Multi-frequency conformal antenna integrated with intelligent electric meter shell

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of electric meter antennas, in particular to a multi-frequency conformal antenna integrated with an intelligent electric meter shell, which comprises an intelligent electric meter shell and two multi-frequency conformal antenna units, and is characterized in that each multi-frequency conformal antenna unit comprises a one-to-two micro-strip power divider, a side-fire antenna and an end-fire antenna, according to the invention, the two antenna units are symmetrically arranged on the shell of the intelligent electric meter; a plurality of working frequency bands can be realized, and a radiation field is omnidirectional; the two antenna units are symmetrical and feed in the same phase, so that the gain of the antenna is further improved; the conformal antenna device covers a plurality of communication frequency bands, is large in radiation coverage range, clear in design principle and very simple in design structure, and has practical application value, so that the problem of limited radiation range of an existing antenna is solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of electric meter antennas, and particularly to a multi-frequency conformal antenna integrated with an intelligent electric meter housing. Background Art

[0002] Intelligent electric meters with Internet of Things functions such as remote meter reading have become one of the basic devices for data collection in smart grids. As an essential terminal device for wireless communication, the working frequency band, radiation range, gain and other indicators of the antenna determine the communication quality.

[0003] Currently, common intelligent electric meter antennas are mostly external whip antennas or internal PCB antennas, which require space inside and outside the electric meter housing; moreover, the radiation range of such antennas is limited, and the working frequency bands are few, the bandwidth is narrow, and it is difficult to cover the communication frequency bands. If multiple groups of multi-frequency antennas are used to achieve multi-band communication and the radiation range is omnidirectional, the design complexity will be greatly increased. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a multi-frequency conformal antenna integrated with an intelligent electric meter housing, aiming to solve the problem of the limited radiation range of the existing antenna.

[0005] To achieve the above purpose, the present invention provides a multi-frequency conformal antenna integrated with an intelligent electric meter housing, including an intelligent electric meter housing and two multi-frequency conformal antenna units, and the two multi-frequency conformal antenna units are symmetrically arranged on the intelligent electric meter housing;

[0006] The multi-frequency conformal antenna unit includes a one-to-two microstrip power divider, a side radiation antenna and an end radiation antenna. The one-to-two microstrip power divider is printed on the curved surface of the intelligent electric meter housing, the side radiation antenna is arranged at one end of the one-to-two microstrip power divider, and the end radiation antenna is arranged at the other end of the one-to-two microstrip power divider.

[0007] Wherein, the one-to-two microstrip power divider includes a first microstrip line group, a second microstrip line group, a first conformal metal ground, a grounding metal sheet and a metal via. The first microstrip line group and the second microstrip line group are respectively printed on the curved surface of the intelligent electric meter housing, the first conformal metal ground is printed on the outside of the intelligent electric meter housing, the grounding metal sheet is arranged on one side of the intelligent electric meter housing, and the metal via is arranged on one side of the intelligent electric meter housing.

[0008] Wherein, the side radiation antenna includes a fifth microstrip line and a metal rectangular patch. The metal rectangular patch includes a first metal notch, a second metal notch and a third metal notch. The first metal notch, the second metal notch and the third metal notch are used to increase the equivalent inductance value. The fifth microstrip line is connected to the first microstrip line group, and the metal rectangular patch is connected to the fifth microstrip line.

[0009] Among them, the end-fire antenna includes a sixth microstrip line and a second conformal metal ground. The second conformal metal ground has a fourth metal notch. The sixth microstrip line is connected to the second microstrip line group, and the second conformal metal ground is connected to the sixth microstrip line.

[0010] Among them, the side-fire antenna is a monopole antenna, and the end-fire antenna is a microstrip slot antenna.

