Wireless repeater and wireless relay system

Abstract

To provide a wireless repeater that uses the same antenna design and antenna components and is capable of responding to two or more types of orthogonal polarization, such as vertical / horizontal polarization sharing and ±45° polarization sharing.SOLUTION: A wireless repeater includes: a first antenna and a second antenna which respond to two polarizations with two different polarization surfaces; and a substrate part. The wireless repeater further includes a polarization rotation mechanism for rotating the first antenna and the second antenna by at least 45 degrees.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a wireless repeater and a wireless relay system, and particularly relates to the polarization plane setting of an antenna incorporated in a millimeter-wave band wireless repeater or the like in the 5G standard.

Background Art

[0002] In standards such as 5G, when the frequency used for communication increases, the directivity of radio waves increases, and it becomes difficult to communicate using radio waves when there are buildings or the like between the base station and the communication terminal. For this reason, a wireless repeater is often used. A wireless repeater is composed of a donor unit that communicates with a base station (BS) and a service unit that communicates with a terminal (UE). For example, it is used when a direct wireless link between the base station and the terminal cannot be formed due to obstacles or the like (Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1 (such as FIG. 4) shows an example of the configuration of a wireless repeater. In a wireless repeater, particularly on the donor antenna side, it is designed so that a beam can be directed toward the base station by a configuration using an array antenna (Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In a wireless repeater for a 5G standard millimeter-wave band mobile communication system or the like, both the BS / UEs use two antennas for MIMO communication to form two-path wireless links. Usually, the two antennas have orthogonal dual polarizations. This orthogonal dual polarization is vertical / horizontal polarization sharing, that is, VH polarization sharing or ±45° polarization sharing. In order to perform MIMO communication with a repeater in between, orthogonal two-polarization sharing is required even for a wireless repeater. In particular, for the BS, there are two cases: vertical / horizontal polarization sharing and ±45° polarization sharing. When using a normal polarization-sharing antenna, the repeater needs to design two types of antennas. That is, since the 5G wireless repeater is a subordinate device installed between the base station and the terminal, its built-in antenna needs to be designed according to the polarization plane of the base station. However, the antennas of the currently used base station devices for 5G millimeter waves are either VH polarization sharing or ±45° polarization sharing, and each needs to be designed individually. For this reason, it takes twice as much time for antenna design. Also, the material production cost doubles. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a wireless repeater that can support two or more types of orthogonal polarizations, such as vertical / horizontal polarization sharing and ±45° polarization sharing, using the same antenna design and antenna components. Another object of the present invention is to provide a wireless repeater provided with a switch and a polarization plane discrimination system, capable of identifying the polarization plane of the wireless repeater, and facilitating the setting of antenna power supply conditions. Other objects of the present invention will also be described in the embodiments for carrying out the invention.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The wireless repeater according to the claims of the present invention is a first antenna and a second antenna corresponding to two polarizations with different polarization planes from each other, and a substrate part, and is a wireless repeater provided with a polarization rotation mechanism for rotating the first antenna and the second antenna by 45° or more. The wireless repeater according to claim 2 of the present invention is the first antenna and the second antenna are arranged on an antenna plane that is substantially the same plane, and the first antenna and the second antenna rotate within the antenna plane, and is the wireless repeater according to claim 1. The wireless repeater according to claim 3 of the present invention is The wireless repeater according to claim 1, wherein the first antenna and the second antenna have an orthogonal rotation unit that rotates while maintaining a 90° angular difference. The wireless repeater according to claim 4 of the present invention is The wireless repeater according to claim 1, wherein the polarization rotation mechanism has a first polarization rotation unit that rotates the first antenna and a second polarization rotation unit that rotates the second antenna. The wireless repeater according to claim 5 of the present invention is The wireless repeater according to claim 1, which has a common polarization rotation unit that rotates the first polarization rotation unit and the second polarization rotation unit. The wireless repeater according to claim 6 of the present invention is It has a first connector on the back and substantially at the center of the first antenna, and the first antenna rotates around the first connector. The wireless repeater according to claim 1, which has a second connector on the back and substantially at the center of the second antenna, and the second antenna rotates around the second connector. The wireless repeater according to claim 7 of the present invention is The wireless repeater according to claim 2, wherein the first antenna and the second antenna are integrally formed, and the polarization rotation mechanism rotates the first antenna and the second antenna simultaneously. The wireless repeater according to claim 8 of the present invention is A housing unit is provided between the antenna plane and the substrate unit. The wireless repeater according to claim 2, wherein the housing unit has a metal part. The wireless repeater according to claim 9 of the present invention is It has a polarization plane discrimination unit. The polarization plane discrimination unit is A polarization plane discrimination unit that discriminates the polarization planes of the first and second antennas, and The wireless repeater according to any one of claims 1 to 8, which has a power supply condition selection unit that selects the power supply conditions of the antenna. The wireless repeater according to claim 10 of the present invention is The wireless repeater according to claim 9, wherein the polarization plane discrimination unit has an electronic sensor unit. The wireless repeater according to claim 11 of the present invention is The wireless repeater according to claim 9, wherein the polarization plane discrimination unit is connected to the substrate unit. The wireless repeater according to claim 12 of the present invention is The wireless repeater according to claim 11, wherein the polarization plane discrimination unit is a physical switch. The wireless repeater according to claim 13 of the present invention is The wireless repeater according to claim 12, wherein the polarization plane discrimination unit is a single physical switch. The wireless repeater according to claim 14 of the present invention is The wireless repeater according to claim 9, wherein the polarization plane discrimination unit is connected to the antenna unit. The wireless relay system according to claim 15 of the present invention is A donor unit that transmits and receives electromagnetic waves with a base station antenna, A service unit that transmits and receives electromagnetic waves with a communication terminal, and A connection unit that connects the donor unit and the service unit, A wireless relay system, wherein at least one of the donor unit and the service unit includes the wireless repeater according to any one of claims 1 to 8. With the above configuration, the present invention can use antennas of the same design even when the polarization plane of the base station is VH polarization or ±45° polarization, and can enjoy cost advantages such as reduction of design time and mass production cost. By designing the antenna unit as described above, it is possible to use the same designed antenna for any polarization plane of VH polarization and ±45° polarization, and cost advantages such as reduction of design time and mass production cost can be enjoyed. For example, in the antenna for a 5G wireless repeater subordinate to a 5G base station, by individually and appropriately designing the antenna and the downconverter, simplification of the design and reduction of the mass production cost can be achieved. Also, by using the signal from the polarization plane discrimination unit, it is possible to accurately set the power supply conditions of the antenna such as the array antenna. Other effects of the present invention will also be described in the form for carrying out the invention.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0006]

