Base station antenna with at least one rotatable reflector panel adapted to be shared by multiple cellular network operators

Abstract

A base station antenna includes a first reflector panel having a first array of radiating elements mounted thereon, and a second reflector panel having a second array of radiating elements mounted thereon. Comprising a radome surrounds the first reflector panel and the second reflector panel. The first reflector panel and the second reflector panel are mounted in a vertically stacked arrangement, and the second reflector panel is rotatable relative to the first reflector panel in an azimuth plane such that the first array is configured to produce a first antenna beam providing coverage to the first sector, and the second array is configured to generate a second antenna beam providing coverage to the second sector. The second sector may partially overlap with the first sector, but not fully overlap with the first sector.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority under 35 USC §119 to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 63 / 233,300 filed on August 15, 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present invention relates to cellular communication systems and, more particularly, to a base station antenna comprising at least one rotatable reflector panel. Background Art

[0004] Cellular communication systems are well known in the art. In a cellular communication system, a geographic area is divided into a series of areas called "cells" served by corresponding base stations. A base station may include baseband equipment, radio equipment, and one or more base station antennas configured to provide two-way radio frequency ("RF") communications with fixed and mobile subscribers ("users") located throughout the cell. In many cases, each base station is divided into "sectors". In a common configuration, a hexagonal cell is divided into three 120° sectors in the azimuth plane. Each sector is served by one or more base station antennas with an azimuth half-power beamwidth (HPBW) of approximately 65°. The base station antenna can be mounted on a tower or other elevated structure, where the radiation pattern (also referred to herein as an "antenna beam") is generated by the base station antenna pointing outward. Typically, the base station antenna includes one or more phased arrays of radiating elements, wherein the radiating elements are arranged in one or more vertically extending columns when the antenna is installed for use. Reference to the azimuth plane herein refers to a horizontal plane (i.e., a plane parallel to the plane defined by the horizon) that bisects the base station antenna. Reference will also be made herein to an elevation plane, which is a plane extending along the boresight pointing direction of one of the arrays of radiating elements perpendicular to the azimuth plane. Summary of the invention

[0005] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a base station antenna is provided, the base station antenna comprising: a first reflector panel, the first reflector panel having a first array of radiating elements mounted thereon, the radiating elements of the first array being arranged in at least one vertically extending column; a second reflector panel, the second reflector panel having a second array of radiating elements mounted thereon; and a housing comprising a radome, the housing surrounding both the first reflector panel and the second reflector panel. The first reflector panel and the second reflector panel are mounted in a vertically stacked arrangement. The second reflector panel is rotatable in an azimuth plane relative to the first reflector panel, so that the first array is configured to generate a first antenna beam providing coverage to a first sector, and the second array is configured to generate a second antenna beam providing coverage to a second sector, wherein the second sector partially overlaps with the first sector but does not completely overlap with the first sector.

[0006] In some embodiments, the first antenna beam has a fixed azimuth beamwidth that provides coverage to the first sector, and the second antenna beam has a fixed azimuth beamwidth that provides coverage to the second sector.

[0007] In some embodiments, the first reflector panel is rotatable about a first axis. In some embodiments, the second reflector panel is rotatable about the first axis. In other embodiments, the second reflector panel is rotatable about a second axis that is not co-linear with the first axis.

[0008] In some embodiments, the second reflector panel is configured to be rotated at least 30° in the azimuthal plane relative to the first reflector panel.

[0009] In some embodiments, the first sector extends over approximately 120° in the azimuthal plane and the second sector extends over approximately 120° in the azimuthal plane.

[0010] In some embodiments, the base station antenna further comprises at least one electric motor configured to rotate the first reflector panel and / or the second reflector panel.

[0011] In some embodiments, the first sector is associated with a first cellular network operator and the second sector is associated with a second cellular network operator different from the first cellular network operator.

[0012] In some embodiments, the first reflector panel is fixed relative to the housing and the second reflector panel is rotatable relative to the housing.

[0013] In some embodiments, the second reflector panel is fixed relative to the housing and the first reflector panel is rotatable relative to the housing.

[0014] In some embodiments, both the first reflector panel and the second reflector panel are rotatable relative to the housing.

[0015] In some embodiments, the base station antenna further comprises a first pole fixedly attached to the first reflector panel and a second pole fixedly attached to the second reflector panel, wherein the first pole extends within an open interior of the second pole.

[0016] In some embodiments, the base station antenna further comprises: a first electric motor configured to rotate the first reflector panel; and a second electric motor configured to rotate the second reflector panel.

[0017] In some embodiments, the base station antenna further comprises an electric motor and a gear system, wherein the gear system selectively couples an output shaft of the electric motor to a first rod and a second rod, wherein the first rod is connected to the first reflector panel and the second rod is connected to the second reflector panel.

[0018] In some embodiments, the front portion of the radome has a substantially semi-cylindrical shape.

[0019] In some embodiments, the radiating elements of the first array are coupled to a first RF port coupled to a first radio device, and the radiating elements of the second array are coupled to a second RF port coupled to a second radio device.

[0020] In some embodiments, the base station antenna further comprises a support structure and a first pole rotatably coupled to the support structure.

[0021] In some embodiments, the second array is a multi-column beamforming array configured to produce electronically scanned antenna beams that together provide coverage to the second sector.

[0022] According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method of operating a base station antenna is provided. The base station antenna has a longitudinal axis extending substantially perpendicular to an azimuth plane and includes: a first reflector panel having a first array of radiating elements mounted thereon; and a second reflector panel having a second array of radiating elements mounted thereon, wherein the second reflector panel is rotatable relative to the first reflector panel. According to these methods, the second reflector panel is rotated relative to the first reflector panel so that a first line of sight pointing direction of the first reflector panel and a second line of sight pointing direction of the second reflector panel point in different directions in the azimuth plane. A first RF signal is fed to the first array from a first radio device operated by a first cellular network operator. A second RF signal is fed to the second array from a second radio device operated by a second cellular network operator different from the first cellular network operator.

