Expandable modular antenna

Abstract

The invention provides an expandable modular antenna, and relates to the technical field of antennae, the expandable modular antenna comprises a substrate, a feed network and a radiation unit, the feed network and the radiation unit are both arranged on the substrate, the feed network is electrically connected with the radiation unit, the feed network comprises a local-stage antenna feed network and a cascade feed network, the antenna feed network is a feed network of the antenna radiation unit, the cascade feed network is a feed network for cascade connection, and a plurality of antennas are connected through the cascade feed network when forming an array. The cascaded feed network is integrally arranged in the antenna, and the antenna array is formed only through a lead wire, so that compared with a traditional mode that an independent power divider is used or array connection is performed on the same antenna substrate, the limitation of the space size of a traditional array antenna can be avoided, the installation is more flexible, and the antenna array is more compact. And the antennas can be cascaded at any required position, so that the reading completeness of the tag is ensured.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of antenna technology, and in particular to an expandable modular antenna. Background Art

[0002] Antennas are an indispensable part of wireless systems and are mainly responsible for sending and receiving electromagnetic wave signals in wireless communication systems.

[0003] A single antenna is not suitable for all usage environments due to its limited lobe width. The designed array antenna has a large overall size and low flexibility. This is because traditional antenna cascades are generally connected through PCB boards, power dividers and other structures, which makes the antenna unable to move at will and difficult to design adaptively according to needs.

[0004] Therefore, the current direction of technological development is to design an antenna that is low-cost, highly flexible, high-gain, suitable for most scenarios, and has a wide radiation range.

[0005] In addition, the traditional reader antenna has no identity tag, and its working status cannot be determined. At the same time, its wiring port needs to correspond one-to-one with the reader port, and the operation and wiring are complicated. In view of the above defects, this application is proposed. Summary of the invention

[0006] The purpose of the present invention is to provide an expandable modular antenna, which solves the problem of poor flexibility of traditional antenna cascade.

[0007] To solve the above problems, the present invention provides an expandable modular antenna, including a substrate, a feeding network and a radiating unit, wherein the feeding network and the radiating unit are both arranged on the substrate, and the feeding network and the radiating unit are electrically connected, and the feeding network includes a current-level antenna feeding network and a cascade feeding network, wherein the current-level antenna feeding network is a feeding network for the current-level antenna radiating unit, and the cascade feeding network is a feeding network for cascading, and when a plurality of antennas are arrayed, they are connected through the cascade feeding network.

[0008] By forming an array in this way, the limitations of traditional array antennas on space size can be avoided, and the installation is more flexible. The antennas can be cascaded at any required location to ensure the integrity of tag reading.

[0009] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the substrate includes a PCB substrate 1, a dielectric interlayer and a PCB substrate 2 which are arranged in sequence. A lightweight dielectric interlayer is preferably used, which can provide better support for the double-layer PCB board and reduce the size of the antenna.

[0010] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the radiation unit includes a radiation patch, and the radiation patch is arranged on a first PCB substrate.

[0011] Optionally, the antenna feeding network at this stage and the cascade feeding network are arranged on the second PCB substrate and are located on the same surface or different surfaces.

[0012] The radiating unit base material adopts PCB substrate, which ensures the miniaturization of the antenna while ensuring low cost.

[0013] Furthermore, the radiation unit is connected to the feeding network via a feeding pin.

[0014] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a guiding structure unit is arranged around the radiation unit, the guiding structure unit comprises a guiding frame and a guiding unit, and the guiding units are arranged in a plurality of groups and are arranged on the periphery of the guiding frame.

[0015] Preferably, the guiding frame is a square guiding frame, the guiding units are rectangular guiding units, and the guiding units are arranged in four groups or other numbers.

[0016] A square guiding frame and four rectangular guiding units are added to the periphery of the antenna radiation unit to play a guiding role.

[0017] Furthermore, the width range of the square guiding frame and the rectangular guiding unit is 3±0.5 mm, at which time the antenna maintains an optimal radiation range when the gain reaches a maximum value.