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0007] FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a wireless repeater 100 in an embodiment of the present invention. The wireless repeater 100 includes a first antenna 110 and a second antenna 120 corresponding to two polarization planes with different polarization surfaces from each other, and a substrate unit 140. The substrate unit 140 in this embodiment has an up / down converter.

[0008] In addition, the wireless repeater 100 includes a polarization rotation mechanism 130 that rotates the first antenna 110 and the second antenna 120 by 90° or more. A polarization rotation mechanism 130 that can rotate by 180° or more, or a polarization rotation mechanism 130 that can rotate without limitation is more desirable. Thereby, it becomes possible to support two or more polarization planes such as VH polarization and ±45° polarization. The substrate unit 140 is parallel to the antenna, but it may be arranged vertically such as in a T shape.

[0009] In this embodiment, both the first antenna 110 and the second antenna 120 are designed with a single polarization and set the polarization according to the installation rotation angle. That is, the first antenna 110 and the second antenna 120 have the same design and can be set to any polarization angle. In this embodiment, the first antenna 110 and the second antenna 120 are 28 GHz band Antenna in Package (AiP). AiP is an antenna device in which an array antenna composed of a plurality of antenna elements and an IC including a transceiver front end capable of freely setting antenna feeding conditions (amplitude, phase) are mounted on the same substrate.

