Radome for base station antenna, base station antenna

Abstract

The present application provides an antenna cover for a base station antenna and a base station antenna, the antenna cover including an antenna cover body and a back cover; the antenna cover body is configured with a first accommodating space having an opening for accommodating the passive antenna unit of the base station antenna; the back cover closes the opening and is configured with a second accommodating space for accommodating at least part of the active antenna unit of the base station antenna; at least one of the antenna cover body and the back cover is provided with at least one first periodic pattern conductive layer having electromagnetic wave reflection performance on both sides of the corresponding active antenna unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of antenna technology, and in particular to a back cover and antenna cover for a base station antenna, and a base station antenna. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, with the growing demand for wireless communications, operators have needed to deploy more 5G base stations capable of supporting larger data services. However, as the number of base station deployments increases, site resources are becoming increasingly scarce. Therefore, low-cost solutions that support capacity expansion of existing sites have become the mainstream development direction.

[0003] 4G and 5G converged base stations support multi-band integration and active / passive integration, are compact, and offer low wind resistance, making them a key evolutionary direction for base station antennas. These integrated active / passive (A+P) antennas typically utilize a stacked design, with the passive (P) antenna on top and the active (A) antenna on the bottom. The P antenna incorporates a frequency-selective surface structure, leveraging its frequency-selective properties to reduce interference between the active and passive antennas.

[0004] The stacking scheme of A+P antennas means that the electromagnetic waves received and transmitted by the lower A antenna need to pass through the upper P antenna. The antenna cover, back cover, feed network, structural components, and frequency selective surface of the P antenna will affect the amplitude and phase consistency of the A antenna, resulting in reduced shaping accuracy of the A antenna. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art, and proposes a radome for a base station antenna and a base station antenna, which can improve the antenna amplitude and phase consistency.

[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, an embodiment of the present application provides a radome for a base station antenna, wherein the radome includes a radome body and a back cover; the radome body is configured with a first accommodating space having an opening for accommodating the passive antenna unit of the base station antenna; the back cover closes the opening and is configured with a second accommodating space for accommodating at least part of the active antenna unit of the base station antenna; at least one of the radome body and the back cover is provided with at least one layer of a first periodic pattern conductive layer having electromagnetic wave reflection performance in the portion corresponding to both sides of the active antenna unit.

[0007] As another technical solution, the base station antenna provided in the embodiment of the present application includes an active antenna unit and a passive antenna unit, and also includes: the above-mentioned antenna cover provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0008] Other objects and features of the present application will become clear by reading the specification, claims and drawings of the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present application will become apparent and easily understood from the description of the embodiments in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

[0010] Figure 1 This is a structural exploded diagram of the base station antenna provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0011] Figure 2 It is the directional pattern of an existing single-column active antenna.

[0012] Figure 3 It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the base station antenna provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0013] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of gain distribution at the edge of a single-row active antenna when the first periodic pattern conductive layer is not provided on the outer side of the shell.

[0014] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of gain distribution at the edge of a single-row active antenna when a first periodic pattern conductive layer is provided on the outer side of the housing.

[0015] Figure 6 The directional pattern of a single-column active antenna using the radome provided by the present application is shown.

[0016] Figure 7 This is a partial structural diagram of the pattern of the first periodic pattern conductive layer.

[0017] Figure 8 This is the optical path diagram of the electromagnetic wave when it passes through the first dielectric layer, the air layer, and the second dielectric layer in sequence.

[0018] Figure 9 A perspective view of a radome body provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0019] Figure 10 This is a directional correspondence diagram between the back cover and the active antenna array used in the embodiment of the present application.

[0020] Description of main component symbols:

[0021] 100, base station antenna; 110, active antenna unit; 111, shell; 111a, side panel; 112, active antenna; 112', virtual active antenna; 113, second accommodating space; 120, passive antenna unit; 121, reflector; 122, wave-transmitting antenna unit; 130, antenna cover; 131, antenna cover body; 131a, first part; 131b, second part; 131c, first side; 131d, second side; 132, opening; 133, first accommodating space; 134, back cover; 134a, back panel; 134b, first side panel; 134c, second side panel; 135, second periodic pattern conductive layer; 136, first periodic pattern conductive layer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The embodiments of the present application are described in detail below. Examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present application and are not to be construed as limiting the present application.

