Antenna tilt adjustment device and base station antenna

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of antennas, and particularly relates to an antenna downtilt angle adjusting device and a base station antenna, which comprises a mounting shell, a switching structure, an input structure and an output structure. The switching structure comprises a switching support, a driving assembly and at least one position selecting gear, the switching support is provided with a plurality of switching grooves arranged along a first direction; the driving assembly comprises a driving piece, the driving piece can extend into and out of the switching groove, and when extending into the switching groove, the driving piece drives the switching support to move a preset distance, so as to realize intermittent movement of the switching support; the position selecting gear is rotationally arranged on the switching support, the input structure drives the position selecting gear to rotate when the switching support is in an intermittent period of intermittent movement; the output structure comprises at least one set of racks corresponding to the position selecting gears, and the racks extend along a second direction; the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction. The switching support moves intermittently, and the phase shifter is driven through transmission of the position selecting gear and the rack, so that the control precision requirement is low and the transmission efficiency is high.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of antennas, and particularly relates to an antenna downtilt angle adjusting device and a base station antenna. BACKGROUND

[0002] The base station is a public mobile communication base station, is an interface device for mobile devices to access the Internet, and is also a form of a wireless radio station. It is a wireless radio station that transmits and receives information between a mobile communication exchange center and a mobile phone terminal in a certain wireless coverage area. The base station and the terminal both transmit and receive signals through the medium of an antenna.

[0003] With the increasing number of mobile terminals, the demand for mobile communication base station antennas is also increasing, but the resources of mobile base stations are limited, so it is a trend to integrate multiple antennas together. For multi-frequency antennas, how to adjust the downtilt angle of each frequency band antenna has always been a problem that needs attention. SUMMARY

[0004] To solve the above technical problems, the present disclosure provides an antenna downtilt angle adjusting device and a base station antenna.

[0005] In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides an antenna downtilt angle adjusting device, comprising:

[0006] a mounting shell;

[0007] a switching structure, comprising a switching support, a driving assembly and at least one position selecting gear, the switching support is slidingly arranged on the mounting shell in a first direction, and a plurality of switching grooves arranged along the first direction are arranged on the switching support; the driving assembly comprises a driving shaft capable of rotating about its own axis and a driving member connected to the driving shaft, the driving shaft is configured to rotate to drive the driving member to extend into and out of the switching groove, and when extending into the switching groove, the driving shaft drives the switching support to move a preset distance, realizing intermittent movement of the switching support; the position selecting gear is rotationally arranged on the switching support, and the axis direction of the position selecting gear is the first direction;

[0008] an input structure configured to drive the position selecting gear to rotate when the switching support is in the intermittent period of intermittent movement;

[0009] an output structure, comprising at least one set of racks corresponding to the position selecting gear one by one, each set of racks comprising a plurality of racks arranged along the first direction, the racks extending along a second direction and slidingly arranged on the mounting shell, the racks being configured to be able to engage with the position selecting gear, and the racks being used to connect a phase shifter;

[0010] The second direction is perpendicular to the first direction.

[0011] In some embodiments, the distance between two adjacent racks in each group of racks is an integer multiple of the preset distance.

[0012] In some embodiments, two position gears are provided, and the two position gears are arranged at intervals in the first direction.

[0013] In some embodiments, when one of the position gears is engaged with the rack, the other position gear is engaged with the rack or is located on one side of one of the racks in the first direction.

[0014] In some embodiments, the input structure includes a transmission shaft and an input gear, the transmission shaft extends in the first direction, the position gear is arranged on the transmission shaft in the first direction and can rotate synchronously with the transmission shaft;

[0015] The input gear is arranged on the transmission shaft and can drive the transmission shaft to rotate about its own axis.

[0016] In some embodiments, a self-locking assembly is further included, the self-locking assembly includes a self-locking rod and an elastic member, the self-locking rod is rotatably arranged on the mounting shell through a rotating shaft extending in the first direction, and a limiting tooth capable of engaging with the rack is arranged at a first end of the self-locking rod.

[0017] The elastic member is limited between a second end of the self-locking rod and the mounting shell, and the elastic member is configured to enable the limiting tooth to engage with the rack.

[0018] The rotating shaft is located between the first end and the second end.

[0019] In some embodiments, the switching support has an unlocking component configured to press against the second end of the self-locking rod to make the first end lift up, and when the unlocking component presses against the second end of the self-locking rod, the position gear and the self-locking rod disengage from the rack.

[0020] In some embodiments, the rack has a plurality of transmission teeth arranged in the second direction and a plurality of self-locking teeth arranged in the second direction, the transmission teeth can engage with the position gear, and the self-locking teeth can engage with the limiting tooth.

[0021] In some embodiments, each group of racks is correspondingly provided with a plurality of self-locking assemblies, and the self-locking rod is located on one side of the corresponding rack in the first direction.

