A coupler

Abstract

The application discloses a coupler, comprising: a waveguide unit and a microstrip unit; the microstrip unit comprises at least one convex structure and a microstrip assembly, the microstrip assembly comprises a microstrip line and a matching load; the microstrip line comprises a first end and a second end, the first end is used for connecting a matching network, and the second end is connected with the matching load; a part of the microstrip line close to the second end is bent and then deeply extends into the waveguide unit through the convex structure, and the length of the microstrip line extending into the waveguide unit is adjustable. The coupler in the embodiment of the application has a good matching bandwidth, a good flatness of coupled signals, can facilitate coupling work of various radio frequency signals, and does not need to select and replace the coupler for multiple times, so that the flexibility of experimental testing and application can be greatly improved. The application can be widely applied in the field of communication technology.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a coupler. Background Technology

[0002] With the development of modern communication technology, communication systems are demanding increasingly higher communication efficiency, and correspondingly, the requirements for communication devices are becoming more diverse and sophisticated. In the microwave radio frequency field, whether in mobile terminals, base stations, power amplifiers themselves, or other microwave transmission systems, couplers are crucial components, playing a vital role in power detection and power control.

[0003] The couplers used in related technologies are mostly three-port network couplers. Because the ports of a three-port coupler cannot be simultaneously matched without the use of ferrite, it suffers from port standing wave ratio (VSWR) differences and cannot achieve good coupling flatness. Although the non-reciprocity of ferrite allows for perfect port matching in a three-port network, this type of coupler is complex to implement and increases manufacturing costs, limiting its practical application. In summary, the problems existing in these technologies urgently need to be addressed. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to at least partially solve one of the technical problems existing in the related art.

[0005] Therefore, one objective of this invention is to provide a coupler that can achieve good input standing wave ratio, has excellent flatness of the coupled signal, and is easy to manufacture and has low cost.

[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned technical objectives, the technical solutions adopted in the embodiments of the present invention include:

[0007] This invention provides a coupler, comprising:

[0008] Waveguide units and microstrip units;

[0009] The microstrip unit includes at least one protruding structure and a microstrip assembly, the microstrip assembly including a microstrip line and a matching load;

[0010] The microstrip line includes a first end and a second end, the first end being used to connect to the matching network, and the second end being connected to the matching load;

[0011] The portion of the microstrip line near the second end is bent and then penetrates into the waveguide unit through the protruding structure, and the length of the protruding structure penetrating into the waveguide unit is adjustable.

[0012] In addition, the coupler according to the above embodiments of the present invention may also have the following additional technical features:

[0013] Furthermore, in one embodiment of the present invention, the waveguide unit includes a cavity;

[0014] The cavity is used to conduct radio frequency signals.

[0015] Furthermore, in one embodiment of the present invention, the coupler further includes a support plate;

[0016] The first end is embedded in the support plate.

[0017] Furthermore, in one embodiment of the present invention, the microstrip line includes a first segment, a second segment, and a third segment connected in sequence;

[0018] The third segment is bent and then extends into the waveguide unit through the protruding structure.

[0019] Furthermore, in one embodiment of the present invention, the width of the first segment is greater than the width of the second segment;

[0020] The width of the second segment is greater than the width of the third segment.

[0021] Furthermore, in one embodiment of the present invention, the length of the third segment accounts for one-quarter of the total length of the microstrip line.

[0022] Furthermore, in one embodiment of the present invention, the protruding structure extends into the waveguide unit through an E-plane opening of the waveguide unit.

[0023] Furthermore, in one embodiment of the present invention, the matching load is a surface mount resistor.

