Phase Shifting Device, Antenna and Base Station

Abstract

The present invention provides a phase shifter, an antenna and a base station. The phase shifter includes a fixed dielectric plate, a movable dielectric plate and a plurality of phase shifters; each phase shifter includes a fixed transmission line printed on the fixed dielectric plate and a movable transmission line printed on the movable dielectric plate, and the fixed transmission line is coupled to the movable transmission line; the movable dielectric plate faces the fixed dielectric plate and is pivotally connected about a pivot axis, and the fixed transmission lines of the plurality of phase shifters are arranged coplanarly around the pivot axis, and the pivotal movement of the movable dielectric plate relative to the fixed dielectric plate causes the plurality of phase shifters to perform phase shifting synchronously. The phase shifter of the present invention is different from the traditional layout and can be arranged on the same surface of the dielectric plate as the antenna radiation unit. Therefore, it is not necessary to additionally use a feeding pin or a cable for front-back docking, reducing the signal and its phase error and improving the space utilization rate of the antenna reflector.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of mobile communications, and particularly relates to a phase shifter device, an antenna, and a base station. Background Art

[0002] With the development of modern mobile communication technology, the communication system has a great demand for electrically tunable antennas, and the weight and cost of electrically tunable antennas depend on the phase shifter components. As the core component of the electrically tunable antenna, the phase shifter plays a crucial role in the planning and construction of the communication network system. The phase shifter can control the change of the signal phase and is the key device for realizing the beamforming of the base station antenna pattern. By shifting the phase of the signal of the base station antenna through the phase shifter and changing the signal phase between the antenna radiation units, the downward tilt angle of the antenna beam can be adjusted, which is convenient for the electrical tuning optimization of the communication network.

[0003] However, in the base station, the driving or rotating structural member of the coupling circuit of the phase shifter used in the electrically tunable antenna and the movable transmission circuit board are on the same side. Installing this traditional phase shifter on the front will affect the radiation direction of the antenna; when it is arranged on the back of the array antenna, due to its large weight, large volume, and high profile, it is not conducive to the communication system to reduce weight and cost.

[0004] Therefore, it can be seen that there is an urgent need in the industry to improve the structure of the phase shifter to meet the requirements of antenna applications. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The primary object of the present invention is to provide a phase shifter device.

[0006] Another object of the present invention is to provide an antenna.

[0007] Still another object of the present invention is to provide a base station.

[0008] To achieve the object of the present invention, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0009] To achieve the primary object of the present invention, a phase shifter device is provided, including a fixed dielectric plate, a movable dielectric plate, and a plurality of phase shifters; each phase shifter includes a fixed transmission line printed on the fixed dielectric plate and a movable transmission line printed on the movable dielectric plate, and the fixed transmission line and the movable transmission line are coupled; the movable dielectric plate and the fixed dielectric plate face each other and are pivotally connected about a pivot axis, and the fixed transmission lines of the plurality of phase shifters are arranged coplanarly around the pivot axis, and the pivotal movement of the movable dielectric plate relative to the fixed dielectric plate causes the plurality of phase shifters to perform phase shifting synchronously.

[0010] Further, among the plurality of phase shifters, the fixed transmission lines of at least some of the phase shifters are arranged in a centrosymmetric relationship with respect to the pivot axis.

[0011] Preferably, among the multiple phase shifters, at least some of the fixed transmission lines of the phase shifters are concentrically arranged with the point where the pivot axis is located as the center of the circle.

[0012] Specifically, the multiple phase shifters are an even number of phase shifters, which are divided into two groups for accessing and processing signals of two polarizations in the same frequency band.

[0013] Furthermore, between two adjacent phase shifters in terms of position, an isolation circuit / power divider for isolating the mutual interference between the two adjacent phase shifters is correspondingly provided on the fixed dielectric plate.

[0014] Preferably, in each phase shifter, the fixed transmission line includes a pair of concentrically arranged arc-shaped arms; the movable transmission line is U-shaped and includes a pair of concentrically arranged arc-shaped arms corresponding to the positions of the pair of arc-shaped arms and a connecting section that connects the same ends of its two arc-shaped arms in series.