[0023] In some embodiments, the first reflector panel and the second reflector panel are mounted in a vertically stacked arrangement.

[0024] In some embodiments, the base station antenna further comprises a housing having a radome, the housing surrounding both the first reflector panel and the second reflector panel.

[0025] In some embodiments, the first array generates a first antenna beam in response to the first RF signal, the first antenna beam providing coverage to a first sector extending approximately 120° in the azimuth plane, and the second array generates a second antenna beam in response to the second RF signal, the second antenna beam providing coverage to a second sector extending approximately 120° in the azimuth plane, wherein the second sector only partially overlaps with the first sector in the azimuth plane.

[0026] In some embodiments, the first RF signal generates a first antenna beam having a fixed azimuth beamwidth to cover a first sector of a cell of a cellular network operated by the first cellular network operator, and the second RF signal generates a second antenna beam having a fixed azimuth beamwidth to cover a second sector of a cell of a cellular network operated by the second cellular network operator. In some embodiments, the first sector partially overlaps the second sector. In some embodiments, the first sector extends approximately 120° in the azimuth plane and the second sector extends approximately 120° in the azimuth plane.

[0027] In some embodiments, rotating the second reflector panel relative to the first reflector panel includes rotating the second reflector panel relative to the first reflector panel using an electric motor.

[0028] In some embodiments, the first reflector panel is fixed relative to a housing of the base station antenna and the second reflector panel is rotatable relative to the housing.

[0029] In some embodiments, the base station antenna comprises a radome, a front portion of the radome having a substantially semi-cylindrical shape. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] Figure 1A The diagram is a schematic diagram showing a cell layout of a first cellular network operated by a first cellular network operator.

[0031] Figure 1B A schematic diagram showing a cell layout of a first cellular network operated by a first cellular network operator, which also shows locations of several base stations operated by a second cellular network operator.

[0032] Figure 2 FIG. 4 is a side view of a base station antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] Figure 3 for Figure 2 A schematic front view of a base station antenna, in which the radome and various other components of the antenna are omitted to simplify the figure.

[0034] Figure 4A and Figure 4B for Figure 2 Schematic top view of a base station antenna showing the second reflector panel rotated to two different positions in the azimuth plane.

[0035] Figure 5A and 5B The reflector panels are respectively as follows Figure 4A and 4B Positioned as shown in Figure 2 The azimuth pattern of the antenna beam generated by the base station antenna.

[0036] Figure 6 FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a base station antenna according to another embodiment of the present invention, wherein a radome and various other components of the antenna are omitted to simplify the figure.

[0037] Fig. 7A and 7B for Figure 2-3 Schematic rear view of a base station antenna showing an exemplary mechanical structure for rotating the reflector panel.

[0038] Fig. 8A and 8B is a schematic horizontal cross-sectional view of a base station antenna including a radome of different shapes according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0039] Fig. 9 1 is a flow chart illustrating a method of operating a base station antenna according to some embodiments of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] While in many cases a single cellular network operator may own / operate a base station, there are often advantages to sharing a base station among multiple cellular network operators. For example, the zoning and licensing costs associated with establishing a base station may be high, so it may be advantageous to amortize these costs among multiple cellular network operators. Due to these advantages, base station antennas are often shared by multiple cellular network operators, with some arrays of radiating elements included in the antenna being used by a first cellular network operator and other arrays being used by a second cellular network operator. Unfortunately, however, two cellular network operators may have different cell layouts in a geographic area. This may preclude sharing resources such as base stations / base station antennas among multiple cellular network operators, as will be described with reference to FIG. Figure 1A and 1B Discussed.

[0041] Figure 1A FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the cell layout of a first cellular network 1 operated by a first cellular network operator. Figure 1A As shown, the first cellular network 1 includes a plurality of base stations 10 that provide service to a generally hexagonal shaped area 20. In the most commonly deployed arrangement, each base station 10 includes three antennas 12, with each antenna 12 being configured to cover a different one of three 120° "sectors" 32 in the azimuth plane. This allows each base station 10 to serve a cell 30 that covers a region such as Figure 1A The circles in the figure represent approximately three hexagonal regions 20 of cells 30. The regions 20 generally have Figure 1A The hexagonal shape shown is preferred because such an arrangement generally helps provide complete coverage to a large area while reducing the amount of overlap between adjacent cells 30. Figure 1A As shown in FIG. 1 , in the azimuth plane of the array included in each base station antenna 12 of the first base station 10, the visual axis pointing direction (denoted by Figure 1A The base station 10 may be located approximately midway between two adjacent base stations 10. This may facilitate maximizing coverage while reducing interference.

[0042] If all base stations of the first cellular network operator and the second cellular network operator are located in a common location, the two cellular network operators can easily share one or more of the base station antennas 12. However, it is more common for the two cellular network operators to have base stations 10 in different locations. Figure 1B , in which several base stations 10' operated by a second cellular network operator have been added Figure 1A In the figure (note that Figure 1B The hexagonal shaped area 20 and the cell 30 for the second cellular network are not shown. Figure 1B As can be seen in FIG. 1 , if the base station antenna 12 is installed to have a boresight pointing direction in the azimuth plane pointing to the desired direction of the first cellular network operator, the base station antenna 12' at the base station 10' of the second cellular network will not point to the appropriate boresight pointing direction in the azimuth plane. Figure 1B When arranged in the manner shown in , it is difficult or impossible to share base station antennas between two cellular network operators.