[0022] In some embodiments, two first limiting portions are arranged on the rack, and the two first limiting portions are arranged at intervals in the second direction.

[0023] Two second limiting portions are arranged on the mounting shell, and the two second limiting portions are located between the two first limiting portions to limit the movement of the rack.

[0024] In some embodiments, a plurality of arc-shaped grooves arranged in the first direction are arranged on the switching support.

[0025] The driving assembly further comprises a guide wheel connected to the driving shaft and coaxial with the driving shaft, the guide wheel being capable of rotating in the arc-shaped groove and being fitted to the groove surface of the arc-shaped groove.

[0026] The guide wheel has an avoiding gap in the circumferential direction thereof, when the driving member extends into the switching groove, the guide wheel is out of contact with the arc-shaped groove through the avoiding gap, and when the driving member is out of the switching groove, the guide wheel is in contact with the next arc-shaped groove in the moving direction of the switching support.

[0027] In some embodiments, a guide shaft is further included, the guide shaft being arranged on the mounting shell and extending in the first direction, and the switching support being slidingly arranged on the guide shaft.

[0028] In a second aspect, the disclosure provides a base station antenna comprising the antenna downtilt angle adjusting device of the first aspect.

[0029] Compared with the prior art, the technical solution provided by the embodiments of the disclosure has the following advantages:

[0030] The antenna downtilt angle adjusting device realizes the intermittent movement of the switching support in the first direction through the cooperation of the driving member on the driving assembly and the switching groove on the switching support, so that the rack engaged by the indexing gear is switched, and when the switching support is in the intermittent period of intermittent movement, the input structure drives the indexing gear to rotate to drive the rack to move in the second direction, the rack being used to connect the phase shifter, so that the movement of the rack is performed in the intermittent period of the switching support, thereby sequentially and continuously performing the movement of the switching support and the movement of the rack, realizing the adjustment of multiple antenna tilt angles, having low control precision requirement, high transmission efficiency, being capable of improving the adjustment speed, and having compact structure, thereby reducing the occupation of space. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0031] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and form part of the specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure and, together with the specification, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.

[0032] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments or prior art description. Obviously, for those skilled in the art, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings without any creative effort.

[0033] Figure 1 The antenna downtilt angle adjusting device described in the embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0034] Figure 2 The structure schematic diagram of another view of the antenna downtilt angle adjusting device described in the embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0035] Figure 3 The structure schematic diagram of the switching structure and the input structure described in the embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0036] Figure 4 The structure schematic diagram of the switching structure described in the embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0037] Figure 5 The partial structure schematic diagram of the antenna downtilt angle adjusting device described in the embodiments of the present disclosure Figure 1 ;

[0038] Figure 6 The partial structure schematic diagram of the antenna downtilt angle adjusting device described in the embodiments of the present disclosure Figure 2 ;

[0039] Figure 7 The partial structure schematic diagram of the antenna downtilt angle adjusting device described in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0040] 1, mounting shell; 11, second limiting part;

[0041] 2, switching structure; 21, switching support; 211, switching groove; 212, arc-shaped groove; 213, unlocking part; 22, driving assembly; 221, driving shaft; 222, driving piece; 223, guide wheel; 224, first input rod; 23, position selection gear;

[0042] 3, input structure; 31, transmission shaft; 32, input gear; 33, first transmission gear; 34, second transmission gear; 35, second input rod;

[0043] 4, output structure; 41, rack; 411, transmission teeth; 412, self-locking teeth; 41a, first limiting protrusion; 42, stop block; 421, stop teeth;

[0044] 5, self-locking assembly; 51, self-locking rod; 511, limiting teeth; 51a, first end; 51b, second end; 52, elastic piece; 53, rotating shaft;

[0045] 6. guide shaft;

[0046] 7. driving component. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] In order to more clearly understand the above-mentioned purposes, features and advantages of the present disclosure, the solutions of the present disclosure will be further described below. It should be noted that the embodiments of the present disclosure and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other without conflict.

[0048] In the following description, a large number of specific details are set forth in order to facilitate a thorough understanding of the present disclosure, but the present disclosure can also be implemented in other different manners from those described herein; obviously, the embodiments described in the specification are only a part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and not all the embodiments.

[0049] As shown in Figures 1 to 6 The present application provides an antenna downtilt angle adjusting device, which is mainly used for adjusting the downtilt angle of an antenna. Specifically, the antenna downtilt angle adjusting device comprises a mounting shell 1, a switching structure 2, an input structure 3 and an output structure 4.