[0015] Specifically, the arc-shaped arms of the fixed transmission line / movable transmission line are linear or reciprocally bent.

[0016] Preferably, the fixed transmission line / movable transmission line is a microstrip line or a strip line.

[0017] Preferably, the phase shifting device is arranged and encapsulated in a shielding cavity, which includes a shielding cover covering the fixed dielectric plate and a metal coating printed on one side of the fixed dielectric plate, and the shielding cover and the metal coating are electrically connected through metallized vias on the fixed dielectric plate.

[0018] Preferably, the phase shifting device is provided with a transmission device, and the transmission device includes the pivot axis and a transmission mechanism. The transmission mechanism receives an external driving torque to control the pivot axis to drive the movable dielectric plate to perform a pivoting motion, so as to control the synchronous phase shift of multiple phase shifters therein.

[0019] An antenna is provided for a second object of the present invention, which includes a power distribution network for parallel feeding multiple radiation units in the same array. The power distribution network includes at least one phase shifting device of any kind as described in the previous object. The phase shifting device is installed on the radiation surface of the antenna, and at least two phase shifters in the phase shifting device are used to respectively control the phase shift of signals of two polarizations of the array, and the output after phase shift is transmitted to at least one of the radiation units.

[0020] A base station is provided for another object of the present invention, which includes the antenna as described above.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the advantages of the present invention are as follows:

[0022] First, the present invention sets the fixed dielectric plate and the movable dielectric plate as a pivoting structure, so that the movable transmission line and the fixed transmission line with a coupling connection relationship thereon can change the coupling position between each other through pivoting. When multiple phase shifters are integrated coplanarly, the structure is simple, the profile is low, and the volume is small, improving the space utilization rate and reducing the cost of the communication system, which is conducive to large-scale production and manufacturing.

[0023] Secondly, since multiple phase shifters are all arranged coplanarly, it is easy to handle the planar layout relationship between each phase shifter, and then realize phase shift control by controlling the pivot axis. Therefore, it is suitable for being installed on the front side of the antenna where the antenna radiation unit is located, and the pivot axis is arranged on the back side of the dielectric plate of the antenna or the metal reflector of the antenna, so as to control the phase shift of the phase shifter through the pivot axis arranged on the back side of the antenna, overcoming the defect that the transmission or rotating structural member of the coupling circuit of the traditional phase shifter and the movable transmission line board are on the same side and cannot be installed on the front side of the antenna, thereby improving the utilization rate of the antenna reflector.

[0024] In addition, since multiple phase shifters of the present invention are arranged in a surrounding coplanar manner and the phase shift is controlled by the pivot axis, there is no need to additionally use feeding pins or cables for front-back docking, reducing the signal and its phase error, and at the same time reducing the production cost.

[0025] 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 can be understood through the practice of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] The above-mentioned and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will become obvious and easy to understand from the following description of the embodiments in conjunction with the drawings, where:

[0027] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a phase shift device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a movable dielectric plate of a phase shift device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a movable dielectric plate of a phase shift device according to still another embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a movable dielectric plate of a phase shift device according to yet another embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a power splitter of a phase shift device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a disassembled phase shift device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 7 Front view schematic diagram of the antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 8 Back view schematic diagram of the antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 9 Exploded view of the back of the antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 10 Schematic diagram of the gear set according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 11 Schematic diagram of the gear set according to another embodiment of the present invention. Detailed implementation manners

[0038] Embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although some embodiments of the present invention are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present invention can be implemented in various forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided to more thoroughly and completely understand the present invention. It should be understood that the drawings and embodiments of the present invention are only for exemplary purposes and are not used to limit the protection scope of the present invention.

[0039] It should be understood that the various steps recited in the method embodiments of the present invention can be executed in a different order and / or in parallel. In addition, the method embodiments may include additional steps and / or omit the steps shown. The scope of the present invention is not limited in this regard.

[0040] The term "including" and its variants used herein are open-ended, that is, "including but not limited to". The term "connected" can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate component (element). The term "one embodiment" means "at least one embodiment"; the term "another embodiment" means "at least one additional embodiment"; the term "some embodiments" means "at least some embodiments". The relevant definitions of other terms will be given in the following description.

