude and phase consistency, but also reduce the number and thickness of dielectric layers on the electromagnetic wave propagation path, avoid the introduction of insertion loss, and be more economical and environmentally friendly.

[0055] It is to be understood that the above embodiments are merely exemplary embodiments used to illustrate the principles of the present application, but the present application is not limited thereto. For those skilled in the art, various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the spirit and substance of the present application, and these modifications and improvements are also considered to be within the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A radome for a base station antenna, wherein: The radome comprises a radome body and a back cover; the radome body is formed with a first accommodating space having an opening, for accommodating the passive antenna unit of the base station antenna; The back cover closes the opening and forms a second accommodation space for accommodating at least part of the active antenna unit of the base station antenna; At least one of the antenna cover body and the back cover is provided with at least one first periodic pattern conductive layer having electromagnetic wave reflection performance at the portion corresponding to both sides of the active antenna unit.

2. The radome according to claim 1, wherein: The back cover includes a back plate, a first side plate and a second side plate; the back plate is used to be located between the passive antenna unit and the active antenna unit of the base station antenna; the first side plate and the second side plate are arranged on both sides of the back plate opposite to each other, and together with the back plate form the second accommodating space; The first side plate and the second side plate are both provided with at least one layer of the first periodic pattern conductive layer.

3. The radome according to claim 2, wherein: The first periodic pattern conductive layer disposed on the first side plate is located on a surface of the first side plate facing the second accommodating space and / or a surface away from the second accommodating space; The first periodic pattern conductive layer disposed on the second side plate is located on a surface of the second side plate facing the second accommodating space and / or a surface away from the second accommodating space.

4. The radome according to claim 2, wherein: The first periodic pattern conductive layer is disposed on the first side plate or the second side plate by etching, printing or pasting.

5. The radome according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein: The back plate is provided with at least one second periodic pattern conductive layer for forming a frequency selective surface.

6. The radome according to claim 5, wherein: The pattern of the second periodic pattern conductive layer is the same as the pattern of the first periodic pattern conductive layer.

7. The radome according to claim 5, wherein: The second periodic pattern conductive layer is located on a surface of the back plate facing the second accommodating space and / or a surface away from the second accommodating space.

8. The radome according to claim 5, wherein: The second periodic pattern conductive layer is disposed on the back plate by etching, printing or pasting.

9. The radome according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The parts of the antenna cover body corresponding to the two sides of the active antenna unit are respectively the first side portion and the second side portion; the first side portion and the second side portion are located on the outside of the back cover away from the second accommodating space, and are provided with at least one layer of the first periodic pattern conductive layer.

10. The radome according to claim 9, wherein: The first periodic pattern conductive layer disposed on the first side portion is located on a surface of the first side portion facing the first accommodating space and / or a surface away from the first accommodating space; The first periodic pattern conductive layer disposed on the second side portion is located on a surface of the second side portion facing the first accommodating space and / or a surface away from the first accommodating space.

11. The radome according to claim 9, wherein: The first periodic pattern conductive layer is disposed on the first side portion and the second side portion by etching, printing or pasting.

12. A base station antenna, comprising an active antenna unit and a passive antenna unit, wherein: Also includes: A radome as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11.

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