Cavity slot antenna device and wireless communication device

Abstract

The present invention relates to an antenna arrangement comprising a low band, LB, cavity slot antenna and a high band, HB, cavity slot antenna on a single dielectric substrate. The LB cavity slot antenna includes an LB resonant cavity and one or more 3D slots extending through a top surface and side surfaces of the LB resonant cavity. The HB cavity slot antenna includes an HB resonant cavity and one or more 2D slots extending through a top surface of the HB resonant cavity. Each of the LB cavity slot antenna and the HB cavity slot antenna may be fed by one or more feed elements. The antenna arrangement can operate efficiently in both HB and LB of the radio spectrum. Due to the one or more 3D slots, the size of the LB cavity slot antenna can be reduced (without influencing the performance of the antenna device), so that the antenna device can be integrated in the shell of the handheld electronic equipment.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to the field of antennas radiating radio waves. In particular, the present invention relates to a cavity slot antenna device for operating in a high band (HB) and a low band (LB) of the radio spectrum, and to a wireless communication device. Background Art

[0002] Electronic devices often include different antennas that support wireless communications in different frequency bands (e.g., cellular bands). To meet consumer demand for compact and aesthetically pleasing electronic devices, device manufacturers continue to work to miniaturize antennas. At the same time, device manufacturers also work to ensure that the antennas operate effectively in one or more frequency bands of interest and do not interfere with nearby circuitry in the electronic device. For example, small antennas or antennas shaped to fit within the limited enclosure of an electronic device may exhibit poor performance or generate radio frequency interference if care is not taken.

[0003] Currently, antenna arrays in handheld electronic devices are very limited in size (e.g., 22×3×1 mm3). The limited size places strict requirements on the size of the antenna array. This requirement can be particularly difficult to meet for non-planar cavity slot antennas (also known as cavity-backed slot antennas). In turn, the miniaturization of the antenna can also lead to some problems, such as limited performance, low isolation, and poor cross-polarization ratio.

[0004] Therefore, there remains a need for cavity slot antennas that are sized to fit within the limited volume of handheld electronic devices while exhibiting suitable performance in different bands of the radio spectrum (eg, HB and / or LB). Summary of the invention

[0005] The summary briefly introduces a series of concepts that will be further described in the detailed description.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a cavity slot antenna that is dimensioned to be integrated into a handheld electronic device (eg, a smartphone) and that is configured to operate efficiently in both the HB and LB of the radio spectrum.

[0007] The above objects are achieved by the features of the independent claims in the attached claims. Further embodiments and examples are apparent from the dependent claims, the detailed description and the drawings.

[0008] According to a first aspect, an antenna device is provided. The antenna device includes a dielectric substrate, and a LB antenna element and a HB antenna element arranged adjacent to each other on the dielectric substrate. The LB antenna element includes a LB resonant cavity and one or more LB feeding elements coupled to the LB resonant cavity. The LB resonant cavity has a top surface, a side surface, and one or more slots extending through each of the top surface and the side surface of the LB resonant cavity. The HB antenna element includes a HB resonant cavity and one or more HB feeding elements coupled to the HB resonant cavity. The HB resonant cavity has a top surface, a side surface, and one or more slots extending through the top surface of the HB resonant cavity. The antenna device configured in this way can operate efficiently in both HB and LB of the radio spectrum. In addition, since the LB resonant cavity is provided with one or more 3D slots each extending through the top surface and the side surface of the LB resonant cavity, the size of the LB antenna element can be reduced (without affecting the performance of the antenna device), and thus the size of the entire antenna device can be reduced, so that the antenna device can be integrated in a limited housing of a handheld electronic device. In addition, this configuration of the antenna device provides smaller surface wave excitation.

[0009] In one embodiment of the first aspect, when the LB resonant cavity is fed by the one or more LB feeding elements, each of the one or more slots of the LB resonant cavity is shaped to generate a tilted polarized electromagnetic (EM) wave or a linearly polarized EM wave, and when the HB resonant cavity is fed by the HB feeding element, each of the one or more slots of the HB resonant cavity is shaped to generate a tilted polarized EM wave or a linearly polarized EM wave. Therefore, by appropriately selecting the shape of the one or more slots of each of the HB resonant cavity and the LB resonant cavity, a desired radiation pattern of the antenna device can be provided. For example, the one or more slots of the HB resonant cavity can be shaped to generate a tilted polarized EM wave, and the one or more slots of the LB resonant cavity can be shaped to generate a linearly polarized EM wave, or vice versa. For another example, the slots of the LB resonant cavity and the HB resonant cavity can be shaped to generate EM waves with the same polarization (i.e., tilted polarization or linear polarization). All of these can make the antenna device more flexible in use.

[0010] In one embodiment of the first aspect, each of the one or more slots of the LB resonant cavity extends through the side surface of the LB resonant cavity perpendicular to the dielectric substrate. Such one or more 3D slots of the LB resonant cavity are easy to implement.

