Phase shifter with integrated feed and antenna using the same

Abstract

The application relates to a phase shifter of an integrated feeder and an antenna applying the same, the phase shifter comprising a cavity and a phase shifting network, a radio frequency channel and a direct current channel, a signal input port being arranged on the cavity, the radio frequency channel and the phase shifting network being arranged in the cavity, one end of the radio frequency channel being connected with the signal input port, and the other end being connected with the phase shifting network; and the direct current channel being electrically connected with one end of the radio frequency channel connected with the signal input port. Since the direct current channel is arranged in a separate space from the radio frequency channel and the phase shifting network, the radio frequency channel and the phase shifting network share the cavity structure, the size can be greatly reduced, meanwhile, the matching characteristic is excellent, and the bandwidth is wider.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication, in particular to a phase shifter integrated with a feeder and an antenna applying the same. BACKGROUND

[0002] The existing 5G era twin satellite "1+1" antenna feeder scheme solves the 4G / 5G network coverage, and requires a pair of antennas to integrate all 4G network mode antennas, so the number of antenna frequency bands / ports is increasing, and fifteen-frequency thirty-port antennas have been pushed to the market. The number of antenna ports is large, the structure is complex, and it is very difficult to correspond and troubleshoot the ports and arrays, therefore, AISG3.0 requires the antenna radio frequency port to support the PING function to check the path condition, and each radio frequency port needs to be configured with a feeder outputting an OOK direct current signal.

[0003] The direct current path and the radio frequency path of the existing feeder are realized in one metal cavity, the direct current path includes a low-pass / direct current filter circuit, and the low-pass filter circuit is often composed of lumped element capacitors and inductors, which occupies a large space, leading to difficult antenna internal layout, and even multiple-frequency antennas cannot be laid out, and cannot be integrated with a phase shifter, based on which a feeder outputting a direct current model is realized, and the antenna cost increases significantly, and the assembly is difficult, complex and uneconomical. SUMMARY

[0004] The primary purpose of the present application is to provide a phase shifter integrated with a feeder, which has a smaller size and can optimize the antenna layout.

[0005] Another purpose of the present application is to provide an antenna applying the above phase shifter.

[0006] To achieve the above purpose, the present application provides the following solutions:

[0007] As a first aspect, the present application relates to a phase shifter integrated with a feeder, comprising a cavity, a phase shift network, a radio frequency path and a direct current path arranged in the cavity, a signal input port is arranged on the cavity, the radio frequency path is arranged in the cavity, one end of the radio frequency path is connected with the signal input port, and the other end of the radio frequency path is connected with the phase shift network; the direct current path is fixed outside the cavity and connected with the radio frequency path and the signal input port.

[0008] Preferably, the radio frequency path comprises a first capacitor, the first capacitor is arranged in the phase shifter cavity, one end of the first capacitor is connected with the phase shift network, and the other end of the first capacitor is connected with the signal input port.

[0009] Preferably, the first capacitor is a microstrip line capacitor, which comprises a dielectric plate carrying the phase shift network and a conductor strip arranged on opposite surfaces of the dielectric plate and coupled with each other, and the conductor strips on the two surfaces are connected with the phase shift network and the signal input port correspondingly.

[0010] Preferably, the first capacitor is a sleeve capacitor, comprising a first conductor column, a second conductor column and a coupling medium, one end of the first conductor column is connected to the signal input port, the other end of the first conductor column sleeves one end of the second conductor column, the coupling medium is distributed between the first conductor column and the second conductor column, and the other end of the second conductor column is connected to the phase shift network.

[0011] Preferably, the direct current path comprises an inductor, a second capacitor and a direct current output end, the inductor, the second capacitor and the direct current output end are arranged outside the cavity, one end of the inductor penetrates the cavity and is connected to one end of the signal input port of the radio frequency path, the other end of the inductor is connected to one end of the second capacitor, and the second capacitor is connected to the direct current output end.

[0012] Preferably, the second capacitor is welded with a direct current transmission wire, one end of the direct current transmission wire away from the second capacitor serves as the direct current output end; a first insulator is arranged on the cavity, and the first insulator is arranged between the welding point of the second capacitor and the direct current transmission wire and the cavity, so as to realize insulation and isolation of the welding point and the cavity.

