High scan rate frequency scanning patch antenna and wireless communication system

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of wireless communication, and especially relates to a high scanning rate frequency scanning patch antenna and a wireless communication system. The high scanning rate frequency scanning patch antenna comprises a dielectric plate and a plurality of half-wavelength patches arranged on the dielectric plate; the half-wavelength patches are electrically coupled according to a preset gap; a magnetic grounding structure is arranged at the center of each half-wavelength patch; a double-ring stretch ring loaded auxiliary feeding structure is arranged on the half-wavelength patch at the head of all the half-wavelength patches; and an antenna feed point of the high scanning rate frequency scanning patch antenna is arranged on the half-wavelength patch at the head of all the half-wavelength patches. The half-wavelength patches with central grounding are connected in an electrically coupled mode, and the overall coupling architecture formed by the connection mode is helpful to realize full coverage of the forward, normal and backward angles of the antenna scanning beam. Meanwhile, the double auxiliary feeding ring loading scheme is adopted for feeding, which is helpful to realize the target of continuous and uniform large-angle scanning and high scanning rate of the antenna.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and in particular to a high scan rate frequency-scanning patch antenna and a wireless communication system. Background Technology

[0002] With the spectrum resources for wireless communication becoming increasingly congested, in order to save spectrum resources, some scholars have proposed frequency-scanning antennas with high scanning rate characteristics in recent years, which can greatly reduce the consumption of spectrum resources while achieving the same frequency scanning range.

[0003] However, existing high-scan-rate frequency-scanning antennas suffer from bulky size and high manufacturing complexity. They also have issues such as insufficient scanning range to cover the target space, or inadequate scan rate to conserve spectrum. Current frequency-scanning patch antennas typically employ a single magnetically coupled patch architecture or a single patch antenna architecture. Based on the principles of phased array antennas, it is known that the scanning beam in these designs cannot achieve coverage in the normal angle, resulting in coverage blind spots. They can only achieve forward scanning and cannot cover the half of the target space required in real-world scenarios.

[0004] The above content is only used to help understand the technical solution of the present invention and does not represent an admission that the above content is prior art. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The main objective of this invention is to provide a high-scan-rate frequency-scanning patch antenna and a wireless communication system, aiming to solve the technical problem that existing intermediate-frequency sweeping patch antennas cannot achieve coverage of the normal angle, resulting in blind spots.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention proposes a high scan rate frequency sweep patch antenna, which includes: a dielectric substrate and a plurality of half-wavelength patches disposed on the dielectric substrate;

[0007] Electrical coupling is provided between each of the half-wavelength patches according to a preset gap;

[0008] Each of the half-wavelength patches has a magnetic grounding structure at its center;

[0009] The first half-wavelength patch of all the aforementioned half-wavelength patches is provided with a double-ring extended ring loading auxiliary power supply structure.

[0010] The antenna feed point of the high scan rate frequency sweep patch antenna is located on the first half-wavelength patch among all the half-wavelength patches.

[0011] Optionally, each of the half-wavelength patches is configured as a rectangular structure, the major axis of the rectangular structure is half a wavelength, the minor axis of the rectangular structure is tuned according to the major axis length, and the preset gap between each of the half-wavelength patches is set according to the electrical coupling amount.

[0012] Optionally, each of the half-wavelength patches is arranged along the long axis of the rectangular structure, and each of the half-wavelength patches is located on the same plane.

[0013] Optionally, each of the half-wavelength patches is arranged along the vertical direction of the rectangular structure, and the centers of each of the half-wavelength patches are located on the same axis.

[0014] Optionally, the dielectric substrate is a double-sided printed circuit board, with each half-wavelength patch disposed on one side of the double-sided printed circuit board and a ground plane disposed on the other side of the double-sided printed circuit board.

[0015] Optionally, the magnetic grounding structure includes: a plurality of intermediate grounding holes;

[0016] Each of the intermediate grounding holes is arranged parallel to the short axis of the rectangular structure, and each of the intermediate grounding holes is located at the midpoint of the long axis of the rectangular structure.

[0017] Optionally, the magnetic grounding structure includes: a surface mount inductor;

[0018] The patch inductor is located on the side of the half-wavelength patch away from the dielectric substrate.

[0019] Optionally, the antenna feed point is disposed on a first predetermined number of half-wavelength patches close to the auxiliary feed structure.