[0043] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a base station antenna is provided, the base station antenna comprising at least two reflector panels, wherein at least one of the reflector panels can be rotated about a vertical axis so that the reflector panel rotates in an azimuth plane. The ability to rotate one or more of the reflector panels so that the two reflector panels have different azimuth boresight pointing directions (wherein the boresight pointing direction of the reflector panel refers to an axis extending through the center of the reflector panel at a 90° angle) can facilitate multiple cellular network operators to be able to share the base station antenna, even when the cellular networks operated by the two cellular network operators have significantly different cell structures.

[0044] For example, a first cellular network operator may require a three-sector base station antenna having three base station antennas that generate antenna beams having boresight pointing directions of 0°, 120°, and 240° in the azimuth plane, respectively. However, a second cellular network operator wishing to implement a base station at the same location may require the base station antenna to generate antenna beams having boresight pointing directions of 60°, 180°, and 300° in the azimuth plane. The boresight pointing direction of an antenna beam in the azimuth plane refers to the location in the azimuth plane where the antenna beam has peak directivity.

[0045] Due to different requirements regarding the boresight pointing direction of the antenna beam, the two cellular network operators cannot easily share Figure 1B The base station antenna 12 shown in FIG. 1 is not intended to be used in a base station antenna such as the base station antenna 12 shown in FIG. 1 because the reflector panels of conventional base station antennas designed to provide coverage to a 120° sector do not have different boresight pointing directions. Furthermore, while beamforming base station antennas that produce antenna beams that can be electronically scanned to point to different directions in the azimuth plane are known in the art, beamforming base station antennas typically produce antenna beams with smaller azimuth HPBWs that are not suitable for covering a 120° sector. Furthermore, in the case of antenna beams having wide beamwidths in the azimuth plane, such as antenna beams designed to cover a 90° or 120° sector, such electronic scanning tends not to work well and is not a practical solution to the above-mentioned problem.

[0046] By providing a base station antenna with at least one rotatable reflector panel, a single base station antenna can be used by a first cellular operator to serve a first sector, wherein the center of the first sector is at a first angle in the azimuth plane relative to the base station antenna, while a single base station antenna can be used by a second cellular operator to serve a second sector, wherein the center of the second sector is at a second angle in the azimuth plane relative to the base station antenna that is different from the first angle. The difference between the first angle and the second angle will typically be less than 60°, but embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.

[0047] According to some embodiments of the present invention, a base station antenna includes a first reflector panel and a second reflector panel, wherein the first reflector panel has a first array of radiating elements mounted thereon, the radiating elements of the first array being arranged in at least one vertically extending column, and the second reflector panel has a second array of radiating elements mounted thereon. A housing including a radome surrounds both the first reflector panel and the second reflector panel. The first reflector panel and the second reflector panel are mounted in a vertically stacked arrangement, and the second reflector panel is rotatable in an azimuth plane relative to the first reflector panel, so that the first array is configured to generate a first antenna beam that provides coverage to a first sector, and the second array is configured to generate a second antenna beam that provides coverage to a second sector. In some cases, the second sector may partially overlap with the first sector, but not completely overlap with the first sector. The first antenna beam may have a fixed azimuth beam width that provides coverage to the first sector, and the second antenna beam may have a fixed azimuth beam width that provides coverage to the second sector. Multiple arrays of radiating elements may be mounted on each reflector panel.

[0048] According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method for operating a base station antenna is provided. The base station antenna has a longitudinal axis extending substantially perpendicular to an azimuth plane, and comprises: a first reflector panel having a first array of radiating elements mounted thereon; and a second reflector panel having a second array of radiating elements mounted thereon, wherein the second reflector panel is rotatable relative to the first reflector panel. According to the method according to an embodiment of the present invention, the second reflector panel is rotated relative to the first reflector panel so that a first visual axis pointing direction of the first reflector panel and a second visual axis pointing direction of the second reflector panel point in different directions in the azimuth plane. A first RF signal is fed to the first array from a first radio device operated by a first cellular network operator. A second RF signal is fed to the second array from a second radio device operated by a second cellular network operator different from the first cellular network operator. The first reflector panel and the second reflector panel may be arranged in a vertical stack, and multiple arrays may be mounted on each reflector panel. The second sector may partially overlap with the first sector, but may not completely overlap with the first sector.

[0049] A base station antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be discussed in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0050] Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a side view of a base station antenna 100 according to some embodiments of the present invention. Figure 2 As shown, the base station antenna 100 includes an outer housing 102. The outer housing 102 may include, for example, a bottom end cap 104, a top end cap 106, and a radome 108. The radome 108 may be, for example, a tubular structure having an open bottom end and a top end. The radome 108 may be, for example, formed of a dielectric material (e.g., fiberglass or thermoplastic) that is substantially transparent to RF radiation in the operating frequency band of the antenna 100. The bottom end cap 104 may cover the open bottom end of the radome 108, and the top end cap 106 may cover the open top end of the radome 108. The radome 108 may be mounted to the top end cap 104 and / or the bottom end cap 106 and / or to a fixed support structure described below. The base station antenna 100 also includes a plurality of RF connector ports 150 or "RF ports". In an exemplary embodiment, the RF port 150 may be mounted in the bottom end cap 104. The RF port 150 may be connected to an external radio device (not shown) via a coaxial cable (not shown).