[0024] The advantages and beneficial effects of the present invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention:

[0025] A coupler disclosed in this application includes a waveguide unit and a microstrip unit. The microstrip unit includes at least one protruding structure and a microstrip assembly. The microstrip assembly includes a microstrip line and a matching load. The microstrip line includes a first end and a second end. The first end is used to connect to a matching network, and the second end is connected to the matching load. The portion of the microstrip line near the second end is bent and then penetrates into the waveguide unit through the protruding structure, and the length of the microstrip line penetrating the waveguide unit is adjustable. The coupler in this application is a four-port network, which can achieve good input standing wave ratio, and the coupled signal has excellent flatness. It is easy to manufacture and has low cost. Furthermore, it supports adjusting the coupling degree of the coupler by adjusting the depth of the protruding structure penetrating the waveguide unit, which can facilitate the coupling of various radio frequency signals without the need for multiple selections and replacements of the coupler, greatly improving the flexibility of experimental testing and application. Attached Figure Description

[0026] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a coupler provided by the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0027] Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below. Examples of these embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0028] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "length," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "top," "inner," "outer," "axial," "radial," and "circumferential," etc., indicating orientation or positional relationships, are based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are only for the convenience of describing the invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of the invention. Furthermore, features defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this invention, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more.

[0029] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "set," "install," "connect," and "link" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0030] This invention provides a coupler applicable to various communication systems. For example, in 5G communication systems, MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) and Digital Pre-Distortion (DPD) technologies can be used in conjunction with the coupler provided in this embodiment to couple the radio frequency signal power in the channel path. The detected signal power is used for subsequent multi-channel calibration to ensure the beamforming directionality and characteristics, achieving faster and more accurate data transmission. Of course, the above implementation scenarios are merely illustrative of the application of this invention and do not imply limitations on the actual use of the coupler.

[0031] Specifically, refer to Figure 1 The coupler in this embodiment includes:

[0032] Waveguide unit 1 and microstrip unit;

[0033] The microstrip unit includes at least one protrusion structure 21 and a microstrip assembly, the microstrip assembly including a microstrip line 22 and a matching load 23;

[0034] The microstrip line 22 includes a first end and a second end, the first end being used to connect to the matching network, and the second end being connected to the matching load 23.

[0035] The portion of the microstrip line 22 near the second end is bent and then penetrates into the waveguide unit through the protruding structure 21, and the length of the microstrip line 22 penetrating into the waveguide unit is adjustable.

[0036] In this embodiment, the provided coupler comprises two main parts: a waveguide unit 1, which includes a cavity structure for conducting radio frequency (RF) signals; and a microstrip unit, which includes an input and an output port, referred to as the first port and the second port, respectively. The microstrip unit mainly includes at least one protruding structure 21 and a microstrip assembly. The protruding structure 21 extends into the waveguide unit, and the depth can be flexibly adjusted as needed. In this embodiment, the microstrip assembly includes a microstrip line 22 and a matching load 23. To couple the RF signals within the waveguide unit, a high-impedance microstrip line 22 can be used as the coupling end. The microstrip line 22 includes a first end and a second end. The first end is used to connect to the matching network, and the second end is connected to the matching load 23. The portion near the second end is bent to form a U-shaped structure. This U-shaped microstrip line 22 is inserted into the waveguide unit through the aforementioned protruding structure 21, with the insertion depth proportional to the coupling strength. In this embodiment, the function of the matching load 23 is to enable port matching. From the perspective of the microstrip unit, it includes two ports, namely the port of the matching network and the port of the matching load 23, which can be referred to as the third port and the fourth port. Thus, the entire coupler is a four-port coupler, which can achieve perfect port matching on its own without the need for non-reciprocal materials. Therefore, it is simple to manufacture and has low cost.

[0037] In this embodiment, the matching load 23 can be implemented using a surface-mount resistor, the resistance of which is equal to the characteristic impedance of the microstrip line 22. For ease of layout, the distance between the two ends of the microstrip line 22 can be arbitrarily extended to separate the matching network from the matching load 23. The matching network is used to transform the characteristic impedance of the microstrip line 22 to a 50-ohm transmission line for cascading with the system at the third port. The implementation of the matching network depends on the required matching bandwidth of the coupling port. Based on small reflection theory and Chebyshev polynomials, matching networks of arbitrary bandwidth can be designed. For narrowband applications, this embodiment can use a quarter-wavelength microstrip matching network to achieve narrowband matching, where the characteristic impedance of the quarter-wavelength microstrip line 22 is Z2 = sqrt(50 * Z1), and Z1 represents the resistance of the surface-mount resistor. Specifically, in this embodiment, the protruding structure 21 can extend into the waveguide unit 1 through an opening on the E-plane.

