Feed assembly for a phase shifter and antenna

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a feed assembly for a phase shifter and an antenna, wherein the feed assembly for a phase shifter comprises a joint fixing plate having a feed socket on the joint fixing plate for receiving an externally fed electrical signal, and a first signal line electrically connected with the feed socket at a first end and electrically connected with a second signal line of a feed network at a second end opposite to the first end. In the feed assembly according to the present disclosure, the electrical signal fed by the feed socket is electrically connected with the second signal line of the feed network via the first signal line without the need of a coaxial cable at all, which forms a cable-free design of the feed assembly, on the one hand, reducing the cable and the corresponding soldering operation to improve the consistency of the feed assembly, and on the other hand, improving the electrical performance of the feed assembly according to the present disclosure.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of mobile communication, and more particularly to a feeding assembly for a phase shifter and an antenna comprising the feeding assembly for the phase shifter. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the development of mobile communication technology, more stringent requirements are put forward for base station antennas and the overall communication system architecture. For base station antennas, not only the requirements of miniaturization, light weight and high integration need to be met, but also more stringent electrical performance requirements need to be met, which puts higher requirements on the overall architecture design of the base station antenna and the arrangement of the internal feeding network.

[0003] With the popularity of multi-band antennas, the internal feeding network of the antenna is becoming more and more complex. Generally, the modules inside the antenna are electrically connected through coaxial cables, i.e. the main feeding connector is electrically connected to the power dividing / phase shifting / filtering module, and then electrically connected to the radiating element. This way of realizing electrical connection by using coaxial cables will inevitably cause a sharp increase in internal solder joints. In addition, this connection method will also cause the internal space structure of the antenna to be tight, and in the internal of the multi-band antenna, it may even be difficult to layout. At the same time, the use of a large number of coaxial cables will also cause the antenna impedance loss to be high, the antenna gain to be difficult to improve, and the antenna radio frequency efficiency to be difficult to improve. Moreover, the quality of the solder joints will affect the third-order intermodulation of the antenna.

[0004] Therefore, how to reduce cable connection and reduce internal solder joints of the antenna to realize few-cable or cable-free connection has become a common consensus and industry development trend in the industry. SUMMARY

[0005] In view of the technical problems existing in the prior art, i.e. the electrical connection between modules in the prior art will adopt coaxial cables, which will on the one hand cause complex structure and be not conducive to effective utilization of the internal space of the antenna, and on the other hand will also adversely affect the performance of the antenna. Based on this, the inventors of the present disclosure have innovatively thought that instead of using coaxial cables, the electrical connection is realized by using signal lines arranged in different cavities, which on the one hand replaces the traditional coaxial cables, and on the other hand makes the phase shifter or antenna according to the present disclosure have more excellent electrical performance.

[0006] In general, in order to solve the above technical problems, the first aspect of the present disclosure provides a feeding assembly for a phase shifter, which comprises:

[0007] a connector fixing plate having a feeding socket on the connector fixing plate, the feeding socket being used to receive an externally fed electrical signal; and

[0008] a first signal line, which is electrically connected at a first end to the feed socket and at a second end, opposite the first end, to a second signal line of the feed network.

[0009] In the feed assembly according to the present disclosure, the electrical signal fed by the feed socket is electrically connected via the first signal line to the second signal line of the feed network without the need for a coaxial cable at all, which results in a cable-free design of the feed assembly, which on the one hand reduces the number of cables and the corresponding soldering operations and improves the consistency of the feed assembly and on the other hand improves the electrical properties of the feed assembly according to the present disclosure.

[0010] Preferably, in one embodiment according to the present disclosure, the feed assembly further comprises a first cavity for accommodating the first signal line, a second cavity arranged adjacent to the first cavity, and the second signal line arranged on the feed network accommodated in the second cavity. In this way, the electrical signal fed by the feed socket is electrically connected via the first signal line located in the first cavity to the second signal line located in the second cavity without the need for a coaxial cable at all, which results in a cable-free design of the feed assembly, which on the one hand reduces the number of cables and the corresponding soldering operations and improves the consistency of the feed assembly and on the other hand improves the electrical properties of the feed assembly according to the present disclosure.

