Shaped antenna housing, waveguide antenna structure and radar

Abstract

The invention discloses a shaped radome, a waveguide antenna structure and a radar, and relates to the technical field of antennae, the shaped radome comprises a radome body and a shaped structure, the radome body comprises a flat plate structure and a radome wall surrounding the outer side of the flat plate structure, the flat plate structure and the radome wall are integrally arranged, and the waveguide antenna structure is arranged in the radome body. The flat plate structure is arranged in the accommodating cavity to form an accommodating cavity for accommodating an antenna, when the antenna is mounted in the accommodating cavity, the flat plate structure is used for being located in the extending direction of the antenna, the shaping structure is arranged in the accommodating cavity and fixed on the flat plate structure, and the shaping structure is used for being arranged corresponding to the antenna in the accommodating cavity. Therefore, the directional diagram of the antenna in the accommodating cavity is modulated. According to the technical scheme provided by the invention, the shaping structure is arranged in the accommodating cavity, so that the adjustment of the antenna pattern characteristics by the antenna housing is realized, the overall size is small, the structure is simple, and the manufacturing cost is low.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of antenna technology, and in particular to a shaped antenna cover, a waveguide antenna structure and a radar. Background Art

[0002] Waveguide antennas are widely used in radar detection due to their low loss, high power capacity, compact structure, easy processing and separation. In automotive radar applications, waveguide antennas have become the basic configuration of new generation products due to their low loss. However, with the increase in automotive radar application scenarios and requirements, antenna radiation patterns have also been shaped.

[0003] At present, the main design idea of ​​shaped antenna is to realize the directional pattern shaping by designing the amplitude and phase of the feeding network of the array antenna. However, in practice, if the feeding network and the antenna are in the same plane, the length and width of the radar will increase significantly, and it will affect the radar MIMO array; if the feeding network and the antenna are in different layers, the thickness of the radar will increase significantly, and the antenna processing technology will increase. The difficulty cannot meet the development trend of miniaturization of wireless communication systems. Summary of the invention

[0004] The main purpose of the present invention is to propose a shaped antenna cover, a waveguide antenna structure and a radar, aiming to solve the current problem that the waveguide antenna needs to be shaped, resulting in large design size and difficult processing technology.

[0005] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a shaped antenna cover, comprising:

[0006] A cover body, comprising a flat plate structure and a cover wall surrounding the flat plate structure, wherein the flat plate structure and the cover wall are integrally arranged to form a receiving cavity for receiving the antenna, so that when the antenna is installed in the receiving cavity, the flat plate structure is used to be located in the extension direction of the antenna; and

[0007] A shaping structure is arranged inside the accommodating cavity and fixed on the flat structure. The shaping structure is used to correspond to the antenna arrangement in the accommodating cavity to modulate the directional pattern of the antenna in the accommodating cavity.

[0008] In one embodiment, the shaped structure includes a cylindrical dielectric resonator, a rectangular dielectric resonator, or a hemispherical dielectric resonator.

[0009] In one embodiment, a plurality of the shaping structures are provided, and the plurality of shaping structures are arranged at intervals on the inner side surface of the flat structure corresponding to a plurality of required shaping directions of the antenna.

[0010] In one embodiment, the thickness of the flat plate structure is h 0, the antenna main beam pointing angle is θ, and the guided wavelength of the antenna center frequency in the flat plate structure is λ g , the relative dielectric constant of the flat plate structure is ε r , N is a positive integer that satisfies the following relationship:

[0011]

[0012] In one embodiment, the material of the cover body includes at least one of resin and ceramic.

[0013] The present invention also provides a waveguide antenna structure, comprising:

[0014] An antenna body, comprising a waveguide feeder and a waveguide radiator connected to each other, wherein the waveguide feeder is used to be connected to a radio frequency device, and the waveguide radiator is used to generate a directional pattern; and

[0015] The above-mentioned shaped radome, the shaped radome comprises:

[0016] A cover body, comprising a flat plate structure and a cover wall surrounding the flat plate structure, wherein the flat plate structure and the cover wall are integrally arranged to form a receiving cavity for receiving the antenna, so that when the antenna is installed in the receiving cavity, the flat plate structure is used to be located in the extension direction of the antenna; and

[0017] A shaping structure, arranged inside the accommodating cavity and fixed on the flat plate structure, the shaping structure is used to correspond to the antenna arrangement in the accommodating cavity to modulate the directional pattern of the antenna in the accommodating cavity;

[0018] The cover body is arranged outside the antenna body, and the shaping structure is used to modulate the directional pattern generated by the waveguide radiator.

