A patch radiating unit

Abstract

This invention discloses a patch radiating element, comprising a reflector and a radiating element mounted on one side of the reflector. The radiating element includes a radiating patch, a feed balun, and a matching network. The radiating patch is electrically connected to the matching network via the feed balun. The matching network is fixed to the reflector. The radiating patch has a curved surface structure that arches away from the reflector, and at least one slot is formed on the radiating patch. This invention employs a conformal curved surface and a slotted surface structure, which can effectively widen the antenna's operating bandwidth while reducing the width of the radiating element.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of mobile communications, specifically to antenna network systems, and more particularly to a patch radiating element used as a base station antenna. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of the communications industry, the requirements for antenna performance are becoming increasingly stringent. Antennas are required to maintain excellent radiation pattern characteristics within a limited space and a wide frequency band. Therefore, current research focuses on wideband and miniaturization.

[0003] Microstrip antennas offer a range of advantages, including small size, light weight, low cost, and ease of integration, making them unique in miniaturized antennas and leading to their rapid and widespread adoption since their introduction. However, existing patch antennas suffer from several problems: 1. They generally have relatively narrow bandwidths and large sizes, failing to meet the broadband and ultra-wideband requirements of current mobile communications; 2. Most patch antennas radiate only into half-space; 3. They are typically printed on high-dielectric substrates, potentially exhibiting surface waves and having low power capacity.

[0004] Therefore, it is necessary to provide a patch radiating element that can effectively improve antenna bandwidth under limited size. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and provide a patch radiating element that can effectively broaden the working bandwidth of the antenna while reducing the antenna size.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention proposes the following technical solution: a patch radiating unit, comprising a reflector and a radiating unit mounted on one side of the reflector, the radiating unit comprising a radiating patch, a feeding balun and a matching network, the radiating patch being electrically connected to the matching network via the feeding balun, the matching network being fixed to the reflector, the radiating patch having a curved surface structure arched away from the reflector, and at least one groove line being formed on the radiating patch.

[0007] Preferably, a hollow mounting space is formed between the radiating patch and the reflector, and the matching network and part of the power supply balun are located within the mounting space.

[0008] Preferably, the plane of the matching network is parallel to the plane of the reflector, the plane of the feed balun is perpendicular to the plane of the matching network, and one end of the balun is fixed to the matching network, while the other end extends out of the radiating patch.

[0009] Preferably, a feeding protrusion is formed on the end of the feeding balun away from the matching network, the feeding protrusion extends through the radiating patch, and the feeding balun forms a feeding loop with the radiating patch and the matching network through the feeding protrusion.

[0010] Preferably, the radiating patch includes a first radiating surface parallel to the plane of the reflector, a second radiating surface formed by bending from both ends of the first radiating surface toward the reflector, and a third radiating surface formed by bending from the lower end of the second radiating surface toward the reflector.

[0011] Preferably, two parallel grooves are arranged laterally on the first radiating surface.

[0012] Preferably, a radiation unit is also provided on the other side of the reflector. The patch radiation unit further includes at least one coupling plate. The two radiation units are coupled or directly connected through the coupling plate to improve the impedance matching bandwidth.

[0013] Preferably, both ends of the coupling piece are directly welded to the corresponding side of the radiating patch.

[0014] Preferably, one end of the coupling piece is directly welded to the corresponding side of the radiating patch, and the other end is coupled to the corresponding side of the radiating patch.

[0015] Preferably, both ends of the coupling plate are coupled to the corresponding radiating plates.

[0016] Preferably, the two ends of the coupling plate are respectively connected to the third radiating surface of the corresponding side of the radiating patch.

[0017] Preferably, the two matching networks on both sides of the reflector are electrically connected through a U-shaped adapter passing through the reflector.

[0018] Preferably, the curved surface structure formed by the radiating patch is at least one of the following: a circular arc surface, a square surface, an elliptical surface, and a trumpet surface.

[0019] Preferably, the radiating patch is an air patch.

[0020] The beneficial effects of this invention are:

[0021] 1. The radiating patch of the present invention is designed with a curved conformal and surface slotted structure, which greatly expands the working bandwidth and realizes the miniaturization of the radiating unit, and can meet the broadband requirements; at the same time, the addition of the curved (i.e. slotted) technology and coupling arm further optimizes the matching and radiation pattern performance.

[0022] 2. The present invention features a design with identical radiating units on both sides of the reflector. The two radiating units are arranged back-to-back on both sides of the reflector to form a patch unit array, which can achieve omnidirectional radiation in space.

