Radiating element and base station antenna

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a radiation unit and a base station antenna, the radiation unit comprising a dielectric substrate and a metal circuit; the metal circuit comprising a radiation part, a balun part, a lightning protection part and a feeding part; the radiation part is arranged on the side surface of the top plate part away from the bottom plate part and extends through the top plate part to the balun part; the balun part is arranged on the inner side surface or the outer side surface of the support part; the lightning protection part is arranged on the side surface of the bottom plate part facing the top plate part and grounded through the bottom plate part; the feeding part is arranged on the side surface of the bottom plate part away from the top plate part and connected to the balun part; wherein the thickness H of the radiation part along the extension direction of the support part satisfies: H < 0.05λ, the radiation surface aperture D of the radiation part satisfies: 0.38λ < D < 0.42λ, and the feeding length L of the balun part satisfies: 0.15λ < D < 0.21λ. The radiation unit provided by the present disclosure has the advantage of low profile, which is conducive to the miniaturization of the base station antenna.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of communication equipment technology, and in particular to a radiating element and a base station antenna. Background Technology

[0002] In mobile communication systems, antennas are a crucial component, and their performance directly impacts the overall performance of the mobile communication network. Multi-port, multi-band antennas offer significant advantages over traditional antennas in terms of sector coverage, system expansion, and beam pointing adjustment. With the rapid development of mobile communication technology, the number of mobile communication standards is increasing, leading to a greater number of antennas installed on base station towers. This inevitably places higher demands on the size, frequency band, and performance of base station antennas.

[0003] To achieve spatial diversity or MIMO (Multi-Input Multi-Output) within a single base station antenna, dual-polarized radiating elements are commonly used as the basic radiating element. However, traditional radiating elements mainly include die-cast metal radiating elements, which are heavy and have a high profile, making them unsuitable for miniaturizing base station antennas. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, or at least partially solve the above-mentioned technical problems, this disclosure provides a radiating element and a base station antenna.

[0005] In a first aspect, this disclosure provides a radiating unit, including a dielectric substrate and a metal circuit;

[0006] The dielectric substrate includes a top plate portion, a support portion, and a bottom plate portion, wherein the support portion supports and connects the top plate portion and the bottom plate portion;

[0007] The metal circuit includes a radiating section, a balun section, a lightning protection section, and a power supply section; the radiating section is disposed on the surface of the top plate portion opposite to the bottom plate portion and extends through the top plate portion to the balun section; the balun section is disposed on the inner or outer surface of the supporting portion; the lightning protection section is disposed on the surface of the bottom plate portion facing the top plate portion and passes through the bottom plate portion to ground; the power supply section is disposed on the surface of the bottom plate portion opposite to the top plate portion and is connected to the balun section;

[0008] Wherein, the thickness H of the radiating part along the extension direction of the supporting part satisfies: H < 0.05λ, the radiating surface aperture D of the radiating part satisfies: 0.38λ < D < 0.42λ, and the feeding length L of the balun part satisfies: 0.15λ < D < 0.21λ; where λ represents the operating wavelength of the radiating unit.

[0009] In some embodiments, the support portion includes a first support plate, a second support plate, a third support plate, and a fourth support plate that intersect sequentially; the four support plates enclose the support portion.

[0010] The balun portion includes a first balun surface, a second balun surface, a third balun surface, and a fourth balun surface; the first balun surface is located on the inner surface of the first support plate, the second balun surface is located on the inner surface of the second support plate, the third balun surface is located on the inner surface of the third support plate, and the fourth balun surface is located on the inner surface of the fourth support plate.

[0011] The outer surfaces of the four support plates are all covered with the ground, and the ground is connected to the lightning protection part.

[0012] In some embodiments, the four support plates intersect vertically and are respectively perpendicularly connected to the top plate portion and the bottom plate portion;

[0013] An opening is provided at the intersection of the first support plate and the second support plate, an opening is provided at the intersection of the second support plate and the third support plate, an opening is provided at the intersection of the third support plate and the fourth support plate, and an opening is provided at the intersection of the fourth support plate and the first support plate; the four support plates intersect and enclose the support portion through the openings.

[0014] In some embodiments, the connection between the first support plate and the second support plate is provided with a through hole, the connection between the second support plate and the third support plate is provided with a through hole, the connection between the third support plate and the fourth support plate is provided with a through hole, and the connection between the fourth support plate and the first support plate is provided with a through hole, and the through holes are respectively located on the same side of the balun surface.

[0015] The through hole and one of the openings are located at the same position, and the through hole is used to connect the ground plane of the outer surface of the support plate.

[0016] In some embodiments, the radiating portion includes a first radiating surface, a second radiating surface, a third radiating surface, and a fourth radiating surface;

[0017] The first radiating surface is connected to the first balun surface, the second radiating surface is connected to the second balun surface, the third radiating surface is connected to the third balun surface, and the fourth radiating surface is connected to the fourth balun surface;

[0018] Wherein, the first radiating surface and the third radiating surface have the same strip structure, and the second radiating surface and the fourth radiating surface have the same strip structure; the first balun surface and the second balun surface have the same structure, and the third balun surface and the fourth balun surface have the same structure; the first support plate and the second support plate have the same structure, and the third support plate and the fourth support plate have the same structure.

