Calibration network and antenna system

Abstract

The invention provides a calibration network and an antenna system, and relates to the technical field of antenna communication, the calibration network comprises a power divider, and an oscillation circuit and a plurality of directional couplers which are connected with the power divider; the power divider comprises a first port and a plurality of second ports; the oscillating circuit is connected to the first port; the directional couplers are connected to the corresponding second ports; the oscillating circuit is connected with the antenna driver to protect the antenna driver; the directional coupler comprises a coupling part and a connecting port connected with the coupling part, and the connecting port is used for being connected with an antenna; wherein the coupling part of each directional coupler is provided with a short-circuit wire, one end of the short-circuit wire is connected with the coupling part, the other end of the short-circuit wire is grounded, and the short-circuit wire is used for protecting the circuit of the antenna. According to the calibration network and the antenna system provided by the invention, the antenna can be kept stable in extreme weather such as high-power radiation of a user in a peak period or thunderstorm, so that the communication quality of the antenna is ensured.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of antenna communication, and in particular to a calibration network and an antenna system. Background Art

[0002] As people's demand for information volume and speed increases, communication technology also needs to be constantly upgraded. In order to enhance customer satisfaction, it is an important indicator requirement for base station antennas to enable the antenna to radiate high power stably during peak hours or extreme weather. The calibration network is an important component of smart antennas. It can shape antenna signals into different beams according to user needs to improve signal utilization.

[0003] At present, the calibration networks on smart antennas are mostly open structures with relatively simple structures. They have poor stability under high-power radiation or extreme weather conditions such as thunderstorms, which affects the communication quality. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of this, an object of the present invention is to provide a calibration network and an antenna system to alleviate the above technical problems.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a calibration network, comprising: a power divider, and an oscillator circuit and a plurality of directional couplers connected to the power divider; wherein the power divider comprises a first port and a plurality of second ports; the oscillator circuit is connected to the first port; each of the directional couplers is connected to the corresponding second port; the oscillator circuit is connected to an antenna driver to protect the antenna driver; the directional coupler comprises a coupling portion, and a connection port connected to the coupling portion, the connection port being used to connect to an antenna; wherein the coupling portion of each of the directional couplers is configured with a short-circuit line, one end of the short-circuit line is connected to the coupling portion, and the other end is grounded; the short-circuit line is used to protect the antenna line.

[0006] In combination with the first aspect, the embodiment of the present invention provides a first possible implementation of the first aspect, wherein the short-circuit line is a 1 / 4 wavelength short-circuit line.

[0007] In combination with the first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a second possible implementation of the first aspect, wherein the connection port of the upper directional coupler includes a first connection port and a second connection port; the first connection port is connected to the inside of the antenna, and the second connection port is connected to the antenna port.

[0008] In combination with the first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a third possible implementation of the first aspect, wherein the power divider is a one-to-eight power divider.

[0009] In combination with the first aspect, the embodiment of the present invention provides a fourth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, wherein the power divider is a Wilkinson power divider.

[0010] In combination with the first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a fifth possible implementation of the first aspect, wherein the above-mentioned oscillation circuit is an LC oscillation circuit; and the oscillation circuit includes a calibration port and a connection port, and an oscillation circuit arranged between the calibration port and the connection port; the calibration port is connected to the power divider, and the connection port is connected to the antenna driver.

[0011] In combination with the fifth possible implementation of the first aspect, the embodiment of the present invention provides a sixth possible implementation of the first aspect, wherein a first capacitor is configured at a connection point between the calibration port and the power divider.

[0012] In combination with the fifth possible implementation of the first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a seventh possible implementation of the first aspect, wherein the above-mentioned oscillation circuit includes a first capacitor unit, a discharge tube and a second capacitor unit; between the calibration port and the connection port, the first capacitor unit, the discharge tube and the second capacitor unit are arranged in sequence.

[0013] In combination with the seventh possible implementation of the first aspect, the embodiment of the present invention provides an eighth possible implementation of the first aspect, wherein the first capacitor unit and the second capacitor unit include capacitors connected in parallel.

[0014] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an antenna system, wherein the antenna system is configured with the calibration network described in the first aspect.