[0038] It is understood that the microstrip unit in this embodiment can be used to adjust the coupling degree of the coupler, specifically by adjusting the length of the protrusion 21 inserted into the waveguide unit 1. The deeper the protrusion 21 is inserted into the waveguide unit 1, the greater the coupling degree of the coupler; conversely, the shallower the protrusion 21 is inserted into the waveguide unit 1, the smaller the coupling degree of the coupler. In this embodiment, the depth of the protrusion 21 inserted into the waveguide unit 1 can be adjusted by installing corresponding pushing components at the microstrip unit. Adjusting the coupling degree of the coupler by adjusting the depth facilitates the coupling of various radio frequency signals, eliminating the need for multiple selections and replacements of the coupler, and greatly improving the flexibility of experimental testing and applications.

[0039] Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the coupler further includes a support plate;

[0040] The microstrip line 22 includes a first end and a second end. The first end of the microstrip line 22 is embedded in the support plate, and the second end of the microstrip line 22 is located in the protruding structure 21.

[0041] In this embodiment, the microstrip assembly may include a microstrip line 22 and a support plate. The two ends of the microstrip line 22 are referred to as the first end and the second end, respectively. The first end can be fixed on the support plate, while the second end is located in the aforementioned protruding structure 21 for signal coupling into the waveguide unit 1. The depth of the microstrip line 22 into the waveguide unit 1 can be adjusted as it moves in and out of the protruding structure 21, thereby achieving the effect of adjusting the coupling degree.

[0042] Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the microstrip line 22 includes a first segment, a second segment, and a third segment connected in sequence;

[0043] The third segment, after being bent, extends into the waveguide unit through the protruding structure 21.

[0044] In some embodiments, the width of the first segment is greater than the width of the second segment;

[0045] The width of the second segment is greater than the width of the third segment.

[0046] In this embodiment, the microstrip line 22 can be a three-stage connection, including a first segment, a second segment, and a third segment. The third segment is located within the aforementioned protruding structure 21 and is used to penetrate the waveguide unit 1 for signal coupling. Furthermore, the third segment can be a partially U-shaped structure, and its total length can account for one-quarter of the total length of the microstrip line 22.

[0047] In the description of this specification, references to terms such as "one embodiment," "another embodiment," or "some embodiments," etc., indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the invention. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

[0048] Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will understand that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A coupler, characterized by, The coupler is a four-port coupler; the coupler includes: Waveguide units and microstrip units; The microstrip unit includes at least one protruding structure and a microstrip assembly, the microstrip assembly including a microstrip line and a matching load; The microstrip line includes a first end and a second end, the first end being used to connect to the matching network, and the second end being connected to the matching load; The portion of the microstrip line near the second end is bent and then penetrates into the waveguide unit through the protruding structure, and the length of the microstrip line penetrating the waveguide unit along with the protruding structure is adjustable. The four ports of the coupler include the input port of the waveguide unit, the output port of the waveguide unit, the port connecting to the matching network, and the matching load port; The microstrip line includes a first segment, a second segment, and a third segment connected in sequence; the width of the first segment is greater than the width of the second segment; the width of the second segment is greater than the width of the third segment; The third segment is bent and then extends into the waveguide unit through the protruding structure.

2. The coupler according to claim 1, characterized in that: The waveguide unit includes a cavity; The cavity is used to conduct radio frequency signals.

3. The coupler according to claim 1, characterized in that: The coupler also includes a support plate; The first end is embedded in the support plate.

4. The coupler according to claim 1, characterized in that: The length of the third segment accounts for one-quarter of the total length of the microstrip line.

5. The coupler according to claim 1, characterized in that: The protruding structure extends into the waveguide unit through the E-plane opening of the waveguide unit.

6. The coupler according to claim 1, characterized in that: The matching load is a surface mount resistor.

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