[0041] It should be noted that the concepts such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the present invention are only used to distinguish devices, modules or units, and are not used to limit that these devices, modules or units must be different devices, modules or units, nor are they used to limit the order or interdependence relationship of the functions performed by these devices, modules or units.

[0042] See Figure 1, in a typical embodiment of the present invention, the present invention provides a phase shifter, comprising a fixed dielectric plate 1, a movable dielectric plate 2 and a plurality of phase shifters; each phase shifter includes a fixed transmission line 13 printed on the fixed dielectric plate 1 and a movable transmission line 23 printed on the movable dielectric plate 2, and the fixed transmission line 13 and the movable transmission line 23 are coupled; the movable dielectric plate 2 and the fixed dielectric plate 1 face each other and are pivotally connected about a pivot axis 40, and the fixed transmission lines 13 of the plurality of phase shifters are arranged coplanarly around the pivot axis 40, and the pivotal movement of the movable dielectric plate 2 relative to the fixed dielectric plate 1 causes the plurality of phase shifters to perform phase shift synchronously.

[0043] See Figures 1 to 5 , in each phase shifter, the fixed transmission line 13 includes a pair of concentrically arranged first arc-shaped arms 131 and second arc-shaped arms 132; the movable transmission line 23 is U-shaped and includes a pair of concentrically arranged third arc-shaped arms 231 and fourth arc-shaped arms 232 corresponding to the pair of arc-shaped arms and a connecting section 230 that connects the same ends of its two arc-shaped arms in series.

[0044] In a typical embodiment of the present invention, the movable dielectric plate 2 and the fixed dielectric plate 1 are pivotally connected about the pivot axis 40. In each phase shifter, the fixed dielectric plate 1 is provided with an input end 13A and an output end 13B that are electrically connected to two sections of the fixed transmission line 13 of the phase shifter respectively. A signal is fed into the first arc-shaped arm 131 of the fixed transmission line of the phase shifter from the input end 13A. Since the movable dielectric plate 2 and the fixed dielectric plate 1 face each other (the back surface of the movable dielectric plate provided with the movable transmission line faces the front surface of the fixed dielectric plate provided with the fixed transmission line), the signal entering the fixed transmission line is first coupled to the third arc-shaped arm 231 of the U-shaped movable transmission line, then passes through the connecting section 230 and is transmitted along the U-shaped path of the movable transmission line to the fourth arc-shaped arm 232, and is then coupled to the second arc-shaped arm 132 of the other fixed transmission line of the same phase shifter and fed out from the output end 13B connected to the fixed transmission line, so as to realize the transmission of the signal inside the phase shifter. The electrical transmission path formed from one fixed transmission line of the phase shifter to the movable transmission line and then to the other fixed transmission line of the phase shifter actually also constitutes the phase shift transmission path of the phase shifter.

[0045] See Figure 1 , in a typical embodiment of the present invention, the arc-shaped arms of the fixed transmission line are arranged to be reciprocally bent, while in other embodiments, it can be designed as a straight line. It is not difficult to understand that the same means can be applied to the movable transmission line. It can be understood that whether it is the fixed transmission line or the movable transmission line, it can be either a microstrip line or a strip line.

[0046] When the movable dielectric plate 2 pivots relative to the fixed dielectric plate 1, the length of the electrical transmission path of the phase-shifting transmission line changes. In each phase shifter, the coupling distance / coupling area between its corresponding fixed transmission line and movable transmission line changes, thereby changing the phase of the signal flowing through the phase shifter and generating a phase shift amount.

[0047] In a typical embodiment of the present invention, as Figure 1 shown, the fixed transmission lines 13 belonging to two phase shifters are coplanarly arranged on the fixed dielectric plate 1, and the movable transmission lines 23 belonging to the two phase shifters are similarly coplanarly arranged on the movable dielectric plate 2. When the fixed dielectric plate 1 and the movable dielectric plate 2 are pivotally connected, the fixed transmission line 13 and the movable transmission line 23 of the same phase shifter correspond one by one (see Figure 5 , Figure 5 which shows the corresponding relationship between the movable transmission line and the fixed transmission line), forming the two phase shifters. For these two phase shifters, when the pivot shaft 40 of the phase shifting device drives the movable dielectric plate 2 to pivot relative to the fixed dielectric plate 1, the phase changes of the two phase shifters increase or decrease simultaneously. Two phase shifters with a relationship of increasing or decreasing phase changes simultaneously can form a pair of phase shifters. In some embodiments of the present invention, multiple pairs of such phase shifters can be set as needed, which will not be elaborated here and will be gradually revealed later.