[0020] Optionally, the magnetic grounding structure is not provided on the second predetermined number of half-wavelength patches located away from the auxiliary power supply structure.

[0021] In addition, to achieve the above objectives, the present invention also provides a wireless communication system comprising a plurality of high scan rate frequency-scanned patch antennas as described above.

[0022] This invention provides a high scan rate frequency-scanning patch antenna and a wireless communication system. The high scan rate frequency-scanning patch antenna includes: a dielectric substrate and multiple half-wavelength patches disposed on the dielectric substrate; each half-wavelength patch is electrically coupled according to a preset gap; a magnetic grounding structure is disposed at the center of each half-wavelength patch; an auxiliary feeding structure is disposed on the first half-wavelength patch of all the half-wavelength patches; and the antenna feed point of the high scan rate frequency-scanning patch antenna is disposed on the first half-wavelength patch of all the half-wavelength patches. The coupling architecture in which multiple center-grounded half-wavelength patches are connected by electrical coupling helps to achieve full coverage of the antenna scanning beam in the forward, normal, and backward angles. Simultaneously, the use of a dual auxiliary feeding ring loading scheme for feeding helps to achieve the goal of continuous and uniform large-angle scanning and high scan rate of the antenna. Attached Figure Description

[0023] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on the structures shown in these drawings without creative effort.

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the first embodiment of the high scan rate frequency sweep patch antenna of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 2 This is a reflection coefficient diagram of the first embodiment of the high scan rate frequency-scanning patch antenna of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 3 This is a gain diagram of the first embodiment of the high scan rate frequency-scanning patch antenna of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 4 This is a beam pointing variation diagram of the first embodiment of the high scan rate frequency-scanned patch antenna of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 5 This is the beam scanning plane pattern of the first embodiment of the high scan rate frequency-scanning patch antenna of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the second embodiment of the high scan rate frequency sweep patch antenna of the present invention.

[0030] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached diagram: 10, half-wavelength patch; 20, dielectric substrate; 30, magnetic grounding structure; 40, auxiliary feeding structure; 50, antenna feed point; 301, intermediate grounding hole.

[0031] The realization of the objective, functional features and advantages of the present invention will be further explained in conjunction with the embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. Detailed Implementation

[0032] It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention.

[0033] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0034] It should be noted that all directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, etc.) in the embodiments of the present invention are only used to explain the relative positional relationship and movement of each component in a certain specific posture (as shown in the figure). If the specific posture changes, the directional indication will also change accordingly.

[0035] Furthermore, the use of terms such as "first" and "second" in this invention is for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature defined with "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of that feature. Additionally, the technical solutions of the various embodiments can be combined with each other, but only on the basis of being achievable by those skilled in the art. When the combination of technical solutions is contradictory or impossible to implement, such a combination of technical solutions should be considered non-existent and not within the scope of protection claimed by this invention.

[0036] The main solution of this invention is as follows: a high scan rate frequency sweep patch antenna includes: a dielectric substrate and multiple half-wavelength patches disposed on the dielectric substrate; each half-wavelength patch is electrically coupled according to a preset gap; a magnetic grounding structure is disposed at the center of each half-wavelength patch; an auxiliary feeding structure is disposed on the first half-wavelength patch of all the half-wavelength patches, the auxiliary feeding structure being a double-ring extended-ring loaded auxiliary feeding structure; the antenna feed point of the high scan rate frequency sweep patch antenna is disposed on the first half-wavelength patch of all the half-wavelength patches.

[0037] With increasingly congested spectrum resources in wireless communication, scholars have proposed high-scan-rate frequency-scanning antennas in recent years to conserve these resources. These antennas achieve the same frequency scanning range while significantly reducing spectrum consumption. However, existing high-scan-rate frequency-scanning antennas suffer from bulky size and complex manufacturing processes. They also have issues such as insufficient scanning range to cover the target space or inadequate scan rate to conserve spectrum. Current frequency-scanning patch antennas typically employ a single magnetically coupled patch architecture or a single patch antenna architecture. Based on the principles of phased array antennas, this means the scanning beam cannot achieve coverage in the normal angle, resulting in coverage blind spots. They can only perform forward scanning and cannot cover the half-target space required in real-world scenarios.