[0015] The embodiments of the present invention bring the following beneficial effects:

[0016] The calibration network and antenna system provided by the embodiments of the present invention include a power divider, an oscillator circuit and multiple directional couplers connected to the power divider in the calibration network; wherein the power divider includes a first port and multiple second ports; the oscillator circuit is connected to the first port; each directional coupler is connected to the corresponding second port; the oscillator circuit is connected to the antenna driver to protect the antenna driver; the directional coupler includes a coupling part, and a connection port connected to the coupling part, the connection port is used to connect to the antenna; wherein the coupling part of each directional coupler is configured with a short-circuit line, one end of the short-circuit line is connected to the coupling part, and the other end is grounded, thereby protecting the antenna line, enabling the antenna to radiate high power during peak user periods or remain stable in extreme weather such as thunderstorms, thereby ensuring the communication quality of the antenna.

[0017] Other features and advantages of the present invention will be described in the following description, and partly become apparent from the description, or understood by practicing the present invention. The purpose and other advantages of the present invention are realized and obtained by the structures particularly pointed out in the description, claims and drawings.

[0018] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, preferred embodiments are given below and described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] In order to more clearly illustrate the specific implementation methods of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the specific implementation methods or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some implementation methods of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0020] Figure 1 A structural block diagram of a calibration network provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a power divider provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a directional coupler provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of an oscillation circuit provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a calibration network provided in an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solution of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0026] At present, most calibration networks on smart antennas are simple open structures, and none of them are designed to prevent high power and lightning strikes, resulting in poor stability of smart antennas during high power radiation during peak user periods or in extreme thunderstorm weather. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a calibration network that is lightning-proof and can handle high power to improve the existing technology.

[0027] Based on this, a calibration network and antenna system provided by an embodiment of the present invention can effectively alleviate the above technical problems.

[0028] To facilitate understanding of this embodiment, a calibration network disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention is first introduced in detail.

[0029] In a possible implementation manner, an embodiment of the present invention provides a calibration network, which can be applied to a smart antenna to increase the stability of the smart antenna during peak hours or in extreme weather conditions.

[0030] Specifically, Figure 1 The structural block diagram of a calibration network shown in the figure, the calibration network in the embodiment of the present invention comprises: a power divider 10, and an oscillating circuit 20 and a plurality of directional couplers 30 connected to the power divider 10; wherein, Figure 1 Two directional couplers are used as an example for explanation. The specific number of directional couplers can be set according to the ports of the power divider, or according to the actual usage. The embodiment of the present invention does not limit this.

[0031] Furthermore, the power divider 10 includes a first port and a plurality of second ports; the oscillation circuit 20 is connected to the first port; and each directional coupler 30 is connected to the corresponding second port.

[0032] The oscillator circuit 20 and the antenna driver ( Figure 1 The directional coupler 30 includes a coupling portion 301, and a connection port connected to the coupling portion, the connection port is used to connect to the antenna ( Figure 1 ) connection.

[0033] The coupling part 301 of each directional coupler 30 is provided with a short-circuit line 302 , one end of the short-circuit line 302 is connected to the coupling part, and the other end is grounded; and the short-circuit line is used to protect the antenna line.

[0034] Furthermore, the antenna in the embodiment of the present invention refers to a smart antenna, such as a bidirectional antenna installed at a base station, etc., and the antenna driver refers to an antenna electrical adjustment controller, also known as an RCU (Remote Control Unit, RCU) module.

[0035] In actual use, the above-mentioned calibration network in the embodiment of the present invention is usually arranged on a substrate, such as a double-sided copper-clad PCB (Printed Circuit Board), on the surface of which the circuit board of the calibration network is printed, and the upper and lower layers can be connected by through holes, etc. At the same time, the above-mentioned short-circuit line can be directly connected to the ground wire of the substrate, so as to protect the inside of the antenna and the circuits on the substrate in high-power radiation environments or extreme weather conditions such as lightning.

[0036] Therefore, the calibration network provided by the embodiment of the present invention includes a power divider, an oscillator circuit and multiple directional couplers connected to the power divider in the calibration network; wherein the power divider includes a first port and multiple second ports; the oscillator circuit is connected to the first port; each directional coupler is connected to the corresponding second port; the oscillator circuit is connected to the antenna driver to protect the antenna driver; the directional coupler includes a coupling part, and a connecting port connected to the coupling part, and the connecting port is used to connect to the antenna; wherein the coupling part of each directional coupler is configured with a short-circuit line, one end of the short-circuit line is connected to the coupling part, and the other end is grounded, thereby protecting the antenna line, so that the antenna can radiate high power during peak user periods or remain stable in extreme weather such as thunderstorms, thereby ensuring the communication quality of the antenna.