[0048] In the above embodiment, since the fixed transmission lines 13 of multiple phase shifters and the movable transmission lines 23 of multiple phase shifters are respectively arranged coplanarly, which is different from the need to electrically connect the phase shifters on the front and back sides in a traditional phase shifting device, there is no need to additionally use feeding pins or cables for realizing front-back docking. While streamlining the components of the phase shifting device, the signal and its phase error are reduced.

[0049] In another embodiment of the present invention, on the basis of the above typical embodiment Figure 1 showing a pair of phase shifters, another pair of phase shifters is further set. These two pairs of phase shifters are divided into the first pair of phase shifters and the second pair of phase shifters. The fixed transmission line 13 and the movable transmission line 23 of the first pair of phase shifters are arranged as set above. For the two phase shifters in the second pair of phase shifters, they also follow the above settings, so that the fixed transmission lines and the movable transmission lines of the two phase shifters are arranged in a centrosymmetric relationship about the pivot shaft 40 on the fixed dielectric plate 1 and the movable dielectric plate 2 respectively. Regarding the spatial layout relationship between the two pairs of phase shifters, as Figure 2As shown, on the movable dielectric plate 2, with the pivot axis 40 as the center, referring to the position of the movable transmission line 23 of the first pair of phase shifters, the movable transmission line 23 of the second pair of phase shifters is set to deflect 90° clockwise to the right synchronously, and thus the layout setting of its movable transmission line 23 can be completed; similarly, the fixed transmission line 13 of the second pair of phase shifters can be arranged. Thus, all the fixed transmission lines of the two pairs of phase shifters are basically arranged around the same circumference, and the same applies to their movable transmission lines. Since both pairs of phase shifters have a centrosymmetric layout relationship, it can be understood that when the pivot axis drives the movable dielectric plate 2 to pivot relative to the fixed dielectric plate 1, the coupling area between the concentrically arranged fixed transmission line 13 and the movable transmission line 23 changes synchronously, thereby realizing synchronous phase shift.

[0050] See Figure 3 , in some other embodiments, the phase shifting device is provided with three pairs of phase shifters, that is, on the basis of the pair of phase shifters provided in the above typical embodiment, two more pairs of phase shifters are additionally provided. Among these three pairs of phase shifters, the first pair of phase shifters is the pair of phase shifters provided in the above typical embodiment, and the second pair of phase shifters is set to deflect 60° clockwise to the right synchronously corresponding to the circuit of the first pair of phase shifters; the third pair of phase shifters is set to deflect 120° clockwise to the right synchronously corresponding to the corresponding circuit of the first pair of phase shifters. Through the above-listed multiple embodiments, those skilled in the art can, on the basis of understanding the above multiple implementation manners of the present application, flexibly apply them to the cases of three or more pairs of phase shifters, and will not enumerate them all.

[0051] In still some other embodiments, the phase shifting device is provided with two pairs of phase shifters. Different from the foregoing embodiments, these two pairs of phase shifters can be arranged on different circumferences. As Figure 4 shown, on the movable dielectric plate 2, with the pivot axis 40 as the center, the movable transmission line 23 of the second pair of phase shifters is set at a certain distance away from the movable transmission line 23 of the first pair of phase shifters, specifically, it is set at the outer periphery of the latter; the same applies to the setting of the fixed transmission line 13. Therefore, that is, the first pair of phase shifters is arranged around a relatively smaller virtual circumference, and the second pair of phase shifters is arranged around a relatively larger virtual circumference, so that the first pair of phase shifters and the second pair of phase shifters are concentrically arranged and still maintain a centrosymmetric relationship. When the pivot axis drives the movable dielectric plate 2 to pivot relative to the fixed dielectric plate 1, the coupling area between the fixed transmission line 13 and the fixed transmission line 23 of the first pair of phase shifters and the second pair of phase shifters changes synchronously, thereby synchronously changing the phase of the signal flowing through the phase shifters and realizing the synchronous phase shift of multiple coplanar phase shifters.

