Flexible waveguide and satellite communication equipment

Abstract

The present application provides a flexible and deformable curved waveguide tube and satellite communication equipment, which relate to the field of radio frequency communication technology, and solve the problem that the transmission loss of the waveguide in the satellite communication equipment increases due to installation errors, thereby affecting the transmission performance. The flexible and deformable curved waveguide tube of the present application can be respectively connected to the signal output module and the signal input module through the first connector and the second connector thereon. Due to the arrangement of multiple annular grooves thereon, the flexible and deformable curved waveguide tube can be flexibly deformed, thereby adapting to a larger installation error between the signal output module and the signal input module, completing the transmission of the radio frequency signal with lower transmission loss, and thus helping to improve the transmission performance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of radio frequency communication technology, and in particular to a flexible and deformable bending waveguide tube and satellite communication equipment. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, in order to meet the increasing demand for communication, monitoring, remote sensing and other applications, the requirements for satellite communication equipment in the field of satellite communication have become increasingly stringent, such as requiring the SSPA (Solid State Power Amplifier), SSPB (Solid State Power Booster), and BUC (Block Up-Converter) in the equipment to be lighter and smaller.

[0003] Satellite communication equipment has many internal functional modules, and their interconnection is relatively complex. In particular, important Ka-band high-power RF signals between functional modules are generally transmitted through waveguides. This requires precise interconnection of each installation interface between waveguides, strict control of cumulative errors, and guaranteed installation position and flatness, so that the transmission loss between waveguides is minimized and the best transmission performance is achieved.

[0004] However, since each functional module is a complex individual, it has certain accumulated mechanical size errors. Coupled with the installation errors of each functional module in SSPA / SSPB / BUC, the relative position accuracy between the waveguide input port and the waveguide output port of each functional module will be very poor, thereby increasing the transmission loss and causing the transmission performance to deteriorate. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present application provides a flexible and deformable curved waveguide tube and satellite communication equipment, which solves the problem that the waveguide in the satellite communication equipment has increased transmission loss due to installation errors, thereby affecting the transmission performance. The flexible and deformable curved waveguide tube of the present application adapts to the installation errors between different modules, thereby realizing the transmission of radio frequency signals between different modules, and has lower transmission loss, which helps to improve the transmission performance.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a flexible and deformable waveguide tube, which includes a waveguide body, a first connector, and a second connector.

[0007] Wherein, both ends of the waveguide body are bent ends bent in the same direction, a plurality of annular grooves are arranged on the outer wall of the waveguide body, and a transmission channel is arranged inside the waveguide body to transmit radio frequency signals; a first connector is arranged at the first end of the waveguide body, the first connector includes a first through hole matching the size of the transmission channel and a plurality of first connection holes for connecting to an external device, and the first through hole is used to transmit radio frequency signals; a second connector is arranged at the second end of the waveguide body, the second connector includes a second through hole matching the size of the transmission channel and a plurality of first connection holes for connecting to an external device, and the second through hole is used to transmit radio frequency signals.

[0008] In a second aspect, the present application also provides a satellite communication device, which includes a signal input module, a signal output module and a flexible deformable waveguide tube as provided in the first aspect above, and the signal input module and the signal output module are connected through the flexible deformable waveguide tube to transmit the radio frequency signal through the flexible deformable waveguide tube.

[0009] The flexible deformable waveguide tube of the present application can be respectively connected to the signal output module and the signal input module through the first connector and the second connector thereon. Due to the arrangement of multiple annular grooves thereon, the flexible deformable waveguide tube can be flexibly deformed, thereby adapting to a larger installation error between the signal output module and the signal input module, completing the transmission of the radio frequency signal with a lower transmission loss, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a flexible and deformable bending waveguide provided in one embodiment of the present application;

[0011] Figure 2 A cross-sectional schematic diagram of a flexible and deformable curved waveguide provided in one embodiment of the present application;

[0012] Figure 3 for Figure 2 An enlarged schematic diagram of the circled location.

[0013] Reference numerals:

[0014] The waveguide body 110 , the first connector 120 , the second connector 130 , the annular groove 111 , the first through hole 121 , the first connecting hole 122 , the second through hole 131 , the second connecting hole 132 and the transmission channel 210 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] The embodiments of the present application are further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and examples. It is to be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the embodiments of the present application, rather than to limit the embodiments of the present application. It should also be noted that, for ease of description, only the parts related to the embodiments of the present application rather than all structures are shown in the accompanying drawings, and those skilled in the art should be able to think of it after reading the specification of this application that as long as the technical features do not contradict each other, any combination of the technical features can constitute an optional implementation method.