[0037] In actual use, the short-circuit line is a 1 / 4 wavelength short-circuit line. The coupling portion of the directional coupler is usually a straight-through coupling device. The connection port of the directional coupler includes a first connection port and a second connection port, which are respectively arranged at both ends of the straight-through coupler, and the first connection port is connected to the inside of the antenna, and the second connection port is connected to the antenna port. In actual use, the second connection port connected to the antenna port is also called the coupling port of the calibration network, and the first connection port connected to the inside of the antenna is also called the isolation port, which can be connected to the network inside the antenna.

[0038] In actual use, each port of the antenna can read the amplitude and phase information of the antenna through the coupling port connected to the calibration network, so as to perform beamforming on the antenna according to user needs.

[0039] Furthermore, the power divider in the embodiment of the present invention is a one-to-eight power divider, and the above-mentioned first port is usually used as the input port of the power divider, and the multiple second ports are usually used as output ports of the power divider. Taking the one-to-eight power divider as an example, there are usually eight second ports, and each second port is connected to a directional coupler.

[0040] More specifically, the power divider in the embodiment of the present invention is a Wilkinson power divider, which can achieve consistent power distribution of the eight second ports.

[0041] For ease of understanding, Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a power divider is shown, Figure 2 As shown, it includes a first port 101 and eight second ports 102 .

[0042] further, Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a directional coupler is also shown, including a coupling portion 301, a short circuit line 302, a first connection port 303, a second connection port 304, and a third connection port 305 for connecting to a power divider. In addition, since the power divider is a one-to-eight power divider, eight directional couplers are also included in the calibration network.

[0043] Further, the oscillation circuit in the embodiment of the present invention is an LC oscillation circuit; for ease of understanding, Figure 4 A schematic diagram of an oscillating circuit is also shown, wherein the oscillating circuit includes a calibration port and a connection port, and an oscillating circuit arranged between the calibration port and the connection port; the calibration port is connected to the power divider, and the connection port is connected to the antenna driver. Figure 4 In FIG. 2 , a calibration port 201 and a connection port 202 are shown.

[0044] In actual use, the above-mentioned calibration port is also called a CAL port, and the above-mentioned connection port is also called a T port.

[0045] Furthermore, a first capacitor is disposed at the connection point between the calibration port and the power divider, and the function of the first capacitor is to block direct current and pass alternating current.

[0046] Furthermore, the oscillation circuit in the embodiment of the present invention includes a first capacitor unit, a discharge tube and a second capacitor unit; the first capacitor unit, the discharge tube and the second capacitor unit are arranged in sequence between the calibration port and the connection port.

[0047] Further, the first capacitor unit and the second capacitor unit in the embodiment of the present invention include capacitors connected in parallel. For ease of description, Figure 4 , two parallel capacitors C2 and C3 are included in the first capacitor unit, and two parallel capacitors C4 and C5 are included in the second capacitor unit, wherein the first capacitor unit and the second capacitor unit mainly function to isolate the DC, and, Figure 4 Also shown is a discharge tube F1, which can be used to protect the antenna driver when there is a high-power current at the calibration port.

[0048] Further, in Figure 2 to Figure 4 On the basis of Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a calibration network is also shown, wherein Figure 5 In FIG. 5 , the outermost box represents the substrate 500. Figure 5 The copper-covered boundary 501 is also shown in the figure, that is, the area outside the copper-covered boundary 501 is the copper-covered area, and the inside of the copper-covered boundary 501 is the line of the calibration network.

[0049] in, Figure 5 The middle position is the oscillation circuit. Figure 4 The structure, Figure 5 A first capacitor C1 is also shown in the figure. The first capacitor C1 is arranged at the connection between the oscillation network and the power divider.

[0050] In addition to the above structure, Figure 5 The grounding resistor R1 and the isolation resistor R2 are further shown in FIG. Figure 5 As shown, the eight second ports 102 in the embodiment of the present invention are divided into four groups, and the connection points of the two second ports 102 in each group are arranged opposite to each other, that is, Figure 5 In the figure, a group of second ports 102 are shown by dashed lines, and the directional couplers connected to the second ports 102 of each group are also symmetrically arranged relative to the output port of the power divider. An isolation resistor R2 is arranged between the two second ports 102 of each group, and the isolation resistor R2 is also called a second resistor. The isolation resistor in the embodiment of the present invention is mainly used to absorb the reflected signal and prevent the reflected signal from crosstalking between the ports, thereby improving the stability and performance of the entire system.

[0051] At the same time, the grounding resistor R1 is arranged between each directional coupler and the copper-clad area. The grounding resistor R1 is also called a first resistor and is used to achieve the function of directional coupling.

[0052] Further, if Figure 5 As shown, an isolation resistor R2 is also provided at the separation position of the second port 102 of each group, and an isolation resistor R2 is also provided at the separation position from the first port to the second port of the power divider.