[0051] Figure 3 for Figure 2 1 is a schematic front view of a base station antenna 100, wherein the radome 108 and various other components of the antenna are omitted. Figure 3As shown, the base station antenna 100 also includes a first reflector panel 110-1 and a second reflector panel 110-2 mounted inside the housing 102. The first reflector panel 110-1 and the second reflector panel 110-2 are mounted in a vertically stacked arrangement. One or more linear arrays of radiating elements can be installed on each reflector panel 110. In the depicted embodiment, two linear arrays 120-1, 120-2 of low-band radiating elements 122 and two linear arrays 130-1, 130-2 of mid-band radiating elements 132 are mounted on the first reflector panel 110-1, while an additional linear array 120-3 of low-band radiating elements 122 and two additional linear arrays 130-3, 130-4 of mid-band radiating elements 132 are mounted on the second reflector panel 110-2. In this article, the linear array 120 can be referred to as a low-band linear array, and the linear array 130 can be referred to as a mid-band linear array. Each linear array 120, 130 may include a vertically extending column of radiating elements (ie, the radiating elements in each linear array 120, 130 extend in a substantially vertical direction when the base station antenna 100 is installed for normal use).

[0052] The low-band radiating element 122 may, for example, be configured to operate in some or all of the 617-960 MHz frequency band, and the mid-band radiating element 132 may, for example, be configured to operate in some or all of the 1427-2690 MHz frequency band. However, it should be appreciated that embodiments of the present invention are not limited in this regard. It should also be appreciated that Figure 3 The array configuration shown in is exemplary in nature, and in other embodiments, different types of arrays (including planar multi-column arrays), different combinations of arrays, different array layouts on the reflector panel, and / or different numbers of radiating elements per array may be provided. In the depicted embodiment, each of the low-band radiating element 122 and the mid-band radiating element 132 is implemented as a tilted -45° / +45° cross-dipole radiating element, which includes a first dipole radiator and a second dipole radiator, wherein the first dipole radiator is configured to transmit and receive RF signals with a -45° polarization, and the second dipole radiator is configured to transmit and receive RF signals with a +45° polarization, wherein each dipole radiator includes a pair of dipole arms, and when viewed from the front, the four dipole arms are arranged in an X-shaped configuration. In the figure, the radiating elements 122, 132 will be represented by a capital X in accordance with the cross-dipole radiating element embodiment. It should be understood that different types of radiating elements, such as patch radiating elements, can be used in other embodiments.

[0053] As described above, the base station antenna 100 includes a plurality of RF ports 150. In the depicted embodiment, the base station antenna 100 includes a total of fourteen RF ports 150 (in Figure 2130), wherein two RF ports 150 are connected to each of the seven linear arrays 120, 130 included in the antenna 100. A first RF port 150 connected to each linear array 120, 130 is connected to a -45° dipole radiator of a radiating element 122, 132 in the linear array 120, 130, and a second RF port 150 connected to each linear array 120, 130 is connected to a +45° dipole radiator of a radiating element 122, 132 in the linear array 120, 130. A pair of RF ports 150 connected to each linear array 120, 130 may be connected to a corresponding radio device (not shown) typically mounted outside the antenna 100. A first cellular network operator operates radios connected to linear arrays 120-1, 120-2, 130-1, 130-2 mounted on a first reflector panel 110-1, and a second cellular network operator operates radios connected to linear arrays 120-3, 130-3, 130-4 mounted on a second reflector panel 110-2.

[0054] The base station antenna 100 may also include Figure 2-3 Not depicted are a number of conventional components, such as phase shifters, remote electronic tilt ("RET") actuators, mechanical linkages, and various wiring connections.

[0055] At least one of the reflector panels 110-1, 110-2 can be independently rotated around the axis 112 so that the reflector panel 110 rotates in the azimuth plane. The axis 112 may include a vertical axis. In some embodiments, the two reflector panels 110-1, 110-2 can be independently rotated. In such embodiments, it may be preferred (but not required) to rotate the two reflector panels 110 around the same axis 112, because this can help minimize the size of the radome 108. In an embodiment where only one reflector panel 110 can be rotated (e.g., the second reflector panel 110-2), the antenna 100 can be installed so that the line of sight pointing direction of the fixed (non-rotatable) reflector panel 110-1 points to the desired direction in the azimuth plane of one of the cellular network operators, and the second reflector panel 110-2 can be rotated to point to the desired direction in the azimuth plane of another of the cellular network operators.

[0056] Although configuring only one of the two reflector panels 110-1, 110-2 to be rotatable in the azimuth plane can reduce the cost and complexity of the base station antenna 100, it is also advantageous to have both reflector panels 110-1, 110-2 have the ability to rotate in the azimuth plane. If both reflector panels 110-1, 110-2 are rotatable, the installer who initially installs the antenna 100 does not need to precisely align the antenna 100 to point in the desired direction in the azimuth plane. Instead, each reflector panel 110-1, 110-2 can be rotated so that its boresight pointing direction points in the desired direction in the azimuth plane after the antenna 100 has been installed.

[0057] Figure 4A and 4B FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of the base station antenna 100, which shows that the second reflector panel 110-2 is rotated to two different positions in the azimuth plane. Figure 4A and 4B In FIG. 1 , only the radome 108, the reflector panel 110, the linear arrays 120, 130, the fixed support structure 160 and the rotating member 170 are shown to simplify the figure. Figure 4A As shown in , initially, both reflector panels 110-1, 110-2 may be oriented so that their boresight pointing directions are in the same direction in the azimuth plane. This arrangement may be appropriate when the base station antenna 100 is used by a single cellular network operator or by two different cellular network operators but in a location where surrounding base stations of the two cellular network operators are co-located. Figure 4B As shown in , if the base station antenna 100 is to be shared by two cellular network operators at a location where the surrounding base stations of the two cellular network operators are in different locations, the second reflector panel 110-2 is rotated relative to the first reflector panel 110-1 so that the first reflector panel 110-1 points in an appropriate direction to provide coverage of a sector of a cell of the first cellular network, and the second reflector panel 110-2 points in an appropriate direction to provide coverage of a sector of a cell of the second cellular network. Although the second reflector panel 110-2 is depicted as being rotated about -30° in the azimuth plane relative to the first reflector panel 110-1, it should be understood that the second reflector panel 110-2 can be rotated at any angle in the azimuth plane relative to the first reflector panel 110-1. Typically, the boresight pointing direction of the first reflector panel 110-1 in the azimuth plane will be offset by less than + / -60° from the boresight pointing direction of the second reflector panel 110-2 in the azimuth plane.