[0019] In some embodiments, the metal circuit further includes a filtering section and a power distribution section;

[0020] The filtering section is disposed on the side surface of the top plate portion facing the bottom plate portion, and is used to realize power distribution between the dual polarizations of the radiating unit; the power distribution section is disposed on the side surface of the bottom plate portion facing the top plate portion;

[0021] The radiation unit is used to achieve radiation performance in the 615MHz-960MHz frequency band and has a filtering function in the 1427MHz-2690MHz frequency band, so as to realize the array fusion of the 615MHz-960MHz frequency band and the 1427MHz-2690MHz frequency band.

[0022] In some embodiments, the power distribution portion includes a first power distribution portion and a second power distribution portion, wherein the first power distribution portion is connected to the first balun surface and the second power distribution portion is connected to the second balun surface;

[0023] The lightning protection section includes the upper middle part of the first distribution section and the lower middle part of the second power distribution section; the lightning protection section is grounded with a quarter wavelength DC to realize lightning protection for the radiation unit and the whole machine;

[0024] The power supply section includes the upper end of the first power distribution section and the lower end of the second power distribution section; the power supply section is divided into positive and negative dual polarization.

[0025] In some embodiments, the top plate portion is provided with through holes at corresponding positions of each of the radiating surfaces and the balun surface, and the through holes corresponding to each of the radiating surfaces are all located on the same side of the corresponding support plate;

[0026] The through-hole is used to achieve electroplating connection from the balun surface to the radiating surface.

[0027] In some embodiments, an opening is provided at the intersection of the top plate portion and the support plate, and an opening is provided at the intersection of the bottom plate portion and the support plate; the opening is used to fix the top plate portion, the support portion and the bottom plate portion, and to signal connect the power supply portion, the balun portion and the radiation portion;

[0028] The radiating part and the balun part are provided with through holes, and the lightning protection part is provided with through holes at its end; the through holes are used to realize the coplanar grounding of the oscillator, ensuring signal transmission shielding and grounding lightning protection.

[0029] In some embodiments, the medium substrate is a one-piece molded structure, and the support portion and / or the base plate portion is taken from the hollowed-out portion of the top plate portion.

[0030] Secondly, this disclosure also provides a base station antenna, including any of the radiating elements provided in the first aspect.

[0031] The technical solution provided in this disclosure has the following advantages compared with the prior art:

[0032] The radiating unit provided in this embodiment includes a dielectric substrate and a metal circuit. The dielectric substrate includes a top plate portion, a supporting portion, and a bottom plate portion, with the supporting portion supporting and connecting the top plate portion and the bottom plate portion. The metal circuit includes a radiating portion, a balun portion, a lightning protection portion, and a power supply portion. The radiating portion is disposed on the surface of the top plate portion away from the bottom plate portion and extends through the top plate portion to the balun portion. The balun portion is disposed on the inner or outer surface of the supporting portion. The lightning protection portion is disposed on the surface of the bottom plate portion facing the top plate portion and passes through the bottom plate portion to ground. The power supply portion is disposed on the surface of the bottom plate portion away from the top plate portion and connects to the balun portion. The thickness H of the radiating portion along the extension direction of the supporting portion satisfies: H < 0.05λ, the radiating surface aperture D of the radiating portion satisfies: 0.38λ < D < 0.42λ, and the power supply length L of the balun portion satisfies: 0.15λ < D < 0.21λ. Wherein, λ represents the operating wavelength of the radiating unit. In existing radiating elements, reducing the height of the radiating surface leads to a deterioration in impedance characteristics. However, the embodiments of this disclosure limit the size of the radiating portion, ensuring that its thickness along the extension direction of the supporting portion is less than 0.05λ, thereby reducing the profile height of the radiating element. Then, the feed length of the balun portion is adjusted, and impedance characteristics are optimized through impedance matching to avoid the deterioration problem. By optimizing the impedance characteristics through impedance matching, it can be determined that the feed length of the balun portion should be reduced, thus further reducing the profile of the radiating element. The radiating element provided by the embodiments of this disclosure has the advantage of a low profile, which is beneficial for the miniaturization of base station antennas. Attached Figure Description

[0033] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with this disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this disclosure.

[0034] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this disclosure or the prior art, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0035] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a radiating unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0036] Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing the gain variation of a conventional radiating element and the radiating element provided in this embodiment at a frequency of 800MHz;

[0037] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing the gain variation of a conventional radiating element and the radiating element provided in this embodiment at a frequency of 960MHz;

[0038] Figure 4 A left-side view of a radiating element provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0039] Figure 5 A right-side view of a radiating element provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0040] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of an overall explosion of a radiation unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0041] Figure 7 A side view schematic diagram of a radiating element provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0042] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the upper surface of the top plate portion of a radiating unit provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0043] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of a fused array composed of a radiating element and a high-frequency oscillator provided in this embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0044] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of a fused array consisting of a conventional radiating element and a high-frequency oscillator provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0045] Figure 11 This embodiment provides a height comparison diagram of a radiating unit, a traditional radiating unit, and a high-frequency oscillator.

[0046] Figure 12 An embodiment provided by this disclosure Figure 9 and Figure 10 A schematic diagram of the test data for the fusion array corresponding to the structure;

[0047] Figure 13 Another embodiment provided by this disclosure Figure 9 and Figure 10 A schematic diagram of the test data for the fusion array corresponding to the structure;

[0048] Figure 14 A bottom view of a radiating element provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0049] Figure 15 This is a schematic diagram of the splicing of the radiating surface of a radiating element and a balun, provided as an embodiment of this disclosure.