[0053] Therefore, based on Figure 5 The calibration network shown in the embodiment of the present invention can use eight directional couplers, and the calibration port (CAL port) can correct the phase difference and amplitude from each receiving (transmitting) channel of the antenna to each column of the antenna port surface, which can optimize the directivity and signal reception quality of the antenna array, thereby improving the overall performance of the communication system.

[0054] Furthermore, by adding a 1 / 4 wavelength short-circuit line at the coupling part of each directional coupler and utilizing the characteristics of the 1 / 4 short-circuit line, which is equivalent to an open circuit, the calibration network can be grounded without affecting the electrical performance of the calibration network. This can protect the inside of the antenna and the substrate circuit in high-power radiation environments and extreme weather conditions such as lightning strikes.

[0055] In summary, the calibration network provided by the embodiment of the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0056] (1) Adding grounding treatment to the short circuit line can eliminate the risk of burning the antenna substrate or circuit board under lightning strike or high-power radiation.

[0057] (2) It has high directivity and strong anti-interference ability.

[0058] (3) Smaller size, simpler structure and lower cost.

[0059] Furthermore, based on the above embodiment, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an antenna system, and the antenna system is configured with the calibration network shown in the above embodiment.

[0060] The antenna system provided in the embodiment of the present invention has the same technical features as the calibration network provided in the above embodiment, so it can also solve the same technical problems and achieve the same technical effects.

[0061] The computer program product for calibrating a network and an antenna system provided in an embodiment of the present invention includes a computer-readable storage medium storing program code. The instructions included in the program code can be used to execute the methods described in the previous method embodiments. The specific implementation can be found in the method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0062] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working process of the antenna system described above can refer to the corresponding process in the aforementioned embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0063] In addition, in the description of the embodiments of the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, and it can be the internal communication of two components. For those skilled in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0064] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present invention, or the part that contributes to the prior art or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including several instructions for a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the methods described in each embodiment of the present invention. The aforementioned storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (ROM, Read-Only Memory), random access memory (RAM, Random Access Memory), disk or optical disk, etc., which can store program codes.

[0065] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc., indicating the orientation or positional relationship, are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention. In addition, the terms "first", "second", and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0066] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only specific implementations of the present invention, which are used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit them. The protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Although the present invention is described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that any person skilled in the art can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the above embodiments within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention, or can easily think of changes, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein; and these modifications, changes or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, and should be included in the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A calibration network, characterized in that: The calibration network includes: a power divider, and an oscillating circuit and a plurality of directional couplers connected to the power divider; Wherein, the power divider comprises a first port and a plurality of second ports; the oscillation circuit is connected to the first port; each of the directional couplers is connected to the corresponding second port; The oscillation circuit is connected to the antenna driver to protect the antenna driver; The directional coupler comprises a coupling portion, and a connection port connected to the coupling portion, wherein the connection port is used to connect to an antenna; Wherein, the coupling part of each directional coupler is configured with a short-circuit line, one end of the short-circuit line is connected to the coupling part, and the other end is grounded; The short-circuit line is used to protect the line of the antenna.

2. The calibration network according to claim 1, characterized in that The short-circuit line is a 1 / 4 wavelength short-circuit line.

3. The calibration network according to claim 1, characterized in that The connection port of the directional coupler includes a first connection port and a second connection port; The first connection port is connected to the inside of the antenna, and the second connection port is connected to the antenna port.

4. The calibration network according to claim 1, characterized in that The power divider is a one-to-eight power divider.

5. The calibration network according to claim 1, characterized in that The power divider is a Wilkinson power divider.

6. The calibration network according to claim 1, characterized in that The oscillation circuit is an LC oscillation circuit; Furthermore, the oscillation circuit includes a calibration port and a connection port, and an oscillation circuit arranged between the calibration port and the connection port; The calibration port is connected to the power divider, and the connection port is connected to the antenna driver.

7. The calibration network according to claim 6, characterized in that A first capacitor is disposed at a connection point between the calibration port and the power divider.

8. The calibration network according to claim 6, characterized in that The oscillation circuit includes a first capacitor unit, a discharge tube and a second capacitor unit; The first capacitor unit, the discharge tube and the second capacitor unit are arranged in sequence between the calibration port and the connection port.

9. The calibration network according to claim 8, characterized in that The first capacitance unit and the second capacitance unit include capacitors connected in parallel.

10. An antenna system, characterized in that: The antenna system is equipped with the calibration network according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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