[0011] In one embodiment of the first aspect, each of the one or more slots of the LB resonant cavity reaches the dielectric substrate along the side surface of the LB resonant cavity. In this embodiment, the one or more 3D slots of the LB resonant cavity completely "cut" the side surface on one or more sides of the LB resonant cavity (that is, the LB resonant cavity is "open" on one or more sides). Therefore, the current fed to the LB resonant cavity through one or more LB feeding elements will travel a longer path, thereby making the electrical length of the LB antenna element longer, and thus causing the LB antenna element to resonate at a lower frequency.

[0012] In one embodiment of the first aspect, the one or more slots of the LB resonant cavity include a first linear slot and a second linear slot. Each of the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the LB resonant cavity extends through each of the top surface and the side surface of the LB resonant cavity. The first linear slot and the second linear slot of the LB resonant cavity do not intersect each other. Therefore, different configurations of non-intersecting (e.g., parallel or angled to each other without intersecting) 3D slots can be provided in the LB resonant cavity, thereby changing the performance characteristics of the antenna device. All of these can make the antenna device more flexible in use.

[0013] In one embodiment of the first aspect, the one or more slots of the HB resonant cavity include a first linear slot and a second linear slot. Each of the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the HB resonant cavity extends through the top surface of the HB resonant cavity. The first linear slot and the second linear slot of the HB resonant cavity do not intersect each other. Therefore, different configurations of non-intersecting (e.g., parallel or angled to each other without intersecting) 2D slots can be provided in the HB resonant cavity, thereby changing the performance characteristics of the antenna device. All of these can make the antenna device more flexible in use.

[0014] In one embodiment of the first aspect, the one or more slots of the LB resonant cavity include a first linear slot and a second linear slot. Each of the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the LB resonant cavity extends through each of the top surface and the side surface of the LB resonant cavity. The first linear slot and the second linear slot of the LB resonant cavity intersect each other. Therefore, different configurations of intersecting 3D slots can be provided in the LB resonant cavity, thereby changing the performance characteristics of the antenna device. All of these can make the antenna device more flexible in use.

[0015] In one embodiment of the first aspect, the first straight slot and the second straight slot of the LB resonant cavity form a 3D cross slot. By using a 3D cross slot, linearly polarized EM waves or tilted polarized EM waves can be generated more efficiently in the LB of the radio spectrum.

[0016] In one embodiment of the first aspect, the one or more LB feeding elements of the LB antenna element are coupled to the LB resonant cavity near the intersection of the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the LB resonant cavity. By this operation, the electrical length of the LB antenna element can be made even longer, thereby further moving the resonant frequency of the LB antenna element downward in the radio spectrum.

[0017] In an embodiment of the first aspect, each of the one or more slots of the HB resonant cavity comprises a first linear slot and a second linear slot. Each of the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the HB resonant cavity extends through the top surface of the HB resonant cavity. The first linear slot and the second linear slot of the HB resonant cavity intersect each other. Therefore, different configurations of intersecting 2D slots can be provided in the HB resonant cavity, thereby changing the performance characteristics of the antenna device. All of these can make the antenna device more flexible in use.

[0018] In one embodiment of the first aspect, the first straight slot and the second straight slot of the HB resonant cavity form a 2D cross slot. By using a 2D cross slot, linearly polarized EM waves or tilted polarized EM waves can be generated more efficiently in the HB of the radio spectrum.

[0019] In one embodiment of the first aspect, the one or more HB feeding elements of the HB antenna element are coupled to the HB resonant cavity near the intersection of the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the HB resonant cavity. Through this operation, the electrical length of the HB antenna element can be made longer (that is, the current path along the top surface of the HB resonant cavity is longer), thereby further reducing the resonant frequency of the HB antenna element (which may be beneficial in some HB usage scenarios).

[0020] In an embodiment of the first aspect, the antenna device comprises an LB antenna element array and an HB antenna element array. The LB antenna element array comprises the LB antenna elements, and the HB antenna element array comprises the HB antenna elements. The LB antenna element array and the HB antenna element array do not overlap each other. Therefore, the LB antenna element can be combined with a similar (e.g., in terms of design and / or performance characteristics) LB antenna element and the HB antenna element can be combined with a similar (e.g., in terms of design and / or performance characteristics) HB antenna element in the same antenna device.

[0021] In an embodiment of the first aspect, the antenna device comprises an LB antenna element array and an HB antenna element array. The LB antenna element array comprises the LB antenna elements, and the HB antenna element array comprises the HB antenna elements. The LB antenna element array and the HB antenna element array are interlaced. Therefore, the LB antenna element can be combined with other (e.g., in terms of design and / or performance characteristics) LB antenna elements and the HB antenna element can be combined with other (e.g., in terms of design and / or performance characteristics) HB antenna elements in the same antenna device.

[0022] In an embodiment of the first aspect, the LB antenna element array and the HB antenna element array are arranged in a staggered arrangement. By using the staggered arrangement of the LB antenna element array and the HB antenna element array, the antenna device can be made more compact.

[0023] In one embodiment of the first aspect, the orientations of the LB antenna element and the HB antenna element are different from each other. The orientation of the antenna means the radiation direction of the antenna. Therefore, the different orientations of the LB antenna element and the HB antenna element mean that their radiation will propagate differently (i.e., along different radiation directions), which may be beneficial in some usage scenarios.