[0050] The switching structure 2 comprises a switching bracket 21, a driving assembly 22 and at least one position selecting gear 23. The switching bracket 21 is slidingly arranged on the mounting shell 1 in a first direction, and a plurality of switching grooves 211 arranged along the first direction are arranged on the switching bracket 21. The driving assembly 22 comprises a driving shaft 221 capable of rotating about its own axis and a driving piece 222 connected to the driving shaft 221. The driving shaft 221 is configured to rotate to drive the driving piece 222 to extend into or out of the switching groove 211, and when extending into the switching groove 211, the driving shaft 221 can drive the switching bracket 21 to move a preset distance, realizing intermittent movement of the switching bracket 21. The position selecting gear 23 is rotationally arranged on the switching bracket 21, and the axis direction of the position selecting gear 23 is the first direction.

[0051] The input structure 3 is configured to drive the position selecting gear 23 to rotate when the switching bracket 21 is in the intermittent period of intermittent movement.

[0052] The output structure 4 comprises at least one set of racks 41 corresponding to the position selecting gear 23. Each set of racks 41 comprises a plurality of racks 41 arranged along the first direction. The racks 41 extend along a second direction and are slidingly arranged on the mounting shell 1. The racks 41 are capable of engaging with the position selecting gear 23, and the racks 41 are used to connect a phase shifter for adjusting the downtilt angle of the antenna. The second direction is perpendicular to the first direction.

[0053] Understandably, the antenna downtilt angle adjusting device can convert the continuous rotation of the driving shaft 221 into intermittent movement of the switching bracket 21 in the first direction by switching the switching bracket 21 through cooperation of the switching groove 211 on the switching bracket 21 and the driving member of the driving assembly 22, and when the switching bracket 21 is in the intermittent period of intermittent movement, the input structure drives the indexing gear 23 to rotate to drive the rack 41 to move in the second direction, so that the intermittent period of the switching bracket 21 can be used for the movement of the rack 41, thereby sequentially and continuously moving the switching bracket 21 and the rack 41, thereby achieving adjustment of multiple antenna downtilt angles, which has lower control accuracy requirement, high transmission efficiency, thereby improving the adjustment speed, and has compact structure, which can reduce the space occupation.

[0054] It should be noted that the intermittent movement of the switching bracket 21 means that the switching bracket 21 has a movement period and an intermittent period under the driving of the driving assembly 22. In the movement period, the switching bracket 21 is driven to move by the driving member 222. In the intermittent period, the driving shaft 221 remains rotating, but the driving member 222 is located outside the switching groove 211, so that the switching bracket 21 is stationary relative to the mounting shell 1.

[0055] In addition, the axis direction of the driving shaft 221 is the second direction. In addition, the two side walls of the switching groove 211 in the first direction are arc surfaces, so that the driving member 222 can be easily inserted into and withdrawn from the switching groove 211. In addition, the driving member 222 is also provided with a guide arc surface to cooperate with the arc surface of the switching groove 211, so as to avoid the driving member 222 from being stuck.

[0056] In some embodiments, the distance between the two adjacent racks 41 in each group of racks 41 is a positive integer multiple of the preset distance. In this way, when the switching bracket 21 moves N preset distances, the indexing gear 23 can be switched from the state of engaging with one rack 41 to the state of engaging with another rack 41, so as to facilitate control of the movement distance of the switching bracket 21 by controlling the number of rotation of the driving shaft 221, thereby ensuring the accuracy of engagement of the indexing gear 23 with the rack 41.

[0057] For example, in a specific implementation, referring to Figure 1 The indexing gear 23 is provided with two indexing gears 23, which are arranged in the first direction. Correspondingly, the rack 41 is provided with two groups of racks 41, which correspond to the two indexing gears 23 one by one.

[0058] That is to say, each indexing gear 23 corresponds to a group of racks 41, which can reduce the movement distance of each indexing gear 23 in the first direction, shorten the indexing stroke, and thereby improve the indexing efficiency.

[0059] In one case, when one of the selection gears 23 engages with one of the racks 41 in the corresponding group of racks 41, the other selection gear 23 is located on one side of one of the racks 41 in the corresponding group of racks 41 in the first direction, that is, when the switching support 21 moves N preset distances each time, one of the selection gears 23 engages with one of the racks 41 in the corresponding group of racks 41, and the other selection gear 23 is located on one side, such as the right side or the left side, of one of the racks 41 in the corresponding group of racks 41 in the first direction, that is, one rack 41 is driven by one selection gear 23 each time to adjust the downtilt angle of one antenna, so that when the number of racks 41 in each group of racks 41 increases, the selection gears 23 can still engage with each rack 41 by moving to adjust the downtilt angle of the antenna by driving the rack 41.

[0060] In another case, the above two selection gears 23 can simultaneously engage with the racks 41 in the corresponding group of racks 41, that is, when one selection gear 23 engages with one rack 41, the other selection gear 23 also engages with one rack 41, so that the downtilt angles of two antennas can be adjusted at one time. Of course, when the number of selection gears 23 is more than two, only one selection gear 23 can engage with one rack 41 in the corresponding group of racks 41, or all selection gears 23 can simultaneously and respectively engage with one rack 41 in the corresponding group of racks 41, that is, multiple selection gears 23 simultaneously drive the respective racks 41 engaged to move to adjust the downtilt angles of multiple antennas at one time.