[0058] As described above, the base station antenna 100 also includes a fixed support structure 160. The fixed support structure 160 can be configured to remain stationary relative to the structure on which the base station antenna 100 is mounted (e.g., an antenna mount on an antenna tower). The fixed support structure 160 can include a panel, a bracket, or any other support element, and the specific construction of the fixed support structure 160 is not important. Figures 4A-4B In some embodiments, the fixed support structure 160 may include a bottom end cap 104 and / or a top end cap 106.

[0059] One or both of the reflector panels 110-1, 110-2 may be rotatably mounted to the fixed support structure 160. For example, in some embodiments, the reflector panel 110-1 may be rotatably mounted to the fixed support structure 160, while the reflector panel 110-2 is fixedly mounted to the fixed support structure 160. In other embodiments, the reflector panel 110-2 may be rotatably mounted to the fixed support structure 160, while the reflector panel 110-1 is fixedly mounted to the fixed support structure 160. In still other embodiments, both reflector panels 110-1, 110-2 may be rotatably mounted to the fixed support structure 160.

[0060] In some embodiments, a rotatable reflector panel in the reflector panel 110 can be mounted so that the center of the reflector panel 110 is fixedly connected to the rotating member 170. The rotating member 170 can be, for example, rotatably mounted to the fixed support structure 160. The rotating member 170 can be rotated manually or by an electric actuator. The rotation of the rotating member 170 rotates the attached reflector panel 110 around its rotation axis 112. It should be noted that in exemplary embodiments, the rotating member 170 can be fixed to the rear of the reflector panel 110 or the front of the reflector panel 110.

[0061] Although the rotating member 170 is attached to the center of the reflector panel 110 in the above-described embodiment, it should be understood that embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto, and the rotating member 170 may be attached to any suitable position on the reflector panel 110. For example, in other embodiments, the rotating member 170 may be attached at or near a side edge of the reflector panel 110.

[0062] Rotating member 170 may include, for example, a cylindrical rod, although any suitable rotating member 170 may be used. In some embodiments, rotating member 170 may be formed of a non-metallic material, such as fiberglass or thermoplastic material, to reduce the risk of passive intermodulation ("PIM") distortion.

[0063] In some embodiments, the base station antenna 100 may include an electric motor 180, such as a direct current ("DC") electric motor, for rotating the reflector panel 110. If only one reflector panel 110 is rotatable, a single electric motor 180 may be provided. If both reflector panels 112 are rotatable, a pair of electric motors may be provided. Alternatively, a single electric motor 180 may be provided, and a gear mechanism may allow the motor 180 to selectively rotate one of the two reflector panels 110-1, 110-2.

[0064] In some embodiments, one or more electric motors 180 may be mounted outside the radome 108. This may be advantageous because it may reduce the risk of PIM distortion from metal components of the motor 180 that may adversely affect the RF performance of the base station antenna 100, and may also reduce the risk of electromagnetic compatibility issues in the motor control. However, it should be appreciated that in other embodiments, the electric motor 180 may be mounted inside the radome 108.

[0065] Figure 5A and 5B The reflector panels are respectively as follows Figure 4A and 4B The positioning shown in Figure 2 The azimuth pattern of the antenna beam generated by the antenna. Figure 5A As shown in , when the boresight pointing directions of the first reflector panel 110-1 and the second reflector panel 110-2 in the azimuth plane are the same, then each low-band linear array 120 can generate a pair of antenna beams 124 (one for each polarization) having a HPBW of about 65° in the azimuth plane at the center frequency of the low-band operating frequency range. For the antenna beams 124 generated by all three low-band linear arrays 120-1, 120-2, 120-3, the “pointing direction” of each low-band antenna beam 124 in the azimuth plane can be the same, and thus in Figure 5A Only a single low-band antenna beam 124 is shown in FIG. Similarly, each mid-band linear array 130 can generate a pair of antenna beams 134 having a HPBW of approximately 65° in the azimuth plane at the center frequency of the mid-band operating frequency range. For the antenna beams 134 generated by all four mid-band linear arrays 130-1, 130-2, 130-3, 130-4, the pointing direction of each mid-band antenna beam 134 in the azimuth plane can be the same, and thus Figure 5A Only a single mid-band antenna beam 134 is shown. Figure 5AAs shown in , both the low-band antenna beam 124 and the mid-band antenna beam 134 are configured to provide good coverage to a 120° sector in the azimuth plane while preferably not spilling a large amount of energy into two adjacent 120° sectors. Due to the design differences between the low-band radiating element 122 and the mid-band radiating element 132, the low-band antenna beam 124 and the mid-band antenna beam 134 may have slightly different shapes. As shown, in many cases, the azimuth beamwidth of the low-band antenna beam 124 may be slightly larger than the azimuth beamwidth of the mid-band antenna beam 134. It should be understood that in Figure 5A-5B The antenna beams 124 , 134 are schematically shown in , and therefore the side lobes are not shown.