[0010] As shown in FIG. 2, the first antenna 110 corresponds to a +45° polarization in a horizontal arrangement, and the second antenna 120 corresponds to a -45° polarization in a horizontal arrangement. On the contrary, as shown in FIG. 3, the first antenna 110 corresponds to a horizontal polarization in a -45° arrangement, and the second antenna 120 corresponds to a vertical polarization in a +45° arrangement. As described above, both the ±45° polarization sharing configuration and the V / H polarization sharing configuration can be realized. In this embodiment, the first antenna 110 and the second antenna 120, that is, the antenna part, and the up / down converter part, that is, the substrate part 140, are designed and manufactured individually, and each is provided with an interface in a high-frequency band, such as a coaxial connector. With this configuration, for example, even when both the BS / UEs use two orthogonal dual-polarized antennas for MIMO communication as shown in FIG. 4, it is possible to make a correspondence, and the polarization setting of the antenna for the wireless repeater 100 for a millimeter-wave band mobile communication system such as the 28 GHz band in the 5G standard is also facilitated.

[0011] In one embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 4, the wireless relay device includes a donor unit 12 that transmits and receives electromagnetic waves with the base station antenna 2, a service unit 13 that transmits and receives electromagnetic waves with the communication terminal 3, and a connection unit 11 that connects the donor unit 12 and the service unit 13. And at least one of the donor unit 12 and the service unit 13 includes the above-described wireless repeater 100. With this configuration, even when using two orthogonal dual-polarized antennas for MIMO communication in both the base station and the terminal, the same antenna design and components can be used to support this orthogonal dual-polarization.

[0012] The first antenna 110 and the second antenna 120 may be arranged in different planes, but as shown in FIG. 5, the first antenna 110 and the second antenna 120 are arranged in an antenna plane PA that is substantially the same plane, and the first antenna 110 and the second antenna 120 can also be configured to rotate within the antenna plane PA. Note that in FIG. 5, the solid line of the antenna plane PA, which is a horizontal line, is only for indicating the concept of the antenna plane PA and is not an actual component. Attention should be paid to this point.

[0013] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the first polarization rotation unit 131 and the second polarization rotation unit 132 are provided, and the first antenna 110 and the second antenna 120 are configured to rotate independently of each other. However, as shown in FIG. 7, the first antenna 110 and the second antenna 120 can also be configured to have an orthogonal-maintaining rotation unit 134 that rotates while maintaining a 90° angular difference. In any case, it can handle the cases where the polarization is VH polarization and ±45° polarization.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 8, a housing unit 150 can be provided between the antenna and the substrate unit 140, and the housing unit 150 can be configured to have a metal part 151. In this embodiment, the housing unit 150 is a heat dissipation / shielding housing and has an aluminum metal part 151. With this configuration, by sandwiching a housing between the antenna and the substrate unit 140, heat dissipation becomes possible, and EMC can be achieved by electromagnetic wave shielding.

[0015] In this embodiment, the polarization rotation mechanism 130 has a first polarization rotation unit 131 that rotates the first antenna 110 and a second polarization rotation unit 132 that rotates the second antenna 120. However, it can also be configured to have a common polarization rotation unit 133 that rotates the first antenna 110 and the second antenna 120. FIG. 9 shows a configuration example including a common polarization rotation unit 133 in a configuration where the first antenna 110 and the second antenna 120 are arranged in an antenna plane PA that is substantially the same plane, and the first antenna 110 and the second antenna 120 rotate within the antenna plane PA. In this configuration, the number of components can be reduced. The common polarization rotation unit 133 may be the first or second polarization rotation unit 132. That is, a configuration may be adopted in which the second polarization rotation unit 132 automatically rotates the second antenna 120 in response to the rotation of the first polarization rotation unit 131.