[0050] The components include: 1. Dielectric substrate; 2. Metal circuit; 11. Top plate; 12. Support plate; 13. Bottom plate; 21. Radiation plate; 22. Filtering plate; 23. Balun plate; 24. Power distribution plate; 25. Lightning protection plate; 26. Power supply plate; 121. First support plate; 122. Second support plate; 123. Third support plate; 124. Fourth support plate; 231. First balun surface; 232. Second balun surface; 233. Third balun surface; 234. Fourth balun surface; 211. First radiation surface; 212. Second radiation surface; 213. Third radiation surface; 214. Fourth radiation surface; 141. First connector pin; 142. Second connector pin. Detailed Implementation

[0051] To better understand the above-mentioned objectives, features, and advantages of this disclosure, the solutions disclosed herein will be further described below. It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described herein can be combined with each other.

[0052] Numerous specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a full understanding of this disclosure, but this disclosure may also be implemented in other ways different from those described herein; obviously, the embodiments in the specification are only some, and not all, of the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0053] To achieve spatial diversity or MIMO within a single base station antenna, dual-polarized radiating elements are commonly used as the basic radiating element. However, traditional radiating elements mainly include die-cast metal radiating elements, which are heavy and have a high profile, hindering the miniaturization of base station antennas. Reducing the profile height of traditional radiating elements leads to a deterioration in impedance characteristics, affecting the usability of the base station antenna.

[0054] To address the aforementioned deficiencies in the prior art, this disclosure provides a radiating element. The radiating element provided in this disclosure can be applied to base station antennas, as well as other types of antennas; this disclosure does not limit its application to these applications.

[0055] The radiating antenna and base station antenna provided in the embodiments of this disclosure are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0056] For example, Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a radiating unit provided in an embodiment of this disclosure, with reference to... Figure 1 The radiating unit includes a dielectric substrate 1 and a metal circuit 2. The dielectric substrate 1 includes a top plate portion 11, a support portion 12, and a bottom plate portion 13, with the support portion 12 supporting and connecting the top plate portion 11 and the bottom plate portion 13. The metal circuit 2 includes a radiating portion 21, a balun portion 23, a lightning protection portion 25, and a power supply portion 26. The radiating portion 21 is disposed on the surface of the top plate portion 11 facing away from the bottom plate portion 13 and extends through the top plate portion 11 to the balun portion 23; the balun portion 23 is disposed on the inner or outer surface of the support portion 12; the lightning protection portion 25 is disposed on the surface of the bottom plate portion 13 facing the top plate portion 11 and passes through the bottom plate portion 13 to ground; the power supply portion 26 is disposed on the surface of the bottom plate portion 13 facing away from the top plate portion 11 and is connected to the balun portion 23. The thickness H of the radiating part 21 along the extension direction of the supporting part 12 satisfies: H < 0.05λ, the radiating surface aperture D of the radiating part 21 satisfies: 0.38λ < D < 0.42λ, and the feeding length L of the balun part 23 satisfies: 0.15λ < D < 0.21λ; where λ represents the operating wavelength of the radiating element.

[0057] In this embodiment, the radiating unit includes a dielectric substrate 1 and a metal circuit 2. The dielectric substrate 1 includes a top plate portion 11, a support portion 12, and a bottom plate portion 13, so as to... Figure 1 Taking the shown orientation as an example, the top part 11 is located in Figure 1 Above the middle support portion 12, the bottom plate portion 13 is located Figure 1 Below the middle support portion 12, the support portion 12 is located between the top plate portion 11 and the bottom plate portion 13, and supports and connects the top plate portion 11 and the bottom plate portion 13. The dielectric substrate 1 is made of an insulating material, such as FR-4 fiberglass board, ceramic substrate, etc., and can be configured according to the requirements of the radiating unit and the base station antenna. Furthermore, the material, dielectric thickness, dielectric constant, and other related parameters of the dielectric substrate 1 can be selected according to the requirements of the radiating unit and the base station antenna; this embodiment does not limit these parameters.

[0058] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the dielectric substrate 1 can also be integrally injection molded, which facilitates large-scale manufacturing; and the consistency of the dielectric substrate 1 can be improved by integral injection molding.

[0059] In this embodiment, the metal circuit 2 includes a radiating portion 21, a balun portion 23, a lightning protection portion 25, and a feeding portion 26. The radiating portion 21 effectively radiates or receives radio waves. It is disposed on the surface of the top plate portion 11 opposite to the bottom plate portion 13, and can be formed, for example, by electroplating, extending through the top plate portion 11 to the balun portion 23. The balun portion 23 is located below the top plate portion 11, i.e., it is disposed on the inner or outer surface of the support portion 12, and can be formed by electroplating. The balun portion 23 is a broadband radio frequency transmission line transformer capable of converting matched inputs into differential outputs to achieve a connection between balanced and unbalanced transmission line circuits. The balun portion 23 allows the antenna to have different impedances. By adjusting the size (length) of the balun portion 23, impedance characteristics can be optimized through impedance matching. A lightning protection section 25 is disposed on the surface of the base plate 13 facing the top plate 11, and can be formed, for example, by electroplating. It passes through the base plate 13 and is grounded, guiding lightning current to the ground. A power supply section 26 is disposed on the surface of the base plate 13 away from the top plate 11, and can also be formed, for example, by electroplating. It is connected to the balun section 23. The power supply section 26 is also electrically connected to a power supply line, transmitting electromagnetic wave signals to the balun section 23 via the power supply section 26.

