Base station antenna and its phase shifter

Abstract

The present invention provides a base station antenna and its phase shifter, wherein the phase shifter includes a substrate, a phase shifter plate and a first shielding cavity, one side of the substrate is covered with a grounding layer, and the other side is provided with a fixed circuit, the phase shifter plate is arranged on the side of the substrate provided with the fixed circuit, the phase shifter plate is provided with a sliding circuit, the sliding circuit is coupled and connected with the fixed circuit and together constitutes a phase shifting circuit, the phase shifter plate can drive the sliding circuit to move relative to the fixed circuit to adjust the length of the phase shifting circuit, and the first shielding cavity cover is arranged on the phase shifting circuit and is electrically connected to the grounding layer. The phase shifter provided by the present invention sets the first shielding cavity cover on the substrate and is grounded, and together with the phase shifting circuit, it constitutes an asymmetric stripline structure, which can reduce radiation loss. Secondly, the air in the first shielding cavity can also reduce the equivalent dielectric constant of the phase shifter, thereby reducing dielectric loss.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] With the rapid development of mobile communication technology and the advent of the fifth generation of mobile communication, higher requirements have been placed on the power loss of base station antennas. Since the loss of base station antennas depends largely on the link loss of the feed network, and the phase shifter used to adjust the signal phase and antenna beam downtilt is a key component of the base station antenna, its loss improvement plays an extremely important role in reducing antenna consumption and improving antenna gain.

[0003] However, the dielectric sliding phase shifters and metal sliding phase shifters currently used in base station antennas both have high dielectric loss and radiation loss, which is not conducive to reducing the power consumption cost of the communication system. Summary of the invention

[0004] The primary object of the present invention is to provide a phase shifter with lower loss.

[0005] Another object of the present invention is to provide a base station antenna using the above 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 phase shifter, comprising a substrate, a phase shifter plate and a first shielding cavity, wherein one side of the substrate is covered with a grounding layer, and the other side is provided with a fixed circuit, the phase shifter plate is arranged on the side of the substrate provided with the fixed circuit, the phase shifter plate is provided with a sliding circuit, the sliding circuit is coupled to the fixed circuit and together constitutes a phase shifting circuit, the phase shifter plate can drive the sliding circuit to move relative to the fixed circuit to adjust the length of the phase shifting circuit, and the first shielding cavity covers the phase shifting circuit and is electrically connected to the grounding layer.

[0008] Preferably, the phase shifter also includes a circuit cavity covered on the surface of the substrate and connected to the fixed circuit, the circuit cavity and the substrate together enclose a guide hole, and the phase shifter plate is inserted into the guide hole and can slide along the guide hole.

[0009] More preferably, the fixed circuit includes an input section and an output section arranged side by side, two circuit cavities are provided, and the two circuit cavities are respectively covered on the input section and the output section, the phase shifter plate includes a driving plate and two limit plates connected to the driving plate side by side, the two ends of the phase shifter circuit are respectively arranged on the two limit plates and are coupled and connected to the input section and the output section respectively, and the two limit plates are correspondingly passed through the guide holes formed by the two circuit cavities.

[0010] Preferably, the height of the first shielding cavity corresponding to the fixed circuit portion is greater than the height of other portions.

[0011] Furthermore, a side of the substrate provided with the fixed circuit is also provided with a grounding circuit connected to the grounding layer, and the first shielding cavity is connected to the grounding circuit.

[0012] Preferably, the phase shifter further comprises a second shielding cavity, which is provided on a side of the substrate provided with a ground layer and is arranged corresponding to the position of the phase shifting circuit.

[0013] Preferably, a limiting groove is provided on the inner wall of the first shielding cavity, and the phase shifter further comprises an elastic block embedded in the limiting groove, and one end of the elastic block away from the first shielding cavity abuts against the phase shifting plate.

[0014] Preferably, a slide groove is provided on the inner wall of the first shielding cavity, and the edge of the phase shifting plate is embedded in the slide groove and can slide along the slide groove.

[0015] Preferably, the phase shifter further includes a limiting member, the phase shift plate includes a driving plate exposed from the first shielding cavity, and the limiting member is disposed on the substrate and together with the substrate encloses a limiting hole for the driving plate to pass through.

[0016] Preferably, the phase shifter further comprises a guide post arranged on the base plate, the phase shift plate is provided with a guide long hole along its moving direction, and the guide post is passed through the guide long hole.

[0017] Preferably, the fixed circuit includes a main circuit and an adjustment branch connected to the main circuit and used to adjust the matching of the main circuit.

