A 5G array antenna

Abstract

The present invention relates to a 5G array antenna, comprising at least one subarray, each of which integrates a radiation unit array, at least one power divider and a phase shifter; the radiation unit array comprises a column of multiple radiation units; the output end of the power divider is electrically connected to at least two adjacent radiation units; the phase shifter comprises two transmission lines, each of which comprises an input end and multiple output ends; the radiation unit array in the subarray, the strip transmission line of the power divider and the phase shifter, and the metal wall are injection molded integrated structures, and the surface is electroplated after laser engraving. The 5G array antenna of this technical solution adopts a new structure of integrated processing and forming for its functional components, which simplifies the installation and welding of components, thereby improving the consistency of 5G array antenna production, reducing costs, and improving production efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular to a 5G array antenna. Background Art

[0002] In 5G mobile communication systems, antennas on the base station side use large-scale antenna technology to improve system capacity. 5G large-scale array antennas have good 3D beamforming capabilities, can achieve deep coverage in both horizontal and vertical directions, multiply spectrum resource efficiency, and form dynamic and targeted network coverage. To achieve this goal, 5G large-scale antennas should have more radiation units (≥64) and more RF transceiver channels (≥64) than conventional array antennas.

[0003] The inventors found in their research that the existing 5G large-scale antennas, such as those described by Ding Jinkai in patent CN109149128A and Liu Peitao in patent CN108808244A, contain radiation unit arrays, power division calibration networks, filters, and metal isolation plates, and other functional components that are processed separately and then welded and assembled. In particular, the radiation unit includes at least two components, such as the radiator and the feed plate. The production and assembly process needs to be welded to the PCB power division network one by one, which is very time-consuming. Since the 5G standard has a higher frequency band than the 4G system, as the frequency increases, the performance consistency requires higher precision in the size of the antenna system components. The traditional PCB vibrator and die-cast vibrator process processing and assembly difficulty increase, resulting in higher production costs. Therefore, in order to promote the development of a new generation of mobile communication technology, it is necessary to develop an antenna structure with high integration, simple structure, and easy assembly. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of this, it is necessary to provide an array antenna to address the above-mentioned problems, in which the functional components adopt a new structure of integrated processing to simplify the installation and welding of the components, thereby improving the consistency of 5G array antenna production, reducing costs and improving production efficiency.

[0005] A 5G array antenna, comprising at least one subarray, each of which integrates a radiation element array, at least one power divider, a phase shifter and / or at least one filter; the radiation element array comprises a column of multiple radiation elements; the output end of the power divider is electrically connected to at least two adjacent radiation elements;

[0006] The phase shifter includes an input end and multiple output ends, and the filter includes an input end and an output end; the phase shifter includes four parts: a strip transmission line, a sliding medium, a metal wall and a metal cover plate, and the filter includes three parts: a transmission line, a metal wall and a metal cover plate; the radiation unit array in the subarray, the power divider, the strip transmission line and metal wall of the phase shifter, and / or the transmission line and metal wall of the filter are injection-molded integrated structures, and the surface is electroplated after laser engraving.

[0007] Each of the radiation units includes a dual-polarization radiation radiator, and the output end of the power divider is electrically connected to the radiators of the same polarization direction of two to three adjacent radiation units.

[0008] The sub-array also includes a substrate, which is an integral structure with the sub-array.

[0009] The subarray includes phase shifters but no filters;

[0010] The oscillator in the radiation unit shares a supporting substrate and a metal reflective surface with the microstrip transmission line of the power divider and is located above the metal reflective surface. The strip transmission line and the metal wall of the phase shifter are located below the metal reflective surface. The output end of the phase shifter is electrically connected to the input end of the power divider.

[0011] The strip transmission line, the metal wall, the vibrator in the radiation unit and the power divider of the phase shifter are an integrated structure.

[0012] The metal cover plate of the phase shifter is fastened with the metal wall by welding or screws to form a closed structure, and the medium can move in the middle of the closed structure of the phase shifter.

[0013] The subarray includes filters but no phase shifters;

[0014] The oscillator of the radiation unit and the line of the power divider are located above the metal reflective surface, the metal wall of the filter and the transmission line are located below the metal reflective surface, and the output end of the filter is electrically connected to the input end of the power divider.

[0015] The filter metal wall, transmission line, vibrator and power divider are an integrated structure.

[0016] The subarray includes both a phase shifter and a filter;

[0017] The radiation unit and the power divider circuit of the subarray are located above the metal reflective surface, the phase shifter and the filter are located below the metal reflective surface, the output end of the phase shifter is electrically connected to the input end of the power divider, and the input end of the filter is electrically connected to the input end of the phase shifter.

[0018] The number of radiation units of the subarray is 12, and the number of subarrays is 8.