[0061] In some embodiments, referring to Figure 3 and Figure 4 The input structure 3 includes a transmission shaft 31 and an input gear 32, the transmission shaft 31 extends in the first direction, the selection gears 23 are slidingly arranged on the transmission shaft 31 in the first direction, and can synchronously rotate with the transmission shaft 31.

[0062] The input gear 32 is arranged on the transmission shaft 31 and can drive the transmission shaft 31 to rotate about its own axis.

[0063] Understandably, the input gear 32 drives the transmission shaft 31 to rotate, and the transmission shaft 31 drives the selection gears 23 to rotate, since the selection gears 23 are arranged on the switching support 21, the selection gears 23 can move on the transmission shaft 31 in the first direction to realize the switching of positions, and at the same time can be driven by the transmission shaft 31 to rotate.

[0064] Further, the input structure 3 further comprises a second input shaft 35, a first transmission gear 33 and a second transmission gear 34, the first transmission gear 33 is engaged with the second transmission gear 34, the second transmission gear 34 is engaged with the input gear 32, and the second input shaft 35 is connected with the first transmission gear 33. The second input shaft 35 is connected with the output shaft of the motor, or the second input shaft 35 is the output shaft of the motor.

[0065] In this way, the first transmission gear 33 is driven to rotate by the second input shaft 35, the second transmission gear 34 is driven to rotate by the first transmission gear 33, and the input gear 32 is driven to rotate by the second transmission gear 34. The input gear 32 drives the selection gear 23 to rotate through the transmission shaft 31. In this way, the adjustment of the phase shifter can be realized through three-stage gear transmission, and the transmission efficiency loss is small.

[0066] In some embodiments, referring to Figure 3 and Figure 4 The switching support 21 is provided with a plurality of arc-shaped grooves 212 arranged along the first direction.

[0067] The driving assembly 22 further comprises a guide wheel 223 connected with the driving shaft 221 and coaxial with the driving shaft 221. The guide wheel 223 can rotate in the arc-shaped groove 212 and is in contact with the groove surface of the arc-shaped groove 212. The guide wheel 223 has an avoiding gap in the circumferential direction. When the driving member 222 extends into the switching groove 211, the guide wheel 223 is out of contact with the arc-shaped groove 212 through the avoiding gap. When the driving member 222 is out of the switching groove, the guide wheel 223 is in contact with the next arc-shaped groove 212 in the moving direction of the switching support 21.

[0068] The driving member 222 and the guide wheel 223 are arranged in the axial direction of the driving shaft 221, and the driving member 222 is located at the avoiding gap of the guide wheel 223. The driving member 222 can be located at the middle position of the avoiding gap in the circumferential direction of the guide wheel 223. In this way, when the guide wheel 223 rotates in the arc-shaped groove 212 and is in contact with the groove surface of the arc-shaped groove 212, the driving member 222 is located outside the switching groove 211. When the driving member 222 gradually extends into the switching groove 211 with the rotation of the driving shaft 221, the guide wheel 223 gradually comes out of contact with the groove surface of the arc-shaped groove 212 due to the avoiding gap. Therefore, when the driving member 222 drives the switching support 21 to move, the guide wheel 223 can avoid the switching support 21 through the avoiding gap, so as to prevent the guide wheel 223 from blocking the movement of the switching support 21. When the driving member 222 is out of the switching groove 211, the guide wheel 223 enters the next arc-shaped groove 212.

[0069] By arranging the guide wheel 223, the switching support 21 can be limited by the cooperation between the guide wheel 223 and the arc-shaped groove 212 when the switching support 21 moves to the required position, so as to prevent the displacement of the switching support 21.

[0070] And the intermittent movement of the switching bracket 21 is realized by the driving assembly 22, so that the engagement of the selecting gear 23 and the different racks can be realized under the continuous rotation of the driving shaft 221, for example, when the driving assembly 22 drives the switching bracket 21 to move, the selecting gear 23 is disengaged from the rack 41 and the selecting gear 23 does not rotate, at this time, the rack 41 is not driven to move. When the driving assembly 22 drives the switching bracket 21 to move to the engagement of the selecting gear 23 and the rack 41, the guide wheel 223 rotates in the arc-shaped slot 212, at this time, the switching bracket 21 remains stationary, at this time, the rack 41 can be driven to move by the rotation of the selecting gear 23. When the switching bracket 21 is driven to move again by the driving member 222, the selecting gear 23 is disengaged from the rack 41 and moves to the next rack 41, so that the driving of the selecting gear 23 to the plurality of racks 41 in turn can be realized without stopping, the adjustment efficiency can be improved, and the control accuracy is relatively low.