[0052] The above are partial arrangement modes of multiple fixed transmission lines 13 and movable transmission lines 23. It can be seen that among the multiple phase shifters provided in the embodiments of the present invention, there are various arrangement modes in which the fixed transmission lines are arranged in a centrosymmetric relationship with respect to the pivot axis or the fixed transmission lines are concentrically arranged with the point where the pivot axis is located as the center. In addition, although the embodiments of the present invention produce related products according to the quantitative relationship, these recommended solutions should not be used to limit the protection scope covered by the entire creative spirit of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can flexibly apply on the basis of understanding the above various embodiments of the present application, and no exhaustive enumeration is given here.

[0053] In addition, referring to Figure 6 , in some embodiments, the pivot axis 40 respectively vertically passes through the centers of the planes where the transmission lines of the movable dielectric plate 2 and the fixed dielectric plate 1 are located, with the front surface of the fixed dielectric plate facing the back surface of the movable dielectric plate, so that the fixed transmission line and the movable transmission line are correspondingly coupled to form an electrical transmission path for phase shift. One end of the pivot axis far from the movable dielectric plate 2 is fixedly connected concentrically with the transmission mechanism, and the transmission mechanism receives an external driving torque to control the pivot axis to drive the movable dielectric plate to perform a pivot movement, thereby controlling the synchronous phase shift of multiple phase shifters therein.

[0054] Considering the need to adapt to dual-polarized antennas, in some embodiments, the phase shift device of the present invention can be configured with an even number of phase shifters, which are divided into two groups for accessing and processing signals of two polarizations in the same frequency band. Referring to Figure 1 , in a typical embodiment of the present invention, 2 phase shifters respectively correspond to signals of two polarizations; when there are 4, 6 or other even numbers of phase shifters, they are divided into two groups, and each group is fed with a signal of one polarization in the same frequency band. As shown in Figure 4 , the 4 phase shifters on the upper and lower sides shown can be divided into upper and lower groups, and each of the 2 phase shifters in each group is fed with the same polarization signal in the same frequency band. When the movable dielectric plate 2 pivots relative to the fixed dielectric plate 1, the phase changes of the two polarizations increase or decrease simultaneously. As for the change relationship of the phase shift amounts of the phase shifters used for the same polarization signal, those skilled in the art can flexibly calculate the change relationship of the electrical transmission paths between the phase shifters according to the needs of the antenna. For example, according to the phase difference relationship of different radiation units in the same frequency band, the two phase shifters used for the same polarization signal can be set to achieve different phase shift amounts respectively when synchronously pivoting, so as to meet the needs of this phase difference relationship. According to the revelation of this principle, those skilled in the art should be able to understand that in order to adapt to the required phase shift amount adjustment, they can flexibly set elements such as the lengths and areas of the fixed transmission lines, movable transmission lines, and electrical transmission paths of each phase shifter by themselves, and no further details are given here.

[0055] It can be seen that for the dual-polarized antenna, by integrating the circuits of the two polarizations together, the present invention reduces the volume of the phase shifter device, achieves a high degree of integration, is conducive to saving board resources, and improves the degree of equipment integration.

[0056] To further reveal the advantages of the present invention, please refer to Figure 1 , in some embodiments of the present invention with preferably measured performance, in the phase shifter device, between two adjacent phase shifters in position, an isolation circuit 51 for isolating the mutual interference between the two adjacent phase shifters is correspondingly provided on the fixed dielectric plate 1. The isolation circuit 51 can isolate the electrical signals of the two polarizations to reduce interference. By setting the isolation circuit, when the antenna isolation is poor, the isolation of the antenna can be significantly improved. Further, a grounding via 511 can be provided in the isolation circuit 51 to facilitate its grounding.