[0024] In one embodiment of the first aspect, each of the LB resonant cavity and the HB resonant cavity has a cubic shape or a cylindrical shape. Therefore, a different shape can be selected for each of the LB resonant cavity and the HB resonant cavity, which can make the antenna device more flexible in use.

[0025] In an embodiment of the first aspect, the LB antenna element can operate in a frequency range of 24.25 GHz to 29.5 GHz, and the HB antenna element can operate in a frequency range of 37 GHz to 43.5 GHz. Therefore, the antenna device can be used in different LB usage scenarios and HB usage scenarios.

[0026] In one embodiment of the first aspect, the LB resonant cavity and the HB resonant cavity are of equal size. This can make the antenna device more compact. In addition, since the HB resonant cavity and the LB resonant cavity have similar sizes, higher directivity of the HB antenna vibrator can be achieved.

[0027] In one embodiment of the first aspect, the LB resonant cavity is smaller or larger than the HB resonant cavity. By changing the size of the LB resonant cavity (and / or the HB resonant cavity), the size of the entire antenna device can be adjusted to the limited volume available for the antenna device in the housing of the handheld electronic device.

[0028] According to a second aspect, a wireless communication device is provided. The wireless communication device comprises the antenna device of the first aspect, and a transceiver connected to the antenna device. By using the antenna device, the wireless communication device can efficiently support wireless communication (e.g., using wireless communication services) in the HB and LB of the radio spectrum. In addition, assuming that the antenna device can occupy a relatively small volume within the wireless communication device (due to one or more 3D gaps of the LB antenna element), there is no need to significantly increase the size of the wireless communication device.

[0029] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon viewing the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] The present invention is explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0031] Figure 1A and Figure 1B Different views of the antenna device provided by the first embodiment are shown, namely: Figure 1A shows a top view of the antenna device, Figure 1B An isometric view of the antenna arrangement is shown;

[0032] Figure 2 Shown included in Figure 1A and Figure 1B An enlarged isometric view of the LB antenna element in the antenna arrangement;

[0033] Figure 3 Shown included in Figure 1A and Figure 1B A possible implementation example of the HB antenna element in the antenna device;

[0034] Figure 4 A top view of an antenna device provided by a second embodiment is shown;

[0035] Figure 5 A top view of an antenna device provided by a third embodiment is shown;

[0036] Figure 6 A top view of an antenna device provided by a fourth embodiment is shown;

[0037] Figure 7 A top view of an antenna device provided in a fifth embodiment is shown;

[0038] Fig. 8A and Figure 8B Shown for Figure 5 The experimental results obtained with the antenna device are: Fig. 8A shows the dependence of the S parameters on frequency, Figure 8B The dependence of the cross-polarization ratio (XPR) on frequency is shown;

[0039] Fig. 9 A schematic block diagram of a wireless communication device provided by an embodiment is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] Various embodiments of the present invention are further described in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention can be embodied in many other forms and should not be construed as being limited to any specific structure or function disclosed in the following description. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided to describe the present invention in detail and completely.

[0041] Based on the detailed description, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the scope of the present invention includes any embodiment of the present invention disclosed herein, whether the embodiment is implemented independently or in combination with any other embodiment of the present invention. For example, the apparatus disclosed herein can be implemented in practice by using any number of embodiments provided herein. In addition, it should be understood that any embodiment of the present invention can be implemented using one or more features set forth in the appended claims.

[0042] The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an illustration.” Any embodiment described herein as “exemplary” is not to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments unless otherwise stated.

[0043] For convenience, any positioning terms such as "left", "right", "top", "bottom", "above", "below", "up", "down", "horizontal", "vertical", etc. may be used herein to describe the relationship of an element or feature to one or more other elements or features according to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the positioning terms are intended to include different orientations of the devices disclosed herein, as well as one or more orientations depicted in the accompanying drawings. For example, if the device in the figure is rotated 90 degrees clockwise, the elements or features described as "left" and "right" relative to other elements or features will be oriented as "above" and "below" the other elements or features, respectively. Therefore, the positioning terms used herein should not be interpreted as any limitation to the present invention.

[0044] Although numerical terms such as "first," "second," "third," and "fourth" may be used herein to describe various embodiments and features, these embodiments and features should not be limited by the numerical terms. The numerical terms are only used to distinguish one feature or embodiment from another. For example, the first gap and the second gap discussed herein may be renamed as the second gap and the first gap, respectively, without departing from the teachings of the present invention.