[0023] 3. The coupling patch of this invention uses an air-plus-metal patch, which improves the power capacity to a certain extent. Attached Figure Description

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the patch radiating unit of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the side view structure;

[0026] Figure 3 This is an exploded structural diagram of the patch radiating unit of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the radiation patch of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 5 This is a top view of the structure of the patch radiating unit of the present invention with a single radiating unit installed;

[0029] Figure 6 yes Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure along the AA direction.

[0030] Figure label:

[0031] 100. Reflector; 101. Adapter slot; 200. Radiation unit; 201. Radiation patch; 202. Feed balun; 203. Matching network; 204. First radiation surface; 205. Second radiation surface; 206. Third radiation surface; 207. Slot line; 208. Feed protrusion; 209. Through hole; 300. Mounting space; 400. Coupler plate; 500. U-shaped adapter. Detailed Implementation

[0032] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will now be clearly and completely described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0033] The patch radiating element disclosed in this invention adopts a curved conformal and surface slotted structure, which can effectively widen the working bandwidth of the antenna while reducing the width of the radiating element, thus meeting the broadband requirements.

[0034] Combination Figures 1-3 As shown in the figure, a patch radiation unit disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention includes a reflector 100 and two radiation units 200 symmetrically mounted on the front and back surfaces of the reflector 100. Each radiation unit 200 includes a radiation patch 201, a feed balun 202 and a matching network 203. The radiation patch 201 is electrically connected to the matching network 203 through the feed balun 202, and the matching network 203 is fixed on the reflector 100.

[0035] Specifically, such as Figure 3 and Figure 4As shown, the radiating patch 201 has an overall curved surface structure that arches away from the reflector 100 to form a radiating element that can conform to the curved surface (such as the antenna cover). By conforming to the curved surface, the width of the radiating element can be reduced, thereby enabling the present invention to effectively widen the working bandwidth of the antenna while reducing the width of the radiating element.

[0036] In this embodiment, as Figure 4 As shown, the radiating patch 201 includes an integral first radiating surface 204, a second radiating surface 205, and a third radiating surface 206. The first radiating surface 204 is located above the reflector 100 and is parallel to the plane of the reflector 100. The second radiating surface 205 is formed by bending from both ends of the first radiating surface 204 toward the reflector 100. The third radiating surface 206 is formed by bending from the lower end of the second radiating surface 205 toward the reflector 100.

[0037] Of course, in practice, the radiating patch 201 can also be replaced by other curved surfaces such as arc surfaces, square surfaces, elliptical surfaces, or horn surfaces, depending on the shape of the surface of the object it conforms to. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the radiating patch 201 is an air patch. The radiating patch 201 adopts the form of air plus a metal patch, which is easy to manufacture and can reduce the overall weight of the antenna, while also improving the power capacity to a certain extent.

[0038] Preferably, such as Figure 4 As shown, the radiating patch 201 also has at least one slot line 207. This slot line 207 can be of various forms, such as straight lines or curves. Etching different forms of meandering features (i.e., creating slot lines) on the radiating patch 201 can further improve bandwidth and miniaturization. Specifically, in this embodiment, two parallel slot lines 207 are laterally arranged on the first radiating surface 204 of the radiating patch 201. The addition of meandering features on the radiating patch 201 further optimizes antenna matching, radiation pattern, and VSWR tuning performance.

[0039] like Figure 1 As shown, a hollow mounting space 300 is formed between the radiating patch 201 and the reflector 100, and the matching network 203 and part of the feed balun 202 are located within this mounting space 300. Specifically, the matching network 203 is fixed to the reflector 100, and the plane of the matching network 203 is parallel to the plane of the reflector 100. In practice, the matching network 203 can be fixed by a corresponding fixing structure (not shown), such as screws.

[0040] The plane containing the feed balun 202 is perpendicular to the plane containing the matching network 203, and one end of it is fixed to the matching network 203, such as by welding; the other end extends through the radiating patch 201. Specifically, combined with... Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, at least one feed protrusion 208 is formed on the end of the feed balun 202 away from the matching network 203 (i.e., the other end here), and the feed protrusion 208 extends out of the radiating patch 201. In this embodiment, the radiating patch 201 has a through hole 209 for the feed protrusion 208 to pass through, and the feed protrusion 208 extends out of the radiating patch 201 through the through hole 209. In this embodiment, a feed protrusion 208 is provided on the feed balun 202, so that the feed balun 202 can form a feed loop with the radiating patch 201 and the matching network 203 through the feed protrusion 208. In practice, the matching network 203 and the feed balun 202 can be a PCB board.