[0011] A multi-band conformal antenna integrated with an intelligent meter housing according to the present invention includes an intelligent meter housing and two multi-band conformal antenna units. The two multi-band conformal antenna units are symmetrically arranged on the intelligent meter housing. The multi-band conformal antenna unit includes a one-to-two microstrip power divider, a side-fire antenna, and an end-fire antenna. The one-to-two microstrip power divider is printed on the curved surface of the intelligent meter housing. The side-fire antenna is arranged at one end of the one-to-two microstrip power divider, and the end-fire antenna is arranged at the other end of the one-to-two microstrip power divider. By symmetrically arranging two antenna units on the intelligent meter housing, the present invention can achieve multiple operating frequency bands and an omnidirectional radiation field. By symmetrically and in-phase feeding the two antenna units, the gain of the antenna is further improved. The conformal antenna device covers multiple communication frequency bands, has a large radiation coverage range, a clear design principle, a very simple design structure, and has practical application value, thus solving the problem of limited radiation range of existing antennas. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the following drawings are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative efforts.

[0013] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a multi-band conformal antenna integrated with an intelligent meter housing provided;

[0014] Figure 2 is a schematic structural diagram of the one-to-two conformal microstrip power divider of the present invention;

[0015] Figure 3 is a schematic structural diagram of the side-fire antenna of the present invention;

[0016] Figure 4 is a schematic structural diagram of the end-fire antenna of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 5 is a simulation performance diagram of the scattering coefficient of the one-to-two conformal microstrip power divider of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 6 It is the simulation performance diagram of the reflection coefficient and the actual peak gain of the multi - frequency conformal antenna integrated with the intelligent meter housing in the present invention;

[0019] Figure 7 It is the simulation radiation pattern diagram of the E - plane and H - plane of the antenna in the present invention at 600 MHz;

[0020] Figure 8 It is the simulation radiation pattern diagram of the E - plane and H - plane of the multi - frequency conformal antenna integrated with the intelligent meter housing in the present invention at 2.2 GHz;

[0021] Figure 9 It is the simulation radiation pattern diagram of the E - plane and H - plane of the multi - frequency conformal antenna integrated with the intelligent meter housing in the present invention at 3.5 GHz.

[0022] In the figure: 1 - intelligent meter housing, 2 - multi - frequency conformal antenna unit, 3 - one - to - two microstrip power divider, 4 - side - radiating antenna, 5 - end - radiating antenna, 31 - first microstrip line group, 32 - second microstrip line group, 33 - first conformal metal ground, 34 - grounding metal sheet, 35 - metal via, 41 - fifth microstrip line, 42 - metal rectangular patch, 43 - first metal notch, 44 - second metal notch, 45 - third metal notch, 51 - sixth microstrip line, 52 - second conformal metal ground, 53 - fourth metal notch. Detailed implementation manners

[0023] The following details the embodiments of the present invention. The examples of the embodiments are shown in the drawings, where the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements with the same or similar functions from beginning to end. The embodiments described below by referring to the drawings are exemplary and are intended to explain the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0024] Please refer to Figures 1 to 9 , the present invention provides a multi - frequency conformal antenna integrated with an intelligent meter housing, including an intelligent meter housing 1 and two multi - frequency conformal antenna units 2. The two multi - frequency conformal antenna units 2 are symmetrically arranged on the intelligent meter housing 1;

[0025] The multi - frequency conformal antenna unit 2 includes a one - to - two microstrip power divider 3, a side - radiating antenna 4 and an end - radiating antenna 5. The one - to - two microstrip power divider 3 is printed on the curved surface of the intelligent meter housing 1. The side - radiating antenna 4 is arranged at one end of the one - to - two microstrip power divider 3, and the end - radiating antenna 5 is arranged at the other end of the one - to - two microstrip power divider 3.

[0026] In this embodiment, the one-to-two microstrip power divider 3 can divide the power of the input radio frequency signal into two, and feed them to a side-emitting antenna 4 and an end-emitting antenna 5 respectively. By the principle of field superposition, the radiation ranges of the two antennas are superimposed, and the two antennas together form a basic antenna unit. For the smart meter, two basic antenna units are arranged in a mirror symmetry and fed in phase, which can maintain the radiation field while improving the overall radiation gain of the antenna device. In the present invention, two antenna units are symmetrically arranged on the smart meter housing 1, enabling multiple operating frequency bands and an omnidirectional radiation field. By symmetrically and in-phase feeding the two antenna units, the gain of the antenna is further improved. This conformal antenna device covers multiple communication frequency bands, has a large radiation coverage range, a clear design principle, and a very simple design structure, with practical application value, thus solving the problem of the limited radiation range of the existing antenna.