[0045] In the present invention, the term "antenna device" may refer to a device for radiating and receiving radio waves. Radio waves may refer to a type of electromagnetic radiation that occurs in different frequency bands of the radio spectrum (for example, in the centimeter wave (cm-wave) and millimeter wave (mm-wave) bands). For example, radio waves have been used in wireless communications, such as point-to-point communications, inter-satellite links, and point-to-multipoint communications. However, the application of radio waves is not limited to wireless communications, and they can also be used for example (in the air, on the ground or at sea) vehicle navigation and control, road obstacle detection, etc. Therefore, the antenna device according to the embodiments disclosed herein can be used in the same usage scenarios as radio waves. More specifically, the antenna device can be implemented as a part of user equipment (UE), which can refer to wireless customer premises equipment (CPE) (e.g., wireless router, switch, etc.), mobile device, mobile station, terminal, subscriber unit, mobile phone, cellular phone, smart phone, cordless phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless communication device, desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet computer, single-board computer (SBC) (e.g., Raspberry Pi device), gaming device, netbook, smartbook, ultrabook, medical device or medical equipment, biometric sensor, wearable device (e.g., smart watch, smart glasses, smart wristband, etc.), entertainment device (e.g., audio player, video player, etc.), vehicle component or sensor (e.g., driver assistance system), smart meter / sensor, unmanned vehicle (e.g., industrial robot, quadcopter, etc.) and its components (e.g., self-driving car computer), industrial manufacturing equipment, global positioning system (global positioning system) system, GPS) device, Internet-of-Things (IoT) device, Industrial IoT (IIoT) device, machine-type communication (MTC) device, a group of massive IoT (MIoT) or massive MTC (mMTC) devices / sensors, or any other suitable device that operates using radio waves. In some embodiments, a UE may refer to at least two collocated and interconnected UEs as defined above.

[0046] The antenna scheme of the prior art may include only one bulky antenna instead of two different types of antenna elements. Some slot antennas may use different feeding types, such as substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW), coaxial feeding, or ideal feeding. For example, the coaxial feeding element used to feed the slot antenna may not be implemented at millimeter wave frequencies due to pitch limitations. In addition, the antenna scheme of the prior art may require additional components (such as parasitic resonators) to improve antenna performance.

[0047] To the best of knowledge, the prior art does not disclose an antenna arrangement that would include a combination of cavity slot antennas for simultaneous operation in different bands of the radio spectrum (eg, HB and LB).

[0048] The embodiments disclosed herein provide a technical solution that can mitigate or even eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantages that are specific to the prior art. Specifically, the embodiments disclosed herein relate to an antenna device, which includes an LB cavity slot antenna and an HB cavity slot antenna on a single dielectric substrate. The LB cavity slot antenna includes an LB resonant cavity and one or more 3D slots extending through the top surface and side surface of the LB resonant cavity. The HB cavity slot antenna includes an HB resonant cavity and one or more 2D slots extending through the top surface of the HB resonant cavity. Each of the LB cavity slot antenna and the HB cavity slot antenna can be fed by using one or more feeding elements. The antenna device configured in this way can operate efficiently in both HB and LB of the radio spectrum. In addition, due to the presence of one or more 3D slots, the size of the LB cavity slot antenna can be reduced (without affecting the performance of the antenna device), and thus the entire antenna device can be reduced, so that the antenna device can be integrated into a limited housing of a handheld electronic device (e.g., a smartphone).

[0049] Figure 1A and Figure 1B 1 shows different views of the antenna device 100 provided by the first embodiment. More specifically, Figure 1A 1 shows a top view of the antenna device 100, and Figure 1B An isometric view of the antenna device 100 is shown. Figure 1A and Figure 1B As shown, the antenna device 100 includes a dielectric substrate 102, and an LB antenna element 104 and an HB antenna element 106 arranged adjacent to each other on the dielectric substrate 102. Figure 1A and Figure 1BThe dielectric substrate 102 is shown as a plane to avoid being too complicated. However, it is assumed that the dielectric substrate 102 can also extend upward, for example, to the top of each of the LB antenna element 104 and the HB antenna element 106 (that is, the LB antenna element 104 and the HB antenna element 106 can be at least partially embedded in the dielectric substrate 102). As the dielectric substrate 102, a liquid crystal polymer (LCP) or a printed circuit board (PCB) substrate can be used. In some embodiments, the dielectric substrate 102 can have a ground layer on its back side, which is opposite to the surface on which the LB antenna element 104 and the HB antenna element 106 are arranged. It should also be noted that the antenna device 100 can also be coated with a dk element from the top to reduce the size of the LB antenna element 104 and the HB antenna element 106. For example, the Dk element can be represented by plastic, ceramic, or an artificial dielectric layer (ADL) (ADL provides a way to increase the dielectric constant (dk) of plastic by adding small patches that produce additional capacitance). The LB antenna element 104 and the HB antenna element 106 are cavity slot antennas designed to operate in the LB and HB of the radio spectrum, respectively. For example, the LB may correspond to a frequency range of 24.25 GHz to 29.5 GHz, while the HB may correspond to a frequency range of 37 GHz to 43.5 GHz. The antenna device 100 may be used for both end-fire radiation and side-fire radiation.

[0050] LB antenna element 104 includes LB resonant cavity 108, and HB antenna element 106 includes HB resonant cavity 110. LB resonant cavity 108 has a cross-shaped slot 112 formed therein, and HB resonant cavity 110 has a cross-shaped slot 114 formed therein. Slot 112 extends through the top surface and side surfaces of LB resonant cavity 108, while slot 114 extends only through the top surface of HB resonant cavity 110. Therefore, slot 112 may be referred to as a "3D slot", while slot 114 may be referred to as a "2D slot". Each of slots 112 and 114 may be considered as a combination of two vertical slots and a horizontal slot, which intersect each other at right angles to form a cross.