[0018] Preferably, the phase shifter also includes an adjustment circuit for adjusting the bandwidth of the phase shift circuit, and the adjustment circuit includes a first adjustment circuit arranged on the substrate with a distance from the fixed circuit, and a second adjustment circuit arranged on the phase shift board with a distance from the sliding circuit and coupled to the first adjustment circuit.

[0019] As a second aspect, the present invention also relates to a base station antenna, comprising the above-mentioned phase shifter.

[0020] Compared with the prior art, the solution of the present invention has the following advantages:

[0021] 1. The phase shifter provided by the present invention covers the first shielding cavity on the substrate and is grounded, and together with the phase shifting circuit, forms an asymmetric stripline structure, which can constrain the radiation field of the phase shifting circuit between two ground planes and reduce radiation loss. Secondly, the air in the first shielding cavity can also reduce the equivalent dielectric constant of the phase shifter, thereby reducing dielectric loss.

[0022] 2. The phase shifter provided by the present invention is provided with a circuit cavity connected to the fixed circuit and wrapping the phase shifter plate. The moving direction of the phase shifter plate can be limited by the circuit cavity, and the coupling amount of the fixed circuit can also be increased to make the circuit indicators more stable.

[0023] 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

[0024] 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:

[0025] Figure 1 A three-dimensional diagram of a phase shifter provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 2 for Figure 1 An exploded view of the phase shifter shown;

[0027] Figure 3 An exploded view of a phase shifter provided by another embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 4 An exploded view of a phase shifter provided in yet another embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 5 for Figure 4 A connection structure diagram of a circuit cavity and a substrate in the phase shifter shown;

[0030] Figure 6 An exploded view of a phase shifter provided in yet another embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 7 A three-dimensional diagram of a phase shifter provided in yet another embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 8 An end face structural diagram of a phase shifter provided by another embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Fig. 9A three-dimensional diagram of a first shielding cavity in a phase shifter provided in yet another embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] 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.

[0035] 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.

[0036] Figures 1 to 9 The phase shifter provided in an embodiment of the present invention is collectively shown, which is used to be arranged in a base station antenna to realize phase adjustment of antenna signals. Due to its simple structure and the ability to realize low-loss, high-gain signal transmission, it can effectively reduce antenna losses, thereby reducing the use cost of the base station network.

[0037] Please combine Figure 1 and Figure 2 The phase shifter 1 includes a substrate 11, a phase shift plate 12, a first shielding cavity 13 and a phase shift circuit 14. The phase shift circuit 14 includes a fixed circuit 141 provided on the substrate 11 and a sliding circuit 142 provided on the phase shift plate 12. One side of the substrate 11 is covered with a grounding layer (not shown in the figure, the same below), and the other side is provided with the fixed circuit 141. The phase shift plate 12 is provided on the side of the substrate 11 provided with the fixed circuit 141, and the projection of the sliding circuit 142 on the substrate 11 is at least partially overlapped with the fixed circuit 141, so that the sliding circuit 142 is coupled and connected with the fixed circuit 141. By pulling the phase shift plate 12, the sliding circuit 142 can be driven to move relative to the fixed circuit 141, thereby adjusting the overlapping area of ​​the sliding circuit 142 and the fixed circuit 141, which is equivalent to adjusting the length of the phase shift circuit 14, thereby achieving phase adjustment.

[0038] Furthermore, the substrate 11 is a PCB dielectric board, and the fixed circuit 141 is composed of a transmission line printed on the PCB dielectric board.

[0039] Furthermore, the surface of the sliding circuit 142 is covered with an insulating layer (not shown in the figure, the same below), and the sliding circuit 142 is separated from the fixed circuit 141 by the insulating layer, so that the phase shifter 12 can be attached to the substrate 11 for fixation, and the sliding circuit 142 is not directly connected to the fixed circuit 141, that is, maintain a coupled connection state.

[0040] Preferably, the first shielding cavity 13 is provided on the side of the substrate 11 provided with the fixed circuit 141, the first shielding cavity 13 is covered on the phase shifting circuit 14 and is electrically connected to the grounding layer, and the first shielding cavity 13, the substrate 11 and the phase shifting circuit 14 together form an asymmetric stripline structure, which can constrain the radiation field of the phase shifting circuit 14 between the two grounding planes of the first shielding cavity 13 and the substrate 11, thereby reducing radiation loss. Secondly, the air in the first shielding cavity 13 can also reduce the equivalent dielectric constant of the phase shifter 1, thereby reducing dielectric loss.

[0041] Preferably, the fixed circuit 141 includes a main circuit 1411 and an adjustment branch 1412 connected to the main circuit 1411. The adjustment branch 1412 can be set to an open circuit or a grounded setting. By configuring the adjustment branch 1412 with different widths and lengths, the matching of the main circuit 1411 can be adjusted to make the circuit indicators more stable.