[0011] Preferably, in one embodiment according to the present disclosure, the first cavity and / or the second cavity has a cavity relief hole in an outer wall thereof, wherein the first signal line and the second signal line are electrically connected at the cavity relief hole. More preferably, in one embodiment according to the present disclosure, the first signal line has a through hole at the second end and the second signal line has a protrusion, which is electrically connected to the first signal line via the through hole at the cavity relief hole. In this way, the protrusion is electrically connected to the first signal line via the through hole at the cavity relief hole, for example by means of a cooperation of the through hole and the protrusion.

[0012] In one embodiment according to the present disclosure, the protrusion is soldered to the first signal line via the through hole at the cavity relief hole. In this way, the protrusion is electrically connected to the first signal line via the through hole at the cavity relief hole, for example by means of a reliable electrical connection such as soldering at the cavity relief hole.

[0013] In one embodiment according to the present disclosure, the connection between the protrusion and the through hole is located in the first cavity, in the second cavity, or at the connection between the first cavity and the second cavity. In this way, the position of the cavity-avoiding hole is flexible, and the position of the cavity-avoiding hole can be laid out according to the actual space or application scenario, further optimizing the structure of the feeding assembly according to the present disclosure.

[0014] In one embodiment according to the present disclosure, the first signal line has a first bending part, and the through hole is arranged at the first bending part. In this way, the electrical connection between the through hole and the protrusion can be more convenient.

[0015] Preferably, in one embodiment according to the present disclosure, the first signal line is configured as a strip line, a microstrip line, or an air coaxial line, or a combination of the above signal line types, and / or the second signal line is configured as a strip line, a microstrip line, or an air coaxial line, or a combination of the above signal line types. Compared with a traditional coaxial cable, a strip line or a microstrip line can significantly improve the third-order intermodulation performance of the feeding assembly.

[0016] In one embodiment according to the present disclosure, the first signal line is configured as a sheet metal strip line and the second signal line is configured as a strip line. Compared with a traditional coaxial cable, a sheet metal strip line or a strip line can significantly improve the third-order intermodulation performance of the feeding assembly.

[0017] In one embodiment according to the present disclosure, the connection position of the first signal line and the connector connected by the connector fixing plate is located in the connector fixing plate or on both sides of the connector fixing plate. In this way, the position of the connector can be flexibly adapted, which can be located in the connector fixing plate or on both sides of the connector fixing plate as needed.

[0018] Optionally or alternatively, in one embodiment according to the present disclosure, the feeding network includes but is not limited to at least one of the following: a phase shift module, a power division module, a combining module, and a filtering module. In this way, the feeding network can realize various functions in a specific hardware manner.

[0019] In one embodiment according to the present disclosure, the joint fixing plate is provided with at least two feeding sockets, the at least two feeding sockets have a predetermined distance from each other, and the first signal line is electrically connected with the feeding sockets or the first signal line is electrically connected with the feeding sockets via a connecting piece. Preferably, in one embodiment according to the present disclosure, at least one of the at least two feeding sockets is not in the same horizontal plane as the corresponding first signal line, and the first signal line is electrically connected with the corresponding feeding socket by means of a connecting piece passing through a cavity in the joint fixing plate. Alternatively or optionally, in one embodiment according to the present disclosure, at least one of the at least two feeding sockets is not in the same vertical plane as the corresponding first signal line, and the first signal line is electrically connected with the corresponding feeding socket by means of a connecting piece passing through a cavity in the joint fixing plate. In this way, the electrical connection between the first signal line and the feeding socket can be achieved by a connecting piece, which can completely replace the coaxial cable and can adapt to different positions of the feeding socket. Specifically, the connecting piece is configured as a microstrip line or a strip line or an air coaxial line, which includes a vertical direction cross-over transmission line or a horizontal direction jumper; or alternatively, the connecting piece is arranged in a preset cavity of the joint fixing plate.

