Dielectric sliding phase shifter and base station antenna

Abstract

The present invention provides a dielectric sliding phase shifter and a base station antenna, wherein the dielectric sliding phase shifter includes a cavity, a phase shift circuit and a dielectric plate both contained in the cavity, the phase shift circuit includes at least two sections of fan-shaped wire cores arranged equidistantly in the circumferential direction and arranged in series in sequence, the dielectric plate includes a plurality of fan-shaped structures arranged corresponding to the number of the fan-shaped wire cores and arranged equidistantly in the circumferential direction, the dielectric plate can rotate along an axis passing through the center of the fan-shaped structure and perpendicular to the surface of the dielectric plate, and the dielectric plate can at least partially cover the fan-shaped core wire after rotation. In the dielectric sliding phase shifter provided by the present invention, the phase shift circuit is set as a plurality of fan-shaped wire cores, and when performing phase shift adjustment, the entire phase shift adjustment stroke can be completed when the rotation angle of the dielectric plate is equal to the center angle of a fan-shaped wire core, which can effectively reduce the phase shift adjustment stroke, simplify the overall layout of the base station antenna, and realize antenna miniaturization.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of mobile communications, and in particular to a dielectric sliding phase shifter and a base station antenna using the dielectric sliding phase shifter. Background Art

[0002] As an important component of base station antenna, the working principle of phase shifter is to change the phase difference between the feed point and the load by continuously changing the electrical length between the two.

[0003] At present, there are two main phase shifting methods of phase shifters: the first is to change the phase by directly changing the physical path length from the feed point to the antenna unit, such as a metal sliding phase shifter. Since the network in the phase shifter is connected in a coupling form, the process is difficult to implement and it is easy to cause intermodulation risks, affecting the intermodulation stability of the base station antenna; the second is to achieve phase shifting by changing the dielectric constant of the transmission line between the feed point and the antenna unit, such as the technical solution involved in Chinese patent CN108879035, which changes the area covered by the dielectric plate of the phase shift circuit by rotating the dielectric plate, thereby adjusting the dielectric constant of the phase shift circuit to achieve phase shifting. This structure has been widely used due to its relatively stable intermodulation and simple implementation form, but there is a problem that the dielectric plate needs to be rotated 180 degrees to complete the entire phase shift adjustment stroke. An excessively long phase shift adjustment stroke is not conducive to the overall layout of the base station antenna and is difficult to achieve miniaturization. Summary of the invention

[0004] The primary object of the present invention is to provide a dielectric sliding type phase shifter which can shorten the phase shift adjustment stroke.

[0005] Another object of the present invention is to provide a base station antenna using the above dielectric sliding phase shifter.

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0007] As a first aspect, the present invention relates to a dielectric sliding phase shifter, comprising a cavity, a phase shifting circuit and a dielectric plate all housed in the cavity, the phase shifting circuit comprising at least two sections of fan-shaped cores arranged equidistantly in a circumferential direction and arranged in series in sequence, the dielectric plate comprising a plurality of fan-shaped structures arranged corresponding to the number of the fan-shaped cores and arranged equidistantly in a circumferential direction, the dielectric plate being rotatable along an axis passing through the center of the fan-shaped structure and perpendicular to the surface of the dielectric plate, and the dielectric plate being able to at least partially cover the fan-shaped core wires after rotation.

[0008] Preferably, the sum of the central angles of the at least two sections of the fan-shaped cores is 180 degrees.

[0009] More preferably, the central angle of the fan-shaped structure is equal to the central angle of the fan-shaped core.

[0010] Preferably, the fan-shaped core comprises at least two circular arc segments whose diameters decrease successively and are successively arranged in series, and the at least two circular arc segments are concentrically arranged.

[0011] More preferably, the central angles of the at least two arc segments are the same.

[0012] Preferably, the fan-shaped core is bent back and forth along its diameter direction to form a wave-shaped structure.

[0013] Preferably, the transmission line type of the phase shift circuit is an air stripline structure.

[0014] Preferably, a avoidance groove for the fan-shaped core to pass through is opened inside the dielectric plate.

[0015] Optionally, the dielectric plate is provided with two layers, and the phase shifting circuit is provided between the two layers of dielectric plates.