[0019] The present invention combines the integrated design with the plastic selective electroplating process in the large-scale array antenna, so that the microstrip transmission line, phase shifter and / or filter structure of the power divider can be integrated with the radiation unit array, and multiple sub-arrays are then spliced ​​into a large array. Not only does it improve production efficiency, but it can also reduce the cost of large-scale antennas. It is suitable for Massive MIMO antennas in the 5G system frequency band, providing an economical and practical solution for the large-scale deployment of 5G mobile communication systems. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a radiation unit in a 5G array antenna of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the radiation surface of a subarray in an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 Figure a is a partial schematic diagram of the radiation unit and the power divider. Figure 2 Figure b is the schematic diagram of the connection between the radiating unit oscillator and the power divider;

[0022] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the integrated structure of the radiation unit, power divider, phase shifter transmission line, and metal wall;

[0023] Figure 4 It is the overall structure diagram of the radiation unit, power divider and phase shifter;

[0024] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of another integrated structure of radiation unit, power divider, phase shifter transmission line and metal wall

[0025] Figure 6 It is another overall structural diagram of a radiation unit, a power divider and a phase shifter;

[0026] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the integrated structure of the radiation unit, power divider, filter metal wall, transmission line and dielectric;

[0027] Figure 8 It is the overall diagram of the radiation unit, power divider and filter;

[0028] Fig. 9 It is a schematic diagram of the integrated structure of the radiation unit, power divider, phase shifter and filter;

[0029] Fig.10 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the radiation unit, power divider, phase shifter and filter. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] In order to make the above-mentioned purposes, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the technical solution of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be pointed out that the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of them. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0031] In an embodiment of the present invention, a 5G array antenna is provided, comprising at least one sub-array, each of which integrates a radiating unit array, at least one power divider and a phase shifter; the radiating unit array comprises a column of multiple radiating units; the output end of the power divider is electrically connected to at least two adjacent radiating units; the phase shifter comprises an input end and multiple output ends, and the output end is electrically connected to the input end of the power divider; the phase shifter comprises four parts, namely a strip transmission line, a sliding medium, a metal wall and a metal cover plate; the radiating unit array in the sub-array, the power divider and the strip transmission line and the metal wall of the phase shifter are formed by injection molding in one step, and the surface is electroplated after laser engraving.

[0032] Example 1

[0033] See also Figure 1 The antenna array 1 of this embodiment includes 12 rows and 8 columns, a total of 96 radiating elements 201. The radiating elements 201 of each subarray 11 are arranged in a straight line, and each radiating element 201 includes two mutually orthogonal ±45 degree polarized radiating elements. The 8 subarrays are parallel to each other, and the first radiating element units in each column are aligned with each other.

[0034] like Figure 2 Each subarray includes four radiation unit groups 12, each radiation unit group includes three dual-polarization radiation units 201 and two three-way power dividers 202, the circuits of the power dividers and the oscillators share a supporting substrate 203, the dual-polarization oscillators are located above the substrate, the circuits of the power dividers are located on the upper layer of the substrate, and the metal reflective surface is located on the bottom layer of the substrate.

[0035] In addition to the radiation unit and the power divider, in the embodiment of the present invention, the phase shifter assembly is also integrated with the sub-array. Furthermore, the metal wall of the phase shifter, the strip transmission line and the metal reflective surface of the substrate are integrated and processed. The sliding medium and the metal cover plate of the phase shifter are assembled later, wherein the medium part is movable inside to adjust the vertical downward tilt of the sub-array radiation beam, and the metal cover plate is fixed to the outermost metal wall to form a closed structure. Specifically, Figure 3As shown, the dual-polarization oscillator is located above the substrate 203, and the metal reflective surface is located at the bottom of the substrate. There are three metal walls 204 perpendicular to the metal reflective surface below the metal reflective surface, and between every two metal walls are the lines of the strip transmission line 205 and the dielectric layer. The three metal walls 204 and the two strip transmission lines are vertically connected to the metal reflective surface. The phase shifter includes two independent power distribution phase shifting networks, each of which includes an input end and multiple output ends, and the number of its output ends is equal to the number of radiation unit groups in the subarray.

[0036] like Figure 3 and Figure 4 The strip transmission line, metal wall, vibrator and power divider of the phase shifter are an integrated structure. The vibrator is electrically connected to the output end of the power divider, and the input end of the power divider is electrically connected to the output end of the phase shifter through a probe or a via. The integrated structure is processed by injection molding, laser engraving, and then surface electroplating to etch out the metal parts such as the vibrator, power divider microstrip transmission line, metal reflective surface, phase shifter strip transmission line, metal wall, etc. The complete subarray is as follows Figure 4 As shown, the movable medium 207 is located between the metal wall 204 of the phase shifter and the transmission line 205, and the cover plate 206 of the phase shifter is fixed to the metal wall 204 to form a complete closed structure. Multiple sub-arrays can be spliced ​​to form a large-scale array. This embodiment of the invention is suitable for a Massive MIMO system with 16 radio frequency channels.

[0037] The sub-array structure integrating phase shifter, oscillator and power divider is also as follows: Figure 5 and 6 In another form shown, one metal wall 204 is perpendicular to the metal reflective surface, while the other metal wall 204 is parallel to the reflective surface, the line and dielectric layer of the phase shifter strip transmission line 205 are located between the metal reflective surface and the parallel metal wall, and the movable sliding medium 207 is located between the metal reflective surface / metal wall and the transmission line. The metal cover plate 206 of the phase shifter is perpendicular to the metal reflective surface and fixed thereto to form a closed structure.