[0020] In one embodiment according to the present disclosure, the connecting piece is integrally formed with the first signal line.

[0021] In one embodiment according to the present disclosure, the joint fixing plate further has a welding avoidance hole, and the electrical connection between the first signal line and the joint is achieved at the welding avoidance hole.

[0022] In one embodiment according to the present disclosure, the feeding assembly further includes a third signal line, and the third signal line is electrically connected with the second signal line.

[0023] In addition, the second aspect of the present disclosure proposes an antenna, which includes:

[0024] a reflecting plate;

[0025] a radiating vibrator arranged on one side of the reflecting plate;

[0026] a feeding assembly arranged on the side opposite to the radiating vibrator and electrically connected with the radiating vibrator through the reflecting plate, wherein the feeding assembly is configured as the feeding assembly according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0027] In summary, in the feeding assembly according to the present disclosure, the electrical signal fed by the feeding socket is electrically connected with the second signal line of the feeding network via the first signal line, without the need to use a coaxial cable, thus forming a cable-free design of the feeding assembly, which on the one hand reduces the cable and the corresponding welding operation to improve the consistency of the feeding assembly, and on the other hand improves the electrical performance of the feeding assembly according to the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0028] Embodiments are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which:

[0029] Figure 1 a structural schematic diagram of a feeding assembly 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0030] Figure 2A a perspective view of the feeding assembly 100 according to Figure 1 an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0031] Figure 2B an exploded view of the feeding assembly 100 according to Figure 1 an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0032] Figure 3A a schematic diagram of a connection position of a signal line according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0033] Figure 3B a schematic diagram of a connection position of a signal line according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0034] Figure 3C a schematic diagram of a connection position of a signal line according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0035] Figure 4A a schematic diagram of a connection position of a signal line with a connector according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0036] Figure 4B a schematic diagram of a connection position of a signal line with a connector according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0037] Figure 4C a schematic diagram of a connection position of a signal line with a connector according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0038] Figure 5A an exploded view of a feeding assembly 500A according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0039] Figure 5B FIG. 9 shows a front view of a feed assembly 500A in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0040] Figure 5C FIG. 10 shows an exploded view of a feed assembly 500B in accordance with yet another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0041] Figure 5D FIG. 11 shows a front view of a feed assembly 500B in accordance with yet another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0042] Figure 5E FIG. 12 shows a perspective view of a connector in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0043] Figure 5F FIG. 13 shows a perspective view of a joint fixing plate in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0044] Figure 5G FIG. 14 shows a top view of a joint fixing plate in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0045] Figure 6 FIG. 15 shows a schematic view of a feed assembly 600 in accordance with still another embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0046] Figure 7 FIG. 16 shows a structural schematic view of an antenna 700 in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0047] Other features, characteristics, advantages, and benefits of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0048] In the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof. The drawings illustrate particular embodiments in which the principles of the present disclosure can be implemented. The embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to implement the present disclosure. Other embodiments can be utilized and structural, or logical changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims.

[0049] As mentioned above, the current industry generally exists in the following three design schemes:

[0050] The first direction: the coaxial cable between the phase shift / power division / filter module and the radiating unit is optimized. Usually, the inner core of the radiating unit (vibrator) is connected to the signal cavity by using a PIN, a jumper or directly extending into the signal cavity. Alternatively, a protruding part is arranged on the signal line in the cavity to realize electrical connection with the radiating unit.

[0051] The second direction: the coaxial cable between the main feeder joint and the phase shift / power division / filter module is optimized. Usually, the signal transmission mode of a section of the coaxial cable is changed to a microstrip line / strip line or a suspended strip line structure to reduce the internal loss of the radio frequency signal and improve the overall gain of the antenna. However, only one section is changed, not all.

[0052] The third direction: the combination of the first two solutions. The air coaxial cable is used to connect from the main feeder joint end, and the feeder network includes multiple parallel air coaxial cables. The inner conductor of the coaxial cable is electrically connected by using a connection part with a buckle feature.