[0016] As a second aspect, the present invention also relates to a base station antenna, comprising the above-mentioned dielectric sliding phase shifter.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the solution of the present invention has the following advantages:

[0018] 1. In the dielectric sliding phase shifter provided by the present invention, the phase shift circuit includes a plurality of fan-shaped cores, and the dielectric plate includes a plurality of fan-shaped structures arranged corresponding to the number of the fan-shaped cores. When performing phase shift adjustment, the entire phase shift adjustment stroke can be completed when the rotation angle of the dielectric plate is equal to the central angle of the fan-shaped core, which can effectively shorten the phase shift adjustment stroke. Therefore, when applied to a base station antenna, the overall layout of the base station antenna can be simplified, and the antenna design integration can be improved to achieve antenna miniaturization.

[0019] 2. In the dielectric sliding phase shifter provided by the present invention, the fan-shaped core of the phase shift circuit includes at least two arc segments whose diameters decrease successively and are arranged in series successively, which can increase the signal flow length within a limited space and achieve a larger phase shift amount without increasing the overall size.

[0020] 3. In the dielectric sliding phase shifter provided by the present invention, the fan-shaped core of the phase shift circuit is bent back and forth along its diameter direction to form a waveform structure, which can also increase the signal flow length within a limited space and achieve a larger phase shift amount.

[0021] Additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will be given in part in the following description, which will become obvious from the following description, or may be learned through practice of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and easily understood from the following description of the embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0023] Figure 1 An exploded view of a dielectric sliding phase shifter provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of the phase shift circuit core in the dielectric sliding phase shifter shown;

[0025] Figure 3 A schematic structural diagram of a phase shift circuit core provided by another embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 4 A schematic structural diagram of a phase shift circuit core provided by another embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 5 An exploded view of a base station antenna provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 6 for Figure 5 The schematic diagram of the structure of the phase shift circuit and power division circuit core in the base station antenna is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, examples of which 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 invention, and cannot be interpreted as limiting the present invention.

[0030] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that, unless specifically stated, the term "comprising" used in the specification of the present invention refers to the presence of the features, integers, steps, operations, parts / components and / or assemblies, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, parts / components, assemblies and / or their groups. It should be understood that when we say a part / component is "connected" to another part / component, it can be directly connected to the other part / component, or there can be intermediate parts / components. The term "and / or" used herein includes all or any unit and all combinations of one or more associated listed items.

[0031] Figures 1 to 6 The dielectric sliding phase shifter provided in an embodiment of the present invention is collectively shown, which is used to be arranged in an antenna to achieve phase adjustment of the antenna. Due to its compact structure and short adjustment stroke, it can effectively simplify the overall layout of the base station antenna, improve the antenna design integration to achieve miniaturization of the antenna.

[0032] like Figure 1 As shown, the dielectric sliding phase shifter 1 comprises a cavity 11 , a phase shift circuit 12 and a dielectric plate 13 , and the phase shift circuit 12 and the dielectric plate 13 are both arranged in the cavity 11 .

[0033] Furthermore, the cavity 11 is composed of a base 111 and a top plate 112, both of which are made of metal materials, and the phase shift circuit 12 and the dielectric plate 13 are sandwiched between the base 111 and the top plate 112, and the base 111 and the top plate 112 jointly form a ground structure of the phase shift circuit 12.

[0034] Furthermore, the cavity 11 further comprises a dielectric block 113 disposed on a side of the top plate 112 away from the base 111, the dielectric block 113 may be made of a plastic material, and the top plate 112 is a metal layer bonded or electroplated on the surface of the dielectric block 113. Through holes (not numbered, the same below) are provided on the top plate 112 and the dielectric block 113 for the feeder to pass through the cavity 11, and the antenna feeder can pass through the through hole into the cavity 11 to connect with the phase shift circuit 12.

[0035] Preferably, the transmission line type of the phase shift circuit 12 is an air stripline structure, which can effectively reduce the loss and improve the gain of the antenna when applied in a base station antenna.

[0036] Please combine Figure 2 The phase shift circuit 12 includes two segments of fan-shaped cores 121 and a connecting segment 122 arranged along the diameter direction of the fan-shaped cores 121 and connecting the two segments of the fan-shaped cores 121 in series. The two segments of the fan-shaped cores 121 are arranged equidistantly along the circumferential direction of the same circle center, that is, the two segments of the fan-shaped cores 121 are arranged opposite to each other. The dielectric plate 13 includes two fan-shaped structures 131 arranged along the circumferential direction of the same circle center. The dielectric plate 13 can rotate along an axis passing through the circle center of the fan-shaped structure 131 and perpendicular to the surface of the dielectric plate 13.