[0066] refer to Figure 5B , when the visual axis pointing directions of the first reflector panel 110-1 and the second reflector panel 110-2 in the azimuth plane are offset by 30°, the antenna beam 124 generated by the third low-band linear array 120-3 will be rotated 30° in the azimuth plane relative to the antenna beam 124 generated by the first low-band linear array 120-1 and the second low-band linear array 120-2. Similarly, the antenna beam 134 generated by the third mid-band linear array 130-3 and the fourth mid-band linear array 130-4 will be rotated 30° in the azimuth plane relative to the antenna beam 134 generated by the first mid-band linear array 130-1 and the second mid-band linear array 130-2. The antenna beams 124, 134 can each have a fixed azimuth beam width designed to provide coverage in an entire sector of a cell of a cellular network.

[0067] Thus, by rotating at least one of the first reflector panel 110-1 and the second reflector panel 110-2 so that the two reflector panels 110-1, 110-2 have different boresight pointing directions in the azimuth plane, the arrays 120, 130 mounted on the first reflector panel 110-1 are configured to generate a first antenna beam 124, 134, the first antenna beam providing coverage to a first sector of a cell of a base station operated by a first cellular network operator, and the arrays 120, 130 mounted on the second reflector panel 110-2 are configured to generate a second antenna beam 124, 134, the second antenna beam providing coverage to a second sector of a cell of a base station operated by a second cellular network operator. The first sector and the second sector have different azimuth boresight pointing directions from the base station antenna 100. In some cases, the first sector and the second sector may partially (but not completely) overlap, meaning that a portion of the first sector is also a portion of the second sector. In some embodiments, the first sector and the second sector may each extend approximately 120° in the azimuth plane. In other embodiments, the first sector and the second sector may each extend approximately 90° in the azimuthal plane.

[0068] Figure 6 FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of a base station antenna 200 according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which the radome and various other components of the antenna are omitted. Figure 3 and 6 It can be seen that the base station antenna 200 is very similar to the base station 100, with the only difference being that the two mid-band linear arrays 130-1, 130-2 mounted on the first reflector panel 110-1 of the antenna 100 are omitted and replaced in the antenna 200 with a four-column array 140 of high-band radiating elements 142. The base station antenna 200 also includes four additional RF ports 150, so that each column of radiating elements on each of the reflector panels 110-1, 110-2 is fed by two RF ports 150. In an example embodiment, the high-band radiating elements 142 can be configured to operate in some or all of the 3300-4200 MHz frequency band. In other embodiments, the four-column array 140 of high-band radiating elements 142 can be replaced with a four-column array 130 of mid-band radiating elements 132.

[0069] The four column array 140 (or 130) may include a beamforming array 140 fed by eight of the RF ports 150. The eight RF ports 150 connected to the beamforming array 140 may be connected to eight ports (not shown) on a beamforming radio. The beamforming radio may adjust the magnitude and phase of the subcomponents of the RF signals delivered to each column in the array 140 so that the antenna beams produced by each column constructively combine to form a composite high-band antenna beam 144 having a narrower beamwidth in the azimuth plane, and the antenna beam 144 may also be electronically scanned in the azimuth plane. The beamforming radio may be a time division duplex radio that may produce antenna beams 144 of different shapes on a slot-by-slot basis. Although the generated high-band antenna beam 144 does not cover the entire sector served by the arrays 120-1, 120-2, 140 on the first reflector panel 110-1, the beamforming radio may electronically scan the generated high-band antenna beam 144 to provide coverage anywhere within the sector.

[0070] Fig. 7A and 7B Schematic rear views of exemplary mechanical structures for providing one or more rotatable reflector panels in a base station antenna according to embodiments of the present invention. In each case, the mechanical structure is shown as described above. Figure 2-3 The present invention is implemented in a base station 100 (with the radome 108 removed), and thus further description of the various parts of the base station antenna 100 except for the mechanical structure for rotating the reflector panel will be omitted.

[0071] like Fig. 7A As shown in FIG. 1 , one potential mechanical structure 300 for rotating the reflector panels includes a first rod 310 disposed within a second hollow rod 320. The rods 310, 320 may have any suitable horizontal cross-section, such as a circular, square, or rectangular horizontal cross-section. The first rod 310 is fixedly attached to the rear surface of the first reflector panel 110-1, and the second rod 320 is fixedly attached to the rear surface of the second reflector panel 110-2. Although in FIG. Fig. 7A Although not shown in the drawings, the first rod 310 and the second rod 320 may each be rotatably coupled to the support structure 160. Fig. 7A Radiating elements 122, 132 are shown using dashed lines in FIG. 1 because they are on opposite sides of reflector panels 110-1, 110-2 and are therefore Fig. 7A A first electric motor 330-1 is provided, and a drive shaft 332-1 of the first electric motor 330-1 is attached to the first pole 310 such that rotation of the drive shaft 332-1 causes rotation of the first pole 310. Thus, the first electric motor 330-1 can be activated to directly rotate the first pole 310, which in turn rotates the first reflector panel 110-1 in the azimuthal plane.

[0072] A second electric motor 330-2 is provided, and a drive shaft 332-2 of the second electric motor 330-2 is attached to the second pole 320 via a mechanical linkage 334. The mechanical linkage 334 may include gears, shafts, and other components that transfer the rotational motion of the drive shaft 332-2 of the second electric motor 330-2 to the rotational motion of the second pole 320. Thus, the second electric motor 330-1 may be activated to rotate its drive shaft 332-2, which in turn rotates the second pole 320 via the mechanical linkage 334, thereby causing the second reflector panel 110-2 to rotate in the azimuth plane.