[0053] After summarizing the above solutions, the inventors of the present disclosure found that under the mainstream design scheme, the signal transmission section between the main feeder joint end of the antenna and the phase shift / power division / filter module still retains at least a section of the coaxial cable, and a truly cable-free design is not achieved. Although the air coaxial cable (including an internal conductor and an elongated outer conductor surrounding the internal conductor) realizes cable-free in form, this air coaxial structure greatly limits the structure form of the antenna. The antenna needs to be provided with multiple parallel cavities, and the antenna joint position has limitations. This scheme is not easy to implement in the case of dual-polarized antennas and a large number of joint arrangements.

[0054] In addition, the traditional antenna feeder structure has a large number of coaxial cables and a large number of welding points. The internal loss is large during the radio frequency signal transmission process, the gain is difficult to improve, and the third-order intermodulation performance of the antenna is prone to be poor. Moreover, the existence of a large number of coaxial cables also causes difficulties in internal assembly and layout of the antenna, which is not conducive to the miniaturization and light weight of the antenna.

[0055] In summary, the existing technical problems in the prior art are that the feeder assembly and the antenna including the feeder assembly in the prior art use a large number of coaxial cables, which brings many inconveniences. The inventors of the present disclosure innovatively thought that instead of using coaxial cables, the signal line is directly connected, which on the one hand simplifies the assembly complexity, and on the other hand makes the electrical performance such as the third-order intermodulation of the feeder assembly and the antenna according to the present disclosure more stable and accurate.

[0056] In order to realize the cable-free design of the antenna, the antenna feeding structure designed in the present disclosure directly uses a metal strip line (including a sheet metal strip line) or a PCB board to replace the coaxial cable to realize the transmission of the radio frequency signal starting from the joint end, the complete cable-free design can be realized, the welding points between the modules of the antenna are greatly reduced, the electrical performance such as the gain and the intermodulation of the antenna is greatly improved, the radio frequency efficiency is improved, meanwhile, the assembly and layout difficulty can be greatly reduced, which is beneficial to the miniaturization and light weight of the antenna. Since the insertion loss of the strip line / microstrip line / air coaxial line is smaller compared with the coaxial cable, the energy dissipation of the antenna from the input port is reduced, the gain of the antenna is greatly improved, and the radio frequency efficiency is improved. In addition, while realizing the complete cable-free design, the poor intermodulation performance of the antenna caused by the bending, secondary processing and cable welding of the cable is avoided.

[0057] Abstractly, the feeding assembly for the phase shifter according to the present disclosure includes a joint fixing plate having a feeding socket for receiving an externally fed electrical signal, and a first signal line electrically connected with the feeding socket at a first end and electrically connected with a second signal line of a feeding network at a second end opposite to the first end. In the feeding assembly according to the present disclosure, the electrical signal fed by the feeding socket is electrically connected with the second signal line of the feeding network via the first signal line, without the need to use a coaxial cable, thus forming a cable-free feeding assembly, which on the one hand reduces the cable and the corresponding welding operation to improve the consistency of the feeding assembly, and on the other hand improves the electrical performance of the feeding assembly according to the present disclosure.

[0058] Preferably, in one embodiment according to the present disclosure, the feeding assembly further comprises a first cavity for accommodating the first signal line, a second cavity disposed adjacent to the first cavity, and a second signal line disposed on a feeding network accommodated in the second cavity. In this way, the electrical signal fed by the feeding socket is electrically connected via the first signal line located in the first cavity and the second signal line located in the second cavity without the need to use a coaxial cable, thus forming a cable-free design of the feeding assembly, which on the one hand reduces the cable and the corresponding soldering operation to improve the consistency of the feeding assembly, and on the other hand improves the electrical performance of the feeding assembly according to the present disclosure. Of course, preferably, in one embodiment according to the present disclosure, the second cavity can also be disposed parallel to the first cavity. Preferably, in one embodiment according to the present disclosure, the outer wall of the first cavity and / or the outer wall of the second cavity has a cavity escape hole, wherein the first signal line and the second signal line are electrically connected at the cavity escape hole. More preferably, in one embodiment according to the present disclosure, the first signal line has a through hole at the second end and the second signal line has a protruding part, which is electrically connected with the first signal line via the through hole at the cavity escape hole.