[0037] The center of the fan-shaped core 121 is located within the axis and the diameter of the fan-shaped core 121 is not greater than the diameter of the fan-shaped structure 131, that is, the fan-shaped structure 131 can cover the fan-shaped core 121 after rotation. When in use, the area of ​​the fan-shaped core 121 covered by the fan-shaped structure 131 can be adjusted by rotating the dielectric plate 13, thereby adjusting the dielectric constant of the transmission line in the phase shift circuit 12, and then changing the length of the transmission line in the phase shift circuit 12 to achieve phase adjustment. Secondly, since there is no coupling connection design in the phase shift circuit 12 when implementing phase adjustment, the stability of important indicators such as standing wave, amplitude phase, and third-order intermodulation of the components can be guaranteed.

[0038] Preferably, the sum of the central angles of the two sections of the fan-shaped core 121 is 180 degrees, that is, the two sections of the fan-shaped core 121 can form a semicircular structure after splicing, thereby reserving the space of the other semicircle to set the fan-shaped structure 131, so that the fan-shaped structure 131 can be adjusted from an initial state of completely not covering the fan-shaped core 121 to a maximum phase shift adjustment state of completely covering the fan-shaped core 121, thereby improving space utilization.

[0039] More preferably, the central angle of the fan-shaped structure 121 is equal to the central angle of the fan-shaped core 121, so that the fan-shaped structure 121 can completely cover the fan-shaped core 121, further improving space utilization.

[0040] Since the sum of the central angles of the two segments of the fan-shaped core 121 is 180 degrees, that is, the central angle of each fan-shaped core 121 is 90 degrees, correspondingly, the central angle of the fan-shaped structure 131 is also 90 degrees. At this time, the dielectric plate 13 is rotated 90 degrees as a whole to adjust the fan-shaped structure 131 from the initial state of not covering the fan-shaped core 121 to the maximum phase shift adjustment state of completely covering the fan-shaped core 121. Compared with the structure of setting the phase shift circuit 12 as a single fan-shaped core with a central angle of 180 degrees, the entire phase shift adjustment stroke can be completed without rotating 180 degrees, which can effectively shorten the phase shift adjustment stroke, thereby simplifying the overall layout of the base station antenna when applied in the base station antenna, improving the antenna design integration to achieve antenna miniaturization.

[0041] It should be understood that, in order to ensure the accuracy of phase shift adjustment and reduce the difficulty of processing the phase shift circuit, the phase shift circuit 12 provided in this embodiment only includes two sections of the fan-shaped core 121. However, in other embodiments, the phase shift circuit 12 may also include more than two sections of the fan-shaped core 121, for example, including three sections of the fan-shaped core 121 arranged equidistantly in the circumferential direction and arranged in series in sequence, and the central angle of each section of the fan-shaped core 121 is 60 degrees. The number of the fan-shaped structures 131 is set corresponding to the number of the fan-shaped core 121. At this time, the entire phase shift adjustment stroke can be completed by rotating the dielectric plate 13 as a whole by 60 degrees, which can further reduce the phase shift adjustment stroke.

[0042] Preferably, the dielectric plate 13 is provided with an avoidance groove 132 for the sector core 121 to pass through, that is, after the dielectric plate 13 is rotated, the sector core 121 can be completely wrapped in the avoidance groove 132, thereby reducing the influence of the dielectric constant of the air and achieving a better phase adjustment effect.

[0043] Optionally, in other implementations, the dielectric plate 13 is provided with two layers, and the phase shifting circuit 12 is provided between the two layers of dielectric plates 13, which can also improve the phase adjustment effect.

[0044] like Figure 3 As shown, in another embodiment, the fan-shaped core 121 includes two concentrically arranged arc segments 1211 with successively decreasing diameters. The two arc segments 1211 are connected in series through the connecting segment 122, which can increase the signal flow length within a limited space and achieve a larger phase shift without increasing the overall size.

[0045] Preferably, the central angles of the two arc segments 1211 are the same, so that the two arc segments 1211 can be completely covered by the fan-shaped structure 131, further improving space utilization and achieving a greater phase shift.

[0046] In other implementations, if the processing accuracy meets the requirements and the space allows, more arc segments 1211 may be arranged in the fan-shaped core 121 to further improve the phase shifting amount of the dielectric sliding phase shifter 1 .