[0018] Furthermore, the rectangular director unit length range is 100±5mm, and the antenna performance is optimal.

[0019] Furthermore, the distance between the rectangular guiding unit and the square guiding frame is in the range of 2±0.2 mm, and the antenna performance is optimal.

[0020] Furthermore, the distance between the square guide frame and the radiation unit is in the range of 4.5±0.2 mm, and the antenna performance is optimal.

[0021] It should be noted that the above-mentioned size range can be changed in other embodiments and can be adaptively adjusted according to the antenna size, and is not limited to the above-mentioned size range.

[0022] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the expandable modular antenna also includes an identity self-identification module to solve the problem that the traditional antenna has no identity tag and the operation and wiring are complicated.

[0023] Preferably, the self-identification module includes an RFID tag, which is arranged on the second PCB substrate and is located on the same layer as the feeding network. The tag information can be read through the near-field radiation of the antenna itself, thereby realizing self-identification.

[0024] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the second PCB substrate is provided with a metal ground, and a short-circuit metal column is connected between the radiation patch and the metal ground to avoid the influence of static electricity.

[0025] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the antenna feeding network at this stage adopts a constant amplitude feeding network with a phase difference of 90°, thereby ensuring good circular polarization performance of the antenna; and the cascade feeding network adopts a constant amplitude power division network.

[0026] The beneficial effect of the present invention is that by integrating a cascade feeding network in the antenna, the antenna array only needs to be connected through wires and wires. Compared with the traditional method of using independent power dividers or connecting arrays on the same antenna substrate, the problem of traditional array antennas being limited by space size can be avoided, and the installation is more flexible. The antenna can be cascaded at any required position to ensure the integrity of tag reading;

[0027] By setting up the self-identification module for identity recognition, there is no need to match the antenna and the reader port, and no need to record. It can be calibrated to match its application scenario through its own ID information, which is faster and more convenient to use. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] The present invention is further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0029] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the expandable modular reader antenna;

[0030] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the feeding network and the location of the self-identification module;

[0031] Figure 3 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of an expandable modular reader antenna;

[0032] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the cascade connection of multiple antennas;

[0033] Figure 5 It is the return loss curve of the expandable modular reader antenna;

[0034] Figure 6 It is the gain curve diagram of the expandable modular reader antenna at different frequencies;

[0035] Figure 7 It is the axial ratio curve diagram of the expandable modular reader antenna at different frequencies;

[0036] Figure 8 Radiation pattern of the expandable modular reader antenna.

[0037] In the figure: 1- feeding network at this level; 2- PCB substrate one; 3- guiding unit; 4- radiating patch; 5- guiding frame; 6- short-circuit metal column; 7- feeding needle; 8- dielectric interlayer; 9- PCB substrate two; 10- cascade feeding network; 11- metal ground; 12- RFID tag; 13- feeding line; 14- RF connecting line; 15- connecting line. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] The following description is only used to disclose the present invention so that those skilled in the art can implement the present invention. The embodiments described below are only for example, and those skilled in the art can think of other obvious variations. The basic principles of the present invention defined in the following description can be applied to other embodiments, variations, improvements, equivalents, and other solutions that do not deviate from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0039] [Example 1]

[0040] An expandable modular antenna can be used in the field of modular reader antennas in the UHF band, such as Figure 1-Figure 3 , including a substrate, a feeding network and a radiation unit, wherein the substrate includes a PCB substrate 1 2, a dielectric interlayer 8 and a PCB substrate 2 9 which are arranged in sequence, and a lightweight dielectric interlayer 8 is used to provide support for the double-layer PCB board and reduce the size of the antenna, and the radiation unit base material adopts a PCB substrate, while ensuring a low cost, and also ensuring the miniaturization of the antenna, such as a size of only 150*150*10mm, which is relatively small.

[0041] The antenna is designed in coordination with the feeding network through the radiation patch, preferably using a differential feeding network, and is designed to be circularly polarized, so as to achieve better reading effect when applied to UHF band circularly polarized reader antenna.