[0059] The structure of the feeding assembly and the corresponding antenna disclosed according to the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 to Figure 7 The structure of the feeding assembly and the corresponding antenna disclosed according to the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 shows a structural schematic diagram of a feeding assembly 100 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 2A shows a perspective view of the feeding assembly 100 according to Figure 1 , and Figure 2B shows an exploded view of the feeding assembly 100 according to Figure 1 .

[0060] As can be seen from Figure 1 , the feeding assembly 100 for the phase shifter according to the present disclosure comprises the following parts, i.e. a joint fixing plate 110, which can be fixedly connected to a joint 120 thereon for example, the joint fixing plate 110 has a feeding socket 112 (to be described with reference to Figure 2A and Figure 2B ) for receiving an externally fed electrical signal, a first signal line 130, which is electrically connected with the feeding socket 112 at a first end (e.g. the right end of Figure 1 ) and a second end (e.g. the left end of Figure 1 ) opposite to the first end (e.g. the right end of Figure 1the left end of the first signal line 130) to the second signal line 160 of the feed network, for example via a through-hole 132 (see Fig. 1) at the second end. Preferably, the feed assembly 100 according to the present disclosure further comprises a first cavity 140 and a second cavity 150, and a second signal line 160 arranged on the feed network accommodated in the second cavity 150 and having, for example, a protrusion 162 electrically connected to the first signal line 130 via the through-hole 132. Here, the connection mode by means of the through-hole and the protrusion is merely exemplary and not restrictive, and other connection modes are also feasible, and the technical solutions employing other connection modes will also fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure. Figure 2B Preferably, the feed assembly 100 according to the present disclosure further comprises a first cavity 140 and a second cavity 150, and a second signal line 160 arranged on the feed network accommodated in the second cavity 150 and having, for example, a protrusion 162 electrically connected to the first signal line 130 via the through-hole 132. Here, the connection mode by means of the through-hole and the protrusion is merely exemplary and not restrictive, and other connection modes are also feasible, and the technical solutions employing other connection modes will also fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0061] Further, it can be seen from Figure 2B It can also be seen from the above that the first cavity 140 is used to accommodate the first signal line 130, and the outer wall of the first cavity 140 and / or the outer wall of the second cavity 150 has a cavity avoiding hole 170. If the cavity avoiding hole 170 is arranged on both the first cavity 140 and the second cavity 150, the cavity avoiding hole is arranged at the corresponding position, i.e., a common cavity avoiding hole 170 is formed. Here, the protrusion 162 is electrically connected to the first signal line 130 via the cavity avoiding hole 170 by means of the through-hole 132. In this way, the protrusion 162 is electrically connected to the first signal line 130 via the cavity avoiding hole 170 by means of the through-hole 132, for example, the electrical connection is realized via the cooperation of the through-hole 132 and the protrusion 162. Preferably, the protrusion 162 is welded to the first signal line 130 via the cavity avoiding hole 170 by means of the through-hole 132. In this way, the protrusion 162 is electrically connected to the first signal line 130 via the cavity avoiding hole 170 by means of the through-hole 132, for example, a reliable electrical connection such as welding can also be realized via the cavity avoiding hole 170. Here, the longitudinal axis of the first cavity 140 and the longitudinal axis of the second cavity 150 are arranged adjacently. In order to facilitate the connection, the first signal line 130 has a first bending portion (i.e., the bending portion where the through-hole 132 is located), and the through-hole 132 is arranged at the first bending portion. In this way, the electrical connection of the through-hole 132 and the protrusion 162 can be performed more conveniently.