[0047] like Figure 4 As shown, in another embodiment, the fan-shaped core 121 is bent back and forth along its diameter direction to form a wave structure, which can also increase the signal flow length within a limited space and achieve a larger phase shift without increasing the overall size.

[0048] like Figure 5 As shown, as a second aspect, the present invention also relates to a base station antenna 1000, including the above-mentioned dielectric sliding phase shifter 1. Since the dielectric sliding phase shifter 1 has a compact structure and a short adjustment stroke, it can effectively simplify the overall layout of the base station antenna 1000, improve the antenna design integration to achieve antenna miniaturization.

[0049] Furthermore, the base station antenna 1000 further includes a radiation unit 2, a reflector 3, a plastic plate 4, an electroplated metal layer 5 and a feed pin 6. The radiation unit 2, the plastic plate 4, the electroplated metal layer 5 and the dielectric sliding phase shifter 1 are arranged on the reflector 3 from top to bottom, and the feed line 21 of the radiation unit 2 is electrically connected to the dielectric sliding phase shifter 1 through the feed pin 6. At this time, the electroplated metal layer 5 and the reflector 3 together constitute the metal ground structure of the dielectric sliding phase shifter 1, and the dielectric sliding phase shifter 1 can work normally without the cavity 11.

[0050] Please combine Figure 6In this embodiment, the radiation unit 2 has two polarization directions of ±45 degrees. Correspondingly, the dielectric sliding phase shifter 1 includes a phase shift circuit 12 and a corresponding power division circuit 14. When the dielectric plate 13 in one polarization direction is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise to adjust the phase, the phase from the feed source to the radiation unit 2 changes in sequence, thereby achieving the upward or downward tilt adjustment of the beam of the base station antenna 1000. Similarly, the downward tilt adjustment of the other polarization direction can be achieved by rotating the dielectric plate 13 in the corresponding phase shift circuit 12.

[0051] In the base station antenna 1000, since the dielectric sliding phase shifter 1 and the radiation unit 2 are designed with high integration, the radiation unit 2 and the related feeder 21 can be integrally formed by injection molding and electroplating processes, reducing related welding points, which is conducive to reducing costs and realizing the miniaturization of the base station antenna 1000. Secondly, since the reflector 3 is used as a side structure of the dielectric sliding phase shifter 1, the number of antenna components is further reduced, the assembly complexity of the base station antenna 100 is reduced, and the assembly time can be effectively reduced, saving labor costs.

[0052] The above descriptions are only some embodiments of the present invention. It should be pointed out that, for ordinary technicians in this technical field, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principles of the present invention. These improvements and modifications should also be regarded as the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A dielectric sliding phase shifter, comprising a cavity, a phase shift circuit and a dielectric plate both contained in the cavity, characterized in that: The phase shift circuit includes at least two fan-shaped cores which are arranged equidistantly in a circumferential direction and are arranged in series in sequence. The dielectric plate includes a plurality of fan-shaped structures which are arranged corresponding to the number of the fan-shaped cores and are arranged equidistantly in a circumferential direction. The dielectric plate can rotate along an axis which passes through the center of the fan-shaped structure and is perpendicular to the surface of the dielectric plate, and the dielectric plate at least partially covers the fan-shaped core after rotation. The fan-shaped core includes at least two arc segments whose diameters decrease successively and are arranged in series in sequence, and the at least two arc segments are arranged concentrically.

2. The dielectric sliding phase shifter according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sum of the central angles of at least two sections of the fan-shaped cores is 180 degrees.

3. The dielectric sliding phase shifter according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The central angle of the fan-shaped structure is equal to the central angle of the fan-shaped core.

4. The dielectric sliding phase shifter according to claim 1, characterized in that: The central angles of the at least two arc segments are the same.

5. The dielectric sliding phase shifter according to claim 1, characterized in that: The fan-shaped core is bent back and forth along its diameter direction to form a wave-shaped structure.

6. The dielectric sliding phase shifter according to claim 1, characterized in that: The transmission line type of the phase shift circuit is an air stripline structure.

7. The dielectric sliding phase shifter according to claim 1, characterized in that: An avoidance groove for the fan-shaped line core to pass through is provided inside the dielectric plate.

8. The dielectric sliding phase shifter according to claim 1, characterized in that: The dielectric plate is provided with two layers, and the phase shifting circuit is provided between the two layers of dielectric plates.

9. A base station antenna, characterized in that: It comprises the dielectric sliding type phase shifter as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8.

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