[0042] Furthermore, a grounding circuit 111 is also provided on one side of the substrate 11 on which the fixing circuit 141 is provided, and the first shielding cavity 13 is provided on the grounding circuit 111. The grounding circuit 111 is connected to the grounding layer, specifically, by a metallized via provided on the surface of the substrate 11 or a metal connecting wire provided on the side wall of the substrate 11, so that the first shielding cavity 13 is grounded.

[0043] Specifically, the first shielding cavity 13 is provided with pins or plugs (not shown, the same below), and the first shielding cavity 13 is welded to the grounding circuit 111 through the pins or plugs to ensure circuit stability and connection strength.

[0044] Preferably, a slide groove 131 is formed on the inner wall of the first shielding cavity 13 , and the edge of the phase shifting plate 12 is embedded in the slide groove 131 and can slide along the slide groove 131 , so that the phase shifting plate 12 is limited and fixed by the slide groove 131 .

[0045] More preferably, the inner wall of the first shielding cavity 13 is further provided with a limit groove (not shown in the figure, the same below), and the phase shifter 1 also includes an elastic block (not shown in the figure, the same below) embedded in the limit groove, and the end of the elastic block away from the first shielding cavity 13 abuts against the phase shifter plate 12, that is, the phase shifter plate 12 is pressed against the substrate 11 by the elastic block, thereby ensuring a stable connection between the sliding circuit 142 and the fixed circuit 141, thereby ensuring the phase shifting effect.

[0046] like Figure 3 As shown, in another embodiment, the phase shifter 1 further includes an adjustment circuit 15, and the adjustment circuit 15 includes a first adjustment circuit 151 and a second adjustment circuit 152. The first adjustment circuit 151 is arranged on the substrate 11 with a spacing from the fixed circuit 141, and the second adjustment circuit 152 is arranged on the phase shift plate 12 with a spacing from the sliding circuit 142 and is coupled to the first adjustment circuit 151. By changing the length and width of the adjustment circuit 15, the matching, resonance point, bandwidth and other parameters of the phase shift circuit 14 can be adjusted.

[0047] Please combine Figure 4 and Figure 5 In another embodiment, the phase shifter 1 further includes a circuit cavity 16, which is covered on the surface of the substrate 11 and connected to the fixed circuit 141. The circuit cavity 16 and the substrate 11 together enclose a guide hole 161, and the phase shift plate 12 is inserted into the guide hole 161 and can slide along the guide hole 161. The circuit cavity 16 can limit the moving direction of the phase shift plate 12, improve the moving accuracy and stability of the phase shift plate 12, and can also increase the coupling amount of the fixed circuit 141, so that the circuit indicators are more stable.

[0048] Furthermore, the main circuit 1411 includes an input section 1411A and an output section 1411A which are arranged side by side and at intervals. The input section 1411A is used as an input port of the phase shifter 1 , and the output section 1411A is used as an output port of the phase shifter 1 .

[0049] Preferably, the circuit cavities 16 are provided with two, and the two circuit cavities 16 are respectively covered on the input section 1411A and the output section 1411B, the phase shifter 12 comprises a driving plate 121 and two limit plates 122 connected to the driving plate 121 side by side, the phase shifter 142 is provided with a U-shaped structure, and its two ends are provided on the two limit plates 122 and are respectively coupled and connected with the input section 1411A and the output section 1411B, and the two limit plates 122 are respectively provided in the guide holes 161 formed by the two circuit cavities 16. The coupling amount of the input section 1411A and the output section 1411B is increased by the two circuit cavities 16, the circuit index is improved, and the phase shifter 12 can be better limited and fixed.

[0050] like Figure 6 As shown, in another embodiment, the phase shifter 1 further includes a guide post 17 disposed on the substrate 11, and the phase shifter plate 12 is provided with a guide long hole 123 along its moving direction, and the guide post 17 is passed through the guide long hole 123. When the phase shifter plate 12 moves, the guide post 17 can be used to limit the position in the width direction, so that the phase shifter plate 12 can only move along its length direction, thereby further improving the movement accuracy of the phase shifter plate 12.

[0051] Preferably, at least two guide posts 17 are provided, and at least two guide posts 17 are spaced apart along the guide long hole 123 , so that the phase shifting plate 12 is prevented from rotating relative to one of the guide posts 17 through the common limiting effect of at least two guide posts 17 .