[0062] Figure 3A Fig. 2 shows a schematic view of the connection position of a signal line according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 3B Fig. 3 shows a schematic view of the connection position of a signal line according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 3C Fig. 4 shows a schematic view of the connection position of a signal line according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure. It can be seen fromFigures 3A-3C As can be seen from the above, the connection position of the through hole 132 and the protruding portion 162 can be changed, and in Figure 3A As can be seen from the above, the connection position of the through hole 132 and the protruding portion 162, i.e., the connection position of the first signal line 130 and the second signal line 160, is located in the first cavity 140; in Figure 3B As can be seen from the above, the connection position of the through hole 132 and the protruding portion 162, i.e., the connection position of the first signal line 130 and the second signal line 160, is located in the second cavity 150; and in Figure 3C As can be seen from the above, the connection position of the through hole 132 and the protruding portion 162, i.e., the connection position of the first signal line 130 and the second signal line 160, is located at the connection position of the first cavity 140 and the second cavity 150. In general, the cavity avoiding hole 170 is located in the first cavity 140, in the second cavity 150, or at the connection position of the first cavity 140 and the second cavity 150. In this way, the setting position of the cavity avoiding hole 170 is flexible, and the position of the cavity avoiding hole 170 can be laid out according to the actual space or application scenario, further optimizing the structure of the feeding assembly 100 according to the present disclosure.

[0063] In addition, the connection position of the first signal line 130 and the connector 120 is also changeable, and can be set according to the specific application scenario. In order to make the connection of the first signal line 130 and the connector 120 more firm, the avoiding hole 114 for welding can also be arranged at the connector fixing plate 120. The electrical connection of the first signal line 130 and the connector 120 is realized at the welding avoiding hole 114. Herein, Figure 4A a schematic diagram of the connection position of the signal line and the connector according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, Figure 4B a schematic diagram of the connection position of the signal line and the connector according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, and Figure 4C a schematic diagram of the connection position of the signal line and the connector according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. As can be seen from the above, Figures 4A-4C As can be seen from the above, the connection position of the first signal line 130 and the connector 120 can be located in the connector fixing plate 110, on the left side of the connector fixing plate 110, or on the right side of the connector fixing plate 110.

[0064] In the above embodiments, the first signal line 130 is configured as a strip line, a microstrip line, or an air-coaxial line, or a combination of the above signal line types. Compared with a conventional coaxial cable, the strip line / microstrip line / air-coaxial line has a smaller insertion loss, the energy dissipation of the antenna from the input port is reduced, the antenna gain will be greatly improved, the radio frequency efficiency is improved, and therefore the strip line or microstrip line or air-coaxial line can significantly improve the third-order intermodulation performance of the feed assembly. Additionally or preferably, the second signal line 160 is configured as a strip line, a microstrip line, or an air-coaxial line, or a combination of the above signal line types. Compared with a conventional coaxial cable, the strip line or microstrip line or air-coaxial line can significantly improve the third-order intermodulation performance of the feed assembly. In a specific matching embodiment, the first signal line 130 is configured as a sheet metal strip line and the second signal line 160 is configured as a strip line. Compared with a conventional coaxial cable, the sheet metal strip line or strip line can significantly improve the third-order intermodulation performance of the feed assembly.

[0065] In addition to the above-mentioned first bending portion, the first signal line 130 can also have a second bending portion. Here, the first signal line 130 has a second bending portion, which is configured at the joint fixing plate 110. Here, the second bending portion can be integrally formed with the first signal line, or can be independently provided and connected.