[0042] The feeding network and the radiation unit are both arranged on the substrate, wherein the radiation unit includes a radiation patch 4, and the radiation patch 4 is printed on the upper surface of the PCB substrate 2.

[0043] In order to expand the good performance of the antenna in the application environment, this solution adds a cascade feeding network, which can connect multiple antenna units in series through RF connecting lines in a more complex environment, which can greatly improve the radiation range of the antenna and save the antenna port of the reader.

[0044] Specifically, the feeding network includes a current-stage antenna feeding network 1 and a cascade feeding network 10. The current-stage antenna feeding network 1 is a feeding network for the current-stage antenna radiation unit, and the cascade feeding network 10 is a feeding network for cascading. When a plurality of antennas are arrayed, they are connected through the cascade feeding network 10. The current-stage antenna feeding network 1 and the cascade feeding network 10 are printed on the upper surface of the PCB substrate 2 9, and a same-layer printing setting is adopted, so that the port of the current-stage antenna feeding network 1 is connected to the port of the cascade feeding network 10.

[0045] The antenna feeding network 1 at this level adopts a constant amplitude feeding network with a phase difference of 90°, which ensures good circular polarization performance of the antenna; the cascade feeding network 10 adopts a constant amplitude power division network.

[0046] The radiating unit is connected to the antenna feeding network 1 at this level via a feeding pin 7 .

[0047] The lower surface of the PCB substrate 9 is a metal ground 11, and the center of the radiation patch 4 is connected to the center of the metal ground 11 of the feeding network through a metal short-circuit column 6 to avoid static electricity.

[0048] When cascading, the specific installation method is as follows Figure 4 , connect the feed line 13 of the antenna at this level to an output port of the cascade feeding network 10, and connect another antenna to another output port of the cascade feeding network 10 through a radio frequency connecting line 15. The overall feeding of the antenna array is completed through a connecting line 14 connected to the input port of the cascade feeding network 10.

[0049] By integrating a cascade feeding network 10 in the antenna, the antenna array only needs to be connected through wires and cables. Compared with the traditional method of using PCB boards for connection, the traditional array antenna can avoid being limited by the spatial size, and the installation is more flexible. The antenna can be cascaded at any required location to ensure the integrity of the tag reading.

[0050] [Example 2]

[0051] On the basis of Example 1, in this embodiment, Figure 1 A guiding structure unit is arranged around the radiation unit, and the guiding structure unit includes a guiding frame 5 and a guiding unit 3. The guiding frame 5 is a square guiding frame, and the guiding unit 3 is a rectangular guiding unit. Four groups of guiding units 3 are arranged on the outside of the guiding frame 5, and the guiding frame 5 is arranged on the periphery of the radiation unit.

[0052] By adding guiding branches, the gain and radiation range of the antenna are greatly improved.

[0053] A square guiding frame and four rectangular guiding units are added to the periphery of the antenna radiation unit to play a guiding role, increasing the antenna gain by 1.2dBi and the 3dB lobe width by 12°, and increasing the antenna radiation width by nearly 1.1m when the reading distance is 5m.

[0054] In this embodiment, the width range of the square guiding frame and the rectangular guiding unit is 3±0.5 mm. At this time, the antenna maintains the best radiation range when the gain reaches the maximum value.

[0055] The length range of the rectangular director unit is 100±5mm, and the antenna performance is optimal.

[0056] The distance between the rectangular guiding unit and the square guiding frame is in the range of 2±0.2mm, and the antenna performance is optimal.

[0057] The distance between the square director frame and the radiating element is in the range of 4.5±0.2mm, and the antenna performance is optimal.

[0058] Taking the UHF wide beam expandable modular reader antenna as an example, the return loss curve of this solution is as follows: Figure 5 As shown, the gain curves at different frequencies are as follows Figure 6 As shown, the axis ratio curves at different frequencies are as follows Figure 7 As shown, the radiation pattern is Figure 8 As shown, the above data show that the antenna has better performance.