[0051] The LB antenna element 104 further includes four feeding elements 116 coupled to the LB resonant cavity 108, and the HB antenna element 106 further includes four feeding elements 118 coupled to the HB resonant cavity 110. Figure 1BAs shown, each of the feed elements 116 is implemented as extending within the LB resonant cavity 108 and coupled to a leg of the LB resonant cavity 108 near the intersection of the horizontal slot and the vertical slot that form the 3D slot 112. Similarly, each of the feed elements 118 is implemented as extending within the HB resonant cavity 110 and coupled to a leg of the HB resonant cavity 110 near the intersection of the horizontal slot and the vertical slot that form the 2D slot 114. However, such implementation of the feed elements 116 and 118 should not be interpreted as any limitation to the present invention; in some other embodiments, the feed elements 116 and 118 can be coupled to the outside of the LB resonant cavity 108 and the HB resonant cavity 110, respectively. Each of the feed elements 116 and 118 can also be coupled to a current source (at the other end), for example, through a microstrip line and / or a waveguide (e.g., a coplanar waveguide) extending through the dielectric substrate 102. When the LB antenna element 104 and the HB antenna element 106 are differentially fed through the feeding elements 116 and 118, respectively (see Figure 1A This will cause each of the 3D slots 112 and the 2D slots 114 to generate a tilted polarized EM wave (tilted polarization in Figure 1A Schematically shown as an elliptical dotted line in FIG.

[0052] For each of the LB antenna element 104 and the HB antenna element 106, the slot and cavity dimensions should be approximately λg / 2, where λg is the wavelength in the medium or the waveguide wavelength, typically λg=λg / Sqrt(dk), where dk is the dielectric constant of the medium or plastic in which the LB antenna element 104 and the HB antenna element 106 are placed. Assuming that the LB resonant cavity 108 and the HB resonant cavity 110 are the same size, the slot dimensions a and b are equal to 1.75 mm and 2.25 mm, respectively. For the LB antenna element 104, the height h (see Figure 1B ) is also part of the gap size. The height h is assumed to be 0.8 mm. Therefore, the total length of each of the horizontal and vertical gaps forming the 3D gap 112 is, for example, 2.25+0.8×2=3.85 mm. The total length of each of the horizontal and vertical gaps forming the 2D gap 114 is equal to a. Typically, the total length of the 3D gap 112 can be, for example, between λg / 4 and λg, and therefore, the 3D gap 112 should have a width s lower than λg / 2 (for example, in this numerical example, s can be equal to 0.5 mm). The resonance can be tuned by modifying the size of the 3D gap 112 or folding the 3D gap 112 along the wall of the LB resonant cavity 104.

[0053] Figure 2An enlarged isometric view of the LB antenna element 104 included in the antenna device 100 is shown. It can be seen that the 3D slot 112 of the LB antenna element 104 is "folded" along the side surface (i.e., each side wall) of the LB resonant cavity 108 (for this reason, the 3D slot 112 can be referred to as a "folded slot" and the LB antenna element 104 can be referred to as a "folded slot antenna" accordingly). Therefore, unlike the HB resonant cavity 110, the LB resonant cavity 108 is "open" on its side. This "openness" of the HB resonant cavity 110 will result in a longer path for the current fed through the feeding element 116, as shown in FIG. Figure 2 Only one (left) "folded portion" of the 3D slot 112 is schematically shown with an arrow. This in turn will make the LB antenna element 104 electrically longer, causing it to resonate at a lower frequency. With this configuration of the LB antenna element 104, the HB resonance is avoided. Both tilted polarization and linear polarization can be excited in the same band. Therefore, filtering may not be required. Due to the reduced size of the LB antenna element 104 (due to the 3D slot), the two antenna elements can be approximately the same size (see Figure 1A and Figure 1B ). In view of this, a higher directivity of the HB antenna element 106 can be achieved. In addition, if an LPC / PCB substrate is used, its width even with 2.5 mm is sufficient to obtain good antenna performance. In comparison, the width and height of the cavity slot antenna of the prior art can be almost twice the width and height of the antenna device 100.

[0054] Although each of the LB resonant cavity 108 and the HB resonant cavity 110 has Figure 1A and Figure 1B In the figure, the LB resonant cavity 108 and the HB resonant cavity 110 are shown as having a cubic shape, but this should not be construed as any limitation to the present invention. In another embodiment, each of the LB resonant cavity 108 and the HB resonant cavity 110 may have a cylindrical shape, that is, a circular cross section in a top view thereof.

[0055] Similarly, Figure 1A and Figure 1B The LB resonant cavity 108 and the HB resonant cavity 110 are shown to be approximately the same size simply to emphasize the miniaturization advantage provided by using the 3D (folded) slot 112 in the LB resonant cavity 108. However, in some other embodiments, the LB resonant cavity 108 and the HB resonant cavity 110 may have different sizes (e.g., any one of the parameters a, b, s, and / or h may be smaller for the LB resonant cavity 108 compared to the HB resonant cavity 110).