[0016] The terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of the present application are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchangeable when appropriate, so that the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described here, and the objects distinguished by "first", "second", etc. are generally a class, and the number of objects is not limited. For example, the first object can be one or more. In addition, "and / or" in the specification and claims represents at least one of the connected objects, and the character " / " generally represents that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship. In the description of the present application, "multiple" means two or more, and "several" means one or more.

[0017] In recent years, in order to meet the increasing demand for communication, monitoring, remote sensing and other applications, the requirements for satellite communication equipment in the field of satellite communication have become increasingly stringent, such as requiring its internal components to be lighter and smaller. Satellite communication equipment has many internal functional modules, and their interconnection is relatively complex. Each functional module is a complex individual, and it has a certain mechanical size cumulative error. In addition, the installation error of each functional module in SSPA / SSPB / BUC will cause the relative position accuracy between the waveguide input port and the waveguide output port of each functional module to be very poor, thereby increasing the transmission loss and causing the transmission performance to deteriorate.

[0018] To solve the above problems, one solution provided in the related art is to use a hard waveguide to connect the functional modules inside the device. Although the loss caused by the hard waveguide is small, the rigidity of the hard waveguide is too strong, and it is easy for the hard waveguide to fail to adapt to the accumulated errors between the functional modules, resulting in the hard waveguide being unable to be smoothly installed between the functional modules. Even if the hard waveguide is forcibly installed by enlarging the mounting hole, there are still obvious problems such as waveguide misalignment and waveguide tilt, which brings greater losses and directly affects the transmission of high-power RF signals.

[0019] Another solution is to use a soft waveguide to connect the functional modules inside the device. Although the soft waveguide can adapt to the cumulative error between the functional modules, the loss of the soft waveguide itself is too large. In the transmission scenario of high-power RF signals, the soft waveguide will lose output power, that is, when transmitting RF signals with the same function, a higher output power is required.

[0020] In this regard, the present application provides a flexible deformable curved waveguide tube, which can be applied to satellite communication equipment to transmit radio frequency signals therein. For example, the flexible deformable curved waveguide tube is arranged between a signal input module and a signal output module of the equipment to transmit the radio frequency signal from the signal input module to the signal output module through the flexible deformable curved waveguide tube.

[0021] In one embodiment, the flexible and deformable waveguide tube includes a waveguide body, a first connector, and a second connector. A transmission channel is provided inside the waveguide body to transmit radio frequency signals. It can be understood that the waveguide body is hollow so that a channel for transmitting radio frequency signals can be formed inside it, that is, the above-mentioned transmission channel. Both ends of the waveguide body are curved ends bent in the same direction, that is, both ends of the waveguide body are curved ends bent toward the same side of the waveguide body, for example, the planes of the ports at both ends are parallel to the axial direction of the waveguide body.

[0022] The first connector is disposed at the first end of the waveguide body, and the first connector includes a first through hole, which matches the size of the transmission channel. It is conceivable that the radio frequency signal can also be transmitted through the first through hole of the first connector. In addition, the first connector also includes a plurality of first connection holes, which are used to connect with external devices. For example, if the first end of the flexible and deformable waveguide needs to be connected to a module that generates a radio frequency signal, the first connection hole on the first connector is used as a mounting hole, and then it can be fixed to the module by bolts, nuts, or positioning pins.

[0023] The second connector is arranged at the second end of the waveguide body, and the second connector includes a second through hole, which also matches the size of the transmission channel. It can be imagined that the radio frequency signal can also be transmitted through the second through hole of the second connector. In addition, the second connector also includes a plurality of second connection holes, which are used to connect with external devices. For example, if the second end of the flexible waveguide needs to be connected to a module that receives radio frequency signals, the second connection hole on the second connector is used as a mounting hole, and then it can be fixed to the module by bolts, nuts or positioning pins.