[0038] Example 2

[0039] The phase shifter in Embodiment 1 of the present invention can also be "replaced" (not a simple replacement in terms of technology, but the antenna structure can include only a phase shifter or a filter, or can include both a phase shifter and a filter, and this embodiment only illustrates the case of a filter) with a filter, and its structure is slightly different from the previous embodiment. For each radiation unit group 12 connected to a power divider 202, the input end of the power divider is electrically connected to a filter, specifically, through a metallized via or a probe. Each radiation unit group includes at least two filters, corresponding to two polarized RF channels respectively. The structural schematic diagram can be found in Figure 7 and Figure 8 . Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of an integrated structure, where the radiation unit 201, the power divider 202 circuit, the substrate 203 and the metal reflective surface, as well as the filter metal wall 209 and the transmission line 208 circuit and medium can be integrated by integral injection molding, laser engraving and electroplating. The metal wall of the filter can be electroplated on the outer side and / or inner side as needed. Figure 8 2 is a diagram of the overall structure of the subarray, in which the metal cover plate 210 of the filter is connected to the metal wall 209 to form a closed structure. This embodiment is applicable to a Massive MIMO antenna with more than or equal to 32 radio frequency channels.

[0040] Example 3

[0041] This embodiment combines the first embodiment with the second embodiment, that is, each column of sub-array radiation units is electrically connected to the phase shifter through a power divider and then to the filter. Fig. 9 As shown, the metal wall 204 of the phase shifter and the strip transmission line 205, the metal wall 209 of the filter and the transmission line 208, the antenna element and the power divider 202 are integrally formed by injection molding, laser engraving and electroplating. Fig.10 As shown, the sliding medium 207 of the phase shifter, the metal cover plate 206 and the filter metal cover plate 210 are fixed later, and the integration of the formed subarray is further improved. Thus, the 16-RF channel Massive MIMO antenna can further improve consistency, increase production efficiency, and thus reduce costs.

[0042] The present invention combines the integrated design with the plastic selective electroplating process in the large-scale array antenna, so that the power divider, phase shifter or filter part can be integrated with the radiation unit array, which not only improves the production efficiency but also reduces the cost of large-scale antennas. The Massive MIMO antenna is suitable for 5G system frequency bands and provides an economical and practical solution for the large-scale deployment of 5G mobile communication systems.

[0043] 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 patent 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. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent of the present invention shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. A 5G array antenna, characterized in that: Comprising at least one subarray, each of the subarrays integrates a radiation element array, at least one power divider, a phase shifter and / or at least one filter; The radiation unit array comprises a row of multiple radiation units; the power divider is a microstrip line structure, the line of which is located on the upper layer of a horizontally placed substrate, and the bottom layer of the substrate is a metal reflective surface; the radiation unit array is fixed above the substrate and shares the metal reflective surface with the power divider; The output end of the power divider is electrically connected to at least two adjacent radiation units; The phase shifter includes an input end and multiple output ends, and the filter includes an input end and an output end; the phase shifter includes four parts: a strip transmission line, a sliding medium, a metal wall and a metal cover plate, and the filter includes three parts: a transmission line, a metal wall and a metal cover plate; the radiation element array in the subarray, the substrate, the strip transmission line and metal wall of the phase shifter, and / or the transmission line and metal wall of the filter are an integrated structure; Each of the radiation units includes a dual-polarization antenna element, and the output end of the power divider is electrically connected to the antenna elements of the same polarization direction of two to three adjacent radiation units; The subarray includes both a phase shifter and a filter; The antenna elements and power divider circuits of the subarray are located above the metal reflective surface, the phase shifter and the filter are located below the metal reflective surface, the output end of the phase shifter is electrically connected to the input end of the power divider, and the input end of the filter is electrically connected to the input end of the phase shifter; The phase shifter strip transmission line, metal wall and the transmission line, metal wall of the filter, as well as the antenna vibrator and the power divider are an integrated structure, and the phase shifter, the filter, the antenna vibrator and the power divider share a metal reflective surface. The metal wall of the phase shifter, the strip transmission line and the metal reflective surface of the substrate are integrated and processed. The integrated structure is injection molded at one time, and the surface is electroplated after laser engraving to form the radiation unit, the power divider, the metal wall of the phase shifter and the metal parts of the strip transmission line, the metal wall of the filter and the transmission line. The sliding medium, the metal cover plate of the phase shifter and the metal cover plate of the filter are fixed later. The metal cover plate of the phase shifter is welded or screwed to form a closed structure with the metal wall. The sliding medium can move in the middle of the closed structure of the phase shifter. After the cover plate of the phase shifter is fixed to the metal wall, a complete closed structure is formed. The metal cover plate of the filter is connected to the metal wall to form a closed structure.

2. The 5G array antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that: The number of radiation units of the subarray is 12, and the number of subarrays is 8.

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