[0060] In existing radiating elements, reducing the height of the radiating surface leads to a deterioration in impedance characteristics. However, this embodiment limits the dimensions of the radiating portion 21, ensuring that the thickness H of the radiating portion 21 along the extension direction of the supporting portion 12 is less than 0.05λ, thus reducing the profile height of the radiating element. Subsequently, the feed length of the balun portion 23 is adjusted, and impedance characteristics are optimized through impedance matching to avoid the deterioration of impedance characteristics. Specifically, by optimizing the impedance characteristics through impedance matching, it can be determined that the feed length of the balun portion 23 should be reduced. The feed length L of the balun portion 23 is reduced to satisfy: 0.15λ < D < 0.21λ; where λ represents the operating wavelength of the radiating element. Therefore, the profile of the radiating element can be further reduced. In some optional embodiments, the radiating surface aperture D of the radiating portion 21 is made to satisfy: 0.38λ < D < 0.42λ, which can also ensure an improvement in gain performance and increase the overall antenna gain. Based on this, the radiating element profile provided in the embodiments of this disclosure is relatively low, and the entire antenna can achieve low profile and high gain performance, which is beneficial to antenna miniaturization.

[0061] For example, Figure 2 This diagram illustrates the gain variation of a conventional radiating element and the radiating element provided in this embodiment at a frequency of 800MHz, specifically showing the gain variation at different angles across the entire amplitude at a fixed frequency (i.e., 800MHz). (Refer to...) Figure 2The horizontal axis represents angle, with the example angle range in the figure being -90° to 270°. The vertical axis represents the gain of the radiating element at different angles within the area. Specifically, L11 represents the gain variation of the radiating element provided in this embodiment at different angles within the entire area at 800MHz, and L12 represents the gain variation of the radiating element provided in related technologies at different angles within the entire area at 800MHz. Figure 2 It can be seen that at the 800MHz frequency point, the gain of the radiating element provided in this embodiment is increased by 0.75dBi compared with the gain of the conventional radiating element.

[0062] For example, Figure 3 This diagram illustrates the gain variation of a conventional radiating element and the radiating element provided in this embodiment at a frequency of 960MHz, specifically showing the gain variation at different angles across the entire amplitude at a fixed frequency (i.e., 960MHz). (Refer to...) Figure 3 The horizontal axis represents angle, with the example angle range in the figure being -90° to 270°. The vertical axis represents the gain of the radiating element at different angles within the area. Specifically, L21 represents the gain variation of the radiating element provided in this embodiment at different angles within the entire area at a frequency of 960MHz, and L22 represents the gain variation of the radiating element provided in related technologies at different angles within the entire area at a frequency of 960MHz. Figure 3 It can be seen that at a frequency of 960MHz, the gain of the radiating element provided in this embodiment is 1.46dBi higher than that of a conventional radiating element.

[0063] In some other embodiments, reference continues to be made to... Figure 1 The metal circuit 2 also includes a filter section 22 and a power distribution section 24, the details of which will be explained in the following embodiments. It should be noted that the different parts of the metal circuit located on the same film layer can all be fabricated using the same process, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process.

[0064] In some embodiments, Figure 4 This is a left-side view of a radiating element provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 5 This is a right-side view of a radiating element provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of an overall explosion of a radiation unit provided in an embodiment of this disclosure. Figure 1 Based on, refer to Figures 4-6The supporting portion 12 includes a first supporting plate 121, a second supporting plate 122, a third supporting plate 123, and a fourth supporting plate 124 that intersect sequentially; the four supporting plates enclose the supporting portion 12. The balun portion 23 includes a first balun surface 231, a second balun surface 232, a third balun surface 233, and a fourth balun surface 234; the first balun surface 231 is located on the inner surface enclosed by the first supporting plate 121, the second balun surface 232 is located on the inner surface enclosed by the second supporting plate 122, the third balun surface 233 is located on the inner surface enclosed by the third supporting plate 123, and the fourth balun surface 234 is located on the inner surface enclosed by the fourth supporting plate 124. The outer surfaces enclosed by the four supporting plates are all grounded, and the grounding is connected to the lightning protection portion.

[0065] In this embodiment, the balun portion 23 is disposed on the inner surface enclosed by four support plates, and the outer surface enclosed by the four support plates is grounded, with the grounding connected to the lightning protection portion. The four-sided enclosed balun portion ensures shielding during signal transmission, and the four-sided enclosed support plates constitute a support portion, which helps to achieve the stability of the support portion.

[0066] In other embodiments, the balun portion may be located on the outer surface of the support plate enclosure; the inner surface of the support plate enclosure is covered with ground, and the ground is connected to the lightning protection portion. The specific configuration can be determined according to the requirements of the radiating unit and the base station antenna, and is not limited here.

[0067] Figure 7 This is a side view schematic diagram of a radiating element provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure, with reference to... Figure 7 The supporting portion also includes a first connector 141 and a second connector 142. One end of the first support plate 121, the second support plate 122, the third support plate 123, and the fourth support plate 124 is respectively provided with a first connector 141, for example, at the end connected to the top plate portion, and connected to the top plate portion via the first connector 141. The other end of the first support plate 121, the second support plate 122, the third support plate 123, and the fourth support plate 124 is respectively provided with a second connector 142, for example, at the side connected to the bottom plate portion, and connected to the bottom plate portion via the second connector 142. Figure 7 Only the second support plate 122 and the third support plate 123 are shown in the illustration, while the first support plate 121 and the fourth support plate 124 are obscured.