[0023] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present application. In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more features. In the description of the present application, "multiple" means two or more, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0024] In the description of this application, it should be noted that, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, the terms "installed," "connected," and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, they can refer to fixed connections, detachable connections, or integral connections; they can refer to mechanical connections, electrical connections, or mutual communication; they can refer to direct connections or indirect connections through an intermediate medium; they can refer to internal communication between two components or the interaction between two components. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of the above terms in this application based on specific circumstances.

[0025] The disclosure below provides many different embodiments or examples for realizing different structures of the present application. In order to simplify the disclosure of the present application, the components and settings of specific examples are described below. Of course, they are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present application. In addition, the present application may repeat reference numbers and / or reference letters in different examples, and such repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity, and does not itself indicate the relationship between the various embodiments and / or settings discussed. In addition, the present application provides examples of various specific processes and materials, but those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate the application of other processes and / or the use of other materials.

[0026] Throughout this specification, reference to terms such as "one embodiment," "certain embodiments," "illustrative embodiments," "examples," "specific examples," or "some examples" means that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in conjunction with an embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present application. In this specification, illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

[0027] Embodiments of the present application provide a radome for a base station antenna and a base station antenna.

[0028] See also Figure 1 The base station antenna 100 is, for example, an "A+P" base station antenna that combines the active antenna unit (AAU) 110 of a 5G base station system with the passive antenna unit (PAU) 120 of a 4G base station system. Specifically, it includes: the active antenna unit 110; the passive antenna unit 120 located above it, with their projections overlapping on a horizontal plane (parallel to the X-axis-Y-axis plane); and a radome 130 for accommodating the passive antenna unit 120 and at least a portion of the active antenna unit 110. The radome 130 is used to protect the passive antenna unit 120 from external influences such as air, moisture, and dust. Specifically, the main body of the radome 130 is made of plastic, for example. The overall shape of the radome 130 is, for example, a cylindrical shell, and its radial cross-section is, for example, a rectangular shape with rounded corners. Since the structures and functions of the active antenna unit 110 and the passive antenna unit 120 (including but not limited to the reflector 121 and the wave-transmitting antenna unit 122 ) belong to the well-known technologies, they are not described in detail here.

[0029] The active antenna unit 110 includes but is not limited to a housing 111 and an active antenna array disposed inside the housing 111, such as Figure 10 As shown, the active antenna array is, for example, a rectangular array composed of a plurality of active antennas 112 arranged in a first predetermined direction (for example, parallel to Figure 1 and Figure 10 X axis in the image) and a second preset direction (e.g. parallel to Figure 1 and Figure 10 The active antennas 112 are arranged along the Y-axis in the figure, where the active antennas 112 arranged along the first preset direction are rows and the active antennas 112 arranged along the second preset direction are columns. For example, the gain of the active antennas 112 may differ between the active antennas 112 in the middle column and the active antennas 112 in the edge column due to the asymmetric environment, thereby causing the antenna amplitude consistency to deteriorate. For example, Figure 2 The directional pattern of the existing edge column active antenna 112 is shown as follows: Figure 2 As shown in the figure, the vertical axis represents the gain (in dB) of the active antenna 112; the horizontal axis represents the azimuth angle of the active antenna 112 in the edge column. Ideally, the directional pattern is symmetrical within the beam range (the azimuth angle of the active antenna 112 is in the ±60° direction). However, due to Figure 2 As can be seen from the curve shown, the directional patterns of the active antennas 112 in the edge columns are asymmetric within the beam range (the azimuth angles of the active antennas 112 are in the ±60° direction), that is, there is a directional pattern distortion phenomenon.

