Antennas, glass antennas and vehicles

Abstract

This application relates to an antenna, a glass antenna, and a vehicle. The antenna includes a metal substrate with at least one slot. A first feed point and a second feed point are respectively disposed on two opposite boundaries of each slot. The first feed point is electrically connected to the inner conductor of a coaxial cable, and the second feed point is electrically connected to the outer conductor of the coaxial cable. This solution enables a vertically polarized antenna to be achieved on a single surface of glass.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of glass technology, and in particular to an antenna, a glass antenna, and a vehicle. Background Technology

[0002] With the development of intelligent vehicles, in-vehicle wireless systems are becoming increasingly sophisticated, encompassing functions such as mobile communication, satellite communication, and smart cockpits. To realize these functions, sufficient space is needed to house hardware such as antennas. Since glass provides ample space and is more open than the interior of a vehicle, more and more antennas are now integrated into the glass, resulting in glass antennas.

[0003] However, since glass is generally a planar structure, such as skylight glass, it is difficult to achieve vertically polarized antennas on the inner surface of skylight glass. Vertical polarization can reduce signal propagation loss and multipath interference, and provide better signal quality and reliability. Therefore, how to achieve vertically polarized antennas on a single surface of glass has become an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Therefore, it is necessary to provide an antenna, a glass antenna, and a vehicle capable of achieving vertical polarization on a single side of glass to address the aforementioned technical problems.

[0005] In a first aspect, this application provides an antenna comprising a metal substrate having at least one slot, and a first feed point and a second feed point respectively disposed on two opposite boundaries of each slot, the first feed point being electrically connected to the inner conductor of a coaxial cable, and the second feed point being electrically connected to the outer conductor of the coaxial cable.

[0006] In one embodiment, the shape of the gap is either a closed ring or a non-closed ring.

[0007] In one embodiment, the closed ring includes a circular ring, an elliptical ring, or a polygonal ring; the non-closed ring includes a semi-circular ring, a U-shaped ring, a C-shaped ring, or a truncated polygonal ring.

[0008] In one embodiment, the number of slits is three.

[0009] In one embodiment, the center points of the three slits form an equilateral triangle.

[0010] In one embodiment, when all three gaps are non-closed annular rings, the opening ends of the three non-closed annular rings face the same direction, or the opening ends of the three non-closed annular rings face different directions.

[0011] In one embodiment, when the openings of the three non-closed annular rings face different directions, the openings of the three non-closed annular rings are all away from the center point of the metal substrate, or the openings of the three non-closed annular rings are all towards the center point of the metal substrate.

[0012] In one embodiment, the metal substrate is circular, elliptical, or polygonal in shape.

[0013] In one embodiment, the perimeter of the metal substrate is 1 to 3 times the wavelength.

[0014] Secondly, this application also provides a glass antenna, which includes a glass element and at least one antenna as described in any one of the first aspects above; each of the antennas is disposed on the glass element.

[0015] In one embodiment, the glass component includes a first glass component and a second glass component. The first glass component includes a first surface and a second surface, and the second glass component includes a third surface and a fourth surface. The first surface is away from the third surface, the second surface is close to the third surface, the third surface is close to the second surface, and the fourth surface is away from the second surface. The antenna is disposed on any one of the first surface, the second surface, the third surface, and the fourth surface.

[0016] Thirdly, this application also provides a vehicle, which includes the glass antenna described in any one of the second aspects above.

[0017] The aforementioned antenna includes a metal substrate with at least one slot. A first feed point and a second feed point are respectively arranged on the two opposite boundaries of each slot. The first feed point is electrically connected to the inner conductor of the coaxial cable, and the second feed point is electrically connected to the outer conductor of the coaxial cable. When the antenna is placed on a glass component and fed to the first and second feed points, the slots act as excitation sources for the metal substrate. Due to the high dielectric constant of the glass component, the electric field couples to the edge of the metal substrate, and the electromagnetic waves are rearranged, forming a ring-shaped magnetic flux loop along the edge of the metal substrate. At this time, the ring-shaped magnetic flux loop is equivalent to a vertically polarized antenna. Thus, by opening a slot in the metal substrate, with the first and second feed points respectively arranged on the two opposite boundaries of the slot, and then placing the metal substrate on the glass component, the purpose of realizing a vertically polarized antenna on a single surface of the glass can be achieved. Attached Figure Description