[0056] Other embodiments are possible, wherein the 3D slot 112 is at a different angle (not equal to 90 degrees, such as Figure 1AAB) extends through the side surface of the LB resonant cavity 108, and / or wherein the orientations of the LB antenna element 104 and the HB antenna element 106 are different from each other. In the case of different orientations, each of the LB antenna element 104 and the HB antenna element 106 will have a different radiation direction, which may be beneficial in some usage scenarios.

[0057] In general, the antenna device 100 can exhibit the following performance characteristics: For LB beams, the tilt can be ±45 degrees and for HB beams, the tilt can be ±40 degrees. The beam may be more tilted, but grating lobes may appear. The design of the antenna device 100 can achieve less surface wave excitation. Therefore, a more uniformly distributed E field is provided, thereby improving the radiation pattern.

[0058] Figure 3 FIG. 1 shows a possible embodiment of the HB antenna element 106 included in the antenna device 100. It should be noted that the LB antenna element 104 can be implemented in a similar manner. Figure 3 As shown, the HB resonant cavity 110 of the HB antenna element 106 can be made of a patterned layer array 300 stacked on each other. Each patterned layer in the patterned layer array 300 (except the top patterned layer 302) is configured as a rectangular (e.g., square) planar frame so that when the patterned layers are stacked on each other, a (hollow) interior of the HB resonant cavity 110 is formed. The top patterned layer 302 is shaped to form a 2D gap 114. Obviously, when the LB resonant cavity 108 of the antenna element 104 is manufactured in this way, the shaping of the patterned layer arranged below the top layer 302 should also take into account the 3D (folded) gap 112. Each patterned layer in the patterned layer array 300 can be made of a conductive material (e.g., metal). In order to ensure that the patterned layers are rigidly fixed to each other, pins 304 (e.g., rivets, bolts, etc.) can be used, and each pin 304 can pass through an alignment hole formed in a patterned layer in the patterned layer array 300.

[0059] Figure 44 shows a top view of an antenna device 400 provided in the second embodiment. Similar to the antenna device 100, the antenna device 400 includes a dielectric substrate 402, and an LB antenna element 404 and an HB antenna element 406 arranged adjacent to each other on the dielectric substrate 402. The dielectric substrate 402 can be implemented similarly to the dielectric substrate 102. The LB antenna element 404 and the HB antenna element 406 are cavity slot antennas designed to work in LB and HB of the radio spectrum, respectively. The LB antenna element 404 includes a LB resonant cavity 408, and the HB antenna element 406 includes a HB resonant cavity 410. Each of the LB resonant cavity 408 and the HB resonant cavity 410 can be made of a conductive material (e.g., metal) on an LCP or PCB substrate used as the dielectric substrate 402. The antenna device 400 differs from the antenna device 100 in the shape of a 3D slot 412 extending through the top surface and side surface of the LB resonant cavity 408 and a 2D slot 414 extending through the top surface of the HB resonant cavity 410. Specifically, each of the 3D slots 412 and the 2D slots 414 is an anvil cross (a cross pattern) (which is an example of a cross shape). In addition, the LB antenna element 404 includes four feeding elements 416 coupled to the LB resonant cavity 408, and the HB antenna element 406 also includes four feeding elements 418 coupled to the HB resonant cavity 410. The feeding elements 416 and 418 can be implemented similarly to the feeding elements 116 and 118, respectively. Similarly, when the LB antenna element 404 and the HB antenna element 406 are differentially fed by the feeding elements 416 and 418, respectively, this will cause each of the 3D slots 412 and the 2D slots 414 to generate a tilted polarized EM wave (tilted polarization in Figure 4 Schematically shown as an elliptical dotted line in FIG.

[0060] Figure 51 shows a top view of an antenna device 500 provided in a third embodiment. Similar to the antenna devices 100 and 400, the antenna device 500 includes a dielectric substrate 502, and an LB antenna element 504 and an HB antenna element 506 arranged adjacent to each other on the dielectric substrate 502. The dielectric substrate 502 can be implemented similarly to the dielectric substrate 102. The LB antenna element 504 and the HB antenna element 506 are cavity slot antennas designed to operate in the LB and HB of the radio spectrum, respectively. The LB antenna element 504 includes an LB resonant cavity 508, and the HB antenna element 506 includes an HB resonant cavity 510. Each of the LB resonant cavity 508 and the HB resonant cavity 510 can be made of a conductive material (e.g., metal) on an LCP or PCB substrate used as the dielectric substrate 502. Antenna device 500 differs from antenna devices 100 and 400 in the shape of 3D slots 512 extending through the top and side surfaces of LB resonant cavity 508 and 2D slots 514 extending through the top surface of HB resonant cavity 510. Specifically, each of 3D slots 512 and 2D slots 514 is in the form of a sideways cross or an X-cross. In addition, LB antenna element 504 includes four feeding elements 516 coupled to LB resonant cavity 508, and HB antenna element 506 also includes four feeding elements 518 coupled to HB resonant cavity 510. Feeding elements 516 and 518 can be implemented similarly to feeding elements 116 and 118, respectively. Due to the shapes of the 3D slot 512 and the 2D slot 514, when the LB antenna element 504 and the HB antenna element 506 are differentially fed through the feeding elements 516 and 518, respectively, this will cause each of the 3D slots 512 and the 2D slots 514 to generate a linearly polarized EM wave (linear polarization at Figure 5 Schematically shown as an elliptical dotted line in FIG.