[0038] Reference Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the first embodiment of the high scan rate frequency-scanning patch antenna of the present invention, as shown below. Figure 1As shown, in this embodiment, the high scan rate frequency sweep patch antenna includes: a dielectric substrate 20 and a plurality of half-wavelength patches 10 disposed on the dielectric substrate 20; each of the half-wavelength patches 10 is electrically coupled to each other according to a preset gap; a magnetic grounding structure 30 is disposed at the center of each of the half-wavelength patches 10; an auxiliary feeding structure 40 is disposed on the first half-wavelength patch 10 of each of the half-wavelength patches 10; and the antenna feed point 50 of the high scan rate frequency sweep patch antenna is disposed on one side of the magnetic grounding structure 30.

[0039] It should be noted that the half-wavelength patch 10 proposed in this embodiment, also known as a dipole antenna, can be a rectangular metal structure, typically with a single main radiation lobe. Its length is equal to half the signal wavelength, providing a wider bandwidth than a full-wavelength antenna. A half-wavelength is the smallest unit capable of forming a standing wave. When a signal propagates on the half-wavelength metal structure, it reaches the end of the conductor simultaneously with entering the negative half-cycle, reflecting back for reverse propagation. The reverse propagation of the negative half-cycle transforms it into a positive signal, which can be superimposed with the positive half-cycle to form a standing wave. Therefore, the signal can be gradually amplified within the half-wavelength patch, radiating maximum energy per cycle. The dielectric substrate can be a double-sided printed circuit board, with each half-wavelength patch disposed on one side and a ground plane disposed on the other side.

[0040] The width of the half-wavelength antenna can be adjusted according to specific applications and design requirements. In practical applications, the antenna width affects its performance parameters such as impedance characteristics, bandwidth, and radiation efficiency. Generally, a narrower antenna width leads to higher impedance, thus requiring a more complex matching network to achieve matching with the transmission line. Conversely, a wider antenna width can reduce impedance and make matching easier, but it will reduce some radiation efficiency. Each of the half-wavelength patches is arranged along the long axis of the rectangular structure, and all the half-wavelength patches are located on the same plane (refer to...). Figure 1 (As shown). Each of the half-wavelength patches is arranged along the vertical direction of the rectangular structure, and the centers of each half-wavelength patch are located on the same axis (not shown in the figure).

[0041] It should be understood that each of the multiple half-wavelength patches radiates towards its corresponding angle in response to a signal fed from the external power supply through the auxiliary feeding structure at the antenna feed point 50. Because the multiple half-wavelength patches are positioned differently, the far-field composite radiation pattern can correspond to different angular orientations. The antenna feed point, also known as the antenna input point, is the interface between the antenna and the RF transmission line, responsible for converting the electromagnetic wave signal generated by the antenna into an RF signal, which is then transmitted to the RF circuit system for processing.

[0042] It should be noted that for the half-wavelength patch 10 to radiate outwards, an antenna feed point 50 and a magnetic grounding structure 30 are required. The magnetic grounding structure 30 can be an inductor that creates eddy currents (spatial loops) between the radiated signal and ground, reducing the impact of RF signal radiation on other signals within the board. Metallized vias can also affect the antenna's resonant frequency and bandwidth by changing their number and location. In the half-wavelength patch 10, the input impedance of the antenna can be adjusted by changing the distance from the feed point to the metallized via, thereby achieving impedance matching with the transmission line. The antenna feed point 50 is typically selected at several patches on the edge, generally placed near the center of the patch.

[0043] Furthermore, the preset gap between each of the half-wavelength patches is set according to the electrical coupling amount. In antenna design, electrical coupling refers to the influence of the electromagnetic field generated by one antenna on another antenna. Two adjacent half-wavelength patches can be regarded as two metal plates of a capacitor, and the preset gap can be the distance between the two metal plates. According to actual needs, the gap between the two metal plates is adjusted to the target preset gap so that the magnitude of the electrical coupling meets the design requirements.