[0071] Exemplarily, in the process of the rotation of the driving shaft 221 by 360°, the driving member 222 drives the switching bracket 21 to move, the angle of the rotation of the driving shaft 221 is 30°, that is, in the process of the rotation of the driving shaft 221 by 360°, only in the time of the rotation of 30°, the switching bracket 21 is driven to move by the driving member 222, and in the remaining time, the switching bracket 21 remains stationary, so as to drive the rack 41 by the selecting gear 23. Of course, the angle of the rotation of the driving shaft 221 in the process of driving the switching bracket 21 to move can also be selected as other reasonable values according to actual needs.

[0072] Further, the driving assembly 22 further comprises a first input rod 224, the first input rod 224 is connected to the driving shaft 221, at this time, the first input rod 224 can be connected to the output shaft of the motor, or the first input rod 224 is the output shaft of the motor.

[0073] It should be noted that, referring to Figure 3 The first input rod 224 and the second input rod 35 of the input structure 3 are located on the same side of the switching bracket 21 in the second direction, so as to facilitate the arrangement of the motor connecting the first input rod 224 and the second input rod 35, so that the antenna downtilt angle adjustment device structure is more compact, and the occupied space of the antenna downtilt angle adjustment device is avoided to be increased when the first input rod 224 and the second input rod 35 are located on different sides of the switching bracket 21.

[0074] Specifically, referring to Figure 2The antenna downtilt angle adjusting device further comprises a driving component 7 for driving the first input rod 224 and the second input rod 35. The driving component 7 comprises two motors, and the output shafts of the two motors are connected to the first input rod 224 and the second input rod 35 respectively. Thus, the power input can be realized by the two motors, the space occupation is small, the miniaturization and thinning of the multi-frequency fusion antenna can be facilitated, and the cost can be reduced.

[0075] Further, referring to Figure 3 and Figure 4 The antenna downtilt angle adjusting device further comprises a guide shaft 6 arranged on the mounting shell 1 and extending in the first direction, and the switching support 21 is slidingly arranged on the guide shaft 6.

[0076] Understandably, by arranging the guide shaft 6, the movement of the switching support 21 can be guided to ensure that the switching support 21 moves in the first direction, and the problem that the switching support 21 deviates during movement and causes the indexing gear 23 and the rack 41 to be difficult to engage can be avoided.

[0077] In some embodiments, referring to Figures 3 to 6 The antenna downtilt angle adjusting device further comprises a self-locking assembly 5 comprising a self-locking rod 51 and an elastic member 52. The self-locking rod 51 is rotationally arranged on the mounting shell 1 by a rotating shaft 53 extending in the first direction, and a limiting tooth 511 capable of engaging with the rack 41 is arranged at a first end 51a of the self-locking rod 51. The elastic member 52 is limited between a second end 51b of the self-locking rod 51 and the mounting shell 1, and the elastic member 52 is configured to enable the limiting tooth 511 to engage with the rack 41. The rotating shaft 53 is located between the first end 51a and the second end 51b of the self-locking rod 51.

[0078] Understandably, the first end 51a of the self-locking rod 51 is provided with the limiting tooth 511, and the elastic member 52 is limited between the second end 51b of the self-locking rod 51 and the mounting shell 1. Thus, under the action of the elastic member 52, the second end 51b of the self-locking rod 51 is lifted to enable the limiting tooth 511 of the first end 51a to engage with the rack 41 to limit the rack 41, so that the position of the rack 41 remains stable, thereby enabling the downtilt angle of the antenna to remain stable.

[0079] Further, each group of racks 41 is provided with a plurality of self-locking assemblies 5 corresponding to the racks 41, and the self-locking rod 51 is located on one side of the corresponding rack 41 in the first direction.

[0080] Understandably, the self-locking rod 51 is located on the side of the corresponding rack 41 in the first direction, so that the plurality of self-locking rods 51 of the plurality of self-locking assemblies 5 are arranged in the first direction, for example, one self-locking rod 51 is arranged between two adjacent racks 41, and the remaining one self-locking rod 51 is arranged outside one of the two outermost racks 41. At this time, each self-locking rod 51 is located on the same side of the corresponding rack 41 in the first direction. The space between the two adjacent racks 41 can be utilized to improve the space utilization and make the antenna downtilt angle adjusting device compact and reduce the space occupation.

[0081] Further, referring to Figure 4 The rack 41 has a plurality of drive teeth 411 arranged in the second direction and a plurality of self-locking teeth 412 arranged in the second direction. The drive teeth 411 can be engaged with the selected gear 23, and the self-locking teeth 412 can be engaged with the limiting tooth 511.

[0082] The drive teeth 411 are located on the side of the self-locking teeth 412 in the second direction, so that the cooperation of the rack 41 with the selected gear 23 and the cooperation with the limiting tooth 511 do not interfere with each other. Of course, the limiting tooth 511 can also be arranged to be engaged with the drive tooth 411, and at this time, the limiting tooth 511 is not required.