[0016] FIGS. 10 and 11 show a configuration example of the wireless repeater 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, the back surfaces of the first antenna 110 and the second antenna 120 are shown. In this embodiment, the first antenna 110 and the second antenna 120 are array antennas having a total of 16 antenna elements arranged in 4 rows and 4 columns. In this embodiment, the wireless repeater 100 has a first connector 111 on the back surface and substantially at the center of the first antenna 110, and the first antenna 110 rotates about the first connector 111. Also, the wireless repeater 100 has a second connector 121 on the back surface and substantially at the center of the second antenna 120, and the second antenna 120 rotates about the second connector 121. In this embodiment, since the coaxial connector as the interface of the antenna unit is arranged on the back surface and at the center of the antenna, the center of the antenna does not change even when it rotates. Therefore, the mechanical characteristics are excellent, and as a result, the antenna design is also simplified.

[0017] FIG. 12 shows a configuration example of the wireless repeater 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The first antenna 110 and the second antenna 120 are integrally configured, and the polarization rotation mechanism 130 rotates the first antenna 110 and the second antenna 120 simultaneously.

[0018] In the wireless repeater 100, it is necessary to change the power supply conditions of the antenna, that is, the settings of the amplitude and phase, depending on the installation direction. FIG. 13 shows a configuration example of the wireless repeater 100 in an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the wireless repeater 100 has a polarization plane discrimination unit 160.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 14, the polarization plane discrimination unit 160 includes a polarization plane discrimination unit 170 that discriminates the polarization planes of the first and second antennas 120, and a power supply condition selection unit 180 that selects the power supply conditions of the antennas. With this configuration, the polarization plane discrimination unit 160 can have a function of correctly discriminating the polarization planes of the first and second antennas 120 and selecting the power supply conditions of the antennas.

[0020] FIG. 15 shows a configuration example of the wireless repeater 100 in an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the polarization plane discrimination unit 160 has an electronic sensor unit 161. The electronic sensor unit 161 in this embodiment is a semiconductor sensor, and the sensor itself does not move. Depending on the installation direction of the wireless repeater 100, the rotation states of the first antenna 110 and the second antenna 120 are determined by the first rotation mechanism and the second rotation mechanism.

[0021] FIG. 16 shows a configuration example of the wireless repeater 100 in an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the polarization plane discrimination unit 160 is connected to the substrate unit 140. In this embodiment, the polarization plane discrimination unit 160 is connected to the substrate unit 140. That is, in response to contact or non-contact from the outside, the rotation states of the first antenna 110 and the second antenna 120 are determined by the polarization rotation mechanism 130 according to whether the positions of the constituent members change or not. It includes a plurality of switch units, and at least a part of the plurality of switch units is configured to be turned on or off according to the installation state.

[0022] In this embodiment, on the substrate unit 140, that is, on the up / down converter side, a switch for discriminating the installation direction is prepared at an appropriate position so that the installation angle of the antenna can be discriminated. For example, as shown in FIG. 17, if there are four switches individually, discrimination is possible. By identifying the installation angle of the antenna with a switch, the setting of the power supply conditions of the array antenna can be assisted.

[0023] FIG. 18 shows a configuration example of the wireless repeater 100 in an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the polarization plane discrimination unit 160 is a single physical switch 162. In this embodiment, the single physical switch 162 has two states, and according to either of the two states, the antenna is rotated so that the antenna corresponds to either VH polarization or ±45° polarization.

[0024] FIGS. 19 and 20 show configuration examples of the installation unit 190 of the wireless repeater 100 described above. The installation unit 190 has a recess for non-operation of the switch.

[0025] When the wireless repeater 100 is installed in the installation part 190, if it is a planar ground plane as shown in FIG. 20, the physical switch 162 operates. However, if there is a switch non-operating recess 191 as shown in FIG. 19, the physical switch 162 does not operate. That is, the installation part 190 for non-operation of the physical switch has a physical switch non-operating recess 191 at a location corresponding to the physical switch 162 when the wireless repeater 100 is installed in the installation part, and the physical switch 162 does not operate. On the other hand, the installation part 190 for operation of the physical switch has no recess for non-operation of the physical switch at the location corresponding to the physical switch 162 when the wireless repeater 100 is installed in the installation part, so the physical switch 162 operates. With this configuration, when it is desired to set the polarization plane to the VH direction, the installation part 190 as shown in FIG. 19 is used, and when it is desired to set the polarization plane to ±45°, the installation part 190 as shown in FIG. 20 is used. Thus, with the same wireless repeater 100, both cases can be accommodated, leading to cost reduction and reduction of human errors during installation.