[0044] In one possible implementation, the antenna feed point is located on a half-wavelength patch near the outermost portion (a first preset number), and coaxial feeding can be used. Coaxial feeding can be a method where the signal is transmitted to the center of the antenna via a coaxial cable and then radiated outwards. For a half-wavelength antenna, the center conductor of the coaxial cable is connected to the middle portion of the antenna, while the outer conductor is connected to one or both ends of the antenna. This provides stable impedance matching over a wide frequency range, ensuring effective signal transmission. Simultaneously, the shielding effect of the coaxial cable reduces the impact of external electromagnetic interference on antenna performance. The first preset number can be specifically set according to the antenna angle and beamwidth, and is not specifically limited in this embodiment. Alternatively, only one antenna feed point can be set on the outermost half-wavelength patch. When multiple feed points are set with the first preset number, the auxiliary feed structure outputs to different feed points, thereby achieving continuous, uniform, large-angle scanning and a high scan rate. A second preset number of half-wavelength patches located away from the auxiliary feed structure do not have the magnetic grounding structure. The second preset number can be set to the half-wavelength patches located 20% away from the outermost portion of the feed.

[0045] It should be noted that the auxiliary feeding structure helps achieve broadband impedance matching of the antenna, which means that the antenna can maintain a low reflection coefficient (S11) over a wider frequency range, thereby improving the efficiency and stability of signal transmission. Through dual-loop feeding, the antenna can generate radiation nulls at multiple frequency points. These nulls can be used to suppress out-of-band interference, improving the antenna's selectivity and anti-interference capability.

[0046] Reference Figures 2 to 5 As shown, Figure 2 This is a reflection coefficient diagram of the first embodiment of the high scan rate frequency-scanning patch antenna of the present invention; where the horizontal axis is frequency (Frequency / GHz) and the vertical axis is reflection coefficient (S-Parameters [Magnitude] / dB). Figure 3 This is a gain diagram of the first embodiment of the high scan rate frequency-scanning patch antenna of the present invention; the curve is the realized gain (Realized Gain, Phi = 90.0, Max.Value (Subrange)) at an azimuth angle of 90 degrees. Figure 4 This is a beam pointing variation diagram of the first embodiment of the high scan rate frequency-scanned patch antenna of the present invention; where the curve represents the beam pointing at an azimuth angle of 90 degrees (RealizedGain, Phi = 90.0, Main.Lobe Direction). Figure 5 This is the beam scanning planar pattern of the first embodiment of the high-scan-rate frequency-scanning patch antenna of the present invention. The five polarization azimuths correspond to the far-field directivity abscissa (Phi = 90) at five frequencies (f = 5.5–5.9 GHz). The high-scan-rate frequency-scanning patch antenna operates in a frequency band that basically covers the 5.5–5.9 GHz WiFi band, with a scanning range of approximately +50 to -50 degrees, totaling about 100 degrees, which translates to a relative scan rate of 14° / 1% of the relative bandwidth. The relative scan rate can be defined by dividing the scanning range by the relative bandwidth. The average gain is 7 dBi, which is relatively high, exhibiting typical in-band frequency points and a good beamform.

[0047] Reference Figure 6 , Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the second embodiment of the high scan rate frequency-scanning patch antenna of the present invention, as shown below. Figure 6 As shown, in the second embodiment, the same or similar content as in the above embodiment can be referred to the above description, and will not be repeated hereafter.

[0048] In this embodiment, the magnetic grounding structure 30 includes a plurality of intermediate grounding holes 301; each intermediate grounding hole 301 is arranged parallel to the minor axis of the rectangular structure, and each intermediate grounding hole 301 is located at the midpoint of the major axis of the rectangular structure. The resonant frequency and bandwidth of the antenna can be affected by changing the number and position of the intermediate grounding holes 301.

[0049] It should be noted that the center grounding via can be a through-hole metal plate that passes through the half-wavelength patch. The metal via itself is a conductor; when current flows through it, it generates a magnetic field around it. According to the principle of electromagnetic induction, this magnetic field will in turn affect the current flow, thus creating parasitic inductance. The magnitude of the parasitic inductance depends on factors such as the length and diameter of the via, as well as the material of the substrate.

[0050] In one possible implementation, the magnetic grounding structure may include a surface mount inductor (not shown in the figure); the surface mount inductor is disposed on the side of the half-wavelength patch away from the dielectric substrate. A surface mount inductor is used instead of a central grounding via to form parasitic inductance.