[0030] To solve the above problem, please refer to Figure 3 , and combined with Figure 1 The radome 130 for a base station antenna 100 provided in an embodiment of the present application includes a radome body 131 and a back cover 134. The radome body 131 defines a first accommodation space 133 with an opening 132 for accommodating the passive antenna unit 120 of the base station antenna 100, including but not limited to a reflector 121 and a wave-transmitting antenna unit 122. The opening 132, for example, faces downward and is disposed opposite the active antenna unit 110 in a direction parallel to the Z axis. The back cover 134 closes the opening 132 and defines a second accommodation space 113 for accommodating at least a portion of the active antenna unit 110. For example, a recessed portion is formed on the side of the back cover 134 facing away from the first accommodation space 133. The recessed portion serves as the second accommodation space 113, and the upper portion of the active antenna unit 110 is located within the recessed portion. The back cover 134, for example, has a plate-like structure with the aforementioned recessed portion.

[0031] At least one of the radome body 131 and the back cover 134 is provided with at least one first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 having electromagnetic wave reflection performance on the portions on both sides of the corresponding active antenna unit 110. The first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 can reflect a portion of the electromagnetic wave. The portion of at least one of the radome body 131 and the back cover 134 provided with at least one first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 can be located on both sides of the active antenna array along the first preset direction, that is, on the side where the edge column of the active antenna array of the active antenna unit 110 is located. Figure 10 As shown, taking the back cover 134 provided with at least one first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 disposed on the side where the edge column of the active antenna array of the active antenna unit 110 is located as an example, the shell 111 of the active antenna unit 110 is a rectangular shell having two sides along the second preset direction (for example, parallel to Figure 1 、 Figure 2 and Figure 10 The side panels 111a extending along the Y-axis in the image are respectively located on both sides of the active antenna 112 of the edge column. In this case, the portion of the back cover 134 provided with at least one layer of the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 is located on the outside of the two side panels 111a away from the edge column.

[0032] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of gain distribution of the active antenna 112 in the edge row when the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 is not provided on the outer side of the housing 111; Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the gain distribution of the active antenna 112 in the edge row when the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 is provided on the outside of the housing 111. Figure 4 and Figure 5 It can be seen that Figure 4 The gain distribution of the active antennas 112 in the edge columns shown has a directional pattern distortion phenomenon. Figure 5 The gain distribution of the active antenna 112 in the edge column shown can improve the pattern distortion phenomenon. This is because: when the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 is not provided on the outside of the shell 111, the electromagnetic environment in which the active antenna 112 in the edge column is located is asymmetric. However, by providing the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 on the outside of the shell 111, since the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 can maintain the reflection performance in the operating frequency band of the active antenna, when the reflection coefficient of the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 to the electromagnetic wave satisfies the condition that the reflected wave has an effect equivalent to that of the reflected wave generated by the virtual unit (including the virtual active antenna 112'), as shown in FIG. Figure 5 As shown, the asymmetry of the electromagnetic environment where the active antennas 112 in the edge columns are located can be eliminated, making it close to the electromagnetic environment where the active antennas 112 in the middle columns are located, thereby reducing or even eliminating the difference in gain of the active antennas 112 between the middle columns and the edge columns, thereby improving the antenna amplitude consistency.

[0033] Figure 6 The directional pattern of the active antenna 112 of the edge column of the base station antenna using the radome 130 provided by the present application is shown. Figure 6 As shown, the ordinate represents the gain of the active antenna 112 (in dB); the abscissa represents the azimuth angle of the active antenna 112 in the edge column. In the case where the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 is provided on the portions of the back cover 134 corresponding to both sides of the active antenna unit 110, Figure 6 As shown in the curve, the active antenna 112 of the edge column of the base station antenna using the antenna cover 130 provided by the present application is compared with Figure 2 In the prior art shown, the symmetry of the directional pattern of the active antennas 112 in the edge column within the beam range (the azimuth angle of the active antenna 112 is in the ±60° direction) is significantly improved, that is, the directional pattern distortion phenomenon is improved.