[0027] Further, the one-to-two microstrip power divider 3 includes a first microstrip line group 31, a second microstrip line group 32, a first conformal metal ground 33, a grounding metal sheet 34, and a metal via 35. The first microstrip line group 31 and the second microstrip line group 32 are respectively printed on the curved surface of the smart meter housing 1. The first conformal metal ground 33 is printed on the outside of the smart meter housing 1. The grounding metal sheet 34 is disposed on one side of the smart meter housing 1. The metal via 35 is disposed on one side of the smart meter housing 1.

[0028] In this embodiment, the first microstrip line group 31 and the second microstrip line group 32 have the same structure. The first microstrip line group 31 includes a first microstrip line, a second microstrip line, a third microstrip line, and a fourth microstrip line. The characteristic impedances of the first microstrip line and the fourth microstrip line are 50 ohms. The characteristic impedances of the second microstrip line and the third straight microstrip line are 70.7 ohms. The third microstrip line is a bent microstrip line, and the number of bends can be increased or decreased according to the actual size, with the miniaturization requirement of the microstrip power divider as the standard. The first microstrip line and the second microstrip line are conformally printed on the curved surface inside the smart meter housing 1. The third microstrip line and the fourth microstrip line are conformally printed on the straight surface inside the smart meter housing 1.

[0029] Further, the side-emitting antenna 4 includes a fifth microstrip line 41 and a metal rectangular patch 42. The metal rectangular patch 42 includes a first metal notch 43, a second metal notch 44, and a third metal notch 45. The first metal notch 43, the second metal notch 44, and the third metal notch 45 are used to increase the equivalent inductance value. The fifth microstrip line 41 is connected to the first microstrip line group 31. The metal rectangular patch 42 is connected to the fifth microstrip line 41.

[0030] In this embodiment, the first metal notch 43, the second metal notch 44, and the third metal notch 45 are all used for impedance matching. The fifth microstrip line 41 is connected to the fourth microstrip line in the first microstrip line group 31.

[0031] Furthermore, the end-fire antenna 5 includes a sixth microstrip line 51 and a second conformal metal ground 52. The second conformal metal ground 52 has a fourth metal notch 53. The sixth microstrip line 51 is connected to the second microstrip line group 32, and the second conformal metal ground 52 is connected to the sixth microstrip line 51.

[0032] In this embodiment, the sixth microstrip line 51 is connected to the fourth microstrip line in the second microstrip line group 32. The sixth microstrip line 51 and the second conformal metal ground 52 form a planar microstrip transmission line to receive and guide the energy output from the other branch of the one-to-two microstrip power divider 3. The length, width, and number of bends of the sixth microstrip line 51 are used to adjust the impedance. The fourth metal notch 53 on the second conformal metal ground 52 acts as a radiator to radiate electromagnetic waves. The size and position of the fourth metal notch 53 are used to adjust the radiation pattern.

[0033] Furthermore, the side-fire antenna 4 is a monopole antenna, and the end-fire antenna 5 is a microstrip slot antenna.

[0034] Figure 5 This is the S-parameter simulation diagram of the one-to-two conformal microstrip power divider for this example. It can be seen that for this power divider at around the fundamental mode of 800 MHz, the output powers of port 2 and port 3 are equal and half of the input power. At the same time, this power divider still works at the odd-mode frequencies of 2.4 GHz and 4 GHz. Due to the increase in frequency, the loss increases, and the power loss is relatively large at high frequencies.