[0061] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention is not limited to the shape of the slots in the LB resonant cavity and the HB resonant cavity being a cross. Figure 1A , Figure 1B , Figures 2 to 5 As shown in . In some embodiments, the slots may use other cross shapes, such as a Maltese cross, an alisee pattee cross, etc. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the cross shape of the slots in the LB resonant cavity and the HB resonant cavity. For example, any other configuration of two or more intersecting slots in each of the LB resonant cavity and the HB resonant cavity may be used, such as a Y-shaped 3D slot in the LB resonant cavity and a Y-shaped 2D slot in the HB resonant cavity. In addition, each of the LB resonant cavity and the HB resonant cavity may have two or more non-intersecting slots (for example, parallel to each other or at a certain angle to each other but not intersecting).

[0062] It should also be noted that the number of feeding elements used to feed each of the LB and HB resonant cavities may vary depending on the specific application. For example, even one feeding element may be used to feed each of the LB and HB resonant cavities.

[0063] Figure 6 1 shows a top view of an antenna device 600 provided in a fourth embodiment. Similar to the antenna devices 100, 400 and 500, the antenna device 600 includes a dielectric substrate 602, and an LB antenna element 604 and an HB antenna element 606 arranged adjacent to each other on the dielectric substrate 602. The dielectric substrate 602 can be implemented similarly to the dielectric substrate 102. The LB antenna element 604 and the HB antenna element 606 are both cavity slot antennas designed to operate in the LB and HB of the radio spectrum, respectively. The LB antenna element 604 includes an LB resonant cavity 608, and the HB antenna element 606 includes an HB resonant cavity 610. Each of the LB resonant cavity 608 and the HB resonant cavity 610 can be made of a conductive material (e.g., metal) on an LCP or PCB substrate used as the dielectric substrate 602. Antenna device 600 differs from antenna devices 100, 400, and 500 in the shapes of 3D slots 612 extending through the top and side surfaces of LB resonant cavity 608 and 2D slots 614 extending through the top surface of HB resonant cavity 610. Specifically, each of 3D slots 612 and 2D slots 614 is in the form of a straight line. In addition, antenna device 600 is characterized in that LB antenna element 604 includes two feeding elements 616 coupled to LB resonant cavity 608, and HB antenna element 606 includes two feeding elements 618 coupled to HB resonant cavity 610. Feeding elements 616 and 618 can be implemented similarly to feeding elements 116 and 118, respectively. Due to the shapes of the 3D slot 612 and the 2D slot 614, when the LB antenna element 604 and the HB antenna element 606 are differentially fed through the feeding elements 616 and 618, respectively, this will cause each of the 3D slot 612 and the 2D slot 614 to generate a linearly polarized EM wave (linear polarization at Figure 6 Schematically shown as an elliptical dotted line in FIG.

[0064] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention is not limited to linear shapes of the slots in the LB and HB resonant cavities. Figure 6 In some embodiments, the gaps of the LB resonant cavity and the HB resonant cavity can be shaped into any curve (eg, arc, C, U, etc.).

[0065] Figure 7 FIG. 4 shows a top view of an antenna device 700 provided in the fifth embodiment. Figure 7As shown, the antenna device 700 includes a dielectric substrate 702 (e.g., an LCB or PCB substrate), and an array of staggered LB antenna elements 104 and HB antenna elements 106 arranged on the dielectric substrate 702. The antenna elements 104 and 106 are shown only by way of example, and any combination of the above-mentioned antenna elements 104, 106, 404, 406, 504, 506, 604 and 606 can be used in the antenna device 700. Although the array of staggered LB antenna elements 104 and HB antenna elements 106 is shown as a 1D array, this should not be understood as any limitation of the present invention; in some other embodiments, the array of staggered LB antenna elements 104 and HB antenna elements 106 can be in the form of a matrix. In addition, if necessary and depending on the specific application, the LB antenna elements 104 and HB antenna elements 106 can be provided in a staggered arrangement. At the same time, LB antenna elements 104 and HB antenna elements 106 should not necessarily be interleaved; instead, the array may be divided into two non-overlapping sub-arrays, each including either LB antenna elements 104 or HB antenna elements 106.

[0066] Fig. 8A and Figure 8B 2 shows experimental results obtained for the antenna device 500. More specifically, Fig. 8A shows the dependence of the S parameters on frequency, Figure 8B The dependence of the cross-polarization ratio (XPR) on the frequency is shown. In order to obtain these experimental results, the dielectric substrate 502 of the antenna device 500 is provided with a rectangular ground layer on its back side. S parameters are well known in the art, so their description is omitted here. Fig. 8A and Figure 8B As shown, the design of antenna device 500 can improve XPR and isolation for linear polarization. Since the current is aligned with the rectangular ground plane, the XPR and isolation for linear polarization are improved. It should be noted that for the tilted polarization provided by antenna device 100, the isolation and XPR will not be as good, but the tilted polarization and linear polarization provided by antenna devices 100 and 500, respectively, will have the same performance and radiation pattern.