[0034] In an embodiment where the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 is disposed on portions of the back cover 134 corresponding to both sides of the active antenna unit 110, as shown in FIG. Figure 1 and Figure 3 As shown, the back cover 134 includes a back panel 134a, a first side panel 134b, and a second side panel 134c. The back panel 134a is positioned between the passive antenna unit 120 and the active antenna unit 110. The back panel 134a is positioned correspondingly to the opening 132 of the radome body 131, and its projection at least completely covers the upper surface of the active antenna unit 110. The first side panel 134b and the second side panel 134c are positioned oppositely on either side of the back panel 134a in a direction parallel to the X-axis, and together with the back panel 134a, they define the second accommodating space 113. The first side panel 134b and the second side panel 134c are positioned, for example, outside the two side panels 111a of the housing 111 of the active antenna unit 110, and the projections of the first side panel 134b and the second side panel 134c overlap with the projections of the two side panels 111a of the housing 111 on the plane in which the side panels 111a lie (e.g., a plane parallel to the Y-axis-Z-axis).

[0035] Furthermore, both the first side panel 134b and the second side panel 134c are provided with at least one first periodically patterned conductive layer 136. The electromagnetic wave reflection effect of the first periodically patterned conductive layer 136 can act on the active antenna 112 located in the edge column on the inner side of the corresponding side panel 111a, thereby improving or even eliminating directional pattern distortion and enhancing antenna amplitude and phase consistency. In practical applications, depending on specific needs (e.g., different processing methods), the first periodically patterned conductive layer 136 can be one, two, or more layers, and the patterns of the two or more layers of the first periodically patterned conductive layer 136 can be the same or different. If the patterns of the two or more layers of the first periodically patterned conductive layer 136 are the same, the positions of the two or more layers of the first periodically patterned conductive layer 136 can overlap or be staggered.

[0036] The present application has no limitation on the pattern of the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136, as long as it has electromagnetic wave reflection performance, for example, it can be Figure 7 In addition, by designing different patterns, the reflection coefficient of the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 can be adjusted to meet the requirement that the reflection wave of the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 is equivalent to the reflection wave generated by the virtual unit (including the virtual active antenna).

[0037] In some embodiments, the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 disposed on the first side plate 134b may be located on the surface of the first side plate 134b facing the second accommodating space 113 (i.e., the inner surface), and / or the surface away from the second accommodating space 113 (i.e., the outer surface); similarly, the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 disposed on the second side plate 134c is located on the surface of the second side plate 134c facing the second accommodating space 113 (i.e., the inner surface), and / or the surface away from the second accommodating space 113 (i.e., the outer surface). For example, Figure 3 An embodiment is shown in which the first periodic patterned conductive layer 136 is disposed on the outer surface of the first side plate 134b or the second side plate 134c. Disposing the first periodic patterned conductive layer 136 on the outer and / or inner surface of the first side plate 134b or the second side plate 134c facilitates processing of the first periodic patterned conductive layer 136. Of course, in actual applications, the first periodic patterned conductive layer 136 can also be embedded in the first side plate 134b or the second side plate 134c, depending on specific needs.

[0038] There are many ways to manufacture the first periodic patterned conductive layer 136. In order to facilitate the manufacture of the first periodic patterned conductive layer 136 made of a conductive material (usually metal) on the surface of the first side plate 134b or the second side plate 134c made of a non-metallic material (such as plastic), in some embodiments, the first periodic patterned conductive layer 136 can be set on the first side plate 134b or the second side plate 134c by etching, printing or pasting.

[0039] Since the electromagnetic environment in which the active antenna unit 110 is located is very complex. There are multiple finite medium and air mixed layers above the active antenna unit 110. The electromagnetic waves radiated by the active antenna unit 110 will experience multiple reflections and refractions after being emitted. The final emitted wave after passing through the passive antenna unit 120 is the result of the superposition of multiple waves in time and space. Figure 8 As shown, electromagnetic waves Taking oblique incidence and passing through the first medium layer, air layer and second medium layer in sequence as an example, due to the boundary conditions of different medium interfaces, the electromagnetic wave will experience multiple refractions and reflections at the medium interfaces, generating outgoing electromagnetic waves with different amplitudes. Due to the differences in propagation paths, these outgoing electromagnetic waves have different phase differences. By superposition, the total outgoing wave expression can be obtained as follows:

[0040]

[0041] When the propagation direction of the incident wave is determined, the outgoing wave can be determined For lossless media, when the thickness or number of layers of the medium increases, there will be a more obvious absolute phase difference between the outgoing waves with different reflection times. The difference between the amplitude of the outgoing wave and the incident wave after vector superposition is Furthermore, within a certain scanning angle range, as the incident wave's angle of incidence increases, the fluctuations caused by this superposition phenomenon intensify, causing ripples to appear in areas where the antenna pattern deviates from the normal. For electromagnetic waves of different frequencies, the path lengths from incident to emitted also vary, which degrades channel consistency between frequencies. Therefore, reducing the relative dielectric constant, thickness, and number of dielectric layers can help improve antenna amplitude and phase consistency.