[0073] Although in Fig. 7A Two electric motors 180 are shown, but it should be understood that in other embodiments, a single electric motor 180 may be provided, and a gear system may also be provided that selectively connects the drive shaft of the electric motor 180 to one of the first rod 310 or the second rod 320 to rotate the corresponding first reflector panel 110-1 and second reflector panel 110-2.

[0074] like Figure 7B As shown in FIG. 4 , another potential mechanical structure 400 for rotating the reflector panels 110-1, 110-2 includes a first rod 410 and a second rod 420. The first rod 410 is fixedly attached to the rear surface of the first reflector panel 110-1, and the second rod 420 is fixedly attached to the rear surface of the second reflector panel 110-2. Figure 7B Radiating elements 122, 132 are shown in dashed lines in FIG. 1 because they are on opposite sides of reflector panels 110-1, 110-2 and thus are not shown in FIG. Figure 7B A first electric motor 430-1 is provided, and a drive shaft 432-1 of the first electric motor 430-1 is attached to the first pole 410, such that rotation of the drive shaft 432-1 causes rotation of the first pole 410. Thus, the first electric motor 430-1 can be activated to directly rotate the first pole 410, which in turn rotates the first reflector panel 110-1 in the azimuthal plane. In this embodiment, the first motor 430-1 is mounted above the first reflector panel 110-1.

[0075] A second electric motor 430-2 is provided, and a drive shaft 432-2 of the second electric motor 430-2 is attached to the second rod 420, such that rotation of the drive shaft 432-2 causes rotation of the second rod 420. Thus, the second electric motor 430-2 can be activated to directly rotate the second rod 420, which in turn rotates the second reflector panel 110-2 in the azimuthal plane. The second motor 430-2 is mounted below the second reflector panel 110-2.

[0076] Although the base station antenna 100 includes a cylindrical radome 108 (or at least the front portion of the radome has a semi-cylindrical shape), it should be understood that embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto. Fig. 8A and 8B is a schematic horizontal cross-sectional view of a base station antenna including a radome of different shapes according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0077] like Fig. 8A As shown in , in some embodiments, the radome 108A of the base station antenna according to embodiments of the present invention can have a substantially oval horizontal cross-section. This can advantageously reduce the size of the antenna in the front-to-back or "depth" direction. Since the rotatable reflector panel can be designed to rotate no more than + / -60° in some embodiments, the radome 108A can be used to reduce the overall volume of the base station antenna. Figure 8B As shown in , in other embodiments, a radome 108B having a generally oval horizontal cross-section may be provided except along the rear portion of the radome, which may have a different shape, such as a flat rear wall. The use of radome 108B may further reduce the volume of the base station antenna. Radomes having various other shapes may be used.

[0078] Although the base station according to the embodiment of the present invention discussed above includes a total of two vertically stacked reflector panels, it should be understood that the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the base station antenna may include three or more vertically stacked reflector panels, wherein at least one of the reflector panels and up to all reflector panels are rotatable in the azimuth plane.

[0079] Fig. 9 1 is a flow chart illustrating a method of operating a base station antenna according to some embodiments of the present invention. Fig. 9 The method shown in the flow chart of can be performed using a base station antenna having a longitudinal axis. When the base station antenna is installed for use, the longitudinal axis can extend in a vertical direction and can therefore extend substantially perpendicular to the azimuth plane. The base station antenna includes a first reflector panel and a second reflector panel, the first reflector panel having a first array of radiating elements mounted thereon and the second reflector panel having a second array of radiating elements mounted thereon. The second reflector panel is rotatable relative to the first reflector panel.

[0080] like Fig. 9 As shown, according to these methods, the second reflector panel is rotated relative to the first reflector panel so that the first line of sight pointing direction of the first reflector panel and the second line of sight pointing direction of the second reflector panel point to different directions in the azimuth plane (block 500). A first RF signal is fed to the first array from a first radio device operated by a first cellular network operator (block 510). A second RF signal is fed to the second array from a second radio device operated by a second cellular network operator different from the first cellular network operator (block 520).

[0081] Embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the present invention are shown. However, the present invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be interpreted as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and these embodiments will fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art. Throughout the text, the same numerals represent the same elements.

[0082] It will be understood that although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first element may be referred to as the second element, and similarly, the second element may be referred to as the first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0083] It will be understood that when an element is described as being "on" another element, the element may be directly on the other element, or there may be an intermediate element. Conversely, when an element is described as being "directly on" another element, there are no intermediate elements. It will also be understood that when an element is described as being "connected" or "coupled" to another element, the element may be directly connected or coupled to the other element, or there may be an intermediate element. Conversely, when an element is described as being "directly connected" or "directly coupled" to another element, there are no intermediate elements. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a similar manner (i.e., "between" versus "directly between", "adjacent" versus "directly adjacent", etc.).

[0084] Reference to "substantially" means within + / - 10%, unless expressly defined otherwise. Reference to "about" means within + / - 5%, unless expressly defined otherwise.

[0085] Relative terms, such as "below" or "above" or "upper" or "lower" or "horizontal" or "vertical" may be used herein to describe the relationship of one element, layer or region to another element, layer or region as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that these terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in addition to the orientation depicted in the accompanying drawings.

[0086] The terms used herein are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are also intended to include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that the terms "comprise", "include" and / or "have" when used herein refer to the presence of the described features, operations, elements and / or parts, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, operations, elements, parts and / or their groupings.

[0087] Aspects and elements of all of the embodiments disclosed above may be combined in any manner and / or combined with aspects or elements of other embodiments to provide multiple additional embodiments.