[0024] In addition, a plurality of annular grooves are provided on the outer wall of the waveguide body, and the annular grooves can provide a deformation space for the flexible deformable curved waveguide tube to bend and deform when there is an installation error in the connected module, so that the flexible deformable curved waveguide tube can be deformed to adapt to the connected module, and the transmission loss caused is also small. It can be understood that in an application scenario, the flexible deformable curved waveguide tube is used to connect the signal output module that generates the radio frequency signal and the signal input module that receives the radio frequency signal. If there is an installation error between the signal output module and the signal input module, such as the two are not arranged relative to each other but are offset, the flexible deformable curved waveguide tube provided by the present application can be installed to adapt to the installation error between the two. The flexible deformable curved waveguide tube is connected to the signal output module and the signal input module respectively through the first connector and the second connector thereon. In addition, due to the setting of the plurality of annular grooves thereon, the flexible deformable curved waveguide tube can be flexibly deformed to adapt to the error between the signal output module and the signal input module, thereby transmitting the radio frequency signal between the signal output module and the signal input module with a smaller transmission loss.

[0025] It can be seen that the flexible deformable waveguide tube provided by this solution adapts to the installation errors between different modules, thereby realizing the transmission of radio frequency signals between different modules and having lower transmission loss, which helps to improve the transmission performance.

[0026] In some embodiments, the annular groove is arranged at the maximum flexural deformation point of the waveguide body. It can be understood that the maximum flexural deformation point refers to the position of the maximum flexural deformation or displacement generated under a certain structure or material stress state. For the waveguide body, its maximum flexural deformation point is located in the middle of the waveguide body. For example, 4 annular grooves are arranged at this position, and the depth of each annular groove is greater than or equal to 0.4mm and less than or equal to 0.6mm, and the width of each annular groove is greater than or equal to 1.9mm and less than or equal to 2.1mm. Optionally, in one embodiment, the depth of each annular groove is 0.5mm, and the width of each annular groove is 2mm. In this regard, the annular groove arranged at the maximum flexural deformation point has sufficient width and depth, so that the flexible deformable bending waveguide tube can be more easily flexibly deformed.

[0027] In one embodiment, a plurality of annular grooves are arranged at preset intervals. For example, when there are four annular grooves, the four annular grooves are arranged at preset intervals, so that the bending deformation of the flexible waveguide tube can be increased, thereby adapting to a larger installation error between the signal output module and the signal input module, and completing the transmission of the RF signal with lower transmission loss.

[0028] In some embodiments, the bending radius corresponding to the two ends of the waveguide body is greater than or equal to 14.9 mm and less than or equal to 15.1 mm. It is understandable that the two ends of the waveguide body, as the bending parts of the flexible deformable curved waveguide tube, can have an impact on the performance of the waveguide tube. Optionally, in one embodiment, the bending radius corresponding to the two ends of the waveguide body is 15 mm. The bending radius of the waveguide body of this solution can adapt to the installation error between the signal output module and the signal input module, and can also optimize the performance of the flexible deformable curved waveguide tube.

[0029] Hydrogen embrittlement is prone to occur in materials such as copper and steel. Taking copper as an example, hydrogen embrittlement is caused by the hydrogen atoms adsorbed in copper and copper alloys aggregating to form hydrogen atom clusters under stress, which reduces the toughness of copper materials and makes them easy to break. In this regard, in one embodiment, in order to prevent the flexible deformable curved waveguide from breaking due to hydrogen embrittlement, it is necessary to dehydrogenate the flexible deformable curved waveguide in a vacuum furnace, such as dehydrogenating the waveguide in a vacuum furnace with a vacuum degree greater than or equal to 0.005Pa at a baking temperature of 250°C for 48 hours. That is, the flexible deformable curved waveguide provided in this scheme is a waveguide that has been dehydrogenated for 48 hours at a baking temperature of 250°C in a vacuum furnace with a vacuum degree greater than or equal to 0.005Pa. Therefore, the flexible deformable curved waveguide can eliminate the influence of hydrogen embrittlement, thereby making the device more solid and reliable as a whole.

[0030] In some embodiments, the inner side wall of the flexible deformable bend waveguide tube is also silver-plated so that a silver-plated layer is formed on the inner side wall thereof. It can be understood that a transmission channel is formed inside the flexible deformable bend waveguide tube, that is, there is an inner cavity for transmitting radio frequency signals inside the flexible deformable bend waveguide tube, and a silver-plated layer is formed on the side wall of the inner cavity. The silver-plated layer provided inside the flexible deformable bend waveguide tube can improve the transmission performance of the waveguide and help reduce the loss of radio frequency signals when passing through the flexible deformable bend waveguide tube.