[0068] The four balun surfaces extend to the surface of their corresponding first pin 141, and each balun surface extends to the surface of its corresponding second pin 142 at the bottom of the support plate. The four first pins 141 together with the top plate portion form the top plate welding portion of the dielectric substrate, and the four second pins 142 together with the bottom plate portion form the bottom plate welding portion of the dielectric substrate.

[0069] In some embodiments, Figure 1Based on, combined Figures 4-7 The four support plates intersect vertically and are respectively connected to the top plate 11 and the bottom plate 13.

[0070] An opening 132 is provided at the intersection of the first support plate 121 and the second support plate 122, an opening 132 is provided at the intersection of the second support plate 122 and the third support plate 123, an opening 132 is provided at the intersection of the third support plate 123 and the fourth support plate 124, and an opening 132 is provided at the intersection of the fourth support plate 124 and the first support plate 121; the four support plates intersect and enclose the support part 12 through the openings 132.

[0071] Each of the four support plates has multiple openings 132, for example, four openings. The openings 132 are located on the same side of the first support plate 121, the second support plate 122, the third support plate 123, and the fourth support plate 124. When connecting the first support plate 121 and the second support plate 122, the side of the first support plate 121 with the openings 132 should intersect the side of the second support plate 122 without the openings 132. When connecting the second support plate 122 and the third support plate 123, the second support plate 122 should have multiple openings 132. One side of hole 132 intersects with the side of the third support plate 123 without hole 132; when connecting the third support plate 123 and the fourth support plate 124, the side of the third support plate 123 with hole 132 should intersect with the side of the fourth support plate 124 without hole 132; when connecting the fourth support plate 124 and the first support plate 121, the side of the fourth support plate 124 with hole 132 should intersect with the side of the first support plate 121 without hole 132, so as to obtain a perpendicularly intersecting support portion 12. The four support plates are perpendicularly enclosed to each other to form the support portion 12. The support portion 12 is perpendicularly connected to the top plate portion 11 and the bottom plate portion 13 respectively, and the inner layer of the support plate is provided with a balun surface, and the outer layer is grounded, which effectively ensures the shielding of signal transmission. The four sides of the support plate are vertically enclosed with multiple openings to connect the support plates layer by layer, which greatly ensures the stability of the oscillator support.

[0072] In some embodiments, continue to refer to Figures 4-7 A through hole 112 is provided at the connection between the first support plate 121 and the second support plate 122, at the connection between the second support plate 122 and the third support plate 123, at the connection between the third support plate 123 and the fourth support plate 124, and at the connection between the fourth support plate 124 and the first support plate 121. All through holes 112 are located on the same side of the balun surface. The through hole 112 is located at the same position as one of the openings 132. The through hole 112 is used to connect the ground surfaces of the enclosing outer surface of the support plate.

[0073] For example, through holes 112 are provided at the connection points of the four support plates, and the through holes 112 are located on the same side of the balun surface. After the four support plates are connected, the ground planes of the enclosing outer surfaces of the support plates can be connected through the through holes 112, ensuring grounding effect and shielding in signal transmission. Furthermore, the fact that the through holes and one of the openings are located in the same position can reduce the number of openings and simplify the process.

[0074] In some embodiments, Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the upper surface of the top plate portion of a radiating unit provided in an embodiment of this disclosure. Figure 1 Based on, combined Figures 4-8 The radiating portion 21 includes a first radiating surface 211, a second radiating surface 212, a third radiating surface 213, and a fourth radiating surface 214. The first radiating surface 211 is connected to the first balun surface 231, the second radiating surface 212 is connected to the second balun surface 232, the third radiating surface 213 is connected to the third balun surface 233, and the fourth radiating surface 214 is connected to the fourth balun surface 234.

[0075] Among them, the first radiating surface 211 and the third radiating surface 213 have the same strip structure, the second radiating surface 212 and the fourth radiating surface 214 have the same strip structure; the first balun surface 231 and the second balun surface 232 have the same structure, the third balun surface 233 and the fourth balun surface 234 have the same structure; the first support plate 121 and the second support plate 122 have the same structure, the third support plate 123 and the fourth support plate 124 have the same structure.

[0076] For example, with Figure 1 Taking the illustrated orientation as an example, the radiating section 21 includes four radiating surfaces located on the upper surface of the top plate structure 11. The radiating surfaces are connected to corresponding balun surfaces so that signals are transmitted to the radiating surfaces after being adjusted and converted by the balun surfaces. The first radiating surface 211 is connected to the first balun surface 231, the second radiating surface 212 is connected to the second balun surface 232, the third radiating surface 213 is connected to the third balun surface 233, and the fourth radiating surface 214 is connected to the fourth balun surface 234. (Continue to refer to...) Figure 1 Each radiating surface includes multiple radiating sub-units, which are connected by a stripline structure. The stripline structures of the first radiating surface 211 and the third radiating surface 213 are identical, as are the stripline structures of the second radiating surface 212 and the fourth radiating surface 214. Similarly, the structures of the first balun surface 231 and the second balun surface 232 are identical, and the structures of the third balun surface 233 and the fourth balun surface 234 are identical. Likewise, the structures of the first support plate 121 and the second support plate 122 are identical, and the structures of the third support plate 123 and the fourth support plate 124 are identical. These four support plates enclose and form a structure as shown in the diagram. Figure 1 The supporting part 12 is shown.

[0077] In some embodiments, continue to refer to Figure 1 The metal circuit 2 also includes a filter section 22 and a power distribution section 24; the filter section 22 is disposed on the side surface of the top plate section 11 facing the bottom plate section 13, and is used to realize power distribution between the dual polarizations of the radiating unit; the power distribution section 24 is disposed on the side surface of the bottom plate section 24 facing the top plate section 12.