Claims

1. A base station antenna, comprising: a first reflector panel having a first array of radiating elements mounted thereon, the radiating elements of the first array being arranged in at least one vertically extending column; a second reflector panel having a second array of radiating elements mounted thereon; as well as a housing including a radome, the housing surrounding both the first reflector panel and the second reflector panel, wherein the first reflector panel and the second reflector panel are mounted in a vertically stacked arrangement, wherein the second reflector panel is rotatable in an azimuth plane relative to the first reflector panel such that the first array is configured to produce a first antenna beam providing coverage to a first sector and the second array is configured to produce a second antenna beam providing coverage to a second sector, and The second sector partially overlaps with the first sector, but does not completely overlap with the first sector.

2. The base station antenna of claim 1, wherein the first antenna beam has a fixed azimuth beamwidth that provides coverage to the first sector, and the second antenna beam has a fixed azimuth beamwidth that provides coverage to the second sector.

3. The base station antenna of claim 1, wherein the first reflector panel is rotatable about a first axis. The base station antenna of claim 3 , wherein the second reflector panel is rotatable about the first axis.

5. The base station antenna of claim 3, wherein the second reflector panel is rotatable about a second axis that is not colinear with the first axis.

6. The base station antenna according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein the second reflector panel is configured to be rotated at least 30° in the azimuth plane relative to the first reflector panel.

7. The base station antenna of any one of claims 1-5, wherein the first sector extends over approximately 120° in the azimuth plane and the second sector extends over approximately 120° in the azimuth plane.

8. The base station antenna according to any one of claims 1-5, further comprising at least one electric motor configured to rotate the first reflector panel and / or the second reflector panel.

9. The base station antenna of any one of claims 1-8, wherein the first sector is associated with a first cellular network operator and the second sector is associated with a second cellular network operator different from the first cellular network operator.

10. The base station antenna according to any one of claims 1-9, wherein the first reflector panel is fixed relative to the housing, and the second reflector panel is rotatable relative to the housing.

11. The base station antenna according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein the second reflector panel is fixed relative to the housing, and the first reflector panel is rotatable relative to the housing.

12. The base station antenna according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein the first reflector panel and the second reflector panel are both rotatable relative to the housing.

13. The base station antenna of any one of claims 1-12, further comprising a first pole fixedly attached to the first reflector panel and a second pole fixedly attached to the second reflector panel, wherein the first pole extends within an open interior of the second pole.

14. The base station antenna according to any one of claims 1 to 13, further comprising: a first electric motor configured to rotate the first reflector panel; and a second electric motor configured to rotate the second reflector panel.

15. The base station antenna according to any one of claims 1-14, further comprising an electric motor and a gear system, wherein the gear system selectively connects the output shaft of the electric motor to a first rod and a second rod, wherein the first rod is connected to the first reflector panel and the second rod is connected to the second reflector panel.

16. The base station antenna according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the front portion of the radome has a substantially semi-cylindrical shape.

17. A base station antenna according to any one of claims 1-16, wherein the radiating elements of the first array are connected to a first radio frequency ("RF") port, the first RF port is connected to a first radio device, and the radiating elements of the second array are connected to a second RF port, the second RF port is connected to a second radio device.

18. The base station antenna according to any one of claims 1-17, further comprising a support structure and a first pole rotatably coupled to the support structure.

19. The base station antenna of any one of claims 1-18, wherein the second array is a multi-column beamforming array configured to produce electronically scanned antenna beams that together provide coverage to the second sector.

20. A method of operating a base station antenna, the base station antenna having a longitudinal axis extending substantially perpendicular to an azimuth plane, the base station antenna comprising: a first reflector panel having a first array of radiating elements mounted thereon; and a second reflector panel having a second array of radiating elements mounted thereon, wherein the second reflector panel is rotatable relative to the first reflector panel, the method comprising: The second reflector panel is rotated relative to the first reflector panel so that a first visual axis pointing direction of the first reflector panel and a second visual axis pointing direction of the second reflector panel point to different directions in the azimuth plane. feeding a first radio frequency ("RF") signal from a first radio operated by a first cellular network operator to the first array; as well as A second RF signal is fed to the second array from a second radio operated by a second cellular network operator different from the first cellular network operator.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the first reflector panel and the second reflector panel are mounted in a vertically stacked arrangement.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the base station antenna further comprises a housing having a radome, the housing surrounding both the first reflector panel and the second reflector panel.

23. A method according to any one of claims 20-22, wherein the first array generates a first antenna beam in response to the first RF signal, the first antenna beam providing coverage to a first sector extending approximately 120° in the azimuth plane, and the second array generates a second antenna beam in response to the second RF signal, the second antenna beam providing coverage to a second sector extending approximately 120° in the azimuth plane, wherein the second sector only partially overlaps with the first sector in the azimuth plane.

24. A method according to any one of claims 20-22, wherein the first RF signal generates a first antenna beam having a fixed azimuth beamwidth so as to cover a first sector of a cell of a cellular network operated by the first cellular network operator, and the second RF signal generates a second antenna beam having a fixed azimuth beamwidth so as to cover a second sector of a cell of a cellular network operated by the second cellular network operator.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the first sector partially overlaps with the second sector.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the first sector extends approximately 120° in the azimuthal plane and the second sector extends approximately 120° in the azimuthal plane.

27. The method of any one of claims 20-26, wherein rotating the second reflector panel relative to the first reflector panel comprises rotating the second reflector panel relative to the first reflector panel using an electric motor.

28. The method of any one of claims 20-27, wherein the first reflector panel is fixed relative to a housing of the base station antenna and the second reflector panel is rotatable relative to the housing.

29. The method according to any one of claims 20-28, wherein the base station antenna comprises a radome, a front portion of the radome having a substantially semi-cylindrical shape.

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