[0031] Figure 1A structural schematic diagram of a flexible deformable curved waveguide tube provided for an embodiment of the present application is shown in the figure. In one embodiment, the flexible deformable curved waveguide tube includes a waveguide body 110, a first connector 120 and a second connector 130. Among them, both ends of the waveguide body 110 are curved ends bent in the same direction, such as the corresponding bending radius of the two ends of the waveguide body 110 is 15mm. A plurality of annular grooves 111 are arranged on the outer wall of the waveguide body 110, and the annular grooves 111 are arranged at the maximum bending deformation point of the waveguide body 110, and the depth of each annular groove 111 is 0.5mm, and the width of each annular groove 111 is 2mm. In addition, the plurality of annular grooves 111 are arranged according to a preset spacing, such as four annular grooves 111. In this regard, based on the annular grooves 111, the flexible deformable curved waveguide tube can produce a larger amount of flexural deformation, thereby adapting to a larger installation error between the signal output module and the signal input module, and completing the transmission of the radio frequency signal with a lower transmission loss.

[0032] A transmission channel (not shown in the figure) is arranged inside the waveguide body 110 to transmit the radio frequency signal. A transmission channel is formed inside the flexible deformable waveguide tube, that is, there is an inner cavity inside the flexible deformable waveguide tube for transmitting the radio frequency signal, and a silver-plated layer is formed on the side wall of the inner cavity to reduce the loss of the radio frequency signal when passing through the flexible deformable waveguide tube.

[0033] The first connector 120 is disposed at the first end of the waveguide body 110, and the first connector 120 includes a first through hole 121 matching the size of the transmission channel and a plurality of first connection holes 122 for connecting with external devices. The second connector 130 is disposed at the second end of the waveguide body 110, and the second connector 130 includes a second through hole 131 matching the size of the transmission channel and a plurality of first connection holes 122 for connecting with external devices.

[0034] It can be imagined that the first through hole 121 and the second through hole 131 are both used to transmit radio frequency signals, and the first connector 120 is used to connect an external device, such as a device that outputs radio frequency signals, through the first connecting hole 122 thereon; the second connector 130 is used to connect another external device, such as a device that receives radio frequency signals, through the second connecting hole 132 thereon, so that the radio frequency signal can be transmitted from one end of the flexible deformable waveguide tube to the other end.

[0035] Moreover, the flexible deformable curved waveguide tube is a waveguide tube that has been subjected to a dehydrogenation treatment, such as a dehydrogenation treatment for 48 hours at a baking temperature of 250°C in a vacuum furnace with a vacuum degree greater than or equal to 0.005Pa. That is, the flexible deformable curved waveguide tube provided by the present scheme is a waveguide tube that has been subjected to a dehydrogenation treatment for 48 hours at a baking temperature of 250°C in a vacuum furnace with a vacuum degree greater than or equal to 0.005Pa.

[0036] After testing the transmission RF signal, the test results are shown in the following table. The corresponding test results include the insertion loss and standing wave ratio of the flexible deformable waveguide of this solution, the hard waveguide in the related technology, and the soft waveguide:

[0037] Flexible waveguide Hard waveguide Flexible waveguide Insertion loss ≤0.2dB ≤2.05dB ≤2dB VSWR ≤1.15 ≤1.33 ≤1.25

[0038] Among them, insertion loss refers to the loss caused when the signal passes through a device, component or connection during the signal transmission process. Insertion loss is usually expressed in decibels (dB). The smaller the value, the smaller the loss and the higher the signal transmission efficiency. The standing wave ratio refers to the ratio of the voltage between the antinode and the trough of the transmission line. When the standing wave ratio is equal to 1, it means that the impedance of the feeder and the antenna is completely matched. At this time, all the high-frequency energy is radiated by the antenna, and there is no reflection loss of energy; when the standing wave ratio is infinite, it means full reflection, and no energy is radiated at all.

[0039] It can be seen that the flexible deformable waveguide tube provided by this solution can adapt to the installation errors between different modules, and can also have better transmission performance and smaller insertion loss, that is, the device can effectively reduce transmission loss and has a good standing wave ratio, which helps to improve transmission performance.