[0013] Preferably, a connecting hole is arranged on the side wall of the cavity and close to the connection position of the radio frequency path and the signal input port, and a pin of one end of the inductor penetrates the connecting hole and is electrically connected to the radio frequency path.

[0014] Preferably, a second insulator is arranged in the connecting hole, and the second insulator is attached to the connecting hole and surrounds the pin of the inductor connected to the radio frequency path.

[0015] Preferably, the cavity is a double-layer cavity, and each layer of the cavity is provided with the phase shift network, the radio frequency path and the direct current path.

[0016] As a second aspect, the application also relates to an antenna, comprising a reflecting plate, a radiation unit and a phase shifter, the radiation unit and the phase shifter are arranged on two sides of the reflecting plate and are electrically connected, and the phase shifter is the phase shifter of the integrated feed device.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the application has the following advantages:

[0018] 1. In the phase shifter of the integrated feed device, the radio frequency path and the direct current path of the feed device are arranged in different spaces, the radio frequency path shares the cavity with the phase shift network of the phase shifter, no extra space is occupied, the direct current path is distributed outside the cavity, the size can be greatly reduced, the matching characteristics are excellent, and the bandwidth is wider.

[0019] 2. In the phase shifter of the integrated feed device, the radio frequency path and the direct current path belong to different spaces, the direct current path constitutes a low-pass filter path, and the filter characteristics and suppression indexes after the filter circuit are more excellent.

[0020] 3. This invention uses a shared radio frequency path with the phase shifter cavity, and the DC path is located on the outer surface of the phase shifter cavity. It is small in size and does not occupy extra space, and the assembly is simple. It is highly adaptable to the layout of feeders that support the PING function of the left and right radio frequency ports of multi-frequency multi-port antennas. [Attached Image Description]

[0021] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of the phase shifter of the integrated feeder according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 for Figure 1 An enlarged view of part A in the phase shifter shown;

[0023] Figure 3 for Figure 1 A partial cross-sectional view of the phase shifter shown;

[0024] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the internal circuit board of a phase shifter according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 5 for Figure 4 A sectional view of the circuit board shown along line AA;

[0026] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the internal circuit board of the phase shifter according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 7 for Figure 6 The circuit board shown is a cross-sectional view along line AA.

Detailed Implementation Methods

[0028] The present invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings and exemplary embodiments, wherein all like reference numerals in the drawings refer to the same parts. Furthermore, detailed descriptions of known technologies that are unnecessary to illustrate the features of the present invention are omitted.

[0029] See Figures 1 to 3 As a first aspect, the present invention relates to a phase shifter 100 with an integrated feeder (hereinafter referred to as "phase shifter"), wherein the feeder is integrated on the basis of the phase shifter body, wherein the feeder can realize the interaction between radio frequency signals and OOK signals between the antenna, RCU (not shown in the figure, the same below) and base station (not shown in the figure, the same below) when the phase shifter is applied to an antenna (not shown in the figure, the same below).

[0030] The phase shifter includes a phase shifter body and a radio frequency path 20 and a DC path 40, both fixed to the phase shifter body and electrically connected to each other. The radio frequency path is used to transmit radio frequency signals, and the DC path is used to transmit low frequency signals and DC signals. In other words, the radio frequency path and the DC path together constitute a feeder.

[0031] The phase shifter body specifically comprises a cavity 10, a phase shifting network 30, a phase shifting dielectric plate (not shown, same below) and a pull rod (not shown, same below) for pushing and pulling the phase shifting dielectric plate to move along the length direction of the cavity to change the dielectric constant of the phase shifting network. Since the structure of the phase shifter body is well known to those skilled in the art, it is not described here.

[0032] The cavity 10 can be integrally formed by a pultrusion process or a die casting process, having a top wall, a bottom wall and a side wall connecting the two, and at least one end of the cavity 10 is open to provide a pull rod to drive the movement of the phase shifting dielectric plate.

[0033] The phase shifting network 30 is provided on a dielectric plate 60 and supported in the cavity 10. The phase shifting network 30 is preferably a power division phase shifting network 30, having a signal input end and a plurality of signal output ends, realizing the division of a signal into multiple signals, and can change the phase between multiple signals according to a certain rule, for example, the phase shifting amount of multiple signal output ends is an arithmetic progression. Corresponding to the signal input end and the signal output end of the phase shifting network 30, the cavity 10 is provided with a signal input port 101 and a signal output port.