[0019] In one embodiment, an air gap is provided between the waveguide radiator and the shaped structure.

[0020] In one embodiment, the waveguide radiator includes an open waveguide or a horn antenna.

[0021] In one embodiment, the antenna body is provided in plurality to form a waveguide antenna array.

[0022] The present invention further provides a radar, the radar comprising the above-mentioned waveguide antenna structure, the waveguide antenna structure comprising:

[0023] An antenna body, comprising a waveguide feeder and a waveguide radiator connected to each other, wherein the waveguide feeder is used to be connected to a radio frequency device, and the waveguide radiator is used to generate a directional pattern; and

[0024] The above-mentioned shaped radome, the shaped radome comprises:

[0025] A cover body, comprising a flat plate structure and a cover wall surrounding the flat plate structure, wherein the flat plate structure and the cover wall are integrally arranged to form a receiving cavity for receiving the antenna, so that when the antenna is installed in the receiving cavity, the flat plate structure is used to be located in the extension direction of the antenna; and

[0026] A shaping structure, arranged inside the accommodating cavity and fixed on the flat plate structure, the shaping structure is used to correspond to the antenna arrangement in the accommodating cavity to modulate the directional pattern of the antenna in the accommodating cavity;

[0027] The cover body is arranged outside the antenna body, and the shaping structure is used to modulate the directional pattern generated by the waveguide radiator.

[0028] The technical solution provided by the present invention realizes the adjustment of the antenna radiation pattern characteristics by the antenna cover by arranging the shaping structure in the accommodating cavity, saves the setting of a complex feeding network, and has a simple structure. Specifically, the cover body includes a cover wall and a flat plate structure, wherein the shaping structure is arranged on the flat plate structure, and the flat plate structure is located in the extension direction of the antenna, so that the shaping structure has a suitable position to meet the required shaping angle position, and the installation is relatively convenient, the processing technology is simple, and the cost is controllable, thereby solving the problem of large design size and difficult processing technology of waveguide antenna. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on the structures shown in these drawings without paying creative work.

[0030] Figure 1 A front view of an embodiment of a waveguide antenna structure provided by the present invention;

[0031] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A top view of the medium waveguide antenna structure;

[0032] Figure 3 for Figure 1 Side view of the medium waveguide antenna structure;

[0033] Figure 4 for Figure 1 E-plane radiation pattern of the medium waveguide antenna structure;

[0034] Figure 5 for Figure 1 Standing wave diagram of the medium waveguide antenna structure;

[0035] Figure 6 A side view of another embodiment of the waveguide antenna structure provided by the present invention;

[0036] Figure 7 for Figure 6 E-plane radiation pattern of the medium waveguide antenna structure;

[0037] Figure 8 for Figure 6 Standing wave diagram of the medium waveguide antenna structure.

[0038] Description of Figure Numbers:

[0039] 1000. Waveguide antenna structure; 1. Antenna body; 11. Waveguide feeder; 12. Waveguide radiator; 2. Shaped antenna cover; 21. Cover body; 211. Flat plate structure; 22. Shaped structure; 3. Air gap.

[0040] The realization of the purpose, functional features and advantages of the present invention will be further explained in conjunction with embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only 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 ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0042] It should be noted that if the embodiments of the present invention involve directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, etc.), the directional indications are only used to explain the relative position relationship, movement status, etc. between the components in a certain specific posture. If the specific posture changes, the directional indication will also change accordingly.

[0043] In addition, if there are descriptions involving "first", "second", etc. in the embodiments of the present invention, the descriptions of "first", "second", etc. are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, the features limited to "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In addition, if "and / or" or "and / or" appears in the full text, its meaning includes three parallel solutions. Taking "A and / or B" as an example, it includes solution A, solution B, or solutions that satisfy both A and B. In addition, the technical solutions between the various embodiments can be combined with each other, but it must be based on the ability of ordinary technicians in this field to implement. When the combination of technical solutions is contradictory or cannot be implemented, it should be deemed that such combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the scope of protection required by the present invention.