[0051] In this embodiment, the high scan rate frequency-scanning patch antenna includes: a dielectric substrate and multiple half-wavelength patches disposed on the dielectric substrate; each half-wavelength patch is electrically coupled according to a preset gap; a magnetic grounding structure is disposed at the center of each half-wavelength patch; a double-ring extended-ring loaded auxiliary feeding structure is disposed on the first half-wavelength patch of all the half-wavelength patches; the antenna feed point of the high scan rate frequency-scanning patch antenna is disposed on the first half-wavelength patch of all the half-wavelength patches. The coupling architecture in which multiple center-grounded half-wavelength patches are connected by electrical coupling helps to achieve full coverage of the forward, normal, and backward angles of the antenna scanning beam. At the same time, the use of a double auxiliary feeding ring loading scheme for feeding helps to achieve the goal of continuous and uniform large-angle scanning and high scan rate of the antenna.

[0052] Furthermore, to achieve the above objectives, embodiments of the present invention also propose a wireless communication system, which includes the aforementioned high-scan-rate frequency-scanning patch antenna. Since the wireless communication system includes all the features of the high-scan-rate frequency-scanning patch antenna, it possesses at least all the beneficial effects brought about by the technical solutions of the above embodiments, which will not be elaborated upon here.

[0053] The above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and do not limit the scope of the patent. Any equivalent structural or procedural transformations made based on the description and drawings of the present invention, or direct or indirect applications in other related technical fields, are similarly included within the scope of patent protection of the present invention.

[0054] Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of them. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0055] It should be noted that all directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, etc.) in the embodiments of the present invention are only used to explain the relative positional relationship and movement of each component in a certain specific posture (as shown in the figure). If the specific posture changes, the directional indication will also change accordingly.

[0056] Furthermore, the use of terms such as "first" and "second" in this invention is for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature defined with "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of that feature. Additionally, the technical solutions of the various embodiments can be combined with each other, but only on the basis of being achievable by those skilled in the art. When the combination of technical solutions is contradictory or impossible to implement, such a combination of technical solutions should be considered non-existent and not within the scope of protection claimed by this invention.

Claims

1. A high scan rate frequency-scanning patch antenna, characterized in that, The high scan rate frequency sweep patch antenna includes: a dielectric substrate and multiple half-wavelength patches disposed on the dielectric substrate; Electrical coupling is provided between each of the half-wavelength patches according to a preset gap; Each of the half-wavelength patches has a magnetic grounding structure at its center; The first half-wavelength patch of all the aforementioned half-wavelength patches is provided with a double-ring extended ring loading auxiliary power supply structure. Each of the half-wavelength patches is configured as a rectangular structure, the major axis of the rectangular structure is half a wavelength, the minor axis of the rectangular structure is tuned according to the major axis, and the preset gap between each of the half-wavelength patches is set according to the electrical coupling amount. Each of the half-wavelength patches is arranged along the vertical direction of the rectangular structure, and the centers of each of the half-wavelength patches are located on the same axis. The antenna feed point of the high scan rate frequency sweep patch antenna is set on a first preset number of half-wavelength patches close to the auxiliary feeding structure; The magnetic grounding structure is not provided on the second preset number of half-wavelength patches that are far away from the auxiliary power supply structure. The second preset number is set to the last 20% of the half-wavelength patches that are far away from the auxiliary power supply structure.

2. The high scan rate frequency-scanning patch antenna as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Each of the half-wavelength patches is arranged along the long axis of the rectangular structure, and each of the half-wavelength patches is located on the same plane.

3. The high scan rate frequency-scanning patch antenna as described in any one of claims 2, characterized in that, The dielectric substrate is a double-sided printed circuit board, with each half-wavelength patch disposed on one side of the double-sided printed circuit board and a ground plane disposed on the other side of the double-sided printed circuit board.

4. The high scan rate frequency-scanning patch antenna as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The magnetic grounding structure includes: multiple intermediate grounding holes; Each of the intermediate grounding holes is arranged parallel to the short axis of the rectangular structure, and each of the intermediate grounding holes is located at the midpoint of the long axis of the rectangular structure.

5. The high scan rate frequency-scanning patch antenna as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The magnetic grounding structure includes: a patch inductor; The patch inductor is located on the side of the half-wavelength patch away from the dielectric substrate.

6. A wireless communication system, characterized in that, The wireless communication system includes a high scan rate frequency-scanned patch antenna as described in any one of claims 1-5.

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