[0083] Exemplarily, referring to Figure 4 The rack 41 has two rows of self-locking teeth 412 and one row of drive teeth 411, and the drive teeth 411 are located between the two rows of self-locking teeth 412, so that the self-locking rod 51 can be arranged on either side of the rack 41 in the first direction, or the self-locking rod 51 is arranged on both sides of the rack 41 in the first direction.

[0084] Further, referring to Figures 4 to 6 The switching bracket 21 has an unlocking component 213 configured to press the second end 51b of the self-locking rod 51 to make the first end 51a lift up, and when the unlocking component 213 presses the second end of the self-locking rod 51, the selected gear 23 and the self-locking rod 51 are disengaged from the rack 41 engaged.

[0085] Understandably, in the natural state, the self-locking lever 51 is under the action of the elastic member 52, the limiting teeth 511 of the first end 51a is engaged with the rack 41, so that the rack 41 is in a locked state and cannot move. When it is necessary to move the rack 41, the movement of the switching support 21 causes the indexing gear 23 to engage with the rack 41, and at the same time, the second end 51b of the self-locking lever 51 is pressed by the unlocking component 213 to make the first end 51a lift up. That is, when the indexing gear 23 engages with the rack 41, the unlocking component 213 presses the second end 51b of the self-locking lever 51 to make the first end 51a lift up, so as to achieve the unlocking of the rack 41, and at the same time, the situation that the rack 41 moves by itself when the limiting teeth 511 disengage from the rack 41 and the indexing gear 23 does not engage with the rack 41 is avoided.

[0086] Specifically, the unlocking component 213 is provided with a guide slope on both sides in the first direction. When the switching support 21 moves to cause the guide slope of the unlocking component 213 to contact the second end 51b of the self-locking lever 51, the second end 51b of the self-locking lever 51 is pressed down and the first end 51a gradually lifts up under the action of the guide slope. Finally, the unlocking component 213 moves above the second end 51b of the self-locking lever 51, the first end 51a of the self-locking lever 51 lifts up to make the limiting teeth 511 disengage from the rack 41, so as to achieve the unlocking of the rack 41 by the self-locking lever 51. The unlocking component 213 is provided with a guide slope on both sides in the first direction, so that the switching support 21 can press the second end 51b of the self-locking lever 51 to unlock the rack 41 when moving back and forth in the first direction.

[0087] Of course, the second end of the self-locking lever can also be provided with a guide slope on both sides in the first direction, so that the second end of the self-locking lever can be pressed down by the unlocking component.

[0088] In some embodiments, referring to Figure 7 The rack 41 is provided with two first limiting portions, and the two first limiting portions are spaced apart in the second direction. The mounting shell 1 is provided with two second limiting portions 11, and the two second limiting portions 11 are located between the two first limiting portions to limit the movement of the rack 41.

[0089] Understandably, the reciprocating movement of the rack 41 in the second direction can be limited by the cooperation of the two first limiting portions and the two second limiting portions 11.

[0090] Exemplarily, referring to Figure 7 One of the first limiting portions is a first limiting protrusion 41a formed by the rack 41 itself, and at this time, the corresponding second limiting portion 11 is a second limiting protrusion provided on the mounting shell. When the first limiting protrusion 41a and the second limiting protrusion contact, the rack 41 can be limited.

[0091] The other first limiting part is a stop block 42 arranged on the rack 41, and the stop block 42 is provided with a stop tooth 421 engaged with the rack 41, and the second limiting part 11 is a limiting surface arranged on the mounting shell 1, and the limiting surface can limit the rack 41 by limiting the stop block 42.

[0092] The stop tooth 421 of the stop block 42 can be arranged to engage with the transmission tooth 411 or the self-locking tooth 412. Of course, when the rack 41 only has the transmission tooth, the stop tooth 421 of the stop block 42 engages with the transmission tooth 411.

[0093] It should be noted that the stop block 42 can be fixed on the rack 41 in a detachable or non-detachable manner, such as screw fixing, welding fixing, etc., which is not limited here. When the stop block 42 is detachably fixed on the rack 41, the moving stroke of the rack 41 can be adjusted by adjusting the position of the stop block 42, which is convenient and fast.

[0094] Referring to Figures 1 to 7 , the working process of the antenna downtilt angle adjusting device is described in detail.

[0095] The switching bracket 21 is provided with two selection gears 23, and the switching bracket 21 has a left side and a right side in the first direction, one of the selection gears 23 is relatively close to the left side of the switching bracket 21 and is defined as a left selection gear, and the other selection gear 23 is relatively close to the right side of the switching bracket 21 and is defined as a right selection gear. Similarly, the switching bracket 21 is provided with two unlocking components 213, one of the unlocking components 213 is relatively close to the left side of the switching bracket 21 and is defined as a left unlocking component, and the other unlocking component 213 is relatively close to the right side of the switching bracket 21 and is defined as a right unlocking component.