[0026] FIG. 21 shows a configuration example of the wireless repeater 100 in an embodiment of the present invention. The polarization discrimination unit 160 is connected to the first antenna 110 or the second antenna 120. With this configuration, the antenna can be rotated according to the signal from the antenna so that the antenna corresponds to either VH polarization or ±45° polarization.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 4, a wireless relay system 1 in an embodiment of the present invention includes a donor unit 12 that transmits and receives electromagnetic waves with a base station antenna 2, a service unit 13 that transmits and receives electromagnetic waves with a communication terminal 3, and a connection unit 11 that connects the donor unit 12 and the service unit 13. At least one of the donor unit 12 and the service unit 13 includes one of the above-described wireless repeaters 100.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0028] 1 Wireless Relay System 2 Base Station Antenna 3 Communication Terminal 11 Connection part 12 Donor unit 13 Service unit 100 Wireless repeater 110 First antenna 111 First connector 120 Second antenna 121 Second connector 130 Polarization rotation mechanism 131 First polarization rotation part 132 Second polarization rotation part 133 Common polarization rotation part 134 Orthogonal maintenance rotation part 140 Substrate part 150 Housing part 151 Metal part 160 Polarization plane discrimination part 161 Electronic sensor part 162 Physical switch 170 Polarization plane identification part 180 Power supply condition selection part 190 Installation part 191 Recess for non - operating switch PA Antenna plane

Claims

1. A first antenna and a second antenna corresponding to two polarized waves with different polarization planes from each other, and a substrate portion, and having A wireless repeater comprising a polarization rotation mechanism for rotating the first antenna and the second antenna by 45° or more.

2. The first antenna and the second antenna are arranged in an antenna plane that is substantially the same plane, The first antenna and the second antenna rotate within the antenna plane. The wireless repeater according to claim 1.

3. The first antenna and the second antenna have an orthogonal maintenance rotation portion that rotates while maintaining an angle difference of 90°. The wireless repeater according to claim 1.

4. The polarization rotation mechanism has a first polarization rotation portion for rotating the first antenna and a second polarization rotation portion for rotating the second antenna. The wireless repeater according to claim 1.

5. The wireless repeater according to claim 4, having a common polarization rotation portion for rotating the first polarization rotation portion and the second polarization rotation portion.

6. The first antenna has a first connector on the back and substantially at the center thereof, and the first antenna rotates about the first connector, The second antenna has a second connector on the back and substantially at the center thereof, and the second antenna rotates about the second connector. The wireless repeater according to claim 1.

7. The first antenna and the second antenna are integrally configured, and the polarization rotation mechanism rotates the first antenna and the second antenna simultaneously. The wireless repeater according to claim 2.

8. A housing portion is provided between the antenna plane and the substrate portion, The housing portion has a metal portion. The wireless repeater according to claim 2.

9. having a polarization plane discrimination unit, the polarization plane discrimination unit is a polarization plane discrimination unit that discriminates the polarization planes of the first antenna and the second antenna, and a power supply condition selection unit that selects power supply conditions for the first antenna and the second antenna, the wireless repeater according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. the wireless repeater according to claim 9, wherein the polarization plane discrimination unit has an electronic sensor unit.

11. the wireless repeater according to claim 9, wherein the polarization plane discrimination unit is connected to the substrate unit.

12. the wireless repeater according to claim 11, wherein the polarization plane discrimination unit is a physical switch.

13. the wireless repeater according to claim 11, wherein the polarization plane discrimination unit is a single physical switch.

14. the wireless repeater according to claim 9, wherein the polarization plane discrimination unit is connected to the first antenna or the second antenna.

15. a donor unit that transmits and receives electromagnetic waves with a base station antenna, a service unit that transmits and receives electromagnetic waves with a communication terminal, and a connection unit that connects the donor unit and the service unit, a wireless relay system, wherein at least one of the donor unit and the service unit includes the wireless repeater according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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