[0057] Refer to Figure 5 , another implementation manner can also be adopted to achieve an effect substantially equivalent to that of the isolation circuit 51. Specifically, in the phase shifter device, each input end of the phase shifter is connected to a power divider 52, preferably a Wilkinson power divider. The power divider 52 itself has a certain isolation effect, realizes the splitting function, divides one input into two outputs, one of which is output after phase shifting in the current phase shifter, and the other is directly output; and can also play an isolation role. To achieve better technical effects of the present invention, the fixed dielectric plate 1 and the movable dielectric plate 2 of the present invention generally select materials with relatively stable dielectric constants.

[0058] Refer to Figure 6 , considering the stability factors in the process of the phase shifter device, the phase shifter device can be arranged and encapsulated in a shielding cavity 6. The shielding cavity 6 includes a shielding cover 61 covering the fixed dielectric plate and a metal coating printed on the back surface (relative to the surface where the fixed transmission line is located) of the fixed dielectric plate 1. The shielding cover 61 and the metal coating (not shown) are electrically connected through the metallized vias on the fixed dielectric plate 1. To ensure the connection effect, a plurality of connection pieces 12 can be formed on the fixed dielectric plate 1, and the metallized vias are provided on each connection piece 12 to be electrically connected to the metal coating. When the shielding cover 61 is installed on the fixed dielectric plate 1, with the cooperation of the connection pieces 12, a stable connection between the shielding cover and the metal coating can be ensured.

[0059] Refer to Figure 5 , to enhance the isolation effect, isolation sheets 22 can be provided between the arc-shaped arms of each section of the fixed dielectric plate 1 or the movable dielectric plate 2. The metallized vias are provided on each connection piece 22 to be electrically connected to the metal coating. When the shielding cover 61 is installed on the fixed dielectric plate 1, with the cooperation of the connection pieces 12, a stable connection between the shielding cover and the metal coating can be ensured.

[0060] In some embodiments, during the production stage of the phase shifter, corresponding components are set or printed on the fixed dielectric plate 1 and the movable dielectric plate 2. The specific production process is as follows: the fixed transmission line 13 is printed at the corresponding position on the fixed dielectric plate 1, the movable transmission line 23 is printed at the corresponding position on the movable dielectric plate 2, and corresponding metallized vias are opened on the fixed dielectric plate 1 and an insulating layer is provided on the fixed transmission line 13; the movable transmission line 23 is printed on the movable dielectric plate 2, and an insulating layer is provided on the movable transmission line 21. Subsequently, the movable dielectric plate 2 with the corresponding components set or printed thereon is placed face-to-face with the fixed dielectric plate 1 such that the movable transmission line 23 is disposed opposite to the fixed transmission line 13. Then, the shielding cover 61 is welded to the fixed dielectric plate 1 at a reasonable height to form a shielding cavity for accommodating the movable dielectric plate 2, enabling the movable dielectric plate 2 to move relative to the fixed dielectric plate 1.

[0061] Preferably, the insulating layer on the movable dielectric plate 1 or the fixed dielectric plate 2 can be an insulating material such as green oil (i.e., liquid photosensitive solder resist), insulating film (such as polytetrafluoroethylene), or a metal oxide layer formed by an anodization reaction, etc.

[0062] Similarly, for other metal materials on the fixed dielectric plate 1 and the movable dielectric plate 2, those skilled in the art can also set the aforementioned insulating layer according to actual needs, which will not be elaborated here.

[0063] Preferably, as Figure 6 shown, the movable dielectric plate 2 is arranged in a disc shape, and the disc shape is conducive to the movable dielectric plate 2 performing a pivoting motion within the shielding cavity 6.

[0064] Referring to Figure 7 , it is a front schematic view of an antenna, including a plurality of radiation units belonging to the same array, and a power distribution network for parallel feeding the plurality of radiation units of the same array. The power distribution network includes at least one phase shifting device 10 as described above. The phase shifting device 10 is installed on the radiation surface of the antenna, specifically on the front surface of the metal reflector of the antenna. At least two phase shifters are provided in the phase shifting device 10, and the two phase shifters are used to respectively control the phase shift of the signals of two polarizations of the array, and the phase-shifted output is transmitted to at least one of the radiation units through a differential feeding network.

[0065] In some embodiments, the phase shifting device 10 is provided with a plurality of phase shifters, which are divided into two groups and respectively control the phase shift of the signals of two polarizations of the array.