[0078] The radiating element is used to achieve the radiating performance of the 615MHz-960MHz frequency band and has a filtering function for the 1427MHz-2690MHz frequency band, so as to realize the array fusion of the 615MHz-960MHz frequency band and the 1427MHz-2690MHz frequency band.

[0079] In the radiating unit provided in this embodiment, the metal circuit 2 further includes a filter section 22, which is disposed on the surface of the top plate portion 11 facing the bottom plate portion 13, and can be formed, for example, by electroplating. Exemplarily, when the radiation frequency is in the 615MHz-960MHz band, the filter section 22 has a filtering effect on the 1427MHz-2690MHz band. The radiating unit provided in this embodiment improves the gain performance while ensuring filtering for the high-frequency 1427MHz-2690MHz band, thereby achieving array fusion of the 615MHz-960MHz and 1427MHz-2690MHz bands, which helps to achieve miniaturization of multi-band fused antennas.

[0080] For example, Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of a fused array composed of a radiating element and a high-frequency oscillator provided in this embodiment of the present disclosure, with reference to... Figure 9 The fusion array includes a radiation unit 101 and four high-frequency oscillators 102 provided in this embodiment, and the four high-frequency oscillators 102 are symmetrically arranged. Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of a fused array composed of a conventional radiating element and a high-frequency oscillator, provided in an embodiment of this disclosure. (Refer to...) Figure 10 The fusion array includes a conventional radiating element 103 and four high-frequency vibrators 102, which are symmetrically arranged. The radiating elements in the two fusion arrays are different, therefore their filtering effects differ. Figure 11 This embodiment provides a height comparison diagram of a radiating element, a conventional radiating element, and a high-frequency oscillator. (See attached diagram.) Figure 11 As can be seen, the radiating element 101 provided in this embodiment has a lower profile than the conventional radiating element 103, which is beneficial for the miniaturization of the antenna.

[0081] Based on the above structure Figure 12 An embodiment provided by this disclosure Figure 9 and Figure 10The schematic diagram of the fused array test data corresponding to the structure specifically shows the gain variation at different angles across the entire area at a fixed frequency (i.e., 1.71 GHz). (Refer to...) Figure 12 The horizontal axis represents angle, with the example angle range in the figure being -90° to 270°. The vertical axis represents the gain of the radiating element at different angles within the area. Specifically, L31 represents the gain variation of the radiating element provided in this embodiment at 1.71 GHz at different angles throughout the entire area, and L32 represents the gain variation of the radiating element provided by the related metal at 1.71 GHz at different angles throughout the entire area. Figure 12 It can be seen that at the 1.71GHz frequency point, the waveform of the radiating element provided in this embodiment is smoother and more stable than that of the traditional radiating element, and the filtering effect is better, which helps to realize the miniaturization of multi-band fusion antenna.

[0082] Figure 13 Another embodiment provided by this disclosure Figure 9 and Figure 10 The schematic diagram of the fused array test data corresponding to the structure specifically shows the gain variation at different angles across the entire area at a fixed frequency (i.e., 2.69 GHz). (Refer to...) Figure 13 The horizontal axis represents angle, with the example angle range in the figure being -90° to 270°. The vertical axis represents the gain of the radiating element at different angles within the area. Specifically, L41 represents the gain variation of the radiating element provided in this embodiment at different angles within the entire area at 2.69 GHz, and L42 represents the gain variation of the radiating element provided in related technologies at different angles within the entire area at 2.69 GHz. Figure 13 It can be seen that at the 2.69GHz frequency point, the gain of the radiating element provided in this embodiment is higher than that of the traditional radiating element, and the waveform is smoother and more stable, with better filtering effect, which helps to realize the miniaturization of multi-band fusion antenna.

[0083] Continue to refer to Figure 6 The power distribution section 24 can be disposed on the side surface of the base plate section 24 facing the top plate section 12. The power distribution section 24 can realize power distribution between the dual polarizations of the radiating unit, improve the standing wave performance of the radiating unit in a wide frequency band, and ensure the versatility of the oscillator.

[0084] In some embodiments, the power distribution section includes a first power distribution section and a second power distribution section, the first power distribution section being connected to a first balun surface and the second power distribution section being connected to a second balun surface. The lightning protection section includes the upper middle portion of the first distribution section and the lower middle portion of the second power distribution section; the lightning protection section is DC grounded at a quarter wavelength to achieve lightning protection for the radiating unit and the entire system. The power supply section includes the upper end of the first power distribution section and the lower end of the second power distribution section; the power supply section is divided into positive and negative dual polarization.

[0085] For example, the first power distribution section and the first balun surface can be connected by electroplating, and the second power distribution section and the second balun surface can be connected by electroplating. The lightning protection section of the radiating element is also located on the side surface of the base plate facing the top plate, and may include the upper middle part of the first distribution section and the lower middle part of the second power distribution section. The lightning protection section is grounded with a quarter-wavelength DC connection, connecting each part of the radiating element to the lightning protection section to introduce lightning current into the ground, thereby achieving lightning protection for the radiating element and the entire device. The feeding section includes the upper end of the first power distribution section and the lower end of the second power distribution section. The feeding section is divided into positive and negative dual polarization, which helps to improve the overall antenna integration.