[0052] like Figure 7 As shown, in another embodiment, the phase shifter 1 also includes a limit member 18, and the driving plate 121 of the phase shifter plate 12 is exposed in the first shielding cavity 13. The limit member 18 is arranged on the substrate 11 and together with the substrate 11, encloses a limit hole for the driving plate 121 to pass through (not shown in the figure, the same below). The driving plate 121 is pressed onto the substrate 11 by the limit member 18, and the phase shifter plate 12 is further limited and fixed, thereby effectively preventing the phase shifter plate 12 from prying open the end of the first shielding cavity 13 or the circuit cavity 16 when moving.

[0053] like Figure 8 As shown, in another embodiment, the phase shifter 1 also includes a second shielding cavity 19, and the second shielding cavity 19 is covered on a side of the substrate 11 provided with a ground layer and is arranged corresponding to the position of the phase shifting circuit 14. The air in the second shielding cavity 19 can further reduce the equivalent dielectric constant of the phase shifter 1 and reduce the dielectric loss of the phase shifter 1.

[0054] like Fig. 9 As shown, in another embodiment, the height of the first shielding cavity 13 corresponding to the fixed circuit 141 is greater than the height of other parts, that is, the first shielding cavity 13 has a stepped structure, which can adjust the matching of the fixed circuit 141 and further improve the circuit index.

[0055] As a second aspect, the present invention also relates to a base station antenna (not shown in the figure, the same below), which includes the above-mentioned phase shifter 1000. Since the phase shifter 1000 has a simple structure and can achieve low-loss, high-gain signal transmission, it can effectively reduce the layout cost and use cost of the base station antenna and enhance product competitiveness.

[0056] 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 phase shifter, characterized in that: It includes a substrate, a phase shifter and a first shielding cavity, one side of the substrate is covered with a grounding layer, and the other side is provided with a fixed circuit, the phase shifter is arranged on the side of the substrate provided with the fixed circuit, the phase shifter is provided with a sliding circuit, the sliding circuit is coupled and connected with the fixed circuit and together constitute a phase shifter circuit, the phase shifter can drive the sliding circuit to move relative to the fixed circuit to adjust the length of the phase shifter circuit, the first shielding cavity is covered on the phase shifter circuit and is electrically connected to the grounding layer; it also includes a second shielding cavity, the second shielding cavity is covered on the side of the substrate provided with the grounding layer and is arranged corresponding to the position of the phase shifter circuit.

2. The phase shifter according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a circuit cavity covered on the surface of the substrate and connected to the fixed circuit, wherein the circuit cavity and the substrate together enclose a guide hole, and the phase shifter is inserted into the guide hole and can slide along the guide hole.

3. The phase shifter according to claim 2, characterized in that: The fixed circuit includes an input section and an output section arranged side by side. Two circuit cavities are provided. The two circuit cavities are respectively covered on the input section and the output section. The phase shifter plate includes a driving plate and two limit plates connected to the driving plate side by side. The two ends of the phase shifter circuit are respectively arranged on the two limit plates and are coupled and connected to the input section and the output section respectively. The two limit plates are correspondingly passed through the guide holes formed by the two circuit cavities.

4. The phase shifter according to claim 1, characterized in that: The height of the first shielding cavity corresponding to the fixed circuit portion is greater than the height of other portions.

5. The phase shifter according to claim 1, characterized in that: A side of the substrate provided with a fixed circuit is also provided with a grounding circuit connected to the grounding layer, and the first shielding cavity is connected to the grounding circuit.

6. The phase shifter according to claim 1, characterized in that The inner wall of the first shielding cavity is provided with a limiting groove, and the phase shifter further comprises an elastic block embedded in the limiting groove, and one end of the elastic block away from the first shielding cavity abuts against the phase shifting plate.

7. The phase shifter according to claim 1, characterized in that A sliding groove is provided on the inner wall of the first shielding cavity, and the edge of the phase shifting plate is embedded in the sliding groove and can slide along the sliding groove.

8. The phase shifter according to claim 1, characterized in that It also includes a limiting member, the phase shifting plate includes a driving plate exposed from the first shielding cavity, the limiting member is arranged on the substrate and together with the substrate encloses a limiting hole for the driving plate to pass through.

9. The phase shifter according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a guide post arranged on the base plate, the phase shift plate is provided with a guide long hole along its moving direction, and the guide post is inserted into the guide long hole.

10. The phase shifter according to claim 1, characterized in that The fixed circuit includes a main circuit and an adjustment branch connected to the main circuit and used for adjusting the matching of the main circuit.

11. The phase shifter according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes an adjustment circuit for adjusting the bandwidth of the phase shift circuit, the adjustment circuit includes a first adjustment circuit arranged on the substrate with a distance from the fixed circuit, and a second adjustment circuit arranged on the phase shift board with a distance from the sliding circuit and coupled to the first adjustment circuit.

12. A base station antenna, characterized in that: Comprising a phase shifter as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11.

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