[0044] Waveguide antennas are widely used in radar detection due to their low loss, high power capacity, compact structure, easy processing and separation. In automotive radar applications, waveguide antennas have become the basic configuration of new generation products due to their low loss. However, with the increase in automotive radar application scenarios and requirements, antenna radiation patterns have also been shaped.

[0045] At present, the main design idea of ​​shaped antenna is to realize the directional pattern shaping by designing the amplitude and phase of the feeding network of the array antenna. However, in practice, if the feeding network and the antenna are in the same plane, the length and width of the radar will increase significantly, and it will affect the radar MIMO array; if the feeding network and the antenna are in different layers, the thickness of the radar will increase significantly, and the antenna processing technology will increase. The difficulty cannot meet the development trend of miniaturization of wireless communication systems.

[0046] The main purpose of the present invention is to propose a shaped antenna cover, a waveguide antenna structure and a radar, aiming to solve the current problem that the waveguide antenna needs to be shaped, resulting in large design size and difficult processing technology.

[0047] See also Figure 1 The present invention proposes a shaped antenna cover 2, which includes a cover body 21 and a shaping structure 22. The cover body 21 includes a flat structure 211 and a cover wall surrounding the outside of the flat structure 211. The flat structure 211 and the cover wall are integrally arranged to form a receiving cavity for receiving an antenna, so that when the antenna is installed inside the receiving cavity, the flat structure 211 is used to be located in the extension direction of the antenna. The shaping structure 22 is arranged inside the receiving cavity and fixed on the flat structure 211. The shaping structure 22 is used to correspond to the antenna setting in the receiving cavity to modulate the radiation pattern of the antenna in the receiving cavity.

[0048] The technical solution provided by the present invention realizes the adjustment of the antenna radiation pattern characteristics by the antenna cover by arranging the shaping structure 22 in the accommodating cavity, saves the setting of a complex feeding network, and has a simple structure. Specifically, the cover body 21 includes a cover wall and a flat plate structure 211, wherein the shaping structure 22 is arranged on the flat plate structure 211, and the flat plate structure 211 is located in the extension direction of the antenna, so that the shaping structure 22 has a suitable position to meet the required shaping angle position, and the installation is relatively convenient, the processing technology is simple, and the cost is controllable, thereby solving the problem of large design size and difficult processing technology of waveguide antenna.

[0049] It should be noted that the present invention does not limit the specific implementation form of the shaped structure 22, and the shaped structure 22 includes a cylindrical dielectric resonator, a rectangular dielectric resonator or a hemispherical dielectric resonator. A dielectric resonator is a passive component used in radio frequency and microwave circuits, and is made of a material with a high dielectric constant and low loss characteristics. By changing the shape, size and material properties of the dielectric resonator, its performance parameters such as operating frequency, quality factor and bandwidth can be adjusted. Among them, the cylindrical dielectric resonator supports multiple modes and is easy to manufacture. The resonant frequency can be changed by adjusting the height and diameter. The rectangular dielectric resonator mainly supports the TM mode, has a higher quality factor, and is easier to install on the flat plate structure 211. The hemispherical dielectric resonator can support a higher quality factor and has a certain rotational symmetry, and can support TE and TM modes.

[0050] It should also be noted that the present invention does not limit the number of the shaping structures 22. Figure 1 In one embodiment, the shaping structure 22 is provided with one and is arranged at a position of -55° on the antenna E plane. In this way, the antenna pattern has a maximum gain pointing to -55°. Please refer to Figure 6 In another embodiment, two shaping structures 22 are provided, and are correspondingly arranged at positions of -48° and 48° on the antenna E plane. Such an arrangement makes the maximum gain of the antenna radiation pattern point to -48° and 48°.