[0067] Fig. 9 1 shows a schematic block diagram of a wireless communication device 900 provided by an embodiment. The wireless communication device 900 may be implemented as a part of a UE (eg, a smart phone) or as a single device. Fig. 9 As shown, the apparatus 900 includes a transceiver 902 and an antenna 904. The antenna 904 may be implemented as any one of the antenna apparatuses 100, 400 to 700. The transceiver 902 is configured to perform wireless communication with another UE by using the antenna 904.

[0068] Although embodiments of the present invention are described herein, it should be noted that any various changes and modifications may be made in embodiments of the present invention without departing from the scope of legal protection defined by the appended claims. In the appended claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or operations, and the term "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. The listing of certain measures in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be effectively used.

Claims

1. An antenna device, characterized in that: include: dielectric substrate; A low-band (LB) antenna element is arranged on the dielectric substrate, the LB antenna element comprises an LB resonant cavity and one or more LB feeding elements coupled to the LB resonant cavity, the LB resonant cavity has a top surface, a side surface, and one or more slots extending through each of the top surface and the side surface of the LB resonant cavity; A high-band (HB) antenna element is arranged adjacent to the LB antenna element on the dielectric substrate, wherein the HB antenna element includes an HB resonant cavity and one or more HB feeding elements coupled to the HB resonant cavity, wherein the HB resonant cavity has a top surface, a side surface, and one or more slots extending through the top surface of the HB resonant cavity.

2. The antenna device according to claim 1, characterized in that When the LB resonant cavity is fed by the one or more LB feeding elements, each of the one or more slots of the LB resonant cavity is shaped to generate a slanted polarized electromagnetic (EM) wave or a linearly polarized EM wave, and when the HB resonant cavity is fed by the HB feeding elements, each of the one or more slots of the HB resonant cavity is shaped to generate a slanted polarized EM wave or a linearly polarized EM wave.

3. The antenna device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: Each of the one or more slots of the LB resonant cavity extends through the side surface of the LB resonant cavity perpendicular to the dielectric substrate.

4. The antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: Each of the one or more slots of the LB resonant cavity reaches the dielectric substrate along the side surface of the LB resonant cavity.

5. The antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The one or more slots of the LB resonant cavity include a first linear slot and a second linear slot, each of the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the LB resonant cavity extending through each of the top surface and the side surface of the LB resonant cavity, wherein the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the LB resonant cavity do not intersect each other.

6. The antenna device according to claim 5, characterized in that The one or more slots of the HB resonant cavity include a first linear slot and a second linear slot, each of the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the HB resonant cavity extending through the top surface of the HB resonant cavity, wherein the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the HB resonant cavity do not intersect each other.

7. The antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The one or more slots of the LB resonant cavity include a first linear slot and a second linear slot, each of the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the LB resonant cavity extending through each of the top surface and the side surface of the LB resonant cavity, wherein the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the LB resonant cavity intersect each other.

8. The antenna device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The first straight line slot and the second straight line slot of the LB resonant cavity form a 3D cross slot.

9. The antenna device according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that: The one or more LB feeding elements of the LB antenna element are coupled to the LB resonant cavity near the intersection of the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the LB resonant cavity.

10. The antenna device according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that: Each of the one or more slots of the HB resonant cavity includes a first linear slot and a second linear slot, and each of the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the HB resonant cavity extends through the top surface of the HB resonant cavity, wherein the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the HB resonant cavity intersect each other.

11. The antenna device according to claim 10, characterized in that: The first straight line slot and the second straight line slot of the HB resonant cavity form a 2D cross-shaped slot.

12. The antenna device according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that: The one or more HB feeding elements of the HB antenna element are coupled to the HB resonant cavity near the intersection of the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the HB resonant cavity.

13. The antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that: The invention comprises an LB antenna element array and a HB antenna element array, wherein the LB antenna element array comprises the LB antenna element, and the HB antenna element array comprises the HB antenna element, wherein the LB antenna element array and the HB antenna element array do not overlap with each other.

14. The antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that: It comprises an LB antenna element array and a HB antenna element array, wherein the LB antenna element array comprises the LB antenna element, and the HB antenna element array comprises the HB antenna element, wherein the LB antenna element array and the HB antenna element array are staggered.

15. The antenna device according to claim 14, characterized in that: The LB antenna element array and the HB antenna element array are arranged in a staggered arrangement.

16. The antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that: The LB antenna element and the HB antenna element are oriented differently from each other.

17. The antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that: Each of the LB resonant cavity and the HB resonant cavity has a cubic shape or a cylindrical shape.

18. The antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that: The LB antenna element can operate in a frequency range of 24.25 GHz to 29.5 GHz, and the HB antenna element can operate in a frequency range of 37 GHz to 43.5 GHz.

19. The antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 18, characterized in that: The LB resonant cavity and the HB resonant cavity are equal in size.

20. The antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 18, characterized in that: The LB resonant cavity is smaller than or larger than the HB resonant cavity.

21. A wireless communication device, characterized in that: include: The antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 20; A transceiver is connected to the antenna arrangement.

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