[0018] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or related technologies, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments of this application or related technologies will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other related drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0019] Figure 1 This is a top view of a glass antenna in one embodiment;

[0020] Figure 2 This is a side view of a glass antenna in one embodiment;

[0021] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a slit with a circular shape in one embodiment;

[0022] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of an embodiment where the slit shape is an elliptical ring;

[0023] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a slit with a quadrilateral ring shape in one embodiment;

[0024] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of a U-shaped slit in one embodiment;

[0025] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of a C-shaped slit in one embodiment;

[0026] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of a truncated quadrilateral ring with a slit shape in one embodiment;

[0027] Figure 9 This is a top view of another glass antenna in one embodiment;

[0028] Figure 10 This is a top view of yet another glass antenna in one embodiment;

[0029] Figure 11 This is a VSWR curve of an antenna in one embodiment;

[0030] Figure 12 This is a graph showing the isolation between three slot antennas in one embodiment;

[0031] Figure 13 This is a cross-sectional radiation pattern of the antenna's vertical and horizontal polarization in one embodiment;

[0032] Figure 14 In one embodiment, the horizontal cross-sectional radiation direction of the three slot antennas is defined.

[0033] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0034] 100-Glass component, 101-First glass component, 102-Second glass component, 103-Intermediate layer, S1-First surface, S2-Second surface, S3-Third surface, S4-Fourth surface;

[0035] 200-Antenna, 201-Metal substrate, 202-Gap, 203-Feed port, P1-First boundary, P2-Second boundary. Detailed Implementation

[0036] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the following detailed description is provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and not intended to limit the scope of this application.

[0037] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application.

[0038] It is understood that the terms "first," "second," etc., used herein may be used to describe various elements, but these elements are not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, without departing from the scope of this application, a first resistor may be referred to as a second resistor, and similarly, a second resistor may be referred to as a first resistor. Both the first resistor and the second resistor are resistors, but they are not the same resistor.

[0039] It is understood that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" or "set on" another element, it can be directly on the other element or there may be an intervening element. When an element is considered to be "connected to" another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or there may be an intervening element. The terms "vertical," "horizontal," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the only possible implementation.

[0040] In the description of this application, it should be understood that "electrical connection" can be understood as physical contact and electrical conduction between components; it can also be understood as the form in which different components in a circuit structure are connected through physical lines that can transmit electrical signals, such as copper foil or wires on a printed circuit board (PCB). "Coupling" can be understood as electrical conduction through indirect coupling. Those skilled in the art will understand that coupling refers to the phenomenon where there is close cooperation and mutual influence between the inputs and outputs of two or more circuit elements or electrical networks, and energy is transferred from one side to the other through interaction.

[0041] With the development of intelligent vehicles, in-vehicle wireless systems are becoming increasingly sophisticated, encompassing functions such as mobile communication, satellite communication, and smart cockpits. To realize these functions, sufficient space is needed to house hardware such as antennas. Since glass provides ample space and is more open than the interior of a vehicle, more and more antennas are now integrated into the glass, resulting in glass antennas.

[0042] However, since glass is generally a planar or quasi-planar structure, such as skylight glass, it is difficult to realize vertically polarized antennas on the inner surface of skylight glass. Vertical polarization can reduce signal propagation loss and multipath interference, and provide better signal quality and reliability. Therefore, how to realize vertically polarized antennas on glass has become an urgent problem to be solved.

[0043] Therefore, it is necessary to propose effective technical means to solve the above problems. The technical solution of this application and how it solves the above technical problems will be described in detail below with specific embodiments. Furthermore, the following specific embodiments can be combined with each other, and the same or similar concepts or processes may not be described again in some embodiments.

[0044] It should be noted that, in addition to being mounted on a glass component to achieve vertical polarization, the antenna of this application can also be mounted on other structural planes to achieve vertical polarization. The following example uses an antenna mounted on a glass component, which is referred to as a glass antenna.