[0042] Based on the above principles, in order to reduce the number and thickness of the dielectric layer, in some embodiments, such as Figure 1 and Figure 3As shown, the back plate 134a is provided with at least one layer of a second periodic pattern conductive layer 135 for forming a frequency selective surface. The frequency selective surface is used to realize the frequency selection function. Compared with the prior art which requires a separate dielectric plate to form a frequency selective surface, the embodiment of the present application provides at least one layer of a second periodic pattern conductive layer 135 on the back plate 134a, without the need to provide an additional dielectric plate. This is not only more economical and environmentally friendly, but also simplifies the assembly difficulty, and can reduce the number and thickness of dielectric layers on the electromagnetic wave propagation path, thereby contributing to further improvement of the antenna amplitude and phase consistency. In addition, saving a dielectric plate can also avoid the introduction of insertion loss, thereby avoiding the problem of reduced gain of high-frequency active antennas due to insertion loss.

[0043] Furthermore, in some embodiments, to facilitate processing, the pattern of the second periodically patterned conductive layer 135 is identical to that of the first periodically patterned conductive layer 136. It will be readily understood that although the patterns are identical, their different locations result in different functions and effects. Specifically, the first periodically patterned conductive layer 136 utilizes its electromagnetic wave reflection function. By being disposed on the portions of at least one of the radome body 131 and the back cover 134 corresponding to the active antenna unit 110, its reflected waves can be made comparable to those generated by a virtual unit (including a virtual active antenna), thereby improving pattern distortion. In contrast, the second periodically patterned conductive layer 135 is disposed on the back plate 134a of the back cover 134 to form a frequency selective surface, thereby saving a dielectric plate, reducing the number and thickness of dielectric layers in the electromagnetic wave propagation path, and avoiding insertion loss, resulting in greater cost-efficiency and environmental benefits. Ultimately, however, the provision of both the first periodically patterned conductive layer 136 and the second periodically patterned conductive layer 135 contributes to improved antenna amplitude and phase consistency. Of course, according to specific needs, the pattern of the second periodic pattern conductive layer 135 and the pattern of the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 may also be different.

[0044] In practical applications, depending on specific needs (e.g., different processing methods), the second periodic patterned conductive layer 135 can be one, two, or more layers. The patterns of the two or more layers of the second periodic patterned conductive layer 135 can be the same or different. If the patterns of the two or more layers of the second periodic patterned conductive layer 135 are the same, the two or more layers of the second periodic patterned conductive layer 135 can be arranged in an overlapping or staggered manner.

[0045] In some embodiments, to facilitate processing, the second periodic pattern conductive layer 135 is located on the surface of the back plate 134a facing the second accommodating space 113 (ie, the inner surface), and / or the surface away from the second accommodating space 113 (ie, the outer surface). Figure 3The embodiment in which the second periodic pattern conductive layer 135 is located on the outer surface of the back plate 134a is shown. Of course, in practical applications, the second periodic pattern conductive layer 135 can also be embedded in the back plate 134a according to specific needs.

[0046] There are various ways to manufacture the second periodic patterned conductive layer 135. To facilitate fabrication of the second periodic patterned conductive layer 135 made of a conductive material (usually metal) on the surface of a non-metallic (e.g., plastic) backplane 134a, in some embodiments, the second periodic patterned conductive layer 135 can be disposed on the backplane 134a by etching, printing, or pasting.