[0051] It is worth mentioning that the flat plate structure 211 is not only used to install the shaping structure 22, but also needs to be used to transmit electromagnetic waves. In order to make the flat plate structure 211 meet the requirements of transmitting electromagnetic waves 22, the thickness of the flat plate 211 structure is h 0 , the antenna main beam pointing angle is θ, and the guided wavelength of the antenna center frequency in the flat plate structure is λ g , the relative dielectric constant of the flat plate structure 211 is ε r , N is a positive integer that satisfies the following relationship:

[0052]

[0053] Furthermore, the material of the cover body 21 includes at least one of resin and ceramic. Among them, the resin material has the characteristics of light weight, high wave transmittance and easy molding, and is widely used in the field of aerospace. The ceramic material has excellent dielectric properties, high hardness and high wear resistance, and is widely used in military radar systems. The mixed material of resin and ceramic, such as ceramic particles dispersed in the resin matrix, forms a composite material. This practice can improve the limitations of a single material to a certain extent and improve the comprehensive performance of the antenna cover. In a specific embodiment, the material of the antenna cover is selected from polybutylene terephthalate and 25% glass fiber. With this arrangement, the cover body 21 has a lower dielectric constant and loss tangent value, which helps to reduce the attenuation of electromagnetic waves and ensure good signal transmission. At the same time, the tensile strength, bending strength and impact strength of the material are significantly enhanced, and the wear resistance and scratch resistance of the material surface are improved. Compared with metal materials, the weight is lower.

[0054] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 6 The present invention also proposes a waveguide antenna structure 1000, including an antenna body 1 and a shaped antenna cover 2, the antenna body 1 includes a connected waveguide feeder 11 and a waveguide radiator 12, the waveguide feeder 11 is used to be connected to a radio frequency device, and the waveguide radiator 12 is used to generate a radiation pattern; the cover body 21 is covered on the outside of the antenna body 1, and the shaped structure 22 is used to modulate the radiation pattern generated by the waveguide radiator 12.

[0055] In the solution provided by the present invention, the antenna body 1 is arranged in the shaped antenna cover 2, and the shaped structure 22 is used to modulate the radiation pattern generated by the waveguide radiator 12, so that the antenna structure can still adjust the radiation pattern characteristics of the antenna without adding a complex feeding network, thereby achieving the purpose of shaping. In this solution, the processing technology is simple and the cost is controllable, and the cover body 21 and the antenna body 1 are separately arranged, and the design difficulty is low.

[0056] Furthermore, an air gap 3 is provided between the waveguide radiator 12 and the shaped structure 22. In this way, the air gap 3 helps to reduce the direct coupling between the waveguide radiator 12 and the shaped structure 22, avoid unnecessary energy loss or mode conversion, and effectively improve the isolation between the two by increasing the physical distance, reducing mutual interference. The air gap 3 can also help reduce reflections caused by material interfaces, especially near high dielectric constant materials, which helps to reduce the standing wave ratio and improve efficiency.

[0057] It should be noted that the present invention does not limit the specific implementation form of the waveguide radiator 12, and the waveguide radiator 12 includes an open waveguide or a horn antenna. Among them, the open waveguide refers to a metal waveguide structure with one end closed and the other end open. It transmits electromagnetic waves from the closed end to the open end and radiates them at the open end. The open waveguide supports a wider operating frequency band and adapts to various frequency requirements. The horn antenna is an antenna formed by the gradual expansion of the waveguide, and its shape is similar to a horn. It matches the electromagnetic field distribution inside the waveguide with the electromagnetic wave characteristics in the free space through a gradual change in cross-sectional size. The horn antenna can maintain good performance in a wider frequency range and is suitable for multi-band operation.

[0058] It should also be noted that the present invention does not limit the specific number of the antenna bodies 1. In one embodiment, the number of the antenna bodies 1 is four to form a 1×4 waveguide antenna array.

[0059] The following are two specific embodiments provided by the present invention:

[0060] In Example 1, the waveguide array is shaped to improve the gain of the E-plane at -55°, and the elevation plane is not shaped, such as Figure 1-5 As shown. The center frequency of the waveguide antenna is a 1*4 waveguide array at 76.5GHz; the antenna cover material is polybutylene terephthalate + 25% glass fiber material with a relative dielectric constant of 3.45. The shaped structure 22 has a length of 20.6mm, a width of 3mm, and a height of 3mm. The thickness of the flat plate structure 211 is 1.85mm, and the air gap 3 is 0.2mm.