[0096] The mounting shell 1 is correspondingly provided with two groups of racks 41, the distance between the two adjacent racks 41 in each group of racks 41 is twice the preset distance, and the two groups of racks 41 are defined as a left rack group and a right rack group. And each group of racks 41 is sequentially defined as a first rack, a second rack, a third rack, etc. from the left side to the right side of the switching bracket 21, and the corresponding self-locking rod member 51 of each rack 41 is located at the right side of the rack 41, and the first self-locking rod member, the second self-locking rod member, the third self-locking rod member, etc. are sequentially defined from the left side to the right side of the switching bracket 21.

[0097] The mounting shell 1 can block the switching support 21 on both sides of the moving direction of the switching support 21, and the switching support 21 moving to contact the mounting shell 1 can be considered as the starting point of the movement of the switching support 21, for example, the left side of the switching support 21 in the first direction contacting the mounting shell 1 can be considered as the left side starting point of the switching support 21, and the right side of the switching support 21 in the first direction contacting the mounting shell 1 can be considered as the right side starting point of the switching support 21.

[0098] Suppose that the left side starting point of the switching support 21 is taken as the reference, when the down tilt angle of the antenna needs to be adjusted:

[0099] 1. The first input rod 224 drives the driving shaft 221 to rotate under the drive of the motor, so that the switching support 21 moves to the left side until the left side of the switching support 21 contacts the mounting shell 1, at this time the switching support 21 is located at the left side starting point, and the left side unlocking component is pressed on the first self-locking rod corresponding to the first rack of the left side rack set, the limiting of the first rack is released, and at the same time the left side positioning gear is engaged with the first rack, and the right side positioning gear is located at the left side of the first rack of the right side rack set.

[0100] 2. The second input rod 35 drives the transmission shaft 31 to rotate through the first transmission gear 33, the second transmission gear 34 and the input gear 32 under the drive of the motor, and then drives the left side positioning gear to rotate, so as to drive the first rack of the left side rack set. At this time, the right side positioning gear is suspended, rotates synchronously with the transmission shaft 31 but does not drive the rack 41. In this process, the above-mentioned driving shaft 221 continuously rotates, and cooperates with the arc-shaped groove 212 on the switching support 21 through the guide wheel 223 to make the switching support 21 keep stationary.

[0101] 3. The driving part 222 extends into the switching groove 211 with the rotation of the driving shaft 221, and can drive the switching support 21 to move to the right side by a preset distance, so that the right side unlocking component is pressed on the first self-locking rod corresponding to the first rack of the right side rack set, the limiting of the first rack is released, and at the same time the right side positioning gear is engaged with the first rack, and the left side positioning gear is located at the right side of the first rack of the left side rack set.

[0102] 4. The driving shaft 221 continues to rotate and drives the guide wheel 223 to rotate in the arc-shaped groove 212, and the switching support 21 is stationary relative to the mounting shell 1, at this time the second input rod 35 drives the transmission shaft 31 to rotate through the first transmission gear 33, the second transmission gear 34 and the input gear 32 under the drive of the motor, and then drives the right side positioning gear to rotate, so as to drive the first rack of the right side rack set. At this time, the left side positioning gear is suspended, rotates synchronously with the transmission shaft 31 but does not drive the rack 41.

[0103] The above process is repeated, the left and right position gears drive the rack 41 to move alternately, and the driving shaft 221 continuously rotates, the driving member 222 realizes intermittent movement of the switching support 21, and when the switching support 21 is in the intermittent period of intermittent movement, the rack 41 is driven by the position gear 23 to move, thereby realizing the adjustment of the downtilt angle of all antennas.

[0104] Understandably, the working process is similar when starting from the right side of the switching support 21, which will not be repeated here. Moreover, when one of the position gears 23 engages with the rack 41, the other position gear 23 also engages with the rack 41, and the driving of the two racks 41 can be realized at a time, but the principle is similar to the above process, which will not be repeated here.

[0105] In summary, the antenna downtilt angle adjustment device provided in the application realizes the gear shifting operation by adopting the cooperation of the driving member 222 and the switching groove 211 to realize the intermittent movement of the switching support 21, which has the advantages of faster control compared with the screw nut structure and lower control precision requirement compared with the gear and rack. Moreover, the transmission efficiency is high by adopting the cooperation of the position gear 23 and the rack 41.

[0106] In addition, the antenna downtilt angle adjustment device has the advantages of compact structure, flatness, high transmission efficiency and stable operation by the cooperative work of the switching structure 2, the input structure 3 and the output structure 4, and can selectively output multiple groups of power by adopting two motors, which occupies small space and is very beneficial to the miniaturization, thinning, cost reduction and layout requirements of multi-frequency fusion antennas.

[0107] The application also provides a base station antenna comprising the above antenna downtilt angle adjustment device. Each rack 41 is connected to a phase shifter, and the adjustment of the downtilt angle of the antenna is realized by the antenna downtilt angle adjustment device.