[0047] In the embodiment in which the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 is disposed on portions of the radome body 131 corresponding to both sides of the active antenna unit 110, see Figure 9 , and combined with Figure 3 The structure of the antenna cover body 131 is as follows: the parts of the antenna cover body 131 corresponding to the two sides of the active antenna unit 110 are respectively the first side portion 131c and the second side portion 131d; the first side portion 131c and the second side portion 131d are located on the outside of the back cover 134 away from the second accommodating space 113, and are provided with at least one layer of the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136. Specifically, as Figure 9 As shown, the overall shape of the antenna cover body 131 is, for example, a cylindrical shell, and the cross-sectional shape in the radial direction includes, for example, a rectangle with rounded corners. The antenna cover body 131 is divided into a first part 131a with an opening 132 and a second part 131b without an opening 132 along its axial direction, wherein the first accommodating space 133 accommodates the reflector 121 in the passive antenna unit 120 at a position corresponding to the first part 131a; the first accommodating space 133 accommodates the wave-transmitting antenna unit 122 at positions corresponding to the first part 131a and the second part 131b. Of course, other components of the passive antenna unit 120 that are not shown in the figure can also be accommodated. On this basis, the above-mentioned first part 131a of the antenna cover body 131 is provided with a first side portion 131c and a second side portion 131d (as shown in FIG. Figure 3 As shown in FIG. 1 ), the two are, for example, respectively disposed on the outside of the first side panel 134b and the second side panel 134c of the back cover 134 (i.e., on the side facing away from the second accommodating space 113), and their projections on the plane on which the first side panel 134b or the second side panel 134c lies (e.g., a plane parallel to the Y-axis-Z-axis plane) overlap with the first side panel 134b and the second side panel 134c, respectively. That is, the two side panels 111a of the housing 111 of the active antenna unit 110 are located on the outside of the active antenna 112 facing away from the edge column. In this case, the at least one first periodically patterned conductive layer 136 disposed on the first side portion 131c and the second side portion 131d can also utilize its electromagnetic wave reflection function to improve the radiation pattern distortion phenomenon.

[0048] In practical applications, depending on specific needs (e.g., different processing methods), the first periodic patterned conductive layer 136 disposed on the first side portion 131c or the second side portion 131d can be one, two, or more layers. Furthermore, the patterns of the two or more layers of the first periodic patterned conductive layer 136 can be the same or different. If the patterns of the two or more layers of the first periodic patterned conductive layer 136 are the same, the two or more layers of the first periodic patterned conductive layer 136 can be arranged in an overlapping or staggered manner.

[0049] It should be noted that in an embodiment in which the first side portion 131c and the second side portion 131d of the antenna cover body 131, and the first side plate 134b and the second side plate 134c of the back cover 134 are all provided with a first periodic pattern conductive layer 136, the pattern of the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 provided on the first side portion 131c and the second side portion 131d and the pattern of the first periodic pattern conductive layer 136 provided on the first side plate 134b and the second side plate 134c can be the same or different, and the positions can be arranged to overlap or be staggered.

[0050] In some embodiments, to facilitate processing, the first periodic patterned conductive layer 136 disposed on the first side portion 131c is located on the surface of the first side portion 131c facing the first accommodating space 133 (i.e., the inner surface) and / or the surface facing away from the first accommodating space 133 (i.e., the outer surface); the first periodic patterned conductive layer 136 disposed on the second side portion 131d is located on the surface of the second side portion 131d facing the first accommodating space 133 (i.e., the inner surface) and / or the surface facing away from the first accommodating space 133 (i.e., the outer surface). Of course, in actual applications, the second periodic patterned conductive layer 135 can also be embedded in the first side portion 131c or the second side portion 131d according to specific needs.

[0051] There are various ways to manufacture the first periodic patterned conductive layer 136. To facilitate manufacturing the first periodic patterned conductive layer 136 made of a conductive material (usually metal) on the surface of the first side portion 131c or the second side portion 131d made of a non-metallic material (e.g., plastic), in some embodiments, the first periodic patterned conductive layer 136 can be disposed on the first side portion 131c or the second side portion 131d by etching, printing, or pasting.