[0045] In one exemplary embodiment, refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, a glass antenna is provided, comprising a glass element 100 and at least one antenna 200, each antenna 200 being disposed on the glass element 100. Each antenna 200 includes a metal substrate 201, the metal substrate 201 having at least one slot 202. A first feed point and a second feed point are respectively disposed on two opposite boundaries of each slot 202. The first feed point is electrically connected to the inner conductor of a coaxial cable, and the second feed point is electrically connected to the outer conductor of the coaxial cable. The first and second feed points constitute a feed port 203.

[0046] The glass component 100 includes a first glass component 101 and a second glass component 102. The first glass component 101 includes a first surface S1 and a second surface S2. The second glass component 102 includes a third surface S3 and a fourth surface S4. The first surface S1 is away from the third surface S3, the second surface S2 is close to the third surface S3, the third surface S3 is close to the second surface S2, and the fourth surface S4 is away from the second surface S2. When the glass component 100 is installed on a vehicle, the view from inside the vehicle looking out the window is the first surface S1, the second surface S2, the third surface S3, and the fourth surface S4, respectively. In addition, the glass component 100 also includes an intermediate layer 103 disposed between the first glass component 101 and the second glass component 102. The intermediate layer 103 can be made of PVB (Polyvinyl Butyral), which can bond the first glass component 101 and the second glass component 102 together through a lamination process to form laminated glass. This can effectively improve the strength and toughness of the glass component 100, as well as improve its impact resistance and safety performance.

[0047] The antenna 200 can be disposed on any one of the first surface S1, the second surface S2, the third surface S3, and the fourth surface S4. Preferably, the antenna 200 is disposed on the first surface S1, which facilitates power supply to the antenna 200. Preferably, the antenna 200 is disposed within the black border area of ​​the glass component 100, so as not to affect the light transmission performance of the transparent area of ​​the glass component 100.

[0048] At least one antenna 200 is provided on the glass component 100. Specifically, it can be one antenna 200 or two or more antennas 200, such as three antennas 200. This can be set as needed, and the number of antennas 200 is not limited here.

[0049] The metal substrate 201 can be made of metal materials, such as copper. However, in order to facilitate production and improve accuracy, in this embodiment, the metal substrate 201 is produced by silver paste printing, and the printing accuracy can reach 0.1 mm. Of course, other processes such as carbon paste printing in the existing technology can also be used for production.

[0050] The metal substrate 201 can be circular, elliptical, or polygonal. When the metal substrate 201 is polygonal, it can specifically be decagonal, octagonal, hexagonal, or quadrilateral, etc. Preferably, the metal substrate 201 is circular. Figure 1 As shown, this results in better omnidirectional radiation performance of antenna 200.

[0051] At least one slit 202 is provided on the metal substrate 201. Specifically, it may be one slit 202 or two or more (including two) slits 202, which is not limited here.

[0052] The size of the slot 202 affects the input impedance at the feed point. Therefore, when designing the antenna 200, the input impedance of the antenna 200 can be adjusted to be around 50 ohms by adjusting the length and width of the slot 202. Specifically, the perimeter of the slot 202 is adjusted to be about 1 / 4 wavelength to 3 / 4 wavelength, and the width is less than or equal to 3 mm, so that the input impedance of the antenna 200 can be around 50 ohms.

[0053] The distance from the center to the edge of the metal substrate 201 affects the resonant frequency of the antenna. Taking a circular metal substrate 201 as an example, the larger the radius of the metal substrate 201, the lower the resonant frequency; the smaller the radius, the higher the resonant frequency. Therefore, when designing the antenna 200, the resonant frequency of the antenna 200 can be adjusted by changing the distance from the center to the edge of the metal substrate 201. Generally, the resonant frequency of the antenna 200 needs to be greater than or equal to 3 GHz. Preferably, the resonant frequency of the antenna 200 needs to be in the range of 6 GHz to 9 GHz, and optimally, the resonant frequency of the antenna 200 needs to be in the range of 7.7 GHz to 8.3 GHz. Specifically, in order to make the resonant frequency of the antenna 200 within the range of 7.7 GHz to 8.3 GHz, the perimeter of the metal substrate 201 needs to be designed to be approximately 1 to 3 times the wavelength.