[0034] Preferably, the radio frequency path 20 comprises a radio frequency input end 201, a first capacitor 202 and a radio frequency output end connected in sequence, the radio frequency input end 201 is connected to the signal input port 101, and the radio frequency output end is connected to the input end of the phase shifting network 30, thereby realizing the connection of the radio frequency path 20 and the phase shifting network 30. Among them, the radio frequency input end 201 can be used as an antenna port, connected to the base station through a transmission cable. The radio frequency path 20 can couple the radio frequency signal received by the antenna radiation unit to the base station, or couple the radio frequency signal from the base station to the antenna radiation unit for external radiation. Among them, the first capacitor 202 is connected in series between the signal input port 101 and the radio frequency output end, used for passing radio frequency signals, suppressing low frequency signals and isolating direct current.

[0035] Please refer to Figure 4 and Figure 5 In an embodiment, the first capacitor 202 comprises a dielectric plate and conductor strips 2021, 2022 coated on both sides of the dielectric plate 60, the two conductor strips 2021, 2022 are oppositely arranged and can be coupled to each other, thereby constituting a microstrip line capacitor. The two conductor strips 2021, 2022 are connected to the signal input port 101 and the phase shifting network 30.

[0036] Please refer to Figure 6 and Figure 7In another embodiment, the first capacitor 202 is a sleeve capacitor, which includes a first conductor column 2023, a second conductor column 2024 and a coupling medium 2025. The first conductor column 2023 is connected to the signal input port 101 at one end and has a coupling hole (not shown) at the other end. The coupling medium 2025 is sleeved on the end of the second conductor column 2024 and is inserted into the coupling hole of the first conductor column 2023, thereby achieving the coupling connection of the first conductor column 2023 and the second conductor column 2024. The other end of the second conductor column 2024 is connected to the phase shift network 30.

[0037] The above provides two forms of the first capacitor 202, but cannot be regarded as a limitation on the use of the capacitor. It can also be other capacitors that can isolate direct current and are suitable for radio frequency signal transmission.

[0038] Preferably, the direct current passage 40 includes a direct current input end (not shown), an inductor 41, a second capacitor 42 and a direct current transmission wire 43 connected in sequence. The end of the direct current transmission wire 43 away from the second capacitor 42 constitutes a direct current output end and can be connected to the RCU via a cable. The inductor 41 is connected to one end of the signal input port 101 of the first capacitor 202 through the cavity 10, so that the low-frequency signal (such as an OOK signal) and direct current from the base station can be separated and transmitted to the direct current output end via the direct current transmission wire 43, and then output to the RCU.

[0039] In the direct current passage, the inductor 41 and the second capacitor 42 constitute a low-pass filter passage for isolating radio frequency signals and allowing low-frequency signals (such as OOK signals) and direct current signals to pass through, thereby having good filtering characteristics and better suppression indicators.

[0040] In other embodiments, the direct current passage can also not be provided with the second capacitor 42, but only with the inductor 4121, which can also isolate radio frequency signals and achieve the transmission of direct current signals and low-frequency signals between the base station and the RCU. When the direct current passage is not provided with the second capacitor 42, the end of the inductor 41 away from the joint first capacitor 202 is connected to the direct current transmission wire 43 and connected to the RCU via the direct current transmission wire 43.

[0041] Preferably, the cavity 10 corresponds to the connection position of the first capacitor 202 and the inductor 41, that is, a connection hole is formed on the side wall of the cavity 10 near the connection position of the radio frequency passage 20 and the signal input port 101. The pin of one end of the inductor 41 passes through the connection hole and is electrically connected to the radio frequency passage 20. More preferably, a second insulator 51 is arranged in the connection hole. The second insulator 51 is attached to the connection hole and surrounds the pin of the inductor 41 connected to the radio frequency passage 20, thereby positioning the pin of the inductor 41 and ensuring the stability of the connection position and the insulation between the inductor 41 and the cavity 10.

[0042] The cavity 10 side wall is provided with a wiring groove (not shown) for fixing the coaxial cable, the second capacitor 42 is clamped in the wiring groove, one end of which is connected with the end of the inductor 41 away from the radio frequency channel 20, and the other end is welded with the direct current transmission wire. The cavity 10 is also provided with a first insulator 52, which is arranged between the capacitor and the welding point of the direct current transmission wire and the cavity 10, realizing the isolation between the welding point and the cavity 10, that is, realizing the insulation between the cavity 10 and the direct current channel.