[0086] In some embodiments, reference Figure 8 The top plate has through holes 111 at corresponding positions on each radiating surface and balun surface, and the through holes 111 corresponding to each radiating surface are all located on the same side of the corresponding support plate. The through holes 111 are used to achieve electroplating connection from the balun surface to the radiating surface.

[0087] Since the radiating part is located on the side of the top plate part away from the bottom plate part, and the balun surface is located on the inner or outer surface of the support part, and the support part is located between the bottom plate part and the top plate part, if the radiating surface and the balun surface are to be connected, a through hole 111 needs to be provided in the top plate part 11, and the electroplating of the balun surface to the radiating surface is connected through the through hole 111.

[0088] In some embodiments, Figure 14 This is a bottom view schematic diagram of a radiating element provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 8 Based on, combined Figure 14 An opening 131 is provided at the intersection of the top plate and the support plate, and an opening 133 is provided at the intersection of the bottom plate and the support plate; the openings are used to fix the top plate, the support and the bottom plate, as well as the signal connection to the power supply, the balun and the radiation.

[0089] A through hole 111 is provided at the intersection of the radiating part and the balun part, and a through hole 113 is provided at the end of the lightning protection part; the through holes are used to realize the coplanar grounding of the oscillator, ensuring signal transmission shielding and grounding lightning protection.

[0090] Specifically, the top plate is connected to the bottom plate via a support structure, see reference. Figure 8 The top plate has an opening 131, and one end of the support plate intersects with the top plate through the opening 131. (See reference) Figure 14 The base plate has an opening 133, and the other end of the support plate intersects with the base plate through the opening 133, fixing the top plate, support, and base plate together, as well as the signal connection to the power supply section, balun section, and radiating section. The top plate also has a through hole 111 located at the intersection of the radiating section and the balun section. The balun section passes through the through hole 111 and connects to the radiating section on the top plate. The base plate also has a through hole 113 located at the end of the lightning protection section. The radiating unit achieves coplanar grounding of the vibrator through the through hole 113, ensuring signal transmission shielding and grounding lightning protection.

[0091] In some embodiments, Figure 15 This is a schematic diagram of the splicing of the radiating surface of a radiating element and a balun, provided in an embodiment of this disclosure. (Refer to...) Figure 15 The substrate is a one-piece molded structure, and the support part 23 and / or the bottom plate part are taken from the hollowed-out part of the top plate part 11.

[0092] For example, a single piece of dielectric substrate is provided. The top plate portion 11 has empty dielectric substrate in areas other than those corresponding to the radiating portion 21, while the supporting portion 23 can be made from a hollowed-out portion of the top plate portion 11, utilizing the dielectric substrate removed from the hollowed-out portion to the supporting portion. For example, the figure shows four hollowed-out portions, which are used to make the first supporting plate 121, the second supporting plate 122, the third supporting plate 123, and the fourth supporting plate 124, respectively. Therefore, the entire dielectric substrate is integrally formed, improving the utilization rate of the substrate and facilitating the lightweighting of the radiating unit.

[0093] In some embodiments, when the size of the hollowed-out dielectric substrate can meet the requirements of the bottom plate portion, the hollowed-out dielectric substrate of the top plate portion 11 can also be used to fabricate the bottom plate portion. If the size of the dielectric substrate used to fabricate the top plate portion 11 is large enough, both the support portion 23 and the bottom plate portion can be made from the hollowed-out portion of the top plate portion 11, thereby forming an integrally molded structure. Based on the above embodiments, this disclosure can provide an integrally molded dielectric-type half-wave microstrip radiating unit.

[0094] Based on the above embodiments, the low-profile ultra-wideband filtering radiation unit provided in this embodiment can be applied to large-scale array fusion antennas. This antenna has the advantages of being lightweight, low-profile, having a wide operating frequency band, high filtering performance, and good support. It is also suitable for large-scale manufacturing and automated production, and has broad application prospects in large-scale array antennas.

[0095] In some embodiments, the radiating element provided in this disclosure is an integrated vibrator based on a dielectric substrate. Both the radiating and feeding parts are on the dielectric substrate. The dielectric substrate offers advantages such as light weight, low profile, high gain, filtering function, good support, and good performance consistency. Therefore, this radiating element, as a single component, realizes the vibrator function, simplifying the vibrator structure, achieving filtering compatibility, antenna miniaturization, and good consistency. The feeding and balun parts can also adopt a sawtooth shape, with the feeding circuit curved, and the low profile of the vibrator is achieved by expanding the equivalent circuit. Using a two-point feeding (i.e., two feeding points) and three-point mounting (i.e., mounting between the top plate, support, and bottom plate) method is structurally simpler than the power divider layout with four-point feeding. The radiating element's radiation principle is based on the half-wave dipole principle, enabling wideband filtering of 615MHz-960MHz and high-frequency filtering of 1427MHz-2690MHz. Therefore, this radiating element meets the application requirements of large-scale array fusion antennas. The dielectric substrate radiating element provided has the characteristics of being lightweight, having a low profile, a wide operating frequency band, and good filtering performance, making it suitable for large-scale manufacturing and automated production.

[0096] This disclosure also provides a base station antenna, including the radiating element as described in any of the above embodiments. Since this invention includes the radiating element described in the above embodiments, it has the same or similar beneficial effects. It should be noted that the base station antenna provided in this embodiment may also include other circuits, devices, or systems to support its normal operation; this embodiment does not limit this.