[0066] Figure 5A An exploded view of a feed assembly 500A according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, Figure 5B A front view of the feed assembly 500A according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, Figure 5C An exploded view of a feed assembly 500B according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, Figure 5D A front view of the feed assembly 500B according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, Figure 5E A perspective view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, Figure 5F A perspective view of a joint fixing plate according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, and Figure 5G A top view of a joint fixing plate according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. In general, the joint fixing plate is provided with at least two feed sockets (for example Figure 5A the feed sockets, i.e., the joints 520A and 520A', or Figure 5CThe at least two feed sockets 520A and 520A' or 520B and 520B' have a predetermined distance between each other due to the technical parameters. For example, in the case of dual-polarized antennas and multi-band antennas, the small connectors of the general-purpose 4.3-10 type are used, and the distance between the feed sockets needs to be kept above 45 mm. For the large connectors of the cluster, the distance between the feed sockets needs to be kept above 75 mm. Therefore, due to the spatial position between the feed sockets, the feed sockets need to be designed to be far away from each other, so that the feed sockets cannot be directly electrically connected to the first signal line in the cavity, but need to be connected by the jumper transmission line 580' (which can be in the form of a strip line or a microstrip line) to be pulled away in the vertical or horizontal direction to keep a sufficient distance. The first signal line is electrically connected to the feed socket, or the first signal line is electrically connected to the feed socket via the connector. In a specific implementation, the first signal line is electrically connected to the second signal line, such as the connector of the jumper signal transmission line, one end of which is electrically connected to the first signal line, and the other end is electrically connected to the feed socket. For the layout, the connector panel can be integrally formed by pultrusion, and the connector panel has an integrally formed cavity by pultrusion, the jumper transmission line and the cavity form an air strip line structure, and the jumper transmission line connects the feed socket and the first signal line. That is, the first signal line is electrically connected to the feed socket, or the first signal line is electrically connected to the feed socket via the connector. In this way, the electrical connection between the first signal line and the feed socket can be achieved by the connector, and in this way, the coaxial cable can be completely replaced, and the different positions of the feed socket can be adapted. Specifically, the connector is configured as a microstrip line or a strip line or an air coaxial line, which includes a vertical jumper transmission line or a horizontal jumper connector; or alternatively, the connector is arranged in a predetermined cavity of the connector fixing plate. In an embodiment according to the present disclosure, the connector is integrally formed with the first signal line. In the vertical pull-away design scheme, the problem of too close distance between the dual-polarized antenna connectors can be solved, but in the case of multi-band antennas, the number of connectors continues to increase, and this scheme may still have the phenomenon that the connector position is difficult to layout, at which time a jumper connector can be further added to pull away the connector in the horizontal direction to keep the design flexibility.

[0067] From Figure 5AAs can be seen, the first signal line has an upward-facing connector 580A, which is designed to accommodate the position of the upper connector 520A, thereby fitting two connectors 520A and 520A' positioned at a certain distance apart, and thus achieving electrical connection with the first signal line 530A. At this time, at least one of the at least two power supply sockets is not on the same horizontal plane as the corresponding first signal line. The first signal line is electrically connected to the corresponding power supply socket by means of a connector passing through a cavity within the connector fixing plate. Figure 5C As can be seen, the first signal line, in addition to having a connector 580B pointing upwards in the figure (this connector 580B is designed to accommodate the upper part of the connector), may also have a connector 580B' pointing towards the plane of the paper in the figure. These two connectors 580B and 580B' are used to adapt to the position of connector 520B, which is a certain distance away from connector 520B'. In this case, at least one of the at least two power supply sockets is not on the same vertical plane as the corresponding first signal line. The first signal line is electrically connected to the corresponding power supply socket by means of a connector passing through a cavity within the connector fixing plate. Here, the power supply network includes, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: a phase shifting module, a power divider module, a combiner module, and a filter module.

[0068] Here, connectors 520B and 520B' pass through, for example... Figure 5F The holes 521B and 521B' shown are connected by connectors that pass through cavities 522B and 522B' in the connector fixing plate and connect the power supply socket and the corresponding signal line.

[0069] In addition to the electrical connection between the two signal lines mentioned above, it is also possible to achieve an electrical connection between three signal lines without a coaxial cable. Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a power supply assembly 600 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. From Figure 6 As can be seen from this, the power supply component 600 includes a first signal line 630 and a second signal line 660, as well as a third signal line 680, which is electrically connected to the second signal line 660.

[0070] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the structure of an antenna 700 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 7As shown, the antenna 700 comprises a reflector plate 792, a radiating element 791 disposed on one side (e.g. the lower side) of the reflector plate 792, and a feed assembly disposed on the opposite side (e.g. the upper side) of the radiating element 791 and electrically connected to the radiating element 791 through the reflector plate 792, wherein the feed assembly is configured as the feed assembly according to the first aspect of the present disclosure, and the first signal line 730 and the second signal line 760 of the feed assembly achieve the electrical connection without coaxial cable.