[0052] In summary, the radome 130 provided in the embodiment of the present application, by providing a first periodically patterned conductive layer 136 on the portions of at least one of the radome body 131 and the back cover 134 corresponding to both sides of the active antenna unit 110, can utilize its partial electromagnetic wave reflection function to improve the pattern distortion phenomenon, thereby improving the antenna's amplitude and phase consistency. Furthermore, by providing a second periodically patterned conductive layer 135 on the back plate 134a of the back cover 134 to form a frequency selective surface, it is possible to save a dielectric plate, thereby reducing the number and thickness of dielectric layers in the electromagnetic wave propagation path, avoiding the introduction of insertion loss, and achieving more economical and environmentally friendly effects, ultimately contributing to improved antenna amplitude and phase consistency.

[0053] As another technical solution, an embodiment of the present application further provides a base station antenna 100, which includes an active antenna unit 110 and a passive antenna unit 120, and also includes the above-mentioned antenna cover 130 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0054] The base station antenna 100 provided in the embodiment of the present application, by adopting the above-mentioned antenna cover 130 provided in the embodiment of the present application, can not only improve the radiation pattern distortion phenomenon and improve the antenna amplitude and phase consistency, but also reduce the number and thickness of dielectric layers on the electromagnetic wave propagation path, avoid the introduction of insertion loss, and be more economical and environmentally friendly.

[0055] It is understood that the above embodiments are merely exemplary embodiments for illustrating the principles of the present application, and the present application is not limited thereto. Those skilled in the art may make various modifications and improvements without departing from the spirit and substance of the present application, and such modifications and improvements are also considered to be within the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A radome for a base station antenna, wherein: The radome comprises a radome body and a back cover; the radome body is formed with a first accommodating space having an opening for accommodating the passive antenna unit of the base station antenna; The back cover closes the opening and forms a second accommodating space for accommodating at least part of the active antenna unit of the base station antenna; the active antenna unit includes a plurality of active antennas; At least one of the radome body and the back cover is provided with at least one first periodic pattern conductive layer having electromagnetic wave reflection performance at portions corresponding to both sides of the active antenna unit, wherein the first periodic pattern conductive layer maintains reflection performance in the operating frequency band of the active antenna; The back cover includes a back plate, a first side plate, and a second side plate; the back plate is used to be located between the passive antenna unit and the active antenna unit of the base station antenna; the first side plate and the second side plate are oppositely arranged on both sides of the back plate, and together with the back plate form the second accommodating space; The first side plate and the second side plate are both provided with at least one layer of the first periodic pattern conductive layer; The parts of the antenna cover body corresponding to the two sides of the active antenna unit are respectively the first side portion and the second side portion; the first side portion and the second side portion are located on the outside of the back cover away from the second accommodating space, and are provided with at least one layer of the first periodic pattern conductive layer.

2. The radome according to claim 1, wherein: The first periodic pattern conductive layer provided on the first side plate is located on a surface of the first side plate facing the second accommodating space and / or a surface away from the second accommodating space; The first periodic pattern conductive layer disposed on the second side plate is located on a surface of the second side plate facing the second accommodating space and / or a surface away from the second accommodating space.

3. The radome according to claim 1, wherein: The first periodic pattern conductive layer is disposed on the first side plate or the second side plate by etching, printing or pasting.

4. The radome according to claim 2 or 3, wherein: The back plate is provided with at least one second periodic pattern conductive layer for forming a frequency selective surface.

5. The radome according to claim 4, wherein: The pattern of the second periodically patterned conductive layer is the same as the pattern of the first periodically patterned conductive layer.

6. The radome according to claim 4, wherein: The second periodic pattern conductive layer is located on a surface of the back plate facing the second accommodating space and / or a surface away from the second accommodating space.

7. The radome according to claim 4, wherein: The second periodic pattern conductive layer is disposed on the back plate by etching, printing or pasting.

8. The radome according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The first periodic pattern conductive layer disposed on the first side portion is located on a surface of the first side portion facing the first accommodating space and / or a surface away from the first accommodating space; The first periodic pattern conductive layer disposed on the second side portion is located on a surface of the second side portion facing the first accommodating space and / or a surface away from the first accommodating space.

9. The radome according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The first periodic pattern conductive layer is disposed on the first side portion and the second side portion by etching, printing or pasting.

10. A base station antenna, comprising an active antenna unit and a passive antenna unit, wherein: Also includes: A radome according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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