[0097] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used merely to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0098] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this disclosure, enabling those skilled in the art to understand or implement it. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure is not to be limited to the embodiments described herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A radiating unit, characterized in that, Including dielectric substrates and metal circuits; The dielectric substrate includes a top plate portion, a support portion, and a bottom plate portion, wherein the support portion supports and connects the top plate portion and the bottom plate portion; The metal circuit includes a radiating section, a balun section, a lightning protection section, and a power supply section; The radiating portion is disposed on the side surface of the top plate portion opposite to the bottom plate portion, and extends through the top plate portion to the balun portion; the balun portion is disposed on the inner or outer surface of the supporting portion; the lightning protection portion is disposed on the side surface of the bottom plate portion facing the top plate portion, and passes through the bottom plate portion to ground; the power supply portion is disposed on the side surface of the bottom plate portion opposite to the top plate portion, and connects to the balun portion; Wherein, the thickness H of the radiating part along the extension direction of the supporting part satisfies: H < 0.05λ, the radiating surface aperture D of the radiating part satisfies: 0.38λ < D < 0.42λ, and the feeding length L of the balun part satisfies: 0.15λ < L < 0.21λ; where λ represents the operating wavelength of the radiating unit.

2. The radiating unit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The supporting portion includes a first support plate, a second support plate, a third support plate, and a fourth support plate that intersect in sequence; the four support plates enclose the supporting portion. The balun portion includes a first balun surface, a second balun surface, a third balun surface, and a fourth balun surface; the first balun surface is located on the inner surface of the first support plate, the second balun surface is located on the inner surface of the second support plate, the third balun surface is located on the inner surface of the third support plate, and the fourth balun surface is located on the inner surface of the fourth support plate. The outer surfaces of the four support plates are all covered with the ground, and the ground is connected to the lightning protection part.

3. The radiating unit according to claim 2, characterized in that, The four support plates intersect perpendicularly and are respectively perpendicularly connected to the top plate and the bottom plate. An opening is provided at the intersection of the first support plate and the second support plate, an opening is provided at the intersection of the second support plate and the third support plate, an opening is provided at the intersection of the third support plate and the fourth support plate, and an opening is provided at the intersection of the fourth support plate and the first support plate; the four support plates intersect and enclose the support portion through the openings.

4. The radiating unit according to claim 3, characterized in that, The connection between the first support plate and the second support plate is provided with a through hole, the connection between the second support plate and the third support plate is provided with a through hole, the connection between the third support plate and the fourth support plate is provided with a through hole, and the connection between the fourth support plate and the first support plate is provided with a through hole, and the through holes are respectively located on the same side of the Balun surface. The through hole and one of the openings are located at the same position, and the through hole is used to connect the ground plane of the outer surface of the support plate.

5. The radiating unit according to claim 2, characterized in that, The radiating portion includes a first radiating surface, a second radiating surface, a third radiating surface, and a fourth radiating surface; The first radiating surface is connected to the first balun surface, the second radiating surface is connected to the second balun surface, the third radiating surface is connected to the third balun surface, and the fourth radiating surface is connected to the fourth balun surface; Wherein, the first radiating surface and the third radiating surface have the same strip structure, and the second radiating surface and the fourth radiating surface have the same strip structure; the first balun surface and the second balun surface have the same structure, and the third balun surface and the fourth balun surface have the same structure; the first support plate and the second support plate have the same structure, and the third support plate and the fourth support plate have the same structure.

6. The radiating element according to claim 5, characterized in that, The metal circuit also includes a filtering section and a power distribution section; The filtering section is disposed on the surface of the top plate portion facing the bottom plate portion; the power distribution section is disposed on the surface of the bottom plate portion facing the top plate portion, and is used to realize power distribution between the dual polarizations of the radiating unit; The radiation unit is used to achieve radiation performance in the 615MHz-960MHz frequency band and has a filtering function in the 1427MHz-2690MHz frequency band, so as to realize the array fusion of the 615MHz-960MHz frequency band and the 1427MHz-2690MHz frequency band.

7. The radiating element according to claim 6, characterized in that, The power distribution section includes a first power distribution section and a second power distribution section, wherein the first power distribution section is connected to the first balun surface and the second power distribution section is connected to the second balun surface; The lightning protection section includes the upper middle part of the first power distribution section and the lower middle part of the second power distribution section; the lightning protection section is grounded with a quarter wavelength DC to realize lightning protection for the radiation unit and the whole machine; The power supply section includes the upper end of the first power distribution section and the lower end of the second power distribution section; the power supply section is divided into positive and negative dual polarization.

8. The radiating element according to claim 5, characterized in that, The top plate portion is provided with through holes at corresponding positions of each of the radiating surfaces and the balun surfaces, and the through holes corresponding to each of the radiating surfaces are all located on the same side of the corresponding support plate. The through-hole is used to achieve electroplating connection from the balun surface to the radiating surface.

9. The radiating element according to claim 2, characterized in that, An opening is provided at the intersection of the top plate and the support plate, and an opening is provided at the intersection of the bottom plate and the support plate. The opening is used to fix the top plate portion, the support portion and the bottom plate portion, and to connect the power supply portion, the balun portion and the radiation portion for signal connection; The radiating part and the balun part are provided with through holes, and the lightning protection part is provided with through holes at its end; the through holes are used to realize the coplanar grounding of the oscillator, ensuring signal transmission shielding and grounding lightning protection.

10. The radiating element according to claim 1, characterized in that, The substrate is a one-piece molded structure, and the supporting part and / or the bottom plate part are taken from the hollowed-out part of the top plate part.

11. A base station antenna, characterized in that, Includes the radiation unit as described in any one of claims 1-10.

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