[0108] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as“first” and“second”, and the like, are used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action, without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. Moreover, the terms“comprises”,“comprising”, or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but can include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element proceeded by“comprises a...” does not, without more constraints, exclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

[0109] The foregoing is merely illustrative of the various implementations of the present disclosure and the general principles thereof. Numerous modifications can be made to these illustrations, and equivalents can be substituted therefor, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The specific embodiments commensurate with the specific application are intended to be illustrative only and not limiting of the scope of the application as set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. An antenna downtilt adjustment device, characterized by, The utility model relates to a kind of phase shifter, including: Mounting shell; Switching structure, including switching support, drive assembly and at least one position gear, the switching support is slidably arranged on the mounting shell in the first direction, and a plurality of switching slots are arranged on the switching support along the first direction;The drive assembly includes a drive shaft capable of rotating about its own axis and a driving member connected to the drive shaft, the drive shaft is configured to be rotatable to drive the driving member to extend into and out of the switching slot, and to drive the switching support to move a predetermined distance when extending into the switching slot, realize the intermittent movement of the switching support;The position gear is rotatively arranged on the switching support, and the axis direction of the position gear is the first direction; Input structure, configured to rotate the position gear when the switching support is in the intermittent period of intermittent movement; Output structure, including at least one set of rack corresponding to the position gear, each set of rack includes a plurality of racks arranged along the first direction, the rack extends along the second direction and is slidably arranged on the mounting shell, the rack is configured to be able to engage with the position gear, the rack is used to connect the phase shifter, and the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction.

2. The antenna tilt adjustment apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The distance between two adjacent racks in each set of racks is an integer multiple of the predetermined distance.

3. The antenna tilt adjustment apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The position gear is provided with two, and the two position gears are spaced apart in the first direction.

4. The antenna tilt adjustment apparatus of claim 3, wherein, When one of the position gears engages with the rack, the other position gear engages with the rack or is located on one side of one of the racks in the first direction.

5. The antenna tilt adjustment apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The input structure includes a transmission shaft and an input gear, the transmission shaft extends along the first direction, and the position gear is slidably arranged on the transmission shaft in the first direction and can rotate synchronously with the transmission shaft. The input gear is arranged on the transmission shaft and can drive the transmission shaft to rotate about its own axis.

6. The antenna tilt adjustment apparatus of claim 1, wherein Further comprising a self-locking assembly, the self-locking assembly includes a self-locking rod and a resilient member, the self-locking rod is rotatably arranged on the mounting shell through a rotating shaft extending along the first direction, a first end of the self-locking rod is provided with a limiting tooth capable of engaging with the rack; The resilient member is limited between the second end of the self-locking rod and the mounting shell, and the resilient member is configured to engage the limiting tooth with the rack; The rotating shaft is located between the first end and the second end.

7. The antenna tilt adjustment apparatus of claim 6, wherein, The switching support has an unlocking component, the unlocking component is configured to press the second end of the self-locking rod to make the first end lift, and when the unlocking component presses the second end of the self-locking rod, the position gear engages with the rack disengaged from the self-locking rod.

8. The antenna tilt adjustment apparatus of claim 6, wherein, The rack has a plurality of drive teeth arranged along the second direction and a plurality of self-locking teeth arranged along the second direction, the drive teeth can engage with the position gear, and the self-locking teeth can engage with the limiting tooth.

9. The antenna tilt adjustment apparatus of claim 6, wherein, Each set of racks is provided with a plurality of self-locking assemblies corresponding to the racks, and the self-locking rod is located on one side of the corresponding rack in the first direction.

10. The antenna tilt adjustment apparatus of claim 1, wherein, Two first limiting portions are arranged on the rack, and the two first limiting portions are arranged at intervals along the second direction; Two second limiting portions are arranged on the mounting shell, and the two second limiting portions are located between the two first limiting portions to limit the movement of the rack.

11. The antenna tilt adjustment apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The switching support is provided with a plurality of arc-shaped grooves arranged along the first direction; The driving assembly further comprises a guide wheel connected to the driving shaft and coaxial with the driving shaft, the guide wheel being capable of rotating in the arc-shaped grooves and being fitted to the groove surface of the arc-shaped grooves; The guide wheel has an avoiding gap in the circumferential direction, when the driving member extends into the switching groove, the guide wheel is out of contact with the arc-shaped groove through the avoiding gap, and when the driving member is out of the switching groove, the guide wheel is in contact with the next arc-shaped groove in the moving direction of the switching support.

12. The antenna tilt adjustment apparatus of claim 1, wherein, A guide shaft is further included, the guide shaft being arranged on the mounting shell and extending along the first direction, and the switching support being slidingly arranged on the guide shaft.

13. A base station antenna, comprising: The antenna downtilt angle adjusting device comprises the antenna downtilt angle adjusting device according to any one of claims 1-12.

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