[0059] [Example 3]

[0060] Based on Example 1 or 2, in this embodiment, the expandable modular antenna also includes an identity self-identification module, which includes an RFID tag 12. The RFID tag 12 is arranged on a PCB substrate 9 and is located on the same layer as the feeding network. The tag information can be read through the near-field radiation of the antenna itself, thereby realizing identity self-identification.

[0061] The identity self-identification module is used to perform self-identification, locate and calibrate the application environment of the reader antenna, and then the reader end can be used to identify whether a certain level of antenna is in working condition.

[0062] When the modular antenna is used as an independent antenna, it can be calibrated through its own self-identification module, and the independent ID of the antenna can represent the application scenario. In the traditional RFID system, the reader antenna in each application environment needs to correspond to the output port of the reader one by one, and a memo should be kept. In this solution, through the setting of the self-identification module, the antenna and the reader port do not need to correspond or record, and can be calibrated by matching their own ID information with their application scenario.

[0063] The combination of embodiments 1-3 forms a modular reader antenna for use in the UHF band with self-identification, low cost, high gain, flexible installation, and a wide radiation range.

[0064] Those skilled in the art should understand that the embodiments of the present invention described above and shown in the accompanying drawings are only examples and do not limit the present invention. The purpose of the present invention has been fully and effectively achieved. The functional and structural principles of the present invention have been demonstrated and explained in the embodiments, and the embodiments of the present invention may be deformed and modified in any way without departing from the principles.

Claims

1. An expandable modular antenna, characterized in that: The invention comprises a substrate, a feeding network and a radiating unit, wherein the feeding network and the radiating unit are both arranged on the substrate, the feeding network and the radiating unit are electrically connected, the feeding network comprises a current-stage antenna feeding network (1) and a cascade feeding network (10), the current-stage antenna feeding network (1) is a feeding network for the current-stage antenna radiating unit, the cascade feeding network (10) is a feeding network for cascading, and when a plurality of antennas are arrayed, they are connected via the cascade feeding network (10).

2. The expandable modular antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that: The substrate comprises a PCB substrate one (2), a dielectric interlayer (8) and a PCB substrate two (9) which are arranged in sequence.

3. The expandable modular antenna according to claim 2, characterized in that: The antenna feeding network (1) at this stage and the cascade feeding network (10) are arranged on the same layer on the substrate.

4. The expandable modular antenna according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: A guiding structure unit is arranged around the radiation unit, the guiding structure unit comprising a guiding frame (5) and a guiding unit (3), and the guiding units (3) are arranged in a plurality of groups and are arranged on the periphery of the guiding frame (5).

5. The expandable modular antenna according to claim 4, characterized in that: The guide frame (5) is a square guide frame, and the guide unit (3) is a rectangular guide unit.

6. The expandable modular antenna according to claim 5, characterized in that: The guide units (3) are arranged in four groups, the width range between the square guide frame and the rectangular guide unit is 3±0.5 mm, the length range of the rectangular guide unit is 100±5 mm, the distance range between the rectangular guide unit and the square guide frame is 2±0.2 mm, and the distance range between the square guide frame and the radiation unit is 4.5±0.2 mm.

7. The expandable modular antenna according to any one of claims 1-3, 5 and 6, characterized in that: The expandable modular antenna also includes an identity self-identification module.

8. The expandable modular antenna according to claim 7, characterized in that: The self-identification module comprises an RFID tag (12), and the RFID tag (12) is arranged at the same layer as the feeding network.

9. The expandable modular antenna according to claim 2, characterized in that: The radiation unit comprises a radiation patch (4), the radiation patch (4) being arranged on a first PCB substrate (2), the second PCB substrate (9) being provided with a metal ground (11), and a short-circuit metal column (6) being connected between the radiation patch (4) and the metal ground (11).

10. The expandable modular antenna according to claim 8, characterized in that: The antenna feeding network (1) at this stage adopts a constant amplitude feeding network with a phase difference of 90°, and the cascade feeding network (10) adopts a constant amplitude power division network.

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