[0054] The antenna 200 includes a metal substrate 201 with at least one slot 202. A first feed point and a second feed point are respectively disposed on the two opposite boundaries of each slot 202. The first feed point is electrically connected to the inner conductor of the coaxial cable, and the second feed point is electrically connected to the outer conductor of the coaxial cable. When the antenna 200 is disposed on the glass element 100, and the first and second feed points are fed, the slot 202 acts as an excitation source for the metal substrate 201. Based on the high dielectric constant of the glass element 100… An electric field couples to the edge of the metal substrate 201, and the electromagnetic waves are rearranged, forming a ring-shaped magnetic flux loop along the edge of the metal substrate 201. At this time, the ring-shaped magnetic flux loop is equivalent to a vertically polarized antenna, which is equivalent to a vertically placed dipole antenna. Thus, by opening a slot 202 on the metal substrate 201, and setting a first feed point and a second feed point on the two opposite boundaries of the slot 202 respectively, and then placing the metal substrate 201 on the glass component 100, the purpose of realizing a vertically polarized antenna on a single surface of the glass can be achieved.

[0055] In an exemplary embodiment, the slit 202 is either a closed ring or a non-closed ring. A closed ring can be, for example, a circular ring, an elliptical ring, or a polygonal ring; a non-closed ring can include a semi-circular ring, a U-shaped ring, a C-shaped ring, or a truncated polygonal ring. A truncated polygonal ring refers to a new polygonal ring formed by truncating a polygonal ring.

[0056] Since the shape of the gap 202 is a closed ring, refer to Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, a slit 202 is formed in the metal substrate 201. Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 5 The shapes of the gaps 202 are circular rings, elliptical rings, and quadrilateral rings, respectively, and the power supply ports 203 are located on the two opposite boundaries of the gaps 202.

[0057] Since the shape of gap 202 is a non-closed ring, refer to Figure 1 , Figure 6 , Figure 7 and Figure 8 As shown, in Figure 1 The metal substrate 201 has three slots 202 of the same shape, and the slots 202 are semi-circular. Of course, multiple slots 202 of different shapes can also be formed on the metal substrate 201. Figure 6 , Figure 7 and Figure 8 The metal substrate 201 has a slit 202, which is U-shaped, C-shaped or truncated quadrilateral ring.

[0058] In an exemplary embodiment, there are three slots 202, that is, three slots 202 are opened in the metal substrate 201. Each slot can be regarded as a slot antenna. Based on the high dielectric constant of the glass material, a vertically polarized MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) antenna with a common radiating surface can be realized. It also realizes the miniaturization design of the antenna and the isolation between the slot antennas is high.

[0059] The center points of the three slots 202 can be collinear, i.e., arranged side by side, or they can be non-collinear, i.e., arranged in a triangle. Preferably, the center points of the three slots 202 form an equilateral triangle, i.e., the individual slot antennas are arranged at 120° intervals. In this way, the non-circularity of each slot antenna is within 4dB, which can improve the horizontal coverage range of the antenna.

[0060] In an exemplary embodiment, when all three slits 202 are non-closed annular shapes, the opening ends of the three non-closed annular shapes face the same direction, or the opening ends of the three non-closed annular shapes face different directions.

[0061] For the three non-closed rings whose open ends face the same direction, such as... Figure 9 As shown, they are all facing the same side of the glass component 100.

[0062] There are several ways to address the issue of the three open ends of the non-closed rings facing different directions. One approach is to have all three open ends of the non-closed rings facing away from the center point of the metal substrate, such as... Figure 1 As shown, it can also be that the three open ends of the non-closed rings all face the center point of the metal substrate, such as... Figure 10 As shown.

[0063] This application addresses the above. Figure 1 The glass antenna in the experiment was tested. The VSWR curve of antenna 200 at an operating frequency of 8 GHz is shown below (horizontal axis: frequency, vertical axis: VSWR). Figure 11 As shown, the VSWR of antenna 200 is less than 2. This indicates that by opening three slots 202 on the metal substrate 201, the center points of the three slots 202 form an equilateral triangle, and the first feed point and the second feed point are respectively set on the two opposite boundaries of each slot, the input impedance of antenna 200 can be closer to 50 ohms.