[0071] In summary, in the feed assembly according to the present disclosure, the electrical signal fed by the feed socket is electrically connected to the second signal line of the feed network via the first signal line without the need of coaxial cable, which forms the cable-free design of the feed assembly, which on the one hand reduces the cable and the corresponding welding operation to improve the consistency of the feed assembly, and on the other hand improves the electrical performance of the feed assembly according to the present disclosure.

[0072] Although different exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure have been described, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that different changes and modifications can be made, which can achieve one or some of the advantages of the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Other components performing the same functions can be appropriately replaced for those skilled in the art. It should be appreciated that the features explained with reference to a specific figure can be combined with the features of other figures, even if those are not explicitly mentioned. Furthermore, the methods of the present disclosure can be implemented in software using appropriate processor instructions, or in a hybrid implementation using a combination of hardware logic and software logic to achieve the same results. Such modifications to the scheme according to the present disclosure are intended to be covered by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A feed assembly for a phase shifter, characterized by, The feeding assembly comprises: a joint fixing plate having feeding sockets on the joint fixing plate, the feeding sockets being used for receiving externally fed electrical signals; a first signal line being electrically connected with the feeding sockets at a first end and being electrically connected with a second signal line of a feeding network at a second end opposite to the first end; a first cavity for accommodating the first signal line; a second cavity being arranged adjacent to the first cavity; and the second signal line being arranged on a feeding network accommodated in the second cavity, wherein an outer wall of the first cavity and / or an outer wall of the second cavity has a cavity avoiding hole, and the first signal line and the second signal line are electrically connected at the cavity avoiding hole.

2. The feed assembly of claim 1, wherein, The first signal line has a through hole at the second end and the second signal line has a protruding part, the protruding part being electrically connected with the first signal line via the through hole at the cavity avoiding hole.

3. The feed assembly of claim 2, wherein, The connection of the protruding part and the through hole is located in the first cavity, in the second cavity or at the connection of the first cavity and the second cavity.

4. The feed assembly of claim 2, wherein, The first signal line has a first bending part, and the through hole is arranged at the first bending part.

5. The feed assembly of claim 1, wherein, The first signal line is configured as a strip line, a microstrip line or an air coaxial line or a combination of the above signal line types, and / or the second signal line is configured as a strip line, a microstrip line or an air coaxial line or a combination of the above signal line types.

6. The feed assembly of claim 1, wherein, The feeding network comprises at least one of the following: a phase shift module, a power division module, a combining module and a filtering module.

7. The feed assembly of claim 1, wherein, The joint fixing plate is provided with at least two feeding sockets, the at least two feeding sockets having a predetermined distance from each other, and a first signal line is electrically connected with the feeding sockets or a first signal line is electrically connected with the feeding sockets via a connecting piece.

8. The feed assembly of claim 7, wherein, At least one of the at least two feeding sockets is not in the same horizontal plane as the corresponding first signal line, and the first signal line is electrically connected with the corresponding feeding socket by means of a connecting piece passing through a cavity in the joint fixing plate.

9. The feed assembly of claim 7, wherein, At least one of the at least two feeding sockets is not in the same vertical plane as the corresponding first signal line, and the first signal line is electrically connected with the corresponding feeding socket by means of a connecting piece passing through a cavity in the joint fixing plate.

10. The feed assembly of claim 7, wherein, The connecting piece is configured as a microstrip line or a strip line or an air coaxial line, which includes a vertical direction cross-over transmission line or a horizontal direction jumper.

11. The feed assembly of claim 7, wherein, The connecting piece is integrally formed with the first signal line.

12. The feed assembly of claim 1, wherein, The feeding assembly further comprises a third signal line, which is electrically connected with the second signal line.

13. An antenna, characterized by The antenna comprises: a reflecting plate; a radiating element arranged on one side of the reflecting plate; a feeding assembly arranged on the side opposite to the radiating element and electrically connected with the radiating element through the reflecting plate, wherein the feeding assembly is configured as the feeding assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

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