[0066] In the current 5G communication system, there are two forms of phase assignment for large-scale MIMO antennas. Those skilled in the art can also set the number of radiation units or the phase excitation method according to needs.

[0067] See Figure 8 and Figure 9 In a typical embodiment of the present invention, in combination with the antenna, a phase shifter is provided on the back surface of the antenna, and a transmission device 4 is provided. The transmission device 4 includes a pivot shaft 40 and a transmission mechanism 41. The transmission mechanism 41 receives an external driving torque to control the pivot shaft 40 to drive the movable dielectric plate 2 to perform a pivoting motion, so as to control the synchronous phase shift of a plurality of phase shifters therein.

[0068] The transmission mechanism includes a driving shaft 411, a driven plate 412 fixedly connected to the driving shaft 411, a rack 413 fixedly connected to the driven plate 412, and a gear set meshing with the rack 413.

[0069] Specifically, see Figures 8 to 10 On the back surface of the antenna, the transmission mechanism 41 receives an external driving torque and transmits it to the driven plate 412 through the driving shaft 411. The driven plate 412 is fixedly connected to at least one rack 413. The rack 413 moves towards the gear set. Preferably, the driving shaft 411 is parallel to the rack 413, and the driven plate 412 is fixedly perpendicular to both the driving shaft 411 and the rack 413. The gear set includes a rotating gear 4141 and a reverse gear 4142. The rotating gear 4141 is fixedly connected concentrically with the pivot shaft 40. Therefore, when the transmission mechanism 41 receives an external driving torque, it drives the pivot shaft 40 through the reverse gear 4142, thereby driving the movable dielectric plate 2 to perform a pivoting motion, so that a plurality of phase shifters therein are synchronously phase-shifted. Figures 8 to 10 The illustrated embodiment shows that when the rack 413 moves, the gear set moves towards each other.

[0070] Refer to Figure 11 , different from the above situation where the gear set moves towards each other when the rack 413 moves, in another embodiment, one side of the rack 413 is meshed with the gear set through the reverse gear 4142, and the other side is meshed with the rotating gear 4141, so that the gears on both sides of the rack rotate in opposite directions, thereby making the gear set move in the same direction when the rack 413 moves. Since some modifications of the embodiments involved Figure 11 are only related to the gear set compared to the embodiments of the present application Figures 8 to 10 , the corresponding illustrations of the antenna transmission device in the embodiments of Figure 11 are omitted for the sake of brevity.

[0071] In some embodiments of the present invention where better performance is obtained through actual measurement, limiting guide modules 415 are provided at both ends of the driving shaft 411 away from the transmission mechanism 41. The advantage is to limit the transmission distance and angle of the driving shaft 411 to obtain a better phase shift effect.

[0072] In the phase shifter of the antenna of the present invention, since a structure that combines multiple phase shifters coplanarly around a pivot axis is adopted, the volume is greatly reduced, the profile is decreased, and it can be selected to be installed on the front of the antenna, greatly improving the space utilization rate. Moreover, since there is no need to additionally use a feeding pin or cable for butt-joint between the front and the back, the signal and its phase error are reduced, the cost of the communication system is lowered, which is conducive to large-scale production and manufacturing.

[0073] Although the present invention recommends producing related products according to the above shape and quantity relationship, these recommended solutions should not be used to limit the protection scope covered by the entire creative spirit of the present invention.

[0074] A base station of the present invention includes the antenna described above. The phase shifter of the present invention can be separately produced and manufactured and installed on the corresponding antenna. For the specific structure of the phase shifter of the present invention, reference can be made to the above text. To save space, it will not be elaborated here.

[0075] In summary, in the phase shifter of the present invention, the movable dielectric plate and the fixed dielectric plate face each other and are pivotally connected about the pivot axis. At the same time, the fixed transmission lines of multiple phase shifters are arranged coplanarly around the pivot axis, enabling multiple phase shifters to perform phase shifting synchronously. In the actual application of 5G base stations, for the phase shifters used in large-scale electrically tunable antennas, they are usually arranged on the back of the array antenna, which is not conducive to reducing the weight and cost of the communication system due to their high weight and profile. However, in the present invention, since multiple phase shifters are combined coplanarly, the structure is simple. Moreover, since there is no need to additionally use a feeding pin or cable for butt-joint between the front and the back, the signal and its phase error are reduced, and the cost is decreased; the present invention has a low profile and a small volume, improves the space utilization rate, reduces the cost of the communication system, and is conducive to large-scale production and manufacturing.