[0064] When the operating frequency of antenna 200 is 8GHz, the isolation curve between the three slot antennas in antenna 200 is shown below (the horizontal axis represents frequency, and the vertical axis represents isolation). Figure 12 As shown, the isolation is less than -15dB, indicating that the three slot antennas have good isolation.

[0065] when Figure 1 When the glass antenna is placed horizontally and the antenna 200 operates at a frequency of 8 GHz, the horizontal cross-sectional radiation patterns of the antenna's vertical and horizontal polarizations are as follows: Figure 13 As shown, it can be seen that vertical polarization is the main polarization, and horizontal polarization is cross polarization. The cross polarization ratio is within the range of 5dB-30dB within 360 degrees. This indicates that by setting a metal substrate 201 with a slot 202 on the glass component, the purpose of realizing a vertically polarized antenna on a single side of the glass can be achieved.

[0066] When the three slot antennas operate at a frequency of 8 GHz, the horizontal cross-sectional radiation pattern of the three slot antennas is as follows: Figure 14 As shown, the maximum average gain of the three slot antennas is greater than -0.8dB, the minimum average gain is greater than -3dB, and the maximum gain is 1.9dBi. The non-circularity of each slot antenna is within 3dB, which indicates that the omnidirectional radiation performance of each slot antenna is good.

[0067] In one exemplary embodiment, this application also provides a vehicle that includes the glass antenna described in any of the glass antenna embodiments above.

[0068] The means of transport can include road vehicles, water vehicles, air vehicles, industrial equipment, agricultural equipment, or recreational equipment. For example, a means of transport can be a vehicle, which is a vehicle in a broad sense, including transportation vehicles (such as commercial vehicles, passenger cars, motorcycles, flying cars, trains, etc.), industrial vehicles (such as forklifts, trailers, tractors, etc.), engineering vehicles (such as excavators, bulldozers, cranes, etc.), agricultural equipment (such as lawnmowers, harvesters, etc.), amusement equipment, toy vehicles, etc. The embodiments of this application do not specifically limit the type of vehicle. As another example, a means of transport can be an airplane or a ship.

[0069] Taking a passenger vehicle as an example, a typical vehicle includes a windshield, a rear windshield, and a sunroof. If the glass element 100 in the glass antenna is a sunroof, preferably, two antennas 200 are mounted on the glass element 100, one near the front of the vehicle and the other near the rear. If the glass element 100 in the glass antenna is either a windshield or a rear windshield, preferably, one antenna 200 is mounted on the glass element 100. The vehicle includes both glass antennas as described in any of the above embodiments of the glass antenna, thus effectively meaning that antennas 200 are mounted on both the windshield and rear windshield of the vehicle.

[0070] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined in any way. For the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this application.

[0071] The embodiments described above are merely illustrative of several implementation methods of this application, and while the descriptions are specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of this patent application. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of this application, and these all fall within the protection scope of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of this application should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An antenna, characterized in that, The antenna is disposed on one side of a glass component, which is a planar structure. The antenna includes a metal substrate with three slots. The three slots are non-closed annular in shape, and the center points of the three slots form an equilateral triangle. The opening ends of the three non-closed annular rings are either away from or towards the center point of the metal substrate, or the opening ends of the three non-closed annular rings face the same direction. A first feed point and a second feed point are respectively provided on the two opposite boundaries of each of the gaps. The first feed point is electrically connected to the inner conductor of the coaxial cable, and the second feed point is electrically connected to the outer conductor of the coaxial cable. After feeding the first feed point and the second feed point, an annular magnetic flux ring is formed at the edge of the metal substrate. The annular magnetic flux ring is equivalent to a vertically polarized dipole antenna.

2. The antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that, The non-closed ring includes a semi-circular ring, a U-shaped ring, a C-shaped ring, or a truncated polygonal ring.

3. The antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that, The metal substrate is circular, elliptical, or polygonal in shape.

4. The antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that, The perimeter of the metal substrate is 1 to 3 times the wavelength.

5. A glass antenna, characterized in that, The glass antenna includes a glass element and at least one antenna as described in any one of claims 1-4; each of the antennas is disposed on the glass element.

6. A vehicle, characterized in that, Includes the glass antenna as described in claim 5.

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