[0061] In the above example, if Figure 4 The maximum gain of the directional pattern points to -55°, and the gain of the shaped directional pattern is about 3.2dB higher than that of the original directional pattern. Figure 5 The antenna standing wave does not exceed 2 before and after adding the shaped antenna cover 2; the radiation pattern and standing wave both meet the normal working requirements of the antenna.

[0062] In Example 2, the waveguide array is shaped to improve the gain of the E-plane at -48° and 48°, and the elevation plane is not shaped, such as Figure 6-8 As shown, the center frequency of the waveguide antenna is a 1*4 waveguide array at 76.5GHz; the antenna cover material is polybutylene terephthalate + 25% glass fiber material, with a relative dielectric constant of 3.45. The two shaped structures 22 are 20.6mm long, 1mm wide, and 3mm high, and are symmetrically placed at the corresponding positions of the antenna E surface. The thickness of the flat plate structure 211 is 1.7mm; the air gap 3 is 0.2mm.

[0063] In the above example, if Figure 7The maximum gain of the directional pattern points to -48° and 48°, and the gain of the shaped directional pattern is about 3.2dB higher than that of the original directional pattern. Figure 8 The antenna standing wave does not exceed 2 before and after adding the shaped antenna cover 2; the radiation pattern and standing wave both meet the normal working requirements of the antenna.

[0064] The present invention also proposes a radar, which includes the above-mentioned waveguide antenna structure 1000. Since the radar includes the waveguide antenna structure 1000, the specific structure of the waveguide antenna structure 1000 refers to the above-mentioned embodiment. Since the waveguide antenna structure 1000 of the radar adopts all the technical solutions of all the above-mentioned embodiments, it at least has all the beneficial effects brought by the technical solutions of the above-mentioned embodiments, which will not be described one by one here.

[0065] The above description is only an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and does not limit the patent scope of the present invention. All equivalent structural changes made by using the contents of the present invention specification and drawings under the technical concept of the present invention, or directly / indirectly applied in other related technical fields are included in the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A shaped antenna cover, characterized in that: include: A cover body, comprising a flat plate structure and a cover wall surrounding the flat plate structure, wherein the flat plate structure and the cover wall are integrally arranged to form a receiving cavity for receiving the antenna, so that when the antenna is installed in the receiving cavity, the flat plate structure is used to be located in the extension direction of the antenna; and A shaping structure is arranged inside the accommodating cavity and fixed on the flat structure. The shaping structure is used to correspond to the antenna arrangement in the accommodating cavity to modulate the directional pattern of the antenna in the accommodating cavity.

2. The shaped antenna cover according to claim 1, characterized in that: The shaped structure includes a cylindrical dielectric resonator, a rectangular dielectric resonator or a hemispherical dielectric resonator.

3. The shaped antenna cover according to claim 1, characterized in that: There are multiple shaping structures, and the multiple shaping structures are used to be arranged at intervals on the inner side of the flat structure corresponding to multiple required shaping directions of the antenna.

4. The shaped antenna cover according to claim 1, characterized in that: The thickness of the flat plate structure is h0, the main beam pointing angle of the antenna is θ, and the guided wavelength of the antenna center frequency in the flat plate structure is λ g , the relative dielectric constant of the flat plate structure is ε r , N is a positive integer that satisfies the following relationship:

5. The shaped radome according to claim 1, characterized in that: The material of the cover body includes at least one of resin and ceramic.

6. A waveguide antenna structure, characterized in that: include: The antenna body comprises a waveguide feeder and a waveguide radiator connected to each other, wherein the waveguide feeder is used to be connected to a radio frequency device, and the waveguide radiator is used to generate a directional pattern; as well as, The shaped antenna cover according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the cover body is arranged outside the antenna body, and the shaped structure is used to modulate the radiation pattern generated by the waveguide radiator.

7. The waveguide antenna structure according to claim 6, characterized in that: An air gap is provided between the waveguide radiator and the shaped structure.

8. The waveguide antenna structure according to claim 6, characterized in that: The waveguide radiator includes an open waveguide or a horn antenna.

9. The waveguide antenna structure according to claim 6, characterized in that: The antenna bodies are arranged in plurality to form a waveguide antenna array.

10. A radar, characterized in that: The waveguide antenna structure comprises the waveguide antenna structure as claimed in any one of claims 6 to 9.

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