[0035] Figure 6 This is the simulation diagram of the reflection coefficient of one side antenna unit of this example and the actual peak gain of this example. It can be seen that this antenna combination realizes multiple operating frequency bands, specifically 0.53 GHz - 1.6 GHz, 2 GHz - 2.48 GHz, 3.1 GHz - 3.8 GHz, 4.17 GHz - 4.24 GHz, 4.7 GHz - 4.8 GHz, covering multiple 4G and 5G communication frequency bands.

[0036] It can be seen from Figure 7 that the radiation field of the antenna device of the present invention shows a side-fire antenna at low frequencies. It can be seen from the E-plane and H-plane that the radiation pattern has omnidirectionality, which is suitable for scenarios with long communication distances such as rural areas and towns.

[0037] Figure 8 This is the E-plane and H-plane at 2.4 GHz, which can represent the radiation field of the present invention in the frequency band of 2 GHz - 2.47 GHz. Figure 9The E and H planes at 3.5 GHz can represent the radiation field of the present invention in the frequency band of 3.1 GHz - 3.8 GHz. It can be seen that the radiation range of this antenna is relatively large, which can meet the communication requirements;

[0038] Beneficial effects:

[0039] (1) The present invention provides a one-to-two conformal microstrip power divider, which realizes the continuous transition of the input power between the curved surface and the plane, and outputs two equal divided signals, and can be applied to the design that requires a combination of multiple antennas and there is a curved surface on the substrate;

[0040] (2) In the present invention, the combination of the end-fire antenna and the side-fire antenna is realized through the above-mentioned one-to-two conformal microstrip power divider, and the superposition of the radiation fields of the two is realized. The radiation range of this antenna combination is omnidirectional.

[0041] (3) In the present invention, the antenna is designed with multiple impedance matching design structures to realize multi-band operation, covering multiple 4G and 5G communication frequency bands, and has high practical application value.

[0042] The above-disclosed is only a preferred embodiment of a multi-band conformal antenna integrated with an intelligent meter housing of the present invention. Of course, the scope of the rights of the present invention cannot be limited thereby. Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand all or part of the processes of implementing the above embodiments, and the equivalent changes made according to the claims of the present invention still fall within the scope covered by the invention.

Claims

1. A multi-frequency conformal antenna integrated with a smart meter housing, characterized in that: It comprises a smart meter housing and two multi-frequency conformal antenna units, wherein the two multi-frequency conformal antenna units are symmetrically arranged on the smart meter housing; The multi-frequency conformal antenna unit includes a one-to-two microstrip power divider, a side-fire antenna and an end-fire antenna. The one-to-two microstrip power divider is printed on the curved surface of the smart meter housing, the side-fire antenna is arranged at one end of the one-to-two microstrip power divider, and the end-fire antenna is arranged at the other end of the one-to-two microstrip power divider.

2. The multi-frequency conformal antenna integrated with the housing of a smart meter as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The one-to-two microstrip power divider includes a first microstrip line group, a second microstrip line group, a first conformal metal ground, a grounded metal sheet and a metal via. The first microstrip line group and the second microstrip line group are respectively printed on the curved surface of the smart meter housing, the first conformal metal ground is printed on the outer side of the smart meter housing, the grounded metal sheet is arranged on one side of the smart meter housing, and the metal via is arranged on one side of the smart meter housing.

3. The multi-frequency conformal antenna integrated with the housing of a smart meter as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that: The side-firing antenna includes a fifth microstrip line and a metal rectangular patch, the metal rectangular patch includes a first metal gap, a second metal gap and a third metal gap, the first metal gap, the second metal gap and the third metal gap are used to increase the equivalent inductance value, the fifth microstrip line is connected to the first microstrip line group, and the metal rectangular patch is connected to the fifth microstrip line.

4. The multi-frequency conformal antenna integrated with a housing of a smart meter as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that: The end-fire antenna includes a sixth microstrip line and a second conformal metal ground, the second conformal metal ground has a fourth metal gap, the sixth microstrip line is connected to the second microstrip line group, and the second conformal metal ground is connected to the sixth microstrip line.

5. The multi-frequency conformal antenna integrated with a housing of a smart meter as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The side-fire antenna is a monopole antenna, and the end-fire antenna is a microstrip slot antenna.

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