[0040] Figure 2 A cross-sectional schematic diagram of a flexible and deformable curved waveguide provided in an embodiment of the present application, as shown in FIG. Figure 2 As shown, the flexible deformable waveguide tube has a chamber for transmitting radio frequency signals inside, that is, a transmission channel 210 is provided for the radio frequency signal, and both ends of the flexible deformable waveguide tube are bent ends bent in the same direction, such as the two ends bent downward in the figure. In this regard, the flexible deformable waveguide tube is connected to different devices through the first connector 120 and the second connector 130 thereon, thereby providing a channel for transmitting radio frequency signals for devices with installation errors, and transmitting the radio frequency signals with less transmission loss. Figure 3 for Figure 2 The enlarged schematic diagram of the circled position is as follows: Figure 3 As shown, in one embodiment, the bottom of each annular groove 111 is set to a transition fillet, so that the force on the annular groove 111 is more uniform when the flexible deformable bending waveguide tube undergoes flexural deformation, which helps to prevent the flexible deformable bending waveguide tube from breaking.

[0041] The embodiment of the present application also provides a satellite communication device, which includes a signal input module, a signal output module and the above-mentioned flexible deformable curved waveguide tube. The signal input module and the signal output module are connected through the flexible deformable curved waveguide tube to transmit the radio frequency signal through the flexible deformable curved waveguide tube, that is, in the satellite communication device, the signal output module generates a corresponding radio frequency signal, which is then transmitted to the signal input module through the flexible deformable curved waveguide tube. In this regard, the satellite communication device can adapt the installation error between the signal input module and the signal output module through the flexible deformable curved waveguide tube, and has the corresponding effect of the flexible deformable curved waveguide tube, so that the radio frequency signal can be transmitted between the internal modules with a smaller transmission loss, thereby ensuring that the device has good transmission performance.

[0042] It should also be noted that the terms "include", "comprises" or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, commodity or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, commodity or device. In the absence of more restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence "comprises a ..." do not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, commodity or device including the elements.

[0043] Note that the above are only preferred embodiments of the present application and the technical principles used. Those skilled in the art will understand that the present application is not limited to the specific embodiments described herein, and that various obvious changes, readjustments and substitutions can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, although the present application is described in more detail through the above embodiments, the present application is not limited to the above embodiments, and may include more other equivalent embodiments without departing from the concept of the present application, and the scope of the present application is determined by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A flexible waveguide, characterized in that: include: A waveguide body, both ends of the waveguide body are bent toward the same direction, a plurality of annular grooves are arranged on the outer wall of the waveguide body, and a transmission channel is arranged inside the waveguide body to transmit radio frequency signals; A first connector, the first connector is arranged at a first end of the waveguide body, the first connector comprises a first through hole matching the size of the transmission channel and a plurality of first connection holes for connecting with external devices, the first through hole is used to transmit the radio frequency signal; A second connector, the second connector is arranged at the second end of the waveguide body, the second connector includes a second through hole matching the size of the transmission channel and a plurality of first connection holes for connecting to external devices, and the second through hole is used to transmit the radio frequency signal.

2. The flexible waveguide according to claim 1, characterized in that: The annular groove is arranged at the maximum deflection point of the waveguide body, and the depth of each annular groove is greater than or equal to 0.4 mm and less than or equal to 0.6 mm, and the width of each annular groove is greater than or equal to 1.9 mm and less than or equal to 2.1 mm.

3. The flexible waveguide according to claim 2, characterized in that: The depth of each annular groove is 0.5 mm, and the width of each annular groove is 2 mm.

4. The flexible waveguide according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The plurality of annular grooves are arranged at a preset interval.

5. The flexible waveguide according to claim 4, characterized in that: The bottom of each annular groove is configured as a transition fillet.

6. The flexible waveguide according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The corresponding bending radii at both ends of the waveguide body are greater than or equal to 14.9 mm and less than or equal to 15.1 mm.

7. The flexible waveguide according to claim 6, characterized in that: The corresponding bending radius at both ends of the waveguide body is 15 mm.

8. The flexible waveguide according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The flexible and deformable curved waveguide is a waveguide that has been subjected to a dehydrogenation treatment at a baking temperature of 250° C. for 48 hours in a vacuum furnace with a vacuum degree greater than or equal to 0.005 Pa.

9. The flexible waveguide according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The inner side wall of the flexible and deformable bending waveguide tube is provided with a silver-plated layer.

10. A satellite communication device, characterized in that: It comprises a signal input module, a signal output module and a flexible deformable waveguide tube as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the signal input module and the signal output module are connected to each other through the flexible deformable waveguide tube so as to transmit a radio frequency signal through the flexible deformable waveguide tube.

Images