[0041] Two radiating units 200 are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the reflector 100, enabling omnidirectional radiation in space. The two radiating units 200 are coupled or directly connected. In this embodiment, the two radiating units 200 are coupled or directly connected through a coupling plate 400. Specifically, combined with... Figures 1-3 As shown, this embodiment provides four coupling plates 400. Each coupling plate 400 has its two ends connected to the third radiating surface 206 of the corresponding radiating patch 201. Specifically, both ends of the coupling plate 400 can be directly welded to the corresponding radiating patch 201; alternatively, one end can be directly welded to the corresponding radiating patch 201, and the other end can be coupled to it; or both ends of the coupling plate 400 can be coupled to the corresponding radiating patch 201; or the coupling plate 400 can extend from one side of the radiating patch 201 and be integrally formed with it, with the other end directly welded or coupled to the radiating patch 201 on the other side. This invention forms a set of patch unit arrays back-to-back on both sides of the reflector 100, enabling omnidirectional spatial radiation. The back-to-back shared coupling arm structure (achieved through coupling plates) is beneficial for improving antenna matching and radiation pattern characteristics.

[0042] Furthermore, the upper and lower matching networks 203 are electrically connected. In this embodiment, the two matching networks 203 are electrically connected via a U-shaped adapter 500. Specifically, in conjunction with... Figure 3 , Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, the reflector 100 has an adapter groove 101 through which a U-shaped adapter 500 passes. The U-shaped adapter 500 passes through the adapter groove 101, with one end electrically connected to the upper matching network 203 and the other end electrically connected to the lower matching network 203, thereby connecting the two matching networks 203 on both sides of the reflector 100. The U-shaped adapter 500 structure used in this invention for connecting the upper and lower matching networks 203 greatly simplifies the connection complexity of the upper and lower matching networks 203 while ensuring good electrical performance.

[0043] As an alternative embodiment, multiple radiation units 200 as described above can be provided on one side of the reflector 100. These units have the same structure as the radiation unit 200 described above, with the radiation patch 201 being a curved conformal or planar structure, as described above. Further details are omitted here. In this way, the patch radiation units can achieve the same technical effect on the same plane using the aforementioned shared arm concept.

[0044] The technical content and features of the present invention have been disclosed above. However, those skilled in the art may still make various substitutions and modifications that do not depart from the spirit of the present invention based on the teachings and disclosures of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should not be limited to the content disclosed in the embodiments, but should include various substitutions and modifications that do not depart from the present invention, and should be covered by the claims of this patent application.

Claims

1. A patch radiating unit, comprising a reflector and a radiating unit mounted on one side of the reflector, the radiating unit comprising a radiating patch, a feed balun, and a matching network, the radiating patch being electrically connected to the matching network via the feed balun, the matching network being fixed to the reflector, characterized in that, The plane of the matching network is parallel to the plane of the reflector. The radiating patch has a curved surface structure that arches away from the reflector, and at least one groove is formed on the radiating patch. At least one radiating unit is also provided on the other side of the reflector. The patch radiating unit also includes at least one coupling plate. The radiating units on both sides of the reflector are coupled or directly connected through the coupling plate to achieve omnidirectional spatial radiation. The patch radiating unit also includes a U-shaped adapter. The two matching networks on both sides of the reflector are electrically connected through the U-shaped adapter passing through the reflector.

2. The patch radiating unit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The plane where the feed balun is located is perpendicular to the plane where the matching network is located, and one end of it is fixed to the matching network, while the other end extends out of the radiating patch.

3. The patch radiating unit according to claim 2, characterized in that, A feeding protrusion is formed on the end of the feeding balun away from the matching network. The feeding protrusion extends through the radiating patch, and the feeding balun forms a feeding loop with the radiating patch and the matching network through the feeding protrusion.

4. The patch radiating unit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The radiation patch includes a first radiation surface parallel to the plane of the reflector, a second radiation surface formed by bending from both ends of the first radiation surface toward the reflector, and a third radiation surface formed by bending from the lower end of the second radiation surface toward the reflector.

5. The patch radiating unit according to claim 4, characterized in that, Two parallel grooves are arranged laterally on the first radiating surface.

6. The patch radiating unit according to claim 1, characterized in that, Both ends of the coupling plate are directly welded to the corresponding side of the radiation patch.

7. The patch radiating unit according to claim 1, characterized in that, One end of the coupling plate is directly welded to the corresponding side of the radiating patch, and the other end is coupled to the corresponding side of the radiating patch.

8. The patch radiating unit according to claim 1, characterized in that, Both ends of the coupling plate are coupled to the corresponding radiating plates on the sides.

9. The patch radiating unit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The surface structure formed by the radiating patch is at least one of the following: circular arc surface, square surface, elliptical surface, and trumpet surface.

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