[0076] The above description is only the preferred embodiment of the present invention and the explanation of the applied technical principles. Those skilled in the art should understand that the scope of the invention involved in the present invention is not limited to the technical solution formed by the specific combination of the above technical features, but should also cover other technical solutions formed by any combination of the above technical features or their equivalent features without departing from the above inventive concept. For example, the technical solutions formed by mutually replacing the above features with the technical features (but not limited to) having similar functions invented in the present invention.

[0077] Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological logical acts, it should be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. On the contrary, the specific features and acts described above are merely example forms for implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A phase shifter, characterized in that: It includes a fixed dielectric plate, a movable dielectric plate, and a plurality of phase shifters; each phase shifter includes a fixed transmission line printed on the fixed dielectric plate and a movable transmission line printed on the movable dielectric plate, and the fixed transmission line is coupled to the movable transmission line; the movable dielectric plate faces the fixed dielectric plate and is pivotally connected about a pivot axis, and the fixed transmission lines of the plurality of phase shifters are arranged coplanarly around the pivot axis, and the pivotal movement of the movable dielectric plate relative to the fixed dielectric plate causes the plurality of phase shifters to perform phase shift synchronously; The plurality of phase shifters are concentrically arranged with the point where the pivot axis is located as the center, and at least two phase shifters are distributed on different circumferences; Between two adjacent phase shifters in position, an isolation circuit / power divider for isolating the mutual interference between the adjacent two phase shifters is correspondingly provided on the fixed dielectric plate.

2. The phase shifter according to claim 1, characterized in that: Among the plurality of phase shifters, the fixed transmission lines of at least some phase shifters are arranged in a centrosymmetric relationship about the pivot axis.

3. The phase shifter according to claim 2, characterized in that: Among the plurality of phase shifters, the fixed transmission lines of at least some phase shifters are concentrically arranged with the point where the pivot axis is located as the center.

4. The phase shifter according to claim 2, characterized in that: The plurality of phase shifters are an even number of phase shifters, and are divided into two groups for accessing and processing signals of two polarizations in the same frequency band.

5. The phase shifter according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that : In each phase shifter, the fixed transmission line includes a pair of concentrically arranged arc-shaped arms; the movable transmission line is U-shaped and includes a pair of concentrically arranged arc-shaped arms corresponding to the pair of arc-shaped arms and a connecting section connecting the same ends of its two arc-shaped arms in series.

6. The phase shifter according to claim 5, characterized in that : The arc-shaped arms of the fixed transmission line / movable transmission line are linear or reciprocally bent.

7. The phase shifter according to claim 5, characterized in that : The fixed transmission line / movable transmission line is a microstrip line or a strip line.

8. The phase shifter according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that : The phase shifting device is arranged and encapsulated in a shielding cavity, and the shielding cavity includes a shielding cover covering the fixed dielectric plate and a metal coating printed on one surface of the fixed dielectric plate, and the shielding cover and the metal coating are electrically connected through metallized vias on the fixed dielectric plate.

9. The phase shifter according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The phase shifting device is provided with a transmission device, and the transmission device includes the pivot axis and a transmission mechanism, and the transmission mechanism receives an external driving torque to control the pivot axis to drive the movable dielectric plate to perform a pivotal movement, so as to control the synchronous phase shift of the plurality of phase shifters therein.

10. An antenna, comprising a power divider network for parallel feeding of a plurality of radiation elements of the same array, characterized in that: The power distribution network includes at least one phase shifting device as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, the phase shifting device is installed on the radiation surface of the antenna, and at least two phase shifters in the phase shifting device are used to respectively control the phase shift of signals of two polarizations of the array, and the output after phase shift is transmitted to at least one of the radiation units.

11. A base station, characterized in that: It includes the antenna as described in claim 10.

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