[0043] In the present application, the cavity 10 is preferably a double-layer cavity, each layer of the cavity 10 is provided with the phase shift network 30, the radio frequency channel 20 and the direct current channel, so that the phase shifter can be applied to a dual-frequency antenna, realizing the phase shift function of two frequency band signals.

[0044] In summary, in the phase shifter provided by the present application, the feeder is integrated, the radio frequency channel 20 and the phase shift network 30 are arranged in the cavity 10, without occupying additional space, the direct current channel is arranged outside the cavity 10, realizing the design of separate spaces, the size of the cavity 10 can be greatly reduced, and the matching characteristics are excellent, with a wider bandwidth. The direct current channel constitutes a low-pass filter channel, and the filter characteristics and suppression indexes after the filter circuit are better. In addition, the phase shifter body and the feeder are arranged in one body, the assembly is simple, and it greatly adapts to the support of the left and right radio frequency ports PING function feeder layout of the multi-frequency multi-port antenna.

[0045] As a second aspect, the present application also relates to an antenna applying the above phase shifter, which comprises a reflecting plate, a radiation unit and the above phase shifter arranged on the front and back surfaces of the reflecting plate and electrically connected. By applying the above phase shifter, the antenna has a simple layout, excellent matching characteristics, and a wider bandwidth.

[0046] Although some exemplary embodiments of the present application have been shown above, those skilled in the art will understand that changes can be made to these exemplary embodiments without departing from the principles or spirit of the present application, and the scope of the present application is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An integrated feeder phase shifter comprising a cavity and a phase shifting network disposed within the cavity, the cavity having a signal input port formed therein, wherein, The radio frequency channel is arranged in the cavity and connected with the signal input port at one end and the phase shift network at the other end; the direct current channel is fixed outside the cavity and connected with the radio frequency channel at the end of the signal input port, and comprises an inductor, a second capacitor and a direct current output end, wherein the inductor, the second capacitor and the direct current output end are arranged outside the cavity, the inductor is connected with the end of the signal input port of the radio frequency channel at one end and with the second capacitor at the other end, and the second capacitor is connected with the direct current output end.

2. The integrated feeder phase shifter of claim 1, wherein, The radio frequency channel comprises a first capacitor, which is arranged in the cavity of the phase shifter and connected with the phase shift network at one end and the signal input port at the other end.

3. The phase shifter of the integrated feeders according to claim 2, characterized in that, The first capacitor is a microstrip line capacitor, which comprises a dielectric plate carrying the phase shift network and conductor strips arranged on opposite surfaces of the dielectric plate and coupled with each other, and the conductor strips on the two surfaces are connected with the phase shift network and the signal input port, respectively.

4. The integrated feeder phase shifter of claim 2, wherein, The first capacitor is a sleeve capacitor, which comprises a first conductor column, a second conductor column and a coupling medium, the first conductor column is connected with the signal input port at one end and surrounds one end of the second conductor column at the other end, the coupling medium is arranged between the first conductor column and the second conductor column, and the other end of the second conductor column is connected with the phase shift network.

5. The integrated feeder phase shifter of claim 1, wherein, The second capacitor is welded with a direct current transmission wire, and the end of the direct current transmission wire away from the second capacitor serves as the direct current output end. The cavity is provided with a first insulator arranged between the welding point of the second capacitor and the direct current transmission wire and the cavity, so as to realize insulation and isolation of the welding point and the cavity.

6. The integrated feeder phase shifter of claim 1, wherein, The side wall of the cavity is provided with a connecting hole near the connection position of the radio frequency channel and the signal input port, and a pin of the inductor is connected with the radio frequency channel through the connecting hole.

7. The phase shifter of the integrated feeders according to claim 6, characterized in that, The connecting hole is provided with a second insulator, which is attached to the connecting hole and surrounds the pin of the inductor connected with the radio frequency channel.

8. The phase shifter of the integrated feeders according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The cavity is a double-layer cavity, and each layer of the cavity is provided with the phase shift network, the radio frequency channel and the direct current channel.

9. An antenna comprising a reflector plate, a radiating element and a phase shifter, the radiating element and the phase shifter being separately provided on both sides of the reflector plate and electrically connected, characterized in that, The phase shifter is the phase shifter of the integrated feeder according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

Images